Decorations - 2/50 for the Christmas Bootcamp Challenge on HPFC.

It was Christmastime, what should have been the happiest season of the year.

Tinsel was strewn all across the statues in the corridors—much to their displeasure. There were bells and chocolates and gifts everywhere. Things were tense, but it seemed that, despite the war, there was some peace. Hogwarts, in the last year, had been a place of chaos, all starting with the Carrows' appearance in the school. There seemed to be less animosity between the houses as the holidays approached.

Ginny was in the library when a House Elf popped into the space behind her seat. She didn't recognize him, but smiled in greeting. She wondered what he wanted, but before she could say anything, he cut in.

"Would Miss Weasley like to help decorate?" he asked, shrill voice just a touch too loud for the library and Madam Pince's liking. There was a loud shh from her desk.

"Decorate?" she asked, looking between the House Elf's pleading, wide eyes and the essay she was meant to be writing.

"Yes, Miss," he replied. "Students are being very helpful with the Great Hall!"

Ginny looked once more at her parchment, but the decision wasn't hard.

"Lead the way!" she told him. "Did Neville send you?"

The House Elf, all angles and big, floppy ears, nodded.

When they arrived in the Great Hall, Ginny almost didn't recognize it. Surely, the Carrows would punish them for putting up such cheery decorations. A whirlwind of glitter and charmed snow hovered in the air. There were two trees that students were decorating, both bigger than any she had ever seen. Red hats were being passed around, and there was an aura of cheerfulness.

She asked for one and set to work, a real smile on her face for the first time in months. Someone across the Hall started a round of Silent Night, and she hummed along as she charmed ornaments to fly up to the tree.

"…waste of time! I mean, what's the point?" she heard someone ask. "The Carrows are going to kill us for making a mess."

Ginny turned to face them.

It was a younger Hufflepuff. For a moment, his words rang true.

Hopefully, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were doing good things, but for the most part, it seemed that they were fighting a losing war. So many kidnappings and murders happened on a daily basis. They had Snape as Headmaster, and Death Eaters teaching them the Dark Arts! The war seemed to have a single inevitable and terrible end in store.

What was the point?

Someone beside her screeched the words, 'and a Happy NEW YEAR!' completely off-key, and she lost her train of thought.

I want a Happy New Year. I want things to be okay again, and for this kind of innocent happiness to become more normal than fear. I don't want any fancy gifts or even a sweater for Christmas, I just want peace.

"We're all going to die, anyway. What's the point?"

Ginny turned to the Hufflepuff boy and asked, "Why are you in the Great Hall if there's no point?"

The boy, surprised that she was talking to him, paused before shrugging. "There's nothing else to do—"

Ginny shook her head. "You could be doing so many other things, or even telling the Carrows that we're doing this, but you're here with us."

"I don't know."

"It's because there's a point to all of this," she said. "Listen to me, believe me. This is very important. This is hope. This is us preparing for a new year, a happy one. This is our fight against fear and against everything that this war is causing."

"We're losing that war, so why fool ourselves into thinking it's all going to be okay?"

Ginny, angry now, said, "Do you want to know why you're here? Because you want to believe, along with the rest of us, that life will go on and go back to normal so that all of us can enjoy moments like these. You want to believe that we can work together to make something beautiful of this world. That's why you haven't joined He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named yet, that's why you're here. That's why you're helping decorate a giant tree! We all want to be a part of something that is good, that makes us happy. We aren't fooling ourselves, we're promising to ourselves that we will win."

He shrugged, and Ginny, disappointed that she hadn't convinced him, turned back to the tree, suddenly feeling empty and disillusioned. She felt a nudge on her shoulder, and turned to see Neville, who was smiling crookedly at her. She didn't smile back.

"I liked that," he said.

She shrugged. "Maybe he's right."

"No," he said. "You're right. We're going to win this war, and we're going to get our friends back, and everything is going to be okay because that tree is absolutely not going to be the last tree I ever decorate. It's atrocious."

A laugh escaped her at his silliness, and he nudged her with his elbow again.

"There we go, that's a nice smile. Now, come on and help me with the icicles."

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