Chapter Thirty-Four—
Valentine's Day

On the surface, everything seemed fine—great, even. Meril and Fred finally went public with their relationship, but nothing really changed. They still spent most of their time with friends, and while they were with them, they barely did more than hold hands—if even that. Meril had never wanted to be one of those girls who couldn't stay off of her boyfriend, so this was like a dream come true.

And yet, she wasn't convinced.

Looking carefully, she could see things weren't right—could feel it. Maybe it was the way George didn't seem to see her anymore when he looked at her. It seemed, rather, that he was looking past her. His eyes were lacking their usual warmth and were instead like two mossy stones lodged in his head—all of the soul was gone. He went through all of the motions of being George—he smiles, he laughed, he teased and joked—but it all seemed hollow.

George Weasley had gone missing.

Meril tried to talk to him, but she could never seem to get him alone. She had the distinct impression that he was avoiding her, a thought which made Meril feel surprisingly wretched. All she needed was five minutes alone with him to find out what was going on, but even if she could manage to steal that much time from him (apart from seemingly avoiding Meril, Wood had also doubled the Quidditch practice, leaving the team with no free time), she was beginning to doubt whether she'd be able to get him to tell her what was wrong. Maybe the real George would, but with this new, hollow replica, it was doubtful.

Meril heaved a great sigh. Once again, her restless mind had woken her early in the morning—so early that she had nothing else to do but lay there and continue to think about it.

Something was clearly bothering George, though no one else seemed to notice, not even Fred. And, even if he did, he wasn't talking about it with Meril. Meril was afraid to bring it up; what if Fred hadn't noticed; what if she was just too sensitive to these things?

As the sunlight slowly began to stream in through the solitary window, Meril's dorm mates gradually started to waken. As usual, Caitlin Haelstrome did so silently, immediately dressing and going down to the Common Room, barreling grumbling a "G'morning" as she went.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" Alicia sang, stifling a yawn as she stretched her arms over her head. A broad grin was spread across her face as she turned to stare at Meril.

It was Valentine's Day? Meril knit her eyebrows together in concentration, not sure where the time had went. One minute, it was January 12 and George was finding out about Meril and Fred. The next second, a month had already past, and she had yet to speak with him about it.

"Happy Valentine's Day," Meril grumbled back.

"I don't know what you're so grumpy about," Angelina commented, emerging from beneath her covers. "You have a boyfriend."

"So?"

"So?" Alicia exclaimed. "What do you mean 'so?' Even you have to be aware of what Valentine's Day is. It's the day of love—the day to express your romantic feelings towards a significant other. And when there is no one to express those feelings for, it is pretty depressing."

"I know what it is," Meril said crossly. "It isn't as if you two are without options, though."

Alicia snorted. "Who do I have? Angelina at least has Lee, but me? I don't have anyone chasing me around."

"Oh! What about that one guy who tried to kiss you just the other day?" Meril suggested brightly.

Her efforts, unfortunately, only earned her a sharp glare. "He was a second year and he didn't even know who I was."

"Yeah, but he chased you all around the table!"

Alicia rolled her eyes. "You know that isn't what I meant."

"I think it should still count for something."

"Unfortunately, it doesn't," Alicia sighed, falling back on her pillow. "It isn't fair. I mean, you've always had those twins—and everyone always knew you'd end up with one of them—and I—"

"Wait a minute—wait—wait…WHAT?"

Alicia sat back up, startled by Meril's outburst. Blinking her large brown eyes, she said, "What?"

"Hayley—wake up!" Meril demanded, turning towards her sleeping roommate. As expected, Meril's words had no effect on her, so Meril forced herself out of bed and stormed over to the sleeping figure. Grabbing a pillow from Caitlin's freshly made bed, she proceeded to beat Hayley over the head with it until she woke.

Nearly twenty hits later, Hayley Dobson shot up, her face masked by her long tangled hair. "What's going on?" she slurred; the pillow made impact on her face again. "Ow! Ow! Who's—Meril? What the bloody hell is going on?"

"Sorry—I just wanted to make sure you were really awake," Meril said, throwing the pillow carelessly aside.

"Why the bloody hell would you do that?"

"Because she's clinically insane," Alicia replied, her eyes wary as she continued to watch the scene. Angelina usually would have been the one to make that sort of comment, but she was sitting silently on her bed, her eyes glazed over as she stared at her knees.

"Is it really true that everyone always expected me to get together with one of the twins?"

Hayley looked astounded, as if Meril should have known everyone felt that way. "Of course. I mean, I always thought it would be George, but—"

"What?" Meril shouted, her voice taking on a desperate tone. "How did you guys all know this was going to happen, and I was taken totally by surprise?"

"You had no idea that you were going to date Fred?" Alicia asked cautiously.

"No!"

"Well…this is sort of awkward then."

But apparently not too awkward because, after just a moment's pause, she asked again, "You really had no clue?"

