 Fixed-endpoint variation of a curve

A fixed-endpoint variation of a curve $\gamma :[a,b]\to S$ is a smooth family $\Gamma (s,t)$ with $\Gamma (0,t)=\gamma (t)$, $\Gamma (s,a)=\gamma (a)$ and $\Gamma (s,b)=\gamma (b)$. Its variation vector field $V(t)={\partial }_s\Gamma (0,t)$ vanishes at the endpoints. Consequently integration by parts in the first variation of energy of a curve has no boundary contribution, and stationarity is characterized by the geodesic equation.