It wasn't just any Saturday morning, but Valentine's Day morning, and Aileen was rudely reminded of this fact as she attempted to sidestep the cluster of teenagers in the corridor just outside of her office. She shut her door, locked it, and performed a few extra warding spells as the students looked on curiously. Aileen here on a weekend was almost unheard of, but she had neglected to bring home the papers her students had turned in the day before. Now that those documents were safely tucked in her purse, she headed past the sleepy-eyed masses, some in uniform, some in muggle clothes, and some attempting to get away with wearing pajama pants. Aileen pretended like she didn't see the breach in clothing policy. She also did her best to ignore the red decorations on the walls and the excited portraits as she passed, their cheeks flushed and mouths flapping.

Aileen kept her gaze forward, putting on her typical distant and aloof facade. This past month especially, she'd been trying to keep to herself and teach her classes, not make waves, not get too involved. Everything that had happened recently was weighing on her mind: the mummy incident on January 1st. Snark setting her up for blackmail with the dagger. Her brother getting arrested in the Ministry while she was there to witness it - for that matter, her brother using her to try to escape. And then there had been the death of a student, and the following conversation with Jonas. The knowledge that she still hadn't figured out a way to reverse the dagger's curse.

That, and she was not a fan of Valentine's Day.

Some days she felt like the only good thing she had left in her life was Abby. Her little sister had tucked a Valentine behind her stash of tea, knowing she'd find it when she woke up, and Aileen had actually smiled before realizing this meant she had to get Abby something too.

When Aileen descended the stairs, she recognized a familiar face heading into the Great Hall, and blinked in surprise until she remembered that Myrni actually lived here. Aileen couldn't imagine doing that and facing students every day. Myrni had been distant lately as well. Aileen faltered for a moment, and then followed her into the Hall, thinking that perhaps she'd know what a teenage sister would like, or at the very least they'd have an excuse to make conversation.

Big mistake. It looked like Cupid had nested in the Great Hall ceiling and spewed streamers and balloons into every nook and cranny. Nowhere was safe! Rolling her eyes a bit, Aileen walked past the soaring Valentine's Day cards, stepped over the crushed candies and pink things littering the floor, and played deaf when the sobs of already heartbroken students reached her ears.

She made it to the staff table and sat down in the seat next to Myrni with a sigh of relief. The chaos was somewhat contained in this area, and the staff members who were awake had perfected their oblivious acts.

"Hello," she greeted Myrni with a small but genuine smile. "I don't suppose you have any idea what a sixteen-year old kid sister would want for Valentine's Day? ...Besides a boyfriend wrapped up in a bow," she added dryly, glancing at the Ravenclaw table where she thought she spotted Percy Dervish, the student Abby had spent some time with over the winter holidays.

For once, Myrni was not looking forward to Valentine's Day. The past several years she had fooled herself into believing that she was deleriously in love with Nathan and now she was beginning to doubt it love was enough for the life she wanted to share with him.

Her doubt had pervaded most areas of her life and to any perceptive eye, it would have been clear by the second week in February that the Arithmancy Professor and Gryffindor Head of House was not herself of late. But luckily for her, the rest of the school seemed engrossed in the festivities of the holiday and were not looking to follow the woes of a professor.

Myrni descended down the final steps onto the main floor and headed towards the Great Hall. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Aileen off in the distance and made haste into the hall. It was true that she had been avoiding Aileen as well. Given their extensive chats in the past about Myrni's impending nuptials, it was hard for the Arithmancy professor to know what to say now that she was having more doubts than before. It didn't help any that her doubts were furthered by the encounter she had had with Aileen's ex husband, Oscar Whitman. Myrni knew that the two were not cordial to one another but it was hardly a comfort to know that at some point in a conversation with Aileen, she might have the urge to maliciously bash the man she had once chosen to be married to.

By the time Myrni finally sat down at the staff table, her uneasiness about the holiday had not lessened. She grabbed a roll and began to nibble on it, hoping it would keep her hands from nervously fidgeting as she saw Aileen approach and take a seat beside her.

