It was the first year Harry and Fleur were spending at the Veela Enclave they have moved to, seeking a quiet and peaceful place to live. They got their wish and Harry was quite surprised at how quickly they were accepted as part of the community. The women welcomed Fleur with squeals, hugs and kisses, while the menfolk have just nodded respectfully at Harry and invited him to the pub for a round.
Now the summer solstice has come and Harry and Fleur were spending the day cooking and baking, preparing food for the evening celebration. The whole Enclave was preparing, every family taking part.
Afternoon soon came and it was time. It took quite some effort to carry all the prepared food outside, to the edge of the Enclave, where long tables with preserving charms were prepared, at the edge of a forest. One smaller hut stood nearby, close to a wooden podium, surrounded by cleared out space. Several pyres were prepared, one rather large while others looked to be made for campfire.
Finally, it was time to begin as all the people gathered. First, one family after the other, they entered the nearby stream, symbolically bathing themselves. Then, maidens with wreathes of flowers went around, carrying bowls of burning incense and feathers, going around each person, cleansing them by smoke.
Now came the part Harry considered a bit crazy. Everyone started clapping and cheering and people split into groups, each going to one of the smaller fires. One by one, they all proceeded to jump over the fire. Thus everyone was thrice cleansed, by water, smoke and fire. For the next part, each of the young flower crowned maidens went into the forest and the others started trickling after them. When Harry found one of the young priestesses, she smiled at him and bade him to choose three herbs from the selection she had at her feet.
The divination was a strange experience for Harry, who was used to Trelawney’s theatrics. None of that was present here, only him, the priestess and the nature all around. Still, in these humble conditions, Harry felt himself watched by mysterious forces more than whenever Trelawney predicted his future. He vowed to remember this for as long as he could as he returned to the area of the celebration.
Now came one of the parts everyone was looking forward to, they sat down to the tables, drank a toast to everyone’s good fortune and started eating the delicious feast. Musicians stepped to the podium and soon the cheerful tunes of flutes and strings, accompanied by drums and singing kept everyone’s mood up. Several times they took breaks, even musicians had to eat. As there was less and less food, more people were getting up, in pairs, in groups and started dancing to the music, who wasn’t dancing was at least clapping, cheering and singing.
Fleur dragged Harry to the whirling mass of people. While it seemed like nobody followed the same steps, there were no collisions, only good cheer and laughter. As the hour grew late, the songs became bawdier and the dancing wilder. Quite often Harry beheld a flash of feathers as dancing was often accompanied by significant looks, stolen kisses and gropes.
Suddenly, however, the musicians grew silent and vacated the podium only to stand next to it. A pair of figures, a silvery blonde woman in a dress of yellow, red and orange and in a mask resembling the plumage of a phoenix stepped on the podium from the right while a man in a blue, brown and green robe, tied together with a snake-like belt, wearing a black and blue mask, stepped on the podium from the left. The musicians started again, slowly, while everyone started clapping.
A ritual dance began, the masked figures circling each other and taking turns singing. It was a dance of courting, of seduction, and as both dancers grew more daring, the audience clapped faster and faster. As the clapping grew into a crescendo, the man grabbed the woman while Harry could see feathers sprouting on her shoulders. A searing kiss followed, then both dancers took off their masks, throwing them to the audience. The man grabbed his wife (always a married couple was chosen for this honour), lifted her into his arms and carried her to the nearby prepared hut. As they stepped of the podium, her wings obscuring them from view.
Even over the sound of cheering and loud music, Harry could hear the sounds of vigorous lovemaking and a Veela’s triumphant screeching. The dancing grew frenetic now, over half of the women at least sporting feathers and various couples leaving the main group to find a secluded spot. Just as his neighbour grabbed his laughing wife and threw her over his shoulder, Harry felt a tug on his hand.
sLooking at Fleur and seeing her bird-like gaze, he couldn’t resist, as she dragged him to a comfy looking meadow, her outstretched wings tickling his nose.