Chapter Text
Chapter One
“The beginning is the most important part of the work.”
― Plato, The Republic
“I forgot to mention, sneak attacks on Hadrian are not conducive if there is a fire breathing lady dragon nearby,” Rodolphus let him know well after the fact.
Sirius Black went hopping, skipping and jumping into the nearby pond with a resounding splash, sending Rodolphus doubling over. He dragged his water logged self out as Hadrian let out an ear splitting whistle that sent everyone cringing with their hands to their ears.
“Oh, now you tell me!” Sirius Black grumbled as he shook himself off like a dog and forgot he was now in possession of a brand new wand made of holly and phoenix feather. Funnily enough, the wand was one that Hadrian had tried and almost walked away with. Mr. Ollivander had been delighted to serve Sirius Black with a new and much more fitting wand.
Sirius was a lot like Rodolphus, he didn’t like to be in public right now due to all the attention. His trial and all the truths coming out were still fresh, and some people didn’t know when to leave well enough alone.
Rodolphus merely smiled and brought his shoulders up at Sirius’ grumble. Astra stopped her infernal chase and turned at the whistle. Her wing span could easily take out a building now and her gale speed was phenomenal. She was sleek and beautiful, her scales gleamed the darkest of greens, almost black, with some browns and other tones mixed throughout. She had spikes along the top of her head that looked like an elegant crown. She had some more spikes along her tail that she could flatten when she was in mid-air. Her long neck stretched out when she reached Hadrian.
“Great job, Astra!” He cooed, making the dragon let out a cheerful roar. “You keep them on their toes.” He fearlessly kissed her between her nostrils, paying no mind to how close he was to her sharp teeth. She did nothing more but puff a tiny trail of smoke out at him. She was the most well controlled dragon that anyone had ever seen, unless you decided to pick on Hadrian. She kind of saw things in black and white. All Astra had seen and understood was Sirius attacking Hadrian, not playing.
“I can’t believe he stole a dragon at eleven years old.”
“You meet the ‘puppies’ yet?”
“I have. I think I still have slobber in places that I can’t reach with a sponge.”
Early mornings were some of the most beautiful times of day around Rookwood Estate. Especially so in the middle of summer when the night sky gave way to a shade of baby blue and the sun danced and bounced off the fields of barley in the distance. The old Scottish style Manor glistened handsomely when the sun rose.
Hadrian could smell the barley starting to really ripen thanks to the heat. It wouldn’t be long before late summers and early autumn turned it a smooth brown. Hadrian admitted to missing autumn at the estate. It was his favorite season of all, seeing the leaves change and fall to the ground. Some of the trees would transform into varying rich colors of red, orange, and purple. It was like a flame across the mountainside that the estate was hugged into. Hadrian could walk outside at any time during the fall and taste the ripened barley on his tongue. It had an earthy fresh tang to it. It was close to wheat but richer.
“Hadrian’s friends almost became food when they shot a bludger at him a couple years ago.”
“I did notice she seemed to like the Pitch you have.”
“Good to know that my efforts aren’t wasted during the days that Hadrian and the boys aren’t here. She flies through them every morning, and Augustus can’t help but come out with coffee to observe her.”
Sirius had been traveling back and forth between Rookwood Estate and Malfoy Manor. Narcissa had insisted on overseeing his mental healthcare and was always with him when they went to St. Mungo’s for his sessions. He was also in multiple meetings at Gringotts these days. He always had a lawyer by his side throughout everything.
As with everything new, some awkwardness and adjustments were natural Hadrian was coming to learn. Sirius had a lot of damage, mental and emotional, that could not be repaired by cheeky dragons, laughter, and the truth. Adjustments took time. For so long, Sirius had turned away from his blood and ancestry, and old habits were not easy to lose. He was still trying to reconcile that James was dead and his wife unfeeling and uncaring, having moved on to the one person that cared for nothing but his own interests. He also had to re-learn that Hadrian was Hadrian Rookwood and not Harry Potter. It was this that was the hardest adjustment, but he was making progress.
Hadrian thought maybe Professor Lupin could help Sirius in his transition, but Sirius seemed hesitant on going forward on that front even when Hadrian would prod him to write Professor Lupin. His dad gave permission for the Professor to come to Rookwood Estate, but Sirius had shaken his head over it.
