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600 Years of Diagon Alley CelebrationJoin us this summer in celebrating 600 years of Diagon Alley with a special festival hosted by the Alley's shopkeepers.
Space has been made - or has it always been there? - for a brand new garden: a memorial dedicated to those who fell in the Third Wizarding War. The garden is surprisingly quiet, given its location in a busy wizarding London street. It's calm here. Peaceful.
Most likely to immediately draw the eye is a statue in the middle of the garden, at the centre of a small pond. A tall, titanium sculpture of a phoenix stands atop a round plinth; almost two hundred names are engraved here, the names of those who fell during the length of the war, listed in columns and slowly revolving, though the plinth itself is stationary. The sculpture seems to bathe the garden around it in a warm glow, and does so year-round. There are some flashes of colour on the titanium phoenix; many of its feathers are detailed in red and gold, and the astute observer will notice that the number of coloured feathers exactly matches the number of names listed below.
Every year, on the anniversary of the 2104 battle, the phoenix can be seen to cry, shedding tears from sunset on 9th May to sunset on 10th May.
A mosaic-like path winds its way through the grass and under arches, made up of bricks and paving stones of different colours. Spaced around the garden, roughly in each of its corners, are four benches. According to the inscriptions on these benches, each has been provided by a different institution or significant area of wizarding Britain: Hogwarts, St Mungo's, the Ministry of Magic, and Diagon Alley itself. Throughout the garden, a variety of brightly coloured and aromatic flowers, shrubs, young trees, and other plants can be found, with plenty of space still left to be filled.
During the 600th year celebration, members of the public are invited to help place the finishing touches to the garden, and plant any remaining flowers and saplings they wish to add. Now is also a good time to wander around and pick out a paving stone in the path to sponsor; anyone with the means to pay can have one inscribed - perhaps in memory of someone who has fallen, or to honour someone living. There are Ministry officials present to help with this - you can find them wandering around, planting flowers and shrubs, or waiting for the official opening and unveiling of the garden - and once the arrangements have been made, your inscription will appear immediately on the chosen stone. All proceeds go towards maintenance of the garden, and the relief fund established after the war.
The garden will be officially opened by the Minister for Magic on the first afternoon of the event.
Not the memorial, no that was a lovely testament and dedication to all of the people who had paid the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of future generations. No, what was a mistake was her being here.
She was still angry. She was so angry and there was no where for her to even direct that most of the time. So she locked it up as best as she could, and tried to find different ways of directing it. Like skateboarding. Which had been a terrible fail, even with Qetsiyah trying to show her the proper way to do it later. Or her dance, which was just getting edgier and edgier as time passed. And then when her anger was too much to withstand...
She lashed out at others.
Kimberly was desperately trying to keep that under wraps for today. That, and the overwhelming sadness that also took residence in her soul. Because while she didn't want to shout and scream and disrupt others coming to honor their loved ones. She also didn't want to join with those crying, never in such a public setting.
So instead, she was just... sitting. Having located a park bench, where she found a good vantage point to watch the plinth revolve, around and around, she sat. She could go closer. Find his name actually etched in the stone, or perhaps find someone who could help her claim a paver dedicated to him.
But instead, she just sat. And watched.
Around and around.
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Let them point and laugh at who we are, it's you and me here dancing from the start
Yes, he was. His expression was stony but deep inside were cracks in his heart. His godmother passing away in the battle still hurt. Part of him was still angry over it all and the sight of this memorial reignited those feelings. Intrusive thoughts involving burning it all at how this could be a celebratory thing. But the temptation flickered away as soon as it invaded his thoughts. Shaking his head avoiding the stone that held Cassiopeia Kitridge's name.
Walking through the garden was calming for him. He couldn't place it why it was something so dainty could do such a thing. But it became clear on his choice of plant to honor the mother he never had and forever lost.
Dropping to his knees, his head bowed over where he intended to plant. Waiting for the blur to subside from his warm and wet eyes. Exhaling the shivers along his body, the calm returned as he gently removed the orchids from his small pot, quickly planting them into the spot.
Orchids... Mum loved pink and they channel grace in times of grief. I miss you mum.. Curtis thought as he looked at the flowers.
Ash didn't wanna feel anything. It should have been easy. The war was a good thing for her. Freedom, and she hadn't lost anyone. Save Kitridge, and sort-of Aguilar. And maybe... Schmoe and Recard. Maybe the war was why they were leaving too. But Ash was stoically pretending that she felt absolutely nothing about any of that stuff. Didn't exist, never happened, couldn't remember it. But somehow she still felt angry. Angry about Rosier. And how he took their school, and how NOBODY came to save them for a year, and how he made all those people die(even the ones who fought for him, and therefore lowkey deserved it). It was all his fault. May he have an afterlife full of muggleborns and a grave with no flowers on it.
