Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.
If You Can Help Her – Chapter 7 – Their First Valentine's Day
Harry woke up very nervous on Monday, February 14th. He was going to spend as much of Valentine's Day with Ginny as possible. He hoped she'd like what he got her. He hoped she'd enjoy what he had planned. As much as he expected it would go well, he was very nervous about it. He remembered the conversation that he'd had with Hermione a few days before. He'd been trying to make peace between Ron and Hermione since Scabbers went missing. Ron believed that Crookshanks ate him, and Harry had to admit that it certainly looked that way.
-IYCHH-
"Hermione," Harry whispered to her in the library.
"What is it, Harry?"
"I'd like to, er, talk to you about, um, Ron," he began nervously, not wanting to get her upset with him.
Hermione glared at Harry. "Until Ron apologizes, I have nothing to say to him, or about him. So if that's what you've come here to talk about, you might as well leave!"
"Look," explained Harry, "I know that Ron's being stupid about this, but he's had Scabbers for a long time." Then he added weakly, "I don't know what happened, but there is evidence that Crookshanks…"
"I KNEW YOU WOULD TAKE HIS SIDE!" she yelled, forgetting she was in the library.
"Keep your voice down, and let's leave the library for a few minutes to talk," suggested Harry.
She got up, leaving her books, and walked out the door, Harry following her. Then she hissed with a mean look in her eyes, "You always take his side!"
"I do not!" Harry yelled back. "I didn't take Ron's side about the Firebolt!"
"Only after Ginny talked you out of it!" she hissed back.
"That's right," agreed Harry, an idea forming in his mind. "She made me see reason, just like I'm trying to make you see reason!"
"Reason? Ron's not being reasonable!"
"No, he's not, Hermione. He's overreacting as always! But I expected better of you!"
"What are you trying to say?" Hermione asked.
"Let me ask you a few questions. As a cat, is it in Crookshanks' nature to hunt rats?"
"Well, yes, but…" Hermione answered with a concerned look in her face.
"Has Crookshanks chased Scabbers many times this year?"
"I guess so."
"Did Ron find blood where Scabbers was supposed to be?"
"Yes, but that doesn't mean…"
"Have you pretty much let Crookshanks go wherever he pleases, so that you don't even know where he is right now?"
"Well, I expect he's outside looking for…"
"Rats? As I said, Ron's overreacting to this, but isn't it reasonable that Ron suspects Crookshanks of acting like a cat?"
With a defeated look in her eyes, Hermione softly admitted, "I guess so."
"And aren't you being unreasonable by not admitting that it's possible?"
"Y, Yes."
"And, as the more mature and intelligent one, shouldn't you at least try to make peace with Ron by admitting that it's possible that he's right about Crookshanks?"
"All right, Harry," she agreed with her hands raised in defeat. "I'll talk to Ron. In the meantime, there was something I wanted to talk to you about."
"Oh? What's that?" Harry knew she was changing the subject, but didn't mind. He had made his point.
"Ginny."
"What about her?"
"What are you going to do for Valentine's Day?"
"Well, I'll have to buy her something nice. Any suggestions?"
"Well," Hermione suggested nervously, "I don't know if it's my place to say it, but you shouldn't spend a lot of money on her like you did on Christmas."
"I know she said I went overboard, but I, I love her and want to buy her nice things! Is that wrong?" he asked defensively.
"I understand, Harry, really I do. And it's good that you want to buy her nice things, but when you do, it makes her feel bad."
Harry looked livid. He hissed, "Feel bad? How?"
"Well," explained Hermione, looking worried, "Seeing you spend that much money reminds her that she doesn't have much to spend on you. It reminds her that she's poor, and makes her feel like she's not good enough for you."
"Not good enough for me?" asked Harry, his face red with anger, "Not good enough! That's a load of rubbish! I don't love her for her money! She doesn't have to buy me a bloody thing and I'll still love her!"
"Calm down, Harry," responded Hermione, "I know you love her, and so does she! I just want to suggest that instead of spending a lot of money on her, you do something more, um, romantic."
"Like what?"
"I don't know," answered Hermione unsurely. Then, with a triumphant look in her face, she said, "It's best if you think of it anyway!"
"Fine," replied Harry. "I think I'm still gonna need to visit Hogsmeade."
