Carmilla had been waiting for Laura at the bottom of the stairs outside the Great Hall for over ten minutes, and she was beginning to get nervous.

She was wearing a cobalt blue gown that drifted gently down her and had spent the last hour ensuring her hair was perfectly curled, her eyeliner perfectly even. She'd enchanted her shoes so that although they were actually high heels, they felt like flats.

(She'd been quite proud of that little innovation, actually. It would make dancing a hell of a lot easier, and her feet less sore.)

In short, she'd put a lot of effort into her appearance, and she was nervous as to what Laura would think of her.

And she was worried that Laura would freak out and decide not to even come to the entrance hall outside the Ball.

Because where was the tiny Hufflepuff?

Carmilla shifted uncomfortably, trying to ignore all the curious stares she was getting from her classmates.

To pass the time, she took out her wand and pointed it at a nearby freckled, red-headed Gryffindor in frilly robes. Probably a Weasley descendent.

Just as she was about to mutter an incantation to burn off some of those atrocious robes, she felt a light tap on her shoulder and spun around hastily, stowing her wand behind her back to find…Laura.

"Creampuff. Don't you look like a virgin sacrifice." Carmilla drawled, hardly missing a beat.

(She was in fact, overwhelmed by Laura's appearance and trying to distract herself. The Hufflepuff was dressed in a short, white sleeveless dress that exposed a lot of skin after all, and there's only so much a girl could take.)

"Hey. If anyone tries to sacrifice me tonight, I'll hex them into toads. Just like we've been learning in Transfiguration." Laura glared around the room, daring anyone to try anything. And then her eyes snapped back to Carmilla, raking up and down her body. "And you look…umm…wow by the way."

Carmilla smirked, biting her lip slightly and then offering Laura her arm.

"Shall we?"

/

Laura could hardly believe how amazing Carmilla looked. Of course, the Slytherin always looked amazing, but seeing her in clothes other than robes of green and silver? She was utterly breathtaking.

She looked like royalty, like a Countess from a Gothic Ball, so elegant was she in that gown. And God she was beautiful, Carmilla with her dark curls and pale skin and brown, soulful eyes that sometimes looked at Laura with such an openness that she couldn't help but think…

…Laura looked down at herself subconsciously.

How was it, that Carmilla actually like liked her? It still didn't any make sense to her.

Sometimes she had the urge to pinch Carmilla just to make sure she was real (and not just the wishful thinking of her desperate mind) but she had a strong suspicion that the Slytherin would not like that at all.

Her ruminations were interrupted by a soft voice at her elbow.

"May I have this dance cupcake?"

Carmilla extended an elegant hand to Laura and affected a mock posh voice as the two entered the ballroom.

"I would very much like to dance with you m'lady." Laura replied in a terrible Cockney accent, delighted at seeing this dorky, happy side of Carmilla.

Carmilla raised an eyebrow and reached forward to intertwine their hands together as she pulled Laura closer to her in a slow dance, much like how they'd practised.

"Did you seriously just say m'lady?" she said, as she gently spun Laura around her.

"Just ignore me."

"Oh creampuff. No one could ignore you…not with you looking so…"

At this Carmilla leant even closer to Laura and whispered in her ear:

"…ravishing."

"Hey you have a problem with 'm'lady' but just used 'ravishing' in a sentence like some eighteenth century knight?"

"Laura I swear to God…"

And then Carmilla kissed Laura, right there on the dance floor as they spun around in slow circles.

Laura was dizzy- both from the spinning and the kissing. Laura and Carmilla both got more and more desperate as they touched, resulting in noses bumping, teeth scraping in chaotic harmony. Carmilla's hand gently stroked Laura's cheek as she leant into her and both felt that there could be nothing more right, more perfect in the world.

And then, overwhelmed by the kiss, Laura tripped over her own feet and down, down she went- but Carmilla caught her and dipped her down into another quick kiss.

"Wow."

Carmilla merely smiled shyly at Laura, pulling her out of the dip and back into a slow dance.

Unfortunately, the music changed and rapidly became more upbeat. People began to crowd and mosh around them and Laura could see Carmilla rapidly getting annoyed.

"Cutie. I'm not a big fan of this senseless grinding thing."

Laura bounced along to the Weird Sisters and rolled her eyes at Carmilla as she took her hand.

