I didn't

I didn't

Valentine’s Day again! I felt my head spinning and my heartbeat was accelerated. The morning paper was showing smiling faces and people preparing for the celebration. I threw the paper aside. I’ve hated Valentine’s Day ever since that awful day! The memories are still fresh in my mind; the images still bang my head from the inside. My sanity is threatened by the memory of that day!

It all started when I, Veronica Grimaldi, received an unexpected greeting card. I never thought I would receive such things. In all of my Hogwarts years nobody noticed me, I wasn’t important. I was never the smart, brilliant girl or the prettiest girl in Hogwarts; I was just another girl in the middle who was never in the spotlight of events. A white owl approached my table and dropped a brown envelope in my lap. I slowly took the envelope and opened it, all eyes in the room were fixed upon me. Suddenly the spotlight was illuminating me, the ignored girl. I could hear the whispering and the giggling around me. I didn’t have to open it to know it was Harry’s. Everybody knew his owl. Why would Harry Potter, the boy who lived, send a Valentine’s card to me? He only addressed me a couple of times in the seven long years we have shared at the castle. I scouted the room trying to find his eyes, looking for a reason to understand why I was receiving that card; but I only bumped with Ginevra Weasley’s glares. I decided to stand up and quickly run away from the big Great Hall. I’ve never enjoyed too much attention; that freaks me out. I ran without a route, I just let my feet take control of my body. I gasped when I heard his voice just behind me.

“Are you busy Ronnie?” Harry asked. I just blushed while my mind quickly took a mental picture of the moment. Ronnie, He called me Ronnie! He knew my name! He knew who I was!

“I am not busy!” I answered feeling that my hands were to clumsy at the moment “I received your card … thanks!” I could swear he was looking at me with a strange sparkle in his eyes. My legs trembled and I felt like they were made of jello.

“Ronnie, I know this may sound strange to you but, would you care to be my date for tonight?” Harry sighed. Lordy! He sighed, he was as nervous as I was. He pulled out a small box wrapped in red silk and handed it to me. I couldn’t deny I felt flattered receiving something from the hands of the most popular boy at school, but I was a little disappointed when I noticed it was a chocolate bar. I didn’t reject the gift but he noticed I wasn’t enthused by it. “Don’t you want it?”

“It’s not that. It’s just that I am allergic to chocolate.” I spat out. I know it sounded a little reproachful, but he really didn’t know anything about me.

"Since when have you been allergic to chocolate?" He asked grumpily. I could see the disgusted expression in his eyes. “Sorry I didn’t know! I guess it would’ve been better if I brought you a plastic bouquet or an uncut diamond!” I couldn’t help but laugh. Here I was with the most popular boy on Hogwarts, after seven years of having a crush on him and now he was talking to me and he was nervous. Gosh! Heaven really existed! I should have drooled with my expression because he relaxed and felt more confident. “So tonight?”

I just nodded. No words came out of my mouth. I felt stupid with my face all red pushing the envelope against my chest. He smiled and brushed his lips softly on mine before he walked away. I keep asking myself if that was an intent of a kiss and I didn’t answer properly. It was this some kind of a sick joke? I’ve never feel so confused in my life. I ran away to my dorm and started to look for a dress while I tried to figure why on earth he was taking me as his Valentine’s date. I didn’t feel the hours passing by; I guess I was still floating in the sky by the touch of his lips. I really don’t remember in detail all the hours I spent in the dorm, but I remember how nervous I was when I walked downstairs and he was just standing there looking up at me. I still don’t have words to describe the feeling; I’ve never felt so much joy in my entire life.

“Are you ready? The ball is about to start!” Harry’s voice was so sweet. I still have the melody of his voice stored in my mind. He slowly grabbed my hand and handed me the most beautiful rose I’ve ever seen. His green eyes smiled, sweetening the moment. I couldn’t avoid feeling my heartbeat speeding up. Here I was walking down the hall with Harry Potter, my hand in his. Everybody was staring at us; there were laughs, gasps, and exclamations of admirations; and of course I could hear the whispering all over the room. Again I was the center of the spotlight; that made me feel uncomfortable. I could barely breathe and I only relaxed when we sat on a table away from all the curious eyes. Again our eyes met, he slowly pulled me closer to his side. I could hear his heartbeat beating at almost the same rhythm as mine. I didn’t know what to do, I straightened myself and he let a sigh out of his mouth. “Want to dance?” I nodded again. Apparently my voice was on strike.

We waltzed the slow compass of the song the band was playing. It was more like he danced, and was pulling me to follow him. My feet were clumsy as every other part of my body. It just seemed that I couldn’t’ control my body if when he was that close. I didn’t notice where or when we ended up in the castle grounds. I looked up and faced the bright full moon upon us. A couple of stars gathered in the sky; it was the perfect night, the perfect place with the perfect date. At that time I was wondering if he was going to go for a kiss. I licked my lips when he wasn’t looking, I didn’t want him to think that I wasn’t prepared for it. He just stared at me, his green eyes sparkled again and he pulled my face closer. I shivered with the soft touch of his lips. Finally, I was going to be kissed for the very first time. I felt his lips pressing on mine harder, I couldn’t help but surrender to the impulse of putting my arms around his neck. I closed my eyes and felt a part of me was being torn while I was fainting.

“Harry?” I whispered. No answer came to my call. I opened my eyes just to notice that my arms were empty. I scouted the place looking for some signal of him but didn’t succeed. Slowly I stood up and walked with a slow pace. Tears were running down my cheeks. Was everything just a bad dream? Or it was, just as I feared, a sick sad joke? I furiously wiped the tears from my face. I wasn’t going to let humiliation and depression take over my body. My fragile mind made an effort to put aside those feelings and I ushered my feet. I tripped with a lump lying on the ground. I cursed myself for being so dumb. I felt my hands sticky and my white satin dress wet. I carefully inspected the ground and a scream came out of my mouth. There he was, the most popular boy of school, lying in the ground with blood over his lifeless body. Everybody came running and stared at me; it was then that I noticed that my hands and my dress were covered in blood too. Since that day I never came back to the castle, they just threw me here in St. Mungos. Apparently I am too dangerous and too mad to socialize again. But I swear, I didn’t do it!

The End!