Return of the Unicorns, Chapter 29
Note: I haven't been giving these chapters titles, but if this chapter had a title, it'd be "Valentine's Day, Part 1." Which is kind of self-explanatory. Plot components will advance here, but please also enjoy some romantic fluff from the perspective of many different characters!
Note: Professor McGonagall is portrayed as aromantic/asexual in this one, but as you will see, Valentine's Day is a day on which even aro/ace people deserve to receive much admiration! No one (except maybe that twat Umbridge) should be excluded from Valentine's Day!
The weeks in between the Azkaban break-out and mid-February went by for Hope in a blur.
For one thing, there was Auror training. She was taking intensive training courses on Defensive Magic, Occlumency/Legilimency, Tracking, Concealment and Disguise, and Ministry Law and Policy. There was never a dull moment, to be sure, but the days were long, and Hope found she had time for little else.
Not to mention, Kingsley would frequently request her help with things. Hope was flattered and honored that he wanted her assistance with the crazy workload that'd exploded in the Auror Office after the breakouts from Azkaban, of course. But the insanity of helping in the Auror Office only added to her exhaustion.
And yet, as exhausted as she was, every night since the breakout from Azkaban, she'd been having the worst dreams. Dreams about dying in both of her past lives, dreams about being subjected to the Cruciatus Curse during the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament, dreams about what could go wrong in her current life, which featured the deaths of basically everyone she knew and loved.
It was brutal. On top of that, she had basically no time to have a personal life, so even though she wanted to make things right with her parents after their disagreement, she'd only seen them a couple of times and hadn't had the time for a full conversation.
She also wanted to converse with Cho, but their conversations were always brief, as Hope always had somewhere she needed to be.
Hope felt bad for Tonks that she'd just decided to be the other woman's roommate without so much as warning her. Tonks took it in stride, even going so far as to comfort Hope when she woke up, gasping and screaming and flailing, from her nightmares.
And to top it all off, Hope was confused. She was confused about how she learned to surf, because she didn't have any memory of learning it in this lifetime or either of her previous lives. The same went for how she learned to shoot lighting out of her fingers: she knew how to do it, but she had no clue where she'd learned such a thing.
And then there was the song that she'd heard in a dream, that'd gotten stuck in her head ever since the Azkaban breakouts. It went:
"Come seek us where our voices sound
We do not walk on living ground,
But that won't mean we're gone for good
So keep in touch, you really should
But even though you, living, stand
We'd still be glad to lend a hand
We'll help if you are at loose ends
For we will always be your friends"
Damned if she knew what it meant. She clearly needed some help to figure this one out – and she wouldn't be ashamed to ask for it! – if only she had the time to do so.
In the meantime, she noticed that Valentine's Day was coming around. And even though she was in no place to have a relationship with Cho, she couldn't resist the notion of getting Cho a present. Hope then picked a present to send and even wrote a note to go with it, but she couldn't decide if it was right to send it.
Finally, on the night of February 13, Hope decided to flip a coin to make her decision. If the Galleon landed "heads," then Hope would send the present and if it landed on "tails," she wouldn't.
She flipped it. The Galleon landed on tails. Hope couldn't resist sending the present, anyway.
XXX
Cho Chang woke up on the morning of February 13 feeling very confused. Exactly one year ago, she knew that her boyfriend Cedric was going to take her on a special Valentine's Day date. Granted, it had been on a weekend into Hogsmeade and Cho had known that there were certain places he would be limited to taking her – so she hadn't been too terribly surprised when he'd taken her to tea at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop as part of their special outing. They'd also gotten chocolate at Honeyduke's, upgraded their Quidditch armor at Quality Quidditch Supplies, and enjoyed a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks Tavern. But Madam Puddifoot's stood out among Cho's Valentine's Day memories, for some reason.
This year, though, she was trying to assuage her grief. Cedric was back, yes, but Cho felt grief at the loss of their relationship. She'd screwed things up when she'd learned that Hope was the reincarnation of Cedric. Now, Hope was too hesitant to pursue a relationship and it was all Cho's fault.
When she'd seen Hope after the breakout from Azkaban, Hope had been glad to see her, but had later insisted that they shouldn't start their relationship anew. After all, Hope was now 22, she was in Auror training, and her life was chaos. It wouldn't be prudent, Hope had said, to pursue a relationship right now.
Cho was definitely ready to pursue a relationship right now, though. She didn't care what her true love looked like or that a reincarnation had happened, she just wanted her and her Cedric – or her Hope – or whatever name this person chose to use – to be together. It was a shame that they couldn't be.
So, in an effort to cheer herself up, Cho had been looking up things that single people could do to celebrate Valentine's Day. And in the process, she'd discovered… Galentine's Day. Celebrated on February 13, it was a day where women got together to celebrate female friendship. It sounded delightful, and Cho was determined to make a go of it! Surely, her dorm-mates would go for it, too?
Well, as a matter of fact, Megan, Shelley, and Diane HAD all gone for it! (The matter of whether Marietta would go for it was kind of a given.) The night of February 13, the five dorm-mates had snuck into Hogsmeade via the passage through the One-Eyed-Witch statue that Cedric had pointed out to Cho over a year ago.
