Narcissa was nearly finished with stage one of the improvements she had designed for the weather wards on the summer terrace when Mipsy appeared with an envelope in hand; the elf merely stood, waiting, indicating the message was important but not urgent. She finished the ward she was working on, made sure it was stable and had meshed with the rest, then turned to take the envelope. She frowned at the seal of the Wizarding Child Services on the document and broke the wax to read the contents. An endangered child was being removed from their current care, and WCS had identified her as a close enough relative for placement, if she consented. Directions to the office where the child was being held were included.
Narcissa shook her head, puzzled. Lucius had no relatives closer than second cousins and they all had relatives of their own, so she would never be approached for those. Andromeda’s child was grown, and Bellatrix had been in prison for years. Perhaps the halfblood daughter had produced a baby? That seemed unlikely however, considering how active Auror training was; Narcissa might not count the Tonkses as family, but she did keep track of them to a degree. And Andromeda would have been contacted before Narcissa unless things had become much more complicated than seemed likely.
She raised her head to look at the elf. “Please prepare a guest room. We may have a visitor.”
“Yes mistress,” replied the elf, and apparated away. Narcissa sighed as she wrapped up the rest of her ward-work, making notes on what still needed to be repaired when she came back, and Floo’d to the Ministry.
Narcissa advised the woman at the WCS desk of her arrival, who sent a memo back. Moments later she was greeted by a solemn young woman who introduced herself as Agatha Waterby. The woman’s features reminded her of the Crouch line, Narcissa thought, but she was not sure which branch.
“Thank you for coming, Lady Malfoy,” Waterby said, showing her down the hallway and into an office. She gestured to a chair. “Would you like some tea and biscuits while I catch you up on what has happened?”
Narcissa declined politely. Ministry tea was notoriously foul, and a child was waiting.
“I’ll cut to the chase, then,” Agatha said. “We have a runaway, and I hope you will agree to take the child at least temporarily.”
Narcissa inclined her head consideringly, acknowledging the request. “Please tell me more.”
“One of our Auror teams who was looking into an accidental magic report found an unaccompanied child at the scene. The child admitted that he was a runaway and claims to be an orphan. The aurors and our medi-witch picked up some worrying signs and got his consent to do a preliminary kinship test. He also claims his guardians are muggles, and since the test did not show adoptive parents or magical guardians, his story is supported well enough that we can dispense with any paperwork for removing him from that home. Just as well, really, since he would not tell us who they were. Your name came up as one of two appropriate relatives to offer placement, and you’re the first to respond.”
She passed over the kinship test results document. Narcissa passed her wand over it to check the spells it encoded before reading the content. Agatha sniffed at that but sounded more amused than offended at the caution.
The tests an unaccompanied minor could consent to, even in the course of a WCS investigation, were limited. The only names on the form on the mother’s side were Bellatrix – Bella! When had Bella…! – followed by Narcissa’s name and Sirius’s, and then under the secondary options Rudolphus Lestrange due to his link by marriage. The form showed a notation that additional living relatives existed but would need authorization for a higher-level test to display the information. Narcissa suspected that was referring to second cousins and further such as the Longbottoms. The father’s side of the form was blank aside from a notation that results were inconclusive.
Narcissa knew any number of things could interfere with such (deliberately) weak tests; even Andromeda’s name had not appeared on it, probably due to her disownment. She assumed WCS had not yet assigned a guardian for the child who could authorize the higher-level test. Likely they were hoping the caseworker would be able to find a family member willing to take him in before the additional paperwork which would authorize such things needed to be filed. Narcissa realized she was woolgathering in the shock of finding a relative no one had been aware existed and lifted her eyes from the parchment, suddenly a little weak at the knees. It did not matter who the father was. He was not here. “How old is this child?” she asked sharply.
Agatha spread her hands. “He claims to be thirteen and looks perhaps nine or ten,” she replied. “Would you like to meet him?”
“I would,” she said with a crisp nod. “Is there anything else I should know beforehand?”
