Feathery kisses were placed on cheeks and lips were smacked against each other. Giggles and giddy sighs were flying their way across every hallway. Couples everywhere snogged in the nooks of every corner and many of the teachers were having a hard time breaking them apart.

Ginny Weasley, hater of all that was love, huffed her way past the chaos that seemed to manifest itself in the main hallway. She pried off zooming hearts from her shoulders and shoved anyone that became an obstacle before her.

She spotted Hermione just a few meters away and she quickly sped up her pace, shouting, “Hermione! Hermione!”

Said girl spun around fiercely, her cheeks glowing.

Ginny caught up with her and threw her a questioning look. “What’s gotten into you?” she asked curiously.

Hermione sighed heavily and Ginny tried her best not to roll her eyes. “Your brother’s a dear, Gin,” she stated, twirling a red rose in her right hand. “Although his brain cannot hold much significant information, he has still got an unbelievable way with words.”

Ginny shut her eyes and groaned. “This insufferable plague has sucked you in, too!” she pointed out, throwing up her hands in defeat. “I’m going to go and stuff my face,” she informed her best friend, “it’s my own way of filling that void I’m feeling.”

Dazed, Hermione absently nodded and trailed behind the furious red-head, eager to sit and daydream about the man who’d never let her go.

Ginny plopped herself into her seat and stared at the boy across from her. “Harry, whatever are you doing?” she inquired.

Lifting his head up and stopping all movement in his hands, Harry answered, “I’m trying to kill whatever animal was hidden in this card.”

“Animal?” Hermione glanced at his hands and gasped. “Harry, stop it!” she ordered, grabbing the ball of fur and stroking it. “What’s the matter with you?!”

Harry’s face twisted into disbelief. “What on earth are you doing, Hermione? That thing almost bit my arm off! I opened up the card and it attacked!”

Ginny snorted. “It’s the size of my fist, Harry. I doubt something as tiny can devour you,” she jeered, laughing heartily as she grabbed a slice of bread. “It’s a Jiggershyff,” Ginny informed him. “They’re very common among forests and woodsy areas. Their bite isn’t as deadly as their cuteness.”

Hermione cooed softly. “Hi, there, fellow.”

“Where’s Ron?” asked Ginny, scanning the Great Hall for her brother. “I’m surprised he isn’t reciting sonnets and singing ballads for his darling princess.”

Hermione glared at her. “I resent that, Ginny. It’s rather rude for you to be so blunt with me. You may hate Sweethearts Day, but I welcome it. Your brother must’ve spent a lot for this rose. It will never wilt, nor will it ever die. It’s a Chantal Rose. It’s charmed to be the most romantic rose in the wizarding world.”

Feeling guilty and ashamed, Ginny threw Hermione an apologetic glance. “I’m so sorry, Hermione. I just haven’t been very happy lately. All these bloody couples and their incessant snogging is literally consuming me. If I see one more tongue shoved down one more throat, I might just-”

“Oh, Seamus,” gushed Parvati Patil, throwing her arms around her boyfriend and kissing him senseless. The very smug and lucky boy wrapped his arms around her waist, his right hand somehow landing directly on her bottom.

Ginny tore her eyes away in disgusted horror. “I’m going to shoot myself. I really am. Honestly, is kissing your significant other in public necessary? I find it horribly frightening. My eyes are so tainted with these sexual charades that I might just go and find myself someone to snog with. I’m that influenced. It’s sickening.”

Giving her an odd look, Hermione placed her rose carefully on the table and folded her hands. “Pouting and complaining isn’t going to help you, Ginny. Frankly, I’m irritated by your cynical sense and I doubt Harry is entertained by this petulant behavior. It’s unmistakably similar to the situation in which Luna couldn’t find herself a date to the ball. She driveled on and on about how useless and pointless love was, until she met Colin. Look at them now-” Hermione pointed to Luna and Colin, who were both snuggling up against each other at the Ravenclaw table. “They are very much in love and all negative thoughts towards love were quickly forgotten. Can you not follow that example?”

Harry nodded, opening his mouth to speak, “Yep. Shef righuh.”