On their outing, they'd gone shopping at Zonko's Joke Shop for ways to prank Umbridge, lingerie shopping at a naughty shop that Hogwarts students weren't supposed to visit, and finally out for a few drinks at the Three Broomstick.
"That was sooo great!" exclaimed Megan as the five of them stumbled (for they were all total lightweights and they were tipsy from their drinks at the Three Broomsticks) back into the castle. "Who even needs boys?"
"Uh, you, apparently, judging by your constant lusting after Daniel ever since this school year began…" intoned Shelley.
"Oh hush, you!"
Luna Lovegood, who'd come along with them on their outing, just laughed. "I think that so much lusting after boys has to be caused by the presence of too many Wrackspurts in the brain! It's rather a shame that you're still lusting over Daniel, Megan," sighed Luna "I'd rather hoped that our Galentine's Day outing could cure you."
"Who even brought her along?" protested Megan.
"Uh, I did, because Luna's secretly cool and I love to be the first person in on a secret. So will you lot just accept that she's amazing, already?" insisted Cho.
"Oh, God," sighed Megan, "First we're trying to pretend that Loony Lovegood is cool, and next, we need to deal with our Cho's love life. Now that she's over Cedric-"
"We totally don't have to deal with my love life, and Luna absolutely is cool!" Cho protested.
"Yeah, what Cho said!" added Marietta. Cho wasn't sure Marietta was a fan of Luna's, but she was glad that she could count on her bestie to back her up in any situation.
"I'm trying to focus on being a better Ravenclaw Seeker so we can totally trounce Slytherin, and I don't want any of the emotional tangles involved in dating to get in the way of that!" protested Cho.
"Exactly!" Marietta and Luna intoned at once, in full support of Cho.
"Good Grief, Cho! If you're not yet over Cedric – though I don't see why you wouldn't be over him – you can just say so!" protested Megan.
"Oh, my Merlin, just go to bed already!" Marietta moaned.
"I'm sooo glad I sleep in a different dormitory, so I can read about Nargles and Crumple-Horned Snorcacks in peace," yawned Luna. "And I wouldn't fancy contracting any Wrackspurts from you lot, either. Good night, everyone!" With that, she waved and skipped off to her own dorm.
Cho and Marietta bade her good night and without waiting to see if their other three dorm-mates would follow their lead, they sprinted upstairs to their four-poster beds.
XXX
The next morning, Cho Chang awoke with only a slight headache, despite the alcohol she and her dorm-mates had consumed last night. She downed a couple of Muggle Advils (which, despite advances in Wizarding potion making, were the best pain medications Cho had ever found) with a sip of water.
"Morning, Cho," moaned Marietta.
"Need these?" asked Cho, proffering a glass of water and her jar of Advil.
"Yes, please," moaned Marietta, downing the water and pills.
Neither Cho nor Marietta had a date today, but since they were already up, they figured they'd better get to studying and get ahead on some of their homework today while their schedule allowed them to do so. When they were dressed, they looked at one another and implicitly – and perhaps telepathically – decided that it would best to get breakfast first.
While Cho and Marietta were reading the Daily Prophet over their French Toast, their other three roommates, Megan, Diane, and Shelley, joined them. The three were probably hoping for either information about Cho's and Megan's supposed "plan" to sneak a love potion to Megan's crush, or they were here to inquire about Cho's non-existent dating life. Neither option sounded particularly appealing to Cho, but she still didn't move from her seat at the breakfast table.
Before anyone could ask any questions, though, a package landed in front of Cho. She looked at it hesitantly, vaguely suspecting who it might be from.
Stuck to the outside of the package, there was a note that read, in familiar handwriting:
For my once-adversary.
Go fly upon the wings of a Ravenclaw Eagle and kick Slytherin's butt – among other things.
I love you forever,
Your Secret Admirer.
"Do you know who the secret admirer is?" asked Megan.
Cho grinned and shrugged nonchalantly because she didn't feel like explaining the whole complicated story to Megan, Diane, and Shelly.
Oh, Cho knew who he – or rather, she – was, all right. Still, she duly unwrapped the package to reveal a "Maintain Your Own Broomstick Kit." The thing contained handle polish, tail/twig clippers, a 360 Degree Broomstick compass, and a thousand other things that could help Cho polish up her trusty old Comet 360 before Ravenclaw's upcoming match against Slytherin.
"Cho, this is so awesome! You have a secret admirer! Let's try and guess who he is!" Megan exclaimed as she read the note over Cho's shoulder.
"Yeah, well, I know who she is, and I like her right back!" Cho retorted.
"SHE?!" spat Megan, incredulously.
"Yeah, she," intoned Cho. "What can I say, it appears that when I decide who I'm into, it's more about who you are than what gender you present as!"
"So… this isn't one of those totally lame situations where the secret admirer is actually your mum or some female relative?" asked Megan, tentatively.
"Oh, no," said Cho, "It's definitely a real admirer, all right. I do hope I get to be her girlfriend in the future."
Her dorm-mates scoffed at her as if to ask "Why wouldn't you get to be your secret admirer's girlfriend in the future?" but Cho didn't feel like explaining her situation to them. It was just a good thing that Hope liked her.