"No, Harry!" insisted Hermione. "After Sirius almost killed Ron, how can you even think…"
"How am I going to get Ginny a gift if I don't go there?"
"I don't know, but what if he sees you?" reasoned Hermione.
"Under my invisibility cloak?" questioned Harry.
"Fine! Just stay long enough to get your gift!"
-IYCHH-
On Saturday morning, February 12th, Harry told Ginny that he was sneaking off to Hogsmeade with Ron and Hermione. When she mentioned that she wanted to join him, he looked nervous, so she stated, "Okay, Harry. I'll leave you alone to buy my present, but please don't go overboard! The only reason my mother let me keep my Christmas presents was because I said it would hurt your feelings if I gave them back."
"I promise. I'll see you later, Ginny. I love you," Harry answered and then kissed her lightly.
"I love you, too, Harry! I'll be watching for you on my map. Be careful!"
Harry then departed before they started snogging, because he knew he'd never be able to tear himself away. He made it into Hogsmeade without too much trouble, and quickly found a few sweets at Honeydukes that he thought were appropriate and had Hermione purchase them while he stayed under the cloak. He noticed that Ron and Hermione seemed to be speaking to each other again. Although it seemed there was still trouble between them, it was not nearly as bad as before. He made a mental note to ask Hermione about it later. They stopped by a few other shops, one of which sold flowers. He bought a solitary rose for Ginny, and a carnation for Hermione, who thanked him while holding both flowers because he didn't want to mess up the rose under his cloak.
When Harry gave Hermione the carnation, Ron asked, "Why are you giving her a flower? You're dating my sister!"
"Honestly, Ronald," explained Hermione, exasperated, "Just because you can't be thoughtful doesn't mean Harry can't! I know he's in love with Ginny! He's just doing something nice for me!" Then she turned toward Harry's voice and said, "Thank you, Harry!"
Harry replied, "You're welcome, Hermione. I just wanted to thank you for all the help you've given me, both in schoolwork and advice with Ginny." Then Harry stated, "Ron, I'm giving it to Hermione, as a friend," and then added, "Would you like a flower, too?"
"No. Never mind!" grumbled Ron as he gave a dirty look in Harry's general direction.
Harry should've left at that point, but he didn't. They went on from there visiting other shops, until they wound up running into Malfoy and his friends while looking at the Shrieking Shack. Harry, under his invisibility cloak, was having a lot of fun giving them a lesson until his cloak slipped a little and exposed his head to Malfoy, who ran off.
Harry ran back to the castle through the secret passage as fast as he could; leaving the cloak inside a shadowy corner of the passage so he wouldn't be found with it. He reached the inside of the witch's hump, tapped it with his wand, stuck his head through, and hoisted himself out; the hump closed, and just as Harry jumped out from behind the statue, he heard quick footsteps approaching.
It was Snape. He approached Harry at a swift walk, his black robes swishing, and then stopped in front of him.
"So," he said.
There was a look of suppressed triumph about him. Harry tried to look innocent, all too aware of his sweaty face.
"Come with me, Potter," insisted Snape.
"Harry!" came Ginny's voice from nearby, "Why didn't you wait up?" She appeared from inside a classroom. Harry looked at her in confusion, and she managed to wink at him before Snape saw her face. Harry put a neutral expression on his face. She then greeted, "Hello, Professor Snape."
"Miss Weasley, what are you doing here?" asked Snape, looking very angry.
"I was with Harry."
"When?"
"All day, sir. Is something wrong?" asked Ginny, with a look of pure innocence on her face. Harry was nodding the whole time she was speaking.
"What were you doing here?" asked Snape, with venom in his voice.
Ginny blushed and looked toward the floor. She explained, "Well, professor, we were in a nearby classroom, alone, and we were…"
"Silence!" shouted Snape, "You were not together!"
"Sir," replied Ginny defiantly, "I could show you my…"
"Twenty points from Gryffindor!"
"Twenty," both Harry and Ginny asked.
"Each! Come with me. Mr. Malfoy has an interesting story to tell."
They proceeded to follow Snape down to the dungeons, where they feigned innocence as they were told Malfoy's story. Snape had them empty out their pockets. Harry had a bag from both Honeydukes and Zonko's while Ginny had a 'spare bit of old parchment' that was confiscated and insulted Snape. The parchment was given to Professor Lupin to examine, and at that moment Ron came running, proclaiming that he'd given Harry his packages ages ago.
