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SIYE Time:9:26 on 29th March 2024
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Valentine's Day Revenge
By Jim McGuffin

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Category: Hogsmeade Challenge (2005-1)
Characters:None
Genres: Fluff, General
Warnings: None
Story is Complete
Rating: PG
Reviews: 11
Summary: What's this? Does Harry actually agree to go to Madam Puddifoot's wth Ginny? He does -- in order to get revenge on Cho.
Hitcount: Story Total: 5057







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Disclaimer: Rowling, not me.

A/N: In case you don't know, this story is actually a continuation of the stories I've written for other challenges here at SIYE.

What's this? A fic I've written actually has "Fluff" listed as one of the genres? This fic is the result of a month-and-a-half of discussion with fluff writers, much notably St. Margarets.

And as usual, I submit this fic without a beta. You know the drill -- you the readers are like my betas.


After an unusually mild January, the first day of February was cold and bitter. The Gryffindor Quidditch team members were looking forward to their second Quidditch match of the season, which was a week away. The team was still seeking its first victory of the season. Yet Captain Katie Bell was still finding every excuse not to hold very many practice sessions.

“It’s too cold outside,” said Katie.

“Come on,” Ron insisted. “We gotta win next week or Gryffindor’s through.”

“That’s right,” Harry agreed. “We’re desperate for a win.”

So Katie grudgingly led the Gryffindor players out to the pitch. After Harry and the others mounted their broom, she discussed her strategy with the team.

“We play Ravenclaw next week,” she began. “Now we know that Ravenclaw’s Chasers aren’t that good, especially now that Roger Davies has left, but their Seeker, Cho --”

“Uh, Katie,” Ron interrupted, “we’re playing Hufflepuff, not Ravenclaw.”

“Oh yeah, right,” said Katie. “That changes everything. Last year, Hufflepuff won on the strength of its Chasers, so we need to practice defending against them.”

“Why don’t we try practicing the Hawkshead Attacking Formation?” Ginny proposed.

“The Hawkshead Attacking Formation?” Katie asked incredulously.

“Of course,” Ginny continued. “We three Chasers fly towards the opposing goal posts in a V-pattern and intimidate the Hufflepuff Chasers into dropping the Quaffle. The Holyhead Harpies pull off this move all the time, very successfully, I might add.”

By now even Harry was becoming irritated at how incompetent their Captain was. “You call yourself our Captain and a Chaser, and yet you nothing about Chaser moves?”

“Oh, the Hawkshead Attacking Formation,” said Katie confidently as if she knew the move all along. “Well then, the three of us Chasers will practice the Hawkshead Attacking Formation. Ron, you can act as the opposing Chaser.”

She handed Ron the Quaffle, then she, Ginny, and Natalie McDonald began to practice the move. As she had not let out the Snitch, Harry began a few speed drills on his broom, circling around the pitch. He watched as Katie and Ginny charged towards Ron, forcing him to drop the Quaffle. But the Quaffle fell to the ground.

“It doesn’t work if you don’t catch the Quaffle, Natalie,” Katie reprimanded her. “Maybe it would be better if you and Ginny were to switch places.”

So Katie and Natalie zoomed towards Ron this time. He let go of the Quaffle, but this time Ginny was able to retrieve it. Ron chased after his sister, but she was no match for him as she sped across the pitch and threw the goal through one of the hoops on the offensive side.

“Wow!” said Harry out loud. He was impressed by how fast Ginny had become, for he had always seen Ron fly faster than she did.

Indeed, not even a moderate rainfall was able to slow Ginny down. They continued to practice the Hawkshead until Katie felt that the weather was no longer fit for Quidditch practice.

The next day was Sunday. Apparently it had snowed overnight, for as Harry looked outside his window, he could see a thick white carpet on the Hogwarts grounds. But the weather did not really matter, for he, Ron, and Hermione were stuck indoors anyway to finish their homework. Hermione had to finish her Arithmancy essay, Ron had Divination, and Harry still had to practice changing his quill into a living beast as Professor McGonagall had started the spring term with animal transformations. Ron began to stare out the window.

“Ron,” said Hermione, “you’d finish your work much faster if you’d stop staring outside.”

“I am finishing my work,” her boyfriend replied. “I can see that it is an overcast day with loads of snow.”

“And what has that to do with your work?” Hermione inquired.

“Professor Trelawney tells us that if the hedgehog sees its shadow, it will be six more weeks of winter,” Ron told the others. “But it is snowing, so it can’t see it shadow, and so there will be an early spring.”

