Title: Dancing in the Rain
Team: Caerphilly Catapults
Position: Chaser 1
Round: QL Daily Finish the Lyrics Competition
Prompt: Midnight Rain
Additional Prompts used: NA

A comedy Marathon: number 21
Prompt: (trait) competitive

April Madness: number 25
Prompt: (dialogue) "Have you ever seen anything like it?"

Bejewelled II: Tanzanite
Prompt: (time) midnight

Break a Leg: number 8 Dust and Ashes- Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812
Prompt: (colour) burgundy

Gotta Catch Em All: Fire number 2- Charmander
Prompt: (emotion) Happiness

Gather Your Party: wizard number 10
Prompt: (character) Percy Weasley

Scamander's Case: Bowtruckle
Prompt: (pairing) PercyOliver

Easter special: number 8 Kitchens; Egg run number 7
Prompt: (time of day) midnight; (plot point) getting caught in the rain

Writing club: Quotations number 3; Fight Club number 5; days of the month number 6; colour theory number 24 – (Pokemon) Onyx; Founder says- Rowena says number 5; room of requirement number 9

Prompt: (dialogue) "If I had known the world was ending, I would've brought better books."; (character) Percy Weasley; Write about a relaxing day; (item) pebbles; (dialogue) "Is there anyone else sensible here other than me? Anyone? No?"; (character) Percy Weasley

Word count: 2216
Betas: Rose

A/N Set in an AU where pairings and even family trees may be massively different. There is no evil Voldemort in this universe and therefore none of the prejudice present in canon. Allow your imagination to run wild with this series of tales.
Warnings: Some homophobic opinions although they do get called out


Percy stepped out of the fire into Oliver's flat, wearing his jeans and Burgundy handmade Christmas jumper and carrying a backpack. Hearing the rush of the Floo, Oliver entered the living room to find Percy stepping out of the fireplace and brushing the soot off his clothes.

"What are you wearing?" Oliver asked.

"Hello to you too, love," Percy said.

"Sorry. Hello, love," Oliver said, giving Percy a rib cracking hug. "What are you wearing?"

"Clothes?" Percy replied, looking down with a bewildered expression on his face. "Should I not be?"

"Well…" Oliver grinned.

"Really? That's where your mind has gone? Is there anyone else sensible here other than me? Anyone? No?"

"I mean obviously when the set-up is that obvious. What other response was there?" Oliver shrugged, while Percy rolled his eyes. "And I've been known to be sensible." Percy raised his eyebrows and looked pointedly at Oliver.

"Name me one time you've been sensible."

"Well, there was… erm… when I decided to ask you out on our first date. That was very sensible of me." Oliver grinned at Percy who smiled back.

"Fair point– so one time?" Percy joked while Oliver pretended to look hurt. "So, what's wrong with my clothes?"

"I said I was taking you out for dinner."

"I know," Percy said, holding up the bag he had brought with him. "I brought a change. Do you have any idea how excited my mother would get if I left the house dressed up for a date?"

"Ok, fair enough." Oliver conceded, smiling as he gave Percy a kiss on the cheek. "But don't take too long. I've found somewhere with the best dessert and I can't wait!"

Half an hour later Oliver and Percy were walking hand-in-hand towards the restaurant.

"So, have you actually been to this restaurant before?" Percy asked.

"Yeah, I came here with my mum and dad a couple of months ago. The desserts are a work of art," Oliver told Percy as he opened the door of the restaurant and walked in followed by Percy. "This place has the best Tiramisu. I promise you."

"You always find the best places for our dates," Percy smiled fondly at Oliver.

"Percy?"

Percy looked up and saw Ron helping none other than Pansy Parkinson into her coat.

"Uh…hi Ronald," Percy said, turning red.

There was a moment of silence as Ron looked from Percy to Oliver and Percy looked from Ron to Pansy.

"You're on a date with Oliver?" Ron asked at the same time as Percy asked.

"You're on a date with Pansy?"

"Yeah," Ron and Percy said simultaneously. "Why didn't you tell me you were seeing someone?"

"Jinx," Oliver joked, trying to relieve the tension that was in the air between the two brothers.

"Seriously?" Ron asked, looking incredulous. "I am the only person in our family who is straight?"

"'I wasn't sure how you'd take it…wait…what?" Percy said, looking at Ron as though he had sprouted a second head. "What do you mean are you the only one who's straight?"

