Moonlit Dance

She took the first step outside; her bare, slender feet touching the moist grass carefully. With delight, she noted that it wasn't as cold or wet as she expected. With a happy smile, she ran out swiftly, her black robes bellowing behind her. The round circle shone down on her as she leapt across the grounds; to the left you could see the Forbidden Forest everyone dreaded.

She didn't.

She didn't care about it being forbidden the slightest; she didn't even care that it was filled with all kinds of dangerous animals; they wouldn't hurt her, not tonight. She took a hold of the string that held her hair in place and pulled it off. Her chestnut brown curls pooled down onto her back, reaching all the way down to her waist. She was really happy she had let it grow; it certainly looked better this way. With a relieved sigh, she stopped just a few metres away from the Forest; gazing intently around so that no one would see her.

Then she scowled at herself; of course no one was there, students weren't allowed outside in the middle of the night! On the other hand, she was, and she was supposedly the most obedient student of all.

She shrugged carelessly, letting it all go. For this night, she didn't have to care about that. With a flick, the heavy robes fell off, revealing the white thin dress she wore underneath.

A deep sigh escaped her lips, and a content smile spread across her face. Her face raised to meet the moon, she allowed the moonlight to spill down onto her features; enlighten some, leaving other in the dark.

She raised her hands above her head, and let her feet begin their pattern of complex movements. Her body soon followed, and all her thoughts fled as she lost herself in the nightly dance.

Usually, she was content with just doing this. But this night seemed to crave something more. So she opened her mouth slightly, and suddenly an unearthly sound rang out from her throat. It didn't sound as much as song; more like the longing call a lonely unicorn or perhaps dragon would do. The sound echoed eerily across the yard, bouncing harmlessly of the gigantic castle and the little hut beneath it. Inside the castle, people writhed in their beds, before slowly settling down back into sleep.

Only one person actually woke up.

One lonely boy, with eyes the colour of silver and hair as fair as the moonlight.

One boy, who decided that a nightly walk would surely make him sleep better.

One boy, who unconsciously followed the sound.

The dance became wilder; soon it would stop, as it did every time. The sound followed with the movements, increasing and taking on a faster pace. Her long hair flipped around her in long tresses, bouncing on her back and flying around her.

Big yellow eyes gleamed in the Forest; but as predicted, the animals made no moves, they just watched and waited.

A bit away, the sleep deprived blond boy stared at her. A sneer emerged on his face, but it was soon replaced by a rather puzzled expression. The sneer tried to remerge, but failed miserably. Instead, he found himself enthralled by the movements; almost as if a charm had been placed on him. The sound was even more disturbing; it was a sound of utter longing and sorrow, a sorrow he well recognized. But he shouldn't! He shouldn't compare himself to that... that filthy mudblood! But then, the dance was, simply put, beautiful. And the sound, that ethereal song sounded so- he didn't even know how to describe it, but it felt- well, good! Hell, in the moonlight, she even looked beaut-. He shook his head furiously, not allowing that thought to emerge. He couldn't allow himself to think that a mudblood like her was something worth his, a purebloods, attention. He should just go back to bed and sleep a dreamless sleep. Yeah, that sounded good, he should really do that.

But he didn't.

He couldn't.

He had to look at her, just keep seeing her curly hair fly like that, her amber eyes gleaming with something he didn't recognize.

He didn't want to be there, he really didn't- And yet, he was drawn to her in an unexplainable, unreal way. Maybe- He stopped himself right there.

And so did she. Stopping midstep, she fell to the ground in a gracious heap. He almost ran down to her then, but stopped himself before he made a fool of himself. No, he corrected, made something incredibly foolish. Malfoys didn't make fools of themselves.

And so he waited, drawn between hatred and an unexplainable feeling he didn't know.

He was rewarded with the sight of the girl rising off the ground, a brilliant smile shining of her features. She swept gracefully across the grass, almost in a daze, collecting her robes, but not putting them on. She continued walking, and he watched, completely still, until she disappeared from his sight.

He sighed, still looking fairly puzzled. He felt really confused right now, more than ever in his sixteen year old life.

How was it that the sole actions and a strange sound could move him so?

How was it that Granger, a filthy mudblood he loathed, managed to make him feel something different from cold and hate?

He shook himself out of his reverie, once again placing the familiar sneer on his face. Although, it didn't look quite as vicious as it usually did; he could almost feel it soften into something more like a smile.

Maybe, just maybe, she wasn't too bad. After all, she was the first ever to do this to him. He knew he shouldn't feel, he was supposed to follow into his fathers' footsteps and become a perfect and loyal Death Eater, enjoying torturing and killing muggles. But tonight, he didn't have to remember that. Because this night, in the moonlight, no one saw them, or their dreams.

And so, two lonely people returned to their beds, both carrying a content smile that would follow them into their sleep, and into the depths of their dreams. So different, and yet so alike, almost from two different worlds.