Valentine's Day.

GINNY VII

She woke up feeling quite cheerful on the morning of February 14th. It was Valentine's Day.

Ginny had felt quite better over the last few weeks. Ever since she got rid of Tom's diary, she felt that it was a new dawn for her. Sometimes, indeed, she missed her old and understanding friend she could confide in, it was true. But the more Ginny thought about it, and the more time went on, the more she realized that it was probably the best decision she took for the whole year. The holes in her memory were gone. Even her brothers told her she seemed to feel a lot better. There had also been no new attack since their return from the holidays. Today was another holiday, and one she liked very much. She thought of Harry.

Most girls in the dormitory were just as cheerful as Ginny was while they woke up and got dressed. In the common room, Ginny saw more than one couple kissing. She always felt a twinge in her heart when she saw a boy and a girl kissing, hoping she could experience the same thing someday. And again, she found herself thinking about Harry. Thinking about him made her happy and sad at the same time. If only she was able to speak with him. Perhaps she would succeed this morning. He wasn't in the common room when she got out of the dormitories, so he was probably in the Great Hall by now, taking his breakfast.

Ginny mulled her thoughts all the way long to the Great Hall, where she was met by quite a surprise. On the first impression, she didn't know what to think about it. The walls of the Great Hall, not only the walls but also the frame and beams of the ceiling, along with the front of the table at which professors were sitting, were covered in large pink flowers. Heart-shaped confetti were falling all around from the ceiling as well.

Ginny was confused. A part of her wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the decorations, but another part was amazed. Her brothers never spoke about any kind of celebrations surrounding Valentine's day at Hogwarts. But she had to say that if she expected any celebrations for that day, this surpassed all her expectations.

"They look like pink butterflies," a dreamy voice said besides Ginny. She hadn't realized that Loony Lovegood had walked into the Great Hall. "But they're falling like they don't have wings. It's sad."

As always when Luna said something was sad, she looked like she was in another world. Ginny walked to the Gryffindor table and took some eggs and bacon, which were quickly covered in confetti. She barely had time to take some scrambled eggs with her fork that the same portion she took was covered with confetti again. She blew on it several times, and despite this, she gulped some few confetti that were left. Perhaps this explained why her brothers never told her about Valentine's Day celebrations.

"Who organized this horror?" Percy said as he took place next to Ginny.

"Perhaps it's your girlfriend," George said as he was trying to remove the cloud of confetti that was falling on his bacon.

Percy turned as pink as the confetti. The last time Ginny saw him like this, it was when she walked on him kissing that Ravenclaw Prefect, Penelope Clearwater, in an empty classroom. She had lost her way trying to find the Transfiguration class in the early weeks of the year, and she opened the wrong door. Percy was very upset that she caught them and made her swear to never tell anybody. Ginny had kept her promise, but by the way Percy looked at her from the side, she could tell he didn't believe it after George's comments.

"I said nothing," she whispered in the lowest voice she could, too afraid that others might hear her.

"WHAT'S THAT?"

Ron said the words so loud when he walked into the Great Hall that many heads from all tables turned to look at him. Hermione was with him, but although she looked surprised at first, like Ginny had been, her expression changed completely after she looked at the staff table. She walked towards the table of Hufflepuff and exchanged a few words with another girl with red hair. Ginny recognized her to be the girl who asked her questions last month about the day that student from Hufflepuff was Petrified. Both girls were giggling while sending gazes to the staff table. Ginny looked at the table again to see why the girls were looking there all the time. She got her answer very quickly.

All the professors looked either ashamed or disgusted, something Ginny never saw before. All but one. Gilderoy Lockhart was wearing heavy pink robes of the same tone than the decorations, and he was the only professor who seemed to enjoy the situation. Perhaps he was enjoying it a little too much, judging from the large smile he displayed when compared to the general expression of the rest of the staff.

"If someone wanted to make a joke, they should have asked us," Fred said. "We would have done it much better, and with way more style."

