AN:
Oni: Oh my gog I am really sorry about the long wait!
Eridan: Howwevver, wwe havve an extra long chapter for you, so wwe hope that this wwill be decent compensation.
Oni: Still, I'm really sorry for taking so long, college is taking its toll on me, unfortunately, but I'm not giving up yet!
Eridan: So wwe do hope you enjoy the next chapter.
Oni: Yeah! Oh right, and another thing, Severus, would you do the honors?
Severus: It is hardly an honer, however:
"English"
"Alternian/Gobbledygook"
That is all.
Oni: And Karkat?
Karkat: ONI DOES NOT OWN THE STUPID WIZARD FRANCHISE THAT WAS WRITTEN BY A JUST KIDDING ROLLING HUMAN NOR DOES SHE OWN THE HOMESTUCK WORLD THAT MY GLORIOUS FUCKING SELF LIVES IN. THE IDEA FOR THIS FICTION IS ALL HERS, AND AT LEAST IN THIS ONE AMPORA ISN'T AS MUCH AS OF A FUCKING DOUCHENOZZLE OR A DISGUSTING DISGRACE LIKE THE FANDOM SEES HIM. NOW IF YOU DON'T MIND, I'M GOING BACK TO WATCHING THRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR.
Oni: And ONWARDS!
"Now, repeat it again."
"My name is Eridanus Caligula Ampora-Black, offsprin of Sirius Orion Black and my 'half-blood' mother Mary Emma Ampora. I wwas bein tutored at home in magic, and wwas cut off from the rest of the wworld because my mother wwas afraid my father wwould find out he had a son. Noww that Sirius Black is on the run, she sent me to Hogwwarts for protection."
"Perfect."
"Question."
"Yes, Mr. Ampora?"
"Wwhy am I Sirius's son? And wwhy the wwhole 'Eridanus' thin? My name is Eridan, if you havven't noticed. Furthermore, if Sirius had already broken into Hogwwarts, wwhy wwould my 'mother' think it wwas safe for me to go?"
The sidelong glance Sirius was given by Remus told Harry exactly why Eridan was posing as his son.
"Because Sirius in his younger days was… wild to put it mildly. I myself wouldn't be surprised if he ended up having a son somewhere. Also, this gives you leeway to keep most of your name. Eridan is a name completely unheard of on Earth, and a muggle certainly wouldn't use it for their child, but Eridanus is a constellation."
"And that matters… wwhy?"
"It is tradition for the Black family to name their children after stars, constellations, or other celestial bodies. This ties in with you being Sirius's son, a Black who's known to, er…"
"I get it, he pailed evveryone in sight."
Sirius choked on his tea. Sputters and coughs sounded from the teens and Harry tried not to break out laughing.
"I'm going to pretend I know what that means and continue. For your last point, that's a very good question."
"You could say that she's becoming a little mad lately." Harry offered with a grin, twirling his finger around his ear and watching the frown on Eridan's face deepen.
"So my fictional mother is doin a pirouette off the fuckin handle and I'm goin to the boardin school because it's evven more dangerous to be around her at this time."
The deadpan voice and Eridan's almost pouty glare was almost too much. Tonks was right, he really did look cuter as a human. Take away the claws, the teeth and the horns, Eridan looked a lot like Harry did in his third year. No wonder Mrs. Weasley wanted to coddle him. However, the problem was, Eridan wasn't just a normal human. He was a troll, an alien, a really dangerous alien. Granted, he and Harry had a truce now, but the emerald eyed teen had seen what the seadweller could do, and the last thing he wanted to do was get on Troll Voldemort's bad side. Equally so, Harry was excited on what Eridan was going to do once they get to Hogwarts. After all, you couldn't just put a leash on a genocidal sociopath.
If you could, well, Voldemort wouldn't have existed now, wouldn't he?
"Yeah Eridan, basically." Harry chuckled out.
"Is this alibi okay for you, Mr. Ampora?" Eridan huffed at Shacklebolt's not-question.
"It's…doable. I'vve heard wworse."
He sounded impatient, the troll probably wanted to get out of Grimmauld Place to get his school things. You know, wand, quills, parchment, potions ingredients, and some other things that Harry had already forgotten about. They were going to get him new school textbooks, but Eridan had already gotten attached to Snape's old Potions textbook and Hermione's third year textbooks (no seriously, he was hugging the tomes as if they were teddy bears, it was kind of disturbing seeing that on someone that wasn't Hermione) that they really needn't have bothered even entertaining the thought.
So here they were now, getting ready to go to Diagon Alley to pick up their supplies, while Kingsley Shacklebolt drilled Eridan on his alibi. Harry was quite sure that Sirius had something to do with Eridan masquerading as his son, by the smirk of triumph that he sent Snape's way. He knew a rivalry when he saw it, and nothing good can come from one with both Sirius Black and Severus Snape. Before he could dwell on the subject any further, Eridan growled in frustration.
