Chapter 20 “ A Festival in Hogsmeade
Maeve sat at the dresser brushing her hair not really seeing her reflection. Her thoughts were on the day before and the time she had spent with Sirius. He had relieved her fears about being just a way to pass the summer.
“You certainly look happy about something, sister.”
Maeve jumped a bit; she hadn’t heard Morag come in. “I guess I am happy.”
Their eyes met in the mirror. “Sirius?” Morag asked simply.
Maeve’s eyes sparkled as she nodded.
“Those Black boys certainly are charmers, aren’t they?” Morag said as she flopped on the bed.
“That they are,” Maeve agreed. “What are your plans for today?”
Morag rolled over to look at her sister again. “Nothing set in stone just yet.”
“You’re up to something.”
“What makes you say that?”
“I can tell. Now, what’s going on in that devious mind of yours?” Maeve teased.
“Well, there’s a festival in Hogsmeade that starts late this afternoon. I thought we might ask the boys if they would escort us.”
“Do you think Mother would allow us to go to Hogsmeade with them?”
“If you’d been home for tea yesterday, you’d know that they are planning to go. Mother wants to go to Diagon Alley this morning for our school supplies, and Floo over to the Three Broomsticks for lunch and stay for the festival. She has already owled the Inn to reserve rooms for us.” Morag shrugged. “I just thought that, maybe, Mrs. Black might let the boys escort us since Mum and Da will be there to chaperone.”
“Now you’re wondering how to ask them.”
Morag laughed. “You have so little faith in me, sister. Now I’m waiting for an owl from Reggie with an answer.”
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Sirius was comfortably slouched in a chair in the library chuckling quietly over the hexes in Party Pranks “ A guide to Keep your Gatherings Going, when Regulus startled him. “There you are!”
Sirius tucked the book under his leg before asking, “Why would you be looking for me?”
“I thought you might like to pack!” Reggie drawled, trying to hide his own excitement.
Sirius quickly hid his dismay. “Going back to Grimmauld Place, are we?”
“Not at all. I thought you might be interested in going to Hogsmeade.” Reggie perched on the edge of a window seat, grinning widely.
Sirius snorted. “As if Mother would allow me to go to Hogsmeade.”
Reggie pulled a note from his pocket, opening it slowly. “Well she will, because of this.”
Sirius arched an eyebrow, refusing to ask what he was talking about.
“You see, I got a note from Morag this morning. . .” Reggie said slowly, trying to raise his brother’s anticipation.
“Lucky you,” Sirius replied, watching his brother speculatively.
“And lucky you.”
Sirius heaved a sigh, knowing Reggie would keep this going as long as possible, so he snapped, “Just why would it be lucky for me when you get a note from your betrothed?”
“Well, I showed the note to Mother and she was agreeable,” Reggie said archly.
“Let’s have a look then,” Sirius said, holding out his hand for the note.
Reggie,
My parents, my sister, and I will be attending a Festival in Hogsmeade that begins this afternoon and we will be staying at the Three Broomsticks afterward, coming home tomorrow. Do you think you and your brother might be allowed to escort us? You can assure your parents we will be well chaperoned.
Affectionately,
Morag
Sirius grinned broadly. “Mother was agreeable, you said?”
Reggie looked away for a moment. “Well, there are stipulations.”
“Stipulations?” Sirius growled. He could only imagine what his mother would come up with.
“We’ll have other chaperones as well.”
Sirius sat up in alarm. “Who?”
“Well, um, er. . .”
“Out with it Reggie,” Sirius barked.
“Well, it’s like this. Lucius was in the drawing room when I showed the note to Mother. He offered to escort Narcissa, saying he would have Rodolphus and Bellatrix come along as well.”
Sirius covered his face with his hands. “What a bloody nightmare.”
“It doesn’t have to be.”
“How can you say that?”
“It’s a festival.” Reggie shrugged.
A gleam of humor crept into Sirius’s eyes. “I think I see what you mean.”
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Princess,
We would be delighted to escort you to the Festival this evening. A number of my family will also be in attendance. We should be arriving at the Three Broomsticks at four.
Yours,
Reggie
Morag nearly forgot to give the owl a treat before dashing off to show her sister Reggie’s reply.
Maeve was listing to the Wireless, going through her closet looking for something to wear to the festival when her sister danced into the room.
“They’re going!”
A shiver of delight ran up Maeve’s spine. “Really?! How wonderful!”
“Maeve, may I borrow your green robe?” Morag asked pulling it from the closet and holding it in front of her, gazing in the mirror.
“Of course, I never liked it on me. What do you think of the blue? Will this be alright?”
“People might think you’re a Ravenclaw,” Morag teased, knowing the soft blue could never be mistaken for Ravenclaw’s darker shade.
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“Girls, are you ready yet?” called Brian Stewart, interrupting their giggles.
“Yes, Da!” they chorused.
“Come along then, aren’t we supposed to meet the boys at four?” He asked gruffly. “It’s nearly that now. You don’t want them to find someone more prompt to escort, do you?
He chuckled quietly to his wife at the sound of scurried feet.
“We’re ready Da!”
