When the final day arrived, Harry could feel the entire school warming up from the students' excited, restless energy.
He hadn't slept well the night before—his four dormmates had spent nearly the whole night talking about how to spend their holiday break.
What confused Harry most was where they were getting all that energy from. These four were usually total slackers—hit the bed and out like a light. But that night, they were bursting with enthusiasm, spitting out plans, waving their arms around, grinning ear to ear...
They even tried to drag Harry, who was finally about to fall asleep, into their discussion.
So Harry shouted, "Silencio!"
Instant silence. He could even hear the soft fluttering of snow outside the window. Finally, he could sleep in peace.
Dean, Ron, Neville, and Seamus exchanged helpless glances. They opened their mouths but couldn't say a word, so they gave up and burrowed into bed. Right before drifting off, they thought to themselves: Where did we leave off? We'll pick it up tomorrow…
Today was, without a doubt, the most exciting day since the start of term.
But to the Gryffindors, there was one major buzzkill.
They had Potions with Professor Snape.
It was almost as if Snape had made it his mission to ruin their good mood before the holidays. The cold smirk on his face as he entered the classroom was chillier than the weather outside—it was clear from the start that this lesson was going to be one long Gryffindor beatdown.
Today, Snape carried himself like a warrior with sword in hand, ready to challenge the world—at least, that's how it felt to the students. No one from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw even dared to lift their heads.
Draco Malfoy, watching his favorite professor dominate the room, felt a swell of joy. If it weren't for the setting, he might've jumped onto the desk and laughed out loud to release all his pent-up frustration.
…
Even Harry was unusually quiet—he'd noticed Snape's eyes constantly flicking his way. Who in their right mind would poke that bear?
If someone did, they'd have to be a total idiot. Harry made a mental note to stay far away from that kind of person.
Snape's voice was louder than usual today, probably because he was bitter that his "toys" were leaving for a month. So, before they left, he decided to give them a "parting gift."
…
After class, someone took the time to tally up all the points Snape had deducted. The results made everyone dizzy. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students were somewhat relieved—the majority of Snape's wrath had been aimed at Gryffindor.
In just this one lesson, Gryffindor lost a total of seventy-three points!
Even Harry—revered as the "brains of Gryffindor"—had five points docked for something as tiny as a stray hair.
Seriously—just a hair!
During the lesson, Snape had everyone brewing a potion.
And as everyone expected, Harry was the first to finish.
His potion matched Professor Snape's description perfectly—its color, the brewing steps, the aroma—everything proved that it was a flawless potion.
And yet…
Snape stormed over to Harry and suddenly shouted furiously, "Potter! Look at what you've done!"
Honestly, Harry was stunned. Normally, Snape would just scoff and walk away. But today he seemed determined to pick a fight.
Instinctively, Harry said, "I didn't do anything!"
His response only made Snape angrier. "Don't you know how much trouble a single hair can cause in this potion?!"
"I didn't add any hair!" Harry protested.
Snape's expression darkened even more. "Look at your long hair—practically dipping into the cauldron—and you still dare deny it?"
Harry touched his thick black hair—the same hair every girl at Hogwarts envied—and was left speechless.
"From now on, in my class, tie up that damned hair of yours," Snape said with clear disgust.
Harry, wisely, didn't argue. He just nodded.
Students from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff began whispering to each other, guessing that Snape was purposely targeting Gryffindor—especially Harry and Hermione—because their presence threatened Slytherin's seven-year winning streak of the House Cup.
"But why does Professor Snape always go after Harry and not Hermione?"
"You dummy, because Hermione's a girl!"
"Do you really think someone like Professor Snape cares whether you're a boy or girl?"
"…Well, when you put it like that... I guess you're right!"
Malfoy finally felt a tiny bit of relief. The point gap between him and Harry had been making him feel hopeless. Every time he thought about their bet, he had the urge to ask his father to transfer him to another school.
But pretending the bet never happened? Malfoy would never do that. Even though there were no witnesses, his pride as a pure-blood wizard wouldn't allow him to run away from it.
That pride, in fact, outweighed even the shame of becoming Harry's lackey.
Fortunately, today, Snape had given him a sliver of hope.
After Potions class, as Harry left the dungeons, he found the corridor ahead completely blocked by a massive fir tree. He could see two large feet sticking out from underneath, and from the loud huffing and puffing sounds, he instantly knew it was Hagrid behind it.
The fir had been freshly chopped—still covered in snow. As Hagrid moved, the snow on the branches shook off and fell in clumps.
"Hey, Hagrid," Hermione called out, waving.
Hearing her voice, Hagrid shifted the enormous tree aside, revealing his wild, bushy hair and cheerful face. "Harry, Hermione! Long time no see!"
"We literally saw you last week. Just say you want to feed us pie," Harry said bluntly.
Hagrid wasn't even a little embarrassed. He burst into loud laughter—so loud, the snow on the roof above came sliding off.
"When do you lot leave for the holidays?" he asked.
"You don't know? It's today!" Hermione replied.
"Well then, have a great time at home!" Hagrid said warmly.
"I'm bringing this to the Great Hall—wanna come with me? You won't believe how amazing it looks now after just a few hours of decorating."
Harry saw that Hermione looked tempted, so he played along and said, "Sure, let's check it out."
As soon as they stepped into the Great Hall, Hermione gasped, "It's gorgeous! This definitely beats how we decorate at my house."
Inside, Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were busy arranging the last of the Christmas decorations.
Once Hagrid set the massive tree into place, it became the twelfth tall fir tree in the room.
The Hall looked magnificent—garlands of holly and mistletoe were strung along the walls, and all twelve towering Christmas trees stood proudly. Some were adorned with shimmering icicles, others with hundreds of floating candles.
Professor Flitwick waved his wand, spraying golden bubbles onto the newly placed tree, making it look like it was glowing from within.
The Great Hall sparkled with festive brilliance.
Those twelve Christmas trees were utterly enchanting—Harry practically had to drag Hermione away.
.
.
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