Dance Like That

Dance Like That

Written by Lanni Weasley

When I found out that there would a second ball, I was ecstatic, to tell the truth. Many people probably assumed that I would hate this, but I didn't; I loved the idea. Parvati had one of the flyers tucked underneath her pillow (along with Dean's sock) and I borrowed it so I could see what the ball was going to be like (albeit, I did feel guilty about forgetting to return it to her, but I misplaced it).

This new ball was not going to be a ball at all; it was going to be more like a dance. This sparked my interest even further.

You see, when I lived as a Muggle before I learned of my magic, my school had held these silly little dances that were too childish and not mature enough. Still, at ten, it was "wise" to have a boyfriend. I thought this was stupid. At the age of ten, boys were not on my list of priorities; I was not going to marry the boy I went out with in sixth grade. With this and the fact that no boy liked a "smarty-pants", I never went to the dances or even got invited to one. I admit that I felt left out and dejected, but beating everyone of them in the Spelling Bee the next day lifted my spirits.

However, when this was a ball, I knew what to do from my first experience in my Fourth Year where I actually had a date, Viktor Krum. He was fantastic, of course, but I felt guilty for sort of using him as a replacement of someone else, who hadn't thought of asking me. But now that I know that this is going to be a dance, the tables have turned and I have no clue what to do. Dances are much different than balls, trust me. I made the mistake of telling Ginny my dilemma.

"Hermione, you have to go to the dance no matter what," Ginny stated, talking as if there was no way for me to escape this. "I refuse to let you miss this because you're uneasy. Just remember I've never been to a dance either. It's going to be fun. Trust me."

And so, I trusted her and I think I made the wrong decision of my life. It's been a week since Ginny stated that and it was Friday once again. I'm fixing my hair and straightening my shirt. Ginny told me that you didn't dress up for dances so I'm wearing jeans and a considerably nice shirt. The jeans are a little too tight for my taste, but Ginny said that it was "unthought-of to wear loose jeans". She has a strange way of persuading me.

I should be hurrying, I know, because all of my friends are waiting for me downstairs. But I want to stay up here the entire time and walk down four hours later to say, "Ready to go?" just as the dance ends. I don't though, because I know Ginny would tie me to my bed and would not allow me to go to my classes for a month. And I can't have that happen. I check my reflection in the mirror one last time and head out of the dormitory for the common room.

As I descend the stairs, I look over my friends' choices of apparel for the night's event. Harry is wearing jeans and a t-shirt (how common of him). Ginny is wearing even tighter short jean skirt and a cream-colored sweater that cuts across the shoulders (plenty of makeup, I see). Luna is in khaki slacks and a pretty green sweater that I got her for Christmas. Parvati and Padma are matching in their tight jeans and white sweaters that also cut across their shoulders (even more makeup for them). Dean Thomas is dressed in a red oxford and black jeans (oh, so he does have more than just t-shirts besides our uniforms). Seamus is looking casual in black pants and a t-shirt with a black blazer over it (that's an interesting choice of clothing). And then there is Ron, who is sporting loose jeans and a white t-shirt with a light blue unbuttoned oxford over it (aw, he's wearing the blue shirt I got him for Christmas; blue is really his color).

Overall, everyone is dressed nicely and for the best of this dance, but I find their clothing quite interesting. You can tell an awful lot about a person by what they wear. I think I've found out more about them just by looking at them right now than I did in the first year I knew them. I walk over to them, but the first to notice me is Ron.

"Ready to go?" he says. He took the words right out of my mouth. I nod my head, not really being able to speak. I'm more nervous than I had been the day of the Yule Ball. I don't know why, but a Yule Ball seems much easier to go through than a Spring Fling Dance. Everyone else turns around in our direction and looks at me.

"Hermione, it's about time!" Parvati exclaims, looking angry. "I thought you weren't going to come down until the Dance ended!"

"I wish," I mutter so that none of them could hear me, but I think Ron did. He gave an odd look, but he said nothing. I'm happy that he didn't. I force a smile and say loudly, "Well, are we going to go or what?"

