"Oooh, it might have hidden powers," smiled Hermione enthusiastically, taking the diary and looking at it closely.

They were sitting together in their common room, after the girl was finally allowed to leave the hospital wing.

"If it has, it's hiding them very well," said Ron, who thought they were being ridiculous. "Maybe it's shy. I don't know why you don't chuck it, Harry."

"I wish I knew why someone did try to chuck it," muttered Harry. "I wouldn't mind knowing how Riddle got an award for special services to Hogwarts either."

"Could've been anything," said Ron. "Maybe he got thirty O.W.L.s or saved a teacher from the giant squid. Maybe he murdered Myrtle; that would've done everyone a favor..."

The same expression of realisation appeared on Harry, Hermione and Ben's faces. Ron stared at them, waiting for someone to explain whatever was going on.

"What?"

"Remember what Malfoy said?" began Ben nervously.

"That the Chamber of Secrets was opened for the first time fifty years ago," Harry reminded him, as the redhead nodded.

"Yeah..."

Hermione tapped the diary excitedly. "And this is fifty years old..."

"So?"

"Oh, Ron, wake up!" the girl snapped her fingers in front of his face, causing him to give a small jump back in his seat. "We know the person who opened the Chamber last time was expelled fifty years ago. We know T. M. Riddle got an award for special services to the school fifty years ago. Well, what if Riddle got his special award for catching the Heir of Slytherin? His diary would probably tell us everything; where the Chamber is, and how to open it, and what sort of creature lives in it. The person who's behind the attacks this time wouldn't want that lying around, would they? "

"That's a brilliant theory, Hermione," said Ron, "with just one tiny little flaw. There's nothing written in his diary."

———————————————

Gilderoy Lockhart thought it would be a wonderful idea to boost the school's morale, in order to wash out the memories of what had happened the term before, while Madam Pomfrey kept taking care of the Mandrakes until they were ready to bring the petrified back.

Hermione thought it was a brilliant suggestion, while Harry, Ron and Ben were quite scared of what the professor was thinking about.

Yet, nothing that they had imagined equaled what Lockhart had set up at breakfast time on February fourteenth.

The walls were all covered with large, lurid pink flowers. Worse still, heart-shaped confetti was falling from the pale blue ceiling. There was a disgustingly strong smell of flowers that made it hard to breathe.

Hermione was captivated by his idea's "beauty and charm", while Ron's reaction bordered on sheer horror, leaving him looking almost sick. Ben, however, was fighting with all his might to suppress his laughter, almost choking in the process.

"What's going on?" asked Harry, appearing behind Hermione in the Gryffindor table. Wood had made them practice the night before, and he arrived quite late to the dormitory, so he overslept a bit.

"It's Saint Valentine's day," explained Ben, as Ron seemed to be unable to speak. The redhead pointed to the teacher's table, where Lockhart stood with a bright smile, wearing lurid pink robes to match the decorations.

Not bursting into laughter again at the rest of the professor's faces was becoming unbearable for Ben.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" shouted Lockhart. "And may I thank the forty-six people who have so far sent me cards! Yes, I have taken the liberty of arranging this little surprise for you all- and it doesn't end here!"

Oh, great, there's more.

Lockhart clapped his hands and through the doors to the entrance hall marched a dozen dwarfs, which were all wearing golden wings and carrying harps.

Ben was shaking in the middle of his battle against himself.

"My friendly, card-carrying cupids!" beamed Lockhart. "They will be roving around the school today delivering your valentines! And the fun doesn't stop here! I'm sure my colleagues will want to enter into the spirit of the occasion! Why not ask Professor Snape to show you how to whip up a Love Potion! And while you're at it, Professor Flitwick knows more about Entrancing Enchantments than any wizard I've ever met, the sly old dog!"

"I kinda wish someone asks Snape that, I'd love to see his reaction," whisper-chuckled Ben.

"Please, Hermione, tell me you weren't one of the forty-six," said Ron as they left the Great Hall for their first lesson. But, all of a sudden, Hermione became very interested in searching her bag for her schedule and didn't answer.

During the rest of the day, dwarfs kept bursting into classes to deliver valentines. All of it was quite funny to Ben, until a small dwarf suddenly appeared in front of him when they were leaving a classroom, and it stopped being entertaining.

"Benjamin Walker?" the dwarf asked him with a very high-pitched voice.

"Who?"

"Benjamin Walker."

"I really don't know who that-"

"I know it's you."

"Oh."

The dwarf handed him a piece of cardboard in the shape of a dark red heart with glitter, and left without a word. There was just a sentence, written with very beautiful handwriting, that said, 'Happy Saint Valentine's Day'.

Right below that, it was signed by a girl called 'Marina Ortíz."

Ben had honestly no idea of who she was, but he was quite grateful and flattered. "Do you know any Marina Ortíz?"

Ron and Harry shook their heads, but Hermione nodded quickly. "She's a Hufflepuff in our year. But I don't think we've ever talked."

"So this Marina sent you that?" asked Harry, receiving a nod from Ben. "That's nice."

But Harry didn't think it was that nice when later that afternoon, another dwarf caught up with him as the Gryffindors were walking upstairs for their Charms class.

"Oi, you! 'Arry Potter!" shouted a particularly grim-looking one, elbowing people out of the way to get to him.

Harry panicked so much he tried to run through the crowd to get away from the dwarf, who cut his way through people by kicking them, and arrived next to the boy.

"I've got a musical message to deliver to 'Arry Potter in person," he proclaimed, twanging his harp in a creepy way.

"Not here," hissed Harry, desperately trying to escape.

"Stay still!" grunted the dwarf, grabbing hold of Harry's bag and pulling him back.

"Let me go!" Harry snarled, tugging.

His bag split in two, with his books, wand, parchment, and quill spilling onto the floor, followed by his ink bottle being smashed over everything.

Harry started to quickly pack up before the dwarf began to sing, and Draco Malfoy had just appeared, adding to the chaos that had ensued. "What's going on here?"

The first thing Hermione, Ron and Ben saw when they arrived there was Harry trying to run away again, and the dwarf seizing him around the knees, making him crash into the floor.

Merlin.

"Right," the dwarf cleared his throat, sitting on Harry's ankles. "Here is your singing valentine:

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.

Ben burst into a fit of laughter for the fifth time that day. 

A/N: sorry this is kinda short