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Yeah! Here's the new chapter!
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-Nick and Penny's Room-
Today was my 'day off', and after thinking a little about what to do to pass the time, I ended up deciding that I would spend some time with the people important to me before tomorrow's task.
And the first people I decided to spend time with weren't my friends, but the family I had at Hogwarts right now.
And this family I was talking about was obviously my adoptive grandparents, the French immortal alchemists, Nick and Penny.
And at this moment I was already in their room, sitting across from Nick on one of the sofas in their living room while I waited for Penny to finish preparing our drinks and snacks in the kitchen that was in their room.
'Bedroom, living room, kitchen... This room is more like a house of its own,' I thought with a snort, and even though I was already used to it I couldn't help but marvel at the magic of the expansion spell.
"Here it is. My special blackberry tea with lemon essence," Penny said, walking out of the kitchen while three cups and a plate of cookies and cupcakes floated behind her.
And arriving in front of us, she placed the cups of tea and the plate with cupcakes and cookies on the table in front of us, before sitting next to me on the sofa.
And as soon as Penny sat down, she immediately started the conversation, "You know, it's been a while since we've spent any time together like this," she commented, turning to me.
And looking at her I could see that she was looking straight at me with a little pout on her face, and feeling her emotions I could feel that she was a little upset, sad and disappointed.
But along with these feelings I could also feel her happiness, delight, contentment and affection, which showed that even though she was sad that I hadn't spent much time with her these past few days, she was still happy that I had decided to show up here today.
"I'm sorry Penny, I couldn't visit you these days because I was very busy" I said to her with a small apologetic smile.
"Humph! No one is so busy that they can't even take a few minutes out of their day to spend time with their grandmother outside of classroom" she said, crossing her arms and giving me a reprimanding look, which made me lower my head in embarrassment.
And unfortunately I didn't have a counterargument or an excuse for it, because I knew she was right.
Even if I had gone into a training frenzy, I still could have used at least a few minutes and even an hour or two of my day to talk to her outside of Enchantment and Ward classes, which were basically the only times we interacted these past few days.
'I really am a terrible grandson... They came to Hogwarts just because of me to spend time with me, and yet I ignored them' I thought with a sigh, feeling like a selfish idiot.
And at this moment I had made a promise in my heart that until the school year was over, I would try to spend as much time as possible with Nick and Penny, even if it meant skipping some classes and my practices.
And coming out of my thoughts I looked back at Penny, who was still staring at me.
"I'm sorry... And I promise that from now on, every day, I will try to spend time with you, even if I have to eat my meals with you at the staff table," I said, in a resolute tone of voice that also showed the sincerity in my words.
And upon hearing my promise, Penny narrowed her eyes at me, as if she was trying to see the truth of my words.
And after a few seconds of staring at me I could see the upset look that was on her beautiful face disappear as if it had never been there, being replaced by a soft and happy look, with a small smile appearing on her face.
"Sigh, I really can't pretend to be mad at you… But know that I will hold you to that promise, as I would love to spend more time with my dear, cute grandson," she said, looking at me lovingly.
And I knew from the beginning that she wasn't really upset with me and was just making a little drama as a joke, but hearing her say that still made me sigh in relief.
"Well, I always keep my promises, and you know I would love to spend more time with you too," I said, smiling too.
And Nick, who didn't participate in our conversation, just kept looking at us with an amused look, 'They both look so alike, and have such a strong connection between them that it's hard to believe they're not biological grandmother and grandson,' he thought, smiling softly as he sipped his tea.
And as he looked at Penny and me he couldn't help but feel happy, realizing that we looked like a real family. And this warm and fuzzy feeling of having a family was something he hadn't gotten used to yet, but he was sure that this was one of the best things that had ever happened to him and Penny.
And this certainty came from the good and wonderful feelings he always felt when he was with Penny and me, and even with my parents and Cele. Feelings he had felt only a few times in his long life.
But shaking his head, Nick pushed his sentimentality to the back of his mind, deciding to start a new conversation.
"So Ethan, are you worried about tomorrow?" the French immortal asked me, causing Penny and I to turn to him.
And hearing his sudden question I looked at him with a confused expression.
"Worried? About what?" I asked back.
"With the third task, obviously. It won't be as simple as the others, and because it's the last and decisive one, it'll be more difficult and challenging, especially because it'll take place in a living maze," he replied.
And hearing that I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "Uh, you have an idea of my capabilities and abilities, so I thought you already knew that this tournament poses no danger to me" I said, completely unconcerned.
"Are you sure about this?" and this time it was Penny who asked me, "The last few days you seemed to be a little stressed and distressed... And looking at you now I can tell that there is something worrying you" my adoptive grandmother said, looking at me carefully.
And hearing that I blinked, not expecting her to have been able to notice these feelings coming from me, since I kept my emotions under control using my abilities and my occlumency.
'Ugh, apparently I underestimated Penny's instincts and perception' I thought, resisting the urge to grimace.
And I should have expected that someone over six hundred years old, who has had to deal with cunning and greedy politicians, selfish witches and wizards, and people trying to take advantage of her for most of her life, would be able to read people well.
And thinking about it I realized that if Penny noticed my uneasy and apprehensive emotions, then Nick noticed too, and that was probably why he asked that question.
'Maybe my mistake wasn't even underestimating their perception, but rather overestimating my control over my own emotions,' I sighed.
I then realized that I had been lost in my thoughts for some time, and coming out of them I turned my gaze to Penny, seeing that she was looking at me with a glint of concern in her eyes because of my long silence.
And not wanting her to suspect that something was wrong or to start an interrogation, I decided to answer her initial question.
"I think you must be imagining things, Penny," I said to the alchemist witch, waving my hand dismissively, "I have no reason to be worried or anything like that. And in fact it is quite likely that you have confused these feelings with my anticipation and excitement for the third task"
"Anticipation and excitement?" Nick repeated with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah," I nodded, "It may not seem, but I'm really excited to face the challenges of the maze in the third task, and I'm also looking forward to showing everyone how amazing Ethan Steven Night is," I finished, smiling confidently with my characteristic arrogant look.
"Hmm, I see," Nick nodded in understanding, believing what I said as it fit my adventurous and daring personality.
But even though my answer convinced Nick, it didn't convince Penny, who continued to stare at me, now with a thoughtful look on her face.
'Hmm, I don't know... I'm sure Ethan is worried about something... and I feel like it doesn't exactly have to do with the task.' Penny reflected, and her feminine and maternal instincts began to stir.
'A boy like Ethan being so nervous and worried can only mean one thing...' she thought, feeling the pieces of the puzzle starting to fall into place.
End.
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