London BABY!
Chapter 11: London BABY!
Atlantic Ocean, August 2011
Flying over the ocean, with FRIDAY as their pilot, the group began to relax. Pepper had cornered Agatha and was talking with her about her previous experiences in the magical world, as Sirius had not been very helpful when asked about their society. Meanwhile, the boys were goofing around, with Sirius explaining to Harry, Dudley and Tony his teenage stories as a Hogwarts student.Suddenly, the boys began to laugh uncontrollably, causing the ladies to stop their conversation for a moment. Eyeing them with fondness, the two women resumed talking
“So, Agatha, you told me you were familiar with this wixen culture?” asked Pepper
“Yes, I have had my encounters with them, although with the American version of them. There may be some things that are different. I don’t think I have told you yet, but my mother was the leader of the first coven of witches of America, and had to deal with the creatures of the land as well as the people that came over on the Mayflower. Amongst them, the Ministry of Magic sent a scouting party to find more magical people, or at least magical in their sense. She had many run-ins with them, not all of them good. Before the “incident” she taught me how to deal with them in case of danger.” explained the ancient witch.
“So, do you think Harry will have any problems, or Tony and I for that matter? I mean, Sirius told us that there still is a part of their society that believes us non-magicals to be inferior…” asked Pepper. She was worried, although she did not say, about Dudley and the problems the relationship the cousins had could cause both within the magical society and between them.
“There may be some problems, but after Harry finished Voldemort in Godric’s Hollow, I doubt someone will be foolish enough to try and pull a stunt on him. Even so, and I did not want to tell him but I will tell you, he is powerful. I’m talking about one or two people with power like him I have ever encountered, and one was myself. With time, he could become the new Sorcerer Supreme…” said Agatha
“I don’t know Agatha, I’m still uncomfortable with Harry going to school in Scotland while Dudley is more or less stuck in New York. I don’t think it fair for him that because he doesn't have wizard magic he can’t join his cousin. I mean, they are basically inseparable, having done everything together… I just don’t want Dudley to grow and resent Harry as we know Petunia did Lily” said Pepper, with a worried voice, looking at the now tiredly laughing kids. They are best friends now, but what could happen in four or five years, once Harry has completely established himself in the wixen world? Would he unconsciously leave Dudley behind?
“Hey!” said Agatha, snappin her fingers on Pepper’s worried face “Don’t worry about the future, for you can’t do anything to control it. If you are truly worried about Harry and Dudley’s relationship straining, I personally feel those kids will never leave each other alone. And I will see what I can do to ensure it” finished Agatha, a thought crossing her face and leaving to sit on a corner, focusing on how to solve this problem and alleviate Pepper’s worry.
A few hours later
Drifting awake, Dudley noticed Tony talking into his headset, requesting landing permission in Heathrow International Airport. He nudged Harry awake, and they went to wake Pepper and Agatha. Harry began to kindly shake Pepper, who awoke and suddenly began to try and flatten Harry’s hair. Dudley managed to awake Agatha, who in turn looked at him profoundly, her previous idea still floating around in her mind. Maybe she should rustle up some old contacts and see if it would work out.
“Agathaaa” said Dudley, snapping his fingers in front of her.
“Uh! Dudley! Honey, you scared me!” shouted Agatha.
“Sorry Agatha, but we are landing now…” explained Dudley.
“Okay, so let’s get ready” said Agatha, standing up. As she did, the plane touched down and they all began to take their luggage from the overhead compartment. When the plane ground to a halt, everyone lined up in front of the door. Tony opened it, and they were greeted with the sight of Harry’s godfathers standing on the runway, trying their best to camouflage themselves as non-magicals.
“PADFOOT! MOONY!” shouted Harry, running out the plane.
“Harry! Be careful with the” Pepper’s voice got interrupted by the sound of Harry’s shout as he fell down the unseen stairs “...stairs. Really?” she said
“I’m fine!” shouted the child from the ground.
