Rare Pair Shorts

FOR YOU, amorette!

'Angelina.'

'No.'

'Luna, then,' Ron offered.

'I have never even spoken with Miss Lovegood before,' Percy replied, crossing his arms across his slender chest. He shook his head. 'If I were to walk up to her, in the presence of this company assembled, and kiss her for the duration of five seconds, she would protest.'

'You really haven't hung around Luna before. She might not even notice that your lips are on hers,' Ron stated. He glanced around the room for another target. After all, he'd won this bet, and now he just had to select someone for the prim and fussy Percy to snog in public as his penalty.

The bet itself had been fairly straightforward, having emerged from a disagreement between the brothers about the reason why Blaise and Ginny had announced such a short engagement before their upcoming wedding. A seven-month engagement. Who was engaged for less than a year these days? It took time to plan the affair and order all the food and finery. Regardless, Percy had bet that the young couple was simply in love, while Ron's wager was for a bun in the oven.

The loser had to snog someone of the winner's choosing at the engagement party, a big affair with dozens of guests from Hogwarts and the Order of the Phoenix in attendance. Mrs. Weasley had been prepping the garden space outside the Burrow for weeks, and was now watching over all the guests like a mother hen over her chicks.

Percy just hoped this kiss managed to slip by the woman.

Ron's eyes settled on his sister-in-law at the drinks table. He'd made an arse of himself in front of her on more than one occasion, and it might be nice to settle the score amongst all his brothers. 'Fleur.'

'No,' Percy said, rejecting the idea outright.

'Why not?' Ron asked, a slight whine to his voice.

'Would you prefer a chart or an itemised list? One, she is already a member of our family. Two, Bill would murder me if I laid a hand on his wife. Three--and perhaps I should have listed this first, Fleur is a powerful witch in her own right, and has an arsenal of spells at her disposal to maim me before one iota of a second has passed. I have no desire to risk my own health for your amusement.'

Ron frowned. What was the fun in winning a bet against your older brother if he refused to carry out the terms of his loss? He looked around again for a bird.

One with curly brown feathers presented herself at the garden gate.

Ron grinned. 'Hermione, then.'

Percy's attention shifted to the young woman in question. Dressed in blue, she looked as delicious as ever. True, she'd kissed Ron once when they were trying to figure out if they'd ever work, but that had never turned into anything. How could it? She and Ron made no sense. To Percy, however, she was ideal. Feminine and whipsmart, ambitious and caring, he'd admired her for years. He'd even made inroads with her of late, a few late evenings working together on some projects for Gin and Blaise's wedding, but assaulting her in public would undoubtedly set back their budding... could he call it a relationship? He wasn't sure. Whatever it was that they had, it was too new to stand up to public scrutiny.

Percy swallowed. 'Hermione... Granger?'

Ron snorted. 'Do you know another?'

This was met with a silent glare.

'Listen, Perce, you've refused all the others, but you can't do that forever,' Ron said, poking his brother in the chest. 'I still won, didn't I? You've got to snog someone here for a minimum of five seconds. I say it's her.'

Percy narrowed his gaze at his kid brother and shrugged. 'Fine. Miss Granger it is.'