Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and if you don't know the meaning of the word fiction I to recommend you to check in a dictionary because I am not saying this again.
After the chapter please read the note on the bottom. It explains more about the Magical world and some other things.
Chapter Five
Of Plans and Revelations
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"How are you feeling, mate?"
"As if I had been tried to fight a stone wall."
"And lost?"
"Obviously. Otherwise I woudn't be here. What happened, anyway?"
"Well, Harry, you… ah… fell from your broom, it's fine, unlike your bones…"
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My Dearest Calypso,
I thank you for invitation. I spoke with the Headmaster and he agreed to let me leave the school for the Samhain celebrations. He wasn't very happy with that, through. I believe he is worried about Sirius Black (according to my friend's father, Black is after me for revenge against Voldemort or something of that sort) but, as I already mentioned, he let me go. There was something about international relationships but Iam araid I was not listening with much attention at that time. Anyway, the fact is that I am coming which means that I'll give you your present when we see. I hope you like it.
As for your question, I am fine and I am doing my class work regularly, you needent worry. I had a girlfriend, Lisa Trupin, or at leat everyone thought we were dating. We "broke up" a couple of weeks ago. Is it normal for girls to cry all the time after they had been dumped? (Even if they hadnt been in a relationship.) Then to try to hex the person who broke up with them? Please, do not take any offence, but I find girls rather strage at some occasions. I imagine you are smirking at yourself right now.
On a different note, the first Quidditch match for the season is in three weeks and Oliver is working us like crazy. Apparently, the Seeker last year couldn't catch the snitch even once and Gryffindor had ended up in third place. Which might as well have been last with Hufflepuff behind us. The worst part had been, however, that Slytherin won. We practice three times a week plus Sunday mornings and the situation is getting out of control but Oliver is so set on winning the Cup that if we complain he will just make us train twice as hard to get 'this ridiculous idea out of our minds'. I fear for his sanity and my own health.
How are you all? I look forward to seeing you.
Sincerely,
Harry J. Potter
Heir to the Most Honerable and Antient House of Potter.
Harry looked at the short letter wondering what he had forgotten and if the nagging feeling at the back of his mind was any indication it was rather important. The tips of his black bangs fall in his eyes and he had to brush them aside. He needed a haircut. The teen chewed the tip of his quill, searching through his memory and trying to remember what he had forgotten, all the while completely unaware of his surroundings. That was his first mistake.
"Hey Harry, who's the prettiest girl in our year?" the second mistake he made that night was answering Seamus' question in front of all Gryffindors in the common room.
"Daphne Greengrass," mistake number three was giving a name of a Slytherin girl almost immediately after the question.
"Could you repeat what you just said?" his final mistake was doing what he was asked and not realizing it came from a girl.
Needles to say the young hero didn't have the chance to finish his letter to Calypso because all third-year girls were out for his blood. The teen swore that he would make Seamus pay. Suddenly the Irish boy felt an urge to run and hide in the deepest hole he could find. He quickly dismissed the feeling and resumed his previous activity, namely bragging about his successful pranking one Harry Potter.
"The first Hogsmeade weekend is on Halloween. How cool is that?" Ron announced one Saturday morning. He and Harry were going to fetch something from the kitchens (Harry had bribed the twins to tell them where they were) because the younger boy refused to step a feet in the Great Hall. The reason? Lisa was out for his blood. After the "break up" a couple of weeks ago and she had spent the majority of the time crying but the girl had miraculously recovered and had tried to hex him yesterday after the Ancient Runes class. His survival instincts told him to stay clan from her for the next few days until she calmed down. Were all women that emotional or was it just her? He should have been nicer when he broke up with her but hexing him two weeks after he had dumped her. And they hadnt been dating! Girls were weird.
Then there were the Gryffindor third-year girls. After Seamus' prank (and he was going to make him pay for it dearly) the previous night he wasn't exactly their (the girls) most favorite person in the world.
"Halloween," he repeated, the word tasted strange in his mouth now. "You sure about that?"
"Mhum, can't wait to see it. It's gonna be great," Harry let his friend chatter for a while before he threw the metaphorical bomb at him, excuse the Muggle expression.
