Chapter Six - Children's Theatre
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From the editorial page of The Quibbler, 1 May 2006
Looking Forward
By Luna A. Weasley
1 May, 2006
Ottery St. Catchpole
Tomorrow will mark the eighth anniversary of what most call `The Battle of Hogwarts'. Those of us who were there refer to it as `That Night' when we speak of it at all.
As an sometimes contributor to these pages, I realize my readers have come to expect intermittent travelogues as I wander across the wizarding world, seeking to chronicle hidden wonders and document the unknown and wondrous. And with the approach of tomorrow's celebration, I feel I am doing just that once again.
Some say that the Battle of Hogwarts started on the First, when Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley arrived at Hogwarts to make a final stand against Tom Riddle, better known as Lord Voldemort. That is a logical answer, and in a simplistic world, that would be a correct answer. Others say it began on Halloween of 1981 when Riddle murdered Lily and James Potter, the parents of Harry Potter, in Godric's Hollow, and I would be hard pressed to disagree if I didn't know the truth.
The truth is, the Battle started in a quiet way, and wasn't really marked by anyone but the people directly involved. And for the four of them, none of them realized that they were beginning something that would transform the world as they knew it. On the First of September, 1991, somewhere in the south of Scotland, a door opened into a compartment on the Hogwarts Express. Through that door walked an eleven-year-old student making her first trip to Hogwarts, along with another incoming first year who had misplaced his familiar.
In that compartment were two first year students who had no idea that the lives of everyone in wizarding Britain, perhaps the entire world, hinged on what would happen in the next ninety seconds. In the next minute, the `Golden Trio' and Neville Longbottom met each other, and from a very inauspicious beginning, friendships were forged between Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, and Neville Longbottom that will last a lifetime and led directly to what occurred as the sun rose over Scotland on the 2nd of May, seven short years later.
One of the cardinal rules of journalism is that the reporter should not be part of the story, if at all possible. And while I certainly wasn't there on the day things began, I count myself fortunate to have observed and become friends with these and other extraordinary individuals over the next seven years. My personal relationship with these individuals doesn't hinder my ability to recognize what they have accomplished, but it does test the limits of objectivity from time to time. (Journalistic candor requires me to point out to anyone who hasn't noticed, I am married to Ronald Weasley. If this has come as a surprise to anyone reading this, you might want to switch to a subscription to the Daily Prophet; they seem to have nothing better to do than run salacious articles regarding my marriage and the personal lives of my friends.)
Unfortunately, only in novels and other contrived works do things end neatly when the villain is defeated. Evil continues, life goes on, and those that support the Light must persevere in turn. All of us who survived that terrible period of time have continued, in our own ways, to live up to the examples that Harry and Hermione set before us.
While these two individuals, whom I consider my friends, are very reluctant to live their lives in the public eye, they are realists enough to know that the things that happen in their lives are considered to be of interest to the wizarding public here in Britain and abroad. And I was deeply honored when I was approached to be the one to announce the news regarding the next inevitable step in the chain of events that began fifteen years ago.
Harry and Hermione have announced their engagement and intent to wed before the end of this year during a small dinner party held one week ago at their London residence to assembled family and friends. Hermione, while recognizing that the wedding will be of great interest to all, made it very clear that the ceremony itself will be for friends and family, and that the date and location will be made public when the marriage license is filed with the Ministry, following the ceremony.
The happy couple currently resides in London with their godson, Theodore Remus Lupin, and intends to remain in London for the foreseeable future. When asked about the possibility of additional children, Harry shrugged and said that was a topic for after the first of the year. (Continued on page 17)
Shaking her head, Lavender smiled as she placed the copy of The Quibbler back on the table in the waiting area outside Chastity's office. The fact that the real story regarding Harry and Hermione's relationship was not well known outside the circle of family and friends was amazing, in and of itself. Luna's story did a nice job of laying out the pertinent facts without actually pointing out some of the finer details, which was fine as far as Lavender was concerned.
