Chapter 3
Lucius, Marvolo, Severus, and Barty made their way to Gringotts and were greeted by a group of fiveGoblins waiting for them. Marvolo bowed in respect before addressing the group. “Naggrot, Sharpsong, Fangblood, Chuh, Vrolk, I offer my deepest gratitude to you for completing this ritual for me on top of all the other services I require for my school”.
“It was our pleasure Lord Slytherin, now if you follow us to the ritual room we can explain to you how the awakening ritual works, before discussing your bill for our services,”Naggrot said to the group as they made their way through the building. They were just about to enter the ritual room when someone spoke up.
“Actually I would prefer a practical demonstration of the ritual,” Marvolo declared, stealing everyone's attention back to him. “Despite being completed the ritual hasn’t been tested yet, am I correct”?
[After all thanks to Dumbledore a majority of the European magical community in recent years have started to see decreased numbers of creature inheritances and blood based rituals outside of blood adoption were classed as Dark and, consequently, taboo. As such finding a person willing to test such a ritual that wasn't in Azkaban would be difficult to say the least.
“No we haven’t tested it yet, but suffice it to say our calculations are always accurate so we know it works the way it’s intended to. If you’d like to, however, you could go through the Ritual right now. We certainly have the means to do that, for an additional fee of course,”Chuh suggested with a feral grin.
“Of course I think it should be tested before we roll it out on a big scale," ”. Marvolo huffed. "I also wouldn't dream of risking one of my people unnecessarily so I will try it myself." He made his way to the ritual circle the goblins had set up ahead of time, knowing that a practical demonstration would likely be requested. The Ritual circle itself was a relatively standard one, meant to protect those inside the circle from any outside interference while they were distracted by the ritual , along with runes to contain wizards in case they lash out after transforming into their creature inheritance due to instinct. Inside the circle rested a crystal Mortar & Pestle, a ritual knife, along with all the ingredients for the ritual ranging from animal, to crystalline in nature. As Marvolo is about to step into the Circle a voice from behind stops him.
“WAIT MY LORD!” Barty yelled, stepping forward with a slight bow. “I insist you let me undergo the ritual first. I know the goblins say it’s safe, but please, in case something goes wrong, let me sacrifice my life in your stead. Without you we would have no one to lead our school into the new era”.
Marvolo wished he could say he was surprised by this declaration but as always Barty is one of his most honorable knights willing to put his life on the line just to further the cause. He knew this ritual would not kill anyone thanks to all the goblin's hard work, but if it’ll soothe his conscience, then who is he to stop him? He takes a step to the side to let Bartley through. “By all means”.
“Very well then if you’re going first then strip off your shirt & get into the circle,”Fangblood said, getting straight to business. Barty noded, getting partially undressed as instructed, after all there are some things you shouldn’t question goblins about.
“Why does he need to undress for this”? Severus inquires, after all this Ritual will be performed on children & if word got around they had to be nearly naked for this parents might not take it well. As if sensing what he was thinking Chuh gave Snape a reassuring smile.
“No worries, the children who will undergo this ritual will only need to wear short sleeve shirts so as to not get any blood on themself since their creature inheritance will be awakened but not undergo any transformations until puberty like normal creature inheritances. Adults, on the other hand, will transform as soon as the ritual is over. We find people react poorly to suddenly finding themselves naked when their clothes tear apart because of the transformation some creatures go through & want to save money on replacing clothes”.
"That’s good. Should we get this ritual started though, we want to be out of here before the rest of Britain wakes up, plus it’s quite chilly in here”. Barty says from within the circle as Fangblood followed him in & grabbed the knife.
"Very well then, the first thing you’ll need to do is cut the palm of your hand with this ritual dagger & allow 7 drops of blood to fall into the cup,” he said as he handed Barty the dagger to perform the first step. Once the blood was in the bowl Fangblood grabbed the ingredients from the table.
