Right. This is a one-shot. But you already knew that, because you read my summary before reading this and I said that it was a one-shot in it. And even if you didn't, the fact that it is complete and only has one chapter might have clued you in. Or not. Anyway, go ahead and start the story already.

Wait. That's my cue to write the story, isn't it?

'K. I'm actually going to start now, believe it or not.

Oh. One more thing. This is going to be really long, so if you like no plot, just sex, I suggest you go somewhere else. This will have sex in it, though. It's not rated M for nothing.

Okay! Here's the actual story!

Just a Dance

Damn it. I knew this would happen. Why on earth did I pick this dress anyway?

Because you know it looks great on you, stupid.

Hermione stared at the dress in question and sighed. She had been standing there for five minutes, and still couldn't remember how to get into it without ripping it to shreds.

It was a gorgeous dress, really. Pale purple, darker than lavender but not dark enough to truly be purple, with diamonds glittering in the satiny folds of the knee-length skirt and running across the top of the strapless bodice. She knew there was a hidden catch somewhere, but couldn't remember where. After another minute of thinking, she found it right where it was supposed to be. On the back of the dress.

Well, now I feel really stupid.

She unhooked it quickly and slipped into it, then found that it was nearly impossible for her to hook it back up from inside. "Shit," she swore out loud. "Well, at least I did my makeup and hair before bothering with the dress."

Someone knocked on her door and entered. "Hey Hermione, are you ready to go- whoa!" Harry Potter, Boy Who Lived and Hogwarts' present heartthrob, had just walked in on her. Of course, it was pretty inevitable, because they shared a dorm as well as being best friends.

"Harry, can you hook me up?" Hermione said in frustration, turning her back to him.

"S-sure," he said, and a second later Hermione felt his large hands on her back, gently doing up her dress. His strong fingers sent chills up her spine. Did he linger on her back a little longer than necessary? it was probably just wishful thinking on her part.

Was it just him, or had the room grown smaller? He was acutely conscious that Hermione looked stunning in her dress, and that she had just asked him to do up the back of it. As he did as she asked, he admired the feeling of her skin. It was soft and smooth, just as he thought it would be.

Damn, she looks good. Harry slowly did up the back, trying to extend the length of time in which he could touch his best friend's back and not look like a complete prick. He finished and put his hands on her shoulders, turning her to face him. "Ready?" he smiled down the few inches into her eyes.

Hermione felt her breath quicken as he smiled at her, his bright green eyes sparkling. His hands were still on her shoulders, and she could feel them acutely on her bare skin. "Yeah," she said. "Let's go." She became aware that her bed was only a few steps away, and by Harry's glance toward it after she blushed proved that he realized it too.

He grinned again. "Come on, we'll be late, and it wouldn't be very role-modelish if the Head Boy and Girl showed up late to their own dance which they arranged, would it?" he offered her his arm with a mock display of gallantry, and she laughed.

"No, that wouldn't be much incentive for the student population to look up to us, would it?" she took his arm, and they exited her room and the Head's portrait hole, heading toward the Great Hall.

When they reached the top of the marble staircase, they stopped, looking down on the eager students milling in front of the doors. Hermione felt Harry squeeze her arm gently, and she smiled at him. They descended the marble staircase together, the students noticing their descent and parting to let them proceed toward the doors.

Oh, crap, Hermione thought, realizing that they would be expecting her to open the doors with magic, and that she had no where to put her wand, even though she had it. "Can you hold my wand for me?" she whispered urgently to Harry as they neared the double doors.

He shot her a confused look. "Okay."

"Thanks." Pressing it into his hand and turning to face the eager students as they reached the doors, Hermione said, "Welcome to the first annual international Yule Ball! I can see many faces that don't attend this school, and I thank you for participating in this event." She beckoned with her hand behind her back, and felt Harry press her wand into it. "And now, without further ado, I announce the ball open!" she silently tapped the doors with the wand, and they swung open to reveal the Great Hall in the decorations that she and Harry had spent so much time arranging. The crowd was silent for a moment, and in that moment she and Harry entered the Hall before all of them.

