Enough to Shock Fudge for a Century! Wasn't This Supposed to Be a Graduation Ceremony? How Did It Turn into a Military Parade?
The clamor of Christmas settled within Hogwarts Castle.
But for the entire wizarding world of the United Kingdom, a truly grand spectacle had only just begun.
Diagon Alley.
At dusk, the sky was dyed deep purple.
Inside the Leaky Cauldron, the glow of oil lamps bathed the wooden tables in warm light.
Tom, the proprietor, was mechanically wiping a squat beer glass with a less-than-clean rag, his movements betraying his irritation.
"Merlin's beard."
He lowered his voice to complain to a regular drinking Firewhisky at the bar.
"Letting those... things hold a gathering in Diagon Alley. Madness. They'll scare off every last customer!"
He mumbled the word "things" as though it were a stone too hot to hold in his mouth.
The regular belched, thoroughly agreeing.
"You're telling me. My wife wouldn't even let our daughter come here to buy ink today, afraid she'd run into them."
The few customers in the pub exchanged knowing looks mingled with fear and rejection.
Just then.
A wash of blue light lit up the entrance to the alley.
It was not a spell.
Thousands upon thousands of illuminating butterflies formed a flowing river of light, spreading silently from the entrance all the way into the depths of Diagon Alley.
On either side of the river of light, rows of Chinese red lanterns floated in midair.
On their silk coverings, silver thread embroidered intricate, constantly rotating wolf-head totems.
Farther away, enormous silk banners stretched from the white dome of Gringotts to the eaves of Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.
Brilliant ancient runes flowed across them: [Wherever moonlight reaches, all are champions].
[Marauders Power Company wishes the Werewolf Academy's first graduating class a bright future].
Chinese lanterns, British slogans.
Under Douglas's mischievous taste, two entirely different cultural symbols had been forcibly blended into a