"Anyone would make it with more style than Lockhart," said Ron, trying to remove all the confetti from his plate. If someone didn't like to be bothered when he ate, it was Ron. Though Ginny had to admit the confetti were starting to get on her nerves as well. It was almost impossible to eat with them falling everywhere. She passed her hand through her hair, removing quite a large quantity of those small things from her red head. Fred and George did the same, covering their plates in front of them with the result of their hair cleaning. Percy seemed to be struggling to not do the same.

Hermione came to sit next to Ron. She was the only one who seemed to enjoy the situation. "Isn't that a good idea?" All of Ginny's brothers looked at her with stares that could have matched those of an assassin. But Hermione didn't seem to bother. "After everything that happened recently, we needed some morale-booster."

"Morale-booster?" both Fred and George asked, shocked, at the same time.

"If they wanted to give us a morale-booster, they would have doubled the number of Quidditch games this year, not throw... this." Ron removed some more confetti from his plate. He had barely eaten anything.

"Better support twice the training Oliver is already giving us than this," Fred said, pointing at the set of pink decorations all around them. Ginny listened more intently as they were talking about Quidditch, but she was disappointed as Hermione brought back the subject to Valentine's Day.

"I think Professor Lockhart got a very good idea. We never had anything special for Valentine's Day. Maybe it was time that it changed."

"Then he should have thought about something better than this," Ron complained as he shook a piece of bacon to remove yet another swarm of confetti.

"Give him a chance, Ron. This is the first attempt to organize celebrations around Valentine's Day. And judging by the attitude of the other teachers, he must have had to prepare these alone."

"Me neither, I wouldn't like to help this idiot prepare Valentine celebrations. I mean, look at what he made of it. And Valentine's Day is already such a stupid day to celebrate. I mean, a day for love? Who ever had such a stupid idea?"

On that, Ginny shared Hermione's reaction to Ron's words. Perhaps Professor Lockhart did a little too much for this day, especially according to Ginny's own stomach and mouth who tried to not swallow confetti, but Valentine's Day was still a beautiful celebration, one when you were to think about those you loved. Just as she thought so, Harry walked into the Great Hall, causing her to blush and to turn her head so he wouldn't see her.

"What's going on?" he asked everyone as he sat down and removed some confetti from bacon he just took.

Ron seemed about to reply, but Professor Lockhart stood up at this very moment. "Happy Valentine's Day!" their teacher in Defence Against the Dark Arts shouted. Ginny had to admit that he looked completely ridiculous in those pink robes and muffled an uncontrollable laugh. "And may I thank the forty-six people who have so far sent me cards! Yes, I have taken the liberty of arranging this little surprise for you all. And it doesn't end here."

The professor clapped his hands. Ginny wasn't sure why until a dozen dwarfs emerged from the Entrance Hall. They were wearing golden wings, and also carrying harps.

"My friendly, card-carrying cupids!" Mr Lockhart resumed. "They will be roving around the school today delivering your Valentines! And the fun doesn't stop here! I'm sure my colleagues will want to enter into the spirit of the occasion. Why not ask Professor Snape to show you how to whip up a Love Potion! And while you're at it, Professor Flitwick knows more about Entrancing Enchantments than any wizard I've ever met, the sly old dog!"

People started talking among themselves all around. Ginny heard some of them laughing. As for her, she was looking at the cupids. They were ugly, truth be told, but they would deliver Valentine messages for the whole day. They would only be here today. She looked shortly at Harry who was trying to eat his bacon without eating the confetti at the same time, just like she did. She thought very hard about what she would do. Perhaps she could send him one. An anonymous one, of course. She didn't want him to know it came from her. Maybe one of the cupids would accept to not divulge her name. But she needed a place where to write the message, and she couldn't do it here, with everyone around. They would notice what she was doing, and they would know for who she was preparing it, Harry first. She looked at Percy, thinking about asking him for advice. After all, he was the only one she knew who had a girlfriend. It was strange to think that Bill and Charlie were still single. Percy didn't seem much excited by this day though, and she supposed it wouldn't be a good idea to ask anything from him right now. He probably still believed she tipped Fred and George about him and Penelope.

