Meanwhile, Belle and the rest of the team and I went into our bedroom. Belle lay on the bed sadly as I glared out the window.

"Hiya guys! You should see the ballroom!" Chip said excitedly, suddenly coming in. "It's all decorated and pretty and there's garlands everywhere! I think the master's gonna be really excited when he finds out about Christmas!"

"Well he, he already knows." Belle replied sadly.

"Really? Was he excited?" Chip asked.

"Actually, Chip, he's forbidden it." Belle said sadly as she joined me at the window.

"But I thought he couldn't forbid Christmas." Chip started to sob.

"You know Chip, he can't." Belle said, getting her spirit and determination back. "We'll have Christmas with or without him!"

Ron W, Hermione, and the team and I got our spirit back too as we nodded with determined smiles of agreement.

"Hooray!" Chip cheered. "Can we get a tree now Belle? It's the only thing we're missing."

"All right then, let's go get a tree." Belle smiled.

She then went over to where she had placed our present for the beast and Harry.

"But first…." She added, picking up the present, before making a shushing gesture.

Belle and the rest of the team and I made our way to the West Wing and snuck inside. Chip stood by the doorway as a lookout as Belle and my friends and I went to the table with the rose. Belle was about to lift the glass dome covering the rose...

"*Psst* guys, the masters, hurry!" Chip suddenly whispered.

Belle quickly put the present on the table and we all hid behind the door. We then snuck out of the room as the beast and Harry went past us. Fortunately, not even Harry noticed us.

Later on we went outside to look for a tree to cut down. With us were Sultan and Ax, who was being on carried on Belle's shoulder. Chip laughed and Sultan barked as we made our way to the first tree, which was small, skinny, and had very few branches and needles.

"What about this one?" Belle asked.

Chip frowned as he thought for a moment.

"Nah, too skinny." He finally replied before hopping away. "Come on!"

Belle looked at the tree for a moment, confused, and then followed. Ax let out a groan, obviously he wasn't used to being carried like that.

What we didn't know then was that the beast and Harry were watching us from a window in the West Wing. The door suddenly opened slowly, and Harry turned to find Lumière there. Lumière hopped over and joined them at the window.

"Oo-la-la." Lumière smiled as he saw us outside.

"Ohh, Lumière." The beast sighed.

"Belle is beautiful no?" Lumière said.

"Yes, and I'm hideous." The beast replied bitterly.

"Not to mention ill-tempered." Lumière muttered to himself.

Harry overheard and smirked at him.

The beast then noticed the present.

"What? What is that?" The beast asked as he picked it up.

"Ooh, it looks like a Christmas present." Lumière said as he hopped over.

The beast slammed the present back onto the table and stormed outside onto the balcony. Harry followed with a roll of his eyes. Instead of commenting on the beast's reaction, Lumière read the tag on the present.

"Oh-ho-ho, it's for you masters, it's from…a couple of girls." Lumière smiled, ending in a hinting tone.

The beast and Harry poked their heads inside.

"Mrs. Potts and Cera?" The beast asked.

"'Mrs. Potts and Cera'?" Harry repeated disbelievingly. "Of all the…."

"No, Belle and Miranda!" Lumière corrected exasperatedly.

"Belle?" The beast said to himself.

He started to open the gift….

"Uh-uh-uh master! You can't open it!" Lumière said.

Harry put a paw over the ribbon to stop the beast.

"Well why not? It's for me as well as Harry isn't it?" The beast argued.

"Because it's not yet Christmas!" Lumière explained.

The beast shunned this with a growl.

"Master, we all understand how you feel about Christmas," Lumière sighed. "But when a woman gives a man a gift, she's saying 'I care about you'."

"But I don't have a gift for her." The beast pointed out.

"It's not too late." Harry said.

The beast sighed.

"Well, I guess I could get her a little something." The beast muttered.

Meanwhile, Forte was playing a new song.

"Forte! Stop the noise!" Beast and Harry ordered as they marched in.

"Noise? Noise?" Forte cried, insulted. "This is my masterpiece!"

Beast and Harry gave Forte a warning glare.

"Masters." Forte finished, dropping the subject…even though he was still insulted.

"We, we want you to compose a song." Beast said. "It's a present for Belle…."

Harry cleared his throat.

"….And Miranda." Beast added.

"What? Belle? Miranda?" Forte said to himself, shocked.

"And-and make it…happy!" Beast added.

"Oh but happiness is so…." Forte began.

Beast and Harry shut the door behind them as they left the room.

"…Depressing."

Harry actually heard that last word.

"Happiness is depressing?" He repeated to himself. "That's the most oxymoronic thing I've ever heard, and heavy on the 'moronic' too."

Meanwhile, outside, Chip had been rejecting trees left and right. We soon left the top part of the grounds and reached the stairs that led to the lower part.

"What about this one?" Belle asked as we reached a tree in a pot.

"Too…wiggly." Chip said.

"'Too…wiggly'?" Belle repeated.

In a pretty short amount of time, we soon reached the last tree on the grounds. Like all the others, it just didn't work for a ballroom Christmas tree.

"Chip, this is the last one." Belle chuckled after Chip rejected it.

"That's not it, that's just a weed wishing it was a tree." Chip declared.

"Chip, we've looked at every other tree on the grounds." Belle pointed out.

"But it's more this way than that." Chip replied, referring to the fact that the tree wasn't straight.

"Those other trees also were weeds." Tuck added.

"Yeah, none of these trees will work." Numbuh Five added.

"Then this one will have to do." Belle said as she raised Ax for the first chop.

"*Aaaach!* Oy gevalt!" Ax cried.

Concerned, Belle quickly pulled him out of the tree.

"What a headache I have!" Ax said, dazed.

"I'm sorry." Belle said. "I…I'll get a saw."

"No, that's fine." Ax said. "I don't want I should put you out."

"Oh, all right." Belle shrugged as she raised Ax for the next chop

"You have some oil?" Ax asked.

Confused about his question, Belle lowered Ax and looked at him.

"I just thought a little massage." Ax explained. "But if it's no, it's no. Go on, what are you waiting for? Knock yourself out."

Belle lowered Ax so that she could line him up for the next chop.

"You never get headaches I guess, lucky you." Ax muttered to himself.

Belle overheard and raised him so that they were looking at each other.

"Really? I can get a saw." Belle replied.

"Who wants a saw?" Ax retorted. "I said go ahead with the whacking and the hitting, who's stopping you?"

"Okay, okay, calm down." I chuckled. "Belle you go ahead and chop the tree down I'll get some aspirin…say do you want regular, extra-strength, or 'ax that just chopped down tree'?" I added with a teasing smile.

"Oh ha-ha, very good, make with the funny." Ax replied sarcastically.

"Guys *shh*." Belle suddenly said.

The rest of us froze and heard melodic music playing.

"What is that?" Belle asked.

"Sounds like an organ." Hermione said.

"Ohh, it's beautiful." Belle said.

Unexpectedly, those of us with sensitive hearing – including Sultan – heard an extremely high-pitched whistle! We covered our ears in pain for a moment as Sultan gave a howl. Sultan then started running back to the palace with quite a few barks.

"Sultan!" Belle called, running after him. "Wait!"

We all ran after her, except for Ax. Belle had set him down when she ran after Sultan and Ax apparently decided to stay there.

"Don't worry yourself about me, I'll just sit here." Ax said as he went over to lean against the tree. "Snow is fine."

A bunch of snow from a branch fell on him.

"A little wet but who's complaining?" He added sarcastically.