When they all had time to themselves, Cho would send Hope a thank-you note and a very nice cake. Cake had been Cedric's favorite food. Cho rather hoped that Hope still liked it.
XXX
A few tables over, the Gryffindors were enjoying – although enjoying may have been an exaggeration for some of them – breakfast.
"You know how you told me to go out with some other people to attract Harry Potter's attention? Well, it's not working!" Ginny Weasley whispered annoyedly into Hermione Granger's ear.
"Well, I didn't think that Harry Potter would necessarily get jealous of you because you were dating Michael Corner! I just meant, when I gave you that advice at the end of your first year at Hogwarts, that you should get a life! You know, make some new friends and also possibly date a few other blokes to see if Harry Potter is really the one for you?"
"Well, I broke up with Michael Corner because I didn't actually have strong feelings for him. And now, I feel like my so-called relationship with him was a waste of time!" Ginny hissed into Hermione's ear.
"Oh. Well, I suppose that's unfortunate," Hermione murmured. "At least you've figured out who you are as a person?"
"Ugh, I hate when you're even partially right!" Ginny groaned.
In fact, Ginny had spent a lot of her time at Hogwarts since her disastrous first year figuring out who she was as a person, learning a lot of cool magic (particularly hexes), working on her Quidditch skills, making new friends, and figuring out how the whole "dating" process worked – and that it worked best when you simply got to know a boy rather than trying haphazardly to impress him.
In fact, over the time since her first year, Ginny Weasley had grown into a rather remarkable young woman. She still wasn't over her crush on Harry Potter, though. In fact, instead of being infatuated with him as a celebrity/hero, she found she now actually liked him as a person!
"So, how were things with Cho?" Dean Thomas was asking Harry, a ways down the Gryffindor table.
"She's not over Cedric," Harry replied.
"Sorry, mate, but it makes sense," replied Dean. "And besides, you might want to go out with someone a bit more cheerful, no?"
"Ah, Cho'll be cheerful enough with someone else," Harry replied, motioning to the Ravenclaw table, where Cho was opening a giant Valentine's Day package from someone – and that someone was probably named Hope Marshall. Harry did genuinely hope the two of them would be happy together.
"So, got your mind on anyone else, Harry? You know, Romilda Vane has been trying to slip you a love potion ever since you were announced one of the Hogwarts Champions in the Triwizard Tournament last year!" said Dean, winking in his general direction.
"NO," Harry protested. "No love potions. Not ever. If you lot want me going out with anyone, then I'd rather go out with Ginny Weasley. She's one of my very best friends, and we always have fun together, so…"
A silence fell across the portion of the Gryffindor table that was proximate to both Harry and Ginny. At least 20 different Gryffindors were waiting to hear what Harry and/or Ginny might say.
"Well, why not just go OUT with me, then?" Ginny spat in Harry's general direction.
"Hmm," Harry mused. "Okay, I guess that could work."
"Wait, are you sure?" asked Ginny. She didn't want Harry to go out with her just by default – she wanted him to actually enjoy spending time with her!
"Yeah, I'm sure," Harry replied. "Wait, I should ask you properly. Ginny, every bit of time I get to spend with you is absolutely delightful! Do you want to go into Hogsmeade with me today?" Harry knew that the novelty of Hogsmeade had probably worn off for both of them, but he figured they could always pick up some things in Zonko's Joke Shop, stock up on chocolate in Honeyduke's Sweet Shop, and/or see if they need anything at Quality Quidditch Supplies. And if they went shopping, he'd have an excuse to buy her a present! The idea of buying a
"Yeah, I'll go with you, then!" replied Ginny.
"You know he might still be hung up on Cho Chang, right?" interjected a girl from Ginny's dorm whose name Harry couldn't remember.
"Oh, HUSH!" Ginny protested. Then, she lowered her voice to a reasonable tone. "Harry, if you don't actually want to go on this date that we just agreed to, then think of it this way: you haven't yet traded stories with me about what it was like to be possessed by Lord Voldemort. I think it's about time we did that, don't you?"
"Whoa, you say his name now?" Harry asked, agog.
Ginny shrugged as nonchalantly as she could manage. "I may as well. The bastard possessed my mind for a large part of a school year, so I may as well not be afraid of him, or at least start acting like I'm not afraid of him, right?"
Harry moved a few seats down to sit next to Ginny "I really do want to go with you. I am actually sooo glad we're going to be each other's dates today," he whispered in her ear, while he wound an arm around her shoulders. "We do need to have that conversation about what it's like being possessed by Voldemort, but it doesn't have to be today, okay? So, let's go and have fun! And hey, can we play some Quidditch once we get back from Hogsmeade?"
"You're on!" Ginny whispered back.
It may have been at the last minute and on the spur of the moment, but Ginny Weasley was nonetheless happy to have gotten herself a date with the boy of her dreams.
XXX
Natalie Diggory awoke to the sun peeking in through the blinds and casting golden rays over her husband Amos's face as Valentine's Day began.
Once upon a time, Natalie had been enamored of another man named Richard and she'd never thought she would end up with someone like Amos. And once upon a time, she knew that Amos had been pressured by his pure-blood family to marry someone of the same blood status, rather than a woman who was both Muggle-born and also more than a decade older than himself. But Amos had picked her, and she had picked him, and she had yet to regret it.
