Chapter Fourteen: Lock to My Heart
Christmas break came and went—a happy time filled with memories of spiced mead and roasted chestnuts and cuddles by the fire. News came to me by word-of-mouth that Hermione had fallen severely ill and had to be kept separate from the rest of the school until she recovered. Me, being the kind generous man I am, sent her a well thought-out "Get Well" card that expressed my considerate concern about her welfare. As a bonus, this earned me points with her female friend; promising not to tease me about my lack of talent in the spell department as much as she usually liked to do. The best part had to be that there hadn't been any attacks since Justin and Nearly Headless Nick.
Striding up to McGonagall one day as she readied her sixth-year students for class, I expressed my honest opinion on why the attacks had stopped.
"I don't think there'll be anymore trouble, Minerva." I said while tapping my nose knowingly with a charming wink; some female students nearby nearly swooned at the sight of the roguish glint, "I think the Chamber has been locked for good this time. The culprit must have known it was only a matter of time before I caught them. Rather sensible to stop now, before I came down hard on them." I paused for a moment; a brilliant idea coming to mind as my eyes flitted over to Joanna's to catch her eye.
"You know," I said, turning back to my fellow teacher who looked oddly strained. Must be my mere presence clouding her self-esteem about how well she could compare to me with her students—poor woman, "what the school needs now is a morale-booster. Wash away the memories of last term!" I clasped my hands together in earnest delight, "I won't say any more just now, but I think I know just the thing…"
I went off then with another impressive tap to my nose before striding back towards my classroom to plan out my idea.
Before long it was February 14—the time for lovers and romancers to woo their potential mates with wild abandon. Perhaps it was the feeling of young love in the air or perhaps the way my own life was going rather well, I decided to do a little favor to the rest of the students so they might know the same happiness I felt.
It took me a few hours of supervising, as I had some students put up the decorations I designed, but it came out wonderful. The large pink flowers I had purchased looked utterly romantic with the heart-shaped confetti I had a student charm to fall from the ceiling. Best of all, I found the perfect occasion to wear my new bright pink robes.
Waving for silence over breakfast, I stood with a smile. "Happy Valentine's Day!" I shouted cheerfully to everyone. "And may I thank the forty-six people who have so far sent me cards! Yes, I have taken the liberty of arranging this little surprise for you all—and it doesn't end here!"
I clapped my hands and through the doors marched a dozen dwarfs I hired to dress as cupids, complete with golden wings and harps. They didn't appear too happy though. I'll have to dock a galleon from their five galleons per hour pay.
"My friendly, card-carrying cupids!" I beamed proudly at the cleverness of my plan, "They will be roving around the school today delivering your Valentines! And the fun doesn't stop here! I'm sure my colleagues will want to enter into the spirit of the occasion! Why not ask Professor Snape to show you how to whip up a Love Potion! And while you're at it, Professor Flitwick knows more about Entrancing Enchantments than any wizard I've ever met, the sly old dog!"
Later on in the day, one of the dwarfs barged into my office during my prep to deliver a special Valentine to me. After hearing about some of the more embarrassing poems that were delivered earlier that day—the most infamous being the one Harry Potter received anonymously—I was glad that the grumpy dwarf just handed over the written note with a grunt. I smiled when I recognized the handwriting.
Seduce my mind and you can have my body,
Find my soul and I'm yours forever.
See you tomorrow night.
The dwarf hung about for a moment, tracing the outline of the stone floor with his toe. With a cough he caught my attention from my private musing.
"Any response, sir?" he asked. I nodded, scrambling about in the drawers of my desk for a piece of parchment before I scrawled out a simple message.
All days are nights to see till I see thee,
And nights bright days when dreams do show thee me.
Sonnet 43
With another grunt, the dwarf toddled off with my note to deliver to a certain female student who had been haunting my every thought since after we started this little agreement. My class with her was coming up next. I couldn't wait to see her face when she received my valentine.
***
Entering my classroom, wanting to make a grand entrance on this special day (this was my favorite holiday after all), I was hit with the overpowering flowery scent of roses. I blinked as I saw a mass of white in the middle of my classroom. Were my eyes deceiving me? No…as I strode down the stairway from my office, I saw that in-fact; the white mass was hundreds of roses covering one of my student's desk and chair until they were no longer visible. Draco was just putting the finishing touches as he placed the last rose with a grin.
"I say!" I declared appreciatively, placing my hands on my hips with a smile, "Someone's getting into the spirit of the season." Perhaps he wasn't all that bad after all. Whichever girl he went to the trouble to do this for will positively flip her lid.
Joanna, walking in at that moment, saw the flowers. Her eyes widened with delight as she clapped her hands happily. It was then I remembered whose desk that was.
"My favorite flowers! You remembered!" she laughed, throwing her arms around his neck with a smile. "Thanks." He smiled, blushing in response from the passionate hug she was giving him.
"No problem. Did you get my valentine?" She nodded with a smirk, pulling out a gold letter from the inside pocket of her jacket. My jaw clenched as a flirtatious smile flickered across his lips as she went to give him another hug.