“Next into the bowl we add sap from a Pinus Longaeva, flower from a Cherry tree, crushed Flint, Azurite, Bloodstone, & Emerald, hair from a unicorn, blood from a dragon, bat fangs, & a feather from a Griffon.” Once the ingredients are added to the bowl he takes the pestle & grinds the mixture into a black sparkling paste. “Now we must cast evigilare ad creaturam intus on the blood, may I have some assistance from a wizard for this part?”
“Allow me evigilare ad creaturam intus!” He casts on the bowl as the mixture turns from black paste to a royal purple syrup texture.
“So all I have to do is drink it?” Barty asked, looking at the mixture as he held his hand to keep blood from going all over the place.
“No, all that’s left is to introduce the solution to your blood directly by pouring it back onto the open cut on your hand from earlier, if the ritual takes all of this will go directly into your cut healing it back up without leaving a scar,” Vrolk grunted, correcting the foolish wizard.
“Right, thank you for correcting me then,” Barty said as he took the bowl with his good hand & carefully poured the mixture in a thin stream onto his wound, all of it seamlessly entered his hand &, as the cup emptied the wound started to heal with a golden light leaving no mark behind. When he goes to place the bowl back on its table Barty froze & dropped the bowl, his body ignited in a simultaneous inferno of fire & ice as his body started to go under metamorphosis he can feel his muscles get larger, as new appendages sprout from his upper & lower back. After a few minutes the pain resides & Barty looks down at himself to see what changes occurred.
The first thing he noticed was that his pants had survived the transformation, only slightly tearing at the seams. Next thing he noticed was the patches of Navy blue & obsidian scales that shimmered silver in the light. Feeling something heavy behind him Barty turned his head to get a better look behind him only to get smacked in the face by a heavy draconic wing.
“Ow”.
“Here, why don’t you use the mirror to examine yourself further,” Sharpsong said, bringing a full length mirror into the room. When Barty stepped in front of the mirror the first thing he noticed was his now Silvery blue eyes with slit pupils like a snake that gets rounder as he relaxes. On his back were a pair of large dragon wings that were covered with the same blue scales that were on his body. covering leathery black skin that looks ready to tear someone apart who dear defies him. From his lower back a 2.5 meter long tail that gently swishes around the floor.
“So Barty, how do you feel?” Marvolo inquired. He was ecstatic that the ritual seems to have worked like intended, but he was also cautious as people who went through creature inheritance largely acted on instinct when they first changed. In cases of creatures who had particular diets they needed to manage, when they went into their inheritance they would also need to feed right away, sometimes attacking those closest to them in order to get a meal. It was where most of rumors of vampires & werewolves attacking mindlessly came from.
“Like I need to hoard every book in a library to myself,”, Barty said.The need to hoard, along with his looks, suggested he was a sort of Dragonkin and Barty was only glad that his creature wanted to collect knowledge and not something more disturbing"
Pleased with the outcome of the ritual Marvolo turner his attention back to the goblins with a bow, “Thank you for all your hard work. I'm pleased to see everything works as intended. Can you tell me where I went wrong in my original attempts?”
“Simple. While you had the correct spell, steps & animal components figured out for the ritual, it was missing gemstones for power, & the proper plants. The Sap was needed as a binder to combine properly, while Japanese Cherry Blossoms are the flower of rebirth. Now these plants aren’t the easiest to come across in England, so we would recommend growing them on your campus so you can get them fresh”. Vrolk explained before turning back to Barty to hand him his clothes. “Now would you like to perform an inheritance test to see what else the ritual has changed about you?”
“I’ll be glad to, besides it’ll be nice to know what others will see if my sperm donor ever finds me & tries to perform one of these to confirm my identity. It’ll be good to make sure the magic I used to change my legal name actually stuck”. Barty said as he walked over to a piece of parchment to add a drop of blood for the inheritance test.
Name: Bartholomew Noah Connor
Sire: Deceased (Unknown)
Bearer: Deceased (Unknown)
Creature Inheritance: Dragon Kin(Dominant)
Magical Core: Gray
Magical ability:
Familiar: unbonded
Mate: Unmated
“Looks like you’ll never have to worry about your father using your blood against you, well at least with any old blood samples he may have,” Marvolo said approvingly as he looked over Barty’s shoulder at the results, (knowing that the elder crouch wasn’t as light as he liked to appear to be.)
