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Disclaimer: This story belongs to me, but Harry Potter definitely doesn't.
Chapter 8
Enter the Lord Gryffindor
James was sitting inside his enlarged trunk, doing his homework on a expensive magony table, with the Portraits of Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw opposite of his, hanging from the wall. In his apartment, plain white colors decorated the room, and a perch for James's poisonous occamy in a corner and a tank containing a huge habitat for mice sitting by it.
Gryffindor and Hufflepuff were asleep, but Slytherin was sharing with James secrets in persuasion and how to charm, dupe, and blackmail. Ravenclaw was reading the books of the recent developments in Wizarding history, and shaking her head every once in a while as she saw something she disapproved of. She wanted to be up-to-date about things, but apparently all these discoveries had been made a long time ago, and the present magic-users had forgotten their great arts, and were slowly rediscovering them again.
The portraits were all derived from Slytherin's Vault, where the sneaky founder had took samples of their blood and hair in their sleep, and had made portraits of them, in case anyone of his colleagues died, they would still continue exist to help the future generations. James had discovered them, and to their pleads, had brought them with him out of Gringotts and put them into his trunk.
Harry had already told everything to the portraits, and they gave good advice frequently to him. They were his private counsel, and with a four founders cooperating, they made impressive advisors.
"Hey, you forgot to add the Essence of Dittany to the healing ingredients property list!" James grumbled and scribbled a word onto his parchment. "So, as I was saying, that Voldemort fellow was pants at negotiating!" Slytherin was going on a rant.
"He had absolutely no talent for talking. He had no respect for me; Salazar Slytherin! His words were all about power; how he would give me power and money, how he would restore me to greatness. Bah! He acted like he was above me, that I was a poor beggar, and acted as if I wasn't the founder of his own house! I detest arrogant fools! At that moment I was furious enough to- youngling? Are you listening?"
"Mmmmmm… Uhhhhh….. Yeah?" Salazar face-palmed himself. "Oh, sorry Salazar. Continue on; what were you saying?" James had finished his essay. He put it aside.
"I was saying that I was enraged; the impudent fool's talk wasn't convincing at all! His speech only worked on other sheep; those who wanted power. I'm a portrait; do you think I want to rise to power? I belong in the house of ambition, and already had fulfilled my personal ambitions in life! He could have at least thought of something more useful and tempting then 'power', 'knowledge' and 'eternal glory' or such nonsense. His words were laced with magical power, and were suited to making normal people obey. But he had forgotten that I'm no ordinary wizard! That fool. The moment I disapproved, he whipped out threats; to entomb me forever in the earth if I don't open, to dare to blast me off my wall, to use fiendfire, the threats went on and on. Did you even know that he was the bastard child of Merope Gaunt, my youngest son's last of line? He was completely unworthy."
"Hmm? That's interesting." James looked completely uninterested. Salazar threw up his hands in defeat.
"Fine! I know what you yearn for! Go outside and play with your foolish friends! You're the only intellectual I can carry a conversation with besides Rowena, but you're too young, I guess." Slytherin proceeded to close the curtains of his portrait for privacy.
James shrugged and gave a quick good-bye to Ravenclaw; she didn't even acknowledge him, as she was immersed in her muggle novel (Robinson Crusoe).
James jumped out of his trunk silently and locked it. He put his finished homework on his bed, and quickly descended the boy's dormitories to the Gryffindor common room. It was Saturday, and he was determined to accomplish something.
He teleported to Gringotts, his atoms taking a whole minute to reform at the top steps right in front of the grand doors of the goblin bank. Two goblin guards narrowed their eyes at him; they didn't feel the normal surge of magic a temporal wormhole (apparating) made.
With magic, there are several ways of 'apparating', using magic.
1. Appartating: Creating a dimensional portal to wormhole to your desired destination. Causing the portal to close too early results in splinching.
2. Teleportation: Manipulating the atoms and particles in your body to disband and spread out, eventually forming and taking shape at your destination. Leaving particles behind results in your inherent magic permanently transfigure extra atoms to suit your needs, so less risk.
