Now You See It

The professor stood in front of his desk waiting for the students to file in. He had spent the last few minutes before the start of class placing bare bits of parchment and bottles of invisible ink on each desk. The spell they were going to be taught was on the board along with the basic hand motion.

Aparecium - A spell which reveals unseen messages once they've been written.

The students would write a message on the parchment and hand it to a classmate. If they performed the spell correctly, the messages would be revealed. Barahir smirked. He had chosen this particular spell due to the approaching holiday of St. Valentine's Day and the tendency to send secret messages around this time of year. Merlin knew it would be a great lesson for the first years.

Adelaine marched down the hallway and into the Charms classroom. It was the last lesson of an excruciatingly long day for her, and she couldn't be happier about that for once. She'd woken up on the wrong side of the bed that morning, and the entire day seemed to be a test to determine how much stress she could handle.

"Afternoon, professor," she mumbled, taking a seat in the very back.

Settling in, she noted the items on her desk. Parchment and a thick, dark ink. Adele pondered this for only a moment, noticing the words on the board. Oh good, she thought sarcastically. Invisible ink just in time for Valentine's Day.

It only took her a moment to realize that this spell would certainly come in handy. Adele sighed, wishing she'd brought her letter.

Arya sauntered into the nearly-empty Charms room, hardly able to contain her happiness. It had been just another day up until lunchtime. She'd gone up to her dorm to grab a book, and on her pillow she found a neatly tied up scroll with her name on it. Upon opening it, she found it blank. At first, she wanted to kick someone. Whose idea of a joke was this? But then her housemate suggested it might be invisible ink.

"Don't throw it out yet, perhaps someone can try and reveal it," she'd said with a grin.

So Arry had carried it around with her the rest of the day, asking every one of her friends if they could do the trick. Alas, no one could.

"Bloody hell," she muttered as she walked past the professor.

They were learning Aparecium! What were the odds of that? Probably not too slim, once she thought about it.

"Hello, Adele," she smiled broadly, plopping down next to her friend. "Lovely day, isn't it?"

Mirielle stumbled into the charms classroom. She wasn't always so uncoordinated but today was different. Today marked a total of three days before Valentines day and although she didn't mind not having a valentine she was hoping a certain third year would notice her. Not that he ever has in the past, he was her brothers best friend and would occasionally come over during the summer break. So her hope was rather silly and bleak.
Mirielle looked up at the black bored and gave a half smile half gulp. She knew that they were learning an invisibility spell, or more an invisible ink spell. She also knew that her brothers partner in crime wasn't great in charms.
Good thing she was sitting next to a fellow ravenclaw and a nice one at that. That would mean she could practice what she was going to say to the third year and not get laughed at. Mirielle scribbled furiously and within ten minutes she was finished. She started hexing the paper.

"Hey Kat, do you want to trade?" Questioned Mirielle.

"Sorry Mirielle, actually, I plan on trading with someone else."Apologized Kat, short for Katerina.

Oh crap, thought Mirielle. Now she had to trade with the meanest gryffindor boy. Someone she thought should've been sorted into slytherin but all his family members have always been gryffindor.
She unwillingly traded with Tristan and hoped to all heavens that he sucked at charms and couldn't reveal what was on her paper.
She watched him chant the spell over and over again.

"Aren't you going to try and reveal my deepest darkest secrets?" Tristan raised his eyebrows, questioningly.

She began chanting as well. Just as she was about to try it her third time she heard laughing next to her. Oh no, he has uncovered what I wrote. She looked at Tristan.

"You're never going to get a third year let alone anyone else." Tristan mocked.

He continued to laugh. Finally Mirielle had enough and finally revealed what was on his paper. He likes who? Then she began to laugh in return.

"What are you laughing about? Yours is more pathetic." Whined the gryffindor boy.

Mirielle stopped laughing. "You're right Tristan because me liking a third year is way worse than yours." She laughed, again.