After chewing the  bite she had taken, she murmured a greeting in response, "Morning, Aileen." The dark haired professor was clearly relieved when her blonde counterpart didn't ask any questions about adult love matters but rather the ones involving her teenage sister. With a chuckle, Myrni said, "Well, that is a pretty ingenious idea. Although I'm not sure a boyfriend by owl would be the most efficient means of delivering it."

Myrni went quiet for a moment and turned her attention to a plate full of potatoes that were passed her way. She scooped a heaping spoonful onto her plate before she turned to pass the plate to Aileen. But something else caught her eye and she nearly dropped the plate in surprise.

Myrni's eyes went wide and her jaw slowly fell open as she looked out over the house tables at something that was headed towards them.

The owl post had arrived for the morning and as was expected, there was quite the delivery to be made to the swarms of lovesick teenagers in the midst. But that was not what was so shocking to Myrni. No, her eyes were glued to an approaching package.

Two owls, decked in pink, red and purple ribbons around their "necks" were laboring to carry a very beautiful but extravagant bouquet of flowers.

"Oh godric." Myrni would have felt sorry for the poor birds if she wasn't already closing her eyes and audibly groaning with dread, "Please don't be me. Puh-leeeeeease don't be me...."

"I'd better stick to chocolates then," Aileen replied, about to take the plate of potatoes from Myrni when she saw her friend go slack-jawed, staring off into the distance at the owls swooping into the Great Hall. With a slight frown, Aileen followed her line of sight, and her expression turned to puzzlement, then panic, as not just one, but two owls laden with a bouquet of flowers struggled towards them. The heads of students popped up, watching as the owls continued towards the staff table, hovering over Myrni and Aileen.

Aileen's eyes went wide. "Oh no," she murmured just as Myrni was praying to Godric and everything holy that it wasn't her. It had to be Myrni, Aileen thought, she was the one with the fiance! The owls and the bouquet teetered over their plates until suddenly, one of the owls lost its hold and the flower arrangement fell to the table with a clatter. If students weren't staring before, they sure were now.

The two owls waited, huffing and puffing, wanting a treat for their efforts as Aileen stared at the gift. It sat right in between herself and Myrni, so it wasn't clear who it was intended for.

"Well, go on," Aileen nodded at Myrni, urging her to take responsibility for the Valentine's Day monstrosity on the staff table.

But then one of the owls nibbled at her fingers. As Aileen flung her hand away, she caught something scrawled on the half-hidden white envelope: her name, printed in neat cursive.

"No," she breathed, putting a hand to her heart.

After a disbelieving glance at Myrni beside her, Aileen cleared her throat and reached for the card as inconspicuously as possible. She detached it from the flowers, sent a stern look around at the students watching (which had no effect), and opened it underneath the table.

Immediately, light harp music began playing from the card, and she slammed it shut in surprise, hoping to Merlin no one had heard that. But it hadn't told her who it was from! So Aileen carefully opened it again, and the card sprang to life, showing animated, flickering candles as words appeared in the middle:

Hope you have a special day...
Filled with love and happiness.
Hope it's as warm as your smile,
And as wonderful as you are.
Happy Valentine's Day!

Love,
Oz

What. What! Aileen didn't even hear the harp music anymore. She silently handed the card to Myrni to share in her horror, and shook her head, looking at the flowers as if they would reach out and bite her. They didn't, but the owls gave another peck at her fingers, until finally she whispered "SHOO!" at them. They flapped away in an offended huff.

"I can't believe this is happening," she said dully. It made no sense! She and Oz were over, and had been for a while!

Tapendra didn't mind Valentine's Day - at least, he tried not to. When Judy had been alive it had been an ordeal to find a gift that wouldn't land him on the couch, but now it just made him feel depressed with all the 'love' stuff fluttering about. Mostly due to having to peel young men off of Georgiana.

It was therefore something of a surprise he was in the Great Hall for breakfast, since he usually slept through it. But an empty stomach had woken him up, and he didn't have any food in the tower - the elves had cleaned it up. He'd have to remember to start leaving little notes for them about that.

