Hi All,
Welcome to the Chapter 12 of Cambion.
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Disclaimer: This fanfiction is purely for non-profit and fun, all rights to canon characters and the HP universe belongs to JK Rowling. Also, this is purely a work of fiction and imagination. Events described in the fic resembling reality is merely a coincidence.
Also, Thanks for the lovely comments.
szaboalexandra1991 - Wish you a very happy birthday once again.
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And everyone who's commented, thanks so much. The family is doing fine, staying together through this pandemic. Wish to enjoy the open fresh air with them without fear some day. Until then it's precautions and fan-fictions.
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Hermione fed the old woman some soup and water before trying out the imperius curse on her a few times. After a few failed attempts she got the hang of it and was able to maintain the curse for a longer while.
Having gone through an emotional rollercoaster since last night and a physically exhausting day travelling around, Hermione had no trouble falling asleep in one of the bedrooms upstairs.
The next morning Hermione woke up refreshed and smiled looking back at the ring placed on her ring finger.
She quickly finished her breakfast and with the imperius she managed to make the woman behave like a puppet to her commands. She got her upstairs and healed any bruises as well as she could.
The only caveat was that the woman's eyes had a vacant look which she easily concealed using a pair of dark sunglasses she found in the woman's wardrobe. After getting her to dress up in a decent dress, Hermione got ready herself wearing a pair of trousers and tucked-in plaid shirt and a pair of black oxford shoes.
It was almost 11am when the doorbell rang announcing a visitor. Hermione used the imperius to give the woman final instructions on how to behave before making her sit in the living room.
Hermione opened the door to a woman with shoulder length honey blond hair dressed up in a grey muggle business suit. The woman seemed to be in her 30s and had kind brown eyes and thin lips.
"Hello, I'm Sonya Miller from Verbinski Associates Firm. I had an appointment with Miss Hahn." the woman said with a smile.
"Ah, yes. Yes, aunty's waiting for you. Please come in." Hermione welcomed her inside with a smile and led her towards the living room.
"Aunty, your guest is here. This is Ms Miller from the solicitor's office." said Hermione, "Please have a seat, I'll get some tea."
"Nice to meet you Ms Hahn. I'm Sonya Miller, here as per our appointment to prepare your will and to assist with some other documentations you requested." the woman said, extending her hand towards Mother Superior who ignored it before the woman pulled it back with an awkward smile.
"Hello Ms Miller, I'm Marie Hahn. Thanks for coming at such short notice. I would like you to prepare my last will and testament in the name of my niece Hermione Granger. She will provide you with the necessary details." Mother Superior replied monotonously with a short smile.
Hermione watched the encounter from the kitchen and realised that she should have given much generalised instructions on holding conversations with the solicitor. She quickly prepared the tea service before going back to the living room.
Hermione smiled while serving them tea as the solicitor continued to prepare a draft for the will.
"Uhmm, Ms Miller." Hermione asked and continued when she had the woman's attention, "Here, this file has all the details about the property and bank statements you need for drafting the Will. Can I ask how much time would it take for the will to come into effect."
"Thank you. This should be enough." The woman said, accepting the file, "As per Ms Hahn's request we will get it expedited and since she has no kin or family to dispute the will, I'm sure I can get it done within a couple of days. I'm sorry if I'm intruding but just out of curiosity, may I ask why she's wearing dark glasses indoors?"
"Oh, that… Ahmm she… she has a a... an eye infection." Hermione said trying to make something up and added after a brief pause, "You know those are contagious, right? That's the reason she didn't shake hands earlier. Ms Miller, I was wondering if you can expedite my identification records too. My birth certificates were burnt in a fire at the orphanage and I don't really have any IDs since I was home-schooled."
"Oh yes, on a chargeable basis, I can get those created and notarized for you. What's your age dear?" Ms Miller asked.
"I turned seventeen last November, the eleventh, right Aunty?" said Hermione, turning towards Mother Superior who merely nodded in affirmation.
"You look older but I guess puberty hasn't hit you yet. Your voice still seems more like a pre-teen" said Ms Miller, hastily adding, "-but don't mind it. It's just an observation." when Hermione frowned.
"That's alright, aunty wanted me to get my ID created so that I can apply for a driver's license. She's fine with the bill." Hermione added not trusting Mother Superior to speak incoherently.
"Excellent, the draft is ready. I need the signatures from Ms Hahn and yourself to proceed with filing the same. The final bill I'll share once the documents are ready." The solicitor handed over the draft for both of them to sign.
Hermione spent a few minutes reading through it before she signed it and handed it over to Mother Superior with a whisper in her ear to sign it quickly. Mother Superior signed the document and handed it over to the solicitor who sealed it in an envelope before putting it back in her briefcase.
"Well, thanks Ms Hahn and Ms Hermione. This was quite a fruitful meeting, I wasn't expecting it to complete so soon considering most clients go back and forth on the drafts and haggle on the bill. It was indeed a pleasure doing business with you." the woman said, extending her hand towards Hermione.
