It was two days before the Yule Ball, and two Gryffindor boys were sulking in front of the fireplace of their common room.
"This is embarrassing," Clint said, stirring the logs in the fire with a poker. "We are Gryffindors, and we are supposed to be brave, daring, and courageous. Yet here we are; The only two idiots without dates for the Ball."
"Well, I don't think Godric Gryffindor meant to include asking out girls when he declared the qualities of our house," Steve mumbled, only to get a slap on the back of the head." Ouch! Why did you do that?"
"Because we need it. We need to wake up, get off our butts and get ourselves some girls. Come on, hit me!"
"No! Why do you have to be so crass, Clint? Save it for the quidditch pitch. Asking girls out is, I don't know, about finesse or something like that."
"No is not!" didn't you hear that Banner got a date by turning into a green monster?"
"That doesn't count. You know that Romanov asked him out, not the other way around."
"No, she didn't. Banner babbled like a baboon in a hospital bed until she said yes."
"So that's what you suggest we do? Babble like monkeys in front of girls until someone says yes? Come on; you know Romanov is a special type of girl. She wanted Banner to ask her out; She's like, you know, in control."
"Well, maybe you should try babbling like a baboon, too, considering that the girl you want is another tough type."
"I don't know what you mean," Steve said, blushing.
"Of course you do. Look, there she is. Hey, Carter!" Clint called, only to find himself pinned down on the floor with a desperate hand covering his mouth.
"Yes, Barton?" the beautiful fifth-year prefect walked toward the pair, one perfect eyebrow raised in suspicion at their antics.
"Nothing! Sorry!" Steve squealed, not letting go of the boy wriggling underneath him.
Peggy Carter held Rogers' gaze for a few seconds, making his blush grow more intense, and his grip loosened enough for Clint to bite his hand.
"Ouch! You are an animal!" he said before turning back to the pretty girl, but she was already walking away, shaking her head in disapproval. Steve felt his heart drop to his feet.
"Ok, that's it," said Clint, oblivious to his friend's distress. "Cover me. I'm going in. well, not in, I'm going out."
"What? Where are you going? Is past curfew!" Steve panicked once again.
"Then I guess I cannot use the hallways then," he said, looking at a large window that seemed unlocked and had very long curtains around that trailed a few meters on the floor.
"What are you doing?" Steve asked, but it was too late.
"Just keep Carter distracted," Clint said, running toward the window and grabbing the curtain before kicking it open and jumping out.
"What the?" Peggy looked up to see the open window and was about to walk there when Steve stood in front of her. A mix of terror of getting in trouble and extreme excitement to be in front of this girl made his brain disconnect. Steve Rogers grabbed the house prefect in his arms, dipped her, and kissed her right on the mouth.
Meanwhile, Clint realized that he did not think this through and was now hanging from a curtain outside Gryffindor Tower.
"Steve! Steve!" he tried calling, but his friend was too busy to hear anything. He looked down and saw his intended objective: a ground-level window to the Hufflepuff common room. He tried to think quickly and let go of one hand to reach for his wand, but it fell off his pocket. "Shit!" he yelled, fear now setting in. The wand fell to the ground, bounced, and knocked on the window. The curtain started to rip off, making him drop a few more meters. Before he could go into absolute terror, a blonde head of hair came out of the window, grabbing the wand with curiosity. He called as loud as he could:
"Thor! Thor! Up here!"
The other boy looked up and grinned.
"Barton! What in the world are you doing?"
"Help me!" cling yelled, "levitate me or something!"
"Nah, I can catch you! Come on, let go!"
"Are you crazy? We'll both die!"
"No, I can catch you, come on, let go," the blonde insisted, climbing out the window and offering his open arms as if this was the funniest thing ever. At that moment, a small voice came out the window.
"Thor, what are you doing? Please get back in here, OH MY GODS! CLINT! WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING UP THERE?"
"Wanda, help me! Levitate me!" Clint yelled as the curtain ripped to a thin rag before breaking completely.
"Arresto momentum!" Wanda yelled, slowing down Clint's fall. She was too scared, though, so the spell failed, and he dropped a few more meters fast. She tried again, stopping him once more.
"Come on, I'll catch you for sure now," Thor insisted, still smiling. They had no time for more talk. The spell failed again, and Clint fell on top of Thor like a sack of bricks. "That was awesome!" the Hufflepuff boy said triumphantly before some tiny fists pummeled him.
"He could have died, you idiot; why didn't you help me with the spell?" Wanda beat on him, eyes filled with tears.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, ok? I just thought it was some good fun. He's fine, isn't he?"
Wanda kept hitting him, tears rolling down her face as she charged at the bigger boy like an enraged hamster. She was pulled off him by another set of arms.
"Wanda! Wanda! Calm down; I'm ok. I'm sorry! It's my fault! I was the idiot that jumped out a window!" Clint said, holding her tight.
"I'll leave you to it," Thor said, the smile never faltering.
Wanda turned around, now crying in earnest, weak fists hitting Clint's chest.
"You scared me, you stupid, stupid idiot!"
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Wanda; I swear I would never do something like that again. I just needed to see you."
Wanda stopped her jabs.
"You wanted to see me? Now? In the middle of the night? Why?"
"Because the Yule Ball is in two days, and I haven't asked you yet, and I thought, well, maybe it would be too late if I waited until tomorrow. Do you want to go to the Ball with me?"
Wanda huffed an incredulous cry-laugh, then jumped to wrap her arms around his neck and kissed him right on the mouth. Clint responded enthusiastically, and they stayed entangled for a few glorious minutes until a magically amplified voice called from above.
"Barton! Detention! One month, you reckless little berk!" Peggy Carter yelled furiously from the window of Gryffindor tower. Wanda amplified her own voice with her wand to the throat.
"Can it be after the Yule Ball? Please?"
Peggy snorted. "Fine. But he better treat you well," she said, coming back inside the window and looking at a very flustered but smiling Steve Rogers.
"And you. You should get detention too. You are an accomplice. Two days. After the Yule Ball, of course. Because you are asking me to go with you, right?"
Steve's smile was so big his face hurt.
"Yes, ma'am."