Like the Bonfire That Burns
As Harry had expected when making the barter with the centaurs his preparations for the winter solstice took a fair while. Of course, these were simply his own personal traditions, ones he had been building for as long as he could remember, with very little of them having a basis in other festivals. One of the traditions he had made for himself was setting out baked goods when he ate, though they had been store-bought beforehand. Or acquired with a ring-made discount, for the last two celebrations. This year, however, he had access to a set of kitchens, so naturally, he had decided to make his own. The only problem? He didn’t know what to make.
“Cedric, you wouldn’t happen to have experience with baking, would you?”
“Uh, I’ve got some, but not much really. Why?”
“I need to make baked goods for the solstice.”
“Oh! Another tradition of yours?”
“Indeed. There are, however, some issues with this particular aspect. I have no idea what to bake.”
Cedric leaned backward a little bit, scratching his head as he hummed thoughtfully.
“I mean, you like lemons, right?
“Yes? How do you know that?” Harry asked, confused.
“You looked sad the few times there wasn’t any lemon tart left over but didn’t when I saved some for you.” Cedric replied idly. “But that’s beside the point. Maybe lemon-ginger biscuits? I’m assuming we’ll be eating them?”
“Yes.”
“Yeah, lemon-ginger biscuits.” Cedric said, leaping up. “I like ginger, you like lemon, best of both worlds!”
-{╣ ҉ ╠}-
After a great deal of other preparations, Harry told Cedric to stay up until everyone else had gone to bed on the night of the twenty-second and moved one of the taller tables in front of the fireplace and set it for two, finishing just as Cedric came down the stairs.
“Well, what shall we be doing this fine eve?” He asked, putting on a pompous voice.
“Feasting, of course.” Harry replied. “Amongst other things.”
“So.” Cedric began “The equinox was about the death of the warm months, right? What’s the solstice about?”
“Well, traditionally it represented a promise of making it through the cold and death. Whilst it’s the shortest day and longest night, it also marks the moment the days begin to lengthen once more, representing the loosening grip of death.” Harry answered. “It represents a rebirth, of sorts, most especially in cultures that viewed the receding and return of the sun as death and birth.”
“Nothing else? No fancy spirit associations?” Cedric asked, picking up his cutlery.
“Not particularly. The equinoxes are unique insofar as they’re liminal. The cycle of the year, summer to winter, beginning to end, is exactly that. A journey beginning on the summer solstice and ending on the winter solstice." Harry replied, taking a moment to continue eating."By being passing points, liminal dates, the equinoxes are more ephemeral in nature. The positioning of the autumnal equinox being the point passing in the time marked by death is the reason for the spiritual aspect of the day. The liminality of the day combined with entering the period of time ruled by death allows a temporary parting of death’s veil.”
“Well, when ya phrase it like that, it sounds a lot more logical.” Cedric replied, pushing his plate forward. “Well, now that the food part is over, what else do you do?”
“Now comes the lighting of the log.” Harry replied, gesturing to the decorated log at the center of the table.
“Oh! I think I know what this one is! It was a Germanic thing, right?”
“Correct! Though, if we wish to be specific, the Anglo-Saxons” Harry replied, picking up the log and moving to the fireplace. “Lighting the Yule Log is believed by some scholars to have its roots in the pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon religion, and that it was integrated into some Christmas traditions for the same reason certain Celtic practices were. Syncretization aimed to allow for smoother conversions.”
Setting the log into the fireplace, Harry took two candles and set them alight using the fire that had begun consuming the log, handing one to Cedric after they were lit.
“Another tradition I decided to add to my particular celebration is lighting a candle with the Log’s fire to keep the light of hope and life with you, acting to keep you safe from the receding darkness, so long as its light persist until the end of the month. Which it will unless you blow it out. I’ve treated the wax to burn slowly.”
Setting his own candle down, Harry pulled out a small item and clasped it in between his hands.
“And now, for the final tradition. Giving gifts. One that I had yet to participate in, due to extenuating circumstances.”
“Ah man, I didn’t know we’d be doing a gift thing tonight!” Cedric groaned. “Hang on, let me fetch yours.”
Sitting patiently, Harry watched as Cedric picked up his candle and hurried back up the stairs to his dorm, returning in short order with a rectangular item wrapped in paper.
“I was going to wait for Christmas to give you this, but if you’re giving a gift, then I am as well. Here, your gift.”
Pulling the paper off of the gift, Harry saw a set of panpipes, the once roughhewn wood sanded smooth, the carved ridges still able to be felt. Spanning across the pipes was a curling vine pattern shakily carved into the wood.
“My, uh, my dad taught me a little bit about whittling, it’s a hobby of his, and I noticed you didn’t have a wind instrument, so…” Cedric said, scratching the back of his neck.
“It’s…” Harry began, before looking Cedric in the eyes. “Thank you. Now your gift”
Opening his hands, Harry revealed a silver ring, a vine pattern stretching around the band, intertwining with a snake.
“This was why I took so long to fully prepare for the solstice.” Harry said, presenting the ring to Cedric. “It’s a charm, of a sort. Rather unlike the sort I tend toward.”
“What’s it meant to do?” Cedric asked, tilting the ring, watching how the firelight caught on the raised ridges, how it glinted, somehow seeming happy to be in the recipient’s hands.
“It’s… it’s a twofold charm.” Harry began. “One to decrease the chances of danger befalling you. The other charm…”
“The other charm?” Cedric prompted.
“You have to understand, my interactions with the Good Neighbors are… odd, by and large. It’s rather more common for them to see humans, to see mortals, as… entertaining playthings, objects to steal a name from and toss aside, pretty pets to parade at a party, or… worse. I’m… exempt, I suppose, as a bard. The Folk and magician bards are bound through treaty and word, bond and oath. You, however, would be viewed as someone the Folk could toy with.”
“Harry…” Cedric said slowly. “What's the other charm, songbird?”
“It’s… a form of protection against that.” Harry said, looking into the fire. “So long as you wear that ring when faced with one of the Folk, bar those of the Unseelie here in Alba, it would signify that what is done to you is, by proxy, done to me, thus breaking the treaties. It… it denotes, in a manner, that you’re mine, in whichever way the both of us wish.”
“I’m going to let you explain yourself before reacting.”
“I… I’ve never really had a human that I’ve been close with, and… as long as I’ve been able to know things, I’ve been aware of my parent’s death. I… I never quite expected that I’d grow close to anyone here, but then you decided that you wanted to be nice and… I would rather you not lose your name to a faerie. It’s not just the name that they steal. With your name, goes all sense of self that accompanies the name. I don’t like the idea of that happening to you.” Harry said, rushing through the words. “And it’s not exactly ownership, that it signifies. It's more so… a signifier of a relationship, I suppose?”
“And how would you like that signifier to show that relation?” Cedric asked his tone light to Harry’s ears.
“I… I don’t know?” Harry replied, despising the unstable ground he had found in the conversation. “What would you like?”
“I think…” Cedric said, a protracted element to his words. “That we should leave it as it’s been so far, and revisit that if necessary.”
“That… that sounds good.” Harry said, turning to Cedric. “Are you… do you like it?”
“Of course, songbird.” Cedric replied, his tone soft as he slipped the ring on his middle finger. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m still upset but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the sentiment. It’s just a big thing to spring on someone, you know?”
“I… I do now.”
“Try to keep the big surprises from happening during heists, maybe?” Cedric joked, bumping his shoulder against Harry’s.