Mateo Marino let out a sigh as he walked down from the uppermost room of the Rowdy Roc, the inn of Troll's Dam, the northernmost Wizarding town in the Wizarding Republic of Italy (or WRI for short). He knew that most other nations overseen by a Ministry only had a few purely Wizard communities (Britain rather famously only had one) but being so close to the seat of Papal power in the Dark Ages had resulted in a more-insular-than-usual Wizarding community that grouped together for safety, often relocating to congregate and creating a rather decent web of towns and villages. There were Wizards in Muggle cities of course, Rome had a thriving community and even the nearby Vinci had a handful of families. These days he'd say it was about half and half between those living in pure Wizard communities and those living among or near Muggles.

Honestly he didn't know how the Brits did it. Having towns of nothing but Wizards made it so much easier for the Ministry to field agents wherever they needed it. Apparition helped of course, but that required a fair bit of precision, one couldn't apparate directly into the Ministry's headquarters, and in terms of communications it wasn't as expedient as the Floo Network. And as a member of the Department of Child and Family Welfare, he certainly felt he could do his job better by living in and having his office out in the district he served rather than working in the Rome headquarters.

Case in point, the young Muggleborn girl brought in by the hit wizards this afternoon, after some nasty business with a troll that had managed to cross the northern border. Poor thing. He'd done his best to comfort her when she woke up. She wasn't the first child orphaned by tragedy he'd had to comfort in his career, and while it broke his heart every time he was a bit of an expert at it. He'd managed to get her back to sleep, and now, in another room of the inn, was writing out his report. Relocating an orphan was hard, and a Muggleborn required even more paperwork. They'd have to find out if she had any family (the girl had said she didn't, but a traumatized six year old was not the most reliable source for information) which would be a bit harder to manage since it'd require accessing the Muggle records, and from there they'd either have to work on explaining things to said family safely or getting her into an orphanage. It was a lot of paperwork to do, but he'd rather do that than deal with abusive parents or the like.

As he gave instructions to his quill however, the door to his room opened. He looked up, frowning in irritation. He'd given a specific request to the innkeeper that he was not to be disturbed, and any colleague of his should know better. He hadn't locked the door, so any problem with the girl, Sofia, could be dealt with quickly, but the point remained.

His frustration died at the sight of the woman who entered however. She was tall and pale, with thick black hair that hung free and bright blue eyes. She was beautiful, regal, and, Mateo knew, remarkably dangerous. He quickly stood up, bowing.

"My lady, to what do I owe this honor?" He asked, swallowing.

Vittoria Chiara Bellarosa, Princess of the WRI's northern neighbor (only neighbor by land, given that Sicily was an island) the Alpine Union, gave him a nod in return. "Please Agent Marino. It is my people's fault that your work today is necessary, there's no need for undue ceremony." Mateo didn't know if he agreed with the latter half of that, but he wasn't about to argue with the wife of one of the Wizarding World's most powerful heads of state, so he sat back down. Vittoria waved her wand, conjuring a firm chair of her own, and sat down, facing him.

"Firstly, I apologize for not arriving sooner. Even with magic, communication from our southern border to the capital takes time. More seriously, I formally apologize on behalf of the Alpine Union for this tragedy and that your work is necessary at all." She bowed her head. "We will of course pay for the time of your hit wizards, your obliviators, and you, as well as any other agents the WRI deems necessary in cleaning up from the recent troll attack." Mateo nodded in understanding.

"That's very generous of you my lady." He said earnestly. The princess shook her head.

"It is no less than duty and honor dictate. The trolls came from the Alps, it was our responsibility to redirect or kill them once they left their usual territories. The need to steer Muggle mountain climbers away from our more dangerous wildlife stretches our rangers thin, but that is ultimately an excuse at best." She then let out a long hum, and finally said, "I heard there was an orphaned child. Muggleborn." Mateo nodded.

"Yes my lady. I was working on the paperwork regarding her case when you entered."

"If she has relatives then we will issue a stipend to help take care of her, and ease the burden on the family for having to take in another child." Vittoria said calmly. "If she does not, I will take her back to the Alpine Union. If she takes to me and my wife we will adopt her, if she doesn't she will be fostered to another family." Mateo blinked, eyes wide.

"My lady, that is incredibly generous…" He began.

"Once more we shall have to disagree on what is generosity and what is merely decency." Vittoria rebutted.

"Be that as it may, Sofia Ricci is a citizen of the Wizarding Republic of Italy…"

"A fact you yourselves would not have known for another five years or so." She responded dryly. Then she raised an eyebrow. "I'm offering to give this child a home in the immediate future, should she be without others to take her in. Are you truly going to argue that she should be placed in an orphanage instead, just hoping that somebody will give her a home at some nebulous future date?"

"I...uhm…" Mateo stammered. This possibility had never come up before, not in his training nor in any of his manuals. She made a point, but he didn't think he could just hand over a child. "I would need to speak to the Head of my Department." He said finally. "That will take time, and there will be paperwork." Vittoria gave a thin smile.

"I am the Queen Consort, not the Queen Sovereign, and we are discussing the potential heir to the throne of the Alpine Union. I have plenty of time." She said, waving a hand dismissively.