"The healer will see you now." Looking up, Lavender smiled at the mediwitch who was exiting Chastity's office. Seeing the glance she was giving Lavender's midnight-blue robes, she nodded cheerily to her.
"Thank you. I really appreciate you working me in at the end of the day like this." Seeing the shocked look in the mediwitch's eyes, Lavender tried very hard to suppress a grin.
"No problem. You're on the list of people that Healer Dursely has vetted to be worked into the schedule and since you didn't mind taking the end of the day, it was easy." Relaxing a bit, the mediwitch smiled as she held the door open for Lavender.
Entering into the office, Lavender smiled to see Chastity working behind her desk. The blonde healer's desk was covered with parchments and folders, with a steaming mug of tea perched precariously on an ancient looking tome.
"If Madam Pince or Hermione were to walk in, they'd both have a muggle heart attack to see that." Indicating the mug of tea, Lavender grinned as she flopped noisily into a chair near the desk. "Thanks for working me in, Chas. I must have picked something up when they sent me down to Benghazi earlier in the week."
"Irma might have a hippogriff on general principles, but Hermione knows that's the latest edition." Seeing the skeptical look on her friend's face, she smiled. "Marketing ploy. No one would trust a healer with brand new medical tomes, so they make them look as if they're a couple of centuries old. Instant credibility yet surprisingly up to date."
"That sounds like a George idea. Pretty darn clever whoever thought of it." Shaking her head, Lavender grimaced a bit. "This is getting annoying. I lost my lunch when I stopped by de la Cruz's office earlier. She was fixing champurrado and the smell of it had me running in seconds." Shaking her head, she shrugged. "And you know how I am about chocolate, regardless of how you prepare it."
Looking thoughtful, Chastity picked up her tea and took a sip before commenting. "And just what did they have you doing down in Benghazi?"
Laughing, Lavender shrugged. "Someone in the Minister's Office thought that we needed to send an Unspeakable down there to impress upon the Pasha that if he didn't sanction the traders who were playing fast and loose with the silphium trade, we would." Shaking her head, Lavender missed the knowing smile on Chastity's face. "Stupid greedy buggers substituted ferula tingitana in two shipments of potions ingredients last winter. That'll work for muggles and muggleborn, but that's a recipe for a baby-boom in the rest of our population."
"And just what are your symptoms? Your message was a tad bit vague." Trying not to look amused, Chastity was moving parchments on her desk around to clear a spot and reached into her healer's kit for a vial with a distinctive silver seal on it.
"You know me, old iron stomach. Parv's mum is convinced I must be a long lost cousin the way I tuck into the food at their house. But since I got back from Benghazi, Italian, Indian, Lebanese, anything like that has just set my stomach on edge."
Nodding, Chastity looked down at the notes she had taken. "Let's see, basically it's food that's got fennel, anise, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme that are setting you off, correct?" Smiling, Chastity looked up at Lavender as she twirled the potion vial between her fingers.
Nodding, Lavender's eyes got very wide as she noticed the vial that Chastity was holding. "No. No. No. No. You can't be bloody serious." Closing her eyes, Lavender's complexion went very pale.
"Sirius was Harry's godfather, and that really doesn't have anything to do with the fact that you're going to drink this potion for me." Nodding her head as Lavender's eyes popped open, Chastity hastily conjured a small pail that appeared in the open spot on her desk she had just cleared. "There's a reason those foods set off your gag reflex. Your body knows better than you do and it's not going to allow you to unknowingly ingest anything that could interfere with what's going on."
"He's so going to kill me." Shaking her head, Lavender hesitantly put her hand out for the vial that her friend was holding. "The first thing I'm going to do when this is finished is I'm going back down there and hex that smarmy bastard until he can't see straight."
"Harland loves you, you know that. And he loves Crystal to death, so you know he'll love this one just as much." Smiling as Lavender closed her eyes as she twisted the sealed potion open, she nodded. "That's my brave Gryffindor; tell yourself that it's going to taste like `Death by Chocolate'."