"Oh c'mon Carm. Just let go for once, no one cares if you're not the badass Slytherin you usually are!"

/

Carmilla couldn't believe that Laura had convinced her to bounce senselessly up and down to a terrible wizarding song with lyrics such as "I'll boil your toadie" and "hop into my sweet cauldron."

Honestly, it was awful.

But it was also an awful lot of fun as she pressed up close against Laura and moved as one with her, jumping up and down and screaming, screaming without a care in the world.

(Carmilla didn't even care that she was screaming along to Cauldron of Love at this point, she was having far too much fun with Laura.)

She began to dance behind Laura, as she let her hands wander over Laura's hips, pressing open mouthed kisses to Laura's neck. Laura turned to Carmilla to kiss her, kiss her in amidst a heave of sweating bodies and even though they're clumsy with the chaos that is the dance floor, neither cared. They could kiss at anywhere, anytime and it would be no less perfect.

Unfortunately however, oxygen is required by both parties and both eventually needed a break from kissing and jumping, and so Carmilla wandered off to find some Butterbeer for Laura.

Laura waited anxiously for Carmilla to return, flushed and exhausted from all the dancing.

She slumped deeper into her seat, as she realised suddenly that Carmilla and herself had been openly making out in the middle of the dance floor. What would her teachers think of her? Who amongst her classmates had seen that little spectacle? Oh God…She hoped Danny hadn't seen…

Unfortunately, LaFontaine definitely had.

As she sat, waiting for Carmilla she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to find LaFontaine and Perry staring at her, both of them grinning and clearly flushed from dancing. And both of them holding hands.

"Dude." LaF gasped. "You did not tell me that you and Carmilla were a thing."

As predicted, Perry had a motherly look of concern on her face at the mention of Carmilla.

"Really Laura? Is she safe?"

Laura merely rolled her eyes, sick of Perry warning her to stay away from Slytherins, sick of LaFontaine's constant teasing.

"C'mon guys, not all Slytherins are evil you know. That's an archaic, close-minded way of thinking and we should move beyond it! You should stop enforcing stereotypes."

LaFontaine chuckled, enjoying riling up Laura.

"L, she is a walking Slytherin stereotype."

"No she isn't! She's beautiful and kind and makes me hot chocolat- and she would kill me if I told anyone that so please don't say anything."

Laura looked around guiltily, and at that very moment Carmilla returned, clutching two Butterbeers.

"We were just talking about you Carmilla." LaFontaine smirked guilelessly at her, brushing their red hair of their forehead and affixing an innocent look on their face.

"Good things, I hope." As always, Carmilla was totally disinterested in people other than Laura. "Anyway cupcake, I was wondering if you wanted to go check out the fairies in the bushes with me. I bet I can jinx at least ten."

"Huh, I bet I could jinx fifte- I mean Carm! No jinxing fairies! But yeah, I'll go with you. I'll see you guys later?"

Perry smiled and nodded encouragingly at them as Laura waved a goodbye, whereas LaFontaine merely guffawed and choked out:

"Use protection."

Laura was confused to say the least. Bush fairies really weren't aggressive so protection really wasn't necessary.

LaFontaine could be so odd sometimes. But that was why Laura loved them.

/

Laura spotted a bush filled with fairies and eagerly pointed it out to Carmilla.

"So how many do you think I can hit with Stupefy?" Laura said eagerly.

Carmilla chuckled and brushed a strand of hair off Laura's face. Laura Hollis had never looked as amazing as she did to Carmilla Karnstein then, gently illuminated by sparkling fairy light.

"Creampuff. I love you."

"So you're betting about twent- Wait, what?"

"I love you."

"Are you sure?"

That had not been the response Carmilla had expected. Clichés had taught her that people generally had some sort of profound emotional response in this circumstance.

She certainly hadn't expected cynicism to her confession of love. But of course, this was Laura Hollis, Carmilla reminded herself. One had to learn to expect the unexpected.

And so she sighed deeply.

"Yes. I'm sure. I love you."

"Wow okay then. I love you too you stupid Slytherin!"

"Hm, stupid Slytherin, way to make me feel loved…"

But Carmilla did feel loved then, interwoven between fairy lights, under the moonlight- hand in hand with the tiny Hufflepuff, the girl that she loved.