Secrets

Chapter 11 - Valentine Kisses

Before they knew it, Valentine's Day had arrived. Everyone ate dinner early that evening, and then all of the girls rushed off to their dorms to get ready. Ron Weasley had been unable to find a date for the ball, so Tuesday evening at their M.A.P. he'd asked if Kyra had a date yet. Not feeling the least bit sorry for him, she told him she didn't, and that since he seemed to be the last upperclassman at Hogwarts without a date, she supposed she'd go with him. Of course she had every intention of standing him up, but she'd heard all about how he'd treated his previous dates at dances and thought it was high time for payback.

After dinner, while she, Lisa, and Padma were doing their hair and pulling out their dress robes, Kyra suddenly started to feel ill. Lisa tried to walk her to the hospital wing, but Kyra had refused. It was probably just something she ate for dinner, which meant it wasn't worth bothering Madame Pomphrey over and that she'd probably be fine in a few hours. Luckily, Lisa and Padma had been too busy anticipating the ball to realize that Kyra had eaten like a bird at dinner.

Padma wasn't happy about leaving her behind alone either, but Kyra insisted that she'd be fine. She ordered them to have fun with their dates and not worry about checking in on her - she certainly didn't want to ruin their evenings. The girls reluctantly agreed, and told Kyra they'd apologize to Ron for her.

It seemed like an eternity before everyone had finally left the dorm. Kyra quickly got out of bed and fixed her hair, threw on a nice pair of slacks and a warm sweater, and pulled her winter cloak out of her wardrobe. She carefully crept out of the dormitory, being careful not to run into any stray ball-goers who were running a little late.

She had arranged to meet Justin in the courtyard in front of the school. She'd almost made it when a familiar voice sounded from behind her.

"Going somewhere, Miss Bradley?" Professor Snape's low voice sent a chill coursing through her body. Why, of the hundreds of bodies in the castle, did she have to run into Snape?

Kyra turned to face the Potions professor. "Professor Snape," she greeted him calmly. She hoped he couldn't hear her heart pounding in her chest, or the gears grinding in her brain as she tried to come up with a believable excuse. "I was -

"Miss Bradley, is that you?" Justin's voice sounded along the corridor from just behind her. "Are you ready to go?"

"Oh, hello Professor Snape," Justin said as he approached the two of them, seeming to have just seen the Professor.

Snape narrowed his eyes at them. "Go?" he asked, in that slow voice that so often made students' blood run cold. "Where?" he asked nosily.

"Professor Dumbledore asked me to escort Miss Bradley to her home this evening," Justin explained calmly, and Kyra nodded as if that had been the plan all along.

The Potion Master's eyes got even narrower. "To her home? Whatever for?"

Justin's eyes opened in a show of surprise. "Oh, I assumed you were aware. My apologies," he said to the other professor. "Miss Bradley's parents are renewing their vows this evening, and asked if their daughter could be there. Professor Dumbledore asked me to escort her there and back," he explained.

Snape looked from one to the other, as if trying to see through their lie. His eyes finally settled on Kyra. "And your brother wasn't invited?" he said slowly, raising a perfectly manicured eyebrow.

Kyra shot him a wry look. "Of course he was invited. But if you were a thirteen year old boy, would you attend your parent's vow renewals, or escort a pretty girl to a Valentine's Day ball?"

The professor stared them down for a few moments longer, most likely waiting for one of them to crack, and finally said, "Very well. Enjoy your little brouhaha." He turned and walked away, towards the Great Hall.

Justin put his arm behind Kyra's back and gently, and slowly, ushered her out to the courtyard. Neither one of them spoke as he reached into his cloak and withdrew a Muggle matchbook that read, Gala Casino, London. He pointed his wand at it. "Portus." The matchbook glowed blue for a brief moment.

"Ready?" he whispered, and she nodded. She reached out and touched the matchbook, and he counted to three. Kyra felt a brief, odd sensation, like someone was trying to pull her navel towards her spine. Then she was rushing through time and space with Justin beside her, and suddenly they were both standing in a short alley off the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. They walked forward, approaching the bustling avenue before them, and Kyra spotted the Arc de Triumphe in the distance.

"Paris?" she breathed. "You've brought me to Paris for our first date?"

Justin smiled at her, pleased with her reaction. "Well, I wanted it to be special," he replied, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her close to him.

She leaned into him and kissed him on the cheek. "You are awesome," she told him happily. "Although for a little while there I didn't think we were going to get away with it!"

"I know!" he exclaimed. "I can't believe I forgot about your brother," he uttered, smacking his palm to his forehead. "It's a good thing you're quick on your feet!" he complimented her.

"You weren't so shabby yourself," she replied, hugging him tightly. "Yours was much more believable than anything I could have come up with. And he bought it, so we're fine, right?" she asked.

"Well, until he talks to Dumbledore," Justin replied ruefully.

"Oh. Right." Kyra's face fell. "Wait a minute. You just made a portkey on the fly. Aren't unauthorized portkeys illegal?" she asked, stopping and staring at him in amazement.

He smiled at her. "No worries there. As an Auror, I have the authority to authorize portkeys."

