PercyPowerful - I love the irony of a review saying NO PERCY from someone with It in their username. No, good garlic no Ingrid and Percy? How bored would she be? Percy is mostly a side character, there because it was Harry's birthday and the summer holidays - all the family there and he's thankful they saved Ginny? I won't give any more away, but you can all rest assured it isn't Percy. If you think you worked it out and want to know because you're like me and hate not knowing - inbox me, don't spoil it in the reviews! :P
Enjoy another early update because I CAN'T SLEEP. Been awake about three days straight now.
-YDHP-
Vlad and Ingrid were put on the same schedule as Harry and Draco - mornings for work, afternoons for whatever. Which is how they ended up with Ingrid looking at the brooms like they would bite her. Vampires were natural fliers, but he was prepared to bet his sister hadn't flown on a broomstick since first year flying lessons. "Come on, we need two on two and those two will never agree to play." Ingrid looked over at the watching couple, then back at her brothers pleading eyes. "Pleaseeee?" Ingrid rolled her eyes, but saddled the broom and Vlad grinned victoriously.
Once she was up in the air, Ingrid visibly relaxed and the natural instinct took over. They paired her with Draco, and Vlad with Harry - experienced player and less so. Though it quickly transpired Harry was a much better seeker than chaser, and Ingrid was much better than Vlad so the Gryffindor two were soundly thrashed. Vlad's attention to detail and Harry's natural skill meant they beat the others with the teleporting snitch - it counted the catch, then vanished and reappeared in another spot.
"You two are good, why don't you play?" "Because you couldn't pay a Dracula to go flying in the rain." Ingrid scowled at the very idea, disappearing to bathe and change before dinner. Vlad followed suit, showering and dressing in his own clothes instead of the smarter attire. "Don't forget to dress smart for tomorrow, we're going to Gringotts to start sorting my vaults." Draco was clearly nervous, this had to be done before September, so he was totally free of his mother or their magical contract would be void.
"We know. You have the info on her vault to make sure it all goes to the right place?" Draco nodded, pulling out the letter the Gringotts goblins had sent him. "Yeah, and the time and goblin to ask for when we turn up. You have to behave Bertrand, goblins don't like vampires." Vlad and Ingrid shared a look - Draco didn't know they were vampires, but the goblins did. "We should pick up our allowance while we're there, beat the rush for back to school. We can't go shopping, our letters aren't here yet."
Draco tapped his fingers against the table as Vlad and Ingrid agreed on that, looking at them. "If we get your measurements and stuff done while we are in Diagon Alley tomorrow, I'll pay for your robes and stuff. I've officially inherited more gold than I can spend in four lifetimes, and that's not including the ridiculous amount of priceless heirlooms and who knows what else I have." Ingrid agreed automatically, and Vlad just shrugged - he didn't know how to turn him down politely so said nothing. "Harry, don't argue or I'll make Severus adopt you too." Harry fell silent and resumed eating his steak and potatoes - Vlad knew it was Harry's favourite food.
"Has there been any issues? Attempts to look for Harry or reports of him being missing?" "Nothing. And I've been checking, it's one of the reasons I didn't cancel the Malfoy subscription to the Daily Prophet." That settled that, and after a quiet evening with hot chocolate (Vlad absolutely didn't love the way Harry smiled with cream along his upper lip and smudged on his nose), the teens retired to bed as they had an early start for Gringotts.
Vlad woke early, took a long, hot shower and dressed in a deep blue shirt and black trousers. Making a mental note to pick up new shoes as he was outgrowing his current ones, Vlad made sure he had his wand, vault information and that Phantoms food and toys were out. The familiar in question was still snoozing on his pillow, mewling happily when Vlad stroked her fluffy head and licking his hand. "You behave yourself today, no harassing the house elves or sneaking into Draco's room to get fur on his bed." While Vlad was fairly certain she understood him, he wasn't entirely sure she actually listened to him telling her to behave.
As he went to head downstairs, he turned back and saw she was back to sleeping, tail curled around her body. Smiling fondly, Vlad made his way down to the dining room. Bertrand was the only one awake, perusing the morning paper. "Anything exciting happened since last night?" Expecting a short or sarcastic reply, his tutors response surprised him. "Depends on your angle. Escaped serial killer?" Taking the paper from his outstretched hand, Vlad flipped the fold open and saw the face of a haggard, slightly crazed man silently screaming from the photo. "Sirius Black. Said to be extremely dangerous, first ever to escape from Azkaban Prison. Black... Black... I know that name from somewhere. Wasn't Draco's mother originally Narcissa Black?"
