A/N: This is easily one of my favorite chapters in the whole story — I hope you like it, too.
And really, was it that hard to figure out what Jasmine's answer would be? :)
Recommendation: This chapter's recommended fic is "Harry Potter and the Sword of Gryffindor" by cloneserpents. This is best described as a bawdy sex comedy, and really, nothing more needs to be said.
Chapter 56 - Like a Prayer
Saturday, April 24, 1995, Morning.
Albus Dumbledore looked around at his colleagues, none of whom wanted to be there. Neither did he, for that matter, but he really didn't have a choice. He had to advise them of circumstances which he'd been informed about the previous day — informed about, but not allowed to have any say in. He wasn't accustomed to being told what would happen around his school as if his opinion didn't matter.
"Good morning, everyone," he said, "I'm sorry for calling you all into an emergency staff meeting, but a situation has developed that you all need to be made aware of." This got everyone's attention. "Yesterday, the Minister of Magic notified me that a large contingent of magicals from the continent will be coming here. They will be mostly French, including quite a few veela, but there will also be Germans, Spanish, Italians, Greeks, and more. They will be in discussions with representatives of the Ministry about what happened during the second task, and while they are here, they will be holding a Beltane celebration in the Forbidden Forest."
"Why in Merlin's name are they doing that here?" Sprout asked.
"I'm not sure," Dumbledore admitted. "I suppose they chose this place because there is already a contingent of French magicals, and this is where the second task was held."
"Isn't the Forbidden Forest too dangerous for any sort of celebration?" Flitwick asked. "I can't imagine that the centaurs will accept them."
Dumbledore sighed. "In point of fact, I already tried to investigate that. Hagrid entered the forest yesterday evening to address this with the centaurs. He was told in no uncertain terms by Bane that the French would be welcomed and that we were not to interfere."
"That is very curious," Flitwick observed. "Did Bane say anything else?"
"Unfortunately, no," Dumbledore answered. "He simply insisted that Hagrid leave because they had preparations to make. Hagrid did note, however, that the Forbidden Forest was looking much brighter in one area, presumably a product of whatever the centaurs are doing."
"Very curious indeed," Flitwick said. "It's unusual enough for centaurs to be welcoming of witches or wizards, but now to learn that they are making changes to their land in order to accommodate them... I've never heard of such a thing."
Dumbledore nodded. "You're quite right, Filius. Unfortunately, Hogwarts has been allowed no input on this — we are simply expected to play host to the six new carriages and not interfere with their movement back and forth to the forest."
"Will we be expected to provide anything for them from the castle?" McGonagall asked.
"No, not unless there is an emergency," Dumbledore said. "They will be taking care of their own food and other amenities, fortunately. I'd like you to tell your houses that the visitors will be arriving on Wednesday and leaving the following Friday. The students are to leave them alone and may not enter the forest under any circumstances. Any questions?"
Once everyone had left, Dumbledore sat alone and thought again about why this was happening and whether it could be connected to Tom in any way. No, that seems too unlikely, he thought, given his feeling about magical "beasts" and "creatures." Still, this is all very odd... and he has made odd decisions before. I'll have to keep an eye on things, if I can.
Friday, April 30, 1995, Morning.
The Great Hall fell silent as Headmaster Dumbledore tapped his glass with his spoon and stood up behind the staff table. "Quiet, please," he said, "I have an important announcement to make."
He looked around to make sure that he had everyone's attention before proceeding, "By now you should all be aware of the six new carriages parked outside next to the Beauxbatons carriage, as well as the large contingent of European magicals and veela being housed in them. You should also have been informed that you are not to bother them."
Seeing the lack of surprise at this news, he continued. "Tonight is Beltane, an ancient holiday which is no longer recognized by British magical society but which is still celebrated in some places, including some regions of France. I have been informed that our visitors will be holding a Beltane celebration in the Forbidden Forest." He didn't notice Hermione and Jasmine giving each other a significant look.
"Students of Hogwarts are not invited," Dumbledore went on. "You are all to remain in the castle. None are permitted, under any circumstances, to approach or join in the ritual celebration. This is not just Hogwarts policy, but is in fact the policy of the Ministry of Magic. I have been told that the centaurs have agreed to provide security for the ritual, and they will not tolerate intruders."
Dumbledore's expression turned much sterner when he concluded, "Anyone caught even attempting to join the French in their celebration of Beltane will be subject to the strongest of punishments, up to and including expulsion if the situation warrants it."