To her personal relief, Harry, Ron and Hermione left the Gryffindor table quite quickly. Seeing Hermione, Ginny wondered for a moment if she would send Harry a Valentine as well.

"Please, Hermione," Ron said. "Tell me you weren't one of the forty-six."

Ginny clearly saw Hermione blush. A wave of relief hit her heart. It was followed immediately by disgust. Did Hermione really send a card to Gilderoy Lockhart for Valentine's Day? Ginny looked at the man. Her mother fancied him as well, but she didn't see how someone could fancy such a man. He was stupid, it was obvious. And he was way too old. How could Hermione fancy him? At least, this made Ginny probably the only one who would send a Valentine to Harry. She wondered if Harry would send a Valentine to anybody. Watching him leave, it was hard to say, especially considering she couldn't see his face.

Ginny tried to clear her mind. The rumours about Harry and Hermione were stupid. Many students in her own year said it themselves. She never saw Harry behave with Hermione in any way that would suggest he had feelings for her. Ginny wished he had some for herself. She wondered what message she should send to him.

"So, little sister?" It was Fred who spoke to her. "What are you going to write for Harry?"

Ginny felt herself getting so red that she had the impression her face was going to explode from the heat. She quickly left the table and ran into a group of Hufflepuffs.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"Susan, please tell me you didn't send a letter to Lockhart," she heard one of the boys in the group saying. They didn't seem to have noticed her.

Ginny had trouble focusing for the entire day. She wanted to send a Valentine to Harry. She crossed the path of one of the dwarfs on her way to her first class, and asked him if they could deliver anonymous messages. He assured her that names were only given if the messenger included them in his or her message. He then asked what message he wanted her to deliver and to who, but Ginny didn't find the courage to do it and walked away.

She was afraid that Fred and George would know it was her who sent the message to Harry, and that they would tell everybody. It was so unfair. She finally had a way to tell Harry how she felt about him, without him knowing it was her who said the words, and her brothers blew it away, like always.

Aside from Lockhart, who applauded each time during his own class when two dwarfs barged in to deliver a Valentine, the other teachers looked quite displeased by the cupids whenever they showed up. Some students seemed ravished to receive a Valentine, especially the girls, but most boys didn't like it. It didn't give Ginny any envy to send one to Harry. And yet... When could she really tell him how she felt about him? She couldn't manage to talk to him, not even stay in the same room where he was without knocking over everything nearby. This was maybe her only chance to tell him, without actually telling him herself.

As the day went by, Ginny grew increasingly worried. She was worried that if she sent a Valentine, Fred and George would tell everyone it was her who sent it. And if she didn't send any, she wondered how Harry would ever notice her. Before her last class of the afternoon, Ginny panicked and went to search the first cupid she could find. She finally heard one singing, and ran towards the source of the music.

There's a lady who makes gold everything she touches,

She is a goddess who at all times catches.

She is a sight to behold,

A treasure to hold.

There were laughs all around when Ginny arrived on the scene. A large group of girls from Ravenclaw were giggling while another one was blushing. Ginny recognized her. She was impossible to confuse with someone else. Ginny had accidentally run into her sooner this year. It was Cho Chang, the Seeker of Ravenclaw.

"Who's sending it to me?" she asked the dwarf.

"Secret, beautiful young lady. You'll have to find your admirer on your own. Unless he's here and wants to reveal himself."

A growing sound of encouragements grew in the crowd, but no one manifested himself. The girl left soon after with her pack of friends. Ginny waited for everyone to have dispersed before she ran to the dwarf.

"Hey! Excuse me," she said as she pulled at his wing.

"Be careful! These wings have cost me a fortune," he rashly said, glaring at Ginny, but she didn't care. She didn't have much time left.

"Is it too late to send a Valentine?"

