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Halfway between spring and summer, the pureblood community comes together to celebrate love and fertility in honor of Beltane. One of the more infamous celebrations is hosted by one of the families of the Sacred 28 families. Each year, a different family opens their home to the celebration allowing wizards from all walks of life into their home to be re-energized by the fires, rituals, and performances.
Early in the morning on the eve of May first, the Greengrass family home was already bustling with preparations for the three-day festival. Daphne Greengrass watched the chaos unfold as she drank her coffee from her seat on the island. She chuckled to herself at the flood of conversation that filled the room. The butlers and maids were in a tizzy because every time they set something up for the celebration, someone else would come in behind them and clean it up. The kitchen staff was getting frustrated at the ever-changing menu for the evening because with each reservation, a new allergy or intolerance would pop up that needed to be taken into account.
"If only my mother knew what was said behind her back," she whispered, taking a sip of her coffee, and as if on cue, her mother appeared in the doorway with a panicked look on her face.
"There you are," her mother said, letting out a sigh as she approached the island Daphne was seated at. "I need you to go talk to your sister."
Daphne rolled her eyes. "Why now?"
"Another test came back negative," her mother replied, shaking her head. "I tried to comfort her, but I wasn't getting through to her. She's asking for you."
"What am I supposed to do for her?" Daphne asked, taking another sip of her coffee. "It's not like I can help her get pregnant."
"But you can be a supportive older sister in her time of need," Mrs. Greengrass said, taking the coffee cup out of Daphne's hands, lifting it to her lips, and taking a sip. She grimaced at the taste and pushed the cup back to her. "That is pure sugar."
"Because it's my coffee," Daphne laughed, reclaiming her cup. "I'll go see what I can do, but I make no promises. You know how I feel about the unrealistic expectations of the pureblood world."
Her mother shook her head and brushed off the comment. "It'll be your turn to worry about producing an heir to someone's family line soon enough."
Daphne rolled her eyes and pushed away from the island. "Over my head body," she scoffed, shaking her head. Before her mother could say anything more, Daphne slipped out of the kitchen and made her way down the hall to Astoria's bedroom - not that she had slept there since marrying Draco. However, her childhood bedroom became her source of comfort with every pregnancy test she took.
Knocking on the door gently, Daphne pushed the door open before Astoria could respond to her knock. As the door opened, she saw Astoria looking at herself in the mirror, her hands on her belly as though she were pregnant. Daphne noticed her cheeks were tear-stained when she noticed Daphne standing in the doorway.
"Hey," Daphne whispered, offering a small smile. "What's going on?"
"I just don't understand," Astoria huffed, moving away from the mirror to collapse on her bed. Her hair sprawled out on the pillow like a crown. Daphne bit back a laugh at the sight, made her way into the room, and sat next to her on the bed. "We've done everything the mediwitch asked us to do, tried all of the positions that the muggle books suggested, and quit using any kind of protection long before we started trying."
"Why couldn't you have just said we tried everything and left it at that," Daphne grimaced, shaking her head at the thought. "Now I've got images of you and Draco floating around in my brain that I don't want."
The noise that left Astoria's lips caught Daphne off guard. She couldn't remember the last time Astoria had honestly laughed in her presence since she and Draco had begun trying to get pregnant.
"I'm not even sorry for what I said," Astoria managed to say in between laughs. She propped herself up on an elbow and looked up at her sister. "I just don't understand how other people can get knocked up at the drop of a hat, and I've been having such a hard time."
"Maybe the Sun God and the Earth Goddess have other plans for you, like adoption," Daphne suggested, scooting back on the bed so she was out of Astoria's reach. She knew the risks she was taking even offering that option, but it looked like Astoria and Draco needed to take the hint.
"Adoption won't produce an heir to the Malfoy line," Astoria sighed, swinging her arm in the air as she rolled her eyes. "I know that an adoption is always an option, but it can't be an option until there is an heir - which means if I do get pregnant and it ends up being a little girl, we have to keep trying."