“I hope that it’ll be spring by the time of our Quidditch match,” said Harry.

“As if this wasn’t all just a load of rubbish, mate,” said Ron.

“And besides,” Hermione added, “it’s not as if there’s a hedgehog on the grounds anyway.”

“There would be,” said Harry as he continued to point his wand at his quill, “if I can ever do this Transfiguration right.”

They finally finished their work just before dinner. So the three of them headed down for the Great Hall. As they ate their meal of chicken and rice, a large owl delivered the Evening Prophet to Hermione.

“Hmmm,” Harry commented, “that owl looks just like Hedwig.”

But then the owl shook off the snow from its body, revealing its black feathers. The snow landed directly on Harry’s plate.

“I guess not then,” Harry said.

“Harry, Ron,” said Hermione suddenly. “Something terrible has happened!”

She shoved the newspaper in front of them, and Harry began to read:

SECOND WAR, FIRST ATTACK: TWO DEAD, FOURTEEN INJURED, ONE D.E. CAPTURED

HOGSMEADE, Earlier Today -- The Second War officially began as a band of three Death Eaters descended upon the all-wizarding village. Bellatrix Lestrange, Gary Goyle, and a third assailant who is yet to be identified Apparated into town and began using the Unforgivables left and right. Filius Flitwick, who has been missing for three months, had Apparated ahead of the Dark wizards. He dueled Goyle and used Stupefy to incapacitate him until Aurors arrived.

“Once I had disappeared on Halloween night,” Flitwick told the Prophet in an interview just after the attack, “I found myself in the middle of a thick forest somewhere on the Continent. I fed myself on various herbs and drank from a spring until I could regain the strength to Apparate.

“But then earlier today I heard a rustling sound from behind some shrubs, and I saw the Death Eaters, ready to attack me. So I used every ounce I had to Apparate to Hogsmeade. But they must have figured out where I was, since they followed me directly to the village. Then I drew my wand, and so did Goyle. We dueled for several hours until I Stupefied him.”

But by this time, Lestrange and her companion had murdered Mr. and Mrs. Jean, an elderly couple who lived on the outskirts of the village, as well as injured 14 others, ranging in age from a girl of five years to a sesquicentenarian wizard, before Aurors arrived.

“The 14 survivors have suffered various broken bones, sprains, and other injuries,” said Nymphadora Tonks, Auror and currently History of Magic professor at Hogwarts. “It would risk further injury to send them all the way to St. Mungo’s, so instead they will be sent to the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts.”

Tonks said that she had heard the commotion all the way from her office in the castle. Alert as any Auror would be, she Summoned a school broom and flew directly to the scene of the attack. Lestrange and her companion Disapparated upon spotting the young witch.

“We had known that an attack on Hogsmeade was imminent,” Tonks continued. “This is exactly why Dumbledore wanted me, as an Auror, to be near Hogwarts at all times.”

The attacks have forced the shutdown of all Hogsmeade businesses until further notice.

“There’s no point in remaining open anyway,” said Madam Puddifoot, owner of a small tea shop in downtown Hogsmeade. “With Gringotts still closed, there’s been very little business for us anyway.”

The funeral service for the Jeans will be held on Thursday, 6 February.


“That is unbelievable,” said Ron incredulously.

“I know,” Harry agreed. “But at least Flitwick is all right.”

“Good thing he’s a former Dueling Champion,” said Hermione.

“This is horrible,” said Natalie McDonald, the Gryffindor Chaser. “I’m finally old enough to go to Hogsmeade, and this has to happen.”

“Yeah,” said Ron. “We were supposed to go to Hogsmeade in a fortnight. I wonder what --”

“Shhh!” Hermione hissed. She pointed towards the staff table, where Professor Dumbledore stood, ready to address the students.

“Students of Hogwarts,” the headmaster began, “I have some good news for all of you. I am happy to announce the return of Professor Flitwick to our school. He has heroically fought the Death Eaters and was able to bring one of them to justice. He will resume teaching Charms lessons tomorrow.”

Professor Flitwick stood up, and the students all cheered for him. He had only suffered a minor cut on his wand hand.

“And let us all congratulate Professor Tonks for answering the call of duty and making sure that the injured civilians receive the care they need.”

Tonks rose to receive her ovation, but then Dumbledore returned to the podium.

“But now I am afraid I must give you some bad news as well,” he announced. “The business owners of the local village have all agreed to cancel the upcoming Hogsmeade weekend.”

