HAPPY NEW YEAR!

As it got closer and closer to Christmas break, it seemed as if most of the inhabitants of the castle was feeling more and more festive, regardless of their previous inclinations during the year.

Most being the key word in the aforementioned sentence.

One person in particular was not having herself a merry little Christmas at all.

Screams echoed through the corridors from one person in particular.

"AUGH! SOMEONE, HELP ME!"

As Harry, Ron and Hermione made their way out of the Great Hall after breakfast one morning, they were greeted with the sight of about a dozen snowmen chasing Umbridge at a speed that even Harry couldn't believe, leaving trails of ice behind them that had people slipping and sliding, despite their best efforts to stay upright.

What was even more unbelievable was the fact that somehow, she was managing to keep out of their reach, despite her stature and general athletic inability.

"How are those snowmen even running?" Ron wondered as he watched the scene in amazement.

"They can't run, Ron. They don't have any legs," Hermione pointed out.

"You're being pedantic, Hermione," Harry waved dismissively at her while he watched the crowd of snowmen (and women) chase down their pink-clad prey. "It doesn't really matter if they have legs or not in the grand scheme of things, does it?"

"I'm not even going to ask if you were responsible for this one. I just know that you are," Hermione shook her head.

A particularly loud, piercing scream rang through the corridors at that point, followed y an eerie silence.

"Should we be concerned?" Hermione looked at Ron, who merely shrugged.

Harry, meanwhile, was completely unconcerned with Umbridge's potential fate, walking off as he happily whistled 'Frosty the Snowman'.

"What a wonderful day it is…" he thought as he ignored the looks he was getting. "What a wonderful, wonderful day. Perhaps I should go make some more snowmen of my own, just to have a bit more fun…"

The Hogwarts grounds were completely coated in snow and ice, with the students taking advantage of the wintery weather while enjoying themselves with winter themed activities.

Colin and Dennis Creevey had gathered several of their friends for a snowball fight, which, when other students noticed what they were doing, morphed into a giant snowball war; a complete melee, a free for all with all care abandoned as to who they were playing or fighting with.

Several students, having tested out the ice of the Great Lake, had found it frozen over enough to skate on, even though they could see that the Giant Squid had enough unfrozen water to swim on beneath it.

Some of them had brought ice skates with them, whereas others had Transfigured ice skates for themselves and their friends.

Overall, everyone was having a good time.

Except Umbridge.

During the previously mentioned snowball fight, which Harry and Ron had found themselves in (Hermione retreating inside for safety), Harry had charmed several of the snowballs to go inside the castle, find Umbridge and rain an icy, merciless hail down upon her, mixed in with a few small hail stones.

At random intervals during the fight, Harry would send more to find her, while dodging a snowball that someone had thrown, all while managing somehow to not be hit.

"Too slow, Creeveys!" Harry shouted as he side-stepped a flurry of snowballs the brothers had sent towards him, laughing like a maniac the entire time.

Ron had him covered tough, for as soon as he stepped aside, he sent his own snowballs after the brothers and a few others who had joined the fun on their side.

"Take that, you twerps!" Harry continued his maniacal laughter all the way back to the castle, where he took refuge, finally having his fill of winter fun that day.

Or at least, he thought he had his fill of winter fun that day until he saw the results of the spells he had cast on the snow outside during the snowball fight.

He was on his way to the kitchens to see if Dobby and the other house elves there would be willing to give him a warm snack for him to defrost with, but along the way, he encountered Umbridge running away from several snowballs that pelted themselves after her with no mercy whatsoever, in a corridor that cut across the one that he was currently making his way down.

Umbridge glanced up while she was running and spotted him.

Harry waved tauntingly at her, not even bothering to hide his amusement.

When she turned to glare at him, she slowed down enough for the snowballs to hit her with enough force to send her careening down the corridor.

Looking around the corner, he spotted Umbridge covered in a giant pile of snow, with just the barest sliver of pink showing beneath the white to hint that she was under there at all.

"Harry, what is that you're carrying?" Hermione raised an eyebrow at Harry as he joined her and Ron at the Gryffindor table for dinner with something covered in green fabric in his hands.

"Oh, this?" Harry gestured to the covered item before revealing it. "This is a mini Christmas tree."

"Where did you get it?" Ron asked between mouthfuls of meat.

"I made it," Harry looked extremely proud of himself as he cleared away a small space on the table and set it there. "I was feeling creative and with this being the Christmas season and all…"

"Harry, why exactly do you feel that your little tree is entitled to a spot at the table?" Angelina, who was seated directly across from him raised an eyebrow as he placed the tree on the table. "it doesn't need to eat dinner, after all. Or any kind of food for that matter…"

"Nah, Angie," Fred piped up from his seat next to her. "his 'tree' isn't little at all."

"Not with all the things he's done in the past like defeating Dark Lords, slaying giant snakes and the like…" George joined in, from Fred's other side.

"Nope. No small trees on Harry at all!" they exclaimed in unison.

Angelina and Hermione facepalmed in unison.

"Thank you for the vaguely creepy endorsement you two," Harry narrowed his eyes at the twins, who grinned back at him, completely without shame. "but this…" he tapped the tree with his wand and it lit up. "…this is what it can do."

A few seconds later, random songs began playing from the tree, drawing even more attention to it.

Appropriate to the kind of tree it was, it was playing Christmas songs.

However, these Christmas songs came with a twist.

While all of the songs were indeed sung to the tune of popular Christmas carols, the lyrics had been modified to lyrics which would be rather insulting to a particular witch who fancied herself a Professor.

Fred and George burst out laughing, as well as several others nearby when it clicked in their minds exactly what they were hearing and where it was coming from.

The looks on their faces ensured that it wouldn't be long before the remixes spread far and wide throughout the castle, reaching every inhabitant far faster than the infamous 'Weasley Is Our King' ever could.

Umbridge stepped into her office after a long, cold, tiring day.

Snow had assaulted her in a variety of ways, thanks to Potter and she had been made a laughingstock.

Again.

Plus, Potter had made that infernal little Christmas tree that somehow sang even worse than the Sorting Hat ever could.

As she fixed herself a cup of tea as she usually did before preparing for bed, she heard it.

A song.

A song was playing somewhere in the room…

But where was it coming from?

It suddenly clicked in her head that it was one of the same songs that Potter had been playing in the Great Hall earlier.

It also clicked, as she looked, that she couldn't find the source of the annoying music, no matter where she looked in the room.

"POTTER!"