Authors Note: This is just a cute little idea that has been floating in my head since last Christmastime. Hope you enjoy! I hope all of my readers has the most lovely holiday season. Love and joy to you all!
Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring…. Well, just the house elf. He apparated into the living room and filled the stockings with care, leaving gifts under the tree and popped out without a trace that he was there.
You see, this wasn't an ordinary house elf. This particular elf belonged to Father Christmas; or the Father Christmas Cooperative to be more specific.
Wait. You didn't believe that muggle nonsense about a man that single-handedly delivered presents to every good child in the world in a single night, did you? Or even more laughable, the notion that parents were behind the gifts that mysteriously appeared Christmas morning?
Of course not! It takes the careful coordination of thousands of humans and creatures and year-long planning to pull it off. The current head of the cooperative is Anthony Wright and he employs 11 307 house elves, 94 goblins, and 142 witches and wizards to help produce and deliver presents each year. Just as in those silly muggle tales of Jolly old Saint Nick, he looks over his list the week before Christmas Eve. Just once though. Twice would be superfluous. Anyways, there would never be a mistake in his book. It works on similar magic as the Hogwarts admittance book after all, magically tracking all the good little children around the world.
But I am getting ahead of myself, aren't I? Right, back to the cooperative. I'm sure you are wondering how this all got started.
The very first head of the cooperative, before it was really a cooperative, was a young wizard by the name of Nicholas de Gyll in the 15th century. Those were dark days for all of magical kind. He saw the destruction of the already small wizarding community after the early witch hunts and how low morale was among his people. He, along with his two family house elves, spent the month leading up to the midwinter celebrations making small toys for the wizarding children in the neighbouring villages, which the house elves delivered while the families were out celebrating at the feasts.
Nicholas had so much fun spreading cheer to his fellow wizard-kind that he continued his tradition, gathering more house elves to help, for close to 50 years before passing it on to his son. By then stories of Nicholas were being whispered throughout the country, but even back then it was regarded as a grand story good for boosting morale and not much more than that.
By the time his granddaughter took up the family business in the late 16th century, she was delivering presents to every young witch and wizard in the United Kingdom with the help of 200 house elves and a dozen witches and wizards.
So this carried on for centuries, gathering more and more helpers to spread joy and good cheer, eventually delivering presents to every wizarding household in the world.
Of course, good things never stay secret for long. The muggles have always told tales of Ser Christmas, Father Christmas, or St. Nicholas right from the 15th century. It wasn't until the wizarding communities around the world became less self-insulated in the late 19th century that the Statute of Secrecy became threatened.
The muggles began wondering why their friends and neighbours had presents appearing under their trees as if by magic. This was when Santa Clause really began to pop up in muggle culture, so Clarence and Mabel (the heads of the cooperation at the time) decided to take on the major endeavour of including muggles in their tradition. They nearly doubled their staff in order to pull it off, but they were successful.
Of course, the Minister of Magic was mighty upset about the whole thing and who could blame him? Magical creatures infiltrating almost every home in the UK. How were they supposed to keep this a secret? What if someone saw? How were they going to cover this up?
But alas, as muggles tend to do, the legend of Santa Clause grew and grew and before you knew it Santa was a single man with flying reindeer and a sleigh that carried all of the presents for all of the children in the world. Silly muggles. The minister was satisfied though that at least the muggles did't think it was true.
Members from the original Father Christmas Cooperative began splitting off and setting up operations all over the world, under different names of course. Now, there is a group of wizards and witches and all sorts of magical creatures all over the world dedicated to spreading joy and laughter, and presents of course, to all of the children far and near.
So there you have it! The real story of what happens the night before Christmas.
So this Christmas, when you wake up excited to watch your little Lucy open the doll you bought for her from 'Father Christmas', just ignore the slight headache you might feel. I promise, the house elves have perfected their confundus charms and no actual harm was done. You may not actually remember buying the doll, but you know she will just love it! Father Christmas knows best after all.
Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night!