Ginny flashes me a smile and locks her arm in Harry's. Before anyone knows it, Ginny is dragging Harry out of the common and he staggers behind her. I do feel sorry for him; I really do. Parvati locks arms with Dean and they walk out together whereas Padma takes Seamus (Lavender dumped him two weeks ago, the poor boy). Luna heads out. Neville had left early for the dance so he could secure us a table. This leaves Ron and me.

"Um..." With just one stammer emitted from him, we're both staring at each other and blushing. I don't know what possessed me, but I lock arms with him, smile nervously (which he returns, of course feebly), and we head for the Dance. We don't say much, but he jokes around, saying something about Ginny killing Harry by dancing with him. I laugh heartily because I know for a fact that Ginny can't dance.

When we walk into the Great Hall, laughing, I stop laughing and I feel my jaw drop. This was not what I expected at all. From an innocent party of dancing and having fun in general, I feel my heartbeat pulsing with the beat of the hardcore dance music. It's Muggle music, I know that much, but I don't know why any Muggle would want to listen to this...this hogwash. The music is called rap and American. I read that in a Muggle book I have. Why they would play this at a dance is clearly beyond me. I can't understand a single word of it, but when I catch a phrase, I grimace in disgust. However, almost the entire group of rowdy teenagers (Fourth Year and up) love the music and are dancing in a way which I cannot explain without giving a shudder. What is coming to the world?

The room is dark and the only lights are coming from colorful lights that are spinning around the floor and walls. A few people are sitting down, eating, drinking, talking, laughing, and whatever else that you can do. It's only when I feel someone shift uncomfortably beside me that I remember that my arm is locked with Ron's. I pull away and turn to face him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ron," I say, but the voice drowns in the music. I know he didn't hear me. He only looks at me when he felt me pull my arm away. "I'm sorry!" I shout and this time, he nods. He points to a table where I see one of the lights reflect off of Harry's glasses. We head over there.

"Harry, where is Ginny and the others?" Ron asks loudly. Harry jerks his finger to the dance floor and takes another drink of his coke. My, he doesn't seem to be enjoying the Dance very much. Ron looks back at the dance floor and rolls his eyes. He sits down next to Harry.

"Aren't you going to dance?" Harry questions me. I look at the dance floor and think about this. There is this odd mixed feeling in me. I want to try to dance, but I don't think I can. It's physically impossible for me to dance like that.

"Oh, me?" I look back at Harry and laugh nervously. "I-I'm not so sure about that--"

"Hermione, come and dance with us!" Ginny screams as she sprints to us. She throws her arms around me jokingly and pulls me down a little. She is, after all, smaller than me. "It's so much fun out there!"

In the corner of my eyes, I see Ron glower at his little sister and I can understand him. Ginny is a fifteen year-old girl, but if you watched her long enough, you would guess that she was twenty-one or something along the lines. I'm as astounded at this revelation as Ron is, I believe.

"I can't dance!" I tell Ginny honestly.

"Bother that!" she declares, guffawing at me. She grabs me by my wrist and begins to drag me out onto the dance floor. I throw Harry and Ron a hopeless look, but Harry takes a drink and Ron shakes his head. Well, they're no help.

I find it slightly disturbing at how everyone is dancing and that I'm now in the thick of it. I don't really know what to make of it. I get shoved by someone and I bump into some Seventh Year Ravenclaw girl. I mutter an apology, but remember that she can't hear a thing I say. I look up at her and wonder if she can even think with this music blaring. I look around myself and wonder if anyone is thinking.

I feel like I'm in a storm with my heart pulse shooting through the roof. Parvati "dances" with Dean in a way that I'd rather not explain while Ginny is dancing around me and giggling. Padma is doing some "moves" with Seamus. I think he was more of a Pity Date for Padma, but from where I am standing, I see otherwise.

After the crowd shifts and I'm thrown into a state of disarray within the beast of pure insanity, I see one of the most unpleasant sights that I will ever have the disgust to see. Pansy Parkinson can't dance, but when she dances, it's in the most...nauseating way thought possible to man. I almost feel sorry for Draco Malfoy, but just the sight of Parkinson dancing like that makes me want to vomit. I push my way through the crowd, trying to escape, when I bump into a much better sight.

Luna Lovegood is standing as still as a stick, looking just as out of place as I am. She looks at me and I think I can relief in her eyes. She looks humored more than anything. I most likely look very sick. She smiles at me and I return a weak one.

