When we think about love and romance, candy and chocolates, Cupids and hearts, which holiday comes to mind instantly? If you answered Valentine's Day, then you win the jackpot! 😆 And of course, myHogwarts could not be exempt from the festive and love-filled atmosphere, the vibrance of the holiday taking our resident site members by storm as the week progressed, culminating in the special celebrations that started on the 14th of February. But for those who missed out on the fun, how about we revisit those events together, just to jog your memory? 😉 Do I hear a yes? Excellent, let the trip down memory lane begin!

As soon as the 14th rolled around, Dorgan the house-elf made his first appearance after quite some time, bringing forth several different activities to help spread the love. Of course, much like last year's Valentine's Day, Dorgan once again gave site members the option to PM him with their personalized Valentine's Day messages, which he would then deliver to each sender's chosen member(s), privately or publically. Many people jumped on that opportunity, writing some lovely (and quite often hilarious as well) messages for Dorgan to deliver to their friends, effectively spreading the love and making smiles bloom on people's faces. But this time, Dorgan's festivities did not stop there! With an activity titled "Something Sweet", Dorgan gave everyone the chance to create some delicious goody bags, filled to the brim with any wizarding or Muggle candy and/or chocolate they wished! To top this already "sweet" deal off, Dorgan also offered one lucky winner the chance to win a golden ticket, which would translate into a 10G StoatsElm Voucher at the end of the event. The influx of candy and chocolate lovers was overwhelming as everyone (myself included) could not resist the opportunity to enjoy their favourite Muggle and wizarding sweets combined on this very special day.  😊

Hold onto your hats, dear readers, because our retelling is far from over! One more unique event took place during the Valentine's Day festivities, titled "Wow! We're Identical!", and its purpose was simple: To help create new friendships! Using a questionnaire created by Dorgan himself, the participants had to answer the given questions in hopes of finding who they had the most answers in common with. The influx of participants was once more considerable as everyone (myself included) seemed eager to discover who they might have the most in common with, potentially opening new roads for meetings and friendships to develop with similar-minded individuals. And finally, to wrap up the mini-events, Dorgan offered everyone a chance to relax and enjoy the festive atmosphere by playing some bingo... but not just any bingo. This particular bingo, crafted by Dorgan himself, was the very Thunderbird-inspired Self-Care Bingo, which was included in an event titled "Treat Yourself"! 😆 Ranging from playing games to listening to music to even taking walks outside, Dorgan's Self-Care Bingo prioritized the participants' well-being by giving them the chance to focus on themselves and earn some House Points in the meantime by completing the most bingos by the end of the event. 😉 Despite not being one for much self-care, I could not resist trying some of Dorgan's ideas and I did not regret it!

But of course, where there is a crowd, there is also bound to be some chaos. Many members of the site, students and Alumni alike, found themselves falling prey to numerous mischievous pranks, all inspired by the recent events and the Valentine's Day spirit. From Cupids on the loose to glitter attacks, there was no doubt that apart from spreading some love, many aspiring pranksters decided to spread some chaos as well. 🥷 Amongst those aspiring pranksters, who else would join the fray but the Death Eater, who saw this holiday as yet another opportunity to gain some followers? Putting those baking skills he keeps raving about to the test, the Death Eater went on a cooking and shopping spree, assembling numerous baskets filled with cookies, stuffed animals, chocolates, cards and even jewellery! Soon enough, with many similar baskets created and packed appropriately, he crept around Hogsmeade and Hogwarts, making sure to leave baskets spread all around for students and Alumni to discover. He even went as far as dropping a large number of them within the Hogwarts grounds, with a note for Filch to deliver to each Professor's office for them to... enjoy. One would believe this was quite a sweet gesture... if not for the fact that the cookies had been enchanted to turn your hair pink upon tasting them and that each basket came along with a card inviting each recipient to the dark side. Some habits are simply impossible to beat, it seems!  🙄

And with that, dear readers, we have reached the end of our retelling. 😊 It was certainly an interesting event and everyone seemed to thrive on the positive, vibrant air that spread around Hogwarts during that festive week. Who knows what sort of fun events will Dorgan come up with next year? Stay tuned to find out!