For those of you who loved "Playtime" and "Gift of Gratitude," here's a new story about Harry and McGonagall, set during "Goblet of Fire." At the Yule Ball, Harry is all but ready to quit the dance and sneak off to his dormitory, but lo and behold, each champion has to take part in a special waltz with a staff member of their choice... and guess who Harry chooses to be his partner. Just as a side note, by this time, Hagrid, Madame Maxime, Snape, and Karkaroff are all missing from the Ball for obvious reasons - Hagrid and Madame Maxime are alone talking, and Snape and Karkaroff are, if you'll remember, outside in the gardens talking about the impending return of Voldemort. Enjoy!

When is this night going to end?

Although the Weird Sisters were rocking out a lively tune and couples all around him were dancing their hearts out, Harry Potter felt like doing anything but dancing. The Great Hall was transformed into a crystal ballroom and couples clad in their finest dress robes swirled around the room in brilliant flares of color, but after his awkward dance with Parvati Patil, Harry had felt the excitement drain out of his very being.

Why, though? Was it because he wasn't a particularly good dancer? More like he was too busy mooning over Cho Chang, and Parvati had noticed, departing in a huff with a boy from Beauxbatons. Although he regretted neglecting Parvati, Harry was not missing the dancing at all. As a matter of fact, all he wanted to do was go up to his dormitory and lie down…

But someone out there had a sense of humor, for Harry was about to get back on his feet again – only to be floored by the next event.

"Triwizard champions! May I have your attention, please?"

Wearily, Harry turned in his chair as Dumbledore's voice rang out through the Great Hall; Cedric Diggory, Fleur Delacour, and Viktor Krum had likewise stopped dancing and were gazing up at Dumbledore, curiosity written all over their faces.

"While I have no doubt that you are enraptured by your partners…" Dumbledore's twinkling blue gaze met Harry's for the briefest of moments, causing the latter to grin sheepishly. "I must beg your pardon in advance for tearing you away from them for a short while. The time has come for one of the Yule Ball's special dances: the champion-teacher waltz."

Harry glanced around at Cedric, Fleur, and Krum, positive that his face bore the same slack-jawed expression on each of theirs. A champion-teacher waltz? Whose brilliant idea had that been? It was bad enough that he was awkward dancing with girls his own age, but to make a complete idiot of himself dancing with one of the female professors was just adding insult to injury. Poor Ron already did that, Harry thought, fighting a laugh at the memory of Ron waltzing with Professor McGonagall during their dance lesson. Wonder what I would've done if I'd been the one to dance with her.

"Each of you must choose a member of the staff, Hogwarts or otherwise, and ask them to be your partner in the waltz. However, since it appears that the majority of our male teachers have disappeared and it is, after all, the gentleman's duty to ask the lady…" Dumbledore stepped forward, made a bow before Fleur, and offered her his hand. "Miss Delacour, may I have the honor of this dance?"

Fleur's reaction to Dumbledore's invitation surprised Harry. Given her personality, Harry was expecting her to show some form of displeasure, no matter how composed, at the thought of dancing with a man Dumbledore's age. But much to Harry's surprise, Fleur smiled and actually blushed a becoming shade of pink as she accepted the headmaster's hand.

After that, it was like someone had shot off a gun to start a race. Cedric immediately swept across the dance floor and bowed before Professor Sprout, his Head of House, who blushed like a girl and allowed her student to escort her out onto the floor. Harry couldn't help thinking it was going to be interesting to watch them dance, as Cedric stood a foot and a half taller than squat little Professor Sprout. But Harry also had to admit that neither one of them looked as if they minded – Cedric was treating his Head like a queen and Professor Sprout, in moss-green dress robes, was clearly enjoying the fun.

Krum, however, clearly did not enjoy the thought of leaving his partner behind for a dance with a teacher – and no small wonder, for his partner was Hermione, who had left Harry, Ron, and every other boy at the ball breathless. Of course, Harry had never thought that Hermione was ugly, but seeing her tonight, as radiant as Cinderella in her orchid-pink gown, made him realize how beautiful she really was… and how reluctant Krum was to leave her side. But duty called, so, with a kiss to Hermione's hand, Krum strode across the floor and bowed militarily to Professor Sinistra, head of the Astronomy department, who was swathed in midnight-blue dress robes spangled with silver. There's a match made in heaven, Harry thought wryly as he watched the two of them walk onto the floor, their rigid expressions mirror images of each other. She looks about as excited as he does.