The Great Hall practically exploded as everyone tried to talk at once about the news. Only some of the pureblood students were even aware of Beltane and how it was celebrated. Those students found themselves suddenly very popular as those around them wanted to know everything — and only became even more interested when they discovered the highly sexual nature of many celebrations. Now they knew why they had been forbidden from participating.
They also now had even more incentive for trying anyway, provided they were willing to risk the severe penalties.
Before he left the staff table, Dumbledore leaned over to Professor McGonagall and said, "This morning I received a message from the Ministry. Apparently the French want to hold their primary discussions today, and Cornelius insists that I be there. The multinational nature of the delegation has made him very nervous, and he'd be unwilling to face them alone even if they weren't already insisting on my presence. I expect to be gone most of the day and have no idea when I'll be back, so I'll be leaving you in charge of the castle until I return." McGonagall nodded at this, though as she watched him leave, she couldn't help but wonder if the timing was really coincidence.
Friday, April 30, 1995, Evening. 7:00 PM.
When Hermione and Jasmine landed in the small area enclosed by the six large French carriages, they were much more nervous about participating in this magical ritual than they had been for the previous two — and it didn't have anything to do with the contents of the ritual or the very likely outcome for the two of them. At least, not anymore — the headmaster's announcement that morning had made them far more worried about possible expulsion for what they were attempting.
That was why they had applied strong disillusionment charms to themselves before putting on Jasmine's invisibility cloak for the broom ride out of their dormitory window. It was also why they had spent a bit of time with Professor McGonagall to convince her to provide them with a cover story and some help in case anyone started looking for them. They had taken as many precautions as they could, but they were still nervous about what might happen.
"Welcome," Fleur said when they arrived and before they had either removed the cloak or cancelled the disillusionment charms. "Take zese," she said as she handed them two shifts. "We will be wearing green tonight instead of white."
Once they were wearing the green shifts and nothing else, they were put in the center of a large group of veela who walked briskly into the forest. "Wow," Jasmine said, "it looks so much brighter and nicer for some reason. I remember how scary it was when I had to come here in my first year."
"Oui," Fleur responded, "ze effects of ze Eostre ritual 'ave been much greater zan anticipated. Zere is new growth over a large area. Zat is why more of my people 'ave come to participate and why ze centaurs were so 'appy to 'elp again." It was only then that Jasmine and Hermione realized that the large, looming shapes in the distant shadows were centaurs — quite a lot of them, in fact.
When they reached the ritual circle, the two Gryffindor witches discovered that it was much larger and had a big, roaring fire in the center. Just off to the side of the fire was an altar, arranged as usual except with two statues on either side. "Typically we only honor two goddesses during a ritual," Fleur explained when Hermione asked about the difference. "Zis time, 'owever, zere are so many 'ere and ze celebration is so large zat zey decided to include four. Zere is Artemis and Aphrodite like before, as well as Ishtar and Isis. Some say that all ze goddesses are really just different aspects of a single goddess, so ze number may not even matter very much."
"How many are here, anyway," Jasmine asked nervously as she looked at the large number of witches dancing and talking around the central fire in their identical green shifts.
"I do not know," Fleur admitted, "but I zink zere are several hundred at least."
"More will leave at ze end zan entered at ze beginning," Gabrielle added with a smile as she watched Jasmine closely.
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked. "That doesn't make any sense."
"It eez believed zat a child conceived on Beltane, and especially in ze Beltane ritual circle, is blessed by ze goddesses and by Magic itself," Fleur explained. "I am certain zat zere are many couples 'ere tonight who are 'oping zat zey will be with child before ze end." None of them noticed the look that Phoebe and Areto gave each other.
When they approached the entrance to the ritual circle, each was anointed on her forehead with sacred oil and then given an amazing garland of wildflowers for her head. According to the veela who gave them the garlands, they were created from the flowers which had grown from the seeds spread during the Eostre celebration — a mixture of white and pink anemone, bluebells, primrose, tiny marsh violets, and a few daffodils.
Friday, April 30, 1995, Night. 7:30 PM.
Hermione and Jasmine spent some time walking around the circle, watching the other witches dance and sing. Both felt the magical energy swirling around them, tempting them to join, but neither felt entirely comfortable with either singing or dancing among so many strangers.
The entire time Fleur, Gabrielle, and two other veela who had been introduced as Phoebe and Areto stayed close by. Both Hermione and Jasmine wondered who Phoebe and Areto really were. They, like some of the other veela they saw in the circle, were noticeably taller, broader, and stronger than any women they'd ever seen. They also all carried themselves differently: they walked straighter and more confidently, and their eyes were constantly moving as if looking for something.
