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Chapter 3: One of muggles and one of wizards
As I said before that night Death spat in my face and took revenge for my immortality in a cruel and twisted way, taking with her the one who until that moment was my companion. If you are thinking that Death was just a dark entity that would appear at the end of your days to take you by the hand as if you were great friends, my friend, you are wrong. Death was a vengeful bitch waiting for the most unexpected moment to deliver a low blow that would do you damage as possible.
However, I do not regret what I did, that was my nature as a vampire and so I have accepted it, as I have said before my nature is to be a murderer who kills to survive and satiate his appetite, that was my curse and to this day I do not regret being one, I am what I am, and I accept it without remorse or regret. Surprised? Did you find it repulsive? Are you sad for Dalia? I honestly do not care what you feel or think, I am a vampire, and I am proud of that. What does Dalia's death mean to me? Well, I am going to miss her company, but only that, I did not love her, I did not need her, and she was just nice company and that is it. In the end I think that my heart has not felt love for someone totally or maybe I have not found anyone who, like Isobel, earns it. Dalia was the reincarnation of my late wife, but in the end, it was not her.
Seeing Dalia's body did not cause me any remorse, but it did remind me of human frailty and what death meant to them. It was easy for me to forcibly take other people's lives, people who became victims at the end of the day and who had been unlucky enough to be in the wrong time and place. They were someone's daughters, wives, or friends and I would simply take their lives mercilessly. I did not know that all of them learned from a youthful age that the value of the things they did in life was good or bad when the end was near, and it was then that they reflected on their stories and if they had been happy to live them. With death they found that redemption of knowing that at the end of their days they did or did not do the right thing, and I simply took them away from them by filling them with terror and anguish, with dark and sad feelings that made them feel that there was no God protecting them.
I had left all that behind from the moment I allowed a curse to infect my being, for me, death did not exist unless I wanted to tan on any sunny day, and the value of things I did not need to be measured because things were just that, things that came and went and nothing more. Before me, human frailty, death itself, were nothing more than things that I would never go through and honestly, even at this date when I write my story, I do not long for them, perhaps it is my long stay in this world, perhaps a side effect of my condition, but I do not regret at all anything about how I have lived and what I have lived. I am a vampire and my nature defines me, there is no magic potion that will make me change my mind and if you continue reading all this you expect to read that I regret having chosen what I am or that I seek to change my condition leads me to do, my reader, I must inform you will be disappointed.
Going back to the subject of Dalia, as I said, letting go of emotions and feelings is as simple as changing my mood from one day to the next and it's strange, a couple of days ago Dalia was everything to me, she was a confidant in my life and now she was just another page in the diary of existence and one of those memories that were worth treasuring. But life went on, business went on and the vampire Harold had to go about his business. The news of Dalia's death spread like wildfire and the official version said that it had been a strange disease and that for the Potters had been devastating, however for the English society Dalia's death was not so shocking, it turns out that for many, that was the punishment I deserved for being the demon who filled the streets of London with perdition and vices thanks to my brothels and pubs, others said that Dalia had sometimes been seen fucking with the servants and her death was the price she had to pay for her sins. Multiple theories, some more far-fetched than the others, for the noblemen in London the news was just as devastating as for the family, Dalia Potter had died and with it all the possibility of being part of a family as influential and powerful as mine.
But the muggles say that death never comes alone and so it was, the year after Dalia's death, September 1710, a terrible storm hit South Carolina, dozens of plantations were lost, buildings and streets were totally devastated and flooded and what the wind could not collapse the water took away, So the losses were countless and according to the reports that came to me and very much in a dribble, my pubs no longer existed, a large part of my cotton plantations had been lost and the number of slaves had been cut in half. You will understand that, in those years, there was no weather forecast as there is today, so as soon as large storm clouds sighted coming from the distant Spanish land that we know today as the American state of Florida, it was late. The storm, which today we can call a hurricane, destroyed so much of Charleston, a city that if you locate it on a map, it is a port, and although I said that death was a ruthless and vengeful bitch, life itself was even more so. It turns out that during the storm Oliver Donovan had died along with his entire family while they were looking for refuge in the north, they couldn't get out because a big tree fell on top of their cart killing all its occupants instantly, with that accident and deaths, the cycle of Donovan' Family was closed and Dalia, if there was an afterlife for the muggles, she would be reunited with his parents and perhaps, in the famous peace that is reached there, she would make peace with them and live eternally happy, as the Christian Bibles say.
Fate or coincidence, I do not know, but in 1710, a year after Dalia's death, the whole Donovan' family had perished, what did that mean to me? The answer is nothing, however I've to admit that a feeling of revenge for Dalia and her sale years ago took hold of me and being who I was and the influence I had it was not difficult for me to move a couple of contacts to claim the entire Donovan' wealth and after presenting false documents, bribing officials and false witnesses Dalia Potter recovered what was rightfully hers before she was married and as Mrs. Potter had died of a strange illness at her residence in England, everything that was hers by inheritance became the property of Mr. Harold Potter, her widower, a daring move but all legal and recorded, so you can understand that I kept everything that once belonged to Oliver Donovan, that bastard could be rotting in hell, I meanwhile kept everything that in life he appreciated more than his own daughter.
I know what you may be thinking about the situation and everything I did to keep something that was never mine, but what good was it for me to be rich and influential if I could not abuse it for my benefit? And look at the cynicism of all this, the murderer legitimately converted his victim in his wife in order to collect an inheritance that technically did not correspond to him, is it fair?, no, it is not, but do you think I care what you think?, either, my objective was to avenge Dalia's memory and I was going to do it at the cost I had to pay and I did. Ironic, cynical, and immoral yes, but was Oliver Donovan a champion of justice and an example of morality?
