Hadrian sagged in relief when the Incarcerous was lifted. Groaning, he stretched his stiff limbs and then sprawled bonelessly across the floor. Anguis slithered up to him from where she had been sunning herself.
{Are you finissshed with your odd two-legged gamesss yet?} the taipan hissed in question.
He sighed. {We're not playing gamesss, Anguisss. Heather hasss gone mad sssince ssshe found out Ssslytherin'sss Monssster isss a basssilisssk.}
The snake coiled her body and tilted her head in confusion. {That isss why your nessst mate isss torturing you? Ssshe hasss lossst her sssanity?}
{Ssshe might asss well be,} Hadrian whined, {Ssshe isss training me to defend myssself. Tied up and wandlesss.}
Relaxing now that that her master was not in danger from insane nest mates, Anguis curled up on her warm rock again. {That isss very wissse of the Sssly One, not crazy at all,} she commented, {I do not underssstand your frussstration.}
"Rian! Stop complaining to Anguis; I can hear you perfectly. You only have three more minutes of rest," his sister reminded.
He sighed once more in exasperation. Really, he was grateful that Heather put in all this effort, but she could be rather over-the-top sometimes. He had already learnt all these spells days ago - now she just wanted to drill him. Again and again.
~~~
Staring at the strange offerings, Heather gave a tentative smile. They weren't any variety of flower she knew, with their oddly human faces where their centres should have been. Fred's was a white daisy-like flower while George's reminded her of a red rose.
"That's not all!" Fred said proudly.
"Watch this!" George declared, stroking his flower gently.
To her perturbed amazement, the plant began to sing.
~You charmed the heart right out of me
Don't need no broom, I'm flying free
I think by now it's plain to see
I'm nothing without you~
It was really bizarre to hear the strains of Celestina Warbeck's song coming from the tiny flower. In George's tenor.
"I didn't know you could sing so well," was all Heather could say.
Fred scoffed and pushed his pot forward. "That's nothing. Watch this!" Then Fred's flower opened its mouth (?) and recited passionately:
She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
Thus mellow'd to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies
"That's Byron, isn't it? You know muggle poetry?" Heather asked, putting aside the sudden romantic gestures for now. They would explain themselves eventually.
Fred shrugged. "Found it in one of Dad's books." Arthur Weasley was inordinately curious about all things muggle.
"So..." Heather trailed off leadingly, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, right!"
"Forgot the most important part!"
They bowed gallantly and tipped their imaginary top hats. "Happy Valentines' Day, m'lady!" they exclaimed loudly, catching the attention of the nearby breakfasters.
Heather blushed in embarrassment as several students turned to gawk at them. She had forgotten about Valentines' Day. But then, she had no reason to celebrate it.
"Thanks? But why the sudden gifts?" They had never done anything of the sort before.
"We were thinking of marketing these."
"Call them 'Lilting Lilacs'."
Oh, for their joke shop in-the-making. They had discovered their calling years ago, but only last year had they concretised their dream into a practical plan. What better way to incite laughter than selling their pranks and gags? Heather thought it was amazing what these two could do when motivated. So this was presumedly what they had nicked those mandragora leaves for in Herbology. It was probably a potion. And they had only done that a little over three weeks ago! If only Professor Snape knew...
Inspecting the flora critically, she said in a dubious tone, "These are certainly not lilacs. But lilting, I'll give."
"Who cares?" George commented indifferently, "The name's catchy."
"Great for attracting attention," Fred said, waggling his brows.
A hilarious idea popped into her mind and she smiled wickedly. "Well then, let's really give everyone something to talk about."
Leaning in, she gave each of them a lingering kiss at the corners of their mouths.
"Thank you again for your wonderful Valentines, boys," she said coyly, fluttering her lashes.
The shameless redheads grinned devilishly as frenzied muttering stole across all four house tables. Students gaped rudely at them, but they were also staring at the still-vocal Lilting Lilacs in interest. Mission accomplished.
A large shadow suddenly fell over her and the twins froze in terror, staring somewhere behind her.
"Messrs Weasley," a low voice rumbled threateningly, "you will refrain from attempting amorous advances on my snakes. The breakfast table is hardly the place for whatever lurid acts you two are no doubt contriving in your lecherous minds."
Heather pinched her lips to prevent the laughter that was close to bubbling out. Only one person in the school spoke in that tone of pure scorn.
"20 points from Gryffindor for that indecent display of Weasley mating habits," Professor Snape barked. "Now get back to your places!"