"What's wrong, kiddo?" Sirius asked the apparently struggling troll.
"Wwhy are robes this difficult to put on!?" ground out Eridan, fiddling with the clasp to no avail.
"You've…" stared George, circling the human disguised seadweller.
"Got it on…" carried on Fred, who took the cloak off of Eridan.
"Backwards." they finished in unison, putting the cloak on the right way, and the small alien rolled his eyes at their antics, giving them a short 'thank-you' for helping him.
"You know, the cloak still looks a tad large on him." Tonks commented, "Do you have anything smaller?"
"Unfortunately, everything else was too small for him," replied Mr. Weasley, "The one we've got now is the best fit. Not everything has to be perfect, you know."
"True," added Hermione, "But don't most purebloods have a thing for perfection? I highly doubt that even with the Black name Eridan will be well-received."
Harry never thought of that. Purebloods did have the tendency to dress impeccably, so why not have it be some strange, unspoken rule? The behavior of people like Malfoy would make much more sense if one were to imply these methods of gauging social standing. As they pondered over what they should do, Mrs. Weasley came downstairs with something in her arms. It was a small black cloak, with the Black crest on it.
"This is…" Sirius started, but the sentence died in his mouth.
"…Your old robes, I know dear. I thought that since it wasn't really worn that often," she gave a pointed look at the grim animagus, "that little Eridan could get some use out of it."
"Wwho are you callin 'little'?" the troll squeaked indignantly.
"I think that's a wonderful idea, Molly." Dumbledore said, coming into the kitchen with a cup of tea in his hands, avoiding Harry's gaze.
Mrs. Weasley beamed at the compliment.
"A fantastic alibi as well, though I do have a small question. Why 'Mary Emma' Ampora? Is there a purpose or was it chosen simply at random?" Dumbledore asked, and the wizards in the room shrugged.
"Eridan was the one that chose the name, so maybe it means something to him."
When Dumbledore turned to the aforementioned troll, Eridan smirked.
"It's an…inside joke. One of my friends is the closest to bein 'motherly' as a troll could get, so I made a reference to her. Makes it easier to remember."
"Oh is that so? I would like to meet her one of these days." Dumbledore said, smiling genially.
Eridan chuckled darkly at this.
"Trust me wwhen I say it wwould be best if you of all people did not come into contact wwith Kanaya Maryam."
Eridan knew by now that nothing in the Wizarding World was what it seemed, but when he was shown the entrance to this supposed 'Diagon Alley', he was rather unimpressed.
"Wwhat in the name of the undefinable and sagacious members of the Horrorterror's Inner Ring is this?"
"I told you this would be interesting!"
The Leaky Cauldron, as the humans called the place, was the most unkempt, shambolic place he had ever laid eyes on. There was more grime on the bar-top than there was on the windows of 12 Grimmauld Place, and that was saying something. It was dirty, dingy, and dusty, and Eridan was certain that had this been Alternia, the owner would have been culled publicly to show what an absolute disgrace to hygiene he was. This was the entrance to the area where he must purchase his goods? The human-troll wrinkled his nose at the thought. He really hoped the bar was just a front.
He was led into the back area, where all the trash seemed to be located in one single corner. A brick wall blocked their path to anywhere else, but Eridan noticed that some bricks were more worn than others. So there was a hidden entrance then, clever. Mr. Weasley stepped forward and taped the worn bricks in an order that Eridan memorized for later (you know… just in case) and the wall started to shake. Eridan watched in unhidden awe as the bricks began to systematically move and snap into each other, forming a large arched passageway to what laid beyond.
And what laid beyond was a sight Eridan couldn't even comprehend.
The sheer amount of people dressed in robes was almost painful to watch as humans bustled, pushed, shoved, and weaved their way to wherever their destination was. Some wore pointy hats, others had odd patterns on their robes. Cobblestone paths guided the way where the Alley branched out, ageless and strong against the many feet that trampled on it constantly. The buildings that held shops were nothing like anything on Alternia, as instead of the geometrical shapes that were usually made of concrete for an Alternian store, these were mostly wood and brick and metal, bent into ornate shapes that were incredibly artistic. Some humans were standing outside holding their wares, shouting prices or advertising their goods, others were carrying beasthide bags as if they had no weight, and some were haggling the street vendors.
