Unofficial Portkey Archive

By-Songbird21

Please read and review. Thanks!

______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________

Harry woke up around three in the afternoon. He shook his head, annoyed that he had slept in so late. "Bloody Hell. I haven't even bought my dress robes yet." He jumped out of bed, got dressed, and headed down to the common room. He smiled as he saw Hermione sitting in the windowsill. "Hi, Mione," he said cheerfully as he kissed her.

Hermione smiled. "You're in a good mood."

Harry sat down in front of Hermione. "So much happened last night. Knowing my parents are okay, knowing what I really am and....realizing I love you." He grinned when Hermione smiled at hearing those words. "I feel.....I don't know.....free," he said as he turned to stare at the bright blue sky.

Hermione smiled and stood up. "I have to buy my dress robes for the dance. Do you want to come?"

Harry laughed. "I was just about to head to Hogsmeade myself."

"Great! Let me get my coat," Hermione said as she headed off to the girls dorm.

Harry had his arm around Hermione as they walked the cool autumn streets of Hogsmeade. She leaned into him happily. On the way they passed the Twins, Lee and Wendy. They were sitting at a table outside the ice cream shop. Lee looked up and waved the couple over. "What are you up to now?" Harry said, laughing.

"Not telling," Wendy replied, handing Fred an eye dropper

"It's a secret," Fred said as he used the eye dropper to add a purple liquid to the tiny cauldron in front of him

"You better not be planning to sabotage the dance," Hermione said warningly.

"Don't get your robes in a bunch. It's a happy surprise," George replied, slightly annoyed.

Wendy snickered.

"We have to go. We're getting our dress robes," Harry said.

Wendy wiggled her eyebrows. "Have fun."

Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head. "We'll see you later."

"How bout this one Harry?" Hermione said as she held up a pretty yellow robe. Harry just continued to look through the rack he was in front of. "Harry?" she repeated, slightly annoyed.

Harry turned around. "Sorry. What?"

Hermione sighed. "What do you think of this robe?"

Harry frowned. "I don't think yellow is your color. How bout a purple one?"

Hermione turned back to the rack next to her. After a moment she turned around with a dark purple robe. She held it up to her face. "What do you think?"

Harry smiled. "Perfect."

Harry sighed and looked at the clock for what seemed like the thousandth time. "Mione! What's taking so long?" he yelled up the stairs.

"I'm coming down now," Hermione's voice yelled back.

Harry heard footsteps and turned around. That was when his breathing stopped. She was just......gorgeous. She had the sides of her shoulder-length hair braided intricately around her head like a crown. Small crystals hung from the three braided loops in the front. The back of her hair was down. Her purple robe was ankle length with long bell sleeves. The v-shaped neckline showed just enough to make Harry's heart race. She wore lovely blue butterfly earrings and a matching necklace.

Hermione smiled when she saw Harry's wonderful impression of a codfish. "Well it appears you like it." She giggled lightly.

Harry's expression barely changed as he manage to choke out a stunned, "Wow."

"Harry? You can close your mouth now," Hermione said.

"Wow," Harry repeated.

Hermione reached the last step and walked over to Harry. With a look of mild amusement she put her hand under Harry's chin and pushed his mouth shut. "That's better. Shall we go?"

Harry blinked rapidly and shook his head. "Um, yeah. Did....did I say you look stunning?" he said weakly.

Hermione smiled and cocked an eyebrow. "In a manner of speaking," she said as she giggled.

Harry sighed looking slightly indignant. He held out his arm. "Let's go."

Hermione and Harry walked down the halls to the dance. In all the fun of seeing Harry loose his ability to speak she hadn't noticed how he looked. He wore a very nice navy blue robe. Unfortunately his hair still remained untamable. She didn't mind. She loved his hair. "You look very handsome Harry," she swooned.

Harry smiled. "Thanks Mione." As the couple entered the dance The Weird Sisters were playing a love song. Harry bowed to his date. "May I have this dance fair lady?" he said with a grin.

Hermione laughed. "Of course."

Harry and Hermione danced as though they were the only ones in the room. Harry sighed. Everything was finally starting to fall into place. Voldemort destroyed last year, Hermione at his side, talking to his parents and knowing what he was. It all gave him a kind of peace he hadn't previously known existed. Hermione leaned on his shoulder and he sighed. He finally felt....content.

High above the dance another couple glided across a floor of clouds. The moon shown behind them, casting them as ghostly silhouettes. They simply danced on and on. They were celebrating. They were free. More than that, their son was happy. Finally.......happy.

The End ( Now to start on #2 in the series ^_~\/ )

Whew! That was a LOT longer than I expected it to be. Writing this story was so much fun! I'm working on the sequel right now, called "The Terror Nights" I really hope you enjoyed reading my story. Thank you so much to everyone who wrote their reviews. It's so nice when people take the time to do it. And for those of you who read stories and don't review, remember, you don't have to write a giant paragraph. Most authors are happy even if you just say 'good job'.

Believe in magic,
Songbird21