Stubborn Gryffindors. It was all Hadrian could think.
For so long he had taught himself to hate everyone Dark and that mindset would not be easily unraveled. It helped that Narcissa had stepped up, but Sirius was having hard a time reconciling Lucius Malfoy. He blamed Lucius and Bellatrix for giving into Riddle and dragging Narcissa through a mess that she didn’t deserve to be in.
However, Bellatrix was still in Azkaban and so Lucius had become his side-eyed target for the first few weeks until he began to calm down and reorient himself with reality. Hadrian suspected that he was still in the alternate universe of 1980 rather than 1994. His growth was stunted after all, the dementors and Azkaban made sure of that.
However, Sirius was if nothing else a practical person when he wanted to be. If he saw with his own eyes then reconciliation would come more naturally. He spent time with Draco and Hadrian, much preferring them to the others. He had not met any of the other fathers of Hadrian’s friends yet. Well not outside of seeing them during his Wizengamot trial in June. He didn’t really want to.
Augustus Rookwood was not hard for Sirius to come to terms with, but that wasn’t surprising. His dad was a brilliant genius who understood the world better than most people ever would. His father’s balancing temperament on Light and Dark helped Sirius to see that not everyone was an Extremist. Rodolphus could still be a bit forceful in that regard and so could the others. Augustus was a sobering man and he had a good effect on Sirius.
What did surprise Hadrian was how friendly Sirius was with Rodolphus even given the man’s darker nature. He had even been sorry that Rabastan had to die because of his bitch cousin, Bellatrix.
Hadrian learned that before Hogwarts, Sirius had been good friends with Rodolphus and Rabastan. As children all three of them used to cause mayhem at charity balls, pranking and embarrassing their families with all the pleasure they could get. But once school started everything changed, and Rodolphus and Rabastan soon became enemies next to Bellatrix Black.
It was all complicated, Hadrian didn’t know details, but Rodolphus and Sirius seemed to get on well now; at least from what Hadrian had seen. He hoped they weren’t pretending for his sake.
It didn’t take long before the malnourishment Sirius had been dealing with started getting corrected with good meals and even some physical therapy to help with the deteriorating muscles that he’d suffered while entombed. His hair had been cut so that it rested curly and wild on his shoulders. Sometimes it was in a low tail at the nape of his neck. He was still thin, but his face had lost some gauntness. Unlike Augustus who loved his beard most of the time, Sirius had completely shaved all his facial hair. You could see the definition coming back in his face, that smooth elegant handsomeness that Pureblood genetics created in the cheeks and chin.
His eyes, that familiar Black family gray, were starting to shine, but they still had a hollowness that might never leave him. All in all for a man who had been submerged into hell itself, he was as sane as any man could be. He had his days. Sometimes, he would sit in Hadrian’s personal lounge with all the floor to ceiling windows and soft earthy colors. Just staring. Sometimes he’d stare at nothing. He’d go for long periods without moving and even the grandfather clock couldn’t startle him with its chiming. But when Hadrian was close, Sirius would snap awake and his eyes would glitter like a mischievous child. He would break out into a smile that looked natural. He was still seeing a Healer to fix his teeth from the damage, but at least his smile was pretty.
Hadrian used his wand to let out colorful streamers into the air causing Astra to go flying up, wings flattening to her body. She swirled her sleek figure in a perfect copy of the streamers’ movements. Sirius laughed and clapped joyously. Fresh air and warm sunlight was probably Sirius’ best ally in recovery out of everything.
Hadrian’s fourteenth birthday had passed a few days ago, and all his friends except for Cassius and Marcus had come out for it. Unfortunately Cassius and Marcus were in Texas again. They would be coming home in a couple of days though so that they could all attend the Quidditch World Cup together.
His dad was with Lord Lucius Malfoy securing their lodgings on the campgrounds in the forest that they were to be staying at for a couple of days for the Quidditch World Cup. With a high tier sponsorship and good names tossed around, they had also managed to procure prime seats in the top box for the match.
None of their mothers were going to be in attendance. Narcissa, Susanna, and Zenyatta had no interest in Quidditch, nor did Angellica Flint or Rosalie Nott. Tatiana Montegue, Ellyn Higgs, and Marguerite Pucey, despite liking Quidditich, agreed to stay back with the others and support their activity. All of them would be hosting a Ladies Supper with some ambassadors coming in from various parts of Europe. The British Minister’s and Bulgarian Minister’s wives were attending. Ireland’s Minister’s wife had declined as she was a Quidditch fan and wanted to see the game.
