THIRTY

MARINA STOOD NERVOUSLY IN THE entrance hall, picking at her freshly pink painted fingernails. It was Valentine's Day, and a Hogsmeade weekend, and she had a date. Marina loved romance. She spent her days reading romance novels and listening to love songs. However, she had never come across a romantic prospect. Sure, she had a few tipsy make-outs at common room parties, but she'd never been properly courted.

That was until she was forced to go to her parents' holiday work party over break and ran into a certain Slytherin by the name of Graham Montague. Maybe it was the wine they were sneaking or the mutual attraction, but Marina felt fireworks. The rest of break they made time to meet. She enjoyed the time spent with him. He made her feel beautiful. When he planted harsh kisses on her exposed skin, she felt a kind of validation she never had before. She felt a sense of importance when she was with him.

Marina knew because of Quidditch and general house rivalries that it would be difficult telling her friends. So, she decided not to mention it to them. None of them would be at Hogsmeade anyways. Rory and Angelina had all day Quidditch practice and George and Lee were helping Fred cook up a Valentine's Day surprise for Rory. They were all too concerned with their own lives to worry about who Marina was dating. They had more things to worry about than her, which was fine because Graham gave her all the attention she needed. He didn't like her friends for obvious reasons, but she tried to not let that interfere with anything. Oftentimes he convinced her to skip out on meals with them to hang out with him and usually told her they wouldn't notice if she was gone, which she was starting to believe.

The girl was dressed in dark red, because it was fitting for the holiday and because Graham had told her she looked sexy in red. She liked doing things that pleased him. He approached her in the hall with a smirk. She beamed and bounced anxiously on her heels.

"Hello!" She said as he planted a soft kiss on her hand.

"Hello, Marina." He said, "Wow you look... you look great. Shall we head down now?"

The girl nodded, "Er - I was thinking we could go to Madam Puddifoot's first! Only if you want to, of course."

"Sure, sounds good." He nodded with a slight shrug.

The two walked down to the village together through the February frost. Marina had always wanted to go to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. It was the place where all the couples went during Hogsmeade trips. Oftentimes the girl would gaze longingly through the window wishing she could have someone to go with. She finally did. Graham was very good looking, too. He had dark hair and dark eyes that drew her in with every gaze. His eyes had a slight hunger about them she found very attractive. He looked at her as if she was the last slice of cake at a birthday party and he hadn't eaten in hours.

The interior of the shop was beautifully decorated for the holiday. Gold cherubs and pink and red hearts covered the walls and hung from the ceiling. They sat at a table in the back with a pink lacy tablecloth covering it and a vase of red roses as a centerpiece. They both ordered coffee.

"Is that... Potter and Chang?" Graham asked in a hushed voice, looking over across the shop and the unlikely pairing.

"Oh, wow." Marina giggled, "I guess so."

Graham rolled his eyes and changed the topic, "Do you want to head out of here after our coffee? This place is a bit boring. The dormitory should be empty, everyone is going to be here, so..." He slipped a hand comfortably under the fabric of her skirt and traced his fingertips on her exposed skin.

"Oh!" Marina was a bit startled at his request. Not that it was out of character for him, though. It seemed every time they spent any time together it ended with their clothes littered on the hardwood floor. She didn't mind it, though. It was his way of expressing his feelings for Marina. His cold hands around her neck made her feel like a goddess being worshiped. It made her feel whole.

"Yeah, if that's what you want," she nodded. Not too soon after, their coffee arrived. Marina poured in several sugar packets and enough creamer to turn her black coffee an almost ivory color.

Graham furrowed his brows and sipped his coffee plain, "You drink your coffee like a child."

The girl's smile faded and she slowly took a sip, "But I like it this way."

He scoffed, "Whatever."

The girl suddenly felt less excited about Valentine's Day. She felt the same jealousy looking around at the couples inside the shop as she did when she watched from the outside. It was nice to be with someone though. She had spent four years going to the village and never once having a date. Marina considered herself lucky to finally have someone.

