Ho Ho Ho! Happy HP Holidays!

[mudblood_andproud]

There is something different about the Nexus this Christmas season. There is a light snow falling over the entire Nexus plaza. The snow is gentle, with no real coldness to the falling snow flakes. As one approaches the main gathering area, they will notice that there are many Christmas decorations, including garland hanging from the air, and there are twelve towering decorated Christmas trees, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of candles. There are also thousands of floating tiny candles in the Nexus plaza, that gently move at their own discretion.

In one corner, there is an orchestra, directed by a Dwarf. All of the musicians are playing music on instruments made from ice. In the center of the Nexus plaza, is a huge banquet table, loaded with holiday foods and treats that showcases a variety of food from different cultures, and some of the different worlds that gather into the Nexus itself. The main delight of the banquet table is that magic can make the food replenish itself, meaning Christmas dinner never has to end. Most will be able to find something they would enjoy. With the added perk that the food is LOL-free.

There are some added little Christmas adventures, for those who get caught up in the holidays. Here are some of the extra options for the Holiday season.

Secret Santa!
There is an added bonus to the Secret Santa gifts this year. The presents will deliver themselves! There are tons of wrapped gifts floating through the air, destined to only drop when they reach the person to which they are intended. Please note that not all gifts will be given in the spirit of the season. There are a few prank gifts floating around too. Be sure to watch out for them!

Christmas Crackers!
There are Christmas crackers scattered among the tables, and in amongst the branches of the trees. They are decorated with festive paper that is twisted at either end like a sweet wrapper. Inside of the tube are prizes, and some contain Muggle prizes such as a paper hat, a plastic toy, and a slip of paper with a joke printed on it. But the rare person will receive a unique, peculiar magical prize, and will envelop everyone nearby in a cloud of blue smoke.

Weasley Sweaters!
Time to try your luck at the Christmas Sweater bin. There is a large rotating clothing rack that seems to have an endless supply of them. Each one more Festive than the last! Pick one and show your Christmas spirit for the rest of the day.

Enchanted Mistletoe!
Be warned Nexus traveler, the Nargles** have hung enchanted Mistletoe all around the plaza. If an unlucky person steps underneath the Mistletoe, they will find that they are magically stuck to the spot, until they can find someone to kiss them. Of course, the kiss can be platonic, familial, or even romantic. For a few unfortunate people, the kiss may be the last thing they would want to do... but it is that or be stuck in the same spot for the rest of the season.

**Nargle Wiki
[Click Here for information on the HP Holiday Event!]
[Your character is free to give other Christmas gifts to people they care about -- HOWEVER, please do not deliver your Secret Santa gift. That will be handled by the Secret Santa moderator. Please post details on your Secret Santa gift in this post please.]

Comments

[mr_enterprise]

He pays rapt attention to every detail, the flick of her wrist, the Latin-sounding words she recites in tandem, the way the candle fluidly reconfigures itself into different shapes, all made out of the same wax. "That's... incredible. May I?" he asks, reaching out his free hand towards the candle, not quite touching it until she gives him the go-ahead. Wouldn't want to do something to mess up the magic somehow.

[mudblood_andproud]

"Go right ahead." Hermione confirms with a slight nod.

The candle feels like an ordinary candle. With no special properties to it.

[mr_enterprise]

That certainly feels like ordinary paraffin to him, with no ridges or seams that might indicate moving parts, or any softness that would hint at malleability. "How does it work?" he asks, curious.

[mudblood_andproud]

"Transfiguration is a branch of magic that focuses on the alteration of the form or appearance of an object, via the alteration of the object's molecular structure. So that is why each of the objects I created were still made from wax, since I was not changing the molecular structure of the candle." Hermione explains.

"Transfiguration is a very systematic, exact magical discipline, working best for the scientifically-inclined mind." She continues to explain. "So there are many witches and wizards in my world who not excel at the spell."

"We even use a magical formula to figure out how we want to transfigure an object. The intended transformation (t) is directly influenced by bodyweight (a), viciousness (v), wand power (w), concentration (c) and a fifth unknown variable (Z)." She explains the math behind the magic, figuring that he would appreciate it, just as the other Jims do.

[mr_enterprise]

He does indeed. Jim may be retired, whether he wanted to be or not, but that drive for knowledge and adventure has never left him. He listens intently to her explanation, well aware that if he had not already seen proof that this Nexus holds impossible wonders, he might not believe her so easily. "You don't know what the fifth variable is?" he asks, raising his eyebrows. "And you do all this in your head so quickly?"

[mudblood_andproud]

"The fifth variable changes... depending on what the object you are transforming is."

"Yes. I excelled at transformation and arthimancy, which is the magic of using math to predict the outcomes of certain events."

"Doing the math behind transformation is not hard, since I do many larger equations for my Arthimancy spells."

[mr_enterprise]

He doesn't bother to stop the smile from touching his lips at such familiar phrases delivered with the enthusiasm of youth. No wonder she and Spock got along so well. "It can't be changed to something other than wax, or you just didn't do that this time?" he asks, offering her the candle back.

[mudblood_andproud]

"I just didn't do that this time." Hermione smiles.

"I am considered to be a very skilled and accomplished witch. The brightest of my generation."

"I could transform the candle into anything..."

[mr_enterprise]

"You do seem quite talented," Jim agrees, complimenting her ability. He may not understand how it's possible, but he's more open-minded than he might look.

"So what does a witch do for a career with that sort of talent?" he asks with interest.

[mudblood_andproud]

"It usually depends on where that witch or wizard qualified on their OWLs, or NEWTs that determine where they end up for a career." Hermione explains.

"Our OWLs are taken in the Fifth Year of school. And NEWTs in the seventh year."

"I got outstandings in all my chosen subjects. So I had many choices. I was invited to teach at Hogwarts. And invited to work at the Ministry of Magic."

"After a lot of decision, I am now the Head of Muggle Relations at the Ministry."

[mr_enterprise]

Owls and newts...? He's pretty sure from context that she's not talking about animals. Acronyms, maybe, though what they might translate out to, he can't guess.

Still, he listens politely. "The Ministry of Magic, that's your government?"

[mudblood_andproud]

"It is. The Ministry is a bit of a mess right now."

"We just ended a major Wizarding War. And the previous Minister of Magic... was controlled by a Dark Lord. And he, and many of his followers, believed that the magic world had to be to their ideal." Hermione explains.

"In my world, non-magic Humans are not aware of the Wizarding world. And there are children born with magic, to non-magic Humans. Muggleborns. Like myself."

"Under the Dark Lord's regime... Muggleborns were considered traitors. Locked up."

"There is a lot to fix."

[mr_enterprise]

It shouldn't surprise him to learn that even with such prevalence of magic and countless other wonders, humans on her Earth still find ways to divide and pit themselves against each other for bigoted reasons. Humans in his time have long since gotten past that, as a species - though only in regards to each other. Prejudice against certain alien races, well, even James Tiberius Kirk hadn't been immune to that, much to his regret.

"Sounds like quite a task. You sound confident you'll be able to make a difference." It's good to hear.

[mudblood_andproud]

"It will take a lot of work, and a lot of people working together. But I know we can make things better for future generations." Hermione smiles.