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Who Needs Grand Gestures? | ||||
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Category: Angst Valentine Challenge (2006-1) Characters:None Genres: Fluff Warnings: None Story is Complete Rating: G Reviews: 20 Summary: Valentine's Day brings disappointment, Hermione reveals her Valentine's Day dream, Neville actually gets somehting right, and two of our favorite wizards aren't quite as clueless as the ladies believe. Hitcount: Story Total: 4423 |
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Disclaimer: These wonderful characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I'm just borrowing them and am not making any money from this venture. Author's Note: I've been a long time reader of fan fiction, but this is my first attempt at writing. Thanks to all of the great authors on this site for their creativity and willingness to share their ideas. Thanks to Gingersnap for her beta work on short notice and for the help with formatting. **** The Gryffindor common room was a very quiet place. Most of the Gryffindors were either still enjoying the Valentine’s Day dinner in the Great Hall or were out for a special evening. Ron, Hermione, and Harry were studying in their favorite armchairs by the fire. Ginny was gazing dreamily out the common room window, absentmindedly twirling a piece of her blazing hair. Parvati and Lavender were engaged in a heated discussion with Dean and Seamus. It was clear that the boys were losing whatever war was being waged. Parvati’s voice finally rose above the quiet of the room. “And that’s the best you can come up with? Dean, you’re pathetic. I’m going to study upstairs.” With that, she stormed from the room. Lavender turned to Seamus. She was slightly less upset, but only slightly. “Couldn’t you two have thought your brilliant plan through and realized how stupid it was?” “But, Dean thought…” Lavender glared at him. “All right, I have no idea what he was thinking. I should have known better than to go along with it.” “Well,” Lavender said, “at least you have the sense to admit when you were wrong. I guess I better follow her. See you later.” She disinterestedly pecked a kiss on his forehead and turned to follow her friend upstairs. “Hey, Lavender, you missed my lips by a kilometer!” Seamus yelled after her. Dean chuckled at his friend’s attempt to lighten the mood. Lavender, however, just scowled and walked away. “I wonder what’s up with them,” asked Ron. “Hermione, you’re done with your homework, go find out, would you? I need something to distract me from Snape’s essay. I mean, really, 12 inches of parchment on the properties of foxglove? On Valentine’s Day?” Hermione snapped at him, more harshly than she usually did when scolding him about his homework. “Is this essay keeping you from some big plans Ron? I’ve never seen homework prevent you from doing something you wanted to do before. Why don’t you just go to it then? I’m going upstairs.” She too turned and stormed up the stairs to the girls’ dormitory. “What did I say?” a bewildered Ron asked Harry. “No idea mate.” Harry quickly turned away from Ron and tried to hide his grin. He had a pretty good idea what had so frustrated Hermione, but he had no intention of telling Ron. He cast a glance at his favorite redhead by the window and sighed. “The girls all seem a little off tonight if you ask me. Who knew Valentine’s Day could be so much trouble?” “We’re well out of it, mate, that’s for sure.” The look on Ron’s face as he returned to his essay, however, indicated that he wasn’t so sure of that fact. Harry and Ron continued to work on their papers. The scratching of their quills, the crackling of the fire, and an occasional sigh from Ginny were the only sounds in the room for some time. Finally, Ron, who had begun to believe that Hermione was not coming back with news of the other 6th years, shut his book and stood up. “Well, great,” he humphed. “I’m going to bed.” With that, he too, made an angry departure from the common room. **** Hermione stomped up the stairs and threw herself on her bed. She didn’t know what had gotten into her today. She wasn’t one to get overly excited about holidays like Valentine’s Day, and it wasn’t like her and Ron were a couple or anything, but she had thought they’d been growing into more than friends. In that small, dark corner of her mind where she was completely honest with herself about her feelings for Ron, she had really hoped that today might be the day that he admitted his undying love for her. Okay, she smiled, Even I can’t believe that. She’d just thought that maybe, just maybe, Ron might look at her as more than a friend. She knew whom she was dealing with and didn’t really expect too much. Just a card, a smile, a hug, proof that I’m a girl. Parvati and Lavender were still ranting and raving about their boyfriends’ apparent lack of Valentine’s sentiment. “I mean can you believe him?!” Parvati vented. “He handed me a piece of cheesecake at lunch and said, ‘Happy Valentine’s Day!’ What a git! Maybe I should just go downstairs and snog the first man I see. That will show him what he missed!” Lavender tried to help out the unsentimental Dean, “I’m not happy about Seamus’ idea of romance either. I mean carrying my books to Potions? What kind of lame Valentine’s gesture was that? But he did say they were planning something for the Hogsmead visit. Maybe they had something really great in mind.” “What could be better than cheesecake?” Parvati scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Maybe I expect too much from him. I just thought that I meant as much to him as he does to me. Maybe I’m just dreaming.” Hermione spoke up in a completely un-Hermione like manner. “At least you have the hope that your dream could come true.” She looked up suddenly as if she was shocked that she had said the words aloud. Apparently, the other girls were as surprised by her contribution to the conversation as she was. They both looked at her with their mouths slightly open and then looked at each other, smiling. They rushed over and joined Hermione on her bed. “Is it Viktor? Has he still been writing you? He was just crazy about you, you know.” “No. It’s not Viktor.” Hermione couldn’t believe she’d said that. What was going on with her? She snapped her mouth shut and said no more. “Ooo,” Parvati squealed. “Who is it Hermione? Tell us, please!” Hermione remained silent and just shook her head. “Come on, Hermione,” Lavender encouraged, “There’s nothing like the promise of a new love to take our minds off the gits downstairs.” When Hermione still failed to respond, she continued, “You don’t have to tell us who it is, just tell us your dream. What do you wish would have happened this Valentine’s Day?” Hermione sighed as she pondered the request. Could they possibly figure out whom she was talking about? If she didn’t describe him or use his name, they couldn’t possibly know, could they? It would feel so good to say it out loud. She knew she couldn’t tell Ginny, Ginny would guess that it was Ron, but would these two? She had pondered so long that the other girls were just about to get off the bed and give up, when Hermione spoke, her voice soft, “I wish that I would wake up some morning and find a card on my bedside table with a flower. Not a rose, that would be too forward, but something unexpected. Like a daffodil, or a daisy. Something that spoke of spring, and laughter, and sunshine. I wouldn’t expect the card to reveal his soul or anything. Just a simple message that said he saw me and was reminded of something pleasant. That my laugh made him think of daisies or something like that.” Parvati and Lavender sighed. Hermione continued. “He might not sign his name to the card. Knowing him, I bet he wouldn’t. He’d want to see what I thought first. I’d go downstairs…to breakfast…and catch his eye and smile, just in case I was right and the flower had been from him. He’d smile back and blush as he continued to eat breakfast. I was right! Neither of us would say anything then, but we’d both know. We’d know that something great could happen.” “The day would go on like any ordinary day, but I would feel energized, nervous, alive with the possibilities of what might be coming. I’d go to lunch and there would be another flower and another note beside my plate. The note wouldn’t be much, just a quick scrawl of something he’d had time to write between classes. Something about the smile we had shared. I’d know that he’d been nervous enough about my reaction that he hadn’t prepared a second note, but hopeful enough to have had another flower.” Again, Hermione’s audience sighed. Parvati had actually clasped her hands under her chin and was staring dreamily at the wall just over Hermione’s shoulder. Lavender looked as though she couldn’t believe that bookish, secretive, practical Hermione was capable of imagining something this good. “Afternoon classes would pass without another word, but the feeling of anticipation would increase exponentially as they day wore on. At supper, another flower and another note, a short note that would ask me to meet him, at a later time, in a place only the two of us would know. It wouldn’t be a romantically significant place, but a place where we had shared an important event in our lives. Somewhere that he would be sure I couldn’t forget. Somewhere we could talk privately.” “After supper, I would excuse myself and go back to the dormitory. I would try to make my hair do something, anything, and wait nervously for the appointed time. I’d eventually leave early and pace the grounds, or the library, or anywhere so I could try to calm my nerves.” “Eventually, the time would come and I would go to our meeting place,” she paused lost in her very special dream. “There he’d be. He would look as nervous as I felt, but when he first saw me his smile would be so bright it could light up the night. I’d smile timidly, look at my feet, then look up to see him crossing toward me holding an enormous bouquet of daisies. The smile on his face would be the best present I could ever hope to receive.” Parvati interrupted here, “A whole bunch of daisies!” she exclaimed. “That is so perfect! What would he say?” Hermione hesitated again. She heard his voice in her head as she said the words, “’I can’t believe I’ve waited so long to do this. Do you have any idea how long I’ve fancied you?’ “I wouldn’t be able to talk, but I’d gently shake my head as I met his eyes. I’d hope that he could see all the love and happiness I was feeling reflected there. A small tear would escape my eye as the joy I was feeling overflowed. He would meet my gaze as he moved to wipe the tear away, his eyes a mirror of all I was feeling. As he handed me the flowers, he would lean in and brush my lips with his.” Oh, Ron. Hermione wished it could be more than a dream. She seemed to come out of her reverie and glanced quickly around the room. Parvati and Lavender were lost in her vision. At last Lavender spoke, “Wow!” she said breathlessly. “All I wanted was a letter and jewelry. That was perfect. I didn’t know you could be so romantic.” Parvati asked, “Are you sure you won’t tell us who it is?” “No,” Hermione said with a shaky laugh. “I’m only dreaming anyway.” **** Ron sat alone in the dormitory, a piece of parchment on his lap and about 30 crumpled pieces on the floor beside his bed. He stared at the blank sheet of paper and thought about Hermione. What could he say to let her know how he felt? He flung himself backward onto his pillow in frustration. He’d tried everything from