In the days after Iris's agreement to join in on the Yule rites, her friends, even those that were normally stoic, seemed almost joyful.
"Honestly Iris, you'll see, it is so incredible" Theo said, an uncharacteristically large grin on his face. "It's going to be so great, performing this with you! It's like, yeah, we're really good friends, but until you come together in magic… I mean, I'm not saying our friendship is missing anything, just that this is going to be so great!"
"Uhhh… sure Theo…"
"No, oh Merlin, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to say anything negative, just that… Circe, you can't even use words, you'll see trust me!"
"Oh uh, no, it's not that, it's just that I'm not used to seeing you so… excitable."
"Oh yeah, I always get like this around the Holidays, y'know? I can feel Mother Magic calling out to me as she grows closer to the earth, and it just makes me so happy~!"
Dante cuffed Theo on the back of the head. "Don't mind him Iris, he's just very devout, more than all of us. The Holidays hit him like a carriage full of chocolate, he won't calm down until the rite's actually over."
"Really, we all warn him to be more careful where and when he talks about this stuff, but he never listens. Theo, you realize if Iris's brother heard you, you'd end up expelled, right?"
That seemed to drown Theo's excitement, and his joyful skipping calmed down to more normal, albeit springy, gait.
"Wait", Iris said, processing Dante's last comment, "what do you mean 'expelled'? Is this like… y'know, 'dark magic' stuff?"
"Iris…" Dante said, lowering his voice, "you really, really shouldn't be talking about that stuff out in the open like this. The Rites are one thing, but dark magic's completely different, y'know?"
"But how? Aren't they both illegal?"
"I mean, yeah, but in reality they're different, even the Nics acknowledge that. The Rites are technically illegal, but no one really gets locked up for them, as long as they're done in private. But rituals? Not many people use them, because they're way more complicated, and you get a life sentence in Azkaban if you're caught." By the end of his speech, Dante was almost whispering.
"Why? What's so bad about rituals, how are they different from Rites?"
"Iris… I can't talk about that type of stuff with you in Hogwarts, that's dangerous to even think about here. I'd get labeled a 'Death Eater' and chucked away faster than you can say 'Caesar."
"Are… are they really that awful?"
Dante ran a hand over his face looking distressed. "No that's just propaganda… I mean, yes, legally, but… I told you, I can't talk about this stuff here! Come see me during winter break if you want to look into this stuff, and for Circe's sake, stop asking questions in the middle of the largest Nic stronghold in the Sprachbund!"
"Sorry… I was just curious. I've heard so much about 'dark magic', but never what it actually is, y'know?"
Dante wrapped an arm around her shoulder, sighing. Iris definitely wasn't noticing how his strong muscles felt pressed against her collarbones, not at all.
"…Iris?"
"Huh?"
Dante smirked (in the exact same way Blaise did, damn him), "I said that I agree with you, but because the Nics have so much power, even a lot of the people that practice the Old Rites are wary of ritu–… of the stuff you're talking about."
"Oh yeah, I guess that makes sense. I'll just save my questions for the holiday then."
In what seemed like no time at all, it was the night of Yule, a few hours before midnight, and Blaise was leading Iris into a secluded classroom in an obscure wing of the castle.
"Remember darling", Blaise said, guiding Iris down a twisting, convoluted path, "the seventh years can ward these rooms from the wards for a single night, but not any longer. You can't perform any other rituals outside of the six holidays, unless you somehow convince a seventh year to cast the ward for you. I would be extremely surprised if that happened though, given that this ward usually takes a full day to set up correctly, and uses almost all of a mage's power. Have you decided what boon you're going to request during this service?"
"Yeah…" Iris said, a bit distracted by Blaise's hand on the small of her back.
"And what is it?"
"…"
"Darling?"
"Oh! Sorry, I just, uh… got lost in thought there for a second."
Blaise smirked and gave her a wink: "Oh I'm sure you were, your pretty little head is just so active all the time, I love it."
Iris was blushing so hard she barely noticed when they finally entered the ritual room, and even then only because Blaise removed her hand, which, if anyone else ever asked definitely did NOT make Iris let out a little mewl.
Looking down, Iris saw a large diagram within a circle drawn on the floor in chalk, with several symbols she recognized as runes spread throughout, and a pile of lavender at its center. On the edge of the circle, she saw six small piles of what she now recognized as myrrh, spaced out evenly.