"No! I really didn't! I mean…" Meril exhaled and collapsed on Alicia's bed, her eyes trained to the ceiling. "I've been confused for so long…about my feelings for them." It was true—she had been confused about her feelings, just not in the way it sounded. She had known for quite some time she loved them, she was just confused about which. "And I never thought either liked me…"

"Really?"

"I guess there were moments, but I always thought I was just being hopeful. And then…it happened."

"What happened? Oh, you've never told us the story of how you two got together!" Alicia gushed, staring at the figure at her feet and hugging a pillow to her chest.

"You don't talk about him much at all, actually," Angelina observed, speaking for the first time since when she first woke up. She still looked as if her mind was elsewhere, but at long last she had stopped staring at her knees.

"In fact," Angelina continued, "you barely act like a couple."

"That's because we know the time and place for that," Meril replied coolly, her facing turning a bright red. "I think it is rude to snog in front of other people.

"I wasn't reprimanding you," Angelina said. "I was just commenting."

"Oh…Alright."

Angelina's eyes appeared less glazed over now as she looked at Meril; slowly her attentions were turning back to the present; Meril had to wonder what she had been thinking about.

"So are you going to tell us or not?" Alicia asked eagerly, once again grabbing Meril's attention.

"I suppose I will," Meril said with a bit of a sigh. She hated discussing private matters like these; she always got so embarrassed. The only person she could talk about this with and feel totally comfortable was, of course, Heather, but she already knew this story.

Propping herself up on her elbow, Meril began to recount the story to the background noise of Hayley's snores. She had only been planning on telling them about the initial kiss, but she found herself starting with the night he helped her up the stairs and brushed her hair, which Alicia found to be quite cute.

She told them about how George and Lee had run ahead and how Fred really wanted to have a snowball fight; how she scooped up some snow and threw it; how, after an intense battle, he had grabbed her wrist and fallen, causing her to land on top of him; how her face hovered above his. Meril was surprised by the details she remembered—the shape and color—blue; it was terrible cold—of his lips; how violently her heart was slamming against her ribcage; how gently he pushed back her hair; how he guided her face towards his; how curiously his lips had touched against hers; the way her breath caught in her chest.

She repeated the dialogue, word for word, and described to them how gingerly he held her face as they kissed. She was about to go on an describe what happened next—how George suddenly appeared and they leapt apart; they didn't need to know how queasy the idea of George finding out made her feel.

"Well then what happened?" Alicia asked, completely engrossed by the tale.

Meril laughed lightly before going on to tell them about how she couldn't talk to either twin later; how she had decided to go to bed early rather than sit there anymore; how Fred had followed her and stopped her; how he convinced her it had meant something to him, too; how his breath smelt like peppermint; how he had kissed her at midnight and then just stood their, his forehead resting against hers as he held her.

By the time Meril had finished recounting that day, her face and ears were so hot she was almost sweating. The back of her neck was prickling; her throat was dry.

"That is so cute!" Alicia squealed in delight. "How could you never have mentioned this before?"

"It's sort of private," Meril replied, shrugging.

"But it's so cute!" Alicia insisted. "I never would have thought…Fred Weasley…" She shook her head in disbelief, a strange smile twisted onto her face.

"When did George find out?" Angelina asked curiously.

Meril hesitated and began playing with the ends of her hair. No one knew that George hadn't known until right before everyone else had. They didn't know that Meril would have kept it a secret for longer if she could have.

She had never wanted him to find out like that.

The thought of it still made Meril sick.

She could still see the image clearly; at the sound of George's voice, Meril had leapt from Fred's arms as if he were a leper. George had just stared at the two, stony faced, for several minutes before he made any movement. And it was this that really got Meril—he smiled.

It was a horribly forced, twisted sort of grin, but there was no chance to comment cause he was soon coming over to Fred and clapping him on the shoulder and making some joke Meril couldn't remember. He wouldn't look at her at all, no matter how desperately she tried to catch his eye. He just draped his arm over his twin's shoulder and led him back into the Common Room, Meril traipsing along after them. Then, he announced it to everyone in there, a group which did not include Angelina or Alicia, or else they would have known straightaway that George hadn't known.

Fred had felt relieved that George finally knew, though he was disappointed he didn't get to tell him himself; Meril had felt like throwing up.

"He was the second person to find out," Meril said truthfully.

After that, she couldn't bear to sit there and talk about it anymore. So, silently, she walked over to her wardrobe, picked out some clothes for the day, and headed off to the shower.

Surprisingly, neither of her conscious dorm mates said anything to stop her.

Meril was pleased to know that Hogwarts had not gone all out for Valentine's Day. She had heard all about Gilderoy Lockhart's Valentine's Day "project" the year before from Heather, and it was nice to know that no professors had decided to follow in his footsteps.

