The rumbling in the ground continues every so often, and it seems to be coming from the pitch. Dirt tumbles into the hole that occupies the Quidditch pitch, and in what seems to be a magical occurrence, the Quidditch pitch no longer has a hole. It is filled in and seems to be in tip-top shape, shiny and new and ready for use!

Strange occurrences here at Hogwarts...

After eating a delicious meal by the Food Station Leo had followed Cassie over to the dunk tank to watch her be splashed in ice cold water balloons by the students. He understood the fun but wasn't going to throw one at his girlfriend no matter how much she insisted. Instead Leo had tried to find one of his colleagues for a chat since Cossy, Paul and Airey were supposed to be dunked too.

However when the ground under his feet started to rumble and become unsteady he forgot about the need to chat and instead wondered what in merlin's socks was going on???????? Scotland didn't have earthquakes did they?

With an increasing sense of alarm Leo heard Airey take command of the situation and the students to not raise a panic he opted to follow the rumbling sound. Someone had to investigate what was going on. He was certain that Cassie was near Airey and thus safe and so was his eagles.

Moving away from the students Leo followed the rumbling sound that came in intervals over to where the gigantic pitch hole was. But blinking and squinting Leo goggled, mouth gaping open, eyes as big as saucers in surprise. The PITCH WAS HEALEDDDDDD! The Gigantic hole was GONE! As in none existing! The ground was all FLAT and SHINY!

Still staring in surprise and equal alarm, mouth going dry he swallowed sharply as he didn't know what to think as he fumbled out his wand to send off some patronus messages. There was no way that Leo could make any sense of this on his own. He needed help!

He'd been working out some final details in his office. Final paper work, new paperwork. All that fun stuff that came with transitions. He'd told himself that he'd get down to the Prefects event sooner or later, and as the time ticked by it seemed it was going to be much later.

That was, until a patronus all but squeezed under his door and started chattering some nonsensical noise about a reversed earthquake. Sabel had stared at it for a long moment before his brain kicked out of paperwork mode and into Auror mode.

It took him a short few minutes to get to the grounds, and to the quiddich pitch where the patronus led him. He found Leo there, staring with a slack jaw at what looked like a fine spread of field. Well wasn't that nice? It certainly look spectacular. It certainly did NOT look like what it had before.

Sabel stopped beside Leo, a frown on his face as he stared in less pleased bafflement at the scene before them. WHAT in all of Merlin's great tangled beard was this? "Is it Hogwart's birthday or something?"

Really. Best explanation he could think of. Unless someone had rented a dump-truck and in the commotion of the Prefect event, no one had noticed.

Beatrice had been enjoying herself in the bouncy castle when she felt the tremors. Not long after, Leo's patronus showed up.

And here she was. Standing, wide eyed, staring at the Quidditch Pitch. Obviously the restored Quidditch Pitch. "What.... how? Wh.....?" No other words could come out. She shook her head, but couldn't think of anything else to say. Obviously there was magic but, then there was MAGIC. And this? This was MAGIC.

"Ummmm...... how?" she repeated, turning to look between Leo and Sabel. Nope, no words, even though her mind was as actively buzzing as a bee hive.

Justin was busy with other matters when he heard quite a rumble that sounded all the way through to his Hut. He hadn't experience such a shake in a long time and knew it had to be dealt with. Wand out he ran out towards where he saw his fellow colleagues at... the Pitch? But why? There was nothing but a gaping hole when he last ventured. As he approached closer, he began to wonder about the distance before he stopped with the others.

"Whoa.."

Standing right by Beatrice. "That hole.. was not filled this morning." If the Groundskeeper didn't do it then.. yeah. It was beyond either's power. "I'd like to get tips from who fixed this." Seriously, such shiny grass. Of course his area was always nicely kept but this.. This was practically new.

Paul stumbled onto the pitch and glanced around...the glossy newness of the grass and the...filled in hole?! He was in shock. "This must have been powerful magic...Merlin..." he muttered as he joined his colleagues.

He wondered...hmm.

Paul kneeled on one knee and picked some of the grass.."Yeah..this is definitely REAL grass..." he said. "This isn't a ploy...this is legitimate." Just...wow.

Wow. He couldn't help feel suspicious..

Moxley was right behind Paul as he arrived at the pitch. The good as new-pitch. The pitch with real grass, apparently. Grass she was currently watering thanks to the fact she hadn't yet thought to dry herself. You're welcome, pitch. Just doing our part here.

"Yes because AstroTurf would've been much more menacing," she said under her breath before giving a little giggle!snort. But in all seriousness, this was strange. Really cool, but strange.

"Whatever the reason, the students are going to be excited." Just saying.

Nothing made sense. Earth rumbling. A pitch restored. What in merlins white socks was going on? With his mind to the brim full off unanswered questions Leo had just gotten back up on his feet after listening with his ear to the earth when Sabel arrived by his side. Turning to the ex-auror and DADA professor Leo shrugged and shook his head as he gestured in front of them at the grass. "Its not Hogwarts birthday today, Sabel. All i know is that the gigantic sink hole that was here is no longer and it unnerves me. It doesn't feel right. It feels strange. Why did it happen now?" And then there was the whole rumbling earth. Had they experienced a real earthquake?

