Hermione and Japanese Valentine traditions
darthcourt10
Well worn.
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Tiypo
Harry had never considered himself notably attractive, in Japan his features had stood out among his class and not always in a good way; it didn't mean he thought himself ugly, just that aside from Natsumi and the odd year where he had vaguely shared looks with a popular western actor he didn't get much attention at school. His looks mattered far less when he was working with various Shipgirls; their natural beauty aside, looks among them were wildly varied even within the same class so his foreign looks mattered little and his colorful and friendly personality let him shine. Naturally come Valentines he would receive few chocolates from other students outside of tangents to his small social circle. He really didn't mind, he got plenty of attention from those on the base and received more than enough Valentines from them. Things were obviously going to be different at Hogwarts.
It was still early morning and Harry had already categorized the day as a magnitude 5.0+ on his newly created Richter Scale of Awkwardness. More than one somewhat downtrodden looking girl was repeatedly glancing at him awkwardly, fidgeting, and blushing when he noticed. Maybe had underestimated how big his fame was? It seemed odd that they would idolize him so much when the real heroes were out on the waves fighting monsters from the depths. At least Hermione didn't seem to be affected. Walking into the Great Hall, she casually approached him and passed along a single small chocolate.
"Happy Valentines Harry!" She said cheerfully.
He smiled in response, "Thank you, I didn't expect a giri choco from anyone here."
"A few family members in the Navy taught me how some other countries celebrate." The undercover light cruiser piled her plate full of food while she answered, before starting to eat with gusto.
Harry's rating of the awkwardness only increased another rank as those who had watched realized they had just missed some sort of clue on how to proceed in the completely casual exchange. They were now were also eyeing the studious Gryffindor female as if to telepathically plead with one they typically teased for being a know-it-all to impart her knowledge upon them.
Her attention was much to consumed with chocolate drizzled pancakes for them to ever have a chance.
Others from their house slowly trickled in and the tension only increased as the prospect of approaching Harry became more of a public spectacle. Ron and Neville had eventually arrived and also received small chocolates from Hermione, her mentioning that she was celebrating the holiday in Japanese style this year. By this point the atmosphere of the table was starting to annoy Harry, so he decided to change it.
Entertainment was an business that would never disappear and the most dire of time drove those behind it all the harder to keep people smiling. A radio required no outlet, no fees, and was very portable; making it an essential object to have on hand in case of an evacuation. Thanks to these two facts, podcasts and radio shows had experienced a resurgence as powerhouses of media.
One podcast in particular had become popular among the Shipgirls and if the following at Yokosuka was any indicator some muggleborn in his house were bound to have heard it. The jaded acceptance the locals showed to the seemingly endless terrors from beyond the town's borders was both inspirational and humorous to many of them; for today though there was an episode that had special relevance for inspiration. Rising to his feet, he cleared his throat, making it clear he was about to say something. What chattering there was at the table stopped and all eyes turned to see what the soon-to-be-receiver of many a Valentine had to say. Dropping into the deepest and smoothest voice he could manage at his age he began his mini-speech.
"Hello, citizens of Gryffindor. I bring you now to our ongoing coverage of the Valentine's Day. Emergency workers have been at it since early this morning, preparing for the day's disasters."
Hermione gave him a startled look before covering her mouth with her hand to hide her giggles as his tone became needlessly dire.
"The day is still young, but there have already been several casualties in the houses of Hufflepuff and Slytherin while Ravenclaw is reporting damage to their tower and several stairwells.
Please, if you are not directly involved with the prevention and cleanup for Valentine's Day, stay out of the halls to make room for those who are."
By this point several students were holding back laughter much to the confusion of the others around them, and Harry moved to round out his impromptu speech.
"This Valentine's Day, as all Valentine's Days, will not succeed in bringing our house down! This Valentine's Day, as all Valentine's Days, will soon recede into painful memory, fading with time, until another foul Valentine's Day is upon us again..."
Harry turned to walk away from the table feeling better as the other students familiar with the work burst out laughing at his impression, Hermione in particular giving him an applause as she got up to join him. With that he had bought himself a short reprieve from the fans he had in school as they tried to figure out what his speech was all about, but who knew how long that would last.
-=#=-
The work in question is Welcome to Night Vale. It's presented like an NPR news show but in a city where every conspiracy theory, tall-tale, and ghost story is true; and those who live there are completely jaded to the fact. People going missing or being turned into trees is considered normal. I highly recommend it.
