Disclaimer
This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
I also disclaim any ownership and state no money is being made from the references to the following songs:
California Dreaming, The Mommas and the Poppas
Nothing Compares, Sinead O'Connor
Glorious, Andreas Johnson
Hero, Unknown to me…
And finally, An Octopus's Garden, The Beatles…
I want to be…
Harry strode along the banks beside the lake on the grounds of Hogwarts, above him the sky flashed a lurid pink provoking a scowl on his face, it was Valentine's Day, and his absolute brainless git of a Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Gilderoy Lockhart, had only gone and bloody done it.
Picking up a smooth stone he flung it across the lake as his face turned a crimson that nearly matched the sky, instead of skipping it sunk with a splash, Harry would have laughed but it was yet another reminder of events at Hogwarts.
Of course, even all that Chamber of Secrets stuff wasn't as bad as the serenading dwarf who had tackled him on the way to Charms earlier, even now the threatening twang of the harp the golden-winged dwarf of doom haunted him.
Therapy was an option.
With a dissatisfied sigh he slumped to the floor and sat staring into the reflective waters of the lake, it was like a giant pink bath, closing his eyes Harry began to sift through all the music he knew, anything to get rid of that damned poem in his mind.
All the leaves are brown, and his eyes are as green as a fresh pickled…bugger!
Nothing compares, nothing compares to hair as dark as a....
Something…me out, making me glori-divine…you prat Lockhart!
And then a hero comes along, with the strength to conquer the dark…SNARFLE!
This was no good, he needed a real classic, um…
I want to be, under the sea,
This was much better, he was even whistling now…
In an octopus's garden having fun.
'Glurk!' Harry remarked as the tentacular limb shot out and plucked him off the shore, pulling him into the lake leaving only a ripple on the pink surface.
* * *
Ginny still had tearstains on her cheek as a result of Malfoy's jibe in the corridor, of course he hadn't known about the real Valentine that she had snuck into the boys' bedroom and secreted under Harry's pillow.
Leaving the castle she must have passed at least five couples, each person deeply interested in mapping the inner regions of each others mouths, none of whom noticed another new first year walking out onto the pink tinged lawn that surrounded Hogwarts.
Sighing Ginny looked into the sky, the pinkness brought a smile to her face as she thought back, despite the insult she couldn't help but smile at the look of abject terror that had crossed Harry's face when one of Professor Lockhart's dwarves had appeared.
And speaking of Harry, down by the lake she saw him sitting and staring over the water while shaking his head as if to remove an itch, on the still evening air she could have sworn she heard him whistling a tune before something unexpected happened.
* * *
'Glurk,' was summarily replaced by 'Glub,' when Harry was pulled under the water by the arm and dragged down into the lake amid a flurry of lyrics rushing through his mind, luckily his subconscious was on form and reminded his mouth to breathe. It was not letting anything surprise it after that damned dwarf.
Well for Harry air was good, but even better was a lot of air which he was going to need soon, panic began to settle in as he started to claw frantically at the sucker-filled arm that was wrapped gently around his torso and neck.
On the bright side this caused a response, on the darker and more evil side of things, his present situation was not improved by the arm shaking him rapidly to counteract his flailing limbs. Watching stars mingle with the fishes that surrounded his head Harry did not feel the limb reverse and lift him again.
* * *
Ginny's jaw dropped when the arm leapt out of the water, snatched Harry by the neck and dragged him into the lake where it had come from, instead of whistling she now heard a distinctive 'Glurk!' on the air as he disappeared underwater. Later she would swear that rising bubbles had said 'Glub' when she arrived by the lakeside.
'Um…are you okay Harry?' she asked timidly, looking over the surface before her subconscious prodded her sharply with a stupid stick. Even though no one saw it her cheeks flushed, it was something to be embarrassed by your brother's friend, it was another for your own mind to get the better of you.
Standing there she suddenly noticed that the bubbles rising to the surface had trailed away after crossing to the other side of the lake. Walking around curiously she could see a giant mass lurking beneath the surface, surrounding a stone outcropping that jutted over the surface of the water.
Climbing onto it and leaning over she was in time to see the mass disappear beneath with a flurry of limbs, as they trailed away Harry's glasses floated to the surface of the lake.
* * *
With a thud that sent a new constellation into orbit around his head, Harry landed on a cool stone surface that felt damp beneath him, sitting up dazedly his head swung around a few times until he focused on the grey wall in front of him. It was mossy and damp like the floor he sat on, looking around the shelf he had been dumped on, there was nothing to help him focus on the situation.
And then there came the pseudo-sinister drip behind him. Nothing spectacular about it, just a small drip as a tiny droplet of water fell to the surface of the lake.
