D.A.
As promised with the arrival of December the slew of homework increased especially for the 5th and 7th years. Tragically, Rowan's worst fears came true regarding Professor McGonagall and their transfiguration homework. She wasn't the only one as some of her classmates even looked a bit green at the mere thought of tackling such a stack of homework and essays. It deliberately pointed at the fact that as Christmas approached their Prefect duties would only become more onerous keeping clever snakelings inside Hogwarts and out of the bitter cold.
On the other hand, the younger students perked up at the elaborate festivity decorations throughout the castle. They oohed and awed at the everlasting icicles that were attached to the banister of the marble staircase; where those lacking common sense or any measure of self-preservation decided to lick the enchanted icicles to only suddenly find their tongues stuck to the ice until they were rescued by a Prefect and taken to the infirmary. At times like these, Rowan questioned whether people should even bother to procreate….
The usual twelve Christmas trees in the Great Hall were decorated from a variety of things luminous holly berries to even real, hooting golden owls in another. The shining suits of armor (courtesy of Caretaker Filch and the twin Caretaker's Peterson) had been bewitched to sing carols when anyone passed them by. This year though noticeably Peeves had not been forced to be extracted from inside. Apparently, Caretaker's Peterson had taken a different approach by pouring soapy, the hot water inside and then trapping the poltergeist inside, before rolling the suit around bathing Peeves as though he were dirty clothes in a washing machine.
After that, Peeves wisely avoided the suits of armor and especially Caretaker's Peterson like the plague especially after seeing that the burly twin caretakers carried around spray bottles filled with water and soap to spray him with if he misbehaved. Caretaker Filch was simply thrilled and delighted by the idea. He had also taken to carrying the bottle around which in turn spread to the rest of the staff members and students.
Peeves suddenly found himself under attack by soapy water whenever he attempted to pull a prank. As a direct result, pranks and messes had gone down by 60%! Even the Board of Hogwarts had taken notice of the sharp decline in incident reports from Hogwarts. The use of spray bottles filled with soap and water would be written into the very code of Hogwarts and permitted to be used against Peeves as a punishment and detriment from causing any mischief.
As for Rowan's tinsel and mistletoe they went unnoticed for in the grand scheme of things, they weren't that important. Still, plenty of students suddenly became the prey of mistletoe purposefully placed in out-of-sight locations. Woe the unwary student that was caught….
The castle was full of excitement as students looked forward to the next Hogsmeade trip that would be the next upcoming weekend. The birth of Aurora Malfoy was lost in the excitement, but the pureblood student did not miss the importance of such an event. It was the first Malfoy daughter born in the past three hundred years. A large dowry would be sure to accompany Aurora Malfoy, an impeccable bloodline with two proud lineages, in other words, prime bridal material. There would be pureblood families that would already have thoughts to push their children of similar age towards Aurora Malfoy from the minute that they could. It was sure to shift the political balance within the wizarding world.
Though Rowan did wonder if Aurora Malfoy could have possibly been conceived during Potter's timeline as well. It was very likely but considering the very tense situation at that time with the start of the wizarding war, Narcissa would have likely lost the fetus from all the stressful turmoil. Ignoring the difficulty for purebloods to conceive with the war and all, it would not have been conducive for procreation. It would certainly explain why all the purebloods would have trouble with conceiving children at that time. Even more so with, Voldemort hanging around them and cursing Death Eaters left and right if not outright killing them on suspicions of being a spy. In short, it was a miracle that Draco and any of the other children of Death Eaters were even conceived and much less born at that time.
With the recent snowfall, the skies were still gray and cold. Strangely enough, Hogwarts had never been cleaner of snow and mud for even the Gryffindors took the time to wipe their feet clean, before tromping inside the castle. Then again, it had something to do with the fact with the two new twin caretakers, Trevor and Gary Peterson. The two men did not shout nor become angry like Caretaker Filch, but rather merely stared at the miscreant until they were unable to face the two men. It was probably the only time in history when even the Gryffindors acted with a modicum of care.
However, that wasn't the only reason for the change as Professor Elias Murphy, and Professor Benjamin Buchanan were the other two reasons. The muggleborn students in the first and second years were not only feeling more comfortable at Hogwarts but felt more of a part of the wizarding world, and all its wonderous traditions with Professor Buchanan teaches at the helm. While Professor Elias Murphy created a safe space for children raised solely in the wizarding world to learn and ask questions about the muggle world. It had led to many revelations and understanding occurring on both sides, which in turn helped lower the tensions between the two parties as more friendships were being forged between the two groups among the four sorting houses at Hogwarts.
After the last class of the day, History of Magic with Master Strauss, James made his way down to the classroom located on the third floor right next to the DADA classroom. He hated to admit it, but Master Strauss was not only an excellent teacher but made History of Magic simply fascinating. He would never have believed that in a thousand years, and yet it was true. In fact, History of Magic had become one of the new favorite subjects of the entire student body.
That and Divination. It might have largely been due to handsome bare-chested centaur, Ronan, but Professor Trelawney did not fall short either. Professor Trelawney did speak with a soft, mysteriously ethereal voice, but she was fairly knowledgeable on the subject. (And since she wasn't the only new professor and hadn't been divorced that long, her self-esteem was not at its lowest point. Trelawney had much more confidence than she had in Potter's time).
Furthermore, it was simply a relief to many of the students and the board after having Professor Zephyros to have two rather competent professors to teach the subject of Divination. In fact, it appeared that Divination might have a bright future after all at Hogwarts. And considering it's rapidly gaining popularity that much just be the case for the upcoming years to come.
Still at times like these, James could not help but be shocked by all the positive changes at Hogwarts. Professor Babbling all though stricter with her house than Professor McGonagall had been was much more nurturing and available. Unlike Professor McGonagall, Professor Babbling tried to actively participate and get to know her house, while at the same time fostering ties with the younger students.
It was a bit strange to see the Gryffindor common room so clean, but at the same time, it was quite cozy with a table full of snacks for all their house members to snack on. Apparently, the idea had come from Professor Slughorn as the Slytherin common room held a table with a small assortment of snacks and hot drinks for their house member's personal use. It was a rather startling fact to learn or even imagine the Slytherin common room as cozy rather than the cold, harsh dungeon that all the Gryffindor's had pictured before.
Shaking his head to bring himself to the present, James emerged from the winding staircase and out onto the third-floor corridor. Currently, Professor Prince was giving a lesson to the 6th year Ravenclaw's and as such the door to her classroom was still closed shut. But once her lesson was over, Professor Prince promptly make her way over to instruct them.
(Unfortunately, Georgine had been treated to the sight of Professor Dumbledore staring at her with twinkling eyes at having announced that she would be the club advisor for D.A. club. Confounded old coot! He should mind his bloody own affairs rather than sticking his long nose where it didn't belong!)