Donovan's wealth was a very large one in properties, after all that a settler who had a plantation automatically became one of the richest and most influential people of all the thirteen colonies, however, most of Donovan' fields of tobacco, cotton and indigo were under water, destroyed or completely unusable, so economically it was not viable at the moment to put them to work or recover them, if I decided to do so it would cost me twice as much effort and a lot of money. Despite the economic tragedy that the inheritance represented, the mansion in the center was not as devastated as the one in Donovan' Place, so with a couple of repairs the house would be habitable again.
"I am not interested in returning to Charleston once I am back in London, Peter," I told my foreman, "Besides the fact that I think it will take us a lot of money to repair everything that the storm destroyed, the Donovan's' wealth is practically nothing and if you add to that that ours were not better, things do not look good." I said again as I looked at all the papers in front of me with extreme frustration.
"Then we can do what I advised you in my remarks, my lord," he said cautiously, "The most viable thing would be to sell the land at a good price," he replied.
"I know, but even with your accurate observations, I kept thinking about something that could be more beneficial than a simple sale of land", I said, leaving the papers I was reading aside, "old Oliver was a bastard, but above all he had a very broad vision and I must admit it, the property in the center is very well located, so we will do the following, we will follow your advice to sell all the plantations at a good price, preferably, exchange them for properties in the center that are not so destroyed, then start with the mission of remodeling the old Donovan' mansion that is behind the main square and change its turn from being a residence to an inn, an inn that must like the Potter pubs, have the usual turns," I finished saying, Peter looked at me in amazement and nodded, "and remember everything legal and recorded, if you have to use non-traditional means to do it, use them, you have all my trust and will to do it."
"A wonderful plan, my lord," Peter said in surprise, "I will take care of everything, though I have…", his voice suddenly sounded a little nervous.
"I read your notes very carefully and I cannot agree more with your remarks again, however, things in London are extremely vague on the subject, you know perfectly how difficult it is to have an accurate and effective intel of the Colonies, plus King George has more time to fight with his heir than to deal with Britain's foreign affairs on this side of the ocean", I interrupted him, "but if I am brutally honest, I do not think anything will detonate soon, there is some disagreements with our esteemed prime minister for taxes and some settlers demand more support from the crown, but if something were to happen, there is a long way to go, I think the banquet is still in the first half, do not forget that I know how this works, I've been in this business for years and I know how to recognize when something is cooked and ready to come out of the oven, this attempt at patriotism I do not think is something to worry about, at least not for now,"
"Then let me take a bold step beyond my duties, my lord", he said to me, and seeing that I nodded, he continued, "I think it best to get rid of all your plantations as well and secure your property to the maximum, if what has been heard breaks out in one, ten, or twenty years, the war will be in the open field and the first to fall, regardless of which side they choose, they will be...", he looked at me meaningfully.
"Thank you Peter, as always so wise and I fully agree with your vision", I smiled, that man was an excellent manager and his ideas in business were basically very similar to mine, he was an intelligent man despite being a slave, "do everything you have to do then, you have total freedom to do business on my behalf and as soon as you have all the documents ready you send me the information, I fully trust that things are done and done well Peter, remember at all costs and means everything must be legal and recorded, nothing outside the law or the necessary permits", the man nodded and without further ado left my office.
It may seem strange to you all that story about business, inheritance, wealth and plantations, but as I have emphasized in my story, the fact that I was a vampire did not limit me to being just a night murderer, I remind you that in addition to being a vampire I was a business person and an English Lord who needed to take care of his muggle affairs.
Continuing with the story, by the end of 1710, I saw that the intel in Great Britain was very extensive and is that, with multiple pubs in all areas of London, from the poorest neighborhoods to the most prestigious it was easy to collect information, mainly in those that were far from the large residential areas, most of the things that happened in Britain happened through my network of pubs or prostitutes, the latter, were the most incredible intel that Potter' businesses could have and you would be surprised at the amount of things that a man intoxicated with lust and desire can reveal, there is no doubt that sex in those years was the bane of muggles, vampires, wizards, wolves and anyone who falls into their nets. Well, the year was 1715, five years after my last visit to Charleston, and all my business plan combined with Peter's cunning had paid off, and it could be said that I already owned at least ten buildings in Charleston' Town center, and with the exception of the Potter' Inn, the rest were various shops that I rented to settlers looking to make a living in some way. Among the commercial lines you could find a botany, a fine clothing store, a food inn and more, but the most important thing of all was that after five long years my story with Dalia, the Donovan's and all that drama finally closed. During all those years I did not look for a Dalia, or another Isobel and I did not insist on finding her either, based on my experience, a new couple would be a drama for Lord Potter that I did not need and, about my vampire nature well, it was still the same and I think I do not need to remind you the context about it.