"To bad I'm not coming then," the taller boy stopped in the middle of his rant and froze at a spot. "Come on Ron," he nudged him to move "you can rest in the kitchens, you know," he joked. That got the boy out of his stupor.
"What do you mean you're not coming?" the question was met by the elegant shrug Harry seemed to have obtained the previous year.
"What I said. I'm not coming," the Gryffindor, answered rather unhelpfully. Before Ron had the chance to ask for more, however, they arrived to their destination and his friend opened the secret door to the kitchens and led him in. The House Elves immediately rounded them up, eager to please the two students.
"What would young Sirs want?" a female Elf asked or rather squeaked. Like the others, she had big bat-like ears and eyes with the size and the color of a tennis balls. She wore comparatively nice clothes for an Elf with the Hogwarts' crest.
"Just tea and some toasts with jam, please," The youngest Weasley boy shook his head in dismay. Harry's choice of breakfast was disgusting.
"Beacon, eggs, sausages and tea," was a better choice. This was a healthy delicious proper British breakfast. He mentally nodded at himself. Tipsy bowed and went to get their orders. Now, speaking of Harry and his choices… "Why aren't you coming to Hogsmeade?" he did not just sound like a Hermione. No, nope, nhu-uh. He was just worried about his best mate who must have lost his mind somewhere.
"Thanks Tipsy," the small elf beamed with pride and joy of being acknowledged by the 'Young Master Patter'. "I won't be in the country," Ron stuck his fork in his eggs and waited for Harry to elaborate.
The boy, however, merely took a sip from his tea and a bite from one of the toast n front of him. After a couple of minutes of complete silence during which Ron didn't take his eyes off Harry (even to look at his food), the paler boy spoke again. "I'm going to Calypso's house for Samhain. I'll return for Monday classes and Ron, close your mouth," the shock of hearing his friend saying that he would be missing Hogsmeade weekend for a holiday (granted it was a big holiday, one of the most important ones for wizards) was too big. He blushed crimson when he realized that Harry had a clear view of the half-chewed food in his mouth and quickly swallowed the rest of the beacon.
Samhain for the pure-bloods and some half-bloods, Hallows' Eve for majority of the half-bloods or simply Halloween for the muggle-borns was a very old holiday. In fact, it had been celebrated long before the Muggles even thought of Halloween. The night between October and November held some sort of special magic that wizards recognized even centuries ago. It was believed that that night symbolized the transition between summer and winter, between day and night, between light and dark. The celebrations started at sunset at 31st October and lasted about twenty-four hours. Everybody gathered around big fire and danced until midnight when a wizard or a witch threw a log in it. This piece of wood had been taken from the Beltane fire exactly six months previous and symbolized the end of summer just like another log another witch or wizard would take from the Samhain fire and half a year later throw in the Beltane fire would mean the end of winter. The day-part of 1st November was a big festival. The fire would still be burning and people would dance around it but there would be many stands with food and drinks and games to play. While the first part of Samhain was about sending the summer, the light and the warmth away, the second one was a greeting of the winter, the darkness and the cold. Everything was a never-ending circle and there would be no light without darkness and no life without death. This was what Samhain was.
While in theory everything sounded nice, there was a reason why most muggle-borns did not celebrate it. Large part of Samhain was about death and animal sacrifices were a main part of the festival. On midnight, several different animals would be ritually killed and thrown in the fire. The muggle-borns, not used to killing animals, found this custom 'barbaric' and 'wrong'. Some puked, other fainted and in the end (around 1850s), Hogwarts stopped the annual celebrations. The pure-bloods had continued this traditions and many British wizards and witches still followed the Old ways but there were just as many (if not more) wizards and witches who hadn't even heard about them.
No matter how much Harry wanted to disagree deep down he knew that Hermione was from the last group. She was smart (one would be an ignorant idiot not to see that) but she was also a muggleborn who believed in logic and would probably start a campaign about the rights of house elves or centaurs, or only Merlin knows what. His studious friend would go on and on about how wrong killing defenseless animals was and how stupid was to follow some old traditions.
