December brought even more snow, and a blizzard of homework for the fifth years. Anne's schedule was completely packed. Between assignments from every subject, tasks assigned by Diana, and her own personal research, her life was full to the brim. And on top of that, as a prefect, she also had to carry out her responsibilities, like supervising the younger students with Malfoy. Realistically, though, most of the time was spent warning Malfoy not to bully first- and second-years.
Christmas arrived quickly. Since Anne had once again ended up in the school hospital, Diana decided to bring her home for the holidays, using the fireplace, of course.
Naturally, it had to be Professor Umbridge's fireplace, since all the others in Hogwarts were monitored or sealed off. In fact, Diana had originally intended to submit her travel request to Dumbledore, but Umbridge approved it herself as the High Inquisitor the moment she heard about it. She seemed pleased to wield her authority.
Anne was dragging her suitcase while Diana stood beside her. Both were in Umbridge's office. After a long round of polite back-and-forth with Diana, Umbridge finally bid them a syrupy farewell in her sickly sweet voice.
Back at Roland Castle, Aaron was waiting. He gave Anne a big, warm hug.
Dinner was held in the castle's dining hall. Anne shared her frustrations about the massive workload from the professors and updated them on Umbridge's behavior at school. Both adults were clearly unimpressed, especially Aaron, who was furious at Umbridge's abuse of power at Hogwarts.
But by the next day, Aaron had other things on his mind: Mr. Weasley had been hospitalized, and the news left him visibly shaken.
On the third day of the holiday, Christmas Day, the castle had been beautifully decorated. The house-elves had cleaned every corner until it sparkled.
When Anne woke up, her bedside was filled with presents, just like every Christmas. But unlike past years, she didn't rush to open them with excitement. Instead, she quietly got out of bed, skipped the unwrapping, got dressed, and went downstairs.
Diana was already at the breakfast table.
"Merry Christmas, Anne!" Diana greeted.
"Merry Christmas, Diana," Anne replied, taking a seat as a house-elf pulled out her chair for her.
"Got any plans for today?" Diana asked.
"I'm planning to take Fanny out for a drive tomorrow," Anne said. "I checked the new roads and garage last night, the construction's solid. Once I pay off the final balance, the car'll be ready for pickup. After that, I'll probably spend a few days in France, visiting Professor Acks and Uncle Vegas."
Diana nodded and folded her newspaper. "If you're short on money, just withdraw from Gringotts, alright?"
Anne grinned. "Thanks, but I should be fine."
She knew she wouldn't need to touch the family vault at all. In fact, she was already doing quite well financially. Just before Christmas, she'd used tenfold financial leverage to make a bold investment, and it paid off handsomely. Her private Gringotts vault was now looking very healthy.
"Well, I'm heading to work now," Diana said as she stood. "I get the afternoon off. Figure out something fun to do with Aaron and me later, alright?"
Anne nodded.
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"Porsche Boxster 986. Convertible. First unveiled at the 1993 North American Auto Show. Official production started in late 1995," Anne said with a smile as she sat in the driver's seat.
"Whoa," Fanny said as she opened the door and climbed into the passenger seat. "This silver looks amazing."
"I thought so too," Anne replied. "So, where do you want to go? The weather's nice today, no snow."
"How about a drive around London?"
"Sounds good to me," Anne said as she started the engine.
By dinner time, Anne parked in front of a Michelin one-star restaurant in London. She and Fanny enjoyed a relaxed meal.
"I heard Mr. Weasley ended up in the hospital?" Fanny asked during the meal.
Anne paused mid-slice and glanced at her. "Yeah, I think so."
"And he was attacked inside the Ministry?"
"Oh? Sounds like the Ministry needs to step up their security."
Fanny gave her a look. "Isn't Harry somehow involved in all this?"
"Would you like more honey-red tea?"
"No, I'm good," Fanny replied, falling silent for a while as she focused on her food.
Anne slid a dessert over to her. "This holiday-only Chiffon Cheesecake is really good. Try it."
"Thanks."