It was strange, it was loud, it was…colorful. Never before had Eridan seen such color mixed together to form an array of shades like this. Most buildings in Alternia, and the inhabitants within, were always just varying shades of grey. Eridan didn't mind that, it was all the seadweller ever knew. Colors meant things to trolls. It meant social standing and identification. But humans didn't have such a thing. Their blood was always red, and even that wasn't important. Humans had the luxury of painting their building in green, yellow, black, red, blue without any repercussions whatsoever, having the shades mash together like a Subjugglator gone wild. It was chaotic and undeniably beautiful.
"Is he alright?"
"Let him have his moment, I don't think he's ever seen anything like it."
This snapped the troll out of his stupor, who turned to look at his group. They all had matching grins.
"Well? What do you think?"
"It's amazin…" was all Eridan could say.
At this point, they all split up into smaller groups, with Severus handling Eridan to give the troll a better alibi. After all, a professor showing around a transfer student wasn't all that uncommon. Therefore they all parted ways and Eridan was led by the hand further into the jungle that was Diagon Alley. Even so, the small seadweller realized that they were going on the straight path towards a rather impressive marble building that stood at the end of the center pathway.
"We shall be stopping at Gringotts first, as we will need to get your funds in check. Sirius has placed you as one of his heirs, so we will most likely be withdrawing from the Black Family Vault. A word of caution however, Mr. Ampora, the bank is handled, run, and guarded by an Earth race called Goblins. They are prideful and vicious race, and will treat you right only if you give them respect as well." supplied Severus as they neared the white building and its burnished bronze doors.
"Sounds like trolls, nothing I can't handle." Eridan whispered back, his head lowered so that to an outsider listener he was simply mumbling a nervous reply.
When they got closer, Eridan managed to make out the details on the door, as well as the newly titled Goblins that stood on either side of the entrance, wearing uniforms of scarlet and gold. They were rather short, only coming to Eridan's torso, and had a militaristic gleam in their eye that Eridan had seen on every troll, including himself. They were still fleshy beings, but they seemed to hold a higher intelligence than the humans did. This brought to mind the 'short flesh bags' that Dualscar had talked about with his trading agreements, and wondered if his ancestor was referring to these Goblins. It seemed incredibly likely. As they passed the set of bronze doors the Goblin bowed to them, not in respect but in polite greeting.
Next came a pair of shimmering silver doors, and had an engraved message upon them.
Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.
Clever use of rhyme and prose, all neatly organized in a delightful warning for anyone who passes through. Eridan liked them already. The two Goblins that were standing guard there bowed to them, but made no move to open the doors. Instead, Severus opened it himself, with his human-looking charge trailing behind. However, when Eridan passed the Goblins this time, he heard a short gasp, and suddenly he was bombarded by waves of wonder and reverence. Turning around, the two Goblins (as well as the ones from the bronze door) were staring at him in awe. Immediately he leveled his shoulders and gave him his normal Violet Blood gaze. This time, all four Goblins bowed, not just in politeness, but in respect. Eridan simply nodded once before rejoining his guide.
What the troll was met with was a vast marble hall. About a hundred more Goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, and examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more Goblins were showing humans in and out of these. Yet when he stepped in, he could feel all their eyes on him. Then, to his surprise, he heard them speak in what he assumed was their native tongue. This wouldn't have surprised him if it weren't for the fact that their language, despite being from another planet altogether, was strikingly like Alternian. In fact, with a little improvised thought, Eridan could actually pick out what they were saying.
"Could it be?"
"It must be, don't you feel his power?"
"This must be the Orphaner Dualscar's descendent."
"Does that human have any idea who he is in the presence of?"
Curious, so the Goblins revered his ancestor, did they? Judging by the fact that they spoke a bastardized version of Alternian, and Alternian was by far the older language, then Dualscar might have been one of the Goblins first contacts. If Eridan's deduction was correct (and let's be honest, it usually was) then Dualscar must have helped jumpstart the Goblin race, or even the Magical World as a whole. Being the descendant of someone like that was daunting, but only slightly. After all, he was a Highblood.
Severus seemed to pay no heed to the staring Goblins, but the customers did. Their angry mutters on who he was and why the Goblins were regarding him in such a way made Eridan want to smirk viciously. The troll joined Severus at one of the available counters, gazing at the Goblin behind it imperially. This time Severus discreetly glanced around, noticed by only Eridan himself, and turned back to the Goblin in front of him, excreting a small sense of confusion. Silently the Goblin, whose name according to bronze nametag was named Ragnok, rose from his seat.
"Follow me, descendant of Dualscar the Orphaner. Your human guide may follow."
Eridan noiselessly followed after the Goblin, beckoning Severus to do the same. They were led into sweeping corridors that Goblins were filing in and out of, only stopping to stare at the human-disguised troll as they passed. The troll kept his imperious gaze as he followed Ragnok to wherever the Goblin intended to take him. Even though his instincts told him that everything was perfectly safe, Eridan's experience and paranoia caused him to keep part of his conscious thought on his Strife Specibus, just in case. They made their way so far into the building that the walls turned from white marble into stones not unlike the ones that made up the Archway Chamber back on Alternia.