Harry turned around very, very slowly and found himself staring into an unblinking and absolutely enormous eyeball. Excruciatingly slowly he shut his eyes, a few seconds later he opened them to find another eye, a huge and very beaky beak, and several waving tentacles were in front of him.
'Ah.'
* * *
Half of Ginny wanted to run away gibbering insanely, another quarter wanted to run away gibbering insanely and get help, the last quarter fancied shutting her brain down entirely and falling down the rock she had climbed.
In the end her subconscious vetoed all the decisions and shut down enough of her brain so that she fell into the water instead. It was after this that her conscious self rallied and reminded her subconscious that she couldn't swim. Looking sheepish it ran away quickly and hid while her brain resumed control.
Flailing her arms rapidly Ginny headed for the first source of light, somehow propelling herself along by imitating a frog, slightly dazed it must be said, but a frog nonetheless.
With a gasp for air she broke the surface and clutched onto a slippery rock that jutted out above her, she was in a large cavern, and on the other side was Harry, also looking like a half-drowned student.
In between them was the largest, pinkest and leggiest giant squid Ginny had ever seen, with several of the leggy legs rippling around Harry, whose face wore a warm smile with eyes portraying indescribable…well terror.
This was unmistakably due to the one leg that was attempting to rub his cheek tenderly while he hummed a tune with the fixed smile on his face not dwindling. For the first time in her life, Ginny swore, and pretty violently too[i].
So violently in fact that all of the eyes in the cave turned to regard her. In Harry's she now saw a slight vestige of hope, in the giant saucer like eyes of the squid she saw a mixture of fear, anger and sudden jealousy.
'Hello,' she whispered, mostly to the squid, partly to Harry.
In return the squid raised a wrinkled…eyebrow…and offered her a glare.
'Sorry to interrupt…' she continued, feeling the red flush return to her face when both 'eyebrows' raised themselves, 'yeah…erm…sorry, but…well it's just I saw Harry…get pulled under by you…and followed.'
The squid thought about this, then turned one eye back towards Harry who grinned sheepishly, 'I'm just fighting off the ladies,' he said with a wink. As he did so a ripple of colour passed through the squid, it was the same red that Ginny knew often passed over her own face when complemented.
With a trill the tentacles that surrounded Harry began to pull away allowing Ginny to walk over beside him, as she arrived beside him the tentacles sprung forth again, two of them moving towards each of their faces. Closing her eyes Ginny felt the rubbery skin rub against her cheek and over her head, allowing it to gently move it around.
With a gentle suddenness that sent a small jolt through her Ginny felt something brush against her lips, opening her eyelids she saw Harry's wide emerald eyes staring into hers with the same surprise, but there was something else. Even so they both pulled apart when the tentacles fell away, both looking at anything but the other which caused another melodic trill to emerge from the squid, mixed colours washing over her.
With lightning speed the tentacles shot out again and wrapped around the two, pulling them back into the water with twin gasps for air, the cool liquid swiftly flowed over them as they were once more propelled, this time to the surface. With twin yells they were sent flying from the water to a shrill trilling to land as sodden lumps beside the lake, two orb-like eyes settled on them one last time before the squid sank back down into the lake.
'Whoa.' Harry and Ginny sat looking into the lake, the pink sky still reflected upon waters that were still once more.
'That was…' Ginny began.
'Yeah…um…thanks for…rescuing me…' Harry continued.
'Anytime,' she replied, carefully wringing out her hair as they continued to sit in a state of confusion.
'Well…I'll…I've got to go back…to class,' Harry mumbled as he shook his own robes to a state of vague dryness.
'Yeah, me too,' Ginny said, and with squelches emerging from their shoes they both walked up the grass to the entrance, shaking themselves once more of droplets that covered them they walked into the Entrance Hall where Harry began to climb the staircase as Ginny set off for her classroom.
'Hey…Ginny,' he said as he reached the top, looking upwards she saw a small sparkle in his eyes, 'Happy Valentines Day.'
A familiar flush spread across her face as did a wide grin that he matched himself, 'You too Harry,' she said, hoping there was a similar sparkle in her own eyes. With a quick grin he pulled himself away from the rail and began to walk up the rest of the stairs, watching him go Ginny felt a warmth spread through her that she hadn't experienced before.
Opening a door she hadn't gone two steps when a new voice reached her ears; 'Oi! Ginny Weasley? I've got a message for yer!' turning she saw a malevolent dwarf in golden wings bearing down on her, without a further thought she fled leaving him to murderously throw his harp against the wall.
Happy Valentines Day to you all,
Yoda
[i] The nearest translation printable would be: 'Tiara set on full blast.' And even that is not toned down completely.