By the year 1727 a new George arrived and with him came a lot of stress for the family finances and we were not the only ones, I think I spoke for all the nobleman of the time when I said that things were going wrong and the costs of the battles between the English, French and Spanish were very high and if you added to that all the shameless taxes in order to solve the excessive expenses of the Crown or war, well, the formula for misfortune was ready. For Potter' family the latter did not take long to arrive, it turns out that after a lot of prosperity the businesses had to face for the first time a very complicated situation, results that the constant tension between kings and heirs and the endless struggle of interests between the king, his ministers and parliament caused that some pubs to have to close due to the pitched battles of all of them and King' soldiers came to put order and calm the struggles, after a while the crown finally pass a decree, the Potter' pubs were a hotbed for conspiracies against the crown and must remain closed, and other decree saying that the Potter' brothels were centers of perdition and sin for the English' nobleman allowing the devil to enter their families so following instructions from the queen consort herself and the church the brothels must remain closed as well. A chaotic situation and a headache caused my network of influence to begin to crumble by September and by October it was on the verge of definitive collapse, such a situation forced me to disappear as I had been years before. And so it was, by December 1730 and after a last attempt to resolve the situation by promoting an audience with part of the cabinet of Prime Minister Walpole to discuss the closure of my business, the excessive tax burden and appease the fierce campaign of the crown against me, however, that came out the other way, the secretaries accused me of being a promoter of places of perdition that God and the King did not approve, that meaningless discussions not end well for everybody, and although I did not want to do it and despite my reluctance to return to South Carolina, I embarked on one of my private ships and arrived at Charleston on the first of February 1731.
The city was very changed for that year and after the terrible storm years ago the settlers had decided to take advantage of the reconstruction to improve the architecture and safety of their buildings, in addition to the fact that by giving it a better design they were increasingly accentuating the importance of being one of the most populated communities in South Carolina. The settlers, through the improvements, were preparing for what they considered to be great growth by the end of the century, without expecting that, in a few years, the Independence War would break out. Thus, installed in a new property on the banks of the Ashley River just outside the center, there was nothing left to do but go unnoticed for a few years.
Incredibly, the nightlife of South Carolina full of large fields of cotton, tobacco, indigo and rice was a cordial invitation to hunt, and without the usual lights of the buildings it was not difficult for me to take advantage of the darkness of the night to hide behind a couple of trees or bushes and after silently stalking my victim attack him mercilessly when he was most unprepared. My victims were usually the slaves of the nearby plantations or of my own servants, choosing settlers was dangerous because their absence was easier to notice, on the other hand the slave community was moderately high, in fact, I think that at that time the black population was not outnumbered by the English settlers due to the amount of work that the plantations generated. My hunting was limited because if a settler disappeared a three or four appear looking for him, so by a majority of votes attacking them was discarded and there was nothing left to do but vary my menu with slaves, in the case of my slaves there were not many activities since I left the plantation business, but to Peter the instructions were very clear, we should sustain a very large number of them because if there was one thing I hated it was the lack of neatness, order and cleanliness in all my properties, and as the gardens had to be taken care of, the house should kept impeccable and the pantry abundantly stocked, the list of slaves was long and if one or two appeared on my menu, I doubted very much their absence could be noticed when the list was passed the next day.
"My Lord," I heard Peter's voice in the doorway just as I was about to go hunting, "I am very sorry to have to interrupt your departure, but I am afraid there are important matters that I must consult you."
"Well, I hope for your good that it is something very important," I told him firmly, "you know perfectly well that after dinner I do not usually review matters."
"I know where you are going, my lord", I noticed a hint of shame and fear at once in his countenance, "and it is precisely because of that, I take a bold step that might cost me my job… or my life."
"You...?", for the first time in years I felt something new in me, a degree of surprise and anxiety appeared.
"I do not know everything, my lord, and I am so sorry for trouble you, but I shall bear all the consequences that have to be assumed", he said, the fear gone, "you know perfectly well where my loyalty lie, but, though for years I have kept quiet and accepted what is happening, on this occasion I cannot keep quiet about you, and it is my duty to stop you before your diligence, my lord," the firmness in his voice and the seriousness surprised me.
"What would a black man have to keep quiet about his master? what audacity of yours!... a slave telling the master what to do…," suddenly I began to fill with rage.
"For years I have kept all your affairs afloat here, I have impeccably fulfilled all my duty and I have been an accomplice in acts that are sometimes not the most correct my lord," he continued to tell me, something had to admire Peter, his firmness and his sobriety when saying things, in addition to the fact that he never wavered, "I have attended and kept your accounts all these years with the integrity and thoroughness that a foreman can offer, so forgive me if I take a bold step that may not correspond to me," he insisted.
"Yes, it's a very remarkable audacity on your part Peter and I am on the verge of punish you" I said suppressing my anger a little, something had hidden in Peter's words and maybe it was not what I thought, "but you haven't been an exemplary servant for years just because, I know what you are and I know your qualities very well, so without any detours and measuring your words, Answer me, do we talk about what I am and what I do on my errands at night?" , I looked at him intently.
"I come from a very humble village in the French lands that call themselves Louisiana, far to the south of these villages and I know perfectly well what you are and what is the nature of a bloodsucker, my lord," he told me more calmly, "I am the bastard offspring of a French nobleman and a slave who practiced the art of voodoo, Although my father never recognized me and expelled me when I was young to the colonies, he was kind enough to guarantee me a place in his ranks, my lord."
"Now I understand everything Peter," I said understanding everything at once, "no questions, no comments... ", in front of me, and I say this very frankly was a man of those who rarely appear in the world, despite his social status, Peter was an interesting man.
"It is not normal for an English lord to deal with all his affairs away from the sunlight, his travels to be so dedicated and careful in taking care of secrecy and that his regular activity is at night," he continued, "I also learned from my mother that, if silence in slaves was valuable, discretion was a treasure."
"For a slave, your mother is or was wise, Peter," I admitted, "so under your own arguments I have to assume that you are fully informed about my vampire status and all that it entails."