There were a few murmurs among the students. Many of them, impoverished by the goblins’ strike and ensuing Gringotts closure, had not had anything to look forward to at Hogsmeade anyway. Even Harry already spent all his money he had saved since the previous summer.

“But fortunately,” the headmaster continued, “the teachers and I have found a way for you students to have fun in Hogsmeade anyway.

“As some of you are already aware,” and Dumbledore winked at Harry as he said this, “there is a room on the seventh floor, near the tapestry of St. Barnaby, that has some special powers. The house-elves have named it the Room of Requirement, because it provides the enterer with whatever he or she requires.

“Now what we all require is a trip to Hogsmeade. So the room will provide us with the village. On each of the next four Fridays, one of the Houses will send its members to the Room of Requirement. The Head of House will let you in, and you will enjoy the room and purchase items just as you would if it were the actual Hogsmeade village.”

“Let me get this straight,” Draco Malfoy called out. “You expect us to believe that there’s a room in Hogwarts that’s big enough to contain all of Hogsmeade? You must be crazy!”

“It is true,” said Dumbledore. “But since you choose not to believe me, I choose that Slytherin will not be permitted to enter until the final day of this month. As for the House which will be permitted to enter this first Friday --”

“We’ve got a Quidditch match the next day!” Zacharias Smith interrupted. “So we don’t want the first Friday at all.”

“I am aware,” the headmaster has replied, “that there are to be two Quidditch matches this month as a result of the odd scheduling this year forced by the Halloween maze back in October. Hufflepuff will be playing, yes, Gryffindor this Saturday, and Ravenclaw will battle Slytherin on the twenty-second. In that case, I choose that Ravenclaw will enter this Friday. Now which House should I choose to be the lucky House to be permitted to enter on Valentine’s Day, Hufflepuff or Gryffindor?”

“Give it to whoever wins the Quidditch match on Saturday!” Zack called out again.

“What an excellent idea, Mr. Smith,” said Dumbledore. “And now that it is getting late, I suggest that we all head upstairs to bed.”

As soon as Harry and Ron returned to their dormitory, Seamus Finnegan immediately brought up the upcoming House activity.

“I just asked Lavender to go with me to the Hogsmeade Room on Valentine’s Day,” he proudly announced to his dormmates. “Who are you taking, Dean?”

“Well, technically,” Dean Thomas began, “we don’t know that it will be on Valentine’s Day yet --”

“Sure we do,” said Seamus, “because we’ve got the best Seeker and Keeper in the school, ain’t that right, Harry and Ron?”

“Of course we do,” said Ron triumphantly. “Anyway, I’m taking Hermione, of course.”

“I haven’t asked anyone yet,” said Neville Longbottom, “and I might not ask anyone at all.”

“How about Loony Luna Lovegood?” asked Seamus.

“No thanks,” Neville replied. “Her wilder flights of fancy are alarming.”

“Okay, then,” said Seamus as he turned his attention to Harry. “And you, Harry? I know you’ve got your eyes on that special girl.”

“What special girl?” Harry asked.

“Well, let’s not mention her in front of Dean here,” Seamus began, “but --”

“You can always take Parvati again,” Ron broke in, “just as you did for the Yule Ball.”

“He will not,” Dean insisted, “because I’m taking Parvati.”

So all of his roommates had believed that he would take Parvati to Hogsmeade, Harry was thinking. But his date with Parvati that night had been a disaster. Oh, why couldn’t he had been the first to ask Cho?

But then he thought back to the following year, when he did ask Cho Chang out. In fact, his date with Cho had also been on Valentine’s Day, and it was in the actual Hogsmeade village. But then he remembered that his date with Cho had not fared well either. Indeed, he had not even thought about girls much at all since he had broken up with Cho, and indeed, he still wasn’t sure whether he could forgive Cho for bringing the traitor Marietta Edgecombe to the DA meetings. He wished that Gryffindor’s day in the Room of Requirement were not on that most dreaded of all days, Valentine’s Day. He was even considering throwing the match so that Gryffindor would not go until the following week.

That night Harry had a strange dream. It had nothing to do with Voldemort or his scar, but instead he found himself back at the Yule Ball.

“You’re always looking at other girls and never at me,” Parvati was saying in an annoyed tone.

Then, suddenly, the scene changed to Madam Puddifoot’s, and he was now facing his ex-girlfriend Cho.

“You never want to talk about Cedric with me,” Cho was saying.

