The day finally came, and the Yule Ball was like a dream. The dance opened with the Champions waltzing. It was all the buzz because the Hogwarts Champion, a dapper young man named Nick Fury, asked the Ylvermorny Champion to be his date, a tough-looking girl named Carol Danvers. The Beauxbaton Champion, Maria Rambeau, was escorted by a guy from her school, Jacques Duquesne. After the two couples danced for half a song, other students joined.

The most excited person was, without a doubt, Jane Foster. She had been dating Thor for a while now, but she wouldn't believe him until today when he assured her that he was a real-life prince, heir to the throne of a small kingdom in Norway called Asgard. Jane was sure that he was just boasting, but tonight he was wearing his tuxedo regally, with a royalty sash across his chest embroidered with an honest-to-Merlin Coat of Arms. His brother Loki, sulking alone in a corner, was wearing a similar outfit. Jane had decorated her hair with a silver replica of the Ravenclaw tiara almost as a joke. But right now, she felt like a princess, swaying around the magnificent ballroom in the arms of an outstanding dance partner. It was evident that Thor, rough as he could be, had been forced to take dance lessons before Hogwarts.

"Who taught you how to dance like this?" Jane asked, a huge smile on her pretty face.

"My mother, Queen Frigga. She's an outstanding witch; I'm afraid I'll never be as good as her. I'm not like Loki. He was always by her side, so he knew a lot of spells before coming to Hogwarts. I used to make a lot of fun of him for always being under Mother's skirts, but it is paying off now. I'm sure he will become a Prefect next year."

Jane looked back at the corner where the other young prince was standing alone, a sour look on his face.

"Why is your brother alone today? It seems to me that he is always holding court somewhere. Didn't he ask any girl to the Ball?"

Thor looked a bit sad.

"Well, that's the thing. Loki is…not that into girls. He may have wanted to ask someone to the Ball, but my guess is he didn't dare. Maybe fear of being rejected. Maybe the boy he likes doesn't like boys or doesn't like him. It's like a double risk, you know. Loki hates taking risks."

Jane followed Loki's gaze to the other side of the room. She had noticed how the Slytherin boy kept stealing looks at somebody in the distance, only to look away quickly to avoid getting caught.

"I think we can help him," Jane asserted. The gears in her Ravenclaw brain quickly gathered all the information she could remember about Loki and the boy standing on the other side of the room, who was now approaching the refreshments table. "Go get your brother and take him out to the balcony behind those curtains. I'll talk to the bloke he likes and bring him by. Maybe if they are alone for a few minutes, Loki will take a chance," she said, already starting to walk away.

"How do you know who it is?" Thor asked, amused.

"I'm observant," she answered, winking at him. Gosh, that girl. Thor was so in love that his heart might explode. He shook his head and went to talk to his brother.

"Loki, my brother," he said pompously, patting him on the back way too hard. The dark-haired boy gave him a murderous glare.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be charming your little witch?"

"Yes, yes, of course, but you look like you could use some fresh air, come on, let's go to the balcony for a few minutes while Jane checks in with her friends," the blonde lied.

Loki sighed and followed his brother; He didn't want to be in the ballroom anyway.

Meanwhile, Jane approached the refreshments table, grabbed a cup of punch, and smiled at a Slytherin fifth-year boy that looked at her with a curious smirk.

"Hello," the boy said. "You are Odinson's girlfriend, right? The blonde Odinson?"

"Hi. Yes, I'm Thor's girlfriend. My name is Jane, Jane Foster," she answered, offering a hand to shake.

"Bucky Barnes," the boy responded, amused. What was going on here, he had no idea.

"So, Bucky, you know the other Odinson brother then? Loki?"

"I do. He is the seeker for our quidditch team, and I'm the Captain," the broad-shouldered boy answered, blushing a little. He had noticed Loki stealing glances at him in the locker room. And he did not mind it one bit.

"So, you two are friends then?"

"Well, not really, no. Loki Odinson is…unusual."

"They're not too bad. I think he is, in fact, timid and tries to hide it by being boastful. Thor can be a bit boastful too, you know; their parents raised them like princes after all.'

"So it is true. The Odinsons are real princes."

"Yes, they are. But I think that creates too much pressure for them. Especially for Loki; He feels like he has to be special, but I also think he is very lonely."

"That's a bit sad," he said, his heart pinching a little. He had assumed Loki was a shithead that thought himself better than anyone else until today. But maybe he was just a lonely boy, like him. Bucky was an orphan from Brooklyn, New York, who had asked to transfer from Ilvermorny to Hogwarts to try to escape his "poor foundling" reputation and had made a name for himself by becoming the Slytherin quidditch captain. However, he still didn't have many friends, save for the Captain of the Gryffindor team, Steve Rogers, who was just a lovely kid. Maybe Loki lived in his own kind of loneliness. His thoughts were interrupted by a little hand in his.

"Come one; Thor must be waiting for me. It will be fun, I promise."

Bucky smiled and let himself be dragged through some curtains to a terrace where Thor was talking Loki's head off, and the dark-haired brother looked like he wanted to jump off the damn balcony.

"Hi honey, I need you to come with me," Jane said, dropping Bucky's hand and pulling Thor back inside the ballroom before giving him time to finish his conversation.

Loki watched them go, mouth hanging a bit. The way Jane had his brother wrapped around her finger was mindblowing. It took him a minute to notice he was not alone on the balcony.

"Hello," a deep, amused voice spoke way too close to his face. Loki turned around and blushed deep red. The handsome face of his quidditch Captain was very close to him, and Loki couldn't help but stare at the beautiful smile.

"Barnes," he responded, voice breaking with nerves.

Bucky stared for a few seconds, thinking of something to say. When nothing came to mind, he thought, "screw it, he can punch me if he wants to," then leaned in and kissed Loki right on the mouth.

Everything slowed down. Loki felt his heart stop and start beating again. His arms went of their own volition to wrap around the quidditch captain's neck. Bucky pushed him against the rail, and they kissed hungrily as if the world could end at any minute. When they finally came up for air Bucky asked with a smile:

"Do you want to dance?"

"Maybe later," Loki responded, pulling him back for some more delicious kisses. Maybe Thor and his little girlfriend were not that bad. After all, they just gave him the best Yule present ever.