At the eve of Valentine's day, Sariah felt the atmosphere of the castle shift into something raw and very linked to teenage hormones. Girls prowled the stone corridors in packs, giggling at silent jokes.

 While she used her free time to catch up on her Muggle Studies readings, for the past few weeks Britta had taken to following Ethan Sprightly like an unseen shadow in every moment not occupied by lessons: from common room to quidditch practise. Sariah wasn't even certain if he and Britta had had a conversation yet. Regardless, her dorm-mate had gained a plethora of knowledge about her Valentine-to-be, which she shared assiduously with Sariah. As Britta had so frequently informed her: Ethan was Welsh, and was the second-most attractive boy at Hogwarts (exempting James Potter). He had two mothers, a younger sister in Gryffindor, and was very definitely going to be her Valentine. The esoteric information swam around Sariah's head, until even her thoughts were occupied by the Hufflepuff senior, to her great dissatisfaction. Sariah  had spent the better part of last week in the library to avoid the dormitory, which was becoming infested with Valentine's paraphernalia.

When she got back to the dormitory on Monday night, she was bemused to find Britta finishing a handmade card: a charmed hippogryph circled a quidditch goal post in a heart shape. THe words "You're a Keeper!" were emblazoned below it.

"Do you think he'll like it?" she asked Sariah, her cheeks glowing with pride. "Liesel said it was the most romantic thing she'd ever seen!"

Sariah glanced quickly at the card. Brita had obviously spent hours working on it. She felt worry pang somewhere deep in her stomach. "It's great," she replied.

"Isn't it?" Britta cradled it to her chest. "I'm going to give it to him at breakfast tomorrow!"

The feeling panged again in her gut. The Great Hall was a very public place, and Valentine's day transformed it into a war zone. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Sariah asked.

Britta's face fell. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Sariah bit her lip, unsure how to voice her concerns without offending Britta. "It's a wonderful card, and, I mean, you're a wonderful person as well. But there's so many people in the hall at breakfast, and not everyone might be so accepting of-"

"You think I'll make a fool of myself, don't you?" Britta said angrily. "Well, at least I'm going to have a Valentine."

Sariah snorted in ill-concealed hurt. "I'm only saying you might want to give it to him somewhere quieter. Just in case-"

Britta stormed out of the room, and sensing her other dorm-mate glowering at her, Sariah pulled the curtains around her bed closed with as much aggression as she could muster. So much for giving my opinion, she fumed. Let her heart get crushed, why should I care?

*

On Tuesday morning, Sariah purposely slept in to avoid Britta and Sabriel's preparations. She rolled onto her back and wondered which couple Peeves would bestow his "Valentine's blessing" upon as her dorm mates crowded in front of the mirror. When she eventually came up for breakfast, the festivities were well underway. Britta was seated by Liesel at the head of the Hufflepuff table. Her Ravenclaw friend looked like she was giving her a pep talk, so Sariah settled for a seat by the door.

Despite an eternal ban and threats of week-long detentions, the air was populated with heart-shaped howlers that declared the sender's love in shrieking, poorly rhymed couplets. She knew Weasley's Wizard Wheezes had made a fortune after developing the anonymous howlers, which warped the sender's voice beyond recognition. While there was an Italian accented range, for some reason the voice randomizer was much more popular. At the next table, a beetroot-faced Gryffindor tried to swat a howler that was serenading him with the grace and voice of an old pirate. Sariah focused on buttering the toast in front of her, and tried to avoid eye contact with anyone that could pose as a suitor. Against her better judgement, she searched out Scorpius at the Slytherin table, he looked particularly sullen and distanced from the rest of the table. 

When charged voices grew at the opposite end of the Hufflepuff table, she looked up at the scene unfolding. Ethan Sprightly was at the center of the commotion, a growing pile of discarded howlers next to his plate. Above him, an enchanted squadron of blue ravens had sprung out of nothingness. In formation, they plucked their competitor's cards from the air. The enchantment was flawless, rivalling even Professor Flitwick's in quality, obviously he had caught the attention of a Ravenclaw girl. She saw Britta standing by Ethan's side, her card open in his hands. The attentions of the entire hall focussed on them.

A bemused grin slipped over the Keeper's face, as his eyes scanned over the words within. A hushed silence fell over the table, waiting. Sariah felt her stomach flipping on behalf of her dorm-mate. Ethan shook his head softly. The boy sitting to his left sniggered, and gestured upwards. Sariah felt her jaw drop in comprehension. Britta had worked so hard on the card, surely he wouldn't...

