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The week before Christmas was always pretty hectic however, this was nothing like he had seen in all his years. Gifts were on fire, elves were sobbing, the Christmas joy meter was in the negatives, and Rudolph was nowhere to be found.
Santa knew what he had to do. He had no choice. Sighing, he stepped back into his office. Sitting at his desk, he picked up his candy cane phone and dialed.
***
"Hello, you've reached Naughty and Sometimes Nice co- Fred speaking. Who are you, and what can we do for you this fine winter day?"
No sound came from the other end of the phone except some heavy breathing. "Hello? Is anyone there?"
"Y-yeah, sorry, I just haven't had to call this number before." The caller gave a slight chuckle, "I was just surprised it worked."
"And who might you be?"
"Why is it me...Santa...Santa Claus."
"Riiight, sure you are, and I'm George!"
Santa heard someone speaking muffledly on the other end but couldn't make out what they had said. This was taking too long! Christmas was going to be ruined if they didn't hurry this up.
"Perhaps it would be best if I showed you and your partner what we are working with." Giving no time for a response, Santa set the phone down and snapped his fingers. There was a swooshing sparkly noise and red and white lights, and two boys came out of the phone.
The two boys looked around the room, taking in the scene around them. Their eyes finally landed on the plump old man standing before them.
"You really are Santa!" The one exclaimed, pointing at him.
"This is incredible," the other said, walking around the man.
"Yes, I am Santa! Now please focus! The world needs your help!"
The twins burst out laughing. "The world is in for a treat if it's up to us, mate. Hey Fred look! It's the list!" Santa pinched the bridge of his nose. Did it have to be these two?
"Please." The man grabbed the list from the boys, "Listen."
He opened his office door, and the sound hit them like a train.
"You must complete a quest. It's the only way to save Christmas."
"Why do WE have to do it?"
"That's what the note said," he pointed to a small note on his bulletin: "When Christmas is doomed, call 72-837-2682."
"Save Santa? Is that really what that number translates to?"
"I-" he looked at the number. "Huh, it does. Anyway, will you please help? I will give you whatever you want for Christmas for the rest of your lives, just please!"
The twins shared a look before looking back at the old man. "You got yourself a deal," they said in unison, reaching out to shake Santa's hand. Santa was stunned but overjoyed nonetheless. "Thank you! Thank you both so much. My head elf Percy will-" Santa stopped as both the twins snorted, but seeing his look, they gestured for him to continue. "My head elf, Percy, will give you the details. He's just out that door. Santa gestured at a smaller green door. "Good luck," he nodded, and they left, ducking out the door.
They found a small human with curly red curly hair hunched over a far too big desk. Fred was just about to ask if he was the elf named Percy when the tiny man's head snapped up. "You must be the two who are going to save Christmas!" He had a rather squeaky voice, unlike their brother, but the physical characteristics were almost all there. It was uncanny! The elf hopped off the chair he had been standing on and walked over to them.
"My name is Percy." He stuck out his hand, waiting for George to shake it, before moving on to Fred. "I have your quest right here." Clearing his throat, he began to read.
"Your quest is to conduct a competition between two of the most highly competitive individuals. These two individuals are the reason Christmas is on the fritz. Something about their vibes... doesn't matter. There will be three rounds in this competition. Gingerbread house decorating, knitting, and singing. These events will need to be held in front of a large group of people, along with a group of three judges. The winner doesn't matter, but the crowd's participation does. You will get this." Percy the elf handed George a small white plastic candy cane. "This represents a miniature version of our Christmas joy meter on the wall in the main factory. As people start feeling festive once more, it will start to color. Once it is at 100%, it will turn green, and you will be automatically transported back here for your final task. Do you understand?"
"...Why is your Christmas meter so heavily reliant on two people and a crowd reaction? Wouldn't it be better if...
"Now now no time to waste!" Percy started to push both the twins back to the door, ignoring the question entirely.
