Chapter 4: The best laid plans.
The next several days passed were very busy for Harry. His conversation with Ron, Hermione and Dumbledore had gone mostly as he expected, although there had been a couple surprises.
For one, all of them believed that Sirius had never been innocent at all, and that he had confounded them into believing otherwise. They even had the gall to tell him that he too had been confounded by the man! If it had been just that, he could have tolerated it, but what he really found appalling was that there was no question of a funeral, as Harry's last link to his parents had already been cremated (alive) by the ministry.
Well, they'd get theirs, each and every one of them.
Actually, that had worked in his favour, because it gave him a cast iron excuse to end this farce of a friendship. (He had no doubt Dumbledore would come along trying to resurrect it with his compulsions later, but he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.)
Meanwhile, it gave him the much needed time to do his work. He had a lot to do, but the first objective was without any question, training. His skills were disgustingly below par to what they should have been, and now he had ample means to reverse that situation.
So the next two weeks passed in a haze of strenuous, mind numbing training.
By now, Harry had mastered almost everything Hogwarts taught. Spells, potions, Runes, Arithmancy, whatever that Riddle knew and Salazar deemed him ready to learn. In addition to that, he had also learnt how to wield a sword and dagger.
Training wasn't the only thing he did. Actually, it couldn't have been the only thing he did.
On one of his trips to the chamber, Salazar had had him do a full physical on himself.
The results were…. Not pretty, to say the least.
Ten years of the Dursleys' abuse had not been kind to him. Drastically low bone density, underdeveloped internal organs, multiple hairline fractures and minor infections were only the tip of the iceberg of the mess that was Harry's body. The only thing keeping him in any semblance of relatively good health was his magic, and that would be heavily taxed very soon.
Thankfully, proper magical healing could fix just about anything.
He started off with aheavy diet of ultra-potent nutrient potions to give his body enough raw materials to work from. Spells were then cast to direct the nutrients to the appropriate sites in his body, followed by an everyday dose of healing potions. Skele-Gro and various other Growth Potions were used to replace the damaged bones and underdeveloped organs with healthy, whole tissue. In addition, purging spells were used to take care of any untreated infections that were still lingering. Apart from that, he had also spent considerable amounts of time simply meeting and greeting his peers. He had realized that for the past three years, one of the reasons for his problems had been the policy of insulation he had followed as far as the Hogwarts populace was concerned. It wasn't too much of a problem, as small cliques were par for the course for Hogwarts, but a trio was smaller than most, and he had chosen the worst possible friends out of the collection Hogwarts had to offer.
To change this, Harry had improved his conduct as much as he could. He smiled at everyone he met, greeted them by their first names, and over all worked hard to increase his popularity a hundredfold. After all, the image these students developed of him now would be the image that would stay with them for the next two months, and he would be damned if he didn't take advantage of that.
He needed these people to wax poetic about what a nice guy he was to their parents, just so his surprises remained surprises when he met them.
Speaking of surprises, the one Salazar had given him had opened his mind to a whole range of possibilities.
He had been discussing the lack of time he had with Salazar, when the man had given an enigmatic smile, and whispered two words.
Time acceleration
The magic, that once activated, would make the passage of time in a particular area faster than the rest of the world in direct proportion to the power put in the enchantments.
As it was, the Chamber of Secrets had a rather powerful acceleration setup. At full power, a full day could pass inside, while just an hour passed in the outside world.
Of course, this, in addition to several other things, had made Harry ask the question on his mind. Namely, just why did the chamber have such magic? After all, it was just Slytherin's glorified monster cage, right?
It seemed the founder was very offended by that. The lecture had lasted for nearly a quarter of an hour. "Most certainly not, MisterPotter, I designed this chamber to be everything an heir of mine could need to mount a full takeover of the magical realm of Great Britain. There are giant stores of food and potions, even larger ones of ingredients. Not to mention the unlimited source found in the forest above us. After all, just why do you think I planted the forbidden forest? Certainly not as a reserve for innocent, light sided creatures. It serves as a source of both ingredients and experience.
"Apart from that, there is a full functioning infirmary (which you have personally seen) ritual chambers, a library, and an armoury that holds some of the most powerful magical weapons known to wizardkind. There are scores of corpses ready to be turned into an army of Inferi, and thousands of golems and stores of raw flesh to create simulacrums and doppelgangers from.
"Nor was Xerxes the only snake here. Or for that matter, the only basilisk I bred. There are hundreds of serpents, of every species. Currently they're under enchanted sleep, all of them ready to obey the one I deem my heir. Which, of course, you are, "He lectured.
They had also agreed on a plan of action as to what Harry would do come summer. He would go to King's Cross, and then Apparate straight to Diagon. There he would make his claim as heir to his families, and see if he could secure any of the Lordships.
After that it would be back to the Chamber. He would need to begin with his plans. Harry had plans to use the time acceleration setup to its maximum advantage. He needed to get himself up to proper standards, meaning that he would master, sooner or later, every single piece of magic Voldemort' s memories had given him.
