Snow fluttered to the ground as a chill wind whipped up miniature snowstorms on the grounds of Hogwarts School. Oblivious of the snowflakes falling into their bright red, and now rather wet, hair, Fred and George Weasley lounged indolently on the shore of the half frozen lake, occasionally tossing bits of leftover toast to the giant squid. Classes had ended for the day not too long ago, so students were prowling the grounds, putting off doing their homework. A couple of third years had begun a snowball fight and were now screeching and chucking balls of snow at each other.
“It’s that time of year again,” George pointed out mournfully, shredding a piece of toast.
“So it is,” Fred agreed. He poked a bit of toast with his wand, watching distractedly as it grew to the size of a small watermelon and then exploded with a loud POP, spewing toast guts into the air. “I think we’re rather overdue for a bit of fun. What say you?” he added, brushing toast off his robes and scarf.
George eyed his twin quizzically. “Pray tell, divulge your mighty plans, oh ingenious one,” he asked dryly. “What could you possibly have in mind a mere five days before Valentine’s Day?”
Fred grinned and looked pointedly towards the opposite shore where Hermione was engaged in a heated argument with Draco Malfoy. Harry and Ron were discussing something else entirely, ignoring Hermione’s indignant retorts to Malfoy’s drawling insults.
A look of sly cunning oozed slowly across George’s mischievous countenance. “I don’t know how well I’ll look as a small, fat, cherub,” he said by way of agreement, “but I’m willing to try it.”
“I think we could put Cupid out of a job this February.” Fred smiled toothily. “Come on.”
They both stood up and headed back into the castle, making their way up to Gryffindor Tower.
“Ooh, that Malfoy!” Hermione fumed as she, Harry, and Ron sat down to breakfast later that week. “Who does he think he is? That great, big ”” Hermione broke off, apparently unable to find the words to describe just exactly what Malfoy was. She huffed angrily and viciously skewered a sausage.
Harry shrugged. He had long known what a great git Malfoy was and was rather surprised it had taken Hermione this long to figure it out. He took a gulp of his pumpkin juice and pointed out, “Well, you can expect more of him this morning. We’ve got double potions with Slytherin first thing.”
Ron groaned into his eggs. “What a lovely start to a Thursday.” He raised his goblet in mock salute towards the Slytherins. “May they fall into the lake and get eaten by the giant squid! And may Snape trip and fall into Malfoy’s cauldron and drown,” he added as an afterthought.
Harry grinned and raised his own goblet. “Hear, hear! Though the squid gets the shorter end of the deal, really. Feel sorry for it.” They both grinned and took a long draft of their pumpkin juice. As they lowered their goblets, Hermione shrieked in dismay.
“Fred!” she yelled. “What were you doing?”
Ron and Harry turned in the twins’ direction to find Fred hastily mopping up spilled pumpkin juice and attempting to keep it from running over the edge of the table onto Hermione. George righted Hermione’s goblet as Fred apologized profusely.
“Sorry, Hermione, really, I am. Here,” Fred shoved his own goblet towards her. “Take mine. I don’t want it, and I’ve gone and spilled all yours. So sorry, Hermione.”
Hermione groaned, frustrated, and since her breakfast was now a soggy, pumpkin flavored ooze, she downed Fred’s goblet in one, angry swig. Slamming the goblet back onto the table, she picked up her schoolbooks and stalked from Great Hall.
Ron and Harry exchanged looks. “Guess we better go after her then,” Harry decided, and they both stood and followed Hermione.
“Today,” Snape began the lesson, striding up to the front of the class, “we will be concocting the highly involved and very difficult ”” Neville groaned softly, “” Invulnerability Brew. It is highly useful in combat, as it protects the drinker from all of the most common curses, jinxes, and hexes but it is nuisance in any other situation. Instructions are on the board,” Snape flicked his wand at the blackboard and the ingredients and method appeared. “Begin.”
“Hey, Potter,” Malfoy whispered from behind Harry. “What are you and your girlfriend doing this weekend, Potter? Have a romantic date planned for you and the mudblood?”
Feeling his temper rise, Harry concentrated on ignoring Malfoy and powdering his dragon claw.
“Shut it, Malfoy,” Ron muttered.