“He has not shared much, though it’s clear from what he has said that he’s been both neglected and abused. He’s skittish, so go gently.”
Narcissa nodded again and allowed Agatha to guide her into the room with the boy. He was curled up in a wingback chair dozing, but startled when they entered the room and looked up with wide eyes, the very picture of her sister.
“He certainly looks like a miniature Bella,” she said softly. The boy scowled, again looking exactly like her sister had every time she’d heard her height mentioned. He grumbled about people calling him short in almost the same words his mother used to. Amused, Narcissa slipped into the chair next to his and introduced herself. She scanned his face with the eye of a pureblood, seeing no concerning markers for muggle ancestry. He looked entirely like a Black, at least for now. Whatever other heritage he had might develop in his features as he aged, but for now he was a copy of her lost sister.
“I’m going by Hadrian,” the boy replied. Narcissa noted the phrasing but did not allow her face to show it.
Agatha explained that the boy had been told he was the child of a muggleborn couple who had died, and asked for permission to do the higher-level test that would show all relatives living and dead for the past two generations. The boy held out his hand meekly for the blood to be taken and Narcissa provided the necessary adult consent.
She watched the child as the names appeared on the form, and noted that he looked bewildered and a little ill as they appeared. It wasn’t a confirmation that he didn’t recognize the name, but she was certain he was surprised by the result. Narcissa moved her gaze to the paper to see the results for herself. The test revealed the father as Tom Riddle Jr., son of Thomas Riddle Sr. and Merope Gaunt. Not Lestrange. Well. Her brother-in-law already been relegated by the earlier spell to related by marriage only, but the confirmation was good to see. She’d wondered whether Bella had cast her husband off somehow.
Narcissa had known her sister didn’t care much for her husband, but the man might want to claim the boy anyway. Blood adoption was probably his only chance for an heir at this point, after all. She pinched her lips together, suddenly resolved. She could not let that happen. And the child’s father might still be alive and cast off in some way, but nevertheless a threat. (Andromeda’s name had also showed up on this second, more comprehensive test.) She made her decision, knowing that truly, her heart had already chosen the moment she had seen him.
“Using the name Riddle would be unwise,” she offered to the boy. “I would suggest Black as your surname.”*
Hadrian agreed with only the barest of hesitations. He required a little more persuasion to take a proper Black star name, but they agreed in the end on a compromise to accept his great-uncle Alphard as a middle name. Whether or not Hadrian had ever been any part of his name before (and she was fairly certain it had not), he’d clearly bonded with it now, and was more than willing to give up whatever false name the muggle family had given him. Narcissa was pleased by that as the name change spell she intended to do next would be all the stronger.
Agatha cheerfully assisted with casting the spell that would allow the magic of the Ministry’s child welfare office to recognize the boy’s new name and link it and the child to Narcissa. The spell would also sever any slight ties that might remain to his prior family but while that would make the investigation into his troublesome past harder, it was more important to Narcissa that she secure custody of her nephew before Lestrange (or Andromeda) could lay hands on him. With the boy’s consent to the name change he became her ward. The next steps toward a full adoption would be easy (although time consuming), once Lucius was made aware of the boy and agreed to it. Not that his consent truly mattered—she could and would adopt the boy regardless—but she knew her husband. He would want to be asked.
A few other routine matters included determining a birthday for the boy so arrangements for his education could be made. He was oddly insistent on claiming the clearly inappropriate age of thirteen, probably based on more misinformation from the guardian muggles. She could not guess why they would lie about such a thing unless they wanted to hide him. On the other hand the youngest he could possibly be was not quite twelve based on when Bella had been arrested. Narcissa remembered well how her sister had looked at trial, and how active she had been just before being captured. It seemed unlikely she’d just given birth then. Unless the boy had been born in Azkaban and somehow smuggled out…but wouldn’t he be far more sickly if that had been the case? It was a shame her sister could not be questioned more urgently. Narcissa decided to offer a strategically useful mid-October birthday as a reasonable date that would give options for the upcoming school year, and the boy reluctantly agreed to October 15th.
