'Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?' Ron asks Macey as he nurses his bottle of butterbeer and stares out at the packed dance floor.

She smiles brightly. 'Only a dozen times, but I'll never get tired of hearing it.'

'Then I'll say it a dozen more.' He takes her hand and she threads her fingers through his.

He should ask her to dance. Girls like dancing, and they tend to overthink things when their date doesn't. Besides, the others are already out there, Harry teaching Luna some strange sequence of steps that he calls the Macarena while Fred and Hermione twist and turn their way through a more traditional ballroom style. But if Ron and Macey go out now, when the band is in full swing, the only thing she'll have to think about is sore toes.

No, it's better for both of them to wait for a slow song where they can sway back and forth without him stomping all over her feet.

He drains the last of his butterbeer, the syrupy sweet liquid burning its way down his throat and flooding his body with warmth.

Next to him, Macey sighs, and he frowns. 'Is something wrong?'

'No. This is nice, you and me.'

She's lying. They haven't been seeing one another long, but one of the few things he excelled at in Auror training was working out when someone's trying to deceive him. 'You can tell me if something's bothering you. Is it because I haven't asked you to dance? I'm going to, but if we stand up now, I'll just embarrass both of us.'

'No,' she says, laughing. 'It's just…' She bites her lip, and he's convinced she's going to brush it off again. But then she blurts out in a rush, 'Having your date's ex around isn't easy, and it's tough to keep up with your brother sometimes.'

'I get that.' As welcoming as Hermione and Fred are trying to be, he knows they can both take some getting used to, particularly given his history with Hermione. 'Fred takes a while to grow on you, and if it makes you feel any better, Hermione and I are happier apart.'

'And Harry,' she says, as if she can't stop herself now she's on a roll. 'He's great, but he's a bit intimidating, isn't he, with all that Chosen One stuff?'

Ron doesn't bother trying to contain his snort. She wouldn't think that if she ever saw Harry's teenage self ruffling through his trunk first thing in the morning, hair sticking up every which way and glasses askew, trying to remember whether he'd sent his socks to be washed and if he had any left. 'Yeah, the whole fame and fortune schtick is hard to get past, but he's all heart when you get to know him. It doesn't help with the first meeting, though.'

'No, it doesn't. And that Luna.' Macey shakes her head, and her dangling earrings clink against one another like windchimes — or sirens. 'I can't understand what she's talking about half the time. Does she like scandalising people?'

The words hit him with the precision of a curse, and his blood runs cold. Perhaps he's expecting too much of her. He's had the same issues with the others over the years — Harry's fame, Hermione's bossiness, Fred's mischief-making, Luna's eccentricities… Macey's only just met them, and he can hardly expect her to handle it more gracefully than he did.

But they're his friends, and every one of those faults have been carved and etched on their skin after years of having insults flung at them.

'That isn't fair,' he says quietly. 'Luna's a wonderful person, and she's been through more than most people ever will. Nobody has the right to judge her for how she deals with that.'

Macey frowns at him the way she scowls at the crossword when she's messed up a word. 'This is why I didn't want to tell you what I felt in the first place. You're the one who pushed for an answer; you can't be upset that it isn't one you like.'

He doesn't blame her for answering him, but he can't pretend that her feelings sit right with him. He likes her; she's fun and interesting, and she takes his breath away when she's all dressed up like this. That's rare these days, especially when everyone starts out with such strong opinions on Ron and his friends. Girls either want to go out with him so they can brush shoulders with the Harry Potter, or they avoid Ron entirely so they don't get roped into the media circus. From the first time they ran into one another at his favourite café, Macey struck the perfect middle ground — someone who isn't looking to name drop but genuinely likes him enough to put up with all the rest of it.

But at the end of the day, these people aren't just his friends. They're his family — in Fred's case, literally. If she can't accept them, what future can they possibly have?

A cymbal clashes, then the guitarist plays the dying notes of the happy jaunt. After a few seconds of silence, the keyboardist begins to play again, leading the rest of the band in a slower, quieter song. It's the perfect music for couples who prefer swaying to dancing.

One table over, Eli — a man from Ron's department — starts to cross the floor towards the refreshment table. Relief swells in him at the sight. Ron's been meaning to talk to him about a joint project for a few days now, and while he would usually wait for Monday, his fingers are untangling from Macey's before his mind even catches up. He needs a minute, or more accurately several. He can't be sure he'll get another opening. 'I need to ask a colleague a quick question, then I'll be right back.'

Macey nods, but her smile looks wooden. Forced. 'I'll get us both another round.'

They're going to need it.