The next morning, Harry invited Hermione to the lord's study.
He brought out chibi-Hermione and handed it over to her.
Hermione spent the next few seconds alternating her focus between Harry and the doll in his hands.
After a moment of indecision, Hermione took hold of her doll and began inspecting it curiously.
"What is this, Harry? Some kind of memento to remember me by during your travels?" Hermione asked cheekily. "I didn't know that you were into dolls. It's um… very cute of you." Her rosy cheeks blushed slightly.
It was pretty well made if she was being honest. The doll's hair was very smooth unlike her curly tangled mess. Maybe if she kept her hair shorter…
"Uh, no. That's the voodoo doll I created last night. It's actually linked to you if you focus on the connection you felt last night. You won't be able to locate it since I placed charms to prevent reverse tracking but you should be able to feel the connection linking you to the doll now that you're holding it." Harry shook his head hastily.
He didn't want Hermione to get the wrong idea and think he has some sort of fetish for dolls. He doesn't. Honest to God, swear to Magic.
"Oh." Hermione's blush intensified and opted to focus on the connection instead.
Her brows furrowed in concentration as she tried to feel for the link that connected to her magic last night.
Shortly after, the corner of her lips curved upwards slightly as she found it lying dormant in her. Her magical senses were on point.
She analyzed the link quickly and concluded her inspection.
Harry was right, she could feel a two-way connection between them. "So what are we doing with the doll?" Her eyes darted towards Harry's relaxed form.
"Well, I did promise you that I would tell you more about the protections I am going to place on the doll. I figured I would show you while you're still here." Harry held his hand out for the doll.
"Really!?" Hermione exclaimed excitedly.
"Yup, now where should I start… I guess I'll explain as we go." Harry waved his hand negligently and the documents and other paraphernalia cluttering the desk were banished to the floor in neat piles.
Hermione's eyes goggled slightly at the careless display of power and control over his magic. This was not the Harry she knew from Hogwarts; she was reminded once more. He wasn't the reluctant child dragged along by her on study sessions and barely scraping pass some of their classes. No, this was a Harry that has fully realized his potential and was very confident in his abilities. She didn't even see him pull out a wand, so it was safe to assume that he was using wandless magic.
Hermione gulped silently in apprehension. She was starting to see Harry in a new light. One that she had ascribed to only Headmaster Dumbledore in the past.
Harry placed the doll down gently on the desk and turned to regard his best friend speculatively.
"Before we get started, I'm going to need a drop of blood from you." Harry said blandly.
Hermione's head swiveled to look at him as her eyes narrowed with suspicion. She had learnt a lot about blood magic as a researcher in the Department of Mysteries.
"Why?"
"I need it to strengthen the connection between you and the doll. The hair works fine, but it's not as efficient. Your blood would make a better medium for voodoo magic and it would improve the effectiveness of the protections I'm about to place on it. What that means is that it'll make it harder for enemies to overcome the protections." Harry clarified patiently.
Harry pulled out his diary and flipped to a new empty page.
"I haven't tried converting a voodoo doll from one medium to another before, so this would be an experiment of sorts. It should be possible, but even if it failed… there won't be any repercussions. I will just have to create a new doll." Harry shrugged his shoulders before smiling at Hermione.
A fountain pen was set to hover over the page, ready to take down his observations.
Hermione frowned lightly at the sight, her inquisitive mind piqued.
"There are magical fountain pens!? Why didn't I know about them? And what's that book you're writing in?" She could barely restrain the excitement in her voice. Magical innovations were a rare sight in Wizarding Britain. The Weasley twins are the greatest innovators of their generation, but they focused primarily on jokes and pranks. She often lamented the fact that their brilliance could have been better employed elsewhere.
"Yes. I got this particular one in the US. Some of the magical communities abroad have advanced much further than Wizarding Britain. And this…" Harry stroked the page fondly. "Is my diary. It contains everything I have learnt during my journey. Before you ask, I am sorry but you can't read it. There are a lot of protections on it, more than what you would find on a family grimoire. There is information written in here that I can't share with you because they're not mine to share. I made promises to some of the people who taught me that I wouldn't spread the knowledge." He shook his head in denial before she could ask to read it.
Hermione pouted mightily with her bottom lips jutting out prettily. She pleaded wordlessly as her eyes moistened slightly.
Harry chuckled at the sight and tugged at her bottom lip gently with his right hand.
"I can tell you some of it, but not everything." Harry relented as he retracted his hand.
Hermione blushed at the intimate contact as her body shuddered lightly. Her tongue darted out inconspicuously to moisten her lips. There was a lingering taste of fragrant smoke and metal for some reason. She wondered what Harry had been doing before this.
Harry conjured a short ceremonial dagger with another wave of his hand and handed it to Hermione.
