The morning of Valentine's Day arrived at Hogwarts, and the Great Hall was unusually bright — decorated with pink and red paper hearts that floated in midair and a nauseatingly strong smell of roses that made even Hagrid sneeze.
At the teachers' table, Professor Lockhart stood up, beaming from ear to ear in bright lilac robes embroidered with cupids.
"Good morning, everyone!" he declared dramatically, his voice echoing off the enchanted ceiling. "I've received six Valentine cards this morning alone — how delightful! It seems love truly is in the air!"
The hall groaned collectively, but Lockhart pressed on with unshakable enthusiasm.
"To celebrate this most romantic of days," he continued, "I've arranged something truly special — three dwarfs dressed as Cupids! They'll be delivering your Valentine cards all day! So, boys and girls, write your heartfelt confessions and hand them to my little messengers!"
The announcement caused immediate chaos. Students whispered and laughed, some already pulling out parchment and quills. Then Lockhart added proudly:
"If you find yourself unsure of words, Professor Snape has kindly offered to brew love potions, and dear Professor Flitwick will teach you a spell or two to make your beloved fall head over heels!"
There was a stunned silence — followed by giggles as Professor Flitwick hid his face behind a plate, mortified, and quietly slipped away. Snape, meanwhile, looked as though he would like to vanish entirely. His glare could have melted steel.
Roy, watching all this from his seat at the Hufflepuff table, smiled mischievously.An idea — a wonderfully wicked idea — sparked in his mind.
Later that morning, he discreetly called over one of the dwarf Cupids. Slipping the dwarf three Galleons, Roy handed him an envelope.
"Deliver this personally to Professor Snape," he instructed, his eyes glinting. "Make sure you sing it loud and clear."
The dwarf nodded eagerly, thinking it was just another confession from one of Lockhart's admirers.
When lunchtime came, the Great Hall was packed. Students were laughing, passing around sweets, and watching the dwarfs deliver songs and cards to their unfortunate targets.
Then, one dwarf marched right up to the staff table, cleared his throat, and shouted:"Message for Professor Severus Snape!"
The hall fell silent. Even Lockhart blinked in confusion.
The dwarf began to sing, loud and clear:
"Ah! Severus!Your greasy hair is as charming as flobberworm slime!Your big hooked nose strikes a chord with me!The black robe that never changes for a thousand years,The look of disgust that makes me yearn for you even in dreams!Ah, Severus!If I don't see you for a day, I feel uncomfortable all over!I think you are my human love potion, right?"
As the final verse echoed through the hall, the dwarf threw a handful of rose petals into the air.
There was a stunned pause — then the entire student body erupted into uncontrollable laughter.
Fred and George Weasley fell off their benches, crying with laughter. Even some of the professors couldn't hide their smiles. Snape's face, however, was a dangerous shade of greenish-black.
Lockhart, who had been laughing along without realizing, suddenly noticed the look on Snape's face — and the fact that the dwarf was staring at him. The dwarf pointed cheerfully.
"He said to give it to the man with the curly blond hair!"
The laughter doubled. Even Dumbledore had to pretend to cough to hide a smile.
That afternoon, Hogwarts was in chaos — dwarfs running up and down corridors, students pranking each other with fake confessions, and laughter echoing from every corner. For one day, everyone forgot about the Chamber of Secrets, the fear, and the whispers.
By evening, the entire castle knew about "Snape's Secret Admirer."
The Weasley twins cornered Roy later, still grinning. "Whoever wrote that letter is a genius! We'd like to be their apprentices!"
Roy only smiled mysteriously.Hermione, Cassandra, Penelope, Daphne, Astoria, and Cho all exchanged knowing looks — they didn't need confirmation to guess who the real culprit was.
That night, however, a peculiar rumor spread — Professor Snape had gone to Lockhart's office. No one knew what happened during their conversation, but when Lockhart emerged later, pale-faced and trembling, he announced a sudden one-week leave "to recuperate from excessive popularity."
Roy chuckled quietly when he heard the news.It was, without a doubt, one of his most successful pranks yet.