"He's her cousin. Did I hear right, escaped from Azkaban?" Draco had appeared now, so Vlad held out the paper to his friend. "Merlin, I didn't even think it was possible. Come with me." Vlad and Bertrand followed Draco through one of the bigger reception rooms, to a small room decorated with tapestries. "The family tapestry. Here's me, then it goes up to my parents. Follow the Black line up, across and then down, you have Sirius Black. His morher burned him off their tapestry, and both my mother and her mother burned Andromeda off." Draco pointed out the blackened smudge, which was linked to a man called 'Ted Tonks', a thread stemming off the two saying 'Nymphadora Tonks' - their daughter.
"Why burn her off?" It sounded a little extreme. "She married a Muggle born. An absolute abomination to the long and noble house of Black, who are and were pureblood supremacists through and through. By the age of sixteen at the latest, my parents would have arranged a marriage to some witch with at least three generations of Pure blood behind her." Intimately familiar with the concept of marrying who a parent chose, rather than by choice himself (his father was already hinting about Ingrid being married off straight out of Hogwarts), Vlad shuddered.
"And this one is?" There was a third Black sister, Bellatrix Black, thread linking her to a man called Rodolphus Lestrange. "My clinically insane, psychotic aunt. She and her husband, like my father, were absolutely loyal Death Eaters when You Know Who was in power. They are in Azkaban now, locked up for life for frequent and indiscriminate use of unforgivable curses." Vlad could tell the blond boy knew more about that, but perhaps it wasn't his secret to tell.
"Some of these marriages are pretty uh... close." Vlad wasn't sure how to bring up the people twined to two names - parent and marriage - with matching surnames. "There aren't a great deal of completely Pureblood families anymore, I'm probably related to every other pureblood student in some way. Most have been smart enough to avoid constantly marrying cousins, but there really aren't many options left. Their parents were cousins" Draco indicated the Black sisters "and their grandparents second cousins. My parents were third cousins once removed. Or something. Inbreeding is becoming a problem - you've met Crabbe and Goyle." Vlad thought he had seen the dark side of the magical world, but this was another faucet of it altogether.
"Well, you turned out alright and I don't see Professor Snape marrying you to Nymphadora here. You don't have any other cousins in this generation, so I guess you're safe." Draco nodded, and they both saw Bertrand following the tapestries back to further back generations.
"Very very very distantly, you descended from Salazar Slytherins sister, Sorrow. Cheery name." The tutor pointed it out, magic clearly having been used to preserve the material as the stitching was faded but legible. "Sorrow Slytherin. One daughter. Died young." They all turned as another voice joined them, informing them "she was murdered by her brother Salazar. She loved a Muggle man, and he could not abide it. History isn't sure if he got to the daughter, she essentially disappeared. Half blood Slytherins are a rare thing indeed, like myself." The potions master had clearly followed their voices to the tapestry room.
"Wow. Salazar Slytherins line isn't on here, but then I suppose it wouldn't be. Does anyone even know the space between him and Riddle?" Draco was not privy to Harry being Voldemort's grandson, so Vlad didn't speak it. "Unlikely. I'm not even sure who his mother and father were, Riddle isn't a wizarding name." Realising they were at risk of losing the entire morning to this conversation, they headed out for breakfast - under the confused looks of Harry and Ingrid, who hadn't tracked them down to the tapestry room. "We'll explain later, eat and then we should get going."
After a hurried breakfast, and the usual plastering of Bertrand with enough sunprotection for half of Hogwarts, the six were gathered around a timed portkey, though this one wasn't Vlads, it was made by Draco's lawyers as part of his arranged meeting with the goblins. "It's only eight thirty, I don't even acknowledge this time when it's not a school day." Ingrid glared at the world as a whole, reaching out a polished finger to touch the large metal ring. The six were jerked through the air, landing outside Gringotts bank. "Wow, I've never seen this place so empty." Diagon Alley was a bustling, busy street all the time, but aside from shopkeepers setting up displays and a couple of sleepy looking witches window shopping, the street was deserted.