"A drop of blood is all I need." Harry prompted her.
Hermione huffed slightly and picked up the dagger. Bracing herself, she poked her index finger lightly with the blade and a drop of blood welled out. It was painless, and she quickly established that there's a localized numbing charm on the blade itself. Conjuring enchanted objects? Or did Harry place the enchantment after conjuring the dagger? Was that even possible?
She arched her eyebrows at Harry wondering what she should do with the drop of blood. Should she drip it on the doll on the desk?
Harry curled the fingers on his right hand and the drop of blood levitated from the shallow cut on her finger. He waved his left hand and the wound healed itself. Another wave, and the ceremonial dagger was gone. She shivered from feeling the touch of Harry's magic on her skin, though her attention was soon redirected to the drop of blood floating gently above the desk.
"This is slightly different from a traditional voodoo doll. I managed to combine it with a shikigami from the Shinto magic system to expand the capabilities of the doll." Harry elaborated as he continued to manipulate the drop of blood and the doll. "I won't be removing the hair from the voodoo doll, so the already existing connection should remain intact. The blood will merge with the hair and strengthen it." Harry allowed the drop of blood to fall on the voodoo doll and it was absorbed into it with a flash of soft white light mixed with a slight tinge of crimson.
"Can you feel the difference? Focus on the connection. Freely given blood is a very powerful medium. I'm sure I don't have to tell you to make sure not to leave any lying around. The consent and the intent behind it removes the person's natural ability to resist against any magic cast using it as a medium. At that point, it's not much different from using a piece of the soul as a medium besides the amount of magic that can be transferred along the bond." Harry directed her softly.
Hermione shut her eyes and focused inwardly at his words and she could tell that the connection had grown much more robust.
"For those with sharp senses, they can feel when the sympathetic magic connects to them. It feels like a string is connected to them and magic travels along it. Some people like to compare it to a bond." Harry's voice went on.
Hermione concentrated on that imagery and she could picture a red string of magic connecting her and the doll. It was definitely more robust, since it was thick enough to call it a strand of rope rather than a string. She estimated that the new channel would be able to carry maybe twice to three times the amount of magic with minimal loss. Her analytical mind kicked in as it went over every aspect of the bond careful not to miss anything.
"Looks like it worked perfectly." Harry held up the doll to inspect it closer. Chibi-Hermione had become more defined as the connection grew stronger. It felt a bit more lifelike too.
He handed the doll over to Hermione.
She could tell that there were more intricate details that weren't there before. The cheeks of the doll were rosy and the texture of the doll felt smoother and softer. The doll felt a bit warm to her touch, though that might just be her imagination running overdrive. The rare form of magic unveiled before her almost had her hyperventilating at the avenues of research it can branch into. There were so many applications she could think of just off the top of her head.
With the doll in hand, she couldn't help but be curious what would happen when the bond was active.
Hermione directed a bit of magic into the doll and squeaked in embarrassment when she felt it travel back into her body leaving her trembling slightly from the tingling sensation. It felt really odd for her magic to come back into her body from an outside source. Her body accepted it with no obstruction given that it was her own magic and she was using the voodoo doll as a medium. She can't run any experiments on her own doll, since that would just be casting spells on herself. Her body would recognize the source of the magic and it wouldn't put up any resistance. At least she could tell from the magic that came back to her that the loss was negligible.
Harry watched her little skit from the side in fond amusement. She could never really restrain her curiosity when she was confronted with new knowledge. He watched silently as she started twirling a strand of her bushy hair in her fingers, probably thinking of ways to research the new magic. Her habit of chewing on her bottom lip seems to have stayed with her even after the three years of separation.
"As I was saying, this is different from a traditional voodoo doll. To start off, it can do everything you expect a voodoo doll is capable of. When I merged it with a shikigami, I was able to monitor the target remotely. I have access to both visual and audio of the target's surroundings and as such I could do reconnaissance or perform more intricate maneuvers."
Hermione's eyebrows shot up in shock, disappearing into the fringe of her bushy hair.
"Visual and audio, you say…?" She asked hesitantly. "Did you by any chance, see or hear what happened with Ron yesterday?" Her head dipped down slightly in shame and embarrassment.
"Uh…" Harry blinked rapidly at her sudden inquiry. "Kinda?"
Hermione pursed her lips at his indirect confirmation of his guilt.
"W-well, anyways, that's not the main purpose of the magic. It's meant to provide me a means to scout out an area and ascertain if my target is safe if they're kidnapped. The connection can't be blocked, so I can bypass wards and track the target down. Actually, it depends on the strength of the connection. With blood as a medium, only something like a Fidelius would block out the monitoring capabilities of the shikigami, but it can't block the connection so the protections would still be active." Harry soldiered on in a resolute tone.
