Summery – The Black Nightmare! … When everyone knows he's out to get you, should you be more afraid?
Disclaimer – J.K. Rowling, I am not… there are some direct quotes, some mixed quotes, and some indirect quotes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in this, but I did try to make it fun to re-read what you've probably read before if you're reading Harry Potter fanfiction.
Segment 6 – Winter Wonderings
In a small locked tower, never visited by any student at Hogwarts, Albus sat staring at a name in a peeling, ancient, black, dragon-hide bound book with a small silver inkpot, from which a long, faded quill protrudes, standing beside it; neither of which has been touched by human hands since the four founders placed it there upon completion of the castle. These are the Quill of Acceptance and the Book of Admittance and they constitute the only process by which students are selected for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and never before has a name, once written magically in the book, ever been erased; but the name Albus was staring at, Harriett Lillian Potter, was so faded that he could nearly not make it out.
"Perhaps it is better for her this way, no girl could ever do what needs to be done." the Headmaster sighed, turning away from the book, "NO! For the Greater Good that brat MUST stay." Grabbing an ever-full quill from his pocket, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore did what no one since the Founders of Hogwarts had done, he wrote in the book.
Jamie finally convinced Hermione to sacrifice one night of revision and do a reset of the Time Turner on Monday night so they would have time to eat breakfast on Saturday before catching the train back to London. Jamie slept away most of the trip, but even though their relationship was still somewhat strained and Hermione refused to talk about why. The older girl did not accept Jamie's invitation to explore Slytherin Tower together on the 23rd; surprisingly however, two of the girls from their study group, who they were sharing the compartment with, practically begged to join in on Jamie's exploration. Before they would meet up on Wednesday evening however, so Tuesday found Jamie in Diagon Alley to purchase some rather important Christmas presents for her friends.
After checking in with Master Crushbone to make sure what she had planned would be acceptable within the limits of her current account restrictions, Jamie pulled over a hundred thousand Galleons from her vault in Gringott's to splurge a bit on Christmas gifts.
Jamie's first stop was Quality Quidditch Supplies to pick up a new broom for herself. When Jamie asked about the price of the Firebolt, she was a bit shocked. Yes, she could afford it, but the goblin made broom was very pricy and Jamie decided to get something a bit more cost efficient. Like Ron had, the manager kept trying to push her into getting a Nimbus 2001 to replace her destroyed Nimbus 2000, but Jamie didn't want to use the same broom Malfoy bought his way onto the Slytherin team with. So in the end she went with the Quicksilver, a broom slightly slower than the Nimbus 2001, but capable of much greater maneuverability; she also shocked the manager by ordering three Cleansweep 14s, which had nearly identical statistics to the Nimbus 2000, for Angelina, Alicia, and Katie, two Moontrimmer Excaliburs for the Weasley Twins, the best broom available for Beaters and made by the same company that made her new Quicksilver, a Tinderblast 92 from the company that produces the Firebolt for Oliver, which has a low top speed but incredible acceleration, perfect for someone that doesn't need to go far but get there very fast, and a Silver Arrow 4 for Ginny so she wouldn't have to put up with using the lower quality brooms her brothers currently had. The best part for Jamie though, was the fact that all of those brooms combined cost only slightly more than half the price of a Firebolt.
The next stop on her shopping expedition was Wellstone's Magical Gemstones and Jewelry Shoppe to order a few items made for her family. For Ted Tonks she ordered a heavy gold ring, for Andy a pretty gold broach, and for Dora a small gold pendent, all with the Potter Family Crest on them; and for Aunt Minnie, she picked up a thin silver bracelet that had cats magically playing around on it to go with the 1994 Kitten calendar she was planning to pick up later that day. Although they were not on the best of terms at the moment, Jamie was hoping Hermione would get over whatever was troubling her soon, and picked up a pair of sapphire earrings for the bookworm, that matched the pendent Jamie had given her the year before.
The next morning Andy answered the door to find Lord Peneus and Lady Creusa Greengrass with their two daughters, Daphne and Astoria, dressed in very fine and well-coordinated muggle outfits, even if they were from nearly a century ago. Before her parents departed with her younger sister, Daphne reluctantly agreed to abide by the house rule of "no titles among friends" while staying with the Tonkses.
Later that afternoon Jamie asked, "Hey Daphne?"
