After the party was busted, all those that were found inside the common room were given a week's worth of detention. Most house leaders were horrified at the discovery of alcohol snuck onto school premises, but Flitwick seemed more impressed than anything, and the entire next morning he was checking out every spell that was placed over the common room to help conceal everything. Apparently, all the party equipment was easily vanquishable with a spell but the couple Ravenclaws that cast it got drunk enough to forget it by the time the party was busted. Some rumours even claimed that he gave a few extra house points to the students who were behind the charms.
I saw Erick in the halls, and though he went to the hospital wing to treat his broken nose, his two black eyes were still very prominent on his ear-like face, almost making him look like a deformed raccoon.
The party fiasco was the talk of the whole school for only a short while because our attention was drawn away by the dining hall the early morning of Valentine's Day.
The walls were all covered with large, lurid pink flowers. Worse still, heart-shaped confetti was falling from the pale blue ceiling. This was the first time I have ever seen the school put thought into Valentine's Day, and I was confused on why it had been so terribly done. That confusion lasted until I glanced over to the staff table, and quickly realized whose idea it was.
Lockhart, wearing lurid pink robes to match the decorations, was waving for silence. The teachers on either side of him were looking stony-faced.
I sat down next to Lori, who seemed to be in a slight fit of giggles, and Elio dismissively rolled his eyes at her schoolgirl crush. I looked down at my oats and carefully picked confetti off them, astonished at how quickly it had gotten in my food. From where I sat, I could see a muscle going in Professor McGonagall's cheek. Snape looked as though someone had just fed him a large beaker of Skele-Gro.
"Happy Valentine's Day!" Lockhart shouted. "And may I thank the forty-six people who have so far sent me cards! Yes, I have taken the liberty of arranging this little surprise for you all - and it doesn't end here!"
"Lori is honest, did you send him one?" June leaned over the table and whispered.
"No, but I was thinking of doing it." Lori giggled.
Lockhart clapped his hands and through the doors to the entrance hall marched a dozen surly-looking dwarfs. Not just any dwarfs, however. Lockhart had them all wearing golden wings and carrying harps.
"My friendly, card-carrying cupids!" beamed Lockhart. "They will be roving around the school today delivering your valentines! And the fun doesn't stop here! I'm sure my colleagues will want to enter into the spirit of the occasion! Why not ask Professor Snape to show you how to whip up a Love Potion! And while you're at it, Professor Flitwick knows more about Entrancing Enchantments than any wizard I've ever met, the sly old dog!"
Sarah's face contorted at the word love potion, and June defensively put an arm around her waist. Professor Flitwick buried his face in his hands. Snape was looking as though the first person to ask him for a Love Potion would be force-fed poison.
All-day long, the dwarfs kept barging into my classes to deliver valentines, much to the annoyance of the teachers. Much to my disgruntlement, I too received a musical poem in the middle of potions class.
A short and fat dwarf barged into the classroom, his golden wings barely attached to his body at that point.
"I've got a message for Y/n Stone in form of a musical poem!" He said cheerily, swaying what seemed to be drunkenly in the front of the class.
"I thought having a boyfriend would let me escape this," I muttered, burying my face in my hands.
I could see Snape giving me a death glare from across the class, and June was quietly snickering at my expense.
"High in the sky,
A woman I see,
Quaffle in hand,
A broom near her knee,
I wish she was mine,
Her smile was so divine,
The beautiful Y/n Stone." The dwarf sang in a thick Irish accent, slightly slurring his words along the way.
"Being serenaded by a drunk Dwarf is not how I envisioned spending my Valentine's Day." I groaned as I walked up the steps of the owlery by myself after school. I sometimes forgot that I was the only person in my friend group whose partner wasn't in it as well.
Holding a practice on Valentine's Day seemed like a cruel punishment for my teammates, as most of them had a partner they would much rather spend their time with. Being the bitter captain was not the kind of rep I wanted with my team, and so I made the decision that no practice would be held on Valentine's Day.
I fumbled around in my bag before pulling out the key to my mail slot and opening it. Inside was a single letter in a beautiful heart-shaped box with a velvet finish on the outside. I brushed my fingers around the edge of the box trying to figure out how it worked when suddenly the lid gently raised. A faint music box melody began to play, and I could see a small box of chocolates inside and a note.
To my dearest little Y/n,
I hope my little Valentine's Day box reaches you in good condition. It's quite unfortunate that we don't get to see each other at Hogsmeade, but there's always a next Valentine's Day.
Yours truly, Vincent.
I put the note back in the box, making a mental note to write back to him that night. I gently placed the box in my bag and began to turn around, only to come face to face with Oliver Wood.
"Why are you here?" I crossed my arms.
"Am I not allowed to be?" He raised an eyebrow, smirking.
"No," I replied coldly.
"Shame, I liked it up here." He snickered, and I couldn't help but bite back a smile.
We stood in comfortable silence for a few moments, neither sure what to do or say next. Oliver's eyes had that all too familiar twinkle, and it was as though I wanted to draw closer to him.
"I better get going." I finally said, snapping out of my trance.
I thought about my feelings towards Oliver as I walked down the owlery stairs. It was weird that I wasn't experiencing any pure dislike for him anymore. A year ago I would've punched him just now, or called him a name. He would've probably done the same. I guess I had finally matured.
~~~~
I sat reading in bed that night, and at eleven pm the door creaked open and in popped the head of June. A bright smile was on her clearly exhausted face.
"Made use of the prefect's bathroom did you?" I chuckled, absentmindedly turning another page.
"It was wonderful," June sighed dreamily, flopping onto her bed.
"Was it now?" I looked over at her.
"Mhm," she rolled over to face me. "And guess who we caught aggressively making out in the bathrooms before we started?"
"Who?" I quirked an eyebrow, intrigued.
"Clearwater and Weasley!" She loudly burst out laughing, receiving groans from the sleeping girls in the room.
"No way," I whispered, "as in that Clearwater?" I pointed over to where Penelope was peacefully sleeping. "And Percy Weasley?"
June nodded giddily. "They must've been sneaking around for a while with the amount of passion going on."
"Of course Penelope would go for a bloke that acts like there's a stick up his ass twenty-four seven." I giggled, closing my book.
"And like you don't?" June cackled villainously.
"What do you mean by that Junathan?" I asked threateningly.
"You think I forgot when you had a crush on him in third year?" She rolled onto her back, clutching her stomach from laughter.
"That was a long time ago." I huffed, "And at least I never had a crush on McGonagall."
"That's not fair, it was a first-year crush!" It was June's turn to frown.
"What about Professor Sprout?" I asked, choking on my own giggles.
"I liked how she was so gentle with plants." June's cheeks reddened.