“Come on people, let’s get this show on the road!” said Agatha as she began descending the stairs.
As if woken up from a spell caused by Harry falling down the stairs, the rest of the Stark-Evans party follow Agatha outside the plane and into Heathrow.
Grimmauld Place 12, House of Black London Townhouse,
“Welcome to the newly renovated Black London Townhouse!” said Sirius as he opened the door.
“Wow, it looks really nice Siri!” said Harry, excited to be around more magic than usual.
“Hey Sirius, what happened here?” asked Dudley, pointing to the marks on the wall of the staircase
“Oh, that… We’ll tell you when you are older, children” explained Remus.
“Hey! What happened here?! Where is the dark,gloomy ambience I remembered?” said Agatha as she entered through the door.
“Well, when we knew for sure Harry would be attending Hogwarts we decided to renovate the house and move in full time… WAIT! How do you know about the house, since you have never been here and I certainly didn’t tell anyone outside Remus!” said Sirius, shocked that Agatha could know about his family’s old family home.
“Well, dear Sirius, I’ve lived for a lot of time… Just because YOU didn’t bring me or told me doesn’t mean another Black could not have shown me the house years ago…” explained Agatha, with an air of mystery.
“I swear to God Agatha, I can’t keep up with your past exploits…” said Tony, going through his hair with his hand, exasperated at the Nanny-Witch always having the upper hand on the rest of them.
“So Agatha is old, what? Let’s go to Diagon!” said Dudley, excited at the prospect of seeing more magic.
“Eloquent as always, Dudley” remarked Remus, a fond smile on his face. Over the years, he had grown to like Dudley more, and think of him as another godson, instead of only him being James’s nephew.
“Okay, so I arranged with Minnie for us to join the yearly Muggleborn Orientation Day. But that doesn’t start for at least 2 more hours, so I thought we could take a stroll to Gringotts. There, Harry can check how his inheritance has been managed by yours truly, and we can check him and Dudley over for any possible magical talents or latent bloodlines” explained Sirius.
“So, people, let’s go! Diagon Alley awaits us!” said Tony, swaying his arms dramatically.
Gringotts Wizarding Bank,
Walking up to the teller, Sirius began “Hello Sharptooth, I believe we are expected?”
“Lord Black, Presumptive Heir Potter, Mr. and Mrs. Stark, Seneschal Lupin and young Mr. Dursley. What a party… Yes, Senior Account Manager Blackclaw is expecting you in his office, you know the way” said the goblin dryly.
Sirius and Remus lead the group towards the corridor that held the accountant’s offices. Due to the House of Black being one of the first accounts to ever be created, the party took the goblin’s very own style of elevator. In this case, they used a very primitive form of the idea, consisting in a slab of stone and iron chains used to control the speed via Earth Magic.
Reaching the base level, the party got off and headed to the obsidian door with the name Nigrum inscribed in it.
“Nigrum?” asked Dudley
“The original name of the House of Black was actually the Nigrum Lineage” explained Sirius.
They entered the office and found a very old-looking goblin waiting for them near his desk.
“Blackclaw” said Sirius dryly.
“Lord Black! And friends! Wow, what a delight” answered back the globin, looking at them as if they were vermin.
“What is going on?” whispered-shouted worried Pepper to Remus
“Old goblin tradition, don’t worry.” whispered back Remus, amused at their reactions. He remembered fondly the first time Charlus Potter brought them down to meet the Potter Account Manager, Sharpnok. That day was one for the ages, especially when he and Sirius, who hadn’t been taught by his grandfather yet, ran in front of the Potter men in fear of the goblin attacking them after their comments.
“So, what brings you down here, Lord Black?” asked the Account Manager, sitting down and gesturing for them to do so as well.
“We came here to ascertain Harry’s status as Potter Heir, and have him and Dudley subjected to blood tests for magical lineages and talents.” explained Sirius.
