Adventures At Echowick

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the Harry Potter franchise, including books, movies, or any other media. These all belong to J.K. Rowling, as do the rights to any non-original elements of this story.


Valentine's Day: 2009

"I can't freaking believe this!" Asher raged, bursting into Building 7. Cari and Professor Gregory stared at him, shocked by the normally-calm boy's explosion. Ransom, apparently used to his brother's random fits of passion, continued working on his broom as though nothing had happened.

"Um, what can't you freaking believe, Asher?" Professor Gregory asked nervously.

"Professor Tallet! The seventh-years wanted to sell plants again this year to raise money since it's an established success as a fundraiser. Well, she said she would have the moly ready to be sold by the beginning of February, but we all voted that we wanted to sell something other than moly. It's been done to death and we don't want to do exactly the same thing every year. Makes sense, right?"

Both Professor Gregory and Cari nodded, wide-eyed but silent. Apparently, that was all the encouragement Asher needed as he continued. "When we told Tallet we were thinking something more like an actual flower, something romantic, she shot us down right away! She said she would plant moly or nothing." Asher screwed up his face and continued in a perfect impression of the Herbology Professor, "I don't know if having the moly around is the reason Echowick has experienced a drop in romantic enchantments over the past few years, but I'm not going to risk it. Can you believe that? It's ridiculous!"

Cari shrugged, carefully avoiding eye contact with the irate seventh-year. "I don't know, it seems like everyone really likes the moly. Besides, I think it's a pretty plant, especially in the pots she always puts them in."

"Romana," Ransom sighed, voice exasperated. "It doesn't matter that moly is pretty. It matters that a girl isn't going to be impressed by it. You need something that's really going to knock her off her feet, something exciting that's going to make her forget all about everything going on between you and just fall back in love."

"…Or something that's going to sell a lot of flowers and let us have a really nice graduation party." Asher's gaze turned speculative as he studied his younger brother. "Problems with the girlfriend, Ransom?"

Ransom blushed and dropped his gaze to the broom resting on the table in front of him. "Kimber and I aren't doing so well. We had another huge fight and I'm not sure if a moly plant is going to solve anything. Especially since that's exactly what I got her for Valentine's Day last year." He rubbed his face tiredly. "I don't know if we're going to make it through this fight."

Asher and Professor Gregory wore sympathetic expressions, but Cari was unimpressed. "Then just get her something that's not offered by the senior class. Put a little effort into it." She thought it over for a second. "Of course, that's assuming you're sure you want to get Kimber something in the first place. She's not much for gifts as a reason to forgive someone. Have you thought about doing something else instead?"

Ransom stared at her, aghast. "But gifts worked at the beginning of the semester! You and your roommate helped me get gifts for Kimber and they smoothed things right over."

Using an impressive display of willpower, Cari managed not to facepalm. "Seriously? You think the gifts were what made Kimber stop being mad at you?" Ransom nodded and Cari sighed. "Wow. Maybe you two don't need to be together." She took pity on her classmate and explained, "Kimber couldn't care less about the stuff you got her. She was impressed by the fact that you paid attention to the things she likes and remembered them enough to give her gifts that had emotional significance. Or at least, that was the idea."

"Oh," Ransom said succinctly, propping his chin on one hand, elbow on the table. He thought for a moment before asking, "You think I should get her another candle?"

"Boys!" Cari hissed out, earning surprised glances from the other two males in the room. "It's a wonder the human race has survived this long."

It was a very silent class.


When Valentine's Day came, it arrived in a rush of giggling girls, blushing boys, and exasperated professors. For a solid week before the holiday, the hallways were filled with long glances and whispered plans. Even Cari, who truly didn't mind Valentine's Day, began to get annoyed by the constant irritants and longed for the day to be past.

Lydia, on the other hand, did not feel the same way. She reveled in this time of year, excitedly discussing the decorations, whether any parties were planned, who might be getting presents for who else and whether their feelings were returned. Cari tuned it out for the most part, but if Lydia had one true skill other than planning parties, it was persistence.

The morning of Valentine's Day, she woke Cari up, excitedly chatting about her plans for the day before Cari was even truly conscious. Before she could roll toward the wall and pull covers over her head, Lydia spoke directly to her. "That reminds me, Cari; did you ever figure out who sent you the moly plant last year? You said you were going to look into it, but I never heard anything else about it. Did you find your secret admirer?"