Then the girl he was facing changed rather quickly to Susan Bones, Daphne Greengrass, Pansy Parkinson, and finally to Ginny Weasley, in that order.

“Let’s win it for Gryffindor! You know you want to!” Ginny was smiling, and Harry couldn’t believe just how beautiful her smile was. He had the sudden urge to embrace her, to hug her, to kiss her.

“No,” she said, “you can’t kiss me yet, Harry.”

But for some reason, Harry could not resist. He moved towards Ginny, ready to snog her --

Suddenly, Ginny grew taller, her hair shorter, and her voice deeper.

“Wake up, Harry, or we’ll be late for Charms!” Ron was saying, and Harry suddenly found himself back in his own bed.

So he dressed himself and followed Ron downstairs towards the Great Hall. As Harry ate breakfast, he was thinking about the dream he just had. He could not believe that he had just had such dreams about Ginny, his own best friend’s sister! He was certainly grateful that Ron was not a Legilimens, for he did not know what Ron would do if he knew of whom his best mate just had been dreaming.

In Charms class, Professor Flitwick was there to teach his first lesson in three months. He addressed the class of N.E.W.T.-level students.

“Would anyone like to inform me where you left off with Professor Weasley?”

Harry raised his hand to let Flitwick know that they had left off on Cheering Charms.

“Yes, Thomas?” Flitwick turned to Dean.

“Show us again how you dueled against that Death Eater last night?”

“That is not why we are here in this class now,” Flitwick replied. “Yes, Corner?”

“I want to see you demonstrate your moves against the Death Eater too,” said a dark-haired Ravenclaw.

“Answer my question,” Flitwick insisted. “Yes, Longbottom, and I hope it’s not about the duel.”

Neville put down his hand. Flitwick gave in and decided to show the class which charms and spells he had used the previous day against the Death Eater Goyle. Harry was not sure he wanted to see Flitwick relive the battle, since duels brought back painful memories of the fateful duel between his godfather Sirius Black and Bellatrix Lestrange, one which proved fatal for him.

After class, Harry asked, “Hermione, why didn’t you raise your hand in class when Professor Flitwick asked about the previous Charms lessons?”

“Well,” she said, “I thought that it would be educational to see exactly how he defeated the Death Eater. I mean, we are in a war after all, and so we may need to know how to handle one. Bye, Harry! Bye, Ron! It’s off to Arithmancy for me.”

She kissed Ron lightly on the lips, then headed off upstairs.

Ron stared at Harry. “What’s the matter, mate? Is there some reason that you didn’t want to watch Flitwick’s moves in class today?”

“Well,” Harry began, but he was interrupted when Ginny suddenly approached them in the corridor.

“Ron,” she said, “don’t you want to say good-bye to Bill?” For Bill Weasley, their eldest brother, was now out of a job since Flitwick had returned to Charms and Gringotts was still closed. “He’ll be returning to the Burrow for the time being.”

“Well, I was on my way to Divination, but that can wait,” said Ron. So he headed towards the Charms teacher’s office, hoping to catch his brother before he finished packing away his belongings.

Meanwhile, Harry couldn’t bear to look at Ginny. His dream was still fresh in his mind, and a million thoughts started to pass through his brain. Should he ask Ginny out to the Hogsmeade Room? But he did not really see Ginny in that way. It had all been a dream, had it not? And besides, what would Ron say were he to ask Ginny out? What would Ginny herself say? After all, he knew that Ginny, who had once had a crush on him since her first year, was no longer attracted to him.

He did not want to think about Ginny anymore. He was aware, of course, that she would be present at Quidditch practice, but he did not have to attend practice. After all, he was going to throw the match anyway, so why bother practice?

“Harry,” said Ginny, and Harry was suddenly brought back to earth, “I need to ask you a favor.”

“What?” Harry asked, still thinking about his dream.

“Would you go to the Hogsmeade room with me this Friday?” she asked.

Harry was dumbfounded. Was Ginny actually asking him out on a date? After agonizing over his dream, whether or not it meant anything, and whether he should ask Ginny out, suddenly she asks him out?

He looked at Ginny and smiled, for she was even more beautiful than in his dream. Perhaps he would be able to finish his dream and actually kiss her. In fact, he almost wanted to kiss her right then and there. But then he thought about what she had said, and suddenly noticed there was something wrong with the way she had asked.

“Ginny,” said Harry, “Ravenclaw is this Friday, not Gryffindor.” Was Ginny suddenly becoming just as forgetful as Katie?

