A/N- Please be warned that diabetics and those with sucrose intolerance should steer clear of this story.

No seriously.

Song by Harry Connick Junior/Dolly Parton/The Drifters- take your pick really.

"Save The Last Dance For Me"

I watch you as you move across the floor to laugh with your friends and it makes me smile.

Not outwardly, of course, it would never do for them to see the way you make me feel so openly.

But inside, where they can't see— not even Albus 'twinkles omnisciently' Dumbledore— I'm beaming just for you.

This year has been the most wonderful of my life… not that it has a lot of competition as most of my life can be categorised as one long nightmare of pain and humiliation. But I see now that all that suffering was the universes way of making me pay for the gift that I have now. The gift I have in you.

For you make it all worth it. Every Crucio and hex, every curse and cut was worth it because it brought you to me.

I hate to sound so maudlin and soft but this is what you have done to me. With your patient smile and soft hands you have taken the fearsome Potions master and turned him into a devoted slave and I was never more satisfied with a Master than I am with you.

Voldemort took my innocence, Albus took my guilt but neither had my soul, which is what I give to you, freely and with joy.

No one else may ever know all that you did for me all those times I returned from the Death Eater meetings covered in blood and my sins, but I do. You nursed me back to health and sanity and asked nothing from me.

You stuck by my side, assisting with potions, through my temper tantrums and sarcasm. You bore the brunt of my disapproval and distaste and yet you never wavered from my side, from all that had to be done and I was never more grateful to the tenacity that personifies your house.

As you glance across the dance floor I catch your eye and nod imperceptibly to acknowledge that I am still here and haven't escaped as I would usually do.

This is no usual night.

After all it is not every day that the love of your existence graduates.

The ball is loud and garish as anything that Albus Dumbledore has ever had a hand in and yet somehow, because you are there, it all seems so perfect to me.

The music strikes up and students flock to the centre of the floor in order to twirl and smile simply at each other.

Your hand is requested by more than one suitor and you smile at Neville Longbottom as he stammers a request for your hand.

You nod and lead the blushing lad to the floor all exquisite grace and delicacy that prove, more than words, that you are not only a lady, but one that is far above all those of so-called Pure-blood.

And they notice.

At the start of your sixth year they noticed your body, your curves and bright eyes. They saw the calmed waves of luscious mahogany hair that soothed the caramel colour of our skin and chocolate gaze laid out like a sweet buffet for the eyes to feast upon.

I see what they see in you but I know so much more, I saw more than the outward appearance and it is you that has me entranced. Your boundless enthusiasm, the sparkle in your eye at a new kernel of knowledge and the way you hold your breath when you are excited. The parts of you that they do not see are what I hinge my happiness upon and the portion that they do see is what sustains me even through such a debacle as the Graduation ball.

More than one youth has tried to make you his own but you know that they would grow tired of your exuberant desire to learn all things, to understand, so you kept a distance which only added to your allure.

So at your graduation ball they all want to dance with you and you let them tuck you in and hold you tight.

And I watch.

You can dance every dance if you want to. With every male that gives you the eye and you can let him hold you tight. And you can smile for those that hold your hand in earnest and ask for a walk in the pale moonlight that filters through the large bay windows and down from the enchanted ceiling.

I stand in shadows and know that you won't forget who's taking you home and in whose arms you are going to be tonight. I hear the whisper of many a night where you have sworn undying devotion to me and I know that it counts for more than this transient existence. You vowed to love me to eternity and I pledged allegiance that transcends even that.

But back to the here and now you will have your fun.

You will drink the sparkling wine and dance to the more than adequate music that Albus has laid on for you all. You will be the belle of the ball and laugh, singing and dancing.

Part of me wishes that I could join you, even as I despise frolicking and festivities, but our relationship is still secret and not even Albus 'not so omniscient after all' knows of it and yet… and yet, I am secure in knowing that while we are apart you won't give your heart to anyone. Reasonably secure.

So I watch as man after man asks for your hand and you twirl with speed and good humour, your face alight with life and I wonder if I am doing the right thing to keep you myself when you have so much to give.

But I love you and I will never let you go, so the point is moot and I distract myself with the memories of your touch that prove your love.

I come out of my trance as I notice a commotion and I straighten as Draco Malfoy comes and pats your back, asking sheepishly for a dance whilst his date, Miss Parkinson stands outraged by his side.

You nod hesitantly and he leads you to the dance floor.

Now my security is waning as I know at whose knee he has learned his charms and I understand how insidious and captivating those charms can be.

His arms tighten and you smile even as my heart sinks and I plead inwardly for you to know… for you to remember who's waiting for you, who loves you.

He is charming, he is flattering and he is your own age. His wealth turns heads that his beauty would not and it is obvious that he has set his sights on you.

The clock strikes twelve and the students cheer as their scholastic career is over, Dumbledore officially ends the school year and yet I barely notice as Malfoy's hands drift lower and he bends his head to your ear.

Yet you gaze over his shoulder and I see the way you look at me which fills me with hope. Your head shakes and I know that it is for what he has said more than at me and it spurs my feet into movement.

Before I know what I am doing I am at your side and I tap Mr Malfoy on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, Draco," I say smoothly. "But the Lady promised to save the last dance for me."

His jaw drops but he moves and I take his place… my rightful place, in your arms and I feel like I am home.

You bite your lip and say shyly, "But I thought that you didn't want to dance, to be seen with a student?"

"You are no longer my student, Hermione. I can dance with you if I want to, and besides it seemed as if you were forgetting who you were with."

You look away and I am compelled to ask, "What did Mr. Malfoy ask?"

"He asked if I was all alone and if he could take me home."

I struggle to breathe and fight for composure as I resist the urge to find him and make him so afraid that he will never seek to touch her again.

"And you said?"

"I said no," she grins. "I said I promised to save the last dance for one who would be taking me home and in whose arms I was going to be tonight."

I am overwhelmed and unheeding of the students, ex-students and faculty I take her into my arms and lay claim with my lips.

The hush of silence that surrounds tell us that I have succeeded and that our secret is out now. I can't bring myself to care as I hold perfection and my redemption, my gift and my love in my arms.

I pull away and let my stare glance past the open-mouthed students and faculty to the band.

The lead singer nods at me and starts up a melody that I hunted for, for just this moment. A Muggle song that I know you know and will appreciate.

"Last dance, folks," he says. "Now for something a little different."

Your delighted laughter reaches my ears as you recognise the tune and sway accordingly into my arms, which hold you tight.

The lyrics move us as much as the melody and I am loathe to ever let you go and I know that you feel the same, regardless of what happen next.

As the last strains of the song echo you look up into my eyes and say the words that have been missing from this moment and I long to hear.

"Take me home."

So we turn and leave and I am totally secure in your love and in mine. Because you saved the last dance for me.

The END.

You can dance
Every dance with the guy who gives you the eye
Let him hold you tight
You can smile
Every smile for the man who held your hand
Beneath the pale moonlight
But don't forget who's taking you home
And in whose arms you're gonna be
So darling save the last dance for me
Well you can know
That the music's fine like sparkling wine
Go and have your fun
Love and sing
But while we're apart, don't you give your heart to anyone
Just don't forget who's taking you home
And in whose arms you're gonna be
So darling, save the last dance for me
Baby don't you know I love you so
Can't you feel it when we touch
I will never, never let you go
I love you oh so much
Well you can dance
You can carry on till the night is gone
And it's time to go
If he asks
If you're all alone, can he take you home
You must tell him no

Cause don't forget who's taking you home
And in whose arms you're gonna be
So darling, save the last dance for me