I do not own Harry Potter
Chapter One: Adaline
"She's perfect," Miranda Shafig whispered to her husband, Adrian Shafig. "No one would suspect a thing."
"Are you sure she's the one you want, darling?" Adrian asked his wife, staring at the young girl that sat alone in the orphanage, reading in a corner as the other children played some distance away.
"She's perfect," Miranda smiled. "Look at her eyes. They're just the right shade."
"They may question her hair," Adrian pointed out.
"Nonsense," Miranda shrugged. "Plenty of people in my family have light hair. We'll just claim it's that."
"How do we explain the lack of photos in the past?"
"The fire," Miranda's voice was cold and Adrian changed the subject quickly.
"What if the child is difficult?"
"We could always obliviate her?"
"Would that be best at her age? We don't want to cause any damage."
"We'll speak to her first," Miranda decided. "We'll explain things. She doesn't even know that she's a witch. The other children are afraid of her power."
"Must we soil our line with her blood though?" Adrian questioned.
"We need an heir, Adrain," Miranda's voice was sharp and Adrian simply nodded and let Miranda lead the way.
Miranda smiled politely at the woman who ran the orphanage, approaching her with a smile and her wand up her sleeve, just out of sight.
"Confundus," Miranda whispered and the woman walked towards the other children, shaking her head in confusion.
Miranda sat beside the young girl, quiet and poised. The young girl looked up, her blue eyes shining as she stared at Miranda in curiosity. Adrian stood beside his wife, watching as the girl looked back and forth between the two.
"Hello, child," Miranda finally spoke. "My name is Miranda Shafiq. This is my husband, Adrian. How would you feel about coming home with us?"
"Are you sure, ma'am?" the young girl asked. "I'm sure one of the other children would be a better option."
"Why would that be?" Miranda asked.
"They're more fun," the girl shrugged.
"What's your name, child?" Adrian asked.
"Hathor," she answered.
"What a strange name," Miranda shook her head. "Would you mind if we changed it?"
"What to?" Hathor asked.
"How about something that starts with an 'A', like Adrian's does? It's a family trait," Miranda sighed before her face lit up. "Oh, Adaline! How pretty is that?"
"It is pretty," Hathor smiled. "I still don't think you'll want me though. The other children and the adults don't really like me."
"Well, why not? You seen very polite and well spoken," Miranda frowned.
"I'm not supposed to say," Hathor whispered.
"Is it because you can do things that they can't?" Miranda whispered and Hathor's eyes went wide. "My husband and I can, too. What if I told you that there's a whole lot of people who can do the things that you can do?"
"But I'm a freak," Hathor shook her head. "The other kids said so. The adults want to have me committed."
"Well, we can't have that, now can we?" Miranda shook her head. "No. I think it best you gather your things and come with us. What do you say?"
"And I'll be Adeline?"
"And you'll be our little Adie," Miranda smiled softly. "Go now. Hurry and meet us outside."
Hathor set her book on the shelf gently before rushing to gather her things. Miranda led Adrian outside, where they stood out front waiting. Adrian stared at the doors, watching for the girl.
"Are you sure about this?" he asked one last time.
"I want our daughter back," Miranda sighed. "We'll have to work on her accent and get her educated, however I think it won't be a problem. We'll raise her into a fine, pureblood lady. No one will ever know. Especially not Walburga Black."
"How do we know she won't tell anyone in the future?"
"We could do an unbreakable vow," Miranda shrugged.
"No," Adrian immediately shook his head. "We can't have a child doing such a thing. I'd rather obliviate her."
"As I said before, we'll speak with her. She's clever. She'll learn," Miranda's face lit up as the girl stepped out of the orphanage with a small bag in hand. "Here she comes. She's gorgeous."
"Are you ready, Adeline?" Adrian asked as the girls bouncing curls settled on her shoulders.
"Yes, sir," Adeline smiled.
"Call me father," Adrian smiled. "You're my daughter now."
"Yes, father," Adeline's smile brightened.
"Take my hand," Miranda told her. "This may make you sick the first time. Take a few deep breaths for me. One, two, three."
The two women disappeared and Adrain let out a rough sigh before turning the orphanage. He listened to the other children that were inside as they played. He knew his soul was already tarnished beyond compare but he never thought he would stoop this low. Then, he thought of his real daughter, the first Adeline. He thought of her smile and laughter. He thought of the fire that took her and how he needed to make them pay.
"Pestis Incendium," he said firmly, wand pointed ahead.
Once the fire had taken the building, he extinguished the flames from the spell his family had created so long ago. He disappeared with a pop, appearing in the living room of the flat he had confundused for his wife and himself for the time being. His wife was showing their new Adeline her room, filled with books on magic and wizarding family history. He knew she would start tutoring the girl immediately, teaching her how to act and speak. There would be language tutors brought in to teach the girl French and a proper English accent, the American one that she had now would have to go as soon as possible if they were to go back across the sea next year.
This Adeline needed to learn her new birthday, her family members names and etiquette. Adrian wasn't sure it was possible and debated just calling the whole thing off for what must have been the hundredth time that day. Then he remembered the debt that the Shafiq family owed the Black's and poured himself a glass of firewhiskey. He also thought of how heartbroken his wife had been when their child had burned in that fire. They had left Adeline with a nanny for the night, a squib that they had graciously allowed into their home. Turned out the squib had had a grudge against the sacred twenty-eight and had been trying to end every pureblood line. A fire was set in Adeline's room and the squib had been standing outside smiling when Adrian and Miranda had returned home.
Miranda had killed the squib with her bare hands, a fury he had never witnessed before from his otherwise gentle wife. He had been frozen, watching the bloody scene and the fire that had taken his precious daughter from him. He sat in his chair, listening to the laughter that could be heard from the room down the hall. He debated joining the two, try to get to know the young charge in their care before remembering that there wouldn't be much of that child left once Miranda was done with her.
He remembered Miranda from when they were just students in Hogwarts, her family moving from the states to London just in time for her to start her schooling as a witch. Her family line in America had been pure and she was beautiful. His mother had spotted him staring at her at the train station and had decided then that he would have her as his wife. After many conversations and contracts, their parents had everything decided for them. It was merely luck that he had had feelings for the gentle soul that was Miranda Burke, related to the Burke's of the sacred twenty-eight in England, but not too closely to be related to the Shafiq or Black family.
Walburga Black had sent over the blood contract from three hundred years before the moment that Miranda had announced that they were having a daughter, reminding the Shafiq family what they owed her. Adrian had been livid, demanding answers from his father when he had seen the contract. His daughter, who wasn't even born yet, would have to marry one of Walburga's sons due to some disrespect that his ancestors had committed. His father had claimed to have no clue about the contract, that it hadn't pertained to him so it hadn't been brought up to him. Miranda, upon hearing about the contract, had gone over it over and over, not finding any loopholes. With Walburga breathing down their necks and the threat of their magic being stripped if Adeline did not marry one of their sons, they had no choice.
Adrian sighed, pouring himself another glass and knocking it back. Had it not been for the business that needed the Burke families attention, Adeline would never have been in the care of the squib to begin with. They had been in the states for four years, coming here when Adeline was only two. The past year had been spent in grief and in search of a new daughter that resembled their family enough to pass as their daughter, only one year left before they were to return home and face the Black's. That left them with a year to turn young Hathor into little Adie. Adrian knew that if anyone could pull off this trick, it would be Miranda, her Slytherin tendencies being stronger than anyone he had ever known. Her cunning and ambition would not fail them.
The Black's would get a bride.