"I can't dance!" I shout at her.

"Neither can I," she replies. I strain to hear her, but I do. Malfoy must've fainted or something because Parkinson starts dancing over to our area. Ah, and just when I was beginning to feel safe, too. It seems that there are no alliances or animosities here at this dance because once enemies now seem to be friends. It's the oddest when Cho Chang starts to dance with Ginny and they begin to giggle. I resist the urge to tear Ginny away from the Ravenclaw and demand if she is sick or "on something".

"I thought Ginny hated Cho Chang?" Luna points out calmly, as if she sees this everyday in her life. Well, I, for one, am not used to this. The Head Girl, another Ravenclaw, is not acting so Head Girl-esque either and I'm sickened to see that even she is this way.

"I thought she did, too," I spat, my voice laced with pure revulsion. Luna looks at me in a way which I take as soothingly. The look calms me down, but I'm still repulsed with everything that is happening. "I'm going to get a drink."

"I think I'll come with," Luna tells me. I look back at her. "I'm not much of a dancer; Padma just dragged me out here."

Well, it's nice to see that I'm not the only one. We push our way through the crowd, both of us probably trying to forget what we'd just seen. We get two cups of pumpkin juice and take long swigs of it (after I made sure the juice wasn't spiked, of course). Figuring that we couldn't possibly dance with drinks in our hands, we headed over to the table where Ron and Harry sat, looking on at the scene.

"Did you dance?" Ron asks me, grinning madly. I glower at him and shake my head. I want to know what he's thinking, but alas, I can't do Leglimency or read minds. I sit down next to Ron and sit my cup down on the table. The table shakes from the bass in the music and my drink almost spills. I catch it quickly. Luna sits down next to Harry.

"Where's Neville?" Luna asks coolly.

"Hiding from some Hufflepuff girl," Harry grins. "Looks like you've got competition."

Luna smiles at Harry, but says nothing in reply. Even though Luna is as enigmatic as they get in the world (she and Professor Snape are tied in that race), I know for a fact that she doesn't like Neville as more than a friend. I don't just read books, you know; I read people and some are easier than others. I'm an accomplished People Reader so I was experienced enough to read between the lines of Luna's actions. I'd like to say that I can read Ron and Harry just as well, but it seems that the people you are closest to are the hardest people to read.

"Aren't you going to dance, Ron?" I say, giving Ron a lazy grin. His ears turn red and I know that he's embarrassed. That was payback. He shakes his head.

"I don't dance," Ron tells me flatly. I smile at him, wishing that Ginny would be satisfied with that answer from me. Unfortunately, Ginny would do no such thing. Speaking of the red haired devil, here comes Ginny.

"What the bloody hell was that crap with Chang?" Ron demands, his mood changing almost immediately. Oh, so he saw that. I'd feel sorry Ginny, but I can't say that I have any pity for someone that would do something like that. She grins sheepishly.

"I'm just dancing," Ginny tells him. Harry rolls his eyes and takes another sip of his drink.

"You call that dancing?" Ron spats fiercely. He jerks an accusing finger to the mob of people on the dance floor. I can't help but agree with him. I had thought the same exact thing. She looks back at them and glares at her brother.

"Yes," Ginny replies angrily. She crosses her arms across her chest. Ron snorts and shakes his head at his little sister. Ginny's eyes stray over to me and I quickly look away. She knows that I'm thinking the same thing as Ron. Luna sighs and Ginny shoots her a glare. She looks at Harry, who is determinedly staring into his drink.

"Come, Harry; you can tell them how great it is to dance," Ginny says harshly. She grabs Harry's arm and pulls him out of his seat. She drags him to the floor and I stand up. Ron and Luna look at me quickly.

"I should at least try to dance, I guess," I explain lamely. The fact is simple and it pains me to admit this: I want to dance like that. I want to give in to something in the music and dance like there is no tomorrow. I just don't know how to dance that way, I tell myself; I just want to dance the way Ginny does.

"I guess we should give it a try," Luna sighs dreamily, standing up herself. We begin to head for the dance floor together when I remember that Ron is still sitting at the table. I stop and she stops. I turn around and she does the same.

