DISCLAIMER: I don't own most it if you can't figure out which bits this story probably won't make much sense to you.

PROLOGUE

The ruin which lay at the top of the northernmost valley off the Yorkshire Dales was known to the locals as the Moaning Manor. Throughout storms and harsh winter nights, when the wind speeds peaked, air would rush between the old stone slabs which formed the decaying stronghold and the very walls of the manor would appear to scream. Records reported that house had once been home to a noble household of royal blood, but had fallen into ruin in the late 1600's. Nobody visited the grounds now, not even children who might have ordinarily played between the decaying brickwork. Bad things happened to those who got to close, everybody knew it.

For this reason, the figure that had appeared at the end of the lane and was now approaching what remained of the properties' gatehouse was a most unusual sight. First and foremost, no one had approached the manor in living memory, but even if a visit to an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere was to be to consider perfectly commonplace, the figure's timing was also alarming. It was the middle of the night and a storm was raging, trees were being pulled from the ground, and the manors' screams could be heard for miles, yet the figure stood tall, unbowed by the raging winds. At first, it was impossible to make out much of the figure's profile, but as they neared the gatehouse a sharp gust pulled the figure's hood away from their head to reveal a stately looking gentleman with hair the colour of the moon resting above him. He muttered something under his breath, and instantly his clothing and hair, which had before been flapping around, ceased dancing to the storm's vicious rhythm. A minute later he had reached the gatehouse, and upon doing so the stranger did the most peculiar thing, he lifted his cane and tapped it three times in mid-air as if he were knocking on the gatehouse's wooden doors even though they had long since rotted away. There was a pause, and then the gentleman stepped through the empty archway and disappeared, leaving the valley as quickly and as impossibly as he had arrived in it.

A crack echoed throughout the grand drawing room, as a house-elf appeared and offered a low bow to a gentleman sat the in the armchair by the ornate fireplace.

"Mister Malfoy is heres to see you, sir, shall Dippy shows him in?"

The gentleman assented with a nod of his head, requested some elf wine and dismissed the small creature with a flick of his left wrist. In his other hand, he held a half-finished cigar, and he was consequently surrounded by a large pillow of smoke. He was dressed in a robe of a rich navy with gold embellishments, the man's setting suggested that the gold thread was likely quite genuine, and the material was some decedent fabric. A few moments after the house-elf's disappearance Mister Malfoy entered.

"Abraxas, you made it, how delightful. I was quite sure the storm would scare you off." The seated gentleman gestured to the chair opposite his own. "Please take a seat."

"Yes, bad weather does have a rather alarming effect on the building's structure, the ruins you have as a front for the muggles do make a ghastly noise. I wonder at the point of them, why don't you simply disillusion the entire building Cassius, as we have with Malfoy Manner."

"The structure existed before the Statute of Secrecy, and the ministry believed even the muggles would notice if the entire structure disappeared during the night. You are lucky you do not possess a house with heritage to this degree, it's a damn pain." Replied Cassius rather loftily.

Mister Malfoy pierced his lips, taking the comment in the insulting way it was likely intended.

"Yes, well the old Malfoy Manor was built following 1066, but was replaced in the 1750s to greater reflect the families'... increased fortunes." He returned.

Both men held each other's gaze for a moment before Dippy the House-elf reappeared carrying a bottle of elf wine and two glasses, the gentlemen poured themselves drinks and settled back into their seats.

"Cigar?" Asked Cassius gesturing to the case on the table. Abraxas took one inclining his head in thanks.

"Speaking of the Manor's defences what do you know of a Nobby Leach?" Asked Cassius

"That upstart Mudblood that heads the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes?"

"The very same, he's making tracks to be promoted to Law Enforcement, which is surely a path to the ministerial position."

"Ha!" Scoffed Malfoy. "There's never been a Mudblooded minister, and there damn well never will be. He can keep dreaming."

