After a brief period of adaptation, the MacDougal Heiress had been adopted by the group formed by Alexandra, Hermione and Nigel. While Morag was a pure-blood, she had none of the bigotry shared by some families like the Malfoys, the Notts or the Smiths. On the other hand, she had not lost her tongue and did not hesitate to gently reprimand Hermione when the bushy-haired girl broke the wizarding customs and the decorum rules. Morag provided also an objective view of politics and events in Britain, because if her family was really influential in Ireland and in trade, her parents were firmly on the Neutral block of the Wizengamot and as such did not follow Dumbledore or Lucius Malfoy.
"Well, usually it's the Weasley Twins and a couple of older Gryffindors who organise the bets. But this year, exceptionally, some Slytherins have decided to begin their own system. One wonders why."
"Should we try to ruin them?" Asked Morag with a smile which made Alexandra wonder why the blue-eyed girl hadn't been sorted in Slytherin.
Probably for the same reason as I. Too dangerous for the Snakes precious pure-blood lives.
"Don't think so." The Potter Heiress refused." If Slytherin wins, it will be us who will have filled the pockets of the Snakes with gold. With the Snakes boys and girls being their parent's children," which was a polite way they had a good chance to become Death Eaters or the lackeys of any Dark Lord like their relatives, «I don't want to support them financially."
"Understandable." Whispered the red-haired Ravenclaw, who then turned on a corridor on their right instead of continuing straight-on to descend on the fourth floor.
"Err...Morag? This is not the fastest way to the Great Hall?"
"I know." Replied the Heiress of House MacDougal. "But I waited to talk to you in a place where there are no portraits or anything to hear us."
Effectively, this part of the sixth floor was one which had not been well maintained or embellished. There were just bare grey walls with no decoration or medieval painting in sight.
"Tell me Alexandra." Morag told her in a grave voice. "What do you know of the Old Ways?"
Alexandra stared at the red-haired Ravenclaw in silence for a moment, before finally answering.
"That they are the magical versions of the non-magical Celtic traditions, if the information I found about them is correct. Four major celebrations during the years: Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane and Lughnasadh and I think there is something on the day of the winter solstice too. Something called Yule?"
Alexandra passed her hand in her black hair in annoyance. "There was very little information in Hogwarts library about that, though it is not surprising considering the Ministry of Magic has classified them as forbidden magical rituals since 1983. Participating in them is worth a ten-year prison sentence at Azkaban, I believe."
"Good sum-up for a non-initiate," Said Morag, "but also incomplete."
"The Old Ways are indeed magical rituals, but contrary to everything the Ministry sprouts this day, they aren't Dark, evil or anything which corrupts the soul of the poor wizards and witches who participate in it. They are. They exist. They are our means to protect our lands, our crops, our traditions, our magic. "The voice of Morag grew more intense, more passionate as she continued." They are times where we need to cleanse our souls and magic, to re-align us in life. Moments we need to remember our songs, our ancestral traditions."
"The books said they can be... means for the Dark and Light Powers to enter our world." Said Alexandra when Morag stopped speaking, trying to digest what the other Ravenclaw had said.
"They can." Agreed Morag. "And these moments are usually blessed because their apparition is followed by times of great abundance and prosperity."
"Usually?"
"You said it yourself, Alexandra. Participating in a ritual of the Old Ways is worth a jail sentence. As a result, most of the families who continued to practise them are doing it on their own, or only with their closest allies. With so few people gathered, there hadn't been a significant event at one of our celebrations in over eighty years." The regret in the Ravenclaw girl's voice was palpable.
"I suppose...it has had some noticeable effects?" Asked the Potter Heiress.
"Oh, nothing to worry about," Affirmed Morag in a tone copied from Alexandra when she did sarcastic remarks. "Famines. Starvation. Crops destroyed. The equilibrium of the seasons modified. War. Conflict. Every time we don't respect nature and our traditions, then our world doesn't see any reason to respect us back, Alexandra."
"I wasn't aware it had gotten so bad." The green-eyed girl said in a subdued tone.
"Not many do." Said the MacDougal Heiress. "Half-Bloods and Muggleborns who have entered our world these last decades don't know anything about the Old Ways. It's not like they can't participate," she quickly added as Alexandra frowned, "but too many trust blindly the Ministry or, well..."
"You can say it, you know." Alexandra said with a loud sigh. "Dumbledore decreed the Old Ways are Dark, and who are we humble mortals to speak against him?"
"Not like I wanted to say it, but close enough." Morag nodded.
"That doesn't explain why you are speaking to me about it, Morag. I mean I'm flattered and everything to know about this, but why me? I was raised in a non-magical environment, and the only things I know from the Old Ways are things I found in books about Celtic traditions. There are plenty of people I'm sure who know way better than me the centuries-old traditions of the wizards and witches."
In fact, a lot of her interest in Celtic tradition came from the fact Tolkien books had been impregnated of it. Too bad a lot of the primary's school and local libraries were so incomplete in their sources.
"But they are not Heiresses and allied to House MacDougal."
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T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/Makimafic
If you guys wanna check it out.