"I'm from that world," causing every adult to snap to proper attention to look at him, "My name wasn't always John Hellman. Back in 1965, I was born to an elite family of magickal users called the Lestranges," retaking his seat to tell his story and how it relates to both the baby and Artie's questions. Artie went to the drink counter to prepare everyone fresh drinks as John revealed his origins, while Jasper and Horace also sat down, "In that culture, which dates back several hundred thousand years, it's very common to disown one's child in the event they don't show magick abilities by the time they are usually eleven, sometimes earlier in some cases. That is what happened to me, when I was known as Zephyrus Corvus Lestrange, the day I turned eleven and didn't get a school letter. The school letters, from magickal schools like Hogwarts, act as undeniable proof that a child has magick, otherwise the letters don't come."

Artie had finished the drinks then and was passing them around, handing John his when he popped the question, "Why the disownment? And how could the schools possibly know whose magick and not?" Taking his seat again with a fresh mug of Guinness and hot chocolate mixture.

"It's usually seen as an embarrassment to magickal families, especially those with a long history, to have that one black sheep who can't and won't ever use magick. I'm among the lucky ones you could say. Lots of families still pick a darker approach to this, namely killing the child," explained John as he sipped his honey and sea salt tea. "For the last few hundred years, the term Squib has been used to note such children like me. As for the schools, it's been said that each one has a magick book that's linked to the ley lines, the magickal lines that cover the globe, and connect with every magickal child that is born, marking their names down for future enrollment. Proper magickal training starts at eleven, which is the day owls are sent out to deliver the letters."

Horace spoke up from his mug of English beer, "Owls?"

"Yes, they are the magickal community's version of post officers. There are other ways to send messages, but that still remains the most popular. At least it was when I was a kid."

Jasper took a swing of his own mug of English beer, "So why the name change? Gotta admit, your birth name sounds cooler."

"Another common practice of that world. When a Squib is discovered and allowed to live like I was, we either change our names willingly so our former families can't find us for whatever reason, or we are forced to change them, that way we can't get access to the family Vault at Gringotts. The latter happened to me, my family renaming me John No-Name, before they told me to pick a spot on the map and dropped me at the Suffolk seaport with only two bags, one for clothes and one for personal items. Shortly thereafter I came under the guardianship of the butler who worked for Cruella's grandfather, Baron Arthur Theo Hellman and eventually took his last name as a mark of pride and honor, because the Baron then was a fair and kind employer, who even gave his blessing. The last Baron, Jasper Lucas Hellman, was much the same as his father."

Cruella, who had been keeping an eye on baby Harry while listening, looked curious at the mention of her grandfather and father. While she would never love her mother, she does love the idea of her father, who did want her back when she herself was still a baby, and all that was related to him. She pushed aside the desire to grill John more on her father's family history, choosing to focus on the matters now related to Harry. "What's this about Vaults and Gringotts? The letter made mention of Gringotts too."

"It's the central bank for the wizarding world, with branches in every major magical area, with the British location being one of the main five locations. They are controlled and run by small, stout creatures called goblins, a magickal warrior race. The wizarding world uses three different coins for their money. The lowest pay is a bronze coin called a Knut, the average pay is a silver coin known as a Sickle and lastly the highest pay is a gold coin dubbed a Galleon. I'm not sure what the current rate is between those and our own money, although I have a good guess from that letter. A Vault is basically a wizard's or witch's account with them. Old families are known to have more than one Vault, depending on the need. The Lestranges had three family Vaults."

Artie was halfway down his own mug when he popped his next question, "Who are Voldemort and Dumbledore?"

"Not sure about Voldemort, although he was rumored to be a rising Dark Lord when I was a kid, nothing by whispers then. Dumbledore on the other hand, "John glanced at the letter with distaste, giving a heavy sigh, "The very end of the letter are his titles, which basically explain who he is as a whole, although he was only Headmaster and Supreme Mugwump by the time of my disownment. Headmaster is self-explanatory, he is head of the prime magick school for the northern European countries like ours's, Ireland and Scotland. The Supreme Mugwump is head of what is basically their version of the UN Council, he chairs the gatherings that are held either yearly or when called upon to meet for important reasons. He was basically given that a few years after defeating the last official Dark Lord, Gellert Grindelward during the Cold War era."