ForgeGred did what any valiant Gryffindor would have done; they hightailed out of there.
"What a beautiful display of romance!" an unwelcome voice pronounced. Heather grimaced at the comment. "Snape, you didn't have to interrupt. It's the day of Love!" Lockhart, decked in garish robes of magenta and fuchsia pranced over.
Professor Snape didn't even bother to answer, simply opting to return to his seat. The snubbed DADA Professor then cleared his throat and began to speak of the passion of youth and whatnot. Heather tuned him out and read her latest missive from Griphook. She smiled in satisfaction at the thick stack of folders. There were a few questions she had to ask her brother.
Suddenly, tiny creatures dressed as cupids swooped into the hall and began handing out letters. A love letter courier. How...lovely.
Surprisingly, even she had received a few. They were mostly from lower years whom she had helped with schoolwork while browsing the library. Simply letters of appreciation, she was relieved to note. She would thank them later. She had also gotten an opulent embroidered handkerchief from an anonymous sender. She had no idea what she'd do with it, seeing as she was not in the habit of using one.
To her great amusement, her brother had received a poem. Which was being read out by one of the pseudo-cherubs. Right now. It wasn't very good, but she found it adorable nonetheless.
She knew who the sender was. Ginny was shooting furtive glances at Hadrian. Children were cruel, however, and all it took was one snicker to set everyone off. Poor Ginny looked near tears as she ran out of the Great Hall.
Heather caught the looks the twins sent her and sped off after the distressed girl. She had been almost depressed since coming to Hogwarts. The petrifications hadn't helped much, either. Hermione told Heather that the girl had been having nightmares since Mrs Norris. She hoped this incident wouldn't be the straw that broke the hippogriff's back.
Heather caught up with the sobbing girl and herded her into an empty classroom. This wasn't a talk to be had in public.
"Ginny, are you alright?" A useless question; the girl just moaned miserably. Sighing, Heather decided to let the tears run their course. It would be cathartic, at least. She pulled the younger witch into her arms and hummed soothingly into her hair.
Eventually, the crying subsided, though Ginny still looked wrecked. "Ginny, I'm sure Hadrian loved your poem." At the girl's accusing look, she said, "I'm not mocking you. He's definitely touched that you put in the effort. Even if it was, admittedly, not the best literary work I've heard."
"It was horrible! Everyone was laughing!"
"Not Rian. He even looked a bit pleased. It's the first love letter he's gotten you know."
"Really?" Ginny asked, hope shining in her eyes. Heather gazed into her innocent face and smiled reassuringly. Had she ever been so young?
"Really," Heather said. "I must mention though, that it may be a long time before Hadrian even starts thinking about stuff like love and romance. You know how boys are," she said, winking.
The Gryffindor jutted her chin stubbornly. "I can wait for him."
Heather smiled gently and tried to be as diplomatic as possible. "That's fine and good, but you also need to carefully examine your own feelings. You're still young. Right now, you might not fully understand what that kind of love is yet - I know I don't. I'm not saying this is necessarily true, but is it possible that you're infatuated with Hadrian as the Boy-Who-Lived?" The other girl wanted to protest, but Heather shook her head.
"You've grown up hearing all sorts of stories about the brave and heroic Hadrian Potter. That must create a wonderful image. But Hadrian isn't like how everyone portrays him as. Brave, yes. Heroic, not exactly. Vanquisher of evildoers everywhere, definitely not. All I'm asking is that you thoroughly consider your current feelings. Let whatever that comes after that come."
Ginny had a considering look on her face. Good, that meant she was taking Heather's words seriously. She was glad that her clumsy advice was helpful. She herself hadn't had any experience in this area, so she had been fumbling with the words to say. But Ginny was still very naïve in ways that Heather had never been allowed. She found herself wanting to help the girl.
"You can take your time to think things through. You don't have to, but you can talk to me anytime. Sometimes boys can just be hopeless - especially your brothers." Ginny chuckled and agreed, vehemently.
"Don't keep your feelings bottled up. Even if it's not me, talk to someone. Perhaps Hermione, or that Ravenclaw friend of yours. What was her name again?"
"Y'mean Luna? Luna Lovegood. She's quirky, but brilliant."
"Most Claws are," Heather said, nodding sagely, "Quirky, I mean."
Giggling, Ginny whispered, "That they are."
"But we love quirky, don't we? 'Green as fresh pickled toad'?" Heather said teasingly.
The youngest Weasley blushed bright red, but she was laughing the hardest she'd had in months.