Two Days Later

Sofia stirred restlessly as she sat on the bed she'd been given. It was a nice bed, nicer than her own, but she didn't want to be here. She wanted to be home. Her parents...her parents would be getting better soon. The nice man who talked to her and brought her her food and books and things said they were gone, but that didn't make any sense. Her parents wouldn't just leave. They loved her. They were just hurt, but they'd get better soon and be back for her, she knew it.

The books the nice man had given her to read were nice at least. She liked how the pictures moved, though sometimes it was weird to open the book up and not find anybody there. And he'd given her an interesting marble set, where each marble stuck to the ones it hit, but only when she flicked them. She didn't know quite what to do with them, but they were all pretty colors, and it was fun to try and make pictures with them.

Still, there was only so much she could do, and she wanted to go home. Before she could get herself too worked up though, there was a knock on the door, and a moment later it opened to reveal the nice man again.

"Hello Sofia." He said, voice warm and gentle. "May I come in?" She nodded quickly, closing her book, and he approached her, making a chair from the air again. Sofia had been very surprised to see him do it the first time, but after the events of the last few days she wasn't ready to be too shocked. He sat down in the chair and smiled at her, though she thought his smile looked sad.

"Sofia, we need to talk about your future." He began. "Your parents didn't have any siblings, right? No aunts or uncles?" He'd asked her this before, and Sofia had said no, so she didn't know why he was asking again. But she wasn't a combative child, and so she just shook her head instead of saying anything like that. "Right, well…" He paused, and Sofia thought she could see wheels spinning in his head for a moment. It made her want to giggle. "There's a lady here that would like to meet you." He said finally. "If you like her, she'd like to take care of you, since your parents can't." Sofia frowned.

"Why?" She asked curiously.

"I think it'd be best if she told you. Is it alright if I let her in?" Sofia paused, then nodded, pushing her glasses back up her nose. The nice man nodded and stood up, walking over to and opening her door. Sofia's eyes widened as a tall, pretty lady in a blue dress entered the room, nodding at the man before making her own chair with her own magic stick. She smiled at Sofia as she sat down. Sofia liked her smile. It was a pretty smile.

"Hello Sofia, my name is Vittoria." The woman said, nodding as she spoke.

"Mr. Marino said you wanted to take care of me?" Sofia said slowly. Vittoria nodded.

"Yes, that's right."

"Why?" Vittoria opened her mouth, then closed it for a moment before speaking again.

"I owe your parents a great deal." She said finally. "More than I can repay. And I don't believe any child should have to grow up without parents, or a home."

"But I have parents, and a home." Sofia said stubbornly. "Mama and Papa…" Vittoria winced, glancing and Mr. Marino before leaning in.

"Sofia, do...do you know what death is?" She asked, voice gentle. Sofia swallowed and didn't answer. "I...I'm afraid that when that monster attacked your parents, it hit them with its magic." The woman said. "They went to sleep, and they can't wake back up. And nobody else can wake them up either."

"I...I know what death is Miss Vittoria." Sofia said quietly. "Papa kills chickens sometimes, for dinner. But...but they can't…"

"I'm so sorry child." Vittoria said, gently reaching out and putting a hand on the bed, close to Sofia without touching her. "But they are. I wish they weren't, but they are." Sofia sniffled, then choked, then began to bawl.

As the tears began to flow and the sobs began to pour out of her, other things happened as well. The glass of water on the bedside table froze solid. Both adults in the room had their hair turn a dark blue. The books hid themselves in the closet and the marbles formed a giant mass. Vittoria looked a little alarmed at this, but Mr. Marino just leaned in, gently rubbing Sofia's back.

"There there child, let it all out." He said, voice soothing.

"W...why did that monster attack us?" Sofia sobbed. "We didn't hurt it!"

"They're like wolves dear." Vittoria said, voice gentle. "It's not your family's fault." She tensed and swallowed briefly, then reached out, gently tipping Sofia's head up by the chin and smiling once more. "It's going to be okay dear. Eventually. I promise." Sofia shook her head and then threw herself at Vittoria, hugging the woman tightly. The princess' eyes widened, then she gave a weak smile and began rubbing the girl's back, doing her best to make soft, soothing noises as she let Sofia cry.

Three Days Later

Vittoria stood, somewhat stiffly, behind Sofia as the girl placed flowers on the freshly dug graves of her parents. This was all quite new to her, trying to parent. Hell, trying to comfort a child at all was new. There were orphans in the Alpine Union of course, and part of her overall duties was maintaining the orphanages and making sure everything was going well there, but there was a difference between making sure orphans were being taken care of and not abused and trying to actually comfort and take care of one.

In a perfect world she and her wife would have probably waited a while longer to procure an heir. They were relatively young after all, and while they'd like to have a child in the next decade or so there was no pressing need for one. But the world was far from perfect, and the child's orphan status was on their heads. True, neither of them were personally on the front lines, but still they ruled the Alpine Union, and it was their charge to keep the monsters within its borders in check. She'd meant what she said. Honor, duty, and decency required that they take care of Sofia. If she wound up hating them, or hating the pressures of being their daughter, then they'd do what they could to find her a different family to take care of her, but for the immediate future she was under their care.

