Guanxi (關係)
a network of social connections based on mutual trust and the balancing of debts by returning favors so that the relationship's benefits are shared by all
The sensation of sheer magic overwhelmed Harry entirely. There was a pleasant buzz in his ears and he wondered if this was what sensory overload was like. Without even meaning to, Harry realized that his magic had instinctively channeled towards his senses, which was how he was able to notice the barrier separating Diagon Alley from London. Perhaps it was because Harry was often beaten within an inch of his life that he had instinctively sought out his magic to heal him, which allowed him the opportunity to grow intimate and familiar with his magic.
Magic was literally in the air, boundless and freely flowing like the wind. It was an incredibly humbling experience to have the chance to witness something that most weren't given. People born in the magical world were absolutely blind to the sheer beauty of magic, likely took magic for granted and thought nothing of it.
Harry never expected for magic to feel so alive, buzzing with such a whimsical and free-spirited energy that filled Harry with the desire to become like that. He wanted to be as free-spirted as the magic in the air.
The magic that flooded the magical world appeared so very different from the magic Harry could see within witches and wizards, the magic anchored to inanimate objects, and the magic within the very earth. Magic in the air, which he called anima, a current of wind or the vital principle of life in Latin. As a whole, anima was dense and packed, formed what seemed to appear as a single entity. Individual parts of anima looked like the wings of dragonflies, which he called mana. Mana liked to flitter around, almost appeared to be skipping through the air as dragonflies did. Anima in Diagon Alley was so dense that it seemed to look like clouds above the streets.
The magic within witches and wizards and other living beings, which he called alma or soul in Spanish, varied based on the "container". There were mainly adult witches and wizards in the crowds and they all had defined alma compared to some of the children accompanying their parents. The alma of adults felt more compact and condensed, less vibrant, and what felt like a strangely matured personality. The alma of children were little more than shapeless blobs, constantly molding itself anew and slowly changing into new, vibrant colors like an old disco ball. Harry supposed that the alma of children mirrored their development and would mature into mimic the alma of adults once they formed their own sense of identity.
Unlike the alma of people, the alma within animals was a stark contrast. The alma of animals varied in size and color like children. However, like adults, animal alma held a personality within it, some with varying levels of intelligence and others with what people would expect out of the personality of a cat or dog.
Magic that was anchored to inanimate objects, which he called catena or chain in Italian, lacked the vibrancy of color that Harry associated with life within magic. It felt lifeless and lacked any energy that Harry would normally associate with the anima of Diagon Alley. The catena in Diagon Alley was mainly bound to buildings and the streets and were mainly differentiated based on the hues of white, grey, and black. Harry wondered if the catena was used to protect shops from shoplifting, trespassing, and other common occurrences in the regular world.
Magic within the very earth was strangely contradictory. It felt like it flowed smoothly like a river, yet with the burning intensity of a firepit. While its magic felt as dense as stone, Harry likened it more to the many layers of a tree. Harry decided to call it alam or nature in Indonesian. Diagon Alley was seeming with river-like streams of alam, all branching out into multiple paths like the chaotic mess of train tracks Trash liked to assemble in his second bedroom. It was a dizzying sight as some alam appeared significantly denser and brighter than others and made for a painful sight, while others appeared to pale in comparison.
Harry briefly wished that other magical people could see through his eyes, if only so they would know what he saw and understood. People would have done research on the sights and phenomena and Harry wouldn't feel as though it would take him extensive research to fully understand what he could see. He felt like he was wasting the sight he possessed from his ignorance.
Dedalus took that as his moment to interrupt Harry's slow descent into anger towards his ignorance. "Ah, Diagon Alley truly is a sight to behold. However, it's best we stop by Gringotts while we can!"
Harry wanted to frown but refrained himself. "Of course, Dedalus. What would Gringotts be?" he asked instead.