Jasper took another swing before setting his mug down. "What about Chief Warlock?"

"Since he didn't have it back in the day, I'm guessing it's something he had attained since I've been gone. The local British magickals are overseen by the a Ministry of Magick, which each major magickal community having one, with the main core of the British MOM being the Wizengamot, their version of both the House of Lords and Parliament mixed into one and being Chief Warlock gives him a seat as an overseer and peacekeeper of the political fractions when they gather twice a year during the Solstices or as needed."

Horace finished his beer, grabbing a few pumpkin cookies that sat near Harry. "What about Harry's parents? Anything regarding them?"

"To some degree, yes. My father Corvus would often complain about Fleamont Potter after returning from sessions with the Wizengamot. They were on opposite sides politically. He didn't have any child by the time I was kicked out of the Wizarding World, so I'm going to assume that James was his son, making baby Harry here his grandson," John glanced at the still sleeping baby.

The others pondered the information as they finished their drinks and the remaining snacks. The dogs had gotten up to roam the room and stretch their bodies after being under the coffee table. The rains lessened their beatings on the windows, while the winds died out. The fire started to lower again, but no one moved to replenish it. Artie, Jasper and Horace began to clean up enough so the maids in the morning didn't have to do too much when they clocked in for work tomorrow.

Cruella and John stayed sitting, both silent. Cruella was still looking at Harry while her eyes took on the far-reaching look, while John remained still as he waited for whatever questions she might have left. "So what can we do about this? As I already mentioned, we won't be returning innocent Harry to that life of hell and torture Dumbledore had planned. Speaking of, any ideas on how he came to be here?"

"For young magickal children, something called accidental magick is very commonplace for the magickal community. It's one of the earlier signs that a child has magickal potential. Accidental magick happens when a child feels strong emotions and their magick acts on their will and intention, or in some cases, their magicks acts on its own without input from the child. My best guess would be either happening to Harry here, as Dumbledore clearly didn't put him outside your door. As to why, we may never know. Maybe he or his magick felt this was the best place for him."

The boys had finished their little cleaning before retaking their seats as John continued on, "As for what we can do, I would highly recommend a trip to Gringotts. They are our best bet on how to handle this."

Artie, curious as ever, much like a cat, asked "Why?"

"Despite being a Squib without any way to wield magicks, doesn't mean I was completely immune to all forms of it or their uses. Things like potions, the floo network and the services of Gringotts are still open to me. I do have my own Vault with them, which I opened ten years after my disownment. The last two Barons and Baroness paid very well, which allowed me to have a regular bank account and one with Gringotts. As for why, Gringotts has many services that will help us with Harry here."

Jasper chuckled lightly, "Just when I think I don't have more questions, you pop something interesting up. For curiosity' sake, what is the floo network?"

"One of the other ways of communication for that world but also one of their main means of travel via fireplaces," explained John as the others glanced at said fireplace within the room.

Horace clapped excitedly but lightly to avoid waking the baby, "Does that mean we will be traveling that way tomorrow?"

"Afraid not, Horace. Aside from needing floo powder, the main thing needed for floo traveling, the other being none of the fireplaces here are connected to the network. We will need to take two of the motors for our first trip to Gringotts."

Cruella was intrigued by this, "So it's possible for us to travel that way if we were connected and had the powder?"

"As long as you were in the company of someone with a magickal core and holding to them, then yes."

"Could Gringotts connect our fireplaces to the network?" Cruella had a good feeling about this. This would make travel so much easier for us all.

"For a fee, indeed they could. All their services usually cost a few Galleons, depending on what you are wanting them to help you with. In this case, connecting to the network would cost us five Galleons. Luckily, almost everywhere in the magickal world has a fireplace for floo travel."

Cruella stood up then, lightly clapped her hands together, "Magnificent. Now then," glancing at the grandfather clock near the door, "it's now slightly past two o'clock right now, if we head to bed now, we can be up by ten thirty. John, I want you to write notes for the cooks that breakfast will be a light affair while we won't be here for afternoon supper but will be back for the evening supper time. Also inform them we will need a few packs of light snacks for our trip to London after breakfast," she finished as John nodded his head at his orders.