But Natalie had other concerns today because their child was currently at odds with them. Sort of. After the disagreement they'd had with her on the morning of the Azkaban breakout, they'd sort of made up, but Natalie still felt that her daughter had to be won over, somehow.
Amos popped one hazel eye open. "Hey, gorgeous," he said, looking into Natalie's gray eyes.
"Hello, yourself," Natalie replied flirtatiously. So what if she was more than a decade older than him. She could be a flirt on Valentine's Day if she wanted to be.
"I have a surprise for you," her husband said warmly as he ran a hand warmly through her soft brown hair. Sure, that hair was streaked with gray – especially since Cedric's death – but if her husband didn't mind the gray, then neither did she.
"Does this surprise have to do with winning back the favor of our daughter?" Natalie asked somewhat icily.
Amos blinked a few times and Natalie felt bad for ruining the mood. Tonks had attested that Hope, after all, was just really busy with policy homework and studying for her practical Duelling exams. Auror training was busy, after all.
"I'm sorry, Amos, I just feel like even though she made up with us, we have to do something to get closer to her, you know? She's had this whole other life without us, and we need to find something we all have in common! We need to show her that we really do support her in everything she does!"
Amos nodded. "I agree. And, as a matter of fact, my surprise DOES have to do with gaining some insight into Hope, so why don't we get ready?" he said, jumping out of bed eagerly.
"Amos, I'm sorry for complaining-"
Natalie didn't get to finish that sentence before the man himself came over and put his warm, reassuring hands on her shoulders. "Hey, we've both been worried. It's been over two weeks since we saw her return safely from the Azkaban breakouts and we've only seen her a couple times since then. I'm as worried as you are! And I'm not sure if today will be a total fix, but it's a start, right?"
Natalie started, but caught herself quickly. The fact that her normally proud and self-assured husband was questioning himself and his own decisions was saying something. But then again, after their only child's death and then reincarnation, everything these days was uncertain.
"Why don't you show me what you have planned?" Natalie asked.
"Of course," said Amos, planting a kiss on the back of her neck. Then, even though he didn't really have to, he helped her get dressed in her warmest robes.
"Where are we going, that I need to bundle up so much?" Natalie asked as Amos tied her outer cloak around her.
"I thought we could visit with some unicorns," said Amos. "They did invite us back, after all…"
"Are you sure they actually want us back, and weren't just being polite in the presence of our child?"
"Of course! I went back to see a couple of them and they said we'd be welcome to visit! Well, as we kept it confidential. So, what say we go?"
Natalie nodded eagerly. "That sounds like an absolutely excellent idea."
XXX
Sirius felt tired to the bone as he and Remus settled into bed on the morning of Valentine's Day.
The night before, they'd gone marauding all over a special nature preserve that Hope had recommended they visit. The two of them – and their new marauder, Hope (whose Marauder nickname was Cinnamon) – had a blast that night.
But even with the Wolfsbane potion to keep him sane, Remus was still exhausted after his werewolf transformations.
And yeah, Sirius was also tired from staying up all night running around as a dog, but Remus had it worse. Poor bloke hadn't even had time to articulate what he wanted for their first Valentine's Day as a couple, gosh darn it.
Unable to sleep, Sirius tucked his fiancé in safe and sound and puttered down to the kitchen for a cup of tea and/or something sweet for breakfast.
That was where he found Hope sitting by herself, staring into the murky depths of a black cup of coffee.
"What's going on, Cinnamon?" he asked her.
"Not much."
Sirius eyed her nervous expression, the tight lines between her eyebrows and around her mouth. Those stress lines didn't indicate not much. "What's really going on?" he pressed her.
"I sent Cho a present for Valentine's Day. I didn't want to pressure her with presents or identify myself to other people at Hogwarts, though, so I sent it as if I were her secret admirer."
"Well, what's the present?"
"Uh, it's a Maintain Your Own Broomstick Kit."
"That sounds perfect, since Cho is a seeker! Lovely girl, by the way! I had my misgivings about your feelings for her, but the way she acted on the day of the Azkaban break-outs, finding you and all that, my doubts are all gone!"
"Thanks, Sirius."
"Oh, come on, what could possibly be wrong, Cinnamon?"
"What if she doesn't like it? I mean, I considered getting her a whole new broomstick like the latest Nimbus 2004 model that I got, but in the end, I decided a Maintain Your Own Broomstick kit would make her feel more at ease since she wouldn't have to get used to a whole new broom. And it's also quite a bit cheaper than the Nimbus 2004 – which I can afford with my Triwizard Tournament winnings, but which might make her uncomfortable with how pricy it is."
Sirius paused, pouring himself a cup of tea and then taking a sip. "You've put a considerable bit of thought into this, haven't you?"
"Yeah," Hope sighed. "I have."
"Then I bet she'll think it's perfect," said Sirius as he patted Hope on the shoulder.
"Anyway, what's going on with you?" asked Hope.
"I don't have any idea of what to get Remus," Sirius said, pouting.
"No?" she asked. "Well, there are plenty of things I'm sure he'd like. Like, he wears his clothes well, but they're all second-hand and kind of shabby. Maybe if you got him a few new things-"
"I've tried that already," sighed Sirius. "Remus says he can buy his own things and he doesn't need fancy new clothes."