She stepped aside to arrange a few last matters with Agatha, and took a moment as well to summon Mipsy to change the accommodations from a guest room to the bedroom next to Draco’s, and to ask her to repurpose some of Draco’s old things for Hadrian’s use. The elf squeaked an acknowledgment as she apparated away, cutting off the end of the reply; Narcissa smiled fondly at the elf’s clear excitement at adding a member to the family.
There would have to be a trip to Azakaban, of course, despite the cost in time, money and influence: she need answers only Bella could provide. What was the child’s birth name and true date of birth? Why had a Black daughter who had willingly consented to an alliance proceeded to have a child out of wedlock before giving her husband an heir? Had Bella given the baby up willingly or under duress, and did she know who had taken him? If the boy had not been in the custody of this man Riddle, what arrangements had Bella made for his care? She urgently wanted to know who those minders were so they could be questioned (or their deaths investigated and avenged). And why had Bella kept such a vital thing as this from her family? It was no small thing, to ward a birth so well the family tapestry did not know of it. Narcissa would want to look at the original, but her copy should match. It had added Draco automatically when he’d been born-Hadrian's name should have been there too.
Narcissa left the boy for a few minutes to talk to her husband and explain. Hadrian looked anxious and she smiled to reassure him. “It will only be a short wait,” she said as she directed him to a seat.
Mipsy directed her to Lucius’s office. He stood, eyebrows rising, as she entered smiling.
“What is the good news, my dear?” he asked.
“The Ministry reached out to me this afternoon about a child who needed placement, and I have agreed to take him in,” she replied. “He is Bellatrix’s child,” she raised her hand as her husband’s eyes narrowed, “but he is not a Lestrange,” she added. He nodded, and though he was smooth as always she saw the relief. Lucius would never take another man’s heir without good cause, and while he would of course take her side he would not enjoy supporting her over his brother in law.
“But of course we will take in your nephew,” Lucius says, though he clearly wondered why there was even a question. Then his lips pinched together as he remembered Andromeda.
Narcissa shook her head, knowing what that gesture meant. “Bellatrix would never. But I do not recognize the father’s name.”
Narcissa presented the results of the bloodline analysis the WCA had done on Hadrian to her husband. He looked it over and his eyebrows drew together as he read it.
“Do you know anything about Riddle?” she asked when he didn’t say anything.
Lucius shook his head, but she saw how he ran his thumb over the Gaunt ancestors on the boy’s bloodline. “They are what they are,” she said, with a touch of distaste. Lucious nodded. The Gaunts had been known to prefer to marry their own siblings and cousins rather than risk the slightest impurity, and their poverty made attracting good pureblood spouses difficult, so it had happened more than once. She could not imagine anyone of that line having a half-blood child, and the relationship not only showed as a marriage but that the child’s father had given his own name to his heir. And Hadrian's father must have been a good deal older than Bella, if her recollection of Merope’s birthdate was correct. A healthy witch could carry a pregnancy very late in life, but there was a limit.
“Perhaps the senior Riddle came from another country and had changed his name.” Lucius offered after a thoughtful pause.**
Narcissa nodded, willing to accept that theory. Lucius would look into it further, but regardless – they had three quarters of the child’s heritage accounted for, and although he would unfortunately have to overcome the challenge of not being Lestrange’s child, there were others with more scandalous histories who were still recognized in society. Narcissa and Lucius would smooth his path as much as possible but this was a good foundation.
Lucius looked up from the paper. “What is your impression of the boy?”
“He is the very picture of Bella at the same age,” she said with a fond smile. “He is quiet and polite, if a bit unpolished. I am sure that courtesy must be from his father’s side, though I certainly did not see any Gaunt in him.” She saw the corner of her husband's mouth bend into the beginning of a smile before he controlled it. He shared her opinion of her sister’s wild nature.
“And why is he being turned over to our care?”
Narcissa told him what she had heard from Agatha while Lucius’s face grew progressively angrier.
“Has he told you who these false parents were, or the muggle guardians who mistreated him?” he said.
