Harry Potter: The Vampire Prince

That morning, the Slytherin common room was abuzz with activity.

"Good morning!" Montague grinned, proudly showing off a box of chocolates he'd received from his senior-year girlfriend. "Best day ever!"

"Good morning…" Miles muttered lifelessly, staring at his empty hands. "Worst day ever."

"Didn't you guys have the same conversation last year?" Alicia yawned as she walked out of the washroom, having just used magic to clean the toothpaste foam from the corner of her mouth. "I don't get it. Are chocolates really that important to boys?"

Miles huffed indignantly. "Of course they are! This is about our charm and confidence!"

And he had every right to be frustrated.

He'd spent weeks carefully laying the groundwork, dropping hints, building up expectations… but in the end, Alicia still refused to give him chocolates—not even a single piece.

"Good morning, handsome gentlemen… and Miles!" Camille burst into the room, arms overflowing with chocolates. Like a gleeful little maniac, she dashed around the room, tossing them at the Slytherin students, giggling uncontrollably. "Happy Valentine's Day, my mighty little snakes!"

"Why am I excluded from the 'handsome gentlemen'?! Oh… thanks, Camille. You're the only girl willing to give me chocolates. You're such a wonderful person—unlike Alicia."

"Darling, Camille is sharing her friendship with everyone today!" Camille beamed before holding out a very distinct-looking chocolate, wrapped far more elegantly than the others. "And this one represents Camille's true love. Care to try it, Nolan? I swear, there's not a single drop of Love Potion in it."

Unlike the rest of her chocolates, this one was wrapped with a particular care that made it stand out.

"Thanks, Camille."

Still groggy, Nolan took the chocolate and stuffed it into his robe pocket.

Incidentally, the pocket-expanding charm that Libera had developed last year was proving to be quite useful. These days, Nolan rarely carried a school bag. He had grown accustomed to stowing his parchment, quills, ink bottles, and hefty textbooks in his left pocket, while his right pocket was reserved for blood vials from Miss Astoria, fresh bottles of tomato juice, and, given the occasion, a large stash of chocolates.

Of course, there had been some mishaps.

The expansion charm was still somewhat unstable. If not reinforced daily, the pocket had a tendency to suddenly eject random objects. In January, Nolan had forgotten to reinforce the magic, and his enchanted pocket had exploded during a Herbology class—causing a loud crash as a water-filled fish tank tumbled out onto the greenhouse floor.

The fish inside, a batch of carnivorous piranhas with long, sharp teeth, had begun flopping around frantically, snapping at anything in their reach. Chaos ensued as panicked Ravenclaws and Slytherins screamed and scrambled onto their chairs, trying to avoid getting their ankles bitten. It had been absolute pandemonium… and to this day, only Merlin knew why Nolan had stuffed a live fish tank into his pocket in the first place.

Ever since then, he never forgot to reinforce the charm… or to regularly feed the piranhas chunks of rat meat.

"Did I keep you waiting?"

Eve was the last to arrive.

She looked a little disheveled, her beautiful silver hair slightly messy. But before she even thought to tidy herself up, she instinctively pulled out the familiar large comb from her bag and began brushing Nolan's unruly black hair instead. Nolan, well accustomed to this routine, closed his eyes and obediently let her do as she pleased.

Miles raised an eyebrow. "Something happen?"

"Eve stayed up late writing letters," Alicia explained. "She got a letter from her mom yesterday, and it made her so happy she couldn't stop grinning."

"My mom got promoted to store manager!" Eve exclaimed excitedly. "She told me she's starting to see life from a new perspective, that the world is full of joy. I'm just so glad she's living for herself now instead of just for me! So last night, I wrote back to her… and to Felicia, too! She's such a sweetheart."

"Angela really is impressive. Her designs have been featured in fashion magazines a few times, and they sell incredibly well," Nolan said with a shrug.

The vampire grand duchess, Felicia, might have seemed eccentric—well, she was eccentric—but as someone who had lived for centuries, her talents were undeniable. Promoting Angela to store manager wasn't just nepotism; Angela truly had an eye for fashion. Last year, she had repeatedly shown Felicia her designs, and when they hit the market, they sold like hotcakes.

As Eve happily clung to Nolan's arm, bouncing with excitement like a little fawn, Alicia shot a knowing glance at Miles and murmured, "See? Boys don't impress girls just by bragging. Nolan never flaunts what he has in front of Eve, because he doesn't need to. He actually does things to make her life better. That's what sets him apart from most of the other wizards at Hogwarts."

Camille and the other girls nodded enthusiastically, their eyes practically glowing as they watched Nolan's retreating figure.

Miles clicked his tongue. "Rich guys really are something else… If my family had that much money, I could've gotten your mom a better job too."

As they approached the Great Hall, the Slytherins met up with the Ravenclaws who had also arrived for breakfast.

"Good morning, Nolan."

One by one, familiar Ravenclaw girls greeted him, eagerly handing over their chocolates.

Eve was now a seasoned pro at handling this situation. Sometimes, when Nolan was overwhelmed, she would even help him collect the gifts.

"Looking like a good haul this year?" A voice spoke up from behind Eve.

Cho peeked out from behind her shoulder.

"This is the thirteenth one so far," Eve said, shaking the designated 'gift bag' she was carrying. She then turned to Cho with a smirk. "And yours, little wildcat?"

"I already know Nolan doesn't like sweets. Why would I waste my effort?" Cho shrugged, latching onto Eve's free hand. "Let's go, sweetheart."

As they stepped into the Great Hall, the students were momentarily stunned by what they saw.

It was still the familiar Great Hall… but it looked completely different from usual. The walls were covered in pink flowers, and the ceiling had turned into a bizarre shade of pale blue. Enormous clouds of confetti rained down from above in an explosion of color.

Cho reached out and brushed some confetti off Nolan's head. "What in Merlin's name? What are they celebrating?"

Eve's face twitched as she tilted her chin toward the staff table.

There, dressed in an eye-searingly bright pink robe, was none other than Lockhart, looking like he had raided Eve's mother's collection of pink nightgowns.

Beside him, Professor McGonagall wore an expression that defied description, while Professor Flitwick was almost entirely buried under a mountain of confetti. Even Dumbledore's long beard had somehow been decorated with colorful ribbons and bows.

Everyone, aside from the rather amused headmaster, looked thoroughly displeased.

Once the students had settled into their seats, Lockhart, who had dressed himself up like a deranged fairy, clapped his hands together.

Something was about to happen…