Hermione shook the extended hands with a smile, "We wanted someone whom we can trust and I feel the least we can do is reward your efforts. We want to give you an additional 10% bonus on the billed amount as a token of appreciation Ms Miller."
"But Ms Hahn?" she asked curiously looking towards the older lady for confirmation who couldn't say anything but nodded in agreement.
"See, I told you aunt agrees with me." Hermione said.
"Ms Hermione, it was indeed a pleasure meeting you. Don't worry, your trust isn't misplaced. I'll ensure your work is done satisfactorily." the woman replied with a warm smile before leaving the house.
Hermione locked the doors before ordering Mother Superior to walk down the basement and wait for her. She felt a relief wash over her. It was difficult posing as an adult, however if she had to have some autonomy, then this was the first step.
Hermione decided to rest for the day, Gringotts was important but she needed rest from all the exhaustion exercising control over the imperius curse. She tied up Mother Superior after giving her a meal and put the body bind on her before releasing her from the imperius.
Hermione spent the day reading about dark spells and rituals from the only book she had from her mentor. It was not as big as a grimoire, however it was the only book on dark spells she had. Hopefully her mother would have left some books for her.
Hermione got ready the next morning and made sure to check on Mother Superior, she wanted the woman to look healthy for the time being. She fed and scourgified the woman and left the house locked after ensuring she was tied and bound properly.
Hermione took the Knight Bus to reach the Leaky Cauldron and changed into a fresh pair of robes before leaving for Gringotts.
It was still quite early in the day and not many wizards or witches were around inside the bank. Hermione went to the counter which didn't have any customers around.
"Excuse me, Master Goblin" Hermione inquired in a low tone before the Goblin merely grunted at her to continue, "I'm here to claim my inheritance."
The Goblin raised his head and curiously looked at her, "Hmmm, aren't you the same girl who came for an inheritance test? Which House do you lay claim to, girl?"
Hermione snuck a look around before responding in a low but determined tone, "I, Hermione Xenia Sergeyev, lay claim to the House of Sergeyev as the only living heir."
Hermione held her right hand forward towards the goblin who scrutinized the ring before replying in a gruff voice, "Very well, Ms Sergeyev, please follow me."
The goblin led her from the main hall towards one of the many stone passages and guided her into a small room with a clawfoot desk and a few chairs.
"Wait here, Ms Sergeyev. Your account manager will be here shortly." the goblin said before leaving the room closed behind him.
She waited for a while before the doors opened to a goblin dressed in a fine dark green pinstripe suit carrying a folder. He had a huge battle scar running diagonally across his face that gave him a much cruel and fierce appearance.
He sat opposite Hermione and signalled the guard waiting outside who came in and placed a goblet with clear liquid on the desk.
"Welcome, Ms Sergeyev, I am Rothfang, the account manager for the Sergeyev family. I have been told that you are here to claim your inheritance." the goblin said, "Is it correct?"
"Yes, master goblin. I'm here to claim the heirship of the House." Hermione said resolutely.
Rothfang gave her a sharkish grin, "You may call me Rothfang. Presuming you know that attempting to cheat Gringotts... you will be fed to the Dragons... I'll get... started."
Hermione flinched but kept her nerve, she trusted her mother's letter.
"Very well, we will have to perform an inheritance test, if you are the heir, the charges shall be waived off, otherwise you will have to pay for it from your own pocket... before we punish you for attempting fraud. Now, please take the knife and slit your finger, we need you to put a few drops of your blood into the potion." Rothfang pushed the knife towards her.
Hermione felt her nerves giving in, but she held herself and slowly picked the knife in her right hand and slit her left thumb flinching with light pain, holding it over the goblet to let the blood drip into it directly. The wound began to heal itself shortly after she removed her hand and placed the knife back.
Hermione gave the goblin a surprised look who merely smirked before simply replying, "Want not, waste not."
The potion went from clear to pinkish hue due to the blood and then it turned dark. Rothfang pulled a parchment and poured a bit of the liquid on it which was absorbed into the parchment leaving it blank. The parchment glowed before text appeared on it.
Name: Hermione Xenia Sergeyev
Born: 19th September, 1979
Father's name: Tom Marvolo Riddle Jr. a.k.a. Lord Voldemort
Mother's name: Mila Famke Sergeyev
Siblings: None
Family: Heir to House of Sergeyev and Gaunt(extinct)
Sign here to claim heirship of the above-mentioned Houses
-
Rothfang read the parchment and gave her a wicked smile. "Welcome, Ms Sergeyev. It seems you were right. Please sign the parchment to complete the formalities."
Hermione's eyes widened when she came across her father's name. She was silent for a minute thinking back to the wraith that escaped her mentor's body. Was that her father now? A mere parasite? She quashed her feelings and picked up the quill but looked around slightly confused, "How do I… sign it without ink?"
The goblin merely gave a throaty laugh, "This quill needs no ink. Give it a try."
Hermione signed her name but felt a prick in her arm when she began to scribble. The quill spewed her signature not in ink but her own blood which made her feel queasy.