However, the pancakes and the French toast were heart-shaped. The strawberries had even been cut into heart shapes. Bouquets of roses—red for Gryffindor, blue for Ravenclaw, yellow for Hufflepuff, and white for Slytherin—decorated the tables.

At least there were no special "cupids" running around handing out Valentines and throwing heart-shaped confetti. The walls were also clear of any Valentine's decorations. There were things to be thankful for.

Meril didn't exactly have an aversion to Valentine's Day, but she just wasn't into it. She used to quite like it, especially when she was younger. She remembered her very first Valentine's Day card from someone other than her parents.

She had been seven-years old at the time. The owl had come while she was eating her breakfast. The card had been simple enough—a white background with a big red heart pulsing on the front. Inside there was a picture of cupid shooting arrows as hearts floated across the page.

Dear Meril,

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Why can't I stop
thinking of you?

Love, your secret admirer

Later that day, she had found out that thirteen-year-old Bradley Scarlett had sent it to her from Hogwarts to tease her, but for those few short hours, Meril had never been so excited. She had a secret admirer!

Somewhere along the road, though, her interest in the holiday collapsed. She wasn't sure when it had happened, but if she had to guess, she'd say it had been while she was at Reform Camp. She had been dating Steve West at the time, but he hadn't made a big deal about it. Meril had always grown up thinking that Valentine's Day was supposed to be a big relationship day. When she discovered that it didn't necessarily mean that, her interest sort of disappeared.

Meril sat down at the Gryffindor table and started to fill her plate with food, avoiding anything heart-shaped. She had no expectations for this day; it would probably be just like any other, and she was fine with that.

"Where's Fred?" a thick Scottish accent asked. Meril glanced over at Oliver as he slid into the bench beside her and smiled.

"Dunno," she replied with a shrug. "Haven't seen him yet."

"Ah," Oliver said, nodding his head as he helped himself to some pancakes and strawberries. "So I haven't seen you around much lately."

"That's your fault," Meril replied. "If you didn't have Quidditch practice so often, then maybe we'd run into each other more."

"This is my last chance to win the Quidditch Cup—I need my team to be ready." He paused, taking the time to chew his food before continuing. "You could still come, you know."

"I would, but I've had a lot of work lately. And now that I can go to the library again, I have no excuse not to do it," Meril sighed. After Meril and Fred had been caught after sneaking into the library, Meril had been forced to hand in an incredibly mediocre essay to McGonagall (as well as five sickles to Heather). When she explained to her professor that she had no access to any information and that was why her essays for the past few months had been so terrible—not that they'd been brilliant before that—she went straight to Madam Pince and insisted that she be allowed back in.

The bitter librarian had eventually caved, but she still watched Meril closer than anyone else whenever she dared enter the room.

"Well, if you ever have time…"

"Of course."

The two continued to eat in silence, Oliver periodically looking over his shoulder with a concerned expression on his face.

"Oliver?" Meril began lightly, growing curious.

"Do you know who Amy Smith is? Of course you do…" He shook his head and glanced over his shoulder again. "She keeps staring at me."

Meril cocked an eyebrow, an amused smirk sliding onto her face. She followed Oliver's gaze to the Ravenclaw table where Amy was in fact staring at him.

"Oh, yeah. She quite fancies you," Meril said; she immediately bit her tongue, holding back the laugh she felt bubbling in her stomach.

"She what? She fancies me? I haven't talked to her in—in—in years!" Oliver exclaimed. "We haven't even had a class together since we took our O.!" He scrunched his face together thoughtfully. "Have we? I s'pose we must've, but I haven't spoken to her since fourth—maybe fifth—year."

"Amy has trouble letting go of things," Meril explained.

"Are you sure?"

"Oh, yes; she told me so herself."

"Why would she do that?" Oliver asked, steadily growing more and more confused by the situation.

Meril sighed, running a hand through her hair. She didn't think she had ever told anyone about this incident before; she was pretty sure she had skipped it when telling Alicia and Angelina about the kissing incident. She wasn't sure how to go about doing it.

"Do you remember when we almost—" Meril took a deep breath before continuing; she had never said the words to him before "—kissed?" There, it was out—she said it. She held her breath as she waited for some sort of reaction, but none came.

Oliver merely nodded in response as, in a perfectly steady voice, he said, "Yes."

"Well, afterwards, Amy…ambushed me, I guess is the best way to put it. She said that you were "hers" and told me to stay away from you. She said that that was her first warning. The day of the first Quidditch match, she gave me my second."

At this point, Oliver looked truly frightened. She had seen him nervous before, but never over anything other than Quidditch. That was nothing compared to the look of pure terror on his face now.

"Are you serious?" he asked; his accent was so thick at this point that it was almost impossible to decipher what he had said. He glanced over his shoulder again and swallowed nervously.

"Sadly, I am. Looks like you got yourself a stalker there, Ollie."

Shaking his head, Oliver moved to stand. "I need to talk to her."