She just sort of wandered around, not feeling like planting anything or doing stuff. She just walked around aimlessly. Maybe she'd put all the professors' names from second year on paving stones, even the living ones, even the ones she didn't like. She didn't really know any dead people other than Kitridge. And maybe Ashley Fox. Well, Ash was obviously still alive, but, y'know, not the same person at all. It would be dumb to put her own name on a paving stone tho. And she didn't even want one.
She stopped and just stared at the phoenix statue grave thing. She liked phoenixes. All these people weren't coming back, but their ideas were passed down and reborn. Like phoenixes or whatever. Ash wasn't in the mood to think about it. She just want to be numb. She wasn't numb. She was angry, and she cried.
Given the scope of this whole Diagon Alley affair, just off the back of a wizarding war of which the effects were felt across the continent, it only made sense that the level of security would be high. Not obviously so; sure, the Magical Law Enforcement presence was obvious in places, for general peace of mind, but there was plenty more where that came from, only more subtle. Jake Upstead (definitely not in that 'subtle' category) had stationed himself at the memorial garden; if there was going to be any trouble, it seemed most likely it would happen here.
But he was trying very hard not to think about the kind of person who would target a memorial, for trouble or for fun. Repeatedly. Trying very, very hard.
From the start, Jake hadn't been sure this event was such a good idea, but knew that such a comment would get him absolutely nowhere, and make him seem like a killjoy to boot. He did have to admit that some kind of positivity was what their community needed, after everything. Raise spirits a bit. Not that anyone here looked very happy.
Which... er, well. Actually, he supposed that did make sense. Uh. Anyway.
Too restless to stay one place for long, Jake had been wandering between different spots in this garden every fifteen minutes or so since he'd arrived. Now he left his place by the entrance of the garden, and - silently squeezing young Kaiser's shoulder as he passed him - went to take a look at the phoenix statue, though he'd seen it plenty of times already. He stayed a little way back from it, so he didn't impede anyone's view. Definitely not to keep a wide berth from nearby tears. No, definitely not.
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Maybe this had been a mistake. It had absolutely been a mistake. Kaiser didn't know why he'd agreed to be here.
Except he did. Not only was it his responsibility to help where help was needed, not only was he determined to be around as much as possible whenever the Minister's presence was required for work-related engagements, but maybe also because he owed a debt. Kaiser did not like feeling like he owed anyone anything, and usually stubbornly fought against such feelings, but he couldn't do that right now. Not with this, it was just too big.
He stood at the side of a section of the colourful pathway, tapping a clipboard incessantly against one forearm, looking determinedly away from the statue, in case he ended up reading the names below it. Even when Jake squeezed his shoulder, Kaiser gave no reaction. He kept his expression schooled, neutral, and looked out for anyone who seemed like they wanted to sponsor one of the paving stones. As long as it was work, he could handle it.
Which also meant keeping clear of anyone who was likely to make his composure waver. Charles, who had to be compartmentalised into work mode only today. Candela. Elio. Was it awful to hope that those last two were enjoying exploring the rest of the festival enough that they'd stay away for a while?
Guilt - already coursing just below the surface - tore through him; Kaiser took that as a yes.
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Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Chocolate!
Made of Awesome | Ern-la the Best-wa | TZ's Apogee
"You don't have to smile, Kaiser, but could you stop glowering at people? This is meant to be... uplifting or something," Genevieve James crossed her arms reflexively across her chest and then forced herself to lower her arms to her sides. This place was somber. Sad. And she didn't really want to do that, to relive the battlefield, but she understood what it meant to have the Ministry show up today.
She hated to intrude on anyone's solitude, but... that was why she was here, right? To be useful? To be a bright bobbing ponytail of Ministry representation? "If anyone is interested in purchasing a brick, I'm just going to be over by this glowering male." She had her magical clipboard and quill, and now she was just gonna shut up.
"I am-" It was the start of a kneejerk response, mercifully reined in before Kaiser could let it get away from him. The rest came with less insistence, a quick change of direction. "... trying not to glower. I'm sorry."
In actuality, he had been trying to look as though he wasn't standing under his own personal raincloud, like the guilt wasn't eating away at him yet again. Still. Resting Gloom Face made it complicated, and overcompensation could be far too easy a trap to fall into. Didn't help that memorials were a source of marrow-deep discomfort.