3. Vanishing: Apparating every atom in your body separately.
He had learned all three, and used the second method to by-pass the famous Hogwarts wards, which were only warded against creating large dimensional portals.
He had found the method by combining science and magic, which would give him a big advantage against more ignorant opponents.
This Gringotts was much more elegant and beautiful than his own universe. The ceiling was decorated with jewels, paintings, gold silver and bronze. Carved statues of goblins stood rigidly near cave entrances and the departure halls, perfect images of goblins coveting and guarding their gold.
Many wizards were talking, bargaining, and trading with their goblin managers.
James walked quickly to the nearest banker. He made sure nobody got a good look at his face. Reaching the grizzled goblin, he whispered into the goblin's ear. His brother Aden did this all the time so not to be noticed by the crowds.
"Harry James Potter, here to make withdrawals and to talk to his bank manager." The goblins were used to confidential clients of high standing. The goblin nodded briskly, and gave a silent snarl at the head goblin. Evidently they used lip-reading or telepathy as communication, because the head goblin acknowledged his report with a slight tilt of head.
The goblin spoke into a tube, the goblin equivalent of telephone, and later Griphook came to fetch James. He politely bowed, as James had made a great impression on him, and lead James through one of the entrance halls. The smaller halls had less elaborate and plainer decorations, with the walls the color of shiny gold. The marble underneath their feet were pearl white.
After a trip through a few corridors, the guide finally stopped at their destination, James's Manager's office. There was an oak wood door, with a gold plate on it that read; Manager Warpaint.
Griphook bowed James in, and said person opened the door warily. Inside was a small room, the walls bleach white, and a very old-looking goblin sitting at his little desk. He was lighting a smoking pipe. The pipe emitted sparks and puffs of smoke from time to time, with the smoke rising into the air in different shapes and sizes. The sparks were animated; they flew around, bumped into things, and bounced around playfully.
Manager Warpaint gestured to James to sit in the plush velvet seat in front of him. He opened a drawer and pulled out a file casually, and set his pipe down beside him. He waited for what James was going to say, watching his new client intently with his dark eyes.
James shifted uncomfortably, but had rehearsed his plan with Salazar for days now, so there was no backing away.
"Manager Warpaint, I require some services from Gringotts. These services are of a more unique type, and therefore I don't know if the bank can provide me with what I need." As he had predicted, Warpaint puffed up in pride.
"I assure you, Mister Potter, that for the right price, I will do whatever I can in my power to satisfy your needs." James nodded.
"Let me list the services I require:
"First, to rent the Apartment No. 38 of Riodon's Renters on Diagon Alley,
"Second, to buy the title and privileges of Lord Gryffindor,
"Third, to invest 2000 galleons in the muggle company Apple, Quibbler, and Witchly Weekly,
"Fourth, to draw up professional and ministry-approved copyright product papers,
"Emancipation papers for one Harry James Potter, enlist the services of Lawyer Tonks and also the law firm of Acerbert and Alley's,
"Taxes fining those using Harry Potter, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Peverell names or icon 15% of their profit. Do it under the name of Lord Gryffindor,
"Remold the Peverell and Potter ring seals, and remodel the heraldry of the Founders, and sue the Board of Governers to remove them, since the heir of all four has claim over Hogwarts,
"and finally I will employ the services of Healer Katelen of St. Mungoes for a full checkup, and a goblin curse-breaker team for horcrux-removing, and don't employ the one with Bill Weasley in it. As a favor, I'll tell you that he reports to Dumbledore." M. Warpaint gave an absentminded nod. Goblins hated Dumbledore with passion, because he always acted as proxy to his brainwashed followers, and stole their clients.
The manager had finished writing down all his points on a clipboard. He was making quick calculations in his head, and then showed James the contents of the paper.
It read:
Apartment No. 30 = 450 galleons for a year.
