The Hollow Beneath Hogwarts

51. My Girl

"An Ceangalanam?" Narcissa sounded genuinely stunned.

That alone was enough to make Draco stare. His mother was rarely surprised by anything. She had survived Lucius Malfoy. The Ministry. The Dark Lord. Several decades of Pureblood politics.

Very little shocked her anymore.

Yet here she stood holding both his wrist and Sloane's. Looking utterly speechless. "No." She shook her head. "It's impossible."

Her eyes moved between the matching marks again. Then back to the teenagers. "We would have known."

"Would we?" Professor McGonagall's calm voice cut through the room.

Narcissa looked up.

The Headmistress smiled gently. "Think about it."

Narcissa frowned.

McGonagall continued. "Why would you have suspected anything unusual?"

Another pause.

"You saw a mark on your son's wrist."

Narcissa nodded. "Of course."

"And you assumed it was a birthmark."

"Naturally."

"There you are then."

Narcissa opened her mouth. Then closed it again. Because annoyingly, the older witch was right. "We never questioned it." She looked down again. "Not once."

Draco watched his mother carefully tracing the symbol on his wrist. Then the one on Sloane's. Comparing every line. Every curve. Every detail.

They were identical. Perfectly identical.

"This is..."

She laughed nervously. Then looked at Joanna. "I mean..."

Another laugh. "We never..."

She gestured vaguely. "How could we..."

Then finally gave up. "Wow."

Kingsley pointed immediately. "My sentiments exactly."

The Minister looked as though someone had just informed him dragons had learned to knit. Part of him looked delighted. Part of him looked confused. Part of him looked ready to demand a sixty-page report.

His eyes shifted to Joanna. Who looked significantly less surprised.

The Minister narrowed his eyes. "Did you know?"

Joanna winced. "A little."

"A little?"

She nodded.

Kingsley folded his arms. His wife immediately looked guilty. The rest of the room suddenly became very interested.

"When?" Kingsley asked.

"Not long after they arrived."

The room fell silent. Joanna pointed towards Sloane. "I saw her mark." Sloane smiled slightly. "I thought it was a tattoo."

Kingsley looked scandalised. "She's fourteen in that memory."

"Exactly." Joanna pointed dramatically. "Which is why I was confused."

The room laughed.

"But when she told me she'd always had it..." Her expression softened. "I began to suspect."

Kingsley looked betrayed. "You never told me."

"I wasn't certain."

"You never tell me anything."