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[NB: Backdated to the day students returned to Hogwarts for the new term]
Christmas and New Year celebrations at Hogwarts had been a rather demure affair, as they always were, and although there was the odd smattering of tinsel here and there around the school the majority of the decorations were put up in the Great Hall; the huge Christmas tree took up its usual spot in the corner, covered in sparkling decorations and charmed so that lights would shimmer and dance among the branches without the need for electricity, holly and wreaths lined the walls, and the ceiling was charmed to show a beautiful winter sky. The weather outside the school had been mostly dark and cloudy with painfully brief moments of blue sky that peeked through an opening in the clouds. The snowfall had been pretty constant, so students braved the bitter cold to have snowball fights or build oddly shaped snowmen.
Everyone did what they could to lift the mood, taking advantage of the lack of strictness in the preservation of the rules (apparently even Umbridge wasn't immune to the festive spirit) by holding small gatherings to exchange gifts or just to relax during those precious days before the festive cheer dwindled and the day-to-day misery returned. The students had learned to cherish those moments to remind themselves that they weren't stuck in a permanent state of doom and gloom, as hard as it was to believe sometimes.
With another Christmas over the new year arrived with less than a bang, creeping in through the back door without anybody really taking much notice. Some as-yet uncaught students decided to rig some fireworks for the occasion but apart from that, like Christmas, there wasn't too much fuss.
On the 4th of January the students who had gone home for Christmas returned, arms full of the newest gadgets and gizmos they were given as gifts, most of which would only end up being confiscated by Umbridge by the end of the week. No doubt some of these objects would be used to cause some havoc and chaos before they were taken away. Everyone steeled themselves for the return of classes on the following Monday, and as the happiness from the Christmas season slowly began to disappear, drained by the return of the same old feeling of misery and gloom, the students could only wonder what the new year would bring them.
[The game is officially re-opened after the grand GJ-IJ migration; the Express returned on the 4th of January and classes began on the 7th.]
Christmas and New Year celebrations at Hogwarts had been a rather demure affair, as they always were, and although there was the odd smattering of tinsel here and there around the school the majority of the decorations were put up in the Great Hall; the huge Christmas tree took up its usual spot in the corner, covered in sparkling decorations and charmed so that lights would shimmer and dance among the branches without the need for electricity, holly and wreaths lined the walls, and the ceiling was charmed to show a beautiful winter sky. The weather outside the school had been mostly dark and cloudy with painfully brief moments of blue sky that peeked through an opening in the clouds. The snowfall had been pretty constant, so students braved the bitter cold to have snowball fights or build oddly shaped snowmen.
Everyone did what they could to lift the mood, taking advantage of the lack of strictness in the preservation of the rules (apparently even Umbridge wasn't immune to the festive spirit) by holding small gatherings to exchange gifts or just to relax during those precious days before the festive cheer dwindled and the day-to-day misery returned. The students had learned to cherish those moments to remind themselves that they weren't stuck in a permanent state of doom and gloom, as hard as it was to believe sometimes.
With another Christmas over the new year arrived with less than a bang, creeping in through the back door without anybody really taking much notice. Some as-yet uncaught students decided to rig some fireworks for the occasion but apart from that, like Christmas, there wasn't too much fuss.
On the 4th of January the students who had gone home for Christmas returned, arms full of the newest gadgets and gizmos they were given as gifts, most of which would only end up being confiscated by Umbridge by the end of the week. No doubt some of these objects would be used to cause some havoc and chaos before they were taken away. Everyone steeled themselves for the return of classes on the following Monday, and as the happiness from the Christmas season slowly began to disappear, drained by the return of the same old feeling of misery and gloom, the students could only wonder what the new year would bring them.