"That's so not funny. Anyone ever tell you that you Ravenclaws have a lousy bedside manner?" Shuddering a bit, Lavender put one hand on the pail as she downed the potion. Quickly pulling the metal container to her, she emptied her much abused stomach into the waiting receptacle.
Chuckling, Chastity exchanged the pail for another potion vial. "If you want humor, check with the `Puffs. I'm certain Hannah would be happy to tell you all sorts of humorous anecdotes from her customers regarding the current baby-boom." Looking down into the pail and smiling at the pink sheen, she nodded as she banished the entire mess. "Crystal is going to have a little sister to dote on. Have her check with Teddy about where he's going for big sib lessons."
"And that's just the icing on the bloody cake. Not only am I having a second child, but I'm having one at virtually the same time as Hermione `I snagged the Boy Who Lived so the rest of you losers can just eat tripe' Granger. She already hates me, and now she's going to be totally insufferable once they announce everything."
"Lav, Hermione doesn't even dislike you. She was borderline upset at the Christmas Party, but she pretty much wrote it off when she saw Harry's reaction to the whole thing. Truth be told, she's probably a bit thankful since, from what I gather talking to Ginny, it was that whole incident with you and Padma that started her thinking there might be something more between her and Harry other than undying friendship."
"Then why has she given me `the look' every time she's been around when Harry and I have been in the same room." Sitting back in her chair, Lavender closed her eyes in frustration. "I can understand her still being annoyed about Ron, but I never even got a peck on the cheek from Harry."
"She's just worried that you might be considering joining the ranks of the `Potter Prowl' witches, and then she'd have to hex you, ex-roommate or no." Snickering at the scandalized look on Lavender's face, Chastity shrugged. "It's not like you've exactly gone out of your way to let people know about Harland. I'd wager that Hermione doesn't know that you're actually quite the faithful little witch, regardless of what you play at in public."
Growling in frustration, Lavender shook her head. "This is bloody ridiculous. I've got to tell Harland that we're having another baby, thanks to some egregious idiots a thousand miles away. What in the name of Merlin's cauldron am I supposed to do with my life?"
"Do you love him?" Sitting back in her chair, Chastity smiled at the sense of déjà-vu she was experiencing.
"Of course. Regardless of what people think of me, I wouldn't have put myself in a position to have a child with him if I didn't love him, much less stay in this `relationship' for the past eight years." Relaxing a bit in her chair, Lavender's face broke into a smile as she considered her long-term relationship with her Canadian auror.
Smiling, Chastity conjured a mug and then filled it with tea from the tea service that was sitting on the warming plate on the credenza behind her desk. Levitating it over her friend, she gently nudged Lavender's hand with the mug. Opening her eyes, Lavender took the mug and sipped it cautiously. "Forget what I said about your bedside manner. This is perfect."
Nodding, Chastity lifted her mug in a salute and took a sip. As she set her mug back on her desk, she sighed. "Does he love you?"
"What do you think? You spent time with us last summer and over the hols." Smirking, Lavender thought back to the week that she, Crystal, and Harland had spent with Chastity, Dudley, and the twins at Brighton last summer. "Any doubts there?"
"Doesn't matter what I think, Miss `Broke the Shower Rod'. It matters what he thinks, and what you think he thinks." Shaking her head, Chastity blushed thinking back to Lavender's explanation to the inn manager as to why the shower in her room no longer had a functioning shower curtain.
"If he stuck around for longer than twenty minutes, he's in love with me." Blushing a bit, Lavender smiled sadly. "I'm not exactly easy to be around, I get that. Harland keeps me grounded; I don't go overboard with him. You weren't in Gryffindor; you might not remember what I was like…"
Laughing, Chastity sat back in her chair and shook her head at her friend. "Please, there wasn't anyone in the entire castle that missed you and `Won-won'.
