Chapter 17: Wait — You Can Do That?
Narcissa's tone turned grave. "Bellatrix already knows. She'll contact you soon — perhaps by owl, perhaps in person at Hogwarts.
She will test you, evaluate you, and then decide whether to recommend you to the great gentleman."
Regulus was quiet for several seconds.
"So what do you suggest?" he asked.
"Rein it in. At least in public. You can display talent, but not to that degree.
At Hogwarts, with a professor like Slughorn who collects geniuses, your reputation will spread fast.
And when a reputation reaches the wrong ears, it brings trouble — or opportunity, depending on how you look at it."
'I already am holding back,' Regulus thought. 'And besides, this is precisely what I intended. But the timing is still too early.'
At eleven, one was only suitable for observation. Even Voldemort would not send an eleven-year-old on a mission — he was not some African warlord in need of child soldiers.