Hermione sat in the library.

It was only a day. A normal day just like the rest.

Why should she care if all the other girls got cards? Why should she care that, again, she gave Harry and Ron two cute teddies and they got her nothing? Why should it matter if they had only laughed at them then thrown them away? Why?

Hermione didn't understand.

She opened up a book and tried to read. But if anyone looked close enough they might have seen that it was quite impossible for her to read as her eyes weren't moving.

And if anyone looked much closer, they'd see that her eyes were just a little more shiny than normal.

But nobody looked closer.


Ginny was smiling. Smiling and laughing and joking around. All her friends were telling her how jealous they were. How they had only received one and Ginny had received not one, not two, not even five, but six.

Ginny was smiling. Anyone that saw her would have seen a jovial, happy girl.

And everyone was gushing suddenly about how pretty she was, how pretty she had become. Everyone had conveniently forgotten about her near-death experience with Lord Voldemort now. They had cared when she was plain, but now that she was pretty…

Ginny only let the smile drop as she entered. Her huge mirror hung over her bed and she had to climb up to see it. She stared at that long veil of straight, blood-red hair and those wide, innocent brown eyes.

She stared at herself, who she was and who she was pretending to be,for a long time before she began to cry.


Draco wondered what he would do tonight. There was so many possibilities, so many girls…

He smirked to himself. Valentines Day was tiring, but useful.

He sat at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall and was immensely satisfied in himself.

The flicker of satisfaction flickered slightly when she entered the hall.

No, he told himself, he would not think of her. Not today, not any day…

But, that night, as he pressed himself against Pansy, he put his face into Pansy's brown, frizzy hair and thought only of her.


Harry was glowering in the corner. Ginny Weasley had received six cards and, as she had opened his, he had looked at her almost pleadingly. But she'd just tossed it away and began opening another one.

Once upon a time, Ginny had fancied him.

Now, when she was officially over him and forgotten him, he fancied her.

He fancied her so much it hurt.

It was too late now. Ginny was so pretty and so popular.

He didn't stand a chance.

Harry was glowering in the corner. He would remain glowering there all night.

Ginny Weasley would not look over once.


Ron smiled. He couldn't believe his luck.

Cho Chang was with him! With him, and kissing his neck in a very pleasant way.

He could never tell Harry, of course, which kind of sucked but Ron still knew.

For just this one Valentines Day, Ron had got one over on Harry.

It shouldn't have made him so happy, he knew, but it did.


Neville approached the bench in which Lavender was sitting. He advanced slowly; sweat trickling down his forehead, the envelope gripped tightly in his left hand, gripped so tightly his knuckles were going white.

Just as he stepped forward, she turned and looked at him.

My gosh, he thought, she's beautiful.

"Hi Lavender!" he squeaked. His face burned and suddenly he was running, running as fast as he could.

Maybe next year.


Lavender sat on the bench, feeling something plummet inside her.

And, even as Seamus sat down and talked whole-heartedly to her, her eyes remained on Neville, until he was well out of sight.

She sighed and then turned back to the eager Seamus.


Luna watched the owls fly into the sky. She sent everyone that she thought looked unhappy a Valentines card every year. Singing, happy ones.

She wondered if anyone else in the world did so and, if they did, where could she find them. She'd give out to them for not sending her, her happy, singing card.

Surely it was obvious she needed one.


Severus Snape sat in his office and pondered to himself.

Damn day, he thought, it brings back too many memories. He frowned.

But then he heard the knock at the door and smiled to himself.

It brought back some good memories too…

He knew that it was only Dumbledore at the door now but he let himself dream it was Lily, knocking on his door, before he'd become a professor, before Voldemort, before she'd fallen for James Potter's spell just like everybody else.

He smiled to himself and decided not to let Dumbledore in. That way, he could think it was still Lily.

And dreams can sometimes be more powerful than reality.

At least to a lonely old man.


Thanks to those who reviewed this:

Boa Charmer, blaiselover, Crazy-White-Rabbit, PinkTribeChick (yeah, that was the hint! ;)) LittleBlackAngel (There's more to Ginny's story. I might even write it properly sometime.) Ptrst (I'm actually not the type to mourn over not having somebody on Valentine's Day….what's one day out of the rest of my life? Haha!) WalkBeneathTheWillowTree (New name?)

Revision was this: Added a line into Ginny's part, and added in an odd work or two around the place.