The students poured into the hall, laughing and admiring the decorations. She turned and smiled at Harry, to find him grinning at her. "Thanks for helping me with that."

"Not a problem," he said, looking around the hall, "but," he looked slyly at her, "a dance with the Head Girl might make me feel a bit better about it."

Hermione blushed a deep shade of red, and shyly nodded. He smiled at her again and led her over to where Ron, Ginny, and the rest of the kids in their year were talking.

"Harry! Hermione! This is brilliant! How long did it take you?" Ginny asked, smiling around at the decorations.

"More hours than I like to think about," Hermione said, also looking around at her work.

The ceiling showed a beautiful starry night. In the hall, the two of them had gone to great lengths to make it seem like a woodland clearing. Tall trees were scattered around, creating a romantic atmosphere. Underneath their boughs tables were lit by tiny fairies dangling from strings of moss or fluttering lazily above the table. In the center of the hall, the forest opened up into a wide clearing for the dancing. It was all lit by an artificial full moon. They had gotten the idea from Firenze's classroom, and Professor Dumbledore had taught them how to do it.

Everyone else was also admiring the decorations, until music started playing and they all poured into the clearing to dance. Immediately Hermione was asked to dance by a handsome Beaubatons seventh year. Blushing slightly, she said, "Um, okay," and stood up to join him. As he walked her toward the middle of the dance floor, she glanced back toward the table to see Harry watching her with a scowl on his face. Wondering if he was mad at her or her partner, she was soon swept up into the dance and forgot about him.

Hermione sat down to rest after constantly dancing with one or another boy, making her wonder why they were so interested in her now. Her memory came back of Harry scowling, and once again she wondered why. Taking a drink of punch (which had most likely been spiked by somebody) and looking around for him, she spotted Harry talking to a group of mixed Hogwarts, Beaubatons, and Durmstrang students. Taking the opportunity to watch him unnoticed, Hermione admired the way his eyes twinkled and he tipped his head back slightly when he laughed at a joke. As she watched, a Durmstrang girl approached him and asked him a question. He shook his head and said something softly to her, and she walked away looking disappointed.

What was that about? she wondered. Did she ask him to dance and he turned her down? The song ended and a slower one took its place. Suddenly Harry looked up and smiled at her, then started across the dance floor. Hermione blushed and dropped her eyes, knowing that he was going to ask her to dance.

"Hermione?" his deep voice said, and she looked up to see him standing there, smiling. "Care to dance?" he held out his hand, and she took it and smiled a bit shyly up at him.

"Sure," she said, and he led her out to the dance floor. He placed his hands on her waist, and she slid hers around his neck. They moved slowly to the music, and Hermione moved closer to him. She could feel the warmth of his hands through her dress, making her shiver slightly. He just felt so good, with his arms around her waist.

The punch (which had most definitely been spiked) was making Hermione more reckless than she would have been normally, and when the dance ended and Harry began to draw away she smiled at him, then pressed her lips against his.

He was startled, she could tell; then his hands slid back around her waist and drew her closer to him. She deepened the kiss, and he matched her in energy. They pulled away as the music started again, sucking in air in short pants as they looked at each other. "Want to go up to my room?" he asked quietly, and she nodded. He took her hand and they exited the hall, no one noticing them leave.

Hermione glanced at the clock as they passed it in the hall. 11:47. Where had the evening gone?

Harry said the password quickly when they reached the portrait hiding the Head's common room. Climbing through, he turned and helped Hermione through. When she was standing next to him she immediately pressed her lips against his again, and soon she felt his tongue gently trace her bottom lip, asking for entry. Hermione gave it instantly, opening her mouth and letting his tongue in. Both of them moaned at the feeling, and Hermione became on fire with need, her tongue exploring his mouth, his hands running up and down her body restlessly.

Hermione pulled away and looked at him again, her hazel eyes searching his green ones. "Harry..." she whispered, and ran a hand along the top of his robe. When she undid the clasp on his outer robe and pushed it over his shoulders, however, Harry grabbed her wrists, effectively preventing her from doing anything else.

"Hermione, are you sure about this, I mean..."