Ron, on the other hand, was a pure-blood from a well-known light family. By all means, he should know all about the Old ways but the Weasleys were an exception of the rule. The redheaded family was known for its diversion from the traditions. Harry knew for a fact that Ron's family celebrated the Muggle Christmas not Yule and from the comments he had heard, they did not follow the traditions for Samhain either. In other words, they were just like a little better educated on the wizarding culture muggleborns, so, in retrospect, Harry shouldn't have been so surprised by his friend's reaction…
"WHAT?" The scream took him by surprise and he nearly dropped the cup of tea in his hand. "Since when do you celebrate… this?" Ron finished lamely, not knowing how to define the holiday. The other boy took another sip from his tea before putting the cup on the table. He turned his attention to his friend and took a deep breath before answering.
"Because I chose to follow the Old ways Ron, I hope you don't have a problem with that. I've already spoken with the Headmaster and he agreed to let me go. Anyway, we should be going back. The kitchens aren't exactly allowed, so if someone catches us…" Harry trailed off at the sight of his friend's face. Thanking Merlin and Morgana for Ron's short attention span, he let him drag him out of the not-so-forbidden kitchen.
Hermione woke up late… well later than usual. It was nearly nine o'clock and the sun was shining brightly even through the curtains. The teen entertained the idea of going back to sleep but quickly dismissed it; she had so much to do. The new classes were all so interesting (besides Divination, the teacher was a fraud) and she wanted to finish her homework so she could read ahead in Arithmancy. Arithmancy was her favorite subject. The girl couldn't say way exactly, though. Perhaps it was the similarity between Muggle Algebra (and shouldn't wizards have this class, too) and Arithmancy. Both dealt with numbers and calculations and were straightforward. There wasn't any guessing or some other pointless things that were used in most classes, like magical power and affinity and stuff like that.
Hermione had read a little bit (a lot) about magical power and affinities in her first year. She had quickly disregarded them. According to the books she had found in the library ("Families and Their Affinities", "Our Magical Power and How to Use It" and "Why is the Magical Affinity so Important?") it all depended on bloodlines, which was ridiculous of course. Apparently, every family (as in old and pureblood one) had an aptitude to a certain branch of magic in which they excelled, sometimes even in more than one. On the contrary, Muggleborns, like her, did not have an affinity toward anything and they could never be Masters of anything but would have less trouble in learning the basics of any magic. They were, in the most literal sense of the word, neutral. This was all rubbish in her (esteemed) opinion and she had vowed to be the best in everything, so she could show those prejudiced bastards that they were wrong.
That was the main reason behind her decision to sign up for every class available. Hermione had been so happy and so proud when McGonagall had called her in her office in the beginning of the year and had entrusted her a time-turner with the condition to never tell anyone about it. The girl had promised quickly and had given an Unspeakable Vow (not that she would ever break her word, but…) and only the Headmaster could release her from it.
Now, less than two months after that, she had come to regret her decision. On the one hand, she wanted to tell Harry and Ron about the time-turner before they figured it out by themselves. It was getting more and more difficult to hide from Harry during the Arithmancy lesson they shared. She sat alone on the last desk in the right row, rarely lifted her head from her book (usually Arithmancy for Beginners"), and never answered any questions in class (and God did she want to). Thankfully, she always arrived before Harry (or anyone else) and was able to 'disappear'. It also helped that Harry was always with Seamus, Dunbar and Moon. They all sat on the second desks and rarely looked at the back. In fact, the only person who actually noticed her was the boy from the library, Anthony Goldstein. He was, however, still too embarrassed to speak to her since his request on her birthday. Did he believe that she had asked Harry to dump his girlfriend for him?
At least in Ancient Runes she didn't have to hide like that. Come to think of it, she needed the time-turner only once a week.
Anyway, the thing was, she wanted to tell Harry and Ron how she could be in two places (or three in Thursdays) at the same time but couldn't. Every time she started to say it, no words would come from her mouth. It was depressing and she was tired. All extra classes were starting to get to her. Hermione had nearly fallen asleep doing homework twice already and if that wasn't a proof that she was exhausted she didn't know what was. Perhaps having slept till nine was another good one.