"Yes, well that's what I thought," Said Cassius "only I've come head to head with him recently and it is apparent that he has a damn site more support than I'd like. Dumbledore's behind him for one, and his group of muggle lovers. He's attempting to push through a decree to replace all anti-muggle wards with muggle repelling wards. He wants the muggles to be confused rather than hurt if they try to approach."

"Why haven't I heard of this?"

"It's in its early stages, yet to be presented to the Wizengamot, but he already has a lot of backing, people like Bones are behind him too, I think the minister might even be swayed. If he is it'll pass, I may have a third of them in my pocket but a third isn't a majority, even with support from the right sort."

There was a pause whilst both men took drags from their cigars, contemplating the information laid out before them. Cassius reached forward and poured both himself and his companion another glass before settling back into his chair and speaking once more.

"It's not so much the law itself that worries me. I don't give a damn how muggles are kept off my property, I've never had a taste for violence and so don't care about the muggle baiting laws they've introduced post-Grindelwald. Not that I have anything against the tastes of men such as yourself." Cassius added hastily. "It's the precedent that this would set. To allow a muggleborn to successfully outvote the traditional faction within the Wizengamot, to undermine the wards which guard the homes of noble wizarding families, it is an attack on our heritage, on our history. It is what we've always feared."

"I quite agree, especially when the law's passing would provide a significant stepping stone for that Mudblood's career, the higher he rises the greater threat to wizard kind he poses." Abraxas then turned from the fireplace, into which he had been gazing, to meet Cassius' eye. "So, my friend, do you have a plan?"

"Not as such, I will keep lobbying the political angle and lean further on the minister, I was hoping that you would do the same. Further steps I would generally leave to you, I have always been rather inept at below board work, it is perhaps why I was never sorted into Slytherin."

His words caused a gleam to form in Abraxas Malfoy's eye that made Cassius somewhat uncomfortable, he wondered if he knew quite what this man was capable of, however his overriding concerns allowed him to dismiss it and accept Malfoy's nod of acceptance.

"Now with that unpleasant matter dispensed with I have tickets to the Australian League fi-" Cassius was cut off mid-sentence as a sharp pain fired throughout his body, he dropped the cup in his hand which smashed upon the flagstones at his feet. Abraxas jumped to his feet and immediately fearing that the wine had been poisoned yelled for the house-elf that had let him in.

"DIPPY!"

And the small elf appeared with a cry of "Yes mister Malfoy sir" but was quickly distracted by the choked groans of her Master. She ran to his chair and immediately began waving her hands around, supposedly performing some form of an elfish diagnostic check, meanwhile, Abraxas began casting detection charms upon the wine the gentlemen had been drinking, they all came back clear. However, erring on the side of caution he summoned two bezoars from the Manor's potion stores and made to put one in his own mouth and the other in his friend's.

Yet just as he was placing it inside Cassius' throat, Dippy looked up from her examination and announced, "There's is no need for that sirs, yous is not poisoned, Dippy has seens this before."

Abraxas paused his action and turned to the elf.

"Then by Merlin what is wrong with the man?" He roared, quite shaken by the events and angry that he was.

"Why Dippy's Master's magic has transferred, that is all." Replied the elf "Yous is aware that Master is no ordinary wizard. Dippy serves the Noble House of Blackthorn."

"Yes, yes, I am aware of that elf, I know what the transfer is, but why has it occurred now."

"The transfer only ever occurs for one reason" Dippy returned.

"But that's impossible, Cassius has said nothing, he is unmarried."

"Yes Sirs, Dippy is a little confused by it, and she is sure her master will be too, but it is what has happened. Dippy can feel it, sir."

Abraxas opened his mouth to interrogate the elf further but was cut off by the creature.

"Dippy is afraid that the Master must sleep now. Dippy has seens this before, Master will be very tired when he wakes, Master's body must get used to only his own magic now that Master no longer hosts Emrys." And she began shuffling Abraxas Malfoy out of the door, he was ready to kick the elf but was cautious of offending Cassius.