Wilfreda wandered into the room. She had overheard some people talking with their friends about who their secret admirer could be or how a certain boy asked her out. Personally, Wilfreda didn't understand Valentines Day. Especially, as written in some books, St. Valentine was for polygamy and married married men to single girls in private because the Christian faith frowned upon polygamy. Later the Saint was found out, sentenced to imprisonment and killed for his actions. So no did she understand this whole Valentines Day thing, though her mother always thought it was because she never had a valentine and rightfully so. What if her valentine wasn't her future husband, she'd have none of that. Wilfreda thought it would be rude to ruin everyone else's fun but she also thought they were being foolish and irresponsible so she kept her thoughts to herself.

She looked around for a suitable seat and found one smack dab in the middle of the room. Of course, it wasn't by anyone she knew but who did she really know at this school anyway. As soon as she got settled she looked up at the black slate board, Aparecium. What would she write. Her mother always told her not to lie, that lying led to other ungodly things. However, she couldn't write what she really felt. She didn't want to ruin everyone else's fun. Maybe she should say that she had a crush on Judas Slytherin, a descendant of Salazar himself, but that would be a lie and lying led to other ungodly things. Or maybe she could just write she didn't have a valentine.Wilfreda decided to write that she didn't have a valentine, it wasn't a lie.

The rest of the class filed in and they all began the assignment. Since Wilfreda's message was rather short she began looking at other spells in her spell book, losing herself in it. Eventually, someone nudged her, Judas, Wilfreda almost started to blush and then remembered that she didn't write what she thought she should've written.

Aubrey entered the classroom. She saw that other students are already here so she just sat beside them and asked quietly. She wrote down a message in her parchment.

"Anyone want to trade guys"

She said this and waits for a respond...

Deirdre entered the classroom just before class was meant to begin. Checking the board for the assignment, she had to wonder why the professor had chosen that particular charm for them to practice.

"Good afternoon, Professor Barahir." She greeted the man as he stood waiting in front of his desk. She sat at the desk in front of the other girls' and turned in her chair to look at them. "Nice te see ye all lookin' chipper. What's got all of ye in such high spirits?"

As soon as all of the students were in their seats, Barahir began the lesson. "Good afternoon, children. Today you shall learn Aparecium, a charm used to reveal messages written in invisible ink." He smiled openly at the young students. "I have chosen this particular spell in honor of the holiday that shall be upon us in four days time; St. Valentine's Day. Invisible messages are common around this holiday so I hope to be of help to all of you. I shall demonstrate for you."

He picked up a piece of parchment and wrote Aparecium on it in the invisible ink. The word disappeared and he tapped the paper, moving his wand in the exact motion for the spell. "Aparecium." The word reappeared for all of the students to see.

"It will take some practice for most of you, I expect. Now, you will notice a bottle of invisible ink and a blank slip of parchment on your desks. Pair up with the person sitting beside you, if you are sitting alone find someone, write a kind message on your parchment and exchange them with your partner. Unlike our work on the severing charm, this is something you will be allowed to practice outside of class. I will count mastering this spell by St. Valentine's Day to be your homework."

Arya immediately grabbed Marigold to be her partner. There was no one else she trusted more with her secrets other than Adelaine, and Kolby had (oddly enough) jumped at the opportunity to partner up with his Ravenclaw arch nemesis.

“Marigold, you won’t believe it,” she said quietly, making sure everyone else was out of earshot or talking too loud to overhear. “I think I may have gotten a Valentine!”

It really was the best thing that had happened this year, even better than her birthday a month ago. Excitedly sifting through her sack, Arry pulled out the rolled up parchment. She held it like one would hold a baby bird, or perhaps an extra crispy slice of bacon. There was only person she hoped it would be from.

“Perhaps you can reveal it?”

She was trying extremely hard not to raise her hopes. What if it was a joke after all? What if there was no ink to be revealed in the first place? Then I’ll find them and kick them in the shin, Arya decided satisfactorily.

Mira bolted into the Charms room to find the lesson had already started. Luckily, everyone was too busy with the assignment to notice her late arrival. She quietly apologized profusely to Professor Barahir and went to find an empty seat. The only one left was next to her housemate Elsa, so she slid into it and set her things down.

