Happy Thursday and welcome back to Mac Claire, your curated destination for all things Music, Arts & Culture! 🎶🎨🎭
I'm so glad that you're here for my first Valentine's-themed article of the month, Valentine's at Hogwarts! 💕 Holiday celebrations like the Halloween and Christmas Feasts and the Yule Ball are some of Harry Potter fans' most favorite moments in the series, but what about Valentine's Day? There were some really memorable moments that occurred during the "holiday of love" that got less attention because they were only included in the books, but today I'm going to give them the star treatment and rank them all!
(P.S. there are many Harry Potter series spoilers ahead, so if you have not read the full series yet proceed with caution!)
1. Gilderoy Lockhart's Valentine's Antics
In Chapter 13 of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets we got our first look at Valentine's Day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Gilderoy Lockhart, the year's flamboyant and fashionable Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, could be seen in "lurid pink robes" to match the lurid pink flowers he decorated the Great Hall with. He also encouraged his fellow Professors to teach the students how to brew love potions and Entrancing Enchantments throughout the day, produced heart-shaped confetti to fall from the ceiling, and brought in dwarves with golden wings and harps to deliver Valentines to the students. Some may think it was all too much, but I think this Valentine's Day sounds quite festive and I would've loved having a Valentine's Day like this at school in the Muggle world! Henceforth, Gilderoy Lockhart's Valentine's Antics takes spot number one! ☝🏻
2. Harry's Musical Valentine
In the same chapter (13 of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) Harry received a musical valentine, delivered by one of Lockhart's winged dwarves. The song went:
"His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad,
His hair is as dark as a blackboard.
I wish he was mine, he's really divine,
the hero who conquered the Dark Lord".
While a young Harry getting tackled to the ground so he can be sung to by a dwarf in a corridor filled with fellow students is a truly comical scene for the reader, one must remember that it would've truly traumatized any 12-year-old child and the person who sent it to them (who'd probably hoped that their Valentine would be received in private). It was later confirmed by the author that it was indeed Ginny Weasley who sent this musical message to Harry and I like to think that when the two are together years later they have a good laugh about it. Harry's Musical Valentine takes spot number two! ✌🏻
3. Harry and Cho's Valentine's Date
In Chapter 25 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry went on a Valentine's Day date to Hogsmeade village with his first crush, Cho Chang. Things started well with the two talking about their favorite shared activity, Quidditch, but when they stopped into the cramped and cutesy Madam Puddifoot's tea shop for a coffee, everything went downhill. Not even the cute golden cherubs throwing pink confetti over the tables for Valentine's Day could save matters! Couples kissing and holding hands all around them made Harry feel extremely awkward and flustered, and his efforts to force conversation with Cho led to one miscommunication after another. Soon she was jealous, then she was crying, then she was yelling and crying, and then she was gone. Easy to say, this was Harry's worst Valentine's Day, so Harry and Cho's Valentine's Date takes spot number three. 🥉
Honorable Mentions
4. Amortentia
My first honorable mention can be found in Chapter 9 of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The school year had just begun and Harry found himself in his first N.E.W.T. level Potions class with Professor Slughorn in front of cauldrons of mystery potions. One of my favorite quotes ever reads, "a gold-colored cauldron...was emitting one of the most seductive scents Harry had ever inhaled: Somehow it reminded him simultaneously of treacle tart, the woody smell of a broomstick handle, and something flowery he thought he might have smelled at the Burrow." The potion was Amortentia, the most powerful love potion in the world, and it smells differently to everyone- of what attracts them. At this point Harry doesn't realize that the "flowery scent" is Ginny, but a keen reader will know and appreciate that it's the first time Harry's attraction to Ginny is really expressed. Though this moment doesn't take place on Valentine's Day, Harry and Ginny are one of my favorite Harry Potter couples, I had to mention this crucial moment in their love story.
5. Harry Potter Hogwarts Mystery Valentine's Events
This second honorable mention goes to the mobile game Harry Potter Hogwarts Mystery. The game takes place at Hogwarts during the late 80s/early 90s and allows you to create your own adventure within the storyline of the "Cursed Vaults". Every holiday the game developers release special limited time events that expand the narrative of the wizarding world and the history of Hogwarts as a whole. Last year for Valentine's Day, players were treated to an event featuring none other than Gilderoy Lockhart, who decided to visit Hogwarts while in the area on a book tour. He chose six special students to attend a Valentine's Day book launch of Voyages with Vampires, but he also had some ulterior motives for inviting them. 🤔 This year's event hasn't been released yet, but it appears to be a Valentine's Ball of some sort. I'm sure it's going to be a lot of fun and give us more information about both the Harry Potter and HPHM universe!
Thank you so much for tuning in to read this week's article! I hope you had as much fun reading it as I had writing it. I loved revisiting these passages from the books; it never gets old. What Harry Potter articles would you like to see from Mac Claire in the future? Let me know your ideas in the comments! 🌟
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Be sure to tune in for next week's article, Mac Valentine's Day Favorites; looking forward to seeing you then!
~Claire
*Please note; I do not in any way support or agree with the unkind, controversial, and hateful views of the 'Harry Potter' author towards the LGBTQ+ community, especially the Trans community, and strive to support small businesses and independent artists within the fandom instead.*
*Please note; I do not in any way support or agree hateful viity, tTrcommunity, and strive to support small businesses and independent artists wit fandom instead.*
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