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Chapter Nineteen: An Unpredictable Valentine's Day
The next day was incredibly unpleasant. Allison spent it keeping her distance from Harry so he didn’t see her all day, and Tracey presumably spent her time trying to comfort her best friend. With nothing else to do, Harry once again joined Theodore in the library who was doing some research. Though this trip was evidently more frustratingly.
‘Nothing, absolutely nothing useful,’ said Theodore as he exited the restricted section.
‘What is it you’re looking for?’ asked Harry, who had been so distracted about Allison he never actually asked what they were doing in the library.
‘After your disastrous first attempt I decided you’ll need all the help you can get to gain Slughorn’s memory, so I’ve been trying to find out what a Horcrux is,’ said Theodore. ‘However even though I found the school’s copy of the book you, Allison, and Canini have all had, it is entirely useless. I read that entire offal book cover to cover but all it has to say about horcruxes is “Of the Horcrux, wickedest of magical inventions, we shall not speak nor give direction.” Why was it in the book at all if that’s all it said?’
‘Maybe Magick Moste Evile was the book Voldemort came across in the library as well and that’s why he asked Slughorn about it,’ theorized Harry.
‘Well, it’s certainly not in that book, so I think the only way to learn about them at this point is to get the true memory. I just don’t know how. Have you come up with a new plan to get Slughorn to give you his memory?’
‘I think I’m just going to wait for the right moment,’ answered Harry, as he really had no idea how to get it.
‘So, the same plan you’re using to ask out Allison,’ said Theodore sarcastically. ‘We’re never getting that memory then.’
‘Actually, Tonks has helped me come up with a plan, I want to confess to her on Valentine’s Day which is Friday. I was hoping to ask for your advice.’
Theodore stood there and thought for a second.
‘You should be honest, only say what you mean because if you use metaphors or words with double meaning I it might make things confusing. Oh, and for every compliment about her looks make sure to do two more for some other aspect of her.’
This was decent advice, but Harry had been expecting more.
‘Thanks. Anything else?’
‘I’d love to help Harry, but first off I’m dating a boy and what I say to him would be different than what I would say to a girl, and second, Colin asked me out so I don’t really have experience asking girls out. My flirtatious attempts with Hermione didn’t really go anywhere if you remember. If you want useful advice I’d try and find a boy who has successfully asked out a girl.’
And so after thinking about everyone he knew, Harry eventually found himself hanging out with Terence that evening.
‘Terence, I have a question. It has to do with girls,’ admitted Harry to his seventh-year friend.
‘Ok, shoot.’
‘You remember Bridget Maloney, the girl you went to the Yule Ball with?’ asked Harry.
‘Yeah, what about her?’
‘Well, she was pretty, and kind, she was sort of into you until you refused to dance with her, and she was available when Tracey was still dating Niall. How come you didn’t ask her out and instead waited for Tracey?’
‘Bridget was nice, you won’t hear me say otherwise, but she simply wasn’t Tracey. Thinking about Tracey then and now makes me feel bubbly inside. She knew and appreciated that I had interests outside of Quidditch, like History of Magic, and whenever she looks at me I feel warm and happy, like a spotlight was shining on me. I felt and continue to feel seen by her. Maybe some of that could have developed with Bridget if I had spent more time with her, but I didn’t see that as necessary yet when Tracey’s relationship with Niall was still so new and uncertain to last.’
Something Terence did ring true for Harry, he used to get a bubbly feeling inside too when he was close to Cho, but he didn’t feel quite like that anymore when she asked him out yesterday, nor had he even felt like that closer to the end of their relationship. Cho was a nice girl, and very attractive, possibly in some ways even more attractive than Allison, but he just didn’t care for her in that special way anymore. He does however feel happy inside anytime Allison smiles or laughs, or when she and Harry are in close proximity. This lead to Harry’s second question.
‘And how did you ask Tracey out?’