"Well!" declared Lupin, clapping his hands together and looking around cheerfully. "That seems to clear that up! Severus, I'll take this back, shall I?" He folded the map and tucked it inside his robes. "Harry, Ron, Ginny, come with me, I'd like your opinion on a new creature I've just acquired."
After giving them a lecture on how irresponsible they were, Professor Lupin let them leave, though he kept the map. Harry thanked both Ginny and Ron for covering for him, and went to find Hermione, to get the rose from her, so he could prepare for Valentine's Day.
-IYCHH-
He got out of bed and took extra care preparing himself for the big day. He wished that Valentine's Day had fallen on the weekend, but it didn't. It fell on a Monday. He walked down the stairs to the common room, and saw Ginny standing there alone, waiting for him. He walked up to her, took her hand, said, "Happy Valentine's Day, Ginny!" kissed her, and declared, "I love you!"
Ginny blushed and reciprocated, "I love you, too. Happy Valentine's Day!"
Harry looked at the ground, suddenly nervous about his plans, and asked, "Er, Ginny, well, could you make sure to meet me here at 5:30? I'd kind of like to spend as much time with you today as I can."
"Ginny smiled and replied, "Of course, Harry. Who else would I want to be with on Valentine's Day?" and she winked at him.
"I know I don't want to spend it with Snape, but I've got his class in a few hours. I guess we should get down to breakfast," responded Harry.
Hand in hand, they made their way down to the Great Hall, where they found heart-shaped pancakes, along with various other foods made special for the holiday. After a few minutes, the mail came, and Hedwig was flying toward the Gryffindor table, carrying a package. Ginny was surprised that Hedwig came to her instead of Harry. She turned to him as he instructed, "Open it," with a neutral expression.
She untied the package from Hedwig's leg and gave her a piece of sausage before she flew away. She opened the small package and out jumped a chocolate frog. Using reflexes developed while competing with six older brothers for enchanted sweets, she caught it and bit off its head. Then she noticed a small note at the bottom of the package. It read, "Her eyes are as brown as a chocolate frog." She slapped Harry lightly on the shoulder and started blushing.
"What?" asked Harry, smiling broadly, "Chocolate frogs are better than fresh pickled toads, aren't they?"
"You're never gonna let me live that down, are you?" she asked in mock outrage, before bursting out laughing.
"I'm never gonna let either one of us forget that you sent me a Valentine's Day card while I still too stupid to see how wonderful you are," Harry answered with a small smile.
"Well," replied Ginny, "thank you for the chocolate frog," and she kissed him on the cheek.
"Thank you for being my girlfriend," Harry responded quickly, earning another kiss from Ginny, this time on the lips.
Not long after that, they had to part and go to their various classes. While Harry was walking toward the Great Hall for lunch, he heard a female voice calling his name. He turned to see the Ravenclaw seeker, a lovely Asian girl named Cho Chang. He greeted, "Hi, Cho."
She looked a little nervous as she said, "Hey, Harry, I never got a chance to tell you what a great job you did in the last match! I've never played against a better seeker."
Harry blushed lightly. "You're not so bad yourself. I doubt I'd have gotten the Snitch without my new broom."
"That Firebolt was amazing! How'd you get that broom? I never expected someone to get that just for a school team."
"That's an interesting question. It arrived for me at Christmas with no note of any kind," explained Harry.
"Isn't that strange? I heard a rumor that Sirius Black is supposed to be after you."
"That's what I've been told. When it arrived, my best friend Hermione and my girlfriend Ginny talked me into letting it get checked out for any curses or whatever that may have been put on it. Nothing was found. I don't know who sent it. Maybe it was some rich Gryffindor fan who wanted to make sure I got the Snitch." Cho looked to the ground for a second when Harry said the word, "girlfriend," but then looked back at his face with an odd expression.
"So, er, you're going out with that second-year redhead, Ginny, um, Weasley, right?"
"Yeah," replied Harry. "In fact, I'd better get to the Great Hall. She's probably there already saving me a seat."
"Oh, er, right," responded Cho, looking uncomfortable, "I'd better be going, too." With that said, she took off, walking fast the opposite direction of the Great Hall.