Blushing, Lavender rolled her eyes and laughed. "Well, it was a hope. It's not like that, this time. I don't feel the need to constantly show that we're together, we simply are."
"Sort of like Harry and Hermione, no?" Seeing the look of comprehension in her friend's eyes, Chastity nodded encouragingly. "I really don't think you have much of anything to worry about from her. She's not going to be one of those insecure witches who has to know where her wizard is every moment of the day or give him grief about who he's spending his time with because she `knows' beyond a shadow of a doubt how he feels about her. They were always close, this past week it went beyond scary." Shaking her head, Chastity smiled at the look in Lavender's eyes.
"They were bad in school, and that was when they were just doing the `best friends' routine with sincerity and conviction. After that year the three of them were away, once they stopped pretending to date Ron and Ginny, I don't think there was anyone who believed it." Smiling wistfully, Lavender nodded as Chastity started laughing.
"Other than them, of course." Looking down at her appointment book, she tapped the upper corner with her wand and linked her calendar with Padma's. "Padma's got a series of appointments open for Wednesdays from 4:15 to quarter of. Will that work for you?"
Looking thoughtful, the blonde Unspeakable twisted her hair around her finger as she tried to visualize her schedule for the next few months. "That should work for me. You know how it is down in Spook Hall; the concept of a regular timetable for an Unspeakable is something up there with the Philosopher's Stone and Perpetual Motion. Nice to dream about, but the chances of actually achieving any of them are very remote."
"Excellent, I'll ink you in as a consult from my book; Padma will see the relevant records as soon as she gets back to the hospital on Wednesday morning." Smiling as she noted the appointment block directly before Lavender's, Chastity composed her face quickly as she looked up from the appointment book. "Make certain you get there a bit early, never hurts in case there's a need to shuttle the appointments around."
Standing, Lavender brushed a wrinkle from her midnight blue robes with her hand as she gently set the mug on the desk, pointedly avoiding any of the parchments or tomes occupying the flat surface. Shaking her head, she grinned at her friend. "I am grateful, even though this is going to take some getting used to." Shaking her head, she rolled her eyes. "I suppose I'm going to have to plug in that old rotary phone and make a call to Montreal."
"Montreal? I thought the Canadian Ministry was located in Ottawa, as a counterpart to their muggle government." Walking around her desk, Chastity joined her friend in heading for the office door.
"They are. And the Quebec Ministre de Magie is in Quebec City. Harland's attached to the Canadian Ministry's liaison office in Montreal. In typical English fashion, the rest of Magical Canada officially ignores Magical Quebec's secession by dealing with `provincial' relations from Montreal, rather than officially acknowledging Quebec City is the actual capital. The Quebecois shrug and have their enclave in Toronto and pretty much never mention Ottawa."
Seeing the incredulous look on Chastity's face, Lavender chuckled. "If you think that's bad, Nova Scotia, Labrador, and Newfoundland are all three spoiling to split off on the wizarding side from the main part of Canada. Give them ten years and it'll be as confusing as the American Bureaus."
"Merlin. I thought it was bad enough explaining to the muggle-born Irish why their Ministry is in London and not Dublin, but that would be totally confusing." Shaking her head, Chastity smiled at her mediwitch as they exited into the outer office. "Karen, we'll be seeing Ms Brown in about three months for a follow-up, but she's basically done with us for the next little while." Nodding at Karen, Chastity smiled as Lavender gathered herself together. Looking back to her friend, she smiled. "It'll be fine. If you want to pop by the house tonight after your phone call, Dudley and I should be in all night."
"I might take you up on that. Crystal's staying the night at Shell Cottage with Victoire, so the house will be empty."
Stepping close, Lavender hugged Chastity as she turned to leave, smiling and nodding at the mediwitch who was updating parchments. As the closed the door of the waiting area behind her, Karen looked up from her work and caught Chastity's eye. "Well, she certainly wasn't what I was expecting, from either an Unspeakable or the infamous Lavender Brown."