"I swear it's not to spy on you. I would much rather see it in person than through a monitoring charm." Harry stated proudly with his head held high.
"O-oh. I-I see." Hermione muttered weakly in response to his candid proclamation.
"Now, let us start with the basics. I can channel magic into the doll, like you just did. My hypothesis is that I could overload any magic inhibiting devices by sending my magic through the doll if you were ever kidnapped. That means you will be able to access your magic and protect yourself somewhat. Hmm… I should start training you on wandless magic. There's currently not much you can do without a wand. Or maybe self-defense techniques…" Harry trailed off.
"Harry? Harry!" Hermione called out in a loud voice.
"Oh, oops. I get lost in my thoughts sometimes. Too much meditation." Harry mumbled quietly.
"Where were we? Right! Protections. If we go beyond the basics, there are a number of protective talismans that I have created for the sole purpose of protecting my targets from a distance. I have yet to find an actual limit as to how far the doll can be separated from the target before it becomes ineffective." Harry paused to see if Hermione was following so far.
"My main source of inspiration comes from combining Daoism and Shinto magic with voodoo magic. I first got the idea when I saw Taoist priests using talismans on straw dolls to conduct battle with their enemies in Magical China. They were able to imbue different effects on the talismans and transfer them to their targets. It sounds like voodoo magic right? That's because it's a different branch of sympathetic magic. They focus on controlling inanimate objects such as puppets and swords instead of humans. The priests are strict believers in the sanctity of the soul… so they will never use their magic on living beings. They would hunt down anyone who commits evil using their magic, as they have fallen into the path of the Mo also known as 'The Demonic Path'. Talismans are also very popular in Shinto magic and I was able to gather some interesting talismans there."
Harry flicked through his diary until he reached the section dealing with talismans.
"Now, the first talisman I have in mind, is to prevent any magical travel that does not originate from the target. They are able to apparate but they can't be side-apparated or use portkeys. Floo travel is fine because the activation is done using the user's magic, since the floo powder is just a reagent used to initiate the process."
Hermione nodded her head in understanding. What Harry had said was true as far as she knew. You can't use the floo powder for someone else. Coincidentally, that was also why Harry had an unplanned trip to Knockturn Alley before his second year. Muggles can't use Floo powder either, since they don't have magic to fuel the activation.
"Is there any reason why you picked this particular enchantment?" Hermione puzzled aloud. She could see that Harry was a bit reluctant to answer her question. She waited for him patiently and Harry could tell that he couldn't deter her from her line of questioning.
"I came up with this talisman to prevent any kidnapping via apparition and portkeys." Harry replied succinctly.
Hermione's hands reached up to cover her mouth in shock and realization.
"Oh, Harry. Does the Triwizard Tournament still bother you?" Hermione rushed over to give him a consoling hug.
Harry gave her a silent nod and accepted her hug. The third task of the Triwizard Tournament was still a very vivid memory for him. Cedric was the first innocent person he had watched die in front of him and he was unable to do anything to prevent it.
Eventually, over the course of his journey, he realized how dangerous forced teleportation can be. There were many ways to abduct someone or lure them into a trap using teleportation. Side-apparition, portkeys, runic circles, and forced summoning were just a few of the examples he had seen himself. It was a popular trick to use against invaders, especially in ancient tombs. Harry had seen teams of curse-breakers get wiped out by a single teleportation trap concealed beneath the floor when he was in Egypt, which was why he decided to come up with measures to prevent such traps.
He had come to terms with his memories of the Triwizard Tournament, but he didn't like being reminded of it. Harry leaned into Hermione's hug as he enjoyed the warmth and softness of her body. Call him a pervert or whatever, but Hermione is smoking hot and he is a straight male with a strong libido.
Harry retrieved a delicate chain made of silver from his desk along with a tiny amethyst crystal.
"Materials for the talisman." He explained without looking up. "Silver and gemstones are useful for holding powerful enchantments. The Japanese mages prefer using natural and renewable materials like wood and paper, but they aren't as powerful and are oftentimes single use only. The upside is that they are more easily accessible and considerably cheaper. They also don't have to worry about clean up since they usually burn out on its own. That's why they usually carry a huge supply of them. The Taoist priests favour using bronze and jade. The jade itself carries a powerful purifying element that can be used to ward off evil spirits and ill-intent. Very useful, if you are interested in curse breaking and breaking into tombs."
As he spoke, he channeled his magic into the silver chain and willed it to wrap around the amethyst crystal like a cradle. The chain was fashioned similarly to a bracelet and the violet gemstone was hanging from it like a charm. This way he could attach multiple gemstones to a single chain without it looking too unwieldy or becoming a tangled mess.
