Chapter 3. Rings and Missing Parents
“What the fuck!” Snape shouted.
“Well. That’s certainly unexpected.” Griphook’s face appeared to be shocked.
Harry looked very confused. “What does blood-adopted mean.” Severus was too in shock to reply, so instead Griphook did.
“It means that the magic of the Potter and the Peverell family has accepted you, and any blood magic of the houses recognises you as part of the family.” Harry nodded along as if he knew what the goblin was talking about.
“And my father, Aksel Grindelwald whose he?”
“I suspect he is likely to be Gellert Grindelwald’s rumoured son. Gellert was a dark wizard who tried to expose the magical world and peached magical superiority over muggles, non-magic folk.” So his grandfather was evil, great.
Severus started to come out of the shock, I mean it explained why Harry looked nothing like James but holy shit. Lily cheated on James! And with the son of Gellert Grindelwald! And Harry Potter was the Heir of Slytherin! This was becoming too much to handle. Griphook got up and took the parchment off the table, placing it into what looked like a safe. The goblin waited a few seconds before opening the safe and pulled out a glass box with five rings inside.
“These are your House rings, they help you to connect with the magic your houses have, and they also show that you have accepted your position.”
The Black family ring was silver with a clean-cut obsidian gem in the middle, It looked regal, like something you would see a monarch wear in a painting. He slipped the ring onto his left pinkie finger and the magic engulfed him. It was as if he was in the middle of a violent thunderstorm with lightning circling all around him but not harming him, almost hugging him.
The Peverell ring was silver but it looked like it was melted and was trying to sink the smokey black crystal inside itself. As Harry put the ring on his left middle finger he went cold. He felt a shadowy figure standing behind him. He felt a fleshless hand hold his, comforting him.
The Potter ring was gold with a red stone, the band was covered in a language he didn’t understand. The ring was placed on his thumb and the magic felt like a fire coursing through his body, not burning him but filling him with power.
The Slytherin ring had a silver band that mimicked a snake, which curled its body around an emerald, he placed it on his right ring finger. He felt as if he was engulfed in snakes, sharing their warmth with him, speaking in the same whisper as Seraphina.
Finally, the Grindelwald ring was silver and resembled a signet ring with a white quart in the middle in the shape of a sideways teardrop. He placed the ring on his right index finger and was almost transported into a blizzard. He could feel the snow on his face, blanketing him from the cold.
Once Harry had placed all the rings on, a thick layer of sweat covered his forehead. His body was filled with magic that swirled around within him.
“Are you alright?” Severus knew the power that putting on a house ring could make you feel. He remembers how it felt to put on his Prince ring, the surge of magic that ran through his body. Harry nodded as the magic settled within him, only just now noticing a letter placed before him
“This is the letter addressed to you in your mother’s will.”
The envelope was yellowing with age and the writing on the front stated ‘My little Hadrian’ in black ink and fancy writing. There was a red wax seal on the back, decorated with a lily.
Dear Hadrian,
If you are reading, then I have died in this war. It was always a possibility but the thought of it is unimaginable. There are a lot of things I need to explain, specifically about your father.
In one of James' first missions, he was captured and announced dead a week later. I was consumed with grief and unable to move on. I was determined to bring him back and devoted myself to dark and dangerous magic. I scoured every continent to find a way to bring him back to me. Whilst in Romania, I met your father, Aksel.
I didn’t know who he was at the time, he used his Veela mother’s last name. We became friends. I confided in him and him in me, he helped me learn powerful and beautiful magic. It was just one night when I forgot about my grief and about James being dead.
James was discovered a week later tortured and half dead. I never saw Aksel after I left. I helped James recover and by the time I found out about you, Aksel was dead, killed by men who wanted revenge for his father’s actions. I told James everything. He didn’t get angry at the fact I was with someone else or hate you, he was happy, we performed a blood adoption ritual and James couldn’t have been happier. He had on that goofy smile of his for weeks.
As the war got more and more dangerous, I had to take precautions. I used ancient magic to perform a ritual, one that would make sure you were always protected. I realised when you were a baby that you were different from others. You have a very special gift, Hadrian. You can see magic. You’re father and I are so proud but you can not let others know. Seeing magic can be seen as a threat to dangerous and powerful people.
I know you must have a hundred more questions. I’m so sorry that you couldn’t grow up with us. I hope Sirius and Remus are taking good care of you and not taking you out on that dam motorbike before you turn 12.
Know that me and your father love you very much.
Love, Mum.
Harry couldn’t keep his tears at bay as he read the letter. The thought that he could’ve grown up with loving parents who would do everything to protect him, made his heart hurt. Two pictures were stuck at the back of the letter. In one, Harry’s mum and a man with curly hair and glasses when laughing at the camera, sitting on a bench in the middle of autumn. The other was of a beautiful man with waist-length white hair and different-coloured eyes. He was staring out the window with the sun casting a golden glow on his face.
Harry held the photo’s up to his chest and wept.