Hadrian was so glad that none of them would be a part of that. He had no taste for what was in the end going to be a gossip and rumor party. Lucius Malfoy had asked Narcissa to work on whittling down the Minister’s wife for some things that they had going forward in the Wizengamot. Politics.
Hadrian would be starting his education in politics next year when he was fifteen. Augustus wanted him to prepare early for it. Cassius, Marcus, and Adrian would be joining their fathers in their duties more often once school let out. All of their fathers had decided to wait until the boys finished Hogwarts before requiring them to take on any Heir duties. They had still been studying the current laws and various policies that their fathers knew were being discussed in Wizengamot sessions since last year in order to prepare for when they leave Hogwarts next year. Marcus would rather focus on Ancient Runes, but he was really good at spotting issues in budgets and ledgers. Adrian was looking forward to taking over management of the Pucey Greenhouses, Albert had told him that they would be under his purview upon graduation. Cassius wasn’t sure what he wanted to do yet, but was having better luck understanding and following all of the political maneuvers than Marcus and Adrian were.
Hadrian wasn’t looking forward to all that because he would have to reveal the Potter part of him for it. He wasn’t ready for the world to know that he was formerly a Potter. If he could, he would choose to have nothing to do with it. But securing the Potter seat on the Wizengamot, which had been left vacant since his father died, for the Dark was extremely important. That change along with Sirius officially claiming the Black title that Sirius now held in his hands was extremely important, they could really start to push things through.
Politics, thankfully, were not important currently in Hadrian’s fourteen year old busy life. He had other things to worry about like his friends and the upcoming Quidditch World Cup. He didn’t care about the Ministry, besides who to avoid, and adulting, that didn’t have to do with sex - he liked learning more about that.
Astra went flying off over the trees and Hadrian smiled as he made his way back to the house. His French braid flapped back and forth behind him. Seeing his friends the other day for his birthday reminded him that he was now the second shortest. Draco had grown one inch over him since the start of summer. Hadrian had been taller at the end of the semester but Narcissa had to be feeding that boy something to have him shoot up so quickly in just a few weeks. Theo seemed to have frozen a bit below Hadrian. Both were really lanky and skinny, but Hadrian was more petite overall. Blaise was ridiculous, passing up his year mates to meet Graham in height. Adrian was still Hadrian’s height, so he didn’t feel bad about it at all. Adrian wasn’t so happy about it though. He was going to be the smallest seventh year, but all Pucey lords were on the shorter side. His genetics were working against him. For Hadrian this did mean that he could still get into places that others might not be able to. He’d never worried about height all that much. He was proud of whatever he came to be.
“Wait - is she still-?” Sirius leaned forward, eyes glittering. Something moved along Hadrian’s shoulder blade.
Hadrian grinned and glanced to his shoulder. “Dora?”
A cute fleshy duck looking bill poked out from underneath Hadrian’s tunic followed by a pair of round dark eyes before golden fur showed itself. Hadrian reached over and tickled the top of her head. She let out a ‘chew’ noise.
Dora was his newest pet. A niffler and, unlike Phoebe, Dora went everywhere with him. She liked to hide in his clothes. He’d trained her not to go after every shiny bauble she saw. He gave her her very own den in his room, but she still liked to cuddle with Hadrian. Sometimes she slept in his hair or on his chest at night. It might become a problem when he slept with his friends again, but during summer she officially took the place of his stuffed animals as his sleeping companion. She loved belly rubs and treats that were shaped like gold nuggets. Nifflers were vegetarian creatures and required a healthy diet of vegetables and some fruits. Meat would make a niffler ill because their bodies could not handle it.
She was about the size of his hand, still just a baby. Nifflers grew slowly and she would never be that big. They were small and the females were smaller but chubbier than the males. She would have some real strong nails if Hadrian didn’t keep them trimmed down. His dad also showed him a good spell that prevented the nails from cutting into his skin altogether, but still let her climb him. Nifflers were very dextrous after all. Hadrian would never forget the shriek from Rodolphus on that first night when he lifted his silver spoon, and Dora, just a tiny fuzzy baby, had leaped to him in her excitement. Augustus said he’d never laughed so hard. Hadrian had been planning on showing them as a surprise, but Dora had other ideas. Hadrian had started keeping a little pouch on his belt so that she could climb down inside and take a nap. She knew how to open it and close it back. She was not a dumb creature after all, nifflers were incredibly crafty.
