August 15th, 1980
James, Frank, Lily and Alice stood in the front of the hall in the village of Godric's Hollow. It was an ancient Potter custom to conduct the naming ceremony of all new Potter's in the same hall. Frank and Alice had been ecstatic when Lily and James had asked them if they wanted to combine the ceremony with the naming ceremony for their own son, Neville Algwyn Longbottom at the same time and at the same venue. Since it was so difficult to gather safely in numbers, they gratefully accepted. So now they stood, surrounded by their closest friends and family. James had called Sirius, Remus and Peter to witness the event, since his own family was all dead except for an uncle who resided in Canada. Sirius and Peter were there, but to his dismay, he had received no response from Remus. They were well aware of what he was doing, having been filled in by Dumbledore and not a day went by that they didn't think of their friend and wonder if he was alright and if they would ever see him again.
Lily had invited her sister Petunia and her husband, who were expecting a child of their own but had received a negative response. Her parents were in the hall, watching their first grandchild with immense pride and satisfaction. Harry and Grace Evans had been quite shocked to discover that their daughter was a witch but had taken it in their stride. They had even welcomed her beloved to their family with open arms, knowing that Lily could not have chosen a more loving and suitable husband for herself.
Frank and Alice Longbottom had invited a few relatives of their own. Augusta Longbottom stood primly in the front of the hall, stoic, with her vulture hat placed squarely on her head. Algwyn Bryce, Alice's uncle had also come along to give his grandnephew his blessings, telling anyone in the vicinity that the child was named after him. Frank sorely missed his father, knowing that he would have felt immense joy at the prospect of the latest Longbottom to join the clan.
The rest of the party included most of the Order of the Phoenix, including Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Alastor Moody, Fabian and Gideon Prewitt, Dorcas Meadows, Emmeline Vance, Elphias Doge, Dedalus Diggle and Sturgis Podmore, Benjy Fenwick, Edgar Bones, Caradoc Dearborn, Marlene McKinnon and a recently returned Rubeus Hagrid, who had cooed over baby Harry in a way not quite in keeping with his size.
There was a hush as James and Frank stood forth, each internally grieving that it was them and not their fathers that were conducting this time honored tradition.
"I, James Godric Potter, Head of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Potter, do hereby declare this to be the official naming ceremony for my firstborn son and heir. Let it be known to all ye witches and wizards that this child, the child of my body and that of my lawfully wedded wife, is to be named Harry James Potter, after his maternal grandfather, Harold Andrew Evans and his father, James Godric Potter. Let it be known that Harry James Potter is newest addition to our family, and may he live a long and prosperous life. May the magic that flows through his veins keep him safe, and may he always prosper."
"So mote it be." Said everyone in the congregation, those who had not witnessed a pureblood naming ceremony had been briefed on what was expected before they began.
"I, Lily Anne Potter, of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Potter, do hereby declare this to be the official naming ceremony for my firstborn son and heir. Let it be known to all ye witches and wizards that this child, the child of my body and that of my lawfully wedded husband, is to be named Harry James Potter, after his maternal grandfather, Harold Andrew Evans and his father, James Godric Potter. Let it be known that Harry James Potter is newest addition to our family, and may he live a long and prosperous life. May the magic that flows through his veins keep him safe, and may he always prosper."
"So mote it be" intoned everyone solemnly, as Lily and James both kissed their son's brow and stepped back. Frank and Alice stepped forward together.
"I, Frank Anthony Longbottom, Head of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Longbottom, do hereby declare this to be the official naming ceremony for my firstborn son and heir. Let it be known to all ye witches and wizards that this child, the child of my body and that of my lawfully wedded wife, is to be named Neville Algwyn Longbottom, after his paternal great-grandfather, Neville Aloysius Longbottom and his maternal granduncle, Algwyn Orville Bryce. Let it be known that Neville Algwyn Longbottom is newest addition to our family, and may he live a long and prosperous life. May the magic that flows through his veins keep him safe, and may he always prosper."
"So mote it be."
"I, Alice Josephine Longbottom, of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Longbottom, do hereby declare this to be the official naming ceremony for my firstborn son and heir. Let it be known to all ye witches and wizards that this child, the child of my body and that of my lawfully wedded husband, is to be named Neville Algwyn Longbottom, after his paternal great-grandfather, Neville Aloysius Longbottom and his maternal granduncle, Algwyn Orville Bryce. Let it be known that Neville Algwyn Longbottom is newest addition to our family, and may he live a long and prosperous life. May the magic that flows through his veins keep him safe, and may he always prosper."
