A/N: This is my favorite chapter. I feel like this one part might be a bit unclear, I tried though I did. So if you don't get it, than review it, and I'll clarify! R&R! Reviews make my heart smile :)
Disclaimer: I was so creative with my last disclaimer, but I don't have the energy so... I'm not JKR, big surprise!
Chapter 8 The Love Bug
The cold of the night enveloped them with its fragile whispers and ice drops....
It was February the 14th to be precise. The castle was appropriately decorated. Red, white, and pink scarves were strewn over the handrails of the moving staircases. Enchanted Cupids flew about the castle, who conveniently interrupted class throughout the day by sending arrows flying across the rooms from one lover to another. Some of the end results were quite entertaining and rather amusing. It certainly provided a topic of discussion for dinner that evening.
Ron, Harry, and Liz stepped through the entrance to the Great Hall. Their eyes brightened and their jaws dropped. Sure, they had been at Hogwarts on Valentines Day before, but this year was far different. Valentines lay at every place setting on each of the house tables. Each one hand made, some thrown together at the last minute, others elaborate however both sending a heartfelt message to its receiver. Gold candlesticks hovered about the tables, illuminating the faces of the students and teachers. Each candlestick held four candles and on each arm a snake, lion, badger, or raven crawled up the sides reaching towards the flickering light. The ceiling was a swirling mass of red and pink that dissolved, reappeared, and changed its hue by the second.
Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore were seated at the front of the room. Their old and wise hands intertwined, and their eyes fixated on one another as they spoke. Liz and Ron were flirting so much it was, well, disgusting, and Neville's face blushed as a sweet looking Hufflepuff looked up from a Valentine and smiled at him. There was a soft romantic feel to the evening, which goes without saying, but for some reason it hung heavy in the air like an extremely fragrant perfume. Everyone seemed to be talking in hushed lullaby like voices, as if afraid that some other tone of voice would dissolve the magic of the night.
Sooner than later, the hall had emptied and Harry was left alone sitting at a table with leftover food, and scraps of paper sprinkled over it like confetti. What a romantic way to spend Valentines Day, n'est pas?
Eden had been whisked to London earlier in the day. Evidently, there was a "family emergency" as they had so kindly informed them during Charms Class. Harry had no one. He was a seventh year student, that started out the year with a girlfriend, now has two girlfriends, and yet he is still alone. That didn't make sense; how he managed that one he would never know.
He heard a sharp voice trail off into the distance, "Pathetic Potter!" A hint of dark green disappeared through the door out of the Great Hall. Malfoy, Harry thought to himself. He could see it now: the portrait to the Slytherin Commons Room staring at line of fifty girls or more all waiting in line to be with Draco on Valentines Day. He had probably made loads of promises to loads of different girls, or no, perhaps he had instructed the portrait to make the girls take a number from one of those red dispensers they have at the grocery store that the Dursley's go to. It made Harry sick to his stomach just thinking about it, however this feeling was soon swept away by the echo of familiar words, "Now I must admit if thousands of girls, mostly very attractive girls, were attacking me with love letters and such, just because of a SCAR on my forehead"....
Excellent point, Harry thought to himself as he jumped to his feet racing to the Gryffindor Commons Room to see if Ron was in fact right... for once.
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Scattered about the grounds couples grew closer...
Their lips touched, a spark of light shot through the cold, dark night. Their bodies inches a part leaning into one another. Their hands clasped, their fingers reaching for the others. They pulled apart from one another the chill of the night balancing the heat between them. Their faces pink from the icy air around them. Their hair perfectly jumbled by the wind, which seemed to sing a love song to the couples nestled between the bushes in the winter garden. It tapped on the windows of the common rooms and comforted the bare branches of the trees. Their heads rested on each other's shoulders, their breathing equal, emotions flowing back and forth between them. They stood their, motionless in time, the darkness feeding off their love, a city of lights staring at them from above, the vast world spread out between them, and the magic of the moment covering them like a blanket...
She giggled her contagious giggle and whispered, "I love you" into the silence as she nuzzled her nose against his shaggy red hair.
The Quidditch stands swayed with the movement of one lonely couple. In an ancient whisper she said to her old companion, "Perhaps we should go inside, Albus?"
Clearly EVERYONE, and I mean EVERYONE was having a good time on St. Valentines Day, except for the Boy-who-lived and the Bightest Witch of the Age.
Back in the Gryffindor Commons Room....
Tears streamed down her face and glistened in the light of the fire. She gulped and her face shone bright in the moonlight. They were sitting in the Commons Room by themselves, darkness blinding their eyes, the fire illuminating their figures occasionally as it danced casting a red and pink glow on the hearth. "I just, Avery and I, we had something special. Clearly, my love life doesn't treat me well, but why am I boring you with all of this? I'm sure you have much better things to do tonight..."
"Actually, I don't."
"But, but Ginny?"
"Err—that doesn't seem to be working, I mean, err... I couldn't, I couldn't find her, that's it!" Harry said quickly, realizing his mistake.
"Oh, well then I suppose I— ", Hermione stopped mid-sentence. Piercing blue eyes electrified her body and sent tingles down her spine. Her skin tickled with fervor and her mind raced with magic. Was she really so desperate, to be falling for Harry? She thought to herself. Harry put his hand through his jet-black hair and turned to face Hermione. Harry had never realized how beautiful Hermione was in all of their years of friendship, with the exception of the Yule Ball in fourth year. But even then, he hadn't recognized her overwhelming beauty, maybe it was because he was obsessed with Cho, or maybe it had been because he knew she'd used quite a lot of cosmetics to look the way she did, but even so...she was gorgeous. His blood traveled through each vein leaving a tingling sensation pulsing through him. They stared at each other's eyes the black pupils sucking them into a trance like a black hole. Their lips touched glossed with the taste of the butterbeer they had just been drinking. Their bodies glowed with warmth and passions, their hands clutching one another's.
And sure enough, stretched between Harry and Hermione's thumbs was a small, delicate creature much like a ladybug except with pinchers. It sat there quietly and seemingly harmless. But that, my friend, is where you are wrong. Things are often not what they seem, and this seemingly harmless creature is a perfect example. This creature, was in fact, a love bug, that after biting (more commonly known in the muggle world as "the love bite") causes two people to fall madly in love, for precisely 14 days. Yes, indeed, they had been bitten by...the love bug.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Harry", she said as she broke off their kiss and leaned in for just one more...
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May I dare ask what you thought of it? It's one of my personal favorites. On that note, sorry for the last two chapters they haven't been my best. But here's to those who thought they were: Luthein, beauty-of- asriel, Leah, The Enthusiast,joey, Ollie Triv O'Connor! Thanks soooooooo much for reviewing! I truly appreciate it!