"Not a good idea," Meril said, shoving him back into his seat. "That will only feed the obsession. She'll think you're interested. Just…ignore her. You'll both be leaving in a few months—if she still pursues you then, that's when I'd start to get worried."

"Right…right. You're right," he said. "I'm going to go back to the Common Room, I think…"

"Alright. Good luck," Meril said, flashing him a sympathetic smile; he nodded half-heartedly and hurried towards the door, so distracted he nearly ran into the Hufflepuff table.

Meril shook her head, chuckling slightly to herself, and continued to eat her breakfast. She dared not turn around again, though, because she had the distinct impression someone was staring at her—and she was sure that stare wouldn't be a friendly one.

After breakfast, Meril headed straight to the library in search of new potions to make, feeling that Snape wasn't giving them complicated enough material. As usual, Madam Pince kept her sharp, unfriendly eyes firmly locked on Meril during her entire stay, failing to notice the real trouble makers—a bunch of first or second years—laughing loudly as they all poured over some book.

She managed to find a few interesting potions—the Aging Potion, Elixir to Induce Euphoria, Felix Felicis, a Memory Potion, Veritaserum, and a Wit-Sharpening Potion—and quickly copied them down onto parchment before hurrying off. It was lunch time by this point, and Meril was starving.

Pushing through the doors, her eyes immediately moved to the Gryffindor table. Her eyes flickered up and down the long rows in search of a mop of red hair to sit down by. However, neither twin seemed to be there. She hadn't seen either all day.

Not wanting to sit alone, Meril headed over to the Hufflepuff table, where Heather was seated with Rome Dickinson, Cora Rose, Ashley Bitler, and Jesse Fujimaki.

"It's nice to see I'm not the only one here breaking the rules," she commented, smiling at Jesse as she slipped onto the bench beside Heather.

"Hey, Meril," Jesse said, smiling in return. Since Meril had finally noticed that he was in her Arithmancy class, the two had become quite friendly with each other.

"What're you doing here?" Heather asked, looking surprised by her best friend's presence. "Shouldn't you be off with Fred or something?"

"I haven't seen him yet today," Meril replied with a small shrug. "What about Cedric? Where's he?"

"He's talking to Trey about something, I think. I'm not sure." Heather smiled brightly, clearly unperturbed by her boyfriends absence.

"It's Valentine's Day, though!" Cora exclaimed. "You guys should be with your boyfriends. I can't believe you haven't even seen him!"

"Yeah, it's weird," Meril agreed. "But I haven't given him much opportunity to find me, either. From breakfast, I went straight to the library. I just came out now to come here."

"Don't you want to see him?" Ashley asked; her eyebrows were drawn tightly together.

"Of course I do. But Valentine's Day just isn't a big deal to me."

"It used to be. Remember that time when Bradley—" Heather laughed.

"Yes," Meril interrupted, "I remember that. But I was little then. I've just grown out of it I guess." Her eyes caught on a figure—male, probably her age, by the looks of it—carrying a basket filled with cards and what appeared to be chocolates. "Speaking of growing out of it…"

"Gabriel!" Rome suddenly exclaimed, jumping out of his seat. The male with the basket's head turned and a grin broke out on his face. He dropped a card in front of some girl and then hurried over to the Hufflepuffs.

"Rome! Happy Valentine's Day!" he exclaimed, thrusting a card out to him.

So this was Gabriel Wilm. Meril had seen him before, but she never would have guessed. Aside from the long, dark hair, he looked nothing like Clement.

While Clement was tall—Meril would have to guess he was something like 6'5"—and had broad shoulders (and so had a broad frame), Gabriel was significantly shorter, certainly not surpassing six feet, and had a very slight frame. Clement's eyes were a deep brown, his nose small and straight, and his mouth small with a mole near one of the corners. Gabriel's eyes were a soft blue, his nose larger and rounder, and his lips much longer.

It took a great deal of looking indeed to find any real similarities, but Meril did eventually notice two. Both had long, dark eyebrows, and their lips were the same almost dainty shape, although not the same size.

Both were good looking guys, Meril had no doubts about that, but Clement had a burlier look, whereas Gabriel was more of a pretty-boy with his perfect, side-swept hair.

"…and here's a card for you…and you…and you…and Meril, you can have one, too."

Meril blinked, snapping out of her thoughts, and found herself staring at a red envelope. Her initial reaction was to jump back, fearing that it was a howler, but after noticing that it wasn't starting to smoke, she gingerly took it.

"Thank you?" she said, glancing up at Gabriel Wilm curiously.

He looked back down at her, his mouth twisted into an amused smirk and his eyebrow cocked ever so slightly. "It's a Valentine's Day Card," he explained. "Oh! And I forgot!" From his basket, he pulled a small package wrapped in pink cellophane and tied with a white ribbon. "Here you go."