Gringotts, on the other hand, was all but humming with activity as goblins hurried about the place. Instantly, Vlad could see the creatures notice Bertrand, eyeing the vampire suspiciously under the glass, sunlit ceiling. His tutor gave away no discomfort, following Draco to the head goblins desk. "Draco Malfoy, here to see Griphook. These five are with me, and will be afforded the same courtesy as I." The wizened old creature eyed the group, leant down to another goblin, whispered hurriedly and then smiled in an entirely unnerving way. "Please follow Grasper." A much younger looking goblin rounded the desk, clearly new to his job as he led them through to what Vlad expected were private rooms.
"Ah, young mister Malfoy. Professor Snape. And of course, Harry Potter!" Harry resisted the urge to squirm under the sharp scrutiny, but only just. "They've come to help me work through my vaults, the sooner this is all over for me the better. I trust my new, solely my own to control vaults have been arranged?" It was easy to forget Draco had been raised to speak properly, like a member of high society when he had finally started to relax with his friends after much work. Having never had anything resembling etiquette taught to him, Harry simply watched in awe.
"Of course Mister Malfoy. As I believe those two are Mr and Miss Dracula, would you like me to have Grasper deal with their accounts whilst we make the trip?" Vlad and Ingrid agreed, as they had to get it transferred through something to do with their grandmother, so didn't have to make the trip to a vault. "And Mr Potter?" Stammering slightly as he was suddenly addressed, Harry agreed to the trip to his vault first so they could dedicate a decent amount of time to Draco's stuff after.
They all stood a little awkwardly while Draco wrote out a list of 'other requests', which only Severus was allowed to see but then Harry didn't have any need to know the inner workings of his friends finances - he wouldn't know what to do with the information anyway. That didn't stop his interest being piqued by Griphook mumbling "these are unsual requests Master Malfoy. Consider it done before you leave."
Having never had cause to go by Gringotts cart before, Harry couldn't help but laugh at the three vampires faces when they first disembarked the cart. "What just happened? I think I left my stomach somewhere near the top." Vlad groaned, bending with his hands on his knees to catch his breath. Even Bertrand looked a little green, and he was the one able to travel at immense speed all by himself. It was unpleasant, but Harry had done it before and didn't find it nearly as disorienting as he had previously. If anything, the rush of cold wind on his face was most welcome, as even early in the day, August sunshine had him feeling too warm.
"Your vault Mr Potter." Harry hurried to fill his money pouch, which Vlad and his ever present backpack had remembered. Securing the ties, he placed it back in the bag and they climbed back in, complete with complaints from the vampires. As they clambered out again, Vlad actually had to stop for water, which suited Griphook fine as he handed them all some metal contraptions that made a tinny, painful ringing sound. "And these are for what? Bashing in potential thieves heads?" Ingrid held hers up in distaste. "You'll see." The goblin smirked, showing his pointed teeth as they stepped around the curve of a wall of rock.
"Is that a dragon?" A shackled, enormous winged reptile stood there, shrinking back as the ringing metal sound reached it's ears. As they got closer, Harry could see deep scars along it's snout, and the dragon looked terrified, trying to back away. "Its been trained to expect pain when it heard the noise." Harry and Vlad both dropped their clanging metal implements instantly, twin looks of horror. "That's barbaric!" The goblin looked unconcerned, and Harry found himself walking over to the dragon. Vlad tried to tug him away, and the others were clearly torn between watching in fascination and telling Harry he was insane.
The dragon sniffed hesitantly, still making pained sounds and trying to hide behind it's wing. "Guys, cut the noise!" The four others and Griphook hid behind a thick stone pillar, peering around - Bertrand could pull Harry out of the way in time if he had to, but Harry didn't feel concerned. Samael was easily twice the size of this dragon. Looking up at the scarred face, he tried speaking reassuringly to the dragon, keeping his voice even as the dragon sniffed again, peering around. It was then Harry realised the dragon probably couldn't see him, it's eyes milky white. As he spoke, the dragon visibly relaxed, the front claws slowly moving the body around to face him. Vlad's eyes were wide, flicking between Harry and the dragon.
Eventually, the dragon reached it's head out, sniffing at Harry closely. Waiting with bated breath, he wasn't immediately eaten. Holding out a tentative hand, Harry kept talking quietly and rested his fingers next to one of the scars, rubbing in what he hoped was a soothing way. The dragon shuffled closer, letting Harry continue rubbing the scales towards it's eyes. Vlad edged his way next to Harry, keeping his movements soft and slow so as not to spook the huge reptile, then leaned in close to Harry. "You're speaking Parseltongue to the dragon, and I think it understands you." Eyes widening, Harry watched as Vlad reached a hand to the huge snout, rubbing gently too and neither of them were roasted alive.
