Monday February 12th, 1990
"I can't believe Phasian lost half of our doxy essays!" Jacinth complained as they left Defence Against the Dark Arts.
"He's... remarkably incompetent." Garrick agreed, though far gentler in tone than Jacinth's rant. Likely because he was in the half with marked assignments.
"He's a daft wanker, he is." Jacinth grumbled. "Pheasant's got more feathers in his head than a bloody pillow!"
Melissa snickered at the joke despite her own dampened mood about having to re-write the essay. "I suppose we're lucky that he repeats himself so much that we don't have to remember much when we rewrite it."
"Please don't make that sound like a good thing." Amy complained.
"Sorry." She half-smiled.
"Bailey, Egalitaire," Amy called after two Hufflepuff girls, "is it possible we can go over our essays now before supper?"
"I'm alright with that." Egalitaire answered. "The professor still had mine, but I can help if you need anything."
"Careful, now. You'll have half the class jumping to that offer." Bailey teased.
Egalitaire raised a brow at her friend. "And you'll be one of them, Sierra."
Bailey gave a bashful giggle. "Suppose you're right. So, you're all coming to Hufflepuff House?"
The two Slytherin girls gave a nod, along with Domonkos and Adrian Pucey who were among the Pheasant's casualties.
"Not me." Jacinth punctured. "I'm not wasting my evening outside of Slytherin." The last word punctuated emphasis, as if the other four ought to feel guilty about mingling with other houses.
"Hey, your loss." Melissa shrugged. As the boy walked away she turned to the ladies in yellow. "Don't mind him. He's… old school."
"That's a nice way to put it." Bailey mumbled.
"For Melissa, most especially." Domonkos teased.
"Eh, I'm just not up for House politics." Melissa excused. "Much rather focus on getting this done before supper. The doxies await!"
"Should they really be in here?"
The voice was quiet enough to not be an announcement, but certainly loud enough with the intention of being heard. The small cluster of eleven and twelve year olds paused at the intent behind the phrasing.
"They're just firsties, leave 'em be." An older Hufflepuff boy brushed away the remark, more focused on a round of wizard chess than the surrounding area.
"Just saying, they're better off keeping to their own kind." The opposing Gryffindor boy stated in a veiled threat as he made his move on the board. "The slimy slithers are mucking up my concentration."
There was a beat of silence in the room before Melissa turned to Cedric and Domonkos with a droll smile. "I'm not sure which is dumber, not knowing that snakes don't have slime or talking like a bigoted death eater in the house of friendship and cooperation."
A few of the first years palmed their faces at the remark, while others flinched. Though Domonkos seemed to be the only one to smile at the thought.
"Bennett." Groaned Terry Strickland, one of the Hufflepuff boys.
"Really, Giggles?" Merton Graves shook his head at the barb.
"Alright, alright. Tough crowd." She feigned defeat. Then the Gryffindor shouted their way.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"
"Hmm?" She turned his way. "Oh, don't mind me. Just talking with my friends about history and zoology. Fascinating subjects to look into."
The older boy got up and started walking towards them, but was held back by his Hufflepuff opponent. "Greg, leave it."
Greg the Gryffindor stopped to notice the hard or concerned stares around the room, seeming to rethink his bravado, then flashed the young Slytherins a menacing glance. "Fine. I have better places to be, anyways." With that, he turned and marched out of the room.
"Well that was awkward." A Hufflepuff girl lounging on one of the sofas muttering.
"No kidding." Melissa shrugged, somewhat to the room as a whole.
"Best you don't mind him, little Slytherin." The chess-playing boy sighed. "He tends to get in a few rows with Slytherin during quidditch, and likes to take it out on the whole House."
"He's not the only one." Amy frowned. "I've had plenty of cruel things said to me, even before the prank war. It didn't really change much after the pledge either." Others in the group nodded or offered sympathetic glances.
"It's a cycle thing." Melissa shrugged as she pointed at spots on an imaginary wheel. "Get told that one group of people is bad, just because. Those people, both the good and bad, get treated like dirt because of that bad reputation. The bad ones retaliate, and the good ones get bitter until they react just like that reputation. The people teasing them use it to justify being pricks, and it all gets passed on year by year."
That observation dampened the circle of first years. It was a painful truth that they were almost too young to grasp, yet could feel the emotion of it strongly.
Amy looked at her with a touch of dismay. "So we're stuck with it."
"Not necessarily." She argued. "It would be slow going and not easy, but there are ways to change reputations for the better, even if it's only a little bit."
"How do you suppose you can do that?" Bailey asked.
"Eh, I have some ideas, but I don't know how to get all of Slytherin behind it." She answered truthfully.
"Maybe you don't have to." Egalitaire mused.
"What do you mean?"
"If you want to change people's opinions of you, you need help from people outside of your house." Egalitaire pointed out. Her ponderous expression turned into a playful smile. "And who better to help than the 'house of friendship and cooperation'?"
