Dean's eyes widened. "Seriously?"
Hermione turned away to write the final name on the black board. "To be fair, it is a very large shoe." She finished the final letter with a flourish and turned back to them. "I've seen pictures."
"Anyway," Elizabeth redirected their attention back to herself. "These other schools don't come close to Hogwarts. That's mostly by design. Most of the muggleborns and non-noble half-bloods go to them. You're all very lucky to be invited here. If you had to leave Hogwarts for whatever reason, you'd probably go to one of those other schools." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Unless you were expelled for breaking the International Statute of Secrecy of course, in which case you'd probably be mind-wiped and sent back to the muggle world with two dozen curses to block and drain your magic."
The four muggleborns nodded, slowly. It was far from the first positively medieval pronouncement they'd heard in the last few weeks.
They continued to discuss the three other schools - how they were founded, what they taught, and how it differed from the Hogwarts curriculum. Half the students in Britain and Ireland went to Hogwarts. The other half were split evenly among the box, the windmill, and the Shoe. Hermione finished by showing them a chart she'd drawn, mapping the upper echelons of the ministry of magic to the schools the officials attended - red for the castle (Hogwarts), blue for the windmill, yellow for the box, and green for the Shoe. The chart was a sea of red.
"And on that cheery note," Hermione said, smiling widely, "let's talk Christmas."
Justin shook his head and took out a blank sheet of parchment.
"First, it shouldn't be surprising that wizards don't actually celebrate Christmas-"
Kevin looked up from his own battered notebook, startled.
"-We celebrate the winter solstice, which happens on the 21st or 22nd of December, and the winter festival, which takes place on the 23rd.
"But," Kevin looked confused. "But, the castle…"
"Oh, many of the traditions are similar. And Dumbledore calls it Christmas for some reason, but away from the castle, it's the winter festival, or just the festival."
"So, what different traditions are there?" asked Sophie.
Hermione smiled and thought back to a few weeks ago when Harry had invited her to the Greengrass's winter festival. "Well, the one I'm most looking forward to seeing is 'the hunt'."
"The hunt?"
Portrait Elizabeth chuckled. "That's such a wizard thing. My husband used to love it. Although apparently young witches are into it these days too." She smiled at Hermione.
Hermione felt embarrassment creeping up the back of her neck. "I just thought it sounded really interesting."
"What is it?" tried Sophie again.
"Oh," Hermione turned away from the smirking portrait. "All the animagi transform into their animal forms and hide in a large forest. Then all the wizards and witches ride horses and hunt them with special short-range stunning spells. It's supposed to be a re-enactment of the wild hunt of the Unseelie Court - Definitely one of the darker traditions - Bragging rights for catching someone or evading capture until nightfall."
Sophie looked thoughtful. "So, sort of like fox hunting?"
"Kind of," Hermione waggled a hand. "Except no-one dies."
Dean grinned. "Does Professor McGonagall take part? I'd pay money to see that tabby cat scampering through the woods."
Hermione hesitated. "I… I don't know." She frowned. "Somehow, I can't imagine her agreeing to it."
Justin chuckled. "Well, that sounds cool. What else?"
"Some families hold Yule Balls during the winter festival week. The most prominent one is held by the Malfoys." She made a face. "So, you can guess I won't be going to that one."
They all nodded in agreement.
"Then there's the winter solstice. One of the bi-yearly Wizengamot mandatory sessions is held on that day. It's the longest night of the year and many rituals are best done on that night."
Sophie tilted her head. "Rituals?"
Hermione looked confused for a moment.
"Oh!" she felt her cheeks redden. "Sorry, I keep forgetting. Rituals are another method of performing magic. Like we use wands, potions, and runes here at Hogwarts - rituals are just another type. They can be very potent and dangerous because they sacrifice something in exchange for something else and are often permanent."
Sophie nodded. "So, winter solstice is 'ritual night'?"
"Well," Hermione cast her mind back. "It can be… mostly… I mean, there are other rituals done over the winter festival. For example, there's this other tradition called Stella Benedictio, which uses a combination of ritual and astrological magics to grant a boon to the participants for the coming year. But no one's done that one for a long long time."
"Why not?"
...
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