Errand May All Your Baubles Be Bright Finished

-----

Dad

-----

Pa

Andrea

-----

Interacting with @	Date - 01/12/24
WC 986/800	Color Legend - Mylo | Thoughts

Crips air, snow (sometimes if we're lucky) and cosying up under a blanket complete with some hot chocolate, those were some of Mylo's favourite things about the holiday season. Of course spending time with their family was always number one, the fond memories of their dad shoving snow down the back of his shirt in a move that would be later labelled by the refferee, their pa, as cheating, not that any of them really minded to be honest. As as soon as his dad had turned his back on both Andrea and Mylo they had worked together to dump an entire bucket of snow over the man. Properly drenching him as the snowflakes slowly melted into his skin and decorated his hair and beard in tiny snowflakes.

Or the time where they had decided to make a gingerbread house together, the kids having done the batter, under supervision of their parents although somehow half of it had still ended up outside the bowl, and their pa having taken the actual construction of the house under his wing. Which had lead to many many swears being thrown around as the walls collapsed for the second, or third, or fourth time. Apparently he hadn't been to patient and didn't hold the walls together long enough for the icing to be able to slightly solidify and become like glue. Andrea and Mylo had found it hilarious though, their pa who could do anything was letting the fact that runny icing wasn't solidifying at the speed of light get to him, after a bout of laughter they did come together to help him by holding everything in place. After which they were allowed to decorate the slightly wonky house with all kinds of sweets that had been purchased for this exact occasion, and if a few didn't end up on the house but disappeared into mouths, well that's for the kids to know and the parents to find out.

That's why when Mylo saw that there would be some arts and crafts in the great hall to decorate the huge christmas trees, no really Mylo wasn't sure he'd ever seen any trees that big let alone christmas trees, they couldn't help but gravitate towards the room after lunch.

Stepping inside Mylo could see all kinds of crafting materials, things they could decorate and things they could decorate with, and they immediately knew what they were going to do.

In their household it was tradition that every year Andrea and he would make a decoration to put on the tree, it could be something they had made together or two things they had made separately but it was always something they had made. And it couldn't hurt to already get a head start on said decorating, Mylo didn't mind it in the slightest if they made another one once they got home.

Getting up they made their way towards the tables containing all the supplies, and there was a lot, and walked around them wondering what they could make and what they wanted to make. There were many, many options.

After having seen a few things and also having looked at what other people were picking up to use Mylo had two ideas, one to put on the tree here at Hogwarts and another to bring home with them a little something 'magical' (Of course it wouldn't be magical as they were returning to the muggle world and they didn't really fancy having the ministry of magic coming after them, as they had been told would happen if they used magic outside of the wizarding society.) to take home and show to their family.

Grabbing all the things they'd need Mylo went back to one of the tables and laid it all out in front of them, making sure to have two separate piles for the two projects. Mylo did have to admit that it looked like a lot, but the result would be amazing so it didn't bother them too much, they had only grabbed what they needed so it just meant they needed a lot.

Sitting down they got to work, starting on the one for the tree in the great hall. Grabbing some of the sheets of paper he started making intricate folds, slotting various pieces of paper of varying colours into each other, making sure to keep the folds tidy and to not make any dents in the paper. It was tedious but he loved it, the repetition being kind of soothing. Once they had finished the last fold he put the final craft down on the table, admiring the bird that stood in front of them. It had turned out like a perfect red robin, and Mylo loved it.

Putting the bird aside they started on the second craft, this one would be one they'd take home with them, something for them all to enjoy. Taking the rest of the craft supplies he started working on drawing various scenes of the school, the grounds, some of the classrooms, the great hall and a few others, onto thinner sheets of paper. This took them a while but the result was worth it, especially as they took the drawings rolled them up so they resembled candles and put in little supports so a fake light could be put in them. It looked great if he said so themselves.

