For the vast majority of Hogwarts students, Christmas break was the most anticipated time of year besides summer vacation.
But unlike the somewhat quiet atmosphere of past years, this year, due to the Dark Lord Vincent Wayne's "frequent activities," the situation in the Wizarding World had become extremely tense. Nearly all parents chose to keep their children at the safest place possible—the school—giving Hogwarts Castle an unprecedentedly lively winter.
The corridors were always filled with students clutching snacks, laughing and roughhousing, while empty classrooms were often commandeered as temporary venues for small gatherings.
In front of the giant Magical Projection screens supplied by Nobili in the Great Hall, students gathered from morning to night to watch dramas.
Outside the castle, despite the bitter cold, the energy remained undiminished.
"Are you still troubled by not being able to answer the seven uses of Bubotuber pus? Are you still staying up late copying class notes? Are you still worried that you'll nod off in your next History of Magic lesson?"
In the snow before the castle gates, Fred and George stood on a temporary wooden platform, holding up brightly wrapped red-and-blue candies.
"Stop enduring it!" Fred cried passionately. "Stop swallowing the bitter shackles called 'being a good student'! Stop pretending to love knowledge that makes your eyelids droop!"
George tore open a wrapper and snapped a candy in half with a crack. "Eat the red half, and you'll immediately develop a high fever, turn pale, and break out in cold sweats. Even Madam Pomfrey will think you have a severe case of Dragon Pox and personally issue an emergency permit to St. Mungo's!"
Fred held up the other blue half. "Then eat the blue half—bang! Every symptom vanishes! You'll be refreshed, clear-headed, and might even explain twelve obscure treatments for Dragon Pox