Buy position of Lordship = 1000 galleons
Investment to Apple, Quibbler, and Witchly Weekly = 6000 galleons
Drawing up emancipation and copyright product papers = 1000 galleons
Employing Lawyers Tonks, Acerbert and Alley = 260 galleons
Enforcing taxes = (for a month) 5500 -2000 galleons
Remolding ring seals and heraldry = 150 galleons
Health checkup and employment of curse-breaking team = 5100 galleons, 2 sickles
The Lordship was to give him an anonymous name to make purchases, sign documents, and a shadow for Dumbledore to chase at. He chuckled when he thought of Dumbledore finding out he had changed the founder's heraldry, and had to replace his banners and signs. What a sight it would be if he changed the red and gold Gryffindor to a blue and bronze badger!
"That's what they should exactly cost, but the ministry processes and amount of floo powder needed for all these transactions might add about another 10 galleons, and two months to complete. That's all! If this is everything, then our business is done. I will do as you ask." James nodded, and followed Griphook out the door.
Goblins respected efficiency and mutual understanding. There was absolutely no need for extravagant good-byes or hellos. Goblin etiquette was so practical!
Behind him, M. Warpaint sighed, and filed his notes and put it in his to-do pile of papers, and continued to smoke his pipe.
James went with Griphook to the usual cart ride tunnels, where they took the long winding route to his vaults. The wind rushed at his face, and in no time he was at the founder's vaults.
He retrieved all four of the Founder Keys; the Obsidian, Gold, Silver and Bronze keys, as well as the maps. Each of the maps were a different version of the Marauder's map; Ravenclaw's showed all the enchantments, wards, artifacts and portals of magic in the castle, Slytherin's showed every nook and cranny of the castle, from the Chamber of Secrets, to the secret library of Ravenclaw, to tons of hidden chambers and secret passageways that the Marauders never discovered and it also showed the placement of the wardstones, and all people there. Gryffindor's map showed the auras of the people in the castle, and Hufflepuff's monitored their behavior. If a prefect was patrolling, the label of patrolling appeared above the persons head.
You could also merge them together, and they formed the complete Hogwarts Map. James had found out about it through the portraits.
The keys were to unlock the control tower of Hogwarts, the only way to override the Headmaster's authority.
James also took Moses's Staff, King Solomon's Bracelet, the Edison Grimore of Technomancy, and the Shrine of the Gods from their vaults.
Moses's Staff was this old, crooked staff, that inside contained a spirit of power called a 'demon'. The spirit could transform into anything it wanted, and obeyed the holder's command. Whispers occasionally came from within, and James could swear it once shuddered when he touched it.
Demonic magic was something Rowena had suggested to Harry when he was pondering about the veil. He had yet to learn any, since Rowena was very tight-lipped about it, so he hoped that her Library might explain more.
King Solomon in the old times was a muggle, but ruled over his wizards with demon magic. His ring was actually his source of power, but James hoped his bracelet might have some magical value as well. It was of obsidian, but lined with pure gold, which gave off black light.
The Edison Grimore of Technomancy was merely taken by curiosity, and was a big brown leather-bound book, and had the words Edison Grimore engraved in gold leaf upon it. His mother was muggle-born, so she had encouraged the growth of interaction between magic and science. Who knew what useful information was inside?
The Shrine of Gods is also an artifact that may possess demonic magic. Rowena wanted him to learn demon magic by himself, and had let it slip that the shrine was useful for something. The shrine was a portable smooth pure-platinum yet weightless obelisk, and shone with unnatural brilliance. It had runes carved over its smooth surface, and there was something unsettling about it.
James shrunk them and pocketed his gold and objects. He had something else to do today. If he were to become a lord, then he had to look like one.
In the old Wizarding times, before World War II with Grindlewald, the communities were full of peace and prosperity. It wasn't common for magical families bigger than the Weasley's to go to Hogwarts. The customs and etiquette were much different and refined from these days. The lords then were extremely wealthy and powerful, but now the stragglers that have survived the war practiced crude versions of them. James's Lily had taught him things about customs, and Petunia had taught him the right attitudes, facial expressions and need for impressive aura he would need to create. Because as Lord Gryffindor, he would have to appear in several meetings and conferences.