Before long, incense sticks were handed out, and everyone was expected to form large concentric circles around the fire. Behind those with the incense sticks were others carrying candles so that everyone could light their incense from common flames. Once the entire gathering was quiet, a woman entered the circle and approached the altar. Jasmine recognized her as Céleste, an important veela they had been introduced to as they mingled with other witches in the circle. When Céleste had everyone's attention, she began to speak.
"Welcome, sisters! And welcome, spring!" This was greeted with a loud cheer from the entire assembly.
"In the past we have celebrated the slow advance of the maiden over the crone, of life over death, and of spring over winter. Today, though, we celebrate that victory!" Again there were cheers, and the two Gryffindor witches started to feel a buildup of magic around them.
"We gather this evening around the fire of life to celebrate as one community all of the life, love, and bounty we have to share with one another. Tonight we dance! Tonight we sing! Tonight we once again experience what it means to achieve a sacred union with the magic of the goddesses and of the Earth herself."
More cheers followed Céleste's proclamation, and both Jasmine and Hermione felt themselves carried along as they cheered, too. The energy of the crowd distracted them from noticing tiny motes of magical energy emerging from the ground and starting to drift around their feet. They barely even noticed how they, like all of the other witches there, gradually felt more and more energized as the ritual went on, but it was something they were becoming accustomed to at celebrations like this.
Raising her arms, Céleste turned to the altar and began to speak. "Goddess of earth and green, we ask for your blessing!" She then threw a powdery substance into the central fire, creating a small explosion of colored smoke. "Goddess of fertility and motherhood, we ask for your blessing!" More powder was thrown, and Jasmine could now smell that it must have been an incense of some sort. "Goddess of love and intimacy, we ask for your blessing!" Yet more incense was thrown, and Jasmine thought that it was starting to affect her — or something was, at any rate, because she was sure she could see colorful motes of light moving in and around the gathered women.
"Great Goddess of life and magic, we offer you this sacrifice that you might give us your blessings for bounty, for wisdom, for strength, for harmony, and for love in the coming year!" This time there was nothing in Céleste's hands when she threw them out towards the fire, but the rest of the assembled women mimicked her action — including Jasmine and Hermione, after a moment's hesitation — and all the motes of light which Jasmine had just observed rushed into the fire, causing flames to shoot up a few dozen meters into the evening sky.
Once the fire subsided again, the women who had previously distributed the incense sticks began passing out seeds. "With the resurgence of light and life," Céleste was saying, "the earth is filling with energy. It is up to us to plant the seeds that will use that energy to provide food to sustain us for another year."
"Zese seeds are for food-producing plants," Fleur explained in a whisper, "unlike ze seeds last time, which were for flowers."
Everyone turned their backs to the fire and walked out to the edge of the ritual circle, where the forest met the grassy ground. "We now spread the seeds of life," Céleste called out, "just as we must spread the seeds of wisdom, of strength, and of harmony. Just as we receive from the goddesses, we give to the earth; as we receive from the earth, we return to the goddesses."
With that, everyone once again threw out their hands as they had done earlier, but this time to toss the seeds into the Forbidden Forest. Hermione and Jasmine were surprised to see that the seeds didn't simply arc out a meter or two and fall; instead, a magical wind seemed to shoot out of the fire and carry the seeds far beyond what they could see in the waning light of the approaching sunset.
Friday, April 30, 1995, Night. 8:30 PM.
Once everyone had returned to their previous positions, Céleste announced that it was time for the courtship of the goddesses. Hermione had explained to Jasmine that in traditional Beltane celebrations, one man assumed the role of the horned god and one woman assumed the role of the maiden goddess; the former would chase the latter, eventually kissing her when he caught her. Sometimes they went quite a bit further, too. Hermione hadn't been sure how it would work out in an all-female ritual.
"Normally," Céleste said, "two of us are chosen in advance to serve the goddesses. This time, because of the greater magical energy which I know you are all feeling, I thought we'd try something different — I thought we'd let the goddesses decide for themselves who among us will be their vessels!" This produced a great deal of murmuring throughout the assembly. "Each of the garlands you are wearing has been spelled. I'm going to say a silent prayer to the goddesses and throw a sacrifice of incense into the fire. Those chosen will have their garlands transform: one with horns to represent the Hunter, and one that will flow down to the shoulders to represent the Hunted."
