Nine

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Several weeks had passed and Christmas was drawing nearer. Excitement was in the air, as students began to eagerly await the holiday.

After one Transfiguration lesson, McGonagall kept you, Draco and all of the eight year Prefects behind.

"You must be wondering why I've called you here. You're not in any trouble." She began, as sighs of relief echoed around the classroom. "We will be holding a ball, to remember the Battle of Hogwarts. Those who fought in the battle will be invited to attend and several people will be given awards of honour."

"May we use this classroom to plan, Professor?" Hannah Abott, one of the Hufflepuff prefects, asked.

McGonagall nodded. "I'm relying on you to make this ball an evening to remember." She said, before walking away, cloak swishing behind her.

"Why not have a masked ball?" Draco suggested, nervously.

"Great idea! We can have a Hogsmeade trip, to shop for dress robes, as well." You beamed, getting excited. Everyone eagerly nodded in agreement.

"We should get the younger prefects to help us prepare, too." Padma Patil advised. It was going to be a big task, so getting more people to help out would be wise.

"Anthony and Padma; you're in charge of decorating the Great Hall. Blaise and Millicent; food and drink, suitable for under eighteens. Hannah and Ernie; entertainment, music and dance lessons. Ron and Hermione; you can work on enchanting masks. Draco and I will inform people." You say, taking charge, as Draco wrote down everything you said.

Everyone chatted noisily, discussing when it would take place, the guests and how fun it was going to be. Meanwhile, you started enchanting parchments, to copy down the information that the guests needed to know.

"Let's see. We need to invite the Weasley's of course. Former students, who fought. Aurors, people from the ministry, anyone who helped." You told Draco. "I agree with you." He stated, nodding his head. "Could you help me write a guest list, then we can owl invites to everyone." You questioned.

"Let's see. We need to invite anyone who helped in the battle, aurors, people from the ministry.' You told Draco.

"I agree."

"Could you help me write a guest list, then we can owl invites to everyone?"

Draco didn't answer, so you repeated the question. "Ah, yeah. Of course." He replied, looking more awake. He had been zoning out a lot recently. You assumed it was because of the stress of planning such an important event. You shook it off and composed a letter to give to guests.

You felt a rush of pride at your effort. "Geminio." You muttered.  Stacks of the same letter appeared, saving you the effort of having to write out each individual invite. All that you had to do was to put the names of guests.

Licking your quill before dipping it in the ink, you began to neatly write many names of invitees. Draco left to monitor your fellow helpers, leaving you alone in your dorm.

You then struggled to carry the great stack of sealed letters to the owlery. Eventually, you charmed the letters to float behind you, which was much easier.

Several school owls, as well as your own, were selected, to deliver the letters. You decided to let them carry multiple letters, to distribute in a certain area.

"I'll have plenty of treats, for when you get back." You promised, tying the letters to their legs and waving them off. Then, you headed to the Great Hall, as it was lunchtime.

You visited all the tables, giving invites to all of the students, in fifth year and above. Everyone was thrilled at the idea. It was going to be good for the school, allowing people to reestablish bonds and celebrate bravery.

There were posters all around the school, which you had asked Dean Thomas to design, as he was known to be very good at art and had even charmed them to move. You had also placed spells on them, so no one could take them down, or graffiti them.

Even the ghosts seemed to look forward to the idea and you'd caught the Grey Lady smiling for a change.

***

As the date grew closer, the Great Hall was gradually being decorated. It had been enchanted, so snow would gently fall, but not land on anything or anyone. There was a large stage, charmed so the music could be heard all over the castle. Round tables were covered in white sheets, embroidered with elegant silver, blue and white flowers. Floating candles gave the room a warm glow and large pine trees, covered in sparkling baubles added to the festivity.

The Ravenclaw prefects, who had formed the decorating committee and had been led by Anthony and Padma looked very proud of their hard work, which they should be. It was beautiful.

All of the R.S.V.P.s had arrived and nearly everyone was coming. It had been so long since you had seen the Weasleys and you couldn't wait to spend Christmas with them. It was the first Christmas since the battle and it was going to be difficult for everyone, but hopefully happy memories of Fred wouldn't be forgotten.

There really was no better word to describe it. Everything was... Magical.

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A/N: There wasn't much to add to this chapter, just changing the structure and cutting out small parts that I didn't like. I feel like I haven't pushed myself, with the last two parts, to edit the whole thing. But, there were small mistakes in this chapter, which I corrected.

I'm kinda glad that it has taken me so long to reupload these chapters, as it means that I can post the Christmas ones whilst everything is super festive!

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