“What have I missed?” she asked while looking to the slate.

Revealing invisible ink? Could come in handy someday, she supposed. There was already a well of jet black ink and a piece of parchment on the desk in front of her.

“I’m assuming we write something and switch it with each other and try to reveal it?”

It seemed a simple enough task, though she wasn’t quite sure why it was necessary to partner up. Barahir seemed in awfully good spirits today, so perhaps he relished the idea of a classroom of chattering children. Mira snapped out of her uncharacteristically bitter mood and got to work, pondering what to write first.


As she wrote, the words seemed to sink into the paper and disappear. Once they were all invisible, she passed it to Elsa.

Mirielle didn't want to stop laughing but she knew that it would distract her peers so she did. She also didn't want to sit quietly but again all her friends were currently working on the assignment.
"Finally stopped laughing, did you have fun?" Tristen obviously in a sour mood now.
"It's distracting to others, be quiet and wait to be dismissed." Mirielle ordered.
"You cannot order me what to do." Mirielle just looked at him."Fine, you maybe right, just this once." Mirielle sighed, Tristen could be such an idiot sometimes but a cute idiot. Oh no I did not just think that. It must be the valentine air being passed around. Mirielle opened her charms book and read ahead of her class, wondering what the next assignment would be. She hated partner assignments. She never got the partner she wanted and thus meaning she was always too distracted to actually learn anything.
She read her book and waited to be dismissed.

Aubrey looked beside her to find that Arya is beside her so she welcomed her.

"Hi Arya, I am Aubrey, mind me working with you?"

She then took a parchment and a quill and the invisible ink and wrote:

Happy Valentine Arya

And then lended it to Arya. Then she waited for Arya to lend her message.

"Um, could we trade now? If your all finished." Judas looked down at the page Wilfreda was on and this time she really did blush.

"Yes, we can trade."Judas nodded to her response and handed over his blank piece of parchment.

Wilfreda chanted over the parchment only once before the parchment before the words began to magically appear on the paper. Judas looked over at her and she blushed again. She didn't mention to him that she liked charms class and that she was rather good at it.
It read as follows: Dear Wilfreda, I've noticed that lately you've been rather sullen. I don't know why but I'm hoping that it's because you don't have a valentine yet and would like to be mine. I know that you don't think anyone notices you but I don't know how they don't. Personally, I think with beauty like yours how any fool could not notice you. Please be my valentine, it would do me great honor. Signed Judas Slytherin.Oh no, it would be rude to say no but it would also be rude to tell him the true reason I've been testy these past few weeks. I'll just have to say yes. Wilfreda blushed and then decided to say yes.

Wilfreda took another piece of parchment and wrote word yes and then handed the already troubled Judas her other piece of parchment.
Wilfreda looked over at Judas, whom she was almost tempted to help but she knew that would get into trouble and decided against it.

"Those people back there are sure distractive." He meant the people who were laughing. Whoever they were.

Adelaine had been two seconds away from asking Deirdre to partner up with her, when an unusually chipper-looking Kolby plopped down next to her. Did she even have a choice in partnering with him?

“Actually, Kolby, I -”

She paused when she noticed he was paying her no attention, already scribbling a message on his paper.  Heaving a sigh, Adele dipped her quill in the dark ink and thought about what to write. She certainly wasn’t going to share any secrets with the snake, nor would she pass him a pleasant message. Nonsense would do.



That ought to do, she thought with a smile. Once the ink dried, she traded messages.

Tapping the parchment with her wand, Adelaine chanted “Aparecium.” To her surprise, it worked. Even more surprising was Kolby’s message to her.

“How dare you!” she said with a gasp, astonished at such foul language.

