Let's rewind to two days before Anne's school holiday began, at Aaron's home.
Aaron had arranged to finish some of his work early in order to celebrate Anne's 13th birthday. This year, her birthday fell three days after the start of the Hogwarts holiday, so he wanted to make preparations in advance.
But less than a day after returning home, Aaron received two letters, both of which put him in a terrible mood.
The first was from Dumbledore, a long letter briefly explaining Anne's performance at school and her involvement in the Chamber of Secrets incident. Hearing about Anne's injury made Aaron extremely worried. But the second letter gave him an even bigger headache.
It was a Howler. A Howler from a woman in France, Diana Roland, Sonia Roland's older sister, and Anne's aunt.
The Howler only contained one line:
"Aaron Hall, how wonderful! I'm so impressed by what you've done!"
That very afternoon, a furious woman stormed out of the fireplace in Aaron's living room. Without saying a word, she pointed her wand straight at him and cast a spell.
Luckily, Aaron had anticipated this. He dodged in time, though a wooden table in the living room exploded into splinters.
"Aaron Hall! You dare to dodge? Do you know what you've done? You had the nerve to intercept my personal mail using your brother's help?" Diana shouted, slamming a copy of the Daily Prophet onto the floor.
The headline detailed the Chamber of Secrets incident at Hogwarts and how it had been resolved by three students and a professor. In one corner of the article, Anne Reever's name was briefly mentioned, but it had been circled several times in blue ink.
"If I hadn't read the Daily Prophet this morning, just how long were you planning to keep this from me? Hmm?" Diana's voice was furious, though she'd stopped casting spells. Her wand, however, was still gripped tightly in her hand.
Aaron slowly stood up from behind the sofa, equally agitated. "Yes, I admit it, I had your letter intercepted. That was wrong of me! But I know exactly what you were planning, you were going to tell Anne everything that happened!"
"She's part of the Roland family! She has to know the truth!" Diana shot back without hesitation.
"She's a Reever! Not a Roland!" Aaron bellowed.
"She's Sonia's daughter. Don't forget that. The Ministry of Magic legally recognized her full name as Anne Roland Reever. As the first in line to inherit the Roland family estate, she has every right to know her origins!"
Aaron's eyes turned red with anger. "What do you know? You've been off in France all these years with that fancy job of yours! How many times have you even visited Anne? Tell me! Do you even know how old she is this year? What day does her birthday fall on?"
Diana was momentarily stunned. Her presence faltered a little, but she still answered angrily, "She's twelve, I haven't forgotten that! But what does that have to do with the crap you pulled?"
Aaron didn't lower his voice. "Oh, so you do remember she's twelve? Anne lost her parents at such a young age. And when she was eight, her own uncle sent her to an orphanage! Do you even know what those three years were like for her? She got sick on her very first day there, so tiny and pale, lying all alone in bed, no one taking care of her. By the time I got word and rushed to see her, she'd already been sick in bed for two days! Do you have any idea how much that broke my heart?"
Diana hadn't known Anne had been sent to an orphanage. Her anger subsided, and she said quietly, "That was Ministry protocol. Mixed-blood children without magical signs have to stay in the Muggle world. I had no say in it. Besides, I visited her once at the Garnet family's home, and she seemed to be doing well…"
Aaron snorted. "Visited a few times, did you? You, the Deputy Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation? I guess you forgot you even had a niece in the UK…"
"But that still doesn't give you the right to intercept my mail! You actually went behind my back and applied to be Anne's legal guardian! I will file a formal complaint!"
That was Aaron's breaking point. He exploded, shouting, "You just want to dump all the family's burdens onto a twelve-year-old! What were you doing at twelve, huh? Anne's already been through so much, you can't even let her have a proper childhood?"
"I never said I would!"
"You just said you were going to tell her the truth about her parents! And the family! You were going to pile all that on her! Don't you think it's cruel to burden a child like that? That's exactly why I intercepted your letter, I knew you wouldn't discuss it with anyone first!"
Diana frowned slightly, then calmed down. "But she has to know eventually."
Aaron took two deep breaths, forcing himself to speak more evenly. "Of course she does. I never planned to keep it from you either. I was going to tell you this summer. I was hoping we could agree to wait until Anne turns sixteen to tell her the truth. Her time at Hogwarts should be happy, simple, free of burdens. She deserves that."
Aaron stared at her intently.
Diana glared back, then finally sat down in an armchair. "I'm still applying for legal guardianship of Anne."
Aaron sat down on the sofa and nodded. "You have every right. I won't oppose it." He snapped his fingers, and Orle came out of the kitchen with two cups of tea.
Diana took a sip, glanced around, and asked, "Is Anne living here now?"
Aaron perked up as soon as Anne was mentioned. "Yes. I even brought Orle over full-time to help take care of her. Anne's a very clever girl. You probably don't know, she was sorted into Slytherin, the same house as Lambert."