Kaiser ultimately didn't have to try all that hard to un-glower his expression. His boss' comment to the garden at large, so close to tripping his temper only seconds ago, elicited the tiniest of smiles. Just for a moment, though, because few other people here seemed to be in much of a smiling mood. "I like the statue," Kaiser said to Mrs James, though it sounded like a stupid comment to make, once it was out. Like, sure, there was that whole war thing, and a battle, and all those dead people, but hey, got a neat statue out of the bargain.
He'd just be shutting up now too.
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Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Chocolate!
Honora had made him come, and now where was she? Phillip Lars Svensson did not particularly want to be here, even in a garden, and have to think about his granddad. Really. It'd been a year. He was done thinking about it.
Glowering slightly, he chose a nice sapling to plant in memory of his granddad. Sure, Honora had suggested they pool their money and sponsor a paving stone, but... well, she could work year-round. She could sponsor a paving stone. He'd plant his little tree instead.
Wandering the path with his sapling held gently, Phillip looked for a good place to plant it. Somewhere with a nice view of that phoenix statue, maybe. And good sun. But out of the way, so it didn't get trampled by someone's careless feet. He sniffled slightly--all those freshly planted flowers were making his eyes water. Maybe he had developed allergies. He was definitely, absolutely, certainly not crying.
Baguette | there is no D in my name | TRAITORclaw | Queenie of Narnia
Luke was here, though he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to be. But it was better than staying at the house by himself. Solitude wasn't normally a problem for him, but being alone there...it just wasn't appealing.
So since he'd decided to come here with his mom, he was going to help with the planting. It seemed like a better use of his time, and it was...it would be something good to do. Even if it wasn't much, it was something he could do in his dad's memory.
He selected a sapling and noticed a couple other blokes (Curtis and Phillip) participating in planting too. Probably...best to give them some space and find another spot for this sapling. He wandered around the garden, searching for the best spot.
---
There was no way Regina was going to miss the official opening ceremony. Even if it was somber and heavy, she had to be here for her family. All of them, even the one who was no longer with them.
She'd seen her mom meandering thoughtfully around the garden, but decided to take a seat beside her sister Kimmie for now. She looked at her for a moment, then turned her eyes to focus on the rotating plinth. So many names...
"It's still so strange that it's been over a year already."
---
Lucy, maybe, should've made sitting with Kimmie and Regina her first priority, but her restless energy kept her from being able to sit still. And besides, she had a mission of sorts. And she wanted it done before she searched for her dad's name under the phoenix statue.
Once Regina had pointed her in the right direction, she was off. Time to put some of her Quodpot money to good use.
And maybe she didn't need her sister's direction after all, since an older blonde woman had announced herself (Vivi) and the "glowering male" (Kaiser) as the ones to talk to. The clipboards were a good indicator too.
So Lucy approached them. "I want to sponsor a stone."
---
Her mum was around here somewhere, patrolling for her job, and her dad and Sage were having a go at the Zap-a-Snitch station, but Ivy wanted to visit the memorial garden herself. It was... Well, it seemed like something she ought to do. Like the right thing to do. Even if there were a lot of memories surrounding the events that led to this that she usually tried not to think about, she felt it was important to participate and honor the sacrifices so many people had made.
The design of the phoenix was very striking, and she was drawn immediately towards it to get a closer look. And that was when she spotted Ashley nearby. Was she crying?
Ivy immediately wanted to give the girl a hug, but she also wasn't sure whether her fellow Ravenclaw would be okay with her suddenly invading her personal space like that. So Ivy settled for reaching a hand out to gently rest on Ashley's shoulder. "Hey, Ash," she said softly. "You okay?"
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if we fall, we will fall together; and when we rise, we will rise together__________________♥♥♥♥ together we are dangerous; together with our differences; together we are bolder, braver, stronger
There was no way Regina was going to miss the official opening ceremony. Even if it was somber and heavy, she had to be here for her family. All of them, even the one who was no longer with them.
She'd seen her mom meandering thoughtfully around the garden, but decided to take a seat beside her sister Kimmie for now. She looked at her for a moment, then turned her eyes to focus on the rotating plinth. So many names...
"It's still so strange that it's been over a year already."
Around and around.
It was just going to keep turning. And she supposed she shouldn't have been surprised, since it was just like time. Dad was gone, but time marched on, milestones happened that they were never going to actually get to share with him. And the thought did make her sad, sure. But it still just fueled the anger. If he had stayed home, if he had chose them, he wouldn't have been missing anything.
