Sweet Delivery

[Ainsley Lynch]

Ainsley had sent so few roses this year, because there was another plan brewing in the back of her mind. The raspberry and strawberry plants she had been growing in a corner of the Wild Patch were heavy with berries, and she thought a sweet treat would make a lovely surprise for her friends. After spending the afternoon harvesting, cleaning, and organising the berries into neat little punnets, each with a little card reading, 'Happy Valentines Day! Love Ainsley <3' she couldn't help but be proud of her work, knowing her friends would love these surprised. Heading down to dinner with her basket full of punnets, Ainsley looked around the Great Hall as she arrived, making sure she could see every person she was looking for before setting about her deliveries.

Leaving her own house for last, Ainsley decided to start with a newish friend, heading for the Slytherin table and setting a punnet of berries down in front of Lilyanna first. "Hi! Happy Valentines day!" She greeted the girl cheerfully, but didn't linger too long, heading to the Gryffindor table once she was finished delivering Lilyanna's present. Ainsley knew Hayley well enough to know she was rarely found at her own house table, and surely enough she was quickly located at the Gryffindor table, with friends Ainsley vaguely recognised. "Hi Hayley! Happy Valentines day!" Ainsley said cheerfully, setting a punnet of berries down in front of Hayley.

Another delivery finished, Ainsley went in search of Flavio. Seeing him earlier had somewhat spoiled her surprise, but she was sure he would appreciate the gift nonetheless. "Flavio! Happy Valentines day!" Ainsley said cheerfully, giving Flavio a friendly kiss on the forehead as she set his berries down in front of him. She then quickly turned to November and gave her a forehead kiss of her own, handing her her punnet of berries. "Happy Valentines day November!" Ainsley said cheerfully, before bouncing away to find Eleanor. This was no doubt a busy time of year for the Queen of Flowers, and Ainsley hoped she would appreciate a sweet treat. "Hi Ellie! Happy Valentines day!" Ainsley greeted the older girl cheerfully, handing her a punnet of the berries she had no doubt noticed Ainsley growing over the last few months. All but one of her deliveries finished, Ainsley smiled warmly as she made her way over to her girlfriend, kissing Amber on the cheek as she sat next to her, pressing the last punnet of berries into her hands. "Happy Valentines day." She said cheerfully, pleased to have made her friends happy.

Out of Character:

I wanted to cut down the amount of roses I was sending this year but then I felt bad about Ainsley not sending any to her friends, so this was my rushed solution This thread is open for Lilyanna Hope, Hayley Elridge, Flavio Morales, November Albertson, Eleanor Hope, and Amber Chou Wilson to react.

 

[Lilyanna Hope]

Lilyanna did not quite understand the point of Valentine's Day. After writing an article about it for the Hogwarts Monthly last year, the girl thought she had put her point across to the students. It seemed however that this was not the case, as there were many more roses handed out this year than last. Lilyanna tried her best to keep to herself as she ate her dinner that night in the Great Hall. She knew she wasn't going to get any roses or gifts for Valentine's Day this year, as Theo had left and she explicitly told Diane not to, and had even skipped breakfast that morning so she didn't have to endure the chaos of all of the rose deliveries, which had eventually made her quite hungry. She sat at the corner of the Slytherin table quietly as she cut her toast with a knife and fork so she didn't have to touch her food. When Ainsley approached her in quite a cheerful mood, Lilyanna dropped her cutlery as she watched the younger Hufflepuff place a punnet of berries in front of her. She wondered if perhaps Ainsley was sharing food from the Hufflepuff table, but as she noticed the packaging and had said Happy Valentine's Day to her, she knew that was not the case. "Oh..." Lilyanna mumbled, her cheeks turning a slight shade of pink as Ainsley wandered off again to deliver another punnet to someone else. She did not expect to get something from Ainsley, and quickly picked up the berries and left the Great Hall when she was done eating.

