December came and went peacefully, there were no more attacks. Before I had even realised it was December I was stood on the platform at Hogsmeade station, surrounded by family. Each of them was dressed smartly, in shirts and ties or elegant dresses, cloaks or long jackets keeping out the chill that plagued Scotland this time of year.
"May I ask one more time why it is necessary to get the train to London, just to apparate back to the manor anyway," Walburga demanded.
"Shut up," Cassie said airily, levitating her luggage behind her as she boarded the train. "And come along."
We piled onto the train, which was garishly decorated with gold and red tinsel.
It was mid-afternoon by the time my feet touched down on the soil of the Welsh border, there was no snow here like in the grounds of Hogwarts, just an icy drizzle.
Cassie let go of my hand and stepped forward.
"Anyone missing?" she asked disinterestedly. "Abraxas, Tom, Raimond… we wouldn't want to lose a guest now would we?"
Once satisfied everyone was present we walked down the boulevard leading to the small gate house. From the stone building you could see up the mountainside to the dark stone castle nestled amongst the crags.
"We have to walk all the way up there, with our bags?" Abraxas groaned. "I knew I'd regret not arriving by floo."
"Don't be so ridiculous Brax," Dorea said with a smile, shoving open the door to the gatehouse. "Lord Black has opened this fireplace to one room in the castle; say the wrong room and you might get incinerated."
"Do we know which one it is?" I asked, amused at her dramatics.
"Come on Wally," Cassie instructed, ushering the youngest forward. "To the drawing room."
Waiting for us there was Lady Hesper Black, she stood regally, her back straight and hands clasped together in front of her. Her long, black robes and ethereal silver hair made her look every inch the Black matriarch. But it was her skin; glowing and pale, seemingly unmarred by the ravages of time which was her most imposing quality.
She embraced first Orion, then Lucretia and then me, in order of importance.
"And how are my grandchildren?" she asked, giving us all fond smile.
"Very well Grandma," Orion said with a smile.
"It's very good to be home," I commented, before we stepped back and let the hostess greet her other guests.
"It is pleasure to receive your invitation Lady Black," Abraxas said, bowing low over hand. Tom and Raimond followed suit and Hesper seemed quite enchanted by each of them.
"Pray, do you know when my brother arrives, Aunt Hesper?" Cassie asked politely.
"Yes dear, he arrives tomorrow to take dinner with us all," she replied. "Now… I will have elves show you all to your rooms. Orion, Cygnus, Lucretia, you will show Mr Malfoy, Mr Lestrange and Mr Riddle around, we wouldn't want them getting lost now would we."
"Of course not Grandma," Lucretia said. "It would be a pleasure."
"I will see you all downstairs in an hour, we are taking an early dinner today, so you may all get an early night if you are tired from your travelling," she said ushering us out of the room.
I set down my things in my old bedroom, smiling softly at how it had been kept exactly the same and swiftly left to find grandmother.
"Grandmama," I said, poking my head around the dining room door. Hesper was stood overseeing the elves laying the table.
"Yes my dear," she replied, beckoning me over.
"I was wondering if I might have a word, about something private," I said tentatively.
"Go and continue with the cooking," she barked to the elves. "I will call you back in a moment. Do go on dear."
"I have been thinking, now that I have turned sixteen, I would like to visit the priestesses," I whispered, Hesper's eyes widened.
"When?" she asked.
"I was planning on going in two days' time, with Raimond to escort me," I replied.
"Which means you must already have been practicing sorcery," she said under her breath. I turned my head upward, my gaze hit the chandelier and the hundreds of tiny candles illuminated.
Hesper gasped.
"My dear you are ready, but you must be careful, have you told anyone?" she asked beseechingly.
"Only you, and I have told Raimond about the nature of the visit but not the sorcery. His family follows the old religion too."
"Wise, I shall cover for your absence."
It was dawn when I crept to Raimond's bedroom, tapping lightly, hoping not to wake anyone else.
He opened the door before I had even put my hand down.
"Good morning Poppy," he whispered, stowing his wand on the holster on his wrist. I rose my eyebrows at the second on his left hand.
"Dagger," he said with a shrug.
He tried to ease the door shut, but being made of an ancient and heavy oak it closed with a dull thud, despite his best efforts. We froze, hearts beating fast, hearing movement from one of the rooms.
"Bugger," I swore, moving away from Raimond and trying to look as if we weren't up to no good. The next door along opened.
It had to be Tom who was Raimond's neighbour, didn't it? He looked as though he had been up for hours, with tired eyes but looking perfectly well presented.
"What are you two doing up?" he asked with a frown. We looked at each other.
"Raimond and I are going riding," I said fluidly. "Would you like to join us?" I asked sweetly, knowing that in all likelihood Tom had never ridden a horse and most definitely would not want to embarrass himself.
"No thank you," he said, still looking at us suspiciously. "Your uncle was so kind as to lend me a book and I would like to finish it before lunch time, so I might discuss it with him."
"As you wish Tom, have a nice morning," I said with a smile. Raimond bid him adieu and we continued on our way.
"How much further is until the border?" Raimond asked from atop his chestnut horse.
"A matter of yards," I replied, the beating rain had put us both in bad moods. I leapt from my own black horse and reached inside my long dark cloak for two small vials.
"What's that?" he asked, taking the offered bottle.
"Gingseng for energy and Ginkgo Biloba for mental clarity," I explained in a sing-song voice.