"What Potter?" the blonde returned annoyed with the lack of title.
"Do you know when Tracey will be here?"
"Miss Davis is not coming. She is with her father and had other plans for tomorrow."
"It's only for while we're with my guardians. It won't kill you to be informal for a couple days."
Daphne didn't respond to that statement.
"Did you realize that our last names could be considered titles?"
"Tsk… fine… Jamie."
"Perhaps it's better that Tracey isn't here," Jamie said with a sigh, "there are some things I'd like to know that you may be able to help me with but I wouldn't want to annoy her with."
"Like what?"
"What does it mean to be the Heiress of an Ancient and Most Noble House?"
"You mean you don't know?"
"I was raised poorly as a boy by muggles that hated anything that even remotely had a connection to magic; though Cousin Andy is trying to help, she was never the Heiress to the House of Black."
That evening was spent in very intense social studies on the rules, rights, and responsibilities of being an heiress with both Andy and Ted popping into Jamie's room on occasion to ask questions of the Greengrass Heiress. There were a great many things discussed, including the claiming of the Headship of the family, which can be done by the primary heir or heiress at the age of fourteen if no head is currently ruling and the family charter allows; the assumption of the family seat in the Wizengamot at the age of fifteen, for training, even though you must be sixteen before you can cast a vote; Marriage Contracts, and so much more.
The next morning found Jamie, Daphne and Dora standing at what appeared to be the ruins of an old tower near the south end of Oxwich Bay in Wales.
"I still find it hard to believe you knew nothing of the magical world growing up," the blonde said shaking her head.
"I'd say you would understand if you ever met my mother's sister and her family, but you'll be better off never encountering them," the raven haired girl replied ruefully.
"I take it there's more here than a pile of rubble," the pink haired Auror trainee said questioningly.
Nodding, Jamie pulled out the instructions Master Crushbone had sent her, then called out to the ruined tower, "The Heir of Slytherin summons Wirpy."
With a soft pop, two house elves appeared before the three girls, and while the younger elf bounced up and down with joy and cried, "Harry Potter miss has come to visit Dobby!" The ancient looking one scowled and pointed a long, slender sword at Jamie's throat saying, "Who calls Wirpy?"
Dobby looked furious with the other house elf, but nothing he was doing appeared to effect the ancient one, and with the tip of the sword just barely touching her skin, Jamie couldn't make out the glowing runes on the blade and felt compelled to answer the question, in a way that surprised her, "I am Lady Harriett Lillian Potter, also known as Jamie Potter, daughter of Lord James Charlus Potter and Lady Lily Rose Potter nee Evans, Heiress Apparent of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter, Daughter of the Great, Noble, and Most Ancient House of Gryffindor, Heiress Apparent of the House of Gaunt, Heiress Apparent, Avenger of the Most Ancient House of Monroe, Heiress Designate of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, Heiress Apparent of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Peverell, Heiress Apparent, Avenger of the Great, Noble, and Most Ancient House of Hufflepuff, and Heiress Apparent of the Great, Noble, and Most Ancient House of Slytherin."
Wirpy looked surprised, then lowered the blade and said, "Fragarach has accepted your answer. How may Wirpy be of service?"
"That's the Answerer… the Sword of Truth?" Daphne burst out with a shocked look on her face.
Wirpy turned to the blonde and stated, "The sword of Lord Lugh has many names miss, but those are two of them."
"So what… it's like Veritaserum in sword form?" Dora asked, "That could come in handy."
"What the hell was with all of those houses?" Daphne yelled, "Heiress of Slytherin and Hufflepuff, and daughter of Gryffindor?"
Jamie shrugged, a bit confused herself.
"Wirpy knows the potion you speaks of miss," the old elf said turning to the pink haired Auror trainee, "Fragarach is stronger. Fragarach pulls truths with old magics, even if speaker knows not."
"Wirpy," Jamie said getting the elf's attention once more, "We would like to explore the tower."
"Yes Mistress," Wirpy said, and with a snap of his aged fingers the ruined tower they were standing next to transformed into an imposing five story tall structure, with crenellations on the ramparts surrounding the top, and a twenty foot outer wall.
