"Bonfires dot the rolling hills
Figures dance around and around
To drums that pulse out echoes of darkness
Moving to the pagan sound.
Somewhere in a hidden memory
Images float before my eyes
Of fragrant nights of straw and of bonfires
And dancing till the next sunrise. "
…
Draco was a stupid, awful jerk. Amaryllis glowered at him the whole Potions class, entirely insulted by his behavior. She hated stealing, and he reminded her of Dudley! She thought he was her friend!
And then he had to be all nice, darn it!
She left Potions as quickly as possible, dragging Neville and Dean behind her by their wrists. From their laughter, she got the idea that they were letting her pull them. Humph. That was okay, though.
Thankfully, there were a few clubs today, so Amaryllis could have fun with those tonight and take her mind off of things. Munching on her green beans in the Great Hall for lunch, she figured that she should probably tell Draco why she was angry at him. Even if his stupid pointy face should already know. Stupid head. But being upset at people worked better if they knew why. Or at least, it seemed like it would.
Being angry at people was confusing when the people weren't the Dursleys. Maybe Elphie would have some advice.
With that in mind, Amaryllis spent the rest of the lunch hour trying to convince Lavender that she quite liked her dark hair, and didn't want to lighten it. In a small miracle, Ashira and Parvati showed up fifteen minutes before lunch ended and saved her. Having known the other girl for years, they spoke blonde fluently. They were super upset that Lavender had said Amaryllis 'just so had' to lighten her dark hair, both having very thick, dark tresses that they loved. Parvati's were amazingly shiny. Amaryllis was mostly jealous of Ashira's curls though – they were proper curls, not weird, wavy fuzzy fluff that stuck everywhere if it wasn't charmed, like hers. Lavender did insist on the light purple eye shadow, though. She said it would make Amaryllis' eyes pop more.
When the bell rang for the Great Hall to close, Amaryllis smiled and scarpered, at this point just tired of the girly talk. If she'd stayed longer, they would have tried to get rid of her t-shirts and jumpers again. She spent the rest of her afternoon chatting with Neville and Dean and Hermione while they walked through the corridors, discussing clubs.
Hermione was over the moon about them all. She wanted to go to all of them, but had realized on her own that it wasn't exactly feasible. It was really silly, actually, how pouty the bushy-haired girl was over that. Most of the clubs let new students come in during the first month or so, though, so they were still all sitting in on different ones, though they had ideas about what they wanted to do most.
Dean was really excited about art club. He also wanted to join the history and Muggle sports clubs. He was always good at history in Muggle school – a side effect, he said, of having a mum that worked in a museum – and hated Binns for making the class so boring. He hoped that the history club would be better than the class. Muggle sports were also something he loved. He liked football best but he liked rugby and cricket, too, and just wanted something to do to run around, really.
Neville, meanwhile, just thought he might join the Herbology club alongside the choir. He said he was too shy to join a lot of clubs, and he wanted more time to spend with his friends, anyway. Hermione thought he was silly, but Amaryllis didn't know how she would ever manage to go to all the clubs she wanted to go to. So far, the older girl seemed most excited about the dueling, magical theory and Arithmancy clubs, so Amaryllis thought she should just join those. If you could even join Arithmancy club. The class was for older students, so she wasn't sure the club was okay for younger kids to join.
Still, it made Amaryllis consider trying for the Runes club – now that looked cool. Runes and choir looked best, but if she couldn't do runes club, maybe dueling would be fun. Choir had been one of the first clubs to start up for the school year, so she and Neville were already set, there. Hermione would be in dueling, at any rate, if Amaryllis wanted to join that.
After the first month... things went by so fast that it nearly made Amaryllis' head spin. So much went on at Hogwarts!
She adored the runes club. It had been super awkward at first, and the older students asked if she was looking for a different club and laughed a little at her when she said she had the right room. She'd almost left then, feeling stupid, but Professor Babbling, a friendly, tall woman with bright gold hair dressed in purple and silk with a tendency for going on tangents, came in and guided her to the front-most row before starting the club session.
Runes turned out to be very interesting, though she had to be very careful that she didn't try to power a messed-up one, or else the magic might get wonky. She enjoyed it, though, and was trying to work out a rune cage to amplify her instruments, but that still let her adjust the volume if she wanted. It was fun.
Neville and Amaryllis started working on an extra credit project in Herbology; Professor Sprout found out about Neville's Gubraithian Ginkgo and asked him if he'd like a chance to work with one in school. He asked Amaryllis to help, since Professor Sprout's Ginkgo was very... spirited. It was a good idea to have a buddy when you worked with it. Amaryllis didn't mind – she had a lot of experience with Muggle plants, and Neville was fun to be around.
