The Switch (pjo/hp)

Chapter 13: All The Girls Hate Percy, and Maybe Cedric Does Too

Percy was really starting to panic. It was December twenty-first, and he still didn't have a partner. He couldn't find anyone he could ask, and even if he did, he wouldn't know how to ask her. Most girls were probably already taken, and it would be embarrassing to ask someone who's already been asked.

"What do I do?" Percy groaned as he put his head in his arms.

"Hey, calm down," Ron said. "If it helps, I don't have a date yet."

"Not really," Percy admitted, his voice slightly muffled as he was facedown on the table in between his arms.

"You know, you could ask out anyone," Hermione offered. "It doesn't matter who, as long as you treat her well."

"Mm," Percy said. He had already thought of that, but asking out a stranger was nonetheless horrifying. Unless...

"Hermione," Percy's head shot up, startling the two of them. "Can you go with me? You're not a stranger, that would make my life a lot easier."

Hermione blushed slightly, but before she could say anything, Percy added, "Unless, of course, someone already asked you."

"Well, yes," Hermione blushed.

"Sorry, I should've thought of that," Percy apologised. "Who is it?"

"You'll see, I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise," she smiled as she got up, and left for her dormitory.

"Damn, I wonder who it is," Percy said, as he slumped back into his arms' embrace.

-----

Percy decided he would ask out this girl called Cho Chang. He didn't know why, he just had a gut feeling. Now, he had to get her alone, which was way harder than you'd think.

He was following her and her group of six girls down the hall, (why six? That's so much) and thought of an idea. It wasn't really a nice idea, but it was all he could think of at the moment. He took his wand out and muttered a spell Draco had taught him yesterday. And guess what? He was actually able to do it.

Cho's backpack sort of exploded from the bottom, and all her belongings spilled onto the floor. Percy prayed her friends would leave, but to his annoyance, they bent down to help her pick them up.

He heard Cho say, "It's fine. You go, I'll follow you."

Her friends, thankfully, left. Percy leaned down next to her and helped her put her things back into her bag. She had fixed it with some spell, which was pretty cool. He was going to ask Draco or Hermione to teach him that spell next.

"Thank you," Cho said as they both got up.

"Hey, no problem," Percy smiled. "You're Cho, right?"

"Yeah, that's me," she confirmed. "Of course, you're Harry Potter."

For the umpteenth time, Percy was going to correct her before remembering he was Harry Potter now. "How did you know?" Percy said in mock shock. "I'm not really anyone noticeable, unlike you."

She blushed slightly. "I'm not noticeable."

"Of course you are," Percy frowned. "I've noticed you for a long time now."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Percy said, mentally preparing for the question he was going to ask her next. "Since you're here now, I wanted to ask you—would you like to go to the Yule Ball with me?"

"Oh, Harry, that's really sweet," she said, looking apologetic. Percy knew what was coming next. "But someone else has already asked me. I'm sorry"

"What? No! That's not a problem," Percy said, though he felt it was. "It's fine."