Author's Note:
Dear Reader's, Roland's Game is one of my many amateurish attempts to write a Gamer-style story. With this in mind, polite and constructive reviews would be welcomed.
As of right now, this story is a one-shot but if enough of you guys follow the story I'll continue to write and post chapters.
Bear in mind that I don't have a beta reader so there may be mistakes in my writing, please leave a review and I will fix the problem.
Harry Potter & co are the property of J.K. Rowling, Percy Jackson and friends are the property of the amazing Rick Riordan.
Little Whinging, Surrey, UK - July 21st, 1991
Roland stifled a sigh of annoyance as the holographic panel kept flashing trying to get his attention. He tried waving it away in frustration only for his hand to hit it physically and press something on the screen. The dark void he was in flashed with a kaleidoscope of bright colors causing him to flinch in pain and close his eyes as a reflex. When he next opened his stinging eyes, he was in an entirely different place.
Roland had appeared in a small, dark, and enclosed space. He jumped up or tried to at least. What really happened was he tried to get up but ended up slamming his head on a small overhang above him. Rubbing his head, Roland fumbled around in the dark until he felt something cold and plastic-like. He brought the familiar object closer to his face and squinted at it. His blurry vision slowly adjusted to the dark and he was able to recognize the ugly pair of round-framed glasses. They looked like they'd been broken several times already and were only held together by a healthy use of tape. Thankfully, there didn't seem to be any cracks in the lens so he put them on. A persistent flashing interrupted his observation of himself. Glancing at the new holograph, he huffed with annoyance but decided to read it this time before he swung at it.
You have been reincarnated! To help you on your adventure, you have been given the Gamer System. To continue, please call out 'Status'.
'The Gamer? Like that webtoon?' Roland thought to himself. Trying to remember the exact details, his mind came up blank. The name was familiar although no details made themselves clear.
Roland called out hesitantly, "Status?" An RPG status screen appeared.
-Character Information-
Name: Henry 'Harry' Potter
Title: Reincarnator
Race: Human
Age: 10
Level: 1 - Xp: 0/45
Health: 100/100
Mana: 100/100
Strength- 5
Endurance- 5
Agility- 5
Intelligence- 5
Wisdom- 5
Spirit- 5
Free Points- 5
Money- 0K 0S 0G
Traits:
Gamer's Mind: Cannot be affected mentally by external forces.
Gamer's Body: All bodily damage is converted into a loss of Hit Points. Sleeping will cure most negative status effects.
[Skills] - [Perks] - [Quests] - [Party]- [World Map] - [Inventory] - [Gacha]
"Gacha? Not what I was expecting…" I trailed off as I realized something was off, that several things were off-kilter. My voice, usually deep and kind of nasally, was now high-pitched and scratchy. This made me check the rest of my body and what I found horrified me.
I was a child, I was small for my age and painfully skinny, near gaunt actually. I wore stained and ragged rags that were far too big for me.
My brain finally registered a small detail that I had overlooked, my head snapped up and my eyes fell upon a specific section of my status screen - my name.
I groaned as my deepest fears were realized, I was Harry Fucking Potter. This meant I'm in the cupboard under the stairs at the Dursleys. I grimaced darkly at the thought. I didn't seem to have any scars or bruises so I probably wasn't being physically abused but from the state of my body, I was clearly being denied food regularly. Based on my relatives' attitudes in the movies and in the books, Harry has definitely been emotionally abused. It was why he was so emotionally stunted later in life. I needed to leave here as soon as possible.
It was easier said than done because I'm a minor, a child. I had little, if any, agency of my own. In the series, it was stated that several muggles tried to help Harry while he was growing up but before they could get very far, they'd magically forget about the matter. If I was going to get away from here, I'd need some magical help, someone powerful and tenacious enough that, whatever magic was in play, they'd be able to resist it.
The only faction that came to mind were the Goblins. They were powerful and resourceful and seemed to be motivated by money. The Potter's were an old and extremely wealthy family, if I wagered some of my money, I'm sure I could get the Goblins involved. Surely, they'd try to jip me in the process but it'll be worth it, I think.
I spent the next hour going through the rest of my system. Accessing each section brought forth the menu and an in-depth explanation of its function. I found out that my system was rather limited compared to the source material, though it was still very powerful. The Skill system, for example, was limited to 12 core skills that encompassed a wide variety of general from combat to magic to lifestyle skills like Cooking and Gardening. It was much like Skyrim's skill system, now that I thought about it.
Anyway, completing an action associated with a skill's sphere of influence awarded me 10 Skill Xp towards the skill in question. Once I hit a certain threshold, the skill will level up and give me a certain amount of Character Xp that counted toward my Player Level. Once I level up, I'm given 1 Status Point to distribute as I see fit. Furthermore, every 3 levels, I'll be given 1 Perk Point which I can use to buy a Perk.
Perks are special abilities that empower me in various ways. For example, the first level of the Perk 'Healthy' would increase the total Hp I gain per Endurance Point by 5, changing my HP calculation from ENDx20= Total Hp to ENDx25=Total Hp.
