#391 - Chapter 391 Ice and Snow World
This year's Hogwarts Christmas holiday was completely different from previous years, with an unprecedented lively atmosphere permeating the school.
Almost all students from fourth to seventh year stayed at school, their excitement overflowing as they wrote their names on the list.
As soon as the holiday began, the campus seemed to ignite, every corner filled with laughter.
In the Great Hall, students gathered in groups, sharing holiday snacks and gifts sent from home. In the common rooms, the wizard chess boards were battlegrounds, and intense games of Exploding Snap frequently sparked cheers.
Most surprisingly, some students from Muggle families brought chessboards for the game of Trouble, and this simple game quickly swept through the school, enjoyed by pure-blood and mixed-blood students alike.
Students who enjoyed physical activity moved the battlefield outdoors, where snowball duels became one of the most popular activities on campus amidst the swirling snow.
The international exchange students initially watched from afar, trying to figure out the rules of the game, but with the enthusiastic invitations of the Hogwarts students, they soon couldn't resist joining the battle themselves.
In the snow, the Uagadou students were the wildest, happily using Transfiguration Charms to create crystal-clear ice sculptures. There were lithe cheetahs, majestic lions, and towering giraffes, these ice sculptures lifelike and full of natural power and agility.
Seeing this, students from other schools were inspired and threw themselves into this silent ice sculpture competition.
Ilvermorny students showcased their love for magical creatures, their ice sculptures mostly themed around fantastic beasts, including a Thunderbird poised to take flight, a Pukwudgie holding a spear, a curled-up Wampus, and a stout Horned Serpent.
Durmstrang students focused on wildness and strength, using ice sculptures to express their admiration for power and combat. Their creations were tall and robust, including a Viking warrior wielding a giant axe and a polar bear roaring at the sky. The lines of these sculptures were strong and powerful, with even the texture of chopping and hewing visible on the ice.
Beauxbatons students conveyed an atmosphere of romance and elegance through their ice sculptures. Their sculptures mainly featured human figures, including couples holding hands and a prince proposing to a princess.
The most gorgeous was an ice dancer frozen in a spinning pose, her skirt swirling like ripples of ice and snow, carrying an indescribable dreamlike quality, as if she would break free from the ice and dance gracefully in the next second.
After a heated discussion, the Hogwarts students decided to work together to complete a massive ice sculpture—a sleeping crystal dragon.
This dragon occupied a large area of snow outside the Great Hall, entirely composed of transparent ice crystals. Its massive wings were partially folded, and its tail coiled and spiraled, covering a large area of the ground. Its eyes were tightly closed, and its head was slightly lowered, as if immersed in a long dream.
The campus turned into an unprecedented international ice sculpture exhibition, with students wandering among these masterpieces, taking out their magical cameras to record this rare visual feast.
The campus became increasingly lively, and even the little wizards in the castle, as well as many professors, came out from the warm castle.
Professor Flitwick exclaimed in his high-pitched voice, "Wonderful, absolutely wonderful!"
He couldn't put down these ice sculptures, happily casting anti-melting spells and strengthening charms to ensure that these exquisite works could remain intact for a long time, and also to prevent those naughty little wizards from accidentally destroying them out of curiosity.
He walked and praised the creativity of students from different schools, and even stopped to applaud some ice sculptures with outstanding details.
Sebastian, on the other hand, took out a super abundance of magic lamps.
He waved his wand, skillfully embedding these lights into the ice sculptures, some twinkling like stars around the sculptures, others hidden deep within the ice, allowing the sculptures to emit a faint glow from within.
The little wizards were very curious, after all, these lights seemed unremarkable in broad daylight, and they couldn't understand what the professor was doing.
To this, Sebastian smiled slightly, only mysteriously saying to let everyone wait until dark to appreciate it.
Sebastian also discussed it with Professor McGonagall, and then together they created a super-long ice slide with seven parallel tracks along the walls of Hogwarts.
When the slide was completed, the little wizards went completely crazy. They screamed and ran towards the slide, eagerly diving straight down, enjoying the thrill of the wind whistling past their ears. Laughter and cheers echoed throughout the campus, and even the always-strict Professor McGonagall couldn't help but slightly raise the corners of her mouth.
However, this was only the beginning of Sebastian's plan.
He strolled with Mia among the ice sculptures, surveying these crystal-clear works before him, a bold idea emerging in his mind:
He wanted to build a super-large ice and snow world between Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, encompassing ski resorts, ice sculpture exhibition areas, snow mazes, ice dueling arenas, and other entertainment facilities.
No sooner said than done, he gathered the students and posted a recruitment announcement.
【Ice and Snow World Construction Project!
Wizards who are proficient in Transfiguration Charms, have stable spellcasting skills, and have artistic talent are welcome to join!
Wages are paid in Hogsmeade New Town vouchers.】
In addition, Sebastian announced exciting news: he would invite Swan Media to do a special report on the Ice and Snow World and launch a nationwide vote in the wizarding world to select the ten most popular ice sculptures.
The creators of these ice sculpture works will receive super prizes ranging from one thousand to one hundred Galleons.
As soon as the news came out, the entire campus instantly boiled over.
Those students with artistic talent were eager to fight, like the Beauxbatons exchange students who had already begun secretly preparing their artistic counterattack plan, wanting to win the top spot in this competition.
The Durmstrang students planned to highlight their unique wild aesthetics, using shocking visual effects to amaze people.
As for the Uagadou and Ilvermorny students, they also used their respective school specialties to prepare to display all kinds of novel magical skills to make their works more eye-catching.
The students were eager to try, and they began to discuss how to create refreshing ice sculpture works. Some students even spontaneously formed creative teams, dividing the work and cooperating with each other, striving to conquer the judges and the audience with the most unique design.
Even students who were usually not very interested in art wanted a piece of the pie and began to learn basic Transfiguration Charms and ice sculpture skills from their classmates. Some students even ran to ask Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall for some professional guidance.
"This is a competition between magical schools," the Hogwarts students rubbed their fists, determined to win, "We must not lose to the exchange students from other schools!"