Meril unsurely accepted the gift. "Thank you," she said again. Inside were five chocoballs; immediately her mouth began to water. These were one of her favorite treats—large chocolate sweets filled with strawberry mousse and clotted cream. It had to be one of the most heavenly things ever invented.

"You are very welcome!" Gabriel exclaimed, smiling brightly. He surveyed the table briefly, looking to see if he missed anyone. Finding that he hadn't, he turned towards Rome and said, "I have some more love to spread. I'll see you later." Clapping his best mate on the shoulder, he smiled again and hurried off to the Ravenclaw table.

Meril looked after him, noticed him stopping by Clement, and turned back to her companions at the Hufflepuff table.

"He is a Slytherin?"

"Unbelievable, isn't it?" Cora agreed. She tentatively bit into the chocoball and her face broke out with delight. "These are bloody fantastic!"

Rome rolled his eyes at Cora and turned to address Meril. "He's one of the nice ones, but it isn't so unbelievable if you really know him. Just think about what it is that Slytherins are like. They're ambitious, cunning, and into self-preservation. They are also determined, resourceful, clever, and don't care too much for rules. No where in there does it require that they be nasty, does it?"

"No, you're right…It's just that—"

"So many are? Yes, I know. Sad, isn't it? I suppose that's just because, combined, a lot of those traits make a person a bit cocky. And then there's the whole blood-purity thing…" Rome shook his head in disgust.

"That seems to play a bigger role than their actual personality, if you ask me." Meril cast a meaningful glance towards Marcus Flint, the Slytherin Quidditch captain, an almost troll-like guy with a bad set of teeth; he was in his eighth year at Hogwarts, something which did not lead Meril to believe he was very clever or ambitious.

"I agree; but that isn't the case with Gabriel. He's one of the few people I know—Slytherin or not—who studies, and I mean really studies. Not that he needs to; he could pass with flying colors without trying. He'd do well in Ravenclaw, like Clement, but he's a bit more under-handed than that. He doesn't mind stepping on toes to get what he wants. Pretty much only thinks about himself and what will get him ahead." Rome took a large bite of his sandwich before continuing. "He's a good guy though—my best mate. Wants to be a healer, you know."

Meril looked over at Gabriel; he was still passing out Valentines across the Great Hall, though I noticed he was avoiding the Gryffindor table. He kept glancing up at the staff table, something which Rome noticed as well.

"He's a bit of a suck-up, too," he said. "That's part of the whole 'doing-anything-to-get-what-he-wants' bit."

"Yes, I see that," Meril commented. She glanced at the card and package of sweets sitting before her and smiled. He did seem like a nice guy.

"He is very sweet," Heather noted. She smiled softly, her eyes flickering towards Rome meaningfully, but he didn't notice it, and, although curious, Meril had the distinct impression that she shouldn't draw attention to it.

"Speaking of sweet…" Cora said, a smile forming on her already pleased face. Meril thought she was talking about the chocoballs again, but then she noticed where Cora's eyes were resting. At the same time, Meril and Heather turned around.

Cedric was standing there with a huge bouquet of pink carnations and delicate white snowdrop flowers. Heather jumped right to her feet.

"Flowers? You're so sweet, Cedric!" she squealed, throwing her arms around him.

"Flowers? I'm allergic to pollen, Jayden!"

As one, Meril and her companions at the Hufflepuff table turned their heads to see what was going on. Jayden Abrams stood in the aisle between the Hufflepuff and Slytherin tables, offering a bouquet of flowers to his girlfriend, Jennifer Crisp, but she pushed them away.

"And I hate chocolate," she snapped. Unnecessarily flipping her long black hair over her shoulder, she withdrew herself from the table and stormed off, her chin high in the air.

Jayden stared after her, his arms falling to his side. Thankfully, he had sufficient pride not to chase after (though he was lacking enough to be dating her in the first place) and he handed off the flowers to a first year with honey-colored hair. Then, with the box of chocolates still in hand, he returned to his own table and ate them himself. And, Meril noted, he didn't look the least bit miserable. In fact, he looked pretty pleased.

"I wonder if he did that on purpose," Ashley said curiously, glancing over her shoulder at the Slytherin. "That'd be just like him."

"What do you mean?" Meril asked.

"Well, when he wanted to brake up with me," Ashley began, swallowing the bit of food in her mouth; this caught Jesse's attention.

He coughed abruptly, the water he had been drinking spraying across the table. "You dated him?"

"Oh, yeah. Just for a little while last year though. He was all into revenge on his father, though he would never explain why, and he was just so…Well, he's a real Slytherin, that's for sure. Anyway, soon after we started dating, it was clear he wanted to break up with me, but he never did anything. Then, he started to do things that he knew I wouldn't like to try to get me to end things with him. And I did, because I wasn't happy with him and it clear he wasn't going to do it."

"When did you date him?" Jesse asked.