"No, it's not. Who do you want it delivered to?"

"Harry Potter," she whispered without thinking.

"Very well. What's your message?"

She realized that she had not prepared any message of any kind. She spent so much time questioning herself and worrying about what to do that she didn't consider the fact that she would have to give a message for the dwarf to sing.

"Give me a minute," she said, hurriedly getting parchment, feather and ink from her bag.

"I've got other messages to deliver," the dwarf sharply said.

"Only one minute."

She thought very quickly. What did she like the most with Harry? She wrote something about his eyes, about his hair, about him defeating He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Then she tore away the piece of parchment on which she wrote it and gave it to the dwarf.

"Here," she said. The dwarf looked at what she wrote, then nodded.

"That'll do. For Harry Potter?" he asked.

"Yes. Make sure he receives it."

"I will."

The dwarf walked away. Ginny hoped he would reach Harry in time. She then went to her last class of the day, Astronomy with Professor Sinistra. They were mostly studying sky charts these times. Observations of the actual sky would take place later, when the weather would be better. The door of the class was not open yet, so Ginny had to wait outside, forming a line with many other students of her year. Many other students were walking past them. Ginny recognized some of them as Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan, two of Harry's friends who shared the same dormitory as he did.

"Oy, you! Harry Potter!"

Ginny looked behind her. Indeed, Harry was climbing the steps along with many others. She froze as she noticed that, not far behind him, the dwarf to who she gave her message was running through the crowd, approaching Harry dangerously.

"I've got a musical message to deliver to Harry Potter in person," the dwarf said. He was just behind Harry.

"Not here," Harry said as he kept walking forward, but the dwarf grabbed his bag.

"Stay still!"

"Let me go!"

Ginny would have found it funny if it had been under any other circumstances. But since it involved Harry and the Valentine she sent to him, she watched in horror as his bag got ripped off and he tried to grab his things that had ended on the floor. And the worst was yet to come.

"What's going on here?" Draco Malfoy just arrived on the scene.

"What's all this commotion?" Percy just arrived as well, but if Ginny hoped that for once, Percy's seriousness would come to help, she was wrong. The dwarf seized Harry by the knees and made him fall to the floor as he was trying to walk away. Then the dwarf sat on his legs.

"Right, here is your singing Valentine." The dwarf declared as he was about to sing.

That wasn't supposed to happen this way. Ginny panicked. The dwarf wasn't supposed to sing her message in front of dozens of people, in the corridors, in the presence of Draco Malfoy and one of her brothers. He was supposed to... Why didn't she tell him to take Harry apart and sing it to him and him alone?

His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad,

His hair is as dark as a blackboard.

I wish he was mine, he's really divine,

The hero who conquered the Dark Lord.

The reaction that followed was worse than anything Ginny could have thought about. Everyone burst into laughs. Even Harry was laughing, to her greatest horror. She just wanted to disappear into the floor. Percy was trying to disperse the crowd, which was a small consolation, but it was so thick, with people rolling themselves on the ground so much they were laughing. The door of the class wasn't open yet. Professor Sinistra arrived at this very moment, to her relief, finally opening the door. Ginny risked a glance at Harry who was recovering his things on the ground. The dwarf was gone.

Harry then turned his head abruptly. "Give that back," he said. Ginny followed his gaze to fall upon Draco Malfoy.

"Wonder what Potter's written in this?" Malfoy had taken a small black book of poor appearance on the floor, among Harry's things.

Ginny opened her mouth wide in shock. She wished she could scream, but it was as if no sound could come out of her voice. Malfoy was holding Tom's diary. She looked to Harry, then to the book and Malfoy.

"Hand it over, Malfoy," her brother Percy told him.

"When I've had a look." Malfoy waved the diary, smirking as he talked.

"As a school Prefect..."

"Expelliarmus!"

The small diary jumped from Malfoy's hands and landed into Ron's, who was standing next to Harry. How did he arrive here? How come Ginny didn't notice his presence before?