“I know,” she said as she tried to supress a giggle. “I want to go to Zonko’s Joke Shop and play some tricks on my ex-boyfriend, Michael.”

“Why do you need me to help you?” Harry asked.

“Because I need your Invisibility Cloak,” she replied. “And besides, I’m sure you want to get back at Cho the same way I want to get back at Michael, the way their friend betrayed the DA and all.”

What Ginny said made sense, Harry realized. And so he agreed to accompany her on Friday.

“Now, Harry, you were with Cho last year. Where in Hogsmeade does she like to go anyway?”

“Madam Puddifoot’s,” Harry said instantly.

“Great,” said Ginny. “She’ll take Michael in there too. We’ll get them for sure. Well then, bye Harry! See you on Friday. Oh, and don’t tell Ron or Hermione. This is something we must do ourselves.”

It was not until late that evening that Harry realized what he had just agreed to. He had just agreed to go to Madam Puddifoot’s, the most romantic place Hogwarts, with Ginny, the girl he had dreamt about. Sure, it was for other than romantic purposes, but still, it was better than nothing.

Two days had passed, and Harry was thinking about nothing but Ginny. Professor Lupin had taken five points from Gryffindor because he was distracted in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Hermione was starting to become suspicious.

“What’s the matter with you, Harry?” she asked him after class.

“Isn’t it obvious?” asked Ron. “He’s nervous about the upcoming Quidditch match. And honestly, so am I, because we really need to win this match or our season is history.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right,” Harry lied. It was a good thing that Katie had cancelled Quidditch practice all week, or else he would have been even more distracted by Ginny’s presence.

At dinner that evening, Harry could not help staring at Ginny even more. She was now sitting at the Ravenclaw table speaking to Luna.

“They’ve done it again,” Luna was saying in her usually dreary voice.

“What did they take this time?” Ginny asked.

“They’ve taken almost everything that’s in my underwear drawer,” Luna replied. “My socks, and even my knickers.”

“That’s horrible. So what are you going to do about it?”

“Nothing. My things will turn up eventually.”

“You can’t just do nothing,” said Ginny, “or the seventh-years will just keep taking your things over and over again.” Then when she saw the other Ravenclaws staring at them, she leaned down towards Luna and continued in a whisper.

“Why do you keep looking at the Ravenclaw table, Harry?” Hermione asked abruptly. “Is there something you aren’t telling us about your plans for the upcoming Hogsmeade room?”

“You aren’t seeing Cho again, are you?” asked Ron.

“Of course not,” Harry replied as he quickly turned his head towards the Hufflepuff table.

“Well, Hermione,” said Ron as he set his fork upon his empty plate, “it’s off to the library again, right?”

“Yes, my dear,” Hermione smiled. Harry knew that his two best friends were discussing one of their favorite places to snog. He continued to pick at his steak-and-kidney pie.

“Harry,” came Ginny’s voice out of the blue. Harry looked up and saw that she and Luna were now sitting at the Gryffindor table, right where Ron and Hermione had just been sitting.

“Harry,” Ginny repeated, “I’ve convinced Luna to help us on Friday. She’s in Ravenclaw, so she can help warn us in case something goes wrong with our plan.”

“Whatever you say, Ginny,” said Harry, determined not to look directly at her and trigger memories of the dream again.

Two more days passed, and it was finally Friday. The Ravenclaws were excused from their classes that day so that they could enjoy the entire day in the Room of Requirement. Harry, on the other hand, was supposed to Transfiguration with Hermione. Ron was not in the class, for he had received only an “A” in the subject on his O.W.L. the previous year.

“Harry,” said Hermione, her eyebrows raised, “it’s not normal for you to be carrying your Invisibility Cloak to Transfiguration, is it?”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” said Harry, “I thought it was my essay. I’d better go back to Gryffindor Tower and get it.”

“But Harry, our homework was practical, not an essay!”

But by this time Harry had already turned into another corridor and donned the cloak. He sneaked back to Gryffindor Tower, where Ginny was waiting for him.

“Harry,” she said, “where did you go?”

“I had to make it appear to Hermione that I was heading for class,” Harry replied.

“Well, I just had to tell Ron that Katie wanted to meet him at the Quidditch pitch immediately,” said Ginny, “for he was just sitting right here in front of the fire. Well, let’s go to the Room of Requirement.”