Still hoping vainly for a last few minutes of sleep, Cari grunted to indicate a 'no', but Lydia apparently didn't understand her sophisticated way of expressing herself. "I'm sorry, I don't speak troll."

Cari gave another grunt, this one with spiteful overtones, but Lydia was having none of it. "Licaria Romana, you answer me right now. I need to know what happened! I don't know why I never wondered about it before…"

Abandoning any further hope of sleep, Cari flipped to her back and blinked up at the ceiling. When Lydia cleared her throat sharply, Cari rolled her eyes. "No, Lydia. I did not find out anything about who sent the plant. I just know that it wasn't my dad. I don't know who else would have done something like that and I have no other clues."

"Ooh!" Lydia squealed excitedly as Cari momentarily closed her eyes and tried not to hate her roommate. "A real, live secret admirer! Are you just ridiculously excited about today? What if he sends another one?"

"I don't know. I guess I'll be even more confused." Lydia huffed. "Well, what do you expect me to do? It's not like I can track the person down, and even if I did, what then? Thank them for the plants and ask why they're sending them?"

"…Or, embrace passionately and start dating immediately," Lydia supplied.

Cari made a face. "No, probably not." Lydia looked confused. "Either it's someone I don't know, which means that I wouldn't date them, or it's someone I do, and then I would have to wonder why they didn't just tell me their feelings up front."

"Maybe they're shy?"

"Maybe. Anyway, I have bigger things going on right now. Have you noticed that Kimber is avoiding me lately?"

Lydia leaned into her mirror, applying a careful layer of makeup. Distractedly, she said, "I thought she always avoided you? I didn't think you guys were actually friends."

"We didn't used to be. Most of first year, I think she hated me. Or at least, she really didn't like me. But we've gotten friendlier over the years until just a couple of weeks ago." Cari climbed out of bed and began to get dressed, thinking out loud as she did. "We were fine when we got back from Christmas vacation. A couple of days after that was when I really began to notice it."

"I don't really know what to tell you, Cari. She hasn't said anything to me about it, but you know we're not really close."

Rolling her eyes at her roommate's unhelpfulness, Cari put on her shoes in silence and stood waiting by Lydia and her mirror. "It's rude to stare!" the mirror chided. "Give her some privacy."

Obligingly, Cari moved her gaze elsewhere as she took a step back, wondering why putting on makeup was an activity one needed privacy for. In the middle of her musings, her eyes fell on the calendar hung neatly in one corner of Lydia's bulletin board. She had drawn a large red heart around February 14th. "Lydia!" Cari snapped.

Lydia, in the middle of putting on mascara, jerked violently at Cari's tone. Her hand, still holding the wand, swiped a thick streak of black up the majority of her forehead. She swore softly and began repairing the damage with a tissue as she glared over at Cari. "Seriously, Romana? What is your problem?"

"It's Saturday, Abrams. Saturday. There had better be a good reason you woke me up at seven in the morning on a weekend."

Lydia gave a long-suffering sigh. "Well, how are the moly deliverers supposed to find us if we're hiding out in our room all day? We have to go out in public."

Since 'public' was one of Cari's least-favorite places to go, she seriously considered refusing. However, she was upright and dressed. Actually going back to sleep wasn't really going to be an option, so she might as well go talk to people, if only to make sure that she didn't start beating Lydia with the overly-intrusive mirror.

As would come as a shock to no one but Lydia, the cafeteria was almost completely empty. Some effort had been made to celebrate the holiday, however. The table boasted heart-shaped waffles and pancakes, paired with red syrup. Cari tasted it warily, but found that it was merely strawberry instead of something truly disgusting. Tessa and Toby wandered in around eight o'clock, being nauseatingly gooey and romantic together. Lydia cooed, but Cari privately was grateful that she had already finished eating.

Any time she tried to make excuses and leave, Lydia frowned at her and jabbed a finger down, signaling clearly that Cari was to remain in the cafeteria. It was nearly nine-thirty when Kimber peered into the cafeteria, made eye contact with Cari at the table, and immediately turned around to leave the room. "I have to go. See you guys later," Cari said shortly, ignoring the displeased expression on Lydia's face as she hurried away after her dorm-mate.

Kimber unwittingly led Cari to a fourth-year Academics student lounge. When they seemed close to their destination, Cari grimaced. Please don't let me walk in on Kimber cheating on Ransom. Or having a fight. Or doing anything illegal.