That Ginkgo was a grumpy little thing, though.
Beyond classes, Amaryllis was still researching her family, the wizarding world, and the Blood, or Death Eater, War with Voldemort. That it had two names was really, really confusing sometimes. Unfortunately, she'd pretty much hit a road block in trying to learn more. She knew about important dates, people and things, but she wanted to know why. She didn't understand why the war had started in the first place, what made either side hate each other so much. Light and Dark were scary sounding and not very descriptive. The most she could find was sound bites, one-liners brushing a decade-long conflict off as one group being insane bigots. If that were the case, Amaryllis was fine with that. But she wanted to know what the other side thought they were fighting for. What her parents thought they themselves were fighting for.
Mostly, she wanted to know that their death's meant something important. She wanted to know that they were more than just the parents of the 'Girl Who Lived.'
Elphie's letter was warn and friendly and rather stern. 'Friends are a rare commodity, and you'd be mad to give any of them up without a fight. I saw you with that blond boy this summer. You two had fun running round the Alleys, laughing all the way. Don't give up on a friend over a row or two. You're smarter than that, sweetie. Tell him off, and try to be friends again. That's all you can do.'
So she started being friends with Draco again. After telling him he was a nob-head that didn't know shit and if he was a nob-head again, she'd never, ever speak to him again. So there.
Lavender, Parvati and Ashira were still teaching Amaryllis about fashion and cosmetics. Increasingly it was teaching, rather than just bossing, which Amaryllis was pleased about. It was fun sometimes, but she was finding herself increasingly in awe of the trio's dedication to fashion. One time, when Amaryllis hadn't shown up to be taught, too distracted by trying to learn a new song on her piano-canvas, Lavender tracked her down across the whole castle so she could teach her!
Also, the lessons were really interesting. And it wasn't just charms. Like, Ashira was really good with colors, and what ones were good on what people. Amaryllis still wasn't sure what an 'autumn' or a 'summer' meant, exactly, but she knew that the curly-haired girl would make her change shirts if she wore one that was muted or pale – especially tan ones, for some reason. 'Clear Winter' was all she would mutter, and on a few occasions, marched Amaryllis up the stairs to their dorm to change.
Parvati, on the other hand, was a never-ending font of advice about the type of clothing people wore. She was also very pushy about that knowledge, and Hermione only had to hex her a couple of times before she stopped trying to make the girl wear fitted blouses instead of the flowing ones she preferred. Parvati's heart was in the right place, but Amaryllis did wonder at her sometimes, and the way she acted didn't exactly help Amaryllis' argument with Hermione about the other three girls' intelligence. Hermione thought they were silly, shallow, and vapid. Which they weren't. Well, maybe silly. Definitely silly. But they just liked to have fun and enjoyed looking good.
What Amaryllis thought Hermione didn't realize was that, for all their lack of interest in 'serious' topics, they were actually quite good in different subjects.
Lavender, for example, was completely amazing at Charms – she knew so much about them, because she wanted to know exactly what went on when she cast a cosmetic charm on herself. She was the top student in their year in Flitwick's class!
Ashira, meanwhile, was very good at potions. Her mum was a Potions Mistress at St Mungo's hospital, and she used to teach Ashira and her brother, Illya, and sister, Esther.
Parvati was superb at maths, unlike her twin sister Padma, who was great with theory and transfiguration, but pants with numbers and people.
All in all, Amaryllis was very busy with her roommates, Herbology projects, the school choir, trying to learn history and designing rune cages, so that she hardly even realized Halloween was approaching, let alone already there until Draco caught up with her in the halls.
"Amaryllis," he said, cheeks pink and a tad out of breath. She wondered if he'd been outside – everyone had woken up to the first frost that morning, and more than a few students had gone outside to get a good look at it. His hair was still perfect, though. Amaryllis wondered which charm he used. Also, why he didn't call her Amy, like everyone but Hermione did? He grasped her shoulder. "I just wanted to give you my condolences. Happy, er, Samhain, right?" he added, before running off after his friends.
"Sow-wen?" Amaryllis mouthed, staring after him. Then the first part of what he said caught up to her. Condolences? What... oh. It hit her. October thirty-first. Halloween.
Mum and Dad.
The others seemed to have noticed that she fell behind at this point, and she was brought out of her stupor by Dean ruffling her hair. "The floor's that interesting, midget?" he asked, grinning. Amaryllis didn't say anything, just shrugged. He frowned, concerned. "Hey, you alright? Someone say something to you? Amy?"