While Céleste knelt in prayer in front of the altar, Jasmine noticed that small drums were being distributed to some of the participants — primarily those who appeared to be stronger and taller, in fact. After a few minutes, Céleste's prayer was complete and she threw incense into the fire again. Then… nothing happened. Jasmine had been able to feel the anticipation building, but when nothing at all happened, she couldn't help but feel disappointed.
Then she noticed that more and more faces were turning in her direction. She started to look behind her, trying to see if something was happening with one of the witches in the next circle, but as she turned in Hermione's direction she saw that her garland was growing long, cascading down her shoulders. "Hermione," she croaked out, pointing to her girlfriend's head. Before she could say anything more, however, Hermione pointed back at her, and she suddenly noticed crackling, snapping sounds near her ears. Raising her hands, she felt her own garland growing up and out.
They both looked at each other, eyes wide, uncertain what to do next. Then the drums all started beating in unison, a slow, deliberate rhythm that Jasmine could feel somewhere deep in her abdomen, and Hermione took a slow step backwards. Jasmine narrowed her eyes and instinctively took a step towards her. Hermione moved two more steps backwards, a bit quicker this time, and Jasmine immediately followed suit. Hermione's face acquired a seductive smile as she started backing up, staying in motion now, while Jasmine pursued.
Jasmine no longer heard any of the drums, even though they were gradually beating faster and louder. All she could hear was her own heart. Faster and faster it pounded in her chest as the two witches wove in and out of the concentric circles of women around the fire. Sometimes she would close on her prey, and sometimes her prey would get farther away, but she never got out of sight. They were surrounded by a forest of billowing green and pulsating magic, but the green of her prey was always visible to her, standing out like a beacon in a storm.
Jasmine no longer heard the roaring fire, either. That was overwhelmed by the rushing of blood in her ears as she and her prey danced an eternal dance, travelling around the circle three times, spiraling inward until they found themselves in front of the altar — an altar which neither of them saw, because for them nothing existed in the entire universe except each other, and they had no purpose for existence except the chase….
The chase, and finally the capture, as the Hunted allowed herself to be caught. For she never truly wanted to escape the Hunter in the first place. She merely wanted to entice, to tempt, to seduce. She wanted to be sure that she would never be taken for granted. In her own way, she was doing the hunting, drawing in her target so they could be united at a time and place of her choosing.
Seizing her prey and pulling her into a tight embrace, Jasmine's glowing green eyes stared deeply into Hermione's brown ones — brown eyes that glowed as if lit from behind with a blue light. They recognized each other, not only as friend, partner, and soon lover, but also now seeing in each other aspects of the eternal maiden, mother, and crone, linking the human with the divine via mind, magic, and soul.
As the two kissed passionately and lowered themselves to the ground, the drums abruptly stopped and a cheer rose up from the assembly as they celebrated a union of bodies and spirits which represented the creation of life and love. It didn't take long for everyone else to start imitating the Chosen Couple, but not before Apolline stepped in and pulled out a self-expanding magical shelter. Less than a full tent, it was designed to provide simple emergency shelter for witches and wizards stranded in desolate areas. With a quick flick of her wrist, it flew up in the air, expanded itself into an orange dome, and dropped over the kissing couple, who were already shedding their shifts and who had long since forgotten that anyone else even existed, much less might be watching.
The Chosen Couple was also completely unaware of the magic swelling all around them. Produced in great abundance by the many hundreds of couples and groups spread around the ritual circle, magical energy from them as well as the earth started flowing into Jasmine and Hermione like a tide under a full moon. They, however, were intensely focused on an intimate activity which both had much practice with as individuals, but had never engaged in together as a couple.
Slowly their own magical energies built up, then faster, pressure and pleasure growing ever larger, until finally a pinnacle was reached and the two witches found release, unleashing the combined magic — theirs, the other couples', and the earth's — with a strength that had been multiplied far, far more than anyone could have imagined.
The magic exploded outward like a tsunami, inducing powerful climaxes in each couple it crashed over and causing their own pent-up energy to be released as well. As these newer, smaller waves of magical energy joined the first, they added to it, causing it to grow ever stronger as it roared across the grass and towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
Nothing could have prepared the residents of the forest for what was about to happen. Even the centaurs, who in their eagerness had thought themselves ready to reap the benefits of the witches' ritual, could not have anticipated either the oncoming tsunami of magic or what it would leave in its wake.
