On Christmas Eve, the floating city had fully entered the Christmas season.
Most of the families and shops had put on Christmas decorations. Several feet of snow covered the ground, and the surface of the Black Lake was covered with hard ice. Thick ribbons made of holly and mistletoe were hung on the pillars of the Ravenclaw Shrine. Mysterious lights shone through every window, and some witchcraft versions of Christmas carols that did not contain much religious content could be heard.
Only a few immigrants, such as Jewish wizards, who did not celebrate Christmas, kept their shops open in the commercial square. They hired wizards from other countries who did not celebrate Christmas as clerks and worked hard in their shops. The problem of food for these people who worked during the Christmas holiday was also solved by Asian wizards who were not used to Christmas.
Today, other than the few shops, the only place in the commercial square that was still very lively was the Ravenclaw Shrine.
There were no extra decorations in the hall of the shrine because of the festival. Only the huge statue of Rona Ravenclaw in the spacious hall that connected heaven and earth and the five dragons that were her mounts, as well as the pulpit and the long bench with blue cushions, were wiped clean and looked brand new.
At the top of the Ravenclaw Hall, similar to the court of the Ministry of Magic, many Dementors were floating. They were the Dementors controlled by Ravenclaw. But unlike the Ministry of Magic, they weren't guards or executioners. Their role in the temple was more like that of servants. They were responsible for the maintenance of the temple with their hands that seemed to have rotted and were inlaid with lenses.
Today, however, the temple adepts had restricted their movements. They could only hover around the ceiling like catkins. This was because if they flew too close to the ceiling as usual, the guests who were not used to being in close contact with them would inevitably feel that they had lost their happiness. Even though they had learned to restrain themselves, the guests who were not used to being in close contact with them would inevitably feel that they had lost their happiness.
Due to the need to maintain the sanctity of the temple, it was different from the messy scene of the press conferences in the past. Although some cameras were allowed to be set up in the temple to record the event, there was no cameraman behind the camera who could control it at will and point its lens at anyone's face as usual.
The person in charge of this event was Katie Bell, who had just graduated from Hogwarts not long ago. As one of the earliest and most loyal followers of Ravenclaw, she had become the number one priestess in the shrine.
This Gryffindor witch who liked to chase after the ball in Quidditch was the youngest member of the Quidditch team when Harry joined them in his first year. She was also the member who stayed with Harry the longest. She gave up her original goal of joining the Quidditch team and even gave up on the Gryffindor uniform. She was now wearing a blue and bronze shrine robe.
At this moment, Katie looked solemn and dignified. She stood straight on the pulpit, and four clerics stood below her as a guard of honor. Her overly reverent faith made her behave more like Ravenclaw, or at least, the Ravenclaw that outsiders knew.
Sitting in the most important seats in the front row of the temple hall were the duds who needed to be turned into adepts.
Filch, who was wearing the Hogwarts uniform, sat in the corner. His hand was pressed against his chest, trying to suppress his nervousness and excitement. A shrine attendant near him kept an eye on him, fearing that he would faint. Not only was he old, but he was also the first one who came here and was also the most devout. His prayers during this period had let the wizards who started to believe in the Goddess since St. Mungo's Hospital know what fanaticism was.
Mr. Granger and Mrs. Krivat were sitting in the middle of the two rows. As insiders, they did not have to do as much as Filch, but they still had to take on some responsibilities. Penny and Dudley sat beside Mr. Granger, while her husband, Vernon, and the other pure Muggle relatives were arranged to watch the ceremony from the back.
As for Penny, she had been distracted by the wonders and wonders of the World of Magic. In the short time she spent at Hogwarts, she had learned that the World of Magic was far more magical than what her sister had described to her. Moreover, the quality of life here was far better than they had imagined. Her nephew and the murderer might not look too happy, but they still treated them well. Moreover, the adepts who called them 'golems' and 'robots' served them to the best of their ability. Her husband, who had been chattering non-stop before they came to the World of Magic, shut his mouth. He could no longer find fault with them. What Penny found hard to digest was that other than magic, there were also real gods in this world, and it was this god that gave them the opportunity to obtain magical power. These shocks and doubts had left Penny in a dream-like state. She could only sit in her seat like the other two Dursleys, who were shocked by what they saw and did not dare to say a word. She could only sit in her seat with a straight face, and even her breathing became methodical.
This group of people who did not have any magic in the crowd attracted a lot of attention. Even the officials of the Ministry of Magic and several of the directors of the Department of Magic only sat in the second and third rows. Many people recognized Filch, and some powerful wizards recognized the more famous Mr. Granger because of their business relationship with the Umbrella. But this made them even more confused.
On the podium, Katie Bell looked at the time. She did not use her wand. Instead, she used the gesture casting technique of the Wagadu wizards modified by Allen. She cast a loud voice spell as if she was rubbing her throat.
"Everyone, whether you are a believer of the goddess or not, the Ravenclaw Temple welcomes you on Christmas Eve." Katie's voice was loud and clear under the enchantment of the magic spell and the temple's specially designed internal system, but it was not loud enough to cause headaches. Her deliberately imitating hymns made her sound sacred. "Today, the great goddess and her chosen one will bring a great gift to the world of magic. Now, let us invite the goddess's chosen one, Mr. Allen Harris, to explain it to everyone."
Allen, who had been waiting behind the podium for a long time, walked up to the podium. Katie consciously stepped back, making her principal the most obvious position in the eyes of the others.
"Lady Loina Ravenclaw and I have recently come up with some new ideas on magic research." Allen's gaze swept across the wizards present. Everyone felt as if their eyes met his for a moment. His voice was also slower than usual. "Those who sincerely believe in the goddess of Ravenclaw will receive a precious gift. The goddess of Ravenclaw will use her divine power on them. Those who sincerely believe in the goddess of Ravenclaw will have the magic power in their blood activated. They will gain the ability to cast spells and become wizards. I will use my small achievements in alchemy and potioneering to cooperate with the goddess so that these believers can successfully complete this sacred transformation."
Allen's tone was somewhat casual, but it was as if he had thrown a thunderbolt explosion spell into the crowd.
After a short moment of silence, many people stood up from their seats without caring about their manners. Some even doubted their ears and hurriedly asked the people around them. The noise was amplified by the structure of the temple. For the first time, the temple seemed as noisy as the commercial square outside.
"I know you are all excited about the Goddess' miracle, but please restrain yourselves … Let us witness it with a sincere heart …" Katherine's forced poetic voice brought the temple back to silence. The invited adepts looked at the podium, not daring to breathe too loudly.
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