"Oh, right! Gringotts Bank, the Wizarding World's only bank and run by goblins. Their sense for money is second to none! Just don't anger them or you'll be swamped by audits and fees for the littlest things."
"Only one bank?" Harry felt that leaving all the money in control of a single bank was unwise, although that was a severe understatement. Based on Dedalus's brief and not very detailed description of goblins, they were similar to their muggle counterparts: stingy, stubborn, and greedy. They were money-pinchers at its finest and apparently not an enemy to be crossed. Harry made a note to himself to give the goblins the respect they deserved, especially when they were in control of all the money.
Dedalus happily led the way to Gringotts Bank, weaving through the crowd of people with ease. It was a relatively short walk and Harry thought it was surprisingly smart for wizards to place the bank near the entrance of Diagon Alley. They hadn't exactly given him a good first impression.
Gringotts Bank was a large and imposing building that towered over them. It was built with white marble and stood at an impressive eleven stories. As Dedalus and Harry approached the entrance, it was to a set of white stairs that led up to burnished bronze doors, flanked by a goblin guard on both sides.
Goblins were shorter than Harry expected, but they were around a hundred and twenty centimeters tall. The goblins were surprisingly pale in spite of the slightly leathery appearance of their skin. They possessed rather pointed features, with large, hooked noses, sharp ears, and narrow, slanted eyes. Although they were merely guards, their eyes were sharp as they eyed people entering the bank. Goblins, Harry concluded, were a highly intelligent race.
While Dedalus was quick to walk through the bronze doors, Harry walked at a regular pace, neither too slow nor too fast. Harry suspected that the goblins were a prideful race from Dedalus's advice to never anger one, so he knew the goblins were deserving of courtesy and respect. As Harry approached the doors, he nodded respectfully towards the goblin guards, a curt acknowledgement before entering the bank.
Harry quickly caught up to Dedalus. Since Dedalus had already clued Harry that he was essentially a celebrity in the magical world, he figured Dedalus had served his purpose.
"Thank you for leading me to Gringotts, Mr. Diggle. You can go back to the Leaky Cauldron now."
Dedalus looked momentarily confused before he nodded sagely. "I suppose you're right. Well, I hope you have a good day, Mr. Potter."
Harry waved politely in Dedalus's direction as Dedalus exited the bank. The inside of Gringotts Bank was just as impressive as its exterior as a vast, white marble hallway stretched along its length, with a double-set of sturdy silver doors at the very end. On either side of the hallway were long, black countertops that followed the hallway, each with a goblin behind the counter.
As Harry observed other people walking up to a counter and waiting with an air of arrogance, pompousness, and impatience, Harry figured that it would be fine to approach any free counter. He walked up to the nearest counter and waited politely for the goblin behind it to notice him. All of the goblins had a tall stack of paperwork on their counters and while they were quick in their work, the paperwork seemingly failed to shrink. Harry was aptly reminded of all the impossible chores Petunia would toss at him to do within an equally impossible time frame.
None of the counters had any name plaques so Harry couldn't have grabbed the goblin's attention if he wanted to. He wasn't too fond of clearing his throat since that would be rude and would quickly place him in the goblin's bad books. Snapping his figures like Petunia would end in the same way. Harry didn't mind waiting though since he had patience in spades. His patience was rewarded after five minutes of waiting, neither too long nor too short of a wait in Harry's skewed opinion.
"State your business for coming to Gringotts Bank, please." The goblin spoke curtly and in a tone that clearly stated that he wasn't open to any meandering. The please that the goblin seemingly tacked on at the end of his sentence to grab some semblance of politeness was not lost on Harry. Goblins were confirmed to be a prideful race, and perhaps one that did not like when their time was wasted.
"I would like to see if I have a bank account here, sir." Harry spoke politely but in a firm tone.
The goblin raised a thin brow at him. "That will be five galleons."
