Anne walked steadily toward the dais. Aaron whispered a few words to Crouch and Bagman before waving to Anne and guiding her into a side room next to the banquet platform.
The side room was empty. Aaron offered a sheepish smile.
"Anne, I'm sorry. Things have been so hectic lately. We never got the chance to tell you about the Triwizard Tournament."
"That's alright," Anne replied casually. "Uncle Aaron, hearing about it sooner or later doesn't make much of a difference."
"But I promised you I would let you know... Ugh, the World Cup really turned the Ministry upside down," Aaron sighed. "Still, it's fortunate that we now have this big tournament to shift public attention elsewhere."
"Did they ever catch the people who caused all the trouble at the World Cup?" Anne asked.
"No... They vanished without a trace after the incident..." Aaron replied with a shake of his head.
"But I heard they captured a house-elf?"
"Anne, where did you hear that?" Aaron looked puzzled. "There weren't any reports about that in the papers. Oh, wait, I get it now. Your friends Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and that Weasley boy were all there too... You must've heard it from them?"
Actually, that wasn't the case. They hadn't told her about Sirius Black at the end of last term, nor had they brought up the World Cup on their own. But that was fine too.
"It was actually Fanny who told me. She said that Mr. Crouch's house-elf was caught in the woods near the stadium, holding Harry's wand. She was dismissed on the spot. That's all I know."
"Hmm. I suppose it's not surprising she told you that."
A knowing expression flickered across Aaron's face. Then he reached out and ruffled Anne's hair, smiling with a teasing glint in his eye.
"Anne, are there any boys at school who like you? Or maybe... is there someone you like?"
What kind of question was that?! The topic change was so sudden Anne felt her brain freeze for a few seconds.
Her head shook like a rattle drum. "No. Definitely not."
"No?" Aaron looked almost relieved. Then he continued, "Anne, even if there were someone, you don't need to be shy. You can always tell your Uncle Aaron..."
"There really isn't anyone. If there were, I'd definitely tell you and Aunt Diana." Anne could sense Aaron was leading up to something. "Uncle Aaron, is there something you want to say? Just be straightforward."
Aaron hesitated for a moment, then began,
"Anne, the Triwizard Tournament is a friendly competition between the three major magical schools in Europe, Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. It was established over seven hundred years ago."
Anne nodded, signaling she already knew this.
Aaron continued,
"Each school selects one champion to compete in three magical challenges, which take place throughout the school year. It used to be seen as a great way for young witches and wizards from different countries to form bonds of friendship. But over time, the high death toll and danger caused the tournament to be suspended. People tried several times to bring it back over the centuries. This time, the Ministry has finally succeeded. The selection of champions will take place on Halloween."
Anne nodded again, still unsure where this was going.
"The winner receives a prize of one thousand Galleons. And for safety reasons, only students over seventeen can participate this time. Champions are also exempt from final exams, and the overall winner will receive a personal award from the Minister of Magic."
Why does this feel like Aaron's trying to talk me into entering the tournament? That can't be it, it's way too dangerous. But all that buildup… that's not like him. If he does ask, I'll just say a firm no, Anne resolved silently.
Aaron had been watching her face closely the whole time. When he felt he'd given enough context, he spoke casually, as if offhandedly,
"So, during the Triwizard Tournament, there'll be a rare Christmas Ball. Anne, why don't you attend the ball with me?"
"Absolutely not." Anne's rejection was immediate, cool, and firm.
Both of them froze.
"Aha! I knew it! Anne, you really do like someone!" Aaron exclaimed, bursting with excitement.
"Wait a minute, " Anne realized with horror that all the buildup wasn't to convince her to enter the tournament, but just to ask her to the ball. She quickly tried to correct the misunderstanding.
But Aaron didn't give her a chance to speak. He was pacing the room now, animated and slightly frantic.
"Anne likes someone... Oh! Diana's idea really worked. Little girls never admit it directly, but how could Anne already have a crush? She's so cute and clever, the very best!"
He suddenly turned to Anne with urgency.