“Wait, what do you mean “ascertain”? Why isn’t Harry already considered as the Potter Heir?” asked, or rather demanded to know, Tony
“In the Magical World, Heirships are so much more than being born first, or even being chosen by the previous Lord. Although Harry was the only known descendant form the Potter Main Line, Magic always has a part to play when it comes to Heirships. Normally, nothing happens and the Heir is confirmed, but there have been enough cases through time for the Ministry and Gringotts to carry out this test before presenting the Heir to the Wizengamot. The chambers are enchanted with Olde Magic and could kill these possible Heirs” explained Remus, having been interested in the subject of Magical Genealogy and Nobility since James and Sirius became involved with the subjects.
“Okay, so either Harry has this test made and doesn’t die on the Wizengamot, or he dies, or he is not the Heir Potter” summarised Tony.
“Basically, yes” finished Blackclaw
“So, let’s begin then, right?” exclaimed Agatha.
“Yes, let’s” said the goblin. He stood up, and went to a cabinet placed in the corner of the room. He waved his hand, glowing silver, and unlocked the protective wards surrounding the cabinet. Then, he took from it a silver dagger and a quartz bowl.
“Harry James Potter, do you allow this test to happen in the eyes of Mother Magic?” asked Blackclaw
“Say I do, Harry” whispered Sirius, standing behind him.
“I do allow it” said Harry solemnly. He grabbed the offered dagger and slashed his palm. The drops of blood fell into the quartz bowl, and a fire began to appear from the base. When the fire reached the outside of the bowl, Blackclaw hovered a roll of parchment over the fire, and both items emitted a flash of light. After the light dimmed, the parchment rested, unburnt. In it, Harry’s results awaited them.
Simple Magical Blood Test; Harrison Jameson Potter-Evans
Magical Heirships:
Confirmed Magical and Blood Heir to the House of Potter.
Confirmed Magical Heir to the House of Black.
Blood Contender to the House of Peverell.
Blood Contender to the House of Ravenclaw.
Blood and Magical Contender to the House of Evans.
Magical Talents:
Parseltongue: Obtained through ritualistic contact with Thomas Marvolo Riddle Junior, known as Lord Voldemort.
Warlock Magic: Balance Warlock, obtained through Magical Ravenclaw Bloodline.
Potential Magical Talents (Need unlocking and training):
Full Warlock Powers.
Shadow Magic.
Animagus Transformation.
When Blackclaw finished reading the information, he set the parchment down and went to repeat the process with Dudley Evans.
“People!” he shouted “I know the information provided by the Test done on now confirmed Heir Potter is unexpected, but we need to conduct Mr. Evans’s test before beginning our analysis” he said
Repeating the process, Dudley entoned the same phrase as Harry, and a fire also erupted on the base of the bowl. As Dudley did not have active magical powers, the fire was not as strong as Harry’s.
Simple Magical Blood Test; Dudley Vernon Evans
Magical Heirships:
Blood Contender to the House of Evans.
Magical Talents (Squib):
Potion-Making.
Rune Engraving.
Ley Line Warding.
Technomagic.
Potential Magical Talents (Squib):
Full Sorcerer Magic.
Animagus Transformation.
When Dudley’s Test ended, even Blackclaw was surprised. The fact that Mr.Evans could even be inside the Old House of Black Office meant he had at least a magical core, and therefore potential for magic, but he did not expect such results.
“All right, let’s begin with the analysis of the results.” began Blackclaw. He snapped his fingers and a couch appeared for all of them to sit down. When they did, he made several copies of both boy’s test results and shared them around so all of them could follow his explanation.