Taking the bird again they attached a small bit of string on it so it could be hung up in the tree, and made their way over to it. Once closer to it they took out their wand and levitated the bird to one of the higher branches and hoped it would stay there and wouldn't fall out.

Grabbing the other crafts they thanked their fellow prefect and made his way back to the common room to go and put the candles away safely for their return back home.

ABILITIES | STATS
Perfectionist | Wandmaker [Dragonheart, Elm wood]
sta • 8 | eva • 6 | str • 5 | wis • 9 | arc • 6 | acc • 6

Code by Ara Villa

W/C | 1114/800 DATE | December 1st, 2024 INTERACTING | @Oliver Armani @Anella Vaughn @Aodhan Shaw

“Last Stop - Hello There!" 00:00⠀─── ◉ ───────⠀00:00

description | OUTFIT #8c6d08 | DIALOGUE @Gekko Phillips | MENTIONING

Cirrus tugged the blanket closer to his body as he began to shiver from the winter cold. He pulled the blanket over his head tucking himself in a cocoon-like state, only to get stuck when he ran out of air a few moments later. After shivering until he felt like he had frostbite, he angrily got up from bed, after playing hopscotch with the ice floor, he opened his closet. Cirrus grabbed the largest furriest thing he could find half-asleep, anything that would increase his body temperature. This so happened to be a capybara jacket. He then once again ran to his bed and suffocated himself with the blanket. Cirrus had slept through most of the day, not including when he got changed into more appropriate, yet comfy, attire than his christmas pajamas, even though he highly contemplated having a pajama day, and when of course he attended breakfast and lunch. You can't sleep on an empty stomach!
But besides those small intervals the mousy-haired boy could not be found anywhere besides his bed, his comfy loveable bed. If anybody had met him on this day they would assume that the young boy was just lazy, when in fact Cirrus was usually always out and about or busy with some task or even with friends. But today the boy was just relaxing on the cool winter Sunday, to be honest, Cirrus was having trouble in his academic life. Although he was passing the classes it wasn't without long-grueling work and studying, which he wasn't used to. Back during his regular muggle schooling, Cirrus was considered a gifted child, he always topped his classes and got straight A honor rolls. It was never a challenge, but in the magical world, he was considered the complete opposite of what he was. It was a big adjustment for the boy, a struggle, but unlike the muggle world he had more friends here at Hogwarts. So the list of naughty and nice for both worlds was fifty-fifty even.
Today was the first of December marking that in a few weeks, Cirrus would be able to spend the holidays with his beloved family in Namhae, South Korea. Although he knew he would miss all the friends he had made, especially Gekko, Cirrus was extremely homesick and missed his parents and grandparents and greatly looked forward to the occasion. Also, Cirrus knew that he would be spending a lot more time with Gekko than he probably would spend with his Family at this point, also he still felt guilty for dragging her into the lake. As soon as he had claimed a victory, she had hugged him, all hope crumbled, and vanished! But back to the present, the Christmas pajamas he had been wearing earlier that morning were an early Christmas gift from his parents, Cirrus was beyond excited when he saw the owl flying overhead dropping a large package where he sat. He vowed to wear them as much as he could, and permitted times when he had to wash them, leading up to the big holiday. Honestly, he was more excited for Winter Solstice, Little New Year in South Korea, but sadly this year he would miss it as Winter Solstice was December 21st this year and Cirrus would be heading back to Scotland roughly December 22nd. His grandparents promised though that they would all have their own little Winter Solstice so that Cirrus could still do it.
It was now sometime between lunch and dinnertime, Cirrus once again rose from his bed but this time feeling much more refreshed ready for the last quarter of the day. Some time ago, although he couldn't pinpoint what time exactly, he had signed up for this event in which you could decorate baubles for the Hogwarts' Christmas tree. Cirrus loved to do little crafts and projects although he was greatly awful at it, most of his drawings or 'artistic' projects just ended up looking as if a 5-year-old had made it or straight-up chicken-scratch. But as his mother said, as long as you're having fun it doesn't matter if it looks good or bad. But yet again, it was easy for her to say because she was actually a master at arts with a master in arts! Additionally, she was an art teacher, it was safe to say Cirrus didn't get a drop of the talent, but it was okay because he had other talents and skills!.... Like identifying bugs and....
Cirrus looked at the windows as he made his way to the great hall, the snow looked like diamonds as the sun hit them, falling like angels from the sky. The snowflakes blocked some of the light filtering in causing a beautiful show of sparkling rays against the wall across from the windows. Cirrus smiled as he basked in the warmth of the star's beams, it felt especially nice considering the deathly yet crisp cold air.
Cirrus finally made his way into the great hall, he was immediately hit with delicious smells and the still-satisfying smell of art supplies that gave him the nostalgia of his mother's art studio. It also felt immediately as if he had been enveloped in a big hug, like Gekko had done, as he entered the warmth of the room embracing him. The chattering was loud yet pleasant adding to the joyful ambience of the event. Cirrus scanned the room letting his eyes fall on what seemed to be a familiar face, although it took a few moments to recall his name, Oliver! The two shared Herbology class together and he had attended his birthday party, but even then the two were merely acquaintances. Next to the dirty-blonde Slytherin was a pale-face freckled girl that he swore had looked familiar as well, he just guessed that he had seen her passing by maybe. The two's energy were stark in contrast, the girl seemed eager and energetic whilst the boy seemed more closed-off and serious. He took a quick detour to get some yummy looking hot chocolate, snagging a couple gingerbread cookies as well. Cirrus looked around once more, he didn't see anyone else that he knew so he decided to go for it, although the closer he got the more his stomach got tied. He sat down across from the two giving a large toothy grin, his knots disappearing as his thoughts did, he sat there in awkward silence looking at the two before opening his mouth to finally speak.
"Hello," He sat there leaving another awkward pause. "A'm no sure gin ye remember me, but A'm cirrus nam! an A dont believe A'v met ye before, nice ower meet ye an aw!" ¹