Harry hurried toward the Great Hall, where he saw that Ginny was saving him a seat. Just as he sat down, Hedwig flew back into the hall, holding a rose in her beak, with a note tied to her leg. Ginny blushed upon seeing the rose, and gave Harry a quick kiss on the cheek before Hedwig landed in front of her. Ginny took the rose and sniffed it before untying the note, which read, 'Her hair is as red as her lips that I snog,'" causing her cheeks to match her hair very well.
Harry blushed too, as he explained, "I would've put 'red as a rose,' but it didn't rhyme with 'frog.' Besides, I didn't think you wanted a set of lips delivered to the lunch table."
She looked him straight in the eyes and countered, "Maybe I do want lips delivered to me here." Harry took that as an invitation and delivered his lips to hers.
They didn't break apart for several minutes until Ron tapped Harry on the shoulder and said with a smirk on his face, "I know she's your girlfriend, and it's Valentine's Day, but you don't have to snog in the middle of lunch. Some of us are trying to eat here!"
Harry looked around and noticed many eyes on him, including Cho Chang's, which for some reason appeared on the verge of tears. He briefly wondered what was bothering her before turning back to Ginny and saying, "Happy Valentine's Day."
"You're certainly making it a Happy Valentine's Day for me!" replied Ginny, starting to get teary-eyed.
"You make every day happy for me!" countered Harry, looking deep into her eyes, which immediately started crying. She put her arms around him, and began snogging him, before Ron interrupted them again. "Hey, Ron," suggested Harry, "Maybe it's time we found you a snogging partner. Maybe then you'd stop interrupting me." At this statement Ron went pink, but said nothing.
"Yeah," agreed Ginny, with a thoughtful look on her face. She smiled, leaned towards her brother, and whispered, "What about Hermione?"
At this statement Ron's ears, face, and neck all went 'Valentine's day' red. He whispered back, "Um, I, er, don't, well, y'know, fancy her. Er, uh, even, um, if I did, er, which I don't, I'm sure she, um, doesn't, er, fancy me. Don't you think?"
Before Harry could answer, he noticed Cho Chang was no longer crying, but instead was glaring daggers at Ginny from the Ravenclaw table. Harry turned to Ginny and asked, "Have you ever met Cho Chang?"
She looked confused at Harry's abrupt change of topic and answered, "No. Why?"
"She's glaring at you like she wants to kill you."
Ginny's eyes went wide and she glanced toward Cho, just in time to see her look away. Ginny commented, "I wonder what her problem is," and decided to start eating lunch.
"She's been acting strange since before lunch."
Ginny dropped her fork and asked, "Before lunch?"
"Yes," replied Harry, "She stopped me in the hall, acting nervous, and complimented how I did in the last match. When I told her I had to meet you here, she seemed even more nervous and practically ran away. When Ron interrupted us the first time, she was one of the people watching us. She looked like she wanted to cry. Something must be bothering her. I wonder what it is."
Ginny had a mixture of amusement and concern on her face when she asserted, "I think I know her problem. She fancies a guy who already has a girlfriend."
"Really?" inquired Harry. "I wonder who the bloke is."
Ginny looked pleadingly at Harry and asked, "Please tell me you're not that thick! She was nervous talking to you! She's glaring at me!"
Harry looked shocked. He questioned, "Are you saying she fancies me? That's impossible! She's a year older than me! I mean…"
"You're a year older than me and you fancy me!"
"I do more than fancy you, Ginny! I love you!" replied Harry. Then he looked into her eyes and promised, "I'm afraid Cho's in for a disappointment."
"I've got a feeling that she isn't going to give up that easily," countered Ginny.
"Maybe not, but I'm not gonna let her ruin our Valentine's Day!" declared Harry, before kissing Ginny again.
The day went on, and soon they found themselves back in the Great Hall for dinner, and Hedwig was carrying another package for Ginny. It was an assortment of Zonko's joke products. The note said, "I'm so glad she's mine! She's really divine!"
"I am not divine!" argued Ginny, chuckling.
"Neither am I!" answered Harry, also chuckling. "But no angel could possibly be as beautiful as you!"
Ginny blushed. "Stop it. I'm not as beautiful as all that, and I know it!"
"You are to me," declared Harry, with a serious expression on his face.
"And you are all that and more to me, Harry!" stated Ginny, looking him in the eyes.