The centaurs patrolling closest to the circle had no warning, just a feeling of pressure and a tingling sensation before they were knocked over and in some cases rendered unconscious. Those farther away were warned by the plight of their kin and managed to brace themselves, then rushed to help the others once the wave had passed. None were harmed, for despite their belligerence none were dark. All through the forest, beings and plants that were aligned with the light were buffeted, but ultimately left healthier and stronger than before.
All those aligned with the dark, in contrast, suffered terribly. In one area where a large acromantula nest had been growing for several decades, the magical wave scoured away the darkness, shredding flesh and webbing, until there was nothing left but bare earth that waited for seed and water so life could start anew. For the first time in centuries, the Forbidden Forest was completely cleansed of darkness, leaving unicorns, centaurs, fairies, thestrals, and other creatures free to live unmolested.
When the wave reached Hogwarts, some of the magic was absorbed, but most was diverted around, continuing on across Scotland. Had the Headmaster been there instead of at a meeting in the Ministry, he might have investigated.
Even Hogsmeade was affected, with magic in the village being strengthened and the residents rendered healthier, stronger, and happier. It would be a while, though, before arrogant wizards and witches in magical Britain deigned to notice.
Friday, April 30, 1995, Night. 10:20 PM.
Back in the emergency shelter, a magical glow surrounded Jasmine and Hermione which went beyond anything that had developed previously. It would still be a while before the two glowing masses of energy could fully integrate because this wasn't the sort of thing that could be rushed — whether physically, emotionally, or magically. Their bond was nevertheless making steady progress towards completion.
It also occurred that Hermione finally noticed the glow surrounding them. She was, however, quite busy with other things and assumed it was one of the many magical effects of Beltane, filing the information in the back of her mind.
In #12 Grimmauld Place, Sirius Black awoke in a panic when a massive explosion destroyed the ground floor sitting room and rocked the entire house. In Gringotts, in Little Hangleton, and in an odd dimensional pocket connected to Hogwarts, three other related dark artifacts started screaming, while in the Malfoy manor in Wiltshire, the recently re-embodied Lord Voldemort passed out from the unprecedented pain he was experiencing.
He would be unconscious for almost two days.
Friday, April 30, 1995, Night. 11:05 PM.
Brown hair mixed with auburn on a pillow created from clothing as two young witches tried to talk about what was happening to them. Lying on their sides almost nose to nose, it was easy to forget the rest of the world while focusing just on each other.
"I notice that you've said 'I love you' to me a couple of times recently," Hermione said, using one finger to stroke lightly along Jasmine's chin and jawline. The swelling was finally gone, but she kept thinking about how much it must have hurt.
"I noticed you said it back," Jasmine responded.
"You didn't say it because of the stress of what was happening to you, did you?" Hermione asked, worry creeping into her voice.
"Morgana, no," Jasmine said emphatically. "Why would you think that?"
"Well," Hermione said, relaxing again, "both times were stressful situations. Or rather, just after extremely stressful situations — first when you got back from the graveyard, and then after fighting Malfoy."
Jasmine smiled and said, "OK, so maybe my timing could have been a bit better. But it's something that I've been thinking about for a while. It's taken a bit for me to figure out what's been going on in my head… well, assuming I even have. I'm not even sure how well I understand love, but when I think about you, that's the one word that always comes to mind."
"You've been thinking about it, huh?" Hermione asked with a playful smile as her finger began tracing lines along Jasmine's bare shoulder and collarbone.
Jasmine hummed a positive response as she pulled Hermione a little closer. "This evening was... pretty intense, wasn't it?" she asked.
"I'll say," Hermione agreed. "I thought I had prepared myself for something like that, especially after talking about it; but even after all I've read, it was still so overwhelming. Descriptions in books just don't do it justice."
"What's this I hear?" Jasmine asked in mock horror. "Hermione Granger is disparaging the ability of books to inform and educate? Say it isn't so!"
"Prat!" Hermione chastised, poking Jasmine in the arm.
"And what are you referring to, anyway?" Jasmine asked. "The ritual, or, you know, what came after?"
Hermione turned slightly pink before saying, "Uh, both, I guess."
This elicited a broad grin from the auburn-haired witch. "I'm going to have to start reading more of that Pureheart book with you," Jasmine observed. "I'm clearly missing out on quite a lot."
Hermione hummed a vague response, too distracted by Jasmine's lips and by running her finger along their edges to focus anymore on her words. As much as she enjoyed snogging and... other activities that they were now exploring, sometimes she thought she liked hugging and snuggling close like this even more.