Eventually they reached another large set of double doors, made of a very dark metal. Ragnok stepped in front of it and dragged a single claw (oh, Eridan was beginning to miss the feel of his claws already, even though he knew they were there) down the front of the tall slabs. Immediately Eridan picked up on the flush of magic that felt much more like home than the magic of the humans flow around him and past him. It was then that the Goblin turned to Severus, who was no doubt mildly confused about the situation.
"Only the Descendant of Dualscar the Orphaner should go through these doors. Stay here."
Severus and Eridan shared a look and nodded in unison, with the human stepping away from the door as Ragnok put his palm into an indentation within the metal. Without even a squeak of the hinges, the two giant doors opened all on their own, and the Goblin led them inside.
Eridan found himself in an office that seemed to follow most of the rules for a highblood's office, with its decorations and piles of treasure (though to be fair, he knew a high-end midblood that decorated quite the same way). A large desk made of the same wood as most of the Alternian forests sat near the end of the office, and the Goblin sitting behind it seemed to know it too by the way he was caressing the top of it as his eyes bore into Eridan's own violet irises.
The Goblin behind the desk looked very old indeed, and Eridan absentmindedly wondered if he was old enough to have met his ancestor all those many sweeps ago. Ragnok bowed to the mystery Goblin, and turned to address Eridan.
"Descendant of Dualscar the Orphaner, this is Gringrit the Knowing, the great great grandson of Gringotts, who was the founder of this bank and Dualscar the Orphaner's partner in trades between Earth and Alternia."
Gringrit nodded sagely at Ragnok, who bowed politely and ducked out of the office, joining Severus outside. It was then that the wizened Goblin turned to Eridan, motioning for the troll to sit down on the guest seat. The seadweller gave the rather comfortable looking violet chair a critical eye before cautiously sitting down. As soon as he did, he felt even more magic was over him. Glancing down at himself, Eridan observed that he was once again a troll. He raised a single eyebrow at Gringrit.
"Your disguise will resume as soon as you leave this room, Descendant of Dualscar the Orphaner." Spoke Gringrit in perfect Alternian, "I am honored to be in your presence. It is the duty of my clan to watch over the accounts of your bloodline. I must say, Dualscar was not joking when he told me descendants were splitting images of their ancestors, you look just like him without those glasses."
"That is vvery kind of you to say, and I also graciously thank you for speakin in the proper fashion. Your Goblin vversion sounds far too coarse for my likin." Gringrit chuckled at Eridan's distaste.
"Ah yes, us Goblins had taken to your Alternian language and chose to make it our own, with a few altercations of course. It was your ancestor who taught us the language that was far more practical than the one we were using at the time. Your ancestor did many things, not only for the Goblin Race, but for the Magical World as a whole. His magical power was unmatched, and I can sense that you are the same way. Which brings us to why you are here. I assume you want to know what he has left within the vaults on Earth?"
"But of course. My ancestor wwas nothin but secretivve about his life, only mentionin Earth vvaguely and its inhabitants evven more so. I also knoww, howwevver, that he wwas as paranoid as I am, so he must havve left quite a bit behind on Earth so that no troll could steal it."
"Clever, very clever indeed," said Gringrit with a vicious grin, "I so do enjoy non-human charges, they are just so much more intelligent. Yes, he left quite the hoard behind, but our magic made sure to keep it secure and safe."
Gringrit took out a roll of empty parchment from his desk and placed it on the table, smoothing it out. He then took out a silver dagger and proceeded to hand it over to Eridan.
"This is a specially treated parchment used for bloodline inheritance. To access your vaults you will have to place three drops of blood onto the parchment."
Eridan took the knife and pricked his finger, making sure three drops of his royal violet blood landed onto the parchment. As he did so, he watched as Gringrit marveled at the shade of violet, and the troll had to remind himself that the only blood the Goblin would have seen would have been red. After the three drops dripped into the parchment, Eridan stuck the finger in his mouth, putting pressure to seal the small wound. The blood sunk into the empty parchment, and for a few seconds it stayed blank. Then suddenly, violet ink in the same shade as his blood started to flow onto the parchment, organizing itself into writing.