‘You know the first half, for two years starting in my third year I was sending her anonymous love letters. I was shy and that felt like the only way I could express my feelings. I think around the beginning of my fifth year she was fairly certain it was me who was sending them and we both became more giddy around each other, but as months passed and I didn’t do anything other than send the letters the giddiness passed, and later on Tracey admitted to me that she felt I wasn’t ready to make our relationship more real than a piece of paper. She still hoped I’d ask her to the ball, but when Niall asked her instead she accepted happily because he actually was able to express his feelings. After our argument Christmas evening I made a vow to myself that if I’d get the chance again I’d take it. When she broke up with Niall I gave her time as I didn’t want to be a rebound, but again I think I waited a little longer then I should have. Then Cedric died and You-Know-Who returned and It finally woke me up. The day after the third task I walked up to her and told her how I felt and that if she felt the same to that we should just stop wasting time and be together.’
‘What should I do then, I can’t write a love letter like you did, as that lead to a disaster.’
‘Lead to, but it didn’t start as one. If you just write the one, it might go differently, especially if you act right after,’ said Terence. ‘Your problem is every time you’ve tried to interact with Allison in a romantic way you’ve been interrupted. You need a little more privacy, you should take her somewhere where you’ll be alone but she’ll be comfortable. Maybe somewhere that has meaning for the both of you.
And so Harry tracked down Cho and apologized and explained that he could not go out with her as his heart belonged to another and she took it surprisingly well, he then spent the next three days thinking of places he and Allison had spent time together, and that was likely not to have interruptions. He then wrote and re-wrote the best love letter invitation that he could, although after the first few attempts he had to admit that love letters were not his strongest skill. He eventually came up with one that he believed was the best he could do.
“Dear Allison,
I have admired you for a long time and I think it’s time I come clean. Your skills and ferocity as a Beater are astounding, your blue eyes shine like the stars in the sky, and your loyalty to those you care about sets my heart a flutter. Let’s meet in the Slytherin changing room at the stadium on Valentine’s Day after supper. I want to say what I have always meant to say out loud.”
He re-wrote it once more in the best handwriting that he could and then the night before the fourteenth he used a school owl to send the letter.
The next day at breakfast the only sign Harry had that Allison had received the letter was that Tracey seemed overly excited and wouldn’t stop whispering to her. However Tracey had other reasons to be excited as morning classes had been cancelled as today was that the sixth years’ first Apparition lesson. It was going to be the following day so no normal lessons would be missed, however supposedly the instructor had a prior engagement that couldn’t be rescheduled and insisted one Friday morning wouldn’t cause any harm.
After breakfast all the younger students left and Harry and his friends along with anyone else taking the lessons gathered in the Great Hall. They found that the tables had disappeared. Rain lashed against the high windows and the enchanted ceiling swirled darkly above them as they assembled in front of Professors McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, and Sprout—the Heads of Houses—and a small wizard whom Harry took to be the Apparition instructor from the Ministry. He was oddly colorless, with transparent eyelashes, wispy hair, and an insubstantial air, as though a single gust of wind might blow him away. Harry wondered whether constant disappearances and reappearances had somehow diminished his substance, or whether this frail build was ideal for anyone wishing to vanish.
‘Good morning,’ said the Ministry wizard, when all the students had arrived and the Heads of Houses had called for quiet. ‘My name is Wilkie Twycross and I shall be your Ministry Apparition instructor for the next twelve weeks. I hope to be able to prepare you for your Apparition Tests in this time—‘
‘Malfoy, be quiet and pay attention!’ barked Professor McGonagall.
Everybody looked around. Malfoy had flushed a dull pink; he looked furious as he stepped away from Goyle, with whom he appeared to have been having a whispered argument. Harry glanced quickly at Snape, who also looked annoyed, though Harry strongly suspected that this was less because of Malfoy’s rudeness than the fact that Malfoy had been whispering something important within earshot of others.
‘—by which time, many of you may be ready to take your tests,’ Twycross continued, as though there had been no interruption. ‘As you may know, it is usually impossible to Apparate or Disapparate within Hogwarts. The headmaster has lifted this enchantment, purely within the Great Hall, for one hour, so as to enable you to practice. May I emphasize that you will not be able to Apparate outside the walls of this Hall, and that you would be unwise to try.’
