A/n:
YEA! New chapter… I'm
very proud of it, even though it's not much. I feel like I'm
working towards a purpose now… I've told all my friends to read it,
so now I actually HAVE to finish it!!! This is a frightening prospect,
considering I've never really finished one of my major stories. This one
is now 36 pages long, including this chapter, and I figure there's a good
deal left. My goal is to finish it before summer's end. R+R and tell me
whether or not I'm wasting my time, okay? This chapter is fairly
pointless, but it does include a description of The pagan/druid customs during
midwinter (Yule). In the name of fun, I've decided to make Laelyn and
Sirius Pagans (like me!). If you find Wicca/pagan stuff offensive, please
remember that all Gods are one, and that it doesn't matter which names we
call them by (And no, I'm not some crazy religious lady…=)
Thanks
again to *~*GinnyPotter*~*, and my deepest apologies for screwing up your name…
like I said, it was late and I was tired… and also to Hermione L. Granger
(thanks… I was going for new+original… not everyone has to like it,
after all =). Thanks also to Meg Albatou, my pagan pal, who inadvertently
became my primary source for research on Yule. Thanks babe! -Nymphean
Three
months after the wedding…
Laelyn
Weasley sat in front of a roaring fire in the Gryffindor common room. Her feet
rested on the hearth, and a crimson and gold blanket covered her slightly
rounded stomach.
"I
feel like I should be knitting or something," She said to Ginny with a
very amused twinkle in her eye. "I feel so old! I wish I could find some
way to get rid of these damned dizzy spells… I would have liked to go to
Hogsmead with the others."
"It's
not all THAT bad… at least you're not barefoot in the kitchen,
eight months pregnant, with screaming toddlers 'round your feet and a
drunken husband."
"No,
I'm just barely six months pregnant, with hand knit socks and a husband
who lives in Egypt." She cast her eyes towards her stomach.
"I'd almost rather have him drunk than a million miles away."
"But
he's coming HERE for Christmas to be with YOU," Ginny said
optimistically. Laelyn smiled and squeezed the younger girl's hand.
"Thanks
Gin. You know, Bill was right about you."
"How
do you mean?"
"You
ARE the best sister anyone could ask for."
The door
to the common room opened, and in bounded Harry, Ron and Hermione. The three
promptly sat down on the couch beside Ginny, and Harry slid his arm easily
around his girlfriend.
"What
were you ladies talking about?" Ron asked.
"Sister
stuff. None of your business," replied Ginny, sticking her tongue out at
her older brother. Ron caught his breath and looked at his sister, startled.
"SISTER
stuff? What's that supposed to mean?"
Laelyn
laughed at the boy. "Only that Ginny's been living in a house with
seven men and only one other woman for almost sixteen years now, and
she's practically starved for female attention." Ron looked at his
teacher sulkily.
"Fine…
go ahead and replace me…"
Harry
kissed Ginny on the top of her head. "I bought your present."
"What
is it?" She asked excitedly. Harry shook his head.
"You'll
find out on Christmas," he said mysteriously. Ginny tried to look
plaintive, but only ended up giggling and kissing Harry on the lips.
"You're
so cute when you're trying to be elusive," She said, putting her
head on his shoulder. "Well, I still have to buy your present."
Laelyn
cursed under her breath. "And I have to get something for Bill! I
don't have to slightest idea what to get him…" she looked
hopelessly at Ginny and Ron.
"No
way, don't look here!" Said Ginny. "I have no
clue…"
"And
you've seen him more in the past two years than we have," Ron said.
"He's always away from home, and we're at school all
year."
Hermione
laughed. "He's your husband… can't you think of
something? He must have, at some time, said that there's something he
wants…"
"Well,
not really… He always says I'm everything he needs." She
blushed slightly.
Hermione
slapped Ron. "Why don't YOU ever say things like that? Can't
you be more like your brother?"
"Ow…"
Laelyn
laughed. "Don't worry, Hermione… just give him time. He
should be just about perfect in… eight years or so." She sighed.
"Men are so hard to buy for. Let's see… I'm a
twenty-five year-old man… what do I like?" They all laughed.
Hermione
rolled her eyes. "I know exactly what you mean, though. I always have
trouble finding a gift for Ron." She kissed her boyfriend. "You
Weasley men are very difficult subjects indeed."
Ron wound
a strand of her hair around his fingers. "Only a Weasley boy can TRULY
understand another Weasley boy."
Laelyn
nodded. "THAT I'd believe. HEY," she said suddenly,
"Maybe Cha-" She stopped abruptly, biting her lower lip. Harry
looked at her suspiciously.
"Hm?"
Laelyn
laughed stiffly. "It's not important." Harry narrowed his
eyes.