"Yes, my lord, you are not wrong at all, but my boldness and sincerity is not because I want a new advantage over others or to take away from your pockets more wealth than I can ever hope to have, no my lord, my approach is because although for years I have kept silent, today I can no longer do it, not today that a group of slaves begin to suspect and conspire against the one who gives me power and wealth", there was his confession and although I cared little what he had to tell me, in the end, in the eyes of the vampire blackmail did not exist, "My lord has been very careless, he has forgotten what he has taken care of for years, the alleys in London are not the same as the dirt roads between the gardens or the banks of the river, a false wall in one of his pubs is not the same as the trunk of a tree or undergrowth in a thicket in the open field"
"Do you have the culprits?" I asked him, I was not afraid of be discovered, it was the word of a slave against that of an English lord in the end and you did not have to be intelligent to realize who would win in a social or legal battle.
"I've already taken care of them, one more slave, one less slave, but rumors persist my lord and I must confess that although I amputated all the fingers that pointed to you, there is still much suspicion and more fingers continue to be raised in accusation against your person," he said, "I know that this must matter little to a person as influential and powerful as you, but before being a bloodsucker you are an important lord and a nobleman, it is essential for you take care of every detail in your double life and keep it impeccable, besides that if I have learned anything over the years it is not to leave loose ends that harm the image that others see about us"
"Now I understand everything and that perfectly explains the reason for the grievances against me by other gentlemen, the reason for their absences in my presence and the categorical denials in possible business," I said surprised.
"Suspend your hunt for a couple of days and avoid suspicion, I will take care of the mouths and loose ends," he told me, "Regarding your condition as a bloodsucker I can help you my lord..."
And just as it was for the first time in years that I made direct contact with the world of sorcery through the voodo magic of which Peter was a practitioner, I must confess that after that night that man reaffirmed the trust I had in him and cemented his position in charge of my affairs, that slave became a loyal advisor to me until his death. Peter had known what I was and what my nature was for several years, however, being a well-to-do bastard and slave who led an excellent life as a foreman in charge of all my business in the Colonies he preferred to remain silent as long as he was not part of the menu, but now his source of income, influence and power was being threatened and that was reason enough to talk. Again, I can tell you that despite the difference in classes and the difference in race, it was possible for me to see him as a loyal advisor and without fear of being wrong a good friend. Thanks to voodoo magic I was able to take my condition as a vampire lighter and do things that were practically impossible before, for example, now Lord Harold Potter could see himself during the day attending to his business without any problem and participate in as many breakfasts, banquets, parties and tea drinks that cleared all legends of immortality, vampires or demons. Peter was wise when he dared to stop me that day and with the time the slaves dispelled all doubt that it was me who attacked them at night and all the legend was left behind, suddenly, Lord Potter was a lord dedicated to his business, attend to his affairs like any other and for society that alone was enough.
I know you will find all this very astonishing, but speaking from experience which I have no doubt characterizes me, in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries everything was so black and white, so up and down, that the slightest movement lifted you to the top and the most complex sent you to ruin. You must understand that the social or economic aspect was everything in those years, the struggle for power and influence existed and was fierce every day, whether you were a muggle, a wizard, a werewolf or a vampire it did not matter, society was so absorbing and toxic that there was nothing left but to survive at any cost. Many present-day muggles and wizards, like you, who I know perfectly well that you are, I remember paying to enchant this to prevent a muggle from reading it, have the idea that life in the past was impressive and less stressful than today, well they are totally wrong, although today they base their lives according to what a society dictates, in the end, they have the free will to make their respective decisions and weigh the consequences without so many problems. In 1730 if society said that they should burn you because a gossip indicated that you were a heretic they did it, if a nobleman called you a prostitute you would spend the rest of your days in a brothel and if a high society lady said that your businesses were places of perdition that offended the laws of God, you would spend the rest of your days atoning for your sins, Yes, everything was that complex even if it seems hard to believe, I would challenge anyone to go back in time and live fully in those years and I would have a glass of wine to their health if I said that everything was easy.
"I think it's time to go back to the old world my friend", I said suddenly one night to Peter as I sealed some documents, after six long years in the Colonies and with my devoted supervision combined with the audacity of my foreman business had prospered enough, "Apparently the situation in Britain is calmed down and luck is smiling on the Potters once again, with the chaos of last time it will be difficult to recover, but with calm waters you can sail easily in the ocean so my return is necessary and although I would love for you to accompany me to London to help me with such a great undertaking, we cannot lose what we have achieved here".
"I am afraid that I am already old my lord", he replied, "I am old for such a long journey and to venture to live new experiences in unknown lands, besides you cannot take flight in times of storm and although time has passed, the waters in these territories are becoming more and more turbulent"
"I know, but, although the storm is looming on the horizon, things in Charleston have changed a lot, the Potter' brothels, the Potter' inn..., everything is working as it should, so now, tempted by luck and motivated by the results obtained, I must return to London and settle my affairs there, apparently the Georges have appeased their quarrels a little and taking advantage of the distraction would be wonderful"
By October 1737 I was returning to my mansion in the Kensington neighborhood and just upon arrival I realized that the news reaching the Colonies was so bad and false that I now understood the discontent of the settlers with the crown, the communication between Britain and the Colonies was simply an absurdity. My arrival in England by sea was very tense, the number of Spanish patrols were a headache and well I did not blame them, their commercial ships were constantly attacked by English pirates, once in port and after an uncomfortable trip due to the tension that was breathed in the air I was finally able to reach my house that was discreetly located on the grounds that today are part of the Greek embassy, and after updating news with those in charge of my affairs, I realized that the battles between the Georges (father and son) were just as chaotic as years ago, in addition to everything England was about to go to war with the Spain due to the tense situation on the seas and the fight of egos between kings. Not to bore you with so much straw, it turns out that Great Britain was the same or worse than when I went to Carolina, however and despite all the pressure from the crown towards my businesses, Potter' pubs had prospered, and Potter' brothels now clandestine were still a good intel. In spite of everything and even with the crown on top of the family, the Potter' family was still influential in Great Britain, how could I ensure that?, well, three days after my arrival a letter came from the king informing the visit of one of his loyal and influential advisors, Lord Conrad Mills, to deal with a couple of issues of great urgency and importance, when I found out here and there, what could be so important to the king that he could immediately talk to me on my arrival? I was speechless.