***
They landed in the middle of the great hall with an "oomph." They could hear the bickering and instantly knew who it was.
"Why are you putting the GREEN one next to the BLUE one? What are you? A monster?"
"If you think you can do better, then BE. MY. GUEST."
George looked down at the candy cane in his hand, blinking red and a little hot. Elbowing Fred, he nodded down at it and then over to the two bickering by the tree. Fred gave him a nod before mouthing, "Dumbledore?" The two set off to find the headmaster and get their quest started.
***
"Ahh, am I understanding this correctly? You two are to create a Christmas competition between Severus and Sirius, and it must be in front of the entire castle to save Christmas?"
Fred and George nodded. "Yup, that's the gist of it."
"How odd?" Dumbledore stood, walking over to the window. "Very well. I shall have the house elves deliver fliers to all the students while you two go inform Mr. Black and Mr. Snape of their fates. We can hold the competition this evening." He clasped his hands behind his back, turning around to face the twins once more. "So who should be the other two judges?
***
"Welcome, Hogwarts staff and students!" George yelled into his wand. "I hope you all are ready to get your jingle and jangle on! Let me introduce you to the judges this evening. We have Professor Dumbledoreeeeee."The crowd cheered, and Dumbledore gave a polite wave and a nod. "Professor McGonagalllll" McGonagall gave a small smile to the cheering crowd. "And last but not least... drumroll please, ... HARRYYYYY POTTERRRRRR." The crowd cheered its loudest yet. Harry gave an awkward wave to the crowd and was also secretly glad it wasn't up to him to save Christmas.
"And now," Fred began, "for your entertainment this evening... on the red team, SIRIUS BLACK," booming castle-crumbling cheers erupted. Sirius was walking in a circle, arms out and open, taking it all in. "And over in the green corner...SEV-" A loud throat clearing interrupted Fred's introduction, mumbling into the wand. He continued, "Professor Snape." Less enthusiastic cheers emanated from the crowd, but enough to be considered polite.
"For the first round of the competition, we will be having each contestant decorate a gingerbread house." As Fred said the words, two tables popped up with everything you would need for decorating. Every flavor beans to Fizzing Whizbees. "You will have twenty-five minutes to put the house together however you choose and decorate it. Your house must be standing when the timer ends, and you may not use magic."
"You're going DOWN, Sevvy" Sirius snarled from his table, rubbing his hands together.
"Time starts...NOW"
The two were moving so fast that they were almost blurred. Frosting and candy were flying everywhere. When the timer finally went off, the two stepped away, panting and sweaty. Sirius's house resembled something of the burrow with its shape. He chose to add chocolate frogs to the inside like it was their home. It was overall nicely decorated. Severus's was a bit of an open concept. Forgoing the roof (as it had broken when it fell apart the first time), he outlined the top in every flavor beans and added a few snow elves to the inside to make it a nice little home for them. As they were both still standing at judging, they each got 5 points for that.
The scores were as follows:
Sirius: Dumbledore 7, McGonagall 8, Harry 10, for a total of 30
Severus: Dumbledore 8, Mcgonagall 7, Harry 5, for a total of 25
Sirius stuck his tongue out at Snape, which got him a point taken off.
Dumbledore led the students and staff out to the lake for the second part of the competition. The twins glanced at the magic candy cane, which was now orangey-yellow, and took it as a good sign only after the first round.
George grabbed his wand, tapping the end to make sure it was working. "For this round, you may be wondering why we are at the lake. Well, my dear friends, for the second round, our two contestants will be putting their knitting skills to the test."Sirius groaned, and Severus did a small fist pump. "They will have to each knit a sweater for our favorite watery friend, the giant squid!"
"They will each have one hour and may use magic to help them if they choose—only since we are a bit crunched for time and they also need to be waterproof and all that fun stuff!" Fred pointed the wand into the sky, conjuring the same timer they used in the last round. "Are you two ready...setty... knit!"