"Hey, I have a question" she said, smiling brightly, the excitement of the room contagious, "why the myrrh, and the circle and geometric shapes? Didn't you say you don't need anything to feel mag–… er, Mother Magic? Also, the runes? How did people commune with magic before writing then?"
"Well," Daphne said from across the circle, "while that may be technically true, it is, in fact, misleading. While smaller, individual rites may be done with nothing but a small sacrifice, or even a few whispered words and intense concentration, the effects of those rites aren't nearly as potent as those brought by a ritual diagram, especially one utilizing runic sequences."
"What, why?"
"Because, Iris, rituals function by using the inherent magic of an offering, channeled in certain paths with a ritual diagram, to power a larger and more potent connection to Magic. The more complex you want your ritual effects to be, the larger you need your connection to be, which means more significant offerings and more complex diagrams."
"Right now we're only opening a connection, not requesting any effects, so we only need a few shapes, and a small herbal offering for each of us. The symbolism of your offering also effects the potency of the connection, and myrrh, along with lotus and peyote, is one of the major symbols of devotion to Magic. The lavender in the center is an evergreen, and symbolizes the significance and themes of Yule."
"Wait, you can do other stuff with rites? How come we've never–"
"Ah, Iris?" Dante said with a tight smile, "remember our talk about how some stuff shouldn't be discussed within the walls of Hogwarts, even behind wards? This is one of those things."
"Oh… Damn, you better be ready, because I have a lot of questions for the break."
"Iris," Draco said with a smirk, "if you get any more 'curious', you might as well join the Knights."
The room chuckled, and proceeded to talk about meaningless gossip while they waited for midnight to come.
Slowly, almost without Iris noticing, it approached midnight, and the room had quieted down, the sense of something significant began to grow on the air.
Around two minutes beforehand, the eyes of Iris's friends seemed to be shining like searchlights, and their forms seemed to glow with an almost invisible halo. Blaise turned to look at Iris with burning purple irises, and placed a hand on her arm.
"Are you ready, darling, truly ready? Do you remember what we told you to do?"
Iris honestly thought about the question. Was she ready to accept magic as capital-M Magic, the way all her friends seemed to? She hadn't wavered in her love and appreciation of her magic, obviously, it's what saved her from a life as a slave, but she was still somewhat skeptical of the mythology and rituals that came with this new belief system. She knew her friends kept insisting that it wasn't like anything she'd ever experienced, but in the back of Iris's mind, her deep, Petunia-borne skepticism of religion didn't really believe them.
On the other hand, these were her friends, and this is what they had dedicated themselves to, so she'd follow them gladly. She truly did think that if she could dedicate herself to any higher power, it would be magic, and the idea of letting magic act as her mother was very appealing. A nurturing, supportive mother was a much better object of worship than Miriam's stern, punishing, Vernon-esque father. Iris saw how happy and content the rest of the sixsome seemed whenever the topic of capital-M magic came up, and wanted that for herself, even if she was still a little skeptical of the way to get it.
"Yes," she said, feeling something within herself click into place "I'm ready. Let's do this."
The invisible presence in the room seemed to almost hum at that, making the sixsome's hair stand on end.
When the clock struck midnight, the group kneeled on the floor as one, each in front of one of the piles of myrrh All six of them snapped their fingers near their offering, creating a few sparks, and inhaled the smoke as it began to drift up. Theo, his voice strangely solemn, lit the lavender, and began to speak the echoing words of the Celtic rite.
"Magic, our mother, please lead us into communion with you on this sacred night, the boundary between this world and the Summerland, your domain, and the final domain of all your children. We thank you for your love with this myrrh, and the dedication to your gift and presence we hold in our hearts."
The smoke from the myrrh and lavender started to curl up in complicated patters, bending and almost caressing each of the participants of the ritual. Iris gaped in shock, and barely remembered to keep track of Theo's words.
"Mother, please hear our appeals, let the smoke of the myrrh carry our spirits up the path of the Wave-Sweeper, the Ship of the Bear, while our bodies remain your children in the world."
Iris could feel something in the air humming, and the same electric feeling she got when using her magic, but thousands of times more. Her previous doubt and hesitation were swallowed up by an ocean of this new, incredible, indescribable feeling, the words being spoken seeming to echo with a higher significance. Unconsciously, she closed her eyes, swaying to an invisible rhythm in the room.