“Brian, you’re incorrigible!” his wife chided gently, hiding her own smile. “Ah, there you are girls, and pretty as a picture too!”
“Let’s go then.”
They peered anxiously around the pub was they came down the stairs. Morag nudged Maeve, “Look,” she whispered, nodding toward a head of white blonde hair. “Isn’t that Lucius Malfoy?”
“I think so,” Maeve answered. “Isn’t he engaged to the boys’ cousin?”
“Yes. Reggie did say a number of his family would be coming along.” Morag continued to look around the crowded room, trying to find her betrothed.
Sirius and Regulus appeared at the foot of the stairs. “Mr. and Mrs. Stewart, thank you for allowing us to escort the girls to the Festival,” Sirius said smoothly.
“Yes, it is indeed an honor,” Reggie chimed in.
“You’re quite welcome boys,” Mr. Stewart replied heartily. “I expect you to check in regularly.”
“Brian!” exclaimed Mrs. Stewart, “It’s not as if the Festival is miles long, I’m sure we will see them often enough.”
Mr. Steward pulled two small pouches from a deep pocket. “Here you go girls, have a good time!” He took his wife’s elbow, leading her away into the crowd.
Sirius extended an elbow to Maeve. “Shall we see the sights?”
Maeve matched his bright smile with one of her own. “I’d love to!”
“Sirius,” Regulus said, tapping his brother on the shoulder. “Shouldn’t we at least present the girls to our cousins?”
A look of distaste marred Sirius' expression for a moment. “I suppose we’d never hear the end of it if we didn’t.”
“They can’t be all bad, can they?” Maeve asked, wondering why Sirius didn’t want to spend time with his cousins.
Sirius smiled down at her. “You don’t know them very well yet.”
They made their way through the crowd Regulus leading the way with Morag hand tucked in his elbow.
“Cousins, my I present my betrothed, Morag Stewart, and her sister Maeve? Girls, this is Bellatrix and Narcissa and their escorts, Rodolphus Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy,” Regulus said, making the introductions as quickly as possible.
“Enchanted,” Lucius said, taking each girls hand in turn.
“Charmed,” Rodolphus added, greeting each girl.
“Your betrothal was delightful,” gushed Narcissa.
“Yes, a lovely party,” Bellatrix said coolly.
“We’ll have to get to know each other better, once school begins,” Narcissa said, moving to stand next to Morag. “Lucius quite likes Regulus, I’m certain we’ll become good friends.”
“That would be very nice,” Morag replied quietly.
“I say, let’s go see what this Festival has to offer,” Sirius broke in, wanting nothing more than to get away from everyone else and spend some time with Maeve.
“Sirius,” Lucius called out.
“Yes?” Sirius replied turning to look Lucius in the eye.
“What say we have a bit of a competition later this evening?”
“What type of competition were you thinking?”
“Things should quiet down in here after the Festival gets going, I was thinking of a short Dart tournament, if you think you’re up to it.”
“Looking to win back some of your pool losses?” Sirius asked archly.
Lucius’ eyes grew icier for a moment. “Of course.”
“What do you think Reggie? Want to take some more of his galleons?”
“Sounds like a plan!” Reggie said with a grin.
“9:00 then?”
“We’ll be here.”
The younger couples left the pub and made their way to the brightly decorated festival. Minstrels made their way through the crowd singing and playing. Sirius swung Maeve into an energetic group of people dancing a lively jig. Not to be outdone, Reggie pulled Morag into the group as well. An impromptu challenge sprang up between the brothers to see who could do the liveliest step or swing their partner higher. When the jig ended the girls were laughing and breathless.
“Look, there’s Da!” Maeve pointed toward a booth serving drinks. They made their way over to him, stopping long enough to say hello and order Butterbeers before wandering on to see what else the festival had to offer.
They watched acrobats tumbling in one tent and players doing short skits in another. The evening was filled with laughter, jokes, food, and fun. The hours slipped by quickly and the sun began to set.
They found a spot to sit just as the fireworks began. Rockets shot skyward, bursting into millions of glittering sparks that danced to the minstrels’ tunes before fading away. Each explosion was a greater spectacle than the last. Huge fairies made of sparkling light cavorted through the sky, seeming to jump from one star to the next. Unicorns jumped through rainbows, splashing across bubbling brooks of blue light.
The exhibition ended with an impressive green dragon being slain by a shining silver knight on a white steed. The battle between the two apparitions was breathtaking.
“It’s nearly 9:00, shall we head back to the Three Broomsticks?” Reggie asked, never remembering a better day spent in his brother’s company.
Sirius turned to Maeve. “What do you say? Would you like to watch a Dart tournament?”
“That sounds like fun,” Maeve agreed with a grin.
“Are you two any good at darts?” Morag asked.
“You’ll just have to watch and see,” teased Reggie.
Sirius whispered to Maeve, "He's a legend in his own mind."
She giggled softly and said, "What about you?"
Sirius grinned. "I'm a legend."
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A/N: Thank you to everyone who has come back for this long awaited update... here's hoping the next one doesn't take so long! Extra thanks to Kerichi for gently nudging me into writing again!