She shook her head, starting to walk forward again. They still had Herbology to get to, after all, and ten Charms. Couldn't be late. "No, I'm fine," she told him, smiling faintly as they caught up with Hermione and Neville. "I just realized... Halloween."
Dean didn't get it. "Yeah..."
"My parents died on Halloween."
The tall boy's face fell. "Oh, Jesus, Amy, I didn't realize – are you alright?"
"Of course she's not alright, Dean! It's the anniversary of their deaths," Hermione snapped, wrapping an arm around Amaryllis' shoulders. "Oh, Amaryllis, you must feel awful... do you want me to tell Professor Sprout not to expect you today?"
The shorter girl shook her head, trying to pull out of the one-armed hug. "No, no, it's fine, really! Really," she repeated, giving the three of them a look. Neville was quiet, just staring at his hands as they walked. "I don't really remember them, after all. I just... it's a shock to realize, you know?"
Hermione and Dean were silent. She thought she heard Neville say 'Yeah,' but it was so faint, she wasn't sure. She could have imagined it. The rest of the walk to Herbology was absolutely quiet, and Amaryllis wished she'd never mentioned it. Loads of people lost family in the war, but there weren't people crying about it all over the place. And everyone had been so happy in the common room, at breakfast. They were doing their first charm today, and it was Halloween! Candy! Costumes! Magic! Giant pumpkins in the Great Hall!
And she bloody fucking ruined it, Merlin!
She was so stupid...
Neville, Dean and Hermione got cheerier as the day went on, thankfully, the rest of their classmates' excitement bleeding over onto them until they were at the same levels of excitement that they'd been at before. Amaryllis smiled and laughed along, too, especially at Hermione's attempts to help Ron Weasley with his feather. It didn't work – the poor feather somehow got embedded in the ceiling! However, the longer the day went, the more fake it all felt, until by History of Magic, Amaryllis thought she may need surgery to fix her muscles, the smiling hurt so much. Maybe she'd been doing too much of it?
Maybe it was just a long day.
When it came time to go to the Halloween Feast, the other girls were flitting about the dorm room, trying to look perfect. Lavender was practically glowing, her normally wheat blonde hair almost white and her makeup pale and dramatic. Parvati had orange eyeshadow and nails and a pumpkin charmed onto her fitted black jumper. Ashira, meanwhile, had two white streaks in her hair, which she had spelled into a beehive style, her long bangs fluttering down to the side of her face, white hairs sprinkled into the normal black and fake stitches spelled onto her cheeks and forehead. Even Hermione was getting into the spirit, with a headband transfigured to have cat ears and a shrunken school hat. She'd borrowed a black velvet dress from Ashira and then turned the ties into a tail.
It looked like fun. Amaryllis had joined in, at first, sitting on a stool in front of one of the dressing tables, having her hair and makeup done by the other girls, who were, amazingly, all getting along for once. She watched in the mirror while they put a hundred tiny braids in her hair and Lavender charmed the hairbands gold, and Ashira painted on bright green eye makeup and dramatic swoops of black kohl along her eyes. She even drew a really pretty eye of Horus. She put on a shimmery gold and green shirt (Ashira-approved, for once) borrowed from Parvati and sandals.
Then she curled up on her bed and watched the rest of them have fun.
Finally, her four roommates trickled out the door, until Hermione was the last one remaining. "Amaryllis?" she asked from the doorway. "Aren't you coming?"
Amaryllis plucked at the threads of Parvati's shirt and shrugged. "I think I might catch up later," she said. "I just want to be alone for a bit." She looked up and smiled, not wanting her friend to worry just because she was being all depressing and sad. "Bring me some candy?"
Hermione's face, which had been scrunched up and worried, relaxed. "Sure," she said. "And I'll save you a seat, just in case."
"See you later."
The door closed with a quiet fwoomp, totally unlike the door to the Potions classroom, and Amaryllis turned over on her stomach, arms crossed under her chin, and frowned at her headboard. Maybe she should just try to fall asleep, and forget about all of this tomorrow...
Outside the sky got dark, and Amaryllis still couldn't fall asleep. It was like, now that she wanted to just nod off and not have to think, her body had decided that was a dumb idea, and that she ought to jump up and run around. Humph. Stupid body. Stupid twitchy legs. Amaryllis rolled over with a sigh, and stared at the wooden ceiling past her four-posted bed. That lasted for all of a minute before she pulled herself off the bed and sat down at the vanity to wash away the makeup.