Harry debated being truthful. Judging from the goblin guards outside, their armor was clearly well maintained, as was their weapons of choice. The weapons showed some use, which meant that the goblins had clearly trained for some significant time. Typical warrior races in books stereotyped them as preferring straightforwardness, truthfulness, and hating the flowery niceties that people would include in their words nowadays.
"I'm afraid I'm not too familiar with the currency in the Wizarding World. However, I was recently informed of my rather sensitive identity and came to the conclusion that I would have some sort of account here." Harry decided that would be the best he was willing to shell out. While he did let the goblin know that he was painfully ignorant to how the currency worked in the Wizarding World and thus opening him up to scams and thievery, he hoped that given the high intelligence of goblins, that the goblin would catch on to the "sensitive identity" Harry was hinting at.
"A bloodline test to determine and validate your identity will suffice," the goblin said without hesitation. "Gringotts will accept muggle currency and the current rate of conversion is five pounds per galleon. Adjusting to the inflation of muggle currency, the bloodline test will cost three galleons."
Harry was surprised that a bloodline test—he figured it was the wizarding equivalent of an extensive background check—only cost roughly fifteen pounds. He only had two pounds on him though, so he figured that he could throw Dedalus under the bus.
"Dedalus Diggle, the man who guided me here as already offered to pay so you can credit that to his account."
The goblin nodded and descended from his seat. His index fingernail traced a particular pattern against a hidden compartment of the countertop and literally spat out an incredibly thick, bronze medallion that the goblin swiftly caught. "Follow me and keep up, please."
Without looking behind him to see if Harry was following, the goblin briskly walked towards the wall behind his counter. The goblin pressed the medallion against the wall and traced his fingernail to a code of some sort. The wall shuddered briefly before a set of oaken doors materialized. There was a hollow space where a door handle would normally be, which the goblin filled in with the medallion. The goblin opened the door for Harry to enter through first, which further confirmed Harry's warrior race theory. The goblin was wise to not leave his back open.
They entered into a comfortable sitting room, furbished with two leather couches that were set opposite to each other. In between the couches was a coffee table that looked glass at first glance but was actually clear crystal. Hanging directly above the coffee table was a glittering chandelier embellished with gold and silver. Harry took a seat on the couch while the goblin took a seat opposite to him. Once they both sat down, a scroll materialized from the table, along with a sheathed dagger, quill, and ink pot. Curiously, the ink pot was empty.
"Before we begin," Harry started in a soft but firm tone. "I would like to know your name. I would hate to keep referring to you as just goblin."
The goblin narrowed his eyes at him, furthering the illusion of beady eyes. "Very well. You will call me by Griphook, and only that." Harry nodded, wondering how far deep the discrimination towards goblins ran when it came to magical people. Griphook still eyed Harry carefully, but continued nonetheless. "Use the dagger to prick your finger and let the blood drop on the parchment. Each drop of blood is equivalent to fifty generation, and the Heritage Scroll will go as far back as Hogwart's time, maximum. When you are satisfied with the number of drops, the knife will self-destruct under the Bloodline Protection Act of 1763."
Griphook fell silent after that and Harry immediately took that as a cue for him to reach for the dagger. Harry had no idea how far Hogwart's time was, so he decided to let his magic guide him into deciding how many drops of blood he should let drop. He unsheathed the blade, holding the sheathe in his right hand while his dominant hand held the blade. He stuck out his ring finger and sliced it without hesitation, instinctively applying pressure to the cut, which welled further with blood.
As Harry hovered his finger over the scroll, it opened itself up and laid flat on the table for his convenience. Immediately, blood began to drop down onto the parchment in a steady beat.
Drip. Drip. Drop.
After a few moment's time, Harry felt that he had let enough blood feed into the parchment. He nudged his magic to heal his finger, which he noticed made Griphook stiffen slightly. Acting as though he had not seen Griphook's intensified scrutiny over his nonchalant display of magic, Harry sheathed the knife and set it back on the table, carefully placing it so that it was in equal reach to either of them and with the handle facing Griphook.
