Diagon Alley
Diagon Alley
I made it to the Leaky Cauldron on time but Barnaby and his uncle Cecil weren't there waiting for me. There was however, a small Grey owl sitting on the bar being given a very dirty look by the caretaker Tom.
As soon as it saw me it took flight and landed on my shoulder. With a shrill hoot it extended its leg, to which a small roll of parchment was attached. I hastily untied it and as the owl took off I saw that now I was the one receiving the dirty look from the barman. "Sorry Tom, it must be urgent" I called guiltily as I made my way out back, reading as I walked.
Samhain,
Uncle Cecil and I decided to get Gringots business out of the way and have a chat. If we're not back by the time you arrive, we'll be along shortly.
Love,
your fiancé
(Barnaby)
I smiled at the letter. I thought about waiting for them but decided I'd had enough dirty looks for the time being. I pulled my wand out of my purse, tapped the brick wall and walked through the impressive archway that appeared before me.
I considered the possibility that they'd already finished at Gringots and had gotten distracted by something on the way back to the Leaky Cauldron, but I didn't want to check every shop between the two establishments. I headed instead for Twilfitt and Tattings. I'd be able to see through the window if they passed it going back to the pub, and I was hoping I'd maybe run into Andre while I was there.
A bell tinkled overhead as I opened the door and made my way into the shop. There were quite a few customers browsing I noticed, mostly witches, and some kids who looked like they could be Hogwarts aged.
I saw only one wizard in the whole shop and my heart went out to him. He was young and very frazzled looking with large glasses askew on his nose. He was holding an enormous and heavy looking stack of garments while being harassed by a tall blonde woman with a very unpleasant demeanor. I decided I wouldn't add to his work load by asking about my friend and slipped quickly back out the door.
I walked a bit aimlessly, more or less in the direction of Gringots until I heard someone shout. "Oy! Curse Breaker! Over here!" Grinning, I turned around to see just the person I'd been looking for. Andre Egwu, style wizard of Diagon Alley. He was waving at me, standing with our friend Jae Kim in front of a very curious and only slightly dodgy looking pop up stand on the busy street.
I hurried over to them and nearly knocked Andre down with the force of my hug.
"Oh it's so good to see you two! Feels like it's been ages! How's everything going?" I asked them.
Andre had opened his mouth to speak but Jae cut across him quickly exclaiming, "Business is booming, of course! What do you reckon Samhain, any of my merchandise catch your fancy?" He pointed to the stand behind them and I noticed a crooked sign crudely nailed to the top that read, "Jae Kim's Uncommon Collectables & Ultra Rare Wares" in bright, colour changing paint.
I shook my head at him laughing. "Not today Jae, I'm actually supposed to be meeting Barnaby and his Uncle Cecil, have either of you seen them?" They told me they hadn't, but they were both pleased to hear that Barnaby was in London that day as well.
"How about dinner tonight, at the Leaky Cauldron? My treat of course" offered Andre. "My designs are doing so well we can barely keep them in stock at T&T and I haven't had a chance to properly celebrate my success yet."
I agreed happily and Jae said he'd send a couple owls around to those of our friends staying in London to see if we could make it a real party. We agreed on a time to meet up later and I set off back up the winding street.
Gringots was easy to see from most points in Diagon Alley, as it was by far the largest building. I kept my eye on the white marble staircase as I hurried through the crowd. When I was nearly there my peripheral vision picked up something purple through the sea of shoppers. I changed direction and finally found the Lee men.
"Samhain! We were just on our way to meet you" Barnaby greeted me with a quick kiss and wrapped his arm protectively around my shoulders. "I didn't feel like waiting, your owl had been annoying Tom" I laughed reproachfully before turning to Barnaby's uncle. "Mr Lee, hi. It's been far too long. Thank you for getting us jobs, I'm really really excited to start" I gushed.
"Please Samhain, we're family now" he replied kindly. "Call me Uncle Cecil, I insist. And it was no trouble at all, I daresay we've been short of hands long enough and who better to join the Unit than my favourite nephew and his ever so talented bride to be."
"Alright then, Uncle Cecil" I smiled at him as we began making our way back down the street. "What have you two been up to, you haven't been in Gringots all this time?" I asked. Uncle Cecil glanced at Barnaby, but Barnaby didn't hesitate to tell me, "Actually we have been. We both had to visit our own vaults but since I had Uncle Cecil with me we decided to check the family vault, it takes two Lee's to gain access unless you're the designee, and that's Grandmother" he explained.
I stopped walking, "Check the vault for what?" "To see if the engagement ring Grandmother gave us is the real one. She was so quick to hand it over I thought it could be a fake, so I decided to do some nosing around. But it seems like it's the real deal, there was nothing else quite like it in the vault" Barnaby elaborated.
I was impressed by his commitment to uncovering the truth about the ring. "And did you have time to get it looked at by anyone?" I asked.
"I looked at it Samhain" Uncle Cecil interjected.
