Family Bonding
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Summer 1959
Summer was coming around quickly, especially Midsommer/Litha one of the many celebrations that the Blacks celebrate every year. The children absolutely love it, mainly because of the large feasts the family would have throughout the 6 day holiday. But thinking about it, the Lord Black knew that the children were not aware of the symbolism or the importance of the holiday to all magic creatures.
The 3 different types of bonfires, one with only clean bones (bonfire), one with only clean wood (wake fire), and the last one made of both bones and wood (St. Johns fire); the connection to their ancestors, and the earth which allows them to control their magic and all that clean energy that is trapped in their bodies. But also the symbolization of purging the air from any sort of infections to their magic, and the creation of a space filled with divine inspiration. Then the bouquets of white lilies, long fennel, and green birch which is garnished upon with garlands of beautiful flowers, shadowed on each door. The lamps made of glass with the oil burning all night long, intoxicating the air with this smell which smells like; home. Arcturus could almost picture the scene replaying constantly in his head; the entire family gathered in his mansion in the garden, setting the large table while the children went to gather some clean oak wood. Later in the night all of them gathered together, lighting the fires, sharing an excellent meal under the light of the lamps while sharing stories of the past.
That’s when he remembers that from last year, there would be a major difference. Melania wasn’t going to be at the table; not this year not for any other year to come. His wife had passed away almost 6 months ago, days before his birthday, from an unfamiliar illness; she suffered from it for quite a few weeks, begging her husband to let her go and perform some quiet spell or potion to put her out of her own version of hell. But he wouldn’t listen to her, he wasn’t ready to let her go and when she did the eldest Black was devastated. Her passing changed him; made him more impatient, angry, and depressed. She was the light in his life, always helping and guiding him towards the light end of an endless tunnel of darkness; but this time, she wasn’t with him in the tunnel; he was utterly alone, with none beside him. For the first few months, he wouldn’t leave his manor, barely speaking to anyone, while spending most of his time in his study working; but that didn’t work for long. Whenever he was needed to leave the house, he would snap at anyone and become even more hostile in any meeting towards his opponents. The entire family had noticed the shift in his behavior, but how can you comfort a man who in the presence of the entire world showed that he clearly did not wish to speak of this matter?
The adults tried everything they could, comforting him, visiting a lot more often so he didn’t feel alone, even urging him to take a break but…no result. But, suddenly Druella thought of a magnificent idea. Since Letha was coming, they had arranged to host this year’s celebrations in their manor (Cygnus and Druella’s) so she would need someone to take care of the children. She owled all the grandparents, informing them that for the rest of the day they would be in charge of the children. Sending the letters she sincerely hopped, that the children would be able to ease Arcturus’ pain; because if they didn’t he would be lost forever.
A few hours later, it was around midday. All of the grandparents had replied, happily obliging in taking care of the kids; all except Arcturus. She was growing worried to say the least, because the whole point was for him to interact with the children hoping that they would make him become his lovable self again. Finally the large black owl arrived, ‘Midnight’ (cliché I know), baring her master’s letter in her beak handing it over to the young woman. Druella was extremely happy when Arcturus obliged to take care of the kids, while he even offered to gather them in his mansion. “That has to mean something right?” she thought to herself.
The hours passed by quickly and around 3:30 Druella apparated to Arcturus’ mansion where she was met by the older generation of the family. The children immediately ran towards their grandparents, hugging each and every one of them; especially Ophelia and Cassiopeia rushed to Arcturus’ side, embracing him vividly without him reciprocating for a few seconds; when he did, one could see how pleased and peaceful he was after so many endless months. “Maybe…just maybe…” she thought while kindly smiling towards all of them, especially him.
“Well it seems I am of no assistance here. I will send an owl the minute we are finished back in the manor with the preparations. You are still coming on the 19th if I am not mistaken?” looking quite eagerly towards Arcturus with a pleading look in her eyes. He seemed to notice, and gave her the smallest reassuring smile one could give;
“We certainly are, even though your mother and I might be a bit tardy to arrive. But we promise to attend.” Alferd told his daughter with a sweet tone in his voice.