Harry was unable to discern how many drops of blood, and thus how many generations, he had let fall onto the parchment, but Griphook hadn't said anything. Griphook snapped his fingers and the dagger slowly levitated in the air. Another snap had the dagger burst into white-hot flames that ate away at it until there weren't even ashes to remain.
"Thank you," he said politely, acknowledging and appreciating the frankness that Griphook had displayed from the start. In the back of his head, Harry made a note to himself to look into the power of blood and how it could be used against him, as well as all the laws in the Wizarding World to find out which ones could be used to his advantage, which ones that could be exploited ruthlessly, and which ones had useful loopholes to utilize.
Griphook remained silent but briskly nodded his head. That was as best as Harry would get, he realized and didn't mind. Griphook snapped his fingers once more and the blood on the parchment, which had yet to soak in, did so and began to form a family tree. As the family tree grew and approached the border of the parchment, it grew to accommodate the family tree.
"I will know explain the family tree. After my explanation, you will be given a summarization to refer back to as you overlook your family tree." Griphook had a stern look in his eyes, as though willing for Harry to pay every bit of attention to his words. It was a long and complicated explanation to understand the family tree, which made Harry understand why Griphook was silently adamant that Harry was as attentive as he could be.
Family names were all marked down with its respective sigil next to the family member's name. Married couples would share a dotted line between their names and a solid line that extended down to their children's names. Family members that married into the family would have their name written in blue while family members who were adopted into the family would have their name written in gold. Deceased family members would have a crucifix next to their names, which would also be written in black.
Family members from which Harry would either inherit Lordship from would be marked with a green line to the closest living or deceased relative. Family members that named Harry as their heir would be marked with a yellow line to the closest living or deceased relative. Family members who made Harry eligible for Lordship would be marked by a red star below their name while family members who made Harry eligible for Heirship would be marked by a red diamond. Family members who relinquished everything they owned under the Right of Conquest had their names circled in gold and were marked down by a purple line.
People who were not part of the family tree were separated into three groups: those who passed on a Lordship, those who named him heir, and those who relinquished all their titles by Right of Conquest. Those who passed the Lordship of their House had their name circled and were marked down with an orange line. Those who named Harry as the heir of their House had their names circled and were marked down with an orange, dotted line. Those who had relinquished their titles by Right of Conquest had their names underlined in gold and were marked down with a golden, dotted line.
It was rather confusing to comprehend, but Harry managed. When Griphook finished his explanation, he passed another parchment to Harry across the table that popped into existence, along with a small bell that could be ringed. Griphook excused himself, informing Harry that when he was finished reviewing the family tree, he could use the bell to let Griphook know.
At the very top of the family tree was Ignotus Perevell, who had a sigil of a triangle which fit a circle inside and was split by a straight line down the center. Going down the family tree, Harry learned that he had inherited the Lordship of the Slytherin Family from Tom Marvolo Riddle through Right of Conquest. He was strangled by the burning desire to find out everything between Riddle and him. From his father, he had inherited the Lordship of the Perevell and Potter family, although he noticed that the Potter family was essentially a Vassal House since the first Lord was the third and last son of a Perevell Lord.
Harry also discovered that he apparently had a man named Sirius Black as his godfather, who was also his second cousin, once removed of sorts—given how convoluted the family was, especially with all the inbreeding and incestual marriages early on—through Dorea Black, who had married Charlus Potter, which made the couple Harry's first cousins, twice-removed or something along those lines. From his godfather, he was the tentative heir of the Black Family because the current Lord was Arcturus Black II and the Lordship would've passed down to Sirius Black, except Lord Black only named him Acting Lord, which was a fancy title for someone who would get the full lordship if they got their act together as judged by the current Lord. With that, Sirius Black named Harry as his heir since he had no children, hence the tentative heirship over the Black Family.