Harry chanted softly in a foreign language that Hermione couldn't identify but she could tell it was an oriental language. Probably Archaic Chinese or Classical Chinese. She wasn't very familiar with their languages and she could only remember bits about the language. The Japanese mages used a similar language that was probably derived from it, and she knew that it was mandatory to learn at least Classical Chinese to read the older texts.
A short while later, Harry's posture relaxed slightly as the enchantment settled into the amethyst crystal.
"It's done." Harry proclaimed and showed her the silver bracelet.
She inspected it closely but she couldn't make out much besides the slight buzzing she could feel emanating from the chain and the gemstone.
"That's it? I was expecting something flashier." Hermione demanded, as her eyes widen in disbelief.
Harry chuckled once more. "That's it. Can you imagine enchanting multiple items and they're all flashing about like you're in a nightclub? It would give the Japanese mages a headache. Magic doesn't have to be extravagant or flashy. You can strengthen the enchantment by pouring magic into it."
Hermione picked up the bracelet gently and directed her magic into the gemstone. A slight purplish glow radiated from the amethyst crystal and as she felt her magic fill up the gemstone to its maximum capacity the excess magic bled off into the silver chain and it gained a slight glow as well.
"The chain itself is enchanted to ward off evil and it can protect the wearer from minor curses. The excess magic is absorbed by the chain, otherwise the gemstone would have cracked from overpowering it. Of course, if you saturated both with too much magic it will succumb to magic erosion and turn to inert dust."
Hermione returned the bracelet to Harry who proceeded to lay the bracelet flat on the desk. Harry made a pinching motion with his fingers before spreading it out like he was zooming in, casting a magnifying spell on the crystal. A circular image formed above the crystal giving her a close up look at the structure of the talisman.
"If you look into the crystal carefully, you will see small characters floating about. The characters are ancient Chinese runes that were inscribed into the gemstone when I was chanting. The word can be very powerful, and not to be taken lightly of. Most mages in Britain forget that and see silent casting as the superior form of magic. The characters are marks left behind from my chanting, so I guess the old adage 'Words can leave scars' is true. The process is more efficient than carving the runes in manually, no?" Harry smiled softly as Hermione stared at him wordlessly.
The free-floating characters in the crystal meant that there are less critical points on the crystal that can be easily broken compared to traditional rune-carving methods. The structural integrity of the crystal itself was left untouched. Despite not being very exciting or visually impressive, she could tell that it was a very advanced method of enchantment. Most of it went right over her head.
He could tell that she was mightily impressed with his little demonstration. His method of enchanting would leave many curse breakers stumped as they try to figure out how he managed it. The runes weren't linked together in a chain, making it hard to discern the entire runic matrix. Only those adept at sensing minor magical fluctuations would be able to link the floating runes together to form a comprehensible matrix.
He waved his hand through the image to cancel the spell.
Harry draped the silver bracelet and talisman around the neck of the doll and Hermione could feel the magic wash over her through the bond. The feeling settled into the pit of her stomach after a while. It gave her the impression of being laden with a heavy weight, making her feel less likely to be blown away by an errant wind. She fancied that meant her presence in the world is now anchored, making it more difficult to transport her magically.
"We don't want to place the chain on the doll with all the talismans attached at once. The amount of magic travelling across the bond will probably knock you off your feet, if it doesn't knock you out cold. That's the first talisman done, we should move on to the next."
Harry pulled out a small black box containing a handful of small diamonds. A wave of pure magic washed over her when he opened the case. The diamonds sitting in the box sparkled in the morning sun filtering in from the large window situated behind the lord's desk.
"These are already enchanted. They are what I call a substitution talisman." He plucked three of the diamonds out of the case and arrayed them on the table next to the silver chain.
"Given the purpose of this talisman, I chose to use three of the same kind. The curse damage it absorbs is spread out evenly across all three, allowing each of them to tank more hits and the gemstones can be recharged. If I used only a single talisman, the gemstone would be reduced to dust after absorbing a single curse too powerful for it to withstand. Three being a magically stable and powerful number makes the set up more reliable and it gives me time to recharge the talismans before they are overwhelmed by the damage. A single talisman can take a killing curse head on before it is destroyed. With three, it can absorb up to seven killing curse before all three are destroyed at the same time."
"These are already enchanted, but they are not linked together yet."
Harry tapped each of the diamonds with his finger and they glowed brighter with each subsequent tap. Closing his eyes, he focused on the mental image of the three diamonds in front of him.
A moment later, the diamonds lifted off the table and began floating gently above the table. Harry began to chant in an Arabic language and the diamonds started spinning in a clockwise direction. As he chanted, the diamonds shined like miniature stars and the spinning picked up in speed.
As she watched the scene from the side, Hermione thought that it resembled a white halo.