Turning his attention back to the goblins Marvolo noticed them bringing in another set of ingredients for the ritual to take place again.
“Now then, I believe you showed an interest in undergoing this ritual yourself, Lord Slytherin, so if you would please undress & step inside the circle we will begin the ritual forthwith,” Naggrot instructed as Marvolo started to slip off the robe & enter the circle. As he performs the ritual the rest of the group watches on pondering what their lord would turn into. A Naga seemed like the most fitting & likely choice given his parselmouth abilities but with all the interconnected family ties in the wizarding world there’s no knowing what inheritance someone might get.
“evigilare ad creaturam intus”! shouted at the mixture before pouring it back onto his wound. The change started to take place almost immediately: a pair of black leathery wings sprouted from his back, the colour blending into a red ombre at the tips of the wing;his face, while attractive already, only seemed to become otherworldly handsome; his ear sharpened into elven-like points & a pair of black horns rose from his head into an elegant curve. While his body didn’t gain any fur or scales it seemed to become more muscular & the crotch area of his pants tightened. The only other change was gaining a whip-like tail ending with an arrow shaped tip. Once the transformation was over Marvolo peered towards the group, his red eyes seemingly ablaze with lust & hunger as he lunges forward only to be blocked by the runes in the spell circle & dropped to the floor.
“What’s wrong with him, this didn’t happen when Barty underwent his transformation,” Lucius exclaimed , worried that one of his closest friends might tear them apart like a crazed animal.
“There’s nothing wrong with your friend he just went an Incubus creature inheritance & just needs to feed, but don’t worry as you know Incubii have 3 ways to feed, so all that needs to be done is have him kiss one of you”. Sharpsong said with a laugh as she witnessed the Malfoy Lord’s face flash between horror and disgust. having looked like he just witnessed the inside of Dumbledore’s closet
“Well then I’m just going to step out because, while I’m sure Narcissa would understand, I’m not comfortable with the idea of kissing another besides her,”he stammered, before exiting the room. Narcissa was normally level headed but, considering Bellatrix was her sister, Lucius never felt completely comfortable pushing things. . When he left the room Naggrot turns his attention back to Severus & Barty.
“Now then if you’re willing I believe it’s time we let Lord Slytherin out of the spell circle so he may feedI would recommend having your wands at the ready in case he does something you are uncomfortable with.”The other two nodded& he releases the runes on the circle.
Once free from the circleMarvolo instantly pulled Severus into a passionate embrace, as the two engage in a battle of will with neither one giving up. After a couple of minutes Marvolo pulled away, looking sated while Severus disheveled, out of breath & his face redder than anything the Marauders ever did to him. Once realizing what he did Marvolo turned his attention to see his new appearance & to think about what just happened, ever since his revival he couldn't deny he’d felt something for Severus, but never acted upon it knowing the man's former feelings for the current Lady Potter. Marvolo wasn't even sure if Severus was attracted to males. Sure a majority of the wizarding world could be labled as Bisexual but that didn't mean everyone was. . For now he’d just blame the incident on creature instincts & hunger.
Severus on the other hand was surprised Marvolo would choose him to feed on when he’s always been much closer to Barty, who just became a Dragon kin. Surely that would have seemed much more appetizing to an incubus? He had always found the man attractive, since even before his resurrection, but back then he was mostly attracted to his mind. During their time working on the school, however, Severus had grown to care for his personality & learn about their mutual interests. It didn't help that Marlovo could defeat Gilderoy Lockhart in a popularity contest on looks alone any day of the week.
While the two were zoning out thinking of their mutual attraction to each other, much to the others in the room amusement, Lucius made his way back into the room, unaware of what just occurred.
“What is our next course of action, my Lord?” he asked.
“We’ll discuss your payment next, that is if no one else is interested in undergoing the ritual, while we still have the ingredients at the ready,” Raggnot said as others in the room turned their attention to Lucius & Severus as the only two who hadn’t undergone the ritual.