"Well… books?" Hope suggested. "There are loads that I knew he wanted to read in the Hogwarts library, but didn't get to because his position as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was cut short."
Sirius sighed. "He says he doesn't want me buying him material things."
Hope paused, sipping her coffee. "Well, what about something that comes from the heart? Like, what if you made him breakfast or lunch and brought it to him in bed?"
Sirius blinked several times, accommodating the idea into his thoughts. "You know what? That's a bloody excellent idea, Cinnamon! Where have you been all these weeks?"
"Uh… ever since the Azkaban break-in, I've been staying in Tonks's cottage, working on my policy homework, and studying like mad for the upcoming Occlumency/Legilimency exam," Hope sighed.
"Are you still at odds with your parents?" asked Sirius. "I thought you made up with them! What's wrong?"
"We officially made up, yeah. But it's better if I stay with Tonks as roommates, so no one suspects anything about my past lives. And besides – do I really want to live under the same roof as parents who question my every life decision? The day they implied that I was doing the wrong thing by rediscovering my past life and returning to the wizarding world… it sent my anxiety through the roof. I can't deal with that all the time, Sirius."
Sirius put a hand on Hope's shoulder. "Have they questioned any of your life decisions since that morning of the Azkaban breakouts?" he asked kindly.
"No, but… I'm just not in a place to hear any more, you know?"
"Yeah, I know. As someone who had to run away from his stupid parents and their stupid pure-blood ideologies, I definitely know." But the notion of anyone becoming distant from their family – especially when they could potentially grow closer together again – made Sirius unreasonably sad.
"Well, uh, I should hop about getting my fiancé some breakfast in bed, shall I?" asked Sirius.
"Yeah," said Hope. "In the meantime, I have some duties to attend to in the Auror Office. Some of us are supposed to be patrolling Hogsmeade and I should go see if I'm needed. Oh, and-" she handed Sirius some rolled-up parchment- "could you please give this to Remus? It's the first of my policy essays for the Auror Office's training program. I'd love your feedback too, of course, but I think that based on what this essay is about… Remus probably has the most to offer."
With that, Hope handed Sirius a bunch of rolled-up parchment and disapparated on the spot. When Sirius unrolled the first page, he read the title of the essay:
"Lycanthropy: A disease is not a crime."
Sirius smiled. What a fantastic essay this was going to be.
XXX
'Ave you got everything packed and ready for Egypt?" Fleur asked her boyfriend, Bill Weasley.
"Almost," he called over his shoulder as he straightened stray pairs of socks within the confines of his trunk.
"Ugh! You are so slow! Hurry up, or ve vill miss our train!" spat Fleur, throwing a pair of socks at Bill's head.
"I will…" Bill groaned sleepily.
"I want to see Hope before we go," insisted Fleur. "Where would she be?"
"You could look around at the Auror Office and ask Kingsley's assistant if she's not to be found there?" suggested Bill.
"Excellent!" proclaimed Fleur.
"Oh well," sighed Bill, fingering the box in his pocket. "I have an important question for you, but I guess I can ask it later."
"Good," Fleur said curtly. "I shall be back before we leave for Egypt this afternoon." And with that, she disapparated.
XXX
Fleur Delacour apparated into the Auror Office and quickly found the small cubicle adjoining Kingsley Shacklebolt's Office where they'd set up a desk for Hope.
"Thank goodness you are here!" exclaimed Fleur. "I thought they would have sent you to class by now!" After all, it was 9am.
"It's structured more like the tutorials you do at Oxford," Hope explained. "You have sessions with your tutors once a week, but the rest of the time, you read the material they give you, write essays when you have to, and practice the spells they want you to master."
"I see," said Fleur.
"And if I have trouble with something, I'm supposed to go to Kingsley, who's my mentor, or one of the other Aurors for help. Oh, and I also have lots of duties to help the out in the Auror Office, I often have to follow Kingsley on his missions."
"Oh! Well, I am glad that I visited at a good time instead of a time when you were busy!"
"Hey, you can still visit any time! I never sleep," sighed Hope.
"Eet is just that… I really hate to admit this… I am having relationship troubles and I would like to ask you about them."
Hope poked her head outside the cubicle and looked around. "Not here. Some random official in the Ministry would probably have my hide if I'm seen talking about relationship troubles with another woman in here. They'd make up all sorts of nonsense about how some silly, feather-headed female isn't fit to be in the Auror Office."
"But you are not silly of feather-headed!"
"Yeah, try telling them that," groaned Hope. "Anyway, I'm sure you now understand why there are only TWO female Aurors in this office – Hestia Jones and Nymphadora Tonks. And Merlin knows they still deal with a lot of misogyny, even though they worked so hard to be here."
"I am really sorry that you face this!" said Fleur.
Hope shrugged and took Fleur's hand. They disapparated together and landed in a park along the Thames River in London.
The park was nice, but Muggles milled about around them.
"I know a place that's more private than this," said Hope, looking around.
So, Fleur followed her into a building along the Thames. She wasn't surprised at how nice the building was – all the buildings in this area were nice! – but she was surprised when Hope led her to the top floor and through a rotten-looking door that probably led to the attic.