"Ron, aren't you coming?" I call out. He glowers at me and I feel like I want to shrink away from him. Those blue eyes of his are so reproachful. I don't see him look like this unless we're having a heated argument, which we haven't had in months actually. I'm not looking forward to having more rows with him.

"I don't dance!" he bites back, sounding irate, but trying to hold his anger in. I bite my own lip and nod my head slowly. Luna and I turn around and head for the dance floor. Once again, I feel a rush of adrenaline and excitement as I enter the mob on lunacy (I used to say that Luna acted on lunacy because of her name, but now, I hate myself for talking behind her back like that). Everyone around me is pumped up so I should be, too. Everyone around me is dancing so I should be, too. Right?

Luna nudges me and I look at her. She points to something and I look that way, only to see Ginny dancing with a very scared-looking Harry. He doesn't appear to be enjoying it as Dean and Seamus are. Ginny, however, looks to be having the time of her life. He backs away from Ginny, shouting to her about "having to go" and he walks--no, he runs away. Ginny sees the two of us and, along with Lavender, dances over to us.

"Come on, Hermione, loosen up, will ya?" Ginny says, smiling at me in only a way that she can and I feel my mind following her lead. I don't know how she does it, but it's useless arguing with her.

"I can't dance, really!" I once again reply hastily, blushing a little. She smiles at me broadly.

"Sure you can, Hermione!" Ginny giggles. "I've seen you dance before!"

It's a guilty pleasure, I think. I know that I can't dance, but I enjoy doing it--when I'm very much alone. But it's dancing like that, except I can't do it now. When I'm alone, it's so simple, but amidst all of these people, I feel so open to shame and humiliation. That's something that I don't really like, you know.

I smile sheepishly at Ginny. What do I have to lose? No one can really dance so it won't be that embarrassing, right? I'll just be like everybody else. Like everybody else and not different from anyone else. I give Luna an encouraging smile, and she gives me a weak one. Unlike me, Luna is much harder to persuade.

"Feel the beat and dance!" Lavender declares, as if commanding us. She and Ginny giggle and continue to dance. I shrug my shoulders at Luna. I have to do this sometime, I suppose. I try to feel the rhythm in the music and I begin to move. I swing to the left and then to the right and I do whatever Ginny does.

I should feel elated. I should feel excited. I should feel like I'm having a great time. But I don't. I feel deflated. I feel despondent. And most of all, I'm feeling guilty. I copy Ginny once again and while she laughs, I sigh more or less sadly. To my right, I see Luna begin to dance a little, but she quickly stops and starts to stand still again. For the first time in her life, I think she's feeling awkward.

I "dance" more. But when I look to my right again, the crowd parts and there's an opening in which I can see Ron watching us--me. He looks slightly dejected, but his eyes... His blue eyes are so accusing. And my shame triples. Never have I felt so ashamed in my life. Suddenly, I feel badly and I feel sleazy. I'm not like this, and I suppose Ron's thinking that. This isn't me and I realize that I have fallen into something that I have always detested.

I have seen a tragedy in this school that has repeated itself far too many times to count. And it pains me to say that I have fallen into the same trap. This tragedy is so horrible that it can do much harm to the person it bestows itself upon. I never thought I'd have this happen to me because I thought it unwise. I knew who I was. I knew I wasn't the most popular. So it never occurred to me that one day, I might do something like this.

I was changing who I was so I would fit in--so I would belong into some clique of girls. Ginny, I think, has had this happen to her, but she has become the persona she changed herself into because of her past problems. Parvati wasn't a girlie-girl by nature, but at the sight of her popular twin, Padma, and the attention Lavender got, she transformed herself. Now, I have given into this easy propaganda.

I think the only person who has not chosen to change herself is Luna. And for this, I admire the girl more than any other witch right now. She knows that people think her odd; call her "Loony Lovegood"; and make fun of her, but she doesn't give a care. She remains herself and she remains happy. She doesn't struggle with trying to get into the new vogue when she really hates it; she is who she is and she doesn't have to struggle at all. It's wonderful to be able to be yourself, and I think Luna knows that.

"Why aren't you dancing?" Ginny asks me. I'm mortified to see Hannah Abbott, who I also thought was going to stay herself, trying to dance like that. I thought she was one of the better girls, but I always had high hopes for other people. I used to think that Draco Malfoy would redeem himself and become a lot better, but he didn't. A lot of good that did me.