“No, he has changed the subject each time it was raised, and rather well for a child his age too. A good Slytherin in the making, my dear.”
Lucius nodded, unhappy that he would need to wait to pursue legal action but acknowledging that neither would risk damaging the limited and fragile trust the boy would have so early in his placement with them by forcing the matter. Narcissa and Lucius nodded firmly at one another, partners too long to need discussion about their roles.
Narcissa would gather what information the child was willing to share, while Lucius would pursue every avenue he could find while trying to avoid alerting the child’s kidnappers of their suspicions (at least, any more than the unavoidable adoption announcement would cause). First among those tasks was to work on Ministry permission to speak to Bellatrix. And both would do everything they could to give Hadrian the childhood he should have had from the beginning.
But before that, he would have to be brought into the wards. They went to fetch him together, and Narcissa explained what will happen while Lucius prepared the wards to accept the child. They both noticed how he sighed and some of the tension in him eased just when the wards accept him; Narcissa wondered how sensitive he must be to notice the web of magic. She exchanged a glance with her husband. This child had potential.
The suspicion grew when she saw how he twitched and winced while the tracking and warning spells were placed on him. She cannot blame him for protesting the tracking spells if he is so sensitive, but they are necessary. Even the boy seems to understand that.
“You could feel these spells being cast upon you, correct? She asks after they are done. He nods in response, eyes wary.
“Yeah. They itched for a bit. But I can’t feel them at all anymore,” he replies. Narcissa relaxes a little; they would have to make some significant changes to his care if he had been sensitive enough to still feel the magic after it settled. But seeing how peaky he is she guides him to the room next to Draco’s on the family hall that Mipsy had prepared and encouraged him to rest.
~~~~~
Narcissa glanced into the room to see the beautiful wounded child, her nephew, her sister’s lost son, napping on top of his bed covers. She smiled and pulled a chair over to sit next to him. After a moment she reached out to tuck the damp strands of hair away from his face-gently, so as not to wake him. She moved to pull out her wand to dry them, then remembered his sensitivity and let him dry naturally. The silky strands felt just like her sister’s had when Bella had allowed her to braid it back when they were girls together. Her heart broke for the child, that he had not been found earlier.
As one of three sisters and cousin to two brothers, Narcissa and her siblings had been in hot demand among the purest families who were always challenged with fertility. Narcissa had been taught to expect that she would be betrothed before she even left Hogwarts. This was even more true for Lucius, whose family had had only one child per generation three times now; the two of them had been genuinely pleased to find they suited each other so well since neither of them had a choice in their betrothal. Many of her friends from school were not so lucky. And she knew from visiting her brother-in-law for holidays that Bella slept apart from him, though she’d had the option of refusing the match and consented anyway. Now perhaps she knew why. She had to wonder, given Bella’s professed and enthusiastic adoration for the Dark Lord, who this Riddle might be.
Narcissa had been ecstatic when Draco came so soon and so easily. She had allowed herself the privilege of hope that whatever curse was on the Malfoy bloodline had been broken and she could have her wish for a large family. But then, despite their best efforts and the assistance of medicine and curse-breakers, no more children had come, or rather no living ones. Until Hadrian. She smiled softly at him, her heart already fully captured by the boy. He was hers, now. She would make sure even if Bella was somehow pardoned and released that her sister could not take him back. The full adoption would take time, even with Lucius’s connections, but they had that.
Hadrian sighed and moved to press his cheek into her palm in his sleep. While Agatha had done the paperwork to sign him over to her care she had told Narcissa that many children coming from situations like his were starved as much for kind touch as they were for food, and that she should make as many opportunities as they both felt comfortable with to fill that need. She smiled again at the sleeping boy and played gently with his hair. It would be no hardship to pet this boy as much as he’d let her. Draco had declared himself too old for that sort of thing when he went to Hogwarts, and she missed the little boy cuddles.
As she played with his hair, he slowly wakened and sleepily slurred a question about lunch. Narcissa smiled at him fondly. They needed to do a little shopping, and she offered to take him to a restaurant she knew. He accepted, and she helped him with selecting a suitable outfit to go into public. With the dreadful clothes he’d been found in, he deserved all the soft, well-fitting outfits she could buy.
