THEY HAD HAD A GOOD run exchanging letters since the term started—it was the least Ellis could agree to, given how much she had asked of Cedric. He even sent her something on her birthday, though was careful not to mention it was for that, which was pleasing. She was, if nothing else, glad he had cottoned on to the fact that she didn't find the occasion very celebratory.
Their correspondences acted more like a diary or a journal, imparting events and thoughts they couldn't convey in person. While the quality of Cedric's had become more cheerful, as they should be, of late, a particular subject had not been broached.
Thus, Ellis had convinced herself that February the fourteenth was just another day. She was not going to expect anything special of it, least of all to be blinded first thing in the morning. She felt as though she had seen enough pink for the rest of her life. The flora-covered walls of the Great Hall seemed to have imprinted themselves on the back of her retinas, causing everything in sight to have a pink tinge—or, perhaps, everything simply was pink.
It was weird to eat eggs and toast that looked as if they had all been infused with beetroot or something to have gained that warm glow, but they tasted quite ordinary. Though, her appetite was pretty much abated by the glaring scene and confetti that kept getting entangled in her braids. She had decided to use the Summoning Charm to be rid of them once she departed the hall—it would be pointless otherwise, since the heart-shaped pieces descended in constant streams from the enchanted ceiling—when the mail arrived.
Glynnis stood out so much from the other post owls that she could be spotted swooping down towards the Slytherin table from about a mile away. Dropping an envelope into Ellis's lap, she landed, screeching and flapping her wings violently, urging Ellis to open the delivery. She was not typically so excited, but had come to be in recent times whenever messengering notes from a certain someone. Someone who knew to bribe her, and with something that had turned out to be her new favorite—chocolate.
For the same reason, Ellis inferred who the sender was at once and was, therefore, inclined to wait until she had a little privacy. But the albino bird would not be placated by bacon rinds anymore, and her agitated state was attracting too much attention for comfort.
"Okay, okay," muttered Ellis, conceding.
Grabbing her bag, she marched away from breakfast, the letter clutched tightly in her hand, Glynnis hooting noisily on her shoulder, then sprinted to the top of the Astronomy Tower (the Summoning Charm totally swept from her mind). Breathlessly, Ellis ripped the envelope at its flap and was vaguely surprised to retrieve from inside an origami heart—it was always origami, but was normally of an animal. She unfurled it to reveal a magical, crease-free sketch.
The art wasn't all that of an expert, but it was the thought that counted, right?
It was of a girl, blonde pleats flying behind her, riding a dragon, but not just any dragon—a baby Opaleye (Pearl's egg had hatched at the end of January); hot on their heels was a boy, but not just any boy—a boy with caramel hair, bright yellow robes billowing in his wake, whizzing towards their tail on a broom, something gold and round flitting behind him. Beneath his face was a small speech bubble, the phrase "Hey, you!" flickering word by word inside it, as if he was repeating it on a loop. It was titled:
SEEKERS AND DRAGONS
A smile cracked on her face irresistibly. Staring at the boy pursuing the girl, Ellis was picturing that very boy, holed up in seclusion provided by canary-colored velvet drapes, quill scraping against parchment in the dead of night as he rendered this. His creativity was one thing; his effort was another. This was so much more than a pair of Chocolate Frogs that matched her eyes. Her jaw felt sore when she finally noticed wordings in a column on the right.
In neat, slanting handwriting Ellis was now so used to, they read:
There is a girl
With beautiful eyes,
One silver, one black,
Though she likes to deny.
There is a witch,
Who's faster than the Snitch.
I love chasing her
Up and down the pitch.
There is a lassie
Obsessed with dragons.
And I fancy her smile
With the same enthusiasm.
There is a "you"
I always think about.
Summer, please come faster,
I want to take "you" out!
She chuckled. Never in a million centuries did she imagine this day would come: her, Ellis Grindelwald, grinning like a fool, receiving a love poem from the boy she liked, quite ready to let him take her out, all qualms she used to harbor against romance tossed into oblivion, her own insecurities seemingly non-existent.
As she read, and re-read, each line, Ellis now felt somewhat guilty for not preparing something for him. Though, if need be, she had excuses: She was a girl; they were supposed to be reserved about such things. And, she never admitted to having a crush on him—not to him, anyhow.
" '...faster than the Snitch. I love chasing her up and down the pitch.' Aww..."
The Baron's purring voice came at Ellis from a distance, breaking her out of her thoughts. He was hovering over her, obviously peering at the drawing and scrutinizing the remaining composition.
"Hey, that's private!"
Quickly, she tapped her wand on the sketch; it refolded itself into a paper heart.
"Aww, 'that's private!' " the Baron copied, simpering. "Aren't you all grown up."
Just then, the bell rang for first period. Ellis meticulously tucked the envelope into a file, then dashed down the spiral stairs, calling back, "Bye!" as he bellowed, "Saved by the bell again! And clean up that hair!"
Lessons before lunch zoomed by in a wink, though her heart nearly stopped when a harped dwarf wearing wings charged into the greenhouse in the middle of Herbology. Cedric prevailed to be as thoughtful as he was in her mind's eye when the valentine was dedicated to Adrian Goldstein of Ravenclaw—this transpired to be a prank, orchestrated by his brother.
After lunch, however, held the undesirable prospect of Double Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Filled with dread, Ellis dragged her feet into Professor McGonagall's classroom. Rolf was already at their usual seats; he turned scarlet when she entered. It was the first time they were seeing each other today being the only class they shared.
"Hi!" chirped Rolf as she sat down, something hidden behind his back.
"Hello," replied Ellis, pretending to be busy extracting her books and stationery.
"This is for you." And beneath the desk he pulled out a heart-shaped box as red as his cheeks.
Ellis wasn't shocked, but still she was tongue-tied. She had rehearsed something—if it really came to that—to let him down gently, but face-to-face with him, she couldn't have planned anything gentle enough.
"Rolf...I..."
He blushed even more furiously.
"Oh, er...th-that's not what I-I mean," he said, laughing—albeit awkwardly—and looking highly mortified. "This is for you, as a friend, you know..."
"Oh, okay... Thanks."
So she accepted the gift (after Rolf, thinking she hadn't noticed, surreptitiously prised something from its base). He was visibly uneasy from that point on, and Ellis was dismayed to discover it wasn't just because he lied.
About an hour into Transfiguration, one of Professor Lockhart's "cupids" bolted in and, ignoring Professor McGonagall's thinly pursed lips and disapproving glare, announced:
"Musical valentine for Ellis G.:
People say her eyes are evil.
To 'em I say, 'You're the devil!'
Her heart's as good as her hair is blonde.
I wish she was mine, just like my wand."
It wasn't signed, but it might as well have been—Rolf, downright crimson, had rushed out once the song ended, for which Professor McGonagall immediately docked ten points from Hufflepuff.
Nobody dared whisper in McGonagall's class, but Ellis could feel their seething gazes as if they burnt holes in her back. The Hufflepuffs deemed this her fault.
But the worst of the day was still to come.