She didn't have to wait long before the process ended. It was flashier than the previous one, she mused. She reasoned that it was probably because the two techniques had different origins and thus different priorities.
"The talismans are now considered to be a set. They are magically linked to each other and that is how the damage can be distributed evenly across all of them."
The diamonds fell back onto the desk with soft clinks. They didn't look any different from when Harry took them out of the box, but that was if she looked at them with the naked eye.
Hermione pulled out her wand and cast a spell to enhance her vision with magic sight, allowing her to see ambient magic and auras. The diamonds were still shining like miniature stars and there was now a glowing bond linking each of the diamonds together.
"The strength of the glow indicates how much power is stored in the diamonds. As they absorb curse damage, the glow will dim accordingly?" Hermione postulated.
Harry chuckled at how fast she picked that up and nodded his head affirmatively.
"While I did say that they can be recharged, it is not indefinitely. The integrity of the diamonds still take damage from the curses it absorbs, so I will have to replace them every so often. The materials cost a pretty penny but it is worth every knut spent to keep those important to me safe. I tried using synthetic diamonds but they don't seem to work very well."
"Those are the important ones that I wanted to show you. It was better for you to know in-depth what they can do, so you can act accordingly. The other talismans I have are more passive in nature. The effects won't be very noticeable and you won't know about it unless you had the talisman on your person."
Harry pulled out yet another bag containing various colored gemstones. He emptied the bag, letting the shiny stones spill out across the desk.
"The emeralds are talismans against foreign substances such as potions and poisons. It can filter out any negative substances and the stone itself will darken as it absorbs the toxin. You can purify the stone for repeated use with a simple purification and detoxification spell. You can keep one on you, and I will attach another on the chain as a backup. They are enchanted to vibrate when it detects any dangerous substances. The clear quartz stones are talismans against mental intrusion. It blocks out negative influences and mind reading. I generally use them for people without access to magic." Like Lara, Harry's mind supplied.
"Since you have already mastered Occlumency as part of the requirement of joining the Department of Mysteries, it is redundant for you. You can take one if you like since it can block out compulsion charms as well. Those things can be deadly when you aren't expecting it…" Like what happened to Dumbledore. The blackened, withered hand of the headmaster flashed in his mind and Harry cleared away the imagery with judicious use of Occlumency.
He will have to spend more time meditating tonight. The flashbacks are becoming more frequent now that he has returned to England. He thought he had made peace with his past, but it looks like his assumption was incorrect. What did the Tibetan monks tell him again? He must face his demons before he can move on? His flight from England was as much a need for freedom as it was to escape from having to face everything that has happened to him over the years. Well, he was up to the challenge now. He has grown both physically and mentally during his journey, he reassured himself.
"The rest of them, I am still experimenting with. I'm trying to make a truth stone using the sapphires. It will heat up slightly when someone is lying. It's not something that can be used in conjunction with the dolls. Or rather, it would be pointless since you wouldn't notice the stone heating up. I'm thinking of fashioning it into a ring or a necklace. Rubies are said to be stones of good fortune. It represents a fortune of the body, mind, and soul. I'm planning to enchant it to enhance physical healing. My goal is to boost natural healing by a factor of two to threefold."
"And that's pretty much it." Harry finished calmly. "I'll check up on the talismans every few days to see if they need recharging. If anything happens, the alert charm will notify me."
Having picked out the necessary talismans, Harry promptly attached each one to the silver chain. Some of the talismans have more active effects, and Hermione could feel the moment they were attached to the chain. Each one sent a wave of magic through her body, with slightly different nuances before settling down in her.
The enchantments travelled along the connection seemingly instantaneously.
A soft exhale could be heard in the now silent room.
It came from her, Hermione realized as the sound registered in her mind. She didn't notice when she had started holding her breath, but she could feel her body relax as the pressure building up in her chest ebbed away.
Taking a moment to gather herself, she turned her attention to chibi-Hermione. The completed talismans hung on the silver chain glimmering like miniature stars when she looked at them using magic sight. It was a beautiful and mesmerizing sight, and for a noble purpose. Harry was using magic that was widely considered to be dark and insidious to protect those he loved and cared for.
Harry picked up the doll and made to store it away with the rest of his collection.
Hermione's eyes trailed after his figure. She caught a short glimpse of his collection as he unlocked one of the drawers using his blood. They were all female dolls, she noted.
With the doll tucked away safely, Harry grinned at her and told her that there are quite a number of people under his protection nowadays. His saving people thing has been somewhat tempered, as was his recklessness, but his protectiveness of those he cared about had only grown fiercer. He wasn't going to inform her that he had another drawer filled with dolls for more… precautionary measures. He had made some enemies during his travels, and he was willing to get his hands dirty to prevent them from coming after those close to him.