"Both Lavender and Parvati pretty much destroy the typical concept of what an Unspeakable is. Can you imagine Healer Patil's sister as one of the typical Unspeakables?" Shaking her head, Chastity chuckled at the look on Karen's face.
"True, Parvati's been around enough that I forget she's one of that lot." Smiling down at the parchment work on her desk, she sighed. "And I suppose she'll be seeing a bit of Healer Patil over the next eight months or so."
Nodding thoughtfully, Chastity smiled wickedly as her mediwitch eyed her suspiciously. "Chastity, I've seen that look before."
"Please, I'm just going to call a colleague and suggest she manipulate her schedule a bit." Seeing the confused look on Karen's face, Chastity chuckled. "I set Lavender up with a series of appointments with Padma. Just as luck would have it, the witch right before her is the soon to be Mrs. Potter."
"Really now, I thought that Luna's article said that children were a topic for after the first of the year?" Arching an eyebrow, Karen began to chuckle. "Well, if she's on the same timetable as Ms Brown, I suppose that's `technically' accurate."
"Luna's a very good friend and for all her apparent out of touch act, she's very knowledgeable about how things work and very loyal to her friends."
"Why in the name of Merlin's Exploding Snap deck would you want to put those two together? Even I've heard about what happened at the Ministry Christmas Party." Shaking her head, Karen eyed her boss skeptically. "Are you really aiming for bloodshed in the waiting room?"
"Not at all. If Hermione were still annoyed with anyone, it's Padma she should be mad at. Padma's the one who actually kissed Harry that night. Lavender was a not so innocent bystander who set the whole thing in motion, and Hermione's not really annoyed with her. But since Lavender doesn't know that..." Trailing off, Chastity nodded as Karen began to shake her head.
"You are so wicked. Lavender's going to figure this out in about two seconds once she thinks about it." Seeing the satisfied smirk on Chastity's face, Karen began to laugh. "But that will be after she and Hermione have a heartfelt talk."
"I have no idea what you're going on about." Turning and going back into her office, Chastity chuckled as she sat behind her desk and took out her wand.
Making a backhanded motion towards the floo in her office, she smiled as the flames sprung up. Casting a pinch of floo powder into the flames, she nodded as the flames turned green. Speaking clearly, she smiled as she called out "Mongoose One"
Seeing her associate's face in the green flames, she smiled. "Wotcher Padma. I just sent a consult your way. "
Looking away for a second, Padma Patil glanced down at her appointment book. Shaking her head, she looked back. "Chastity, I'm not certain which I find more interesting. Lavender being on my schedule or who you put her after."
Sitting back and taking a drink of her tea, Chastity nodded. "True, and here's what I'd like for you to do Wednesday." Smiling at her old housemate, the blonde healer outlined her plan as Padma broke out in a grin.
Interlude - Memento Magus
On the first anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts, a quiet tradition began in the hour before dawn. Not part of the much larger and official remembrance that would begin at noon, almost eight hours later, this memorial was born from the hearts of those who had survived that night, as they were drawn together without planning or discussion by the common need to return to where it had all ended as the sun rose over Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry one year before.
On Halloween of 1998, a Memorial Garden was established on the grounds of Hogwarts to provide a place to commemorate those individuals who had sacrificed their lives during that night. The brainchild of Hermione Granger and Minerva McGonagall, the Memorial Garden provided a place where anyone could come and pay their respects or simply remember the sacrifices that had led to the stopping of Tom Riddle, known as Lord Voldemort.
Among the many enchantments going into the construction of the memorial, was one that was not well publicized. While all of the protections and wards protecting the school were reinstituted and strengthened in the days and weeks following the battle, a select group of individuals, survivors of that night and members of Dumbledore's Army and the Order of the Phoenix all, were exempted from the normal restrictions on apparition into and out of the school's grounds. Able to come and go directly to and from the Memorial, the arrival and/or departure of these individuals were noted by the Headmistress, but never hindered, regardless of the day or hour.