Narcissa took him to a favorite restaurant that would allow her to try him on many different things, concerned that the boy didn’t know good food well enough to ask for what he might like.
"I assume you haven't had much experience with fine dining," Narcissa told him gently. "I didn't order anything too adventurous for you, but I wanted to give you a chance to try a variety of dishes."
And she was right. He willingly tried everything without complaint, even the things he clearly didn’t recognize, so much so that she wasn’t entirely sure when he started eating more slowly whether he was overwhelmed or found something he didn’t like. But when she checked whether he’d had enough to eat he smiled while assuring her that he was full. He seemed sincere.
She took him to get measured for some of his own clothes so he could have his own things, which was a very different experience from shopping with Draco. He was so very reluctant to ask for anything that she just started observing what he looked at and adding those items to the purchases she had already planned. The confused look he gave as she bought the cute pair of green boots he’d been admiring very nearly broke her heart. He clearly was more used to being punished for wanting things than to being given what he needed.
So, when the get to Flourish and Blotts, she decided to get the first three years of books in all the subjects. Except Muggle Studies, of course. He hardly needed it, having grown up with them. Rage burned again at how he’d been treated, soothed only by his happy amazement when he saw the third year books in her selections. He further brightened when she acknowledged his claim to be thirteen, and told him that she wanted to see what he was ready for.
Ollivander recognized him as Bella’s son, of course. She had to firmly dissuade him from probing further than he needed to, but he went willingly enough to find a wand for the boy even if he was not pleased to have to do so without his curiosity satisfied first. He may be the most gifted wandmaker of his generation, but he was distinctly odd and she hoped one of the next generation would come soon to replace him.
The boy seems pleased with his new wand, and Narcissa is pleased in turn that despite sharing his mother’s source tree, Ollivander advised the boy that the wand would not be suitable for the kind of vicious magics that Bella preferred. The reassurance eased her heart, even knowing from the scant day she’d known him that the boy took very little after her sister in personality despite their strong physical resemblance.
Narcissa scanned the child’s room, satisfying herself that Mipsy had put everything away properly, then gave the boy an hour of freedom as a reward for his truly excellent behavior. He hadn’t whined once during their busy afternoon, nor expressed any impatience during the more tedious portions such as the measurements for his new clothing.
She went immediately to her writing desk to send a message to Healer Greengrass, to request a visit to assess the boy. She doesn’t include much information in the letter but the swiftness of the reply, coming even before she had completely finished her more comprehensive letter to Snape requesting his assistance in assessing the boy’s education, shows how clearly the implications of that brief request must have been understood.
She meets him again at the library, pleased at his interest in the books there.
"Draco has been at a friend's house for the past week," she tells him, sitting in one of the large leather armchairs in the library and gesturing for him to do the same. "He will be back tonight in time for dinner, and I will introduce you once he arrives. Draco has always wanted a younger sibling, so I expect he'll be very excited to meet you. If his enthusiasm becomes overwhelming, you may tell me at any time."
He seems doubtful, but too polite to express that in words.
Narcissa moves on to speak to him about the plan for his care that she’d been working on during his free hour, and that he will be assessed for what year he should be admitted to Hogwarts.
He protested, again, that he was ready for third year, and seemed so upset about it that Narcissa felt she had to explain. It’s not good for children to have too much coddling, but she also doesn’t want to crush this confidence.
"My decision to tell WCS that your birthday is after the September cutoff was calculated," Narcissa says gently. "I do believe that you are thirteen- or that you were told you were thirteen, at least- but pushing your birthday out allows you an additional year in school. If it's easy, you'll look very smart, and you can study ahead. And if you struggle at first, it's better to have the extra time to catch up."
The boy doesn’t seem much soothed by the explanation, but doesn’t protest again, so she will accept that. He did seem familiar with magic, and Narcissa hoped he would be cleared for second year. But if not, the one advantage of his small size was that no one would know he was behind unless he told them.
