Evading Lucius's Scrutiny

"Dark Wizards were evil and cunning, with no end of despicable tricks. For all we know, that black-haired boy could be one in disguise!"

The Malfoys considered themselves a noble, ancient family. Their ancestor Adman had followed William the Conqueror and helped him claim the throne, amassing untold wealth and gaining an estate in Wiltshire, where he built Malfoy Manor for his descendants.

They had made their fortune through Muggles, yet once the International Statute of Secrecy came into force, they cut ties with them, embraced pure-blood ideology, and used their wealth to help favored candidates become Minister for Magic.

The Malfoys excelled at stirring up trouble without leaving evidence. In Harry Potter, Lucius had a hand in plenty of wrongdoing, but the Main Character Group could never pin anything on him. He had inherited his ancestors' serpentine nature perfectly.

Wizards had a saying about the Malfoy family: you would never find a Malfoy at the scene of a crime, even if their fingerprints covered the wand used to commit it!

Luo Bin was certain Lucius Malfoy had funded the Dark Wizard experiments. He met Lucius's probing stare without flinching!

"Interesting!"

Lucius cast a spell that drew Luo Bin to his side. He touched his wand to the boy's temple and pulled out a silvery strand, then dropped it into the Pensieve.

"Lucius, I strongly object to what you've done!" Dumbledore stepped forward and shielded Luo Bin behind him, displeasure plain in his voice.

"I'm sure you understand the danger Dark Wizards pose. Checking him thoroughly is for the good of the Wizarding World!"

Lucius wrapped himself in a noble cause no one could argue with. His face cold, he plunged his head into the Pensieve!

An infant wailed in his swaddling clothes, abandoned outside an orphanage;

At three, he displayed strange powers. Silver plates, knives, and forks flew everywhere, making the nuns shriek;

From three to ten, the other orphans bullied him relentlessly, throwing stones at him and calling him a freak;

At eleven, a Dark Wizard abducted him;

A smile tugged at Lucius's lips. Soon he would know whether the experiment had succeeded!

The black-haired boy endured one agonizing ordeal after another. With only a breath of life left in him, he was thrown onto the rocks. Then Dumbledore arrived with Fawkes, killed the Dark Wizard, and cast a healing spell on the boy;

Lucius jerked his head out of the Pensieve. Without even wiping his face, he blurted in disbelief, "How is that possible?"

When Lucius pressed his wand to the boy's temple again, Dumbledore intervened. "Lucius, he's only a young wizard who hasn't learned magic yet. Legilimency wouldn't have been mistaken!"

Thinking of all the money he had poured into the project, Lucius's expression darkened further. "He survived a Dark Magic experiment. I'm taking him to the Ministry of Magic for questioning!"

He had a feeling the black-haired boy was hiding something. If he could uncover that secret, the Malfoy family would rise to glory once more.

"Lucius, I'll say it again. He's an innocent young wizard!"

The Ministry of Magic was already infested with vermin. Even if the poor young wizard behind Dumbledore had not been a rare Animagus, Dumbledore would still have found a way to protect him!

"Dumbledore, he isn't a Hogwarts student yet. You have no right to stop me from taking him!"

"Thank you for reminding me!"

The Elder Wand tapped lightly at empty air, and a thick envelope drifted down into Luo Bin's hand!

Its shield-shaped crest bore the letter H, surrounded by a lion, an eagle, a snake, and a badger. It was a Hogwarts acceptance letter!

The envelope read: "Robin Sear, atop the rubble at the center of Kedrona Island."

Luo Bin hurriedly opened it!

[Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: Albus Dumbledore (President of the International Confederation of Wizards, President of the Wizards' Association, Order of Merlin, First Class)

Dear Mr. Robin Sear: We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Enclosed is a list of required books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We look forward to receiving your reply by July 31.

Yours sincerely, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore.]

The headmaster had written the acceptance letter on the spot, so it differed a little from what Luo Bin remembered. Clutching the envelope, he said solemnly, "Mr. Dumbledore, I'll be there when term starts!"

"Lucius, on May 31, 1991, I received Robin Sear's reply. He is now an incoming Hogwarts student, and any member of the school staff has the right to stop you from taking him away!"

Lucius's face turned utterly grim. At last, he sneered. "Dumbledore, you can't protect him forever. My son, Draco Malfoy, is starting at Hogwarts this year too!"

With a tap of his wand, he Disapparated. The Aurors scattered to search for evidence Hendry and James had left behind.

"Little one, are you afraid of the Malfoys?"

Luo Bin feared neither the opportunistic Lucius nor Draco, so he shook his head.

"Good. Hogwarts welcomes young wizards with courage!"

"Mr. Dumbledore, that concealment you mentioned earlier..."

"Little one, I think you've already learned how to hide the fact that you're an Animagus, haven't you?"

Dumbledore had guessed right. When Lucius used Legilimency on him, Luo Bin had struggled to draw a thread of magic from the Red Sphere and alter the memory he saw. Yet even Alteration, the simplest technique in the Phoenix Inheritance, had nearly drained him dry, let alone anything more advanced!

"If he tries Legilimency again, I won't be able to hide it!"

"Then let me give you another barrier to conceal your identity."

Dumbledore's question had been a test of the black-haired boy. He had seen shock, confusion, deep thought, and uncertainty in Luo Bin's eyes, but not a trace of hatred, resentment, or any other dark emotion. He was more certain than ever that the boy would grow into a powerful wizard!

He took out the Elder Wand and touched it to Luo Bin's forehead. As he silently recited a spell, a pale green glow flowed into Luo Bin's body, traveled along his channels to his abdomen, and wrapped the Red Sphere completely.

"There. How do you feel?"

Luo Bin shrugged. "No different."

"That's how it should be! Now, little one, do you want to return to the orphanage, or come with me to Hogwarts early?"

Go back to the orphanage?

After the old headmistress died, the boy whose body Luo Bin now inhabited had felt no attachment to the place. He had taken a cloth sack of hard bread and wandered off. While heating a scavenged tin of food in a grove with his strange power, he had caught the Dark Wizard's attention!

If even the original boy had wanted nothing to do with the orphanage, Luo Bin wanted to return even less. "No one at the orphanage wants me. I'd like to go to the Wizarding School!"

"Muggles don't know magic exists. When they encounter a young wizard with magic, it's natural for them to be afraid, keep their distance, or reject him. Once term starts in September, I'm sure you'll make friends who truly care about you!"

With a wave of his wand, Dumbledore summoned Fawkes. His enormous body and striking appearance left Luo Bin staring!

The Fire Phoenix Luo Bin had seen in the vast white space matched the description in Blue Star's Classic of Mountains and Seas: a chicken's head, a swallow's throat, a snake's neck, a turtle's back, and a fish's tail. Sacred and proud. Fawkes, by contrast, looked like a huge red bird assembled from mismatched parts and covered in multicolored scales, so full of magic it almost overflowed. His eyes, though, held a holy compassion!

"Climb aboard, little one. Fawkes can hardly wait to spread his wings!"

Luo Bin took Dumbledore's hand and used the pull to swing himself onto Fawkes's back. Dumbledore cast a protective barrier and patted Fawkes. With several piercing cries, the great red bird beat his wings and lifted off, carrying them both away from Kedrona Island.