House: Gryffindor

Year: 6

Category: Drabble

Prompt: Tap shoes

Word count: 700

Other: Non- Magic AU, Sort of Oliver x Percy, Dance company AU, Ballet Dancer Oliver, Costume designer Percy (I was trying to find a place for Percy at the company and briefly thought about him making the costumes with Luna and it was too good of an idea to pass up. It doesn't really have anything to do with his character I just thought it'd be funny. Also, the title is from the Wizard of Oz)

Click your heels three times

A loud crash sounded throughout the room as one of the costume racks fell to the floor. Oliver watched in horror as a mess of tight, glittery, neon-colored clothing spread over the tiles. It was an accident but Percy and Luna wouldn't accept that as an excuse. They spent hours sorting through all the old costumes and would surely punish Oliver for tripping and sending them to the floor.

One would think that Oliver would have been able to gracefully save himself from the mishap, considering that he was a ballet dancer and could land on his feet just as well as a cat. But the costume room always made him nervous, mostly because of a certain red-haired boy who he called his best friend but had been dying to call something more.

"What happened!" Percy ran over to Oliver who had ended up trapped underneath the rack of clothes.

"I, uh, tripped." Oliver could feel a blush spreading throughout his entire body as Percy pulled the metal rack off the dancer.

"Are you hurt?"

"Physically, no." Oliver chuckled. "But my pride might be."

"Oliver, I'm being serious." Percy started to poke him. "If you're hurt you need to tell me."

"I'm not hurt, I promise."

"Good," Percy started to pick the costumes up, "Because you have that big performance coming up and I'd hate for you to lose this opportunity because of your clumsiness."

"I'm not clumsy."

"For a ballet dancer you are."

"Shut up." Oliver pushed Percy. "Can you just fit me for my costume already?"


"I thought you said you weren't clumsy." Percy sighed as he helped Oliver into the brunet's apartment.

Thankfully, Oliver's accident occured after he was done with the big show. It was only a sprained ankle, but that didn't stop anyone from being angry with him. It happened while he was changing out of his costume from the show and hopefully he'd be better by the time rehearsal started for the next one.

Oliver was occupied with the fact that Percy was in his apartment, anyway. Surprisingly, even though they had been friends since middle school, Percy had never visited Oliver's apartment. It was mostly because they saw each other every day at work, and because Oliver had a bunch of weird things at his place.

Like his mother's tap dance shoes which were being kept in a tiny glass case. Oliver couldn't honestly remember why he kept them. Sure, they were a nice reminder of his mother since she had passed away a few years ago, but Oliver never talked about his mother. His friends would ask and he'd never say anything. Percy didn't even know everything and he probably wouldn't tell him.

"Are these your tap shoes?" Percy peered over the glass case as Oliver lowered himself onto the couch.

"No, they were my mom's."

Percy turned around, his mouth agape with surprise. "What?"

"She was the one who put me in dance. I used to tap but when I realized I would never live up to her expectations in tap, I joined ballet."

"I never knew she danced." Percy stared at the shoes again.

"I'm sure you know her name, though: Iona Reid." Oliver paused. "She stopped when she married my dad."

"Is that why you never let me talk to her for anything longer than three seconds?"

"Yeah, because I was afraid she'd tell you how much of a disappointment I am." The painkillers Oliver had taken were starting to affect him. "And I didn't want you to know how lame I actually am."

"Funny," Percy sat down on the couch, "I didn't want you to think I'm lame."

"You've always been the coolest person in my eyes. You saw how I fell in love with ballet and encouraged me to continue even when I didn't think I could. You were never lame."

They spent the rest of the night talking. Somehow they ended up tangled on the couch with the tap shoes watching from their perch. Oliver forgot all about his mother but she would always be in the back of his mind, pushing him to do better and reminding him to keep those who he loved close.