Sirius made a noise. “That is so bloody adorable!” His eyes shined in the summer sun.
“You know, Professors are supposed to send a letter to the parents asking if they can gift a student a creature, not just hand them over,” Rodolphus grumbled as Dora blew her bill-like mouth at him with a vibrating noise that sounded like blowing a raspberry. Hadrian and Sirius snickered and Rodolphus rolled his eyes. “Great, another one with a personality,” he drawled.
“Like that man is a proper professor,” Augustus hummed quietly. “No teaching credentials at all.”
“Oh come on, Dolphy, you know you love her. I saw you snuggle her,” Hadrian accused before turning to his dad. “He might not be a proper professor, but he does know a lot about creatures.”
“Only because she would have crawled up my trouser leg otherwise.” Rodolphus grumbled.
“That’s why you should wear the ones I wear, they are always in fashion and nothing can get into them,” said Hadrian with a smirk. He stuck out his leg to show his shiny black boots riding up to his slim calves. His black skin tight trousers, that left no room for imagination, continued up from the boots over his legs to his subtly meatier thighs, crotch, slim hips, and arse. His arse recently got a lot of praise from his friends and most notably Blaise Zabini. His loose white tunic with red and silver threading settled softly over his trousers.
“Yeah, nothing can get into them,” Rodolphus repeated. “I don’t have the arse that you can rock, precious. Your dad has a nice arse though.”
Hadrian rolled his eyes and Sirius burst out laughing even further as he scooped Hadrian up and spun him around. He liked to do this from time to time when he became overly excited about something or nothing at all. It was like a burst of childlike excitement coming over him from nowhere. “I guess it’s important to have a nice arse in the world, at least Blaise tells me that.”
On the evening of August seventh, the lack of moon made the stars at night bigger and brighter than ever. Hadrian would have loved to have been outside flying Astra, but Sirius had other ideas. A lavish supper was planned and Sirius brought the Malfoy family with him. He didn’t say why to Augustus, but Augustus didn’t mind instructing the house-elves to place extra dinner settings. Hadrian didn’t mind the extra guests either.
During dinner he and Draco entertained themselves by comparing the two World Cup teams and discussing how they thought the game would go. Draco kept insisting that Ireland would have a clean victory by number of goals scored but also by catching the Snitch. Hadrian wasn’t so sure. Ireland had a lot of good players, but their best player retired last year after getting hit one too many times by Bludgers to her arms. The Chaser just couldn’t hold and throw a Quaffle like she used to.
“I haven’t seen anything from either Seekers, and that’ll be important,” said Hadrian. “Marcus however says that Bulgaria has managed to snag one of the youngest Seekers in over a hundred years. So that’s one to watch.”
“But Ireland has a fleet of Firebolts,” Draco considered aloud.
Hadrian smiled. “You know as well as I do that the broom doesn’t always make the team. Remember that Tornados’ bloke that flew on a Shooting Star to make a point?”
Draco laughed. “Yeah, I’ll never forget that. Everyone thought he was mad!”
“Granted, he was playing Keeper, and their position isn’t as important when it comes to broom speed as Chaser and Seeker, but he still managed to blow out the other team by catching every single Quaffle.”
“Might have helped that one of the Chasers had lost their arm the night previous in a practice gone wrong. I’m impressed he bothered to play at all.” He shook his head. “I’m surprised you know all this.”
“Marcus doesn’t let us forget things,” Hadrian grinned at this. “Whether we want to or not.” Just because he didn’t play did not mean he didn't enjoy watching it or listening to Marcus. Most of the time.
As everyone was finishing up dinner and their pudding Sirius stood to make an announcement. “I know that rituals are currently banned and that there is no official ritual room here. However, I would like to perform a ritual tonight that only requires witnesses and the new moon outside. I have asked the Malfoys here tonight to be witness alongside the Rookwoods.”
Hadrian turned to look at his father but saw no recognition in his face. Looking around the table, none of them knew what Sirius was up to.
