Chapter Three
Reflection
When he returned to his bedroom, Lucius Malfoy felt a funny cocktail of thoughts racing around in his head. As he entered his wife looked up from the book she had been reading, and stood up.
"Lucius, who was that," she asked him, "Why were you gone so long?" Then with a darker look, "Did they give you any trouble?"
He raised his eyebrows and sighed. "That," he said, "was the only child of Ursula and Maxim Thorne." He had been waiting to see the look on Narcissa's face when he gave her the news. He was not disappointed.
Her jaw dropped. "But...how in Merlin's name did she come here? Are you really sure it's her?"
"You wouldn't say that if you'd seen her. You remember Ursula, the way she looked when she was still at school? Bella is her living image. I don't think the Ministry, or anyone, for that matter, ever even knew she existed, because she never received any letter from Hogwarts and she's as clueless as a Muggle about anything magical. The girl's been living with Muggles her whole life. Apparently she was out on the street, run away from home. She was raised as a Muggle orphan, said she was just found somewhere."
"Did you tell her..."
"I told her I'd known them. I didn't tell her who they were or why they died. Not that she would have understood, but she's sharp and she'll figure it out before long."
"How did they manage it...no one ever knew they had a child, ever even suspected!"
"I don't think they did. The Thornes were proud of their bloodlines; they wouldn't have wanted their child raised by Muggles. I think it just happened, before they could arrange anything. Maxim, I know wouldn't have liked the idea, would've fought it tooth and nail."
She sat down at the edge of the bed, her pale eyes sweeping back and forth across the room. Her mind was racing, Lucius saw, and he saw shrewd contemplation moulded in her fine features. "Yes, they both would have."
"She knows nothing about magic," said Lucius again, "and I've decided to fix that."
She nodded vehemently. Aghast at the idea that one of their fellow purebloods had been raised by Muggles, she could not imagine not taking the situation in hand. "Imagine, Ursula and Maxim's daughter, sleeping on the street with Muggles! It would only be a matter of time until..."
"Until someone points a knife at her and she curses him into jelly," he finishes dryly. "Or she manages to set a city block on fire in self defence. She may have already. I mentioned odd things happening to magical folk in the Muggle world. She turned white as paper. She knows what she can do. And," he added with a smile, "if she's anything like her parents, she'll want to learn how to use it."
Narcissa Malfoy was looking at her husband with a most curious expression on her face.
"Don't worry, darling," he said softly. "She'll learn. I can tell she's a smart girl."
"Yes," said Narcissa, "She's going to have to be."
Reflection
When he returned to his bedroom, Lucius Malfoy felt a funny cocktail of thoughts racing around in his head. As he entered his wife looked up from the book she had been reading, and stood up.
"Lucius, who was that," she asked him, "Why were you gone so long?" Then with a darker look, "Did they give you any trouble?"
He raised his eyebrows and sighed. "That," he said, "was the only child of Ursula and Maxim Thorne." He had been waiting to see the look on Narcissa's face when he gave her the news. He was not disappointed.
Her jaw dropped. "But...how in Merlin's name did she come here? Are you really sure it's her?"
"You wouldn't say that if you'd seen her. You remember Ursula, the way she looked when she was still at school? Bella is her living image. I don't think the Ministry, or anyone, for that matter, ever even knew she existed, because she never received any letter from Hogwarts and she's as clueless as a Muggle about anything magical. The girl's been living with Muggles her whole life. Apparently she was out on the street, run away from home. She was raised as a Muggle orphan, said she was just found somewhere."
"Did you tell her..."
"I told her I'd known them. I didn't tell her who they were or why they died. Not that she would have understood, but she's sharp and she'll figure it out before long."
"How did they manage it...no one ever knew they had a child, ever even suspected!"
"I don't think they did. The Thornes were proud of their bloodlines; they wouldn't have wanted their child raised by Muggles. I think it just happened, before they could arrange anything. Maxim, I know wouldn't have liked the idea, would've fought it tooth and nail."
She sat down at the edge of the bed, her pale eyes sweeping back and forth across the room. Her mind was racing, Lucius saw, and he saw shrewd contemplation moulded in her fine features. "Yes, they both would have."
"She knows nothing about magic," said Lucius again, "and I've decided to fix that."
She nodded vehemently. Aghast at the idea that one of their fellow purebloods had been raised by Muggles, she could not imagine not taking the situation in hand. "Imagine, Ursula and Maxim's daughter, sleeping on the street with Muggles! It would only be a matter of time until..."
"Until someone points a knife at her and she curses him into jelly," he finishes dryly. "Or she manages to set a city block on fire in self defence. She may have already. I mentioned odd things happening to magical folk in the Muggle world. She turned white as paper. She knows what she can do. And," he added with a smile, "if she's anything like her parents, she'll want to learn how to use it."
Narcissa Malfoy was looking at her husband with a most curious expression on her face.
"Don't worry, darling," he said softly. "She'll learn. I can tell she's a smart girl."
"Yes," said Narcissa, "She's going to have to be."