Revelations
Mar. 24th, 2009 08:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alt_bellatrix posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
alternityI can think of no better way to celebrate the spring equinox than with a unicorn hunt. The show of faith between the creature and the young maiden is a symbol of the people's pure and enduring faith in our Lord and Protector. The brightness of the creature's coat turns the snows grey by comparison, and its auspicious appearance ushers in the season of warmth and bounty.
I know that, for some, the season of warmth and bounty may seem a bit far off. Make no mistake: it takes time to construct a paradise out of ashes, but with patience and hard work from all, all will be rewarded. Our Lord is nothing less than the Saviour of our world, the Creator of this paradise, and yet there remain those poor, misguided souls who would thwart His efforts and have us return to the darkness.
For those who have doubted their own reward, or who have had their faith tested, consider the wondrous gift of a life not lived in darkness. Take time to remember what it was like to live in the darkness, and if you are so young as to have never lived there, I will gladly inform you of the miseries you have been spared.
When I speak of darkness I speak only partially in metaphor. I grew up in the country, where most wizarding folk chose to live, keeping themselves hidden by a disguise of rubble. My Aunt and Uncle had the city house in Old London, which was unplottable yet sandwiched between muggle dwellings; no doubt it was built by some defiant ancestor who refused to lay low in the country. For all the heavy magic that was built into that house, the nearness of the muggles was always a concern. Auntie Walburga cautioned my sisters and I to never go out the front door - her sister had done that, once, and had been struck and killed by an auto. So even though Kings Cross was in walking distance, we always went there by floo, using a fireplace in an old hotel behind the station, and dressing ourselves so that we wouldn't be noticed.
Yes, back in those days it was rare to go to London and see the out of doors. Not that you would have liked to have seen what was out there. The noise and the clamour was enough to shake even the steadiest nerves, and there were smells so foul that I can scarcely describe them, most coming from rubbish that had been tossed on the pavement, with no regard for beauty or hygiene.
But what I describe isn't misery - not yet. It is merely inconvenience. It did not bother me muchly then, for I knew I would soon be at Hogwarts with my own kind, in my own world.
Yet it was at Hogwarts, of course, that I learned that my world, our world, did not exist in its own right, and that it was being corrupted from within, like a pristine apple, going brown beneath the rosy surface.
But that's another story for another day. Food for thought, I find, is best when served by the fork-full.
I know that, for some, the season of warmth and bounty may seem a bit far off. Make no mistake: it takes time to construct a paradise out of ashes, but with patience and hard work from all, all will be rewarded. Our Lord is nothing less than the Saviour of our world, the Creator of this paradise, and yet there remain those poor, misguided souls who would thwart His efforts and have us return to the darkness.
For those who have doubted their own reward, or who have had their faith tested, consider the wondrous gift of a life not lived in darkness. Take time to remember what it was like to live in the darkness, and if you are so young as to have never lived there, I will gladly inform you of the miseries you have been spared.
When I speak of darkness I speak only partially in metaphor. I grew up in the country, where most wizarding folk chose to live, keeping themselves hidden by a disguise of rubble. My Aunt and Uncle had the city house in Old London, which was unplottable yet sandwiched between muggle dwellings; no doubt it was built by some defiant ancestor who refused to lay low in the country. For all the heavy magic that was built into that house, the nearness of the muggles was always a concern. Auntie Walburga cautioned my sisters and I to never go out the front door - her sister had done that, once, and had been struck and killed by an auto. So even though Kings Cross was in walking distance, we always went there by floo, using a fireplace in an old hotel behind the station, and dressing ourselves so that we wouldn't be noticed.
Yes, back in those days it was rare to go to London and see the out of doors. Not that you would have liked to have seen what was out there. The noise and the clamour was enough to shake even the steadiest nerves, and there were smells so foul that I can scarcely describe them, most coming from rubbish that had been tossed on the pavement, with no regard for beauty or hygiene.
But what I describe isn't misery - not yet. It is merely inconvenience. It did not bother me muchly then, for I knew I would soon be at Hogwarts with my own kind, in my own world.
Yet it was at Hogwarts, of course, that I learned that my world, our world, did not exist in its own right, and that it was being corrupted from within, like a pristine apple, going brown beneath the rosy surface.
But that's another story for another day. Food for thought, I find, is best when served by the fork-full.
Order Only
Date: 2009-03-24 04:25 pm (UTC)And how well that faith is rewarded, when the unicorn ends up on the Lord Protector's plate! Disgusting.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-24 04:44 pm (UTC)Though it was singularly marvellous to watch that sweet child with such a majestic creature. It really was quite generous of Our Lord to arrange it.
I've been thinking about the Muggle populations, too. We shall have to prepare Draco for the things he'll see over the summer holidays. Trouble is I'm not even sure what to tell him. Even before Our Lord reclaimed our birthrights, I tended to avoid areas overrun with Muggles.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-24 04:58 pm (UTC)I'm not sure how to advise you in that regard, Cissy. You know that I don't think you should leave.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-24 05:43 pm (UTC)As for spoiling me, I know Lucius will say it's all about business, but really that's exactly what he intends for our trip. I haven't been to Paris in over eight years, Bella. Eight! I don't recall the last time I had real Escavêche - no one can do it properly here, no matter how fresh the mussels. I've quite given up trying.
Besides, it is important. We must ensure that our relationship with the French Ministry remains unassailable. Else even your Mr Sandoval would find it hard to obtain your mangoes or any decent table wine.
I suppose I'll think of some way to prepare Draco for the sight of Muggles everywhere, and all the traffic. I'd quite forgot about little Aunt Demeter until you mentioned her. Funny how Aunt Walburga was afraid of automobiles after that. Daddy never seemed to mind too much, so long as it was from a proper Wizard's division; he even bought me that adorable little Astin-Martin as a present when I sat for the NEWTs. Handled just like a broom, especially on the curves.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-24 05:55 pm (UTC)As for autos, I've never had need for them. Mostly because they require roads, whereas a broom or carpet does not. I'd much rather fly above it all.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-25 02:58 am (UTC)I think Draco ought to be given the experience, actually, the better to understand how lucky we are. It's different for Hydra, I agree - there's no need to expose her to anything so worldly. Her constitution is not suited for it, for one thing. She'd be too easily upset, I fear.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-24 05:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-24 05:50 pm (UTC)You could go to my dressmaker's if you like. She does the most miraculous things with pleats.
Have you been doing the exercises? And the potions - they're helping?
no subject
Date: 2009-03-24 06:01 pm (UTC)Exercise, yes, and the potions did help, but I find that I no longer need them muchly. Thank you for asking, though.
You could have another yourself, Cissy, if you wanted to. There's time for several, even.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-24 06:02 pm (UTC)And I don't think you're fat at all, Auntie Bella. Only you looked very hungry, somehow?
no subject
Date: 2009-03-25 12:23 am (UTC)For me, dear no, it's far too much trouble. Besides, I bargained squarely and I mean to hold him to it.
Still, one never knows. Stranger things have happened.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-25 12:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-25 02:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-24 06:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-25 12:28 am (UTC)Lucius mentioned a spot of bother with young Marvolo's Mudblood - nothing too distressing, I hope?
no subject
Date: 2009-03-25 12:33 am (UTC)I've nothing to say about the girl, except perhaps that young Mr Marvolo appears to tote her around more than he did the small boy that now serves your son.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-24 07:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-25 12:35 am (UTC)