Parvati had a really nice cream somewhere that was great for getting rid of cosmetics; it wasn't a good idea to just charm them away, because it could damage your skin, so there were lots of magical makeup removers. Some even got rid of glamors and not just charmed makeup, though that was more expensive. It was also the kind Parvati had, and hers smelled like jasmine, sandalwood and amber. The pretty earthenware jar was hiding in the back of a drawer, and Amaryllis gave a small cry of triumph when she found it. She stared at the pretty makeup her friends had done for a moment, the look bringing a small smile to her face, before wiping it away. She didn't feel like a Cleopatra. She felt like a
very grim her. And the tiny braids hurt when they were charmed out that fast.
After that, she changed into a pair of denims and fuzzy gray jumper, tying her hair up in a loose French braid before leaving to walk around the castle. Maybe that would help her clear her head.
Hogwarts was very... empty. Not even the ghosts were around, and most of the portraits were empty, though on occasion Amaryllis would pass one filled with painting-people partying the night away. She tended to cross the corridors away from those.
Eventually, Amaryllis managed to find her way to the clock courtyard, and sat at the fountain for a while, making ripples in the water with her hand, before giving up on that and ambling along the covered bridge. Stupid Draco. She'd stopped being pissed off at him because he wasn't being a prat, and then he acted like a prat! And it was all nice-y prat-like, too! 'Condolences,' humph. She hadn't even thought about it, about them, before he said something...
She brushed a tear away angrily, the heel of her palm digging into her eyes. No crying. It wasn't allowed. She didn't have any reason to cry, it wasn't like she remembered them or anything. Upset at herself, now, Amaryllis turned and leaned on the railing, trying not to think about it. Whatever 'it' was. Stupid it. Stupid Draco. Stupid crying. Wasn't allowed.
Oh, that was odd.
Amaryllis sniffled, looking closer. There was a light, flickering at the end of the bridge. From the stone circle? She squinted, trying to get a better look. She didn't realize that many people went there, outside of passing through on the way to the Owlery. She knew it was supposed to act as a sundial, it was sometimes called the Sundial Garden instead of just 'that stone circle by the clock building,' but she didn't know that she'd ever actually seen anyone in it.
Curious, she pushed off from the balustrade, padding nearer to see what was going on. As she got closer, she saw that she'd been mistaken; there were two small bonfires on either side of the flat stone in the middle of the circle, which had things on it. Amaryllis squinted harder. She couldn't quite make it out, but now she could hear music playing – drums and flutes, maybe? And lots of laughing and singing, but she couldn't make out the words. Maybe if she wiped off her glasses she could see better?
Taking the bally things off, she wiped at them with her jumper and put them back on, trying to see better. Nothing. Maybe if she got just a little bit closer... Oh. There were some candles. And some lumpy things in the middle. And more lumpy things around it. Stupid eyes.
Amaryllis stood there for a while, peering out at what was going on. There was a group of people milling about inside an around the stone circle, some bunched in groups, others alone or just talking with one other person. A few were bending over some dark shape and then pulling themselves upright again while the others cheered. Some were dancing, and others just walked around and disappeared for a while, while others showed up at random. Maybe it was a Halloween party? Amaryllis took another step, trying to get a better look.
She wasn't sure how long she stood there, but it was long enough that she jumped with a squeak when someone came up behind her to tap her shoulder. The person jumped back, whatever had been in their arms making thumping sounds as they fell to the floor, and Amaryllis jumped again, this time jostling herself enough that her glasses fell off. "Oh – bollocks!" she hissed, dropping down to try and feel for them. She was utterly useless at seeing without her – was that an apple? Why was the person carrying an apple?
Suddenly, her glasses were right in front of her, close enough that she had to go cross-eyed to see them and the hand holding them. Er. Alright then. She took them back gingerly, inspecting them as well as she could for any dents she'd have to pull back into place before putting them back on.
"Oh, that's better," she murmured, and then looked about to see food all over the ground – apples, scattered elderberries, some turnips and a perfectly round pumpkin. "Oh, no – here, let me help," she said quickly, gathering the food up. "I'm so sorry..." The person – a dark-haired boy with a blue jacket – huffed little laugh and started gathering the food up, too. Oh, there was a roll she hadn't seen.
A few minutes later, everything was picked up again, and the two of them straightened up and got a good look at each other. The boy looked vaguely familiar, wearing a Ravenclaw House jumper under his jacket, and Quidditch boots. He had curly brown hair and freckles that stood out very well in the dark against his light skin. His nose was crooked to the right. He looked bit like... He shrugged, and she lost the thought. "It's fine. What're you doing out here, rather than over with everyone else like a normal bloke?" There was a pause while Amaryllis registered that he thought she was a boy of all things – his eyesight must be leagues worse than hers – before he spoke again, in a softer tone. "You nervous, celebrating without your Mum and Da? That it?"