She nodded her head slightly, and bid them all fair well while her daughter, niece, and nephews came to give her kisses on her cheeks. Apparating back to the manor instantly, the children were left with their grandparents. They all practically begged their grandparents to let them play outside in the summer sun. But the elders had decided on another activity for the day, a tad less exciting as playing; they would share with them stories, myths, and legends of their world and their families, helping the youngest generation understand and appreciate their ancestry. So in order to persuade the youngsters to stay indoors on their own free will, Pollux thought of a plan.
“Fine you can go play, while we talk about grown up things that maybe you could not understand.” Pollux said while giving the rest a wink and a smirk. He knew that a slight use of innocent manipulation will convince them to stay and participate in the conversation.
“Your grandfather is right, and besides that we may share a few stories from the past; you would consider them dull anyway.”
Irma said while Rose let out a small chuckle. The little ones obviously seemed a bit offended, but the two older ones knew that their grandparents were just messing with them. So after the complaints of the other 5 children, they all settled down in the living room. Arcturus settled Regulus and Sirius on his lap, while Cassiopeia, Bellatrix and Andromeda joined Pollux and Irma on the couch. Ophelia held Narcissa as they settled in between Alferd and Rose nearby. The elders shared forgotten tales, and myths that had been passed down from generation to generation in the Black, Rosier, and Crabbe families. These stories were mostly tales of how magic was created, and Hecate’s tales into fully controlling her powers. That is when Ophelia asked them
“What is the difference between Dark, Grey, and Light magic?”
She was by nature a very curious child indeed, and she is 2 years away from attending her first year in Hogwarts so they chose to answer the question as thoroughly as possible. Even if Hogwarts was a great institution for young wizards and witches to learn about magic, there were certain facts that they did not teach the students. Arcturus took the lead, and began the tale, giving the rest a look that meant that they would recite the story together.
“So as the previous tales had mentioned, Hecate is considered as the Mother of all Magic, due to that she was the first to truly comprehend and control her powers. Now our Mother has 3 different forms and those are: Maiden, Mother, and Crone. Each one represents a type of magic broadly known as: Light, Grey, and Dark. Easy so far?” he asked and all the children nodded their heads, that’s when Alferd continued the story.
“As Lord Black said, each form of her represents a type of magic. The Maiden is associated with spring, dawn, growth, and light; that is why it is the source of our Light Magic.” Rose was the one to continue this time
“Then there is the Mother. She is mostly associated with summer and noon a time where nothing is growing nor dying, a neutral time of the day; that is why it is the source of our neutral type of magic, meaning Grey Magic.” Pollux looks at Irma, asking her with a glance if she would like to continue; but she urged him to tell this part of the story
“Last but not least we have the Crone; she is associated with fall, winter, dusk and night a time of day and the year where death and darkness are common. That is why she is the source of our Dark Magic.” That’s when Irma went on to complete the story
“So you these three aspects of our Mother make up all Magic. They are all one and the same, depending on each other to ensure the balance among Magic; but simultaneously they are so different from one another, and unique. That is why a good witch or wizard is one that accepts, respects, and practices all three forms of Magic: Light, Grey, and Dark.”
“And do not listen to those who discriminate against the Dark Arts. Those people do not deserve the title of witch or wizard since they are denying an aspect of our Magic. It is like they are denying a part of themselves and their powers. That is why we will teach you all how to control and perform all three kinds of Magic.”
Arcturus was the last one to speak. The last thing he wanted was the latest generation of Blacks to reject one aspect of Hecate (the Dark) because Hogwarts is governed by a prejudiced and old fool. That’s when he came up with an idea of another story. Even if most of them were old enough to understand, they had never explained to the children the celebrations the Blacks celebrated each year; the 8 Rituals of Olde. So since they were all gathered in one place, it was about time they learned what they were.
“Does anyone know what we will be celebrating in the next few weeks?” Arcturus asked, while he gave the grown-ups a knowing look; giving him a slight nod, they seemed to all agree that it was time for the youngsters to learn about the holidays. None of the kids, answered for a while when Bellatrix decided to share with the rest her opinion.
“Is it Midsommer or else known as Litha grandfather?”
Even though he wasn’t the 4 girls’ grandfather, he did not have a problem being called ‘grandfather’ by them like they called Pollux and Alferd. Instead he really enjoyed it, since he loved the four girls just as much as his own grandchildren.
