Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is a Muggle holiday observed on 14 February, which has also been adopted by some members of the wizarding world. It is a day associated with romance, affection, and expressions of love. At Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the holiday has been the backdrop for several significant, and often dramatic or awkward, events in the life of Harry Potter and his friends. These occasions have ranged from embarrassing public displays to pivotal plot developments, including a near-fatal poisoning and a crucial turning point in the public's perception of Lord Voldemort's return.

1993: Lockhart's Celebration During Harry Potter's second year, Defence Against the Dark Arts professor Gilderoy Lockhart initiated a school-wide Valentine's Day celebration to “boost morale” in the wake of the Chamber of Secrets attacks.

• The Great Hall was decorated with lurid pink flowers and heart-shaped confetti that fluttered down from the ceiling. Professor Lockhart himself wore ostentatious, matching pink robes.
• Lockhart hired a dozen “surly-looking” dwarves, dressed as cupids with golden wings and harps, to roam the school delivering singing valentines.
• Harry was the recipient of a particularly embarrassing public valentine, sent anonymously by Ginny Weasley. The delivering dwarf tackled Harry in a crowded corridor, spilling the contents of his bag, and sang the following verse:
  • “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.”
• In the ensuing chaos, Draco Malfoy mockingly snatched up Tom Riddle's Diary, which had fallen from Harry's bag. This moment was significant as it confirmed to Harry that Malfoy had seen the diary, which would later prove crucial to understanding how Ginny came to be possessed by it.

1996: Hogsmeade Date and The Quibbler Interview In Harry's fifth year, Valentine's Day coincided with a Hogsmeade weekend. This day marked two key events for Harry.

• First Date: Harry had his first official date with Cho Chang at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. The establishment was described as nauseatingly decorated, filled with couples, and enchanted with golden cherubs throwing pink confetti. The date was a failure; Harry felt uncomfortable with the atmosphere, and Cho became jealous when Harry mentioned he had to meet Hermione Granger, ultimately ending the date in tears over both this and her lingering grief for Cedric Diggory.
• Rita Skeeter Interview: Immediately following the disastrous date, Harry met Hermione at the Three Broomsticks. Hermione had arranged for Harry to be interviewed by the disgraced journalist Rita Skeeter. This interview, published in The Quibbler, was the first time Harry's full account of Lord Voldemort's return was made public, marking a major turning point in the Second Wizarding War.

1997: Love Potion and Poisoning Valentine's Day in Harry's sixth year was the setting for a dangerous incident involving a love potion and a separate poisoning attempt.

• Romilda Vane, determined to win Harry's affection, attempted to give him a box of Chocolate Cauldrons spiked with a powerful love potion.
• Ron Weasley, however, mistook the chocolates for a birthday present and ate them himself, falling instantly and intensely in love with Romilda.
• Harry took the afflicted Ron to Potions Master Horace Slughorn for an antidote. After successfully curing Ron, Slughorn offered both boys a glass of oak-matured mead.
• The mead had been a Christmas gift for Albus Dumbledore from Slughorn, but it had been poisoned by Draco Malfoy in an attempt to kill the Headmaster. Ron drank the mead and was poisoned, only surviving because Harry quickly administered a bezoar from his Potions kit.

• The film adaptations of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince all include the Valentine's Day events described in the novels. The depiction of Lockhart's celebration, Harry's date with Cho, and Ron's accidental ingestion of the love potion are largely faithful to their source material. (film)