A Year's Harvest, Chapter 2
Links to previous chapters: Chapter 1
Also written for the 52 weeks of writing challenge over at ff.net. for the prompt Textbook
CHAPTER 2
Harry watched Malfoy's retreating form, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion and his jaw slack with awe.
'Did that really just happen? I think I might need you to pinch me, Mione.' He soon regretted asking, looking at Hermione's smug face. If he knew her, he knew what was coming…
'I told you so, Harry! I told you Malfoy had a thing for you! And what was that you told me - oh yes, there's no way Malfoy's interested in me, Hermione. He's so far above me that it's not even funny. I told you so.'
Harry sighed. He needed a way to distract her - and, of course, combined with the fact that there was something he hadn't quite understood in that declaration of Draco's - 'Hermione, what exactly did Draco mean by Yule Courting Rituals?'
'Oh! It's one of the Pureblood Courting Rituals - it's actually a very fascinating subject. There are a number of different Courting Rituals, each for a different situation. The one Malfoy has initiated is sort of a declaration of intent. Most of the other Rituals are a precursor to asking for a person's hand in marriage, but this one is what precedes Malfoy asking you out - you know, for dates. It's all very formal, don't you think? I mean even Muggles of the highest society don't have rituals for this kind of thing.' Hermione rambled on, caught up in lecturing Harry about the various courting rituals the purebloods had come up with.
'Hermione,' Harry interrupted, 'while this is all very interesting, I really just want information on the ritual Draco mentioned.'
'Oh, of course. I have a book about it in my room.' Hermione got up from her seat, grabbing a couple of croissants and eclairs to take along with her. 'I'll meet you in the Common Room, Harry.'
It was then that Harry noticed that their conversation had not gone unnoticed. Almost every face in the Great Hall was pointed towards him, shock etched on each one. "Yeah, let's get out of here," he muttered.
Harry had just managed to reach the Common Room when Hermione came bounding down the stairs of her dorm, an enormous old-book held in her arms.
'Here it is,' Hermione pointed to a chapter in the book, Purebloods for the Muggleborn, 'the chapter we're looking for, page 425.'
Harry bent his head to read along with Hermione.
The Yule Courting Rituals are unlike other more formal courting rituals, as they simply precede the request to meet someone informally. This particular Ritual lasts for a year, and traditionally starts at Yule Time (Christmas). Under these courting rituals, the initiator presents the recipient four presents per season, and a number of presents equal to the recipient's age the next Yule - or Christmas. The seasonal presents are traditionally drawn from either the elements (for more information on the elements and their symbolism, see Chapter 1), or symbols associated with the major festivals of each season (for more information on the traditional festivals, see Chapter 5) and are often given on popular holidays such as St. Valentine's Day and Easter. The final, age-numbered presents may be anything, but are traditionally presents that signify how well the gifter knows the recipient.
The traditional time to announce the commencement of the rituals is Christmas Eve. As such, the winter season is necessarily broken up. The first two winter presents are given after the announcement of the courting, and the third and fourth presents are given the following year, before the end of the rituals.
The book continued to detail other intricacies of the rituals depending on who the initiator and the recipient were, but Harry had already reeled back, shocked.
'Wow, he didn't choose something simple did he?' Hermione commented.
But another thought had quickly begun to form in Harry's head. 'Why did he need to initiate the rituals with me, Mione? Surely just simply asking me out would have worked just as easily?.'
'Malfoy was actually very smart in announcing his intention to court you before asking you out. Don't you realise the position you're in, Harry?'
'What position?'
'You're the Man-Who-Lived, remember?' Hermione had a pitying look on her face. 'If Malfoy had simply asked you out, he would have been accused of trying to use you for his own gains, to return the name of Malfoy as respectable, things like that. He would have had to face a lot of bad press before people would even think about letting it go. But by initiating the rituals, Malfoy's proved that he's serious - that he's not just using you. No one who knows the reputation of the Malfoy family would imagine that he would initiate one of the old Courting Rituals if he didn't mean it - the family's just too proud of their heritage to do that, even with their side defeated. By doing this, he has almost erased the possibility of bad press when your relationship comes into the public eye.'
'But is there a particular way for me to reply to him? What am I supposed to do now?'
'Don't you read, Harry? It's written right there, in black and white, waiting for you to see it!' she fixed him with an exasperated glare. 'You're not supposed to do anything! Malfoy initiated it, and Malfoy will carry it out - you only come in after the last presents have been given. Malfoy will ask you out, and it's then that you have to make your decision. That's why the old rituals aren't used much these days - the initiator is expected to spend a lot of time and money on the recipient, without being sure of the outcome.' She suddenly looked at him knowingly. 'This should also satisfy you about his seriousness. If I know you, even his usage of the old rituals hasn't convinced you, but this should. The amount of time and money he's pledged to spend on you is ridiculous. He's expected to give you 35 presents by next year. And knowing Malfoy, they're not going to be cheap.'
Harry just gave her a sheepish smile. She'd just cleared the last of his doubts, and now, he just had to wait for the first present to come in.