"I have been informed that your business has prospered with great boom in the colonies and that your business in the northern area of London continues to be as productive as years ago, Lord Potter, in spite of the immense pressure, which I must acknowledge, we have exerted on your finances and public image,", King George envoy told me as he looked absentmindedly and curiously at the enormous number of books on the bookshelf at the his right.
"I must confess that I weighed a terrible fall in the turns of my business in the colonies, as you may know, after the big storm years ago the plantations were sold" I replied, "the Potter' inn and a couple of pubs in Charleston' Town Center have done their thing, and my business is as prosperous on the other side of the ocean, as much as in England, Lord Mills"
"I know, the king knows your situation very closely and therefore he is aware of all your great commercial and economic feat in the colonies, in simpler words and if you will allow me to be direct we have been following your steps very closely for a couple of years", that man looked at me with notorious complicity, There was something in all this and my instinct immediately became alert.
"I plead sorry for my audacity, but I did not know that brothels, pubs or inns were of great interest to the king," I said feigning serenity.
"Dear Lord Potter, his majesty the king is not interested in places full of perdition and sins, Is there not a constant campaign against Potter business?, for the kings of Great Britain you are nothing more than an opportunist who makes business with the vices of others, so no Lord Potter, do not misinterpret my words that in the ears of the rabble would be a scandal", He looked at me with a half-smile, "However, and despite the fact that everything you and your business represent for British society goes against the moral flag of kings, His Majesty is very curious and interesting news has reached him about you and your famous intel throughout the Empire, so considering that despite their affronts to God's sacred law, the Potters have been a very prestigious house over the years, he can turn a blind eye to their affronts, also considering that such an influential family has flooded all of London with entertainment venues and thereby developed the safest information network throughout the entire island would be very stupid to their part to let such a valuable opportunity pass them by," he finally said.
"I understand Lord Mills, I forgave my slip, what can House Potter do for His Majesty George II?", Then, although I was annoyed to know what the King of Great Britain thought of my business, I could understand that after so many years in the sea, a king had taken the bait.
"Border with Georgia and Florida," he said suddenly, leaning forward.
"Unstable and on the verge of crisis, the situation between the boundaries is widely discussed by the Spanish authorities, dragging the English settlers into suspicions and suspicions that, poorly focused, fall into what could be said licentiousness in the absence of a formal response from both kingdoms," I said calmly, "the Spanish crown does not cease to formalize demands for retribution in the face of alleged vandalism and assaults on important commercial points on the coasts of Florida by English navigators ", I bit my tongue a little, I was not going to say pirates or smugglers in front of an emissary of the king's court, "in addition to that, I would like to comment on two things that have to be reviewed very carefully by your majesty, the first of them is generated by the wood cutters in the Yucatan Peninsula, the viceroy of New Spain does not stop raising complaints; and secondly, it is important to pay close attention and review very well the concessions of the slaves treaties and the permits in possession of the South Sea Company"
"Interesting, very interesting," said Conrad with great interest, "the Spanish crown has not been able to forgive the impressive maritime supremacy of the English fleet over the Spanish and makes conflict over trifles, wooden cutters?, concessions of slaves?, permits for ships?, string of stupid people!", the part that the English were better than the Spanish at sea was a total falsehood, although with the War of the Spanish Succession, Great Britain claimed the legal supremacy of the slave trade and with permits of navigation between Britain and the Spanish colonies for the commerce were allowed, Spain continued to be the master and lord of the seas, its extensive network of trade between its colonies and the peninsula was impressive, In addition, the amount of products that were imported were unique in the known world until then.
"It's important to remind the king that, for the Spanish crown, piracy and smuggling continue to be severe affronts and matters of total attention of his majesty, King Felipe", I said, insisting on the terrible situation that was undoubtedly tense between the two nations and could cause a great war between the two, "maritime surveillance has increased considerably in recent years and just like the situation with the border everything is sustained with..."
"I do not think I mentioned that the king was asking for any advice regarding how to handle his foreign policy with Spain, Lord Potter," he said interrupting me sharply, "but I am going to be polite to you, after all, sharing information is a gain for both players in the game, the situation is already in the plenary session of Parliament and is known to the king, moreover, Sir Robert Jenkins has been very clear in his appearance before the House of Commons, the attack against him will not go unpunished and those Spanish rascals will not get away with it"
"Pardon my audacity," I said clenching my jaw, he might be an envoy of the king, but I was not going to allow be treated in that way, "but I thought we were in a friendly camp, Lord Mills."