“Beginning with Heir Potter, the first part of the Test does have some surprises. Heirships for the Houses of Potter and Black were already expected. The Heirship to the House of Peverell, while not common, is to be understood, as the last Daughter of the House married to the Lord of the time. Again, the House of Evans, while not known, is justifiable by the sacrifice of Lily Evans. It can be explained as a prize given to her family by magic. Finally, the House of Ravenclaw. This is the least active Noble House of Hogwarts, as Rowena’s only offspring, Helena, did not have any children. The only times the Olde Noble Magic has activated the House has been in times of great magical need. So, it is safe to assume, Heir Potter, that your life will be of great importance to the wixen Society and World.” explained Blackclaw.
“So, what does this mean in terms of accounts and finances? It is my understanding that the older the family, the richer they are.” asked Tony.
“Yes and no. While some accounts, like the Black and Potter ones, have been active for some time, and therefore have some investments and earnings, some others, like the Peverell and Ravenclaw, have been dormant for centuries, long enough for the investments to stagnate and stop the flow of galleons.” stated Blackclaw.
“Okay, so in Harry’s case, what is his situationship?” asked Pepper.
“Concrete economic information will need to wait until Heir Potter contacts his account manager, Sharpnok, but from the get-go I can say that by the Black and Potter accounts alone, Heir Potter will be set up for life, if not for various ones.” answered Blackclaw.
“So, moving on to the Magical Talent part of the test, Parseltongue through ritualistic contact is something unheard of, and I will make sure that, by a fee, a team of Gringotts checks the possibility of it happening, and how it did” said Blackclaw. “The Warlock Magic is something Gringotts knows about, but still remains a secret within the Wixen Society. Their encounters with the Wizarding World are few and isolated, and so society has forgotten about their existence.”
“Don’t worry about that part, Blackclaw, we have it all under control.” said Agatha, lazily inspecting her nails.
“If the Witch in front of me could be bothered to realize what we are doing right now, she would realise Heir Potter is classified as a Balance Warlock, something very rare within the Witch Community.” said Blackclaw sharply, beginning to get increasingly annoyed by the treatment given to him by Agatha. Normally, the wixen he encountered were knowledgeable enough to not cross him, but this was bordering on incompetence and rudeness to a degree meritable of the mines for life.
“Balance? We know of Spirit, Divination, Potions, Protection, Spirit, Earth, Chaos, Dark but no Balance Magic.” said Agatha, surprised.
“Oh, so the Witch doesn’t know everything? What a surprise…” remarked Blackclaw with sarcasm dripping from his tongue.
“Goblin, Blackclaw, please could you provide us with information on Balance Magic? I may have some contacts but I am not sure.on the specifics of the powers and abilities…” asked Agatha
“Why yes of course, Witch, Gringotts will help any customer with the possibilities to pay for it.” explained Blackclaw, toothy grin in his face “Even so, old families like the Houses of Black or Potter have old family libraries ranging centuries of magical history. It’s plausible for them to have collected information or records on Witch magic.”
“Concerning the Potential Magical Traits, Full Warlock Powers and Animagus Transformation are understandable in the case of Heir Potter, but the Shadow Magic is something unheard of, again with Heir Potter. It is possible that it comes from both the Blood Connection to the House of Peverell and the Blood and Magical Connection to the House of Ravenclaw. The history of both Houses has been shrouded in mystery due to missing records, and Wixen Society does not properly understand the history of the Houses. It is possible that by the reopening of the House’s Vaults, Heir Potter may find familiar records on the types of magic and abilities of the Houses.” explained Blackclaw.
“Now” continued the goblin “concerning Mr.Evans, I believe almost the whole test to be self-explanatory except for two or three things. Technomagic and Ley Line Warding abilities are not unheard of amongst squibs or First Generation Wixen, but rare enough to be news when they surface again.” explained the account manager. “ I will provide to you, in future, information on the magics and how to wield it. On the Sorcerer training, I believe Gringotts to have some old records on Sorcerer Magic, but due to the age of them, I will not be able to share them with Mr.Evans.” apologized Blackclaw.
