Royalty [A One Direction AU]

{10} Identity Revealed

I wave to Luke and Ashton on my way to the punch table, watching as they make their way through the crowd to say hello.

"Hey Niall! How's your date with Cher going?" Luke asks, and I punch his shoulder in reply. He rubs the spot where I hit him, groaning. "You may be small but you sure do pack a punch." Luke whines, causing Ashton to start laughing.

"Anyways, we just wanted to say hello, but now I want some punch." Ashton decides, pulling Luke into the line I'm already waiting in. Huh, there's a punch line. I guess there always is.

"Well hello, then. How's your date going?" I tease, grinning when I get light punches from both boys. They, much like Louis and Harry, came together but not as dates. And also just like Louis and Harry, everyone else is enjoying teasing them. "Where are Michael and Calum?" I ask, noticing the absence of the other two Australians. Luke looks at Ashton and shrugs, smiling.

"Probably with Jesy and Leigh-Anne, I think they took them as friends or something." Ashton guesses, furrowing his eyebrows. Like Cher, both Jesy and Michael have normal boy/girlfriends that know about them. I wouldn't be surprised if those two came together.

"You know, the dance is over in half an hour and King Bobby is nowhere. Wonder when he's making the announcement?" Luke wonders aloud, and I scan the room, finding an absense of both my dad and Louis, as well as my aunt.

"Maybe he's talking to his son and his friend, or Headmaster. I don't see her, either." I say, relieved when Luke and Ashton nod. I turn back around to find myself at the punch table, so I quickly get two cups of punch and say a goodbye to Luke and Ashton before returning to the row of chairs where Cher is waiting. I hand her one of the cups and she smiles gratefully, taking a sip of the brighty colored drink.

"Hmm... I think it's some sort of fizzy strawberry drink." She guesses after thinking for a bit. I sit next to her and drink some of my own punch, nodding.

"I agree, tastes like strawberries." Cher smiles, looking around the room.

"Where's King Bobby?" She asks, noticing that my dad has disappeared.

"Probably with Headmaster, she's not here either." I reply, focusing on the familar face that just walked through the door. Louis scans the crowd and he smiles when he sees me, walking over quickly.

"Headmaster wants to see the three of us." Louis says, looking at Cher and I.

"Me?" Cher asks, and Louis nods.

"King Bobby is there, too." Louis says simply. Cher and I stand, cups in hand as we follow Louis out of the gym and down the hall. Instead of going to my aunt's office, Louis enters the cafeteria, waiting for us to follow him. My dad is sitting at our table from earlier, waving us over. Two of his guards exit the room, probably to keep anyone else from coming in. As I expected, my aunt is sitting next to my dad, but what surprises me is seeing my mum on his other side.

"Hello Niall, Louis, Cher." My dad says. Cher curties a little, smiling, Louis bows slightly, and I nod, unsure of what to do in my position. We all sit down across from my parents and aunt, waiting for one of them to say something.

"Louis, Cher, this is Mrs. Horan, my sister-in-law and Niall's mother." Aunt Lindsey explains to my friends, who both look at me.

"Hi mum." I say, a grin on my face. It's been a few months since I last saw her, and I figured she didn't like to get involved in magic so she stayed away. Guess I was wrong.

"Hello, honey. It's nice to see you again." My mum replies, looking at my dad.

"Your mother would like to be public as well, Niall." My dad explains.