"Did we... I mean..." Jasmine struggled to find the words to explain her concern. "Hermione, did we, you know, 'go all the way' earlier?"
That pulled Hermione out of her meditation on the various qualities of Jasmine's lips. "All the way?" she asked, then she frowned slightly. "Uh... now that you mention it, I'm not really sure what qualifies as 'going all the way' for us."
"It's not exactly obvious," Jasmine agreed.
"There are several things we haven't done," Hermione said, starting to blush a bit again. "Some, uh, important things. We've really only just scratched the surface, so to speak, doing for each other what we normally do for ourselves. I think we definitely haven't gone all the way."
"Oh," Jasmine said neutrally.
"Are you disappointed?" Hermione asked.
"No!" Jasmine said quickly. "Not at all. I was just curious."
"Were you... were you looking to, you know, go further?" Hermione asked with a little trepidation.
"Of course," Jasmine said. When she noticed that Hermione had tensed up and was looking nervous, she quickly added, "Not right now! I mean, eventually, sure. Of course. But I don't feel like we should rush it or anything."
Hermione smiled and relaxed. "Good. I feel the same way. I'm happy with what we did, and I definitely don't regret it, but I don't think I'm quite ready to go any further. Not right now."
"It just felt right," Jasmine confirmed.
Hermione nodded, having returned her attention to Jasmine's lips. Not nearly as oblivious as she sometimes appeared to be, Jasmine was well aware of the nature of her bookworm girlfriend's distraction and decided to take advantage of it. Slowly, so very slowly, she allowed her tongue to poke out between her lips and slide sideways to wet them. It took everything she had not to smile when she saw her prey's pupils dilate.
Gotcha! the Hunter thought.
There was no need for more discussion that night as they once again lost themselves to the magic and passion of Beltane. More waves of magical energy would soon be released — none nearly as large as the first, but all impressive in their own right, especially when they grew by inducing unexpected climaxes in the hundreds of other couples scattered throughout the ritual circle. All night the forest would be pulsing and humming with magic, love, and light.
Saturday, May 1, 1995, Morning. 8:14 AM.
Jasmine woke to find herself naked and Hermione, also naked, snuggled up against her, her head on Jasmine's chest and their limbs intertwined. There was a moment of panic before she remembered what had happened the night before. Then there was another moment of panic when she realized she had no idea where exactly she was.
She saw that they were under some sort of dome-shaped structure, about three meters in diameter and two meters high in the center, and she recognized it from one of her few periods of lucidity from the night before. Shifting her body slightly, she could tell that she was lying on grass, even though she had a pillow of some sort under her head.
Otherwise, she was clueless. Strangely, the panic didn't settle in to stay; instead, it was quickly replaced by a sense of calmness and safety. She didn't understand why, but she seemed unable to be afraid, despite not having any idea where the two of them were.
Hermione slowly stirred, then stretched all along against her body, moving in ways and places that caused Jasmine to abandon any interest in where the two of them might be. When she pulled her girlfriend even closer, Hermione shifted her head to look up, then moved her hand up behind Jasmine's head and drew the green-eyed witch into a long, lingering kiss. "Good morning, love," she said when they finally parted.
"Good morning yourself, love," Jasmine responded with a grin. "How'd you sleep?"
"I don't think I've ever slept better," Hermione purred. "You?"
"The same," Jasmine said.
Hermione looked around, then asked, "Any idea where we are?"
"Not a clue," Jasmine answered. "I was wondering that a few minutes ago myself. For some reason, though, I don't find myself particularly bothered by it."
Hermione cocked her head in thought for a moment, then said, "Yeah, neither do I. That's odd."
"It looks like there are flaps or something over there," Jasmine said, gesturing with one waggling foot towards the far side of the structure. "Maybe we should peek out to see?"
Hermione agreed, and after they had put back on their green shifts which they had been using as a pillow, they carefully pulled back one flap to see what was outside.
The flap was pushed back into place much, much faster. "Did you see that?" Hermione asked in a scandalized whisper.
"Kinda hard to miss dozens of couples writhing around naked," Jasmine said in a deadpan voice. She frowned, then opened the flap a little again. "Huh," she said.
"What?" Hermione asked.
Jasmine slowly tilted her head sideways as she stared out the tent flap. "Huh," she said again.
"What?" Hermione asked, sounding more annoyed.
"Well, ever since Fleur told us that veela reproduce with each other, despite them all being female, I've wondered how, well, you know. How."