Before Leo could process any more confused thoughts into words Beatrice joined them just a wide-eyed as he bet that he had looked when Sabel had found him. In answer to her question he shook his head. "I don't know how Beatrice. The grounds rumbling must have had something to do with it right?" Looking from Sabel to Beatrice to Justin that just showed up for help Leo asked confusion clear in his tone of voice. "Has anyone heard of a sinkhole refilling itself?" Sadly he wasn't a study of mother earth. But if the mother of all living things had gone to all the trouble to create a sink hole in the first place why fill it up now?

It was hard not to smile at Paul when he upon arrival, kneeled down to feel that the grass was real just as Leo had done minutes before. "Do you think we experienced an earthquake Paul?" A man that was a study of plants was also a study of the earth right? Then Meredith arrived to point out to them all that this would make the students excited and happy. Nodding Leo admitted to Meredith. "It is exciting but I don't want to get the students excitement and hopes up when we don't know what caused this. For all we know it could involve evil and that means that the students aren't safe. We need to alert Abraham." If he had to be the one that voiced what probably went through everyone's heads Leo would.

Alright. So it wasn't Hogwart's birthday. That was a pity. There were enough staff coming in from various parts of the grounds to make it such. He offered a helpless shrug to Leo, not yet having a better explanation than that or a dump truck.

Beatrice got an equally confused look as she joined them in a tongue tied state. The problem was, that as much as 'how' was important, the 'who' and the 'why' were equally as important. Thing was, it was hard to puzzle out why someone would want to refill the practice pitch.

Unless.......

Nope. Not Justin. Darn it all. The man got a look of sheer disappointment from Sabel. Really. He could have seen it. "I'm surprised you didn't think of trying to fix this yourself sooner." A side mutter, but honest enough. A blemish on the grounds was like a refused hug to Justin. Very surprising.

One suspect down. The entire population of the wizarding world left to go.

Sabel's eyes tracked Paul as he went to examining the grass. The legitimate grass. He couldn't help but scuff some of it with his foot. Then, a glance to Justin and the others. Unless this was some sort of trick. A daydream charm reversed? Sabel pressed his foot on the ground in front of him. Seemed solid enough.

He was distracted from his thoughts when Moxley spoke up. And yes, he had to grin at her for that. Really. As strange as this was, it was also exciting. Good to have Moxley shed some positive light on something they all were taking quite seriously. Good. Hogwarts needed that. The staff, apparently needed that.

Turning his attention back to the restored pitch as Leo started throwing out the questions that were surely tumbling about in all their heads, Sabel just offered another hopeless shrug. He was an ex-Auror, not a geologist. Dump trucks and reverse sink-holes were all he could think of. Except for one other option.

Leaning over to Justin, he muttered quietly. "You darn better well make sure you catch me if I fall through."

Cause really. He was about to be Gryffindor stupid to the max. One foot in front of the other, he carefully tested the pitch, moving further out onto it, honestly expecting to fall through at any moment. But it held. Solid and secure. Once he reached the middle, he threw away his dignity and hopped on it a few times. Don't mind him, serious Auror investigation going on here. Seirously though, he dealt with Dark Wizards. Not moving dirt and grass.

Stopping with his hands on his hips, Sabel slowly turned around, his eyes catching on Airey and the students sectioned off at the Prefect event. Unless.......

"Don't suppose a group of students united in a common interest of being able to play Quiddich again, would be able to do this?" He turned back to his colleagues, quirking an eyebrow. Really. The Prefect event would be the perfect distraction for a mass movement such as this. Add on dunking Professor's and you had a whole population of adults thoroughly distracted.

It was something he could have seen him and his friends getting up to back in his days. And he knew a fair number of students, and Prefects, he wouldn't put this past. Another hop on the pitch. Sturdy as stone.

Leo stood silent and lost in thoughts as Sabel began his examination of the pitch, putting one foot in front of the other. Seconds and minutes trickled by as Leo watched his colleague test the solidity of the pitch's surface, expecting to fall through into a whole any minute he imagined. He couldn't blame Sabel he'd have wondered the same if he had been trampling on the place where there had been a gigantic sinkhole until just a few minutes ago. Glancing around at his colleagues Leo asked "Does anyone have any geologists in their family or friend circle?" That they could ask about this suspicious sinkhole fill up. Was it common? If it wasn't then how could it just happen? Was magic involved or was there a simple scientific reason?

When Sabel started to hop up and down on the pitch surface showing that it was in fact sturdy and solid Leo knew they had to start believing what they were seeing. Even if it was still shrouded in mystery as to how it had happened. Looking up as Sabel suggested that all this was the result of a group of students uniting to get to play Quidditch again Leo shook his head in disbelief. "Um, how would the students have pulled it off though? The majority of the students are enjoying themselves at the event organized by the prefects."