"But where is Emrys? Where has it gone? Cassius is the last of the Blackthorn house, he has no siblings, no children!" Thundered Malfoy.

"Goodbye Mister Malfoy, Dippy wills be seeing you soon." And the elf closed the door in Abraxas Malfoy's face, leaving him standing in a thunderstorm outside of a grand castle-like mansion in the Yorkshire Dales, no longer a ruin.

A bus pulled up to the end of a rather run-down street just outside of southern Manchester and dropped a young woman onto the cobblestone pavement, she bore a baby carrier and a look of anticipation. The road to her right was lined by a row of identical terraced houses which once serviced the workers of the disused mill that loomed in the background of the scene, to her left a canal, and beyond that a battered playground. She walked further along the main road and turned down a street a hundred metres from her previous location, before stopping in front of a dreary concrete box. She entered the bloc, climbing the stairs and entering her newly appointed flat, discovering along the way that very little within the building worked. By rights, her grin was misplaced, and yet so long as the woman paid the manageable rent, she could stay here, she could own a key, she could lock her door. There was a victory in being here, her child in her arms, a victory she didn't overlook. The woman smiled again, and belt down to unfasten her baby from its carrier.

"Well Belle," She hummed, resting the infant against her shoulder "this is it, this is home."

After cooing to the child for several more minutes the woman placed it back into the carrier and began rummaging through the boxes strewn around the furnished living room and started to unpack. This activity took her most of the day, with occasional breaks to feed her child and boil the kettle, however by the time the sun set the woman was almost done. Deciding to leave the remaining work for the morning she kicked back into the armchair to her right, ensuring to leave the bedroom door open so that she might hear her child's cries, and fell asleep.

When she was woken by a loud crack the first few inches of morning sunlight were beginning to make their way through the broken blinds, just enough to illuminate the large pair of eyes staring down at her from an oversized head. The women shrieked, an act which both startled her early morning visitor and woke up the baby that was sleeping in the next room, the creature, who had seemed very confused by the woman's presence, suddenly perked up at the sound of a baby's cries. It rushed towards the bedroom, sending a wave of panic through the woman who jumped from her chair and tore immediately after the creature, desperate to protect her child from strange and, in her mind, hostile being that had landed in her living room. She entered the bedroom to find the creature wide-eyed and staring at the crying babe in barely repressed glee, it appeared to be muttering to itself.

"Oh, Dippy knews, she just knews."

Bu the woman took no time to processes the creature's ramblings and quickly snatched up her child from its crib and clutched into her chest, shielding it with her body. Only now that she had her baby in her arms did the woman process the creature standing in front of her, it was between two to three feet tall, with spindly arms and legs, an over-sized head, bat-like ears, headlamp eyes and was wearing a pillowcase which bore a faded coat of arms.

"Who? What are you?" the woman breathed, quite in shock "And what are doing in my house."

The creature's gaze snapped up to the woman as if noticing for the first time that she was in the room. It bowed its head and then opened its mouth to answer out of habit, stating "Why I's is Di-" before its mouth clamped closed, its eyes narrowed and the creature gasped "But yous is a muggle" and then with another crack it disappeared completely.

It took a moment for the women to realise that the creature had indeed just vanished into thin air and another to accept that it wasn't immediately returning. However still cautious, the woman carried her child back through the living room and into the kitchen where she grabbed a large knife and placed into on the table next to her chair, waiting to see if the creature would come back.

She didn't have to wait long, about five minutes after she had settled into her chair she heard a familiar crack and the creature returned, however this time he was not alone, he was accompanied by a dark-haired gentleman. He too seemed quite out of place, dressed as he was in a deep blue robes resembling a cross between an agbada and clerical vestments, it was beautifully embroidered with a paisley pattern and trimmed by gold detailing, and gave an air of opulence and importance to the man's already striking persona. His clothing, companion, and mode of arrival distracted the woman momentarily from the shocking realisation that this was a man she knew.