"At the beginning of last year. We didn't date publicly though. "

"Oh, well that explains why I didn't know. But that doesn't sound like him. He's a good guy. Sort of like Gabriel, actually."

"He is nothing like Gabriel," Ashley laughed, shaking her head. "He is a spiteful, manipulative, arrogant coward."

"Aw, Ash!" Cora objected. "That's not fair. I mean I've never actually talked to him before, but he doesn't seem so bad."

"Core, you see the good in everyone. Just believe me on this one…"

"Excuse me," Meril interjected, rising to her feet. "I'm going to go. It was nice talking to you all."

"Bye, Meril," Rome, Cora, and Ashley chorused.

"See you, Meril," Jesse said; he seemed a bit tense listening to Ashley bashing his friend, but he managed a small smile for Meril anyway. She smiled gently in return.

"Hate to interrupt your snog, but I'm going now," Meril whispered into Heather's ear; the blonde jumped, tearing away from Cedric with a startled expression.

"Merlin, Meril! Give a girl some warning!" Heather panted, stepping away from Cedric; he tenderly brushed a loose lock of hair from her face.

Meril grinned at her friend and turned towards Cedric. "Pleasure as always, Cedric," she said, nodding briefly at him.

"Likewise," he replied, his lips flickering into a smile as he nodded back at her.

With every intention of going up to the Common Room and finding her boyfriend—it was starting to get ridiculous; she had never gone a day at Hogwarts without seeing him—Meril headed out of the Great Hall with a skip in her step.

"Shh! You can't go over there!" a hoarse voice whispered as Meril stepped into the Entrance Hall. She turned to see the source of the voice and immediately frowned.

"Caleb, I am in no mood for your antics. I haven't seen my boyfriend all day and I am reall—"

He clamped his hand over her mouth and dragged her over to the other side of the Entrance Hall. He crouched down in the shadows and tugged on her sleeve in a suggestion that she do the same.

"This is my favorite part about Valentine's Day," he whispered. His gray eyes shone vibrantly as he stared outward. Meril followed his gaze and found Jayden—when had he left the Great Hall?—discussing something quite loudly with Jennifer.

"What is it?" Meril whispered in return.

"A fight—might even turn into a breakup if we're lucky."

"You're a bit of a cynic, aren't you?"

He shrugged noncommittally. "I just want my friend to be rid of that horrible creature. Plus, there's always something so ironic about seeing a relationship end on the "Day of Love." Wouldn't you agree?"

Meril just stared at him with a sudden respect. It was nice to hear someone else refer to Jennifer Crisp as a "horrible creature."

"—are you really going to hold that against me? It was a gesture—a nice, romantic gesture! How was I to know that you were allergic to pollen? It isn't something that really comes up in conversation, is it? Unless it were the spring time and you were all sniffly and I asked you what was wrong! I'm not just going to randomly start discussing my allergies now, though, am I?"

"I never said that you should know," Jennifer replied stiffly. "I was merely telling you why I couldn't accept them."

"Oh that's a load of rubbish! Your tone said it all. And as for 'telling me why you couldn't accept them'…you practically tossed them back in my face!"

"I did not. I was just—"

"Stop trying to make excuses for yourself. It isn't as if this is the first time you dismissed one of the gifts I have tried to give you."

"I told you I was sorry for that!" Jennifer coolly replied; she certainly didn't sound so sorry anymore. "But I really don't think that I did anything wrong. You tried to put a choker on me—what was I supposed to do?"

"Let me, maybe?"

"It could potentially suffocate me and I don't think that's really safe."

"Oh why didn't she accept the choker?" Meril murmured; Caleb snickered.

"It's a piece of jewelry!" Jayden exclaimed, outraged.

"A dangerous piece of jewelry. Now as for the chocolate—"

"Oh, yes. How could I forget the chocolate?"

"I have made it perfectly clear that I do not like chocolate. I do not know why you insist upon buying it for me."

"Well, it's hard to remember when there are so many other things that you complain about. I am bound to forget something when all you ever have for me is a list of things you don't like. You don't like how my hair sticks up; how I look around when I talk; how loud first years are; how the portraits talk to us as we pass. I could go on an on about things you don't like, but I can't really say what you do like. "

"I—"

"And you are always bossing me around and correcting me when I make even the slightest mistake. Ever since we've gotten back to Hogwarts, I've felt like I can't move in case I step in the wrong direction. It was such a relief that you understood me—that I could be myself around you and you understood. But now—" he took a deep breath "—I don't think I can date you anymore."

"What?" Jennifer asked sharply; I could see her cold eyes flashing.

"I still appreciate the time we spent together—that I could talk to you about my past and that you didn't judge me as 'just another Slytherin'—because I'm not; I know I can be cocky and arrogant, and I'm goal oriented and vengeful, but I'm not an ass. I know I'm not. And I'm glad you can see that, too. But…well, you have become just too unpleasant to be around, and I don't want to see you anymore."