"Err..." Amaryllis said eloquently, shifting on her feet nervously. "I don't – I'm not – erm, I-I'm a girl." The boy blinked, and before he could say anything, she rushed on. "And I don't – I mean I never – I'm not sure what's going on?"
The boy stared for a few minutes before nodding slowly. "Ah. Muggle family, then?"
"Er..."
He waved it off. "That's fine, kiddo." He ruffled her hair. "Over there–" he pointed to the sundial garden, "–a few of us are celebrating Samhain, the day of the dead. It's the last day of the harvest, or the first frost of the year. It's also the end of the summer half of the year. We take the time today – usually tonight, actually – to sort of say thank for what we have and to honor our ancestors.
"Here at Hogwarts, we set up an altar between the two bonfires with a plate of food on it and pictures of out family. We tell stories about them, just like at home. Some of us'll do simple Divinations, kid's stuff like throwing nuts in the fire or peeling apples, breaking eggs into water, that sort of thing. You might learn about that the first few Divination classes your third year, if you take it.
"A load of us will also light candles and set them out for our loved ones, to show them we care and we speak their names so they know they're there. At home, we'll set out a single plate for them, but here at school..." he trailed off, thinking for a moment, then shrugged. He was a shrugger, Amaryllis had noticed. And he did lots of head acting when he talked.
"At school there're too many of us to all set out plates, so we do like the Greek lot do and throw a lot of it in the fires for them." He shrugged again. "It's not perfect, and not exactly like home, but it's a good middle road for us all. We each put one thing on the plate, though. And we can't stay up very late – school rules. We have to let the bonfires burn out and be inside by eleven, so we at least get an extra hour past curfew. Most of us come and go through the night, between here and the feast, that sort of thing. A couple of us stay out the whole time, though. The candles are fine, by the way, to stay burning, and a lot of the students will put one in a westward window, if they've got one. No-one dares mess with the altar, so that's all alright... Er..."
Neither of them spoke for a moment, and Amaryllis rocked on the balls of her feet a bit, not quite sure what to do, now.
"Oh, Davies, Roger Davies, by the way. That's me," the boy – Roger Davies – added, holding out a hand to shake hers. "My little sister, Tracey, would be in your year – Firstie, right midget?" He added with a boyish grin. "She's a rebellious one, her. Should have been in Ravenclaw like the rest of the family, but insisted she wouldn't be in my shadow or some rot. She's clever, though, so if you've got questions later, she'd answer them."
Well. Amaryllis blinked. He certainly liked to talk. He was almost a more casual, less encyclopedic version of Hermione. "Er, I'm Amy – Amaryllis Potter, that is." She shook his hand, which he grasped very tightly after he heard her name, and shook enthusiastically.
"Get out! Are you, really?" He asked, grinning wider, now. "Well, why are you asking me all of this? You Potters have been here for centuries, same as the rest of us... Oh, Dagda, you really had me there!" He pulled his chin back as if to laugh, but seeing her face, froze a little. "You were having me on, weren't you?"
"Erm, no..." Amaryllis muttered, feeling stupid as she pulled her hand back with a bit more force than was needed, now. "I grew up with Muggles. I don't know this stuff. I didn't–I didn't grow up with my parents, they're dead, so how could I know this?" She crossed her arms, finding the boards to the left of her shoes very interesting. "I don't know anything like this stuff, I never even went to church!" She kicked the ground. "How the heck was I supposed to learn anything?" She humphed, and waited for him to laugh. Stupid jerk.
There wasn't any laughing. Amaryllis looked up, confused. Roger was blinking. A lot. And rapidly. Then, he set his jaw and straightened his shoulder.
"Well," he said in a fixedly bright voice as he set a hand on her shoulder (people kept doing that, she'd noticed), "how about we fix that, hmm? Come on, let's get in there while there are still people about. I'll show you round, same as anyone else that got curious. Hold out your jumper," he told her, and then put a few vegetables and the roll in the jumper-basket.
A few students waved when Roger and Amaryllis got closer, but nobody really paid them much mind. There were loads of candles. Like, nearly a hundred. Or more than a hundred. A bunch were on the little flat rock in the center – the altar – by the plate and more were around the pictures set up around it, but most of them were scattered around, lots at the bases of the tall rocks, and some just out on the frosty green. They were all two-toned, the top white, the bottom black, and inscribed with runes that Amaryllis couldn't quite make out. The students she saw bending earlier were actually bobbing for apples. One girl's makeup was completely ruined, but she was cheering over her apple peel, and didn't seem to notice. A number of the students were dancing and laughing together.