"That's all, Ms Sergeyev. You are now the heir to Houses Sergeyev and Gaunt. Although I must tell you, there's not a single knut in the Gaunt vault and in terms of property there's merely an old hut somewhere in Little Hangleton." The goblin said.
Hermione's mind was filled with mixed emotions. On one hand she was happy to have finally got the inheritance test done and now knew who her family was. She had a feeling her father could have been someone working for Voldemort given the circumstances, but for it to be him, she felt overwhelmed.
She was the only daughter of Britain's most hated Dark Wizard. Things started to fall in place when she thought about it, Potter and his family somehow defeated him. Her cousin was imprisoned and her mother hunted down by the ministry.
She came off her stupor and focused her attention towards the Goblin in front of her.
"May I know if there's any property that belonged to my mother, Rothfang. At least a source of income?" Hermione asked.
"There is a mansion and a few houses back in Ukraine, the only property in Britain was raided and confiscated by the ministry under the pretext of recovering reparations for the first war. There are vineyards and a local wine factory that are still being maintained by Gringotts. The profits over the years have been deposited into your accounts and spent partially on expansion." Rothfang gave her a brief on her accounts.
"I don't want to take too much of your time, but I do have a few requests." Hermione continued, "Can you rebuild and put a few protections on a house? Secondly, why didn't you invest in other businesses?"
"We need permission from the client to venture into a new investment. Since there was no one to approve the same, my hands were tied. However, the existing venture has been successful and returns high profits every year." Rothfang replied with a sneer feeling insulted at the accusation of negligence, "We can rebuild a house and ward it for a price, however, it's not possible to get the land back from the ministry."
"I didn't mean to offend you, I was only curious to know. My apologies, if I did. I have another house that I might need help with. I know nothing of business but since you're the account manager I trust you to make appropriate decisions. You have my permission to invest as you see fit. I do have one request." Hermione said.
Rothfang's sneer softened, "Very well, Ms Sergeyev. I shall get working on new opportunities. Name your request?"
"You may henceforth refer to me by my adopted name. Hermione Granger. With who my father and mother were, it'll cause unnecessary problems for me, if my identity was known among the Wizarding World." Hermione requested the goblin who simply nodded in agreement.
"If that is all, Ms Granger. You may want to visit your vault, I presume." Rothfang replied, picking up his folder.
"Uhmm, sure. Please lead the way." Hermione stood from her chair waiting for the goblin to lead her down the vaults. She was excited about the cart ride she heard so many students describe back at Hogwarts.
The goblin led her through various passageways towards a slightly drafty corridor that opened up into a mine shaft of sorts.
"Here we are, Ms Granger. Please step into the cart cautiously." Rothfang said with a knowing smirk.
Hermione felt the cart and the rails would give in any minute. It wasn't too reassuring apart from the fact that it was held together by magic. She stepped into the cart and held her backpack tightly with one hand and grabbed the side of the cart with the other one.
Without any warning, the cart zoomed into motion twisting and turning through tunnels past platforms that held other vaults. Hermione was scared yet felt exhilarated with the little adventure ride.
Hermione got off the cart with a wide grin, "I take it you enjoyed the ride Ms Granger."
Hermione laughed out carefree, "Yes, it was a lot of fun."
"Excellent, here's vault 563. The Sergeyev family vault." He opened the vault with a golden key before stepping aside.
Hermione felt giddy walking into the vault filled with mountains of Galleons. Scattered around the vault were bricks of gold, expensive heirlooms and in one corner of the vault stood a huge bookshelf holding old tomes and grimoires belonging to the family.
She walked further and found a few dark cloaks made of expensive leather of some sort. She picked one that was slightly big for her and decided to get it fitted at Madam Malkins.
She cautiously read the titles and picked out a few of them on rituals and spells both light and dark. She picked up a spare drawstring pouch lying nearby and scooped up a few handful of galleons into the pouch.
Hermione thought about her miserable muggle life all the while browsing through her vault. She had a moment of realisation while leaving the vault.
"I was wondering if Gringotts deals with muggle money and business, Rothfang." Hermione mused.
"Indeed we do, how else do you think the muggleborns come in to exchange the muggle currency in exchange for galleons." Rothfang explained.
"Excellent, can you invest in the muggles too? I have a feeling if I have to live amongst them, it would be nice to have some legitimate source of income on the muggle side too." Hermione said.
"I hope you don't have much qualms when it comes to the type of business… I have a few extremely profitable investment opportunities, however, hmmm… How do I put it… let's say, morally ambiguous." he asked.
"No, I hate the muggles more than even my parents could. I have first hand experience of what they can do. Although that's where I need to hide until I reach my majority. I don't care where you invest if you can make me as rich as the Malfoys someday." said Hermione, stepping into the cart.
"Very well, Ms Granger. Enjoy the ride back." Rothfang pulled on the lever that pushed the cart into motion.
Hermione left the bank extremely satisfied and more so all her apprehensions and queries were put to rest. 'Looks like Mother Superior was right all along, I am after all the daughter of the wizarding world's devil incarnate, Lord Voldemort.'
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