Hermione felt a brief pang of sadness that she wasn't there with him, to watch him grow from the young, unsure teenage hero into the confident, suave man standing in front of her now. She lamented the fact that she herself hadn't changed much the past three years.
None of them did. They were still stuck in the backward society of Wizarding Britain. They, the purebloods, half-bloods and muggleborns, were content to fall back into the false peace granted to them after the end of the war.
Ron was still the man-child from before the war, prone to jealousy and anger.
Ginny was conceited and still deluding herself about her chances as the Lady Potter and Black.
Luna was still every bit as flighty as she was during her Hogwarts years, though every so often a look of pain and loneliness would flash across her eyes when the horrors of the war assailed her once more. Her father's death after the war ended contributed to that as well.
Neville was the only one who had changed significantly. He had come out of his shell during his seventh year and became more confident and outspoken. He was the one who stood at the forefront leading their peers in Harry's absence and his appearance had changed almost as much as Harry's.
Wizarding Britain was still stuck in its antiquated ways and she had become a part of that system. Her self-growth had slowly grinded to a halt, the past years only managing to further her academic pursuits. But herself, as a person… was still rooted in the same spot. She had grown magnificently throughout her Hogwarts years, the adventures and time spent with Harry and Ron contributed to her growth. She had lost some of her pushiness and her strict adherence to rule and authority, becoming more flexible and someone who could relate to others.
Maybe it was time for her to change her ways. Harry was back in Britain and she wouldn't be alone in this daunting task.
With the important stuff out of the way, the two of them whiled away the rest of the morning idly chatting, the only interruption being Kreacher, popping in every so often to refill their empty teacups.
~v~
Later that evening, Harry was once more secluded in the lord's study. His tall figure was hunched over the expansive desk as he meticulously penned out a formal letter to Neville.
This would be the first in a series of official correspondence between the two most ancient houses in over two decades. His goal was to re-establish the ties between the most ancient houses of Wizarding Britain. He decided to start with Neville, as he was someone he was familiar with in comparison to the others. Once Neville was onboard, they could split the work between them. Neville was a responsible person from what he could remember of the next Lord Longbottom. Harry expected Neville to agree easily enough, so he just had to bring him up to date on some of his plans.
Harry rubbed his tired eyes as he scanned the letter once last time. It was acceptable in his opinion. He hasn't had much opportunity to practice his writing during his travels, besides writing in his notebook. Even then the writing was done by a magical pen.
Nodding in satisfaction, he rolled up the parchment and prepped the hot wax for sealing. He watched the red wax drip down in slight fascination. It was his first time using wax to seal a letter.
He pressed the combined lord's ring on his left pinky against the wax and sent a jolt of magic to the ring. A flash of light enveloped the ring, then the seal, and finally the letter itself.
The tawny owl perched near the window looked at him expectantly.
It was one of the Black family owls that Kreacher had purchased after Andromeda and Teddy had moved in. Harry didn't feel like replacing Hedwig with a new owl and he probably never will.
She was his first friend more than anything.
He stroked the owl's feathers gently before tying the letter to one of its legs.
"Please deliver it to Neville Longbottom at Longbottom Manor."
The owl gave him a soft hoot in response before taking off swiftly.
If things went well, he will be meeting Neville at Hogwarts for the anniversary celebration.
Harry turned back to survey the room.
He was surrounded by books he had scoured from the Black library and the hidden cache of notebooks and yellowed parchment stored in the desk itself.
Growing up in the muggle world, he didn't know a great deal about the house system that formed the backbone of Wizarding Britain.
He left soon after the war and during his journey he had managed to gather bits of information about the defenses each magical nation had at their disposal.
Now that he was back in England, and he had the vast library of the Black family for his perusal he can research further about the system. The written accounts by the previous lords of the family was a gold mine of information.
From the earliest record he was able to find, the Black family had been around since before the establishment of the system and each successive lord had kept detailed records of everything they could gather.
The original noble houses were conferred by King Arthur. The houses were established for the purpose of safeguarding the kingdom's magical interests. They were also separated from the mundane nobility, and led by Merlin himself.
There were only six houses granted nobility, and each house was responsible for a facet of the magical wellbeing of the kingdom. In return, each house swore their loyalty and services to the king and they upheld their duties with utmost care. They did not falter, not even when the king died and the kingdom fell into ruins. They held on to the belief that the king will return to them in the future, for Merlin himself had revealed the prophecy to them. It was their duty to maintain the magical wellbeing of the land, so that the king has a kingdom to rule over in the future. It would the gravest of sins to allow the land's magic to wither under their care.