Heir: Eridan Ampora
Race: Alternian Troll (Seadweller, Violet Blood)
Inherited House Vaults: Ampora (birthright), Ravenclaw (possessor of House Ring through last will of Heidi Ravenclaw, descendant of Rowena Ravenclaw), Peverell (possessor of House Ring through last will of William Peverell, descendant of Antioch Peverell), Black (through the naming of Sirius Black, last heir of the Black Line)
"Well this is rather interesting, I was expecting the first one, obviously, but Ravenclaw and Peverell? How curious… Ah well, the parchment does not lie. Congratulations, Lord Ampora, you are the heir to four of the oldest and greatest lines in Earth history. To open a vault, simply use the House Ring as the key, there should be an indentation for it."
Gringrit opened a drawer behind his desk once more, this one had so many protection magicks that Eridan's horns felt the buzz from where he was sitting.
"Here. This is the ring for House Ampora. I am sure you will wear it with pride."
"Indeed I wwill." Eridan answered, taking the ring (which was gold with his identification symbol marked out in amethysts) and giving the old Goblin a polite bow, "I wwill be off noww, good day to you, Gringrit."
"And to you, Lord Ampora."
With that, Eridan turned around and strode out of the office, feeling the magic of the room slide off of him and, as the old Goblin had assured, his human disguise was once more in place by the time he left the double metal doors. Severus was waiting patiently by the door, as was Ragnok, and none of them said a word as the three of them walked away. Eridan fiddled with the new ring on the middle finger on his right hand, deciding to check out the vaults later. For now, all he needed was the strange magical human currency. While getting items from inside the vaults sounded appealing, Eridan's better reasoning shone through. There will always be time for that, but right now his disguise was for a limited time and he couldn't take too many chances.
"Vvault of Ampora, if you wwill." Eridan commanded the Goblin.
They were led to what look to be a rickety cart on a lone track. Ragnok motioned for them to get inside, and when they were all stowed inside the mine cart, the Goblin pulled a lever and the archaic metal rolling contraption shot down into the insanity below. The speed that they were going at reminded Eridan of roller coasters, and his seafaring days prevented him from even the mere idea that he might get sick on the ride. They travelled deeper into the caverns, going further than any of the other vaults. Eridan expected this, as he mused that Dualscar might have been one of the banks first customers.
The cart rolled to a stop at what appeared to be the end of the tracks, and Eridan looked at the vault they had come to in barely disguised awe. The imposing doors on the Ampora Vault was larger than even the door to Gringrit's office, and was heavily studded with all kinds of defenses on its violet panels. Like the old Goblin had said, there was a small indentation on one of the doors and Eridan swiftly launched himself out of the cart with the ease of dismounting his Lusus, pressing the ring against the indentation. Immediately the doors opened majestically, and Eridan was greeted to a sight that he was sure would have rendered Serket catatonic. The vault was incredibly vast, probably the same size as his WarshipHive back on Alternia. Mountains of the same bronze, silver, and gold coins that cluttered his hive were stacked so neatly that Eridan didn't dare touch them, and the gems and other artifacts were all organized by size and color in an impeccable fashion.
Eridan was just about to leave the vault (he already had the money from his hive in his Sylladex, why take any more?) when he caught sight of something near the left hand side. Bookshelves, filled with tomes of all sorts. It was then that the small troll threw any reason out the window to investigate this goldmine of knowledge. As he scanned the amazingly preserved books, one of the covers caught his eye.
The Angels of Aquarius: The True Power of the Ampora Line by Eridanus the Purifier
Another one by the Purifier? This might be something to help with the Parasite research, he thought, so Eridan immediately capchalogged it. He was about to resume exploring the tomes when Eridan heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. Severus was standing near the entrance with a single eyebrow raised, causing the troll to roll his eyes and walk out of the vault, the doors closing behind him.
"We still have the rest of Diagon Alley to see, Mr. Ampora, let's not waste too much time at Gringotts shall we?" Severus told the seadweller with his lips quirked upwards.
"Vvery true. Let's go then."
After a short cart trip back to the main Gringotts floor (Severus's face was starting to turn green) the duo bade farewell to Ragnok and headed out of the bank. Once again Eridan was exposed to the sights and sounds of the Alley, and the Potions Master simply rolled his eyes and took the human-troll by the wrist to get to their first destination. Severus dragged the starry-eyed violet bloods in a stationary shop, where they bought parchment and ink, with Eridan getting a violet quill (and several extras, just in case the flimsy squackbeast feathered writing implements broke on him). Along the way, the dour Potions Master explained the eccentricities of Wizarding currency.
"The gold coin is called a Galleon, it is the largest denomination of currency used. The bronze coins are called Knuts, and they are the smallest denomination. The silver ones are called Sickles."
At the mention of the silver coin's name, Eridan's mind jumped to the other meaning of sickle, and the troll couldn't help but think of a certain mutant-blooded sickle-wielding troll who wore silver contacts. How was he faring on Alternia? Did he tell anyone else about Eridan's voyage to another planet? If so, would they care? What was Fef doing? Her Lusus would be fine until the end of the Earth year, he supposed, so she wouldn't need him until then. He wondered if any of them missed him at all.
