It had been a couple of months since Ophis and Sophia had been adopted, and they were certainly enjoying their new lives. The two new ten-year-olds were living like royals.
Although they hadn't explored the wizarding world much, they were both pleased with exploring the amount of land that was in this castle.
Veronica and Theo were both pleasantly shocked by the talents of both Sophia and Ophis in wandless magic and their respective secrets.
Sophia and Ophis were both sitting on a sofa trying to do magic on their own.
"No matter how hard I try, I just can't turn it into a dragon." Sophia screamed in frustration while focusing on the flame in her hands.
Ophis, on the other hand, was extremely quiet. He was holding a sharp knife and focusing on changing its material.
"Iron, iron, iron." he repeated the words again and again.
The knife, which was made of steel and had a plastic handle, turned into complete iron; however, the sharpness of the blade also disappeared as it became dull.
"It's still incredibly hard to change two properties at the same time." Ophis sighed.
He had discovered that he could only change one property of an object at a time, whether it was size, shape, or weight; he was only able to do one at a time.
"Ughhh. This is so annoying." Sophia screamed again as the flame in her hand dispersed.
"You should calm down; maybe that'll help." Ophis advised.
"Fine." Sophia took deep breaths.
Sophia took one more deep breath before summoning fire. 'Intent, you just have to focus and shape it to a dragon shape.' Sophia thought with focus.
She focused completely on the dragon, losing all attention of her surroundings.
"Feel the magic." she closed her eyes.
The energy was all around her, however, she especially noticed the large concentration in her hand.
"Mold it." she put her focus into the flame.
Trying her best to mold the magic in her hands and try to imagine a dragon shape.
She felt a pain in her head but didn't stop. What she needed now was extreme focus.
Ophis, too, was focusing on the task at his hand; the knife was constantly changing its shape and material.
The two of them were so lost in thought that they didn't see the two people walk in front of them.
"Hey, what-" Veronica was cut off when Theo put a finger on her mouth.
His eyes were filled with curiosity. He was extremely surprised as he saw Sophia change the shape of the flame in her hands.
"These two are real monsters." he muttered to himself.
One was creating and changing the size of a flame that she had created, while the other was changing the shape and material of an object in his hands.
'One had control over charms while the other, transfiguration? Well, it does look like transfiguration.' he thought while looking at them.
Veronica was also surprised by the two children; when she heard them say that they knew they could use magic, she didn't actually think that they could use magic.
"I did it!" Sophia exclaimed while staring at the flame in her hand, which had now turned into a dragon.
Ophis was also smiling, seeing the blade in his hand; he was extremely proud. The small kitchen knife had turned into a dagger made out of iron and with a wooden handle.
The two of them, however, quickly went out of their excitement as they saw the two people in front of them.
"That certainly was impressive." Theo complimented.
"Theo, look at them, they're so strong already." Veronica said with a smile.
"Uhmm, good morning?" Sophia said while looking at them.
"How long have you been doing magic for?" Theo asked.
"About two years." she answered nervously.
"That is certainly impressive." Theo said with his hand on his chin.
"What do you think if you learn from a teacher?" Theo asked them.
"No! I'll teach them." Veronica quickly pushed away her husband's thoughts.
"Aren't you busy?" Theo asked.
"No, I got a year's leave after the previous mission; I still have around six months of leave left. I will teach these two myself." she told him quickly.
"Well, if you want to. Now you two, when were you going to tell us about this?" Theo asked in a stern voice.
"Uhh, uhh." Sophia started to stutter.
"When we could trust you." Ophis said without hesitation, much to the shock of Sophia.
Theo chuckled at his response.
"That's good to hear; you're cautious with others. It's a good trait, however, you shouldn't be overly cautious." he told him with a smile.
Sophia was again shocked, seeing that Theo wasn't mad with them.
"So, Ophis, do I have your trust?" he asked.
"No, not yet." Ophis answered truthfully.
'What the hell is this guy doing!' Sophia stared at Ophis in frustration.
"May I ask why?" he asked.
"You say you wanted to adopt two random children. Yet both of us have magic. I know practically nothing about you, not even your age." Ophis told him.
"Well, I suppose that is a good reason to doubt me." Theo told him with a smile.
"Well then, Ophis. My name is Theo Flaming, I'm forty-five years old, and Minister of Magic and would have been Lord Flaming, if not for my title as Minister." he said with a smile.
"Lord Flaming? There's no Flaming family in the Sacred Twenty Eight?" Sophia asked in confusion.
"Well, the Flaming family was made a part of the Sacred Twenty Eight, as my dear wife killed the Avery family and a replacement. Luckily or unluckily, my lineage is made up of pure-bloods and I have a relation to Nicholas Flamel. So it was decided that the Flaming family would be a part of the Sacred Twenty Eight." Theo explained.
"So you adopted us because you needed an heir?" Ophis asked.
"No, why would you think that? We adopted you because we wanted to adopt." Veronica said, feeling hurt.
"Oh, sorry." Ophis quickly muttered.
"Although now that I do think of it, making you my heir isn't that bad of an idea." Theo said with a smirk.
"But you don't know if I'm a Pure-blood." Ophis said.
"What makes you think that, Ophis Malfoy?"
Ophis felt his heart skip a beat.
'How'd he-' He was brought out of his thoughts by the chuckling of Theo.
"Hoh, you should've seen the look on your face, kid. It was priceless." he said with a smirk.
"How'd you know?" Ophis asked quietly.
"Platinum blonde hair and green eyes, it's pretty hard not to think of a certain family. At first, I thought it was a coincidence, however, after seeing you do magic, I was sure." Theo paused.
"I had heard of a Malfoy child dying, but I didn't expect you to be here." he told truthfully.
"So, Ophis, let me ask you this. Why were you in that orphanage?" Theo asked.
Ophis looked at the ground for a second, contemplating what he should do next.
"They banished me." he answered.
This took the couple aback. A Malfoy being banished. That was something unheard of.
"Why?" Veronica asked.
"They thought I was a squib." Ophis's voice was low but still loud enough for the people in the room to hear.
"Huh?" It was Sophia who was confused. She had never learned why Ophis was banished, so hearing this was quite the shock.
"You don't seem like a squib to me." Theo looked at him in confusion.
"I don't know. They did a ritual with me and my brother; it was a circle on the ground. My circle didn't glow, that's why they thought I was a squib." Ophis gritted his teeth, thinking about them made his blood boil.
"A ritual you say?" Theo looked at his wife.
"It's going to be hard to get them convicted for it. Most families in the Sacred Twenty-Eight do rituals on their kids. Plus, the Malfoys are extremely influential; one wrong step and we'll be the one facing consequences." Veronica answered her husband's thoughts.
"Hmm, this will be difficult." Theo said while touching his beard.
"Anyway, let's leave that for now. Since you are a pure-blood, why do you say. Do you want to become the heir of Flaming? Currently, Veronica is the one who takes our seat in the Wizardgamot." Theo gave the offer to Ophis.
Ophis went into deep thoughts for a second.
"No, I don't have time to deal with politics." he declined firmly.
"Hah. Hahahhaha." The couple started to laugh at the reply.
"You know, kid, there are people who would kill to be a part of a family in the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Imagine what they would do to be the heir." Theo looked at him with a smile.
"Why do people care about being in the Sacred Twenty-Eight anyway?" Ophis asked in genuine confusion.
"The Sacred Twenty-Eight are families who have been Pure-blood for over a thousand years. Being a part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight allows you to pass laws; you have power that can send people to jail. If you are affiliated with them, it's extremely easy to land a high-paying job." Theo answered.
"So they want it to get power?" He asked.
"Basically," came the reply.
"Fine. I'll be your heir." If he could get power, he would do anything to get it.
"So greedy about power are you. Well, I guess I was as ambitious as you when I was your age. However, don't let power consume you. It's the reason why Dark Lords exist." Theo told him with a serious voice.
"Now anyway, I have a surprise for both of you." Veronica quickly said with excitement.
The two of them looked at her in confusion.
Their eyes widened when they saw two pieces of parchment in her hands.
"Is that-" Sophia was cut off.
"Your Hogwarts acceptance letter? It sure is." she said with happiness.
Sophia got up from the sofa in excitement, while Ophis smiled a little.
"Well, don't get too excited just yet. You still have a year, and for half that year, I will be teaching you." Veronica said.
Sophia ignored her and went to grab the letter. However, as she was about to grab it, Veronica pulled it back.
"Nuh uh. You will get these letters when I think you are ready to get them." Veronica said while putting the letter in the pocket of her robe.
"Hey, that's unfair." Sophia whined.
"Life's unfair; you have to deal with it." Veronica said, getting serious.
"Fine." Sophia grumbled.
"Anyway, I think this calls for a celebration!" Veronica's voice turned into one of excitement again.
"Say, what do you guys think of Disneyland?" Veronica said while holding four tickets in her hands.
Sophia's eyes widened in excitement, while Ophis stared at the tickets.
"Before that, it's time for us to eat." Veronica said with a smile.
"Let's go, quickly," Ophis said hurriedly.
"It seems someone is a bit excited to go to Disneyland." Veronica said with a cheeky smile.
"No, I'm not." Ophis quickly countered, trying to save his reputation.
"Sure you aren't," Sophia said sarcastically.
"Well then, let's get to it." Ophis grumbled quickly.
The four tickets had changed the atmosphere of the room immediately as the small family started to make jokes and have fun together.
However, after their little trip, Theo had to face some ridicule.
"Minister pfft caught wearing Minnie Mouse Ears pfft." Veronica tried to stop herself from laughing after seeing the picture below the headline.
"Just laugh." Theo said, annoyed by the picture.
It was a picture of him on a roller coaster wearing the Minnie Mouse ears, making a not-so-pleasant face.
"I'm gonna kill the one who made this." he said with seriousness.
This caused the three other people to burst out into laughter.
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