"Ginny is dating Luna," Ron said bluntly.

"Oh, good for her," Oliver smiled while Percy looked mildly surprised.

"And she told you this?" Percy asked, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Ron.

"She didn't– I mean I don't think she was planning on it, but when we caught her kissing Luna…" Ron trailed off.

"What did you say to her?" Percy asked knowingly.

"I… well I didn't… I don't think I said anything… but she gave me an earful of her opinions anyway."

"You tried to tell her what she could do, didn't you?" Percy cast an 'I knew I was right not to tell my family' look at Oliver.

"I…"

"I'll take that as a yes then," Percy sighed.

"I mean why can't you and Ginny just be normal?" Ron fumed.

"Ron!" Pansy admonished him.

"Excuse me?" Oliver said, glaring at Ron. "Normal?"

"There's plenty of good-looking witches you could date," Ron ploughed on ignoring Oliver.

"I don't want to date a witch, Ron. Not that it's any of your business, nor is it your place to tell other people who they should want to date. The world isn't just made up of straight people you know."

"Why is everyone I know gay? Is there anyone else sensible here other than me? Anyone? No?" Ron said with an anguished look on his face.

"Ron, this isn't helping," Pansy said, placing a hand on his arm. "Come on, love, let's go back to mine."

"You won't catch being gay just by knowing gay people," Oliver said coldly. "Come on, Perce. I'm hungry and I don't want to lose my appetite dealing with narrow minded people before I've had my Tiramisu."

"Oh, the Tiramisu was the best," Pansy smiled at Oliver in an attempt to relieve the tension. "You won't be disappointed. Enjoy your evening." She took Ron's hand and pulled him out the door before he dug himself into a bigger hole.


"I understand now why you weren't keen on telling your family," Oliver shook his head sadly as he and Percy finished off their main course.

"Let's not spoil our day by talking about that." Percy raised his glass of wine. "Let's just concentrate on us and our day. I don't care what Ron thinks. You make me happier than I could ever have imagined."

"To us," Oliver said as he raised his own glass.

"To us," Percy said, clinking his glass against Oliver's and taking a rather large drink of wine. "You're not eating much." Percy observed.

"Saving room for dessert. Specifically for the Tiramisu."

"Is it that good?"

"It is that good."

The waiter approached their table.

"All done?" he asked.

"Yes, thanks," Oliver replied.

"Can I get you the dessert menu?" the waiter asked, gathering up their plates.

"No need." Oliver grinned at Percy. "I'll have the Tiramisu and he's dying to try it as well."

"Oh." The waiter looked worried. "Let me just go and check if we have any left. It's been very popular tonight."

"What are we going to do if they don't have any?!" Oliver looked horrified.

"It's not the end of the world."

"It is. You need to try it!"

"If I had known the world was ending, I would've brought better books," Percy joked.

"You brought books? On our date?"

"Not on our date, but there are books in my bag."

"Of course there are," Oliver said, rolling his eyes. "You're such a nerd."

"Hey!" Percy protested.

"You are, but you're my nerd and I love your nerdiness."

The waiter returned, "I'm sorry, but we're out of the Tiramisu. I can get you the dessert menu if you want something else."

"Let's just take a walk around our loch," Percy said to Oliver.

"Just the bill then?" the waiter said.


It was near midnight as Percy and Oliver strolled along the shores of Loch Lomond. There was a moderate breeze making Percy shiver as they stopped to watch the waves on the surface of the loch hiss quietly against the rocky beach. The waxing crescent of the moon slowly crept out from behind the thick dark cover of clouds that blanketed the sky casting a white glow; its reflection in the loch rippling as the waves rolled in with the rising tide. Shivering again, Percy opened his bag and pulled out his burgundy jumper and pulled it on.

"Feeling cold?" Oliver grinned.

"It's freezing out here," Percy said through chattering teeth.

"You're havering. It's not that cold. It's a lovely night. Have you ever seen anything like it?"

"Clouds? Wow, amazing."

"The clouds, the moon breaking through the clouds, the little sprinkling of stars that are poking through, the loch, the waves rippling in the moonlight. It's just a really nice night."

"It's cold," Percy said, his teeth still chattering as he'd hugged his arms around his chest.

"Well, let's do something then to warm up."

"That would make us colder."

