Next morning was calm and it took Flora some time to remember that everything that had happened in the recent days was true. In fact, she really was in her aunt and uncle’s house in a London suburb. Her body was aching because of the awkward night-sleep. She stood up and stretched slowly like a cat. Through the window, she admired the size of the garden. It seemed odd to her that those wealthy persons could be interested in more money. She gave a big yawn. Then, it occurred to her that they could have lost everything, and that the wealthy world they lived in was a fake one, as this happened with some frequency in Brazil.

She dressed slowly with a light clothing, although was still thinking it would a bit of heat, since the previous day had been rather sultry. She did not hear any noise from the house, and then assumed that the uncles were still asleep. So Flora thought it best to wait in the room until they called her. While sending ‘so far, so good’ messages to her husband through her Smartphone, somebody knocked on the door. It was her aunt calling her for breakfast.

They went downstairs to a room closer to the kitchen than the dinning-room of the previous night. It also looked lighter than the dinning-room, since its furniture was painted in clearer colours. Therefore, it was better suited for a breakfast. She laughed at herself for noticing that.

Her aunt told that her uncle had left early because of business matters. Then, the ladies would go to Diagon Alley, bank, and shops by themselves Narcissa smiled and Flora smiled in response. While eating a slice of toast with honey, Flora asked, curiously and apprehensive, how they would go to Diagon Alley, just imagining the two of them mounted on broomsticks. Narcissa said:
"There are Several means of transport, but this time we’ll go by car , because I'm afraid you're not used to them and you might get a little sick. Is it alright for you, dear?"

Flora nodded and returned to the room to get her handbag, while her aunt waited in the hall. After a little trip and a lot of chattering away, they got to the Leaky Caldron in London. It was an uncared and dark pub. A metal plate hung in its facade. The image of a witch stirring something in a leaked caldron was engraved in it. Flora marvelled at the plate. She would like to have one in her house, perhaps in the kitchen. The barman nodded his head greeting Mrs. Malfoy and looked at Flora with a curious look. Flora nodded in return before going with her aunt to the back of the bar. Once in there, her aunt opened a portal in the wall with her wand by lightly touching the bricks. Startled, Flora understood she was in the famous Diagon Alley, a sinuous and narrow street, with shops on both sides, and packed with persons dressed like... like her! She was astonished at seeing that wizarding people do not adopt Muggles’ fashion. She must have inherited it genetically as she never understood all those different looks or the purpose of matching so many different colours. So, she always opted for something more sensible.

The two women walked side by side, Narcissa showed the stores to Flora while she told to her niece what might be found in each of them in a very formal and polite way. The day was pleasantly warm and sunny, there was a slight breeze cooling the surroundings, which seemed a little different than it was a few yards away, before entering the bar, but Flora saw no fan or something like that. While walking, she noted that it would be an ordinary business street if the shops did not sell the oddest goods, as one could see from the signs in front of them. Flora, wondering at all that, said to her aunt that she did not know what to do first. Her aunt smiled and suggested that they should start in the bank to enjoy the shopping later on with money in their purses.

The Gringotts Bank stood majestically at the end of the street. It was a mighty building that did not look at all like the other ones. Flora’s aunt warned her niece not to feel unease in the presence of the bank workers, since they were goblins.

“Try to behave naturally and all will be well.”

After walking all the way through the alley, certainly, nothing else could astonish her. Flora thought, and she would not be at all surprised with the bank goblins.

After went up a big white marble staircase, they entered the bank through two huge doors that were guarded by goblins - ugly little men, dressed in red and gold uniform, who barely looked at the two witches as they passed, as noted Flora . The doors opened into a large hall where there were hundreds of these ugly little men at working, serving wizards and witches with exotic looks. Few seemed to notice their entry. Flora thought the Gringotts looked very similar to a Swiss bank, even though she had never entered one before. Distracted she looked in all directions when, shortly at the entrance a goblin come to meet them, and gave her a mistrustful look; he then asked Mrs. Malfoy whether she would do any withdrawal.

“No, thanks I’m only helping Mrs. Flora, my niece. She is the one that is going to do a withdrawal from my sister’s vault.”

He examined Flora from top to toe and replied:

“Naturally. Please ladies, follow me. I’ll take you down to the vault.”

The three of them went to the back of the bank, went through over a large double door and followed in a kind of little wagon trough a kind of an underground roller coaster until they got to a vault. Flora was urged to climb down, get in the vault which opened with her hand touch, and pick as much money as she wanted. Although admired with the fortune lying over there, she got only five golden coins. With a smile of kindness and amusement, her aunt told her to fill up her bag: “we’re women and we’re going shopping”.

Flora realized she had passed a sort of test, because if she weren’t the true heir of the fortune, she wouldn’t have been able to do that withdrawal. Narcissa's eyes on her had changed, she seemed more relaxed and affectionate as should be a real aunt, Flora thought. After leaving the bank, the ladies seemed old friends laughing and chatting in high-spirit.