"Yeah,
okay." Laelyn sighed quietly. Damn it… that was close. They
don't know Charlie's coming to visit Sirius for the holidays…
OH, it's NEVER a good idea to tell your secrets to a nymph… "Hey, listen, I've just remembered something
I've got to do before dinner…" Laelyn threw the blanket off
of her legs and began to hoist herself out of the chair. Ginny jumped from her
seat and offered her hand to her sister-in-law.
"Do
you need one of us to go with you, Laelyn?" She asked. "I
don't want you to be by yourself if you start feeling dizzy
again…"
Laelyn
smiled at the girl and laughed lightly. "Nonsense. You stay here and
catch up with Harry… You've been spending entirely too much time
looking after me lately, and we wouldn't want him to feel
neglected!" She winked at Harry. "Besides, I'm pregnant, not
DYING! I'll be back in a little while."
As soon
as she'd left the common room, she began to jog towards the main
building. She ran through the building, down the dark hallway, and all the way
to Sirius' door. She knocked.
"It's
Laelyn," She said loudly, and seconds later, the door swung open. Charlie
rose to greet her; Sirius remained seated by the fire.
"Laelyn!
This is unexpected."
She
shrugged. "I DO live here too, you know!" She embraced her
brother-in-law. "How are you, Charlie?"
He
grinned at Sirius. "Fantastic. I just got here this morning." He
patted her round belly with wonder. "That's my nephew," he
told Sirius, who laughed heartily. "How did this happen? Last time I saw
you it wasn't even showing, and now you look at least seven and a half
months along."
"Actually,
only just six months. He's a big one."
Sirius laughed
again. "Or maybe you're just tiny."
"Shut
up." She flopped down in one of the chairs near the fire.
"So,
what brings you here?" Sirius asked absently.
"A
few things. Mostly I just had to get away from the horny teenage couples…
but I also was wondering if Charlie would help me pick out a gift for Bill. I
came so close to accidentally letting it slip that you were here, Char, but I
don't think they caught on."
He looked
at he warningly. "They'd better not find out… I'd have
a really difficult time explaining why I'm here."
Laelyn
laughed. "Yeah." She glanced around the room. "You know, Si,
this room is quite the cozy little sanctuary."
"Beats
the hell out of prison."
"You've definitely managed
to fill the place with the holiday spirit." She picked up a large log
that was sitting by the hearth. "I didn't know you followed Yule
traditions," she said, running her fingers over the runes and pictures
that had been carved into the wood. Sirius nodded.
"Ever
since I was little. You?"
"All
my life. Most nymphs celebrate the traditional pagan holidays. Of course, I
picked up Christmas from my father. Can I add to the log?" Charlie tossed
her a small tool for carving. "It's been so long since I've
had to write in runes… I can barely even remember how!"
"It's
like riding a bike. You never forget, really." Sirius held
Charlie's hand and watched as the young woman carved. Charlie looked
quizzically at Sirius.
"I
still don't understand what the log is for."
Laelyn
laughed. "It's an old tradition, dating way back to the time of the
Druids. At Yule, the God is reborn of the Goddess, and there is a great
celebration. We carve on it things that have happened to us in the past year
and our hopes and dreams for the new year on the log, and then it's
burned ceremoniously on the winter solstice, or Yule. Also known as December
22; today. There, done."
Sirius
took the log from her hands. He ran his fingers over a small, carved depiction
of two rings bound together like a Celtic knot. "Your
marriage…" He read the runes next to the picture aloud.
"…May the goddess bestow her gifts upon my child and my marriage in
the coming year, and may she see that those around me find the happiness which
I have found.'" Sirius looked into her eyes. "That is a good
prayer," he said earnestly
"May
I?" Charlie asked, extending his hand. Sirius grinned at him, surprised.
"Absolutely."
Charlie
went and sat beside Laelyn. "Carve the runes for me? I don't know
how yet…" She nodded, and he whispered something in her ear. The
girl's fingers began to work at the wood again, all her concentration
focused on the message she was writing. When she was done, she handed the log
back to Charlie, who quickly added something and then handed it back to
Sirius.
The older
man looked at the log. On it was a carving of a heart, and beside it, in the
same runic alphabet as Laelyn had used for her prayer, was written:
which I
have known in the past year.
Sirius
felt tears welling up behind his eyes at the simple yet poignant message.
"That is a beautiful prayer, Charlie."
Laelyn
nodded. "Thank you for sharing this with us. I know I speak for both of
us when I say it means a lot to us."
Sirius
glanced at the window. "The sun has set… should we burn it?"
Laelyn nodded her head in assent. "You do the honors," He said,
handing her the Log. Laelyn placed it carefully in the fire and stepped back.
"Blessed be," She whispered as she embraced both men at once. "The horned god is reborn."