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“Catherine, do you know what Father meant by tonight’s banquet?”
After collecting the wands, Aurelian took Catherine to Knockturn Alley and bought a large quantity of rare materials that were not available in Diagon Alley.
By the time he had spent every Galleon they had, it was time to go home.
He asked the question on their way back toward the Leaky Cauldron.
“I do not know either.
Lady Pendragon did not tell me anything about a banquet.”
Catherine shook her head, just as puzzled as he was.
Usually, Elaine would inform her ahead of time so she could prepare.
“So mysterious.
That never means anything good.
They called it a surprise, but I am starting to think it will be a disaster.”
The fact that Catherine knew nothing put Aurelian on alert.
He had a strong feeling the banquet had something to do with him.
Knowing Elaine and Miles, there was every chance the two of them had joined forces to set him up again.
It would not be the first time.
“Master Aurelian, perhaps you should not think of Lord and Lady Pendragon that way.
It may simply be an ordinary banquet.”
Catherine smiled helplessly as she tried to comfort him.
“Not think of them that way?
Have they not set me up enough?”
The vein in his forehead practically came alive.
“Have you ever heard of a mother waking her son every morning with enough force to break bed boards?
Have you ever heard of a mother secretly moving all her son’s money?
Have you ever heard of a father slipping whisky into his six-year-old son’s drink?
Ever since I moved into my own room, I have had to match wits with them every single day.”
“Pfft.”
“But Master Aurelian,” Catherine said, trying not to laugh, “you have fought back too.”
His complaint had sounded so desolate that she could not help herself.
He was not wrong.
Ever since he had insisted on sleeping in his own room at the age of four, Catherine and Elaine had constantly teased him.
At first he had been too young and always lost.
As he grew, however, he began to retaliate.
After Miles had put whisky in his drink and gotten him drunk, Aurelian had struck back the next day.
He soaked Miles’s tobacco and pipe in whisky for a while, then used magic to dry the pipe again.
Later, when Miles’s craving for tobacco hit and he lit the pipe, half of his beloved little mustache burned away on the spot.
The final result was that Aurelian lost a month’s allowance and Miles caught him for a thorough spanking.
“No.
Catherine, what if we simply do not go back today?
We could spend the night at the Leaky Cauldron.”
The more Aurelian thought about it, the more uneasy he became.
Avoiding the banquet suddenly seemed like a very reasonable plan.
“If you do not go back, Master Aurelian, Lady Pendragon may come fetch you herself.”
Catherine narrowed her eyes with a sweet smile.
Aurelian froze.
“Hmm…
never mind.
I will go back.”
After weighing the consequences, he accepted his fate in deep gloom.
Returning home meant he might be set up.
Refusing to return meant Elaine would invent something worse.
“Come on, Master Aurelian.
Do not look so miserable.
What if, just maybe, it is not what you think?”
Catherine tried to comfort him again, though she clearly did not believe it either.
“Do not say that, Catherine.
You do not believe yourself.”
That only made him feel more hopeless.
They reached the Leaky Cauldron in that strange mood, greeted Tom behind the bar, and used Floo Powder to return to Pendragon Castle.
“Master Aurelian, Lord and Lady Pendragon are waiting for you in the drawing room.
I was told to send you there directly.”
When Aurelian and Catherine stepped out of the fireplace, Bercas was already standing nearby with perfect respect.
“I understand.”
Aurelian paused when he saw the house-elf.
He exchanged a look with Catherine, then headed toward the drawing room with an uneasy heart.
“Father.
Mother.
We are back.”
He entered and greeted Miles and Elaine before sitting across from them.
Catherine stood straight at his side.
“I thought you might try to spend the night at the Leaky Cauldron,” Elaine said.
“I was already planning to fetch you in a little while.
Who knew you would come back just in time?”
Aurelian’s mouth twitched.
So Catherine had been right.
If he had stayed away, Elaine really would have dragged him home.
“Little Aurelian, did you go to Gringotts today?”
After waiting a moment and seeing that he would not react, Elaine could no longer hold back her excitement.
“I did.”
Aurelian raised an eyebrow and answered flatly.
“And?
Did you discover anything?”
She looked even more delighted.
“You mean the fact that you emptied my vault?”
The sight of her happy face snapped his patience.
The vein in his forehead throbbed, and he roared at her.
Elaine burst into laughter.
Miles sat beside her, the corners of his mouth twitching as he fought to keep from laughing as well.
Aurelian glared at his mother through clenched teeth, his temper one breath away from exploding.
“Speaking of which,” Elaine said, wisely stopping before he truly erupted, “if you had no money, why did you come back so late?
What did you go to Diagon Alley to do?”
“That is none of your concern.
I have my ways.”
Aurelian gave a dismissive sound and refused to tell either of them about buying wands.
He also had no intention of mentioning the money Catherine had kept with her.
Elaine realized she would not get an answer from him, so she turned her gaze toward Catherine.
“Catherine, do not tell her.”
Aurelian saw her intention immediately.
He stepped in front of Catherine and ordered her not to reveal anything.
“Tell me, little Aurelian.”
With no better option, Elaine tried tugging at him, but he refused to budge.
“Enough, Elaine.
It is time to talk about the real matter.”
After the two of them had pulled back and forth for a while, Miles drew Elaine back to her seat.
Elaine settled down at his words.
Aurelian, meanwhile, sat with his nerves pulled tight.
“Aurelian,” Miles said, his expression turning serious, “do you remember what I told you this morning?
There will be a banquet tonight.”
He spoke slowly.
“That banquet is being held for you.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter.