Chapter 1: A Letter from Capet Manor, Why Is It a Miss Malfoy? (Patreon)

July 28, 1991. Capet Manor, on the outskirts of London.

Afternoon sunlight filtered through the mottled stained-glass window and spilled across a long, dusty walnut desk. Eleven-year-old Raven Capet closed the yellowed copy of An Overview of Medieval Defence Against the Dark Arts in his hands and gently rubbed the space between his brows. A calm far too mature for his age flickered through his black eyes, deep as a still pool.

He had been in this magical world for exactly eleven years now.

He was the last direct heir of the ancient European pure-blood Capet family.

Unfortunately, his parents had both died years ago in a clash between Dark wizards. All that remained of the once-great Capet family was an empty, silent manor and a vault with barely enough gold for daily expenses.

Tap, tap, tap—

The crisp rapping broke into Raven's thoughts. On the windowsill, a fluffy brown owl was tapping its beak against the glass, a heavy parchment envelope clamped in its mouth.

The envelope was made of thick, costly parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink: Mr. R. Capet, Top-Floor Study, Capet Manor, Surrey.

He turned it over. On the back was a seal of dark red wax, stamped with an ancient crest: a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake encircling a capital "H".

The Hogwarts acceptance letter had finally arrived.

The instant Raven's fingers touched the envelope, a cold, ethereal mechanical voice rang out deep inside his mind:

[Host has made formal contact with a main-plot fulcrum...] [The "Causality Reversal System" has been activated!]

[Currently bound world: Harry Potter (Slightly Mutated Timeline)]

[System description: By altering the established historical course of the original story, breaking plot anchors, or provoking intense emotional reactions in key original characters (shock, resentment, a broken composure, etc.), the Host earns "Causality Reversal Points", which can be spent to draw exclusive traits, ancient spells and mystery boxes.]

[Newbie gift pack delivered: Congratulations! You have received the talent traits [Spellcraft Mastery Instinct (Extremely High Comprehension)] and [Pure-Blood Elegant Bearing (Natural Poise)]!]

A warmth like clear spring water surged through his limbs and bones. His already sharp senses grew keener still.

Raven let out a long breath, and the corner of his mouth curved in a faint smile. "A cheat that's eleven years late. It's finally arrived."

Still, one phrase in the System's message caught his attention: "Slightly Mutated Timeline"?

Lost in thought, Raven pulled open the bottom drawer of the desk, meaning to dig out some spare change to buy the owl a treat.

Deep in the drawer, besides a few silver Sickles, lay last week's Daily Prophet and a fine roll of parchment sealed with lead and wrapped in silver ribbon.

It was something his late father had left behind.

Raven idly shook out the old newspaper, his gaze drifting carelessly over the front-page headline. Then, abruptly, his eyes froze.

The front-page photograph showed a lavish pure-blood charity banquet at the Ministry of Magic.

Lucius Malfoy, gaunt and gripping his serpent-headed cane, still wore his signature sleek pale-blond hair, his expression haughty and cold. But the one nestled at his side was not the greasy, slicked-back, smirking little brat Raven remembered.

It was a girl.

She looked about eleven, her features so exquisite they bordered on fussy, her skin fair as snow. Platinum curls bright as moonlight tumbled over her shoulders. She tilted her delicate little chin upward, and her clear, water-gray-blue eyes were like the thin ice that forms in early winter. Even in the black-and-white moving photograph, her arrogance and noble disdain were unmistakable, the kind a girl acquires from being doted on by her entire family.

The caption beneath read: The Malfoy Family's Radiant Jewel: Miss Draconia Malfoy Makes Her Debut in Society, Mr. Lucius Calls Her the Pride of the Pure-Blood Future.

"Draconia Malfoy?" Raven raised an eyebrow, his expression strange. "...Not Draco Malfoy, but a young lady?"

In his past life he had read the original books cover to cover, and he knew that sharp-tongued brat who couldn't go five minutes without "my father will hear about this" all too well. Yet in this mutated world, the Malfoy heir had become a little peacock, born with a silver spoon in her mouth and fawned over by the entire pure-blood circle?

Raven's gaze fell on the parchment roll tied with silver ribbon beside him. He undid the ribbon and unfolded the yellowed sheet. The contract text at the top was written with high-grade anti-forgery magic, and in the lower right corner were branded the Capet family's soaring eagle crest and the Malfoy family's twin-serpent crest.

It was a [Pure-Blood Family Alliance Memorandum], drawn up ten years ago by the two old family heads.

One strikingly prominent clause, an ancient pure-blood rule, stated that if the descendants of both houses were of compatible genders, a mutual-aid marriage contract would be established once they came of age.

"Interesting." Raven's fingertip lightly stroked the cold Malfoy serpent crest, a glint of mockery in his eyes. "A platinum-haired young lady, doted on by Lucius since birth and proud to the marrow..."

"By the original script, she'd be heading to Madam Malkin's this afternoon to be fitted for her school robes, wouldn't she?"

Alter the plot's course? Provoke violent emotional swings in an important original character?

Raven closed the contract and unhurriedly tucked it inside his coat, then picked up the Hogwarts letter from the desk, his movements graceful and composed.

"If I show up at her door with a marriage contract, just to call off the engagement... I imagine it'll be an unforgettable 'surprise' for such a self-important Miss Malfoy."

Raven smiled faintly, pulled open the study door, and strode straight toward the fireplace and the Floo Network, bound for Diagon Alley.