But once they were through that door, they were in a spacious-looking area. Exposed pipes stuck out of the brick walls, but the large bay windows let in light and allowed you to see a view of the park below, and of the Thames river.
"Nice, isn't it?" said Hope. "I discovered this place on accident on one of Kingsley's tracking missions. Since nobody lives here, I figured I could fix it up some and make it into my own place. So far, I've only had time to magically fix the walls, expand the apartment and windows, and place Muggle-repelling charms on the apartment so the building owners don't suspect I'm up here. But I'm going to fix up some old, abandoned furniture and decorate the place. What do you think?"
"You vant to live on your own?" asked Fleur.
"I attended university in the United States. I had my own dorm room to myself. What can I say, I got used to having my own space. Though I want to have lots of guests over, of course."
Fleur nodded approvingly. "Of course. Ze kind of guests that share the spacious bed you want to set up here, perhaps?"
At this, Hope blushed. "Uh… there's only one guest I want sharing my bed, and now isn't a good time for a relationship with her," she hedged.
"Cho?"
Hope nodded, hoping Fleur wouldn't pursue it further. "But you didn't come here to talk about my non-existent dating life or about me finding free real estate. You came here to talk about Bill," said Hope, motioning to a couch that looked old, but had obviously been repaired to a soft, plushy state. She sat down and made a space for Fleur beside her.
"Things between Bill and me 'ave been very happy, they 'ave!" insisted Fleur. "But I wonder about his intentions."
Hope shot Fleur a questioning glance.
"Eet is just zat… Any time I got to know a man who was interested in me before Bill, he would propose to me within a month. But I never wanted to marry any of those men. So, why is it that now I am interested in Bill, it has been more than seven months and he has not mentioned any intention or desire to marry me?!"
At this, Hope shorted inelegantly. She tried to contain her laughter, she really did, but she fell back in fits of laughter, anyway.
"Vat eez eet?!" Fleur screeched in annoyance.
"Sorry," Hope stammered, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes, "It's just that… Merlin, you need to get a grip on reality… You really think it takes only a MONTH to decide if you want to marry someone?! Fleur, for most normal people, that decision takes years!"
Fleur blinked confusedly. "Vat?!"
"Fleur, I think your Veela charms may have given you a rather warped idea of how normal relationships work…"
Fleur cocked her head.
"Well, since you're part Veela, you've probably had men falling at your feet for your attention all the time, yeah?"
Fleur nodded at this; the only time she'd really noticed a man be immune to her charms was when Cedric Diggory politely refused her invitation to the Yule Ball, saying he was already going to attend with Cho Chang as his date. THAT had been a first.
"Well, most normal people – since there's no blinding beauty or Veela magic to overcome them – need some time to get to know each other. They need to make sure they get along really well and that they'll be there for each other no matter what – before they decide to get married and spend the rest of their lives together. Does that make sense?"
"Bill 'as mentioned wanting a future with me, but he has not asked me to marry him! Why would he wait on this?"
Hope sighed and massaged the spot between her eyes with one finger. "Fleur, do you even want to marry Bill?"
"YES!" Fleur all but bellowed. "He is the first man to want to get to know me for who I am, rather than merely be blinded by my beauty and my Veela magic! He is wonderful and I love him!"
"Okay, so what have you done to let him know that you want a future together?"
Fleur blinked confusedly. "I have not refused him when he wanted to get to know me, when he wanted to kiss me, any time he wants to visit me… why does he think I would refuse an offer of marriage?"
"Fleur, I know how hard you worked at your studies at Beauxbatons, and at doing well in the Triwizard Tournament. You became a talented witch because of your own efforts. But when it comes to dating, you, uh… you tend to basically glide by on your looks and Veela magic without making any effort to woo the gentlemen you're interested in. And that worked fine when you weren't genuinely interested in anyone! But now, I think you need to do something for Bill to let him know where you stand. And if he doesn't want to get married right away, then I wouldn't rush things if I were you. Just enjoy the fact that you two are in love with each other, okay?"
Fleur nodded as she absorbed this. She had a lot of questions like what Hope thought it might be good for her to do, and she was glad she could be here to ask them.
XXX
Sirius tried making his fiancé a nice breakfast – he really did try! – but he failed. Dismally. He never knew that toast could be so burnt, that eggs could emit such a terribly sulfuric smell.
It really wasn't any wonder why he was bad at cooking, though. When he'd grown up, the Black family house elf (Kreacher's predecessor) had prepared all the meals. When he was at Hogwarts, the house elves there had prepared all the food. When he was at James Potter's place after running away from his own family, the Potters had kept him well fed. After he and the other Mararuders had graduated from Hogwarts, Sirius had always dined out or gotten takeout or mooched off of Lily's cooking or generally done anything he could to avoid having to make food himself. And of course, in Azkaban and after he'd escaped, there wasn't anything good to eat, much less a kitchen to cook it in. So. Here he was, with no idea how to cook.
Dangnamit, he should have asked Hope to prepare a breakfast for him and Remus while she was still around – she could whip up a delicious omelet without a problem! Or maybe he could have gotten Mrs. Weasley to do it, if she hadn't been out by the time he and Remus and Hope had returned from their latest marauding expedition.