coded by charisse

! DISCLAIMER !
Cirrus is not actually suffocating, he is in fact breathing, removing the blanket from his head occasionally. He is just attempting to get warmer, the wording is for comedic effect and is not meant to be taken literally.

December 1st 2024
Speech: #cfa120
Thoughts: Italics
Open to Interactions!

Well it was that time of year. With Halloween passed, the first bubble of the holiday season began to fester throughout November. And now that it was officially day one of December, the seasonal festivities were amplified tenfold. Not only did the whirlwind of Christmas songs bore across the halls - some of them more earwormy than others - but the frantic rush to create gifts among the student body also seemed to have swept over the school like a madness disease.

Now, it should be made known to everyone that Emily couldn't give a toss about Christmas. Back home, it was no more than a test ground for over-commercialised nonsense and the overwhelming and, quite frankly, overbearing battles in Marks and Spencer for the last pair of patented pyjamas or for the most expensive chocolates that are smaller than a peanut. Not to mention that the holidays were anything more to look forward to when her own parents were never there for them.

But that never stopped the yearly decoration making or food prepping with "Auntie." And even though Christmas was just a little bit too span dangly for Emily, she wouldn't say no to doing something artsy. It would be nostalgic if anything.

She entered the Great Hall and surveyed the arts and crafts at her disposal. She took a blank, transparent bauble, a few sheets of mixed coloured paper, some glitter, glue and a few markers for extra measure.

She sat down and got to work, cutting up some blue and yellow paper before wrapping it around the bauble. Red, green and white would have been the more obvious choice, but it was because of that she decided to mix it up a bit with the colour scheme. A little horizon pattern would add a bit of variety to the tree.

She glued the coloured sheets on with the glue she borrowed and began to lace it in glitter once the sheets had smoothed out enough. Bright glitter was used for the yellowy sunny sky of the bauble, while a darker but equally pretty set of sparkles were used for the blue ocean along the bottom.

