Valentines Day

Soon the Holidays passed and the rest of the Students returned to Hogwarts in the new year. One topic gathered their collective attention the arrest and Trial of Peter Pettigrew, the true betrayer of the Potters. And Harry was, even more, the focus of Hogwarts Student Population, some pitied him while many believed that he was, even more, a coming Dark Lord and Heir of Slytherin, since the Lord of the infamous Black Family was his Godfather. Many ridiculous theory's spread through the Sheep of the Wizarding World.

Peter Pettigrew meanwhile escaped the Dementor's kiss and was sentenced to Azkaban for the rest of his life. The Trial happened shortly after the new year but Matthew didn't need to attend as a Witness, since the Proof was enough. They didn't even need another testimonial from Pettigrew under Veritaserum, which sounded like something Malfoy had his hands in.

Fudge followed Matthew's idea and used the Trial to portray himself as a Minister of Justice, correcting the Past wrongdoings of the previous administration. Matthew received a big compensation of 110 thousand Galleons from the Ministry, 10 thousand Galleons for every year spend in unlawful captivity. Meanwhile, Barty Crouch had to fight hard for his position in the Ministry, he only could save his job as head of the Department of International Magical Co-operation because he was currently deeply invested in an ongoing Project. Matthew guessed the Project was the Triwizard Tournament that would happen in less than 2 years here in Hogwarts.

While all of this was happening Harry was no longer bothered by the stares of the other Students, rather he had always a smile on his face when he walked through the Castle. He seemed generally happier. The Letters he was exchanging with Sirius and Remus were probably the reason for that.

Sirius told him that he planned to visit him in Hogwarts once he was fully recovered. And he also planned to take Harry in over the Summer Holidays. Harry told Matthew that Sirius also wanted to talk to him once he was out of Saint Mungos. Both Sirius and Remus wrote Harry a lot about his parents and their time in Hogwarts, which made the young boy really happy since all he had of his Parents was the Invisibility Cloak and the Photo Album Hagrid gifted him last Christmas.

Another after-effect of his interference in the Story Line around the Prisoner of Azkaban and change from the original was that the Twins planned to hand the Marauders Map to Harry. Matthew was able to convince them to do it on his Birthday, with the pretense that this year wasn't safe for any Student running through the Castle. Although the true reason was to keep the Timeline as intact as possible this year, and Harry finding the Truth about the Heir of Slytherin could cause unexpected consequences if not Deaths.

Matthew was already unsure how the Horcrux inside Tom Riddle's Diary would react to the news of Pettigrew Capture. The Horcrux doesn't know Pettigrew personally since it only held the memories of a 16-year-old Tom Riddle and Pettigrew wasn't even born back then. But it knew enough to react to it, even with the few details the Prophet released in its article, Matthew just hoped the change wasn't too Major.

~ Scene Break ~

A few days ago Ginny finally was able to rid herself of the Diary, by throwing it into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Accidentally she managed to throw it through the forever hormonal Ghost Schoolgirl who began to have one of her famous meltdowns and completely flooded her Bathroom with Water. This gained the attention of Harry and Ron who were on the way back from a class with the Hufflepuff s.

They found the Diary inside the Bathroom and managed to connect Tom Riddle to the events of the first opening of the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago. The Golden Trio tried unsuccessfully to Decipher the Secrets of the Diary. They didn't tell anything about it to Matthew, but he still kept his eye on them in Secret since the Horcrux was dangerous. And he didn't forget the bad feeling he had at the beginning of the year, even though the events followed mostly the Canon Timeline.

But today he was rather occupied… it was February 14th. Valentines Day. When he watched the Harry Potter movies in his past life, he was disappointed that that part of the Books didn't make it into the movies. He found it hilarious when he read them as a child, but now that he is living through this day his opinion changed. It was one of the most horrifying experiences of both his Lives.

He currently sat in the Great Hall for Breakfast, when he entered the Hall he thought he was in the wrong place since it completely changed. The walls were all covered with large, lurid pink flowers. Worse still, heart-shaped confetti was falling from the pale blue ceiling. It was the definition of over the top.

While many of the Girls giggled the boys only watched the Situation in shock and disgust. The teacher table showed a ridiculous picture, Lockhart, wearing lurid pink robes to match the decorations, was waving for silence. The teachers on either side of him were looking stony-faced. The students could see a muscle going in Professor McGonagall's cheek. Snape looked as though someone had just fed him a large beaker of SkeleGro.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" Lockhart shouted. "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!"

Lockhart clapped his hands and through the doors to the entrance hall marched a dozen surly-looking dwarfs. Not just any dwarfs, however. Lockhart had them all wearing golden wings and carrying harps.

"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!"

At first, the whole Situation was funny for Matthew, especially Professor Flitwick's reaction to the Announcement. But that quickly changed once he tried to go on with his day. The Situation was only funny if you weren't the one being hunted down by an army of costumed dwarfs reciting Poems and Messages to him. It turns out he was more popular than he ever believed. Turns out being not bad looking while being Intelligent and top of the class was a very attractive combination.

Like Harry, he spent the day between classes running from Dwarfs shouting at him how his 'eyes could melt Glaciers' or his 'beautiful Mind conquers Hearts'. Once his Classes were over he hid completely exhausted in the Ravenclaw Common Room where the annoying Dwarfs couldn't reach him.

Inside the Common Room, he found Cho sitting at the fireplace reading a book. "Hey, Cho Happy Valentines Day." Said Matthew as he pulled out a pack of Valentine's Chocolate. It seemed just appropriate to get her something although they weren't really dating, he asked his mother to send him some from London.

"Thank you, Matthew. It seems you had an exhausting day. Come sit down." She said as she accepted his gift with a smile.

"Yeah, Lockhart's stupid Cupids hunted me the whole day."

"Oh, then we had the same idea. I am also hiding from them. And from Diggory." Replied Cho while chuckling.

"The Dwarfs I can understand. But why are you hiding from Cedric."

"He is rather persistent in asking me out recently, and today he is acting like one of them." She replied as she rested beside him on the Sofa.

"Hmm, I see. Do you want me to talk to him?" he asked, feeling a bit annoyed by Cedric suddenly.

"No, I can handle him just fine. I know a few nice hexes if he should act over the top." Replied Cho while smiling.

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