Christmas was drawing ever nearer, an event which would normally cause much celebration among Hogwarts students. However, happy chatter about presents and holiday plans was seldom found in the school's corridors this year. Most students were simply glad to be alive for Christmas, never mind worried about whether their father would like yet another tie.

Usually Hogwarts could count on at least a few "incidents" per week to cheer them up, such as glittering graffiti or a well-timed prank on one or both of the Carrows. In the past month, however, the D.A. seemed to be very quiet. It made sense, actually- a few more rounds of the Cruciatus curse would probably finish off one or two of the younger members, and all of them wished to make it home for the holidays in one piece.

Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, and Ginny Weasley had specifically ordered the other members to lay low for a while. But the end of term was in three days, and all three of them agreed that they couldn't let Christmas pass without a little fun. And who better to mess with than their Headmaster?

So, on a cold Tuesday morning, Ginny found herself in the Owlery, sending off a note to the owners of a certain shop in Diagon Alley.

Gred and Forge,

Hello to both of you! And happy almost-Christmas. I hope you're both alright. How are the new products doing? Listen, I'm fine. We've kept the D.A. stuff to a minimum lately, just helping detention kids to escape mostly. But we can't resist having a bit of fun before the holidays.

Do you think you could help us? (Don't tell Mum, by the way, but I suppose that goes without saying.) Terry Boot has an excellent idea...

…Love, Ginny

She took out her wand and protected the letter with several enchantments that Hermione had practiced with her late at night back at the Burrow. Hermione had said they worked somewhat like the charms on Harry's Map; you could only read the original paper if you knew the password. Any interceptors would only be able to read a word-for-word account of her last History of Magic lesson.

Ginny walked back to the castle, satisfied. When she returned to the Room of Requirement, Neville greeted her with a smile.

"Did you send it?"

"Yes, it's on its way. Neville!" Ginny gasped when she saw his face. At least five new gashes crisscrossed his nose and forehead, mixing with several older cuts that were healing.

"What happened to you?!"

Neville shrugged. "Just Alecto again. Apparently I was breathing too loudly. I'm fine, but you might want to look in on Seamus. He's in the infirmary with some nasty burns. Hannah's fixing him up," he added proudly. Ginny flashed him a knowing grin, and Neville flushed a deep red that could've rivaled any Weasley's.

"Er…anyway…how're we going to smuggle everything in?" Neville asked. He brought up a good point. Now that the Carrows and Snape were in charge, sending and receiving letters and packages was risky. Everything was searched. Letters that contained anything about the state of Hogwarts, the new detention rules, or anything else the Carrows considered "inappropriate" were burned and replaced with a pamphlet about Pureblood Superiority. Packages rarely were admitted.

Ginny smiled again. "I already thought of that."

The last day of the term arrived with a fresh blanket of snow and beautiful clear skies. Many of the students had spent their entire morning outside, having snowball fights or taking a walk around the grounds. The Carrows decided to join in on the fun as well- by sending enormous, boulder sized snowballs at the smallest first years. Luna was feeling extremely cheeky, it seemed, as she conjured a large snowball of her own and sent it flying toward the Carrows. Amycus shrieked in anger as the snow hit him and he toppled over. His sister screamed "WHO DID THIS? ADMIT IT, YOU USELESS MUDBLOOD!" Luna (never one for subtlety) called back calmly, "Oops. There must be flanoots in the air today- I was aiming for you, Professor!"

Before Alecto could make her way over to Luna and strangle her, a few sixth year Ravenclaws rushed to Luna's defense. They conjured (or just threw) snowballs at the Carrows, so many that eventually the siblings ran to the castle for cover.

By then everyone was quite cold, and they trudged back to the school with tired but content grins. Luna received many congratulatory high-fives and "Way to go, Loony!" sentiments.

Later that evening, the entire student body congregated in the Great Hall for the end of term feast. Snape apparently didn't see fit to decorate anything; the Hall looked just as it would any other day.

We'll fix that, thought Ginny with a smirk. She glanced over at Terry, who was sitting at the Ravenclaw table and met her gaze with a quick nod. Ginny knew this meant everything was ready.

Severus Snape rose from his seat between the Carrows, and immediately all conversation ceased. She had to give it to him, Ginny conceded, the greasy git knew how to control a room.

"Today, as I am sure you are well aware, is the last day of the first term. Everyone who is leaving for home tomorrow will be packed and waiting here by seven A.M. or else miss the train; those who are late will have to stay and serve detentions for their lack of promptness. Well, what are you waiting for? Eat." He said the last with a rather redundant sneer.

It was time to put their plan into action. Ginny gave meaningful looks to Neville, Luna, and Terry. All four of them muttered separate incantations, which simultaneously began the chaos.

Gasps and laughter filled the Great Hall as all the students noticed the decorations. Previously bare, they now were covered in red and green. Baubles and candles appeared hovering above every table, and large banners swept across the entire hall, reading everything from "Happy Christmas!" to "Moldy-Warts wishes he got presents". The largest banner was in the very front, right above the Head table. It said, "Christmas Cheer Courtesy of the D.A." All at once, a dozen Christmas trees appeared around the Hall, completely decorated and crowned with house-elves wearing festive suits. Ginny would've whooped loudly, but that probably wasn't the best idea. Instead she settled for a quiet "Yes!". The plan had gone off without a hitch so far. There was only one thing left to do. Ginny leaned over to Neville and whispered, "Care to do the honors?" He grinned in response and murmured something. Moments later, an enormous box, covered in flashing Christmas wrapping paper, floated in through the doors of the Great Hall. It continued until it came to rest…right in front of the Headmaster.

Snape looked at it with (what else?) a sneer. Ginny half-expected him to banish it, and rather hoped he'd try. If he did, the box would only produce matching ones for Alecto and Amycus, as well as start rattling. But apparently Snape was wise enough not to banish, vanish, or burn the box. Instead, he ignored it. Not a smart decision, Professor, Ginny thought. After one minute, the box opened on its own, whereupon twenty house-elves burst forth and started singing.

Happy Christmas, Greasy Git

We wish you all the best

So pretty please don't throw a fit

You have the looks, the charm, the rest

But one more thing you lack

Where are your presents, Sevvie dear?

What's that? You've got no friends?

Good thing all of us are here!

Enjoy this gift before term ends

(We all know you need it.)

Enjoy your holidays!

With that, the house-elves disapparated and slowly a gigantic pink bottle rose out of the box. Snape's look of disgust was replaced by pure fury. Most of the students craned to see what it was, but some of the girls started giggling as they realized exactly what their Headmaster had received. The bottle obliged the students' curiosity by rotating in the air to face the student tables. By this time, no one could hold back their laughs. Even at the Head table, McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout were already grinning widely, although both the Carrows looked like they had stepped in something nasty.

WonderWitch Shampoo in Splendid Strawberry, the bottle read in huge letters.

Ginny knew that whoever was punished for this (someone surely would be, no matter if it was the actual perpetrator or not) would suffer dearly. But, she thought as she laughed, it really was worth it.

Things I am Not Allowed to do at Hogwarts #59: I shall not give Professor Snape a bottle of shampoo for Christmas.