AN
Christmas Party at the beginning of the Christmas holidays? Check.
Yule Ball on the winter solstice right before Christmas? Check.
Actual Christmas celebrations on Christmas? Nah.
December 1943, 6th year
Tom cordially invited Naenia to the Yule Ball hosted by the Malfoys.
He had received an invitation for himself and Naenia's family had started allowing her – or forcing her, depending on your point of view – to attend these types of social gatherings again. So there was no reason to decline.
She wondered whether her family had finally deemed her old enough for topics they had not wanted her to be privy to before, or whether whatever situation they had wanted to keep her away from had calmed down. Which was most likely the war in Europe – the one with Grindelwald.
Malfoy Manor was as grand as its surrounding lands and had too much space for a small household such as theirs. The Lémure estate held just as many acres, if not more, but their house was smaller and housed more people. Unlike normal families, their numbers were slowly accumulating and the house grew seemingly smaller with every generation. But the Malfoys had no such problems. They were a pureblood family of average size with a household consisting of a few selected witches and wizards and several house-elves.
They were greeted by a young witch and a wizard both clad in robes that were expensive and exquisite but still presented them as part of the staff rather than people of high standing.
The hallway had not changed since Naenia's last visit – from the portraits lining the walls down to the magnificent carpet. But the drawing room had been redecorated, the big table nowhere to be seen to make space for a dancing floor while smaller tables lined the walls for food and drinks and the occasional space to sit.
Tom led Naenia to where Mr and Mrs Malfoy were entertaining a group of older wizards to greet their hosts in a fashion that was so natural one might think he had been attending these gatherings all his life and not started only this very year. They then went to find Naenia's parents to greet them, too, before seeking the company of their classmates.
"Naenia," Black said in a warm tone, completely ignoring the way Abraxas Malfoy had opened his mouth to say something.
He placed a kiss on the back of her hand while Naenia dutifully curtsied.
"It is good to see you as well, Black."
He laughed. "Still with the last name, I see."
She nodded at the other boys, Mulciber, Carrow and Malfoy – the latter of which was already engaged in a conversation with Tom.
"He has been very anxious for this day," Black said to Naenia, watching the exchange. "His parents were predictably sceptical about inviting a halfblood to one of their balls, but relented eventually. They have high expectations, of course, and while none of us would ever doubt that Riddle will easily exceed all of them, there is still a certain kind of pressure present."
Naenia looked properly at Malfoy, then, watched the way he held himself and how he was talking to Tom with a carefully neutral expression on his face. They had greeted their hosts, but not stayed in their presence very long – mere children that they were (although Naenia was already of age and Tom would be in less than two weeks.) If the Malfoys had not already met Tom and acquainted themselves with his brilliance, then she could expect a conversation of that sort later this evening. It would be interesting to see Tom work his charm once again, she supposed.
"Black," Tom said suddenly and Naenia saw Malfoy's face fall slightly. "A word?"
Black nodded. "Of course."
The two of them stepped aside and Naenia was left with Mulciber, Carrow and Malfoy, all of which she hardly knew outside of being part of Tom's flock. She turned around to look over the slowly increasing crowd of assembled guests for a familiar face when she saw her brother Veiovis enter the room with a beautiful woman at his side.
"Excuse me," she said to the boys and started making her way over to where her parents stood.
By the time she had reached them, Veiovis and his company had already greeted the hosts and were approaching them.
"Mother, father," he said, "Naenia. May I introduce Miss Evangeline Selwyn? The," and here he pursed his lips in a smug smile, "current fiancée of the Fawley heir."
The way he said it and the expression on his face told them that he intended to change that soon.
"We met in France," he continued, "and I simply could not resist her charms."
The woman returned his smile and then curtsied before them. "It is a pleasure to meet you."
From the way her father's jaw clenched, Naenia could guess that the woman had no affinity for the Forbidden Arts and was therefore not an acceptable match for her brother. This was insofar good that any children the two might bring forth in the future would not endanger Orcus' claim to the title of Head of House. On the other hand, it might cause further tensions between Veiovis and the rest of the family.
"I do not see my dear brother, is he not here today?"
Their father considered Veiovis with an indiscernible look, before answering, "No. Orcus is overseeing the celebrations back home with the rest of the family."
"I see," Veiovis said with a false smile and then turned to Naenia. "My dearest little sister, I have heard you brought that halfblood friend of yours to the ball?"
Naenia kept her face carefully blank. "He has received an invitation from the Malfoys themselves and asked me to be his escort for the evening."
Veiovis smiled slyly. "I see. I must say, I was positively surprised to see you here - and with that boy nonetheless."
"He is a smart boy," their mother interjected, "brilliant, really, with a bright future ahead of him. Naenia would do well to keep him around and she knows better than to…" her mother smiled sharply, "get intimate with someone who is not worthy our time."