"That sounds like something someone would have learnt from a healer of the old faith," he commented, knocking back the liquid without further question. I just gave him a wry smile.
We couldn't apparate very close to the shrine, ancient magic had warded the place. After hours we finally reached our destination.
Raimond sighed and looked down the mountainside we had climbed; the small beaten path through the undergrowth gave no clues as to the nature and historical importance of this place- advantageous considering the outlawed status of the old faith.
My eyes were on the temple however, the Bravura shrine was breath-taking, carved from the dark rock. I was drawn to it, an immense feeling of peace settling in my chest. One of the only religious sites of the old faith, not torn down or in ruin because it was so difficult and time consuming to reach, the ministry had forgotten it.
Without a word, I made for the entrance. All fatigue had been washed away, my eyes were alight with passion, for I knew she had made the right decision in coming here, I could feel it in my very bones. Magic had brought me to this place, the powerful magic of destiny.
"I'll wait for you here then," Raimond called, watching with a smile as my cloak billowed behind me in my haste. He sat himself on a rock and was contented to sit and appreciate the wonder of the religion of our ancestors, I turned and offered him a little wave.
As my feet hit the stone steps I felt as if warm electricity had coursed through me, everything was wet, raindrops dripped from the tendrils of enormous ferns growing out of the rock face.
I stepped through the archway and into main chamber of the temple, a great purple fire was burning in a bowl cut out of the mosaicked floor. Around it, were three cloaked figured, sat cross legged around the flames chanting under their breath.
"Identify yourself," came a command, though it was not harsh.
"Poppy Black."
"We've been expecting you," one replied, all of them stood, lowering their hoods.
The first, the one who spoke was an agelessly beautiful woman with waves of bright red hair and skin such a bright, milky white that it made my eyes hurt, her blue eyes were calm and her lips smiling pleasantly. The second was the complete opposite of the first, with a deep caramel complexion, coarse dark hair braided down her back and warm brown eyes. The last, was a blonde rake of a woman, with calculating eyes and thin lips- if she was to attend Hogwarts, she would no doubt be a Slytherin.
"Here we go by our true names," the blonde woman said, stepping forward. "Do you wish to share yours with us?" She was challenging me. I bristled.
"That is enough," the redhead barked. "I will not have you trying to intimidate the girl. She is too important."
"Come," said the one who had so far been silent, extending an arm "We shall talk somewhere a little more cosy. My name is Sophia, by the way. My first name that is. " I liked her best.
"I see what you meant, cosy," I remarked as I was lead into a smaller antechamber, made of solid stone with hard wooden chairs and a table with a hunk of crusty bread, cheese, fruit and wine.
"It is a dark time for our faith," the blonde said, giving her a stern look. "What was it you expected?"
"Hush Erica," Sophia sighed, rolling her eyes.
"Erica is crabby," the redhead elaborated.
Erica is hideous, more like.
"And do I not have the right?" Erica demanded, slamming the heavy wooden door behind her. "Our religion had been persecuted for centuries, we have been shunned to the edge of society and finally the prophecy comes that our power shall be restored and it does not speak of one of the high priestesses, it speaks of a bastard girl from the Black family of all people."
I turned to the woman with wildfire in my stomach.
"And what makes you think you can bring my heritage into this?" I asked in a dark whisper, jaw set and eyes glowing with anger.
"Please," she spat, throwing her hair over her shoulder. "You are just a talentless girl, you have no place here. No place anywhere."
Something within me snapped yet I did not reach for my wand. I thrust my hands forward, fingers held like claws, there was a shriek as Erica was catapulted backwards, her back slamming into the solid rock.
She slumped to the floor, there was silence- then laughter than was more like a cackle.
"Perfect!" she exclaimed, rising from the floor, bent double with a hand on her back. "She is the one they speak of."
"Must you have provoked her Erica?" Sofia demanded, helping her into a chair.
"And how else would we have seen her power, such excellent sorcery for her age." Erica lent back, visibly stiff but with a smug smirk on her face.
"Are you talking about prophecies?" I asked, my fury quickly faded beneath my curiosity.
"Indeed," Sophia said, seating herself and pouring us each a glass of wine. "There have been prophecies about you. Rosamund here, is the expert, she is our best seer."
I looked to the redhead.
"Yes," she agreed. "The most important prophecy for half a millennia was about you, we believe."
"And what did it say?" I asked.
Rosamund smirked.
"Prophecies are not as simple as poems Poppy, they are visions, often abstract with no definite meaning, they come to seers but only those skilled in the art of prophecy can deduce their true meaning or separate them from dreams and hallucinations," she explained. "Priestesses have been having visions about you for centuries. I have seen your face a hundred times or more."
"That's how we know, you are here to become a priestess today, and one day, sooner than we would like. You will become a high priestess," Sophia said gravely.
"But there can only be three high priestesses," I pointed out.
There was a heavy silence.
"One of us is going to die and you will take our place," Erica said finally, her voice gravelly, each of the woman shot looks at each other as if silently guessing who will go first. "But it will be a valiant death."
"There is a war coming Poppy, and the prophets say you will lead it," Rosamund said, her large blue eyes piercing my soul. "You will not let us down, we know that."
"Which is why you must become a priestess at once, and start your training," Sofia said, obviously trying to lighten the morbid mood. "You do have a choice though Poppy, I do not wish you to feel pressured, the prophets see which line of fate is most deeply ingrained into the earth. But your decisions could change that, if you wanted to."
"One should never change their destiny."