A Riddle of Love

Chapter 9: The Big Day

"Happy birthday!" I was sitting at the end of Sarah's bed, birthday gift in hand, grinning as she woke up. "Huh?" she rubbed her eyes drowsily and sat up on her elbows. "Good morning birthday girl!" I said, handing her the gift in my hand. "Oh! Yeah, thank you!" She sat up, smiling brightly and took the package and opened it. Inside was a necklace I had bought for her a while back. It was a thin silver chain with a small teardrop diamond in the middle - I'd saved up for ages to buy it for her, and I was glad I did. Sarah's eyes widened and she gave a small gasp when she saw the necklace. "Y/N! It's gorgeous! Thank you!" She put the necklace in the box and hugged me. I laughed and hugged her back, "Well of course," I said, "Nothing less than perfect for you. You should know that by now you silly goof." I handed her the package from Honeydukes as well. "I also thought you might like these," I said with a wink. "Ooh, Honeydukes." She said hungrily, "Thanks!" 

We walked into the Great Hall smiling and laughing. Not about anything specific really, we were just talking about whatever came to mind at the time. It was a beautiful Saturday and we were happy to have something to celebrate. "What d'you reckon we should do today?" Sarah asked, sitting down at the Slytherin table and grabbing some breakfast. I sat down next to her and grabbed some bacon for myself. "Hm, I don't know," I said, "I think it would be nice to read a little by the Black Lake. It's a really nice day today." Sarah nodded, "It actually is really warm for autumn," she agreed, "It's at least 23 degrees outside today."* "Maybe we can take a walk around the campus or as I said, we could sit and read next to the Black Lake." I suggested. She looked thoughtful for a little bit and replied, "Well after breakfast, I want to go back up to the dorm for a little bit and write my family a thank you for the homemade biscuits. Then, I'd actually enjoy a bit of reading time." I smiled, "Oh okay! That sounds good. I need to write to my parents anyway - tell them about Christmas and all." Sarah smiled, "Right then, shall we?" We got up and started back to the common room. As we walked into the common room, we came across Draco and the boys. When he saw us, he smiled, "Good morning Y/N, my beautiful girl. Happy birthday Sarah!" I smiled, "Good morning Draco. Boys." I nodded in Crabbe and Goyle's direction. They grunted in reply, but they smiled a little bit. Sarah grinned happily, "Thank you Draco." Draco nodded and smiled slightly in reply. "Hey Sarah, go on up without me. I need to talk to Draco for a minute." I said. Sarah nodded and went upstairs. Draco jerked his head toward the door and Crabbe and Goyle got up and left. I walked over to Draco and sat down next to him. I wanted to go over the plan with him quickly before we carried it out. Just then, Tom walked into the common room. I looked over and waved him over. "Hey, Riddle. We were about to go over the plan really quickly." He came over and sat down, "Oh, alright." 

Twenty minutes later I walked into our dorm, "Hey Sarah, sorry I took so long." She smiled, "That's alright. I was reading and would've lost track of time anyway." I went over to my book bag and grabbed some parchment, ink, and my quill. 

Dear mum and dad, Draco Malfoy and his family have invited me to visit them over the Christmas holiday. I told him that I would ask and get back to him. So please respond as soon as you can. Also, expect a few Christmas gifts by owl post to come in the next couple of days! I love you all to the moon and back. Say hello to the kids for me. Your loving daughter, Y/N. 

I folded the note and labeled it. "Hey Sarah, I'm going to take my letter up to the Owlery, want to come with me and send yours?" She looked up from her book, "Yeah, sure." She got up, took her letter from off her bed, and followed me out to the Owlery. I walked in and looked around the room to find my barn owl, Balthazar. I saw him and called him down, "Balthazar, come here. I have a letter for you to deliver to my mum and dad." He flew down and perched on my shoulder, holding out his leg. I tied the letter to his outstretched leg and gave his head a little pat, "Thank you." He nuzzled my finger and flew off. Sarah had just tied her letter to the leg of a school owl. After we sent off our letters, we walked back to our dorm to grab a book for a little light reading by the lake.