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New Year’s Day on Black Isle found it in celebration with every living Potter-Malfoy Black in attendance. It was loud and chaotic, full of fun and love. This day had always been a favorite for many.
In the colorful gardens behind the main house, a blonde haired wizard with emerald green eyes walked hand in hand, through what the family fondly referred to as The Garden Of Love, with a small boy of about 7 years old. The boy mirrored the taller man, but with raven hair and eyes of silver gray. As they strolled through the peaceful garden, the older man began to describe each flower, its representation and why it had been planted there.
“All of these flowers came from an important time in their lives. A friend of theirs from Hogwarts taught them a magical way to regrow the plant from a flower and a charm to give it endless life. They were your great, great, great, great grandfathers.”
“I know, Father. You tell me about them often.”
“I suppose I do. This flower here is the first flower Grandad Harry regrew to a plant.”
“That’s a red tulip.”
”It sure is. Grandfather Draco chose them for their first Our Day celebration, I’ve told you about their Our Days.” The younger boy nodded. “The red tulip represents feelings of passion, love and lust. It was near the beginning of their relationship and Grandfather felt they might express feelings he wasn’t able to yet put into words.”
“Look, a sunflower! They’re my favorite.”
“I know they are.” The man smiled fondly at his son. “Unfortunately, our grandfathers had a misunderstanding not long after their first Our Day and were not together when they graduated from Hogwarts. They still loved each other immensely though and Grandad Harry left a single Sunflower with a note for Grandfather to find after he graduated. Sunflowers represent adoration, good luck and long lasting happiness.
“So, if the sunflower was given when they were apart, what do you think this next one symbolizes, this yellow Daffodil?”
“Getting back together?”
“You got it! The story goes that Grandad took Grandfather to a Daffodil knot garden on one of their first dates back together, because they represent new beginnings and they were beginning ‘them’ again. It was also the day they decided to move in together as they’d planned to do before the misunderstanding.” Together, the two moved on to the next flowers. “Once they had been back together for a bit, Grandad had to go away on an Auror mission …”
“Granddad Harry was an Auror who went on missions?”
“Just for a bit. He didn’t really enjoy the position, but got through his training before changing to work on bettering parts of the wizarding world in other ways. The last mission he went on, he sent Forget-Me-Nots, which mean true love, respect, and remembrance, to Grandfather who was at home missing him.
“Then these, Aster, meaning ‘star’, and Baby’s Breath, symbolizing purity of heart and the ultimate innocence, were given to Grandad when their first baby, Eltanina Lily, was born and died, after living only minutes.”
“That’s a sad story.”
“Yes, it is, but look here. They also have a flower for each of their living children. For them, they chose a flower associated with their names instead of what they symbolize: Edward la plante, Pink Lyra, Star Flower Orion and Leonotis leonurus or ‘Lion’s Tail’. When each child was born, Grandfather gifted a bouquet of their flower to Grandad.”
“We skipped some.”
“Good observation. Before the flowers for their children, they regrew white Narcissus, magenta Lilies and white Orange Blossoms from their wedding celebration. My father, your grandfather, said Grandfather Draco would continually insist on proudly retelling the story of Granddad Harry really wanting those specific flowers for the wedding ceremony and how he was able to make the unique combination look brilliant.”
“But why did Grandad Harry want those flowers?”
“Both of their mothers had flower names: Narcissa and Lily. He wanted those to honor their mothers, but as luck would have it, what they symbolize worked out really well. Lilies represent unconditional love and Narcissus, rebirth or new beginnings. He apparently also wanted the Orange Blossoms because he’d read they represent eternal love and fruitfulness.
“That huge tree you see here in the middle, with the gnarled, twisty trunk, is a Wiggentree. It was planted before the wedding flowers were regrown. When Grandfather and Granddad moved to Black Isle, Grandad planted it as a seed. He claimed it would grow in size and strength, just as their family would, while offering protection. He wanted it to symbolize the love and safety of home.”
“It’s so tall!”
“It’s grown quite a lot in all the years. I suppose it’s been almost 150 years since this became Black Isle and Granddad Harry planted it.
“There’s a second Wiggentree on the island, grown from a seed of this one. It’s in the center of the Potter-Malfoy Black Family Cemetery right behind where Grandad Harry and Grandfather Draco are buried.”