"Over here," Roger instructed quietly. "Put something on the altar – try for one that's not bruised now, mind – and the rest into the fire. Got your food?" She nodded. "Good. Now, I'll say a piece; something to address the ancestors, alright? It's a sort of way to say who we're offering these things to. And when I do that, we put our offering on the plate, and the rest into a fire. Yeah?"
Amaryllis nodded, feeling a little nervous. "Yeah."
Roger nodded. "Great." He cleared his throat and started speaking in a low, smooth voice. "You who have walked this land before us, You who have walked this path before us, You whose bodies, minds and spirits gave form to our bodies, minds and spirits. All of you whose lives made our lives possible," he murmured, laying down a fig on the plate, the rest going into the fire. Amaryllis copied him, her movements feeling crooked and jerky compared to his easy, practiced ones.
Both of them were quiet for a minute, Amaryllis staring at the fire while it ate up the vegetables. She didn't know what Roger was doing until his hand was on her shoulder – again – and she was jerked out of her thoughts. Or lack thereof.
"Come here," he said, nodding toward a group of students to the right of the fires. "You can just wander around and such, ask people things, get involved if you like... but there's one other really important part that I, er, think you'll probably want to take part in. Oi, Brennus!" he called, and a tall, strapping boy, probably a sixth year, looked up from where he was talking to a pretty witch with dark curling hair and long eyelashes. They had the same nose.
"Aye?" Brennus said, crossing his arms. "Who's the bairn?"
"First year," Roger said easily, with a Gallic shrug. "Look, I've only got my candle, she forgot hers. I'd offer to give it to her, but you know how Trace is 'bout sharing, so... D'you know where the extras are?"
Brennus nodded. "Lavinia's got 'em there by the North stone." The dark-haired girl straightened up and smiled brightly at Roger. "Linni'll help you find it," Brennus shrugged.
"Over here, hen," she said brightly, ruffling Amaryllis hair. Honestly, the first year didn't know why she bothered to braid herself pigtails anymore. At least she didn't grip her shoulder. Lavinia started leading her to the stone by grasping her shoulder. She thought too soon.
There was a small wooden box filled with black-and-white candles. "You remembered yours, Roger?" she asked sweetly, kneeling by the box. Roger nodded. "Belter. Now, hen, just pick a candle, any candle you like, aye? Roger here'll help you, just like Mum and Da at home." She ruffled Amaryllis ' hair again and got up, squeezing Roger's upper arm as she passed.
Older students were so weird.
Amaryllis turned her head back to the box and pulled out a candle at random. It felt warm in her hand, and she turned it, examining the runes, as she walked back over to Roger.
"This is a bit different from a normal meditation candle," he explained, holding his in his hand. "The ones we use for Samhain are special ones, with different potions and spells in the wax, and runes to promote peace and healing. They're called Widow's candles, usually. You light them every year. Some people will light them tonight, others on their loved ones' death day anniversary. Just find a nice place to light it, and sit down a bit, thinking about your ancestors. Sometimes, if you're lucky, you'll get, eh, thoughts, impressions, from your family beyond the veil." He paused, apparently waiting for her to say something, to ask a question.
She said nothing. Her eyes were glued onto the candle in her hands, and it took immense effort to pull them away and look at Roger again. When she did, she lunged forward, wrapping her arms around his middle. "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" she practically sobbed into his middle. He patted her back with all the awkwardness of a teenage boy.
"Er, you're, er, wel...come?"
Taking a deep breath and brushing her eyes with the back of her hand, Amaryllis smiled at him, candle clutched tightly in her hands. "Thank you," she repeated. "I'll just... I mean I'm... maybe see you in a bit?"
Roger nodded. "Sure, kid..."
Amaryllis smiled wider and held her candle close as she walked through the various gather students. Some were telling loud, laughing stories. Others were bunched over some fortune telling trick or other. A few were sitting in front of their candles. Other were hugging each other, tears in their eyes. Some were playing games or walking around the fires.
There was a good spot. Down the steps a ways, there was a single rock just a meter or so from a gray outcrop. She settled against the stones, some of the grass on top falling down onto her head, and set her candle on the ground. Oh, dear. Matches. Erm... no, she had her wand, didn't she? She pulled it out. Now, what was a spell for fire...? She gripped the candle, trying to think of the spell for fire, wand poised above it. Suddenly, the candle lit, and Amaryllis squawked, nearly dropping the candle. Her wand rolled for about a foot before stopping against a particularly thick tuft of grass.