"We won't hurt you, but can you maybe not burn us alive while we check out this vault?" Feeling a little daft, the dragon actually backed up, curling a spined tail around and folding their wings in. "Wow. Lets move before it changes it's mind." Harry nodded to Vlad, continuing to speak softly to the dragon until they were both safely behind the stone pillar. "Are. You. Insane?" Draco stared at the two of them, and Harry hoped they were far enough away that Griphook hadn't heard him hissing.
"Generally, yes. I just couldn't watch the dragon look so terrified! Don't try that at home kids, now shall we get on with the vault?" Resolving to explain when they were safely alone so the others didn't think they could talk a dragon down themselves, Harry watched as Griphook guided Draco to press his hand to a small, glinting piece of metal - a needle. Draco sucked the finger into his mouth, and Ingrid hastened to heal it when they noticed Bertrand automatically fixing eyes on the tiny cut. The vampire wasn't dangerous, Harry was sure. It was probably just instinctual.
"Merlins pants, this is huge!" Draco's vault made Harry's look like a shoebox in comparison to a warehouse. "This is only one of them. There's a dozen Malfoy Vaults, not including Draco or Narcissa's newly created ones. Only one of which has it's entire monetary contents promised to Mrs Malfoy." Griphook was agreeable enough to standing outside, giving them relative freedom inside the cavernous stone room. Piles upon piles of gold filled one corner, stacks of paintings lined a wall. There was vases made of clear crystal and set with precious stones, a whole pile of just loose gemstones. "Everyone stay still for a minute?"
Vlad was holding up a hand, his face scrunched in concentration. Everyone froze, looking at him for a minute. "Can you feel that?" The question was aimed mostly at Ingrid, who shared Vlad's trait of unique senses, but Harry tried to feel it too - whatever it was. Ingrid nodded after a minute, joining Vlad in trying to find out what was causing them to feel something. Harry could feel something too, a sort of ticking, pulsing sound tingling over his skin. Letting it lead him, he ended up in front of a box overflowing with necklaces. Pearls, gold, silver, it was endless. "Don't touch that!" Harry's hand stopped at Draco's warning, and he was handed gloves.
"Malfoys and Blacks both like to curse jewellery if anyone not a Malfoy dares touch it." Understanding dawned, and Harry slid on the dragonskin gloves, following the strange sense of... something, eventually pulling out a locket that was all but calling to something inside him. It was large, oval and ornate, set with emeralds at the top of an S shape created by a snake emblem. "Is this what you're feeling guys?" Harry held up the locket, and both Draculas nodded. They paid Draco's warning no heed, but then for all Harry knew vampires wouldn't be hurt by the curse. Or that wasn't cursed. Draco had only said it was possible really.
"S. Snake. Emeralds. Creepy. Our old friend Salazar Slytherin you reckon?" Vlad coiled the chain around his wrist, trying to open the locket but it was apparently stuck fast. "Alohamora!" The unlocking charm made absolutely no difference, and Bertrand was next to look at it, also not bothering with gloves. "It feels like it has a timer, or perhaps a beating rhythm inside it." Harry thought that too, and after knowing him for a while he was no longer surprised by Bertrand sniffing things.
"It smells like that diary. Soul magic. So nobody grow emotionally attached to this." Vlad pulled an empty pouch from his bag, which the locket went into before being stored in a side pocket of his backpack. "We'll look at that later, lets sort this vault out." Draco didn't seem to want much from in the vault, magic being the way they moved the pile of gold into a magically expanded trunk to be deposited in a different vault. "Anyone want anything before I sign off this one?" Severus took a small selection of the jewels and stones pile for potion ingredients, and Bertrand took a shine to an old French painting in the Art stacks, which Draco insisted he take.
The dragon was still complacent, sniffing the air and snuffling smoke occasionally, but didn't move as they exited the vault. "Consider this one free to transfer to my mother. We have time to look at another one or two before we have other business to attend to. With any luck, this will all be over within a week." Nobody was happy to get back in the cart, except perhaps Harry who wasn't all that phased. The next vault didn't have a dragon guarding it, which Harry was glad for. "How much pottery and paintings can one family need?" This vault was done with fairly quickly too, no mysterious pulsing necklaces to slow them down.