She waited a bit more until the glue and glitter had time to settle. In the meantime she scuttled over and took a pumpkin pasty to nibble on. Nothing like a snackie to accompany the wait of watching what was essentially a more glittery version of paint drying. This was arguably better though, since Emily could admire her work so far whilst partaking in what she had to admit was a pretty good pumpkin pasty.

She decided a little more colour wouldn't hurt and so went back over to the crafts table again, this time getting her hands on some orange and light blue paint with paintbrushes and water in her other hand.

Painting around the glitter and glue, she dabbed some spots of both coloured paints on the bauble. She went around the decoration meticulously, taking her time as the bristles ghosted the bauble before setting it back down gently.

With another nibble of her pumpkin pasty, she sat and waited. This time, she really was watching paint dry.

_{Word Count: 560}

Stats: Stamina: 7|Evasion: 6|Strength: 6|Wisdom: 8|Arcane Power: 7|Accuracy: 6
Abilities: Non-Human Enthusiast |Cat's Grace

Interacting with: @Ruth Fairchild @Jan Dehoff

Oliver had been having a good time, so of course because of his own luck, and because it seamed that he could never get a break. It had only been a matter of time before he would be interrupted, via something being launched at his face. He had his doubts that that was were the girl had been aiming, yet it hit him nonetheless. He looked down at were it landed on the table, a paper star (?) of sorts, looked a little messy, and had a smiley face on it. Was that mocking him? A smile, after an attack on his face?

The first year looked up at her, and her what was it. A pained smile? Yes it for sure had to be a mocking gesture. The smile on the messy star, the near grimace on her own. Oliver had been about to reply when someone else came to ruin his day join him at his table. This time at least, he somewhat knew the person. Unlike the star girl. His outfit- It was far from what Oliver would have worn at all. Also far from something Oliver would associate with. A very large one piece fuzzy animal type pajama. If Oliver had to guess, he could easily infer that he was cold. Very cold.

He sighed placing the bauble he'd been working on, on the table. "Yes, I do remember you." He said to Cirrus, and again his attention was drawn to the other girl, he hadn't meet her before either. He looked back at Cirrus, up and down. Observing his outfit once again. "Your outfit, it's- well it looks very warm." He said, Cirrus seamed like a nice enough kid, so Oliver held back from telling him how silly he looked. He was right though he looked quite warm.

Again, Oliver tried to talk to the star girl when again he'd been interrupted by another annoyance, again one he tragically had the burden of knowing. Someone like Cirrus had crashed his party, unlike Cirrus this one based on first impressions had an ego to rival Oliver's own. Yet another person that insisted on calling Oliver a ridiculous nickname. Liv. He took a deep breath at that. He didn't know exactly why he hated nicknames, he was fine when his family did it. But when people at school like this Aodhan, or when Novalie did it. It 'ruffled his feathers' in a way. Lucky for him, Oliver was a somewhat nice person. "Hello to you to." He greeted. The tone in his voice hopefully convening that he was less then pleased with the nicknames.

Based on what little he knew about the boy's that for whatever reason choose to sit by him, it was no real surprise that he didn't seem to remember Cirrus. Then again, the only reason Oliver did was because of the hotgepodge gift, the tase of it, and how just- awkward the, assumed Hufflepuff had been. He rolled his eyes at that comment, and picked his bauble back up, continuing to sketch out his candy cane. Starting on the carful curve of it. When yet again, Aodhan started to talk to him. The paper star again. Oliver sighed and put the bauble back down. At least he had the decency to dump his crap away from him.

Ah yes, the paper star. And the star girl, Oliver looked back up and her, the star, to Aodhan, and to Cirrus. As if Oliver would make something like that, it looked as if it may fall apart with just a look. He rolled his eyes again. Something he seemed to do a lot. Surrounded by annoyances. He put the bauble that he'd just started working on again down on the table and picked up the star. "Nothing to write home about." He commented observing it at his eye level. He looked over at the star girl, and the others that she had made. It had looked clear that she had the skills to make them well. This one could not have been this bad on purpose.

