Orion now had to talk with both Daphne and Rose. He himself wasn't sure what to tell them; he couldn't choose between them. He wanted them both, but this is no third-grade harem anime where all the girls start falling for him left and right.
'But talk I must,' Orion grumbled as he stopped thinking about bringing Merlin back for a second and gave his full attention to this matter.
The Yule Ball is in a few days, so he has to decide fast. 'Man, I didn't have a girlfriend even in the last life. What do I do?' Orion muttered with a little irritation on his face as he thought about a plan to talk with both girls.
Telling them that he liked both of them would be tricky, so much so that Orion would rather take another otherworldly trip over this. But hey, we don't get to decide what life throws at us, only how we deal with it.
"Alright, I can't just ask them to meet me in the hall and tell them I like both of them. No matter the result, I should at least put more effort into it." Orion stood up from his study and got ready.
.
.
.
Rose and Daphne each received a sudden, unexpected message in their rooms at Hogwarts. The message was simple, almost too simple: "Dinner at Hogsmeade tonight. Meet me at the entrance." It was from Orion, and that alone was enough to make both girls' hearts race. Neither of them could ask Orion anything more—he was nowhere to be found. So, each of them prepared, feeling a mix of excitement and curiosity.
Of course, neither told each other they were going out with Orion.
When Rose arrived at the entrance to Hogsmeade, she felt a flutter of anticipation. She had been looking forward to spending some time alone with Orion, especially after everything that had happened recently. But her mood changed slightly when she saw Daphne already there, standing with a similar look of surprise on her face.
Suddenly, her mood, which had been flying high, fell hard to the ground.
"Daphne," Rose greeted, trying to keep her tone neutral, though her mind was racing. 'Why is she here?'
"Rose," Daphne replied, equally puzzled. She glanced around, as if expecting someone else to explain this strange coincidence. "Are you… also here to meet Orion?"
Rose nodded, her confusion growing. "Yeah, he invited me to dinner. I didn't know he invited you too."
"Neither did I," Daphne admitted, her brow furrowing slightly. Both girls stood there awkwardly for a moment, unsure of what to make of the situation.
Before either could say more, a sudden rush of wind surrounded them. The world around them blurred, and in an instant, they were no longer standing in Hogsmeade.
When the world came back into focus, Rose and Daphne found themselves in an entirely different place. The night sky above them was breathtaking, filled with stars brighter than either of them had ever seen. It felt magical, otherworldly even, as if they had been transported to a dream.
In the distance, they saw a single table set up with three seats, the flickering light of candles creating a warm glow. The sight was so unexpected, so beautiful, that it took them a moment to even react.
"Where are we?" Rose asked, her voice tinged with wonder as she looked around. She couldn't recognize anything about this place—it was completely unfamiliar.
"Daphne." Suddenly, Rose stiffened and called Daphne out.
"Yeah." Daphne asked, but only saw Rose pointing and almost gawking in one direction.
"This…" Daphne also looked in that direction, and her body stiffened. There in the sky, she saw something that almost paused her.
A big, very big blue ball.
"That… that is the Earth, right?" Rose asked with both confusion and a little hesitation.
"Yes. And that means we… we are." Daphne wanted to say, but the thought alone felt too ridiculous to be real.
"We are on the moon." Rose completed the words and shook.
Both the girls were in a daze, but ultimately, when they couldn't determine whether they were really on the moon, they could only accept what they were seeing for now and move on.
The girls made their way to the table, still glancing around at their surroundings. The area was quiet and peaceful, with no sign of any danger or other people. It was as if this place existed just for them.
But if they were really on the moon, then it's understandable; what kind of danger could be here as long as one can breathe and there are no environmental issues?
When they reached the table, they found it set with plates and glasses, though there was no sign of food yet. The seats were arranged in a triangle, making it clear that the dinner was meant to be an intimate gathering.
"I guess we're supposed to wait for him," Daphne said, her tone a mix of curiosity and lingering disappointment. She had hoped for some one-on-one time with Orion, but it seemed that wasn't going to happen.
"Him?" Rose asked in confusion.
To which Daphne just rolled her eyes.
"We are on the moon; who else besides him can do something this crazy?" Daphne said with a little sarcasm.
"Yeah," Rose agreed a little deadpan. Who is crazy enough and capable enough except one Orion D. Ambrosius? Though she felt a similar pang of disappointment. It would be great if it was only him and her.
Even if they hadn't been called to Hogsmeade by Orion, they still would have doubted him; it's Orion they are talking about, after all.
They sat down, still taking in the surreal beauty of their surroundings. The stars twinkled overhead, and the air was filled with a faint, pleasant scent they couldn't quite identify. It was peaceful, calming, yet the mystery of why they were here gnawed at both of them.
After a few moments, they heard footsteps approaching. They turned to see Orion walking towards them, his expression calm but with a hint of something they couldn't quite place—determination, perhaps.
"Sorry for the surprise," Orion said as he reached the table, taking the third seat. "I didn't want to just have a normal dinner at Hogsmeade."
"Well, you certainly succeeded in that," Daphne replied with a small smile, though there was a hint of teasing in her tone.
"Please tell me this is an illusion with some sort of crazy magic and we are not really on the moon," Daphne immediately asked.
"Hmm… something like that…" Orion pondered and finally replied, honestly not sure what to say right now.
Rose nodded in agreement. "This place is incredible. But… why… hmm why both of us?"
Orion looked at them both. "Yeah, about that. Well, I only later realized that you guys wanted me to take either of you to the Ball… Sorry for being a dumbass. I have been too busy lately and entangled with, hmm, stuff to think about anything else. Sorry." Orion said with a little embarrassed look while both the girls were just giving him a half-eye look, as if asking.
'You only now realized that?'
"So, what did you think?" Daphne asked, taking the excuse from Orion without any problem. After all, both the girls knew him quite well by now; if he said that he was busy and wasn't thinking about this issue at all, then there's a 99% chance that he really was.
Orion hardly lies to them, outside of pulling some pranks, and is usually so busy all the time that it feels to them like all the Ministry of Magic work is done by him alone.
These are some quirks of his that both can't help but just sigh and accept; this was typical Orion.
"Yeah, well, I didn't want to choose between you. You both are equally important to me, so taking on one of you is not something I want to do. So I'd rather bring both of you, or I'd rather not attend in the first place." Orion replied, not directly saying that he liked both of them but making sure they knew it indirectly.
To this, both the girls only looked at each other and didn't reply directly. The situation was now a little awkward.
"Let me guess, you'd rather choose not going at all out of the two personally," Rose broke the silence by asking this and crossing her arms as if he had done something wrong.
"Ah, you know me well," Orion agreed. At this point, even he couldn't deny it; if possible, he would rather skip the Ball altogether.
"Sigh, what are we going to do with you?" Daphne joined in as she shook her head.
"I don't know, but as long as both of you are with me, I'm fine with anything." Orion just shrugged as he snapped his fingers, and the next second, a lot of food of all kinds appeared on the table.
Seeing this, both the girls' eyes shone. They had long since turned into gluttons thanks to Orion; food was now their second favorite pastime.
"Let's dig in; I am starving."
xxx
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