Leveling up wasn't the only way of getting Perk Points or PP, completing System-Given quests will sometimes give me a PP or SP as a reward. Quests are tasks given to me by the system in response to a personal goal of mine or a request from a non-playable character or NPC. There were two types of quests: Main and Side Quests.
Main Quests are tasks that must be completed for the general story to progress so quests related to Voldemort and maybe Hogwarts will be considered Main Quests.
Side Quests are tasks unrelated to the main story and are usually given by non-important NPCs. Side Quests are the most numerous and aren't usually too hard to complete. As a consequence of their general lack of difficulty, their rewards are usually subpar.
Sometimes quests will require you to go to a certain location. If you know where the location is, the system will automatically mark it on the World Map. The World Map was a large, holographic rendering of the Earth. Usually, the map would be covered in a Fog of War which would be uncovered as I explored or learned about the world. Fortunately, my Geography classes in my last life prepared me for this. Most of the map was already filled in, everything except the oceans that is. I never was taught much about the geography of the oceans, heck I don't even know where the Mariana Trench is!
The map had several filters I could view it in, the default being the Border View. With it, I could see the borders of a country, the name of the country, and its capital. As I zoomed in, more and more information would be revealed if I know it that is. If I select a country, I could activate the Geopolitical Mode which will show me the allies and enemies of the country in question on a scale of red to green, with green being allies and red, enemies. Furthermore, some countries will have a little symbol of crossed swords if they're currently at war.
The map has another nice feature, if I come across them, the map will automatically mark the locations of Natural Dungeons. Natural Dungeons are categorized as areas that have a high density of ambient magic and often have monsters dwelling in or near the area. Mana density is decided by a variety of factors but the majors 3 are: If the location has a leyline, how many magical creatures live there, and how long the leyline or magical creatures have been there. Leylines are veins of magic that travel beneath the surface of the Earth like a sort of river. Occasionally, magic will escape from the Leyline and travel to the surface, dissipating into the atmosphere. The end result is known as Ambient Magic. Hogwarts was built over a convergence of several Leylines and has had thousands of students living within its walls for over a thousand years, I would be extremely shocked if the school didn't have several high-level dungeons.
Anyway, discovering a dungeon would automatically generate a side quest aimed toward conquering the dungeon. Once you've gotten to the end of the dungeon and defeated the Dungeon Boss, there's an almost guaranteed chance of getting a Gacha Token which can be used in the Gacha System. A gacha system is an in-game monetization mechanic where you use in-game currencies to get a 'chance' to get a random item. If I had a Common Gacha Token, I could use it and maybe get a common item but I also had a small chance to get an Uncommon item and an infinitely small chance of getting a Rare Item.
My moment of introspection was interrupted by the slight creak of the stairs as someone lightly padded down them. Petunia, a small voice in my head whispered.
"Boy!" I winced as the door to my cupboard was wrenched open and Petunia's shrill voice filled the air. I tensed as a bony hand reached for me, it grabbed my shirt and roughly pulled me out. I scrambled to get my legs under me and tripped before my feet found purchase. Petunia let me go and glared at me.
"Go and make breakfast and don't you dare burn any of it this time, you hear!" She ordered briskly, turning her nose up as if she smelled something disgusting.
I nodded, carefully keeping my face blank even as a spark of anger lit up inside of me. I never did well with being ordered so brazenly especially if there wasn't a please somewhere.
[Side Quest Amateur Chef added.]
[Amateur Chef][Easy]
[Goal: Cook a Full English Breakfast]
[Rewards: Will vary depending on the quality of the final product.]
[Failure: A beating.]
I walked quietly to the kitchen, somewhat surprised when I found everything waiting for me. I had fully expected the shrew to throw me in the deep end and watched me struggle to figure out what breakfast I was supposed to be making. I went forward and quickly examined all the ingredients, realizing breakfast was a Full English one. Thankfully, I had worked at a popular Bed and Breakfast that had a wide menu. I made this particular meal a time or two and knew what I was doing. That said, I got started by firing up the stove, buttering up a pan, and putting it on the grill. While that was heating up, I went over to the coffee machine and started making a pot. All the while, Petunia sat at the table and watched me like a hawk, likely making sure I didn't sneak anything.
The sun had just started to appear on the horizon when Vernon stomped down the stairs, announced by the sound of the wood audibly groaning. I winced as the horrible sound reached me in the kitchen. Knowing his temperament, I figured food would put him in the best mood so I quickly moved to the sink and started washing dishes. Vernon came in bleary-eyed and stumbling. He kissed the giraffe on the cheek and started serving himself a hearty helping.
[Quest Amateur Chef was completed.]
[Quality: Above Average]
[Rewards: +20 Xp, +2 Galleons]
As Vernon sat down, there was a small creaking sound coming from the door, it was followed by the sound of something falling to the floor.
"Go get the post, boy!" Vernon grunted. I rolled my eyes but did as ordered. I finished wiping down the pot and scurried to the door. I bent down and picked up the large stack of letters, I flicked through them quickly and found most of them were bills, there was a letter from Vernon's sister Marge, and the last was- was my Hogwarts Letter.
I stared blankly, a confusing mix of emotions swirled inside my chest as I held the letter. This was not how canon went!
