An Appreciation Rose

[Patrick Vernier]

The Great Hall was definitely chaotic during Valentine's Day with people delivering roses. The Hufflepuff boy did not usually like delivering roses in the Great Hall, but when delivering them to people he did not know and that weren't in his house, it was quite hard to find them otherwise. Patrick pushed his way through a crowd of people to make his way to the Slytherin table, approaching a girl whom he hoped was Jessica Matthews. "Are you Jessica Matthews?" he asked, his French accent prominent.

 

[Jessica Matthews]

Valentine's Day had become an important day to Jessica over the years - more so than someone may have normally suspected. She may not have been expecting a rose from anyone in particular this year, but she still expected to get at least one. Hopefully more than one, if there was anything good planned for her in the universe. A rose meant that someone had been thinking of her; liked her well enough to think she was worth the effort. It was a line of thinking that left her on edge all day, watching the roses and delivery people around her like a hawk. Looking up from her plate frequently, Jessica watched as a younger boy approached the table and silently willed him towards her - annoyingly, he went in the other direction. She had almost turned her attention back to her chicken salad, when she heard her own name above the loud buzz of noise in the hall. Snapping her head up Jessica saw that it was the boy she had just seen, now talking to someone else further along the table. She cleared her throat quickly. "Excuse me! Hi, I'm Jessica Matthews, over here!" She didn't actually want to wave her wand around like a crazy desperate person, but she did let it bob at shoulder-level as she tried to catch the boy's attention.

 

[Patrick Vernier]

The girl Patrick spoke to definitely seemed confused and Patrick blushed slightly at this as he turned around to try to find someone else to ask. He didn't notice someone calling out to him until another person pointed it out and Patrick did a full turn to find the real Jessica Matthews waving her wand at him. Suddenly feeling threatened, Patrick tentatively walked towards her, making sure to get the yellow rose out of the basket before he made it there. "This is for you." he muttered, holding it out to her.

Dearest Jessica,
Happy Valentines Day! Thank you for attending the Yule Ball with me, I had a wonderful time, and your dress was so beautiful. I appreciate your friendship, and hope we can remain close friends for years to come.
Your friend,
October Alcott

 

[Jessica Matthews]

Seeing the expression on the boy's face as he turned around and saw her, Jessica regretted the decision to use her wand to catch his attention. She would absolutely look like a crazy person now, and who knew how many people he'd tell by the time the rose delivery craze was over. Why hadn't she just used her hand instead like a normal person? Tucking the wand away, Jessica made sure to smile welcomingly at the boy as he came nearer. "Sorry, I just get so excited about deliveries. Thank you!" Hoping that would be enough to assuage his fears, she turned her attention completely to the rose. It was yellow, which was always disappointing when compared to the possibility of receiving pink, but Jessica was still eager to see who had sent it to her. Her movements in reading the note were quick and precise, and instinctively her hand fluttered up to sit at the top of her sternum when she saw it was from October. She was so pleased the older girl had thought of her, and especially in such kind words. She really hoped that this year her own rose to the other girl would get through, or October might start to have niggling little doubts about how committed Jessica was to their friendship. She absolutely didn't want that, the thought was enough to make her stomach feel ill. Deciding to banish the thought from her mind, she turned instead to admiring the rose - it did look quite pretty.