Sofia took a deep breath as she stared at the door to the dining room. She'd been living in the castle for a little over a year now, spending time with Vittoria, with Bianca, and the castle's inhabitants. She'd started taking lessons, and had met with the children of the Alpine Union's nobility and politicians. She'd even say she'd made some friends from them. All in all, her life was pretty good. She'd even say she liked her lessons.
Which made what she was about to do all the more nerve wracking. Over time, as days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, Bianca and Vittoria had stopped adding the qualifiers indicating that she was free to be asked to move to a new family whenever they suggested something. At the same time though, she wasn't formally adopted yet. She was still Sofia Ricci, ward of the Queen and Princess, not Princess Sofia Bellarosa. And she thought she was ready to ask for that. But she was worried a bit. That maybe she'd mess everything up. Maybe they were supposed to ask her, rather than the other way around? She frowned and shook her head. She was thinking too hard, something Vittoria often playfully accused her of. Everything would be fine. Probably.
She entered the room, finding Bianca and Vittoria both waiting for her. The table was its usual size, which was good. She hadn't wanted to ask what she was about to ask in front of others, even if she also didn't want to put off asking for too much longer. Both women smiled at her, and she smiled back a little weakly as she sat down, soup appearing a moment later.
"How was your day Sofia?" Bianca asked, looking over at her. "Learn anything interesting today?"
"Of course not, it wasn't a self-defense class day." Bianca and Sofia both gave Vittoria a dry look at this, which just made the dark haired witch chuckle and return to her soup.
"It was okay, I think I'm getting the hang of German finally." Sofia said, smiling as she remembered the praise from her tutor, Herr Wagner. The Alpine Union had four official languages-Italian, German, Slovene, and French. They were the Wizarding dialects of said languages, but in theory they were still close enough to the Muggle equivalents to pass. She already knew Italian of course, but she was slowly working on the other three. Slovene and French she was still struggling with, but she thought she was finally making a breakthrough with German.
"That's good, being multilingual is always a good thing." Bianca said. "Can't always rely on Translation Wards." Sofia nodded. Translation Wards were a type of magic that could, in theory, translate any language so that everyone heard what was being said in their own native language. Her language tutors had special rooms with these turned off for her lessons. But they were, much like the magic on the dining room that made it grow and equip itself with the proper furniture, hard to produce, requiring a lot of magic and a lot of surface for the runes to be carved into. The Alpine Union's castles had them, as did some of the largest cities like Grand Combin, but towns and villages didn't.
"Also, uhm...Iwanttobeadopted." Sofia mumbled very quickly, staring at her bowl of soup, still not touching her food. There was a long pause, and she looked up to see both women looking at her, their expressions unreadable.
"What was that Sofia?" Bianca asked, voice soft and careful. Sofia swallowed.
"I...I want to be adopted. Please. I'd like it very much." Her eyes widened in alarm behind her glasses as she saw tears well up in Bianca's eyes, and she looked quickly at Vittoria. The dark-haired witch was bouncing in her seat, and Sofia realized that if the dining room were bigger or there wasn't soup and wine on the table she'd probably be dancing. Which meant Bianca's tears probably weren't bad tears…
"Of course dear." Bianca said softly, reaching out and gently squeezing her hand. "Absolutely."
"That's going to power like, a thousand patronuses in the future." Vittoria declared happily, grinning as she got up, walked around the table and scooped Sofia up into a hug, making the girl squeak. Sofia didn't protest or struggle though, too relieved at how well things were going. She hadn't really thought that either of them would refuse, but a persistent little voice had told her to worry.
"Put her down Vittoria." Bianca said, her voice amused though it sounded like she was still trying not to cry. "She still needs to eat, and we have to discuss names." Vittoria made a grumbling noise that made Sofia giggle but set her back down in her chair all the same, returning to her own seat, still grinning. Then Sofia blinked.
"Names?" She asked, looking between the two.
"Yes, well, in Italy they don't have the practice of 'middle names' or anything, but we do here." Vittoria explained. "Think it's a German influence thing." She shrugged.