To Cari's extreme relief, Kimber was alone in the room. On the other hand, Kimber was alone in the room, facing the door with an expectant look on her face. That was a little less relieving. Kimber nodded when Cari walked through the door, as though her guess had been correct. "Okay," she said heavily. "What do you want?"

"Why are you avoiding me?" There was no other lie Cari could think of off the top of her head that would explain away following her dorm-mate into an unfamiliar Wing, so she simply offered up the truth. With the other girl's reaction, it had been an unexpected good choice.

Kimber's eyes popped wide. "Why am I avoiding you? That's what you want to ask me?"

"Well, yeah," Cari said uncertainly. "Why, should I be asking you something else?"

Giggling a little bit, Kimber shook her head. "Not really. I just- I feel like I may have been overreacting to something. It's nothing, really."

Cari wasn't entirely sure this answered her question, so she persisted. "But why were you avoiding me? Did I make you mad somehow? I kind of… Well, I kind of thought we were becoming friends. Or at least, friendlier than we started off."

Looking considering, Kimber said slowly, "I suppose we are. I hadn't really thought about it until now, but yeah. I guess we're friends. Well, as my friend, you deserve an explanation for why I've been avoiding you lately. Please, sit down." She gestured at the couch behind Cari as she sat down herself.

Cari glanced uncertainly at the sofa. "I'm all for the explanation, but are you sure we shouldn't be moving somewhere else? I don't want to get into trouble for being here."

Kimber waved this away. "Don't worry about it. I have some friends over in this Wing who will vouch for us if anyone starts asking questions." Mollified, Cari sat down, sinking slowly into the couch. "I've been avoiding you because you're friends with Ransom."

Cari could only blink at this unexpected statement. "Friends with Ransom."

"Yes. I know you and Ransom are in the Broomsmith program together and that you guys are friends. Well, I figured that he had told you all about the problems we've been having lately, and I didn't want you to stick up for him just because you're his friend."

"Well, as his friend, I have to say that any problems you guys are having are more likely to be because of something he did than something you did." Cari leaned forward, feeling the need to accentuate her next words. "Kimber, I would never try to tell you what you should do with your relationship. That is completely your decision. If you need someone to talk to or reason things out with, I would love to be there for you, but I'm not going to make choices for you or judge the ones you make on your own."

"Thank you," Kimber said softly, gratitude shining from her lovely face. "It means a lot. It might be a little soon, but is there any chance you would want to test that theory right now? I really don't know what to do about Ransom."

"Sure," Cari invited, sitting back in her puffy couch and gesturing for Kimber to go on. "I'll help if I can and stay out of it if I can't."

So Cari and Kimber sat in the fourth-year Academics Wing student lounge and talked about life and problems. Kimber told Cari all about how distant Ransom was becoming and her frustration with their constant fighting. Cari listened, nodding encouragingly when the situation called for it and asking an occasional question for clarity.

When Kimber had finally run out of details to share, Cari asked carefully, "And is there any other reason you feel you might not be happy with Ransom? Are there any other guys you think would be a better fit?"

"Not really," Kimber said, voice slow and ponderous. "It's not that I'm cheating on Ransom, or even that I'm seriously looking at other guys. I'm just trying to figure out why I feel so unhappy and if this is just a part of being in a relationship."

"So Chayton has nothing to do with any of this?" Cari asked, point-blank.

Unexpectedly, Kimber leaned back against her couch and sighed with a little half-smile, "Ah, Chayton. You know, he apologized for trying to take advantage of me. We've talked a lot since then, even hung out a couple of times. He's really trying to be a good guy and I give him credit for it."

"You like him!" Cari said, unable to keep the shock from her voice.

"What?" Kimber cried in a voice just as shocked. "I do not! I just appreciate that he's trying to change and be more mature. I have to give him credit for that. And- well, I might like him a little." Cari gaped and Kimber held up two fingers a centimeter apart. "Just a little, little, tiny bit."

When Cari could finally close her mouth, she shook her head and asked, "So what are you going to do?"

"I have no idea," Kimber admitted. "But I do know that I can't do anything about it anytime soon. Even if Ransom and I broke up tomorrow – if – I still wouldn't jump into a relationship with Chayton. When we were at that dance, hanging out and having fun, it was the most fun I've ever had, the most connected I've ever felt with someone. Yeah, it all went south eventually, but we really get along. I don't want to risk throwing that away on a rebound."

