CH24 - The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

A loud thud came from a little way into the Forbidden Forest. The crashing sound had become a recurring one lately, causing a jerk no matter how many times it was heard. Several moments later, Hagrid emerged from the woods, lugging another massive tree behind him tied up with intricate knots to prevent slippage.

Christmas was here, and the school's new look reminded everyone of that. Trees adorned with various baubles and ornaments lined the halls of Hogwarts. A massive one that the entire school was involved with decorating took up a large portion of the Great Hall. Fairies had flooded the walls of the school, attaching themselves to trees, and lighting up the corridors. The little creatures were easily excitable, and their good mood was hard not to be cheered up by.

As the jolly atmosphere built up over the weeks, work became harder to get done. Students and teachers alike were happy to be heading home to see their families. Everyone's thoughts were distracted, and no one was upset about it.

As the end of the term approached, Hagrid received a large bundle of post from the Ministry. It was addressed to the owner of Buckbeak, from the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. A hearing for Buckbeak's sentence had been officially set for April, but the gentle giant had immediately devolved into tears because of it. He was soothed by Edmund and Luna, who urged him to bring the matter up to Dumbledore.

The move was the correct one to make. With only a single meeting, Dumbledore had managed to get any basis for punishment revoked. With Malfoy senior incarcerated, neither his wife nor child wielded the political clout they may have possessed previously. Fudge might have become reliant upon the Malfoys' support, but the man was a consummate politician. He had clearly discerned this was a battle he would not win, and so he had not even attempted to do so.

Hagrid's spirits were lifted at the same time that Draco Malfoy's anger was ignited. No longer even pretending that he was in need of a cast, Draco had stomped around in anger with his arms flinging wildly like the petulant child that he was. Spittle flew from his mouth as he ranted with no end about 'the mudblood-loving ministry,' the declining quality of Hogwarts, and his family's unfaithful allies.

According to Draco, it seemed that everyone in the world was responsible for his misfortunes save for himself.

The boy's palpable misery was amusing to the vast majority of the student body, but also increasingly annoying as the days went on. Despite the clear decline of the Malfoys, the boy was still invincible inside Hogwarts thanks to Snape's support of him. No matter how nasty or vile his comments became, his punishments for them never matched up.

Thankfully, he too would be leaving soon for the holidays alongside everyone else, providing Edmund a blissful break from the blustering idiot.

Surprisingly to Edmund, his friends had not been so accepting of him being left on his lonesome at the school. Ben and Jeremy had both offered him space in their homes, insistent that they had already discussed the matter with their parents. Cecilia had also given him an invitation to spend the holidays with her, though she had reluctantly admitted she was not sure how her family would respond to his presence.

Their vehemence in the matter had warmed Edmund's heart, and he had been incapable of keeping a smile off his face whenever he thought of it. Logically, he knew in his heart that they cared for him. But experiencing it in such a way was a different matter altogether.

On the Saturday that the Hogwarts Express was bound to leave the school, Edmund and his friends woke up early in the morning. The others had already completed their packing, wanting to spend one last morning in the snow while they could.

Panting, Edmund dropped the knapsack he had on his back in the snow. The flap opened, and hats, scarves, buttons, and giant carrots grown in Hagrid's garden poured out.

"Snowman time!" Ben cheered as Jeremy's eyes lit up in recognition.

Cecilia on the other hand looked as blank-faced as ever, turning left and right in confusion.

Edmund nudged her shoulder softly, before beckoning her to kneel next to him on the ground.

"You'll figure it out," he said to the pureblood girl, having anticipated that she would be lost in the situation.

Signalling her to watch, Edmund slowly balled up a fistful of snow, before rolling it along the ground to enlarge it. Glowing with eagerness, Cecilia attempted to copy him, the snow sticking to her knees as she crawled along the ground.

Several minutes later, Edmund was left with a perfectly white, round, sphere of snow. Cecilia on the other hand had formed an oblong cylinder caked around the edges with mud. Some of the brown dirt on her gloves had also made its way onto her cheek when she had wiped the perspiration from her face.

Edmund tried to stifle his laugh by biting his bottom lip as hard as he could.

"A good first attempt," he declared, attempting to keep the tone of mirth from his voice.

"It's hideous," Cecilia said, her embarrassment slowly morphing into annoyance. "Why do we have to do it with our hands anyways? With magic, we could do this easily!"

"With magic, it would be done in two minutes," Edmund argued. "What's the point of that?"

Cecilia huffed in disagreement but said nothing further.

However, almost half an hour later when the snowman was finally done, she was practically seething.

A symmetrical snowball formed the base, below an ugly brown ball precariously hanging on top. The face of the snowman was again pleasing to the eye, with buttons used for the eyes and mouth, and a carrot for the nose.

The smile of the creature seemed to be mocking Cecilia, as Jeremy howled in laughter, rolling on the ground and pointing his index finger at the girl.

His roaring persisted until he could breathe no more, and Jeremy began to cough and wheeze, his eyes watering with amusement.