"Artie, you're on fashion duty upon waking up. Make sure to have outfits laid out for everyone on their beds while they eat, you will have breakfast as we dress for the day. I want the outfits to be humble but speak of underlying power." Artie grinned happily, always enjoyed dressing people up in styles he gets to pick out.

"Jasper, motor duty. We will need two for the trip. John, Artie, Harry and I will in one while you, Horace and the dogs in the other one. The one you will be driving should have enough space for shopping, as we will need to do shopping for Harry. Can't have him stay in that basket forever." Jasper tilted his head slightly to acknowledge her words while a small smile formed.

"Horace, bedroom duty. I want one that works perfectly as a nursery. Preferring one of the rooms with the large windows, that way plenty of natural light can get in."

The men glanced at each other curiously as Horace popped the most important question of the night, "Does mean Harry here…."

"Indeed darlings, Harry will become my son and a part of our chaotic family. I myself was adopted after being abandoned by the Baroness. One last thing to honor the woman who loved and raised me. We shall settle these affairs at Gringotts. Now, off to bed the lot of ya. Our next great adventure begins after breakfast"

The men scrambled off to their rooms as Cruella picked up the baby from the basket into her arms. Readjusting him so he sat in one arm, Cruella turned the lights off before heading to her own room, the former master suite that once belonged to the Baroness, that sat upon the very top floor of the Hall. She laid baby Harry on the bed as she got dressed for bed. As she finished and laid next to the sleeping baby, a pure smile graced her face as she thought of a single thing as she drifted into the realm of Morpheus. "My son."

Context Notes Pt.1

Hey dear readers,

I will be doing these segments every now and then to give context to the story.

So, you might have noticed that I mentioned both the Hellsings and the Phantomhives during Chapter 2.

In this world, the events of Hellsing Ultimate (2006, anime, storyline set in late 1990s) already happen prior to the events of this story in their original time frame with a few different things happening. The clients Cruella mention is Sir Integra (who became a vampire shortly after Alucard vanished, ordering Seras to transform her) and Alucard (they became a married couple after returning in 2009), while said butler is still Walter C. Dornez (who was transformed into a vampire back in WW2 by Alucard and doesn't betray the Hellsing Organization during the 90s). Alucard takes on the Hellsing name after they marry.

I did this because their story would clash too much with what I'm trying to do. Basically, the Hellsings are the current royal family of vampires, remain allies to the British Crown (not as the Crown' servants anymore), only dealing with purely vampire matters unless they are called on for aid in regard to other things, while vampires and their venom have evolved to the point where one doesn't need to be a virgin to become a true vampire anymore. Vampires can mate with other vampires or other compatible magical creatures. Might throw in a few things from the Abridge version too for laughs.

As for the Phantomhive family (Black Butler, anime, 2008, original story taking place during the Victorian era), I moved their timeline to run alongside the events of my story. Ciel is currently 2 years older than Harry Potter, so the clients that Cruella mention are Ciel's parents, Lord Vincent and Lady Rachel Phantomhive, while their butler is Tanaka. Ciel's true story will take place during Harry's 8th year of life. Not sure what changes I will make to their story yet, but changes will happen for sure.

Also, for the current cast of people, here is what they look like in terms of appearance and age:

Cruella De Vil (using the recent live action film version, she is currently 24 years old, she faced the Baroness and won at 21) (was able to find some official info in regard to Cruella's age)

Artie: (same version from the film, same age as Cruella)

John: (2021 film version, born in 1965 which makes him currently 45 years old)

Jasper and Horace (as far as appearance, using their 2021 versions but will be mixing their personalities with those from their 1996 version too, currently Jasper is 26 and Horae is in the middle at 25)

Harry Potter (using the film version for now, will revisit this after the HBO remake happens, in the event that the HBO Harry grows up to be hotter than the original film Harry)

I would like to thanks to reader Drakon45 for their feedback. As a first time Fanfiction writer, I am sure to make mistakes every now and then. The idea I had with using one of the chapter slots for the context notes was meant to act like a rest stop in the story. I've seen other authors do what you suggested but wasn't sure if that was right for me. But if that style makes it easier for readers, then I'm willing to follow the trend most FF authors use.