Moments later, Snape still stood off to the side near the table. He could feel the students' eyes on him, and he desperately wished he could just curse all the little brats. Didn't they know it was rude to stare? He made sure to avoid the green eyes that glanced at him every now and then. He didn't know what Potter was waiting for, but he didn't want to either. The boy would lose interest soon enough.

"She certainly looks beautiful, doesn't she?" a voice said to his left.

"I wouldn't know," Snape replied, glancing at Dumbledore. He wished that meddling fool would stay out of things that didn't concern him and just stick to sucking lemon drops.

"Oh, I must apologize, Severus. I hadn't seen you there," Dumbledore replied with a chuckle. "Filius and I were just discussing how lovely Professor Sinistra looks this evening."

Snape's eyes narrowed on the infernal old man before noticing the small man in dark blue robes standing next to Dumbledore. He sighed heavily and shook his head. Leave it to him to think Dumbledore was speaking to him of all people.

"Yes, I had gathered that much, Headmaster," Snape replied politely before inclining his head to Flitwick. "As I said before, I wouldn't know. I regret I have yet to see her."

"Oh my, well then we must fix that," Dumbledore responded with a smile. His blue eyes twinkled mischievously. It was never a good sign when he did that. "Ah, here she is, in fact."

Snape instantly took a step back as if to slink away. However, he ended up bumping into someone instead. He groaned loudly in his head. He hated it when Dumbledore did this to him. He didn't need the wizard to keep trying to set them up.

"Good evening, Professor," Dumbledore pleasantly said with a bow of his head.

"Evening, Headmaster," Sinistra replied softly. "You haven't seen my fiancé around, have you?"

"I believe the Ministry called for him, my dear," Dumbledore responded.

"Oh," she said with a heavy sigh. The soft song slowly died in the background.

"Would you care for a dance, my dear?"

"All right, Albus," she replied with a smile. "You talked me into it."

Dumbledore held his hand out and gently led her towards the dance floor. As any gentleman would do, he bowed slightly towards her before holding his arm out for her. She softly laughed, but put her hand on his shoulder and held her other palm against his. The song had just started when a man tapped Dumbledore on the back. He instantly released her and stepped back to hear what the man had to report. He sighed after hearing the news before glancing at the younger witch.

"I'm afraid that I must leave, my dear," Dumbledore quietly said. However, he glanced towards Severus who stood near them. "Severus will take over for me, though. A woman as lovely as you really shouldn't be left alone on the dance floor." Dumbledore didn't even allow Snape the option of backing out of it. Instead, he gently grabbed the other wizard's hand and put his hand in Aurora's hand. "Again, my dear, I offer my sincerest apologies for this." He then whirled around and left.

"It's all right, Severus. You don't have to," Aurora replied softly before pulling her hand back from his. "I won't tell the Headmaster tomorrow if he asks. I promise." However, she found that he wouldn't release her. Her dark eyes narrowed at this realization. What was he doing? Severus had always refused to dance before, especially since the infamous incident where Rolanda Hooch's hand went a little lower than was necessary years back. "Severus?" she asked hesitantly. When he gently pulled her closer in response, she felt her heart race. What was he doing?

"It is only one dance, Sinistra. It will not kill me."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that, Severus," she retorted. She then nearly jumped when he put his hand against her side. She figured she'd humor the Headmaster and share the dance with Snape. What was the worst that could happen anyway? She gently placed her left hand atop of his shoulder and held her right palm against his. They were about an arm's length apart, which was a comfortable distance in her opinion.

The song was slow and soft. It didn't take long before she swayed to the music. Her eyes had closed as she attempted to live in this moment forever. She had to admit that he was a rather great dancer. Soon, she forgot everything. She forgot the silver band on her left ring finger. She forgot that the man she was dancing with wasn't Rufus. She even forgot that all of Hogwarts was at the dance. In that moment, it was just her and Severus dancing to the gentle song.

When Aurora reopened her eyes, a few moments later, she noticed that sometime during their dance she had pressed her face against his soft emerald robes. The scent of cloves and other herbs rushed to her senses. She felt the urge to pull back from him rise, but she didn't for some reason. She then noticed that the hand that once had been on her side was now on the small of her back. It was a gentle tender touch, but it sent her chills.

Aurora could feel his heart beating in his chest. Also, from what she heard, it sounded like he was relaxed. She felt her lips slightly curl at the thought. Wasn't this the exact moment she had dreamt of ever since she was a first-year? She could still remember the dream along with how peaceful she always felt afterwards. She was rather convinced this was her exact dream. However, she knew something wasn't right about it.

Thinking with her heart instead of her head, Aurora lifted her head up and gently brushed her lips against his. She didn't know why she did it, but it had felt right. When she felt their kiss deepen in a gentle way, she felt her chest tighten instantly. It was perfect. The kiss, the dance, it was all perfect. Only she knew this man wasn't the man she was currently engaged to marry.

Within seconds, Aurora violently pulled herself back from Snape's arms. She caught the momentary flicker of something in his eyes before he expertly covered it up again. She could feel herself panting horribly. However, she didn't know if that was due to their amazing kiss or her oncoming panic attack. She whirled around and briskly walked towards the doors of the Great Hall. She had to leave. She had to get as far away from him as possible before . . . Soon, she found herself in a dead sprint towards the doors. She couldn't tell if anyone was following her, but she guessed Septima would.

The stale air of the Entrance Hall didn't help Aurora calm down any. So, she quickly raced towards the moving staircases. She knew without a doubt that she needed to hide in her tower for the rest of the night or for the rest of her life, depending on how a person looked at it. However, luck just wasn't on her side.

After the second set of moving staircases, Aurora's left heel snapped just as she stepped down. She screamed out as she felt herself falling backwards due to the staircases moving. However, the crash against the floor never occurred. Strong arms wrapped around her midsection to prevent her fall. The arms held her, and she couldn't help herself. She didn't care if he did call her an emotional Hufflepuff later. She burst into tears in the arms of the man that she truly and would only ever love. She wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her head into his shoulder as she cried. She didn't even notice that the scent of cloves and other pleasant herbs weren't hovering around the man holding her.