That would mean hours and hours of practice with and without a wand. Not to mention that he would have to venture into the Muggle world and start gathering resources.
Now there was a goldmine the wizards had ignored. There was so much that could be done in the Muggle world using a wand, the possibilities were downright staggering.
Speaking of resources, there had been a number of companies controlled by the families Harry had inherited from. They were almost all closed down now, but the bases from which they had operated were still his. Harry had entire forests for wand and potion ingredients, deep quarries for wardstones and rune anchors, and numerous mines for gems and metals, among other things. They would all need to be activated and put into production as soon as possible.
The exact numbers were, of course, unavailable till he had a look at the deed books, but these were standard for wealthy, ancient families.
Soon, the end of term had come, and Harry found himself taking his luggage out of the Hogwarts Express racks as it pulled into platform nine and three-quarters. The trunk shrank to the size of a matchbox with a flick of his wand, and he was off.
Soon, he was outside the train and onto the platform. Then, it was as simple as entering an empty restroom and he disappeared with a barely heard pop.
Opening his eyes, he found himself right in front of Gringotts bank. He headed straight to where he knew the inheritances counter to be, and asked to see the senior goblin in charge.
"And who shall I say is calling?" the goblin asked, sneering. "The Heir of Potter" was Harry's reply. "I require proof of that. Your wand will do."
Harry wordlessly handed it over, knowing that the goblin dared not damage it. It looked at the wand with a sceptical eye, turning and twisting it this way and that. Harry was getting impatient, and was just about to say something when the goblin pronounced "Very well, follow me" andhanded Harry his wand back, before jumping off his chair, gesturing to another goblin to take over.
Soon they were standing before an ornate office door bearing the plate 'Director- Inheritances'.
Well, this was nice. Asking for a senior official got him the director of the Department. Going in, Harry found a goblin wearing spectacles sitting behind a desk that was probably taller than it was.
"So, Mister Potter, what can Gringotts do for you today?" the yet-to-be-named Goblin asked.
"I need an inheritance test done, and then claim whatever is there." Harry said, thinking it best to not waste time.
"Both are easily done. All you have to do is to prick yourself with the nib of this quill" the goblin said, holding up a golden quill.
Harry did so, and was soon staring at the same results he had seen in the Chamber. The goblin was visibly surprised, though, and spent a full minute glancing between Harry and the parchment.
Regaining his composure, he said "Very interesting, Mister Potter. Now, you said you wanted to claim these?"
"I did." Harry said.
"Very well." was all it said, before it picked up a quill and scrawled 'rings' across the parchment. That done, the parchment went into what Harry now recognized as the 'out' box on his desk.
A moment passed, before a tray bearing six ring boxes appeared in the 'in' box.
"Well, go ahead MisterPotter, we don't have all day" the goblin said.
Harry picked up one of the boxes, which he recognized by the coat of arms to be the Potter one. Putting on the ring, he felt warmth grow throughout his body. He recognized it as the magic of the Potter bloodline, verifying his identity. Within moments, he felt the warmth die down, as he suddenly felt new links forming between his core and the ring. Which in turn was connected to the magic, he realized.
The same process repeated with a few changes for the other rings, till he came to the Sharr ring. Putting on that one, the feeling was not just of warmth, but as if a fully-fledged inferno blazing within him. He felt his magic react, and merge furiously to the family magic, his body, and to the ring. As his powers exploded within him, Harry realized that he had just created history. He was now heir confirmed to six extremely powerful magical houses.
But it was not enough. Not that any amount of power would ever be enough to satisfy him, but there lay still more within his reach right now.
"And now we can start discussing about the Lordships." He said.
The goblin sneered at this.
"I don't think you understand what you ask for, human. It is no simple matter to claim Lordships over the houses you are related to, as half of them are dormant, and the other half have succession rules that make what you ask completely impossible."
"That is why I said we can discuss this. I need those Lordships, and am willing to be quite generous to my helpers. We shall start with the Potters, and work through them all to see if I can get a claim to stick on any of them." Harry retorted.
Harry watched as the greed of the goblin fought with its fear of violating the ironclad rules that Harry knew were maintained for exactly these kinds of situations.
The struggle lasted for several moments, but in the end, biology won out. Goblin minds were hardwired so that greed eventually overcame all other considerations, regardless of the situation or possible repercussions. "Very well, the Potters then, the laws are actually rather similar for all of the ancient and noble families, so we can be done with the Blacks at the same time. The complicated bits lie mainly in the eldritch family charters, especially as these ones have to be awoken from deep dormancy."
Harry knew what it meant. When great magical houses were without heirs or lords, meaning basically without the cores of wizards to supplement the family magic, they tended to go into hibernation. The longer this hibernation lasted, the deeper into dormancy they sank. It didn't matter all that much in the end, as the touch of a fresh magical core did awaken even the deepest sleeping estates, but it made claiming the Lordships quite complicated. As Salazar had said back in the chamber, houses that had been sleeping as long as the Gryffindor, Slytherin and Peverell ones would require some very particular alignments in magic if he wanted to do this while underage. Strangely enough, if he was seventeen or already a lord, it would be as simple as stating the claim.