She set it down in front of her, her eyes prickling a little when the smell hit her. It wasn't... definable, exactly. It was sweet, and bitter, and it made her think of rustling leaves and warm floral perfume. Maybe wood smoke? Amaryllis took a deep breath, remembering what Roger had said. Just think of her parents. Her mum and dad. And light the candle.
Well, she'd already done that last part. So. Her parents. What did she even know about them? She gulped.
"Please, please just work," she whispered, staring at the candle. The flame flickered and rose up briefly, but that was probably just the wind. "Okay," she continued, barely able to hear her own voice. "Alright. Mum – Mum and Dad. Lily and James Potter." What did she know about her parents? She scrunched up her eyes and thought hard, the sounds of the other students fading away around her.
Her Dad was... a Potter. Loyalty, Justice, Honour. Ancient and Most Virtuous. Most Valiant. He had a mahogany wand, eleven inches, pliable. He wore glasses, like she did. He was... He had to have been really clever, and maybe noble? He worked at St Mungos, as a Transfiguration Reversal Specialist, after all. And he was a tactician for the Light, too. For that vigilante thingy in the text books. The Circle of the Phoenix, she thought the name was. So he must have been brave.
Loyalty, Justice, Honour. Clever, noble, brave. Glasses and mahogany. Dad.
Thinking of him, her mind was filled with images – vivid, bright pictures, so real they felt like memories, not just her imagination. Her dad, with short, choppy hair and square spectacles, flying through the air, scoring a goal in Quidditch. Eight years old and jumping out of a pile of leaves, scaring the House Elf silly. Thirteen and throwing something into another student's cauldron. Trying desperately to stay awake in the library, poking a floppy-haired boy with a quill. Playing with a snitch, laughing off his last exam. Chasing after a red-haired girl to give her flowers. Running, no, bounding after a dog and a wolf, under the moonlight. Shoving an older man out of the way, snarling at them to get out of the eighteen hundreds and help the poor woman before the accidental transfiguration killed her, then doing it himself... Kissing his wife's pregnant belly, insisting they name the boy Harry, while Lily laughed. Amaryllis felt herself smile as the images passed by and disappeared. She felt warm, protected. Slowly, the images changed, and she thought of her mum.
Amaryllis knew a little about her. She had green eyes, just like hers, and her wand had been swishy, made of willow, dragon's heart string core. If James had been clever, Lily was brilliant – Amaryllis had read about everything she did in the war. She was amazing at charms and runes; she would have been a Spell Crafter, if she'd lived. She had developed two spells for the war effort, and a ward besides. She'd been Head Girl at Hogwarts. And an Auror, too, which meant she was fierce and strong. Amaryllis had seen a photo of her, in black and white, when she read about her family history. Lily was beautiful.
Green eyes, willow, dragon heart string. Brilliant, fierce, beautiful. Mum.
Laughter filled Amaryllis' ears, or at least she thought it did, when she saw her Mum sail through the air off a swing. A blonde girl – Aunt Petunia? - scolded her and clutched her tight, scared. Lily, age ten, running through the wood with a dark haired boy, giggling and falling over, talking for hours and hours about magic. Age twelve, competing with the boy in Potions, glowing when the fat Professor gave them both O's for the day. Staying up at all hours, poring over fashion magazines with the ten or so other girls in the dorm. Age fifteen, poring over books in the library instead, covered in ink but with the makings of a spell just out of reach. Hexing a messy haired boy so that he turned green with silver hair, calling him a toe-rag and storming off. Cutting through Death Eaters beside her partner, Amelia, with a stony face and cold efficiency, just dodging a green light from the other side. Snarling at her father-in-law when the man told her Spell Crafting was unseemly for a married woman. Petunia's letter freezing in her hands when she said she wouldn't come to the wedding, falling to the floor and shattering. Not saying a single word to James when they went into the safehouse for the first time, and poring over book after book, going through rolls of parchment with a cold determination to fight back in any way she could.
The breeze picked up momentarily, and Amaryllis shivered, on more image coming to mind, lingering longer than the others. A crash in the house while Lily ran up the stairs, throwing barrier after magical barrier up before barricading her self in the nursery and flinging the rug aside. Throwing her wand away and setting the baby in the crib – Mummy picked up the silver knife there was red on her hand, dripping on the floor with the pretty white chalk, saying funny words – chanting, pleading for her daughter's life, wincing when she stuck her finger in the wound, traced a rune over the baby's forehead and hummed a lullaby – Mummy was crying and the door broke and it was loud - "How lucky are we, to have on our family tree, Mother Earth and Father Time..." – "No, not Amaryllis, kill me instead."