Harry had never considered himself notably attractive, in Japan his features had stood out among his class and not always in a good way; it didn't mean he thought himself ugly, just that aside from Natsumi and the odd year where he had vaguely shared looks with a popular western actor he didn't get much attention at school. His looks mattered far less when he was working with various Shipgirls; their natural beauty aside, looks among them were wildly varied even within the same class so his foreign looks mattered little and his colorful and friendly personality let him shine. Naturally come Valentines he would receive few chocolates from other students outside of tangents to his small social circle. He really didn't mind, he got plenty of attention from those on the base and received more than enough Valentines from them. Things were obviously going to be different at Hogwarts.
It was still early morning and Harry had already categorized the day as a magnitude 5.0+ on his newly created Richter Scale of Awkwardness. More than one somewhat downtrodden looking girl was repeatedly glancing at him awkwardly, fidgeting, and blushing when he noticed. Maybe had underestimated how big his fame was? It seemed odd that they would idolize him so much when the real heroes were out on the waves fighting monsters from the depths. At least Hermione didn't seem to be affected. Walking into the Great Hall, she casually approached him and passed along a single small chocolate.
"Happy Valentines Harry!" She said cheerfully.
He smiled in response, "Thank you, I didn't expect a giri choco from anyone here."
"A few family members in the Navy taught me how some other countries celebrate." The undercover light cruiser piled her plate full of food while she answered, before starting to eat with gusto.
Harry's rating of the awkwardness only increased another rank as those who had watched realized they had just missed some sort of clue on how to proceed in the completely casual exchange. They were now were also eyeing the studious Gryffindor female as if to telepathically plead with one they typically teased for being a know-it-all to impart her knowledge upon them.
Her attention was much to consumed with chocolate drizzled pancakes for them to ever have a chance.
Others from their house slowly trickled in and the tension only increased as the prospect of approaching Harry became more of a public spectacle. Ron and Neville had eventually arrived and also received small chocolates from Hermione, her mentioning that she was celebrating the holiday in Japanese style this year. By this point the atmosphere of the table was starting to annoy Harry, so he decided to change it.
Entertainment was an business that would never disappear and the most dire of time drove those behind it all the harder to keep people smiling. A radio required no outlet, no fees, and was very portable; making it an essential object to have on hand in case of an evacuation. Thanks to these two facts, podcasts and radio shows had experienced a resurgence as powerhouses of media.
One podcast in particular had become popular among the Shipgirls and if the following at Yokosuka was any indicator some muggleborn in his house were bound to have heard it. The jaded acceptance the locals showed to the seemingly endless terrors from beyond the town's borders was both inspirational and humorous to many of them; for today though there was an episode that had special relevance for inspiration. Rising to his feet, he cleared his throat, making it clear he was about to say something. What chattering there was at the table stopped and all eyes turned to see what the soon-to-be-receiver of many a Valentine had to say. Dropping into the deepest and smoothest voice he could manage at his age he began his mini-speech.
"Hello, citizens of Gryffindor. I bring you now to our ongoing coverage of the Valentine's Day. Emergency workers have been at it since early this morning, preparing for the day's disasters."
Hermione gave him a startled look before covering her mouth with her hand to hide her giggles as his tone became needlessly dire.
"The day is still young, but there have already been several casualties in the houses of Hufflepuff and Slytherin while Ravenclaw is reporting damage to their tower and several stairwells.
Please, if you are not directly involved with the prevention and cleanup for Valentine's Day, stay out of the halls to make room for those who are."
By this point several students were holding back laughter much to the confusion of the others around them, and Harry moved to round out his impromptu speech.
"This Valentine's Day, as all Valentine's Days, will not succeed in bringing our house down! This Valentine's Day, as all Valentine's Days, will soon recede into painful memory, fading with time, until another foul Valentine's Day is upon us again..."
Harry turned to walk away from the table feeling better as the other students familiar with the work burst out laughing at his impression, Hermione in particular giving him an applause as she got up to join him. With that he had bought himself a short reprieve from the fans he had in school as they tried to figure out what his speech was all about, but who knew how long that would last.
-=#=-
The work in question is Welcome to Night Vale. It's presented like an NPR news show but in a city where every conspiracy theory, tall-tale, and ghost story is true; and those who live there are completely jaded to the fact. People going missing or being turned into trees is considered normal. I highly recommend it.