By: CNJ
PG-13
2: The Enlightenment Ceremony
Harry:
"Hello, dear!" Aunt
Miranda greeted as we hugged outside the Great Hall later on that night
before the Enlightenment Ceremony.
"Hello, Auntie..." I said
softly. "Thank you for the lovely letter..." Sirius joined
us and hugged me also. The other parents and guardians had arrived
and families stood around the Great Lobby, talking and hugging. Everyone
was wearing dress robes for the occasion. I looked down at my own
red robe with gold trim and smiled softly. I saw Hermione with
her parents and younger sister, Aileen and we exchanged waves.
"Haaarry!" Two voices called
from down the hall. I looked around in bewilderment a minute, vaguely
thinking that the voices sounded familiar, then spotted Ron's older twin
brothers, Fred and George heading down the hall.
"Oh...hello..." I called.
"How's adulthood treating you?"
"Not too shabby," Fred told
me. They've just finished their second year of college and when they
graduate, they intend to open up a joke shop in Diagon Alley. As
they approached, I introduced them to Auntie and Sirius.
"Pleased to meet you..."
they greeted.
"Harry's told me some wonderful
things about the two of you," Miranda put in. We talked some more,
doing some catching up, me telling the twins that I was headed to Andrews
and Wallace Art College in the fall. Just then, the talking hushed
as McGonagall came out and we knew it was time to enter the Great Hall
and let the ceremony begin.
"Welcome to the Enlightenment
Ceremony of Hogwart's Class of Two Thousand and Five," McGonagall announced,
her multi-colored dress robe changing color every so often. "Tonight,
these young women and men will become official adult sorcerers and take
their places in the adult wizard/witch community..." McGonagall spoke for
a few more minutes about the responsibilities and privileges of adulthood.
Several students yeehaa'd softly at the knowledge that we'd legally
be able to apparate on our own. Several teachers spoke after, including
Madame Hooch and Professor Gromer. Then it was time to line up to
be enlightened. Each of the houses lined up alphabetically to be
enlightened by the head of that house. Since McGonagall is the head
of the Gryffindor House, she stood at the front of the Gryffindor line.
Our parents and guardians stood with each of us. The actual
enlightening procedure is that your parent or guardians are supposed to
stand behind you and as you go up to whoever your enlightener is, they
touch your shoulder lightly and the enlightener says a chant that officially
marks you as an adult sorcerer. That chant is entered into witch/wizard
records and entered into their count of sorcerers for the city.
As we lined up and Miranda and Sirius got behind me, I saw that several
of my classmates were crying softly, including Lavender and the Patil twins.
Near the end, I even saw Ms. Weasley tearing up as she stood behind her
son. The line moved slowly, but gracefully. My turn came
and I was the one standing in front of McGonagall. I had to swallow
at the thought that this was it. Smiling, she waved her wand
as I felt Miranda and Sirius's warm hands touch my shoulders.
"By my own powers, I now
add and welcome you as an adult wizard in the community. May all
good spirits be with you, Harry," McGonagall chanted. Sparkles came
out of her wand and I felt a brief glow. Thank you, I mouthed,
closing my eyes a second. There...I was now enlightened.
My heart was still pumping away as my guardians and I sat. Oh, I
couldn't believe I was officially and adult sorcerer! Several cameras
snapped and a few parents even had camcorders. Sirius snapped a couple
of pictures as well. I smiled softly at them, then watched
Ron be enlightened, then the last of the students. There were only
three more after Ron. Once the last student sat, claps and cheers
rose from the audience. We students also added some bellows of our
own. There were a few more speeches, including one from
Dumbledore, welcoming us into the adult wizard/witch community. Then
group of wizards and witches from a band sang an enlightenment song, a
really lovely one about the good spirits consecrating our souls and bringing
us love and goodness and about wanted to spread that love around.
I felt myself choke up slightly and briefly put my hand to my mouth, afraid
I'd break down blubbering right here. I even felt my thick brows
tighten. But I didn't, thank Merlin. Then it was time for the
post-enlightenment gathering. We headed to the back tables where
food was piled and ate and talked. Miranda and Sirius met me again
and we talked and also mingled with other parents.
"Merlin, I can't believe
I'm an adult," Ron told me as Miranda chatted with Molly Weasley.
"Me either," I swallowed
a grape nearly whole. Hermione, Cheria, and Ginny joined us
and we stood eating and listening to our parents talk.
"Two more years and it'll
be Aileen's turn," Hermione's mum stroked her younger daughter's hair,
which is the same color as Hermione's.
"They grow so fast," Cheria's
mum put in.
"Seems so long ago, yet
yesterday that I was singing to little Harry along with Lily and James,"
Miranda added. I blushed slightly at the thought of me as a baby
in diapers. But it is wonderful thought that Miranda was there along
with my parents. If only they could have been here tonight, I thought.
Miranda seemed to sense my thoughts and stroked my thick black hair, so
much like hers.
"I...wish they could be
here tonight," I voiced out loud.
"Me too, darling..." Miranda
said softly. "They would be proud to see how wonderfully their son's
turned out. How well I remember their enlightenment ceremony."
"What was it like?"
"Lovely like tonight." Miranda
told me. "But there was the shadow of Voldemort's rising over it,
so it was a bit sober as well." I nodded. Miranda had told
me that Tom Riddle, who also went by Voldemort, had first made himself
known in my mum and dad's fourth year. Mum and her two close friends
had been at Hogsmeade in late May of that year along with several classmates
and death eaters had attacked, killing two students and several others.
Then Voldemort had apparated briefly there, then when aurors finally turned
up, he'd disapparated quickly. Some of the death eaters had been
caught then, but not enough. Voldemort had continued to gather followers
and along that, strength. Very similar to what I went through at
the end of my fourth year, I thought. Voldemort had made himself
known again by tricking me and a classmate of mine, Cedric Diggory into
portkeying into a graveyard. He'd killed Cedric right in front
of me and sucked some of the blood from him and my arm. I'd been
traumatized by that experience just like my mum had been at the end of
her fourth year. My personality is similar to my mum's, Miranda and
Mum's friend, Amelia Kovacs has told me. Amelia is a medic at Hogsmeade
Medical Center and occasionally does visits to Hogwarts. Mum also
had a lot of similar experiences to me as well. It feels good having
that link to Mum. Even though they can't replace my parents, Miranda
and Sirius are the closest things to parents that I have and I feel lucky
to have them in my life. Now we're ready for a new phase in life;
my friends and I are on the threshold of young adulthood. I know
I was just about ready. The last step was graduation, then we'd launch
into adulthood in the fall.
2003 Storyline Copyright by CNJ