Stepping through the heavy gates and through the large courtyard lined with stables on one side and what appeared to be salles d'armes for training in both martial and magical battle techniques on the other, Wirpy led the trio of girls on a Grand Tour of the six story tower, stopping occasionally when their curiosity about some of the items they were seeing got the better of them. In the Armory, Wirpy placed Fragarach on a stand below a spear with the legend Ascalon on it, and above what at first glance looked like two daggers, Carnwennan and Lævateinn, the former appeared to have shadows moving across the blade continuously above its plain white hilt, while the later turned out to be a stiff birch wand with a silver blade attached. The next stand over had the name Bercilak imprinted on above a set of faded green, lacquered armor and a set of boots that said 7L 'Swift-steppers' on them.
Dora muttered to herself as Wirpy led them out of the Armory, "whoever set up that stand was either an Auror or an assassin."
"Why do you say that?" Daphne asked.
Dora shook her head and started holding up fingers as she listed off the items on the first two stands, "Armor that protects the wearer from physical wounds, boots that cover miles per step, a spear that pierces through any defense, a sword that forces the truth out of people, a dagger that cloaks the wielder in shadows, and a very powerful wand… not to mention all the other things in there that we didn't even look at."
"That's all staying right where it is for now," Jamie said firmly. "I think you're probably right about the previous owner though Dora, or possibly a spy." Jamie mused, then turned to Wirpy, "Wirpy, before we arrived today, when was the tower last occupied by a mage?"
"You ask about Master Corvinus, Mistress? Wirpy thinks it was 1783 when Wirpy sees him last."
"Corvinus… Gaunt?" Jamie asked, "The one who helped hide the Chamber of Secrets from being found?"
"Aye, Mistress. Master Corvinus did not approve of his grandson's ways and chose not to tells him about some family secrets."
"Such as the Chamber of Secrets and this tower," Jamie said then turned to the blonde girl who had fallen behind, "Something wrong Daphne?"
"1783… but that means you're over two hundred years old Wirpy, no house elf lives that long!"
"House elves can Miss Daffy," Dobby said, "but bad masters makes it difficult."
"Magic preserves," Wirpy said nodding in agreement with Dobby.
Browsing through the library, Jamie was sorely tempted to take the Diary of Lady Scáthach the Warrior Maiden, while Daphne wanted to borrow one of the Galdrabók Grimoires collecting dust on a back table, but both left their finds in the large chamber when Dora pointed out how fragile the old books appeared to be. Jamie promised herself to look into preserving magics and possibly getting some copies made of these rare books.
It was nearly suppertime when the three girls left the tower to return to Vicarage Crescent, with Jamie promising Wirpy to find a younger house elf to assist him in his duties, since Dobby didn't wish to be bound to the House of Slytherin in order to do so.
After Daphne left the next morning, Jamie sat in her room contemplating the last two days she'd spent with the blonde Slytherin and decided to try bringing the other girl into a closer friendship when the opportunity arose.
Dressing quickly and warmly when Dora called up the stairs to remind her of the planned trip to collect the presents from the merchants of Diagon Alley, the young Gryffindor girl practically skipped down the stairs in happiness. With all the brooms being delivered by owl post, direct from the manufacturer, Jamie only really needed to go to Wellstone's Magical Gemstones and Jewelry Shoppe to collect the custom ordered pieces, but while she was there she also picked out a silver snake bracelet with pale green Peridot eyes for Daphne.
Braving the holiday crazed multitudes that filled the Alley, Jamie also stopped into the Magical Menagerie to inquire about acquiring a new house elf and was quickly directed to Rodelaneo Martinez in the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures office. Which led to the two girls stopping by the fourth floor offices in the Ministry to purchase the contracts for Hywil and Mizyl, which Jamie immediately send on to Wirpy for training. She then sent a note to Master Crushbone requesting a meeting for a more in depth inheritance test and a list of the houses she'd named to Wirpy the day before.
While it wasn't the first time she'd ever received presents for Christmas, it was the first time she'd ever been part of a family that wanted her to be part of the celebration of the holiday. After breakfast, Ted, Andy, and Dora pulled Jamie into the family room at the back of the house where the Christmas tree and presents had been arranged. Being the youngest present, Jamie was tasked with playing Santa and handing out the gifts.
Cousin Dora got Jamie a small Wizarding Wireless set, Ginny sent a handmade scarf with poems embroidered on it, and the Twins sent a small, green snake in a large terrarium. She also got a primer on the Wizengamot from Ted, a book on the Noble and Most Ancient Houses from Andy, a book on the lore and legends of Scotland from Aunt Minnie, and three romance novels from Hermione that Dora immediately absconded with.