Naenia inclined her head. "He and I are merely friends and nothing more will ever come of it."
"Truly?" Veiovis asked. "What a pity."
Naenia restrained herself from glaring at him. She was saved from any further pointless talk about her relation to Tom by the boy, himself, appearing right at that very moment. He nodded at her family while offering his arm to Naenia, who took it gladly.
"You will be pleased to hear that the others have arrived by now," he said, leading her back to the spot she had vacated a few minutes ago.
Lestrange, Avery and Rosier had joined their little group, as well as second cousins Walburga and Lucretia Black, who were talking to Perseus. The Notts would not be able to make it this year, as far as Naenia knew.
"Can you believe it?" Walburga was saying. "Not even Hogwarts values the old traditions anymore. They expect us to celebrate Christmas instead, by Merlin! As if the birth of some Muggle was something to celebrate."
"Yes, dear cousin, we all believe you" Perseus Black said. "You complain about this every year."
Walburga sniffed at him. "At least some of us still hold the old traditions in high regard."
Perseus didn't roll his eyes, but Naenia believed it was a near thing.
"So do I, cousin, so do I," he said
"I would hope so," she replied and continued listing all the reasons why Christmas was a bad thing indeed.
Naenia blocked her out. It was a topic that was discussed widely among the purebloods, less so among the halfbloods and certainly not among the muggleborn, who often grew up only knowing Christmas.
Yule was a very traditional feast, held on the winter solstice – the shortest of all days – a celebration for new beginnings and hope.
The 'old traditions', as Walburga liked to call them, consisted of eight sabbats in total. Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasa and Samhain – marking the beginnings of spring, summer, autumn and winter respectively – and then Yule, the winter solstice, Ostara, the spring equinox, Litha, the summer solstice, and Mabon, the autumn equinox. Each of these eight had its own traditions and meanings, celebrating different aspects of the year and of their magic. They were deeply rooted within the magical community and by far older than festivals like Christmas and Easter and Halloween which were slowly replacing the older ones.
There was meaning to these traditions that the newer festivals could not live up to and the Lémures were nothing if not highly traditional. They, of course, celebrated the eight sabbats and completely disregarded whatever Hogwarts or the rest of the wizarding community decided to do. Most of the old pureblood families agreed with them on that point, still, but even they were slowly starting to adapt to modern times.
It was sad, in a way, because the old traditions held a certain type of power the new ones could never achieve. There was, after all, a very important reason they had been observing them for so long. But then again, most witches and wizards had forgotten about the Old Magics over time as well, hadn't they?
Progress was nice and good but not always beneficial.
Naenia wondered who among their group held the knowledge about the true importance of the eight sabbats and who was simply repeating what their parents told them and merely holding on to something they did not understand, themselves.
Tom had no regards for such things, but he didn't know. There were barely any books left and Naenia doubted he would have spared them more than a glance if he had come across them. It wasn't like they could ever reach the amount of sheer power they had been able to access centuries ago ever again, so there were no benefits for him in acquiring that knowledge. Another sad truth modern times brought with them.
There was a loud clink as Mrs Malfoy knocked a silver spoon against her wineglass.
"Honoured guests," she called out over the hushed crowd. "I once again welcome you into our halls. Let us rejoice and celebrate this very special day of the year. Let us celebrate on this longest night of nights the beginning of a new cycle and life and hope."
She gestured for a young witch to bring forth the Yule Log and held it high for everyone to see, before she placed it in the hearth of the fireplace she was standing next to.
"Incendio."
A log made of nine different woods – most of all oak for strength and longevity. Fire to symbolize the return of the sun.
At the same time as the Yule Log was set ablaze all the magical lights went out, leaving only the multiple candles scattered everywhere to illuminate the room in a warm, but dim light.
They might slowly fade over time, but for now the purebloods, at least, still honoured the old traditions.
If one were to look around and inspect the decorations more closely, one would find a lot of evergreens – symbols of life, rebirth and renewal, and the return of the sun. There was holly to represent hope and potency, mistletoe for fertility, ivy for immortality and resurrection, yew for regeneration and rebirth and, finally, pine for healing and joy. A lot of these resonated deeply with the Lémure family traditions, although Naenia hadn't really celebrated any of the eight sabbats since she had started attending Hogwarts, which was sad but rather telling in its own way.
The Yule Tree was mysteriously absent this year, but Naenia only noticed that much later when she returned to Hogwarts and noted the twelve Christmas Trees in the Great Hall.
"Now then," Mrs Malfoy continued and signalled for the musicians to start playing. "I invite you to join me for first dance of the evening."
It was a magical thing (although entirely devoid of any actual magic) to dance with Tom among the almost shadowy silhouettes of the other couples, surrounded by all these symbols of new beginnings, life and rebirth, while the musicians played old songs you never heard on other occasions.