At ten one could find Hermione in the common room doing homework. Most Gryffindors tended to avoid her when she was engaged in school-related activities, since everybody who had been on the receiving end of her ire if they dared interrupt her had warned his or hers friends against making the same mistake. The fourteen-year-old girl was a true lioness in such cases. Only if she could direct this passion to something else, the Weasley twins were leaving school in three years (or even sooner, nobody who knew them believed that they would finish their education) and Gryffindor was going to need new Beaters. Pity that Hermione was terrible on broom, if she could hit a bludger with the same strength and accuracy she used to throw things (inkwells, pencils, notebooks, bottles of water and the occasional (very thick) book, if she is too distracted) she would be an unstoppable force on the pitch. As it was, however, that was just wishful thinking because it was no secret that the only reason Granger went to the matches was Harry Potter. Speaking of him…
"… is crazy! I mean really crazy, totally bonkers! He wants us to practice on Tuesdays, too. No one would agree, of course. Fred, George and Angelina have O.W.E.s this year and Katy told me that the teachers had gone homework crazy. Alicia, on the other hand, has N.E.W.T.s classes and is even more stressed. Only Oliver doesn't seem affected and he's the one who has the most homework. That guy's crazy! Oh, hey Hermione," Harry and Ron had returned to the common room from wherever they had been (not the breakfast at least, because Hermione had seen Lisa Trupin looking around and asking for Harry, to try to hex him no doubt). Their conversation apparently was about (surprise, surprise) Quidditch. The bushy-haired girl couldn't understand what was so interesting about the game; it was dangerous and pointless, how could so many like it was beyond her.
"Is that for Sinistra?" the raven boy asked as he peered over her shoulder to see what she was doing. Before Hermione could answer, however, the other third of the so-called Golden Trio took the word.
"Blamey, Hermione, we have like five days to finish it, why do it now?" Ron Bilius Weasley was a very brave person, those who were present decided, a very foolish one but brave nonetheless.
"Because, Ronald, not everyone leaves their homework for the last possible minute!" her chocolate eyes were flashing dangerously and her left hand was itching too close to a medium sized globe of the Moon for anyone's comfort.
"Well, it's still too early. Harry, tell her!", the boy-savior was placed in the middle of yet another Granger-Weasley Argument (with a capital 'A', just 'argument' didn't convey the right message). He massaged his temples for a moment, trying very hard not to sigh.
By then, the Golden Trion had become the centre of attention and only Harry was aware of that. How could his two friends not realize that the whole room was deadly quiet? Anyway, he had to say something.
"Actually," he began and discretely looked around to make sure the Twins weren't here, he wasn't in the mood for their antics, "I already did it," Ron's mouth hang open and Hermione looked at him expecting this to be another prank of his (which he was glad it wasn't because it would be like the lames prank in the world).
"Stop joking, mate, really what do you think?" the red-haired asked with a nervous laugh. Harry was only joking, right.
"No, seriously," the other boy said with a shrug, "I did it already, with most of my homework. I have only the translation left and half of that essay for the greasy bastard ("Harry!") oh and to practice the wand movement for Charms."
"When did you do everything else?" Hermione asked. It was clear that she didn't believe him. Ron, on the other hand, had gone as pale as a sheet (which made his freckles even more prominent). He had forgotten about Snape!
"Wednesday, mostly, and yesterday after lunch, while you had Divination. Thought I could leave Runes for next Wednesday, though, thirty inches about the Fink's Laws of Transfiguration ate up most of my time. I was stuck at twenty-six inches for half an hour. This thing was unwritingable."
"'Unwritingable' is not a word, Harry," Hermione reprimanded him absentmindedly, still shocked of this revelation. She had yet to begin it. The girl had opted to start with something easy, like the essay about all celestial objects near Earth from Professor Sinistra, and Harry here had finished it. Moreover, apparently he had understood most of the material, while she had some difficulties with it. A voice in the back of her head reminded her that according to "Families and Their Affinities" the Potters were famous for their understanding in Transfiguration, and not just specific field like human transfiguration, but in the whole subject. She quickly silenced it, jealousy was a pity thing and Hermione Jane Granger was not a pity person.
"Anyway, I think I'll finish the essay for Snape now, Oliver has booked the Quidditch pitch for the whole Sunday and I won't have time then," he added at her quizzing look.
