Mia and Sage were doing their homework in the Great Hall like a few other students, although most of them were enjoying the day in other parts of the castle.
"Why can't we go to the library?" Mia asked with a grimace on her face.
"Come on, it's only decorated like this once a year. It does have a certain charm, doesn't it?" Sage smiled.
Mia glanced around the room, frowning at the pink flowers on the walls and the confetti that kept falling down on them.
"How many cards did you receive again?" Sage asked.
"Six, but two of them were from James," she rolled her eyes.
Sage straightened her posture with a smug expression on her face. "I got seven."
"Go, girl," Mia said unenthusiastically.
Just when Sage was about to say something else, a parchment landed in front of Mia that was folded into the shape of an arrow. Groaning quietly, she unfolded it and read the words out loud.
"All the good words, they've all been said
To our only Malfoy princess
Her blood so pure, but heart so cold
Family vault full of gold
I love her, but I am ignored
I'd serve her if she was the Dark Lord
Though she is not, she has a nose
And as a gift, here is a rose"
When she finished reading, a sparkling, pink rose appeared on the table in front of her.
"Whoever wrote this," Mia muttered, "is clearly not a Ravenclaw. I could only be a Dark Lady, not a Dark Lord. Besides, am I supposed to be flattered by this? They basically called me an ignorant... what's a nice word for bitch?"
Sage chuckled. "Well, they also called you a princess."
"And a rich pure-blood," Mia added, "with a nose."
"Who is it from?" Sage took the parchment from her to examine it.
"It's not signed," she shrugged, "therefore their efforts were absolutely worthless. Although I bet they wouldn't actually serve me if I became a Dark Lady, they don't even have it in them to tell me who they are. What a coward," she scoffed.
"It's a pretty rose, though," Sage looked at the sparkling flower.
"It's a simple rose with a simple charm cast on it, not too impressive. Could've been done by a somewhat talented first-year, even."
"Big sis not happy with her Valentines?"
Frowning, Mia turned her head and saw Kaden standing next to them, who was in the company of Albus.
"Oh, hi," Mia greeted them. "What are you two doing here?"
"We came here to get some work done, obviously," Kaden rolled his eyes. "Can we join you?"
"Sure," she shrugged.
"Great!"
He nudged the Slytherin, then waked to the other side of the table and took a seat on the bench.
"Uh..." Albus started scratching the back of his neck after he sat down next to Mia. "I see your day is going quite well?" He asked, gesturing towards the rose.
"Not really," she sighed. "They are rather annoying, to be honest. What about you?"
His eyes widened. "Oh, I – I didn't... I didn't get anything."
"You didn't?" Kaden knitted his eyebrows. "Blimey, even I got a card!"
"Congrats?" Albus shrugged.
"Does it bother you?" Mia asked him curiously.
"No, of course not..." He shook his head, his voice unconvincing.
The Ravenclaw turned away from him and grabbed a piece of parchment. She took her wand out and started transforming the blank parchment, turning it into a card.
"People are swooning over these?" Mia raised her eyebrows. "It literally took half a minute to make. Here," she handed the finished card over to Albus.
His mouth fell open as he stared at the card in her hand. "I – thank you, Mia," he muttered, taking it from her slowly.
"Don't even mention it," she waved her hand, then she put her wand away and turned back to her homework.
Feeling touched, he started examining the card. It simply said 'Happy Valentine's Day' on the front, written in her handwriting with emerald ink that sparkled. As he opened it, his eyes fell on a snake that slithered in the shape of a heart. Inside the heart were the words 'To Albus, From Mia'. It was pretty simple, but to him, it meant the world.
While he was distracted, someone else appeared at the Ravenclaw table.
"Did you like my rose, princess?" James stood next to Kaden behind the bench, staring at Mia with his hands inside his pockets.
Before looking up at him, she closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh. "It was you?"
"Of course it was me," James nodded. "Who else could write such amazing poetry?"
"Well, your rhymes have definitely improved, but it was still dreadful," she glared at him. "The rose was also quite a weak attempt."
"I'm offended!" He put a hand over his heart. "I poured my everything into making that rose!"
Kaden frowned as he took the flower into his right hand. "Hey... you didn't make this! A guy is selling these in the Gryffindor Common Room for one Galleon each!"
"Exposed," Sage snorted.
"But it wasn't even your handwriting," Mia squinted her eyes at him.
"Aw," James tilted his head to the side. "Can you recognize my handwriting already?"
"It's... extremely easy to do..."
He raised his eyebrows. "Well, I tried going for a different style now, you know, to change things up a bit."
"Yeah, let's change things up," Mia nodded. "How about you leave me alone from now on?"
"Ah, you're asking too much," James pouted.
"Well, you better go, because I have a Valentine already," she said confidently.
Sage looked at her with a confused expression, Kaden's eyes widened, James gave her a look of disbelief and Albus' stomach sank.
"Oh, really?" James asked sceptically. "And who might that be?"
"Can't you see? He's sitting right next to me," Mia said, then she pressed a light kiss on Albus' cheek before leaning her head down on his shoulder. "I chose the superior Potter, sorry."
Sage realized what Mia was doing, Kaden still looked at his sister with wide eyes and James let out a low chuckle.
"Yeah, right," James rolled his eyes. "But fine, I'll leave you guys alone, then. Have fun with your homework," he said, then he turned on his heels and started walking towards the doors.
Albus sat there on the bench with a pale face, burning cheeks, a dry mouth and a horde of vicious butterflies in his stomach. Before he could even realize, Mia was already sitting in her original position, looking at him with a concerned expression on her face.
"Sorry, Sev," she apologized quietly. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
"Oh – no, no!" He shook his head. "It's fine, it's okay, really! No harm done! Besides, it is Valentine's Day, so – yeah – it's okay."
"Are you sure you're not mad at me?" She asked.
"What, for this? Nooo, it was nothing! I mean, it wasn't nothing, but still, it's cool, all good, promise," he said quickly, trying to seem calm.
Kaden cleared his throat, getting their attention. "Mia, could you read this essay I wrote, please? To make sure it's okay? It's for Transfiguration," he handed his essay out for her with a pleading look on his face.
"Yeah, sure," she nodded, taking it from him.
"Thanks so much," he smiled.
When Mia started reading, he turned to look at Albus and raised his eyebrows at him. He replied to him by raising his eyebrows as well. Kaden frowned slightly, glanced at Mia, then back at Albus, and raised his eyebrows again. Albus shrugged.
Shaking his head, the Gryffindor took out his Potions homework and started working on that instead. Albus did the same, but he kept glancing over at the sparkly ink on the card, trying hard not to smile.