The Right of Conquest, Griphook had explained as a death match of either blood-borne kin or sworn enemies. Blood-borne kin had a death match under the stipulation that the winner took all, while sworn enemies were under the stipulation that the winner took all, as in titles and any other possessions, excluding family members and anyone under a Life Debt and such. By that, the winner would inherit the loser's titles and thus the Lordship of a House or several, the spouse and children, and everything the loser previously possessed, down to the clothes on his back. It was a ruthless and outdated way of settling disputes that was judged by the Olde Magick. Harry had apparently had full ownership over everything Tom Marvolo Riddle owned, who was strangely still alive. He now inherited the Lordship of the Gaunt Family, which was also a vassal house from the Pervell Family, and the allegiance of a number of Houses that were converted into Vassal Houses under Tom Marvolo Riddle. Thus, he was the Ruling Lord over the Vassal Houses of Rosier, Nott, Malfoy, Selwyn, Mulciber, Lestrange, and Yaxley.
A number of people had apparently saw fit to include them in their will and handed over the Lordship of their House to him despite the utter lack of blood relation. Those who were still alive saw fit to name him as their heir. Harry chalked up to his supposed celebrity status in the Wizarding World.
Harry felt that he had seen enough of the Family Tree and ringed the bell to summon Griphook back into the room. Griphook returned to his seat on the couch and raised an expectant brow at him.
"I possess the Lordships over Houses Slytherin and Perevell, and Vassal Houses Potter, Malfoy, Rosier, Nott, Mulciber, Lestrange, Selwyn, and Yaxley, tentative heirship over the Black Family; I was given the Lordships over Houses Orsino, Crawley, and Einzburn, and heirship over Houses Hays, Weatherby, and Oronus."
Griphook went white in the face. "May I look over the Family Tree?" he asked in a far politer tone than before.
Harry weighed his options. Given the apparent discrimination against goblins from magical people, he had an inkling that there were restrictive laws around goblins. Since the Wizarding World apparently operated on pseudo-nobility, lords and heirs and vassals, he suspected that each House had a vote in some high judicial court. With the number of Houses Harry had under his belt, it was infinitely unwise for a goblin to offend him, as having him as an ally or even just a neutral party would be like hitting jackpot.
Harry nodded his head politely and smiled. "You may. I do not mind your previous tone, and I would appreciate it if you could . . ." Harry paused, wondering how he should word his situation in a way that Griphook would understand that Harry was fishing for a mutual alliance that would benefit both parties, which would convey his respect for the goblins as well. "better acquaintance me with not just my new discovery concerning my Family Tree, but the Wizard World as well."
Griphook narrowed his eyes. There was a pregnant pause in the air before finally, Griphook smiled, his teeth barred but not at all in a threatening manner. "I am not at liberty to accept your lucrative proposal, but I will relay it to Ragnok, the head of the bank."
Harry nodded at that. "You can withdraw the fee from the Potter accounts."
Griphook nodded. "As of right now, you can only access your trust vault, as your current guardian has restricted access to the Main Potter Vault."
Harry froze. "And who might this guardian of mine be?" he asked frostily.
At the sudden frigidity of Harry's tone, Griphook paused. He looked like he was weighing the scales of the outcomes from each answer. Finally, Griphook had a dark smile, barring his teeth once more, a twisted edge to it that told more than enough for Harry to understand that his guardian was not someone he was going to like, at all.
"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore: Order of Merlin—First Class, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot."
It was probably super confusing to read the "Color-Coded Family Tree of Hell", but I fucking cried because I wrote this at midnight, high off of Redbull and thought of Undertale.
Which characters do you think I hate the most, right after fucking Dumbledore?
1. Hermione Granger
2. Ronald Weasley
3. Molly Weasley
4. Ginervra Weasley
5. Severus Snape
I hate Dumbledore with all my being, but for these characters, I hate parts of their personality and some of the actions they've chosen, but I don't entirely hate the characters themselves.