Also written for the 52 weeks of writing challenge over at ff.net. for the prompt Textbook
CHAPTER 2
Harry watched Malfoy's retreating form, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion and his jaw slack with awe.
'Did that really just happen? I think I might need you to pinch me, Mione.' He soon regretted asking, looking at Hermione's smug face. If he knew her, he knew what was coming…
'I told you so, Harry! I told you Malfoy had a thing for you! And what was that you told me - oh yes, there's no way Malfoy's interested in me, Hermione. He's so far above me that it's not even funny. I told you so.'
Harry sighed. He needed a way to distract her - and, of course, combined with the fact that there was something he hadn't quite understood in that declaration of Draco's - 'Hermione, what exactly did Draco mean by Yule Courting Rituals?'
'Oh! It's one of the Pureblood Courting Rituals - it's actually a very fascinating subject. There are a number of different Courting Rituals, each for a different situation. The one Malfoy has initiated is sort of a declaration of intent. Most of the other Rituals are a precursor to asking for a person's hand in marriage, but this one is what precedes Malfoy asking you out - you know, for dates. It's all very formal, don't you think? I mean even Muggles of the highest society don't have rituals for this kind of thing.' Hermione rambled on, caught up in lecturing Harry about the various courting rituals the purebloods had come up with.
'Hermione,' Harry interrupted, 'while this is all very interesting, I really just want information on the ritual Draco mentioned.'
'Oh, of course. I have a book about it in my room.' Hermione got up from her seat, grabbing a couple of croissants and eclairs to take along with her. 'I'll meet you in the Common Room, Harry.'
It was then that Harry noticed that their conversation had not gone unnoticed. Almost every face in the Great Hall was pointed towards him, shock etched on each one. "Yeah, let's get out of here," he muttered.
Harry had just managed to reach the Common Room when Hermione came bounding down the stairs of her dorm, an enormous old-book held in her arms.
'Here it is,' Hermione pointed to a chapter in the book, Purebloods for the Muggleborn, 'the chapter we're looking for, page 425.'
Harry bent his head to read along with Hermione.
The Yule Courting Rituals are unlike other more formal courting rituals, as they simply precede the request to meet someone informally. This particular Ritual lasts for a year, and traditionally starts at Yule Time (Christmas). Under these courting rituals, the initiator presents the recipient four presents per season, and a number of presents equal to the recipient's age the next Yule - or Christmas. The seasonal presents are traditionally drawn from either the elements (for more information on the elements and their symbolism, see Chapter 1), or symbols associated with the major festivals of each season (for more information on the traditional festivals, see Chapter 5) and are often given on popular holidays such as St. Valentine's Day and Easter. The final, age-numbered presents may be anything, but are traditionally presents that signify how well the gifter knows the recipient.
The traditional time to announce the commencement of the rituals is Christmas Eve. As such, the winter season is necessarily broken up. The first two winter presents are given after the announcement of the courting, and the third and fourth presents are given the following year, before the end of the rituals.
The book continued to detail other intricacies of the rituals depending on who the initiator and the recipient were, but Harry had already reeled back, shocked.
'Wow, he didn't choose something simple did he?' Hermione commented.
But another thought had quickly begun to form in Harry's head. 'Why did he need to initiate the rituals with me, Mione? Surely just simply asking me out would have worked just as easily?.'
'Malfoy was actually very smart in announcing his intention to court you before asking you out. Don't you realise the position you're in, Harry?'
'What position?'
'You're the Man-Who-Lived, remember?' Hermione had a pitying look on her face. 'If Malfoy had simply asked you out, he would have been accused of trying to use you for his own gains, to return the name of Malfoy as respectable, things like that. He would have had to face a lot of bad press before people would even think about letting it go. But by initiating the rituals, Malfoy's proved that he's serious - that he's not just using you. No one who knows the reputation of the Malfoy family would imagine that he would initiate one of the old Courting Rituals if he didn't mean it - the family's just too proud of their heritage to do that, even with their side defeated. By doing this, he has almost erased the possibility of bad press when your relationship comes into the public eye.'
'But is there a particular way for me to reply to him? What am I supposed to do now?'
'Don't you read, Harry? It's written right there, in black and white, waiting for you to see it!' she fixed him with an exasperated glare. 'You're not supposed to do anything! Malfoy initiated it, and Malfoy will carry it out - you only come in after the last presents have been given. Malfoy will ask you out, and it's then that you have to make your decision. That's why the old rituals aren't used much these days - the initiator is expected to spend a lot of time and money on the recipient, without being sure of the outcome.' She suddenly looked at him knowingly. 'This should also satisfy you about his seriousness. If I know you, even his usage of the old rituals hasn't convinced you, but this should. The amount of time and money he's pledged to spend on you is ridiculous. He's expected to give you 35 presents by next year. And knowing Malfoy, they're not going to be cheap.'
Harry just gave her a sheepish smile. She'd just cleared the last of his doubts, and now, he just had to wait for the first present to come in.