Despite this there was a slight discomfort to the situation. Although they were often close to each other, dancing made Naenia acutely aware of the ring she tried so hard to ignore all the time, because he still wore it on the middle finger of his left hand – the hand that was holding hers. She was glad she had chosen to go for gloves tonight, but it was still taunting her and her family, who watched it with hungry eyes when Tom wasn't looking.
"I might consider giving it to you…" Tom murmured when he sensed her restlessness.
Naenia laughed lightly. "No, you won't."
Tom smirked in return. "What makes you so sure? It could be my present to you – to symbolize the eternal bond between us."
She tilted her head. "Like marriage?"
Tom pursed his lips. "That is actually a thought that deserves more consideration. In fact –"
"No," Naenia cut him off.
"No?" Tom said amused.
Naenia gave him an unimpressed look and he dropped the subject. They danced in silence for the rest of the song and then Tom gave her hand to Black, although the look on his face was everything but pleased. Naenia wondered what that meant.
"Did you act against his will?" Naenia asked in a low voice once Tom was out of earshot.
Black looked around furtively. "Rather, I refused to do something he asked me to. But it is not something you need to worry about." He gave her a small smile. "It is not that big of a problem."
Naenia sighed. "On your head be it."
Her next partner was Lestrange and for her fourth dance Tom took her hand her once again, before she took a break from dancing to mingle with the guests and have a bite or two from the provided food until, eventually, Tom led her out into the gardens for a breath of fresh air.
The Malfoys' drawing room opened to a large terrace, overlooking the neatly managed gardens where you could sometimes observe their peafowls roaming about. The wide, open space with the perfectly arranged hedges and flowerbeds and the occasional fountain was not something Naenia, personally, preferred in a garden, but she admitted it did look pleasing to the eyes. The garden of the Lémures was less organized and not as widespread, leaving more space to the herb gardens (where they mostly grew plants for poisons and preservatives), and the cemetery, which was left in as much of a natural state as possible.
On this night there were no peafowls to be seen. The air was cold and crisp and a thick layer of snow coated the hedges, hid the flowerbeds and transformed the frozen fountains into small hills appearing here and there. Naenia felt Tom shiver beside her as she took a deep breath and turned her face towards the cool breeze.
"We should not stay out here for too long," he said.
"Are you afraid you'll catch a cold?" Naenia said, amusement lacing her words.
Tom smiled wryly. "Not everyone can be immune to the cold."
"You're a wizard, are you not?" Though she said that, Naenia cast the silent warming charm over him herself.
"Thank you," Tom said and stepped even closer, wrapping an arm around Naenia, warming her as well.
She sighed dramatically. "I do so enjoy the cold."
He laughed. "But you're not immune to illness and disease." He tilted his head. "Yet."
"That would be a bit too good to be true, no? But, and here I have to repeat myself, we are wizards – of what consequence is a mere cold to us when we can simply cure it with a common potion?"
"If only I had that privilege in the Muggle world," Tom said dryly.
Naenia raised her eyebrows. "You will be of age in just over a week and then you are free to do whatever you wish to."
Tom shook his head. "Not in the Muggle world. Muggle's need to be eighteen to be considered adults." He frowned. "Although that hardly matters when they come around to conscript you into the army. With each year that I grow older and the Muggle war continues on, my chances look less and less favourable."
"They will not be able to enlist you once you are seventeen." Naenia said. "The wizarding world might not care about any war in the Muggle world – although they really should, at this point – but they will listen to a wizard who is forced into serving a Muggle army." She straightened up and adopted a haughty tone of voice. "The sheer audacity! That they would dare to enlist a wizard into their lowly schemes. Such a presumption cannot be allowed under any circumstances."
Naenia glanced at Tom to see that he was smiling.
She coughed. "Something like that."
Tom only continued to smile and they spent several more minutes in companionable silence, listening to the music, chatter and other sounds drifting over from the celebrations behind them.
"Shall we head back in?" Tom said gently.
Naenia's face softened as she took his hand.
AN
Note that Naenia always says 'Samhain' instead of 'Halloween', but never mentions the other festivals. They didn't hold much importance to her when she was a child and Hogwarts doesn't celebrate any of them except Halloween. (Yule and Christmas are on different days, after all – as are Ostara and Easter, usually.)
Maybe she'll begin to really celebrate them sometime in the future, though – because the meanings and traditions associated with them are truly something.
Traditions differ from region to region and culture to culture – and since JKR doesn't really get in depth about why wizards celebrate Christmas or Easter, I just went ahead and put in some things from paganism and other cultures.
I really love all the symbolism behind the numerous Yule traditions and how it is weirdly fitting for my Necromancers.