 

[Eleanor Hope]

Eleanor had quite a busy day delivering roses for Valentine's Day, and had even received two roses herself which she very much appreciated. Valentine's Day was always nice as she was glad knowing that all of her hard work had paid off and to see the people's reaction as they received their roses was exciting for the Hufflepuff. Ellie sat at dinner that evening piling food onto her plate to satisfy her hunger. She felt as though she deserved a good meal after spending a whole day walking around the castle trying to find some people that she didn't even know. Nonetheless, she had enjoyed it and was a bit disappointed that it would be her last year being able to celebrate it at Hogwarts.

Ellie beamed as she noticed Ainsley heading towards her. "Hey, Happy Valentine's Day!" she exclaimed, thanking her as she took the punnet of berries which Ellie recognised from the gardens. With everything going on, Ellie felt guilty that she hadn't sent roses to her friends, but was thankful for them nonetheless. She opened the punnet and popped one of the berries into her mouth. "Mmm this tastes so good!" she exclaimed to her friend with a slight chuckle. Everything from the gardens always tasted good. "Thank you, I hope you had a good Valentines Day!" Ellie added, watching as Ainsley then made her way over to her girlfriend.

 

[November Albertson]

November was enjoying breakfast with her boyfriend that morning at the Ravenclaw table when suddenly Ainsley came up to them first talking to her boyfriend and then herself. She smiled accepting the gift. "Thank you, that was really sweet of you," she smiled shyly not the best at receiving a gift she hadn't been expecting. She was also surprised about the kisses on their foreheads. She wasn't sure about Flavio but she couldn't think of anyone else who do an act like that other than her mother and aunt. But it made her smile she could tell Ainsley was a good friend and cared about her friend. "I hope you have a great day!" She called after the girl as she made her way to another friend of hers. "That was sweet," November said to Flavio before picking up one of the berries and tasting it. It was sweet and delicious.
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[Hayley Elridge]

This had been a wonderful Valentine's Day, and the dance still to come promised to make it even more wonderful. Hayley hadn't seen as much of her girlfriend as she would like, since Lizzie was so busy delivering roses, but one of her favourite things about Valentine's at Hogwarts had always been that it was a time for friends as well, and Hayley was getting plenty of that. Happily chatting with the gang, Hayley looked up abruptly when she heard Ainsley's voice behind her. "Ainsley! Hi! How's it going?" But her friend was already moving off again, hurrying on her errands to deliver - it was only now that Hayley looked down to see what it was she'd delivered. A punnet of berries! Oh, how sweet! She grinned at Ainsley's retreating back. Hayley had been disappointed not to receive a rose from Ainsley - she'd sent her one - but this more than made up for it. What a lovely surprise. Hayley cheerfully popped one of the berries in her mouth.

 

[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

Flavio hadn't expected Ainsley to approach him, let alone greet him with a forehead kiss and give him a punnet of berries, of all things, but when it all unfolded he was happy for the gesture. Seeing Ainsley earlier in the wild patch, tending to the plants, he hadn't thought she would be using the berries for anything special. Though this was of course proof she had bigger plans for what she was doing. He smiled at the redhead, saying a quick "Thank you" before she walked away to a different part of the great hall. A small part of his mind told him to eat some of the berries now despite having a plate of food right in front of him, but the bigger and more logical part of his mind told him to save them for later when he felt like munching on something. Snacks while studying or working on things in the wild patch were always nice to have around and berries grown organically always tasted much better than anything he could buy at a store. This gift from Ainsley was both literally and figuratively sweet and Flavio wanted to make it last as long as possible.​

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[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber knew about Ainsley's plan to give her friends some berries on Valentine's day, and thought it was a really cute idea. It was an idea that suited Ainsley very much, and she couldn't help smiling fondly as she watched her girlfriend dart from person to person in the great hall, delivering berries to the Hope twins, Hayley Elridge, Flavio and November. She laughed softly as she noticed her giving Flavio and November a kiss on the forehead. That was unexpected, but it was a sweet gesture. After Ainsley was done giving the berries to Ellie, she headed in Amber's direction. Amber beamed as she also got a punnet of berries, and kissed Ainsley's cheek in return. "Everyone looked really happy with your gift." She said encouragingly. "It was a great idea."