Written for the Sherlock Competition part 4 prompt 8, the 25 Days of Christmas Competition prompt decorating the tree and the Holiday Spirit: Christmas Boot Camp prompt #23 (lists).

We Grow Up too Fast

"It's elementary my dear Granger," he says to me, twirling a quill from his position on the couch. Oh, I'm going to kill him.

"It's completely insane Malfoy," I retaliate, glaring his way. "It makes absolutely no sense."

"You're just upset that I know something you don't. Face it Granger, he magical version of Christmas is not quite the same as the muggle version."

"It's completely made up," I argue again, putting another decoration on the tree. We're supposed to be decorating a tree near the base of the grand staircase, but so far he's just ignored me. He's very frustrating. I refuse to do all of the work by myself! "I mean honestly, Santa Claus cannot be a basic everyday wizard. He's a made up character in children's stories. That's the end of it."

"Are you sure though?" he asks, arching an eyebrow. "You're still fairly new to the world of magic. There are plenty of things you don't know about yet."

My cheeks heat up at that. "I've been dealing with magic for over eight years Malfoy! I'm hardly new."

"But that's a meager number compared to my eighteen years Granger. Face it, I know more about magical history because I live and breathe it. You're only a small part of it."

"It's a part of my life now," I remind, crossing my arms. "I live and breathe it too. Honestly Malfoy, can't you get over yourself? I may not have been born into magic but I know more about it than most people do. And I know for a fact that you are pulling my leg. Santa Claus is a fictional character designed to motivate children to be good throughout the year."

"I pity your poor children. They'll never have any sort of imagination."

"They'll have plenty of imagination! But I won't let their imaginations run wild. Obviously your parents never bothered to tell you that Santa Claus isn't' real."

"And apparently yours decided to kill your dreams early on. It's simple really. He makes the lists, checks them twice, and delivers gifts. This is the world of magic Granger! Anything is possible here- including Santa Claus!"

"You're parents seriously messed you up," I sigh, rubbing my temples. "Would you stop with this insanity now and help me decorate the tree? I'm not doing this for my own pleasure."

"What? Oh right, whatever." He waves his wand over the boxes without a second glance and every decoration in the box flies up on the tree. It's done neatly, but there's still something wrong with the picture.

"Malfoy, when you decorate a tree you don't want the same decorations next to each other. These are all color coded. The tree looks funny."

"I think it has character."

"I think you're just too lazy to fix the tree."

He shrugs. "Fine, be a perfectionist about it. But while you're up there Granger, I have a deal to make with you."

"Deals with you always turn out bad Malfoy, but fine, let's hear it. What are you proposing?"

"Come Christmas night we'll stay up in the Heads dorm. Obviously Santa Claus doesn't really make stops here, but he has to pass over the castle at some point. We'll wait up by the window for him. And when he flies over the castle you owe me an apology and a letter."

"A letter?"

"Why yes. A letter admitting that you were wrong."

Oh, he had to come up with something like that didn't he? Having a basic plan with no real direction would be too easy, right? Only Malfoy would come up with a reward system like that.

Come to think of it, it kind of sounds like something I would've come up with.

"Fine Malfoy, you're on. But when Santa doesn't fly over the castle because he's make-believe, you owe me the same thing. An apology and a letter why you were wrong. I bet that alone will kill your ego."

"You're on Granger, though you won't be winning this one. The guy really is real. It's a shame you stopped believing in him at such a young age."

"It's not a shame," I correct, shaking my head as I begin to mix up the decorations on the tree to make it look less bizarre. "It's fact. It's elemental my dear Malfoy."

"Oh, we'll see about that."

Christmas Eve came quickly enough. The fact that I'm spending it sitting on the window seat in the Heads common room is a bit bizarre, but I'm not complaining. It will all be worth it when I prove that he's wrong.

Which he will be wrong. I still can't believe we even made a bet on this. I feel like I'm eight years old again. I didn't stop believing in Santa until the following year, after all the bullies decided to pick on me for my belief. I was a late bloomer when it comes to giving up fairytales.

"How long have we been sitting here?" I groan, glancing at the clock.

"About four hours Granger. You can always give in and just admit that I'm right."

"Yeah right Malfoy. I won't say I believe in something that I don't. But you on the other hand can stop believing in this childhood fairytale. Come on, be realistic. You don't actually believe in Santa do you?"

"Why wouldn't I Granger? You probably haven't asked Weasley or anyone with magical roots, but believing in Santa Claus here in the magical world really isn't that far-fetched. It's common even."

"It's bizarre."

"You really are a downer," he sighs. "Now I understand why we never got along when we were younger. You're joyless."

"I am not joyless-" I begin, but end up cut off. He pauses as well, looking out the window. I rub my eyes twice to make sure what I'm seeing is actually there.

In the sky there appears a flash of light. It almost looks like the flash is led by reindeer, but I can't be sure. That might just be my mind playing with me. Maybe it's making me believe I saw something I'm partially hoping to see.

"I told you it's not a bunch of baloney. People grow up too fast Granger, but we're wizards. We have a longer lifeline, so we should enjoy it."

I'm at a loss for words as I stare into the sky. That couldn't really have been Santa Claus… could it?

I guess it's not too unreasonable of a suspicion. I mean, stranger things have happened at Hogwarts.

He pats my hand, startling me. I think it was his way of getting my attention. "You may want to close your mouth Granger. It's an unattractive look."

My jaw slams shut, though I hadn't realized it was open until now. I can't honestly believe this, can I?

Oh, but I am. A part of me believes that it might've really been Santa's sleigh dashing off into the night.

"Goodnight Granger," he says to me after several minutes of silence. "I'll leave you to wonder."

And wonder I do. Could Malfoy possibly be right that people grow up too fast, that childhood fables like Santa actually exist? Or is this just a well-timed prank? For some reason, I don't believe that it's the latter.

But maybe that's just the child in me speaking up. I partially want to believe that I saw Santa Claus tonight. And for the sake of it being Christmas Eve, for tonight I will believe it. For tonight I'll pretend I'm not the grown-up I am.

I'll be a child tonight, believing in these fairytales. Just like Malfoy.