Harry couldn’t help but visualize a fly splattered against Sirius’ motorcycle’s windshield.
‘I would like each of you to place yourselves now so that you have a clear five feet of space in front of you.’
There was a great scrambling and jostling as people separated, banged into each other, and ordered others out of their space. The Heads of Houses moved among the students, marshaling them into position and breaking up arguments.
‘Harry, where are you going?’ demanded Theodore.
But Harry did not answer; he was moving quickly through the crowd, past the place where Professor Flitwick was making squeaky attempts to position a few Ravenclaws, all of whom wanted to be near the front, past Professor Sprout, who was chivying the Hufflepuffs into line, until, by dodging around Ernie Macmillan, he managed to position himself right at the back of the crowd, directly behind Malfoy, who was taking advantage of the general upheaval to continue his argument with Goyle, standing five feet away and looking mutinous.
‘I don’t know how much longer, all right?’ Malfoy shot at him, oblivious to Harry standing right behind him. ‘It’s taking longer than I thought it would.’
Goyle opened his mouth, but Malfoy appeared to second-guess what he was going to say. ‘Look, it’s none of your business what I’m doing, Goyle, just do as you’re told and keep a lookout!’
‘I tell my friends what I’m up to, if I want them to keep a lookout for me,’ Harry said, just loud enough for Malfoy to hear him.
Malfoy spun around on the spot, his hand flying to his wand, but at that precise moment the four Heads of House shouted, ‘Quiet!’ and silence fell again. Malfoy turned slowly to face the front again.
‘Thank you,’ said Twycross. ‘Now then…’
He waved his wand. Old-fashioned wooden hoops instantly appeared on the floor in front of every student.
‘The important things to remember when Apparating are the three D’s!’ said Twycross. ‘Destination, Determination, Deliberation! Step one: Fix your mind firmly upon the desired destination,’ said Twycross. ‘In this case, the interior of your hoop. Kindly concentrate upon that destination now.’
Everybody looked around furtively to check that everyone else was staring into their hoop, then hastily did as they were told. Harry gazed at the circular patch of dusty floor enclosed by his hoop and tried hard to think of nothing else. This proved impossible, as he couldn’t stop thinking about confessing to Allison tonight and puzzling over what Malfoy was doing that needed lookouts.
‘Step two,’ said Twycross, ‘focus your determination to occupy the visualized space! Let your yearning to enter it flood from your mind to every particle of your body!’
Harry glanced around surreptitiously. A little way to his left, Ernie Macmillan was contemplating his hoop so hard that his face had turned pink; it looked as though he was straining to lay a Quaffle-sized egg. Harry bit back a laugh and hastily returned his gaze to his own hoop.
‘Step three,’ called Twycross, ‘and only when I give the command…Turn on the spot, feeling your way into nothingness, moving with deliberation! On my command, now…one—‘
Harry glanced around again; lots of people were looking positively alarmed at being asked to Apparate so quickly.
‘—two—‘
Harry tried to fix his thoughts on his hoop again; he had already forgotten what the three D’s stood for.
‘—THREE!’
Harry spun on the spot, lost balance, and nearly fell over. He was not the only one. The whole Hall was suddenly full of staggering people; Neville was flat on his back; Ernie Macmillan, on the other hand, had done a kind of pirouetting leap into his hoop and looked momentarily thrilled, until he caught sight of Dean Thomas roaring with laughter at him.
‘Never mind, never mind,’ said Twycross dryly, who did not seem to have expected anything better. ‘Adjust your hoops, please, and back to your original positions…’
The second attempt was no better than the first. The third was just as bad. Not until the fourth did anything exciting happen. There was a horrible screech of pain and everybody looked around, terrified, to see Susan Bones of Hufflepuff wobbling in her hoop with her left leg still standing five feet away where she had started.
Harry was old friends with Susan, and looking at the state of her nearly caused him to vomit.