Unlike the later noble houses established by the subsequent kingdoms, the original six did not place much emphasis on their status as nobles. Nobility was granted to them not because of their lineage, but for their abilities. Each of the six houses were masters in their craft, specializing in a specific branch of magic. The lords of the six houses were careful in raising their heirs to instill the same values in them.
Over the centuries, the six houses have grown very powerful. They were blessed by the land's magic in return for their services. It was a system that Merlin had devised to aid them in their duties. As guardians of magic in Britain, the most ancient houses were gifted with magical abilities. These magical abilities developed itself and became more powerful with each passing generation.
The House of Black gained the metamorphmagus talent allowing them to shift their features. It granted them anonymity when they carried out their duties. The Black family made great use of the gift and became masters of espionage. They gathered information on everyone, and recorded everything in their books for posterity. The Black family knew the importance of knowledge and information, as much had been lost to the passage of time since the fall of the kingdom. As a result of their intelligence gathering, the Black family rapidly grew into a powerhouse.
They were unassailable.
So the envy and jealousy of the lesser houses shifted to the rest of the most ancient houses.
A rumour began circulating around that time.
The Peverells were granted artifacts of power by the entity known as Death. The artifacts give the wielder unimaginable power and control over death. When united, the owner has the power to triumph over Death and instead become its master.
Immortality. That single concept drew the masses to them like flies, both the savoury and unsavoury kinds.
It was unknown who started the rumour. But it held a degree of truth, so the lords at the time knew that someone had leaked the information. The artifacts were in fact, the magical abilities granted to the House of Peverell given form.
It was unfortunate that the three sons of the then Lord Peverell began to boast about the artifacts in their possession after the fame bloated their ego. Antioch the eldest son, boasted of a wand made of elder wood that made him undefeatable in battle after becoming drunk in a tavern. He was killed in his drunken stupor and the wand was spirited away. Cadmus the second son, fell to the dangers of dabbling in soul magic. His will and mind was the weakest of the three brothers, and the death of his fiancée further broke him. His despair led him to end his own life and no further mention of the stone in his possession was made. It was a rude awakening for the third son, Ignotus. The deaths of his older brothers taught him the pitfall of fame. It was not glory that awaited them. He cast his aspirations away and led a secluded life. His family was shrouded in shadows and secrecy, aided by the third artifact in his possession. He taught his heirs to stay hidden and never reach out for fame and glory.
But the hunt for the artifacts never died down. Immortality was too alluring a prize to many witches and wizards. Eventually, they managed to track down Ignotus' last descendant.
However, it was at this point that the other most ancient houses stepped in. The House of Potter snuck the daughter away and gave her a new identity. The House of Black wielded their significant influence to stamp down the hunts for the artifacts.
But the House of Peverell was no more. They were the guardians of the spirits and souls in Britain. After a long debate, the most ancient houses agreed that the House of Black will assume the duties of the Peverells. The House of Potter did not want it for they were already sheltering the last Peverell. It would be too easy to connect the two together if they became the new guardian of spirits. The secret agreement saw the House of Black become the new guardian of spirits and the original duties of the House of Black was given to a younger family nominated by the most ancient houses.
The House of Black wielded the most influence amongst their society, and they had the power and knowledge to silence their enemies. It was for the best that they assumed the mantle. But the Black never forgot their origin, and they kept their family motto to show pride in their purification roots.
It wasn't until the 20th Century, that the House of Black began to stray from their ideals.
'The Once and Future King.'
Those were Merlin's words to the six lords gathered after King Arthur fell in battle.
For there to be a king, there has to be a nation to rule over.
At the turn of the 20th Century, there was a major shift in power across the world. Wars were fought and ideologies that had remained constant for thousands of years were cast aside.
The era of kings and queens was over.
The British Empire lost most of its power. They lost the majority of their territories overseas and while the country was still considered to be under a monarchy system, the authority of the king was greatly diminished.
Some members of the Black family started to believe that the world has changed too much and there wasn't a place for a king in the modern world. The ancient prophecy will never come to pass. As a result, those members gradually adopted the pureblood ideology that has been gaining momentum since the industrial revolution, and they started neglecting their duties.
The Lord Black at that time knew there was little he could do to convince them otherwise. Instead he removed his youngest son Arcturus from the rest of his family and raised him in the traditional beliefs of the House of Black. This resulted in a crack between the unity of the main and branch families. The youngest son was chosen as the next Lord Black and bitter feelings grew in his older sons. To spite their father, they became the leaders of the pureblood faction.
Of the most ancient houses, the Black family was the only one that strayed from their duties. Many of their family members joined the nascent dark lord.
The lord however stayed true to the beliefs he was raised in and refused to join their cause. He allowed each member the freedom to make their own choices, and upon his death he passed the title of Lord Black to Harry's godfather, Sirius.
When each family member made their choice, he gave them a solemn reminder.