The corridor was silent and empty, except for Peeves, who was floating around as usual. Harry and Ginny, both hidden under the cloak, headed for the tapestry of St. Barnabas. They saw the Ravenclaws lined up outside the Room of Requirement. Professor Flitwick, the Ravenclaw Head of House, opened the door, and one by one, each of the Ravenclaws entered the room. Luna lingered behind. Once the others had entered, she called out, “Harry, Ginny, are you there?”

“Yes,” Ginny hissed. “Thanks for holding the door open for us.”

Harry and Ginny entered the Room of Requirement as Luna shut the door behind them. It was a rather magnificent sight. The streets and buildings of Hogsmeade village lay before them under a thick white layer of snow.

“It’s amazing how powerful the Room of Requirement really is,” said Ginny.

“And we can enjoy Hogsmeade without the threat of Death Eaters,” Harry added.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Ginny asked. “Let’s go to Zonko’s.”

Although the Zonko’s of the real Hogsmeade had ceased operation due to a lack of business, this Zonko’s was fully operational. So Harry and Ginny walked into the store and found all the items they needed. The queue was long and slow, as Terry Boot was at the front of the line, having trouble deciding how many Filibuster’s Fireworks to buy.

“But wait a minute,” said Harry, “neither of us has any money. We can’t buy anything.”

“Check your pockets again,” said Ginny.

So Harry did, and it was filled to the brim with gold Galleons, silver Sickles, and bronze Knuts.

“We are, after all, in the Room of Requirement, and money is what we require,” Ginny reminded him.

Ginny removed the Invisibility Cloak, paid the wizard who was running the store, then returned to wearing the cloak.

“And now we go to Madam Puddifoot’s,” Ginny announced with glee.

She and Harry entered the tea shop. He never thought that he would be glad to set foot in here again. As usual, the room had been filled with the usual Valentine’s Day decorations.

“I’ll sit right here,” said Luna as she found a table for one person. She began to read the February Quibbler.

“I see them,” Ginny whispered to Harry. Sure enough, Cho was sitting down at another one of the tables, this time with Michael. The two Gryffindors crawled under the table, in a position to pull their pranks.

“Two coffees, please,” Michael called out, and Madam Puddifoot Summoned a pair of cups filled to the brim with hot coffee. He and Cho drank their first cup, then an hour later began to snog, which was a rather sickening sight to Harry indeed.

“Here’s one I learned from the twins,” said Ginny, she replaced Michael’s cup with one that she had just purchased from Zonko’s. Madam Puddifoot poured Michael his second serving of coffee, and Michael let go of Cho long enough to begin drinking.

“Aaah!” Michael called out when the hot coffee splattered onto his robes. For Ginny had passed him the infamous Dribble Glass, a glass with holes around the top. So as it was tipped to the lips, its contents had leaked out onto the drinker.

“Frigido!” Cho pointed her wand at Michael in order to cool him off. During the momentary distraction, Harry replaced the sugar bowl with a bowl of Sneezing Powder.

“My drink needs more sugar,” said Cho. Seconds later, the sneezing fit began, and Cho fell from her chair.

“Do you have a cold, my dear?” Michael asked.

When Cho stopped sneezing, she finally said, “You have something on your lips, Mike.”

“What is it?” Michael rubbed his fingers below his nose and discovered that he had grown whiskers.

Cho returned to her chair. She immediately screamed and stood right back up. For Harry had placed his quill there and was finally able to transform it into a hedgehog, and Cho had just sat directly on its extremely sharp spikes.

“Why is all of this happening to us?” Cho complained.

At that moment, the cherubim flew in, but rather than confetti, they threw down some Filibuster’s Fireworks all over the tea shop.

“I’ve had enough of this!” Cho began to cry and hurried out of the tea shop. Michael hurried after her in order to comfort her.

“You did not pay for that coffee!” said Madam Puddifoot, and she followed the Ravenclaw couple outside.

Meanwhile the other Ravenclaws in the store saw the fireworks and evacuated the tea shop as well, including Robert Davies, Roger’s younger brother, and his blonde girlfriend. Only Luna remained where she was sitting, with a plain, disinterested look on her face as if nothing had happened. Then she walked to the table where the Gryffindors were and said, “You two can come out from hiding now.”

Harry and Ginny removed the Invisibility Cloak and left the table under which they had hidden. Neither one was able to stop laughing.

“Wasn’t that the same blonde the other Davies brother was with last year?” Ginny asked.

“That’s Kelly, a girl in my dormitory,” said Luna. “She’s probably kissed half the boys in Ravenclaw, not to mention some of the teachers. I heard she snogged Dumbledore once.”