Reasoning that cooking was a lost cause, Sirius used a Scurgify charm to clean up all the burnt toast and sulfur-smelling eggs. He could do something else for breakfast. The clock was inching closer to eleven am, which meant Sirius could do something for lunch instead of breakfast. That would work!
Remembering one of Arthur Weasley's ramblings about the tasty delights of Muggle takeout, Sirius marched over to the other man's office. Sure enough, on Arthur Weasley's desk, there lay a muggle cell phone along with muggle money and – after Sirius had dug around a bit – take-out menus from several different restaurants at several different addresses in London. After perusing them, Sirius settled on Remus's favorite – Chinese.
Sirius had grown up a pure-blood and he'd never taken Muggle Studies at Hogwarts, but surely it couldn't be that hard to order some takeout. He could do this. Right?
So, he picked up the phone like Arthur Weasley had and dialed the number of the Chinese restaurant the way he'd seen the other man do. When someone answered on the other end, he placed an order, listing off every item on the restaurant menu that Remus might like.
"That is a HUGE order," said the young woman on the other end. "Tell me, who would this order be for?"
"Just put the order down for 'Dog,'" Sirius said.
"What?!"
"I'm going to send my dog to pick it up. He's a big, black, shaggy dog, but don't worry, he's very well trained. He'll give you your money and pick up the food for me."
The young woman on the other end of the phone sighed. "Listen, mate, I'd argue this with you, but I really have to go. You can send your dog to pick up your food, but if that dog can't pay me, I'm not handing over your order. Your food will be ready in forty minutes, so you can send your dog – WITH PAYMENT – over then." Then, she abruptly hung up.
XXX
Professor Severus Snape awoke to the same dismal smell every single Valentine's Day: that of flowers. Some secretive idiot insisted on sending him flowers every single Valentine's Day and he had no idea why.
Once he was fully conscious, he sat up in bed, grabbed the vase of flowers from by the window, and hurled it across the room where it shattered. For good measure, he pointed his wand at it and the whole thing burst into flames.
Despite the obnoxiousness of the flowers that had arrived every year without fail since the start of his teaching career at Hogwarts, Snape took great joy in destroying them. So, for extra good measure, he pointed one of the Filibuster Fireworks he kept in his bedside table (don't ask why, that was just where he kept his Filibuster Fireworks) and shot it right at the vase shards and flowers, causing them to erupt from a mere fire into a fully-formed flame dragon that roared all about the dungeon.
Snape smiled – just a little – as the dragon wrought havoc upon the first years' stored cauldrons and ingredients. Maybe he could blame the First Years for being clumsy later. That would be fun.
And now, Professor Snape's Valentine's Day morning was actually – against all odds – off to a good start. Fancy that!
XXX
Professor Minerva McGonagall awoke on Valentine's Day feeling as if it was any other day. Which made sense – she'd never been a romantic.
The fact was that Minerva McGonagall had known this ever since she was a girl in school at Hogwarts: while her classmates obsessed over who had a crush on who, she found it silly. In fact, though multiple people had had crushes on her, she never had a crush on anyone.
Her friends had wondered if, perhaps, since boys didn't interest her – would she be interested in girls or women?
But no, Minerva wasn't really interested in anybody.
Which wasn't to say she was unloving, no! She took great joy in being an aunt to her friends' children and she took even more joy yet in being a teacher, teaching and mentoring hundreds upon hundreds of children at Hogwarts. In the more fanciful part of her mind, she wondered if she was like an extra mother to her many students.
But as oblivious to Valentine's Day as Minerva McGonagall tried to be, there was one part she particularly liked: the present from her not-so-secret "secret admirer." It was the same present every year: her favorite Honeydukes chocolates, a bouquet of lilies (her favorite flower, and also the most difficult flower to transform of conjure), a catnip plant, and an empty box. No, not a box that the flowers or chocolates came in, just an empty box with a note affixed that said, "If you fit, then you sit." And a cat drawing beside the writing.
As usual, the empty box was her favorite part of the gift. So, Minerva McGonagall transformed into her animagus form (a cat), nibbled momentarily at the catnip, and then sat peacefully in her box.
What a great present. Minerva McGonagall might not have had any interest in romance, but as a cat, she did have an interest in catnip and boxes and as a person, she also had an interest in getting presents.
What a nice start this Valentine's Day was getting off to!
XXX
Professor Sprout awoke at the sun and wandered into her greenhouses.
As usual on Valentine's Day, she was greeted with a floating orchid with a note attached. "Just wanted to spare you a little greenhouse cleaning! Love, Your Secret Admirer." She stashed the note in the same drawer of her desk where she kept the others written in the same gracefully slanting handwriting.
Her new boyfriend, Keith, who owned a flower shop in Diagon Alley, wouldn't nearly be awake yet, would he? And the fact was that before she started dating Keith, the greenhouses had been mysteriously cleaning themselves the morning of Valentine's Day, courtesy of her secret admirer…
So, it couldn't be Keith – not that she begrudged Keith anything. In fact, she was looking to a simple visit with him later on, and maybe they could have dinner and discuss horticulture. That was honestly all she wanted.