“Don’t worry Dudley, I will help you with that” said Agatha, with a mysterious face
“Well, it seems the Witch here has it in hand, so I think we need to move onto the claiming of the rings for the boys” said Blackclaw, ringing a bell.
Two goblins knocked on the office door, and they came in, standing with cases floating in front of them. Sirius and Remus stood fixated on one of the goblins, who was floating 5 cases, and the other goblin floating 2 cases.
“Sharpnok, is that you?” asked Sirius
“Lord Black, Mr. Lupin, it is good to see you again. I’m afraid to say I am sorry to see you here with Heir Potter instead of Lord James” answered Sharpnok.
“We are as well, we understand.” said Remus, eyes filled with emotion.
“After this reunion, I believe we need to begin the ring claiming. I am Ragnar, Head of Magical Heirships, and due to the uncommon amount of rings being claimed today, I felt the need to be here in case anything happens.” explained the goblin.
“What do you mean, something happens?” asked Pepper, worried.
“Magical Heirships have weird, if it could be called that, ways of claiming the Heirs” explained Ragnar “And sometimes, things happen, but do not worry. This office is warded to the brim, and it will protect us here.”
“Let’s begin with the safest ring, the Potter Heir” said Sharpnok. He opened the case, and the ring floated towards Harry. He extended his palm towards it, and the finger zipped and fit itself in Harry’s ring finger. The ruby encrusted within it flashed red, and a golden light glowed around Harry. He felt a protective feeling, like a hug from Pepper or Agatha.
Then, Blackfang took the House of Black Heir case, and suddenly it was as if the AC had been turned on at full blast, feeling like a hospital all of a sudden, but it also accepted him. Sharpnok took over again and opened the House of Peverell case, and the ring zoomed around Harry, as if inspecting him, and it created an obsidian chain. The ring fused around the chain, with the black jewel becoming part of the chain as a locket. The Ravenclaw Ring, object of admiration by all in the room, including the goblins, was a deep blue sapphire with bronze flecks shining from within. As it neared Harry, a blue glow began to shine and suddenly a bronze eagle, shimmering with magic, appeared on Harry’s shoulder. The ring flashed away, with the eagle cawing at them. Harry heard in his head “Do not worry, my little Heir, everything will be alright. The ring was just a formality for my appearance”.
“The eagle will return if needed” said Harry, with an ethereal voice.
“So, there we have it. A seamlessly Magical claim” said Ragnar. “Now, both of you children will receive the Scion Ring of the newly formed House of Evans. As a new Magical House, the rings do not have any magical properties, but through your lives, you will imbue them with your magical abilities, and Magic will choose which magical talents to pass down the Evans Magical Line.” explained Ragnar.
“Well, Blackfang, Sharpnok, we will see you again, but for now we need to join Professor McGonagall on her Muggle-Born orientation. If you could provide us with the regular Gringotts pouches? So we can speed up the buying of the necessary materials for Hogwarts.” asked Remus kindly.
“Wait, what do you mean “pouches”? Are you still using coins? For christ sake, use credit cards as 90% of the world population uses!” exclaimed Tony, tired from all the medieval talk.
“If Mr.Stark were to be so kind and allow me to answer Seneschal Lupin. Seneschal Lupin “he said turning to the man “we did change our system to debit cards accepted by pressing them to specially made contracts that Gringotts provides to shops.” explained Blackfang, almost condescendingly.
“So, here are the cards” said Sharpnok “enjoy the Orientation.”
“I expect to see Heir Potter before you depart for either Hogwarts or America.” said Sharpnok, with Blackfang nodding alongside him.
The group left the office, got in the elevators, and exited Gringotts.
“What a pair of hours no?” asked Tony
“Indeed, they were interesting, to say the least.” answered Agatha.
“Now, we better hurry. I told Minnie to wait for us, as you never know how long Gringotts meetings last. But that fact won’t make Minnie happy… Let’s reach the Cauldron quickly!” said Sirius, beginning to run towards the pub, the children laughingly following him behind.