Feeling a presence next to her, and just assuming it was a sibling, K didn't even turn her head. She could see a few other bodies around out of her peripheral, planting flowers, sponsoring stones, looking at the monument to the lost. But her gaze still never actually moved. When the body next to hers spoke, only then was K able to confirm it was Regina and she nodded her head at the words. "A lot has changed in that time too. It feels like time should have stopped."
But it hadn't. Instead the changes just kept piling on. Her plan for her life. Another baby. A upcoming marriage. New significant others.
----
As terrible as it was, she had anticipated not coming to the event at all. Cressida was still so young, and Jigger was busy for the day - she was worried baby would have made too much noise and ruined the day for everyone. What if the Minister was in the middle of a speech and baby CRIED?
But then she remembered that life didn't stop when the war did. A lot of lives had been deeply impacted, a lot of grief was felt, but there had still been wins and small celebrations in the last year. Her daughter had been a large celebration. And suddenly, bringing her with her to the memorial had felt so right to Naia. Her daughter might never get to meet her Dad, but that didn't mean she couldn't know him. And nothing felt like a better start to that narrative than to show her that Grandda had gone for the good of others.
Since she had decided and hurriedly got her and her daughter ready, her eyes had remained a constant state of misty, and that only seemed to increase as they made their way to the memorial, Cress comfortably sitting on Nai's hip as they approached. She could see her family members milling about, and Naia made sure to mark where each was so she could check on each of them throughout the reveal. She paused for a moment, to stop and admire the beautiful memorial in the midst of it all - a few tears escaping her eyes - before she decided there was plenty of time for that later and heading towards where her brother sat planting.
She didn't bother him with words, though she couldn't say the same for the cooing baby on her hip, but she did lower herself and Cress to the ground, pulling another plant forward to start putting it in the dirt and letting the 8 1/2 month old sit beside her, playing with the dirt.
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Let them point and laugh at who we are, it's you and me here dancing from the start
Her mum was around here somewhere, patrolling for her job, and her dad and Sage were having a go at the Zap-a-Snitch station, but Ivy wanted to visit the memorial garden herself. It was... Well, it seemed like something she ought to do. Like the right thing to do. Even if there were a lot of memories surrounding the events that led to this that she usually tried not to think about, she felt it was important to participate and honor the sacrifices so many people had made.
The design of the phoenix was very striking, and she was drawn immediately towards it to get a closer look. And that was when she spotted Ashley nearby. Was she crying?
Ivy immediately wanted to give the girl a hug, but she also wasn't sure whether her fellow Ravenclaw would be okay with her suddenly invading her personal space like that. So Ivy settled for reaching a hand out to gently rest on Ashley's shoulder. "Hey, Ash," she said softly. "You okay?"
Ash could not take her eyes off of the memorial. It had occurred to her that she was in the dead people’s debt. Well that was just awesome and great. She hated being in debt, but she was definitely in debt. If it wasn’t for these people, she’d be in a mirror or dead. She tried not to blame herself for their deaths, tried to tell herself that all of them made their own choice to die for a good cause. It didn’t work much. Yay.
She jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She was quite startled, but at least her awful thoughts disappeared for the moment. She listened for the voice. Ivy. Ash put her hand on Ivy’s because she didn’t want the other girl to leave her. She’d be alone. She didn’t want to be alone.
Why were people always asking her that question? The answer was always no but they still hoped it would be yes. It was never yes. She didn’t ever know how to answer the question without lying or making people sad. Well, everyone here was already so sad... there was no way she could make it worse. “No. I feel guilty when I look at this. Which is stupid. And I feel angry. Which is dangerous. And I feel alone, which is extra-dangerous.” And she was crying, which was just annoying. Ugh. Also the world was blurry and the sounds came out all wrong. So yeah. Pretty much everything sucked, even though she hadn’t lost a family member. She just wanted a big hug and to be picked up and carried around everywhere like a child. Or maybe just a hug? Or maybe nothing. She’d probably get nothing. ”Are you okay?”
Made of Awesome | Ern-la the Best-wa | TZ's Apogee
Kaiser got a small smile, and it blossomed to an even bigger one when he commented on the statue. It was okay to appreciate the thoughtfulness of the gesture, or even to admire the art and thought put into it. No harm there, even if the man looked sheepish over complimenting it. "It's good work. It's nice that our job is to make sure that people have a place to come to remember and be remembered."
Maybe she would have said more... maybe not, but she was interrupted as a woman (Lucy) approached them. Vivi brandished her quill and lifted her clipboard. No more chatting, Kaiser. Time to work! "I can help you with that. If you just tell me what you want on the stone, we can magically transfer it in time for the ceremony."
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Memorial Garden 
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