"I—but—Jayden—"

"Sorry, Jen."

Jayden continued to stare at her, his hands thrust into his pockets as he waited for her to walk away. Already, his face looked lighter, as if a heavy burden had just been lifted from him.

Slowly, Jennifer walked away. A moment later, Caleb rose to his feet and then helped Meril to hers.

"And that's how to get it done," he murmured, grinning from ear to ear. He then emerged from the shadows, slowly clapping in a congratulatory way as he neared Jayden.

"Very nicely done," he complimented, a smirk on his face.

"Bravo," Meril agreed.

Jayden gave her an odd look before turning back to Caleb. "You watched?"

"Of course! What is Valentine's Day without some relationship drama? I thought I would watch mine first hand—and I am so glad I did. Jayden, you know how to get them done."

"I was only being honest. She got it—she could see that I wasn't a stereotypical Slytherin, but Merlin was she unpleasant! Why couldn't I have noticed that in the beginning? It would have saved me so much grief…I'm surprised my ears didn't fall off from all the nagging."

Caleb and Meril both laughed; once again, Jayden looked at Meril quite curiously.

"Right! Sorry, both of you. Jayden, may I introduce you to my dear friend—although she doesn't like to admit it—Meril Lizlow."

"I'm not your—" Meril protested, but she was cut off by Jayden.

"I know Meril. I've just never actually talked to her. Always took her to be…well, very prejudiced against Slytherins."

Before Meril had the chance to make a retort to that comment, Caleb took it upon himself to answer. "She is."

"Oh. Then what's she doing with you?"

"Well, even a hard-core Gryffindor like Meril can't resist my charms."

"Yes, that's it," Meril said sarcastically. "It's really more like he continually ambushes me and sucks me into horrible conversations or situations before I even know what's happening."

"Sounds like friendship to me," Jayden commented; he and Caleb shared a smirk.

"More like tolerance," Meril corrected. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a boyfriend to go find. He's been MIA all day."

"Uh-oh. Sounds like more relationship drama," Caleb teased. "This may just end up being a very good Valentine's Day for me."

"Bye Caleb. Bye Jayden."

"Bye Meril; nice to see a Gryffindor actually open to having a civilized conversation with a Slytherin."

"Hey—Gryffindors aren't the only ones who are prejudiced," Meril said sternly.

"Yes, yes; of course not," Jayden said passively, rolling his eyes.

"Good luck with your boyfriend troubles," Caleb said, his gray eyes glinting metallically in the torchlight. "Which just reminds me of our conversation on the train—I knew you would end up with one of them."

"You aren't the first person who's said that to me today," Meril sighed.

"I just always thought it would be the other one," Caleb continued thoughtfully, paying no heed to the fact that Meril had spoken.

"What? I don't get why—oh, who asked for your opinion anyway!" Meril shouted grumpily. She frowned so deeply that wrinkles formed on her forehead. Without another word to either Slytherin, she spun around on her heels and marched up the stairs.

The Common Room was empty when Meril finally returned to Gryffindor Tower. She was sorely tempted to go off in search of Fred, but decided against it. She would be better off staying in one place where he could easily find her. She moved to go sit by the fireplace but quickly retreated. She had a better idea…

As she had suspected, the boy's dormitory was completely empty of any human life, though Meril wouldn't doubt that something else was starting to grow under one of the beds. Scott Gunderson was a surprisingly messy fellow; his sheets were in a heap at the foot of his bed; snack bags and boxes were pushed carelessly under his four-poster. His trunk was open, and its contents were all in a jumble. His clothes all lay at the bottom of his wardrobe in a heap, making it quite unclear what was clean and what was dirty.

Meril moved cautiously past his bed, afraid that if she made any sudden movements something—perhaps a rat, though maybe (she shuddered) a moth—would fly out at her.

Having thoroughly freaked herself out, Meril scrambled onto Fred's bed, which was significantly neater than Scott's, though she never would have thought it. Neither of the Weasley twins was particularly known for their neat habits. Fred's sheets were crooked, and there was a lump under the comforter, as if he hadn't bothered to pull one of his blankets up. Clothes poked out of his closed trunk; old papers and broken quills lay scattered beneath his bed.

Beside his, George's four-poster was hardly any better. His pillow was poking out of its scarlet case, and there was a large ink stain at the foot of his bed. His trunk was is shambles; everything was mixed together—books, spare clothes, quills, knick-knacks, and countless other items. Meril was thoroughly convinced that he hadn't sorted through it since the beginning of the year.

As Meril sat observing George's space, she failed to notice the sound of footsteps coming up the spiral staircase. Once she had finished, however, her head turned instinctively towards the doorway, and there stood George himself, looking stiff as a board. It was the first time they had been alone together in over a month.

"Want a chocoball?" Meril offered, extending the cellophane package towards him. "I just got them from Gabriel Wilm. He's a funny Slytherin, don't you agree?"