“The Most Ancient and Noble House of Malfoy would be happy to bear witness, Lord Black.” Lucius nodded his head formally to Sirius.
“The Most Ancient and Noble House of Rookwood would be happy to bear witness as well.” Augustus nodded. This was the first time Hadrian had heard his dad use such proper phrasing. He knew they were one of Britain’s Most Ancient and Noble Houses, as were the Flints and Lestranges, but it was really rare for the title to be used in everyday conversation. He knew that the Potters had only been a Distinguished House by the time James died and that the Notts had fallen from Most Distinguished to Distinguished when Nott Snr lost so much in his investments. At least none of them were like the Weasleys who lost all titles to their name. He didn’t fully understand how titles were given just yet, but he knew that Lord Montague had succeeded in gaining the Distinguished title for their family despite only moving here during his school years. Oberon’s father had made great investments into the Ministry and with Gringotts that saw them rise in the ranks quickly. It wasn’t all about who had the most money, but also the kinds of services performed for their community. Cassius and Draco were much better at keeping track of that than Hadrian. “Shall we begin?”
So clear and beautiful, Hadrian thought as he looked at the night sky. Even better than at Hogwarts. He loved Hogwarts, but it was a school. Rookwood Estate was home. A warm breeze ruffled the robe he wore. In the distance you could just make out the sounds of the sleepy highland cows and some of their newly born calves fussing.
Sirius led them all outside and through the gardens towards the Quidditch Pitch. Hadrian didn’t know where his various pets ended up, but the Pitch was currently empty. Dora was tucked away into one of his pockets. Once they were all out in the open, Sirius directed them all where to stand. He kept fussing at things: checking the sky and position of the stars, asking people to shift a little this way or back up a step, and even asked Narcissa and Lucius to switch places.
Finally he seemed happy with the arrangement. Directly across from Sirius, at the southernmost point of the group, stood Narcissa. Half way between them, at east and west, were Hadrian and Draco. Rodolphus was asked to stand between Draco and Narcissa but two steps back. Lucius and Augustus stood between Hadrian and Sirius, three steps back. It was a peculiar arrangement and not one Hadrian had seen in any of his dad’s books. He didn’t have a lot of knowledge of rituals, since it was a banned practice, but he had read a few of their books on the subject over the years.
“Magic,” Sirius’ voice whispered quietly over them all, “we call to you this new moon night to provide restitution. We call for you to witness and bless this ritual.” Hadrian still didn’t recognize the ritual, but he could feel the stirring of magic in the air. Something was happening. “I, Sirius Orion Black, Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, do hereby declare with Black blood as witness at the cardinal points. I do hereby declare with Lords of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Malfoy and Rookwood as willing witness. I do hereby declare with the Heir of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Lestrange as willing witness and grieved party. I do hereby declare that the marriage and blood contract of daughter of House Black, Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black, to Heir Rodolphus Lestrange is hereby dissolved completely for her murder of the son of House Lestrange, Rabastan Lestrange. Shall no harm or slight befall House Lestrange for the contract breaking. May Magic bless this.”
“May Magic bless this.” They all repeated after him automatically. Hadrian hadn’t really realized he was doing so until his mouth opened. He wondered what would happen if someone wasn’t willing to bear witness but forced to be there. Would Magic not bless the declaration and ritual?
Everyone gasped as the magic reached a crescendo before popping like a bubble. Rodolphus bent over in shock as a glow surrounded him before disappearing with most of the magic called. Hadrian could only guess that that glow had represented his marriage to Bellatrix.
“Heir Lestrange I will need you to bear witness to this next part too, don’t get lost in the revelry just yet.” Sirius hissed out as Rodolphus let out a breathless laugh. A moment later Rodolphus straightened and nodded to Sirius, manic grin slashed across his face. “Magic, we call to you this new moon night to provide renewal. We call for you to witness and bless this ritual. I, Sirius Orion Black, Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, do hereby declare with Black blood as witness at the cardinal points that daughter of House Black, Bellatrix Black, is fully disowned from this night forth for the grievance of murder and betrayal of Heir James Charlus Potter. Let all Black family magic be stripped from her veins. Let all Black family protection shield her no more. From this night forth she shall be known as Bellatrix Spurius.”
“I, Lucius Malfoy, Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Malfoy, do hereby witness and confirm the removal of Bellatrix Black from House Black to become forever more Bellatrix Spurius.”