"You are right, excuse my rudeness," he said showing greater calm, "the tensions between the Spanish and English crowns are effectively sustained only out of courtesy rather than friendship, there have been many affronts, although I must recognize that there are a couple of abuses on our part in the clauses of the trade permits with them, it is a duel of diplomatic strategies every day and honestly they are unsustainable, The King is considering taking a more active crusade against Spain very soon, and Jenkins' ear just came like stupid but perfect motive to take action", he said that in confidence, my sudden rudeness made him loosen his tongue and relax.
"Then, responding to the same courtesy, I would like to dare a little more and tell you a curious story," I said, taking advantage of the opportunity, apart from everything that was happening around me, that was an excellent opportunity that I should not miss.
"I've heard that your stories are interesting to listed, I guess it wouldn't hurt to listen a little," he smiled mysteriously, "I hope in the end I do not end up regretting having done it."
"Brothels are by nature a place of perdition, according to the king's words, not mine, but when a man imprisoned by his vice for liquor and lust for women opens his mouth, it's impossible to stop him," I said cautiously, the man raised an eyebrow, "it turns out that a man with a Prussian accent, sullen bearing and bushy beard came to bed with the famous Miss Pinney, he was overwhelmed by a long trip from Vienna and although he would only be a couple of days on a diplomatic visit, he had a great burden in his walk and that night while relaxing in the arms of Miss Pinney he could not help but vent, it turns out that that man was part of the personal escort that protected his majesty King Charles of the Holy Roman Empire, and between caresses revealed that the king found it fascinating to taste wild mushrooms in his food despite the warnings that they were dangerous making him fall ill from time to time, that situation caused him sadness because it was something that happened constantly"
"What's...?", the intrigued man asked.
"Then Miss Pinney remembered her grandfather, a strong man who after years of suffering from constant dehydration and stomach pains, ended up dying, the cause had been terrible poisoning by the prolonged ingestion of mushrooms that were not suitable for consumption and that had been poisoning his body for years," I interrupted, that man's eyes opened wide, "Pinney told the Prussian man how after the death of his grandfather, his father and aunt fought to the death over who was going to take over the family farm in the highlands of Scotland, according to his words, it was a fierce battle between heirs that culminated in a bad move for his father and with her working in a brothel in south London"
"How long...?" he asked suddenly, his gaze reflecting endless emotions.
"One or two years at most," I said, "and I think it would be vital for the kingdom of Great Britain to meditate deeply on its actions in the coming years, to agree on a war with Spain at this time would be catastrophic if I may dare to do so, and its rapprochement with the Habsburgs must be very cautious from now on."
"Lord Potter, his life, his prestige and his power will depend on a question and an answer, so I hope you think about it very well before speaking, is it a guarantee that King Charles VI is sick from eating toxic mushrooms?", He finally asks.
"Miss Pinney was not very clear in her story, but the Prussian man was when he assured that the king suffered very acute symptoms of poisoning from time to time and that according to a couple of recognized botanists corroborated that there is no acute or severe poisoning, if the king continues to consume toxic mushrooms it would be logical to ensure that he would get sick and when his blood was totally poisoned by toxins, die accordingly," I replied, "if we make a very deep analysis, the Austrian succession will be key in the years to come and it is convenient for the king to prevent eventualities, if my little knowledge in succession does not fail me, the archduchess is ineligible to succeed her father and I do not think she wants to renounce her crown so easily"
"There is no doubt that the Potter' Family lives up to the prestige that preceded it," he said, rising, implying that the conversation was over, "you know that, if all that you have informed us turns out to be true, the court, the king and his parliament will be deeply grateful to you, but if you fail the consequences will not be so friendly to you, Lord Potter," bowing his head respectfully, left.
And so, by the year 1745 the Potter' House was never as prestigious as in other times, it turned out that everything that I had assured Conrad Mills that it would happen became a reality and the king could not have been more surprised and grateful for it. Many things happened at once at that time that I could not stop telling them, first the war with Spain finally broke out spreading throughout the empire, the famous War of Jenkins' Ear; second, in 1740 Charles VI died according to some official sources of a strange poisoning by consumption of toxic mushrooms and with his death the War of the Austrian Succession appeared, Britain and Holland in favor of the succession of Archduchess Maria Theresa to the kingdom of her father, Spain and France against supporting who would become Charles VII. That was a high-caliber war involving multiple nations that kept Europe occupied for years. It should be noted that Lord Mills on behalf of the king returned on multiple occasions to corroborate, disseminate and learn information about everything that was happening. From there, life was simpler for me and although complicated for everyone else with so much tension, war, and crisis, buying and selling information became a very juicy business and fortunately I was years ahead.
With Muggle Europe busy with its own problems, the hitherto discreet and hidden wizards began to see each other a little more, the famous Wizards Council had disappeared years ago to shape a new way of governing, through multiple bureaucrats with the so-called Ministry of Magic and with a parliamentary council equivalent to the British one called Wizengamot. As I mentioned in previous lines, the relationship between the Potters and the wizarding world was merely business and only my grandfather was the one who carried out the most activity with them through the distribution of ingredients for potions. Being the only "living" descendant of Potter blood, I can assure you, until now, that there has been no one in the family who has presented the magic gene, my grandfather was a special case. One night after a long day going through the shops to check that everything was in order, a man with a bushy mustache, short and red hair, dressed in one of the strangest clothes I had ever seen, appeared at my door, and asked for an audience.
"My name is Wilfred Gilligan, I am an envoy of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures at the British Ministry of Magic," he introduced himself when I invited him to sit down.
"Ministry of Magic?" I asked him confused.