She grinned and undid his belt, sliding his pants off his hips and gripping him in her hand. "I'm sure." He gasped as she stroked his arousal gently, making him even harder. He kissed her again, his hands sliding up her arms as need took over, turning the kiss into a ravaging act of lips and teeth and tongue. Hermione pressed in closer, wanting to be as close as possible to him. God, I want this so badly...

Harry stepped out of his pants and pulled her toward his room slowly, not wanting to lose contact with her lips, her hand still working at his erection and threatening to make his knees give way soon. Regretfully, he pulled away and took her hand. Hermione opened her eyes, wondering what he was doing, and he grinned and kissed her hand, opening the door to his room. She stepped inside, her eyes roving over his room, almost identical to hers except for the obvious boy differences. The bed, however, was exactly the same.

He closed the door as she turned to face him, his eyes taking her breath away. They were dark and lust-filled, swimming in emotions that had been hiding for a long time. She caught her breath, her lashes fluttering slightly. Then she smiled wickedly at him and turned her back to him, pulling her hair out of the way. "Will you undo me, please?"

Oh. My. God. Harry swallowed hard. "S-sure," he said, and began slowly undoing the hooks that he had done up so carefully a few hours ago. His hands brushed against her back slightly, making her shiver and giving him an incredible thrill. When he reached the bottom he slid his hands gently underneath the cloth and slowly pushed it off her hips, proving that she wore absolutely nothing underneath except a pair of black knickers.

He picked her up suddenly, making her squeal with surprise. "Harry!" she said laughingly. "Put me down!" she wriggled as he crossed the room, then gasped as he tossed her onto his bed. She sat up in the middle and looked at him accusingly.

"You weren't moving fast enough," grinned Harry, "So I decided to use force-"

Anything else he was going to say went unsaid as Hermione jumped on him, pinning him to the bed as she unbuttoned his shirt and threw it onto the floor, running her hands over his toned chest. She placed feather-light kisses all the way up his neck and captured his lips again, pressing herself in closer to him.

He flipped her over and drew back slightly, gazing into her eyes. Hermione expected him to kiss her again, but he grinned before lowering his head to her breast and dragging his tongue across her nipple with agonizing slowness.

Oh...dear god... Hermione slipped her hands around him and clung to his back as she felt herself weakening, Harry's tongue stroking her right breast, his hand teasing her left, tweaking the erect nipple and completely reducing Hermione to a warm puddle of sensations.Her voice sounded hoarse and low, and she suprised herself when she realized that she was begging.

Unable to show anymore restraint, Harry slipped her knickers off and followed them with his boxers. Immediately Hermione wrapped her hand around his length, and he shuddered. Unable to stand it any more, he slipped inside her slowly, whispering unintelligible things into her ear. He stilled, fully sheathed inside her. She was gasping; this must be her first time.

"I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear, brushing his lips across her cheek. He pulled out and thrust in again, the movement much easier this time. She began moving her hips on him, and he hissed out a startled breath. She had always been quick on the uptake...

The coil of pleasure within him tightened even further as he sped up, driving into her. Harry pulled her hips up to his, and she laughed breathlessly, running her hands over his shoulders as he covered her mouth with his again. Hermione arched against him, and he was suddenly struck by a sense of how beautiful she was, tanned body pressing into his, crying out as he plunged into her again.

I can't hold on much longer...was her only thought, every other even slightly comprehensible thought buried under feelings that were almost visceral in nature. She felt her orgasm hit, and she flung her head back and shouted his name as he shuddered and released into her, taking her to an entirely new level of pleasure...

They lay together in a tangle of sweat-soaked limbs, happy just to be together. For months they had been dancing around each other, not wanting to make Ron jealous and neither sure if the other felt the same way.

Hermione laughed. "What's so funny?" Harry murmured, pushing her hair out of her eyes, his hand lingering on her face.

"I was just thinking that this started over a dance," she said, smiling. "It was just a dance."

Harry pulled her closer to him, their eyes fluttering closed. "Hermione," he murmured, "Nothing is ever 'just a dance'..."

Sooooo...What do you think? it took me a long time to write this. If you liked it, review. If you didn't like it, review. Tell me what you thought!

If you do, I'll give you chocolate!

Lara