All three appreciated their gifts from the young girl, but Andy was somewhat concerned with the appearance of placing them under the protection of the House of Potter that the items signified. Jamie however wasn't really concerned with that though, saying that all three would fall under her House's protection regardless of having the family crest showing due to them taking her in as a ward.
She also received a note back from Master Crushbone saying the deep inheritance test could be done, but it would cost one thousand Galleons and would take just over a week to set up; to which she replied and requested it to be done on the third of January, the day before she would catch the train back to Hogwarts.
Even though it was the weekend, Jamie couldn't head off to Potter Manor until Dora's next day off on Wednesday the 29th. The three days between, however, were not wasted as Jamie spent most of her time studying the books she had received for Christmas; though she couldn't figure out why the dreams she was having after reading the steamy romance novels Hermione had sent her had her playing out the part of the male characters, but she wasn't about to ask about them or let anyone know about the moist messes she found upon waking.
During those three days, Jamie crammed as much information as she could about many topics magical children learn about for several years before attending Hogwarts, such as their family histories and place in society, even more etiquette and rules of conduct, rights, privileges, and responsibilities to family, allies, enemies, and the general populace, and so much more that Jamie doubted she would be able to ever figure it all out on her own, and the one girl she usually turned to for help, hadn't yet responded to the many missives and queries Jamie had sent in the last few days.
The 29th brought about a few more surprises than Jamie was expecting a trip to Potter Manor would bring about.
Hermione finally replied to Jamie's letters:
Dear Jamie,
It's taken me three months to finally figure this out, and only then with a lot of help from my parents and mentors. I think we should talk, as this is really not something to do through letters.
Your friend,
Hermione
The letter just confused Jamie even more than the week long silence had.
After Dora Side-Along Apparited Jamie to the eastern banks of Loch Middle in Scotland, the young Lady Potter called for Reesy to appear before her; however she wasn't expecting five other house elves to appear instead of just the one she called for, especially when they all cried out greetings for Missy Harry and tried hugging her to death.
Potter Manor was gorgeous; Dora said it looked like something from Frank Lloyd Wright with tile mosaic floorings from M. C. Escher. The front had large sweeping windows that almost made the house disappear into the sky while the three terraced balconies, covered in a multitude of greenery, faded into the woods all around, and a natural spring ran like a small river in little waterfalls down to the loch below. Reesy led Jamie and Dora around the palatial seven floor manor with two indoor atriums and a huge arboretum with a grotto for swimming under an enchanted ceiling similar to the one in the Great Hall of Hogwarts. As they wondered through the halls looking at ballrooms and dining rooms for different occasions, libraries, guest suites, family suites, royal suites, training rooms, armories, classrooms, kitchens, and storage areas, Reesy introduced the other elves and spoke a little about where they were posted. Zabby and Nibsy, a mated pair, maintained the Potter Lake House, which was an island fort in the middle of the English Channel, about two miles south of Hastings; Veeny worked at the Potter Island Retreat on the South end of Rona Island in Scotland; and then little Mindy, the youngest of them, who Reesy had working at the manor instead of Potter Cottage in Godric's Hollow since the ministry decided the house should be a war memorial to the defeat of "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." Jamie thought it odd that Zabby was the only male house elf of the lot, and decided to look into picking up another one or two if the elves asked her to. She was not really upset that the ministry had claimed Potter Cottage for a memorial, but she was mad that the ministry had not even thought of putting their request in writing or any form of compensation, just assuming that the proper owner wouldn't care about having the property practically stolen from her.
Dora was hard pressed to talk Jamie out of having Mindy rebuild the place to spite the ministry, but eventually managed to calm the young Lady Potter down. Then again, meeting Sirius Black in the foyer on the way out might have been a major part of that issue being dropped.
Jamie spent New Year's preparing for returning to Hogwarts and getting Cousin Andy to agree to letting her go to Azkaban for Valentine's Day. She was still a bit awe struck by the fight between Dora and Siri, but once the escaped resident of the wizarding prison managed to dodge behind Jamie, forcing Dora to stop her attack, he managed to talk to the two girls about what had happened to him on the afternoon of November 1st, 1981. Dora still had a hard time believing him until he deliberately stepped away from Jamie and requested she use Veritaserum on him which Reesy promptly delivered to the young Auror trainee. Although when Jamie asked her godfather the quiet question, "You broke out… think you can break back in?" to the shock of the other two; then the pink haired girl and accused mass-murderer nearly lost their minds laughing as Jamie came up with the Valentine's Day rescue plan.