“Why, Weasley? Jealous? Bet you’d never be able to afford a date, even with a mudblood like her””
“I said shut it, Malfoy! If you call Hermione a ” that word ” one more time, I swear I’ll””
“Threats, Weasley?” Snape murmured admonishingly, his voice loud enough to carry to the whole class. “Ten points from Gryffindor.” Ron glared daggers at Snape’s back as he swept away and Malfoy was having trouble controlling his malignant laughter. Hermione turned around to retort, but as her eyes made contact with Malfoy’s, a strange expression crossed her face. To Harry’s amazement, Hermione blushed. She turned back to her cauldron and Harry looked, confused, at Malfoy, who was staring at nothing with a foolish grin on his face. Ron was too busy bashing up his dragon claw to have noticed, so Harry finished the rest of his Invulnerability Brew in bewildered silence.
When class ended, Harry scooped up a sample of his potion and placed it on Snape’s desk, Turning back to clean up, he saw Hermione had already finished and had gone on ahead, seemingly intent on catching up with Malfoy. As Harry left class, he explained, in whispers, to Ron what had transpired when he was too angry to notice.
“Weird,” Ron agreed, as they walked into History of Magic, “but maybe Malfoy has, I dunno, developed telepathy, or something, and they were communicating, you know, telepathically.”
“Right, Ron,” Harry said disbelievingly. “But that still doesn’t account for that look on Malfoy’s face. I mean, usually he’s looking pretty full of himself when he’s pulled of some trick like that.”
That sat down next to Hermione, who barely even registered their presence. She, like Malfoy not too long ago, was staring into space with a look of foolish happiness. Ron gave her a weird look and seemed about to ask her a question, but Professor Binns began first, heading off any further conversation for the moment.
Nearly all the way through the lesson, Harry was interrupted from a daydream (in which he’d been trying to stuff the snitch down Malfoy’s throat,) by Ron leaning over to Hermione and asking her, “What’s wrong with you?”
Hermione looked startled, as if she had only just noticed Ron was there. “Wrong? With me? Why, nothing, really.” She smiled dreamily. “I feel better than I’ve ever felt before!” She sighed happily, returning to her notes.
Ron gave Harry an exasperated look. “Just leave her alone. Let her take her notes.” Harry stifled a yawn. “Or else we’ll fail the class.” Ron grinned at the truth in that statement.
“What’s Binns talking about just now? Gobrid the Garish?” Ron leaned over to look at Hermione’s notes. She moved a hand to cover them, but too late.
Ron let out a strangled noise. “What is this?” he exclaimed as the bells rang, ending class. He jumped up with Hermione’s parchment.
“Give it back!” she screeched. Several people leaving the classroom gave her weird looks, but she ignored them and tried to jump Ron, who was, unfortunately for her, taller. “Ron!”
“Just let me read this thing, Hermione! Dearest Draco, ”” Ron cast a bewildered look at Hermione who was scrabbling at Ron’s wrist frantically.
“Ron! Give it back! Stop reading it!” Hermione yelled. Ron just shook her off and scanned the rest of the parchment.
“Never before have I felt such an overwhelming torrent of emotions, tumbling around in my” What is this drivel, Hermione?”
“Here, give it to me,” Harry reached out, by now sufficiently curious to take Ron’s side. He grabbed the parchment from Ron’s fingers and continued, “I feel the need to speak, my dear Draco, and to give vent to these thoughts and feelings which have all of a sudden, like lightning across the sky, taken root in my heart... What the”? And what’s this? ...Even as I write these words, my heart is beating faster and faster at the thought of you reading this letter. For there is yet one question that remains unanswered””
“I’m not sure I want to know what that question is,” Ron interjected, still fighting to keep Hermione from reaching Harry.
“Well, here it is,” Harry continued. “...These feelings for you which have come alight in my breast... do you reciprocate them? Or shall I continue to wallow in misery at the painful thought that my love must remain unrequited?” Harry stared, completely pole axed, at Hermione. Ron was no longer putting up much of a fight, so Hermione was able to break through and rip the parchment from Harry’s hand. Her cheeks were flaming as she folded it neatly and then stuffed her books into her bag. She practically ran out of the classroom, saying nothing to either of them.
“C’mon, Ron,” Harry said after a moment of stunned silence. “We’ll be late...”
“Yeah. Right,” Ron agreed, absentmindedly gathering his books and heading towards the grounds for Care of Magical Creatures.