And the image trailed off, Amaryllis jerking out of her thoughts suddenly, blinking to adjust to the lack of light.
Her candle had burned down low, well into the black base, now. She felt her face, which was, to her surprise, stiff with tear tracks. That was... whoa. Amaryllis took a shuddering breath, smiling slightly to herself, feeling oddly giddy. She felt... lighter. A little clearer. A little closer to them, now.
Smiling softly at the candle, she stood up, brushed herself off, and headed back toward the circle and the other students. "I love you, Mum and Dad," she whispered.
A few boys had joined in on the apple game, and were laughing, teasing each other over the letters some of their peels made. Amaryllis jogged over to join them. She'd just had her hands tied and was starting to go for her apple – she would have done it earlier, but Dylan Cadwallader asked her to dance and that was fun and breathless and took forever – when there was a loud BANG and sparks went up into the air, sounding off like Muggle firecrackers. Professor Snape rushed out from the covered bridge, and held high over his head.
"Students!" he called, his voice unnaturally loud – was that a spell? – "There is a troll in the castle. Your classmates are currently safe in their dorms, and you will follow me to the hospital wing for your safety. Hurry up! I assure you, your ancestors will not begrudge you living a few years longer."
More than a few students grumbled at the last comment, but soon he students were hurrying along in a crowd after the Professor, across the bridge, through the courtyard, and up two flights of stairs to the Hospital Wing and Madam Pomfrey, who forced food onto all of them. None of it was candy. She said they needed something hearty after being out in the cold. She also had rich, creamy hot chocolate, and made them split up across the room. Girls on the left, boys on the right.
As Professor Snape finished his headcount and made to leave the room, he bumped into Amaryllis, who was admittedly quite short and hard to see. He stared at her for a moment before rushing out.
"Students!" Madam Pomfrey called. "All of you! On your beds and eat your vegetables!"
…
OMAKE:
Severus in G Hall, striding past S table in loud clear voice 'Slytherins will stay in the Great Hall' and stides out. A couple kids try to stand up, he pushes them down by the tops of their heads – whack-a-mole a la the fourth movie. Draco is all But Professor!' and an older student – Pucey? - says 'sir, the other students – a lot of us were still at the stone circle when I left' and Snape sneers 'where do you think I was going – Prefects, watch the younger students! Miss Adler, sit down' and billows out of the Hall. Pulls a few of his students by the backs of their robes from leaving.
...
Notes: Well... that went differently than I had planned. Longer than I expected, too. So, so much longer. Halloween was supposed to be next chapter! But, the characters will be characters, so I hope you liked this.
For anyone who's curious: I'm hoping to use Celtic Reconstructionism as a reference point for a lot of the more common wizarding world celebrations – in my head canon, they'd be the majority, with there also being other Norse, Greek, or Roman-worshipping people in their world as well. CR's my priority reference for most wizards because they are modeled to be historically accurate, whereas Wicca, which
celebrates similar holy days... isn't. However, finding CR information online isn't exactly the most thorough or accurate source, and I personally have a lot more experience with Wicca, so I may end up oscillating between the two. *shrugs*
At any rate, I feel like I ought to mention who I did manage to find as a source of information:
Many kudos to Paganachd/Pagancht, that most wonderful Celtic Reconstructionist website, with their many FAQ sections and oodles of information.
Thanks also the Celtic Myth and Moonlight website, specifically it's Samhain section under Holidays.
Also, Wikipedia, that amazingtastic font of knowledge – hey, if you've got a chance, donate to them! They're wonderful and helpful and would certainly appreciate it.
The Widow's candle idea is inspired and heavily influenced Artistic Fool's story, Discovering Magic, at Archive of Our Own (aka AO3). It's a great story, you may want to check it out.
… I get the feeling that I'm gonna learn a lot more about various reconstructionist religions before I'm done here.
So, yeah. Any questions, comments, concerns, thoughts... drop me a line, review! I love hearing from you guys, so feel free to say something. For example, what did you think about all the detail in the student Samhain festivities? Draco and Amaryllis' interaction? Did the story come across well, or is this to wordy and long? What did you think of the background being introduced? And is it just me, or is Amaryllis' go-to response to things that upset her 'stupid blank' ?
Also, would anyone like me to include who the songs at the top are from in the future?
Anyway, Happy New Year, EatYourRikkios, and enjoy 2014!
4:34 AM 3 January 2014 CE
Edited 9:26 PM 10 January 2014 CE