Save The Last Dance For Me

Chapter 1 - She's Like The Wind

There were people everywhere; dresses of every color swirled before him and the sounds of music and laughter filled his ears. Three years ago tonight, the Great Hall hadn't looked like this. That night had been dark, cursed, and in the end, silent; a million things had changed since then, but a million other things had stayed the same. Harry Potter was still there, standing at the bar for the moment but not for long. His eyes swept around the room as he pretended to be listening to whatever Ginny had been saying. His gaze stopped when he reached the large oak doors.

    The pair stood framed in the towering archway as whispers and stares found them. Neither one of them was entirely sure why they had come, but they had received the invitation and never ones to refuse a social outing they had obliged. People looked at them with distrust and loathing, and neither man nor woman could find a fault in it. They were deserving of the stares, of the whispers and the scowls. Or at least that is what they had thought.

    A smile tugged at the corners of Harry's mouth as he looked at them, he was shocked, but pleased that they had accepted the invitation he had made sure was sent their way. What better way to reintroduce them into society than at the largest party of the year?

    Without so much as a word to Ginny he pulled away from her and made his way across the room towards the door. Intent upon rescuing them from the stares and the whispers, well intent on rescuing her, Draco he couldn't really care less about. When he arrived in front of her he gave her a slight bow and extended his hand. A waltz started behind him and he smiled down at her, "Ms. Black, may I have this dance?"

    She looked up at him, curiosity filling her icy blue eyes. "Lord Potter?" She addressed him using the title that he had gained after the war, one he wasn't used to people using. "There is no need to extend such courtesies towards me. I know that my being here is not something that everyone is going to accept. No need to ostracize yourself from your friends on my account." She gave a small wave of her hand, as if to dismiss him but he caught a hold of it and held her gaze.

    "Narcissa." Her eyes widened at his use of her given name, but he didn't let her interrupt. "You have every right to be here tonight. Without you, I wouldn't have been here; I would have died out there in that Forest. You helped save everyone here, you deserve to be among them."

    "Potter, if my mother says no she means it. Back off." Draco started to take a step towards Harry but Narcissa got in the way. "Go enjoy yourself darling, Harry is fine, in fact," she turned back to the dark haired young man, "I will accept your offer to dance."

    He smiled as Draco huffed off in the opposite direction, and he moved her hand to his arm. He escorted her to the dance floor. The whispers and stares that had followed her since she set foot in the castle seemed only to multiply when people noticed that Harry had taken it upon himself to escort her. There were audible gasps and loud whispers carried to their ears as they began to waltz around the dance floor.

    "Who does she think she is?"

    "Why is she even here?"

    "Wife of a Death Eater."

    Fewer revolved around Harry, but some of those cut through to the dance partners as well.

    "What is he doing?"

    "Did he invite her?"

    "Potter and Lady Malfoy are waltzing? Strange."

    When the song ended she pulled away from him and barely met his eyes as she dropped him a shallow curtsey before turning from the dance floor. Slowly he made his way back over to Ginny, who had not moved the entire time that Harry had spent with Narcissa. "What was that all about?" To the casual observer her voice sounded light and easy, simply curious, to Harry it was bitter, like she couldn't quite believe that had just happened.