Manfred Bulla
November 18, 2005 9:24 AM
The new decoration... by Manfred Bulla
Even though he had spent the first few days of the holiday working hard on the repairs and cleaning, Manfred had been edgy. Positive that something else would happen. Something disastrous. And yet, all seemed to have returned to normal. Even with all the available staff and the Prairie Elves hard at work it had only been the day before that the school had finally looked to have been returned to its normal condition.With the help of the snow and ice - usual for this time of year - and the cleaning, the buildings seemed to sparkle when in the right light. Under the snow which dusted the Labyrinth, and was deep enough for sledding around the quidditch pitch there was nothing unusual. The mud had all been collected and put to good use. His own small project from the beginning of the year had come along nicely, and he was pleased that he had thought to make it a slowly evolving charm. It gave the new stream a natural look, even as the cold had set a thick layer of ice either side, and a thinner layer over the top. When he took his evening walk he could hear the tinkling of the water, although it still had a ways to go before completion.
Late nights in her office with the Headmistress going over the book, over notes, over pages and pages of information of the governing restrictions on how Weather Charms worked had left him more tired than usual. There were the beginnings of dark circles under his eyes, and he had become increasingly dependant upon a hot cup of tea or a mug of coffee in the morning, just to start functioning. It was just as well there had been the holidays - with more than the handful of students who had stayed, it might have been far, far worse.
Closing his window behind the post owl, Manfred shivered slightly, and glanced at his fireplace. It was dark, no trace of warmth to be detected by sight alone. Shuffling the papers slightly Manfred shook his head and left the rooms, making his way to the Cascade Hall where a place had been set, and a hot drink was waiting.
But as he sipped his drink, and glanced over yet another sheaf of notes he had sent for an odd note came to his ears. There was something very odd... something he couldn't quite put his finger on. He set the cup down on a coaster, and the papers down with a space between them, and half closed his eyes, trying to pick what it was. There wasn't the boisterous sound of students, that was obvious, but it was hardly unprecidented. The owl who had brought the notes had only been in his own quarters, but again, the lack of post owls on the wing was hardly unheard of either. It was only when he stood and took an unwary step backwards that he realised.
The waterfalls had frozen overnight.\n\n
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Manfred Bulla
The new decoration...
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Manfred Bulla
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