-Author's Notes-
I've had some medical and legal issues in my family recently, so while I may not be updating very regularly for a bit, this story is most definitely not dead yet.
7L Swift-Steppers are Seven-league boots… try Googling some of the items mentioned (I think you'll find them funny). I tried to stay within English, Welsh, Celtic, and Norse mythology since all of them have some influence on each other due to various invasions of the British Isles.
1783 was the end of the War of American Independence, and the Gaunt family has other ties to the Americas so it would stand to reason that Corvinus Gaunt could have been involved in that war.
Hepzibah Smith was the last of her line (Hufflepuff) when Tom Riddle killed her and stole the Locket and Cup... had Tom done so in combat, he would be Heir of Hufflepuff by Conquest, however he did so by treachery making him a Usurper of the line. Thus Harry killing Tom Avenges the line transferring Heirship to the House of Potter, otherwise it the same transfer would occur by Conquest. I'm not entirely sure if that is canon, as different sources have differing opinions on that point… but for this story it will be true.
Now for a breakdown of Lady Harriett Lillian Potter's titles… believe it or not it's almost all canon…
Heiress Apparent of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter, - by birth
Heiress Apparent of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Peverell, - by birth (descendent of Ignotus Peverell)
Heiress Apparent of the Great, Noble, and Most Ancient House of Slytherin – by birth (descendent of Cadmus Peverell's younger brother Ignotus (or directly in my story via Gaunt)) and conquest (Defeat of Tom Riddle)
Heiress Designate of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, - Draco is closer to Sirius by blood but Jamie was named, or designated, as Heiress to the House by Lord Sirius Orion Black
Heiress Apparent of the House of Gaunt, - by birth and conquest (see above)
Heiress Apparent, Avenger of the Most Ancient House of Monroe, - for defeating Tom Riddle who had ended the line
Heiress Apparent, Avenger of the Great, Noble, and Most Ancient House of Hufflepuff, - for defeating Tom Riddle who had ended the line
Daughter of the House of Bulstrode (not mentioned) through Violetta Bulstrode (Dorea Potter Nee Black's mother)
Daughter of the Great, Noble, and Most Ancient House of Gryffindor – In the house but not the Heiress… this is just for my story but the Evans family has magical roots that are not explored in canon and the Welsh name, Evan means "young warrior," which is part of Godric's description in canon (JKR said Harry is not the Heir of Gryffindor, but you must be at least part of the House to be a "true Gryffindor")
Daughter of the House of McGonagall (not mentioned / this story only) through Daisy Iona Goodspeak nee McGonagall (Lily Evans' maternal grandmother)
All of these are Apparent as Jamie is not yet "Of Age" to claim her titles, they would be Presumptive if she had siblings or the current Lord or Lady was still alive. The order of the titles is house of birth, then ascending order of age and nobility, then alphabetically.
The Great just designates it as a Founder's House, but is otherwise unimportant…
Crushbone - Christmas 2nd year
"Let's see," the goblin master said when she asked him about her family's holdings other than the vaults here at Gringott's, "There's Potter House in Godric's Hollow, though that's little more than a ruin now, still might be worth something if you rebuild; Potter Manor and Estates in Scotland, probably quite lovely by your people's standards; The Gaunt and Riddle houses in Little Hangleton, neither of those are worth much now either; and then there's Slytherin Tower in South Wales. Your family's combined business holdings still being dealt with through Gringott's earn 1,947,375 Galleons per annum after fees and taxes; And there's more." The goblin said stopping as Jamie held her hand up.
This by no means limits Jamie's holdings to only what is listed above. Two parts of this particular revelation indicate this: "her family's holdings other than the vaults here at Gringott's" and also "and there's more." Canon says that the Goblin Nation controls Wizarding Wealth, not that all banks are Gringott's… so other locations could be named something else, or this could be referencing a specific branch of that bank, or could even be rival, goblin-owned banks (goblins are a warrior race after all, competition is in their blood)… I really haven't decided yet.
As always… Like / Review / Whatever… till next time.