"Although I cannot say if it's cursed or not, I do believe it to be an original Lee family diamond." I found myself thinking I'd almost rather it be a harmless forgery, but then I realised wearing it would mean nothing to the Lee family traditions if it wasn't the ring Barnaby was obligated to give me. I pondered that as we arrived back at the Leaky Cauldron.
"We are in need of a celebratory drink, to love and opportunity!" Uncle Cecil announced to Tom who gave him an exasperated look as he set three glasses on the bar and filled them with mead.
"To you, Barnaby and the lovely Samhain. The next generation of Lee's! May you grow old together in happiness and splendor" he toasted us and gulped down his glass in one go.
We raised our glasses to him and followed suit.
Having never tasted mead before, I coughed a little after swallowing, but it wasn't an unpleasant taste at all. We ordered another round and sat down at a small table near to the front of the pub.
"Uncle Cecil, will you tell Samhain and I everything you know about the Lee familys' traditions, specifically about the, er, wedding ceremony?" Barnaby asked a bit awkwardly.
So he hadn't brought it up without me, I noted. I was glad, now I'd hear it first hand and could be sure Barnaby wouldn't edit anything out for my benefit, not that I really thought he would have.
"Ah. I did think this would come up when you asked to meet in person" Uncle Cecil admitted.
"I suppose you are asking about the Ceremony of Bloods in particular?" Barnaby nodded but said nothing.
"Well, it is a tradition as old as our lineage, and practiced by every Lee and their intended." He nodded in my direction. "But it's not as scary as it sounds. During the vows you will both use the 'Amethyst Athame' to cut each other's palms, through the heart line of the left hand, then you will clasp those hands together to symbolize becoming one, or rather that the bride is becoming a Lee, in the eyes of our family which will acknowledge her as a blood Lee from then on." He finished, holding up his left hand to show us a faint purple scar running vertically from his ring finger to the middle of his palm.
"That's really all it is?" I asked, relief spreading through me. Uncle Cecil inclined his head.
Barnaby however did not look relieved at all, he actually looked quite appalled. "I'm not going to cut Samhain" he said defiantly. "Barnaby" I started.
But Uncle Cecil cut me off. "You will if you plan to marry her or continue being a part of our family, I'm afraid. It is old magic and while I agree it's distasteful it is extraordinarily powerful. This ceremony will give you both added strength to your magics and in your bond. Our ancestors created the spell in order to become stronger in union and I can tell you first hand that it does just that."
"Excuse me." was all Barnaby said as he got up quickly from the table and headed outside. Uncle Cecil and I let him go without a word. I knew Barnaby was upset and needed a minute of processing time. But I didn't. I had been scared of the ceremony since I learned of it's existence from Barnaby. I wasn't sure what I had thought it would entail, but the way Uncle Cecil explained it, well it sounded fairly reasonable to me. Certainly doable. Now I'd just have to persuade Barnaby that it was worth it. And perhaps remind him of all we stood to lose if we declined to participate.
"Uncle Cecil?" I asked hesitantly. "Will it make a difference in the ceremony, that I'm not a pure blood witch? I'm not Muggle born, but my mother is.." I trailed off nervously. He looked at me reassuringly and said, "No, it won't make a difference Samhain. Your blood is magical, that's all that matters. Now if it were to be attempted by someone without any magical blood at all, well I'd assume our ancestors would have put something in place to prevent that from happening. But as it stands, you have nothing to worry about."
I nodded and let that sink in. I'd been worried about my blood status in regards to my engagement ring, but it was good to know this part at least, wouldn't discriminate against my heritage. We were quiet for a while after that. When next I looked up I noticed that it was getting late. "Uncle Cecil?" I asked again. "Will you join us for dinner tonight? We have some friends meeting us here shortly and I'd love it if you could stay."
"I'm afraid I can't this time dear one. I must be off to complete my errands before night falls, and I rather think my nephew would benefit from my absence just now. But we will see each other again soon, as soon as next week in fact, when I'll need you both ready to start training. But do enjoy yourselves tonight with your friends. And don't worry, Barnaby will come around on his own on this subject, he is a Lee afterall." With that Uncle Cecil patted my hand and stepped out the back doors to Disapparate.
As if he'd been awaiting his uncle's departure, Barnaby returned to the table a moment later and began apologising. But I cut him off quickly.
"Barnaby, you need to listen to me now. This ceremony is extremely important to your family, and it's important to me that we follow through with this and uphold the traditions. I said I'd do whatever was asked of me and I meant it. We don't have anything to be afraid of, like your uncle said, it's not dark magic, just distasteful. I'm not going to allow you to lose anything else for my sake, and we have something to gain here too. That part about strengthening our union. I want that. I want to tie myself to you in every way possible and be acknowledged as your wife by your family." I finished stubbornly.
He captured my gaze with his gorgeous green eyes again and said, "Okay. I hear you Samhain. If you want this, we'll do it. And I love you."
I smiled at him and said "I know you do. And I love you too. Now let's put this on the back cauldron for now. We have some friends meeting us here for dinner in about ten minutes."