"Cas?" She whispered. The man's eyes grew wide, and he seemed more shocked at her presence than the woman felt anyone who had broken into her flat deserved to be. However, his shock didn't last long as it melted into fierce anger, his teeth clenching at the nickname and familiarity it implied.

"You" He hissed "Who put you up to this, eh? TELL ME!" He lifted his hand in her direction and thrust it forward, a look in his eyes that screamed he intended to hurt her. When nothing happened, he seemed shocked again and then only further enraged. "DO YOU REALISE WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" The woman took a step back as the man began to back her into a corner, he reached out again and made a grab at her but was stopped by a sharp tug at his sleeve.

"No Master." Wailed the small creature that was now hanging from the man's arm "Please Master, no, yous will hurt the youngling." Upon mention of the child, the man's eyes darted to the baby cradled in its mother's arms.

"Give me the child." The man thundered. "Give me my son!"

The woman, who had been crying silently for several minutes now violently shook her head and brought the child closer to her, tears streaming down her face as she whispered, "I won't, I won't" continuously. Then after a moment she looked up and said "Son?"

Upon hearing her confusion, the man looked down at the child she had clutched to her chest, his brow furrowed, the woman spoke again. "This is Belle."

The man's demeanour changed and he took several steps back and yelled, "Dippy!" then he gestured wildly to the child. The creature, Dippy, picked herself up from the corner in which she had been weeping and whacking her head against the wall, and scuttled towards the child. With a loud snotty sniff, the creature made to reach for the child, but it was pulled out of the way once more by the sobbing woman.

"Please miss," Said the creature imploringly "I's is not wanting to hurt the youngling, Dippy is just wanting to see if Dippy's was right."

"What are you." Whispered the woman again, sobering her tears slightly.

"Dippy's is a house-elf miss. Dippy's not hurt, Dippy's helps." And as if to prove her worth, Dippy conjured a soft toy from thin air and gave it to the wailing child who immediately stopped crying.

"Wha- why do you need to touch her? What do you need to do?" Said the woman, steadying her voice.

"Master needs Dippy to check if the youngling is his own, Dippy can tells you see. It's how Dippys found you. Dippy's is bonded to the Noble House of Blackthorn and can feels all of its members."

"B-but," began the woman, her voice still shaking despite her best attempts "if you already can tell then you don't need to touch her." Then her voice went even quieter. "You can't touch her, yo-you can't take her. She's mine. She's my baby.

"Dippys won't takes her. Dippy's promises. Dippy just need to touch her, just once. Quickly. Master not be trusting Dippy's first instinct because, well's they're always boys you sees. Only the boys can host." The elf met the woman's eyes, stared deeply into them and repeated itself. "I's promise"

Perhaps truly trusting the elf, or perhaps simply realising that she likely had little choice in the matter, the woman inclined her head, and the elf reached forward and gently touched the tiny hand that was now clutched around a soft toy, as she made contact a spark of electricity seemed to shoot through the baby, the mother and the elf. The sensation made the mother jump and instantly pull back from the creature.

"What did you do" she yelled.

"I's did nothing." Said the elf matter-of-factly before looking to the child knowingly, all other gazes in the room followed the elf's stare until all eyes rested on the child, who was suddenly surrounded in a faint golden glow which expanded outwards a centimetre before appearing to disappear into the child's skin. The baby opened its eyes and its mother gasped, where once they had been a shade of blue like most newborns, the infant's eyes were now a deep gold.

"That's impossible," Said the man, more to himself than to anyone else. He paused for a moment, processing his shock before he strode back across the room to tower once more over the young mother and child, his anger still present but more controlled. "Give me the child." He repeated.

"She's not yours" replied the woman, finding her spine.

