August 5-6,1971, Black Hall / Diagon Alley
Black Hall had once been the ancestral home of House Black. Located on a slope overlooking Worcester,the castle had been built in the year 1142 by Theodon Black. It had all the trappings of Normanism. Black family banners flew over the entrance. Animated suits of armour like those at Hogwarts stood sentinel in the hallways,which were lit by torches of eternal fire that glowed auburn by day and a warm gold color by night. The Drawing Room featured a family tapestry that far surpassed the tapestry at Grimmauld. And the kitchens were staffed by 38 house-elves led by the fearsome Jaci,the terror of Sirius’ childhood. It was here that he was staying,the night before he was to go to Diagon Alley for the first time.
As soon as they were done with the floo trip,Orion and Sirius walked into the Sitting Room. Waiting to greet them were the castle’s current owners,Sirius’ cousin Cygnus and his wife,the former Druella Rosier. With them were Sirius’ cousins,Bellatrix,Andromeda,and Narcissa. Bellatrix had already graduated from Hogwarts,two years ago. Andromeda would be beginning her seventh year,and Narcissa her fifth.
Cygnus Black VI was a tall wizard with blonde hair in a military-style cut and long legs,toned from his three years as a Beater for the Slytherin Quidditch Team. He had on a plain waistcoat and slacks. Druella was red of hair and grey of eye,a warm woman who fawned over Sirius in a way his own mother never had. She was the daughter of the indefatigable Tyler Rosier,the wizarding novelist. When he had died the year before last she had inherited from him 700,000 galleons,which she was now using to modernize the castle,much to the distaste of her daughters.
It was safe to say that their daughters took more after their mother than him. Bellatrix,the eldest,had the short height and auburn hair of her mother but her father’s vivacious personality. From her uncle Scorpius she had inherited the other side of her personality,an inherent hatred for muggles and muggleborns that always seemed to infect random members of the House of Black. Today she was festooned in jewelry that her betrothed,Rodolphus Lestrange,had given her for her birthday in March.
Andromeda had the blonde hair,statuesque height,and witty personality of her father,as well as (rumor had it) a muggleborn boyfriend. Of times Sirius had heard his mother raging about it as she made floo calls. “She’s a Black! A BLACK! What is she thinking,associating with such trash?” It got bothersome after a while.
Narcissa was the youngest of the three. Tall and blonde like her father and sister,she was possessed of a certain innocence and boldness of spirit that meshed well with Sirius’ own. He regarded her as his favorite cousin. She was good at Quidditch,as evidenced from the various practice games they had played,but she had never tried out for her House team.
————
Supper was a quiet affair,the adults talking in low,murmuring voices that made Sirius feel sleepy. The torches,guttering as they were in the background,only added to the effect of drowsiness.
Afterwards,everyone went to the other drawing room. Sirius and Narcissa had cakes and ale,while the adults (including Andromeda,Bellatrix having gone to her room) had crab cakes and firewhiskey. Sirius listened to their chatter.
”When does Bella intend to marry Rodolphus,Cyg?”
”Sometime next summer,it looks like. You know Tobias:he doesn’t want his son rushing into things. And with Hugo’s death he’s now Lord Lestrange,and Rodolphus is the Heir. Rastaban still has a year of school,but Sirius won’t see him:he’s going to Beauxbatons. I’ve personally arranged things with Headmaster Jouvet,Deputy Headmistress Maxime,Asterion,and Redstone.”
”Who are Asterion and Redstone?”
”Asterion Lestrange,a Lestrange cousin in France,and Redstone works at the Madrid branch of Gringotts.”
”Does Rastaban have any marriage prospects?”
”Jessamine Parkinson,I think. Genna Scrimgeour has also expressed interest,and Danielle Altieri. What about your two?”
”Sirius doesn’t strike me as marriageable yet. He’s more independent:I’ve always encouraged that in him and Reggie. If he did want to marry,I think someone like the Vanity heiress might be his kind. They’re both fond of Quidditch from what I understand.”
Sirius felt like gagging. Listening to your father discussing your marriage prospects tended to do that for you.
“Cyg,what do you know concerning Voldemort?”
”Where did you hear that name?”
”Daniel McKinnon.”
”I know something of him,though I haven’t met him. He claims descent from Slytherin,but through what family I can’t establish. He has claimed to be the allegedly lost son of Merope Gaunt.”