Perhaps he was meant to open it? So that was what he did, carefully unfolding the paper star in his hands, of course because Oliver was always right, it looked like he was meant to open it, with the message scribbled inside. He furrowed his brows at it. "Am I drawing a wand?" He repeated looking at star girl, a look that said 'did you really ask that?'. He huffed and shook his head like he couldn't believe what he was reading. "I- no. Just no. Could you perhaps be blind?" He asked, looking at the bauble, it was at least clear to him that it was a candy cane. "Apologies, no. It's not a wand. It's a candy cane." Normally he would not apologize, yet he gave her the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps the angle made it look like a wand.

OUTFIT & INVENTORY Reducio wand, school items in bag.

OOC NOTE & STATS/ABILITIES Reducio Fearless - Oliver does not scare easily, not effected by terrible presence or unsettling aura { Stamina: 7 }{ Evasion: 5 }{ Strength: 10 }{ Wisdom: 3 }{ Arcane Power: 2 }{ Accuracy: 8 }

Interacting : @Anella Vaughn, @Cirrus Nam, @Aodhan Shaw |||| @N/A : Mentioning

December has approached Hogwarts, already coating the castle with pristine snow, making it look like a winter wonderland. The cheery atmosphere of the castle did not match Aurelia's as she read the letter again she received from her mother. Stay at Hogwarts; her mother had written, I won't be at London because of work. She scowled at the parchment, reading it again before crumpling it unceremoniously into a ball. Looking around, she searched for a bin but decided to throw the ball in the crackling fireplace of the Hufflepuff Common Room, the fire casting long shadows of the yellow-patterned carpet. 

What a stupid holiday. Aurelia slumped at one of the topaz-coloured couches, sulking. She had been away from home since September, and her mum prioritising work over the holidays—holidays where one should celebrate and spend it with family—is nothing new, but still, utterly disappointing and dispiriting. One should think Aurelia ought to be accustomed to this, but she never did. Her absence always makes a dent in her very being, unwelcomed, and makes her severely irritable with everything. Merlin only knows that her Christmas wishlist would only consist of being allowed to her to trade her mum with another responsible mum and actually present. You really can't have it all.

Squealing fellow Hufflepuff girls made Aurelia stir from her stupor. They are pointing at one notice at the noticeboard of the Hufflepuff Common Room. Raising an eyebrow, Aurelia stood from her couch and walked towards the noticeboard. May all your baubles be bright, it was written, Come and decorate baubles for the giant tree in the Great Hall, or your own personal holiday celebration decorations! It was an invitation of one of the Prefects of their House. What is so exciting about decorating some tree?

Aurelia grabbed her leather satchel and hung it over her shoulder before briskly exiting the Hufflepuff Common Room. After descending the stairs, her footsteps echoing at the marbled floors of the Entrance Hall, she peeked from the great, big doors of the Great Hall, a mistletoe already hanging at the top. Hogwarts in Christmas Season is very beautiful, which was an understatement. The enchanted ceiling showed the skies outside, which was greyish from the snowy weather, snowflakes falling from it and stopping just near the floating candles. The Great Hall is very bright than usual. Students ran about as some of them huddled around the long tables, decorating with others as they chattered noisily and cheerily. The smell of hot cocoa hung in the air as well as freshly baked goods.

Sliding near the wall to remain unnoticed, she grabbed a cookie, popping it in her mouth. She eyed the other students before taking some paint and paintbrushes, as well as two small baubles from the box that littered on the long table. Slowly pulling them at her side as other students buzzed around, matching the cheerfulness of the festivities, Aurelia went immediately to work. But first, she scanned the baubles in her hand. They are green and red. Her favourite colour is green; her mum's favourite colour is red. She would have loved to chuck the red bauble but she only huffed in indignation, shaking her head.