“That’s nauseating, Harry. Close your mouth,” ordered Ginny, picking up a napkin and flinging it at him. “You’ve got chicken all over your jumper. It’s not attractive.”

He looked up and glowered at her. “Well, I’m sorry, Miss Pessimistic,” he mocked, wiping his mouth. “Is the food in my mouth that awful to see chewed up? It can’t be as worse as hearing you grumble on and on. You’re being daft and I’d rather not sit here and hear your relentless whining.”

With that said, Harry stood up angrily, throwing the napkin violently back onto the table. He trudged away from her and Hermione, fuming.

“Happy, Gin?” Hermione inquired, filling her plate. “You’ve just succeeded in pissing Harry off. Good show, chap.”

Refusing to reply, Ginny glimpsed across from her and spotted a red card, adorned with glitter and sequins. She picked it up hurriedly and opened it. She read:

Harry,

Enclosed I placed an animal that reflects the love I have for you. It’s adorable, love. You’ll thoroughly enjoy it. You’ll receive it just before you read this. I hope it isn’t so livid. It hissed at me just this morning for stuffing it into an envelope.

All my love.

“Who in the hell-”

Before Ginny could finish her sentence, a loud gasp was heard throughout the Great Hall.

“Ronald Weasley!” screeched Hermione. “What have you done?!”

Dropping the card quickly, Ginny risked looking up and her eyes immediately widened at the sight of her brother. Ron’s left eye sported a large purple bruise and the lip, which Hermione loved to nibble on, was cut in three different places. A patch of cuts ran down from his cheek and neck and by the time Ginny found her voice to talk, Ron spoke up.

“That blasted Malfoy thought it would funny to blacken your name with flimsy rumors,” Ron explained. “I showed that bastard a thing or two.”

Hermione growled deep in her throat and grabbed Ron by the arm, examining his injuries. “You’re a fool, Ron. I’ve told you time and time again that fighting is not the answer. Malfoy will get what’s coming to him.”

“Mr. Weasley!” snapped Professor McGonagall, who appeared at the scene. She looked flustered as ever, probably because her students were always finding ways to get into trouble. “What has happened to you?”

Ron looked proud. “I beat the shit out of Draco Malfoy, Professor,” he said pompously. “The git’s lying somewhere in the Charms hallway as we speak.”

“Think again, Weasley,” drawled a cold voice from the front of the Hall.

Ginny stood up and peered at an equally, maybe more, injured boy. His blonde hair mussed up to one side and only one of his eyes was open. His very expensive collared shirt appeared to be burnt off at the bottom and one of his shoes was missing.

He was a walking mess.

“Ronald Weasley,” Ginny hissed dangerously. “Mum specifically told you to cease with all this fighting. You don’t even play fair!” she accused. “Seven galleons say that you used your wand in this muggle duel.”

Ron blushed furiously. “Hey!” he defended.

In the blink of an eye, Malfoy whipped out his own wand and stated, “Valete Fantumine!”

Ron spun around and was thrown from one side of the room to the other, leaving Ginny and Hermione staring at Malfoy dumfounded.

Hermione seethed. “He thinks he can get away with anything, can he?” she whispered to herself, grasping her wand and directing it to him. “You leave him alone, Malfoy.”

Malfoy chuckled. “What are you doing to do, Granger? Are you that courageous to go and break a rule? Consequences are mighty high. We don’t want a nick in your record, now do we?”

What was that spell called? Hermione asked herself. Septimite Callome? Septimate Shallum?

Deciding to take the gamble and guard her boyfriend, Hermione yelled defiantly, “Semineate Hocklum!”

A large orb of dark red formed at the end of Hermione’s wand and as it grew larger, time stilled around them in a whirlwind of frenzy. Ginny was in the process of taking out her wand, Snape was dashing down towards them, and Ron was yelling a string of profanity at Malfoy.

Hermione held her ground strongly, fighting the pit of weakness that tugged at her mind. Her arm was tired of holding on and the orb grew heavier and heavier. As if the orb knew what she was thinking, its weight lifted and it soon jetted to Malfoy at a lightning speed.

Just as it hit him, her vision went white and all she felt was her body being lifted off the ground and thrown onto something bouncy and soft.