It's Christmas Time (And We're Fighting Our War)
Completed for the forum Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments)
Assignment #10 - Muggle Music: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas - Task #6: Write about a snowy Christmas
That horrible, horrible school year – the one where Dumbledore is dead and Snape runs Hogwarts, the one where the Ministry has fallen, the one where muggleborns are running and hiding, the one where Harry Potter is on some secret mission, the one where they're all struggling to survive – what was the Christmas at Hogwarts like? Was there a feast? What did those hiding in the Room of Requirement do? Where there presents? Where their smiles?
I like to think that they smiled. I like to think that there was still laughter. I'm sure there was hope too. Still, I have to wonder. What was it like for those child soldiers, children on the verge of adulthood and woke to battle after battle? What did they do for Christmas that year? I reckon they didn't plan to do anything, they probably knew the war wouldn't stop for a holiday. I like to think that Hogwarts did something for them.
One of the strangest things about the Room of Requirement is that sometimes it changes without any reason, no one asks it to do anything; it just changes regardless. Nonetheless, those living in the Room of Requirement are aware that the room will change around them if it deems such a thing necessary, but this does not mean they ever expect it.
It's one reason why when the midnight patrol returns to the Room of Requirement they find themselves surprised. They are aware that it's Christmas but are aware that such a thing doesn't mean that the war will abate or offer a reprieve for the fighters. It is Christmas but the grim atmosphere doesn't shift or change, instead lingering unwanted for months on end. So, the Room of Requirement having gained Christmas decorations overnight is rather astounding. What really grabs their attention, though, is the new windows decorating three of the four walls, providing the room's occupants with a view of the Hogwarts grounds, decorated with snow.
The snow lay thick on the grounds, even though there are no clouds in sight; instead, the moon and stars overlook everything, as they have for eons and will do so for many more years. Even with the grim atmosphere, the four members – Neville, Padma, Susan, and Seamus – who had been patrolling find themselves soothed by the serene scenery surrounding them.
A clock chimes, its bell ringing out twelve times clearly, and like magic – and it was, of course, magic – a door opened near one of the large windows. Floating trays, each holding cups, enter. Behind them, the door shuts itself firmly and disappears from the wall.
"Looks like House Elf magic," Susan whispers quietly, "and like there are enough cups for each student."
"Looks like they wanted to do something for Christmas now that there's no feast," Neville whispers back. "Shall we wake the others up?"
Glancing out one of the windows, Padma nods. "It'll do us all some good." With that said, she goes to the closest sleeping student and wakes them up with a tap on their shoulder.
Soon enough, everyone is awake – some more than others. Yawning and stretching, each student accepts a cup of what turns out to be hot cocoa. They are quick to notice the changes in their surroundings, remarking about the Christmas decorations and the windows, the white snow adorning the outside environment.
The early morning keeps everyone fairly quiet, huddling in small groups with blankets wrapped around their hunched shoulders, staring out the windows and around them with something like astonishment. In the end, it is Ginny who breaks the silence. "Suppose this is Christmas for us this year," she says, not quite whispering, and everyone hears her.
"In that case, Merry Christmas!" Someone shouts, and soon everyone is exchanging words with those around them. Smiling and chattering, they do not forget the war that waits for them nor the grim atmosphere that grips Hogwarts' stone halls and classrooms, but they are able to enjoy the time as they have it.
In other years, the students would be out amongst the snow, having snowball fights and laughing, although with the sun high above them rather than the moon glancing down at them. This year, though, they are stuck inside, only able to watch those outside. After all, the Hogwarts grounds are far too open for those who are meant to be in hiding.
So far, the first four months of the school year have been incredibly hard, taut with danger and fraught with fear. For some, they keep their heads down, eyes fixed firmly on the hard stone ground. For others, they laugh and point and taunt, flaunting their beliefs without fear, perceived righteous by themselves only. Meanwhile, there are those who hold their heads high and spit blood onto the ground, daring to raise their hands and fists and wands, rebelling openly against a system of hatred.
Christmas has often encouraged hope in the hearts of many, simply because it gives people a time to appreciate their family and the friends around them, remind themselves that they are loved. This Christmas is not like any other past Christmases, though.
There are no presents beneath the Christmas trees, although there is a Christmas tree small as it is, branches sparsely littered with tinsel and baubles. There are no stockings hung, although there are Christmas lights hanging from the walls and ceiling. There are no snowmen with Santa hats, although there is snow blanketing the world. There is no Santa with his reindeer visiting those at Hogwarts, although there is magic of another kind.
Even though the Christmas is different, it is still Christmas. Even though they are fighting for their lives, fighting for a cause, daring to lift their heads and rebel, it is still a time for peace, even if that peace does not last long.
Sometimes hope is a fight won. Sometimes hope is a boy with a lightning-bolt scar. Sometimes hope is a child raising a sword to defeat a basilisk. Sometimes hope is three children who are all friends. Sometimes hope is hiding and surviving. And sometimes hope is children hidden in a room, a hot mug of cocoa in their hands, blankets slipped over their shoulders. Hope is a lot of things, and it changes for everyone.
Whilst a fight goes on in Hogwarts, a long-drawn battle with no end in sight, they fight for a cause and for a reason. To keep fighting is to do so because they are hopeful, even battered, bruised, and scarred as they are. Children fight where adults cannot, soldiers in a world that takes and takes and takes, leaving their childhood a tattered, ruined thing in their hands.
It is Christmas and it has snowed. It is a few minutes past midnight and they are sipping hot drinks in groups. They are hiding because they are in danger, but they can smile and laugh right now.
It is Christmas and it has snowed; they are living and they are happy. They do not know how long such a thing can laugh, but they are enjoying the time they have. In the grimmest of times, there can still be happiness. During war, people can still share smiles.
It is Christmas and there is snow encasing the world. It is Christmas and they are fighting in a war. It is Christmas and they are able to be happy. It is Christmas and they are winning a war waged in their hearts for they are hopeful. And while hope doesn't win battles, it is another weapon that can help win the war.