Ceremonials

Pink and Gold and Glittering

A/N: for anyone wondering how Ron and Padma got together, here you go

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Ron paced the cobblestones again. It wasn't that he didn't trust Luna per se, but he couldn't help the swell of trepidation at letting her set this all up.

Luna was kind, sweet and loyal. But also a bit barmy. Take for instance the odd conversation that had led to Ron waiting outside a restaurant for his date to show up.

Two weeks ago during one of the Sunday Burrow gatherings, Ron had been helping himself to a second mince pie when Luna approached with a wide-eyed smile.

"Hello Ronald."

"Hey Luna."

"Your aura is dulled."

"Er, sorry?"

"No, you don't have to apologize for such a thing. It is a natural consequence of unhappiness."

"Ah. Right."

"Was that too obtuse?" she asked, looking apologetic. "Rolf says I should work on being more direct. What I meant to say was: you look unhappy."

"Thank you?"

"Is it because your dating life has not gone well since Hermione?"

Ron didn't know whether to laugh or huff in offense. Typical Luna, she'd hit him with an uncomfortable truth that he'd not wanted said aloud.

Because his dating life was an absolute shitshow.

Was it sort of fun at first to be single and free to bed any willing witch he felt like? Of course. But it sure got old fast when most of these witches considered crooning in his ear "Tell me about Harry Potter," to be foreplay.

Press coverage was another mood killer.

It had only happened twice, but seeing pictures of himself on a date in The Prophet made him want to move to another country and change his name. His mother's Howlers were just the cherry on top of that mortification sundae.

Things should have worked out with Hermione (a fact his mother liked to throw in his face every now and then) and when that slow disintegration had finally crumbled, Ron found himself aimlessly navigating the dating scene for the first time in years. Unsuccessfully.

"You could say that," Ron replied.

"If you like, I could set you up with a friend of mine. I think your energies are compatible," said Luna.

"Ah, okay I s'pose. Who?"

"Do you remember Padma Patil?"

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Ron did remember Padma Patil. Or rather, he remembered a pretty, dark-haired girl he'd treated like shite during the Yule Ball. That girl from Fourth Year had grown into a beautiful woman, Ron immediately noted, as she approached him now with a tight, nervous smile.

The glow from the streetlamps glinted off the gold bracelets at her wrists and hoop earrings, her black hair tied back in a plait. The pale pink of her dress an exact match for her lip color.

"Hello Ron," she said, her voice slightly breathy.

"Hey, good to see you again."

They didn't hug or shake hands, and Ron belatedly realized he'd stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Well, ah, shall we?" he gestured towards the restaurant entrance and at least remembered to hold the door open for her. He pictured Hermione's scowl in his head for all the times he'd forgotten to do that for her.