"Boy!" Vernon's booming voice dragged me from my frantic thoughts. I jolted and quickly hid the letter in my pants, doubly making sure it was hidden before I reentered the kitchen. I dropped the stack of mail on the table next to Vernon. He grunted distastefully but otherwise didn't look away from his meal.
I stealthy looked around and didn't see Petunia but her absence was explained when I heard the stairs groan again and Dudley's loud complaining filled the air. Petunia rounded the corner of the kitchen and was followed by a walrus wearing a wig. Dudley was almost morbidly obese at 10 years old. Dudley was wider than he was tall, he sweated with every step, and his face was eternally flushed. With his blonde hair, it altogether wasn't a pretty sight. With his behavior from the series, he was likely on the fast track to a prison record when he grew up. His parents weren't much better.
Vernon was a big, beefy man with a dark head of hair and a matching mustache. His face would often flush purple, he had no neck, and his eyes just looked mean. He was probably pretty handsome in his younger days but he'd since let himself go with his cushiony office job at Gunnings. I'd be surprised with the way he was eating if the man didn't drop dead from a heart attack. He seemed the type to have some shady dealings.
Petunia was a tall and bony woman, she was thin, leaning toward the unhealthy side of it. Her face was pinched and rather 'horsey'. She seemed to be trying to make up for her husband's lack of neck by overcompensating with her own. She reminded me of one of those Karen's on the Homeowners Association.
After breakfast, both Vernon and Dudley left. Vernon was going on a work trip and Dudley was apparently staying at Pier's house today and tomorrow which left me alone with Petunia for the entire weekend. Great. Also, they were apparently going on vacation next week for a fortnight and they weren't taking me with them. I would be alone for two weeks, that was a neglect charge if I ever saw one. It was only minimally helped by the fact Mrs. Figg, the old cat lady down the street who I knew was under Dumbledore's employ, would check on me twice every day. Still, it was a pretty stupid decision.
When breakfast ended, Petunia gave me a list of chores and I was allowed two slices of bread and a glass of water. As Petunia left, I glared at her back in anger but ate what she gave me all the same, I needed all the food I could get. I stuffed the bread in my mouth and drained the glass of water. I put the glass in the sink and got started on my chores, the letter burning a hole through my mind all the while.
The day went quickly, while my hands and body worked on autopilot, my mind was occupied by the thoughts of my future, of what I wanted to do, and what I needed to do.
I needed to get out of this house and never come back. To that end, I needed to have a place to stay. The Potter clan was old with blood relations to both Godric Gryffindor's family as well as with the Peverells. Surely, over their long years, the family has bought a couple of properties. If that failed, I had a lot of money and I'm sure I could get the goblins to buy or rent me something.
After that, I would go to Hogwarts and get my magical education. While there, I'll try to collect Voldemort's Horcruxes that he hid in the castle and try to find some way to safely contain them. In the summer, I'll try to find Tom's other Horcruxes and research a way to destroy them. Preferably without having to fight a 1000-year-old 60ft basilisk. While doing that, I'll scope out the headmaster, see if this was a Good!Dumbledore or Evil!Dumbledore universe. If it was the latter, then I'll wait for Voldemort to resurrect himself and kill Dumbledore for the Elder Wand before I go in for the kill on ol' Tom. Perhaps I could hire some magical assassins? An intriguing thought for later consideration.
Vernon left at 7 on the dot in a sharp, charcoal gray suit and a briefcase - the very textbook look of a businessman. The effect was ruined by his flush, purple face and the fact it looked like the black tie he wore was choking him. At 9 there was a knock on the door. Before either Petunia or I could even think about opening it, Dudley came charging down the stairs, a suitcase flying wildly in his grip. He threw open the door, and from where I was dusting, I saw a small, thin boy with a face reminiscent of a rat grinning from the doorway. He was Piers Polkis, Dudley's best friend and right-hand man. With him gone, that left me with Petunia who I knew was going to leave later as well. She had mentioned going over to number 6 to visit. Soon, by 11, she left with a stern word of warning.
As the door shut, I finished sweeping, dumping the dust, and put the broom and dustpan in their proper places. I calmly went upstairs and into Dudley's bedroom. I got to my knees at the foot of the bed and rummaged underneath until my hand hit something hard. I made a small sound of triumph and dragged out a large jar full of money. It was Dudley's horde of money though, unlike normal boys who might have jars of coins, Dudley had jars of paper money. I had noticed the stash when Petunia forced me to clean the room earlier this morning. I took five 20 pound notes and carefully put the jar back into its place.
I went downstairs and went out the backdoor into the garden.
Trying to stay out of sight, I explored Little Whinging until I found a bus stop. I warily decided to wait there, silently hoping no one saw me and said anything. Thankfully I didn't have to wait long before a bus pulled up. The door squeaked open and I got on.
I had to switch buses twice before I reached London and another time before I got close to my destination. The bus rumbled to a stop and I got off along with a few other people. Ignoring them, I moved over a few streets until I spotted my destination, a debilitated pub. A large sign bearing a faded cauldron clued me in on the pub's identity. I crossed the street before stopping as a thought came to me. I reached up and tried to fix my hair in such a way that it covered my scar. After a couple seconds of fiddling with it, I gave up with a sigh. My raven hair was only long enough to halfway cover the scar. Going over to the Leaky, I peered into the murky window to double-check that the scar was covered before I went inside.