Still, it was nice that the secret admirer made her feel appreciated, no matter what, regardless of whether she was seeing anyone.
XXX
Hagrid awoke on Valentine's Day feeling a bit down.
Last year had been the first year he'd ever had a woman to give a Valentine to – Madame Maxime – but now the half-giant headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic was returned to her life in France and had no time for the likes of Rubeus Hagrid.
Before he had time to let his thoughts grow too melancholy, Hagrid was licked on one hand and nipped at on the other by a beak. It made sense: one of his hands had been hanging out of bed where his dog, Fang, could lick it while the other had rested on the windowsill for Buuckbeak the hippogriff to nip at impatiently.
Still, though Hagrid occasionally longed for romance, the one thing he valued above all others was companionship – the companionship of family and friends. And it was time to attend to his furry – and feathered – friends. These creatures were his family, after all.
"Alright, Fang, here yeh go," he muttered as he stumbled out of bed and poured food into the dog's bowl as he conjured fresh water into his dish.
Then, clad in his bathrobe and pajamas, Hagrid grabbed a few dead ferrets from the spot on his cottage wall where they hung and then tossed them to the hippogriff, who ate them hungrily for breakfast.
"There yeh go, Buckbeak – sorry, Witherwings – I hope yeh had a good breakfast!"
And now, Hagrid lumbered into the Forbidden Forest for the tricky part of the day: seeing his younger brother, Grawp. Ever since he'd discovered his "little" brother (though that was a figure of speech – Grawp was easily 20 feet tall now, meaning that he towered over Hagrid), Hagrid had been determined to keep him company and try to make him happy. It was just what family did for family. Maybe one day, Hagrid could even teach Grawp to love the creatures of the forest as he did!
When Hagrid saw his brother, he waved and shouted good morning at Grawp, who scarcely responded.
Ah, well. Grawp wasn't too pleasant most mornings and Hagrid didn't see why the morning of Valentine's Day should be any different. Hagrid would come back later to check on sweet little Grawp.
Hagrid would have procured something for his little brother to eat for breakfast, but Grawp usually managed to scrounge up something as he foraged about the forest. If he didn't manage to find breakfast (which was rare), then Hagrid would help him find a nice tasty goat for lunch.
As Hagrid went back inside his enormous hut to go wash up, change, and get ready for the day, he noticed a package on his windowsill with a note that read, "Happy Valentine's Day! From, Your Secret Admirer," in familiar slanting handwriting. Before he even had time to sluff off his snow-coated slippers, Hagrid ripped open the package that arrived every year.
Every year, the package contained a different variety of goods, but this year, it contained the newest edition of The Monster Book of Monsters (which Hagrid had mentioned wanting RIGHT after Christmas), the latest edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and a large bottle of Hagrid's favorite Fire Whisky.
Hagrid stashed the goods as he went, whistling a tune of thanks to his not-so-secret "secret" admirer as he went. And now that Hagrid had fed his creatures (who ALWAYS came first), he headed over to the Hogwarts castle for breakfast.
XXX
Dolores Umbridge had never gotten anything on Valentine's Day, but she was still disappointed to wake up and find no owls delivering love letters or flowers or chocolates for her.
Back in her Hogwarts days, Dolores had hoped that some admirer might sweep her off her feet, marry her, and want to make pure-blooded wizard babies with her, but no one ever seemed to want the short, squat, unbecoming Dolores Umbridge.
Not even when she'd slipped one of them a love potion. But no, THAT idiot had gone on to marry some mudblood more than ten years older than him, rather than the more suitable Umbridge. UGH!
As she grew up and progressed into her career in the Ministry, Umbridge told herself that it didn't matter if she didn't have a Pure-blooded husband, or any husband at all for that matter.
But when she dressed in her usual frilly pink attire for the day, Professor Umbridge had to remind herself that she needed to remind her students that today's attire was not chosen to be thematically appropriate to Valentine's Day.
As she sat down to breakfast in the Great Hall, she heard the other Hogwarts professors discussing the presents they'd gotten from their "secret admirer." The notion was enough to make smoke billow out of her ears. The un-romantic McGonagall, the too-short Flitwick, the perpetually dirty Sprout, the greasy-haired Snape, the wide-eyed Trelawney, and even the gigantic Hagrid all had some secret admirer giving them presents but she didn't get anything?! The outrage!
She ought to complain to her boss, Cornelius Fudge, about this. But what would Cornelius even do? Cornelius Fudge hadn't sent her anything for Valentine's Day either.
"Minerva," she chirped, turning to the witch on her right, "Why are you and the other professors talking of the Valentine's Day gifts you received when many of you are not romantically involved with anyone?"
"Oh, well, I suppose many of us, though disinterested in romance, have platonic admirers who see fit to spoil us on Valentine's Day? What, Dolores? Are you unsatisfied with your haul of presents from your romantic AND platonic admirers?"
Oh, now, Minerva was just pushing her buttons but there was nothing that Dolores could do about it because it wasn't as if she was about to admit she'd never gotten any admiration at all on Valentine's Day or any other day! It would be far too humiliating to admit that! So, she sighed and tucked into her waffles with irate efficiency.
UGH! Valentine's Day couldn't be over fast enough.