A Chocolate Filled Holiday
Disclaimer: What a revelation...I am NOT J.K. Rowling! Who would have thought?
A/N: This was written for the Reviews Lounge Valentine's day collaboration project, and I'm posting this on my account just because I like this little piece a whole lot.
Leanne was never the type of girl to enjoy Valentine's day, nor would she ever willingly celebrate the so called holiday. She never liked that the whole point of the holiday was to say "I love you" with a cheap box of chocolates, flowers picked quickly from Hargrid's garden and a card that had a corny saying written inside the card. Maybe it was a good idea to dedicate a day to celebrate being a couple, but Leanne never had a boyfriend so it would never matter to her that there was a day celebrating couples. However, she did not care that she did not have a boyfriend as she was only fifteen years old and boys were never much of interest to her. Being shy had also changed her thoughts of guys.
Shyness was a definite downfall to trying to get a boyfriend, as she learned when her bold friend Angelina Johnson tried to set her up with an equally shy Hufflepuff named Samuel Hamilton. After the disastrous date, Samuel and Leanne remained friends although the memories of the date remained. Samuel was a whole other story that did not need to be
Her friend Alicia Spinnet had always told Leanne to loosen up just for once and to at least try to enjoy the holiday, even if she did not have a boyfriend. Leanne had retorted that Valentine's day was a useless holiday.
"Despite your shyness, you have got to admit you are pretty," Alicia would say dramatically, although Leanne would only partially agree. Leanne liked her dark brown, shoulder length, wavy hair, but thought her hazel eyes were incredibly plain. Her oval shaped face and freckles made her look as if she was thirteen and not fifteen.
But Leanne couldn't enjoy the holiday this year, as rumor had it that a psycho serial killer had broken out of Azkaban and was after Harry Potter, the third year Gryffindor and the 'Boy-Who-Lived'. She would not let her guard down just for some stupid, meaningless holiday when a deranged killer was allegedly after a fellow school-mate and could be roaming the castle right now! Although it was highly impossible, he could kill her. But Leanne banished the thought almost as soon as it came
Her stomach was rumbling loudly, it was Leanne's body's way of saying 'time for lunch'. She took her time to walk to the Great Hall, as she had a feeling she was early for lunch. Suddenly, without knowing it, Leanne had run into a person, tall and definitely male. She looked up, her hazel eyes meeting his blue eyes, black hair falling above his eyes. She recognized him to be Roger Davies of the Ravenclaw House. He was also a Chaser on the Quidditch team, according to her friend Katie.
"I didn't mean to bump into you. I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking and--"
"It's all right, no need to apologize." He smiled, making Leanne somewhat nervous. She was terribly timid and was never confident with her socializing skills.
He seems...nice. I should make a note to talk to him more.
"I'll see you later then?" Roger asked. If the girl had not known it, the confident boy sounded almost nervous.
"Sure!" Leanne replied with a small grin on her face.
Walking to the Great Hall, Leanne saw a glint of red from across the room. It was Fred (or George? She, sadly after knowing them for four years, could not tell Fred apart from George) Weasley, the infamous red haired and the resident Gryffindor prankster, along with his brother George. She easily recognized the Weasleys by their bright red hair. Leanne saw two sets of black hair, a set of golden brown hair and a set of plain brown hair. How those heads stood out would forever remain a mystery. They were the heads of Oliver Wood, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet. She sat at the table, not paying attention to the conversations going around her. Leanne then looked over at the Ravenclaw table to see Roger with a gaggle of friends, looking confident as ever.
Why am I looking at him? I barely even know him!
"...And that's how I got Percy to admit that wearing plaid pants and a shirt would be a horrible idea," Katie, a friend of Leanne's with golden brown hair and brown eyes, explained triumphantly. Leanne had just started paying attention to the conversation and Katie gave Leanne a look that said "Oh yeah, look how great I am!"
"Why exactly would you be proud of that, Katie?" Angelina asked dryly, taking a bite out of her meal.
"Because it's Percy! He never admits to being wrong. It's an accomplishment to have him agree with you, much less admit his ideas were wrong," Katie said with a bit of unhealthy enthusiasm. She smiled smugly, knowing she was right.
"Well, whatever helps you sleep at night, I guess..." Angelina muttered.
"Leanne, hello! How are you doing this fine morning?" Fred asked the brown haired girl happily, even though Leanne had been sitting at the lunch table for about two minutes .
"I'm fine. Now what were you talking about that involved Percy and plaid pants?" She replied, and leaned in closer to listen to Katie's tall tale. Angelina grimaced and braced herself for yet another retelling of the story that had taken place well over a month ago. Alicia, Fred, George and, surprisingly enough, the Quidditch captain Oliver Wood, listened to Katie's story with great enthusiasm. Leanne looked nervous from the general, scary high interest of Katie's story.
"It all began in the common room with me, Fred, George and Ginny, the little sister of Fred and George, exactly one month and a week ago today..."
February 14, Valentine's day, had unfortunately arrived. All down the corridors was decorations of pink and red hearts, with daisy chains of pastel colors along the high ceilings. Leanne would never know why people would celebrate it, but that would remain a mystery. She had to get to Potions class, but it was not until much later, so she took the time to explore the castle to see what the decorations would look like. She stopped to look at a picture, one she had not seen before today.
"So I can tell you hate Valentine's day as much as I think you would," a voice murmured in Leanne's ear, startling the dark haired girl. It was Roger, who had somehow found Leanne through the mass of crowds of students and sappy couples flirting in the corridors.
How did Roger find me so easily? This was the only thought that ran through Leanne's head, but
Roger put his arm on her shoulder and the only thing that mattered that someone else was sane on Valentine's day and that was all that mattered to Leanne.
The two had walked and chatted, only to be interrupted by Leanne needing to go to the Gryffindor tower to retrieve her Potions textbook. She waved happily at Roger, who smiled and waved back..
"We needto do something together. You have to promise me we will do that. Okay?" Roger yelled as Leanne sprinted towards the Gryffindor tower. Roger would have followed, but being a Ravenclaw, he would get in a lot of trouble if he followed a Gryffindor female to her respective House tower. The girl smiled broadly, indicating an agreement.
She went into her dorm, where she slept with Katie, Angelina, Alicia and another girl Leanne was friendly with whose name was Stacy Lark. Although Stacy and Leanne were only acquaintances, Leanne thought Stacy was a sweet girl.
The brown haired girl looked on her bed only to see a box of chocolates, with a note attached to the box. She had no idea as to how it got there, unless a girl gave it to her, although Leanne would not imagine why any of her friends would give her chocolates.
The note read:
Leanne:
Happy Valentine's day, even if you do not believe in it. I bought you some chocolates and I hope you enjoy them. They are your favorite, chocolate covered and filled with caramel.
From,
R.D.
P.S., No need to thank me, I know I'm great.
Leanne smiled as she recognized the initials.
There has got to be a reason as to why I really like this guy...this has to be one of them.
A/N: Leanne's not an original character, she's in Half Blood Prince and was around when Katie got cursed by the opal bracelet. I know, the pairing is totally unrealistic and has no canon base whatsoever, but it was fun writing anyhow. Please review and I hope you enjoyed the fic, as I did enjoy writing it.