I opened the door and was blasted by a cacophony of noise as the Leaky's patrons went about their business. I put on an innocent and lost child facade and approached the bar where the pub's owner, Tom, manned the counter.
"How can I help you, lad?" Tom spotted me and stopped doing whatever he was doing to look down at me curiously.
"Can you help me into Diagon Alley, sir?" I asked, briefly entertaining the thought of adding tears to the act but ultimately dismissed it. It might be too much for the current situation.
"Sure, lad, but where are your parents?" He asked with concern. He came from behind the counter and motioned for me to follow.
I shrugged, nonchalant, and answered. "They went to Gringotts and left me with my brother but he's busy chatting up some lady!" I complained hotly and pouted.
[Tom believed your lie!]
Hmm, a lie confirmation? That'll be useful!
Though he wasn't facing me, I caught a glimpse of an amused smile on Tom the Barkeeper's face as he led me outback. We stopped in front of a blank space of wall and Tom called his wand from nowhere. While humming a tune, the barkeeper tapped out a pattern on the wall with his wand. With one final tap, the bricks seemed to shiver before they rolled inward to form a door.
Tom put his wand away and turned to me.
"There you go, Mr. Potter!" He said with a smile. He patted my shoulder and left to go back inside. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as I stared at the barkeeper's back. If he knew who I was, how did my lie work?
I mulled the issue over as I entered the Alley. I pushed through the afternoon crowds and made my way to the stark white bank. I ignored the threatening poem inscribed on the door and entered the bank proper.
[Congratulations! You have discovered a Legendary Location: Gringotts Bank]
[Locations in the UK: 1/6]
[Pick 1 Reward]
[- +500 Xp]
[- +5 Status Points]
[- +1 Legendary Gacha Token]
[- +10 Skill Book]
I was surprised, 6 locations? I could only think of two other locations that would count as a 'Legendary', Hogwarts and the Ministry. And maybe Stonehenge. After a moment, I took the Legendary Gacha Token, reasoning that a Legendary item might be more useful than any of the other options.
The prompt disappeared and I felt the token appear in my inventory.
I looked around briefly before joining one of the lines. I waited patiently until, a few minutes later, it was my turn.
I approached the goblin teller and asked, "Can I see someone from the inheritance department, please?" The grizzled goblin nodded, turned, and called for another of his kind. A young-looking goblin detached itself from the wall where it stood and approached the counter. The teller said something in the goblin's native language and gestured to me with a derisive sneer. The runner looked at me, snorted, turned, and started to walk away. I hesitated and glanced around. The teller had already moved on to the next customer so I was forced to follow the other goblin.
The runner led me through a veritable maze of corridors, going left, right, diagonal, sloped downward, at one point I even had to climb a ladder! Throughout this, I could feel pressure mounting in my head. Likely my Gamer's Mind trait conflicting with some mind-altering enchantments.
Finally, after five minutes, we arrived at a large cavern. Hundreds of doors lined the cave walls and a few dozen people were being led by goblins of their own to various doors. Above every door was a lamp, each lit with a blue or red flame. Their purpose was soon revealed as I watched as a goblin led a brown-haired man into one of the doors with a blue flame above it. When the door closed behind the man, the flame fluttered and turned red. So red doors were occupied and blue doors were free. Handy.
The goblin runner led me to the closest blue-flame door, reach up to the knocker, and slammed it against the wooden surface. After a pause, a deep and gravelly voice growled for us to enter. At the command, the door swung open with nary a creak to reveal a sparsely decorated office. At the back of the room, an old and scarred goblin sat at a desk. The goblin scowled at me but gestured to the chair in front of him. I entered the office and sat in the offered chair.
"State your name and business!" The goblin growled. I frowned at his tone but did as was told.
"My name is Harry Potter and I'm here for a heritage test and a vault key reclamation," I told him calmly. The goblin's scowled turned into a heavy frown.
"You are aware of the penalty should your claim be false?"
"Death, more than likely." My tone was rather uncaring, hopefully getting my complete confidence in the matter across. The goblin eyed me while he picked up a quill and wrote something in the book near him. After, he swiveled in his chair and retrieved a piece of parchment and a runic dagger from a shelf behind him. He laid the parchment on the desk in front of me and handed me the dagger.
"Three drops of blood on the parchment." He said.
[Runic Dagger][Rare]
[A dagger mass-produced by the Goblin Nation. The dagger was inlaid with runes designed to bleed the target and, after so many seconds, heal the wound.]
I hummed and brought the knife to my index finger. Applying pressure, the blade easily bit into my skin and a bead of red welled up on the digit. I twisted my hand and allowed three drops of blood to fall before withdrawing my hand. Within seconds, the small cut had scabbed over.
While all that was happening, the yellowed parchment had greedily absorbed my blood and soon after, black writing had started appearing.
