Chapter Text
The 23rd of November started off as a relatively normal day for the students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Tanaka and Nishinoya tried to antagonize the giant squid one last time before the lake froze over; Bokuto accidentally locked Kuroo's cat in a closet but couldn't remember the exact closet he locked it in; and Kageyama and Hinata had just resolved a squabble that involved quidditch, marmalade, and various insults. Perfectly normal and things were beginning to settle.
4th year Hinata Shoyo had finally managed to get through a quidditch practice without falling off his broom.
6th year Akaashi Keiji found a secret passage that could be used as an alternate route to Charms so he could finally get there on time.
7th year Kuroo Tetsuroo had finally come to terms with the fact that he might be in love with his best friend.
A perfectly normal day.
But they had all forgotten something.
The Yule Ball.
"A dance??" squawked Hinata.
Professor Takeda sighed and pushed up his glasses. This was the fifth time today he had given this speech. Honestly, it wasn't like the Yule Ball was a surprise. It happened every two years. Even the seventh years seemed shocked, and they had gone before. "Yes, Hinata. A dance. The prefects will be the ones with escorts and they will be the ones opening the ball. Then, after that, everyone is free to dance. Of course, it is open to all students above the 4th year and students below that will have to be the date of someone older. It's the regular rules." Takeda looked around at everyone's blank faces. "Smile! It's supposed to be fun! It's a perfect way to interact with your fellow houses, form relationships with your peers, and to erm.. let your hair down a little."
The girls in the back began to giggle profusely. Hinata felt his ears burn a little. This was going to be a disaster- he could feel it.
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"Brokuroo!" The Great Hall echoed as the Gryffindor quidditch captain burst through the doors. "I need advice!"
"Brokuto!" Kuroo greeted his best friend. "What's up?" He scooted over on the bench so the Gryffindor could sit.
Bokuto twisted his hands and looked around frantically but didn't sit. "Did you hear?"
Despite the slightly vague question, Kuroo nodded. "The dance? Yeah, I did." Oh how he had heard. Everywhere he went girls giggled and gawked and boys glowered and groaned, and the whispers floated around like ghosts about who was asking who and if so-and-so had turned down what's-his-face. It set him slightly on edge as well because there was a certain person he had been wanting to ask out as well. But that was besides the point.
"I have a problem," Bokuto sighed.
"You have many problems," Kuroo agreed.
Bokuto finally sat down. "Yeah.. Wait- hey!" He nudged Kuroo with his elbow and stole his pastry for revenge. "That is not what I meant! I meant that the dance is the problem."
Kuroo didn't really understand why the dance was the problem. It wasn't like they hadn't been before. Of course that dance had gone spectacularly wrong because both Kuroo and Bokuto had failed to gain the dates they wanted and ended up sodding off early to go cry about it over a box of Chocolate Cauldrons, but still. This dance would be different.
Bokuto started to drum his fingers on the table as his anxiety increased. "It's a problem because people are going to realize how pretty Akaashi is!"
"I think everyone has already noticed that." Kuroo pointed out. He reached over Bokuto for the mashed potatoes. "Star keeper of the Slytherin team, ace at potions, O's in nearly all of his subjects on his O.W.L.s.. people would have to be blind not to see him attractive."
Bokuto slowly turned his face towards his best friend. "Holy shit. You think?"
"Bro, I know."
Bokuto slammed his head on the table. "I'm doomed. Oh my god, I'm doomed. Kuroo, Kuroo, I'm dead. How can I go on? Akaashi is going to be asked to the dance and he's going to go with them instead of me, and then I'll be left to go with you. Again."
Kuroo shuddered at the thought. "No, that's not happening. We're both prefects this year. We have to get dates." Kuroo put a soothing hand on his disparaging friend's back. "I have an idea."
Bokuto's head immediately popped up. "Ohoho?"
The Slytherin prefect grinned back. "Ohoho."
"Will it be dangerous?"
"Maybe."
"Potentially harmful?"
"Only if everything fails."
"Stupid?"
"Hell yeah."
"Let's fucking do it."
At that moment Yaku looked over and saw the two prefects maniacally grinning at each other and decided he didn't want to know.
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The Slytherin dorm rooms always got a bad rep for being cold and unfriendly, but personally, Oikawa didn't mind them. The soft lapping of the lake waves above him were soothing and sometimes the merpeople would wave to a studying Slytherin in the common room. The best part of all, everything looked green which was an excellent color on him. His dorm mates weren't bad either. It also was the perfect place to have emergency meetings.
Today the Slytherin quidditch team reserved the common room (and by reserve, I mean scare everyone else away) for an emergency Yule Ball meeting. Which was good, because Oikawa needed a slight pep talk before he did something stupid; like, for example ask Iwa-chan to the dance.
They all sat in a circle around the small table, waiting in uncomfortable silence.
