Papa never permitted us to settle for very long, as he said that bad wizards were after us and could find and catch us, taking us away from him. I believed him, of course; for, who wouldn't believe such a thing, from their own father, when it's being told to them at least once a day from the time they can talk? It was always just the three of us—Papa, Harry, and I, from the time I could remember, nearly. I did remember a tall man with eyes like mine, and a beautiful woman with my hair, cooing over me and Harry in a beautiful little cottage far away; there was even a cat for company.

We spent many years, on the run, up until the age of six, when we moved to Wicklow, Ireland, at a small period hunting lodge that Papa had acquired for us. Tinting both of our eyes blue so that we more closely resembled him, we attended a Catholic primary school and fit right in. Papa had previously told us that we were a witch and wizard respectively, and told us not to showcase our accidental magic during school hours or on school property. We did our best to listen, although Papa had to alter everyone's memories when Harry inadvertently Apparated up onto the school roof, as well as when I levitated a particularly bothersome boy who was bullying Harry, in the aftermath of him Apparating onto the roof.

Another part of fitting in involved learning Irish, which Harry and I took to with gusto. The lay teachers were very patient with the pair of us, and very impressed with our dedication to our schoolwork, as well as learning the language. Harry favored physical education, while I did everything I could to helping our librarian, so much so that I became her 'little treasure', as I memorized every section of the library, and my favorite books included Half Magic by Edward Eager, Charlotte's Web by E.B. White, and Matilda by Roald Dahl, the latter, for obvious reasons, excited me to no end.

As we continued growing up, however, Harry and I began to see the discrepancy between the two of us, plus Sirius, and the lay teachers, headmaster, and our fellow students. Sirius explained to us about Muggles and wixen folk, and Harry and I fully began to understand that we were a wizard and witch respectively, and, with that, came great gifts, along with the responsibility to keep our world a secret from Muggles. When we learned about the witch trials throughout history, it scared both me and Harry to no end, and we were looking over our shoulders for weeks, wondering if we would be next.

After Harry and I turned eleven, Papa decided that it would be safe to settle for a time, and we were brought to a house in France, leaving Ireland behind. Of course, Papa was quick to correct us, saying that it was called a 'chateau', which was the French word for 'castle'. Harry and I both spoke French, as Papa taught it to us, and we would frequently converse in it, which helped us blend in. It was located in Les Hauts-d'Anjou, and it bordered a pond and beautiful woods. Stables were also on the property, and Harry and I had been taught to ride from a very young age, and it was an activity which we enjoyed immensely.

Papa had explained that his uncle, our great-uncle, Alphard, had unexpectedly passed away and had left him money and numerous properties around Europe. Again, Harry and I didn't question it, and instead were pleased to finally have a semblance of a home. House-elves also lived and worked within the walls of the chateau, and were very attentive to both Harry and me. The pair of us wanted for nothing and, quite soon, began to put on weight, so as we looked much healthier than we'd done in the past.

Five times a week, however, Monday thru Friday, from nine in the morning until four in the afternoon, without fail, Harry and I had tutors come by the chateau to teach us magic. There was Alchemy, Ancient Magic, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Astronomy, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, Magical Theory, Muggle Studies, Potions, and Transfiguration. Papa informed us that there were several magical schools around the globe—he named Hogwarts in Scotland, Beauxbatons in France, Illvermorny in America, and Durmstrang in Northern Europe—but that it would be safer if we were kept at home to learn. No questions were asked, yet again, and I was pleased to work at home immensely.

Professeur Despard, who taught us Defense Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic, Magical Theory, and Transfiguration quickly became a favorite. He was elderly with silvery hair and eyes to match, and was very serious, although very kind as well. When Harry and I were thirteen, he placed a book in front of us and we opened it, reading the words in silence for several moments until the professor got our attention once again.

"Now, what is a Patronus?" he asked, waiting for a moment, and smiled at me when my hand promptly shot up. "Oui, Mademoiselle Noire?" he asked.

I always perked up whenever he called us by our French names. "A Patronus, professeur, is the personification of happiness in the form of either a whisp, which is a Non-Corporeal form, or that of a witch or wizard's spirit animal, which is a Corporal form," I answered Professeur Despard flawlessly.

"Ah, bonne, Mademoiselle Noire," Professeur Despard replied with a quick smile my way, before he turned to Harry. "Now, Monsieur Noir, tell me what one does in order to achieve a Patronus, s'il vous plaît?"

Harry grinned, his green eyes flashing with excitement. "One must think of a happy memory in order to achieve a Patronus in any form, Professeur Despard, and it must be strong enough to draw away dark creatures known as Dementors."