"You do not need to play with my intelligence, we know you have knowledge of the wizarding world, Mr. Potter, according to our records you are a Muggle born in 1598 in Yorkshire, England, dead and turned into a vampire in 1625 in the same town," he said after reading some scrolls, "we also have on record that the Potter' Family has been doing business with the wizarding world since the year 1400, when the renowned squib Hardwin Potter settled in Yorkshire, so I doubt very much that my visit seems strange to you," he said in a pompous, haughty and arrogant tone, as if I were nothing.
"It seems to know more about my life and that of the Potter' Family the Ministry of magic you say? than my own biographers", I said angrily.
"The Wizards Council was very condescending in years past to many creatures and beasts throughout the wizarding community of Great Britain", that wizard ignored me and did not even have the decency to hold my gaze, "that is why our minister, Mr. Eldritch Diggory, taking advantage of the current Muggle situation, has decided to undertake an arduous campaign to establish a register of creatures..."
"Mr. Gilligan," I interrupted him furiously, "never in the entire existence of the house of Potter as a noble house of England had anyone dared to be…"
"I remind you Mr. Potter, despite your great prestige and renown in the Muggle world, which in reality for us has no relevance, you are a vampire, a magical creature that we have classified as high danger and therefore not... "He abruptly interrupted me.
"Enough!", I stood up in anger, "never in the three hundred and forty-five years of contact between House Potter and the wizarding world have I been so offended as today through you, stupid wizard, get out of here," without realizing it my fangs poked out and I put myself in an attack position.
"It seems to me that you aren't understanding the situation, Mr. Potter," he said without even flinching at my condition, but he took out of his pocket what I know today is called a magic wand, "and I am going to ask you very carefully to calm down, a group of aurors from the Ministry accompany me and..."
"Listen to me very well Mr. Gilligan, very well, I am not going to lose my temper with someone as prejudiced and stupid as you, contrary to what you think, I am not an animal or creature to behave as my instincts dispose", despite the difficulty, I was able to control my anger and let my guard down, "does the esteemed and honorable Mr. Diggory know that the Potter house has constant communication with the court of King George?"
"And what is it for...", he said confused and for the first time looking directly at me.
"Imagine for a moment that using all my power and influence in the Muggle world I put the entire English' Empire behind your world", I could see him turn pale, "it would only be enough to sow a couple of gossips in one of the Potter' brothels and in a few days, you, Mr. Diggory and all the members of your famous Ministry will return to hide like the cockroaches that you are."
"A threat...", he said, looking at me with extreme fear.
"My name is Harold Fleamont Potter and I have been lord and master of the Potter house since 1617, no wizard is going to come and offend me in my house, I do not care who it is," I told him sharply, "besides, I have been a vampire since 1625, I have a hundred and twenty years of experience dealing with cockroaches like you, so get out of here and I hope I never see your face or any Ministry envoy ever again, or I promise you'll regret it"
During that year, 1745, the Ministry of Magic never approached me again, however, I had to modify my diet, especially my hunting due to the constant silent harassment of the so-called aurors, it turns out that vampires were not the only ones with the ability to spy in the shadows. The wizards were organizing themselves well and little by little they were reaching a prestige that is still in force today, however, with the bureaucratic organization and the interest in controlling everything that could reveal their existence, the harassment of magical creatures for their regulation and control began to be highlighted, the affected were the vampires, the goblins, werewolves, giants, dwarves, elves and so on with all beings that were not like them, however if we talk in a general way the wizards began to shape a society that hid the muggles sought to prosper. In retaliation for Gilligan's infamous visit, I opted to close business with the wizarding world, and it was not until 1749, four years later, that a Ministry envoy returned to plead with me to revive the ingredient trade, many ingredients that the Potter house distributed were unique and essential for certain potions. The approach with the Ministry of Magic in those years allowed me to realize something that I had never taken into consideration in all the years that I had been a vampire, the wizarding world existed and was broader than simple wizards practicing potions than I thought.
"Granger," Daphne said, she had been reading about Harry's life for days that that last entry of information left her intrigued and the only person in the wizarding world who could solve her doubts for the moment was her former classmate, Hermione Granger.
"Greengrass," replied a woman with tousled brown hair as she looked intently at her behind a desk, "when Ms. Hopkins read me the day's agenda and hearing that I had an appointment scheduled with you can't help but surprise me, how can I help you?" he asked.
"A couple of days ago while I was reading a passage that mentioned a couple of blood diseases, a vampire named Potter appeared as a reference, as a renowned historian in the wizarding world I considered it prudent to come to you", she was not going to divulge that she had the diary of Harry's life hidden in her bag, and although she thought a lot about going with that witch, if anyone could corroborate some data said by Harry, it was precisely Hermione Granger, undersecretary of the Muggle affairs department of the Ministry of Magic, "Tracey and I are currently conducting an investigation about certain curses that for confidentiality I cannot discuss with you, but, that surname appeared several times as a reference," she ended up telling her.
"Potter... Potter...", she put a hand to his chin, "Are you referring to Harold Fleamont Potter?", she said suddenly.
"Yes, that's his name," her heart began to pump in a hurry, the first thing she needed to know, Hermione Granger checked it in moments, that was Harry's full name, and she couldn't be more satisfied with that answer when she realized that what she read was true and although she had no way to confirm the events, at least Harry Potter existed.
"Well, there is very little information about his private life, in fact finding something about him was a great challenge," he said calmly, "his status is currently unknown because Harold Potter is one of the few vampires in the wizarding world who has never been registered in the Ministry's controls, in fact, in the almost zero files of his file, There is some information," his hand began to move with some stress, "as I recall, the first contact by the Ministry was incredibly in the year of..."