Harry asked seriously, "Really? You really do think that my eyes are as green as a…ouch!"
Ginny slapped his shoulder lightly while he was teasing her. She explained, "Normally, when you're not irritating me, I think you're the most amazing boy I've ever met. Not because of your fame, but because of how much you really care about people. Not only that but how brave and selfless you are! Not to mention those eyes that make me go weak at the knees and that hair I just want to run my fingers through! Even if my poem wasn't as complimentary as I wanted it to be, I really do love your eyes and hair!"
"Thank you, but I think I love your eyes and hair more than you love mine!"
Ginny blushed at that statement and declared, "Impossible! Besides, I've loved yours longer!
Harry began eating his dinner as fast as he could, leaving at 5:15, reminding Ginny to be in the common room at exactly 5:30.
When she arrived, she found Harry sitting on a chair, facing the door, holding a small wrapped package, and looking nervous. Upon seeing her enter, he got up, walked up to her, and kissed her briefly. When they broke apart, Harry tried to hand her his package, but she stopped him and said, "I've got to run upstairs and get my present before I take one more thing from you," and ran to her dorm. Within three minutes, she was back with a beautifully wrapped package in her hands. She handed it to Harry and nervously insisted, "Open it. I hope you like it."
He tore the wrapping paper off and found a clear box with a gold pin with about a half-inch diameter that was the shape of a snitch. A note inside the box said, "This pin has been charmed so that the wearer is protected from Legilimency.
"It's a nice pin, but what's Legilimency?" asked Harry.
"It's the ability to extract feelings and memories from another person's mind by looking directly into their eyes. The defense against it is called Occlumency," answered Ginny, reminding Harry of Hermione. "I think Snape and Dumbledore can do it, to know if you're lying to them."
"I always felt like they could see right through me! How did you learn about it?" Harry asked.
Ginny looked down at the ground and explained, "Um, even at sixteen, er, Tom was an expert at it." She then cleared her throat and suggested, "I figured that, given your relationship with Snape, you might want to stop him from reading your mind."
"Where'd you get it?" asked Harry.
"A mail order store. You pick out the pin and the charm from a list. I thought you'd like the snitch."
"I do! Thank you! This is a very thoughtful gift! I really do love it! I'm just sorry that it made you think about Tom again. I didn't realize that you kept some of his knowledge."
"Yes," she responded with a half smile. "Whatever else he was, he was brilliant. My grades have actually improved since it happened. This summer, while in the garden at home, I found out that I'm still a Parselmouth when I startled a garden snake, though I'd like to keep that just between us. I obviously got a lot of negative results from the experience, but a little good came from it." She then smiled and added, "I apparently got your attention from it!"
Harry smiled and replied, "I can think of better ways to get my attention, but I'm glad that you can talk about your experience." Harry sighed and said, "You really are amazing! Anyway, I'd like you to open my gift now. It's not much, but I hope you like it."
"If it's from you, I know I'll love it. I just hope you didn't spend too much on me. If you did, I'll snog you senseless and then make you take it back."
As Ginny took her present from him and began opening it, Harry declared, "Maybe I should've spent too much. It sounds like it would have been worth it!"
"I didn't say I won't snog you senseless otherwise," replied Ginny, while still opening her gift. "It's just…When was this taken?" She was referring to the photo of the two of them together that was in a frame just like the one that came with the photo she gave him for his birthday. There was also a note spello-taped to the glass over the picture. It said, "My heart, to this girl belongs!" and had an arrow pointing at Ginny in the photograph. There was also a piece of parchment in the package that contained the whole poem,
Her eyes are as brown as a chocolate frog
Her hair is as red as her lips that I snog
I'm so glad she's mine, she's really divine
My heart, to this girl belongs!
"I'm not exactly sure. Last week, I had Colin follow us around with a camera. I picked out my favorite photo."
"Does he still have the rest of the pictures? I'd like to see them, maybe use some as wallpaper in my room!" replied Ginny with a smirk.
"Ha Ha. If you do want to see his pictures, I'm sure he's still got them, but I hope you like the picture I chose!"
"I do, believe me, Harry. I love it. Thank you. Now, for your other gift."
Harry asked, "What other gif…" and Ginny proceeded to snog him senseless.
-IYCHH-
Chapter end