"At least the trying part is fun," Daphne laughed. She watched the humor illuminate Astoria's face before the sadness reappeared in her eyes. "I know you are expected to produce an heir, but the Sacred 28 will have to deal with it if that is just not in the cards for you and Draco."
"I know you're right," Astoria replied, lying back against the pillow. Her eyes fluttered shut as she let out an exasperated breath. "I just wish there was a way to step in and try to convince the gods to see it my way - especially since the celebration is upon us."
Daphne nodded her head slowly as she watched Astoria drift off to sleep; she needed rest. She hated the added stress that the Sacred 28 put on their children when it came to producing an heir, and it was an old rite of passage that needed to end. Resting her head against the headboard, Daphne closed her eyes for a moment. Every possible option for helping Draco and Astoria passed through her mind; it crossed her mind no matter how silly the idea may have been.
It wasn't until she had almost drifted off to sleep that an idea struck her, and she jolted awake. She slowly climbed off the bed, leaving Astoria to sleep, and headed to her father's study. Daphne was the last person to believe that something as simple as a ritual blessing would help solve the woes of Astoria's womb, but she also couldn't spend another minute hearing the heart-wrenching cries when the test came back negative.
Scanning the spines of the books in the study, she stopped when her fingers trailed over Beltane: Rituals, Recipes, and Lore for May Day. She plucked the book off the shelf and flipped through the pages until she found a ritual that fit her needs. Daphne jotted down the blessing and ingredients for the ritual on a piece of parchment and tucked it in her pocket before returning the book to its home on the shelf. With a proud smile on her face, Daphne set off to gather the items necessary to perform the ritual at tonight's celebration.
. . . . . . . . . . .
There was a field of wildflowers growing in the back corner of the Greengrass estate. Daphne often wandered through the flowers just for some peace, but she was here to help her sister. One of the perks of growing up with wildflowers is recognizing the different types of flowers just by looking out onto the field.
She let out a sigh as she moved toward the path through the flowers to a small bench her grandfather had built for the girls as a birthday present in their younger days. The sentimental memory brought a smile to her face, keeping an eye out for the ritual's four colors of flowers.
"Red poppies, hawthorns, urisinias, and celandines," Daphne mumbled to herself as she looked around the field. They would be the perfect arrangement of flowers to decorate the Beltane altar at the festival, and as a bonus, the colors fit the bill for the ritual. She didn't need to worry about anything else because it would already be there for the rest of the festival.
When the wind blew in the right direction, Daphne could hear Astoria's saddened cries as the test she had taken before Daphne had managed to sneak away to the garden. There was no doubt what the stick said with the pain echoing in her voice. Daphne hung her head and took a deep breath, letting out a heavy sigh. She needed to finish gathering these flowers and get back to help her mother finish setting up for the festival. Her mother would certainly send someone to find her if she didn't reappear soon - usually, that person would be Tori, but that wouldn't be the most likely case right now.
"Merlin, I hope this works," Daphne sighed, closing her eyes for a moment to allow the sun to warm her face. The silence surrounding her for the moment brought her a sense of serenity. Beltane was always a stressful time of year, but this year seemed to have an extra stress level.
Draco and Astoria's fifth wedding anniversary was quickly approaching. Every time the young couple attended dinner with either family, the conversation always turned to children. Daphne would interfere to the best of her ability, but her mother would often silence her or banish her from the table to allow the adults to speak. Daphne would roll her eyes and leave the room as asked, but she wouldn't go far. She'd stay within earshot to comfort her sister when inevitably, her mother would make some comment that would cause Astoria to storm out of the room.
The repetitive cycle gnawed at every nerve of Daphne's body, but she would stand by her sister no matter what. The only thing she was thankful for was that in her mother's obsession with Astoria getting pregnant, she had forgotten entirely about the fact that Daphne wasn't married. Things would stay that way until the Goddess of Fertility graced Astoria. As much as Daphne enjoyed that her mother left her alone, her heart went out to Astoria in her time of desperation.