"I can't dance!" I tell her for what seems like the hundredth time. She rolls her eyes at me and opens her mouth to change my mind, but I interject, "I won't dance."

I'm not sure if she heard me, but I walk away. When I don't bump into anyone, I realize that Luna has already left the dance floor. I stop, wondering if she had tried to tell me while I was dancing, but shake my head.

"But this is fun!" Lavender shrieks, and she jumps over to Anthony Goldstein. He looks quite pleased about this. I roll my eyes at them.

"I'd rather slow dance with Ron than dance like this!" I tell her. She shrugs her shoulders at me and Ginny's too busy dancing with someone else to hear me. I don't care to find out who that lucky chap is. I walk out of the crowd and head for the table. Luna is engaged in a happy conversation with a relieved-looking Harry. Ron is sitting alone at the table, taking a swig of his drink and looking desolate and alone. I sit down next to him and he looks over at me.

"I'm sorry," I say.

"For what?" he asks me. I look away, feeling guilty. I find my drink and put it to my mouth. It has gone warm and it no longer tastes that good. I take a drink of it anyway; my throat feels very dry. I shake the hair out of my eyes.

"For acting like all the other girls," I answer, feeling rather blameworthy. "For dancing like that when I know that I'm not like that."

He does something that startles me. Ron puts his fingers underneath my chin and turns my head so that I'm facing him again. Our eyes connect and for a few seconds, I forget how I am supposed to breathe. His face is soft and calm. His eyes are now forgiving and I am given a wonderful sense of solace in this.

"You're right," Ron says coolly, "you're not like that. But I'm glad you came to your senses. I couldn't have you being a party girl. I need you to help me in my classes." He puts on another one of his cute lopsided grins and I can't help but smile at him. "Besides, I'd miss the old Hermione if you changed. I like you because you're not like them."

Suddenly, he turns red in the face and I blush. He tries to maintain a cool expression and keep the lopsided grin on his face, but I seem him struggle. Instead, his grin turns sheepish and I can't help but give an uncharacteristic giggle. He takes his finger away and I am left with an amazing tingling sensation where his finger once was.

A slow song comes on and most of the people leave the dance floor. A few couples are dancing in a way that is sweet and easy. Ginny walks back to us, panting and looking thrilled. Seamus and Dean look smug about something; both have their dates possessive arms draped around their dates.

Before anything is said, Dean and Parvati drift back to the floor to slow dance together. Padma and Seamus sit down with drinks in hand. Ginny collapses into Harry's lap and giggles. She has been dreadfully confident and overly flirtatious as of late. I don't know how much poor Harry can deal with such stress of having Ginny constantly flirting with him. I think Ron's on the boiling point with this, but he keeps everything in and refrains with only a slight scowl. I think he's matured on that part.

"Mm, Harry, want to dance?" Ginny asks, grinning lazily at him. She looks worn out, but I can tell that she stills has a lot of energy left in her. Harry glances at Luna and then at Ron, who rolls his eyes and takes a drink. He looks back to Ginny.

"I'm kind of tired..." he tries, but Ginny gives him a pout.

"Oh, Harry, you danced for like five minutes this whole night so far!" she exclaims.

"And a lot of dancing I did in those five minutes, too!" Harry replies exasperatedly. He doesn't want to dance. Why can't Ginny accept that? Because she's a Weasley, and as I have come to find out, Weasleys are very stubborn. "If I work that hard in the Final Battle, Voldemort's gonna cry like a baby!"

Normally, Ron would've shuddered at the name, but instead, he snorts into his drink and Ginny throws him a murderous glare. He smirks at her and she looks ready to spit fire. It must be the red hair because that's how Ron always looks when he's mad--at Malfoy, of course. It is at this time that Neville finally shows up, looking distressed.

"Hey, sorry I've been missing for so long--"

"Neville, come slow dance with me!" Ginny shouts, livid, and before he can protest or even think, Ginny grabs his wrist and drags Neville out onto the dance floor. Another slow song had begun a few seconds ago. Poor Neville, he wasn't ready for this.

"Want to dance?"