"So mote it be."
Frank and Alice each kissed their little baby on the brow and stood by his side. Everyone was silent for a moment as they watched the two young couples and their children and prayed for their safety. Albus looked on through his half-moon glasses, wondering which of the two boys was going to have destiny sit heavy on his young shoulders. He wished that the prophecy was less ambiguous and that he could pinpoint who Voldemort's nemesis was going to be.
The party that followed was subdued as everyone remembered all the loved ones who were not present on the auspicious day. Frank and James both reminisced on what they had been told of their own naming days and who had been present. By the time they wrapped it up, it was still early and people left by floo or apparated away until only the Potters and Sirius were remaining. Sirius being Harry's Godfather had to be present for the actual naming ceremony. He had no idea why James had asked him to remain but he had agreed, and now stood at the front of the hall with James and Lily.
Lily and Sirius stood back and watched as James prepared for the ritual. He took several objects out of his pockets and placed them on an ancient looking table that he had removed from the ante-room in the hall. He then took out his wand and cast several incantations around them in sweeping circles, a light silvery glow started to envelop them and spread like a mesh over the entire floor of the hall, and climbing the walls up to the ceilings. The walls, ceilings and floor glowed silver for a moment before the molten color seemed to sink into all the surfaces it touched. Lily and Sirius were speechless with awe. Normally this would have been cause for James to have some fun, but he was as solemn as he had ever been in his life as he beckoned them to come closer. Without speaking he placed their hands into his and formed them into a loose triangle shape, with all their hands connected. He had placed his wand on the floor between all of them, aimed right at him. James then further astonished the two by making harsh, bird sounding screeches that made his neck muscles bulge and his vocal chords to stand out. They watched, shocked, as their friend used magic they had never heard of.
In the silence that followed the harsh cries, James let go of their hands, and indicated that they should stand on either side of him. He seemed to conduct some sort of analysis charm on each of them before he sagged with relief and fatigue and gave them a small smile.
"Water." He croaked, pointing to a small pitcher which was set on the table. He took a few long gulps before wiping his lips on the back of his hand. "Whoosh." He exhaled. "That was intense." Sensing that it was alright to speak, Lily and Sirius began to immediately bombard him with questions. Sirius was looking like he had never seen his best mate before and Lily looked furious that he had been holding out on her. He held his hands up in a placating gesture as their questions crashed around his ears. "I will explain everything!" he promised as his breathing came back to normal.
"Lily, you already know the first part." He looked over at Sirius, and wondered how he was going to take this. "Padfoot, I am the Heir of Gryffindor line, in an unbroken line from father to son for the last 1000 years." He said it as plainly as he could, and then studied the reaction. Sirius didn't look too surprised but was nodding his head slowly, as if he had always known but it had only just been confirmed. He seemed to be somewhat in a daze, so James continued, before the outpouring of questions began again.
"The spells I did before were two-fold. The first one ensured that the privacy and sanctity of this place could not be disturbed while we are in here and the second ensured that neither of you would ever betray me." He shot a side-longed look at Lily, anticipating her outraged and indignant look before it crossed her face. "Love, I had to do that, please try to understand." He explained, "it's part of the ritual we are about to do." She still looked slightly cross, and folded her hands across her chest, with a frown on her face that meant she was trying her best to figure out exactly what he meant. "What were those screechy noises?" she asked, looking like she had a difficult runes translation in front of her.
"It was Gryffin speech." Said James, ignoring the awed looks on their faces. "You must understand," he told the both of them. "This isn't something I learned. I was born with the ability to understand and speak Gryffin speech. The language has a name but I cannot divulge that to you. It is one of the abilities has been passed down to me by my ancestor Godric Gryffindor. Unfortunately I have never come across a Gryffin yet, but there are certain spells created by Gryffindor which can only be used in that language. The one I used just now set in motion the ritual we are about to do." James paused, looking intently at both of them, wondering how shocked they were going to be when the next part of the ritual began. He almost felt sorry for them, remembering the first time he had seen his father's pensieve memory of the ritual and how shocked he had been. He had to give them some sort of warning. "Listen." He began, taking a deep breath and hoping that he could convey it to them in a manner they could understand. He searched for the words, but couldn't come up with anything so settled on a brief warning. "You are going to see things that nobody else has seen. It will be unsettling and weird for you but you must understand that it has been this way for hundreds of years." Lily and Sirius exchanged a quick glance and then shrugged. They didn't know it, but they had the same thought that after all they had already seen, nothing could surprise them further. They couldn't have been more wrong.
