🌹 Rose Giving Exciting

[Estella Fuentes]

Estella had been looking forward to delivering roses for a long time and she couldn't contain her excitement as she entered the great hall that morning with her basket in hand. She pulled out the first yellow rose before heading to the Slytherin house table where she knew the recipient could possibly be. She then said in her loudest voice "Celia Vuong!" and waved the rose in the air to hopefully get this person's attention. She couldn't wait to see the look on their face when they received it.

 

[Celia Vuong]

Ever since finding out that Hogwarts did rose deliveries for Valentine's Day, Celia had been dreading the holiday. She didn't suffer any illusions that she might be receiving a rose. All she'd done last semester was make enemies. And because she wouldn't be receiving a rose, she definitely didn't want to watch other people get them. Celia had already had to suffer through one elaborate rose-giving in the dungeons this morning, and she didn't want to witness any more. That's why she planned on spending the day alone, studying in one of the abandoned classrooms she'd found in the tower.

Unfortunately she still needed to eat. So Celia had made her way to the Great Hall, choosing a seat at the very end of the Slytherin table. There were rose delivery people everywhere, and she tried not to glare at them. She might be jealous, but she definitely didn't want anyone to know it. As she focused on getting through her breakfast as quickly as possible, she didn't notice the older girl calling her name until someone elbowed her. Celia looked up, her eyes narrowing for a second in suspicion. The girl was carrying a basket of roses, but Celia wasn't about to get her hopes up. She was probably just delivering a message from Styx about additional detention or some other punishment. Plastering on a neutral expression, she approached the other girl. "I'm Celia. You were looking for me?"

 

[Estella Fuentes]

Estella frowned a little at how excited the girl didn't seem. She held her basket of roses up. "Good news!" she exclaimed, taking a yellow rose out of the basket. "I have a rose for you. Happy Valentine's Day!" She handed the rose to the younger girl with the note attached.

Dear Celia,

Happy Valentines Day! Did you know that bats are the only flying mammal? I didn’t know that till yesterday! Isn’t that super cool? Also did you know that cashews come from a fruit? I found that out yestersay too!

Your friend,
Mirim Park!

 

[Celia Vuong]

"Oh." Celia allowed herself a small smile. The girl seemed too genuine for this to be a trick. "Thank you, Happy Valentine's Day to you too." she said, taking the note and the rose. For one brief ridiculous second, she wondered if it was from Savannah or Quinn or Isla. But that was impossible. They were in Boston and had no idea Hogwarts even existed. They probably didn't even think of her as a friend anymore, it had been so long since she'd seen them.

Celia's smile quickly gave way to a look of incredulity. The rose was from Mirim, the lunatic Gryffindor who had tried to trap a professor. Celia couldn't possibly fathom how the other girl had walked away from their last interaction thinking they were friends. How had her life come to this? Her only rose, and it was from the craziest girl at the school. Suddenly aware that the older student was still there, Celia pressed her lips together into what she hoped passed for a smile. She folded the note back up and held it up. "Thanks for this," she said before stuffing it into her pocket. She would throw it away later.

 

[Estella Fuentes]

Estella watched as the girl took the rose and read the note. She didn't seem extremely pleased with it, at least not like other people did, and Estella couldn't help but frown a little. She wanted to know what was so wrong with it and who was the one that sent it. Why wasn't the girl happy? Estella was very much tempted to ask, but then the girl thanked her for it and Estella just sighed a little as she then shoved it into her pocket without much care. "I hope you get many more roses." she told her, forcing a small smile on her face. She just didn't like not seeing people happy when they received their roses.

 

[Celia Vuong]

The older girl's words made Celia sad for reasons she couldn't explain. But while she'd spent a lot of time moping in the privacy of her curtained bed, she definitely didn't want anyone else to know how miserable she felt. Celia drew back her shoulders and put on her most confident smile. "I'm sure I will," she said, trying to pretend she was still the kind of girl who got tons of Valentines every year. She didn't want to dwell on her life any longer, so she tried to turn the conversation towards the other girl. "What about you? Have you gotten any roses yet?" The older girl was pretty, probably popular too. It struck Celia that if she was stuck at Hogwarts for the next several years, she might as well figure out the social hierarchy sooner rather than later.

 

[Estella Fuentes]

Estella was happy that the girl seemed to have some confidence that she'd get more roses. Perhaps it could be something the girl could look forward to and would hopefully make her forget about whatever stupid note she had received. As Estella asked her in return, she simply nodded. "Yes, I received two from my friends." she told her. "You seem nice, so you'll probably get some from your friends too!"

 

[Celia Vuong]

Her attempt at reorienting the conversation failed as the other girl seemed to flip the focus back to Celia's life almost immediately. But the compliment — which seemed to be genuinely delivered — dulled any annoyance she might have had, and Celia smiled softly. She knew for a fact that she didn't have any friends at Hogwarts, but there was no point in bringing that up and diminishing the other girl's view of her. "Thanks, that's nice of you to say." The Great Hall was rapidly filling, and Celia wanted to leave before the rose deliveries really started. "I should get going. Happy Valentine's Day."