When Draco comes home she pulls him aside for a brief and carefully curated explanation before she introduced them to each other. Hadrian seems a little shy and awkward, but she removes herself to let them figure each other out. She trusts Draco to do his best.
Hadrian doesn’t eat much, which worries her, and she isn’t much happier to hear his explanation that he still feels like he ate too much at lunch. She’s glad Greengrass will be coming in the morning, because whether the lack of appetite is due to nerves or something worse, the amount he ate at lunch was not enough for a growing boy to still be full by dinner time.
~~~~
Narcissa watches intently as the healer assesses Hadrian. Both of them see how he flinches at the assessment spells, even the gentler ones.
"We have a little work to do," Healer Greengrass says. "You said Hadrian is twelve? Thirteen in October?"
"Yes," Narcissa says. "He's obviously very small for his age. Some of that is probably natural- his mother is also very short. But even with that…"
"Yes. I'm getting some confusing results about his future height, but his growth has clearly been stunted. He shows signs of starvation as well as extreme emotional and magical stress. The signs of physical abuse are more subtle. Hadrian's magic seems to have healed any injuries quickly. There are some indications that his bones have been broken a number of times, but his magic did a good job fixing most of them cleanly. I do suggest treatment for his right hand, where some of the smaller bones healed incorrectly, because I suspect it makes writing more difficult. Otherwise, we should focus on the malnutrition and catching up on vaccinations."
After Hadrian agreed to the procedure, Narcissa gave consent for the medi-witch to break the malformed bones in his hand so they could be healed straight again. As she was escorting the healer out, however, Narcissa remembered a box she had put away with the children’s learning tools she’d put away when Draco got too old for them, before she had quite given up that he might still have a younger sibling to need them.
Narcissa got out the teaching quill to show to her. The medi-witch examined it and nodded approvingly. “This would actually be good therapy for the hand as it heals, as long as he does not over-use the quill. Fifteen to twenty minutes, twice a day, until the bracing spells wear off. That should do nicely. Then he can use it as much as he likes, or you can set him handwriting lessons. He will certainly need to relearn how to write.”
Narcissa brought the quill to Hadrian that afternoon, after they got back from shopping. He was curled up in one of the library chairs reading but stood up when he saw her, forefinger keeping his place in the closed book and expression wary.
Narcissa smiled, she hoped reassuringly. “I have something for you to try, my dear. The medi-witch said you would need to relearn how to do some things when your hand was corrected, and I thought perhaps you might like to use this to help with your writing.” She showed him the quill. “Have you used one of these before?” she asked.
The boy shook his head so Narcissa showed the marks where he should put his fingers, then pulled out some parchment.
“Say a few words while holding it,” she directed. “The quill will write the letters out for you correctly while you hold it, then guide your fingers as you repeat them yourself, then allow you to write them again on your own. It is self-inking, but if you want the option to have it show you how to dip as well press on the blue mark here. Press it again to restore the self-inking.” She also showed him the writing desk and where the supplies Draco used for his summer work were kept.
When Narcissa she finished the explanation he gave her that half-puzzled half-surprised look that crossed his face every time she’d shown him any basic care so far. It was both heartbreaking and a strong incentive to shower him with enough attention that he would learn not to be surprised any more.
Hadrian willingly tried the quill and seemed quite pleased with the results. Then his face fell.
“My handwriting has always been bad, but I didn’t realize it was because of the bones not healing right,” he said quietly down to his parchment. “I just thought I couldn’t write well.”
Narcissa carefully reached out, watching for a flinch, and when it did not come she laid her hand gently on his shoulder. He leaned slightly into her hand seemingly unaware, as he was still staring at the quill in his hand.
“We will probably find more things that are easier for you now, my dear. I am sorry you had to live with the handicap for so long.”
~~~~
Narcissa notes how distracted Hadrian is, and how little he eats, and frets a little that she cannot give him an appetite stimulator so close to bedtime. That seems to pull his attention back from wherever it’s wandered.