“What about flowers for the grandkids, like us?”
“There are so many of us, I fear it would take over the whole island.”
The boy giggled. “That’s true.”
“When each of the children married, Grandfather and Granddad took part of their plant from the garden and created another from it. They then gifted it to the child for them to start their own Garden Of Love.”
“Wow, they really put a lot of thought into it.”
“I’m not sure they did. I think it just started with the first red tulip and they continued to regrow any flowers that had meaning for them. It simply evolved into what it became. The garden was started at their first home on Grimmauld Place in London and then replanted here, on the isle, when they moved.”
“Did you ever meet them?”
“I did. I was young when they died, but I have a clear memory of them from a New Year’s Day Family Reunion. They sat together right here in this garden, on that swing you see, leaning close to each other, holding hands and telling the story of how this celebration originally began. Grandfather’s hair was still longer and blonde like mine. I remember Grandad’s being wild and completely gray.”
“So it was many years ago today, exactly.”
“I suppose it was. This is the 145th PM Black New Year’s Extravaganza and the 116th year it’s also been our Potter-Malfoy Black New Year’s Family Reunion Extravaganza.”
“They must have liked long names.”
The father laughed. “Yes, they both lived big, one could say.”
“So how did the celebration begin, Father?”
“I don’t remember much of what they said that day, but your grandfather has told the story many times.
“It’s said that Grandfather Draco’s favorite Christmas memories from his childhood were of a ‘Winter Extravaganza’ his mother created. Every New Year’s Day, his mother would enchant an area in the field behind their home with snow, a frozen pond, etc. He and his mother would spend the whole day together, just the two of them, playing in the snow, building snowmen, ice skating and having all kinds of winter fun.
“Grandad Harry wanted to recreate that memory for Grandfather Draco. So, Grandfather’s mum, your great, great, great, great, great grandmother Narcissa, gave Grandad memories of those special days and Grandad recreated the exact same scene here on the isle.
“On one of their Our Days, as they called Christmas Eve, Grandad gifted Grandfather the Winter Extravaganza he cherished from childhood.”
“What!? You’ve said how powerful they were, but that seems impossible.”
“Nothing was impossible with Grandad Harry.” He chuckled. “He researched, and with the help of two of his best friends …”
“Oh, you mean Rosalia’s great, great, great, great grandmum and granddad.”
“Yes, exactly. Hermione was one of the smartest witches ever to live and Ron was brilliant at figuring out how to put a plan into action. With their help, he was able to enchant a winter wonderland in the backyard.
“Grandfather adored it so much, Grandad began the tradition of recreating it every year on their Our Day and leaving it up through New Year’s Day. They'd have a celebration every year on the first day of the new year, inviting all of their friends and family. Grandad would say it was to, ‘bring in the new year together as a family, surrounded by love’. It’s said that every year when the celebration came to an end, he’d look at Grandfather and say, ‘This is going to be our year again, my dragon. Let’s make it extravagant’.
“As the family grew, the day also became a reunion. It’s the one day of the year every descendant of the Potter-Malfoy Black familial line is sure to return to Balck Isle to celebrate each other, Granddad Harry and Grandfather Draco.”
“So, today is also Grandad Harry and Grandfather Draco Day.”
“I suppose it is.”
“What was so great about them? Was it just because they were so magically powerful?”
“Oh, no. They were indeed both very powerful, magically, but really, that is one of the least things that was so great about them. You know all about the heroes they were and the strength they held, but, by far, the greatest thing about Grandfather Draco and Grandad Harry was their love. They chose to love so very deeply and bravely, I wonder if it could ever be matched.”
“I wish I could have known them.”
“Me, too. They would have loved you so very much.”
“Yeah?”
“Oh, for sure! How could they not love their little namesake?”
“They’re a lot to live up to.”
“You don’t have their names because we want you to live up to anything, Harco. We gave you their names as a reminder of who you are and where you came from. You came from the strongest and deepest love two people have ever shared, never forget that.”
“I won’t.”
“The biggest way you can honor them, is to always choose to be true to yourself and love big. That’s what they stood for.”
The two walked over to the large swing the father mentioned earlier, surrounded by the many blooming flowers, and sat, both reflecting on the beautiful garden and the story of love it represented.
“You know, they must have been pretty special to have had their own day for all these years.”
“More special than we’ll ever know.”