"I do not envy you the situation," Cari acknowledged, then added with a smile, "But thanks for telling me anyway. Does this mean the avoiding stuff is all over with?"

"Yeah, definitely." Kimber smiled over at her, but the friendly moment was cut short when Lydia's voice rang down the hallway. Both girls ducked as their apartment-mate walked past, looking in. As soon as the coast was clear, they made a break for their apartment.

The two successfully hid from Lydia for nearly three hours, but were eventually found hanging out in the Physical Wing student lounge. Admittedly, they weren't really hiding anymore, but Lydia didn't mind. "Oh, good. I was going to bring you guys here anyway."

"Really?" Kimber asked, the skepticism thick in her voice.

Lydia nodded, uncaring. "Yeah. If any of us have Valentine's that need to be delivered to us, we'll easily be found here. It's the perfect plan."

With a subtle wink over at Kimber, Cari nodded. "That's exactly what we were thinking. Plus, we can nonchalantly watch a movie while we wait so no one thinks we're over-eager. We were actually going to come and find you if you didn't show up soon."

Lydia made a face at Cari and sighed. "Fine, we can watch a movie. But it has to be something romantic!"

Kimber grimaced. "I mean, an argument can be made that almost any movie has elements of romance in it. Even, say, Die Hard is a movie about a man trying to keep his wife safe in the middle of a dangerous and chaotic terrorist atta-"

"Not Die Hard!" Lydia snapped. "Something actually romantic, like Titanic."

Cari and Kimber both groaned. Cari shook her head emphatically. "Not Titanic. I've never seen it and I feel no need to. Plus, the guy dies. What's romantic about that?"

"He sacrifices his life for her safety! It's the most noble and romantic thing anyone could do for the person they love!"

Rolling her eyes, Cari said, "The most romantic and noble thing he could have done was find a way for them both to survive." Seeing that Lydia was getting even more upset, she sighed. "What if I can find a movie that's all about a guy who… He isn't perfect. He's missing a woman in his life, but doesn't even know he's missing her. When he finally finds the woman of his dreams, she's already promised to someone else and he gives her up so that she can be happy. Would you be okay with watching that movie?"

Lydia nodded eagerly. "Of course! That sounds so romantic!"

"Good!" Cari stood, and in a moment of searching, found the disc and started up her movie. The look on Lydia's face when Shrek started playing was utterly priceless. She shrugged. "Okay, so he gets her back in the end. Still noble and romantic of him to give her up in the first place."

"I didn't think you were talking about Shrek, Licaria!"

"Hey, I didn't lie. It is romantic, and it's all about love – and getting back a swamp – so really, I didn't lie to you. Happy Valentine's Day."

With some grumbling on Lydia's part, they sat back and enjoyed the misadventures of the personable green ogre. After a while, they were joined by Eric, Lionel, and Chayton, then Fletchmeister and Jackie, and eventually even Jael and Willa.

When the movie was over, Cari stretched and looked around the room. "I know Tessa and Toby are off being gooey and romantic, but where is Shadow?"

Eric looked unconcerned. "I don't know. He said there was something he had to get done and that he would just see everyone at dinner."

Lionel tipped his head back to rest on the back of the couch. "Ten bucks says he's trying to figure out a way of asking out Arsenic Aguilar."

"No way," Jackie denied. "I bet he's trying to figure out a way to tell her once and for all that they're not going to date."

"Please," Lionel scoffed. "Have you seen her?"

"Gag!" Jael exclaimed. "We've all heard a thousand times how 'hot' she is, but she's a terrible person! That has to count for something."

"It does… eventually," Eric explained. "Right now, he's blinded by the blonde hair and blue eyes. No offense," he added toward Willa. He needn't have bothered; her silvery hair was tucked up into a messy bun, and her blue eyes were free of makeup. The contrast could not have been clearer – and Willa looked far better. "Once he's done being distracted by how she looks, Shadow will come to his senses and realize that she's horrible. Until then, there's nothing any of us can do."

Feeling definitely uncomfortable, Cari avoided eye contact with anyone. She alone knew that Shadow would be moving at the end of the year. Any relationship he had with Arsenia would either be short-term or long-distance. Either way, he wouldn't have the chance to get used to her looks.

"Hey, Cari," Fletchmeister said suddenly. Cari tensed up and looked over at him silently. "You have a watch. What time is it? I'm starving!"

"Big shock," Kimber muttered, making everyone chuckle.