“Yes it is Bella, but I am sure that your parents have not explained what it is exactly.” The kids shacked their heads, and looked at him with pure curiosity in their eyes.“The holidays of our world are made up of 8 different holidays…” Then with his wand he created a circle of light and divided it into 8 equal parts. Each end of the 4 lines had a name of a holiday written on it. There was a small red triangle on the periphery of the circle that was close to the name ‘Litha’ indicating that the holiday was soon. “So as you can see, Litha is coming really soon and that is why from now on, the day before a holiday begins we will explain its origins and meaning to you. But today, I will just explain the basic about the Rituals of Olde, meaning the rituals performed at these holidays. As your grandma Rose said in her story about how Hecate realized her deep connection with magic, Hecate was the one who created these rituals and holidays. You see these rituals allow us better access to our magic, allow us to make it more powerful, and achieve things that one could only imagine. Without the performance of them, our magic will slowly begin to die, and our kind will disappear once and for all. That is why these holidays are so important, especially to our family; they allow us to be more connected with our magic; another part of ourselves. So I wish that all of you will from now on take place in the celebrations and help us in preparing for them.”
They all nodded their heads, promising their grandparents that they would. After this little sort of interaction with the kids, Arcturus had shortly forgotten of his pain and the emptiness in his soul. It was as if the laughter and the curiosity of the children covered the void that was created after Melania’s death. He felt just like the old times, before any of the events of last year happen; carefree and just happy about everything and everyone around him. But he did feel guilty, for forgetting his wife’s death so easily for a few minutes. He knew life must go on, even though he personally didn’t feel ready to move on from this. Even if he had sworn to Melania to not dwell over this for long and stay strong for the rest, it was a lot more difficult than what he had imagined his life to be. After a couple of minutes, the children started to seem restless while staring outside through the large glass balcony door. Being the attentive woman that she is, Rose was the first to notice it. Smiling sweetly she looked towards the rest of the adults, and exchanging looks they decided to allow the kids to head outside.
“Since you all have been such good kids, why don’t you go outside and play hm?”
“Alright grandma, last one to the white oak loses!”
Bella said while Andromeda, Narcissa, and Cassiopeia ran behind her. Sirius was having a hard time keeping up so Ophelia took in her one arm Sirius’ hand and with other she held a sleepy 2 year old Regulus. They catched up with others at the swings that were hung on the old but still thriving white oak tree. They instantly started splitting into teams in order to play tag, but when it was Ophelia's turn to join, she politely declined. She had to keep an eye on Regulus; he was only a 2 year old toddler meaning he needed someone with him constantly. So while the others ran down the slope, Ophelia settled down on a swing careful not to startle Regulus.
Everyone enjoyed playing tag, except Ophelia; most of the time, she would either read or take care of one of the youngest while the rest played. She didn't really mind actually; on the contrary she rather enjoyed it when she held one of the youngest in her arms either because they were too young to play or they had scrapped a knee or for whatever other reason. Gently rocking back and forth on the swing, she hummed a gentle lullaby to the toddler hopping that it would calm him. She did feel sad about humming that tune; after all it was the tune her grandma Melania used to sing to her for as long as she could remember and when she was old enough she taught it to her. She did miss her. Her laugh, her smile, her voice, her sweet gestures like bringing them sweets on the holidays or teaching them how to play the grand piano in this very manor. Memories kept flooding in to the young girl's brain, replacing her calm mood with a bit of a depressed one. But she quickly snapped out of it from the young boy's slight snoring which she found quite adorable and amusing. He was sleeping in her arms peacefully; like he felt that her arms were the safest place on the entire planet for him.
Watching from the small elevated hill where the white oak was situated, she had a clear view of the entire estate. She could see the adults through the balcony doors, discussing in the living room, and the rest of the children playing around beside the little pond. Beyond she could see, several different manors each with a respectable amount of land in their name, including her home only realizing that it was a bit further away than she remembered it to be. Flowers had already bloomed, the valley was filled with them while it smelled of honeysuckle and wild berries. Birds were flying over her head, and a light breeze was beginning to form in the atmosphere. In the farthest West corner of her eyesight, she could see the sun slowly and steadily slopping away into the horizon making the entire valley appear in golden colors. This was definitely one of her favorite scenes that she has ever witnessed up until now. If she could somehow stay in this peaceful moment for the rest of her life, she most certainly would. The only thought that existed in her head in this relaxing part of the day was "Now this is what I like to call home..."