Thinking it over Lucius shook his head. “I’m sorry but no thank you. While I would love to undergo such a metamorphosis, as a member of the Wizengamot, if it is discovered I gained a creature inheritance years after they normally occur, it wouldn’t be pretty. Not only could I potentially lose my position on the council with current creature laws depending on what I become, but if they find out about the Ritual I’m sure Dumbledore would have it banned quicker then he eats a lemon drop.”
“I understand," Marvolo said,"the offer will always be open to you, my friend. But what about you Severus? I know Dumbledore will keep an close eye on you while you’re a teacher at his school.”
Snape scoffed as he made his way towards the rune circle. “Please he only pays a close eye on his pawns when it’s convenient to him, I’m sure I can find a way to hide whatever creature I become before the school year starts. So I would be delighted to perform this ritual.”
“Very well then please undress so we may begin,”. Sharpsong said as she readied the ingredients.
As Snape removed his shirt he notices something missing that took his breath away.
“The Dark Mark has vanished!”He said in a hushed voice that seemed to echo through the room. As soon as those words sunk in Barty, Lucius & Marvolo were by Snape's side in an instant to glimpse at his forearm. Where the dark mark once stood proudly, though faded since Voldemort's defeat, was pale unblemished skin.
“Ho-how is this possible?” Lucius asked, the shock causing him to stammer for the first time since his first date with Narcissa.
“I haven’t the foggiest idea,” Marvolo admitted. He had designed the Dark Mark to be impossible to remove except through his death. He had only started to think of ways to remove it a couple of months ago during his limited free time as a way to keep his closest confidants out of prison when the hunt for death eaters started again, something he deemed inevitable if his plans succeeded as Dumbledore was a sore loser. He wouldn't be surprised if it ended up resembling the old witch trials and he wanted to give his friends whatever protection he could. But no matter where he looked a solution seemed nigh impossible.
After a minute of silence Fangblood spoke. . “I believe I may know what caused the dark mark to vanish.”Everyone's attention turned to him.
“Oh?”
“It is known that when a Succubus, Incubus, or Lamia feeds off the magical energy within a wizard directly, they aren’t feeding off their life energy like with Muggles, but off their magical reserves which can replenish with time. Since the Dark Mark was a product of raw magic within you body, when Lord Slytherin) ate from Lord Prince earlier he managed to devour the magic of the Dark Mark since the magic was located closest to the surface before continuing to eat from Lord Prince’s magic after that,” he explained.
“So you’re saying I don’t need to discover a new spell, potion, or ritual of any kind to remove the dark mark from others, I just need to consume it?” Marvolo asked in disbelief after taking a minute to digest the information.
“Essentially yes," Fangblood said. "If you’d like to test my hypothesis we do have two other bearers of the mark in this room for you to test my theory on, if willing of course”.
The rest of the party stared in disbelief. Not only had they found a way to revive creature blood in wizards but they might have also found a way to take away one of Dumbledore's key means of outing them to society as Death Eaters.
“Since I’m the only one not undergoing the ritual today I volunteer to go first,” Lucius said, taking a step towards Marvolo, rolling up his sleeve to show the Mark embedded in his skin & held it out to Marvolo.
Leaning down, Marvolo gently pressed his lips to Lucius’s skin where the mark resided. After about 30 seconds he straightens his posture to find Lucius' forearm now free of any trace of the dark mark.
“Sweet Merlin it worked!” Lucius said as his face lights up in excitement of being free of the Dark mark.
“My lord, if you'd please, do me next?” Barty said, holding his arm out, showing the dark mark barely visible over the new scales on his arm. Wordlessly Marvolo leant down & repeated the process removing any traces of the Mark
“Remarkable! I’ll have to keep this in mind for future reference; it could come in handy,” Marvolo mumbled. While he doubt’s this could work on compulsions or spells of that nature at least not transferring them to himself, being able to consume the magic of the dark mark could just be something he does under special circumstances.
“Well then if we’re done gawking at your forearms we have a ritual to perform here,” Naggrot said, snapping them out of their trance & focusing their attention back on Severus.