Henry James Potter
Age: 10
DOB: 7/31/1980
Father: James Charlus Potter
Mother: Lily Marie Potter nee Evans
Godfather: Sirius Black
Godmother: Alice Longbottom nee Fortescue
Guardian: Petunia Dursley
Magical Guardian: Sirius Black
Heir Apparent to House Potter, House Black, House Peverell
"Heir Potter." The goblin acknowledged indifferently. "With this confirmation, I must refer you to your account manager." That said, the goblin tapped a sequence on his desk with his claws. There was a small pulse of magic and there was a knock on the door soon after.
"Enter!" The goblin called while reaching over and rolling up my heritage paper. A runner entered and I was handed the rolled-up parchment.
"Take Mr. Potter to Swiftblade!" He ordered and the younger goblin nodded, turned around, and exited the room. I clutched the roll of parchment and hurried to follow. The runner led me back into the tunnels and led me to another cavern office space after a few minutes of walking. We walked up a flight of stairs to one of the higher levels and over to the third to last door. The door was of higher quality and had a metal plaque.
Swiftblade, Longbottom-Ollivander-Potter Accounts Manager
The runner knocked firmly on the wood and, after a brief pause, a quiet voice bade us enter. The runner grabbed the door handle, pushed it open, and gestured for me to enter.
The office was much bigger and more decorated than the inheritance goblin's office. Dozens of little knick-knacks gave the place a more lived-in feel.
A goblin, Swiftblade I assumed, sat at the desk with a quill in hand. He looked up and his eyes sharpened with interest as they looked me up and down, lingering slightly on my forehead before dropping to meet my eyes.
"Well, well, I hadn't expected you for a couple more days, Mr. Potter," Swiftblade commented calmly, laying the quill flat across its inkpot before gesturing to the plush seat in front of the desk and stapled his fingers together.
"I try to surprise," I answered sarcastically and sat, relaxing gratefully in the velvet chair. All the walking had taken a strain on my new body. The goblin chuckled dryly.
"How may Gringotts be of service today, Mr. Potter?"
"Harry, please. What kind of services does Gringotts offer?"
"Banking, obviously. But Gringotts offers other services related to Inheritance, Curse Breaking, Ward setup, realty, travel, Private Investigation, Legal Matters, and other such stuff." Swiftblade explained.
"Well, let's start with banking first." I decided. Swiftblade nodded, retrieved a thick binder, and laid it in front of me. I looked it over quickly. The first page was a summary of my income(all of it passive), my expenses, my assets such as property or valuable items, and my total balance. The rest of the pages went in-depth about it all. I kind of skipped over all that, my mind was still reeling from the incredibly large number in the total balance section.
"Five Pounds to a Galleon, right?"
"Six, actually, there's a small recession going on," Swiftblade said patiently. I made a noise of acknowledgment. 5 or 6 it didn't really matter, I was still a multi-millionaire, almost a billionaire, actually. My ancestors had invested rather heavily in property and most of the properties were being rented out at the moment. All but three.
The house in Godric's Hollow had been 'claimed' by the Ministry and turned into a National Memorial, which I didn't think was exactly legal but I wasn't going to make a fuss of it now. The Potter Ancestral House, somewhere in Wales, was in ruins as a result of a raid by Voldemort and his inner circle. It had resulted in the destruction of the mansion and the death of my grandparents, Charlus Potter and Dorea Potter nee Black. The last free property was a townhouse in Rome. According to Swiftblade, my family house-elves, the ones that survived, were stashed there in stasis after the destruction of the Potter Ancestral Home.
"Well, can I hire a team of goblins to check out the townhouse in Rome and, if needed, do some repairs and update the wards," I asked and Swiftblade wrote it down on some parchment. Seeing that reminded me of my other paper. I reached into my pocket and brought it out. I handed it over to the goblin who unfurled it and started to read. Immediately, Swiftblade's eyebrows furrowed before he seemed to catch himself and his face became impressively impassive. If I hadn't been looking at him, I likely would have missed it.
"Is something wrong?" I asked, already having an inkling.
"...Perhaps." He cleared his throat. "Are you aware of what happened to Sirius Black?"
"I do indeed," I admitted easily.
"Do you know what a Godparent's oath is?"
"I'm afraid not."
"A godparent's oath is a promise enforced by magic to protect and cherish a godson or daughter. If lord Black had betrayed your parents, he would have broken the oath and would have been punished as an Oathbreaker which would have relieved him of your guardianship and of his life."
"So he is innocent?" I asked, shocked. Or at least pretended to be, I had already known Sirius was innocent of any crimes but the oath thing was new. "Is this enough to get him acquitted?"
"It's more than enough to get him a retrial and a very good chance of an acquittal."
"Very well, go ahead and get everything ready for Sirius' trial and everything he'll need for his recovery thereafter." Swiftblade nodded and made a note of it.
"Now, lordly business, how does that work?"
"Well, the Noble Clans were originally knights that served under the Pendragon Kings and were granted a parcel of land to rule over as a reward for a service or two. Unfortunately, the Potter, Black, or Peverell names are not native to the UK and only carry a courtesy title in respect to their original positions in their native countries."
"Native country? Do you know where the Potters come from?"
"Both the Potter and Black clans come from Italy, around the time the Roman Empire was founded. The Peverell family is even older than the other two, rumors say the Peverell's originated in Greece, during the heydays of Ancient Greece, I believe."