As to the exact reasons why he had no idea and cared even less, knowing that these were things that needed to happen.
"So, as you know, there are a myriad of acts and sub-clauses in the official documentation, but what they boil down to is that the only way a person can claim lordship of any of the great magical houses without having been recognized as a legal adult is if they are the very last person in their country that are eligible to do so.
This is true for even the eldritch houses. The trick is to be identified as the sole valid claimant. For Potter, it is impossible, as there are a number of other claimants.
Their claims are significantly weaker than yours, but they are there. The same holds true for the house of Black. Coming to the dormant houses, let's see the requirements." The goblin said, picking up a file from its desk.
"Hmm, the House of Peverell requires a direct line of descent, and I quote 'The power to look upon the abyss till the abyss looks away'. This has been confirmed to be necromancy. By the fact that you have the ring, that's one gift you are confirmed of possessing.
"Of course, the problem is that several other people have it too." The Goblin finished.
"Wait, if other people satisfy these conditions, how come they didn't claim the House?" Harry asked. These things were inner knowledge of the high houses, and had never been revealed to Voldemort. Not to mention that, being somewhat new developments, Salazar hadn't known about them either.
The goblin continued reading from its file "It is because the family was dormant before now. Several people have indirect claim, yes, but it requires a strong, direct one to awaken such houses. However, now that the magic are awake, they acknowledge any significant claim, however distant.
It is similar for Gryffindor and Sharr, especially as Sharr wasn't even dormant. Your great-grandfather, Darius, had taken the lordship sometime in the beginning of this century. After that, it is a clear line of eligible heirs down to you. So dormancy was avoided. It doesn't help us any, as there are several people with secondary or tertiary claims.
No, the only possibility lies in Slytherin. Here are the necessary rules. The obvious blood relation is a must as always, but apart from that, absolute purity of blood for at least three generations is required, as are Parselmagic, and mind magic talent to the level of mastery.
You have a very strong relation, as the Slytherins married rather frequently with the Sharrs and the Blacks, both of which you are related to. This is addition to the fact that Rheanna Sharr was a Lamia, and in fact a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin himself, who, as we all know, had several Lamia consorts.
Now, there are several individuals that have very strong mind magic and others with some Parselmagic talent. But both, along with the needed purity… No, MisterPotter, there are none. I do believe you can become Lord Slytherin right now if you wish."
Harry kept his face emotionless, but inside his mind it was a great hurricane of possibilities. Plans that he'd been hesitant to think upon, resources he'd considered out of reach for a long time, they were his. Everything was now possible.
All of a sudden the world seemed a very small place.
With an effort, he brought his mind to the present. "So, there's no doubt, then? I can claim it right now?" he asked.
"Yes, it is so. The question that remains is that are you sure you want to, Mister Potter? It is my oath bound duty to tell you that taking such a step, it will mean entering a world that can and has chewed up and spit out wizards five times your age.
"Become paterfamilias of Slytherin, and you will need to make decisions that make and break entire races and nations, that can shape the future for millennia to come, to say the least. You will need to negotiate, to fight and to kill.
It is a hard task, and you have to be certain that you can do it." The goblin said with a tone that sounded as if it was discussing the weather outside.
This was something Harry knew very well. After all, his sole focus hadn't been on the benefits when he had thought of the Lordships. With great power came great responsibility, and Harry had no intention of failing. "Yes, I'm sure. I, Hadrian, Heir of Slytherin hereby put forward my claim to the title of Lord Slytherin, with all the rights, privileges and responsibilities that therein are. I vow to uphold the name and line of Slytherin, and bring to it great power and glory. This I swear, so it shall be." Harry said.
Within moments, he could feel the insidious, venomous power of the Slytherins seep through him, judging and evaluating him. He felt it measure out his core, and he felt it as the power wrenched at the bond that still limited it to less than half of what it truly was. The metaphorical chains elongated and twisted, but eventually held firm. Whatever Albus Dumbledore may be, weak he was not.
But the bindings would come later, Harry thought as he felt the magic continue through him. It surged again and again, immersing itself deep, much, much deeper even than what had happened at the time of his claiming the heir rings.
At last, it was over, and as the magic settled, he saw that the ring had changed. It was a Lord's ring now, and looked the part.
Of course, the real fun came now. Now he was the Lord of an eldritch house, recognized as an adult by every magical country on Earth. This meant that he had just neatly sidestepped all the rules keeping him away from his other Lordships.
Ten minutes and five oaths later, Harry was sitting in front of the goblin's desk, with it staring at him like he had three heads.
Aaaand, that's a wrap. Sorry for the delay, but unfortunately exams and fanfics don't mesh well. For any clarifications/suggestions/criticisms, leave a review, or give me a PM.
Blackshadow out