"Which house is he in? Ravenclaw? Slytherin? Gryffindor? Hufflepuff? Oh no, please not Ravenclaw, those boys are all bookworms. No sense of romance, and they all think they're the smartest! And not Hufflepuff either, the boys are too bland and not nearly clever enough for Anne... Slytherin? Well, your father was excellent, but the recent Slytherins? None of them hold a candle to him. I don't know what the Sorting Hat's been doing lately... Gryffindor boys? And yes, I'm from Gryffindor myself, but honestly, most of them are way too impulsive. They don't know how to take care of anyone..."
As Aaron showed no signs of stopping his rant, Anne had to raise her voice to interrupt him.
"Aaron! I don't like anyone, and I'd be happy to go to the ball with you."
Aaron had just been about to tell Anne the story of how her parents, Sonia and Lambert, first met. Her words cut him off mid-thought.
"You mean... you don't like anyone?" he asked, cautiously hopeful.
"That's right. I really don't." Anne spoke with sincere conviction.
Aaron visibly relaxed, his sanity seeming to return all at once. Then, realizing all he'd just said, a blush of embarrassment crept onto his face.
Anne stared at him expectantly, clearly waiting for an explanation.
Aaron scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Anne, I just... I've never really known how to give you the best of everything. Maybe I'm not a great godfather. If Sonia and Lambert were still here, they'd have known exactly what to do..."
He paused, then continued,
"When I found out about the Christmas Ball, I was thrilled. The Triwizard Tournament hasn't been held in ages. You're so lucky to be at Hogwarts during such a special time. But then... the thought of you dancing with a boy you might like... of you being old enough for a boyfriend, it made me realize how much time I've missed."
"I was there when you were born, at the same time as Lambert. You were this pink-faced little baby, grinning without any teeth..." Aaron smiled softly at the memory.
"Later, Sonia and Lambert both agreed to make me your godfather. Honestly, I was thrilled, but also terrified. I was the youngest in my family, and had no clue how to take care of a child..."
"Then, when you were one, you barely escaped that tragedy… but ended up with the Garnet family. Oh, how I loathe them. Lambert rarely spoke of them, but I knew they were dreadful Muggles. When the Ministry placed you there, they even refused at first to acknowledge you. But per Ministry regulations, if a magical child shows no magical signs, they're to be raised in the Muggle world. You were only one! Most wizard children don't show signs until age five."
"And those stubborn old men at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement… Eventually, the Ministry promised the Garnets a Muggle stipend from your parents' estate before they agreed. I visited you a few times, but I couldn't use magic around Muggles, and I was so clueless back then about their world."
"When you were eight, just as I feared, they dumped you in an orphanage. And the Ministry still said it wasn't against the rules! You hadn't shown any magical ability yet, so they insisted you stay in the Muggle world. At ten, when your powers finally began to emerge, that meant you could attend Hogwarts… and it meant I could finally start fulfilling my promise, to care for you and give you the life you were meant to have."
"Since you started at Hogwarts, I imagine the vibrant school life has given you joys you'd never known before. Magical plants mean as much to you as magical creatures mean to me. They bring a deep, wonderful kind of happiness, don't they? Diana was so eager to tell you everything once she found you, but I stopped her. Your life was already changing too fast. I thought it best to wait until you came of age."
"Only one more year, Anne. Time has flown... But honestly, just the thought of handing you over to another man someday, it makes me jealous. Whoever that boy may be, if he dares to hurt you, I swear I'll make him regret it," Aaron said, raising a fist as if he might punch that imaginary boy right then and there.
Anne was genuinely moved by Aaron's words.
"Uncle Aaron, I think you've been a very good godfather." She hugged him, and by now, she'd grown to reach his chin.
"If that day ever comes, if I meet someone I truly care about, I'll tell you honestly. But this Christmas Ball? Before I come of age, I'd be delighted to share in this old Muggle tradition, attend a formal event and share a dance with my godfather. So this invitation goes both ways, Uncle Aaron."
⚡︎━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ❖ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━⚡︎
A/N: Aaron's emotions here are basically like a father watching his precious little cabbage being eyed by wild pigs… I revised and rewrote that last bit so many times, and I'm still not satisfied, but if I keep tinkering, I'll lose all momentum. So… this'll have to do.
⚡︎━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ❖ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━⚡︎
If you're enjoying the journey so far and want to read ahead, you can check out 25+ advance chapters on Patreon: Patreon/Crimson_Lore