"First you start celebrating Samhain and now you write your homework in advance… do I need to get Madam Pomphrey for you, mate?" Ron was looking at him worriedly. Harry, while shaking his head as a 'no' and heading to the boys' dormitory, was mentally patting himself on the back - crisis averted.
"Samhain?" Hermione asked the other boy. "Harry's celebrating this holiday?"
"Yes," the sixth Weasley nodded. "He just told me. Apparently Dumbledore had allowed him to leave the country for that!" he added angrily. "He'll miss Hogsmeade weekend for this!"
"Leave the country?" What was Harry thinking? What if Black caught him? And for what – to celebrate some barbaric holiday where innocent animals were being killed. What had Durmstrang done to him? "Where is he going?"
"Umm," that was good question. "To that girl, umm, Calypso's house, I think," Greece, Harry was going to Greece to watch some poor things being slain and burned for no reason.
"We have to stop him," she declared and tried to stand up but an arm on her shoulder stopped her. "What!" she snapped at Ron "You don't expect me to stand aside and let Harry do something like that!" the boy only shook his head sadly and looked her in the eyes.
"You can and you will, Hermione," he was serious, for once, and her voice was forceful. This was the first time the girl saw her friend like that. Honestly, it scared her a little.
"Why?" she asked stubbornly.
"Because Harry had chosen to follow the Old Ways, if we try to forcefully change his decision the Magic wouldn't be happy with us," seeing her skeptical look he hurried to explain. "My family doesn't follow them but Mum and Dad explained them to us. The Old Ways celebrate the Magic in its purest form and Her followers are Hers alone. One can always change his or hers believes but if someone else tries to influence them… the Magic will know. That's way they told us about the Old Ways, so we can choose if we want to follow them or not. If Harry wants to celebrate Samhain and if Dumbledore has agreed to let him go to wherever he is going…"
"Greece, he is going to Greece."
"Err, yeah, to Greece, than we can only let him be," Ron didn't seem to like the situation anymore than she did but if he was speaking the truth (and as much as she hated to admit it, he probably did) she had no choice but to follow his example and do nothing.
"Does anyone of your family chose to well, you know what?"
"Fred and George," that surprised her. The Twins didn't look like people who would bow to some pagan Goddess of magic and kill innocent animals. "And Bill. Mum wasn't too happy but it's not like she could do anything. She still hopes that they'll see the light and turn back," he chuckled at that. Hermione didn't. She swore in front of herself that no child of her would know about this barbaric thing. She would make sure that if they did find out they wouldn't want to follow them.
Neither realized that Harry had been standing a little behind them and had heard the whole conversation. The boy had returned to ask Ron if he wanted something from there and had unintentionally overheard everything. He had also seen the expression on Hermione's face and didn't like it. The revulsion written so clearly there shocked him. He had always thought her for an open-minded person but she had proven him wrong. At least Ron understood, he didn't like his choice but he understood and would support him. Hermione on the other hand, Harry hoped she had listened to Ron's advice and warning and wouldn't try anything. The Magic was somewhat possessive of Her followers and would hurt those who tried to forcefully take them away. It worked the other way around too; She didn't want one of Hers to take someone's choice away in Her name. Harry couldn't say he understood Her but he was still Her follower.
Ever since Dimitri had first told him of the Old Ways, he had wanted to learn more about them. He had been fascinated with them and would always remember the feeling of raw magic in the air on his first Samhain. It was indescribable - Dark and Light in the same time, powerful and intoxicating. Harry was wizard and wanted to show that. He wanted everybody to see that he wasn't like the Muggles who had raised him, that he was different – a child of Magic.
He didn't understand Hermione. Why was she acting like that? She ought to know enough about the Old Ways to be able to see the beauty in them. Didn't her pulse become faster when she read about it? Didn't her magic call to Her? He had felt it every year during Samhain and Beltane, even when he lived with the Dursley he felt something. Didn't she? What was so different between them?