They got in just about every shop, while her aunt excitedly told her a number of possibilities of each strange object they saw. She also, repeated all the time that she didn’t believe how her niece had survived without all that. At her aunt’s unusual happiness, Flora was sure that the English lady had never had a day like that before.

Finally, they got in the wand shop. The store seemed empty. It had its walls covered with shelves with boxes and boxes of identical appearance and labelled with yellow labels whose text was not possible to identify the distance that they were. Flora felt as if she was a child about to live a dream come true. She felt her hands in a cold sweat at the same time she could not undo the smile on her face - and those two things seemed incompatible. "And if no wand work with me? If I don't have enough magic to turn it on?" Thought Flora, looking at her aunt and almost suggesting to return at another time. At this moment, a young, tall, and lanky man, with very clear eyes, black and long hair tied in a ponytail, and wearing on top of his clothes a long cloak and a working apron that had an only pocket full of things, came to serve them. He introduced himself as Petrus Ollivander, and like everyone in the Alley, he already knew Narcissa. Flora introduced herself by her first name and he started to show her wands. He noticed she had never bought a wand before, so he gave her explanations about the material they were made of, their magic core and everything else that might interest her. Flora tested a lot of wands by trying to reproduce in her mind some of the spells she had learned from reading the book the night before. She was not very successful until she found her very wand.

“Willow with a core made of unicorn hairs, swishy, 9 inches long. A great wand for casting spells.”

Flora picked it in her hand, and then it flashed silver sparks. Excited, she immediately tested a spell by making the wand box float in the air. She used non-verbal command to do that, as she would be ashamed if she said the words Wingardium Leviosa and no actual effects were produced.

“It works!!!!”

Then, it was true, thought Flora, they’re not just tricks of illusionism, it was real magic... She was caught in her thoughts, admiring the wand in her hand, and its box floating in the air, when came in a very old and hunched man with silver eyes and little hair from among the shelves. He smiled and said:

“Of course it works, my dear...Mrs?”

“Mrs. Flora... Riddle, sir...”

Flora was so excited with the wand that she did not even notice she had used for the first time her birth surname. It came out very naturally, probably due to the thrill of that moment when she finally was experiencing the sense of being a real witch.

However, the man went uneasy just with the reference to that name. Narcissa came forward and said to him that Flora was from overseas. He seemed to relax, but just a bit. His silver eyes examined Flora that looked back at him with kindness to dissolve that uneasiness.

“The same eyes...” remarked old Ollivander. Then, he looked at Narcissa and asked her:

“Is she your niece?”

Narcissa nodded. He raised his eyebrows and nodded as he commented:
“Very interesting ... Riddle, aren't you?”

Narcissa smiled confirming that she could no longer deny or hide and they paid for the wand. Her aunt pulled Flora's hand and took her out of the shop almost hurriedly without mentioning anything else.

Away from the shop, Narcissa talked briefly in a low voice:

“Although everyone knew your parents, our people never understand them well. Many a time your father made use of...how will I put it? Unethical means to get his aims.”

Flora understood everything. She should not be proud of her origin as her parents had not been good people, but criminals, perhaps. She felt as if someone had punched in the stomach and was without air for a few moments. Disgusted, she looked at all the shopping bags and money she was carrying. She did not want any dirty money. She almost dropped everything on the pavement. She regretted having said the name Riddle. But it was too late. Apparently someone at the bank, perhaps that witch dressed in green-blue talking to a goblin…someone she had not paid much attention to, but that had stopped a moment her conversation when Narcissa mentioned the word "niece" ... Yes, it was her! As Flora noted, the same witch who went from shop to shop gossiping. And right now she was leaving Ollivander with a look of amazement. Within minutes everyone on the street looked at Flora showing a variety of emotions: shock, horror; some of them revered her, or winked and smiled at her. A woman prevented her little child from getting near Flora by crossing the street to the opposite footpath when she walked by.

Her aunt caught her by the hand, saying:

“Come, baby.”

She felt her stomach tug, and the world spun in turmoil. In the blink of an eye she was back to her the Malfoy Manor. Her aunt did not tell her anything, walked quickly to order an employee who was tending the garden to fetch the car in London. Flora noted Narcissa’s silence, still feeling some nausea and stomach pain, without knowing for sure if it was due the way they had returned or those conditions which made them out in a hurry. For a moment, Flora was out of control, and started screaming at her aunt. Then sorry about her attitude, she lowered her voice and added:

“Please we need to talk.”

Instinctively, Flora, afraid of what her aunt would say, touched the wand that was still in its box. However, she knew that it would have little or no use, since she only had memorized some basic spells that were taught to children.

