This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

House: Hufflepuff

Year: 7 stand in (with permission)

Category: Drabble

Prompt: [Event] Birthday

Character: Blaise Zabini

Word Count: 498

Au-Canon

Dance if you want to

"Draco, I can't believe you invited Potter and his friends to my party," Blaise said, annoyed.

"I'm sorry, I panicked," Draco responded nervously.

"Since when does Draco Malfoy panic?" Blaise said, rolling his eyes at his friend.

"Come on, Blaise. I know you would do the same for me, " Draco insisted.

"I would throw you a birthday party and invite my crush to it?" Blaise queried.

"Shhhh…" Draco said, looking around to check if Potter had arrived yet. Blaise laughed; his friend was clearly smitten with the Gryffindor.

Blaise wasn't surprised that the rest of the golden trio hadn't joined for the party. He knew Weasley and Granger weren't exactly supportive of his life choices. Maybe they believed he should be with the female Weasley? Potter and Ginny Weasley had tried dating before briefly but one cannot force love. He heard from Draco that Ron Weasley didn't take the break-up well at all, even though the feeling had been mutual from Ginny and Harry's sides.

What did surprise the birthday boy was that Potter wasn't alone. He was walking arm in arm with none other than Luna Lovegood.

The second they walked in the music seemed to stop. Blaise's eyes swept over her and his mouth went dry. She was wearing a cotton blue dress, cut above the knee, with Ravenclaw striped socks, and golden ballet flats. On her ears she wore radish earrings.

Forgetting all the Draco drama, he walked over to the two of them; the only non-Slytherin members of this party.

"Thank you for coming to my party," he said by way of greeting, spotting the small box in Luna's hands.

"Thank you for inviting us. Happy birthday, Blaise," she said, handing over the small blue box with a golden ribbon. Potter muttered a quick greeting before disappearing off to find Draco.

He opened the small box carefully, finding a copper ring engraved with a snake.

"I hope you like it," she said, "the snake moves."

Blaise was at a loss for words. He nodded, removing the ring and putting it on his right ring finger. He noticed the ring adjust size to fit him perfectly. Then, Blaise decided it was worth having Potter crash his party, since it meant he got to spend his time in the company of this strangely dressed angel.

"I love what you've done with the decor," Luna said, looking around at the blue balloons, tablecloths, and tables covered in snacks on copper serving plates.

"Blue is my favorite color," Luna said softly, keeping Blaise hanging on her every word.

"So is mine," he replied, smiling at her.

They chatted for a while. Later during the night as the music changed Luna said, "I love this song."

Blaise held out a hand to her and pulled her into his arms, not caring that nobody else was dancing. The world vanished into a bubble they were trapped in together. This was his party, and he would dance if he wanted to.