Later that day, all her feelings of doubt and loneliness were washed away with his sinful kiss.

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AARON FELT THE COLD SNOW hit the back of his neck as he laid on the ground and created a snow angel. Luna giggled beside him and mimicked his actions, moving her arms at her sides to give her angel wings. They were just outside the Shrieking Shack, enjoying the snowy weather while most of their classmates were visiting shops or stuck at the castle for Quidditch practice. The two of them hanging out alone on Valentine's Day was accidental, but Aaron didn't mind. Luna certainly wasn't making it weird and therefore neither was Aaron. They simply enjoyed each other's company, that was all.

"I wish there was a way to avoid getting footprints inside our snow angels," Luna sighed as she stood up.

Aaron stood up as well and paused, "How about, you move your feet around without picking them up and then jump."

Luna raised an eyebrow, "I'm afraid that doesn't make much sense, Aaron. Maybe I'll take my shoes off."

"Yes but you'd still have footprints," he pointed out. Luna sighed once more and stepped out of her snow angel. The two decided to warm up and grab a butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks. It was crowded, full of students who wanted to avoid the snow which Aaron understood.

At a nearby table sat his old group of friends who he no longer associated with. A mix of boys from all different houses, mostly all in his year, a few were a bit older, though. They were a bad influence on him and he simply did not want to identify with people who acted like that. They were throwing bits of food at each other and being loud and disruptive. Aaron tried to ignore them and drank his butterbeer unbothered.

"Strange holiday, don't you think?" Luna asked, not paying any attention to the ruckus the boys were causing.

"Valentine's Day? I mean I suppose so... it's really just a normal day for the two of us but for people like Fred and Rory it's this big deal." He shrugged.

Luna nodded, "I wish I had been born a day later. Then I'd always have something to celebrate on Valentine's Day."

Aaron nearly choked on his butterbeer, "Luna! You didn't tell me yesterday was your birthday!" He felt terrible. He would hate for his own birthday to pass by so silently.

The blonde girl shrugged, "I usually don't care too much for it. Don't feel bad -"

"Well... I'll pay for you today, yeah? As your birthday gift. If I knew I would've gotten you something..."

Before Luna could respond, they were interrupted. A few of Aaron's old friends got up and walked to their table with sly grins on their ugly faces.

"Well isn't this cute! Aaron and Loony are on a date on Valentine's Day!" One of the boys named Jackson, a Gryffindor who was Luna's age sneered.

"Shove off," Aaron snapped rolling his eyes, trying desperately to ignore them.

"Oooh, no need to get all defensive." Another boy called Nick, a Ravenclaw in his year, joined in, "Hey, Loony, found your shoes yet?"

"Not yet, thank you." She said simply, almost unaware that she was being bullied and that Nick had basically admitted to stealing her belongings.

Aaron stood up and was now face to face with the boys.

"Her name is Luna." He said slowly, trying to shove down his anger. "Not Loony."

Nick laughed and crossed his arms, "Careful, Archer, don't want to spoil the family name by getting into any trouble. Oh yeah, that reminds me, I've got a bone to pick with your sister. She gave me detention last week. Fucking bitch." The other boys laughed and nodded in agreement.

Rage entered the boy's blood. He felt a white hot anger burst inside his chest. An anger he didn't think he had ever felt. Aaron grabbed his wand and placed it under the boy's nose, "What did you just call her?"

"You heard me." Nick said coolly, "Might want to put that wand away before Madam Rosmerta sees. Just a suggestion."

The boy took a deep breath and put his wand back in his pocket. They're not worth it, he thought to himself. He wanted so badly to punch Nick just like George and Harry punched Malfoy, but he saw what had happened to them and how it affected Rory. So, he sat back down and continued his lunch with Luna. Eventually, they cleared out and he was able to enjoy the rest of the day in peace.

However, his anger never fully went away. How dare he call Rory such a vile and disgusting name. And then Luna... they were all so fine with picking on her. Not once did they say anything mean about Aaron, though. They didn't call him any rude names.

He knew exactly why that was, and he didn't like it.