Her aunt took her to a small but very beautiful winter garden. There, she invited her nice to sit in a purple iron swing. Flora could not disguise her anxiety, and panted. It was as if she had rushed to get there.

She sat down, and apologized.

“It is me that have to apologize to you”, her aunt answered. “You shouldn’t have come. Nevertheless, my husband was too excited when he learned that Voldemort had left a daughter. He was curious ... Tom Riddle, better known as Lord Voldemort, had a great aversion to Muggles, the ordinary persons.” Narcissa said whispering and looking scared, but with a firm voice. “ He saw them as inferior beings that had no reason to exist. What if he knew his daughter was raised like a Muggle? He was very powerful, and put off of his way all those that were against him.”

She paused briefly, then continued as if not noticing Flora' startled eyes:

“Yes, very powerful... My sister, her husband, my husband, and many others stood to him and followed him. I’ve always stood aloof, since I thought I shouldn’t poke about these matters.However, Lord Voldemort met a wizard that was his match. When this wizard was still a baby, he weakened Voldemort to the point that everyone thought he was dead. This must have been shortly after your birth - I guess, though I hadn't kept up with my sister's pregnancy, as she didn't have acted like she was pregnant ... Well, after the supposed death of Voldemort, his followers, like my sister and her husband went to prison. Lucius managed to deny his involvement and was let free. It seemed everything would be all right ... That boy I told you about is called Harry Potter. Potter grew up just like you, away from our world. He learnt magic when he was 11 at school, Hogwarts, and soon he was persecuted for his fame and his fate, poor thing…”

Narcissa paused briefly once again with her stare lost sometime in the past. Then, as if waking up, she continued:

“Ahn, well… Meanwhile, Voldemort returned even stronger; formed a new army, and freed the Death Eaters, as the followers of Lord Voldemort were called. He was obsessed with the idea of destroying whoever had defeated him, so that he could reassert his power. Our people were divided. Some were very afraid, as a few of them that had openly opposed Lord Voldemort vanished or went crazy. Even so, a group of people who believed they could live peacefully with the Muggles joined Harry Potter. They were the remnants of a group of wizards and witches who had opposed the Lord in the past, and called themselves the Order of the Phoenix. I was already involved in all this, since my husband was a Death Eater. As Voldemort didn’t forgive defectors, so I feared for my family. With that I had no choice than to join the Death Eaters..

“Times were hard then. There was a battle at Hogwarts School, many died on both sides. Finally, Harry Potter and his supporters won. Harry saved Draco’s life. I am very grateful to him. My sister and Voldemort, her lover and your father, died in that battle. After the Dark Lord’s fall, we were all jailed in Azkaban. My brother-in-law died there. I got a shorter sentence – just two weeks - because I didn’t participate directly in it all. Draco also had his sentence reduced – it was just over a month, thanks to the testimony of Harry Potter, who made it clear that my son had had no choice, since he had been forced to take part in it because of Lucius’ involvement. Lucius, though, got the longest sentence: fifteen years. He just didn’t get a longer sentence for having been accused of cowardice by the other Death Eaters – that said he didn’t use to kill, but only to injure or torture his opponents. Lucius showed repentance… However, this time there will be no return, even if I have to fight against it." She concluded firmly.

Flora was shocked, and for the first time in her life she had nothing to say. Her aunt took her breath and went on:

“It was many years ago, but we’ve lived in peace ever since. Lucius became a quiet, simple, and home loving man. He retired and has avoided going out. But since he learned of you, he got interested in doing “business” again, and started going out every day, as when he was working. Before going to Brazil, he spent a long time travelling, although we don’t know where to. He doesn’t seem to be sane. I'm terrified.”

“Draco is right to be angry with his father. My son owes much to Potter, including his employment in the ministry. He didn’t want to accept it at first, because he can’t bear being in anybody’s debt. Nevertheless, Potter persuaded him into accepting it by saying that someone who’s grown up watching his father tinker with the dark arts is better able to identify them than anybody else – Potter said he needed my son’s help. Therefore, Draco took the job at the ministry. Nevertheless, he thinks Potter placed him there to watch him closely, which wouldn’t be necessary, as we want to live in peace with everyone else.”

Flora swallowed. The words she wanted to say would not come out. She took a deep breath and tears began to streak down her face. Her shock was too great. She took the hand of her aunt who also got emotional, looked deep in her eyes and said:

“On my part, nothing will disturb your peace.”

Flora reasoned that perhaps the best way of preventing such a disaster was to forget it altogether: "I’ll renounce the magical world, to protect it from all the evil power latent in me" she thought but had not commented on anything with Narcissa, because she wanted time to think about that.

They heard Lucius arrive at home. Excitedly, he told them he had called some friends for dinner. The two women exchanged glances. Flora soothed her aunt:

“Quiet down, I think I know what to do.”