That first year, Harry and Hermione had arrived within seconds of each other, Hermione shaking her head in exasperation and carrying their godson as she arrived moments after realizing that Harry wasn't in their home at Grimmauld Place. Kreacher, had arrived next, and his departure from the house had wakened Ron who arrived ten minutes later.
Ron's arrival had coincided with Luna's walking out of the woods to join the impromptu gathering near the basalt plinth that was set just outside the entrance into the area of the grounds set aside to commemorate those who gave their lives that dreadful May morning. Fifty-five witches and wizards, along with fourteen houselves, were memorialized within the low stone walls of the Memory Gardens. Ginny's arrival, accompanied by Headmistress McGonagall and Professors Flitwick, Sprout, Slughorn, and Bill Weasley led a small contingent of students who were up before the dawn down from the castle.
Neville Longbottom, Madam Rosemerta, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Aberforth Dumbledore led a small party of walkers from the village of Hogsmeade that wound their way up from the gate to the village.
That first year, no words were spoken, for none were needed. Enough would be said, later in the morning, during the official memorial for the Battle of Hogwarts. Those survivors who had been present that awful morning were there to remember and reflect; they quietly walked among the marble markers that memorialized their comrades.
Once again, for the eighth time, the survivors gathered silently in the predawn chill. Some lingered near certain markers, others wandered around the gardens that surrounded the memorials for those who had died. As had become a tradition, Harry and Hermione arrived first, this time together with their godson, and were standing silently before the marker memorializing Remus and Tonks Lupin. Of the fifty-five witches and wizards who died that dreadful night, only one was interred within the memorial itself. The tomb of Severus Snape was located in one corner of memorial, the rest of the markers simply commemorated the sacrifice made and indicated where the fallen defender was laid to rest.
As the sky lightened and the dawn approached, Harry and Hermione drew near to the spot where their old potions professor was interred. Silently observing the tomb, their fingers intertwined, they both kept one hand on the shoulder of their godson as they came to pay respects to a man whom neither of them liked while he lived, but they could respect the bravery and sacrifices that he had made during his life.
Slowly making their way to the plinth that marked the entrance to the memorial, the silent trio waited as more and more of those gathered joined them. The simple basalt marker, which appeared to be the base of a statue or column that had been sheared off, was actually taken from near the front doors of the castle, an ornate column that had been damaged during the fighting that night by one of the giants that had come to the castle at Tom Riddle's behest.
Resting upon the rough hewn upper surface were several items that had been imbedded into the plinth's rough upper surface in a manner reminiscent of the legendary sword in the stone. The broken pieces of a yew wand were thrust into the stone, along with the broken fragments of a memory sphere from the Hall of Prophecies and the skull of a large serpent. A simple bronze plaque on the marble base read `Memento magus, quod cinis es, et in cinerem reverteris'. *
As the sun began to rise above the horizon, Harry and Hermione raised their wands in the air and sent a stream of gold and red sparks skywards. The rest of the assembled crowd followed suit, with streams of sparks in their respective house colors accompanying the rising sun. Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were well represented, but a few brave showers of green and silver defiantly proclaimed those Slytherins who had come to mark the defeat of Tom Riddle, one of their own. A solitary stream of blue and silver sparks marked Fleur Weasley's presence and her Beauxbatons heritage.
As the sunlight streamed over the plinth and the assembled attendees, the small crowd began to disperse. In twos and threes, they walked to the edge of the gardens and apparated away, or exited the area to return to the school itself or the village, until only Harry, Hermione, and Teddy were left. Nodding to each other, they gently squeezed each other's hand as they smiled sadly. Taking one last glance at the inscription upon the plinth, they nodded in satisfaction and stepped back. Waiting until Teddy had firmly wrapped his arm around Harry's the pair silently apparated away, leaving the joyous sounds of a spring morning in Scotland in their wake.
A/N - `Remember Wizard, from dust you came and from dust you will return.'
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