"Rumors? From where?" I asked curiously, the Peverell's had always been a big interest to me, and having the chance to hear about the family's origins wasn't something I wanted to pass up.
"Many history books make mentions of people bearing the Peverell Crest during some event or another. A traveling historian noted a branch of the Peverell's had settled down in the U.S. near Virginia, very close to the time the original vampires came into being nearly 1000 years ago."
Virginia? 1000 years ago? A bad feeling started to well up in my chest.
"The Mikaelsons?" I tentatively asked in a weak tone. My question caused Swiftblade's eyes to narrow dangerously into slits.
"What do you know of the Originals!" He asked sharply, his sharp nails wrapping sharply against the desk in a rather agitated manner.
"Quite a lot, actually," I said weakly. Clearly, there was some tension between the goblins and the Mikaelsons. I doubt it was something Kol had done, he practically worships magicals. Rebekah didn't seem the type to make enemies needlessly unless she was pissed or hurt. Elijah was much the same as Rebekah, so that left either Klaus, Finn, or even Mikael himself as the likely culprits.
Swiftblade stared at me for a couple more moments before grunting and changing the topic to my accounts, specifically what they contained.
As was expected, all the vaults held vast stores of money but that wasn't the only thing they held. The Peverell family vault, in particular, held hundreds of priceless artifacts, scrolls and books full of ancient knowledge, and chests full of valuable gems.
Of my other Vaults, I only had my Trust Vault which was automatically created when a child of the Potter's was born. The vault received a deposit of 1000 Galleons every year on my birthday from the Main Potter Vault. As of today, the vault held 10,000 Galleons - an outrageous amount considering the Minister of Magic was only paid a salary of 150 Galleons a year.
Of the Black Vaults, while technically I was a member of the Black Family by blood, I wasn't officially acknowledged as part of the family by the current Lord(Sirius) who was in Azkaban. Therefore, I couldn't even look at the 3 Black Vaults.
Each vault had a set of rules and stipulations on who could access the vaults, what could be taken from the vaults, and even had rules of dissolving the vault. The only vaults that I could access and take from freely were my trust vault and, strangely enough, the Peverell Vault. I reasoned it was because I had technically died already and the Peverells seemed to have an extremely close(?) and intimate relationship with Death. I could get no closer to death than I already have.
Most of my business at Gringotts concluded and with a new nifty coin pouch and muggle debit card, I took a trip down to the Peverell Vault to take a look at some of these books and artifacts, and to withdraw some money. As we flew through the underground tunnel on a minecart of all things, I quizzed my guide on the general price of things and discovered that Galleons were rarely used in daily life. They generally only used to buy rare and exotic goods that were in very limited supply or, in Malfoy's case, bribes.
As we plunged in the depths of Gringotts, the air steadily became colder and stale. Occasionally, I would see a flash of flame and hear the chilling cries of a dragon guarding a vault. Honestly, I kind of felt sad for the poor beasts, it wasn't like they were given a choice in the matter and they don't seem to be treated very well by the goblins, evidenced very clearly by the multitude of scars I could see upon a dragon's hide when we pass too close to one.
[Freedom][Rank: Legendary]
[Free the dragons held by the goblins of Gringotts]
[Rewards: 100,000 Xp, 50,000 G, 3 Legendary Gacha Tokens, a [Dragon] Companion, [Dragon Tamer] Title]
[Failure: You become 'HATED' with the Goblins, GAME OVER]
[Accept][Decline]
I frowned and declined, while I sympathized with the creatures and the rewards were great, I wasn't willing to die on that hill. And even if I did want to, I had no clue how I would even go about doing it. I put the thought out of my mind as the cart slowed to a stop outside a tunnel. We got out and the goblin led me into the tunnel before we came to a set of black double doors with the symbol of the Deathly Hallows carved in white. Below the symbol, a large indent of a hand had been carved out. In the center of the palm was a small hole and, in the darkened tunnel, I could just barely see the needle sticking out of it.
I grimaced, already feeling the phantom pain but stepped up to the door anyway. I hesitantly placed my hand in the indent. Something in the door groaned and before I could react, my palm was jabbed by the needle making me snatch my hand back with a startled yelp.
[-1 Hp]
I looked down at my palm and was surprised to not see blood. There wasn't even a wound. The black doors groaned and slowly opened, filling the previously silent cavern with the sound of grinding stone. After a few seconds, the door mechanisms halted, leaving a man-sized gap between the doors allowing me to slip in easily.
The main chamber of the vault was laid out like a rich-persons living room. With a set of obviously expensive loveseats surrounding a dark-wood and immaculately crafted table. Unlabeled bottles had been left on the table along with 3 pristine tumbler glasses on coasters. It looked like someone was going to have a drink but stopped halfway through.
My gaze moved past the sitting area to scrutinize the wall, finding 3 doors lined across it. Each door sported a small plaque. I moved over to the first door on the left and opened it. It opened up into a large, square room. In the center of the room was a huge pile of glittering gold coins with two smaller piles of silver and bronze coins next to it. I looked around in amazement and spotted several chests. I crouched down next to one of them and touched the lock. The metal warmed at my touch and, to my surprise, I felt it absorbed a little of my magic. With a small click, the chest opened and I marveled at the countless gemstones that were stored inside. I spotted dozens of Emeralds, Diamonds, Moonstones, Agates, and many other precious stones I couldn't name.