He was kind of glad he'd arrived a little late for breakfast - it made it possible for him to snag a seat on the far end of the teacher's table, away from the Headmistress and Bombay's chairs. Having his assigned seat be basically between them was one of the major reasons he avoided the Great Hall whenever possible.

Tapendra was eating as quickly and politely as possible when a loud clatter nearby made him start and look up, then over to the two women. He looked at the flowers curiously - they seemed a bit much, didn't they? - and then to the women's faces, both of whom looked horrified.

"Reid, are you alri-" he started, automatically, then saw the card and heard the short burst of music. He stared in surprise, and then...

He couldn't help the snort of shocked laughter. He was glad to have a bread roll on hand to stifle it. He tried to look as innocent as possible, but - god. What a horrible card. He was a massive sap and even he thought that was cheesy. The music was just adding to the awfulness of the thing.

Though she and Aileen had become quite friendly over the past several months and Myrni found herself hardly batting an eyelash when considering the woman's feelings, the Arithmancy professor could not contain her relief that the flower display was not for her.

If asked to explain why she was so squeamish about the idea that her fiancee might send her such a normal public display of affection, she probably couldn't. The whole situation was so very complicated, with her feelings not even close to being worked out internally. She just wasn't ready to force all of that to come out.

Still, the dark haired professor watched on in shock as Aileen opened the card that came with the bouquet. She was intrigued to know the identity of her friend's secret admirer, but she was still recovering from her own expression from finding out that she was in the clear.

Myrni's eyes seemed to go wider still when the card was opened and music began to play. Her eyes went wide as the card began to play the harp music. It was horrible, even without knowing who it was from.

But then Aileen passed the card to her and Myrni quickly scanned the text.

And then she read it again, unsure she had read it correctly the first time.

The sound of someone laughing nearby drew Myrni's attention away from the note. The Astronomy professor, Tapendra Trishna, had undoubtedly had the best view of the whole ordeal. Surely if she had been in his shoes and had no idea the circumstances surrounding it, she would have had the same reaction that he was having.

But Myrni did know the circumstances and that compelled her to have a more impassioned response. Before she could check with her brain for a more tactful choice of words, she blurted out, "I think I just lost my appetite." Her expression darkened with disgust and she asked with exasperation, "Why is he sending you flowers?" She turned back to Tapendra and automatically informed him, "This....monstrosity....is from her ex-husband." She left out the fact that he was her soon-t0-be brother-in-law. But under her breath, she added, "He's despicable."

Aileen sent a weak glare in Tapendra's direction, hating the fact that she could completely understand why he was laughing. This was so ridiculous! And embarrassing! Indeed, it was so ridiculous and embarrassing that she was beginning to think the Valentine must be some kind of joke. She scanned the students at the tables, trying to pick out the culprit.

While Aileen was speechless, Myrni replied for her, clearly disgusted. She wasn't so sure how she felt about Myrni telling Tapendra who had sent the gaudy gift, though she whole-heartedly agreed with her assessment of 'despicable'. Shaking her head, Aileen gathered up the flower arrangement and the card (gripping the card tightly so it wouldn't spring open and mortify her), stood, and addressed Myrni in a low, annoyed voice, "I'm putting... this thing in my office." Away from prying eyes.

"I have no idea why he'd do this." It just wasn't his typical sense of humor.

"The last time I saw him was at Bombay's dinner party, and that was a disaster," she told her with another shake of her head, pausing in case Myrni wanted to follow her out.

He felt bad for laughing, especially once it was implied the awful Valentine had been sent as a joke. He blushed and smiled in what he hoped was an apologetic way at Aileen.

"S-sorry," he said, looking down at his plate. "I shouldn't have laughed. It was inappropriate." He glanced sideways as the two women spoke to each other, and couldn't help but think that any combination of 'Bombay' and 'dinner party' was always going to be a disaster unless all of the guests were plants. And given the natures of a lot of magical plants they'd probably mess it up too - story of Graham's life.

He wasn't about to voice that opinion that in front of ladies, of course; he kept that kind of thing in his head as much as possible. Though if his memory of school was half as good as he hoped, Aileen probably would have agreed.

Ryan's predictions about Aileen had come true, though. He made a mental note to tell him that in his next letter.