"We dedicate this Yule to the strength and fortitude we request of you, borne in your love. Theodoric Nott, your child, asks you to grant him strength to persevere in this world of mud, hostile to your children like the snow is to the evergreens."
Daphne then spoke up from where she was kneeling besides him. "Daphne of the Green Grass, your child, asks that you grant her the strength to survive the upcoming holiday with her father, and to protect her sister Astoria from his rage."
"Draco Malfoy," Draco said from Daphne's left, eyes closed, "your child, asks that you give them the strength to see their ailing grandparent Abraxas over the break, and the fortitude to endure when they finally pass on from this world into the Summerland."
"Blaise Zabini," Blaise said from their side, "your child, asks that you give her the inner peace to accept new developments in her life, and to bless her loved ones with that same serenity."
It was finally Iris's turn. "Iri–… Iris Potter", she said, head tilting back with a gasp as the magic flowed through her, your child, asks that you give her he ability to endure her family of descent, and the strength to be truthful and loving of her family in choice and magic."
The magic in the room was growing higher and higher, and it almost overwhelmed Iris in its intensity. If there was an equivalent to the corners of her eyes, but for her ears, Iris felt like she could hear a dozen voices from them, all whispering comforting and loving words to the participants. She swore she could hear her mother's voice, cooing over her kneeling form, ghostly fingers brushing through her hair.
"Dante Zabini, formerly Bianchi," Dante said from Theo's other side, completing the circle, "asks you to grant him strength to persevere in this world of mud, hostile to your children like the snow is to the evergreens."
The magic in the room seemed to reach a crescendo, almost audible in its incredible intensity.
"We honor you, Mother Magic," said Theo, voice steady despite his trembling form, "may you one day accept us with joy as we reunite with you, just as you have accepted those that have come before us. Our magic and lives are yours, for we are your children. So mote it be."
With that, Iris felt the magic inside her explode, and her vision expand to the cosmos. She saw the massive web of fate that Ollivander spoke of, and felt the love and care of all her ancestors and descendants from every time and place in the universe. She felt cocooned in an indescribably warm embrace, her mind flaring with a comfort more serene than any she could have ever imagined experiencing.
High in the planes of her consciousness, Iris saw a vision of her mother in all her red-headed glory. She could feel her mother's spirit commune with hers, emanating a sense of love and caring. She saw Lily place her hands on Iris's shoulders, mouthing the words "I'm proud of you."
Iris could feel the awe and joy of her friends in the room, equally blissful in the embrace of magic. For a single moments, all their minds were connected, and they all understood and accepted each other absolutely, unified in the embrace of Magic. She felt love, she was love, she was filled with love, her world was love. Nothing could ever feel as pure and wonderful as this.
This… was pure bliss, and it went on and on, neverending.
After an indeterminable amount of time, Iris slowly began to come back to herself. Opening her eyes, she realized that she was cuddling in a pile with her friends, smiling contently. She could feel all the care they felt for her, and somehow knew that they could feel how much she cared for them. The love filled her up completely, leaving her barely any space to even think, like Blaise's allure magnified by a factor of a dozen.
Iris mused that she probably would have freaked out about this if it happened earlier in the day, but for the life of her, she couldn't remember why. It was nice to cuddle with the people you love, wasn't it?
She slowly turned her head to the right, looking over Daphne's sleeping form, and saw Theo and Dante giggling while they traded lazy, open-mouth, kisses, and she smiled. It was so nice seeing those two expressing affection, Theo especially; Iris felt like he was by far the most reserved of the whole group.
Iris jumped, and realized that Draco had started to pet her hair. Why didn't they do that more often, it felt amazing! Preening, she let out a sleepy giggle, and snuggled her head back down into her incredibly soft pillow.
Wait, that wasn't a pillow, it was Blaise's chest! Mmmm, that was nice. Iris remembered how great a pillow Blaise made, so she nuzzled her cheek against Blaise's breasts, giving her collarbone a little kiss, just to let Blaise know how nice it was to be filled up by her affection.
Blaise hummed in appreciation, as she pressed a kiss to the corner of Iris's mouth. "Hey Iris," she said, voice dreamy and distant, "did… did you know that y'know, it's not just cuddling at the summer rituals. You're so pretty, y'know? Like, so pretty it should be illegal. Can't wait for the summer…"
Iris closed her eyes and purred, snuggling deeper into Blaise's cleavage. "That sounds so nice Blaise. You're all just soooooo pretty, and like, I can't even believe how pretty all of you are, it's ridiculous. I just wanna kiss all of your face right now, like… like a kiss monster!"