Percy was admonishing Harry for using magic in the corridors, but Ginny barely understood him as all her attention was on the diary, which Ron gave back to Harry. Her youngest brother was grinning. Did he read what was inside, like Harry? What did Tom tell them?

"I don't think Potter liked your Valentine much!"

Ginny had been so focused on the diary that she hadn't given any attention to Malfoy. She saw Ron and Harry looking at her. She hid her face with her hands and ran into the class of Astronomy. As she took place at a desk, people around her were laughing. They were laughing at her. She buried herself into her arms.

This was the worst moment of her life. If Harry had the diary, then Tom probably told him everything. Tom must have known that Ginny tried to get rid of him, and could have done this out of spite or vengeance. He may even tell lies to Harry about her. She didn't know what would be worse. The truth about what she wrote, or lies about what she wrote?

Ginny barely listened to Professor Sinistra. When the teacher asked Ginny a question, she was at a loss since she wasn't listening. This got Gryffindor to lose five points. Ginny's head was boiling with questions without answers. How could Harry have found the diary? She dropped it into a toilet and flushed it. Why wasn't it destroyed? What did it tell Harry already? It had been over a month that she got rid of it. Tom could have told him everything she ever wrote.

At dinner, she tried to remain as far away as possible from Harry and Ron. Fred and George, though, didn't miss the occasion to sit by her side and to tease her.

"That was quite a Valentine, little sister," Fred said, a wide smile from one ear to another.

"You can be sure that Harry won't forget about it anytime soon," George added, the same expression on his face.

They kept talking about it. It was already as if the whole school knew about what she did. She began to cry and ran away from the Gryffindor table without having finished her plate.

Ginny took refuge in the girls' toilets. She buried her face into her legs that she brought back against her tummy and cried her whole life. Her world was falling apart. Everyone knew or would soon know that she sent that Valentine. Worse, Harry and Ron, and probably Hermione too, would soon learn everything she ever wrote to Tom, if they didn't already know everything.

Things had gotten so much better during the last few weeks. She was feeling better, getting better. She was even happy about Valentine's Day. And now the day was ruined, along with her world. Harry would read it for sure. Tom would tell him everything Ginny wrote. How would Harry react when he would learn about her feelings for him? How would he react about everything she wrote about him? He laughed at her message today, just like everyone else. For now, Harry ignored her. But she didn't want him to notice her only if it was to laugh at her any time they would meet.

Ginny didn't want this to happen. She was already humiliated more than enough. She wouldn't let that happen. She dried her tears and looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes and cheeks were red. But she knew what she had to do. Tom had already caused her too many problems. She wouldn't let him ruin her life any further. She had to recover the diary.

Ginny left the toilets and headed to the common room. How could she get the diary back? She could try to snatch it from Harry's bag. But he would certainly catch her in the act. She thought about all kinds of manner to recover the diary, but there were always too many obstacles. She had to watch Harry without him noticing in order to know where he kept the diary, and to find a moment when he didn't have the diary in order to steal it.

When she arrived in the common room, Fred and George were singing her Valentine's message.

His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad,

His hair is as dark as a blackboard.

I wish he was mine, he's really divine,

The hero who conquered the Dark Lord.

At the same time, Ginny noticed Ron climbing into the boys' dormitory. She ran as discreetly as she could to the girls' dormitory. The others looked funny at her. She hoped it was only because of the Valentine message. She got into bed and continued to think about ways to get the diary back. She had to.

To my knowledge, it was never confirmed that it was actually Ginny who sent the Valentine to Harry. It might have been a joke from Fred and George, or when we think about it, it could have been Malfoy, to humiliate Harry and maybe Ginny at the same time. It could even be from someone else we didn't hear about in the books, but I think it is likely that Ginny sent it. So I presented my version of how it might have happened. The fact that Ginny might have rushed the writing of the Valentine might explain the poor end result.

Please review.

Next chapter: a Quidditch chapter