"Well, when you put it that way," Melissa smirked and offered a slight bow of the head, "I'm eager to learn your ways, Lady Egalitaire."
Wednesday February 14th, 1990
It was about 20 minutes into suppertime at the Great Hall when there was a sudden musical commotion coming from the doorway. In a flair of colour and enchanted petals, four students emerged through the door. Each student wore a set of colourful robes and flowers in their hair. In their hands were instruments, Kenneth Towler on the trumpet, Merton Graves on the violin, Melissa Bennett on the accordion, and Eloise Hyslop on the flute, respectively, and all were playing a cheerfully romantic tune as they walked down the central alleyway.
As the hall was distracted by this unusual spectacle, eight more students walked through the doors, each rolling a transfigured wagon behind them full of flowers. As the music played, the latter group divided in four ways. Cedric Diggory of Hufflepuff and Rachel Onyilogwu of Ravenclaw towards the Gryffindor table, Lee Jordan of Gryffindor and Amy Flinton of Slytherin towards the Ravenclaw table, Domonkos Soros of Slytherin and Alicia Spinnet of Gryffindor towards the Hufflepuff table, and Corin Joyce of Ravenclaw and Stephanie Egalitaire of Hufflepuff towards the Slytherin table. Each student walked on either side of the tables, stopping at every occupied seat. When they did, they greeted the seated student, wished them a happy Valentine's Day, and offered them a flower from their wagon.
The seated students and staff were confused, but otherwise delighted by the unusual commotion. Moreso as they each received their flowers. Each flower was unique in one way or another. Flowers of varying breeds and colours adorned each wagon, making every selection and, therefore, every table full of colour and interest.
Melissa, herself, was unable to see the spectacle emerging behind the band, but could otherwise enjoy the exclamations of joy she heard as she walked down the aisle playing on her revived accordion. When the band reached the head table, the four students bowed to the headmaster and staff as much as they were able to while still performing their music. Then they, too, made a division of their group. Each took small breaks in their playing to give a professor a flower from their hair or pocket. Melissa, having an accordion, was sometimes able to get away with both at once, with one hand on the keys as she made her offerings.
"What are you playing at, Bennett?" Snape sneered as she approached him. She looked down at the wild lily in her hand, then back at Snape with a cheeky smile. "Wishing you a very happy Valentine's Day, Professor Snape!"
He eyed the flower suspiciously. "A trap, I imagine?"
"If it were a trap, I would be the first and most likely person to be blamed." She pointed out with a playful smile. Snape simply continued to stare at her, unmoved by the cool logic, nor by the warm colour of the flower. Melissa frowned slightly, then placed the lily between the professor and his plate with a small huff. "Humour a kind gesture, Professor, at least for the meal." With that, she relighted her performing smile and moved on to the next professor.
By the time the last flower was delivered, the entirety of the Great Hall was abuzz in the holiday spirit. People were admiring each other's flowers, trading them, or decorating their hair with the flowers. Melissa, herself, tied her hair into a bun and had Amy weave her delphinium around its base. From the head table, Dumbledore had placed his daffodil in his beard, meanwhile Hagrid had a dainty freesia in his enormous hair. As for Snape, the lily was left untouched, which Melissa supposed could be seen as a good thing.
Over time, some older students started duplicating the flowers to make as bouquets for their friends. Others had them dancing in the air, with petals flying. One girl over at the Hufflepuff table had somehow turned her hair a bright crimson to match the flower in her ear. By the end of the meal, the Great Hall was perfumed in the sweet smell of flowers for all to enjoy.
When the dishes disappeared, signaling the end of supper, Dumbledore rose from his seat and made a gesture for silence.
"Before we all excuse ourselves for the evening, I would like those students who were part of tonight's spectacle to please rise."
In a moment of bashful murmurs, the twelve students rose from their seats. Dumbledore looked to each of them one by one, possibly to memorize their faces.
"Might I ask which of you arranged for this lovely display?"
The other students swept their eyes around the hall, perhaps only now noticing how far apart the twelve students were from each other, equally shared among the houses. One hand from Hufflepuff slowly rose. "It was a group effort, originally from Hufflepuff and Slytherin, then to other students in our year." Stephanie Egalitaire explained. The students murmured softly to each other at the description. Some, Melissa noted, looked to the Slytherin students with surprise or confusion. "We also had help from upper year students, teaching us how to make the flowers and wagons." She added quickly. Some hands rose softly from seated positions, coming from a couple of older students.
"Marvelous!" Dumbledore praised with a twinkling eye. "Twenty points to both Hufflepuff and Slytherin for arranging this heartwarming display, and an additional ten points to each student involved, for coming together from all houses to bring a celebration of love and cheer for all to enjoy! I am proud of each and every one of you."
The twelve first years beamed at the praise, and the hall broke out into applause and cheers. Stephanie and Melissa looked at each other, smiling over their fellow schoolmates' reception, knowing that their plan is well on its way to success.