“Your twin brothers would be proud of you, Ginny!” Harry broke in.

“Did you see the look on Cho’s face when she sat on the hedgehog?” Ginny asked.

“She was crying like the hosepipe she is,” Harry replied as he slapped palms with Ginny. “But next time, let’s just go to the Three Broomsticks, okay?”

“What do you mean, next time?” Ginny asked.

“I mean next week, when it’s Gryffindor’s turn in the Hogsmeade room,” Harry explained.

“Are you asking me out on a date, Harry potter?”

Harry thought about it to himself. Yes, that was what he really wanted. So he finally summoned his Gryffindor courage and spoke what was on his mind.

“Yes,” he said quietly.

“I’d be delighted,” Ginny replied, smiling. Harry realized that now was his chance to make his dream come true. He leaned in towards her, ready to kiss her.

Madam Puddifoot suddenly returned to the store. She looked rather angry when she saw Harry and Ginny and started to yell at them.

“Did you two set off those fireworks in my -- the scar! You’re Harry Potter of Gryffindor, aren’t you? You Gryffindors aren’t supposed to be in Hogsmeade!”

“Run!” Harry called out, and he, Ginny, and Luna rushed past Madam Puddifoot as fast as they could. But Ginny, who was far ahead of the other two, fell on her face, a victim of the extremely slippery ground.

“Her nose is broken,” said Luna, running up to inspect her friend. “We must get her to the hospital wing.”

So Harry and Luna took Ginny and headed for the door of the Room of Requirement. They could hear Madam Puddifoot call out to Professor Flitwick, “Stop those Gryffindors. They tried to destroy my tea shop for no good reason.”

“I’d like to,” said Professor Flitwick, “but my wand hand is still injured.”

Thus Harry, Ginny, and Luna safely made it into the corridor outside the Room of Requirement. They arrived at the hospital wing. It was a depressing sight to Harry, having to see all the victims of the recent attack in the real Hogsmeade. Madam Pomfrey inspected the damage to Ginny’s face.

“It shall heal in a few days,” said Madam Pomfrey. “In the meantime, I cannot allow Miss Weasley to play Quidditch tomorrow.”

Oh no, Harry suddenly realized. He had forgotten all about the Quidditch match the next day!

“I can play Quidditch if I want,” Ginny insisted. “I don’t need my nose to play Quidditch.”

“No you may not,” Pomfrey repeated. “You may take a Bludger in the face and reinjure it. Indeed, to make sure that you don’t play, I won’t let you leave until after the match is over tomorrow.”

At that moment, Ron and Hermione appeared in the hospital wing.

“What happened to my sister?” Ron asked, and Harry explained everything about sneaking off to Hogsmeade, playing the pranks on Michael and Cho, and finally their escape from Madam Puddifoot’s that had resulted in Ginny’s injury.

“Isn’t it wonderful,” said Hermione, “that Harry and Ginny are finally together?” But Ron looked angry.

“So,” Harry said cautiously, “you don’t want me dating your sister?”

“It’s not that,” said Ron, “it’s that we’re now down a Chaser. And of course our so-called Captain Katie didn’t train any reserve Chasers. Even one of the Creeveys would have been fine. And with Hufflepuff’s front three so dominant, there’s no way we can beat them. There goes my Valentine date with Hermione.”

“We can still win,” said Harry confidently. “All I need to do is catch the Snitch quickly.”

“Good luck,” said Ginny. Harry tried to kiss her again, but Madam Pomfrey held him back.

The next day, Harry and Ron woke up early for the match. On the way to the pitch, they passed right by Ravenclaw Tower. Luna walked out, the usual Gryffindor Quidditch lion hat on her head.

“Accio hat!” came the voice of Marietta Edgecombe, and the lion hat landed in her hands. She grabbed the hat and said, “Now we have all of Luna’s clothes. Let’s play keep away!”

Marietta passed the clothing to her fellow seventh-years. Luna said, “Give that back! You’ve got my hat and my dress robes and -- are those my knickers you’re trying to hide?”

“Twenty points from Ravenclaw,” said Professor McGonagall as she happened to walk past. “Return those articles of clothing from where you found them.”

Once she retrieved her hat, Luna said to Ron and Harry. “I hope they didn’t, by throwing my hat everywhere like that, destroy the hat’s newest feature.”

She grabbed the hat and pressed the button. The hat began to sing the Gryffindor rendition of “Weasley Is Our King,” over and over again.

