And so, the term flew by as I waited for those two days to come. Questions were asked by those who knew about my preparation, some to prepare for their own, some to satisfy curiosity. But I remained silent, with my demure smile fixed on my lips. One of my acquaintances (for show me the blood traitor who can really claim to be friends with others) asked if I were to be married, and I hugged my secret, struggling not to laugh as she hit so close to the mark.
September changed to October, and Samhain, which melted into November, and then the snows fell, signalling December. And all of a sudden I was on my way home for Michaelmas.
Except, I wasn't.
I had informed my parents that one of my schoolfellows had invited me to stay in the days running up to my birthday, but that I would be home again on the morning of my birthday. But there was no schoolfellow, only Tom, and we were meeting in London, and spending two whole wonderful days in each other's company.
He met me at the entrance to Diagon Alley, in the new tavern, the Leaky Cauldron. He had procured a room there, and carried me over the threshold as if we really were man and wife. He carried me all the way to the bed, upon which he laid me and then…
Well, that is not something I should divulge here.
But I will tell you that those two days and a night will stay with me, and comfort me for the rest of my life, no matter what else happens.
I took the dark clouds that surrounded my house when I returned to be harbingers of rain. They were not, they were the accumulation of the dark spells my father and his friends had been casting for my coming of age. But I was not to discover that just yet.
In the handful of days leading up to my Coming of Age, I was purified in as many different ways as were physically possible. Countless spells were performed on my hair, my body, and my blood. I was not allowed to eat salty foods, or rich foods, or drink wine, or any potions. I lived off bread, thin soup and water for six days. But other than this interminable purification process, I was allowed to do pretty much what I wanted. As long as I did not leave the house.
That was the worst part of those six days: I could not see Tom. I could not relive the two days in London, I could not touch his hand once more, I could not even look at him sideways while pretending to examine flowers. I was alone with my thoughts, and they were not happy ones. I was worried about what was to come. The thick wreaths of black cloud now encircled the manor, and the hill upon which it stood. In fact, they blanketed the tiny church nearby, as well as a large portion of our village. When the day of the twenty-fourth dawned, they clouds were so thick and dark as to be called black, although that was only up around the house. According to my mother, down in the village the skies were much cleared her. How I wish now that I had not believed her.
The activity which had been happening inside the house over the last few days grew into a frenzy barely before the sun had risen, and I do believe from the point of view of someone on the outside, the house may have resembled a giant beehive with me as a half queen, right in the centre of things.
Immediately after waking I was ordered to bathe by my mother, and she oversaw the house elves, and heated the water with her own wand. I believe she was trying to scorch the skin off my body; the water was scalding. Then I was taken to one of our many antechambers and dressed in pure white robes. This was novel in itself as, apart from dress robes, we barely wore robes to perform magic unless partaking in very formal rituals or ceremonies. I was then led to a small, dark room somewhere in the East Wing.
Our manor house is…big. Nowhere near the size of Hogwarts of course, but still very large. There are many parts of the house that I am unaware even exist, after all, there is no one who would willingly go with me to explore all the turning passages, and one should only go so far alone in a magic household. And so, I had never actually come across the set of rooms I was led to. My mother turned in the doorway.
"Someone will come for you once we are ready. I suggest you rest or practise the spells you learnt on the void."
"Yes, Ma…" I started to say, but she had already left. The key turned in the lock with an audible click.
There was nothing else for me to do. Utterly sick and tired of the spells, I transfigured some chairs into a reasonable size bed and lay down upon it. Something in the room, perhaps the lack of light, had a highly soporific effect on me, and I fell into a light sleep.
A.N. Well...10 is close to 100 isn't it?
#looks around sadly# no...Anyway, would just like to say a huge thanks to my thousands of reviewers...c'mon you lazy lot! This is my first finished story, and am anticipating maybe two more chapters, if that.
JM xx