"1745 by Wilfred Gilligan," Daphne said, reciting part of what she has just read.
"Precisely," Hermione said in surprise, "Undersecretary Gilligan of the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures in the time of Minister Eldritch Diggory, how do you...?" she asked.
"Some of the references were dated and Wilfred Gilligan is mentioned as their contact," she quickly interrupted.
"I doubt it very much", suddenly the academic Hermione disappeared and in her appeared that irritable Hermione that for seven years she saw at Hogwarts, "all information of that kind is classified, even for academic reference books, Greengrass", now she looked at her accusatorily.
"Let's say that it is a piece of information that I was able to investigate... ", she tried to get away.
"I am not going to dig into it anymore since it's not my business, but you have to be careful with the information you get from some intel in the Ministry Greengrass, in the wrong hands it can be a very complicated situation," she reprimanded her and in a way, although for Daphne it was not like that, that witch had the right to reprimand her, she was, after all, part of the Hogwarts heroes who defeated Voldemort two years ago.
"You say he's one of the few vampires to be registered by the Ministry?", she tried to deflect the subject by applying one of the techniques Slytherins applied to distract her when they were studying at Hogwarts.
"Oh yes, there is not much information, but Mr. Gilligan left some notes, in all of them he invited the Ministry never to establish contact with him because he was extremely dangerous, aggressive and a potential enemy to break the statute of secrecy with Muggles", she replied quickly, Daphne had hit the nail on the head, "for some time I tried to find information about him, but there are very few records of it... in the wizarding world…", Hermione's cheeks flushed a little.
"And in Muggle?" he ventured to ask.
"As Undersecretary for Muggle Affairs it is important to have on hand a record of situations that may break wizarding secrecy with Muggles," she said, "when Mr. Gilligan put up the legend, 'potential enemy to break the statute' I knew I had to investigate.
There is no precise date, but the oldest written record of the Potter' Family arises around 1400, a family of potters and founders of one of the largest apothecaries in the entire wizarding world since the Wizards Council was able to establish control. For centuries they have stocked up on rare and common ingredients for potions in the wizarding world. However, the real history of the Potter house lies in the Muggle world, owners of multiple pubs and brothels throughout England and even in America controlled the information market for years, there are even rumors that the Potter' Family was the intel of the royal houses of Great Britain since 1750.
"Unbelievable...", Daphne said, Hermione Granger was a living library, and that information only corroborated much of what Harry narrated in the story.
"Of course nothing has been confirmed", she said quickly, "what we do know is that there is or was an heir to the Potter' house, the vampire Harold Potter, according to the records born in 1598 and converted in 1625, the last contact between the Ministry and Potter is established at his Muggle residence in Mayfair in 1889. but there is no more information," Hermione told her, "If we take as a hypothesis the last record of contact with the vampire, we can say that he no longer exists and that he was a vampire of two hundred and ninety-one years."
"I did not know you knew about the issue Granger, but..."
"Slytherin, graduated with honors right behind me in the 91-97 generation, our contact was merely academic", she interrupted her, "do not insult my intelligence Greengrass, we've never been friends, we've never engaged in any talk since our graduation from Hogwarts and much less were we great friends at school so that you freely made an appointment with me, you sat in front of me and you come here to talk to me about a strange subject as if we were great colleagues"
"Granger..."
"The simple fact that you call me Granger and I call you Greengrass is proof enough," she interrupted again, "so why do not we beat around the bush and tell me that's what you really want?"
"Well," she regained her composure, "by chance I found a couple of pages from a diary that talk about Harry Potter's life..."
"Harry Potter?", she raised an eyebrow.
"Harold Potter", she replied embarrassedly, "I found some passages from the life of the vampire Harold Potter, but they are so incredible that I consider them to be fantasy and the only person capable of telling me if what I am reading is really true is you, who since school have been like a living encyclopedia of historical facts throughout the seven years that we were classmates at Hogwarts," she finally admitted.
"Unbelievable!", she said.
"But with all the data you have just given me, I can confirm what I have read, such as that Harold Potter did exist, he was a Muggle born in York at the end of July 1598 and turned into a vampire in December 1625", she confessed, "it is curious to read passages of someone's life without knowing if the data you read is true or not"
"I appreciate then the trust for approaching me, my ego may inflate a little," she softened her pompous tone a little and smiled, "then let's start from the basics, I guess your intention is to verify Muggle facts, what do you want to corroborate?"
Daphne looked at her anxiously, if Hermione Granger know so much about Muggle history, she was about to find out, "What do you know about the death of a king named Charles the Sixth?" she asked.
"Charles the Sixth? ah yes, I know who he is," she smiled again, " he was a king of the Habsburg dynasty and the Holy Roman Empire who died around 1740, in fact his death occasioned..."
"According to Harry, 'a war of high caliber which, by involving multiple nations, kept Europe occupied for years'", she interrupted, an astonished Granger nodded her head.
"The War of the Austrian Succession yes, it involved almost all of Europe..., well, I do not want to imagine what it must have been like to live at that time."
"In fact, it was because of that war that the Ministry of Magic was able to begin to move more freely and undertake campaigns with the aim of registering magical creatures, such as vampires, which I can actually affirm are not creatures...", she replied.
"This Harold Potter, did he write that?", she looked very suspiciously at the diary that Daphne now showed her.
"As much as Mr. Gilligan was right in saying that it was best to leave him alone" and began to narrate the meeting.