 But he did. The hall erupted into a menagerie of boos and cheers as the ravens honed in on it. The card didn't stand a chance. It was torn to shreds by the flock of aerial piranhas. Small, yellow confetti rained down on Britta's as she backed away, mortified, and fled the hall.

After a moment of indecision, Sariah abandoned her toast and rushed back to the dormitory. As she raced down the stairs, she slammed into a sprinting pile of sweets. The candy pile went flying in all directions as she lost her balance, and tumbled down the last of the steps. A spasm of pain burst from her knee as she hit the ground. The rest of her body was cushioned by something warm and surprisingly squishy. She wondered briefly what sort of concoction Honeydukes had invented.

"Hey, watch it," the candy cushion complained.

Sariah recognised his voice and groaned internally. She'd injured James Potter for a second time this year. "I'm so sorry," she said, rolling off him. "I didn't see you coming."

"It's alright," James said. He rose and offered her his hand. "I didn't see you either. I guess we're even now, huh."

She glanced at the sprawling pile of Honeydukes debris around them. "This must be half the stock of Honeydukes," she said disbelievingly. "Who did you blackmail to get this?"

"I found Professor Binns just in time for a trip to Hogsmeade," he said, puffing his chest full of air.

"Congratulations," she said, gathering great armfuls of the sweets, and arranging them back in his arms.

He raised an eyebrow so that it disappeared under his messy black hair. "You're not intrigued?"

"A little, but I've really got to be somewhere," she said, piling the last of the candy up.

A mixture of confusion and disappointment rippled briefly over his face. As he took his first step, the Daily Prophet and a box of chocolate cauldrons fell to the ground, Sariah bent down to pick them up.

"You keep them," he said, rushing back up the stairs. "Happy Valentine's; watch out for Thestrals."

Sariah held down a smile as she limped back to the dormitory.

When she got back to her room, she found Britta curled up on her bed. Tears had carved streaky swathes down her make up that she'd applied not an hour before. "What, you want, to say 'I told you so'?" she cried. "You were right, okay? I'm the lamest witch in Hogwarts."

"I came to say I'm sorry," Sariah said. "I know you worked really hard on that card. It was a jerky thing for him to do."

Britta sniffed, and blew her nose. "Oh."

A familiar awkward silence built between them, as Sariah stood in the doorway. She didn't know what else to say. It should have been Liesel in her position, performing this rudimentary attempt at comforting.

"Who's your Valentine?" Britta asked, after a time.

"I think they were pity chocolates," Sariah said. "Do you want some?"

Her dorm-mate nodded glumly. They sat in silence as they made their way through the box. "I'm never leaving this room again," Britta said. "They'll let me take my O.W.L.S in here, right?"

"You know, I think you'll be just fine," Sariah said, trying to reassure her. "There's still lunch and dinner, and Peeve hasn't even started throwing Salamander hearts yet, so they'll be much better gossip by the end of the day." 

The silence came back again, as Britta removed her glittery eyeshadow. Sariah gazed idly at the Daily Prophet. The headline froze her blood. "I don't think even you'll have to worry about that," she said, reading the article in horror.

'Dragons loosed on Muggle populace' it read. 'Two of the abducted dragons appear to have been released over London early this morning. Multiple muggles called their emergency services to report "dragons flying through the air" and "breathing fire", adamant that they were not on narcotics. Hungarian horntails, an aggressive, normally recluse species, have been sighted setting buildings on fire, attacking cars, and a European Airways Aeroplane (a muggle transportation device, used for air travel). Local aurors contained the threat at eight-twenty-seven. One hundred and seven muggles are believed to have been injured in the disaster, and muggle authorities are still working to extinguish the remaining fires. Advik Singh, chief head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, would not comment on the matter. Minister for Magic, Hermione Granger stated only that, "The Ministry of Magic is working closely with muggle authorities for a mass area memory charm. Our thoughts and sympathies are with those affected by the disaster, we are working to contain the damage this has caused." The ripples this may cause across the muggle world are yet unknown, as are the motives of those behind the disaster.''

Sariah felt her heart pounding in her chest as she stared at the destruction in the picture. Who would release something as dangerous and volatile as a dragons on muggles? A small part of wanted to rush to the Clearing, to see if any of the travesty had leaked onto the Internet. She vowed to go straight after classes ended.