They were both raised by Muggles with similar believes. The Dursley had their phobia of appearing unnatural, so they were Christians and went every Sunday to the Church. He didn't know about Uncle Vernon but he was positive that Dudley didn't care much for any kind of religion and that Aunt Petunia was an almost fanatic Christian. Once, he had been about five or six, after another burst of accidental magic (he didn't even remember what he had done) Aunt Petunia had taken him to the nearest church (St. Augustus) and led him to a painting of Jesus Christ. She told him to knell in front of it and to look at it closely. Harry was forced to spend nearly two hours knelling in front of the crucified Jesus Christ and prey for His forgiveness because his kind was the reason He had had to suffer so much.
Hermione's parents, on the other hand, were atheists. Why he, who had been raised as a Christian and had attended all Sundays' liturgies for ten years, was more accepting of the Old Ways confused him. Hermione was the one who had been thought to be accepting and yet she was acting like a muggleborn. Like a prejudiced muggleborn, who cling to her Muggle upbringing and refused to understand the ways of Magic and he didn't like it. Doing so, his friend was proving to be exactly what Malfoy thought she was, a Muggle with magic and not a witch. He hoped Hermione would understand one day because if she didn't, her future wasn't looking to be very bright.
Also, the idea pureblood and muggleborns having different magic is not my own. I read it somewhere but since I can't remember the title of the fic or the name of the author I cannot ask for permission to borrow it. Still, it is not mine and I don't have the right to say it is.
About the Old Ways: this is, basically, a type of pagan religion from before Christianity. There isn't a God or Goddess like Hermione thinks and the closest thing wizards and witches think as a one is the so-called Magic. This is a semi-sentient force, which has bestowed upon them part of Her powers. The Magic is everywhere: in the air, in the earth, in the water. She used to be called Praecantation but through the centuries Her name changed to Magicae and then to Magic.
Samhain and Beltane are the times when the Veil between the world of the living the world of the dead is thinnest and Magic uses more of Her powers to prevent it from being torn. During the celebrations, the raw magic is stronger and most wizards and witches are able to feel it, even if they are away from any parties. Harry, who is born to a pureblood father (who comes from a long line of wizards) and a muggleborn mother that has chosen to follow the Old Ways, has already been subjected to Samhain and Beltane celebrations once, is capable of feeling the raw magic. Most children raised in the magical world (regardless of their parents' believes) are able to feel it. Hermione, on the other hand, is a muggleborn and didn't even know that magic existed until she received her letter (unlike her, Harry, at some subconscious level, never stopped believing in it). Moreover, even if she feels something, she is the kind of person who would dismiss the idea as ridiculous.
The blood of the animals that are killed is a way of showing gratitude to Magic for keeping the world's balance (if the Veil is torn the world would be lost in chaos).
The log that is taken from the fire is always from an oak tree (symbol of strength and endurance) at midnight. During the celebration, the log absorbs as much as raw magic and energy as it can and that magic is given back to the Magic as it burns at the next festival (be it Samhain or Beltane), after another one is taken first. The family that is chosen to take it is considered lucky and honored.
Also, about Lily, according to Rowling she had been friends with Snape before she went to Hogwarts. I believe that his mother (a pureblood witch) would have thought him about the Old Ways and he would teach Lily.
I hope it didn't look like I'm bashing Hermione because I don't think I do. She doesn't understand much about this magical new world and tries to learn via books. From the first book we know that she had trouble with finding friends in the first couple of months, so, logically, Hermione being Hermione must have spent a lot of time in the library trying to understand the Magical world. However, when she read that she would never be better then some of her classmates her pride was wounded. Doubtlessly, she had been on the top of her class in her previous school and had expected the same here. When some book told her, she had no chance of being the best she automatically decided that the book is wrong and if this book is wrong then other are wrong too. The Old Ways, being manly practiced by purebloods and with her skepticism toward them made her skeptical of the wizarding religion, too. Also, let's not forget that while her parents aren't Christians, Britain is a Christian country and she must have been influenced by Christianity at least a little. An animal sacrifice, for her, is something from centuries ago and she cannot accept it easily.
Harry, on the other hand, while raised as a Christian, hates the Dursley. He wants to be different from them, so when he hears about a wizarding religion (where he is not a spawn of the Devil) he is all for it.
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Last Revised: 29.03.2014