poetry to open declarations of love, but nothing felt right. If he was actually going to work up the nerve to do this, he had to do something that she would like. Something that she’d appreciate even if he’d read the signs wrong. Something that won’t make her kill me if she doesn’t feel the same way. Of course, he could never sign it. That would require more courage than that of all the Gryffindors put together. If she guessed it was from him and seemed happy, he’d find a way to let her know. If she couldn’t figure it out, at least she’d know that someone appreciated her. Finally, he thought about her laugh and began to write. “Your smile is like a ray of sunshine. Your laugh is the wind that makes the field of daisies dance in the spring.” There, he thought, Hermione will like that. Now I just have to work up the courage to give it to her. **** Harry had spent the last 5 minutes gazing, undetected, at Ginny. She seemed to be lost in a beautiful daydream. The firelight was reflected in her gorgeous hair, her eyes starry as her mind wandered far from the Gryffindor common room. Harry loved it when she dreamed like this. It gave him the chance to watch her. It was doubly wonderful when Ron and Hermione were gone. He didn’t have to endure Hermione’s knowing smile or the fear that Ron would realize what he was doing and kill him. Oh, but what a way to go, he thought. When Ginny sighed for about the thousandth time, he mustered his courage and crossed to the window. “Ginny?” he questioned tentatively. “Are you alright?” Ginny started at the sound of his voice. She truly had been in her own little world. She looked up into his incredible green eyes and sighed yet again. “Yeah. I’m fine, Harry. Just thinking.” “Thinking about what?” he asked. About me? he hoped. “I was just thinking that if two people are really in love, they shouldn’t need some stupid holiday for them to show it. They should spend every day doing special things for each other. They should use every day to show the other person how important they are to them. They shouldn’t waste a minute. Life’s too short.” She paused here for a moment, meeting Harry’s eyes with that hard, blazing look he’d come to recognize. Then she shyly looked away. “Life’s too short,” she mumbled again. Harry looked out at the softly falling snow and asked, with a courage he didn’t know he possessed, “Miss Weasley, would you care to go for a walk with me?” Ginny again met his gaze. She smiled softly and replied, “It would be my pleasure.” The two grabbed their cloaks and crawled through the portrait hole. As they left, Neville, flushed from the cold, was making his way toward the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. “Hi Neville,” Ginny said cheerfully. “How’s the weather?” “What? Oh, I don’t know,” Neville stammered. He seemed very flustered. “Snowy. Cold.” He smiled. “Just about perfect I guess,” he smiled again and disappeared into the common room. Harry and Ginny exchanged a look and a smile. They shrugged and continued down the stairs. They met Luna just outside the front doors. She was twirling in circles, her arms spread wide, her gaze directed heavenward. “She seems happy,” Harry said with a wink as he and Ginny walked out into the night. “Hi Luna,” said Ginny cheerfully, “What brings you outside tonight?” Luna responded with a voice that was less dreamy than usual. “Neville,” she said simply. “He asked me to meet him out here tonight. We went for a walk by the lake and he gave me this.” She held out a simple charm bracelet filled with the most unusual charms Ginny and Harry had ever seen. With just a quick glance they could pick out a thestral, a newspaper, and a Ravenclaw eagle. Luna smiled at her friends. “He told me he’d fancied me for a long time. He asked me if I’d be his girlfriend. And then…he sang to me.” At this, Harry and Ginny looked at each other and tried to stifle matching grins. “I have no idea what he was thinking!” she continued. “Neville has many strengths, but singing is not one of them. It was absolutely the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.” Luna went back to twirling. She stopped suddenly and grabbed Harry and Ginny into a tight embrace. “It was just the most magnificent night I could have imagined. Of course, I’ve liked him for ages, and guessed that he liked me, I just never expected him to work up the courage to do anything about it.” Luna laughed, hugged Harry and Ginny again, and ran into the castle. Once she was inside, Harry and Ginny looked at each other and burst out laughing. Ginny spoke first, “I’m so happy for them. She really has like him for ages. He stuck up for her once when Malfoy was teasing her. I don’t think anyone had done that for her before.” Harry smiled and said, “I’d guess that Neville hadn’t stuck up for many people before, either.” They walked in silence down to the Quidditch pitch. They sat in the raised seats and looked out over the stadium. Harry thought about what she’d said earlier about true love and realized that she was right. When two people were really in love they didn’t need grand gestures or overblown holidays. They just needed to be happy and content in the small, everyday moments they got to spend together. He’d have time to tell her how he felt, but it didn’t have to be today. For today, they could be happy to just be together. “I wish we would have brought our brooms,” Ginny said, “It’s a great night for flying.” “It’s a pretty great night just as it is,” Harry responded. He nudged Ginny’s leg with his. She looked up at him and they smiled at each other. “Yeah, it is,” she said and turned her gaze back toward the stars. They sat quietly, enjoying the clear February night, the softly falling snow, and each other. |
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