-RP article - Valentine's Day Dance-

As Valentine’s Day was fast approaching, students at Hogwarts buzzed with excitement for the upcoming Valentine’s Day celebrations, and especially the much looked forward to Valentine’s Ball, also known as the Sweetheart’s Ball. Artful bouquets of roses and bright red and pink streamers replaced the Christmas decorations adorning the corridors. The Great Hall was even more extravagantly decorated, with the addition of heart-shaped confetti fluttering down from the ceiling and red and pink flower rosettes lining the house tables. Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop was booked to the minute with reservations, much to the pleasure of Madam Puddifoot herself.

As the date of the ball grew nearer, the anticipation for the event grew. Giggling groups of students from all years could be seen chattering about what they’d wear, who they might ask, and so on. Nervous students asked other nervous students to attend the dance with them, and were mostly met with positive responses. Finally, the day of the ball arrived - the Great Hall almost unrecognizable through the decorations and the alterations which had turned it into an extremely pink and red, elegant ballroom.

Part of the music for the event was performed live by Celestina Warbeck, the Singing Sorceress - much older, now, but still in the business. Old favorites like “A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong, Love” and “You Stole My Cauldron But You Can’t Have my Heart” were played and danced to. Once she was done with her performance, records from the Weird Sisters were played, much to the delight of many of the students, and almost everyone joined in the enthusiastic dancing.

As per usual for a Valentine’s Day celebration, there was a lovely array of sweets available at the dance - Honeydukes catered to the event, and they outdid themselves, with candy hearts that spoke a Valentine’s message in high-pitched tone before consumption, Valentine’s Day Edition Bertie Botts - “Now In Different Shades of Flavorful Pink!,” Loveless Lollipops for the students who attended alone, and a peculiarly delectable batch of brownies made with a secret ingredient nobody could quite name. There were two bowls of punch, one red and one pink, both giving off the pleasant aura of a Flutterby bush - though somewhere in the middle of the dance some mischievous students spiked one of the bowls with a batch of a Hiccuping Solution, making quite a few students jump in surprise when they started hiccuping violently.

There were a variety of fashions at the event, and people were seen in all sorts of dresses and suits - pretty much whatever met their fancy. There was, of course, a good amount of color to be found in the outfits, and warm colors were favored to match the theme of the dance. It was noticed that one attendee sported a phoenix dance suit, proof that one really could wear whatever you pleased.

About halfway through the dance, the elected Monarchy of the dance were announced. The title of Prince went to Bob the Alter Ego, and the title of Princess to Jamie Pevensie. As for the King and Queen, Jimmy Dunwich was crowned King of the Ball, and Lilia Le Fay pronounced Queen. Unfortunately, not all of the monarchs were able to attend the ball itself, but they were all still glad to have earned the titles.

Overall, the Valentine’s Ball was a huge success, from the decorations and food to the dances and music itself, with hardly a mishap to be had. Everyone left the event feeling like they had enjoyed themselves immensely.

-Written by Misty Swanson