"That's where your mind goes? I meant a rock skimming contest. I bet I can find the best skimming rocks and skim the rocks further than you can, without magic."

"Why is everything with you a competition?" Percy laughed. "But I'll bet you a galleon I can skim the rocks further than you can."

"You're on," Oliver grinned, searching through the pebbles on the shore searching for some good flat pebbles. He was determined to beat Percy at rock skimming. With a handful of good skimmers Oliver stepped up to the edge of the water. "Oh, you're never going to beat that," Oliver gloated as he watched his pebble skip across the water seven times.

"Who says?" Percy asked, trying to skim his pebble only for it to make a wet, BLOP, and sink beneath the surface of the loch. Oliver's next pebble skimmed across the surface six times. Another wet BLOP sounded as Percy's next attempt fared no better than the first attempt. "How are you doing that?" Percy asked, infuriated as Oliver's next pebble skimmed across the surface seven times again.

"I told you you'd never beat me!"

"Show off!"

"But you love it. Just like I love you and all your nerdy little bookish facts," Oliver smiled happily pulling Percy in for a kiss.

"Merlin, help me, I do. I've no idea why, but I do." Percy let out a happy sigh.

They stood there for several minutes watching the water lap at the shore and listening to the gentle splashing sound of the little waves as they broke against the pebbly beach. The first drops of rain began to fall; they could feel the occasional rain drop hit their face and hands and see the scattered rain drops striking the surface of the loch sending their own little ripples through the constantly moving water. They stood and watched as the rain got heavier and heavier until the sound of it melded with the sound of the waves, a cacophony of water sounds thundering in their ears. The rain was so heavy now that their hair was plastered to their heads and little rivers of water ran off their heads and down the back of their necks.

"I'm soaked," Percy grumbled. "Shall we head home and sit in front of the fire?"

"Och, it's hardly raining," Oliver said as he tilted his head back so he could face the downpour. "I've played Quidditch in much worse weather than this."

"I'm aware," Percy said tartly. "I however, much prefer to be sheltered indoors in this inclement weather, or at the very least, huddled under an umbrella."

"Well, you have a wand," Oliver reminded him, as he stood there in the rain, his head tilted back and his arms raised up welcoming the downpour as they heard the first rumble of thunder. Percy pulled out his wand and cast an impervious charm on himself as he watched his boyfriend spin in circles, happily rejoicing in the rain.

"You're such a weirdo," Percy laughed.

The first flash of lightning lit up the sky followed almost immediately by a loud clap of thunder.

"Come on, you'll be fine. It's not that dark. There's a bit of moonlight peeking through a gap in the clouds and the lightning will light everything up too. There's nothing in the dark to be afraid of."

Percy and Oliver turned around to see another couple coming down the path to the beach. The one in the lead was holding tight to the other's hand and leading him rather reluctantly towards the beach.

"Evening," he greeted, nodding at Percy and Oliver.

"Evening," they replied, nodding their heads at the other couple.

"Lovely night, isn't it?" Oliver asked as they passed by.

"I think so," replied the first man. "But this one," he tilted his head back in the direction of his companion, "is afraid of the dark, of thunderstorms and of dying. With a particular fear of being struck by lightning of all things. So, we're out to conquer our fear, right?"

The other man made a high-pitched non-committal noise. He looked as though he would rather be anywhere else than out in the dark of night, during a thunderstorm.

"Strictly speaking," Percy said, "the odds of being struck by lightning are less than one in a million."

"See?" the first man said. "Nothing to worry about. Enjoy your evening."

"And you," Oliver said, as the other couple moved further along the beach before muttering under his breath to Percy. "Nerd!"

"What?"

"'Strictly speaking the odds of being struck by lightning–' trust you to know these facts off the top of your head." Oliver laughed, shaking his head in disbelief as he watched Percy shiver violently in his cold, wet clothes. There was a loud clap of thunder as another bolt of lightning struck nearby, making them both jump and then laugh.

"C…c…can we g…g…go h…h…home n…now?" Percy said through chattering teeth.

"I suppose we'd better, before you freeze to death." Oliver draped his arms around Percy's shoulders. "Come on."

An ear-splitting clap of thunder sounded mere yards behind them as a bolt of lightning struck an old tree whose roots were mostly exposed through erosion. There was a blood curdling scream behind them and they whipped around and stared into the darkness…