The hole was not like this in the morning? And... it was real grass? And... Meridith... Beatrice bit her tongue once she heard the comment she made. It was funny, and it broke her out of her shock. But Paul was a herbologist, and such a comment was bound to be made from him. Plus, Beatrice could not disagree with what she was saying. The students would undoubtedly be delighted. She would be looking forward to seeing the excitement on their faces... but... BUT...

She looked to Leo and nodded, "I... I can't imagine it being a coincidence." She looked back at the... the quidditch pitch. Merlin her fingers were tingling to reach out for a broom. But it could be a disguised evil trap. Though why anyone would want to do that was beyond her. Though... there had been the initial incident, so there were certainly people who would do something.

Beatrice watched as Sabel walked onto the pitch, jumping a few times.

She sighed, and looked back to Leo who was asking about geologists. "No, unfortunately I don't." Though it would have been great if she did. It was great to hear theories being thrown around, and she had to think about Sabel's. Leo popped that theory out of the air, and as Beatrice went to think about another theory... "WAIT! No, Sabel might have a point. I was in the bouncy castle when this happened and then candy canes appeared! They just... appeared! Dot was in there with me and she said it was not part of their plans. I mean, where did the candy canes come from? Some form of magical energy, is what I think. Perhaps... perhaps something similar has happened just now with the pitch." Saying it out loud, she realised just how crazy she sounded. But she had students asking about the candy canes, so she knew it wasn't just her. She looked between her colleagues... "Well? Is it plausible?" she asked. It was a magic castle, after all.

Sabel couldn't help the small smile that worked it's way across his lips at Leo's question. How indeed. "These are young, creative minds we are talking about." Which meant that nearly anything was possible.

Though the man did have a point. It was a lot of power to do something like this. Surely if the students had done this, it would have been more like quicksand? He stomped his foot again, to make sure he wasn't imagining the hard ground beneath his feet. Definitely not.

When Beatrice spoke up, Sabel's attention drifted over to her. Candy canes? Well, that was strange. Couldn't say he really trusted the students to tell them if such things were part of their plans, after all, candy canes were the perfect distraction for filling a quiddich pitch. Maybe. "That's...an interesting theory...."

Letting out a breath, Sabel scrubbed the back of his neck and headed back to his colleagues. The pitch got more than one glance. "Perhaps we should owl the Ministry, A&C and maybe the Sports Department? Get some answers to this?"

The Moxinator couldn't see the students doing this, honestly. Not because she didn't think some of them were imaginative enough to pull it off, but because many of them seemed to think this area of the grounds was a lost cause. She returned Sabel's grin and shrugged her shoulders at Leo. She honestly wasn't as worried. Surprised, yes. Very surprised. Pleasantly surprised, even. Still, she couldn't see a school quidditch pitch being a prime target for anyone doing evil, especially a pitch that'd gone unused for so long. Even now that it was seemingly fixed, it was very apparent no students would be stepping foot on it until it was thoroughly checked out. Surely anyone wanting to harm would've realized that much.

After chuckling a bit at the former auror's little bouncing session, and raising her eyebrows at the mention of candy canes (why had no one thought to bring her one, hm?), she decided the ministry was the best idea she'd heard.

"That seems like the safest bet. Put to rest any concerns before we open it up to the kids. I'm sure they'll be just as curious to know how this happened as we are and we all know word travels fast around here." Bunch of gossips, those Hogwartian babies were. Not that she minded. She was a cool professor, had to be in the know.

...well this was all so strange and curious. Candy canes? Wow....he wondered why in the world????

And it was decided to go to the Ministry...cool. Paul stood up and ruffled some of his white hair...well then. "This is all so strange...I think I'll leave." He suddenly felt VERY weird and just...no. This was too weird and THIS WAS HOW PEOPLE GOT HURT AT HOGWARTS. Paul was hufflepuff enough to be CONFUSED as one and therefore PERISH at Hogwarts; HE NEEDED TO LEAVE. PEACE OUT, Staffers.

Paul ran as quickly as an out of shape fifty-five year old fellow could run.

Candy canes had appeared in the bouncy castle according to Beatrice and she proposed that it had to do with some form of magic energy at work. It was interesting theory that Leo much rather believed than Sabel's idea of the pitch being filled by student hands. He just couldn't see how the students would have pulled it off or known what spells to use. Of course the famous Hermione Granger-Weasley had been shrewd enough to find and use spells which she normally wouldn't have used until adult age. So it wasn't impossible just very unlikely that the students had any involvement in the pitch healing.

Leo was about to pose a way of going forward when Sabel beat him too it and Meredith immediately agreed. Nodding Leo concurred. "Yes, I agree we should contact the ministry and also inform Headmaster Botros--." Before Leo could finish his sentence Paul announced that he was leaving because everything was so strange and then he just ran off. Shaking his head in surprise Leo looked to the others. "I'll go inform Headmaster Botros now. Maybe you guys can go and inform Airey and Cassie and end the prefect event for security precautions." Not waiting for agreement from Sabel, Beatrice and Meredith he turned on his heel and left the pitch to make his way back to the castle.