"…Twenty nine Knuts are worth a Sickle, and seventeen Sickles are worth a Galleon… are you listening to me, Mr. Ampora?"
Severus's voice snapped the violet-blooded troll out of his reverie.
"Yes, I memorized it all, Professor." he replied with a nod.
"Very good, then you can repeat it to me." Severus said with a raised eyebrow.
"Knuts are bronze, Sickles are slivver, Galleons are gold. There are twenty nine Knuts in a Sickle and sevventeen Sickles in a Galleon." Eridan reiterated with a smirk.
The Potions Professor simply rolled his eyes and dragged the small alien in disguise their next destination, which just happened to be a place called Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Like any clothing shop should be, it was filled with robes and fabrics and accessories, all spread apart so that the consumer could see the wares properly. Eridan appraised the shop with what Karkat liked to call his 'fashion police' eye, and nodded to himself. It was decent enough, and even Maryam might have approved, though she probably would have suggested varying the shades a little more.
Miss Malkin was a rather squat human, all dressed in mauve. She smiled genuinely as she walked up to them, but her eyes widened in confusion when they landed on Eridan.
"Mr. Potter, is that you?" she asked with a baffled look on her face.
"No, though they do bear resemblance don't they?" answered Severus smoothly, "This is Eridanus Ampora, bastard son of Sirius Black. However, as you can see, the man has made the boy his heir. His mother has decided after two years of privately tutoring him that it would be in Mr. Ampora's best interests to attend Hogwarts."
"Ah, Mr. Black, I should have known." Madame Malkin tutted good naturally with a tinge of sorrow in her voice, "He was a ruffian, that one. Still haven't caught him yet, have they?"
"Unfortunately." Severus replied.
"Alright, well, I don't think you're here for a mere chat. Why don't you hop onto one of those stools and I'll get to measuring you, Mr. Ampora."
"Thank you, Madame." Eridan said before doing as he was told.
For some reason his answer made her giggle, and Eridan felt that stupid 'mother's love' emotion come off of her.
"Oh, so polite and adorable! Such a wide eyed angel! He doesn't act much like his father now, does he? What a precious, innocent child, is he going into first year?" Madame Malkin asked Severus.
"No, he is thirteen, and will therefore be placed into third year." the man replied, amusement rolling off of him.
"Thirteen?" Madame Malkin gasped in shock and turned back to Eridan, pinning the fabric to its proper length, "My, you look so young! Keep that innocence while it lasts, child, it's a big world ahead of you!"
"Yes, Madame." Eridan said quietly, even though he wanted to retort the fact that she was probably more innocent than he ever was.
"Oh yes, definitely going to be a heartbreaker when you grow up, child, your father may have been a bad man, but in his younger years he was quite the charming boy!" she squealed, before lowering her voice to a level that if Eridan weren't a troll he wouldn't have heard, "though that is probably the reason why you are even here today."
Eridan stood patiently as she finished up her measurements. Outwardly he was the epitome of an innocent little boy, but his mind was stewing. How dare she speak as if she knew everything about him! He was Eridan Ampora, Orphaner for the Heiress and Genocidal Tactician! He had more blood on his hands than most of the humans in this place, and six sweeps old was most certainly not a childish time! In four more sweeps he will be taken away to join the Empress's Intergalactic Army, fighting and conquering in the name of Her Imperious Condescension! The nerve of this human, if only she knew what he was, then perhaps she would have been so…motherly. After all, didn't he apparently bear a close resemblance to their evil Dark Lord?
Finally the human seamstress finished her measurements, and Eridan was allowed to hop off the stool. He was told that the robes would be ready in two hours, and to come back and pick them up sometime then. The violet blooded seadweller quickly left the shop and its owner, Severus smirking next to him at the unspoken irony.
Next stop was the Apothecary, and neither Eridan nor Severus would admit afterwards how much fun they had gathering supplies not only for Eridan, but for Severus's private stores. The shop owner greeted the professor like an old friend, and they talked animatedly (or as animated as Snape could possible get) about some new stock and ingredients. The small troll listened to their conversation as he strolled around the shop, examining all the ingredients. His eyes almost bugged out of his sockets when he saw a jar labeled 'Troll Eyes' and had to remind himself that trolls were a completely different species on Earth. When he returned to the front desk, Severus had purchased all the supplies needed with the pouch Eridan had given to him (the beasthide one which held the coins Eridan had dumped inside to clean his room on Alternia) and marveled at the glass phials that would eventually hold some interesting concoctions in the future. When they had left the shop, almost an hour had passed.