"I think we've just proved that she damn well is." He snarked

"I'm her mother"

"You're a muggle."

The woman registered the insult, now thrown at her for a second time today, but glossed over it, for now, there were more pressing matters to attend to.

"I'm her mother. I've carried her for nine months. Your input in fortnight's tryst isn't going to grant you custody." She took in his clothes "no matter how much money you have. I am a fit parent. No court in the country would stand by you, Cassius."

The man, Cassius, laughed mockingly. "You think I have any intention going through a muggle court, Donna. Merlin, muggles are stupid. Have you been paying any attention at all? I apparate in with a House-elf, the child you hold glows in your arms, and still, you talk of court. Ha."

"I-", Donna fumbled for words, feeling the sting of both embarrassment and fear. She was over her head and she knew it, moreover, if Cassius came for her child she did not think she'd be able to stop him.

"I- I demand that you tell me what is happening." She said, with courage, she did not feel.

Cassius scoffed. "I don't have time for this. Dippy take the child. "

The house-elf looked up at the distraught woman with big, apologetic eyes. "I's is sorry miss," she said, as she began to advance towards the child.

"No, n- please don't, you don't have to do what he says." And the woman began to sob again, backing into the corner once more.

"I's sorry miss, I do's. Dippys will take good cares of her. I's promise." And the house-elf reached out for the child.

"NO! NO PLEASE!"

Donna slumped against the wall, bringing her legs up and her head down so that the child was complexly enveloped in her grasp, Dippy grabbed the child's ankle and made to disapparate, however was stopped in her tracks as a large jolt of electricity fired down her arm, causing her to drop the child's leg and yelp. Her cries drew Cassius' attention once more and he stormed over and grabbed Dippy by her tea towel.

"What is it Elf?" He snapped.

"I's can't do it, sir. I's can't holds the young mistress."

"What." Said Cassius, and he made to grab the child himself, only to suffer a similar fate

"Please Master, I's don't think she wants to go."

"Don't be ridiculous, she's a newborn infant."

"No Master, Dippy be begging your pardons, but she is more than that now."

Cassius drew in a sharp breath and his previous anger returned, he began shouting at Donna once more. "I will ask you again. Who put you up to this? Was it Smith? Bones? Dumbledore? Ha, I can see him pulling a stunt like this, doesn't want another repeat of Grindelwald, better dilute the pureblood lines, make them breed with muggles."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Said, Donna

"Well you wouldn't, wouldn't you?" he sneered "Doesn't mean you didn't do it."

"Done what?" She asked, but he didn't register it, this wasn't a conversation it was an accusation and required no debate.

"Maybe he obliviated you, maybe it was Imperius. Or maybe not, bet it doesn't take much does it, you muggle whores are gagging for it.

Donna's jaw tensed, the other word was still foreign, but 'whore' she recognised, it had been flung at her a lot in the last nine months.

"You'd think he'd have tried a little harder." He looked her up and down "How could he be certain the trap would work with so little honey."

Enraged by the wild accusations being flung her way, and secure in the fact that neither stranger could touch her daughter, Donna's fear once again took a back seat and she reiterated her innocence through clenched teeth.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not guilty of anything except being foolish enough to be taken in by you nine months ago. Now that's on me, but whatever has incited your anger, whatever has been taken from you, that's on you. I've had nothing to do with it." She said. "Now, get out of my home."

For a moment, Donna thought that he would hit her, but at the last minute his eyes flickered wearily to the child and he appeared almost scarred. There was barely any time for Donna to process this reaction before with a loud crack both strangers disappeared. When they didn't return, she carried her child into the other room, climbed into her cot with her, and allowed herself to fall into a restless sleep.

