For the Greater Good || Tom Riddle ||

Chapter Five: The Midnight Sun

SUMMER 1947 - SENJA ISLAND, NORWAY

Atop the grassy knoll where she hid from prying eyes, Gwendolyn Gawmdrey watched the festivities with seasoned nostalgia. Down below, bodies of children and adults alike gathered, dressed in white, adorned in flowers and herbs, barefoot in the grass, oblivious to her spying.

Midsummer marked the longest day of the year and the end of long dark winters.

As the sun dared to extend a hand to Earth while the planet was on its eternal orbit, it did manage to bless the North with endless daylight and an unusual amount of warmth. In summer, regions that were within or near the Arctic Circle—such as Iceland and northern Scandinavia—experienced the blessing and the curse of never-ending solar energy.

The phenomenon was known as the midnight sun.

The summer solstice celebration was particularly special at Durmstrang Institute. Nordic muggles and magical folk alike celebrated the summer solstice after a squib reindeer hunter exposed the magical tradition a thousand years ago. He had been sentenced to death by being plunged into the sea on a winter's night. Nevertheless, the secret was already out, and celebrations ensued for generations to come.

The midnight sun was both worshipped and hated by students of Durmstrang Institute. Months of endless sunlight often ruined practiced sleeping habits. On the other hand, it did make it possible for the ambitious scholar to have more time to study—as the school opted to take holiday during the dead winter months rather than the much warmer, hospitable summer. Even the most powerful Nox charm was not powerful enough to ward away the persistent star.

In contemporary tradition, Durmstrang students past and present were invited to the school to celebrate with smoked salmon and herring and Aquavit. The alcohol never failed to rosy cheeks as its neutral background flavor slipped down the throat first, followed by the slap of herbaceous flavor supported by other aromatics like dill, fennel, anise, and clove.

Most Midsummer celebrations started the night before, on Midsummer's Eve, then carried well into the next day. Ginormous, brilliant bonfires constructed of boughs of ancient birch and fir were set ablaze to ward off dark forces and be shrine to the magical solar energy. Beside the fire ritual, practitioners would tell tall tales, children would search to find the magic fern blossom at midnight, fools would jump over smaller, adjacent bonfires for good luck, young girls would float flower wreaths on the water of glacial streams, and everyone would partake in the admiration of the rising midsummer sun and the ceremonial washing of the face with a morning dewdrop the morning after.

Male students dared to plunge into the icy fjord to honor the coming of the light. Female students were allowed to let their hair out of their tight buns and wear crowns of meadow daisies and alpine strawberries. It was an ancient tradition for the Midsummer reveler to collect seven different species of flower from seven different spots, and then put the bouquet under their pillow, to be blessed with dreams of their future spouse that night.

The dormitories were often aflame with giddy predictions well into the wee hours of morning.

Gwen's favorite tradition was collecting the mountain-grown, sun-kissed strawberries and saving them for a midnight snack, apart from the oldest and most tenured professors at Durmstrang setting large wheels on fire and rolling them down the mountain that surrounded the castle only to plunge into a body of water below with crashing splash.

During the true daytime, the maypole was raised in an open spot and traditional ring-dances ensued, to the delight of the younger students and some of the professors. Older students tended to stay out of it and opted to wait for the evening's more riotous entertainment.