All of a sudden, Harry felt eyes upon him and realized, with an uncomfortable jolt to his stomach, that it was his turn. Quickly, he scanned the Great Hall for the remaining female teachers, giving silent thanks that Sibyll Trelawney was not among them. Malfoy would have a field day if I wound up dancing with her. Madam Pomfrey had been present earlier in the evening, but had to call it a night when five students were hospitalized – two mischievous second years and a third year who had snuck into the Yule Ball during the Weird Sisters' first performance, climbed up onstage, and fallen head-over-heels into the mosh pit; and two fourth-year boys – a Ravenclaw and a Slytherin who had gotten into a nasty wizard's duel over a Beauxbatons girl in the Great Hall's antechamber. The Ravenclaw was whisked away with boils erupting all over his face, and nothing appeared wrong with the Slytherin at first – until his skin began glowing in the dark down the dimly lit corridor. So with Madam Pomfrey out of the picture, there was no one left but…

Professor McGonagall. Harry's eyes fell upon her and stayed there for a moment, studying her. For once, she looked relaxed and at ease, but her regal bearing was never lost for an instant. It certainly showed in her dancing, for she danced quite the same way that she walked – sweeping around the dance floor with all the elegance and grace of royalty, her emerald-green dress robes swirling around her. She's a good dancer, and she is my Head of House… and she's been there for me ever since I came to Hogwarts. I owe her one. His mind made up, Harry rose and made his way across the room to where his Transfiguration professor sat.

Professor McGonagall looked up at Harry in surprise as he came to a stop in front of her. "Potter?"

Don't be nervous, you prat, Harry mentally told himself before bowing at the waist. When he rose again and met Professor McGonagall's gaze, he was amazed to see that her blue eyes were glistening with tears. "Professor McGonagall, may I have the honor of this dance?"

When Harry proffered his hand, it looked like Professor McGonagall was doing everything in her power not to cry – quite a departure from the stoic, tight-lipped Minerva McGonagall he knew. "Of course… of course you may," she said, laying her hand in his and, surprising him once again, giving him a glowing smile – one that Harry gratefully returned as they walked onto the dance floor.

Once all of the champions and their partners were gathered in the middle of the Great Hall, Dumbledore addressed them one more time. "Splendid! Everybody has found their partners. Now, without further ado, let the dance begin!" he announced, signaling for the music to start.

As the song opened, Harry clasped Professor McGonagall's right hand in his left and gave her a nervous grin. "I know this isn't great timing, Professor, but I'm not the world's greatest dancer."

"That's quite all right, Potter, but I have a feeling that you're going to do just fine."

"How do you know?"

"I'll tell you after we dance. And Potter…" Professor McGonagall's eyes rested on Harry's free right hand. "My waist."

"Oh!" With considerably less embarrassment than Ron had shown, Harry put his hand on Professor McGonagall's waist, stunned to find how thin she was. "Shall we?"

"Your call."

My call. All right, Harry, focus. This is your teacher, so don't screw up. Looking into Professor McGonagall's eyes rather than at his feet, Harry led the two of them off across the floor, astonished to find that his feet were actually obeying him. Feeling some of the tension slide away, Harry stopped mentally counting steps and let himself go with the flow; carry Professor McGonagall along to the rise and fall of the music.

"You're doing very well, Potter," she said after Harry spun her twice. "I'm impressed."

"Thanks!" Harry said, truly grateful to hear her say that. "The last thing I want to do is let you down."

Something flickered in Professor McGonagall's eyes and she said, so softly that Harry almost didn't hear her, "You could never do that."

As surprised as he was to hear something that tender come from his straight-laced teacher, Harry felt another surge of gratitude and, when the expected lift came along in the dance, picked Professor McGonagall up and spun her around; she actually laughed aloud – the first time Harry had ever heard her laugh. Wow, she has a wonderful laugh! He thought, admiring the throaty, joyous chuckle that had escaped Professor McGonagall's mouth. This is a side of her I don't see very often.

