On Valentine's Day, Gilderoy Lockhart swept into Madam Puddifoot's, wearing his bright pink Valentine's best, to a room full of students-in blue and black leather and denim.
"I thought I stated very clearly in the dress code-"
"You dare question the sense of Andre Egwu, style wizard?" Andre questioned smugly.
"Ah, yes, of course, Mr. Egwu," said Lockhart, paying attention to the students for the first time as he pulled out a large quill and shiny golden notebook. "Tell me, Mr. Egwu, where do you get your killer fashion sense? And Miss Haywood, what goes on in the head of a prodigy potioneer..."
"He's been taking notes as if for an exam," Barnaby told Dani after a few minutes of being ignored by Lockhart.
"At least he's not bo-talk of the devil," replied Dani as Lockhart came over at long last.
"More of a legend in the making, my head apprentice," Lockhart boasted. "Other than Mr. Egwu's fashion choices, I'd say this Valentine's Day party is slightly more subdued than my usual tastes, but magnificent nonetheless!"
"So what are your usual tastes, Mr. Lockhart?" asked Barnaby. "Will that be on the exam you're taking notes for?"
"No exams here, my lad," Lockhart said. "But I'd love to hear more about your cursebreaking adventures with Miss Jackson here!"
"But aren't we supposed to be promoting your book launch?" said Dani. "Who and what exactly is this party for, anyway?"
************************************
A few more boring minutes of listening to Lockhart's voice later...
"You're full of unusual questions but give us no time to answer," Dani finally got a sentence in.
"You can answer now, and swiftly!" Lockhart replied happily. "Life is full of daunting deadlines, often from esteemed publishers!"
"Anyway, are we here to promote Voyages with Vampires or to provide ideas for your next book?" asked Dani.
"You're here for my contribution to creating the wizarding world's next generation of legends, and for Voyages with Vipers!"
"You mean Voyages with Vampires?" said Barnaby. "I've been so busy looking after bowtruckles I haven't had time to read it yet. And it didn't have an pictures in it either."
"Hm... I suppose including photos of vampires would've lent more authenticity..."
"Vampires can't be photographed, Barnaby," explained Dani. "And Mr. Lockhart, why would your adventures need more authenticity? Unless..."
"They didn't happen!" yelled Merula, who had overheard the conversation.
"Is that why you want to know what us students see and do, Mr. Lockhart? Because you yourself don't see and do much?"
"Students with extraordinary talents and experiences! It's why I chose-er, randomly selected the six of you!"
"Oh no, we have to tell Dum-"
"OBLIVIATE!"
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"Is it just the six of us?" asked Merula. "Why are we all here, anyway? It's a bit too pink than I'd like..."
"It IS Valentine's Day..." replied a bewildered Penny.
"Still, I don't remember Dumbledore letting us go to Hogsmeade today..."
"You're right, let's head back before we get in trouble..."
************************************
That evening, Dani was doing her homework at Rowan's favourite table. By now, she'd forgotten all about mysteriously landing herself in the village-she'd seen much weirder stuff at school over the past five and a half years-and was thinking about her upcoming meeting with Moody. He probably wouldn't be too happy that the only lead they had to the vault right now was R themselves. Dani knew that she'd do pretty much anything for the safety of her friends.
One of the school owls landed on her table with a note from Barnaby, telling her to meet him in one of the greenhouses for their date. Dani remembered talking to Barnaby about a Valentine's Day date earlier that week, but didn't remember having any concrete plans.
A few minutes later, Dani arrived at the greenhouse to find the entrance decorated with some sort of tree archway with purple flowers. Barnaby waved her over from a candlelit table. "Surprise! I promised you the perfect date, and I delivered!"
"Barnaby, it's amazing!" Dani exclaimed as she sat down. "Does anyone else know we're here?"
"Just Sprout. I'm glad she let me use the greenhouse," Barnaby replied. "I would've chose pink flowers, but Andre said that we weren't doing pink this year, and I can't quite remember why. But I do look rather fetching in leather, don't I?"
"Of course you do," replied Dani. "Thank you for doing this for me, Barnaby. I was hoping I could maybe give you-"
A lovebird flew through the window into the greenhouse, and Dani had an idea. She waved her wand the the lovebird turned into a pink howler. "BE MY VALENTINE!"
Barnaby laughed. "I was half expecting a sonnet, but this is more like the Dani I know."
"Rowan would MAKE me write you a sonnet," said Dani. "But I'm glad we can forget about all the crazy stuff going on and have our date in peace tonight."
"Same here. I'm glad you're my Valentine, Dani."
YOU ARE READING
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery Year 6
AdventureWARNING: THIS BOOK CONTAINS DEATH, STRONG LANGUAGE, AND MENTIONS OF TORTURE AND VIOLENCE. WHO WOULD WIN: dark wizard cabal vs. a group of 16-year-olds! Our heroes return for their sixth year, a divided front and pressed for time as corrupted hands i...
