Unexpected Friendships

This had to be one of the most memorable entrances in Ian's opinion. He was told about the bad blood between the Weasleys and the Parkinsons… and most of the pure blood families. And for a child of theirs to screw up right at the start was a good way to lose whatever prestige they had left within the wizarding circle. 

"Ron!" A middle-aged woman voiced angrily. "Apologize immediately." 

If that was not enough, the woman seemed to grab the boy by his head and push it down while a pair of twins lowered their heads on their own accord. 

And seeing the woman handling the kid so harshly, Ian knew he would have done the same as the twins even if no one asked him to. 

"I-I am sorry." The boy apologized, albeit flustered but still not scared. 

"Ah, the Weasleys… Always an unsightly family." Lucius shook his head in what Ian thought to be disgust.

A man standing behind Pansy laughed. "It's alright. It was just a mere accident and it is not like the first time a Weasley had made such a mess at an important event." 

Cecil Parkinson's dislike of the Weasleys was just as much as the Malfoys, if not more.

"It is an unfortunate meeting but despite that, it's good to see that you are doing well, Molly." Cecil smiled, not hiding his true feelings for the Weasleys in his tone. 

Molly Weasley was enraged by the insult but she knew well that it was entirely her son's fault and as such she didn't extend the matter further. 

"I apologize on his behalf, Cecil." She sighed. "We will pay for the damages."

Cecil shook his head. "It is alright." He laughed before taking out his wand. "Reparo"

Ian's eyes went wide as he saw Cecil using the spell on his daughter, which immediately restored her dress to its former state. "Accidents like these are not a big deal."

This statement made Ian raise an eyebrow. 'If it wasn't an issue to begin with, why did you have to shame her in front of so many.' But he knew better than to voice it out.

"Quite the show, huh?" Theodore shook his head in amusement. 

"It sure was." Daphne couldn't deny. 

Thankfully, before the matter could get any worse, Garrick intervened. 

"What is going on?" 

The lord of Ollivanders was busy with a few of his business partners when he heard the commotion and Ian thanked Merlin that he was here before a third party added fuel to the fire.

"Ah, lord Ollivander." Cecil smiled. "It's good to see that you are doing well."

"It's good to see you, lord Ollivander." Molly added. 

Ollivander didn't have close ties with either of the two families as unlike the rest of the purebloods, their lineage didn't branch with the Weasleys or the Parkinsons -at least not within the last few centuries.

"It was just a small accident." Cecil assured. "Nothing to fret over."

Ian was certain that his uncle more or less knew what was happening but pretended not to. 

'He knows what he is doing, I shouldn't complain.' 

Garrick had been in politics for way too long, he knew far better than the ten-year-old.

The old lord smiled. "I am glad that you and your family could make it. However…" He paused. "I don't see Arthur anywhere, Molly?"

"Ah, he had to go on a trip to settle a dispute. He feels extremely sad and extends his apologies for not being able to make it to the event."

Garrick nodded at her answer. "Well, he is a wise man that knows his priorities." He said as he looked at the kids. "Why don't you little ones go and play with the others, while we adults talk?" He smiled. "You kids wouldn't be interested in our boring talks."

Cecil and Molly both agreed to this statement and told their children to play with the rest. 

"Ron. George, Fred, you kids should go and play." She said with a slight frown. "But do remember to behave."

The boys nodded while Cecil said the same. "Go ahead and enjoy, sweetheart. But don't cause too much trouble."

…

…

Ron found it entirely difficult to make contact with the children of the invited families. He was not the smartest but he wasn't dumb either, he knew that the relationship between his family and the ones present was strained at best. 

He was unsure of whom to talk to as everyone seemed way too cold towards him, and those that seemed interested in him were there to make fun of him. 

"I thought the Weasleys might skip out on my birthday." Surprising Ron was Ian, someone that Ron didn't expect would bother approaching him. 

"Oh, good evening, heir Ollivander." He knew the difference in authority between them —between him and Ian. So he acted as respectfully as possible. "And I wish you a happy birthday." 

The gifts in the wizarding world were mostly presented by the parents instead of the children unless they were close friends. And so Ron didn't bring anything with him, hoping his mother would pack something presentable. 

But Ron wasn't the only person to greet him on his birthday.

"Happy Birthday."

"Heir Ollivander."

The boys with red hair that appeared to be of similar age as him greeted simultaneously. 

'Twins.' Ian smiled. "Welcome to the Ollivander mansion. I hope you enjoy the event."

Surprisingly, he didn't see a certain heiress greeting him. 

Pansy had walked towards the group even before the Weasleys and while it annoyed Ian a little that the girl of Parkinson's didn't greet him, he didn't take it to heart. 

Pansy was giggling and talking with the girls with Draco being behind them. Even now, she seemed fixated on Daphne and Draco. 

"You are going to start your magic training from next year, aren't you?" 

Surprising Ian was the heir of Nott, Theodore. Ian wasn't sure why the boy wasn't with Draco and the group and the sudden question made him wonder about his motives. 

"Indeed." Ian smiled. "I have been learning about it theoretically, however I will only be able to test it out starting next year." He looked at Theodore. "But I have heard you have already started your training."

Theodore sighed. "It's way too exaggerated. We only use a weak dummy wand and I still have to wait a few years before I can hold an actual wand in my hand."

"Rules are rules." Ian chuckled. "And I am surprised you aren't with Draco and the others."

Theodore showed a rare smile. "I am with him all the time and it's not like I get to talk with the heir of the Ollivanders every day." He turned to look at the Weasleys. "And definitely not with the Weasleys."

And while Ron and the twins thought Nott was trying to insult them, Ian figured that Theodore was merely speaking the truth. Being from the Nott family with a friendship as strong as the Malfoys, they would never make friends with the Weasleys. 

"Exceptions can be made, especially during events like this." Theodore said before introducing himself to the Weasleys. "The name is Theodore Nott, the heir to the house of Nott and the son of Alaric Nott." 

This surprised the gingers as they fumbled with their introduction. 

"R-Ron Weasley, from the h-house of Weasley."

"Fred Weasley."

"George Weasley."

Theodore chuckled and shook his head. "It's alright, I don't bite."

This made Ian crack a smile. "Neither do I."

"I-I see." The ginger boys were still not comfortable with the two but still decided to carry on with the conversation, and surprisingly didn't get bored. 

Theodore also noticed that Pansy hadn't introduced herself but shrugged and decided not to worry about it as it wasn't his problem to begin with. 

"You are a surprisingly interesting individual, heir Ollivander." Theodore stated. "You seem to have a lot of interesting topics to keep a conversation going."

"I try." Ian shrugged.

And as they continued to talk, it was soon time for the cake cutting ceremony. After which, he was to be done for the day.

And to Ian's utter surprise, everything went exactly as planned.

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[[Discord Link: https://discord.gg/jFAjqKhXna ]]

[[A/N: I hate writing about parties so much. 😐]]