Is this what functional families do in the holidays, decorate to match the festivities? That is lame, Aurelia thought bitterly as she dabbed the paintbrush in the green paint, painting the middle part of the red bauble. It is lame; but life would have been bright if she did it with her mother. Her mother disregards Christmas, that's why Aurelia did too. But nothing really had changed, her mum must be the most uncaring person in this whole wide world. She wondered if her mum knew that she felt deep loathing towards her right now. But then again, if her mum knew, she wouldn't actually care or wouldn't actually do anything about it.

Aurelia dabbed her clean paintbrush at the yellow paint, before painting fat stars over the middle part of the red bauble with extreme precision. Aurelia is no artist, but hey, when did it ever became a competition? Letting out a sign in relief at the prospect that she didn't sabotage the red bauble, she turned her attention towards the green bauble, dabbing the clean tip of the paintbrush in the red paint. Just like what she did with the red bauble, she painted the middle part of the green bauble with red paint. As she grabbed the glitter phial as well as a sticky glue from the supplies box, she blew on the red bauble to dry it.

She was already making a mess on the long table by tossing yellow glitters on the yellow stars of the red bauble. After the green bauble had dried, she also tossed yellow glitters on the yellow fat stars she painted on it. It would have been quick if not for the drying process. Satisfied with her work, she placed all the remaining materials inside the supply box before pushing it gently over the long table, towards the huddled students. Her baubles are drying on the long table, her mind already drifting away.

Spending Christmas alone, nothing new about that, Aurelia thought to herself. Just what is wrong with her? She should be accustomed to this; this should feel like a tradition. But she couldn't help but feel like her soul was being eaten away from overbearing loneliness. Perhaps she hoped this year would be different since she would be away from home. Pathetic, is she actually wishing for an almost impossible change? Her lips quivered. At this point, she had more chance on becoming the Minister of Magic herself than her mother telling her that she missed her and would love to spend Christmas with her.

Aurelia blew on her baubles to speed up the drying process. May all your baubles be bright. She wondered, when will that ever be?

date: 1st December time: afternoon word count: 898

-------------⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆ -------------#8c147a

interaction: OPEN mention: @Eric Kim @Oliver Armani

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━↞↞↞↞☽☼☾↠↠↠↠━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

