The streets were bustling with witches and wizards, buying and selling various knick-knacks along the street. Charmed necklaces, self-made spells, potions that bubbled and burped all could be found on the stalls that wedged themselves in between shop windows – literally wedged themselves, the tables would move and squeeze into whatever gaps they could. Indistinct chatter joined the cacophony of sounds, and laughter trickled through every now and then. Harry watched all of this happen from the safety of his ice cream, and enjoyed the view. This was exactly what he had hoped against hope for, and he was going to enjoy the ridiculousness of it all, while he could.
Another big change was headed his way. He had a bad feeling in his gut. His gut was rarely wrong.
By early evening, Harry had wondered up and down the alley several times. He hadn't gone into any of the shops, aside from Florean Fortescue's place, but walked along it until his legs and back felt on fire. He had discovered that all the side alleys led to establishments similar to the Leaky Cauldron, all differing in quality. Apparently, according to the Florean, the Cauldron was the original entrance to the alley when it was first created, and owned by the same family since then. Many regarded it high esteem, despite the overall shabbiness of the place. Harry, personally, quite liked the charming inn but decided after his week was up he would find someone else to stay. He did want to get a good feel for this new world.
He had of course read (see: skimmed) all the books he had been given and tried to take some notes. Essentially, family name, money and magic were important aspects to the 'Old Ways' and the new waves of muggle-borns were erasing the traditions. This had lead to a great deal of resentment, which had lead to Voldemort being able to capitalise on that anger to wreak havoc. Harry's family, despite being an old, traditional family had joined the fight against the maniac and his followers. The books didn't say, but for whatever reason Voldemort had directly attacked Harry's entire family, leaving him to be the last true Potter. He was briefly upset by this, before reminding himself he had never met them and never would so there was no point feeling sad about (still hurts, though).
Harry had learnt quite a bit from the book aimed at muggleborns, as it explained a little of the wizarding world customs. From what he'd gathered, despite the superiority complex most magical folk seemed to have, they were just as prejudiced as the muggle world. Although racism wasn't as prominent, it was still there. Homosexuality wasn't frowned upon, it was just uncommon. However, there was a huge stigma attached to magical creatures and muggleborns. The muggleborn thing, Harry could understand somewhat – he didn't approve, but he understood the majorities reluctance to accept change. However, what he didn't get was the hatred of magical creatures – they all had magic! Wasn't that a uniting front? Harry had decided not to dwell on it until he had more information, and ordered food from Tom for his room. As he munched his way through his bangers and mash, he continued to take notes in the plain boom provided by Urxluk. Harry hoped that the goblin could tell him more about the world he had been thrust into, and give him some more money.
He desperately needed new clothes.
At quarter to 10, Harry found himself seated in the office that he presumed to be Urxluk's. The stack of books he had borrowed rested on the already filled table, and towered over Harry. He sat patiently, observing the now fully furnished room and steeling his nerves for what would no doubt be another informative evening. Five minutes passed before Urxluk entered his head down in his papers. He muttered to himself as he sat down, and all was silent for a few moments, aside from the crackling fire. Harry waited to be addressed, but when Urxluk made no move to speak Harry coughed. Urxluk glanced up in surprise.
'Heir Potter! I apologise, I didn't see you there.' Harry grinned in reply and pulled put his notebook.
'Not a problem Mister Urxluk, really. So hey, I went over the books you lent me, and I have a few notes. Could you explain a few things?' Harry slid the page over to the gobin, who frowned slightly.
'A few day practising your handwriting would do you some good, Heir Potter. Let me see now…' Urxluk trailed off as he tried to decipher Harry's chicken scratch. The boy in question shifted in his seat in embarrassment, and busied himself by rereading one of the books on wizarding law. When he was done, Urxluk coughed.
'Well, Heir Potter. It seems you have a better grasp than you had before, so we can truly begin. I'll be blunt. You're the only remaining Heir of a long, prestigious line – not to mention the last of a family that has done business with our bank since it was founded. It is for these reasons the bank has handed your accounts to me to supervise, as I am the most competent at dealing with wizards. If you were to stumble into the world with no knowledge, you'd not only shame your Family Name, but the bank as well. So, here we go.' Urxluk paused for a breath. 'You have inherited several accounts, due to Heirless half-blood families naming you their successor in their last Wills. Yes,' Urxluk bared his teeth in a grin at Harry's shocked expression, 'being hailed as the worlds savious has it's perks. I will go over all your assets and properties another time. For now, duties: you hold 12 seats on the Wizengamot and 14 votes. I would ask you to read into what that entails another day, as I cannot inform you any further. All I can say is that when the Supreme Noble and Supreme Ancient House of Pendragon, the oldest Family in record, sat in Wizengamot, they help 14 seats and 16 votes. Other duties as the Last Heir will include managing your money and producing your own Heirs for each house you've been Named for. Luckily, I doubt you've been Named for more than three of four houses. Yes?' Urxluk's beady eyes seemed to glitter with amusment.
'I have… to 'produce' at least 4 children?!' Harry said quite faintly. He had expected shocks, but as the books he'd been given were vague he hadn't known what would come up. When Urxluk nodded, Harry continued. 'Right, ok, um what does 'Named' mean? And why are some houses noble or ancient?' Urxluk frowned slightly.