After dinner, Anne drove Fanny home. Just before getting out of the car, Fanny turned to her.
"Anne, are you really sure about this?"
"Hmm? Sure about what?" Anne tapped the steering wheel with her fingers.
"You know what I mean. Are you really going through with it? No regrets?"
Anne paused, then smiled faintly. "No regrets. Definitely."
Fanny drew in a breath and opened the car door. As she stepped out, she looked back with a smile. "Today was great. See you at school."
"See you," Anne said, starting the car again.
As she watched the car drive away, Fanny murmured to herself, "Anne, I hope you're not just fooling yourself."
Once out of the city and past the speed limits, with barely any cars on the road, Anne accelerated to 180 km/h. She only slowed down as she neared the castle.
She turned onto a concrete road that led to a small parking lot and garage. After parking and locking the car, she walked a stone path toward the castle.
"Gooka, where's Aunt Diana?" she asked, hanging her coat.
"In her study, miss. She and Mr. Hall are discussing something," the butler replied respectfully.
Upstairs, in the study, Diana and Aaron were deep in a heated discussion. Anne had to knock three times before they finally heard her.
"What were you talking about just now?" she asked cautiously.
Inside, Aaron stood with arms crossed by the fireplace, and Diana was gripping the back of a chair by her desk.
"We'll finish this conversation later," Diana said coldly, sitting down. Her desk was scattered with parchment.
Aaron looked tense too, but his face softened when he saw Anne.
"Is something wrong, Anne?" Diana asked, her tone noticeably gentler now.
"Yes," Anne said, glancing at Aaron before sitting across from Diana.
Aaron took a seat too, diagonally from Anne.
"Well, first, you both already know, I'm flying to France tomorrow morning," Anne began.
Both nodded. Diana had already arranged for the Roland family's European trade rep to meet Anne in Paris.
"Secondly, I wanted to say, " she paused, then said firmly, "Diana, after fifth year ends, I want to apply to be Margaret's assistant in China over the summer."
Diana looked stunned. Aaron did too, they exchanged a quick glance.
"Anne, the Roland family does have this tradition, but it usually starts after Hogwarts. There's no rush," Diana said.
"I want to go this summer," Anne insisted.
They exchanged another look. Aaron asked, "Anne, can I ask why?"
"I, " Anne considered telling them about Hermione, but instead said, "I just feel like I've learned enough about European magical plants. I want to explore the Far East."
Diana was quiet for a moment, then nodded. "Alright. How long?"
"A full summer, if possible."
Diana raised her eyebrows. "The whole summer? Anne, are you sure you want your first fieldwork to be that long?"
"Three months?"
Diana frowned and looked at Aaron. "Two months, Anne. China is still a new market. It's only been developing for eight years. I'd be uneasy if you stayed longer."
"Two months?" Aaron stood abruptly, no longer hiding his reaction. "Diana Roland, you're letting Anne spend two months alone in the Far East at this point in time?"
"It's the summer," Diana replied coldly. "And if what you said is true… then maybe Anne going east is the best choice. In fact, the entire Roland family might, "
She stopped, looking at Aaron. He clenched his jaw, face dark, but didn't argue further.
In the end, Anne's trip was cut to one month.
The trip to France gave Anne a few relaxing days away from the magical world. It was pure, ordinary living, attending concerts with the Acks couple or spending hours in the kitchen with Vegas discussing culinary inspirations.
After the holiday, Anne returned to Hogwarts through the fireplace.
"Anne? Back already? How was your Christmas?" asked Professor Sprout, who was tending to a stone-walled plant.
Anne smiled. "It was great. I went to France, Professor. Came back early to check on my little ones, see if they've grown yet."
"I looked in on them yesterday," Sprout said cheerfully. "They're doing well."
The new term began. Monday morning brought Potions with Professor Snape and an afternoon of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Snape assigned two time-consuming assignments. And in the Defense class? More silent reading, as always. No one spoke during her class, but hardly anyone actually read either. Most students simply daydreamed their way through the hour.
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The complete release can be accessed through Patreon.com/Crimson_Lore