Abraxas Malfoy settled down into his chair and waited on his wife, she'd disappeared upstairs half an hour earlier to bid goodnight to their son much to his displeasure. She was too soft on the boy, he made a note to put a stop to it but he had other things on his mind at the moment. He'd been mulling over the Blackthorn puzzle for a fortnight now but had come to no solid conclusion, he hoped that his wife might offer some more insight. After being ushered out of Cassius' presence without any answers Abraxas had gone looking for them himself, after reading up on the host situation he had concluded that there were no two ways about it, Cassius Blackthorn had borne a child. Well, not him specifically, but he was now a father, to whom? That was anyone's guess. He had no wife, so one would assume it must be a mistress of some description, but not a current one, as the man had not seemed to be aware of the impending birth and host transfer, certainly he would not have invited Abraxas around had been, it was a vulnerable transition after all. This is where his wife's input would be valued, he needed as much information as he could gather about Cassius' indiscretions, and gossip was in his opinion a woman's field of expertise. As if on cue his wife walked in.

Astra Malfoy was a tall, stately looking woman and much like the family she married into she possessed a cold beauty that detached her from the imperfections of the masses. She greeted her husband with a glancing kiss and settled in the chair opposite.

"You wished to speak with me?" She said.

Abraxas stared curiously at his wife, weighing up in his head what he wished to divulge.

"What do you know of Emrys?" He questioned, wishing to ascertain the extent of his wife's knowledge before progressing.

"I know what people believe of it. Some say Emrys is a God, an immortal being, the heart of magic itself."

"Do you believe that?"

"I shouldn't think so. God is for muggles. Emrys may mean 'immortal one', and many may take that to mean that it is forever alive, but 'immortal' actually means against or without death. The same can be said of all magic, it is imperishable, but it is not alive."

"What would you theorise then?"

"I would likely place my galleons on Gaunt's Myrddin Emrys theory after all Merlin was known to be the first Emrys. Magic cannot be created or destroyed, therefore when the last High Priest died and the old religion perished all that magic latched onto the strongest magical core around, upon his death, it transferred to his relatives and so forth. Although at some point it must have changed from transitioning at birth to transitioning at death, likely so a stronger host was secured. Either way, it is the source of the Blackthorn's power, both literally and metaphorically. It passes from father to son with each generation."

"Quite" There was a long pause. Abraxas poured himself a drink and then uttered the secret he'd kept for the past fortnight. "The transfer occurred two weeks ago, Cassius is no longer the host."

If Astra was surprised, and she must have been, she hid it well. She raised only a single eyebrow before saying, "Cassius has not recently and discreetly married someone by any chance?"

"No"

"Hmm." Said Astra, knowingly "Well no word has reached me regarding his affairs, at least not with of the right sort of people, the wives are too unappealing, the daughters too well guarded, which means-"

"Yes. It is likely he has copulated with someone- unpure. For all our sakes, I hope it's a half-blood, and one with a pure-blooded father to boot, but the lack of announcement convinces me otherwise."

In fact, the total lack of announcement had Abraxas assuming that Cassius Blackthorn either did not know the location of his child, or better still, had no access to them, the latter being more likely due to his house elf's capabilities. Now, this provided both immense risk and brilliant opportunity: The head of the most powerful and historic pureblood wizarding family was now likely a half-blood, growing up outside of their families direct control, this threatened to undermine centuries of pureblood tradition. However, the opportunist in Abraxas, which composed a large part of his character, was also aware of the overwhelming opportunity for influence that this situation presented. Somewhere out there was a malleable mind with immense power and influence, and for perhaps the first time in history, this mind was not under the Blackthorn's direct control.

"What do you think he's going to do, Cassius that is?" Asked Astra.

"Tell no one I'd imagine, at least until he can get the situation under control. Two weeks in and it would seem he has been unable to claim possession of the child and is consequently very vulnerable, he has lost the power he has come to rely upon, to a child he has no control over. If I was in his position I would lie low for a few years, at least until the child is cognitive and I could reason with it. I think it best that we should watch him, he will undoubtedly keep watch over the child and I would like to ascertain its location."