'Surely that was answered in the books?' Harry flushed and made a negative noise. Urxluk's lips twitched. 'I see Heir Potter. Firstly, being Named for a House is when the last Head names you to carry on the line. This was introduced about 60 years ago, when the percentage of squib children increased. Heads were finding that their squib children were more capable of handling the family business, despite their other children being magical. Naming was introduced so that a squid could be given the title of Heir, but removed from the Family Line. So if you had been born a squid, you would have had the title Heir Potter Removed. The child who is Named is tasked with continuing the Family Line and Family Magics, by producing a child. The one who is Named holds the title of Line Heir. One cannot be a Line Heir for several Lines. Your Magical will rebel against it. Does this make sense?' Urxluk waited for Harry to stop scribbling everything down and nod at the goblin to continue. 'Secondly, you must place an intonation on 'House'. It shows respect.' Harry pulled a face but nodded.
'A House must be founded by a witch or wizard. They must be able to create a 'base', of sorts – usually a house or manor. They also must be able to create spells for a Family Magic to be created. Finally, they must have 2 children or the Family Line isn't secure. As this knowledge becomes more obscure, the levels of New Families drops, and Magic becomes strained. A Family gains the status of Noble by being continued for contributing to the world in some way. Most families gain this status fairly quickly, through commercialism, spell-crafting or teaching. The status Ancient is gained by existing for 500 years, and Most Ancient by continuing for over 750. There are currently 20 Ancient houses, and only 5 Most Ancient. They are: the House of Black, the House of Heath, the House of Longbottom, the House of Potter and the House of Malfoy. To gain the title of Most Noble, a Family member must be on the winning side of a war. A Family could be go from New to Most Noble if the Head times it right in this fashion. Any questions so far?' Harry looked thoughtfully over the notes he'd taken.
'Right, so first off – how do you know when you've gained a title? And what were the titles of that, uh… Pendragon House? Oh! And also, you said I had been Named for several Houses, but then you said you can't be Named for several Houses… how does that even make sense?' Urxluk looked pleased to have been listened to so thoroughly and sat up straighter.
'When you create a Family, you must create a Family Grimoire. It will contain your Family Magics and track your Line. Each Family creates theirs differently, and hides it in a different manner. In fact, most don't acknowledge each other's Grimoire, so intimate it is to the Family Head. Goblins only know of their existence due to arrogant wizards boasting about them in our company, thinking we weren't listening. When your Family achieves a new status, the title of the Grimoire will change to match. The Head cannot change it. Furthermore, the Grimoire tracks who is part of the Line and who would make the best Head. In this way, even if a Head strikes a member out in words, they might not be able to strike them from the Grimoire if they are the best candidate for the Family, such as what has happened recently with the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.' Urxluk paused again, but Harry didn't notice. Urxluk continued, eyeing the boy carefully.
'The House of Pendragon… the Supreme Noble and Supreme Ancient House. Only one other Family of the same calibre has existed in all of the worlds history, and that was the Peverell Family that faded out a few centuries ago. To gain those titles, the Family must win a war within itself, and exist for over 1000 years. Once you gain those titles, your Family will all experience a huge Magical burst. For these reasons, most Families don't continue past 400 or 500 years, as the internal fights tear them apart. During the Medieval times, Families would pop up and die out within the same year. The House of Pendragon, however, was the Family that began the true separation of wizards from muggles. For this, they had to overcome a great internal battle that ended when their Head, Arthur, died. Their advisor, a great wizarding mind, retreated from the world, allowing those within the house who wanted the separation to convince all the others. The House somehow survived every war and attempt made on them after this by remaining loyal to each other, and it is rumoured that members even taught the Hogwart founders. But I stray from the topic. The House remained until the late 19th century, when a Dark Witch, a follower of Morgana, managed to kill them all. No-one knew who they Named for Line Heir, so the Family Name was forgotten.'
Urxluk paued to take a sip from his glass of water. Harry sat back in chair, still deep in thought. This was all far more complicated than he thought it would be. Urxluk, as if reading his mind, chuckled. 'It gets even more complicated. Whilst it's true that one cannot be Named for several Lines, it is only because the Family Magic wouldn't accept them. It became easier to trust the Grimoire to guide the Head to Name a suitable Line Heir. In your case, many Named you but Magic rejected their claims, which was lucky for their Family Heirs who all wanted to personally carry the line on. However, there are some Lines you've been accepted into. Obviously you were Named for the House of Potter, but also the House of Black and the House of Lupin. Unfortunately, that's all the goblins have been able to find out. To see if you've been accepted into another Lines we will have to do a blood test, which will also tell us your exact account status. It won't hurt, I only need a drop.'
Urxluk ended aburptly and started to clear his sat blankly, going over everything he had heard, as Urxluk straightened out a roll of parchment on the desk. Harry watched, not taking anything in. Urxluk began to draw small runes onto the parchement, reffering back to one of the papers he had brought in with him. A few minutes passed. A clock chimed 11 in the distance. A goblin, one Harry had yet to meet, opened the dory softly and peered in. Urxluk waved a hand at it and the goblin left. Finally, Urxluk leant back satisfied. 'Well, Heir Potter, if you please.' Harry jumped slightly when he saw the razor sharp, curved blade Urxluk was holding. Harry tentatively held out his hand, and Urxluk made a small cut in his finger. Goblin and wizard watched as the ruby red blook droplets fell to the parchment, only for a maze of black lines shoot across the page. Urxluk looked shocked. The ink slowed, and finally settled. Both sat in silence for a minute, taking the results in.
'Well.' Harry said as brightly as he could. 'I didn't expect that.'
AN: CLIFFHANGER!
Sorry to not be updating everyday, but it's chirstmas which means so much homework - yay!
Urxluk literally never shuts up(sorry), and Harry is always surprised. At least for now. Things will change, one day!
I'll try to update tomorrow, with 2 chapters so I won't feel bad for not writing anything until the 27th.
Until then, ciao darlings ;)