Counting Guests

"I… am a bit nervous." Hannah said. "Maybe, I should be with someone else instead of walking with you."

She was a little awkward as it had been a few hours and the guests had started to arrive. 

"Why?" Ian chuckled. "You don't like talking to me?" 

Hannah immediately froze but before she could say anything, Ian shook his head. "It's a joke."

Ian knew that Hannah was uncomfortable with crowds, he realised that on Pansy's birthday. Which was why her reaction didn't surprise him. 

And seeing the crowd gather, he knew it was time for him to talk to his uncle as the event was going to start soon. 

"Do you want to come with me?" He asked the girl, wondering if she wanted to return to her aunt. Surprisingly, Hannah declined. 

"No, I would like to explore a bit on my own." She said with a smile. 

Ian would have denied but he knew that all the important rooms were locked and anything that could potentially harm her was well sealed by his uncle so he gave her a nod. 

"Very well then, I shall be with my uncle." He said. "The event will start soon, so you won't be bored."

Nodding at Ian, Hannah didn't say anything further. She knew her friends were going to come as well and they knew it would be way better than her time at Pansy's. 

Not to mention she remembered that the Parkinson heiress still didn't apologise for ignoring her at the party. 

'Not like I would bring that up…' She frowned which went entirely unnoticed by Ian.

Ian didn't waste anymore time and decided to make his way to his uncle. He wondered if he was still talking to Hannah's aunt. 

"Both of them seem to know each other from the past." He mumbled, however, he wasn't certain if they were friends. He noticed the tense air between the two as they talked. He wasn't certain if Hannah noticed it but he felt uncomfortable being there.

'Hopefully, they are on good terms.'

He knew that Hannah's aunt had massive power within the wizarding council and being friends with her could promise a lot of power for his family. 

As he walked towards his uncle's room, he stumbled upon the very woman he was thinking of. 

"Oh?" Andrea Abbott exclaimed. "Hannah is not with you, Heir Ian?"

Ian looked at the woman, she was as old as his uncle but unlike the lord of the Ollivander, she knew how to take care of herself.

"Greetings, Lady Abbot." He said, before explaining the situation. "She said she would like to explore the mansion on her own for a bit. And I believe her friends are coming so she will be spending her time with them."

Andrea nodded in understanding. "Oh, looks like she is enjoying her time here." She smiled before apologising. "Ah, forgive me. You must be on your way to Garrick."

Ian nodded. "Yes, I am going to his study."

Since Andrea already left the guestroom, Ian knew that Garrick must have gone back to his study room. 

"Well then, I won't keep you." She smiled. "But remember, do not end up like Garrick —stuck in the same four-walled room."

Saying that, she left to check on her niece, whereas Ian walked towards his uncle's study.

As he reached the room, he lightly knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Following the words, he walked inside and saw his uncle wearing a suit. This almost made him burst out laughing but he controlled himself. 

Ian had never seen the man wearing a formal attire in his life, even on Pansy's birthday he had his usual robe on. 

Pinching the palm of his hand, he commented. "You are looking good, uncle."

Garrick Ollivander wasn't ugly per se, but he was not cut out for suits. The massive beard alongside the unkempt hair just didn't pair with the formal look of the suit.

"I decided to wear this since it's your special day." The man chuckled while ruffling the youngster's hair, much to the heir's displeasure. 

However, Ian was also touched. His uncle wore something that he never previously did, just to make his birthday special. 

And it did.

Everything that Garrick had done for Ian, the boy remembers. He could never forget all the sacrifices made by the man for his sake. 

"Are you ready for the big event, little one?" Garrick asked with a kind smile. 

"I am." Ian assured, he wanted to be done with the event as quickly as possible. Because after that, he would be taught about Wandlore and he would also be able to start his training with the Book of the Wise. 

"Don't be too nervous today." Garrick said. "Leave the difficult stuff to me. You just talk with the kids and enjoy your day."

Ian nodded, but while he wanted to get the day over with —he also wanted to form as many connections as he could. 

'I wonder who would be visiting.'

…

…

The hallway was lit with candles of different colours, burning with magical flames. Blue, red, purple —the hallway shone with colours. 

The room of the main event was already filled with guests, being taken care of by the maids and butlers. Each of them came well prepared with gifts and flowers, wearing fancy clothing. Yet they all had only one motive, building a good relationship with the Ollivanders. 

Hannah shook her head at the obvious display, her aunt had taught her that in the Sacred Twenty-Eight, not everything was as it seemed. Most talks were made in the hope of earning something, be it trust, power or money. No one talks unless they gain something from it. 

In the Sacred Twenty Eight, no one is a friend —an ally maybe, but never a friend. 

However, Hannah believed that there can be good people in the Sacred Twenty-Eight as well. Just because a majority of them were rotten doesn't mean everyone would be the same. 

She hoped that Ian was what he showed, a kind person and not just someone trying to use her for her family's connections. 

Sighing in her mind, she turned to the left but was caught by surprise.

Her aunt was already discussing politics with a few of the guests but it was not her aunt that caught her attention, it was the person that just arrived.

"Looks like our old friend spent a lot on this event." 

This small comment drew the attention of most, as the person that just made his entry was another lord of the Sacred Twenty Eight. 