"Yes, more or less." Bianca agreed, raising an eyebrow at Vittoria before turning to Sofia. "Vittoria and I...we have discussed this, as time went on and you seemed to still like living with us. And we thought of the name Aurora might suit you. If you like it that is." Sofia paused, turning it over in her head, then nodded.
"I like it!" She agreed. Both women smiled at that, nodding.
"Good, we're very glad to hear that. And of course, we don't want to bury your parents either." Bianca continued. "So, we were thinking that officially you'd be known as Princess Sofia Aurora Ricci Bellarosa. But if that's too long, we can remove the Aurora…" Sofia shook her head, and blinked back some tears. Partly at the sound of Bianca attaching her own name to Sofia, and partly at the realization that she wouldn't have to give up her parents' name. She'd just assumed she'd have to and knowing that she wouldn't was...a lot.
"I like it. Thank you." Bianca nodded.
"Of course dear. We'd never ask you to give up your parents. Not ever." Sofia nodded, remembering how shortly after the turn of the New Year Bianca had accompanied her and Vittoria in visiting her family's farm.
"Now then, let's eat this soup quickly, cause I think I can already hear the House Elves working themselves up over a dessert to celebrate." Vittoria said with a beam, getting a giggle from Sofia.
The next three years proceeded to move in almost a blur, at least in Sofia's opinion.
Her adoption by the Queen and Princess was, to her slight dismay, a big deal. She'd known distantly that it would be, but there was a difference between sort of knowing something and being confronted with the ball thrown in celebration. Vittoria had sympathized, saying that she was never all that fond of the parties either but they were a part of being nobility, and in all honesty this was one of the better ways to start since there'd be less dancing expected of her and she was too young for match-making to start in earnest.
It hadn't been Sofia's favorite night, but it hadn't been the worst thing and the joy she had at being officially adopted outweighed everything else.
As she grew older of course, her lessons escalated in their intensity. She continued to learn the languages of the Alpine Union of course, her French slowly catching up with her German while her Slovene continued to lag. Every week she'd have two lessons with her mother (Bianca) and her mom (Vittoria)-politics and space with the former, and self-defense and magical theory with the latter.
First was the history and nature of the Alpine Union. How it had started out with various Wizard tribes throughout the mountains banding together for trade and protection, then slowly spread to include the Goblin kingdom of the Mountains, forming a more close partnership between the two races than most others. She learned how they'd transitioned from an empire with an absolute monarch to a strange blend of democracy and monarchy that she couldn't quite wrap her head around but seemed to please people enough that there'd never been any attempt at revolution. She learned about the mines, and the banks, and the ways the Goblins kept their own politics while still being part of the overall nation.
She learned about the other nations of Wizarding Europe as well. That the Wizarding Republic of Italy was actually a fair bit smaller than Muggle Italy. Not only from the Alpine Union taking up much of Northern Italy, but from other countries. There was the Wizarding City of Venice, a small and independent city state just off the coast of the Alpine Union, which was one of the greatest sources of Wizarding art and crafting in Europe. And on the opposite side of the peninsula was the Mediterranean Confederation of Magic, an alliance of the city of Genoa, and the islands of Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, and Malta, who didn't really like each other but disliked the idea of belonging to another nation more. And the city of Ravenna, which wasn't a city state like Venice or Genoa but instead belonged to the Anniad Empire, a direct continuation of the Byzantine Empire apparently that also included Greece, Cyprus, and Crete.
She learned that the Muggle nations of Switzerland, Lichtenstein, and Slovenia all fell under the Alpine Union's borders in their entirety, but that in Germany and France they stopped at the base of the mountains. That in 1429 the last Fisher King had launched an attack on the Alpine Union's French holdings, and the two nations had locked in a stalemate until the arrival of the Phoenix Maiden, a vampire general in white Goblin made armor and mask who'd lead an army with adapted Muggle weapons and tactics the Wizarding World had never seen before, bringing devastation upon the Alpine armies and pushing them back to the base of their mountains. And then she'd swung north, attacking their holdings in what was now Switzerland. Afraid of further defeats, the Queen of the Alpine Union at the time struck a deal with the king of Magical Germany, Nibelungenland, trading their land past the base of the mountains in exchange for aid.
