Prologue

1975

A lonely November-day many years ago Artemis Dodderidge found something different on the staircase to her house. It was a bundle, a little baby. The baby had large, dark eyes and thick black hair and gurgled happily when Artemis touched it. When she couldn´t find any evidence of who´d left it there she pulled the baby closer in a protective gesture. She then carried it into her house where several other children sat down on the floor playing with their toys.

Artemis and her husband Nestor ran the little orphanage in Upper Flagley, a town famous for being inhabited by an unusual amount of wizards and witches. This orphanage was also unusual, because no muggles could distinguish the old house in red bricks in central town. Therefore, the children that came to live in the little orphanage were most exclusive children to wizards and witches.

Artemis hurried into the kitchen were her husband was eating his breakfast, with a mug in one hand and The Daily Prophet in the other.

- Nestor! Nestor! Look at this! She reached out her arms while holding the baby and her husband silently looked up over the paper.

- What´s this?

- A baby you fool! I found him on the doorstep! Someone must have left him there only minutes ago.

Nestor looked at his wife. He was a big man with a thick brown beard which made many of the children, and sometimes adults, vigilant of him. But his eyes were warm and assured most of them that he was, indeed, a nice man.

Nestor put the paper away and pushed his glasses back to place and then leaned towards the baby which was looking, a little unfocused, up towards the ceiling.

- Yeah, he can´t be particularly old, a few months at most. Where there any messages?

- Nothing.

- Well. Then there´s just one thing for us to do, give him a name. With that cute little face I´m sure there won´t be any problems for him finding a new family. Nestor leaned back, took his cup and went back to reading.

- I think you´re right. Artemis turned around and went out to show the rest of the kids the new addition to their family.