I closed the lid and checked the others, finding them filled with other gems, ores, precious metals, and more. I sat back, stunned at the amount of material wealth I now had. Never in a million years had I expected this. It honestly made me sick that some people had all this money and still wanted more, even at the expense of others.
I sighed, shook my head, and grabbed a variety of coins, and put them in my small coin pouch. It was a nifty little thing that Swiftblade had given me. It could carry 500 coins and had a recall charm woven into the fabric, allowing me to summon however many coins I needed. Of course, this would only work in the Magical Kingdom of Albion, so I needed a muggle alternative. Swiftblade had suggested a muggle debit card connected to one of my vaults. The goblins would take care of the rest.
After getting the money, I left the treasury and turned to the next door, the Armory. Just as the name suggested, the room was filled with all sorts of weapons, tools, shields, armors, and clothing from most major eras. The oldest garment being a chest full of clothing from ancient Greece. All of it was in remarkable condition, but I suppose that was the wonder of stasis charms. I spent a couple minutes touring the aisles, picking out a couple sets of leather armor and some weapons, mainly a bow, a full quiver, and some daggers.
I left the armory and opened the last door, the Library. I twisted the knob and threw the door open. What greeted by a sea of golden light. Literally.
Almost every book and scroll had a faint golden glow wrapped around them, signaling they were skill books. A skill book is an item that allows you to learn a skill or spell from reading it and, thankfully, the skill book won't be destroyed by using it. Once you used it, the skill book would lose its golden sheen and become a regular book.
I felt a giddy smile creep across my lips as I dove headfirst into the stacks. The Library was the largest chamber in the vault and held thousands of books, scrolls, and clay slates neatly stacked on 10 feet tall shelves. Pretty quickly into my exploration, I realized everything was organized by subject and further sorted by difficulty and alphabetical order.
I took one of the scrolls from the Elemental section and opened it. A prompt appeared and hovered above the delicate parchment.
[You have picked up a skill book! Would you like to learn the spell 'Shifting Earth'?]
[Prerequisites: 10 Intelligence, 5 Spirit, and Elemental Magic(1)]
[Yes/No]
[Shifting Earth][Spell]
[Shift the earth beneath an opponent to throw them off balance.]
[Cost: 10 Mp per cubic foot of earth.][Range: 20ft]
[*This will appear under the Elemental Magic Skill Tab *]
I sighed, disappointed that I didn't have the necessary stats to learn the spell. I frowned, feeling like I forgot something. I furrowed my brow and reexamined my last thought, searching for what set this off. Stats...stats...stats. I opened my status page and examined it. After a quick scan, I felt like hitting myself. I'd forgotten about my free stat points!
I rolled my eyes over my forgetful nature and put the five points into Intelligence, bringing it up to 10 and allowing me to learn the spell. I clicked yes on the skill prompt. The skill book glowed brighter before the light broke into millions of little wisps and flowed into my body. As they did, something touched my mind and knowledge forced itself into my mind. It was more instinctual than actual knowledge though.
I shook my head and regretted it immediately as a strange sense of nausea and dizziness struck me. Bile rushed forward but I forced it back and I grunted and closed my eyes, forcing myself into stillness. I stayed like that for a horrendous minute before my plight slowly diminished.
Breathing out a relieved gust of air, I slowly squinted my eyes open, halfway expecting another dizzy spell but, except for the unpleasant burning in the base of my throat, nothing happened and I was relatively okay. I grimaced, finding myself sprawled uncomfortably on the cold stone floor. I hadn't been aware I'd fallen.
I got to my feet and sighed warily, I resolved myself for the unforeseeable future. I spent the next hour going through the stacks and picking out books and scrolls that seemed useful. As I was doing this, I came to the discovery that most of the older spells were spells from D&D or variations of them. While I was somewhat startled, I didn't really mind it that much. In fact, I kind of prefer it to J.K. Rowling's random-ass spells and their janky incantations.
A lot of the library was dedicated to Necromancy as I had expected, but a good portion of it was dedicated to the Art of Divination, Runic Magic, and Rituals. Of the Necromancy section, I took the books and scrolls that had to do with Soul Magic in hopes that they may spread some light on my Horcrux problem. I also took some books from the Runic and Divination sections. If they worked like I thought they would, Runes would be useful in almost any context. Divination because, if it worked as it does in D&D, it would be a great way of spying on people and finding stuff. And… I know he's a psychopath and more than a little unhinged and insane, but Kol Mikaelson was so fucking hot and I want to see him at least once in person. Divination would help find his brother, Niklaus, who would lead me to Kol's desiccated body. I wasn't all that worried at drawing Niklaus' ire, by the time I went to go find Kol, I'd be far more than even the almighty Hybrid could handle.