The Phoenix Maiden had been unrelenting in her assault, but the combined forces of the Nibelungens and the Alpiners had cost enough that the last Fisher King had agreed to a peace treaty, relinquishing the land the Fisher Kingdom had gained in the Swiss region in return for keeping their French gains. The Alpine Union had withdrawn to their mountains, and the Fisher King was killed ten years later when the man decided to attempt to purge the vampires from his empire, the Phoenix Maiden becoming the Phoenix Queen and ruling to this day.
Sofia found the stories of the war and of the Phoenix Queen herself fascinating, but at the same time she was glad they didn't visit the border cities too often. None of the Wizarding Nations had gone to war with each other since the Statute of Secrecy had been put into effect, but still. That defeat was why, despite being much closer, students from the Alpine Union and Nibelungenland didn't attend Beauxbatons, even today.
She'd been very put out to find out that she couldn't start actively learning magic beyond the theory until she was eleven. It was apparently a mixture of International Law, tied to the Statute of Secrecy, and more generally that it was the age when it was safest for a young witch or wizard to start actively trying to use magic.
And aside from the history and politics of the region, she'd had to learn dancing, and courtly manners, and the proper way to address other nobles and visiting representatives of other governments, and Goblins. Goblin manners and etiquette were stiff, firm, and somewhat intimidating she found. But she did her best to learn them. She didn't want to be rude after all.
Self-defense with Vittoria was an entirely different thing than her other classes. Well, dancing was active, but not quite as much as what Vittoria put her through. Her mom put her through tumbling, and sprinting, and twirling, drilling into her that movement was key. She was a tough drill master, though never cruel, always taking the time to explain exactly how and why what she was teaching Sofia would be useful and why it mattered. The Wizards, Centaurs, and Veela fought at range, that Vampires were faster than her, and Goblin weapons tended to carry nasty side-effects, so she had to be moving and keeping an eye on everything. It'd be years before she got to the point where she could make shields strong enough to stand like a rock in a battlefield.
Space with Bianca was, in a rather stark contrast, rather relaxed. It was a hobby of her mother's that fascinated the overworked queen, an interest that she was happy to share with Sofia but that wasn't life or death, nor did it impact the kind of queen Sofia would one day be. It was just something interesting for Sofia to learn about and a way to spend time with her mother.
Everything changed though, when one morning a week before her eleventh birthday Sofia arrived for breakfast to find a letter with the Durmstrang crest sealing it in wax. She stared at it for a long moment, then looked up at her parents.
"I...didn't know I'd be going to Durmstrang." She said finally. Bianca raised an eyebrow at that, and she quickly continued. "I just mean...all my classes have just been one on one. Me and the tutor."
"We think this would be good for you." Vittoria said, glancing at Bianca.
"Masters are hard to come by, for most branches of magic." Bianca explained. "Masters that are good at teaching even more so. Durmstrang is the best place for you to learn. It's where we went."
"The heirs to both Nibelungenland and the Anniad Empire will be present as well." Vittoria said. "And the son of the current Head of State for Poland-Lithuania and the daughter of the current king of the Norscan Union." Sofia blinked. The latter was an elective monarchy, comprising, well, all of Scandinavia and the home of Durmstrang, while the former was the largest pure democracy in Magical Europe. "So you won't be the only person there with parents like us. It'll be safe, and you won't stand out too much." Sofia frowned, but slowly nodded.
"Well...okay…" She said, nodding as she read over the letter. It was a general acceptance letter, nothing too particularly special or noteworthy. Then she perked up. "Does this mean I can get a wand?" Her parents chuckled at that.
"Yes, I suppose it does." Bianca said, nodding. "Klaus Gregorovitch, Mykew's grandson, sent us a letter saying he'd rather like to be the one to match you to your wand not long after your adoption. We'll reach out, and find a day when he can arrive that I'm free on." Sofia blinked, surprised.
"Making a wand for royalty, saying that you personally crafted their wand, is a mark of pride for wand makers." Vittoria explained. "Anything you do or accomplish, people will, to some extent, tie back to him. You wouldn't believe the surge in popularity Ollivander wands got here in the mainland back when Dumbledore beat Grindelwald." She chuckled.