★ ☆ ✦ ✩ ✫ ✬ ✭ ✮ ✯ ★ ☆ ✦ ✩ ✫ ✬ ✭ ✮ ✯ ★ ☆ ✦ ✩ ✫ ✬ ✭ ✮ ✯

Novalie could not wait. She jumped back and forth like a restless cat in front of the Great Hall, occasionally playing with a strand of her ash-blond hair. Lately, she’d been experimenting with different colors in her hair, a way to practice her metamorphmagus abilities. The soft purple hue complemented the oversized lilac shirt she wore, a hand-me-down from her oldest brother, paired with roomy white pants. The girl thought it all looked pretty great, even if her impatience made it hard to think more about it. The first of December had arrived, and though she had spent months at the castle, she had yet to see it adorned in Christmas splendor. Her curiosity bubbled over and every moment felt like an eternity. Finally, the great doors swung open, inviting all the students inside to decorate the Christmas tree baubles! Novalie darted forward, her eyes widening in amazement as she entered. The transformation of the hall was magical. Every occasion turned it into something entirely new, as if they’d stepped into another world. Now, it felt as if they were in the heart of a whimsical holiday movie, complete with shimmering lights, snow-dusted garlands and an enchanting warmth that melted the cold. Giggling with excitement, Novalie made her way to the tables laden with crafting supplies - and an array of delicious looking snacks. She popped a pretzel into her mouth, her hands swiftly gathering baubles, paintbrushes and pots of paint, balancing the supplies carelessly as she sought a free table. Setting everything down with a triumphant clatter, the Ravenclaw grinned at the colorful assortment before her. Her mind already buzzed with ideas! She began with a transparent red bauble, quickly picking up a thin brush. With very precise strokes, Novalie painted a tiny boy with black hair and a black school robe. To others, he might have looked like an evil wizard toddler, but to Novalie, it was unmistakably Eric - her very best friend. She worked hard to make him as dashing as she saw him, even adding a somewhat distorted smile that she deemed charming. Satisfied, the girl surrounded him with golden glitter hearts, red polka dots, and a scattering of wobbly stars. Perfect! Setting the finished bauble aside to dry, she eagerly grabbed another red one. This time, her subject was Ollie, another of her best friends. Determined to capture his crazy strength, Novalie painted what resembled a miniature bodybuilder with exaggerated muscles. To her, it was an artistic triumph, though an untrained eye might see a round, disgruntled bowling ball in a robe. She gave him blonde hair and a deep frown, then surrounded him with glittery flowers, polka dots, and a large heart floating above his head. Once finished, Novalie proudly signed both baubles: “For Eric, from Nova” and “For Ollie, from Nova”. Giggling to herself, she turned to the rest of the supplies, spotting a few thin twigs among the clutter. Picking them up, the Ravenclaw fiddled with them curiously. What could she make out of those? Simply gluing them onto baubles seemed uninspired. She twisted and braided a few twigs together, weaving in a few green leaves until - aha! - it resembled a tiny mistletoe. Novalie grinned, holding it above her head. In movies, people kissed under a mistletoe, but… yeah no, why exactly did they do that? Did it bring good luck? That made sense, especially before a new year. Pondering the tradition, she gazed up at the soaring ceiling of the Great Hall. Hanging it up there seemed impossible - where did the ceiling even begin? Even if she somehow managed, no one would notice it and she couldn’t risk everyone missing out and accidentally inviting bad luck to their lives. No, Novalie had to make sure people knew what they were getting into. Lowering the makeshift mistletoe, Novalie looked around for inspiration. Maybe someone else would have a clever idea for where to place it - and while they were at it, they could help her hang the baubles on the tree! With her mission in mind, Novalie began to walk around, gazing around the Great Hall. Everyone seemed so absorbed in decorating their baubles and she couldn’t help but marvel at the beautifully crafted ornaments coming to life bit by bit. Shifting her gaze to the tall Christmas tree, she noticed it had become much fuller with decorations since she last looked. How long had the girl been busy with her own creations? Novalie glanced down at her hands, realizing she was only holding her makeshift mistletoe. Oh - she’d left her baubles back at the table.. Quickly hurrying back, relief washed over her as she spotted them still safely where she had left them. Grinning, the Metamorphmagus scooped them up carefully, taking extra caution not to drop anything. Well, first things first - she needed to hang these on the tree before worrying about the mistletoe dilemma. Approaching the tree, Novalie decided to hang the baubles at her own height rather than levitating them into place with magic. It felt easier that way, and besides, it was fun to see them nestled among the other decorations in eyesight. Satisfied with her work, Novalie stepped back to admire the tree. Her baubles looked perfect, exactly where they belonged. With that task done, she turned her attention back to the mistletoe and started to wander again.

★ ☆ ✦ ✩ ✫ ✬ ✭ ✮ ✯ ★ ☆ ✦ ✩ ✫ ✬ ✭ ✮ ✯ ★ ☆ ✦ ✩ ✫ ✬ ✭ ✮ ✯

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━↞↞↞↞☽☼☾↠↠↠↠━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