With that done, I left the library and then the vault itself. As the vault doors ground close, my goblin guide came running forward, a sneer permanently etched on his face. We went back to the cart and got in. The goblin flipped a switch and the cart rocketed forward. The trip back up was spent in reluctant silence, the goblin not willing to engage with me after my many attempts of conversation.
We made it to the surface and I left the bank, swiftly rejoining the late afternoon crowds. I set my course for Madam Malkin's, the first thing I was doing was getting rid of these baby beluga whale castoffs I was wearing.
I weaved through the crowds and entered the store, finding it rather busy at the time, but that was fine, I had the time to wait. I sat in the reception area and picked up a nearby magazine title "Witch Weekly" in a big, colorful font. It was one of those gossip rags aimed toward teen girls and young women and was filled with pictures and interviews of handsome men and juicy gossip surrounding them.
After about 20 minutes, a pretty, young brunette called me back. The process went rather smoothly. The woman, whose name I learned was Katelyn, measured me, quizzed me on what fabrics I wanted, what clothes I wanted to be made, the cost, and told me my order would be ready in two days. I was summarily kicked out of the crowded store so I went about my business in the rest of the Alley. I headed over to the trunk shop and got a simple trunk. Though I didn't need it(Thank you, Inventory!)I wanted to appear somewhat normal and it would look weird if I showed up at Hogwarts and didn't have some kind of storage device.
I spent the rest of the day going through the alley, picking up trinkets, and buying my school supplies. I spent quite a bit of time perusing the shelves of Flourish & Blotts and rounding out my budding library with more current and low-level books to complement the scrolls that contained the very secrets of Life and Death. At around 5 P.M. I left the store and headed over to Ollivander's to get my wand.
I opened the door, a bell rang announcing my presence as I stepped in and stopped at the door in shock, the air was brimming with energy. It felt like lightning was constantly brushing across my skin and I was being pricked by pins and needles.
[You have discovered the 'Magic Sense' Skill! You can view this skill under the Arcane Magic Tab.]
It wasn't a wholly pleasant feeling, but I was determined to learn how to ignore it. This was only Ollivander's, after all, imagining what it would feel like at Hogwarts made me shudder with dread. I stepped further into the store and waited. I didn't wait long before Ollivander emerged from the stacks like a ghost, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons in the gloom of the shop.
"Ah yes. Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter. You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work." Ollivander said in greeting.
"Lord Ollivander." I greeted calmly and approached the counter. He smiled at me before he started getting wands for me to try out. I tried wand after wand and quickly became frustrated with it all. As I tried the wands, random things either blew up, caught on fire, or just straight up fell apart. The challenge seemed to excite the wandmaker and, after trying out most of his wands, Ollivander finally brought out the Holly and Phoenix feather wand and held it out reverently, an almost insane glint in his eyes. I gingerly took the handle and was dumbfounded when a burst of warmth spread from the wand to the top of my head and to the tips of my toes. Silver and gold sparks lit up from the tip of the wand for a few seconds before dying down.
"Curious, curious…" Ollivander made an intrigued sound and waved his own wand, silently casting a powerful Reparo Charm and fixing everything I had inadvertently smashed or blown up.
"Curious how?" I asked although I already knew the answer.
"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. It so happens that the phoenix whose tailfeather resides in your wand gave another feather... just one other. It is curious that you should be destined for this wand when its brother gave you that scar. " He peered intently at my half-hidden scar with his big, moon-like eyes. Truth be told, the man unnerved me so I was glad to pay for the wand and get out of there.
Hearing the door close, I sighed with relief and slipped my wand into my inventory as the overwhelming feeling of magic retreated behind the door, replaced instead by the much thinner mana concentration of the Alley. I walked away from the shop and over to the Leaky, it'd be a bit before the Goblins could get the townhouse in Rome checked over, so I needed a place to stay.
I rented a room for a few days from Tom the Barkeep and went up. I slit the key in, unlocked it, and threw the door open. A large room greeted me. It looked like any other hotel room I've been in except it had a more log cabin decor to it, giving it a more warm and homey feeling. I closed the door and hopped on the queen-sized four poster bed. I lay there for a minute before a large and giddy smile appeared on my face. I laughed with delight.
I took out my Gacha token. It appeared in my hand in the form of a large, gold coin a little larger than a gold dollar with a capital G engraved on both sides. I examined it curiously, and a prompt appeared explaining to me how to use it. I had to flip it.
I sat up and placed the coin on the top of my thumb. With an impatient flick, the coin flew up and started to glow brightly. It got bright enough that it forced me to look away. The coin flashed and the light abruptly vanished. Shortly after, something clanged loudly as it collided with the hardwood floor. I opened my eyes cautiously, blinking the bright spots from my vision, and looked at whatever legendary item I got.
I blinked in shock as I examined the large stone bowl with thousands of tiny runes and symbols adorning its surface.
[Viewing Pool Of Olympus][Legendary]
[A copy of the divine viewing pool often used by the Gods on Olympus. The stone bowl has a very powerful scrying enchantment woven into it, powerful enough to pierce through most anti-scrying spells not powered by divinity.]
[Effects: High-Power Scrying Enchantment]
[Requirements: Water]
[Activation Phrase: 'Reveal what I seek, show me…']
[Range: 5,000 Km]