"You're no good for me. But Baby, I want you." Hermione whispered to the mirror, rehearsing. "Heaven's no. That was awful." She stared at herself for a moment, trying to recreate the speech she had been going over in her head all day. "I want—"
"Hermione?" Padma Patil interrupted the well thought-out speech.
"Oh!" Hermione spun around to face the dorm intruder, fumbling a brightly colored box behind her back. "Parvati! Er… Patil. Padma, what are you doing up here?"
Hermione was in panic mode, stumbling over her words as well as the discarded clothes she had littered upon the floor.
"The festivities are downstairs!" she gave a weak, reassuring smile.
"Yes," Padma thought it better to ignore her friend's odd behavior. "I came up for my shawl."
She pulled a deep crimson scarf from the rubble that was Hermione's wardrobe. Hermione quickly apologized for the disorder and promised to take care of it by the end of the night.
"Don't worry about it." Padma assured her. "It's obvious there's an important occasion in your future."
"Excuse me?" Hermione snapped, gripping the box behind her back ever tighter. How did she know?
"The dress," Padma gestured toward Hermione's red, Valentine's Day inspired, outfit. "I guess you went through quite a number of options before you chose that pretty frock. Who are you planning on seeing?"
The question was completely innocent, yet Hermione felt as though she needed to be defensive. Really, the person she was planning on visiting this evening was one she was seen with all the time… her best friend. Padma wouldn't be surprised.
"Oh, no body… Just felt like the holiday constituted such decorations." Hermione gave her best smile and Padma snickered slightly, skeptical.
"Whatever you say, Hermione." She retreated to the door. "Have fun. I'll see you later."
"Bye!" Hermione said a bit too cheerfully, trying too hard to seem nonchalant, as Padma softly closed the door behind her.
Hermione twirled to face the mirror once again. Is it that obvious I'm trying to attract attention? She bit her lower lip, hesitant of her current garb. This is insane. I'm insane. A picture frame that sat on her bedside table caught her eye just then. Taken at the 422nd Qudditch World Cup, the image held Hermione, Harry, and Ron with brilliant handmade sparklers from Fred and George in hand as well as brilliant smiles spread across their faces. The corner of Hermione's mouth twitched at the memory. Maybe this isn't so ridiculous.
She opened the box within her clutches and gazed at its contents. … Eleven, Twelve. Twelve chocolates sat there awaiting their victim. Er… Their suitor. After enclosing them snuggly, she gave her image one last inspection before marching down the stairs to the Valentine dinner commencing in the Great Hall. Her knee length tea-dress swished delightfully and she smiled content with herself. If only she could feel so confident about the candies within her grasp. After all, they were made by two of her previous classmates. How much faith could she put in the trickster twins? This better work.
• Ƨ ˣ S •
Hermione Granger could hear the enthusiastic Hogwarts students from down the corridor as she cautiously made her way to the Great Hall. Her pretty pink pumps clicked eerily against the stone floor, echoing slightly. Hermione's hands were close to trembling as she had never even thought of attempting a love potion on a single soul. Her logical and structured mind would never have imagined such a devious act had it not been for the Weasley twins' joke shop she had visited the summer before.
If this doesn't work it is not the end of the world, she told herself. You'll just have to work harder at gaining his affections…
"Hermione!" Ron called her over to the Gryffindor table from her awkward stance at the entrance.
A smile crept onto the young witch's burning red face despite her best efforts. Hermione practically pranced to the empty space next to her crush.
"Hello there." She greeted both Harry and Ron.
"What took you so long?" Harry inquired.
"Oh, nothing." She brushed the question aside and turned to Ron. "I've brought you something."
To the surprise of many surrounding individuals, especially Ron, Hermione presented him with the heart shaped box with a shy grin.
"Oh," Ron timidly accepted the gift. "I hadn't realized—"
"Oh! Don't worry, I don't expect anything."
"Right." He pried the box open and smiled down at the exquisite looking chocolates. "Thanks, Hermione."
"I got you something too, Harry." She said when she noticed Harry looking on rather uncomfortable seeming.
Hermione dug into her purse hoping to find something that could pass as a thought-out gift. She desperately didn't need her present to Ron looking suspicious.
"Ah! Here it is!" she ripped a half eaten box of mints out of the bag. "Happy Valentine's Day, Harry!"
Harry's expectant face dropped at the sight of the beaten and used tin. "Oh, gee, Hermione," he accepted the mints; "I don't know what to say."
She ignored the evident sarcasm and put her attention back on Ron who had already consumed four pieces of her candy and was chewing on the fifth.
"Like them?" she asked.
"Mhmm!" Ron murmured through the gooey richness.
"Delightful!" she almost laughed giddily.
"Why the presents?" Harry asked of her.
"I can't do something nice for my two best friends?"
Harry raised an eyebrow at her odd response, "This isn't the usual…"
"Eh, a change of pace, perhaps." She sensed her irregular behavior and decided the escape the situation before she gave Harry more reasons to suspect her of anything. "I guess I'll get going then!"
"But, you haven't eaten anything." Ron informed her.
"Oh, I'm not hungry." She lied. "And there's lots of studying to do!"
"It's Friday?" he seemed apprehensive.
"Early bird gets the worm I always say."
"You never say that." Harry was not amused by her strangeness.
Hermione rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Well, I do now."
She stood up abruptly and moved away before Harry could do anything else to distract Ron from his poison. Er… Dessert.
"I'll be seeing you." And she was off to await Ron's return later that night in the Gryffindor Common Room.
• Ƨ ˣ S •
"I rather do enjoy watching the young ones celebrate love and romance!" Dumbledore confessed when the Great Hall had been abandoned by all but a few faculty members.
"If you say so, sir." replied Severus Snape, uninterested.
"Something about their innocent belief in happy ever afters…" the Headmaster's attention was caught by a cluster of abandoned sweets. "Oh my! Lookee here!"
Snape turned back to see a discarded, half eaten box of chocolates settled on the Gryffindor table.
"I suppose the seasonal, traditional chocolate, bite-size pieces of sugar mixture were not very well liked by their recipient." He stated matter-of-factly.
"Possible." Dumbledore picked up the box and lid. "But, doubtful.
He closed the heart and briskly approached his friend.
"Here," Dumbledore forced Snape to take the candy. "Happy Valentine's Day, Severus. See that these don't go to waste."
And with a warm smile, Dumbledore departed to his chambers, leaving Snape to himself.
"What am I supposed to do with these?" he looked despairingly down at the red, decorative container. "Little monsters could have charmed them…"
He removed the top and stiffed the contents, trying to detect some abnormality. There was none. Tentatively, he bit one in half to test their insides.
"Ah." He was pleasantly surprised and instantly hooked to their delightful strangeness.
There is a certain ingredient I cannot place. It is rather tantalizing.
He finished of the box before he reached his office in the lonesome dungeons. Severus Snape was unaware of neither the purpose the chocolates possessed nor their venomous after effects. He simply proceeded to bed, sweet sugary goodness still lingered upon his lips…