“Will you please stop that thing from singing!” Ron called out.

Luna turned the hat off, and she followed Harry and Ron towards the pitch. Once they arrived, they were stopped by Draco Malfoy, accompanied by Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.

“The Quidditch Cup is as good as ours now,” said Malfoy. “There’s no way you’ll be able to catch up, ever since that Weasley girl decided to mess up her face.”

“Shut up, Malfoy,” said Harry angrily.

“Are you sitting on what I think you’re sitting on, Potter?” Malfoy spat out. “Don’t tell me you’re still riding one of the school brooms!”

Harry decided to change the subject. “Well, let’s see, your dad is in Azkaban, and now Goyle’s dad is in Azkaban as well. It won’t be long before one of your relatives lands there, Crabbe.”

“Did you say something about me?” Crabbe asked stupidly.

But right then Madam Hooch announced the start of the match. The Gryffindor and Hufflepuff players mounted their brooms.

"We need a victory if we're to have any chance of winning the Cup," said Captain Katie Bell.

She shook hands with Zack Smith and then the match was under way. Harry, Ron, and the rest of the Gryffindor team flew up on their brooms. For the first hour or so, no one scored any goals. Every time Ron saved a goal, the Hufflepuff Keeper Mackenzie Summers saved one as well.

"And Smith passes to Stebbins, who shoots," Dean was commenting, "and it's punched hard by Ron, and, hold on, this Quaffle looks like it has a chance to go the distance -- and it sails past Summers and right into the center goal! GOOOOOOOOOOAL! GOOOOOOOOOOAL! So Gryffindor finally scores to take a 10-nil lead!"

"Thomas," McGonagall scolded, "we do not have long goal calls like that in Quidditch."

While this was going on, Harry spotted the Snitch. He flew up on his broom as high as he could. The Hufflepuff Seeker Sammy Sommersby tried to follow him, but he was riding an old Nimbus model that did not have as much lift as Harry's school broom. So Harry beat him to the Snitch easily.

"He's got the Snitch!" Dean yelled. "Gryffindor has defeated Hufflepuff 160-nil!"

Katie Bell congratulated her team. "And that was an amazing accomplishment, Ron. Not only did you score the only Gryffindor goal of the game, it's also your first shutout ever!"

"Wow," said Ron, who was elated.

"Did Wood ever notch a shutout?" asked Harry.

"Actually, he did, only once," Katie replied. "But that was five years ago, also against Hufflepuff, when Harry caught the Snitch so fast that no one had time to score any goals in a 150-nil victory. And there were several shutouts back in the days of your brother Charlie, who also caught the Snitch fast often. But I think you have the first shutout ever which lasted more than a few minutes, Ron."

And so Ron reflected on his best performance ever as the Gryffindors began singing another rendition of the song "Weasley Is Our King," with Luna’s hat leading the way.

The following Friday was fourteenth of February, Valentine’s Day. And Gryffindor had won the right to go to the Hogsmeade room that day. By this time Ginny had recovered, and Ron, naturally, had bragged to her all about his record-breaking Quidditch performance.

Harry had had another dream the previous night. This time only Ginny appeared, and Harry found that the two of them were in the Three Broomsticks.

“You won it for Gryffindor,” Ginny was saying. “You caught the Snitch, just as you wanted to. Now kiss me, Harry Potter, just as you want to.”

And she was right, Harry thought. He did want to kiss her. And so he leaned in --

“Wake up,” said the short-haired, taller, masculine version of Ginny. “It’s time to go to the Room of Requirement and Hogsmeade.”

“Well then,” said Hermione upon arriving in the Room of Requirement, “why don’t Ron and I go one way, and Harry, you and Ginny can go the other way. Then we’ll all meet in the Three Broomsticks. How does that sound?”

“Perfect,” said Harry.

“Where should we go?” asked Ginny.

“To Scrivenshaft’s Quill Shop, of course,” Harry replied. “Somehow, my quill turned into a hedgehog and ran away after Cho tried to sit on it.”

Ginny laughed, obviously reminded of the previous week’s events. As Harry walked into Scrivenshaft’s, he thought about how much he had grown to love the girl who had once had a crush on him. She was always laughing, unlike Cho who was always crying, and she was much more beautiful than Cho ever was.

And when they finally reached the Three Broomsticks, Harry ordered a couple of butterbeers. And the girl of his dreams finally said, “Now you can kiss me, Harry.” And that was exactly what Harry did.
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