The Beginning of the End
Chapter 2: Christmas
Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling
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It was hard to celebrate Christmas when the wizarding world lived in fear, but at Hogwarts they tried. For a few days they made an effort to forget that beyond their walls people, both magical and muggle, were dying. There were few students or teachers at Hogwarts that had not lost someone. Beds were empty that just the year before had belonged to laughing teenagers. Chairs at the high table were empty, professors struck down by Voldemort and his minions.
One reason they made an effort at Christmas was for the children. Many wizarding families in an effort to protect their children had sent their sons and daughters to Hogwarts, not for education, but for safety. Children as young as 4 played in the halls and slept in the renovated wing. When Voldemort made no distinction between fully qualified witches and wizards and harmless children, Harry had prevailed upon Dumbledore to offer sanctuary to them.
This Christmas, his last at Hogwarts one way or another, Harry made a promise to himself that he would enjoy this holiday in a way he hadn't since his first years at Hogwarts. Hermione and others, including Ginny, the remaining Weasley, obviously made the same decision. Laughter was more common, silly games involving much racing through the corridors and giggling was the norm, and snowball fights were de riguer.
Just now, Harry Potter and his friends were not thinking about Voldemort or Death Eaters, though they were thinking about fighting. Fighting involving snowballs to be exact. Tannis, a 5-year-old who had latched onto Harry when Harry had pulled him out of his destroyed home the year before, glanced at Harry for orders. Harry glanced over the railing to the Great Hall below him. He could see Draco Malfoy in the far corner, marshaling his diminutive troops. He glanced up and waved. Harry nodded and turned to his own pint-sized fighters. There was Tannis, Michael, one of the youngest kids at Hogwarts at 4, Jasmine was the oldest in his group at 8 with Angela a year younger.
"Okay, troops, listen up. Do you have the snowballs?"
The kids eagerly held up their mittened palms where charmed snowballs sat in pristine glory, not even dripping on the polished floors.
"All right. Now you know what to do. When Hermione and the others come in that door, chunk those snowballs as hard at you can at them, then scatter. Regroup at the Gryffindor Common Room. Stay out of site and if you see someone coming that isn't wearing a red armband what do you do?"
"Run," piped Michael.
Jasmine nodded. "And hide."
"Until someone on our team comes for us," finished Angela.
"That's perfect. Get in position," he said, catching Draco's signal from the door. "They're coming."
Watching the children, little more than babies, he allowed the thought to cross his mind that this game was excellent training if Voldemort ever attacked Hogwarts. Run. Hide. Don't come out until someone you know comes for you. He shook his head sharply, crawling to peer over the rail, determined to forget, just for while, that the world wasn't a perfect, gentle place, that there were people who wanted him and his friends dead.
The door creaked open and a child peaked through, a blond he recognized as the leader of Hermione's little band. She ducked out of the door, then crept through again, leading the way. Hermione wasn't in site, which made Harry nervous. Hermione was devious, it was entirely possible she would send the kids in the front while she attacked in ...
AMBUSH.
A wet, sloppy snowball splatted on his neck, dripping quickly down his back. With a yell he rolled and lobbed his own snowball, catching a 10-year old boy square in the face. Draco and his troops thundered up the stairs to the rescue, while Harry and his group retreated down the hallway, trying to get a shot at the bobbing heads of their attackers. When Draco sprinted past him, Harry shouted retreat and led his band around the corner, sending them towards the Gryffindor Common Room, before swinging back to join Draco. Except he didn't make it. Sparkling eyes greeted him.
Harry immediately backed up, putting out a conciliatory hand, desperately trying to remember if there were any hidden corridors around. Ginny grinned widely, bouncing her snowball in one hand. Harry really didn't want to experience a Ginny-improved snowball. Last time, his hair had danced for 2 days before Hermione had relented and performed a counter-spell.
Suddenly Harry yelled and pointed over her shoulder. Ginny whirled, raising her arm. Harry grabbed her hand and smashed the snowball into her flaming locks, before jumping behind a tapestry and through the door that led to the 3rd floor corridor just below the Gryffindor Common Room, where he rounded up his giggling conspirators and sent them back to their own dorm to change into dry clothes.
Considering Hermione's penchant for ambush and Ginny's charmed snowballs, Harry thought it prudent to retrieve his invisibility cloak. He opened the door to the now 7th year dorm and saw something he had not expected. He stared horrified at the sight before him, stunned into immobility.
"You didn't think you would get away from me that easily, did you?"
Smirking Hermione, Ginny and their cohorts threw their charmed snowballs at him. Even the superb reflexes of a Seeker could not protect Harry against the barrage of snowballs. He threw his arms over his head, twisting and turning, yelping when the cold snow trickled down the back of his sweater and into his pants. To add to the indignity of being ambushed by two girls and little children, the snowballs were indeed charmed.
At the feast that evening Harry good-naturedly put up with the many compliments he received for his new hair-style, electric purple ringlets, and the feather boa (constrictor) that hung around his neck, adding it's opinions to the proceedings. Everything he touched turned to gold, meaning he had to rely on the giggling and not too accurate assistance of Tannis for every bite he took. He did not grumble over this for the giggles were the most he had ever heard Tannis say since he had rescued him.
The only thing he put his foot down on where the bunny slippers. He refused to wear something that hopped and wiggled its nose. It didn't matter in the end, for the slippers, Dirk and Doug, followed him down to the Great Hall, making great heartbroken noises until he relented and put them on, where-by they started complaining that his feet where cold.
Harry and Tannis were sitting by themselves near the end of the table, Harry endeavoring to ignore the snickers caused by the commentary of his apparel, when the doors to the Great Hall burst open.
A/N: man, now I know why folks love to write in cliffhangers! It's so much fun. The power of it all….lol, thanks for reading.