The voice startles me and I jump. I look over and see Ron looking at me with an eyebrow raised in the air. He must've been the one to ask me that. I wonder for a second why he would do such a thing (he said he didn't dance) and then I found myself battling if I wanted to or not. It was a silly question. Deep down, I want to, but I am too proud to admit it. However, he sounded as if he was joking.

"Okay!" I laugh and he stands up and holds out his hand. My eyes widen. Oh, so he wasn't joking with me after all. But suddenly, I can't say no. I take his hand and he leads me to the dance floor. I put my hands on his shoulders (I could barely reach, but he didn't have to bend down, luckily) and he puts his hands on my waist. I thought I'd feel uncomfortable with that, but I didn't. I thought it strange, but that disappeared.

Now I was elated. Now I was excited. Now I feel like I'm having a great time. The guilt begins to fade away. He gives me a lopsided grin and I melt. Viktor Krum who? He was just someone who filled the space that Ron had left empty. It's filled fully now.

As the song ends, I don't want to let go, but we part. "You're a good dancer," I tell him. He just smiles at me and I mirror him. The fast beat music comes on and before we can leave, we are surrounded by a mad mob of teenage dancers. I'm shoved into Ron and he staggers. I spin around just in time to see Pansy Parkinson trying to dance with Ron, who looks mortified and horrified at the same time. I would've burst out laughing if it was Harry, but under the circumstances of the said person actually being Ron, I was taken over by a wave of jealousy.

"Go back to Malfoy!" Ron yells frantically and he leaps back. He grabs my hand (how do you breathe again?) and hauls me out of the crowd.

"Thanks," I say, sounding relieved. He gives me a faint grin. He'll probably be traumatized for life now from that. I think Neville's gonna die because of Ginny dancing with him. He is really not ready for that, honestly. When we reach the table, Harry is laughing his head off and Seamus has his head against the table, his muffled laughs coming through. Padma was also laughing and I feel a wave of pity and anger.

"Shut up!" Ron shouts at them before falling into his seat. I sit down next to him. He grabs his drink and takes a swig of it. He looks at it and I can tell that he's refraining himself from tossing the cup's remaining contents at Seamus or Harry. He sets the cup down. Maturity is a truly great thing.

They didn't stop laughing so I began to talk to Ron so he would calm down. Eventually, he did calm down, but it took a lot of coaxing. It was near the end of the dance and it was just me at the table. Harry had once again been successfully dragged out onto the floor, but it was Luna this time, who had been smiling dreamily. Dean and Parvati are out there with Seamus and Padma. Ginny is still freaking Neville out. Ron has gone to get us more drinks.

I had tried to dance one last time, but failed with flying colors. It is the first thing that I have failed in my life, dancing is. I just don't get it. When I tried to dance like that, I felt like I was doing something wrong and committing a sin or something. I felt dirty almost and I hate the feeling of being repulsed with myself. I felt like I was giving something up to someone. I felt like I was giving up my soul, the only pure goodness I have in me.

Ginny can do that; that's just how she is. Padma, Parvati, and Lavender can do that; that's just how they are. Hannah Abbott can act like she's one of them; she's fallen into the tragedy of believing that you have to be like that to be popular. Pansy Parkinson can be sick; that's what we all expect of her. Luna can be herself; that's what she wants. Harry can not want to dance; we all knew that. Dean and Seamus can like it; I figured as much. Neville can not be used to this and be embarrassed; that's what he's good at. And Ron can refuse to change himself to like girls dancing like that with him; that's something I like about him.

And I? As I look upon the dancing crowd, I feel sad and left out. But I feel good because I know that I have escaped the tragedy most girls fall for.

I'm a girl. I read books and people. I get good grades. I do all of my homework ahead of time. I figure many things out (except why people do this). I have just as many emotions as any other girl, but I choose to hold them inside. I am brave. I am loyal. I am serious, but I'm also witty when I want to be. Oh, and I think I might be in love with Ron Weasley, but that's besides the point.

However, I don't dance like that and much more. I refuse to change myself. I refuse to act like those girls out there. I'm not like that. I'm not like them. It's my life. I will not change it so I fit in with the "Popular Crowd". In the end, I'll come out better.

This is me. This is Hermione Granger.