After the Snow War ended, the entire castle buzzed with excitement.
Students returned to their dormitories to shower, change, and warm up after the massive battle outside. By the time dinner approached, the Great Hall was filling again with laughter and loud conversations.
But this time, no one was talking about the petrification attacks.
Everyone was talking about the Snow War.
At the Hufflepuff table, students were loudly promising revenge.
"We'll do better next year!"
"We're building bigger cannons!"
Some students began sketching new snow weapon ideas.
At the Ravenclaw table, the discussion was much more analytical.
"We overestimated ourselves."
"We should've kept more defenders at the fortress."
"If Gryffindor hadn't ambushed us, we might have won again this year."
Meanwhile, the situation at the Gryffindor table was completely different.
The entire table was unusually quiet.
At the center sat Fred, George, and their assault group.
Standing in front of them were several angry prefects.
"You were supposed to follow the strategy!"
"You launched a sneak attack instead!"
"Yes, you took down Ravenclaw, but you two took most of the attacking group!"
"We got overwhelmed by Slytherin! Next time stick to the strategy!"
The twins tried to argue.
"But it was a brilliant ambush!"
"Yes! Tactical ambush!"
The prefects were not amused.
Alexander couldn't hold it in anymore.
He walked over from the Ravenclaw table to the Gryffindor table to laugh at the twins getting scolded by the prefects.
"HAHAHA! I did enjoy the ambush and betrayal!"
The twins glared at him.
"Oh, look, it's the defeated commander!"
"The one we ambushed!"
Alexander crossed his arms and grinned.
"You guys really outdid yourselves."
Fred proudly nodded.
"We took down Ravenclaw!"
Alexander smirked.
"And lost to Slytherin a few minutes later."
The twins sighed as people kept blaming them and their assault group.
Alexander laughed again before lowering his voice.
"Alright, enough jokes."
He leaned closer.
"Wait for my signal."
The twins immediately grinned.
"No problem."
Alexander nodded and returned to his seat beside Cho Chang.
Soon dinner began.
The students continued chatting and laughing while enjoying the massive Christmas feast.
When it looked like everyone was done eating.
Dumbledore calmly raised his wand.
With a gentle wave, the dishes and food disappeared from the tables.
Several students stood up and went to their positions.
With their musical instruments, soft Christmas choir music filled the Great Hall.
Alexander stood slowly and signaled to the professors.
He raised his wand toward the enchanted ceiling.
Snow suddenly began falling.
But the moment the snow touched anything, it dissolved into warm, glowing lights, just like during Thanksgiving.
However, this time it was far more chaotic.
A mini blizzard formed across the Great Hall.
Students gasped and laughed as swirling snowstorms spun above them.
While everyone watched the storm, the professors quietly began their work.
The Great Hall transformed.
Walls shifted.
Frost spread across the stone.
Moments later, the entire hall became a magical winter forest.
Ice-covered trees grew from the floor.
Silver frost decorated the walls.
Floating glowing snowflakes drifted gently through the air.
It looked freezing—but the hall remained warm and comfortable.
Small fireworks began popping along the enchanted ceiling.
The fireworks slowly formed glowing letters.
Merry Christmas Hogwarts
The Great Hall erupted in cheers.
Suddenly, the large doors burst open.
Lee entered dressed as Santa Claus, riding a floating sleigh.
Several house elves sat behind him, holding sacks.
The sleigh floated around the Great Hall as Lee laughed loudly.
"Merry Christmas!"
The house-elves tossed Christmas sweets to students below.
Chocolate, candy, and magical treats rained down everywhere.
After making a full lap around the hall, Lee waved proudly and floated back out the doors.
Alexander waved his wand again.
Large ice sculptures began forming around the hall.
A Lion, Crow, Badger, and Serpent appeared first.
Then many more magical animals joined them.
They flew and ran around the hall as students cheered and tried to touch them.
Alexander waved his wand again.
The sculptures were gathered together in a giant circle.
Then suddenly—
They all charged toward the center of the hall.
BOOM!
The sculptures crashed into each other.
A blinding flash of light filled the Great Hall.
Then everything went dark.
Only glowing fragments of magical ice floated through the air.
Dumbledore waved his wand.
The glowing lights suddenly transfigured.
A massive phoenix made of fire appeared in the air.
Students gasped.
The warm glow from the phoenix spread through the hall.
As it flew, the winter forest began to melt.
The floating snowflakes faded.
The ice trees disappeared.
The silver frost on the walls melted.
Soon, the hall returned to its normal Christmas decorations.
Only the phoenix remained.
It flew gracefully around the hall.
As it passed each student, a small Christmas gift appeared on the table in front of them.
Inside every box were magical holiday sweets.
After delivering gifts to every single student, the phoenix circled once more.
Then it flew toward the giant Christmas tree.
BOOM!
It exploded into thousands of golden sparks.
Glowing golden snow drifted down across the hall.
For a moment, everyone was silent.
Then—
The entire Great Hall erupted with cheers and thunderous applause.
Alexander gave a graceful bow toward the High Table, thanking the professors for their help.
Then he sat down beside Cho.
Cho smiled.
"That was really nice."
She tilted her head.
"Anything else?"
Alexander held her hand and said.
"I'm done."
Then he paused.
"But I think the twins have something else planned."
Cho laughed.
"It'll happen soon."
Almost the moment she finished speaking—
The entire Gryffindor table suddenly stood up.
"FOR GRYFFINDOR!"
Without warning, dozens of snowballs flew across the Great Hall.
Students screamed and laughed as the surprise attack began.
Alexander reacted instantly.
"Protego!"
A shield appeared in front of him and Cho as snowballs smashed harmlessly against it.
Cho burst out laughing.
Alexander shook his head, smiling.
He honestly expected nothing less.