"Alright class, take your seats now. Take your seats." I coughed, turning away with a strained look before anyone would notice.
***
Later that night, I was browsing over the latest essays I had the students write about my adventures in Travels with Trolls. That's when Joanna came barging in the door, upset and pissed as she slammed the door shut behind her; near tears. Without thinking, I was up and out of my chair as I went to her; concerned.
"What is it?" I asked, cocking my head as I went to hold her. She turned her face away, hiding the bitter tears falling from those beautiful eyes.
"Its nothing." she hiccuped, wiping away a tear; seemingly angry that it was there. I shook my head with a faint understanding smile as I tipped her chin up to look at me.
"'Nothing' doesn't make you cry." I murmured, gazing into her eyes. Beaming suddenly, I grinned. "That's good. I should write that down." She simply glared at me with a sigh of exasperation as I went for pen and paper. There was a faint smile at the corners of her lips though, which is a good sign.
Hitching my hip on the corner of my desk, I turned back to her with a curious look. "What is it really?" I murmured gently. There was a distinct struggle on her face of whether or not to tell me.
"It's my father…" she said finally with a catch in her voice as she sat down wearily on my couch. Moving to sit beside her, I took her hand in mine. Funny how a simple gesture can do so much to a tender heart; mine was pounding at the familiarity of it.
"What about your father?" I prayed it wasn't anything too serious. It was paining me enough to see her in such turmoil. If her father died, I don't think I could handle the grief in her eyes. She pursed her lips, trying not to cry.
"He wants to take me out of Hogwarts and send me back to France because of this whole 'Chamber' business." she choked, gazing down at her lap depressively. I was confused—even from the beginning of the year she had been declaring how much she preferred France to here.
"I thought that was what you wanted." murmured I with a furrowed eyebrow. Catching my eye, she sighed:
"It is…was…I don't know…" Slipping her soft hand from mine, she cradled her head in her hands. "I actually have friends here…Harry, Ron, Hermione…and Drakey's here—" she added with a light smile. I cocked my eyebrow.
"Drakey?" I giggled, trying hard not to laugh at the absurd nickname. She made a face at me.
"Draco. Sorry." she muttered under her breath as she spoke from the shadow of her hand, "And then there's—" For a moment, she looked up at me with a faint glimmer of a smile before dropping her head back down again. "Never mind. I just don't want to go."
Pulling her close beside me, I just held her to me as she hiccupped away her tears. Even after she calmed down, I continued to hold her close and stroke her dark soft hair. It was so strange and mildly frightening to see her so vulnerable, to see her abdicate her dignity around me even for a second. It was so…human.
"You're a pureblood right?" I said softly, pressing my cheek to the crown of her head with a sigh. She nodded. I could almost hear her eyes rolling in her head at that.
"Pure as snow." she drawled in reply; the disdain behind it nearly dripping off it in thick blobs.
"Well then," I murmured in her ear, "You have nothing to worry about. The heir is only targeting muggle-borns and half-bloods."
"Don't forget squibs." she giggled morbidly as she remembered Filch's cat being petrified. I nodded in concede.
"Squibs too. You are none of those." I pulled her closer, hating the mere thought that she might be attacked for any reason. "You're safe." I whispered reassuringly. That just made her laugh into my chest—a dark edge to the sound.
"Don't you think I haven't explained that to my father? He says since I associate with them, like Hermione and Harry, I'm just as likely to be attacked."
I thought that over for a moment. Her father did have a point in being worried for his daughter, though so far the heir hadn't shown interest in the purebloods who befriended half-bloods or muggles. Actually, the heir didn't seem to have any interest in the students at all at the moment—he or she had just vanished and the attacks had suddenly stopped.
"Do you want me to write a letter of assurance for your parents, guaranteeing your safety as long as I am here to protect you?" I asked with the utmost gravity. She snorted, looking up at me with an incredulous look; instantly shattering this wonderfully heroic moment.
"You protect me?" she sneered, throwing her arms around me with a laugh. "You're so cute." she sighed, kissing my cheek with a smile. I did what any man would do when his honor came into question: I pouted.
"I could protect you if the moment called for it." I grumbled, crossing my arms with a frown.
"You can't even do a simple bone repairing spell—let alone god-knows-what-else." she teased, grinning cheekily at me. Seeing something in my eyes, she softened; curling her long fingers through my hair. "That's sweet though. I thought you would have loved to have me gone. Then you wouldn't have to pretend to be my lover and send me cutesy valentines. Nice poem by the way. I love Shakespeare." I very well couldn't say that I didn't mind being her lover anymore. Instead I looked away with a bothered sigh.
"Well then I wouldn't be able to gain those items honorably if you left." I huffed. Giving me a look, she placed her head back down on my chest; pressing her cheek over my heart and just laid there. Within a few minutes she fell asleep like that.
I cocked my head, looking down into her innocent face; the carefully cultivated façade of pride and arrogance gone with the gentle dew of sleep. She almost looked like an angel sleeping peacefully.
"Now she looks like she belongs in Gryffindor." I murmured lovingly to no one in particular. My portraits nodded their heads in agreement; watching us as the candles burned low into the night.