Next came Flourish and Blotts, which Severus originally wasn't going to enter, but the moment he had told the disguised alien that it was a book shop, he had no other choice. It was roughly half the size of Eridan's book room at home, and even though the troll didn't get any textbooks, books on hexes, jinxes, magical creatures, wizarding culture, obscure magical arts, magical fiction, and history books joined his collection. The cashier had been practically vibrating in joy when he finally rung up all of them, and Eridan had matched the man's excitement when he walked out of the store tailed by an exasperated and amused Severus.
The trunk shop was the final stop before they had to get back to Madame Malkin's, and at first Eridan wanted to protest.
"I'vve got my Sylladex, I don't need a trunk."
"Not having a truck would be rather suspicious, don't you think? Besides, a trunk might be able to free up some space from your Sylladex, since you could simply call out the trunk and get the extra contents out, couldn't you?"
"That's exploitation of the Lawws of Paradox Space!" Eridan almost exclaimed, "Wwhy didn't I think of that?!"
In the end, Eridan decided to humor the teenagers back at Grimmauld Place and bought a custom trunk with twelve compartments, with a circle of the twelve zodiacs placed on the top with matching colors. Each compartment was accessed by tapping its corresponding symbol with his finger. The trunk maker was baffled as to why the symbols had to be a certain way and a certain color, but she wrote it off as the boy being a little eccentric. However, the creepy grin the child had went she had finished made a chill run down her spine, and she wondered if it was a good idea to have catered to the little boy's whims. Knowing Sirius Black, the boy's father, the answer would have been a resounding no.
Madame Malkin's was not empty the second time they entered. A young man around the same age as Harry was, his hair as silver as Luna's. However his expression of 'higher than thou', which reminded him of a certain spidertroll, conveyed that he was like neither comparisons.
"…some extra dress robes. Yes, they have to be done by the end of today. I don't care about cost, I'm Draco Malfoy!"
Eridan calmly walked up to where Madame Malkin was arguing with the pale haired human.
"Excuse me, Madame, I'm here for my robes." he said in a polite voice, causing both humans to turn to him.
"Oh yes, I'll get them right away! Wait here little one." exclaimed Madame Malkin before rushing to the back of the store, leaving the disguised troll with the other human, who sneered down a t him.
"Who do you think you are, interrupting me like that? Do you have any idea who I am you little whelp?"
"That will be enough, Draco." Severus said from behind Eridan, "This is Eridanus Ampora-Black. He is Black's spawn and is heir to House Black. He will be attending Hogwarts as a third year." Draco's eyes widened.
"You can't be serious! Him? Lord Black? I'd like to see a bastard child like him survive in Hogwarts!"
"I can and I wwill, Malfoy." Eridan said suddenly, his face back into his imperious mask, "And talkin bad about me might get you in trouble dowwn the road, trust me."
Violet eyes met icy blue, before their impromptu staring match was broken by Madame Malkin running back with Eridan's robes in her hands.
"Here you are, dear, all ready to go! I shall see you when you need more!"
Eridan took the robes with a quick, polite thank-you to the female human, and turned to Draco.
"Remember my wwords, Malfoy. Don't mess wwith me, you wwill regret it."
His icy tone seemed to do the trick, as fear crossed to teen's eyes before he shivered slightly. Though perhaps he did it a little too well, he thought, because both Madame Malkin and Severus had the same expression as Draco. Silence descended on the four individuals as Severus and Eridan took their leave. Even though the man's face was blank, even bored, Eridan could sense the fear that Severus excreted.
"You are afraid of somethin." the troll whispered in a low voice, and Severus's eyes widened a fraction.
"How did you know?" he whispered back.
"Trolls can sense intent and emotion, that's wwhat our horns are for. Noww spit it out, wwhy are you afraid?"
This time Eridan felt a rising level of apprehension in the man, and Severus muttered some incantations under his breath.
"There is a very evil man in this country that is cruel, cold, and ruthless. He did copious amounts of damage in the Wizarding World, and was so feared that very few even dare to speak his name. Back at Madame Malkin's you reminded us of that same man."
"Oh, you're talkin about Lord Noseless. I knoww I'm like him, that's part of the reason I wwould be an asset in your fight. I am also a genocidal sociopath that murders because I belivved they wwere lowwer than me. This is not news to me."
Severus made an odd choking sound.
"I am going to ignore the slight on the Dark Lord's name and go to the more important question. You knew?"
"But of course. Fightin in this wwar wwill givve me a chance to sate my bloodthirsty nature wwhilst learnin about magic. I, unlike you humans, havve no qualms wwhen it comes to killin thins."
"I see…" Severus sighed out, "It seems I have underestimated you, I will attempt not to do so in the future."