“I, Augustus Rookwood, Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Rookwood, do hereby witness and confirm the removal of Bellatrix Black from House Black to become forever more Bellatrix Spurius.”
“I, Rodolphus Lestrange, Heir of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Lestrange, do hereby witness and confirm the removal of Bellatrix Black from House Black to become forever more Bellatrix Spurius.”
“May Magic bless this.” Sirius grinned.
“May Magic bless this.” The rest of them said in sync.
Once more the ambient magic rose around them. Sirius, Narcissa, Draco, and Hadrian found themselves encased in a blue glow that pulsed in time with their heartbeats. On the seventh beat everything flashed black.
“It’s done.” Narcissa said in shock. “You’ve fully disinherited her and freed Rodolphus.” Her dainty frozen features couldn’t hide the flickers of emotion that flashed across her. She took a deep breath as if something had lifted away from her.
“Yes,” Sirius laughed, “I did. That bitch can’t drag things down anymore.”
“Thank you. A thousand thank yous, Sirius.” Rodolphus rushed him and pulled him into a hug.
Hadrian leaned closer to his father, “why were the rituals performed in that order? Couldn’t he have just disinherited her to dissolve the marriage?”
“No, if he had done it that way then he wouldn’t have been able to touch the marriage as she would no longer be a Black but a Lestrange only. Lord Lestrange would have needed to wait for the next new moon to disinherit her, but that would not have stopped them from being married. The marriage needed to break first.” Augustus lectured. “This way Rodolphus is free of her and the way it was worded means that the Lestrange family is not punished for breaking the contract.”
“I’m surprised, Lord Black, that you didn’t go for the Baseborn name.” Lucius hummed as he curled an arm around Narcissa who was processing the loss of her sister. She might not have liked Bellatrix, but she had been family.
“I may not be fully happy with my Dark affiliation, but the Blacks are a Dark family. I’m not sure if Magic would have blessed it if I had declared her Bellatrix Baseborn instead of Bellatrix Spurius.”
“Magic can be finicky about that,” Augustus nodded his head. “You did well following tradition. Come, everyone, let’s go back inside and celebrate Rodolphus’ freedom.”
“Plus, in the end she is our burden to bear,” said Sirius, and the way he made it sound was like he was closing a book with a snap. A finality to it.
“I am impressed, Sirius. You have come far,” said Narcissa.
“Hadrian is alive and you are all thanks to that,” said Sirius, his eyes shining. “Augustus showed me the memories.” He swallowed the obvious lump that Hadrian could see bobbing in his throat. “Not something I’m ever going to forget. Both sides have a lot to answer for, and I think we’ve answered this one clearly to wipe the stain away.”
Narcissa crossed over and gave him a dainty hug. “If you had come to us on your run we would have sheltered you.”
“I will say this once,” said Lucius. “James Potter was a much wiser man than I was in choosing a godfather,” he said with a slight falter in his voice.
“Thank you for that,” said Sirius. “I trust in Hadrian. He’s all that’s left for me. So whatever he says goes, no matter what. I will not make another mistake like that.”
“Not really, Sirius. You should open your eyes,” said Lucius. “We did and what was returned to us was tenfold.”
Hadrian looked between the Malfoys and Sirius, Draco looked bored. Augustus was smiling and Rodolphus was still fighting tears. Every adults’ reactions showed how much worse Bellatrix was than Riddle, at least emotionally.
Dora chose that moment to pop her head up and out of Hadrian’s robe pocket. She gave a soft sound and then jumped toward the sparkling broach on Narcissa’s chest, causing her to start.
“Dora!” Hadrian laughed. He couldn’t help it.
Instead of being upset or shrieking at the surprise, Narcissa cupped the small creature with a dainty hand. “Oh you are sweet, aren’t you?” She stroked her head.
“You couldn’t put her down?” Augustus chuckled.
“I can’t choose where she goes, Dad. You know that. You found her rummaging through your pockets on the floor for some change. Besides, I am still training her not to claim everything that’s shiny. So the more she’s exposed the more I can work on her.” Everyone laughed at this.
It was a good end to the night as Dora rolled over in Narcissa’s palm and she stroked the niffler’s soft belly. Even Lucius gave her a stroke and she in turn began to rub against his chunky shiny Lord ring.