"The things we do for family," Daphne laughed, rolling her eyes as she bent down to cut a few stems of poppies at the ground. She placed them in her basket and continued her search for the other flowers on her list.
Each flower on her list had its meaning and importance to its job in the bouquet that would don her altar this evening. Poppies represent remembrance, and during the time of Beltane, festival-goers need to remember those that have come before and those that will go after. Hawthorns symbolize the love for everyone and as a gentle reminder that they never know who will have a significant effect on their lives. Urisinias would represent the innocence of love, like that of a child - something that everyone is always in a little extra need of from time to time. And last but not least, the celandine flowers would remind those in attendance of joys to come. As Daphne picked the celandines, an image of her future nieces and nephews popped into her mind as a smile warmed her face.
In the distance, the church bells sang, signaling the top of the hour, which meant Daphne needed to head back to the house and begin getting ready for the evening. Her mother's words echoed in the back of her mind. Greengrasses are never late - especially not to our parties.
. . . . . . . . . .
The sun was starting to set as Daphne made her way to the Beltane altar in the garden with a bouquet of the wildflowers she had gathered in her hand. She arranged them around the center of the altar as she prepared to call upon the blessings of the Earth. She knelt before the altar and whispered a silent prayer before rising.
Daphne took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes. "You are blessed, beautiful Earth; you secure and nourish me. Thank you for the trees, the roots, and the spring. Thank you for the wisdom that I hear in the wind. I welcome your Goddess' gifts and accept your authority."
She leaned forward and lit the candles that adorned the altar. A smile graced her lips as she looked at the handiwork that she hoped would pay off when she noticed Draco and Astoria coming towards her out of the corner of her eyes.
"I hope this works," Daphne sighed, shaking her head as she walked away towards Draco and Astoria from the altar. "Hey, love birds."
"We've been looking for you," Astoria said, a giddy smile donning her face. "I've got some news."
"Draco's pregnant," Daphne deadpanned, laughing at the disgusted expression on Draco's face. She smacked him playfully on the shoulder before wrapping an arm around him. "I'm only teasing. What's up?"
"Way to ruin our news," Astoria huffed, crossing her arms over her chest as she pouted her lips.
Daphne cocked her head to the side as she carefully contemplated her sister's words. When the moment of realization struck, she pulled away from Draco and wrapped Astoria up in a hug as she let out a scream. "When did you find out?"
"Only a few moments ago," Astoria laughed, squeezing her sister tightly. "You were the first person I wanted to tell when I found out."
"After me, of course," Draco chimed in, wrapping his arms around the sisters.
Daphne glanced up at him and rolled her eyes. "Actually," she laughed, "I would have been the first to know if I had been in the house instead of performing a ritual for you two."
"You did what?" Astoria asked, pulling back to look Daphne up and down.
Daphne laughed, taking a nervous step back as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I performed a ritual blessing to the Earth Goddess, and I figured saying an extra prayer couldn't hurt."
Astoria grabbed Daphne and pulled her into a hug, squeezing her tight - quite possibly tighter than initially intended.
"Tori," Daphne coughed, hugging her back for a moment before attempting to push away from her. "You're making it tough to breathe."
"I don't care," Astoria replied, holding tight to Daphne for a few moments. "You didn't have to do that for us, especially since I know you don't care for the pureblood way of life. So it means a lot to me."
Daphne rolled her eyes as she settled into the hug. "I'm just trying to be a good big sister."
As the celebration continued, Daphne kept an eye on the celebration fire. It appeared to glow brighter this year than she ever remembered it glowing before. A sense of calm fell over her as she watched Draco and Astoria enjoying themselves for the first time in a very long time. Next year, they would celebrate the child's first Beltane and introduce them to all of the rituals and craziness of being a member of the pureblood society - something to look forward to in the coming years.