𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 (𝟐) || HARRY POTTER LOVE STORY

41

The sun had now begun to shine weakly on Hogwarts again. Inside the castle the mood had grown more hopeful. There had been no more attacks since those on Justin and Nearly Headless Nick, and Madam Pomfrey was pleased to report that the Mandrakes were becoming moody and secretive, meaning that they were fast leaving childhood.

"The moment their acne clears up, they'll be ready for repotting again" Julie heard her telling Filch kindly one afternoon. "And after that, it won't be long until we're cutting them up and stewing them. You'll have Mrs Norris back in no time."

Perhaps the heir of Slytherin had lost his or her nerve, Julie thought. It must be getting riskier and riskier to open the Chamber of Secrets, with the school so alert and suspicious. Perhaps the monster, whatever it was, was even now settling itself down to hibernate for another fifty years...

Ernie Macmillan of Hufflepuff didn't take my cheerful view. He was still convinced that Harry was the guilty one, that he had given himself away at the Duelling Club.

Peeves wasn't helping matters: he kept popping up in the crowded corridors singing "Oh Potter, you rotter.." now with a dance-routine to match.

Lockhart seemed to think he himself had made the attacks stop. Harry and Julie overheard him telling Professor McGonagall so while the Gryffindors were lining up for Transfiguration.

"I don't think ther'll be any more trouble, Minerva" he said, tapping his nose knowingly and winking. "I think the Chamber has been locked for good this time. The culprit must have known it was only a matter of time before I caught them. Rather sensible to stop now, before I came down hard on them. You know, what the school needs now is a morale-booster. Wash away the memories of last term! I won't say any more just now, but I think I know just the thing..."

He tapped his nose again and strode off.
Lockhart's idea of a morale-booster became clear at breakfast time on February the fourteenth.

Harry and Julie hadn't had much sleep because of a late-running Quidditch practice the night before, and they hurried down to the Great Hall slightly late. Julie thought, for a moment, that they'd walked through the wrong doors.

The walls were all covered with large, lurid pink flowers. Worse still, heart-shaped confetti was falling from the pale blue ceiling. Harry and Julie went over to the Gryffindor table, where Ron was sitting looking sickened, and Hermione seemed to have come over rather giggly.

"What's going on?" Harry asked Hermione and Ron, while he and Julie were sitting down opposite of them.

Ron pointed to the teachers' table, apparently too disgusted to speak. Lockhart, wearing lurid pink robes to match the decorations, was waving for silence. The teachers on either side of him were looking stony-faced. From where Julie sat, she could see a muscle going in Professor McGonagall's cheek. Snape looked as though someone had just fed him a large beaker of Skele-Gro.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" Lockhart shouted. "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!"

Lockhart clapped his hands and through the doors to the Entrance Hall marched a dozen surly-looking dwarfs. Not just any dwarfs, however. Lockhart had them all wearing golden wings and carrying harps.

"My friendly, card-carrying cupids." beamed Lockhart. "They will be roving around the school today delivering your Valentines! And the fun doesn't stop here! Im sure my colleagues will want to enter into the spirit of the occasion"

"Excuse me, Professor Lockhart?" Julie said loudly. "I was wondering if Professor Snape would be so kind to show me how to whip up a Love Potion."

"Excellent idea, Miss Clarke!" beamed Lockhart, ignoring everyones laughter. "And while you're at it, Professor Flitwick knows more about Entrancing Enchantments than any wizard I've ever met, the sly old dog!"

Professor Flitwick buried his face in his hands. Snape was looking as though the first person to ask him for a Love Potion would be force-fed poison.

Suddenly Harry reached for Julie's hand and their fingers were entwined a moment later. Her stomach immediately turned in a pleasant way at his touch.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Jules." Harry whispered while looking into her eyes.

"Happy Valentine's Day..." she muttered as she felt her cheeks turn red and her heart skip a beat.

All day long, the dwarfs kept barging into their classes to deliver Valentines, to the annoyance of the teachers. Julie was surprised to see that she got at least 5 valentine cards and later that afternoon, as the Gryffindors were walking upstairs for Charms, one of them caught up with Harry.

"Oy, you! 'Arry Potter!" shouted a particularly grim-looking dwarf, elbowing people out of the way to get to Harry.

Harry tried to escape. The dwarf, however, cut his way through the crowd by kicking people's shins, and reached him before he'd gone two paces.

"I've got a musical message to deliver to 'Arry Potter in person" he said, twanging his harp in a threatening sort of way.

"Not here." Harry hissed, trying to escape.

"Stay still." grunted the dwarf, grabbing hold of Harry's bag and pulling him back.

"Let me go!" Harry snarled, tugging. With a loud ripping noise, his bag split in two. His books, wand, parchment and quill spilled onto the floor and his ink bottle smashed over the lot.

"Oh no.." Julie mumbled as Harry and her scrambled around, trying to pick it all up before the dwarf started singing, causing something of a hold-up in the corridor.

"What's going on here?" came the cold, drawling voice of Malfoy. Harry started stuffing everything feverishly into his ripped bag.

"What's all this commotion?" said another familiar voice, as Percy arrived and Julie stood up.

Harry tried to make a run for it, but the dwarf seized him around the knees and brought him crashing to the floor.

"Right" he said, sitting on Harry's ankles. "here is your singing valentine"

His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad.
His hair is as dark as a blackboard.
I wish be was mine, he's really divine,
The hero who conquered the Dark Lord!

Everyone was laughing while Julie wasn't pleased.

'Who likes Harry? Do a lot of girls like him? Does Harry like any girls? Why do I suddenly care so much about him?' were only some of her thoughts.

Harry got up, as Percy did his best to disperse the crowd, some of whom were crying with mirth.

"Off you go, off you go, the bell rang five minutes ago, off to class, now!" he said, shooing some of the younger students away. "And you, Malfoy!"

Julie, glancing over, saw Malfoy stoop and snatch up something. Leering, he showed it to Crabbe and Goyle, and she realised that he'd got Riddles diary.

"Give that back!" said Harry quietly.

"Wonder what Potter's written in this?" said Malfoy, who obviously hadn't noticed the year on the cover, and thought he had Harry's own diary.
A hush fell over the onlookers. Ginny was staring from the diary to Harry, looking terrified.

"Hand it over, Malfoy." said Percy sternly.

"When I've had a look" said Malfoy, waving the diary tauntingly at Harry. "Maybe Potter's written something about Clarke..."

Percy said: "As a school Prefect-" but Julie had lost her temper. 

"Expelliarmus!" she bellowed.

Malfoy found the diary shooting out of his hand into the air. Ron, grinning broadly, caught it.

"Julie!" said Percy loudly. "No magic in the corridors. I'll have to report this, you know!"

But she didn't care, she got one over on Malfoy, and that was worth five points from Gryffindor any day. Malfoy was looking furious, and as Ginny passed him to enter her dassroom, he yelled spitefully after her: "I don't think Potter liked your Valentine much!"

So it was Ginny.

Snarling, Ron pulled out his wand, too, but Julie pulled him away. Ron didn't need to spend the whole of Charms belching slugs.