Harry's pleasant surprise must have shown on his face, for Professor McGonagall said in the next instant, "What? Yes, Potter, I do know how to laugh, contrary to popular belief."

"I know," Harry said, laughing himself by this time. "I've just never heard you laugh before."

"Just don't expect to hear it in the classroom," Professor McGonagall said, suddenly her stern self again. "During school hours, I keep up appearances."

Something about the way she worded that made Harry grin. "Oh, really? What about the rest of the time?"

Professor McGonagall shot him a look, but the glitter in her eyes just set Harry off again. "Oh, shut up and dance!"

And dance they did until, with a final whirl and flourish, the waltz ended. As the Great Hall burst into applause and the champions and teachers bowed and curtsied to each other by turns, Harry met Professor McGonagall's gaze once again. "Thanks for dancing with me, Professor. I really had fun."

"Thank you, Potter; I rather enjoyed myself as well. But I do have a question to ask you." Professor McGonagall motioned for Harry to join her at her table, which he did, wondering what her question was. "Why did you choose me? From your expression every time I looked your way, I always thought you were half-terrified of me."

"Not terrified, Professor; intimidated," Harry explained, flashing back to all of the times he had been intimidated by her: the night he first arrived at Hogwarts and saw her standing at the top of the marble staircase, the day she had discovered his talent for Quidditch, and too many other times to count. Oddly enough, he wasn't intimidated by her now. As a matter of fact, Harry was privately stunned at how he and Professor McGonagall had playfully bantered during the waltz, as though they were the best of friends rather than student and teacher. "No offense, but you're a bit of a force of nature."

"None taken, Potter; coming from you, that's a compliment," said Professor McGonagall, looking amused at Harry's comment. "A force of nature. I must be doing something right."

Harry laughed. There she goes again. She really does have a great sense of humor once she eases up. "Try everything. But seriously, I chose you because you're a good dancer and you're my Head of House... and because I owe you."

"Whatever for?"

"For being there for me ever since I came here to Hogwarts. I'll admit I was a little bit scared of you when we first met, but I've long since gone from fear to respect. You've helped me, taught me, and protected me. Really, I owe you so much, but asking you to honor me with a dance was the least I could do. And when I say honored, I mean honored." Harry smiled. "I can't imagine Hogwarts without you, Professor."

For a pregnant moment, Professor McGonagall couldn't speak, and Harry had trouble trying to read the emotions on her face. After a minute, she rose from the table and took Harry by the hand, pulling him up as well. "Potter, come with me. The antechamber, now," she said in clipped tones. Harry said nothing in reply, just let his teacher pull him along and wondered if he had said the wrong thing.

He needn't have worried, for once they were in the antechamber, Professor McGonagall bowled him over completely by throwing her arms around him and embracing him. "Harry Potter, you have a talent for reducing me to tears," she said, indeed sounding like a lump was caught in her throat. "But thank you. Thank you, thank you."

Floored though he was, Harry gladly returned her hug. "You're welcome. Professor..." Harry pulled back for a moment, a thought suddenly occurring to him. "What did you mean when you said I could never let you down? I've gotten into trouble more times than I can count."

"Potter, getting into mischief, making mistakes, and breaking rules are all hallmarks of a Hogwarts student, and of course we as teachers are disappointed when things happen. But courage, loyalty, honor, and sacrifice are all hallmarks of a true Gryffindor, and in those respects, you have never once disappointed me." Professor McGonagall smiled as she laid a hand on Harry's shoulder. "I'm proud to have you in my House."

"And I'm proud to be a Gryffindor. But I do have one more question."

"Which is?"

"How did you know I'd make out fine during the waltz?"

"As you said yourself, Potter, I knew you didn't want to let me down. And besides..." A rather wicked grin crossed Professor McGonagall's face. "In my experience, if students are scared of me, they always get the task at hand right." She laughed at the look on Harry's face, and before long, he was laughing with her, their mirth echoing off the walls of the antechamber and ringing with all the joy of bells at Christmastime.

Sweet, huh? I hope I got everybody in character - during the writing process, I kept hearing Maggie Smith's voice in my head while I was writing McGonagall's dialogue. It really helped me to think of her saying these things, because I think I really nailed McGonagall! Review and tell me what you think!