The Heads of House converged on her; there was a great bang and a puff of purple smoke, which cleared to reveal Susan sobbing, reunited with her leg but looking horrified.
‘Splinching, or the separation of random body parts,’ said Wilkie Twycross dispassionately, ‘occurs when the mind is insufficiently determined. You must concentrate continuously upon your destination, and move, without haste, but with deliberation…thus.’
Twycross stepped forward, turned gracefully on the spot with his arms outstretched, and vanished in a swirl of robes, reappearing at the back of the Hall.
‘Remember the three D’s,’ he said, ‘and try again…one—two—three—‘
But an hour later, Susan’s Splinching was still the most interesting thing that had happened. Twycross did not seem discouraged. Fastening his cloak at his neck, he merely said, ‘Until next Saturday, everybody, and do not forget: Destination. Determination. Deliberation.’
With that, he waved his wand, Vanishing the hoops, and walked out of the Hall accompanied by Professor McGonagall. Talk broke out at once as people began moving toward the entrance hall.
‘How did it go for you, Harry?’ asked Allison, hurrying towards Harry with the others. Tracey looked oddly miserable. 'I think on my final attempt I felt a little lighter on my feet, like I wasn't fully on the ground.'
'I didn’t feel anything,' said Harry, 'But I—'
'I didn't feel anything either,' said Tracey, upset. 'I tried and I tried, I put all my concentration into it, but I still couldn't do it. Susan managed to Apparate, why couldn't I?'
'Susan only managed to Apparate eighty-two percent of herself, and don't worry you'll get better over the next eleven weeks,' said Theodore, trying to be comforting. 'Now Harry, what were you going to say about Apparating?'
'That I don’t care about that now—'
'How come you don't care? You seemed to be looking forward to the lesson this morning like the rest of us, do you not want to learn to Apparate anymore?' asked Allison.
'I’m not fussed, really, I prefer flying,' said Harry, glancing over his shoulder to see where Malfoy was, and speeding up as they came into the entrance hall. 'Look, hurry up, will you, there’s something I want to do...'
As they entered the common room Harry took note that he couldn't see Malfoy, Goyle, or any of his gang, which was good as long as they weren't in the dormitory...
'Are you going to tell us what's going on, it’s lunch and we have to immediately go to classes after this,' asked Tracey as they approached the stairs that lead to the boys dormitories.
'You two stay here,' he told the girls, 'Theodore, come with me, we'll be right back.'
'Are you going to fill us in then on what's going on?' asked Theodore, panting as he followed Harry.
'I will.'
Their dormitory was, as Harry had hoped, empty. He flung open his trunk and began to rummage in it, while Theodore watched for anyone approaching.
'Harry...'
'Malfoy’s using Goyle and maybe Zabini as lookouts. He was arguing with Goyle just now. I want to know—aha.'
He had found it, a folded square of apparently blank parchment.
'Got it, lets go back to the girls.'
Harry closed his trunk and they ran back down the stairs and the four friends gathered around a table isolated from others close by. He laid the Marauder’s Map down on the table, smoothed out and tapped with the tip of his wand. 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good...or Malfoy is anyway.'
At once, the Marauder’s Map appeared on the parchment’s surface. Here was a detailed plan of every one of the castle’s floors and, moving around it, the tiny, labeled black dots that signified each of the castle’s occupants.
'Help me find Malfoy,' said Harry urgently.
All four friends leaned over it, searching.
'Er, Harry, I found him,' said Theodore looking up.
'Where?' said Harry who still couldn't find him in the many corridors of the castle.
'There,' said Theodore, pointing not at the map but towards the common room entrance, where sure enough Malfoy, Blaise, and Goyle just walked in.
Harry looked back down at the map, disappointed, but rallied almost at once.
'Well, I’m keeping an eye on him from now on,' he said firmly. 'And the moment I see him lurking somewhere with Crabbe and Goyle keeping watch outside, it’ll be on with my Invisibility Cloak and off to find out what he’s up to that Snape is interested in.'
