Chapter Text
"What better place for a blind date than a masquerade ball?" There was a teasing tone to Ron's voice as he handed Percy his mask, one that Percy really didn't appreciate and it was making the older boy second guess asking Ron to set him up on a date in the first place. He had seen how happy being in a relationship had made Ron though, and he had decided that he wanted to be happy too.
Ron had been far too happy about the whole situation, which wasn't even a reaction that he had expected. He had thought that it would actually be an annoyance for his brother to do something like this for him, but had been wrong.
And now Ron was happily dressing him up as if he were a doll and about to send him on his merry way to meet a girl he knew nothing about.
"How will I even know who I'm meeting?" He asked, an eyebrow raised ever-so-slightly as he moved to the mirror so that he could put his mask on and adjust it. He had no idea how this evening was even going to work, but he supposed that they would see.
"She'll be wearing a yellow dress and a gold mask. Oh. And she's blonde." Ron told him as he put his own mask on. "I'll make sure you get to the right person." He added with a smile.
Percy rolled his eyes but nodded. He deeply regretted agreeing to this all now, but it was too late to back out when there was someone actually waiting for him. He couldn't stand someone up no matter how much he didn't want to go. If the worst came to the worst then he could easily just call it an early night after meeting the girl.
"Ready?" Ron asked after straightening his tie and turning to face Percy. The irritating smile on his lips was the the only part of his youngest brother's face that Percy could see.
"Yeah, sure." Percy was anything but ready, but he figured he might as well get this over with.
**
"Ready?" Ginny asked her best friend with a smile. She knew that even if the blonde felt nervous, she would never confess to it; Luna wasn't usually one to show negative emotions after all, and while Ginny wouldn't have necessarily classed nerves as a negative emotion, she knew that Luna possibly would.
"Sure." Luna nodded. Ginny was glad that she had managed to convince the blonde to swap her usual dirigible plum earrings for a pair of gold bells which gave a tinkling sound as she moved her head. It wasn't that Ginny didn't love the dirigible plums, because she did, she just didn't want Luna to be instantly recognisable. She wanted her brother to get a surprise when it came to midnight and they had to take off their masks.
Ginny gave Luna a smile before she pushed the doors to the Great Hall open. She let out a surprised gasp when she was met with the most glorious sight. She didn't think that she had ever seen Hogwarts looking so beautiful, not even at the Yule Ball that had been over a decade ago now. Professor Flitwick had certainly outdone himself this time. The ceiling was filled with fairies of all different colours and above them was the clear night sky with all its stars. There were tables scattered around the room covered in silver and blue and the dance floor was silver and sparkling underneath the feet of those that were already dancing.
Ginny let herself take it in for a moment before she looked around the room for her brothers. Ron had said that he would meet them at the punch bowl, but Ginny didn't actually know where that was. When she eventually found it, she took a hold of Luna's arm - the girl was already distracted by the pretty fairy lights - and lead her over.
"Here's your date." She told Percy, who she had to admit looked very handsome that evening. She had told them both that there would be no formal introductions and the rules of the ball meant that they weren't even allowed to use names anyway so she just smiled at both of them and said "Have fun" before she wheeled Ron away.
Ginny danced with the youngest of her brothers for a couple of songs, just enjoying the atmosphere and the music before she decided to go and mingle. She was single after all and that was what single people were meant to do, wasn't it? Flirting and dancing with people would mean that she wouldn't be watching Luna out of the corner of her eye while continuing to wish that the girl was dancing with her instead. It was a selfish thought, especially when she had been the one to set up Luna on a date in the first place, but they'd been best friends for over a decade now and Luna had never once given Ginny the impression that she even slightly reciprocated Ginny's feelings. Ginny knew that she had to just let go, but that was easier said than done.
**
Percy was glad to get out for some fresh air when there was a reprieve in the music, not because he wasn't enjoying himself or getting to know his date but because he wasn't enjoying this date as much as he'd thought he would. When Percy had first asked Ron to set him up, he had hoped that it would serve to distract him, to stop him from thinking about his most annoying co-worker, but he had been very wrong.
All Percy had been able to do since he had been introduced to the beautiful blonde was compare her to the blond man who would be waiting for him on Monday morning with a cup of coffee in his hand and a smirk on his face. He'd ask what Percy got up to at the weekend, the way he always did, and while Percy was looking forward to being able to tell Draco Malfoy that he had not only been on a date, but attended a dance, a part of him was actually sad that it wasn't Draco that he had been dancing with.
If Percy had been able to grab himself by the shoulders and give himself a firm shake then he would have done. He didn't know how to snap himself out of this, the pining after a man that he could never have for so many different reasons. He took a breath as he realised that maybe the only way to get over Malfoy was to tell someone about it.
That was perhaps why he ended up answering Ron's "how's it going with your date then?" with "damnit, Ronald. I'm gay."
Ron stared at him for a long time, his eyes wide underneath his mask in a way that would have been comical had the situation not been what it was. Percy had never said those words to anyone before and in fact he had never thought he would ever say them to anyone, but a small part of him was glad that he had finally come clean.
"Well. That would have been helpful to know when you asked me to set you up." Ron eventually said, his voice soft and without judgement.
Percy still decided not to tell Ron just who his crush was on. Ron had never been Malfoy's biggest fan and Percy figured that piece of information might just be enough to blow his mind.
"Yeah, sorry about that. I'm having fun regardless." He said quietly, giving Ron a small smile before glancing over his shoulder at hall. "It's almost midnight though, right?" He asked. He sort of wanted to bail on the ball, but he didn't. He couldn't do that to his date now, sheleast deserved an explanation as to why he wasn't totally into her.
The pair of them headed back into the hall, unaware that a blonde man in a a dark green mask and set of matching dress robes had been watching them.