Severus was off like a fiend. Fred swore he saw flames coming off of the needles. Sirius, on the other hand... well, he could use another hand. He was using magic, but it was still going to have to pick up the pace.
Severus finished with twelve minutes left on the clock. He had knit a very stunning piece if Fred was being honest. It was green and covered in a bunch of baby squids wearing Christmas outfits. Some were sledding, and some were building snowmen.
Sirius barely finished as the timer went off. It was finished, but not nearly as immaculate as Snapes. Sirius's was a deep blue color with little snowflakes all over.
The scores were as follows:
Sirius, Dumbledore 6, McGonagall 5, Harry 10, a total of 50
Severus: Dumbledore 9, Mcgonagall 9, Harry 8, for a total of 51.
Sirius was walking back into the castle, muttering to himself. The final round was being held back in the great hall. Dumbledore ushered the staff and students back into the castle. The great hall had been fully transformed again. There was a huge stage fully decked out with screens and lights. Fred had been informed that there was also a changing room in the back with costumes galore. He was rather excited that the candy cane was now blue. He had a rather great feeling that this last one would push them over. The crowd was loving this competition. Maybe they would have to implement it every year.
***
The two contestants were given thirty minutes to pick a song and find a costume, and thanks to Blaise, they were looking sharp. Severus was going first, as requested. He only ever sings in the shower, and so he wanted to go and get it over with. Blaise had dressed him in tight green leather pants with a skin-tight white shirt. He was given a white studded blazer to wear over top. He had Doc Martins on his feet and a pair of silver sunglasses. He also had a red Santa hat that he was forced to wear due to his chosen song.
The lights went dark, and an instrumental version of Santa Baby began to play.
"Santa baby, just slip a Sable under the tree for me..."
The crowd whooped and hollered. A couple let out whistles, and he began to sing and dance. By the end of the song, he was getting very into it. He finished the song as the lights faded from red to black as he sank below the stage.
The lights came back on, and there was a brief five-minute intermission while Sirius was getting ready to perform. The judges had decided to give their scores out at the end for the dramatics.
Suddenly, the lights went out again, then faded to a dark blue. On the back screens, there was snow that started falling. A twinkle kind of sound started to play, then a slow, deep sound filled the room. "Laaaaast Christmas, I gave you my heart..."
Sirius was dressed head to toe in a white suit and shoes. The screen behind him had changed to a beating heart. (The cartoon kind.) As the song went on, his all-white outfit started to change color. He ended the song in an all-red outfit, and as he sang the final notes, he too descended beneath the stage. The crowd was going crazy. Screaming for an encore. Not just from Sirius but from both. The twins were just going to allow them to pick another song to sing as a duet when the candy cane started shaking and rattling. They both looked, and it was glowing green. They barely had time to look back at each other when they were transported back to Santa's office.
"Why now! We didn't finish the competition," Fred groaned.
"You did it! You saved Christmas!" Santa cheered.
"Cool, can we go back now? We want to finish the competition." George pointed a thumb over his shoulder.
Santa paused, looking between the two. "Are you two not thrilled about saving Christmas? "I thought you would be happier."
"Well, sure, yay for that, but we were having fun, and then we got pulled back here just as we were going to have the two competitors sing a duet, and we didn't get to see the scores and-"
"Say no more!" Santa held up a hand. "Percy, fetch my jacket, would you please?" Percy came running back, trailing Santa's long red coat behind him. "Let's go, boys."
They landed with a cloud of shimmering silver and gold dust surrounding them. After it faded, they could see everyone staring at the trio with wide eyes and open mouths.
"Can I have the two competitors come to the stage, please?" Santa asked, looking around the hall, trying to pick them out. "I'd like to do one last song with them."
Sirius and Snape walked out from backstage, and Santa snapped his fingers. Instantly, their outfits were changed into red tube tops and red skirts that resembled Santa's usual outfit. (Santa, too, was in this new fit.) with another snap of his fingers. Jingle bell rock began to play, and confetti fell over them.
"Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock..."
THE END