"We are to play the long game then." She asked

"Indeed," He replied, "the longest we've ever played."

About three weeks had passed since the incident and Donna was finally settling back into her normal routine. She'd finished cleaning and redecorating the flat and it was consequently a lot brighter, hardly resembling the run-down prison cell that it had previously been. She'd begun to cautiously make friends with the neighbours, yet remained constantly on the look-out for unusual occurrences. In fact, it had taken her a fortnight to convince herself that the ornate and foreign looking dressing gown that her neighbour, wore when they went down to collect the milk, was just that, and not a form of the strange robes that Donna had come to associate with danger.

Whilst nothing too untoward occurred, Donna was not naive enough to think she'd been left entirely alone, and knew she was likely being watched. Every now and then she could have sworn she glimpsed a pair of saucer-like eyes staring at her from the shrubbery, but they were never there upon closer inspection. For some reason this didn't bother her as much as she thought it might, the elf, it had called itself Dippy, strange and powerful as it had been, had seemed well-intentioned and genuinely worried for both hers and Belle's wellbeing.

This said the owl that flew through the living room window exactly twenty-two days since that horrible evening gave Donna quite the fright. She began to shoo it away, hoping that it might simply fly back out again and she wouldn't have to call in some form of animal control, however, she ceased this action upon noticing that the owl clutched a letter in its beak. She relieved the animal of its cargo and could have sworn that it gave her a scathing look for her troubles, although that was perhaps the result of her violent shooing only a moment earlier. Examining the letter, she found that it was written on old parchment paper and sealed rather peculiarly by a coat of arms: A shield with edges made of some form of a branch, or vine, and bearing in its centre and triangle, with swirls issuing from each of its corners. Donna quickly deduced that this letter was likely from Cassius and placed consequently treated it with caution, unsure of what tricks it might conceal, however after a thorough examination her pressing curiosity won out and she opened the letter and began to read.

Ms Lin,

I am writing to express my regret regarding the incident which occurred several weeks ago. I realise now that I handled the situation poorly, and committed a grievous mistake in attempting to remove the child from your care. I understand that it is unlikely that you now trust me, so instead, I ask you to trust your own senses when I state plainly that your daughter is a witch.

I have been counselled that the term "witch" is viewed as somewhat derogatory by non-magic folk (muggles) such as yourself, so I shall elaborate. Your daughter, or rather, our daughter, possesses an innate magical ability (I trust you do not require further evidence of this due to her behaviour upon my last visit), which I have passed down to her via my blood. Whilst her magic flared up in my presence, it was not a result of it. I say this because I mean to stress that our daughter, is and will continue to be a witch even if she has no further contact with me, however as she grows her magical ability will develop and she will be in possession of a great power unknown to muggles such as yourself, a power she must learn to control.

Our daughter will require education, both in the power which she possesses and the world into which she was born, an education that, and I mean no offence, you are unfortunately not equipped to provide her with. I do not say this to alarm or anger you but rather to illustrate both why I presumed to take custody of the child, and why, despite my behaviour, I presume to ask that we eventually meet once more. I understand that trust will have to be re-established before this occurs, and therefore, for now, ask only that for our daughter's sake you take in what I have said and allow me to answer any questions you may have.

Please send your reply by return of owl,

C. Blackthorn

Hey, so this the prologue to my first story. To be completely honest this began as wishfufilment in my head, however I'm determined that it won't be badly written so constructive criticism is welcomed. I intend for this story to follow an orignal charcter of my own creation through the Mauruder years, not sure about parings at this point, but Jilly is a given and Wolfstar a budding favourite. The next chapter will be set several years later and you'll meet your faves soon I promise, but I'm attempting to create plot and avoid a Mary Sue so bear with me. Also I'm looking for a beta, although I'm aware that I'll probs be waiting to see if anyone actually wants to read this first.

Please review and favourite!