Molly was trying to concentrate. She was sitting crossed-legged on the floor, leaning against the side of her four-poster bed. The book on her lap did not appear to be sufficiently interesting to hold her attention however, because she kept glancing up at the giggling girls in front of her. They were her fellow Gryffindors: Jemima Rosewater, Emma Sheraton and Clare Harrison.



“Come on, Molly, why don’t you help us? We could do with some of your expertise in this subject,� chided Emma, grinning over at her.



“I’m hardly an expert with love potions, Em!� Molly said indignantly, beginning to laugh herself.



“Well, you have Arthur,� Clare pointed out. She had always been a dreamy sort of girl, and she had a glazed look on her face as she thought of possible romance.



“We weren’t suggesting that you got Arthur to like you due to a love potion, but you could give us a hand with this,� suggested Emma, cutting Molly off before she could respond to Clare’s statement.



“Okay, but as long as you don’t test it out on me, or anything.� Giving in, Molly stood up and wandered over to where her friends were sprawled on the floor. Laid out in front of them were three tiny bottles of love potion, a large piece of parchment, and of course, a packet of biscuits to keep them going.



“So, who are the three poor and unsuspecting boys you will be poisoning this evening?�



“Stephen Peters, Patrick Boot and Samuel Green-you know that boy I sit behind in Charms?� Jemima informed Molly. “And we will not be poisoning them, just helping them realise their true feelings,� she added mischievously.



“You have to be careful, you know. It’s not worth getting detention for those three, they’re ridiculous!� Molly was willing to bet that between the three boys, they wouldn’t even be able to spell ‘Valentine’s Day’ and she was shocked that anyone would want to spend any day with such uninspiring boys.



Arthur, on the other hand, was always so kind and he certainly was never short of things to tell Molly, although many of them she didn’t understand as the majority of the topics were muggle related, but she appreciated the intelligent conversation anyway.



“That Jessica Patterson will be a nice shade of toad when she sees me with Stephen Peters, though,� Emma said, grinning. “It might not help me regain my dignity from that burping hex, but it will make me feel better,� she added.



All four girls laughed at this, remembering the incident well. Whilst Molly wouldn’t dream of doing such a thing herself, she didn’t mind helping her friends in a spot of love potion plotting. And so they got to work.



***



The next morning dawned and contrary to popular belief, the skies were not filled with pink, heart-shaped clouds. It was, in fact, a very windy, dull Valentine’s morning. Molly got up and showered early. Jemima, Emma and Clare had already left to meet their ‘victims of a love potion’ as Molly had so aptly named them the previous night. She giggled again at the thought of the poor boys whom had unwittingly eaten the lollipops, filled with love potion, so kindly given to them by her friends.



Molly wasn’t usually one for dressing up, but today she planned to attempt it. Sweeping a little lipstick across her mouth, she began to worry about the day ahead. She hadn’t had much experience with romance before and as she had only been with Arthur for a couple of months, she wasn’t exactly sure of how she should act. She decided she would take everything as it came and try to relax for their day in Hogsmeade.



***



In Molly’s opinion, the day had been absolutely wonderful so far. She and Arthur had wandered down the street, peeping into shop windows and talking animatedly all the while. They had walked up and down, not caring that they had passed the same shops twice before. Molly needn’t have worried about an awkward atmosphere. It seemed like any normal day, but somehow, she felt extra special today.



“Three Broomsticks?� Arthur offered, as they approached the cosy pub.



“That would be great,� Molly replied readily. She felt in need of a warm place to sit after their wanderings. They entered the pub, which was filled with students not on dates. Molly supposed that many couples had found a more romantic place to gaze across at each other.



“Sorry, you didn’t want to go somewhere—� Arthur stammered, noticing this too.



“No, no, this is good,� she interrupted hastily.



“Okay, good. Right, erm… Butterbeer?�



“I’ll go and get a table.� Molly found a small table with two rickety chairs for them to sit at. After a while, Arthur found his way through the crowd and sat down.



“So, tell me more about, what were they? Telephones?� Molly said, continuing their previous conversation.



“Yes, as I was saying, I was researching them. Apparently, you can talk to anyone, as long as you have some kind of code for them. The sound travels along metal strings, you know.� He nodded impressively.



“Fascinating, really,� Molly agreed. She sipped her butterbeer and glanced around the pub. She couldn’t see any of her friends, or their ‘victims’, for that matter.



“Molly?� Her head snapped back around to face her boyfriend.



“Sorry, what was that?�



“I wanted to tell you that I really have had a great day. Thank you. I was a little unsure, at first, but now…� he trailed off, obviously struggling to explain exactly what he was now sure of. Sensing this, Molly reached her hand out to him and softly touched his cheek. It reassured Arthur, and confirmed what he already knew.



“I know it’s very soon, and I don’t want to scare you, but, I think I really like you, Molly.�



She felt her insides flutter lightly, a smile spreading across her face. Slowly, as if she knew it was the right thing to do, Molly leant towards Arthur and kissed him lightly on the cheek. By now, they were both grinning broadly at each other. “It would take a little more than that to scare me away from you, Arthur, I wouldn’t worry.�



***



Later that evening, Molly found herself once again, sitting on the floor of her dormitory, giggling with her friends. As Jemima described her day with Samuel Green, whose love potion had overcome him to such an extent that he couldn’t stop reciting Shakespeare’s sonnets to her, the others roared uncontrollably with laughter.



Emma had indeed got her revenge on Jessica Patterson, however she had described her day as “one of the dreariest days she had ever had,� and claimed to have fallen asleep several times. Clare seemed to have had the best luck of them all, having lost Patrick Boot early that morning. Apparently, the love potion had had a particularly strange effect on him, causing him to wander off at random intervals.



“So, what about your day with Arthur, Molly? Was it as perfect as ours?� Emma asked, grinning. They had finally stopped laughing about Samuel’s sonnet barrage.



“It really was amazing!� Molly said enthusiastically. “And at the end, he told me he likes me,� she added. She couldn’t stop the content smile spreading across her face. The others looked at each other and burst out laughing once again.



“We knew that already!� Jemima exclaimed through her amusement.



“We actually thought you might’ve been engaged by now,� Clare added mischievously.



“Oh, shut up, you three!� Molly defended. “Let’s get to bed, I’m tired out from all the— �



“Love?� Emma put in, still giggling.



“Walking, actually,� Molly said, pretending to be irritated.



“Really though, Molly, Arthur and you are perfect for each other. Everyone knows it,� she said in a more serious tone.



“Well, one step at a time, I think,� Molly replied. “Goodnight.� She drew the hangings around her and fluffed up her pillows. Getting comfortable, she put her head heavily onto her pillow. Still amused at what her friends had said, she smiled.



It’s still early with Arthur, we’ll see, she thought to herself. But as she drifted off, she couldn’t help but imagine the little farmhouse they would own. I’ll have to see what Arthur would think, but I definitely want a big family with at least five children. And that night was the first of many that Molly slept with a smile plastered across her face.