Hermione grabbed the other flap and pulled it open a little, then slowly tilted her head sideways as well. "Oh," she said, both stunned and curious. "I guess that… well… huh. I did not expect that."
Slowly they closed the flaps again. "Has that been going on all night?" Hermione asked next, still in shock.
"From the sun, I'd say it's around breakfast time or a little later," Jasmine pointed out, "So that's about twelve hours…."
"I don't see how that's possible," Hermione said incredulously.
"Possible or not, it's happening," Jasmine said. "The question is, what do we do? Do you really want to try to leave? Pick our way through all of... that?"
Hermione shook her head fervently. "No, not really. Not unless we have to." She paused for a moment, then added, "If it were dark out, we could do it without being readily noticed."
"Well," Jasmine said with a grin as she lay back down on the grass, putting her back into close contact with the earth and the combined magical energies still flowing through the ritual circle, "we've got about twelve hours or so until the sun goes down. Whatever shall we do until then?"
Hermione grinned back as she joined her girlfriend, also coming back into contact with the flowing magical energies. Neither noticed that they weren't particularly hungry, nor that they didn't seem to need any food or water all day. Once more the forest throbbed and hummed in tune with the oblivious couple leading all of the other couples and groups in a magical symphony of love and life.
In the sixth-year Gryffindor dormitory, Fred and George Weasley slowly awoke. The first thing they became aware of was that they were hanging upside down from the ceiling. The second thing they noticed was that they were wearing nothing but brightly colored girls' underwear. Finally, it dawned on them that they weren't actually in their dormitory.
Judging by the angry looks of all the Gryffindor witches who surrounded them, they guessed that they had somehow wound up in the girls' dorm.
As interesting and fun as sneaking into the girls' dorm might have been, the last thing they remembered was sneaking out — specifically, out of the castle and into the Forbidden Forest so they could witness the Beltane celebration. Apparently they'd been caught, though it didn't look much like the sort of punishment that Dumbledore would hand out.
"Uh, good morning?" one twin tried to offer, only to find that his voice was very high pitched. The girls' scowls turned to smirks, but the eyes were no less hostile.
"What are you two trolls doing in here?" Angelina Johnson demanded angrily.
"No idea!" the first twin insisted.
"The last thing I remember, we weren't anywhere near here," the second twin claimed, also in a high-pitched, feminine voice.
Angelina snorted and Alicia Spinnet said, "Likely story. You tripped a ward we set up to capture any boys sneaking into our dorm."
"Why would you do that?" the second twin asked, looking very confused.
"Don't the stairs protect you?" the first pointed out.
"They should," Angelina admitted, "but we were warned that some wizards may have found a way around the charms and were given some extra protections to try. Clearly our mysterious benefactor was right, and it's a good thing we believed them."
"So," the second twin said slowly, "you got an anonymous warning plus advice on how to handle it."
"Then we just happened to stumble into your trap?" the first twin finished.
"Forget the innocent act," Alicia said. "We know the two of you far too well to fall for it."
"I don't suppose you'd let us down?" the first twin tried gamely.
"Oh, sure!" Angelina said in a tone that almost sounded helpful. With a swish of her wand, the boys were released from the spell that had been keeping them stuck to the ceiling, causing them to drop heavily to the bare stone floor. "Oops," she said, "did I forget to cast the cushioning charm first?"
Both twins groaned in pain as they slowly stood up, desperately trying to shake some feeling back into their feet. "We'll just be on our way, then," the second twin said as they edged around the angry witches and towards the door. When they opened it, however, they were confronted by Professor McGonagall, her lips thinned to the point of nonexistence as she glared at them.
"Never in all my years!" she hissed. "Your penchant for pranking is well known, but I would never have believed that you'd go so far as to invade the sanctity and privacy of the witches' dormitory!" Reaching out, she grabbed each of them by an ear and dragged them down the stairs then through the common room. All the Gryffindors hooted and hollered as she continued to berate them, "Just wait until I write your mother about this!"
In a deeply shadowed corner of the common room, two very creative house elves snickered.
Saturday, May 1, 1995, Night. 9:43 PM.
Dressed once again in their decidedly crumpled shifts, Jasmine and Hermione gingerly stepped through the couples scattered around the ritual circle. Some were resting, most were quite active, and all were wearing nothing more than huge smiles. Previously, the two Gryffindor witches had only imagined what happened in the ritual circle after they had left it on Eostre; now, though, they could see it with their own eyes — and they knew that they were involved as well, even if someone had taken enough pity on them to toss a magically expanded dome over them to give them some privacy.