“I can eat a little more,” he says, and goes on to talk a little about the Arithmancy he’s been reading about that afternoon, and his eyes light up. Narcissa glances over at Lucius. Arithmancy is a bit odd for an interest at Hadrian’s age, but promising. He was clearly a bright boy but they knew so very little about his capabilities, aside from his sensitivity to wards and charms.
“What interesting books did you find?” she asked. Hadrian lit up, displaying the first real enthusiasm she’d seen from him, his eyes bright and hands moving as he described some of the topics – potions modification, and ritual magic, and wards. He spoke of them in a way that indicated he had thought through the subjects and formed opinions; this was not boastful ignorance. She looked inquiringly at Draco, who nodded to indicate he had seen the other boy looking at these books, and Narcissa exchanged another glance with Lucius. This is more than an odd interest; he seemed to have truly understood the subjects. They agree wordlessly that if she hadn’t already sent for Snape to come assess him in the morning they would have absolutely done so after dinner.
She asked a few questions about his education. He had been given some magical tutoring, as evidenced by the wand he’d mentioned to the auror team that picked him up, but she hadn’t had much hope that he would have more than the basics. What comes out is horrifying and tragic. He was sent to muggle primary school, and not allowed to make better grades than his false cousin; she can read between the lines that the cousin was not as intelligent as Hadrian clearly is. But somehow he has picked up whatever Muggle equivalent there is of Arithmancy, and the knowledge was transferable.
Narcissa resolved to update Snape before meeting the boy, but Lucius beat her to it. Snape accepted his enthusiasm calmly but Narcissa can tell the man’s interest was piqued. Lucius escorted him in to the library to meet Hadrian and perform his assessment. Narcissa knew better than to allow herself to watch; she has trouble enough concentrating on her own tasks and knew she would have been a distraction as she waited for the results.
Snape came back from his interview with the boy with actual excitement animating his normally impassive face.
“The boy is gifted,” he told Narcissa and Lucius bluntly. “His grasp of Arithmancy, especially given that he has not had any formal education in it, is definitely beyond third year. I will bring in Professor Vector to do a more comprehensive assessment, so expect something from her along with the summer work I will be providing. Regarding his other subjects, he has a firm grasp of the basics for first year, and although there are the usual gaps we often see from children who have only worked with tutors, he should easily be able to handle second year and I will so advise the Headmaster.”***
“Do we know why his guardians declined his admission to Hogwarts?” asked Narcissa, once the decision was made that he should go in as a second year student.
Snape shook his head. “I do not see any evidence he was sent a letter at all. I looked over all the refusals from this year and last along with the interviews the other professors did with the parents for the muggleborns’ parents that did not answer. None of the children match Hadrian, even allowing for the name change. I visited a few of the more promising errors, one of them an orphan who lived with her aunt and cousin, because the decline reason was that she was not coming to school because the letter had incorrectly addressed her as a boy and under her birth name. When none matched, I checked the refusals from three years ago as well because you said he’d initially claimed to be thirteen, but none of them matched either. It would have helped if he had given you the name he was raised under but no child issued a letter matched him.”
Narcissa and Lucius looked at each other. They had been hoping to get that name through this route since he still would not say what it was; the suppressed panic in his eyes when they asked warned them away from pressing too hard for it but this was a real disappointment.
“Is it common for a wixen child, even if they are muggleborn—or appear to be—not to be sent a letter?” asked Narcissa.
“No,” replied Snape. “I have already begun to look into that, because it does not happen by chance that a child is left off the Hogwarts rolls. And if he gives you his former name please send it to me.”
They agreed promptly.
“And this year’s letters?”
Snape smiled. “I will have the invitation sent as soon as possible.”
After Snape stepped through the Floo Lucius went directly to pour each of them a drink. After a few restorative sips Narcissa said “The Black Tapestry did not register his birth. It is disappointing but not surprising the Hogwarts rolls were also blocked.”
Lucius nodded. “I have already been researching the kinds of magic necessary to block the Tapestry. The spells are likely similar for the Roll Book, but I will check.”