The whole pile (with the exception of the sleeping Daphne) chuckled at that for a truly ridiculous length of time, the laughter restarting out of nowhere each time it died down. Finally, the group was silent again, and Blaise joined in on petting Iris's hair. Content in the feelings of bliss and love she could feel emanating from her friends, Iris slowly drifted off into unconsciousness.
Iris woke up, for real this time, feeling AMAZING. She blushed a little at the reminder of the massive cuddle pile that had come after, but couldn't even muster up the mental energy to be embarrassed, because she just felt so peaceful and content.
She disentangled herself from her slowly waking friends, and stretched her arms until her joints popped. Everything, her body, her mind, her soul, it just felt so complete. Like... well, like she was held in the arms of her Mother. She really couldn't put it in any other way.
"Blaise, you were right" she said, with a massive smile.
Blaise stretched like a cat, and the lingering effects of the rite allowed Iris to appreciate her toned stomach without chastising herself. "I know darling, I usually am, but about what specifically? Was it the kissing thing?"
Iris blushed. "No… I mean what you said after you read the myth. This was… this was like nothing I've ever experienced before, I want to experience this for the rest of my life. How do I make my vows?"
Draco piped up, yawning: "Just… just speak from the heart, y'know? Everyone's vows are like… different, and it's just what you feel in the moment… Burn some myrrh and say what Mother Magic means to you, and why you're making your vows."
Before Iris could say anything, Dante held out another pile of myrrh, chuckling.
"Yeah, yeah, you all were right, shut up. Now where should I do it?"
"Anywhere not in the circle, darling".
The sixsome gathered around Iris as she knelt down on the stone floor, outside the range of the cushioning charms Daphne had set up for their rite and cuddling. She lit the myrrh with a spark of her fingers, breathed in deeply, and began to speak.
"Mother Magic… I know I've been cut off from you for most of my life, and I'm sorry, but I'm so happy that you're with me right now. Back with the muds, my life was completely miserable: I was in complete darkness, not just because of the cupboard, but because I was cut off from you. I wouldn't have lasted five more years before I killed myself, or them, or both. You saved me, Mother Magic, and I love you for it; ever since I've seen you, I've seen nothing but light."
"Today has shown me… well, it's been so, absolutely incredible, and I've never felt more loved or connected to others in my entire life. I want to spend forever in your arms, eternity in your embrace, if you'll have me. I already loved you before, as some vague concept, if that makes sense. Like, I loved that I had magic, and I knew that it saved me from the muds, but I never really understood what that meant until right now. I can see you now, hear you now, I can feel how you cried out for me in my torment, and rejoiced for me when I found my people."
"I want to feel your love the rest of my life, and for an eternity after, so I vow myself to you. I vow to never forget how you saved me, to always appreciate your gift and your love, to defend you and protect you, to love all your children the best I can, and to work every day to be worthy of your incredible, amazing love for me, my Mother. So mote it be."
Iris felt her soul lighten, and her inner sense of magic expand outwards, caressing the magic of her friends before fading away, seeming to sing in exultation. She collapsed into Blaise's arms, sobbing in happiness, while the rest of the sixsome stroked her and gave her words of praise.
Dante spoke up, voice suspiciously croaky. "C-congratulations Iris… you're one of us now. How does it feel to be a pagan?"
Iris pulled her head away from Blaise's shoulder with a massive, watery smile on her face: "it's… it's… I'm finally home."
AN: So, did you like it? Title is based on Paul's conversion to Christianity on the Road to Damascus, where he was struck by a vision of Jesus that was so incredible and monumental, it completely changed his life.
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Fic rec is "With Strength of Steel Wings" by AngelaStarCat, another fic that deals with rituals and magical religions, and in my opinion the best of them. It's very long, but every chapter is excellent, with a completely original plot and magic system. I highly, highly recommend
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For an idea of what a ritual pattern looks like, think of transmutation circles from Fullmetal Alchemist
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"The Wave Sweeper" is the name of the Ship of the Bear, and equivalent to "Charon" in the Roman rite. It comes from the ship of Manannán mac Lir, the mythological Irish psychopomp (escorter of the dead to the afterlife). And yes, if you're wondering, the name of the Ship of the Bear in the Germanic Rite is "Valkyrie".