"Oh, I guess that makes sense." Sofia said, nodding. She grinned. She was going to get a wand! She was going to be able to learn magic! Proper magic, not just the theory behind it!
"Eat breakfast dear. Your wand's not going to get here sooner if you don't eat." Bianca said, nudging her. Sofia blushed, nodding, and turning to her food. She bounced a little in her seat though, unable to help herself.
At The Same Time
Dumbledore slumped a little in his chair, looking over the automatic registrar Hogwarts produced for the upcoming First Years. "No Harriet?" Sirius asked, frowning. Dumbledore shook his head.
"I'm afraid not my friend. The protection still exists around the Dursley home, still dormant, so I don't believe her to be dead. She's simply deemed ineligible for Hogwarts."
"Why would that be the case?" Sirius demanded. "She can't have...have lost her magic, can she?" Dumbledore leaned back, mulling over the situation.
He'd been hard at work since the Girl Who Lived had disappeared, trying to keep as on top of the search for Harriet as he could without neglecting his other duties. It had been tricky, but he'd managed to more or less take control of the rumor mill. Any mention of her distinct scar had been suppressed, and he'd helped to fuel the belief that she was being fostered somewhere in the northernmost part of Scotland, where she received secret training better than even what Hogwarts had to offer.
Without knowing who, exactly, had access to Harriet he thought it best to downplay aspects of her story. If she was still with Muggles (and he had to imagine she would be, given that the Dursley's had handed her over to a Muggle criminal organization) then he didn't want an easy identifying mark like 'lightning bolt scar on her forehead' out there in the public consciousness. It would make it too easy for someone evil, or even just unscrupulous, to find her and steal her again. And the rumors of her training would keep people from worrying when she didn't show up for Hogwarts.
He'd hoped Sirius would find her before her eleventh birthday, but he also knew the young man wasn't trained for hunting on the Continent, and that tracking down Muggle criminals required different skills than Wizarding ones. So he'd planted the rumors early. If they'd found her, then the rumors would have faded away. If they hadn't, then he'd prevented a national panic.
"There are two possibilities, as I see it." He said, finally, looking at Sirius. "The first is that someone has her in a particularly well warded and enchanted place, that blocks Hogwarts from finding her. I must confess that I find this unlikely, Hogwarts' registrar is rather good at tracking down students even through the most warded of pureblood estates after all. But it is possible. What I find more likely though, is that whoever wound up taking her in had her name legally changed, and she's been claimed by Beauxbatons or Durmstrang as a Muggleborn."
"I thought Durmstrang didn't take in Muggleborns." Sirius said with a frown. Dumbledore waved a hand.
"An old policy, abandoned in the wake of Grindelwald's war in an effort to save face and prevent a public relations disaster."
"They expelled him though."
"They also taught him when he was at his most formative. That is all many would see. The rumors of this policy still exist of course. We here in Britain have never been too fond of or open in our relationships with the nations of the Continent, and it gets worse the further east you go. And of course, I rather imagine that the current headmaster and some of the richer members of society in Durmstrang's district wouldn't mind seeing that policy come back." Dumbledore shrugged. "Though of course, it's just as possible that she's going to Beauxbatons, which has no such restrictions, historically or presently."
Sirius grunted, nodding and tapping his fingers on the chair. "I might want to focus there then, when term starts. I know you're friendly with Madam Maxime, can she be trusted to know what we're looking for?" Dumbledore let out a hum.
"Perhaps. She knows I wouldn't try to steal anything from her, and that she can trust someone I trust. You'd need to spend most of the time in your Animagus form though I'd imagine." Sirius grunted. The fact that he, James, and Peter were/had been Animagi had come out during his trial, and Dumbledore had managed to get him registered (and James, posthumously) on the grounds of time served and the general 'we sent him to Azkaban without a trial' appeasement.
"Fair enough. So long as her forehead isn't covered up I should be able to find her okay." He paused. "And if she's going to Durmstrang?"
"That will be trickier." Dumbledore admitted. "But perhaps we'll get lucky, who knows? One never knows what news the next day may bring."