"Flamboyant as ever, aren't you?" Her aunt was also one of those people whose attention was drawn to the guest. "Samuel."

Samuel Greengrass grinned widely. "I didn't expect to see you here, Lady Abbott."

Hannah remembered her aunt saying that she used to tutor a few of the current lords, and the lord of the Greengrass was one of them.

But it was not Lord Greengrass that she was interested in, instead it was the person standing next to him. 

"Daphne." Hannah called, not loudly but just enough to draw the heiress' attention. 

Daphne looked at Hannah, and gave the Abbott heiress a small smile. This small interaction drew the attention of both Samuel and Andrea. 

"Oh, you brought your niece." He smiled. "She has grown into a fine lady." He complimented, making Andrea nod. 

"That she has." She looked at Daphne. "But so has your daughter." She chuckled. "She definitely takes after her mother more than you."

Samuel didn't take the little joke to heart and instead laughed it off. 

"Why don't you two girls go and play?" He suggested and Andrea agreed. 

"You should."

This made both Daphne and Hannah happy as they had been hoping to find someone they know at the party. 

Daphne walked to Hannah, as the Abbott heiress stood in front of a pillar. 

"You came early." Daphne greeted. 

"Yes, my aunt wanted to talk to Lord Ollivander about something." Hannah said which made Daphne curious. 

"About what?"

Hannah shrugged, unsure of what they talked about. "I don't know, probably business."

Daphne nodded, aware that the Lady of Abbott was making moves. 

"Pansy hasn't arrived yet." She said, as she noticed the lack of the loud heiress. 

"She hasn't but she is not known for being on time." Hannah laughed. 

"Well there is still time, it's just that we are a bit early." Daphne said.

And while they were early, they weren't the only members of the Sacred Twenty Eight at the event. As the girls talked, they saw Samuel Greengrass' eyes go wide. 

Daphne wondered what was wrong but then she realised that it was not that something was wrong but it was someone that could be troublesome.

"Ah, Lucius!" Samuel greeted with a laugh. "I wondered where you were."

Lucius Malfoy, was one of the 'scary' lords as Daphne remembered. He was always stern and seemed to be plotting. And it was not just her being dubious, after all her father warned her about the Lord Malfoy as well. 

Getting onto his bad side was not wise. 

Along with him were Narcissa Malfoy, the wife of Lucius and his son Draco. 

In her opinion, Draco was an annoying little rat who was too arrogant to be made friends with. However, the family he belonged to made it impossible for her to not interact with him.

"It's the Nott family!" One of the guests said, making the rest surprised.

"They are here?!"

The comment made both the girls look at the new entry. And as they turned to look, they saw the blue and yellow knight crest being flaunted by two certain people. 

There were two —one that seemed to be of their age and another that was clearly the guy's parent.

Brown hair mixed with white strands, blue eyes and a rather tall and well built physique -rarely seen among wizards. The two girls noted that he was a rather handsome man despite his age but what drew their attention more was the boy behind him.

Tall with brown hair of a shade lighter than the older man and a pair of brown eyes.

"Alaric!" Samuel exclaimed, "I thought you wouldn't be able to make it."

Alaric had his usual smile, "It's the event hosted by an old friend, there is no way I could have missed it." He looked at his son. "And I was hoping Theo here could make a few new friends, he sure needs them." 

This comment made the others laugh while a certain individual scowled. 

"I was hoping the same for Draco as well." Lucius said, which made Draco a bit annoyed.

"But father I-" 

Once again, even before the little Malfoy could retort, a frown from his father made the child quiet.

Hannah noticed that Theodore was far quieter than Draco, who in comparison seemed to be annoyed out of his wits. 

"They are friends, right?" Hannah asked to which Daphne nodded.

The Greengrass heiress walked towards the new guests, making her father smile. 

"Good day, Lord Nott, Lord Malfoy." She greeted which drew the attention of the Lords.

"Ah, Daphne." Alaric smiled at the girl. "You have grown since the last time I saw you." He looked at Samuel. "You have taught her well."

As a proud father, Samuel laughed. "It wasn't me. This little angel learnt everything on her own."

Following Daphne's greeting, Hannah introduced herself.

"Good evening, Lord Greengrass, Lord Malfoy, Lord Nott." She smiled. "Good Evening to you too Draco and Theodore." 

She had made contact with Draco before but never with Theodore. 

The boys barely reacted to her greeting while the adults seemed to praise the heiress just as much as Daphne. 

"Is it just me or do the girls of this generation seem to be more respectful than the boys?" Alaric said, causing Andrea to chime in. 

"They just had good guidance." She walked forward. "And your boys aren't too bad either. I heard that they have been learning magic even before getting a wand."

"It's nothing to be surprised of." Lucius said, "Every heir and heiress should begin their training before the mudbloods."

Everyone felt the disdain in his voice at the mention of the word mudblood and a lot of them shared the same opinion. 

The Sacred Twenty Eight seemed to talk about the political advances as well as the businesses leaving their children to talk and play with each other. However, the kids being of contrasting personalities found it extremely difficult to make friends. 

Yet it was not a very awkward encounter as everyone's attention soon shifted to the main attraction of the day.

"It's the Ollivanders!"

And with a random guest's shout, began the event.

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[[A/N: Will try to post 2 or 3 more chapters in a bit.]]