It wasn't just the fact that they had participated personally, either. They knew from their conversation with Adrienne last time that their magic — magic they'd sacrificed to the ritual and which had been sent back out into the gathering and the wider forest — had helped fuel what everyone else had been doing. In a sense, a bit of them had been and still was a part of what was going on around them.
It was a relatively short journey, but a difficult one because they tried to look just closely enough to avoid stepping on people, yet not enough to recognize anyone. Jasmine was sure she was going to have nightmares about looking down at her feet and suddenly seeing the face of Fleur or Gabrielle while they were right in the middle of... well, in the middle of something she really didn't want to see either of them doing.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, they made it to the edge of the circle and could start heading directly for the carriages; there they would be able to pick up their robes and broom and fly back up to the castle. As they walked, the growing darkness prevented them from seeing just how much improved the forest already was, even beyond the previous evening.
They'd only gone a few dozen meters when a large shape stepped out of the shadows and blocked their way. Suddenly Jasmine found herself confronted by Bane, the centaur who had said some very unpleasant things about her when she had encountered him and other centaurs in the forest during her first year. She steeled herself as he approached them, but then he surprised her by giving her a very small bow — not much more than a nod of his head, really, but it was a significant gesture for a centaur to extend to a witch.
"Greetings, young witches," Bane said.
"Uh, yeah, uh," Jasmine stammered, "good evening to you, too. Nice night for a walk?"
Bane's rear hooves kicked a little as he cocked his head, then he looked up into the night sky and said, "Venus is bright tonight."
"Oh?" Jasmine responded intelligently.
"Yes," Bane said, nodding. "Very bright. Mars is not so bright now. It has dimmed, though only a little."
"Is... that a good thing?" Jasmine asked.
Bane looked down at them gravely. "It is neither good nor bad, it simply is. Yet it is also unusual. Venus and Mars are both in ascendance, and we cannot remember when that last occurred."
"What does that mean, exactly?" Hermione asked, for some reason expecting a centaur to be clear.
"What that means has yet to be determined," Bane explained. "The future is written in the heavens, but someone has been making changes, and we are no longer sure what will be."
"I thought that centaurs were masters of reading the stars," Hermione said.
Bane nodded, "Indeed we are, but not even we are omniscient. Much remains hidden from us, and much we have yet to learn. But we are not ungrateful, and we owe you both a debt which cannot be repaid."
"Debt?" Jasmine asked.
"It is time you got back to your school, young witches," Bane said. "Your headmaster will be looking for you soon, I think."
Hermione squeaked in distress and started dragging Jasmine off. Had either of them looked back, they might have noticed a second centaur stepping out of the shadows next to Bane.
"You were awfully chatty with them, Bane."
Bane shrugged. "I was hoping to give them some encouragement and point them in the right direction, Magorian."
The older centaur nodded and said, "I don't dispute the need, I just find it odd that you would be the one to do it."
"I was harsh with the red-maned one three years ago," Bane explained, "and I wanted to purge myself of that."
"Very good," Magorian responded. "Have you heard the news from our scouts that were sent to the north?"
"No, did they find anything?" Bane asked.
Magorian grinned. "The acromantula nest is no more. The entire area has been completely cleared — not even the trees remain. It's been reduced to fresh, virgin earth waiting to be replanted."
Bane grinned back. "I was right, we do owe them more than we can repay."
Magorian nodded. "But we will try. We must try."
Saturday, May 1, 1995, Late Night.
It was after ten when Jasmine and Hermione finally slipped back through the open window and into their dorm room. They both entered Jasmine's bed without even thinking about it, and there they found a note from Professor McGonagall. It was polite, but worded in such a way that it still communicated her annoyance that they had been gone for so long.
She insisted that they send word via house elf when they returned, no matter how late, and informed them that she had covered for them by telling others they were serving detention with her for having broken curfew the week before. A two day detention. That would be continuing on Sunday afternoon.
A quick call to Dobby let them send the requested message, and then it was time for sleep. Neither had ever engaged in so much vigorous physical activity for such a long period of time, and it was catching up to them fast.
Sighing, both witches shed their clothes and slipped together under the covers without bothering with pyjamas. Between the long hours of physical activity and the short, intense period of stress as they tried to return to the castle without being seen, they were completely exhausted. It was only a matter of minutes before they fell asleep, giving themselves over to dreams of running through an enchanted forest, clad in nothing but flowers, dancing with fairies and chasing unicorns.