On the morning of February 14th, everyone finally discovered how Gilderoy Lockhart intended to "surprise" them. The moment Orli stepped into the Great Hall, she almost thought she had entered the wrong place. The walls were covered in enormous, garishly bright pink flowers, and to make matters worse, countless heart-shaped confetti were perpetually drifting down from the enchanted ceiling.
Lockhart sat proudly at the staff table, wearing a pink robe that matched the decorations. The professors seated beside him wore expressions ranging from grim to outright murderous. Professor McGonagall's cheek muscles twitched visibly, as though she were gritting her teeth, while Professor Snape's expression resembled that of someone who had just been force-fed an entire bottle of concentrated Skele-Gro.
"Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!" Lockhart declared loudly, his voice echoing through the hall.
"Up to now, I've received 46 Valentine cards, and I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to all the senders. But that's not the end of my little surprises for you all!"
Taking advantage of the general distraction, Orli quickly slipped over to the Gryffindor table with Hermione. Ron was already there, his face a mask of disgust, while Harry was busy brushing confetti off his bacon.
With an exaggerated clap of his hands, Lockhart summoned twelve sullen-looking dwarfs who marched in from the doors leading to the entrance hall. Each of them carried a harp and wore golden wings, looking like cheap decorations from a tacky couples' restaurant.
"My friendly little cupids, carrying your Valentine messages, will be roaming the school today to deliver your tokens of affection!" Lockhart announced gleefully. "I'm sure my colleagues will be more than willing to join in the spirit of the day. Why not ask Professor Snape to teach you how to brew a love potion? And if you're interested, Professor Flitwick is more skilled in charm magic than any wizard I've ever met—what a sly old fox he is!"
Professor Flitwick buried his face in his hands, while Snape's expression made it clear that anyone daring to approach him about love potions would likely end up drinking poison. Orli decided it would be wise to avoid mentioning love potions for at least a year to prevent him from recalling today's debacle.
All day long, the dwarfs barged into classrooms to deliver Valentine's cards, much to the annoyance of the professors. In the afternoon, as the second-year Gryffindors were heading to Charms class, one of the dwarfs suddenly chased after Harry.
"Hey! You! Harry Potter!" shouted an especially grumpy-looking dwarf, elbowing his way through the crowd toward Harry.
Harry turned to flee, but he had barely taken two steps when the dwarf caught up to him and aggressively plucked at his harp strings.
"I have a singing Valentine to deliver to Harry Potter!" the dwarf declared.
A crowd began to gather, eager not to miss the spectacle of the famous Harry Potter receiving a Valentine. A group of first-years happened to be passing by, and Ginny was among them, peeking curiously at the commotion. Orli caught her eye, and Ginny's face instantly turned bright red.
"Don't read it here!" Harry whispered desperately, struggling to escape. But the dwarf yanked at his bag strap with such force that it snapped. Books, parchment, quills, and his wand spilled onto the floor, and his ink bottle shattered on top, drenching everything in ink.
"Damn it!" Harry cursed, angrily trying to gather his belongings. But the dwarf grabbed his leg, causing him to fall heavily to the ground.
"Alright then," the dwarf said, plopping himself onto Harry's knees to ensure he couldn't escape. He then began to sing loudly:
"His eyes are as green as a freshly pickled toad..."
Merlin's beard! If this song continued, Harry would undoubtedly become the laughingstock of all Hogwarts!
"Silencio!" Orli whipped out her wand and cast a Silencing Charm at the dwarf. His lips kept moving, but thankfully, no sound came out, sparing everyone from hearing the rest of the song.
Percy, coming down the staircase from the other side of the hall, finally noticed the commotion and pushed through the crowd. Ron and Hermione worked together to shoo the dwarf away, while Harry struggled to his feet—his legs had gone numb from the dwarf sitting on them.
"Thanks, Orli, really. You basically saved my life," Harry said dramatically, shaking Orli's hand.
Orli barely acknowledged him, turning instead to check on Ginny. Thankfully, Ginny didn't seem upset. Clearly, this kind of Valentine delivery wasn't as "romantic" as she had hoped.
"Orli, I must warn you that casting spells in the corridor is against school rules..." Percy began.
But no one paid much attention to this minor issue.
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