Examining her watch, Cari answered, "It is getting pretty late. Dinner is being served now if we want to head down to the cafeteria."

Apparently, even the kitchens of Echowick were being festive for the romantic holiday. Platters of delicately-roasted salmon were found on the table, as well as rosemary chicken breast and slices of roast beef. Buttered red potatoes were served as a side, along with spinach salad and grilled vegetables.

The entire meal was extremely elegant. Even as several students expressed their awe at the sumptuous table, Fletchmeister groaned. "Really? What's wrong with pizza or burgers or something?"

Jackie sighed. "Don't worry, babe, I think the kitchens know you well enough to have planned ahead."

"What do you me-" Fletchmeister broke off with a gasp as his girlfriend pointed to a plate just in front of his usual seat. There was a small, heart-shaped personal pizza with a side of garlic fries. "The perfect day! This is the perfect day!"

Jackie, looking less-than thrilled at his response, sat down beside him and set a chicken breast on her plate. "I'm so glad the food is the reason today is perfect," she confided to Cari.

"Hey, hey," Fletchmeister chided. "You make every other day perfect. Give pizza a chance for once."

The small smile on Jackie's face gave Cari hope for the two's relationship. Before she could figure out whether to tell Jackie this or not, Shadow walked up to the table. His arms were filled with bright, vibrant flowers. "Happy Valentine's Day! Hang on just a second; I have a different flower for each of the wonderful girls."

Stunned, the students at the table just stared at him as he picked through the stack. "For Jackie, an iris." He gave the startled girl a lovely, powder-blue iris. She accepted it with stunned thanks, touching the petals with a gentle hand.

"A calendula for Tessa." The flower was large and yellow with a deep brown dot in the center, similar in appearance to a daisy. Tessa took it and delicately saluted Shadow with it.

"Lydia gets a geranium," the flower was a bright, eye-catching pink. Lydia immediately lifted it to her nose and hummed her appreciation at the delicate fragrance.

"I have an acacia flower for Kimber." He held out a long branch dotted with delicate yellow blossoms, but pulled it back before Kimber could take it. "Watch out, they have some nasty thorns and I think there might be one or two left on there." Kimber cautiously accepted the flower from him.

"The chrysanthemum is for Jael." The flower was massive, nearly the size of Jael's outspread hand. The petals were white, touched with notes of a delicate green.

"Cari gets the orchid." Shadow held out a gorgeous, dark red orchid. Cari accepted it carefully, idly observing that, graceful and refined, it was the most beautiful flower she had ever seen.

"And finally, for Willa, this is a larkspur." He handed over a tall-stemmed plant with small white flowers growing along to form an almost triangular shape. "And just so you know that I still don't have a crush on you, larkspurs are beautiful but highly poisonous."

"Not as poisonous as, say, arsenic," Jael muttered into her cup as she took a drink. The girls around her snorted.

Toby, slightly red in the face, frowned at Shadow. "Thanks for making some of us look bad."

"Oh, Toby," Tessa chided, "I still love my moly plant. In fact – no offense, Shadow, this flower is lovely – the moly is going to live exponentially longer because it's in a pot and is still growing rather than having been cut."

Toby looked mollified even as Lydia let out a short gasp and hit Cari's arm. "That's right! The moly's already been delivered! I guess your secret admirer didn't send another one after all."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Willa said doubtfully. "Seventh-year approaching, eleven o'clock."

"Is there a Licaria Romana here?" the seventh-year student asked.

Cari raised a hand and accepted the small, white-potted plant, immediately turning it to read the small attached tag.

"So?" Lydia asked eagerly. Who is it from?"

Cari held up one side of the tag to reveal, 'From your secret admirer'. Lydia gasped and Cari shook her head. "Don't get too excited before you see the other side." She flipped the tag so that Lydia could read, 'Just kidding. This is from your father. Happy Valentine's Day!'

Cari rolled her eyes exaggeratedly and her friends laughed. Was it just her imagination, or did Shadow look excessively relieved?


Author's Note - Okay, apologies for the ridiculously long chapter. Here's a hint, though: if you were confused by the large amount of flower stuff at the end of the chapter, you might try looking up the meanings of flowers (though there is some disparity between sources). Also, apologies for the lateness of this chapter. Monday kind of snuck up on me and I've been trying to edit this in between waves of craziness at work. Leave a review if you want and I will see you next Monday! Thanks for reading!