"We are a noble house not because we have a long and rich history. Not because we are deemed purebloods. We were granted our nobility to perform our duties as protectors of the kingdom. If we lose sight of our duties, we have lost the reason why are nobility in the first place. We weren't granted nobility due to our lineage, but for our abilities."
Further entries in the previous Lord Black's diary lamented the downfall of the great houses. He watched as his fellow most ancient houses were slaughtered by Voldemort. The Potter, the Longbottom, the Bones… all were down to their last member. The Black was in shambles as well.
He'd be damned if he let his house fall into Lucius Malfoy's hands. Arcturus wrote his will in secrecy, ensuring that no one was aware of his plans.
Was this the end of their road? They have endured for over a thousand years, only to be wiped out by an upstart championing blood purity of all things.
He was thankful that the scion of the House of Potter survived.
There was still hope.
They can rebuild everything.
His only problem was that Sirius was still in Azkaban and there was little he could do to help him. With the number of Black family members supporting the dark lord, the House of Black has fallen far from grace and the name was reviled by most nowadays. He didn't have the necessary political capital to free his heir.
Arcturus had set things up so that the lordship will be passed on to Sirius and should he be unable or unwilling, it will pass on to his godson.
Sirius never took up the lordship before he died, so the lordship was left hanging.
The goblins had informed Harry about the arrangement shortly after his godfather's death. He kept it quiet though, until the end of the war.
It seems that the previous Lord Black was a cautious person. Knowing that he wouldn't be there to pass on the duties of the lordship, he had spent his final years secluded in one of the Black properties writing down as much as he could of the lord's duties and how to perform them in his diary. The previous Lord Black also poured a lot of his magic into the lord's ring to strengthen the family magic, so it will act as a guide for the future lord.
He also noted where the books and diaries of the previous lords were stored along with a detailed account of the family history.
After going through all the books and diaries, Harry understood that his homeland was currently in a poor state. The magic in Britain was withering without proper care and maintenance.
Of the six most ancient houses, three were left with orphaned lords. The heirs were all orphaned at a young age and no one taught them about their duties. Madam Bones and Madam Longbottom married into the family, so they likely weren't privy to the details. Not enough to raise them properly as heirs. The House of Black had abandoned their duties for over half a century. As for the Ollivanders… Harry wasn't privy of what was going on with the family of wand makers. He'll get in contact with the old man another day. Or better yet, maybe he could persuade Neville to do it instead.
The auxiliary house nominated to take on the former duties of the House of Black was destroyed over a century ago. They tried to keep the identity of the house a secret since the auxiliary house did not receive any magical gifts from the land, thus they were much more vulnerable. The lords of the most ancient houses were uncertain as to who or what destroyed the auxiliary house. It could be a rival family, or it could be spies from other magical nations. What it meant was that there wasn't anyone purifying the land's magic for over a century.
Given what Harry had learnt, it was likely that he would have to take up the duties of three different houses.
The Potter. The Black. The Peverell.
Although the House of Black were no longer the guardians in charge of purifying the land's magic, they had centuries of experience and records on how it was done. Harry was confident that he could replicate the necessary rituals. It he dug deep enough, he could feel the faint echoes of the Black family magic guiding the previous lords through the purification rituals.
Harry was also in possession of the Peverell artifacts, tools created from the family's magical gift from the land, for the purpose of channeling and controlling soul magic. Armed with the artifacts, and the experience he had accumulated dealing with troublesome spirits during his travels, he was relatively confident that cleansing the land of overflowing spirits was a minor chore. If necessary, he could even call on the spirits of the previous lords of each house for advice. Harry hoped to avoid that particular approach. The less he meddled with soul magic, the better for his health. He has had enough of soul magic, being the reluctant unsuspecting host of the dark lord's soul piece for over a decade.
Gathering his thoughts as he tidied up the room, Harry decided that it was enough reading for the day.
With the help of magic, the books were promptly returned to their original places. Some flew back into the many drawers of the desk, shutting with an audible click. The rest stacked themselves in neat piles on the floor besides the desk. Kreacher will return them to the library later and the house elf would be displeased if the master interfered in his job.
One book remained on the lord's desk. It was one of the oldest books in the Black family's collection. On the front cover, seven sigils were embossed in gold representing the six most ancient houses and the royal house of Pendragon. The magic system set up across the British Isles was governed by seven entities. Six houses guarding a facet of magic each and the royal house was the executor of the land's magic. The royal house can wield the land's magic as a weapon against invaders.
Whispers of fate and destiny echoed in Harry's mind.
Maybe he should visit the Hall of Prophecy once more…
Nah, he might end up smashing more of the dastardly orbs. Harry chuckled to himself as he imagined Croaker's face if that really happened.
Time to call it a night.