Vittoria made a mental note to get some books on child rearing. She didn't want to be a distant, awkward, parent of obligation. She wanted to be a good mother. She just...didn't really know how, her own mother had hardly been an ideal example. She'd learn though. For Sofia's sake, she'd learn.

As the child in question straightened up, there were a trio of pops in the air behind the two witches, and Vittoria nodded. They'd made provisions to take care of the Ricci family farm. Spells and wards had been put up to preserve the property, particularly the house itself and the Ricci graves, as well as to keep Muggles away, and had likewise paid for the memory of the farm and its family to be removed from the surrounding Muggles. It hadn't been cheap, but given their culpability Vittoria and her wife had agreed that it was worth the investment.

And while it wasn't cheap, it was still a bare drop in the bucket. The Alpine Union was one of the richest nations in the Wizarding World. Where other Wizarding nations had made treaties with the Goblins in the old days, the Alpine Union (or rather, the tribes that would become the Alpine Union) had made alliances. The union of Goblin and Wizard magic had allowed them to get far more use out of the mountains than any other nation, Muggle or Magical, could have. For every one Muggle mine in the region there were four Alpine Union mines, all defended to the absolute gills by every magic the two races could think of.

And even when the mines ran dry there were other uses for the mountains. Not least of which were banks. Goblin banks were the most secure and most lucrative in the Wizarding World (and possibly the world, period) and they had more than any other nation. The Swiss banking industry had been created by Alpine Squibs in fact.

So yes, while protecting the Ricci farm to ensure that Sofia would have a home if she decided the Alpine Union was not for her as an adult, or a family remembrance place if she stayed, had been costly, it wouldn't put a dent in the budget. Nor would the three beings Vittoria had arranged to more actively take care of the place.

"Sofia." She said, gently putting her hands on the girl's shoulders and guiding her to turn around. "I would like you to meet Moory, Vonbey, and Conkey." She pointed at each in turn, as the girl's eyes widened behind her glasses at the sight of the three House Elves. "They're part of our household, and are trained to take care of farms. They'll make sure your parents' farm is taken care of, even when you're not here." She'd been relieved when she'd gotten three volunteers. The Ricci farm wasn't large, but truth be told she was a little unclear on exactly how much work went into taking care of a farm. The house had been connected to the Alpine Union's Floo Network, and the House Elves could request whatever they needed, but still. Having three agree to take care of the place made her feel much better about the whole situation.

"Don't you worry about a thing, Miss Sofia." Moory said, stepping forward. She was the oldest of the trio, and their leader. "We'll take good care of your family's farm for you whenever you're away." Sofia swallowed and nodded.

"Thank you Miss Moory." She said politely, giving a shaky smile. "My Papa always said farms needed to be growing new things to be healthy and good."

"Aye, your Papa was not wrong there Miss Sofia." Moory agreed, nodding. "We'll make sure the fields get harvested this year, and that they don't go fallow after."

"If you plant things, you can keep the money when you sell them." Sofia offered. "I don't mind." Moory gave a little shiver and shook her head.

"Don't you worry about that young Miss. House Elves don't take money. We get our own rewards from working with Witches and Wizards, as I'm sure you'll learn when you get older." She leaned and winked. "We might eat some of it though!" She giggled, and Sofia gave a weak giggle of her own. Vittoria was glad to hear the happy noise from the young girl, and she gave Moory a deep nod.

"Thank you again for volunteering for this Moory, Vonbey, Conkey." Moory waved her thanks off.

"There's no need to thank us Lady Vittoria ma'am." The House Elf said firmly. "We're happy to serve. Besides, this is exciting!" There was a twinkle in the old Elf's eye. "My family's handled the same farms for the last thousand years. I'll be the first to get to take care of something new!" The two elves behind her nodded rapidly in agreement, and Vittoria gave a smile. She was glad they were happy at the very least.

"Then we shall take our leave, and let you get acquainted with the farm." She said, nodding to each before guiding Sofia back into the house. She lit the fireplace with a wave of her wand, then grabbed some Floo powder from the pot. The fireplace itself was much larger than it had once been, remodeled to allow for Floo travel. It'd be a bit slower, but she wasn't about to drag a six year old through the less than pleasant sensation of Apparition. If she kept her eyes closed, travelling via Floo at least wouldn't be too terrible for the child.

"This is called Floo Powder." Vittoria said, crouching down so Sofia could see the handful of powder in her hand. "When I throw it in the fire it's going to turn green and let us travel safely to your new home, okay?" Sofia nodded slowly. "Now, it's going to be loud, and a little uncomfortable. I'm going to need you to keep your eyes and mouth closed, and hold onto me very tightly, understand?" Sofia nodded again quickly, and Vittoria smiled. "Alright then, here we go." She turned to the fireplace as the girl gripped her tightly around the waist, and threw the powder into the flames. "Monte Rosa Castle." She called firmly, before grasping Sofia and stepping firmly into the now green flames.