Finally, Kuroo cleared his throat and started speaking. "Allllriiight, everyone thank you for coming. As you all know and exciting event is happening really soon and um....."
Tsukishima Kei raised his hand. "If this is about the Yule Ball, I already have a date." He shot a smug grin at Tobio-chan who glowered back.
All heads turned to glare at Tsukishima.
"Congrats, Tsukki, you still have to be here," Kuroo said dismissively. "This is an open table discussion where we advise our fellow teammates on how to properly ask their intendeds out. Who's first?"
Lev raised his freakishly long arm. "Shouldn't you go first since you're the team captain?"
Kuroo glared at Lev and replied, "No, I already have a plan. This is for you."
More like a way to find out who everyone likes, thought Oikawa. He side-eyed Tobio-chan who was looking more and more uncomfortable. "Tobio-chaaan! You should go first since you're one of the youngest."
Tobio's eyes shot daggers as Oikawa smiled sweetly at him.
Kuroo's Cheshire grin widened. "Perfect! Anyone you want to ask to your first dance, Tobio-chan?"
There was a long pause. Tobio looked like he had just swallowed a handful of fireflakes. With some difficulty he managed to say "Yeah, maybe."
Oikawa was slightly taken aback. He didn't really expect Tobio to actually want to take someone to the Yule Ball due to his utter lack of social skills and apparent hatred of PDA, but now that he thought about it, there was someone who he could see Kageyama going with. A certain, red-head perhaps.
Kageyama quickly looked around and realized that his whole team suspected whom exactly he wanted to ask. "Please, don't tell him! I don't even know if he... you know..."
The whole team nodded. Most of them had been there. Oikawa was still there.
"Just go for it!" Lev said enthusiastically. "Like me! Watch." Lev cleared his throat. "Hey, Yaku-san? Want to go to the Yule Ball with me?"
The short seeker's face turned as red as a tomato and coughed uncomfortably as all eyes turned to him. "Uh, yeah. Sure."
Lev beamed and gave Kageyama a thumbs up. "Like that!"
Kageyama's face looked slightly green and Oikawa suspected that it had nothing to do with the lighting. Like that? Yeah, right. Like life was ever that simple.
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Hinata was slightly worried. Kageyama had been looking slightly off the whole morning and didn't even react when Hinata took his toast. In fact, he didn't seem to notice that Hinata was there at all.
"Hey, Yamayama-kun, can I have your juice?" Hinata asked as a test. Kageyama hated it when Hinata called him that.
"...Sure." came the answer from zombie-Kageyama's mouth.
Hinata narrowed his eyes. "Kags, I think I'm going to go set Professor Nekomata on fire and dance naked in front of everyone."
"Cool."
Hinata shot a panicked look at Noya and Tanaka. "Guys... I think he's broken."
"Who's broken?" Kenma asked, appearing out of nowhere.
"Kenma! Thank God! Fix Kageyama please!" Hinata shoved Kenma towards his barely functioning friend.
Kenma took one look at Kageyama and decided that it was too early in the morning for this. "You know what? I think I'll sit at my own table for once," he said as he promptly got up and left.
There was no hope. Kageyama's brain had been eaten by zombies and they were probably coming for Hinata's brain next.
Suddenly there was a "Hey, chibi-chan!" and a large hand clapped his shoulder.
"DON'T TAKE MY BRAIN PLEASE!" Hinata screamed and turned to face his attacker, Bokuto. "Oh, hi! Hehe, sorry." Hinata laughed sheepishly. "Morning, Bokuto-san."
Bokuto gave Hinata and Kageyama a slightly worried look but then went to go sit by Kuroo at the Slytherin Table. The two of them immediately put their heads close together and cast furtive looks around the room and especially at Akaashi who was in deep conversation with Kenma.
"Kags."
No response.
"Kageyama."
Nothing.
"Yamayama-kun."
Nada.
"Tobio-chaaaaaaaaan."
"Don't call me that."
Victory! "He speaks! Kageyama, what's your problem?" Hinata pounced before Kageyama could go back to being a zombie. "Tell me!!"
The two began to wrestle and Hinata's hand smushed Kageyama's face while Kageyama's elbow was embedded in Hinata's stomach.
"Get off me!"
"Not until you tell me what's wrong!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"NO!" shouted Kageyama.
"YES!" Hinata shouted back.
"NO!"
"NO!"
"YE- wait." Kageyama stopped.
"Haha! Tell me." Hinata glared at him. No one in the Great Hall was paying any attention to them since their fights were daily occurrences.
Kageyama's face scrunched up and his face reminded Hinata of that one time when Hinata accidentally smacked a bludger into the back of his head during a joint practice.
"Errr... or not. You know what, nevermind, see you around." Hinata said hastily and ran out of the Great Hall as fast as he could. As he barged out he could hear the dull thud of Kageyama's head hitting the table.
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