"Ah, bon, Monsieur Noir," Professeur Despard replied. "The incantation for a Patronus is Expecto Patronum. Can the both of you say that?"

"Expecto Patronum," Harry and I replied.

"Very good," Professeur Despard praised, and motioned for us to pick up our wands; although young wixen were typically not permitted to use magic outside of school settings, Papa had told us that Great-Uncle Alphard had equipped special charms around the chateau, so as Harry or I would not be caught out. "Try out your spells then. Remember, happy memories."

Harry, always ready to charge forward, and the older of us by seven minutes, lifted his wand almost immediately. Focusing, he declared, "Expecto Patronum!" and a powerful light surged out of the tip of his wand, almost immediately taking shape of what appeared to be a wolf of some kind, and I gasped, very impressed.

"Ah, bon, Monsieur Noir. A Corporeal Patronus," Professeur Despard praised, before he turned and looked at me. "Perhaps you will be able to produce one as well, Mademoiselle Noire?" he asked me, smiling.

I grinned; I was always up for a challenged. Spacing my feet correctly and holding out my wand, ebony to Harry's holly, I uttered, "Expecto Patronum!" as boldly as I could, and a beam of light all but flew forth from my wand, and I gasped at the beautiful animal shape it took, and discovered that it was a Eurasian Lynx, which Harry and I had frequently spotted running through the woods whilst we were out on horseback.

"Ah, magnifique! I never would have expressed anything less from the pair of you," the man said, beaming at the sight of Harry's wolf and my lynx proceeding to dance around one another with happiness. "All right, then. Enough for today. Class dismissed."

I waited until Harry had gone before I approached our professeur tentatively. "Excusez-moi, Professeur Despard?" I asked softly.

Professeur Despard turned around and smiled at me. "Oui, Mademoiselle Noire?"

I did my best to remain brave. "I was hoping that you would be willing to give me lessons on becoming an Animagus, s'il vous plaît?" I said quickly, greatly daring.

Professeur Despard continued smiling. "I wondered if it would be you or Monsieur Harry asking me for lessons," he remarked. "I always believed it would be you, ma chérie," he said. "Well, we will first have to ask Professeure Lavigne for a Mandrake leaf..."

"A Mandrake leaf?" I asked, confused; not that I disliked my Herbology professeure in any way, although it was neither Harry's or my favorite subject, but the notion of asking for something as inconsequential as a Mandrake leaf was baffling to me. "Whatever for?"

"To place inside your mouth," Professeur Despard replied patiently, and, with a snap of his fingers, a tome came flying out of one of the library shelves, where Harry and I had many of our tutoring sessions. "Here you are," the man said as he handed it over. "Go and get yourself a Mandrake leaf, and look in the appendix for the Animagus transformation. I'm quite positive that your père will be delighted to answer any questions you may have."

When Harry and I went to dinner that evening, in the expansive banqueting hall that the chateau had to offer, with Papa at the head of the table, Harry to his right and me to Papa's left, we all settled in to the soup course first. It was a rich and creamy potato leek soup; my favorite, and I hoped it would bode well for the conversation that evening.

"So, what did Professeur Despard have for you today?" Papa asked us.

"We learned about the Patronus Charm!" Harry cried out, practically bouncing in his chair, which was most undignified for a thirteen-year-old wizard. "Professeur Despard told us that they can turn into animals, your spirit animals, and that they were a symbol of a wixen's happiness at their very core."

"Did they?" Papa asked, swirling his wine in one of the long-stemmed Black family glasses, which he always drank at dinner, and I could tell by the look he was giving me that I had likely explained as much, not our professeur, but let it go. "And did you manage to produce a corporeal Patronus, Harry?"

"Yes, Papa," Harry replied, settling down as Papa's gaze swept over him. "Mine was a rather large wolf."

Papa raised his eyebrows. "Very impressive," he remarked, before turning to me. "And you, ma petite princesse? Did you produce a corporeal Patronus as well?"

"Oui, Papa," I responded, smiling at the attention. "My Patronus was a Eurasian lynx."

Papa smiled dotingly down at me. "Very good," he said, and appeared to be waiting for something as Harry returned to tucking into his dinner.

"Papa?" I asked softly.

"Yes, Matilda?"

"I asked Professeur Despard to help me in achieving my Animagus form," I said softly, and Papa beamed in approval at that. "He gave me a book to study, and Professeure Lavigne has already provided me with a Mandrake leaf."

Papa grinned down at me. "I wouldn't have expected anything less," he told me, and patted my hand happily. "Just so you know, it's entirely likely that your Animagus form and your Patronus Charm will be identical."

I smiled back at him. "That doesn't matter to me, Papa," I replied. "All that matters to me is that I will achieve something great."