”Everyone knows the Gaunt line died with her and her brother!”
”Willem Spinks calls him a snake,likely to strike from somewhere unexpected. Roger Vance says that things may come to outright war as they haven’t since Grindelwald. But for now all he’s doing is proselytizing,getting what few followers he has in the media to publish articles painting his policies in a positive light. There’s nothing illegal about that,so far as I know.”
”How do you think our family will react to him?”
”I think we’ll stay out of it for now. But if it comes to war,we’ll definitely go neutral.”
After that,everyone went to bed.
————-
A light rain was falling on the grounds when Sirius woke up. It was not yet dawn,but the sky was already brightening in the east. He went down to the drawing room,where he found Narcissa. She was dressed in a bathrobe with gold fringes.
”Couldn’t sleep,dear cousin?”
”No. You?”
”Same. You want to know who’s on my mind? Lucius Malfoy.”
”What about him? He’s the same as the rest of them. Jumped-up merchants from Normandy who wish to impose on us Brits. His dad’s the only decent one of the lot,isn’t he?”
”Lord Abraxas is.....how shall I say this? Unusual. He has somewhat more diverse interests than the rest of them. Herbiculture,for example. He also keeps pet kneazles,did you know that?”
”How do you know this?”
”I visited the Manor over Easter break. Twenty house-elves,each wearing different colored togas. Did you know that,unlike us,he makes them punish themselves? The horror!”
”Mother sometimes makes Kreacher punish himself. He goes off and drenches himself in the cistern at the back of the property.”
Sirius broke off when he noticed that Narcissa’s eyes were glimmering.
“What?”
”Let’s you and I wash up,dress,have a spot of breakfast,and go to Diagon early.”
Wicked!
——-
Half an hour later saw the two standing at one end of Diagon Alley in the early sun. The Moon had already set,and the Sun was not yet up.
Narcissa was taking him to Gringotts first. As they entered the main lobby of the bank,she hailed a goblin. The goblin stood before Sirius,evaluating him.
“Well met,Heir Black. My name is Greytooth. I manage the Heir Vault for the Black family. Would you and the lady here”-he gestured to indicate Narcissa-“deign to follow me?”
They followed him and came to a door. It was carved with runes that Sirius didn’t know. Narcissa translated for him.
‘These runes,made by Syvi Grimaxe,son of Koldo,son of Kavrel,Whitrock’s son of the Dread,in the 774th year of Gringotts,guard this door. This door provides instant transportation to wherever the traveler desires.’
Sirius gasped. A teleporting door? He had to tell Reggie. He knew Hogwarts had them,but Gringotts? Today was shaping out to be his day.
Stepping through the door, Sirius,Narcissa,and Greytooth found themselves in a large,circular vault about the size of an amateur Quidditch pitch. Three of the vault’s six sides were surmounted by bookcases,the other three by immense stacks of galleons. Money enough to swim in flooded the floors of the vault. At the bottom of each bookcase was a folded ladder that had to be very tall when fully unfurled. It was enough to make Sirius’ jaw drop.
”This is what I’m entitled to as the Heir of Black,ser Goblin?”
“What else? Your family has helped sponsor Gringotts for more than six hundred years,since Prospero Black ruled in Worcester. Naturally,something you must know from your lessons,you have accumulated much wealth. How long has the family lived at Grimmauld?”
”Since 1724. That was when Lord Atlas Black moved us,after marrying Veronica Prewett. He delegated the care of what was then called Castle Black to his youngest brother,Arlan Black. Since then the castle has passed to various second and third sons of the family. Narcissa’s father,Cygnus VI,has owned the castle since the time of his father-“
Narcissa interrupted him.
”-who bought it off of his brother after he got besotted with the Feoktistov bitch.”
”Yes,yes. Would you like to know how the budget of your house works?”
”Yes,ser.”
”In addition to asset, liabilities, and equity accounts, Gringotts uses an additional two categories of accounts for potential (but not necessarily financial) changes to accounts and manifest changes to accounts. Potential account ledgers record wagers, magical contracts, heir assignments, magical judgments, and the potential gains or losses from charms, curses, and potions'. Manifest accounts record the gains and losses as they actually occur or after the fact of some event or qualification being met or unmet. Overall, though, both the manifest and potential accounts are recorded using a generalized debit-credit classification, wherein events that increase the resources of the House are recorded as debits and events that decrease the resources are recorded as credits“