He stood up and pointed excitedly toward the small greenhouse in the courtyard. "Anne's really into Herbology. I built that greenhouse for her. Her room's on the third floor, I can show you! How long are you staying in the UK? Anne's coming home in two days. Maybe we could go pick her up together?"
Diana put down her tea and stood up too. She looked at the greenhouse, then motioned for Aaron to lead her upstairs. "I came by plane and temporarily used the Ministry's Floo Network. I'll probably need to send them a letter later. Since I'm in the UK, I might as well stop by the family estate and take care of some things."
"That's great! Then we can pick up Anne together. I bet she'll be thrilled. Oh, and about her birthday in May, we need to plan it together. Do you want her to spend it in Paris or at the family estate? Last year, I took her to Tanzania..." Aaron happily chatted as they walked.
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At King's Cross Station, Anne pulled her suitcase and got off the train in a hurry, eager to ask Aaron about the letter Dumbledore had mentioned. But as soon as she exited the station, she not only saw Aaron waving at her beside a black car, she also saw a tall, elegant woman standing beside him.
Golden hair, impeccably dressed in chic French fashion.
Anne's first thought: Did Aaron get a girlfriend?
Diana's eyes lit up the moment she saw Anne. Though Anne had short black hair, her amber eyes were just like the rest of the Roland family. Her small, round face was adorably soft. Diana could see glimpses of Sonia and Lambert in her.
She walked right up to Anne, crouched down, hugged her tightly, kissed her forehead, and gently ruffled her hair with a warm smile.
Anne didn't dodge. Up close, she noticed that Diana's eyes were the same amber shade as hers, and she bore a strong resemblance to her mother in the photos. She was stunned.
Aaron walked over, took the suitcase from Anne's hand, ruffled her hair, and smiled. "Anne, this is your aunt, your mother's sister, Diana Roland."
It felt like something exploded in Anne's mind. What?! There are more people from the mysterious Roland family? I have an aunt?! Aaron's been hiding this all along?!
Her eyes darted between Diana and Aaron, full of confusion.
Diana looked into her amber eyes and softly said, "Alright, silly girl. Let's get in the car. I'll explain everything on the way." She stood up, took Anne's hand, and led her to the black car, with Aaron following behind, dragging the suitcase.
In the car, Diana and Anne sat in the back while Aaron started the engine.
Once she'd calmed down, Anne hesitantly asked, "Um… Diana… Aunt Diana?"
Diana winced slightly, she hadn't quite prepared to be called that yet. It sounded a little strange. Smiling, she replied, "Anne, you can just call me Diana when we're alone. 'Aunt' is fine for letters or formal occasions."
Anne nodded and said offhandedly, "Yeah, I thought it was weird to call someone so pretty and young 'aunt'..."
Diana burst out laughing, and Aaron laughed too from the front seat. "Diana, you'll have to get used to this. Anne always talks like a little grown-up."
Realizing what she'd just said, Anne puffed out her cheeks and pretended to pout. Diana couldn't help reaching out and pinching her cheek.
Seeing the warm light in Diana's eyes, Anne quickly asked, "But… why are you only coming to see me now?"
Diana's smile faltered slightly, and she glanced at Aaron before replying with a teasing tone, "Because someone at the Ministry made a mistake, which is why you're only seeing me now."
Aaron hunched slightly in the driver's seat.
Anne caught all of this and started to understand why Aaron always avoided talking about the Roland family. So this is it... Aaron must've done something to keep Diana from knowing I went to Hogwarts.
"Diana, have you not been in the UK for a while? Your accent sounds a bit different," Anne asked.
"You're so clever, Anne." Diana ruffled her hair again. "I've been living in Paris for the past three years. I haven't been back until now. How about spending the summer with me in Paris? You can stay with me there. What do you think?"
Aaron quickly added, "Don't worry about your plants. Orle can take good care of them."
Anne had a feeling they'd already discussed this before picking her up. Maybe her birthday would even be in Paris this year. That thought excited her, The City of Romance! What would it be like?
With a bright smile, Anne exclaimed, "Yes! I want to go!"
Diana smiled, and Aaron let out a breath of relief.
Diana then asked Anne about school, especially about the Chamber of Secrets. After all, it had made headlines.
Anne gave the credit to the trio from Gryffindor and glossed over her part, only mentioning that she went to rescue Fanny and ended up getting hit by a falling rock. Madam Pomfrey had healed her just fine. She even pulled up her sleeve to show them.
Though Aaron encouraged adventure, he never wanted Anne to be in real danger. Diana was even more concerned, after all, the two of them were the last remaining members of the Roland family, which had always been small in number.
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A/N: Hehe, new characters around Anne are finally making their debut. Looks like her background isn't so simple after all!
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