Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

Thea spent a week at St. Mungo's Hospital. Apart from having to drink a bottle of indescribably delicious potion every day, Thea felt that the days were not bad.

When Thea received Dumbledore's letter again, she was engrossed in reading "Breaking Up with the Ghost" by Gilderoy Lockhart in her hospital room. To be honest, although the authenticity of this novel is questionable, its language is quite well-organized.

The sound of an owl pecking at the window interrupted Thea's reading. Although Thea was not happy, she still went over to take the letter and fed the owl some owl food from the window—it was a gift from Neville to Thea.

Watching the owl fly away, Thea slowly opened the letter. The familiar handwriting with its nested circles greeted her eyes. The letter read:

"Dear Thea, please forgive me for not writing to you these past few days." Skipping over the long string of apologies, Thea quickly found the message she wanted:

"...Thea, although your parents are facing some minor troubles right now, they both come from an ancient family..."

"...Your mother is from the Black family, and she has two sisters, meaning you also have two aunts: Narcissa Malfoy and Andromeda Tonks. Upon learning of your whereabouts, they were both very eager to raise you..."

"...If you have time, I will bring your Aunt Andromeda to visit you tomorrow evening..."

"...May you be healthy and happy, Albus Dumbledore."

Thea gleaned two pieces of information from the letter: first, both of her aunts wanted custody of her, but their specific motives were unclear;

Secondly, Dumbledore only mentioned Aunt Narcissa by name, but later arranged for Aunt Andromeda to visit him, so Dumbledore's bias was already quite obvious.

Fortunately, Thea was not a simple 8-year-old girl. She knew Dumbledore's reasons for doing so. Although Narcissa Malfoy was her mother's younger sister, her husband Lucius was the Dark Lord's subordinate. During the post-war reckoning, she managed to exonerate herself through some means.

Dumbledore's approach to such people was to try to isolate himself from the Malfoy family's influence and recommend another "righteous" aunt to him.

Thinking of this, Thea slowly calmed down. Fortunately, Dumbledore's attitude towards her was still friendly. At least, he still treated her as an 8-year-old girl, not as the successor of the Dark Lord.

Thea took out a piece of stationery from the drawer, intending to write a reply to Dumbledore, agreeing to his and Aunt Andromeda's visit the following evening.

"What did you say? Dumbledore visited the Andromeda family??"

When Lucius saw his wife's expression change drastically, he immediately stood up and tried to pull her into his arms, but Narcissa pushed him away: "Luke, I've wanted to see that child for a long time, but you've been stopping me."

"If Dumbledore really gives custody of that child to...that person...I'll never forgive you!"

Seeing that his wife was truly angry this time, Lucius didn't dare to delay and repeatedly assured her, "Cici, don't worry, those old foxes have already agreed to our demands, and custody will definitely be in our hands!"

Seeing that his wife was still somewhat unhappy, Lucius suggested visiting the child that evening. Although this was not in accordance with aristocratic etiquette, Lucius, in order to appease his wife, said: What is etiquette? Is it more important than my wife's happiness?

Just as Thea finished writing her reply to Dumbledore, another letter arrived outside the window. Thea, filled with doubt, took the letter and was about to feed the owl when, to her surprise, the owl gave her a disdainful look and flew away.

Thea examined the letter carefully. The envelope was entirely green, with silver patterns adorning the edges, and the lettering was in a flamboyant, ornate script.

Thea opened the envelope and began to read the contents.

Overall, Thea had only one thought: Could you please tone down that ostentatious display of wealth?! I know nobles appreciate understated luxury, but this is anything but understated!

After venting her frustrations, Thea began to think about her next move. The letter mentioned that her Aunt Narcissa would be visiting her at 7 p.m. that evening.

Thea had read Harry Potter and remembered Narcissa's image: a noble and elegant lady who insisted on the theory of pure blood, loved her son dearly, and valued family ties.

But considering his uncle Lucius, given his own identity and his former status as a Death Eater, he is, for the time being, harmless.

At seven o'clock in the evening, the doorbell rang on time. Thea looked around the ward one last time before running to open the door.

Narcissa's initial nervousness vanished upon seeing Thea's sweet smile. Even though her body was still a little stiff, Narcissa tried to soften her tone and greet Thea: "Hello, Thea, I'm your aunt. You can call me Aunt Cici."

Seeing that Thea obediently called her Aunt Cici, Narcissa's smile widened, and she quickly introduced Thea, "This is your uncle, Lucius Malfoy."

Thea continued to greet people obediently.

Then:"……"

Just as the atmosphere was getting a little awkward, Thea broke the silence and asked first, "Aunt Cici, why haven't you found me all these years?"

Narcissa was a little embarrassed, but still explained earnestly, "Because Thea was very well protected at the time, and then some things happened, Aunt Cici was terrified, and by the time she realized what was happening, Thea was already gone..."

When faced with Thea's questions, Narcissa frankly admitted her mistake and did not give a perfunctory answer or make up a reason to prove that it was not her fault just because Thea was only 8 years old.

“Then Thea can forgive Aunt Cici, because Aunt didn’t mean it,” Thea said earnestly.

Narcissa saw an 8-year-old child earnestly saying words of forgiveness, and couldn't help but reach out and pinch her cheek, then naturally pulled Thea into her arms.

Thea sensed that Narcissa meant no harm, and obediently let Narcissa hold her.

Lucius watched the two of them being all lovey-dovey and coughed slightly, which earned him a disapproving glare from Narcissa.

Thea also noticed her "cheap" uncle's actions, and with a mischievous grin, she withdrew from Narcissa's embrace. Seeing Narcissa glare at Lucius again, Thea couldn't help but curl her lips upward.

“Auntie Sissi, can Thea go see her mother? Thea misses her.” Thea looked at Narcissa with anticipation.