Holly hung around every doorway; and shining white Christmas trees covered in magical snow and icicles glittered in every corner, each topped with a gleaming gold star.
He amused himself for a moment, picturing Dumbledore, with his long silver beard, full length wizard's robes, and pointed hat, stretched out on a beach somewhere, rubbing suntan lotion onto his long crooked nose.
The whitewashed brick plantation house seemed an island set in a wild red sea, a sea of spiraling, curving, crescent billows petrified suddenly at the moment when the pink-tipped waves were breaking into surf.
Scores of the relics that survived were taken to the Louvre Museum, what was lost the cathedral's spire, large parts of its roof and it's ancient vaulted ceiling.
Seen by so many as a symbol of strength and dedication to the rebuilding efforts, the wooden spire finally shed its scaffolding and returned to the Paris skyline early last year.
I had come ten miles since leaving the town, and at this point, according to my father, I should be looking at farms and cottages in a valley, with the spire of the church of our village showing in the far distance.