“Oh right, proceed then,” Marvolo said, indicating that they should proceed again. As Severus started to add his blood to the bowl the other 3 wizards began to talk amongst themself about what the result will be.
“So who wants to bet he’ll be a werewolf? After all it’ll be very ironic that the creature that almost killed him in school ends up being his creature inheritance,” Lucius suggested, making Marvolo and Barty chuckle, as the ingredients are added to the bowl.
“He’ll be a vampire I’m sure of it,” Marvolo says, adding in his two knuts to the discussion. "It might be the obvious choice but it is the one that seems to suit Severus most: from his pale skin and dislike of sunlight to his sensitivity to making potions. After all, some of the best potion masters in history were vampires due to their heightened senses which enable them to sense the slightest changes in potions they’re brewing before they even become visible to the naked eye."
“Evigilare ad creaturam intus” Severus shouted as the mixture turned purple, distracting them from their discussion.
“My money’s on him becoming an Elf personally,” Barty said quickly, as they watched Severus pour the mixture back into himself.
Then the magic happened. Physically Snape has the least drastic transformation of the group:his skin somehow getting paler but with a healthy glow as if illuminated by moonlight; his hair lost all its greasyness and his muscles, while they didn’t bulge out, visibly tightened & toned. His canines elongated but the biggest change was his nose, having been misshapen from years of abuse from his father & bullies, was fixed right before their eyes. It was still slightly larger than normal but it straightened out into a roman nose that suited his face nicely, one that now no longer sports the early life wrinkles that had been forming. Finally when the transformation was over, Severus turned his attention back to his friends & opened his eyes to reveal 2 ruby eyes looking at them with hunger.
Seeing the transformation take place before them, Marvolo smugly turned to Barty & Lucius. “Well it looks to me like my prediction was correct. He is most certainly a vampire.”
“Good for you Lord Slytherin, but it looks like he is hungry from just going through, I would suggest we get in contact with the healers to get us a blood bag so he doesn’t try to escape from the runic circle to feed on us,” Fangblood said cautiously, as the other goblins in the room nodded in agreement.
“Nonsense! Since Severus was so willing to let me feed from him earlier it’s only natural I return the favor,” Marvolo said as he walks towards the Rune circle. Careful not to step completely inside it, he reached his arm inside so Severus could feed, angling it carefully to prevent any damage to his major arteries.
In a flash Severus pulled Marvolo into the circle,although still choosing to feed from the wrist since it was the part offered. . With great fervor he plunged into the dark lord's wrists causing the elder to moan from the pleasure. It seemed like what they say about vampires is true; when they feed on a person their fangs release an aphrodisiac into their victim causing an addictive pleasure from the act .
Severus on the other hand was in heaven; Marvolo’s blood was pure magic to feed on. It tasted like a combination of dark chocolate & chili peppers with just a hint of honey, the perfect combination of sweet, & spicy. Oh, if only they weren’t both dominant creatures then he could feed off of this forever.
Once he had finished feeding, Severus pulled away with a light flush on his cheeks, his hair disheveled in a way that only made Marvolo want to pull him into another embrace. He refrained however, feeling it best to stop acting on instincts & focus on what matters more at the moment.
“Thank you for the meal, Marvolo,” Severus muttered as he got dressed.
“It was my pleasure,” Marvolo whispered before turning his attention back to the goblins. “Now that we know everything for the school I have commissioned is working, shall we discuss payment?”
“It would be our pleasure,” Naggrot said as they made their way to a private room the bank used to make payments.
After paying a bill that would make most cry to the murder of their bank accounts, the quartet makes their way back to Chéile before the sun rose to continue work on the school. They only had until June to iron out the rest of the details before an Inspector from the Teaching division of the ICW came to determine whether Chéile could open to the public for business. It would be tough work but they'd be all ready to make it happen if they worked together. First things first though, they would have to plant some Japanese Cherry trees for the ritual in the future, so they didn't have to import flowers every spring for the ritual.
TO BE CONTINUED