He first needed; a staff, a cowl, a cloak, boots, gloves, good outfits, and a silver pendant.
He had already nicked a pure-silver pendant from his vaults, and he would have to enchant it later. Silver was one of the least magical substances in the world, being a really bad magical 'conductor'. But actually it had the potential to store magic and preserve it for a long time. Think of it as a magical battery. Lily and Petunia had invented it in James's world, and he had also helped in their experiments, so he knew how to implant a very subtle and powerful while long-lasting glamour charm with runes on it. It should make him look like an adult.
James teleported to a Knockturn Alley Apothecary, one of the more reputable ones, and dropped a galleon on the waiting stand. The noise of metal on metal attracted the shopkeeper's attention. His eyes widened at the galleon.
The vendor's face was greasier than Snapes, with dirt and stains matting his filthy robes. His dark brown eyes inspected the newcomer, his thick eyebrows almost disappearing off his receding forehead as he realized the age of his wealthy customer.
"Graphorn thread, 5 rolls, Fire crab shells, 2 whole, Murtlap essence, 5 jars, beetle eyes, 20 cupfuls, giant bone, 2 silvers, Limpwart sponge, 1 root, Saphiron Crystals, 6 shards, and two bottles of ingredient-cleaning solution you have on sale." He said lazily, while absentmindedly stacking his galleons one by one on the table, every one emitting a clink when hitting another. It was a technique he had perfected from Petunia, and it worked very well on shopkeepers.
The seller's eyes glinted with greed, and he hurried into the back room of the store, searching frantically for the ingredients James had named. James could hear him humming to himself as he compiled up the right materials.
"Done." His shaggy and unkempt beard moved a little when he finally spoke. James pushed the right amount of coins towards the man, about 25 galleons and 5 sickles, then hesitating before throwing in a tip in the form of an extra galleon.
"And that's for your silence." A nod, and then not wanting to stay near the shopkeeper any longer than he had to, James put a stasis charm on them, then grabbed the stuff off the table to put into his moleskin bag, made sure the ingredients were of the highest quality, before spinning on the spot to teleport away to his next stop.
Before long, he had purchased a cowl and cloak of acromantula silk from Sectomatron's Silks in Earlybird Alley. He was pretty sure Madame Malkins reported to Dumbledore, so he had to find another guy.
He got his own owl, a beautiful bird of prey called Diana. Diana was an owl with orange plumage and a fierce gaze. She regularly brought back dead mice or snakes as the leftovers of her meals.
He got some dress robes and a handsome outfit of red and gold robes from a second-hand robe shop from the same alley. Fitting for a Gryffindor, he had thought.
Now the only thing left was his staff. The staff of a lord was their symbol of power, their weapon, and their tool of enforcement. Staffs were used as early as the time of Egypt; by the pharaohs, developed when they needed a larger conductor for more precise rituals, in the time of the Mongols; by the hunters for wide-range elemental spells, also by the Japanese; they made the staff out of the wood of a nymph tree, enhancing their natural senses and nature-based magics, in the time of Prague, during the Napoleonic Era, both as a magical lightning rod to conduct bolts that fried flesh instantly, and also as a symbol of wealth during wartime by Counts, Dukes and Barons. After Grindlewald and Riddle's wars, there wasn't really anybody with a staff left. Heck, not even Dumbledore or Riddle had one! And Lucius Malfoy's wasn't capable of channeling magic. It was made of silver, and had a concealed blade inside.
Going to Ollivanders wasn't an option, because not only he reported to Dumbledore, he didn't make custom staffs, and he would be suspicious of someone he had never recognized or sold a wand to.
There weren't any staff makers around anymore, so getting somebody to do it was out of the option, but Rowena might know how…
Author's Notes: From here on I'll start to add a bit of 'spice' to it, and I'll update twice a week.
the ingredients that he bought from the apothecary are all used in a single potion, but the graphorn thread is used in making his boots and gloves and holster of basilisk hide.