A month and a half flew by unnoticed. The teachers continued the topic of defense in all lessons, Apparition classes were held on Fridays, where Flamia had already begun simply slacking off, just so as not to give any extra reason for mockery, and Harry was preparing the Great Marauder Prank. Even Dobby and Kreacher were involved in carrying it out, since it was necessary to learn the victims' daily routine, as well as to have access to the kitchen. The skills in potion-making that had suddenly revealed themselves this year also came in handy. And no one suspected that the Boy-Who-Lived was plotting something. After all, Snape, it must be admitted, could no longer break through this scoundrel's block even by force…
The morning of February 14 promised nothing unusual. Well, in the sense, too unusual. As always, many couples had already begun celebrating the Day of All Lovers since morning. Of course, a person like Filch could not help spoiling the holiday, but he was alone, and the lovers were half the castle. There were, of course, also the dissatisfied, such as Romilda and McLaggen. Fortunately, Ginny decided that Potter was not the only light in the window, and therefore began dating some Ravenclaw from her year. Ron, however, somewhat stunned the public by showing up for breakfast in the company of Luna Lovegood. In general, of Harry's acquaintances, only Hermione remained without a partner. But she was clearly not in a romantic mood; one might have thought that she alone had ended up among madmen. However, such behavior from Miss Bookworm surprised no one. But Dumbledore presented a small surprise:
"Happy Day of All Lovers! Unfortunately, this year the traditional walk to Hogsmeade for February 14 had to be canceled due to the tense situation in the world. However, there is no need to be upset! Instead, today after dinner, the Ball of All Lovers will be held! The only condition is dress robes and a festive mood. If you have not yet found your other half, do not be upset — perhaps tonight will change your fate as well!"
And the headmaster slyly winked at the enlivened students.
But lunch in the Great Hall went extremely unusually…
Those who were lucky enough to come to the Hall at the beginning of lunch happened to behold the following sight: Snape enters… with a WASHED head and styled hair, with teeth cleaned to whiteness, with well-groomed nails on washed hands and in NEW dress robes!
And this embodiment of delirium tremens of the Lions' faculty heads straight toward their table, after which he kneels before Romilda Vane…
"Yes, for this it was worth spending a month poring over the Slowing potion!" the culprit of the prank remarked quietly.
But not only that, Severus decided to express "his" feelings for the Gryffindor girl in verse…
"And with the Strengthening potion, I perhaps overdid it…"
And the prank did not end there! Now a radiant McLaggen burst into the Hall with a bouquet of flowers, which, however, fell to the floor as soon as the oaf noticed his "rival"… Cormac reached Severus Snape with decisive steps and… challenged him to a duel!
"I demand satisfaction! Immediately!" and McLaggen drew his wand from the pocket of his robes.
Snape did the same, and the opponents, observing propriety and greeting each other, moved apart along the central aisle. If not for the impossibility of what was happening, the duelists would have been stopped by the other teachers or by Dumbledore himself, only the latter had clearly understood that the prank was not yet finished. And so, the "rivals" prepared themselves, waved their wands and… acquired a truly donkey-like appearance! At first everyone thought that these were the consequences of their spells, however the duelists' "wands" turned into canaries and flew off to winter in warm lands… And to complete the prank, only a couple of strokes were required: the antidote, which the "donkeys" accepted with obedience, and a solemn confession:
"I, Harry Potter, admit that I am guilty of this prank, and am ready to bear the deserved punishment!"
The first to react, strangely enough, was Horace Slughorn:
"What punishment? 50 points to Gryffindor for incredible work using Amortentia! What timing calculation! And the effect! You used the Strengthening potion, did you not? And to deliver Amortentia to Severus Snape… Another 50 points for incredible dexterity!"
To be honest, Harry had practically no merit in "dexterity." He simply found out what would be on the teachers' menu, transfigured one of the cauldron cakes and sent it onto Snape's plate with Dobby's help… But — the prank succeeded!
"Well then, professor, you yourself challenged me!"
"censor POTTER! censor!"
"Now why like that… Here it is rather my father's fault… In general, greetings from the Marauders!"
Of course, even the events at lunch could not distract the population of Hogwarts from the upcoming Ball. After lunch there was only Charms, during which, in general, only three people worked — Hermione and the Best Couple (Harry could not allow himself to fall behind in this subject, although after the summer lessons his reputation in Flitwick's eyes had risen). The rest were already discussing the Ball without embarrassment, not even trying to create a shield from spells of the element of fire. Strangely enough, this time Flamia distinguished herself. It was no trouble for her to raise a shield; one might have thought that fire caused her no harm at all. This could not help alarming Miss Know-It-All, who had not managed to avoid a slight burn on her first attempt to reflect Incendio.
Almost the whole school came to the Ball. Even those who had no partners really came. It was somewhat strange that Malfoy did not show up, although his gorilla-like guards did not miss the holiday. It was unlikely they had any chance of finding themselves a partner here; it looked like they simply wanted to get rid of the boss for some time. But Harry was not worried about the Ferret's actions — on this day he definitely would not be able to get into the Room of Requirement, Dobby was a specialist in this matter. Harry himself needed the Room of Requirement for tonight…
The Best Couple was greeted with applause. Even some Slytherins appreciated the beauty and romantic nature of this couple. Besides, even in the House of Snakes, everyone dreamed of annoying Snape, and to arrange SUCH a performance… People were saying that this prank would eclipse even the Farewell of the Weasley Smart Ones. Of course, Harry did not particularly love extra attention to his person, but today he felt that he deserved it. Six years of dreams had finally been embodied in the Great Prank, and the spirit of his father was strong in him as never before. The only thing that somewhat embarrassed Harry was that he had never really learned how to dance properly… However, Flamia cut off all his attempts to shirk the Ball. It must be said that she met no resistance on his part.
And then the Ball began… Slow music started playing, and the couples began their dance. At first Harry felt uncertain, but one look into the eyes of his beloved — and he forgot about everything in the world… Only She existed, and their dance was the dance of Their Love…
This time the Boy-Who-Found-His-Love would have been glad if the music never ended. But the Ball ended, and the Heads of Houses asked their students to disperse to the dormitories. Since everyone was walking scattered, no one noticed how the Best Couple turned in another direction. Harry did not reveal his secrets to Flamia, he only promised to arrange an unforgettable evening for her. Under the Invisibility Cloak, they moved toward the Room of Requirement. To the question about the Ferret, Harry answered that there was no need to worry — Dobby knew his business. When they entered the Room of Requirement, it represented a forest clearing at the edge of a lake under a clear starry sky. In the clearing stood a table for two, above which several candles hung in the air.
"How beautiful! Harry, this is so romantic!"
"Have a seat!" Harry, like a true gentleman, seated Flamia at the table. "Champagne?"
A bottle of Dom Perignon champagne from the middle of the last century had been taken from the cellars of the house on Grimmauld Place. Pure-bloodedness is pure-bloodedness, but Muggles succeed at noble drinks better than wizards.
"To our love, pure as this starry sky above us!"
But the surprises did not end there. Harry took a small box from the inner pocket of his robe, after which he rose from his place and sank to one knee beside Flamia:
"Flamia, much binds us together, we cannot live without each other. But, in my opinion, something is missing. Miss Flamia Nightfolk, I, Harry James Potter, ask for your hand and heart!" here he opened the box, in which there was an elegant gold ring with two diamonds and a ruby between them.
"Oh, Harry!.." Flamia's gaze said more than thousands of words.
And that night the Best Couple was alone in an enormous castle filled with hundreds of inhabitants…
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