George, however, refused to answer either question. "I just came to get something," he instead said; his eyes barely flickered towards Meril as he passed her.

Meril heaved a sigh and put down the chocoballs. This was getting ridiculous—no, it was beyond ridiculous by this point.

"Why won't you talk to me?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I just spoke to you."

"You know what I mean."

"No, Meril, I honestly don't." He stared at her for a full five seconds before returning his gaze to his trunk.

"It's a miracle you can find anything in there," Meril commented, attempting to lighten the air. She didn't know what was wrong with George, but there was nothing she could do if he refused to talk to her about it.

"Yes, well, I manage. It's surprising how many things I am capable of managing with, actually," he said sharply; Meril had heard him upset before, but it was nothing compared to the way he sounded then. He practically spat the words—Meril could feel them on her skin, burrowing deep inside of her.

At long last, George looked up from his trunk, though he held nothing in his hands. When his eyes met Meril's, they were cold as steel. Meril felt a shiver go down her spine; this was not the George that she knew.

He stepped towards Meril, and she had to force herself not to jump back away from him.

"Why didn't you just tell me? You had every opportunity to." His eyes flickered momentarily towards the ring on Meril's finger, and the steel-mask he had put up was momentarily put down and the hurt was easily visible in his eyes. Just as quickly as it had come, though, it was gone again.

Meril opened her mouth—she had no response ready, but she was prepared to babble until something sensible came out—but he spoke again before she could.

"I even asked you. I asked you, Meril! I asked if anything was going on between you and Fred, and you said no—you outright lied to me."

"I didn't—"

"Don't tell me you didn't lie to me!" George roared; his face was bright red and flames were flickering in his eyes. "Don't tell me that you didn't lie to me when later that very same day I caught you two snogging out in the hallway!"

"I know I lied to you," Meril said meekly. She wanted to talk more loudly—for her voice to be stronger—but something about his fury terrified her, reducing her to the mouse-like state she found herself in. "I didn't mean to. I just…" She took a deep breath, trying to steady her heart rate. "I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't know—I was afraid—I—"

"You what?"

"I was afraid of how you'd react. I wanted more time to…I don't know. I just wanted to be sure that you'd be okay with it."

"Why wouldn't I be okay with it?" His eyes flickered back towards the ring Meril was anxiously twisting around her finger—the beautiful white gold ring he had given her for her birthday.

"I don't know. Why don't you tell me? You're the one who's so upset that he won't even look at me. Don't think I haven't noticed. Ever since you found out, it's been like you've been looking past me. You haven't been acting like yourself at all."

"What are you talking about?" George insisted; there was no way he hadn't noticed his own off behavior. While at the Burrow was one thing—though Meril had her doubts about that, too—but for a whole month he had been acting differently. There was no way he didn't know.

"You know what I am talking about—don't play dumb with me, George Weasley."

He fell silent for a moment, his eyes cast down to the floor. Then, a mumble escaped his mouth—so quiet, Meril wasn't sure she had really heard it. "I don't know why you didn't just tell me."

Meril moved to get off the bed as George's eyes slid up to her face. She felt as if her heart was being pulled from her chest as she looked into those eyes. All she wanted to do was hug him and hold him until all that pain went away.

"I had no idea that it would upset you so much. I never should have lied to you about it. I'm so sorry. I—"

The fury had suddenly returned. "It isn't because—" he began to roar but he fell quickly short, his eyes shifting from Meril's face to the door frame. Meril followed his gaze, curious.

Fred's face brightened instantly as his eyes caught on Meril's. "There you are!" he exclaimed, sweeping towards her with his arms outstretched. "I've been looking for you all day."

Meril wrapped her arms around his sturdy frame and rested her chin on his shoulder. Her eyes followed George as he silently slipped out of the room. Had it been anyone else, this would have made sense. But this was George. The real George would have stuck around to tease them and get in the way. He wouldn't have given them any privacy.

"I know you don't have any expectations for today, but I couldn't resist getting you some candy—have to keep that sweet tooth satisfied!" Fred chirped.

Maybe Caleb was right. Valentine's Day wouldn't be Valentine's Day without some drama. But Meril wasn't having relationship drama—not the kind that Caleb had been talking about anyway.

"Here they are!" Fred said, brandishing a square box from behind his back. "There are all sorts of goodies in there; I know you'll love them." He leaned down and kissed Meril tenderly on the lips, then sweetly on the nose. "Happy Valentine's Day."

a/n Ah, so pretty big time jump, hm? I bet you aren't used to those with this story. It is more than time that I get a move on with this, though, and so here I am, doing it. There was some drama in this chapter, right? Some humor...I really didn't know quite what I was going to do with this chapter when I started it, but I hope it came out well. I particularly liked the end, but perhaps that is just me :)

Anyway, please review and let me know honestly what you think. I love feedback.

Thank you very much!

xox