Wil kept glancing over at Judas to see if he uncovered her message. The one that said yes but he was still stuck on the first. She sighed. At this pace he won't ever have his answer.
"I see you've uncovered my message, what do you think?"
"That you aren't too good at charms." He gave her a coy smile and chanted the charm again and instantly the first message was uncovered.I guess the people behind us never distracted him. He went to reach for the second piece of parchment. When Wil stopped him. Her hand resting on his wrist. She never noticed."All that was an act? You are good at charms?"
"I'm great at charms and Transfiguration but unlike my family I'm no good at potions or DADA. I just didn't want to out shine you. My father did teach me to be a gentleman."
"Gentlemen don't lie." He smiled again.
" Perhaps. Can I have my hand back?" She blushed and quickly removed her hand. "Judging by your reaction you said yes but was it out of pity?"
"No it was because I didn't want to be rude. Might take back my  answer now." She spat. He was seriously getting on her nerves and even Hufflepuffs have their breaking points.
He laughed and then gave her a quick peck on the cheek. She blushed, unintentionally. You weren't supposed to do that. There was rules. You would first ask the father if you could court his daughter and after some period of time the boyfriend would then ask her father if he could have the fathers daughters hand in marriage and if the father said yes then you two could get married. Did he not have any respect for the rules?

Aubrey talked to her friend Juliana about trading and she accepted with a smile that shows that she's planning for something, with this Aubrey changed her text to be "Happy St.Valentine day Juliana" since Arya didn't answer her and then she lent the letter to Juliana while Juliana gave her letter to Aubrey. Aubrey took the letter and put it on her desk and got out her wand, aimed it at the letter and casted.

"Aparecium, Aparecium, Aparecium! " but nothing happened, she became angry and closed her eyes and kept saying Aparecium until she finally made it and Juliana's letter contained the words:



Aubrey looked angrily at her friend and said to her that this is bad because she wrote a good letter to her while she wrote a bad letter. So Juliana's cheeks became red and she said with a quite voice that was like whispering:

"I am sorry Aubrey, I won't do it again."
"Ok, we're still friends."
They hugged each other and then went back to their seats to continue e lesson.

Arya eagerly took Marigold’s letter and smoothed it out on her desk. It looked like they were both in the same boat with the invisible, anonymous messages. Why couldn’t boys just be straight-forward? End all the games and man up.

“Aparecium,” she articulated, tapping the parchment lightly.

She stared at it for a moment, but nothing happened. Arry rolled her eyes, already getting frustrated. Tapping her fingers on the desk and taking a deep breath, she picked up the wand and gave it another go. This time a few words appeared, slowly but surely.


“A yellow what?” she whispered to Marigold curiously. She then remembered it was up to her to find out. “How’s it coming with mine, Marigold?”

Arya  grinned and took the valentine from Marigold like it was a sacred artifact. Her eyes scanned the parchment at the speed of light, and her face was on fire. Future seeker, you’ve captured my heart, she read to herself. Bit cheeky, but it’s still sweet. It said her Valentine would have gold clasps on his boots. She finished reading, rolled it back up, and worked on Marigold’s.

“Alright, Marigold’s Valentine, what have you got to say?” she muttered, tapping the paper again. “Aparecium.”

More quickly than last time, several words magically appeared, but still not the entire letter. With a huff, Arry tried again. Third time’s a charm, she thought to herself, then chuckled at her unintentional pun. Now the complete valentine was there, and Arya read it swiftly before passing it over to her friend.

Adelaine snatched the next paper Kolby passed her, already knowing it would be another insult. Ruttish whelp? I beg to differ, she thought with a grimace. All year, Adele had feared she’d been put in the wrong house, and she sensed Kolby always thought so, too. She could feel the Slytherin side of her coming out to play now, and she didn’t like it. However, she was scribbling the words without a second thought.


Adele was completely calm on the outside. Inside, she was quickly scheming. Before the ink had time to sink in and dry, she took the parchment and slapped it onto Kolby’s cheek. She wasn’t sure what the effects of invisible ink on skin would be, but she smiled satisfactorily.

Chritiare put a little thought into her writing, and simply wrote out a request she wished badly to be fulfilled by someone here.


Most other students appeared to already have traded, so she flipped her note over a few times in her hand, hoping silently that someone would notice her. If all else failed, she decided she might just give it to the Professor, after all he was the head of her house, and shouldn't students be on good terms with their professors anyhow?