thoughts - speech

Mentioning: @Saunders Napier, @Oliver Armani, @Matthew Campbell

Despite the cold seeping in through the castle walls, this afternoon Donald was excited. While walking from a classroom to the next he caught wind of an Hogwarts activity that consisted in decorating the Great Hall's massive tree. Since he came to Hogwarts his homesickeness threatened him day and night, during seemingly innocent activities like reading or eating, or in the dead of night, when the starry night he asked to charm above his canopy bed showed the same stars he would've seen with Mr Dryden in his introduction to Astronomy. Donald could feel his cheeks flushing and his eyes stinging just at the thought of it, a serious warning that he needed something to distract himself with, beside his homework.
Today could be such an occasion, as the decoration of the Holiday Tree in Robinson Manor too was something he waited in trepidation since August every year, since that was his responsibility, as Mrs. Crowfort would have said. As it was rare that Mr and Miss Robinson were around much during the holiday season, it befell on Donald to "design" how the Manor gardens and hall should have looked, and every year he made it his mission to render his artistic visions to perfection.

With quick, light steps and bags of artistic supplies he enters the Great Hall, his loyal leather apron already on his person to avert any type of paint stains. Only upon entry he discovers that there already are tons of paint supplies. With a look of superiority and a "No matter. Mines are better." he went forward, looking out for a place to sit and paint. Sure, he also didn't expect that so many students would have already joined in, maybe it took him too much time organising his supplies and came a bit later than anticipated? Still, it didn't matter. He was here on a mission.

A thud and he lets his artistic bags on the ground near one of the tables, fully focused on the tree and the Great Hall. Looking at it these past months, he remembers well the hearty tones of the room, "I have to consider the Houses banners too, though. The decorations need to match them as well." There came the great question: which type of holiday decoration? Garlands and lights would've been perfect, but Donald had to admit that he didn't really knew what to do with them, and he still didn't know how to enchant lights or candles to show the Houses' colours. No, he needed something simpler. "...Baubles it is, then." Not the most innovative of ideas, but he'll make do with what he had; it wasn't like Robinson Manor unfortunately, where he could count on 10~ people and numerous house elves to do almost his bidding, barred making the house go out with a big explosion or in flames "But maybe that's what I should have tried to suggest a couple years ago. Just to see their faces." with a quick chuckle.

So, baubles. He couldn't make too much of them, he wouldn't have enough time. First of all, then, he had to make the design.

Withouth looking he reaches for a stool or something similar to sit down and, parchment and charchoal stick in hand, starts to draw what he should do. "First thing first. Four Houses, so I should do four baubles to test if it's a good design." With drawing came the idea: slightly concave baubles. The exterior painted with the House colours, while inside it would be painted the House animal. He could feel the electricity rising inside him, the hallmark of his inspiration taking hold and his hand speeding up it's quick and precise strokes, unwittlingly finding himself to humming a light tune while drawing.

Yes, the sketches looked good. Now he just needed to- fishing inside his bags, he realises both that he forgot to take the brushes of the right size and that he needs the baubles themselves, if he wishes to paint them, looking at the crowd a little far away, "I can take a look at the school's supplies I guess..." With a little *gulp* he approaches, diverting his eyes away from everyone but the floor and the tables, zig zagging if needed.

Once taken both items he almost jogs back again to his place, and after taking his wooden palette he firstly mixes the right colours for Slytherin, "I have to start with my House, naturally.", and then, bauble in hands, paints the House' colours.

A bit of time passes, with all the four Houses baubles done. Blinking back to reality, just now the boy realises how much he has been curved on his project, with his back aching and a his mouth begging for a drop of water or whatever else. Looking at them though, he can only smile at his baubles, happy and full of pride with his work.

Nonetheless, he chooses to stand up and relaxingly walk towards the table with foods and drinks, while looking at what the other student have already done...He had to admit that a few of them were really good. A Slytherin was making something resembling a wand, while another -maybe slightly older- Slytherin already made a really beautiful bauble and- wasn't that Saunders near him? "Oi!" He cries out, too electrified to care, while happily waving his turned-gray hand to his friend. Some paint smeck managed to land on his cheeck and hair, giving him the full on artsy vibe.

Open to interactions!

OOC infos Reducio The Baubles are a mix of these two images!

Word Count: 914