The third vault was a little more time consuming, as it contained books which meant Vlad, Bertrand and Severus were all over them. "Uncle Severus, can't you use the spell to separate them by subject? I'm hungry!" Draco grew bored watching the three pore over ancient tomes, complaining to hurry them along while Ingrid was admiring some old brooches. "Take them if you want Ingrid, they'll only end up gathering dust in my mothers vault otherwise. Just make sure you check them thoroughly for curses before you wear them." They too, ended up in Vlad's backpack, and once the books were organised very few actually got left behind. Draco signed to say those three were searched and done with, one exceptionally heavy trunk being instructed to be seperated between three of Draco's newly set up vaults.
After one more neck-breaking, exhilarating ride and a top up of Bertrands sun spells, Draco signed some more parchments, took a wrapped pile of something or other and agreed to "same time tomorrow", which Vlad and Bertrand groaned audibly at. Somehow still having an appetite, Draco insisted they retire to a side room in the Leaky Cauldron for lunch. Enjoying the thick, meaty burger while Vlad and Draco both sedately ate sandwiches, Harry swallowed and enquired where they were going next. "Madam Malkins, to get measurements done. I need to abandon the vampire to go buy some stuff for the Malfoy owls... And we could probably pick up our Potions kit top ups, since we have the man who sets the needed supplies himself. Then we should get back and look at that necklace."
Harry watched as Vlad requested Draco place his order for Phantoms food, then grew irritated when Draco wouldn't take his money for it. Chuckling to himself as he finished his pumpkin juice, Harry followed them to Madam Malkins, hearing multiple people talking in hushed times about "Sirius Black" and occasionally hearing his name too. That tended to happen though, so he didn't think anything of it and stood obediently while a tape measure took his measurements, all the while not being held. "So, you three boys are Gryffindors, and Miss Dracula is a Slytherin yes?" They agreed, and Vlad ordered new shoes to arrive when the robes did as his current ones were too small.
Severus had been relatively quiet for the second half of the trip, and Harry was starting to suspect the man was holding on to some kind of secret knowledge, but then he wasn't exactly a social butterfly so the man may just have nothing to say. They got back to Malfoy Manor, each went to change out of their formal attire and in Draco's case, relieve himself of his shopping. Comfortable back in t-shirt and jeans, Harry splashed cold water on his warm face and asked how the others felt after the cart ride. "Eat slugs Potter!" Ingrid glared, then resumed drinking her iced tea. Vlad merely groaned and closed his eyes, shaking his head. "Remind me to ask the resident Potions master for something for nausea. Because that was unpleasant."
Phantom was curled up around Harry's shoulder at the minute, Lily wrapped snugly around his wrist and forearm as he went down to join in the investigating of the locket. Vlad had barely pulled it out of the bag it had been placed into before Phantom was hissing, eyes flashing greener than Harry's and she made generally unhappy sounds in its direction. "Lily, any strong feelings?" The snake slithered out onto the table, spending a minute investigating the necklace for herself. "Apologies if this offends wizard" it was said sarcastically, Lily didn't generally apologise for anything "but it smells a little like you. Other than that, I can only say it contains old, dark magic." Removing his familiar and placing her and Phantom in a patch of sunlit window space, Harry watched as Severus cast a few spells on it, which revealed very little to Harry's eyes.
Vlad and Ingrid mostly just stared at it, tilting their heads and sort of squinting. "It just feels... Wrong. More so than that diary did when I first held it. What do you think Ingrid?" Ingrid was the one to try their strange magic on it, levitating it off the table but dropping it heavily. "Yeah, it doesn't respond normally to magic either."
Taking the locket outside, they then tried to damage it. Bertrand fireballed it, Severus cursed it, and Vlad and Ingrid tried a whole array of different things. Nothing so much as scratched it, the grayish silver pendant lying on the ground like they weren't trying to crack it open. "I have an inkling, but I would like to do more research on this. For now, I suggest we leave this well alone after what happened to Miss Weasley, in case it's a similar type of magic."
Harry agreed with Bertrand, and the pendant was locked in a safebox that had every protective ward Vlad, Ingrid and Severus could throw at it. Draco looked down at the warded box, which even Harry could see was shimmering with the magic all around it. "What in the name of magic is it? And what was it doing in my fathers vaults?" Having no answer, Harry shrugged at his friend and looked over at the locket again. What could Lily have meant, it smelled like him a little? And Phantom responded to it with green eyes, which if Harry racked his brains right, meant dark magic.
-YDHP-
Known for our terrible wet grey weather, did you know it gets light before 4am in England in summer?