Gellert gave Ariana an absent one-armed embrace in return when she hugged and kissed him and then gave her a small smile. "I don't think so, Ariana," he said. Just how much Ariana knew of her mother's attitude toward people like himself and Albus, Gellert did not know -- but he very much doubted the girl would remain ignorant for long of the growing tension between her brother and their mother.
He left it to Albus to explain why, though he was rather certain Albus would attempt to reason it away in polite, acceptable terms. She had prior engagements, for example, or she was feeling just a little bit under the weather, nothing to worry about, but she was too ill to come....
Gellert reached up to adjust his collar. He still felt uncomfortable in these clothes, having still not gained back all of the weight he had lost while in prison. His clothing felt stiff and foreign on his frame, loose rather than tailored to his shape as it had once been. Other than books, clothing was one of the few things on which Gellert could justify true expense, and much of his salary from Lockewood had gone to the tailor. Even so, he was waiting to grow back into them, rather than having them altered to fit his current thinner frame. He felt rather like he was wearing Albus's clothes, rather than his own -- and hoped his discomfort would not show.