Eventually, Cecilia had enough, and with a hissed spell, a massive snowball hit Jeremy, burying half his body underground. Jeremy's muffled guffaws continued to ring out from beneath the pile of snow covering his face, breaking Edmund's hold on his voice.

He too burst out laughing and was also greeted with a snowball to his face. Brushing off his clothes as he stood up, a wicked grin lit up Edmund's face. His previously holstered wand found its way into his hand with a quick flick of his wrist.

Cecilia's face turned from a smug smile into a look of extreme panic when she realized the mistake she had just made.

With a cackle, Edmund began pelting her with snow. First, with only snowballs, but then with other spells as well. It was a complete wipeout, which Edmund ended with one final Ventus charm. The spell whipped up a mini tornado, flinging Cecilia off her feet face-first into the snow.

Edmund continued to laugh like a supervillain, his head tilted up mockingly, his hands on his hips. Unbeknownst to him, in the time that he was no longer paying attention, the other three had formed a silent coalition. They refused to let their friend get a big head, and decided to team up.

A flurry of charms burst out from their wands, as they did their best to ambush their distracted housemate. Unfortunately for them, none of their spells would hit, as Edmund danced out of their way with an easy flourish. His interest had been renewed at the challenge, and he refused to lose.

Moving his wand in a long movement from bottom to top, Edmund erected a small icy fortress around him, complete with slits to aim and shoot out from. The three watched on in awe, before staring at each other with resolve.

Slowly, they advanced, tearing off strips of the protections Edmund had built around him. All the while he continued bombarding them with attacks.

Their war of attrition lasted several hours, ending with all four lying panting on the ground, groaning and chuckling breathlessly.

Crisp sounds of footfalls on snow filled their ears, as they turned their heads to the side to see the deputy headmistress approaching them. McGonagall smiled at their state, shaking her head fondly.

"The train will depart in an hour. I presume you will all want to warm up and get a good meal in before that?" McGonagall asked.

Happy with the abashed looks on their faces, she turned around, heading back to the castle. Edmund stuck his tongue out at her back, before impulsively sending a shower of snow down her neck.

Everyone turned to him in disbelief, shocked at how he had so easily signed his death warrant.

"You're fucked dude," Jeremy whispered, as Ben made a cross of prayer with his hands.

McGonagall turned around slowly, and Edmund gulped loudly at the look of promised retribution she wore. As a pile of snow big enough to fill his dorm room began to rotate around McGonagall, Edmund had only one thought in his mind.

'Fuck.'

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- (Scene Break) -

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After the train had departed with its passengers, the Great Hall had been quickly rearranged for more intimacy. With only a small fraction of people left in the school, it made no sense to have everyone sit so awkwardly far apart from one another. The four house tables and the high table were gone, replaced by a simple round table in the center of the great hall.

By the time Edmund washed up and changed, everyone was already present, waiting for their meal. The remaining staff included Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, Flitwick, Trelawney and Filch. The student body was represented by a first-year Ravenclaw, a fifth-year Slytherin, the Golden Trio, and Edmund himself.

With no other Hufflepuffs present, Edmund was alone in his common area. It had been odd walking into the massive area to find it completely empty, the lights turned off and the fire not burning as it normally was. But Edmund knew it was for the best and would work out wonderfully in the aftermath of his upcoming ritual.

For now, he took the only remaining empty seat to the right of McGonagall. The woman smiled at him, her ire having dissipated.

"I hope you've warmed up, Mr. Cole?" she asked slyly.

Edmund shivered involuntarily, his shoulders scrunching up at the thought of the icy tomb McGonagall had encased him in only several hours prior.

"Yep," he replied, before muttering lowly. "Still worth it."

McGonagall raised her hand to slap the back of his head playfully.

His wand already between his fingers, Edmund quickly levitated his robes to cover his neck before transfiguring the soft cloth into rock.

McGonagall's palm only impacted stone, and she hissed as she retracted her hand and shook it in the air to relieve the stinging sensation.

"You little brat—" she began scolding a smirking Edmund, before being cut off.

"Now, now dear," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling merrily. "Mind your words. What would your students think of their stern Professor McGonagall?"

Indeed, as McGonagall looked around, she saw a look of bewilderment on Ron's face and barely contained laughter on everyone else's as they observed the byplay.

Her face paled the slightest bit before she sat up straight again.

"He did get you fair and square, Minerva," Dumbledore continued to tease. "A Professor bested by their student? My, oh, my."

Contrary to Dumbledore's expectations, McGonagall only gazed at Edmund with affection upon hearing this, before responding proudly.

"Not yet, but soon I am sure that Edmund will indeed surpass my talents. Perhaps even yours Albus," she said as Edmund blushed.

Dumbledore turned to Edmund at this, examining the boy closely.

"Is that so? That is high praise indeed, especially from one of my most talented students. You ought to cherish that Mr. Cole," he advised warmly.

"I do, headmaster," Edmund confirmed, a soft look of gratitude forming on his face.

The feast popped into existence at that very moment, cutting off any possible conversation that may have ensued. Throughout the night, Dumbledore continued to gaze surreptitiously at Edmund, his curiosity piqued.