The Best Christmas Ever

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I do not own any Christmas Carols or the Harry Potter books. Do not sue. I beg..It's the holidays, after all.

A/N: I needed a break from the extreme Angst of my other story, Suffering. And I was feeling nostalgic. This story has incredible fluff. We are talking like the giant Marshmallow man on Ghostbusters.another thing I DON'T OWN! So you have been warned-fluff!

I have re-uploaded this story but can't seem to fix the paragraphs. I apologize. Oh well. Merry Christmas. Enjoy your fluff. I'm really nervous about this, I've only written angst, so please tell me what you think.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione made their way down to the Great Hall with difficulty, due to the heaps of fake snow, garlands, and wreathes. The suits of armor hung with icicles or boughs of holly. Bewitched Muggle Christmas lights flashed in every color imaginable. Music seemed to be pouring out of the walls.

~"Here we come a wassailing.."~

"What exactly is a wassail?" asked Ron.

"Please, Ron, don't you read? A wassail was a type of spiced rum cider that was used as a toast. The carolers are toasting to each others' good health."

Ron and Harry looked at each other in astonishment, then burst out laughing.

"What is it?" snapped Hermione.

"Even at Christmas you sound like a dictionary, Hermione," said Harry, laughing heartily, nearly running into a large snowman that had been foolishly placed in the middle of the hall.

She grudgingly smiled. "Old habits die hard." When the three of them arrived outside the Great Hall, the music intensified.

~"Have a holly jolly Christmas."~

"This is a bit much." said Ron. In harmony with the usual twelve trees that normally graced the walls of the Great Hall, foot high Christmas trees were placed on every one of the circular tables replacing the house tables. More enchanted snow drifted from the ceiling. Red, gold, and green garlands hung from the ceiling. Mistletoe hung from every available space. Most of the staff seemed to be bedecked in Father Christmas hats and robes in various shades of red and green. Miniature fairies buzzed overhead, dressed in costumes as angels and reindeer.

"Oh, get into the spirit, Ron," said Harry, laughing. Suddenly his laughter grew louder and he doubled over. With tears in his eyes, he whispered, "Ron, look at Snape."

Ron looked and burst out laughing as well. Professor Snape had just stalked by, lookig very unhappy in festive holiday robes. A swarm of rather drunken- looking fairies followed him.

The three of them sat at a table, shortly joined by Ginny, Neville, Luna, Dean, Seamus, Lavender, and Parvati. Dean and Lavender were holding hands, as were Seamus and Parvati.

~"Sleigh bells ring, are you listenin'? In the lane, snow is glistenin'."~

Lavender made a face. "I wish Dumbledore could've booked the Weird Sisters again. Some of these Muggle carols are just horrible."

Soon, everyone in the hall had been seated and Dumbledore, in sweeping robes of red with gold stars, stood up and cleared his throat. "Welcome to the Hogwarts Christmas Eve feast. Have a lovely evening." He clapped his hands and turkeys, puddings, and pies appeared on the tables.

Half an hour later, when everyone had eaten as much as was physically possible (and perhaps Ron had eaten a little more than possible), Dumbledore stood up and said, "And now it is time to dance." He swept the tables away, and a new round of carols started. Glimmering candles rose into the air.

~"Silent night, holy night."~

Hermione and Ron were dancing. ~Finally,~ thought Harry. Lavender and Dean were dancing nearby also, rather close to one another. Seamus and Parvati were wrapped around each other, doing some rather inappropriate things with their hands. Harry fought the childish urge to yell, 'PDA is not okay!'.

Luna and Neville were dancing, though Harry could see more daylight between the two of them then he could between any other couple. Neville looked as though he wished he were anywhere else, whereas Luna just looked like her usual dreamy self.

As Harry stood on the dance floor, watching couples dance closely all around him, he felt a sudden pang of sadness. Last Christmas had been the best he'd ever had. He had been able to spend it with Sirius. The Great Hall swam in front of him, and he knew that tears were forming in his eyes.

~"Sleep in heavenly peace."~

The first song ended, and Harry felt someone tug gently on his arm.

"Harry?" asked Ginny timidly, "would you like to dance?"

Harry nodded. She put her arms around his shoulders. "I know what that look on your face means," she whispered to him. "It means you're thinking about Sirius."

Harry nodded. "You can't imagine how much I miss him."

~"O holy night, the stars are brightly shining."~

She looked up at him. He was slightly taller than she was. "I can't," she admitted. "But I can understand why he went to save you."

Harry stopped rotating and stared at her. In the pregnant pause, someone tapped his shoulder. Lavender Brown smiled at him. "Can I dance with you?" He looked between her and Ginny for a moment. The redhead shrugged.

He went off with her, mouthing 'I'm sorry," as Lavender dragged him away. He could see that Dean was dancing with Ginny, and she was chatting with him like an old friend.

~"O night divine."~

As soon as the song ended, Lavender let go of him. "Thanks," she whispered, then went off to dance with Dean. He found Ginny and they began dancing again. For a long time, there was silence as Harry stared into space, deep in thought.

"What are you thinking about?"

Ginny's question startled him. "What?"

"I can tell when you're thinking about something deep. You gaze off into nowhere."

"Just the prophecy, sadly enough." He hadn't told Ginny what the prophecy was, but had had told her that he had heard it.

~"What child is this, who laid to rest on Mary's lap is sleeping?"~

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Let's just dance."

~"Dona nobis pacem."~

In that moment, Harry wanted to do something drastic and romantic. He wanted to take Ginny and pull her into his arms, kiss her like they did in the old movies he sometimes was allowed to watch at the Dursleys'. Instead, he rested his chin on her head, stroking her soft hair with his hand.

Harry did not know how long the two of them stood there, revolving on the spot. All he knew was that he felt a deep sense of peace and contentment, something he hadn't felt in the last six months. He saw Ron and Hermione sit down and then come back onto the dance floor. Many of the couples had sat down at least once. Harry could feel the eyes of half the school, including Ginny's older brother, on the two of them.

"Ginny?" he asked quietly.

"Hmm?" she asked, pulling her head off his shoulder and gazing into his green eyes with her brown ones.

"Would you like to go outside and dance? I think it's snowing."

She nodded, and the two of them stole out to the enchanted gardens as inconspicuously as possible.

Harry was right; a light snow was falling. Their breath rose in fine mist.

"It's beautiful," whispered Ginny.

"So are you," said Harry. She looked at him, smiling. They held each other and began to dance to the tunes still drifting across the lawns.

~"It came upon a midnight clear."~

They kept dancing, swaying slightly. Despite the music, there was a calming silence to the snow.

~"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire."~

Ginny gazed up at Harry. He brushed the snow out of her hair gently. Somewhere a clock chimed midnight.

"Merry Christmas, Harry" she whispered. She leaned into him. The two of them embraced. He could see the snowflakes on her cheeks and eyelashes. They leaned in together and shared a moment of pure love under the swirling snowflakes. In that moment, everything stopped. Suddenly, Harry's sense of perfect contentment was interrupted by a great wave of joy swelling inside of him. He had never felt so happy.

~"Although it's been said, many times, many ways, Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas to you."~

Harry looked back at her when they finally broke apart. "Merry Christmas, Ginny." It was the best Christmas he had ever had.

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO EVERYONE!

May you and yours have a safe and happy holiday season.

Rubberduckie713