The Potions Master stopped at their final destination for the day, which happened to be the one Eridan had been looking forward to: Ollivander's Wand Shop. Severus cancelled the privacy charms before they entered. When the small troll opened the door, he was greeted to the sight of rows upon rows of wands neatly tucked into boxes, each having its own special layer of fine dust. Tingles ran up and down Eridan's unseen horns, the ambient magic around the place teeming with little voices.
"Well, well, what have we here?"
The whispery voice of Ollivander behind Eridan made Eridan spin around on his heel sharply, eyes wide.
"You are not from here, are you, little alien?"
"Wwha-?" Ollivander chuckled at Eridan's shock.
"Do not fret, little troll, I will keep your secret." said the old wandmaker before turning to Severus.
"Ah yes, and Severus Snape. Ebony, ten and a half inches, a unicorn hair from a rather kindhearted female, an interesting combination. I hope it has served you well?"
Severus only nodded silently. Ollivander turned back to Eridan.
"I assume you are here for a wand, but I believe you already have one bonded to you. After all, no wand on Earth would be able to withstand the sheer amount of power that you trolls possess. It took my great great great Grandfather and quite a few goblins to come up with a wand suited to your ancestor, only to have it transformed into a true weapon. Apparently wands would not have been a suitable look back on Alternia, am I correct?"
"Yes…" Eridan sighed as he remembered his friends' reaction to his wand pile, "But I don't havve a wwand, or else I wwouldn't be here."
"No, I'm quite sure you do have a wand, you simply just don't see it as one. You see, the wand made for your great ancestor was created for a dual purpose. One as a wand, and one as a weapon. It was the most powerful magical focus in existence, almost as legendary as the fabled Elder wand. Your ancestor always kept it with him ever since he received it, and I know that it was passed down to you."
"The most powwerful focus…of course…" Eridan said to himself, his eyes widening. "That wwas wwhy I wwas able to use it to open the Archwway…" he uncapchalogged what he now knew was his wand from the very start, his ticket into the magical world.
Ahab's Crosshairs.
"Yes, yes, that's the one. Still was able to tap into the focus to fire his own magic at his enemies. The Amporas had the most powerful magical core in any living being, a light so great it could purify even the foulest of magicks. It was the Purifier who commissioned for Ahab's Crosshairs, handed down to the Orphaner, and now to you. I must say, from the memories my own ancestor had left, you bear a striking resemblance to the Purifier. Must be the glasses, I suppose."
"So howw do I make this a wwand?" Eridan asked with wide eyes, looking at his rifle in a new light.
"Concentrate, feel your magic, and it will obey."
Eridan nodded more to himself than the wandmaker, and closed his eyes. This most likely had the same abilities as a Switch Weapon, like Kanaya's Chainsaw/Lipstick. If it was then all he needed to do was…
The air shifted slightly as the rifle transformed into its first form. It was almost pure white, like light concentrated into a solid shape. It had the shaft and crystal focus like its rifle form, and the grip was in the shape of a white seahorse, its tail curled tightly like its brother design on the blue rifle. Two small round amethysts were on either side of the grip, becoming the eyes of the seahorse. He waved it above his head, making an arc. Purple mist followed the tip, fading away as it flowed downward.
Ollivander motioned for him to see it, and when Eridan handed the wand over, he turned it over as if it were made of precious glass.
"Amazing," he whispered breathlessly, "Made not with any wood, but the bone of an angel's wing, given willingly and buffered with two amethysts, eleven inches, no more, no less. Core of violet blood, the blood of the Purifier, also given willingly. This truly is a masterpiece. I believe that it has served you for many years as a weapon, and now it will serve you still as a wand. What was Ahab's Crosshairs is now Angel's Wrath, and I am sure that those who cross you will feel it. You are truly meant for greatness, Mr. Ampora, your past and your present say just as much. There is nothing for you to buy here, so I will bid you adieu. And thank you for the opportunity to witness such a brilliant sight."
Angel's Wrath was handed back to its owner, who capchalogged it immediately. Both wandmaker and troll bowed to each other, before the troll and his speechless chaperon left the store in stunned silence.
AN:
Oni: Aaaand that's all for now!
Eridan: Wwe wwould like to thank all of you wwho havve followwed, favorited, and revviewwed.
Oni: Yes, and HOLY CRAP people, over ONE HUNDRED REVIEWS! You are all beautiful, beautiful people... *sobs*
Eridan: Wwe also broke sevven thousand wwords wwith this chapter, wwe hope you're happy.
Oni: *sobs emotionally*
Eridan: *pats the author on the back* Calm dowwn Oni, it's time to say our closin lines.
Oni: *calms down* Right, right.
Eridan: Wwe shall see you next time...
Oni: ...My pretties!