"Oh. Okay." She snuggled close to him again, taking in the beautiful sights of the city. "So where are we going?" she asked, curiously.

"There's a quaint little bistro up ahead on the left that I like," he replied. "Are you hungry?"

"Starving," she replied, as he led her along the busy street. Most of the shops appeared to be closed, but many Parisians were out, spilling out of the numerous cafes and enjoying the brisk night air of the City of Lights.

A host seated them at a small table in a quiet corner of the restaurant. Kyra noticed Justin slip him a small silver and gold coin. The menu was entirely in French, but Justin surprised her once again by offering to translate it for her.

"You speak French?" she asked him, impressed.

"Yeah," he admitted, blushing slightly. "My mother is a professor in the Modern Foreign Languages department at King's College," he explained.

"That would explain a lot," she replied. "And I have to admit, it's nice to travel the Muggle world with someone who understands it."

He nodded. "I should say the same thing," he responded. "Oh, and I completely forgot - I never told you how beautiful you look tonight!" he complimented her.

Kyra blushed. "You look dashing tonight," she told him. "I do believe you have successfully swept me off my feet," she said grinning.

"Wow," he replied, "and we haven't even ordered yet. I won't ever let anyone say you're hard to please, Kyra Bradley." He leaned in towards her to kiss her on the cheek, but she turned her head and caught his lips with her own. The kiss was sweet, and deep.

Once they parted, the waiter came by to take their orders. The young couple enjoyed a delicious, peaceful meal and basked in each other's company. After Justin paid the bill, they left the restaurant and strolled through a beautiful public park and across the river Seine to the Eiffel Tower. Completely lost in one another, they blended in well in the city of love.

Justin paused at a street vender selling flowers as they crossed over the Seine. He bought a single red rose and presented it to Kyra. "Would you be my Valentine?" he asked her sweetly.

"From now until the end of time," she replied, accepting the rose and a kiss as tokens of his affection.

Because it was late on a weeknight, the line to go up in the Eiffel Tower was short. Justin suggested Apparating to the top, but they had plenty of time so they decided to wait and ride the elevators. The millions of tiny white lights were sparkling brilliantly, and Kyra couldn't have been more excited. She'd never been out of the United Kingdom, and here she was in the most romantic city in the world with a handsome prince.

Two elevator rides later and they were standing on the upper deck of the tower looking out over the city below them. It was a calm night, and the lack of wind allowed them to stay aloft much longer than Justin had expected. Kyra leaned against the railing, and he stood behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist. They talked softly, and several times Kyra turned around in his arms to press her lips to his. It was often long moments later when they finally parted.

As a distant bell tower sounded midnight, Justin hugged her tight. "I hate to say it, but we should probably be getting back."

Kyra nodded. "You're right." She sighed. Paris was an hour ahead of Hogwarts, so it was just eleven there, but she needed to be back in her dorm before the students started trickling back from the ball.

Justin kissed her one last time, savoring the moment and vowing to never forget how nice she smelled or how lovely she'd been tonight. It was, without exception, the best date he'd ever been on.

He then withdrew a postcard of the Eiffel Tower from his pocket that he'd purchased in the gift shop. There were only a few other couples up on the top level with them, and they were off to the opposite side of the platform. Justin withdrew his wand and activated the portkey. He took Kyra's hand in his, and they both grasped the postcard.

"One... two... three," he counted softly.

Almost instantly they were back in the courtyard at Hogwarts. Justin gave her hand a squeeze before releasing it.

"Thank you," she whispered into his ear. "That was, without question, the most amazing night of my life."

He beamed at her in the moonlight. "Mine too," he agreed.

Quietly, they entered the castle. Kyra crept back up the stairs to Ravenclaw Tower, and successfully arrived without running into a soul. She pulled her clothes off, threw them in her trunk, and had just climbed into her bed when Padma returned from the ball.

Padma crept in quietly so as to not disturb her roommate. Kyra rolled over, and Padma whispered, "Kyra?"

"I'm awake," she replied. "How was the ball?"

"It was really quite nice," Padma replied. "Neville was a perfect gentleman, though I'm not sure I'll ever see him as boyfriend material. Lisa will have some nice things to talk about, though," she added, a knowing smile on her face.

"Oh?" Kyra asked, intrigued.

Padma grinned. "Terry kissed her," she said, and giggled.

"Really?" Kyra replied.

"Yeah, and it was quite a doozy!"

Kyra smiled, happy for her friends. She hoped they'd be as happy together as she and Justin had been tonight. If that was even possible, at least.

"How are you feeling?" Padma asked. She'd stripped off her dress robes, changed into her pajamas and seated herself gingerly on the edge of Kyra's bed.

"Much better now," Kyra told her. "Thanks."

Completely unready to go to sleep, Kyra and Padma talked for a while, and then gave Lisa the tenth-degree when she finally returned around midnight. She seemed to have enjoyed her evening with Terry almost as much as Kyra had enjoyed hers. However, Lisa was the only one lucky enough to be able to share. The girls finally went to sleep long after their normal bedtime, and all of them had very pleasant dreams.

~*~