Black Castle
Lord Animus arrived with a flash in 1961.
Looking around he was pleased to see no one had witnessed his arrival, it would have been far to risky to have to start killing people or messing with their minds. He didn't wait around once he saw he was alone, he instantly apparated to the front gates of the Black Castle, the ancestral home of Lord Black. Flashing the Black Lordship ring that sat comfortably on his finger the gates opened allowing him to enter.
He felt the wards connecting to him letting him know that Lord Arcturus Black and his wife, Lady Melania Black, were in one of the sitting rooms on the main floor which was expected since lunch would have just finished. He also knew that as he could sense the location of Arcturus Black he could sense him.
Animus walked silently to the sitting room and wasn't surprised to find two wands pointed at him when he entered. He didn't react in the slightest and just went and claimed a seat at the other end of the table, opposite Arcturus.
"It is a pleasure to see you Lord Black, Lady Black."
"Who are you?" Arcturus demanded. "Leave this place, you are not welcome here."
Animus smirked, making his scarred and old face look that much more sinister. Placing his hand on the table he only displayed the Black Lordship ring. "I am perfectly welcome in my own home. As to who I am… Well… That's a bit more complicated. For now, just call me Lord Animus."
Arcturus didn't drop his wand even slightly even as he was surprised to see the ring. "How did you get that ring? I am Lord Black, this is my home."
"For now." Animus said calmly.
"Are you threatening us?" Melania demanded, she had never been the demure sort of woman that let her husband be in control of everything.
"Absolutely not." Animus said. "I'm here to help you. Have either of you ever heard of the neslavno minato ritual." He honestly wasn't surprised when neither had. "It is also known as the ritual of the inglorious past. It allows for someone to walk through time itself and spend 3, 12 hour periods, in the past. 36 hours to change the world. This is my first stop."
"So you're… You are the Lord Black in the future." Arcturus said in surprise as he sunk into his chair, stuttering for the first time since he was a child. He kept his wand out since he had no intention of taking any risks with his wife's safety.
"How far back have you come?" Melania asked, it obviously had to be a long way just based off the mans age. He wasn't her son, and she knew it wasn't her eldest grandson, her daughter-in-law was pregnant, was it possible this was her younger grandchild.
"Over 150 years." Animus told them.
"Why come here? Why today?" Arcturus questioned.
"I chose today because today is the day the war begins." Animus said gravely. "But that is not why I came here in particular. I came here to save the Black family."
"Save us?" Arcturus questioned in worry. "And what war? Does the war harm our family?"
"The war really doesn't have that much of an effect on the Black family. At least, not until your grandchildren are of age." Animus told them. "You must understand, the ritual I am using to be here is very delicate and complicated. I have worked for a minimum of 1 hour every single day for over 70 years to be able to do this. I have had to calculate the impact I have arithmatically for every single thing that I do, and what I don't do as well. If I could not make it balance I can not change it. That was one of the reasons it took me so long to get everything into place to preform the ritual, I had to try so many different scenarios to try and balance things so I could give you as much information as I possibly can. I managed to balance nearly everything with enough work, only a few large things like the war can't be countered.
As for now I can say that a family member is lost to the war, but that won't be for almost two decades. And while I couldn't make the calculations balance so I could tell you who and how to stop it now I can change it on my next trip. The war is another thing I can't stop. The war may start tonight but the catalyst that caused it was decades ago.
No, the cause of the downfall of the Black family is the Black family. One thing that has always been interesting to me is how so many pure blood families claim nothing is more important than family yet they are the first to throw away their family members. Tell me, how many members of your family did your ancestors disown because they weren't exactly what they wanted.
And it won't end there. If you follow in their footsteps the Black family will fall. By the time I claim the position of Lord Black I am the last Black in Britain, and I'm not even from the main line, but descended from one of your cousins. And I have no children. If things carry on as they have been then the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, a family that has existed in Britain for over 1000 years, will be extinct in less than 200 years."
"How do we stop it?" Melania questioned as Arcturus was too horrified to speak at the idea of his line ending.
"By restoring the Black family." Animus told them. "And you could start with Marius."
"Marius?" Arcturus questioned as he thought of his squib cousin. "But he's a squib."
"Yes, but he's also a Black." Animus replied. "Despite what people might seem to like to pretend, no child is to blame for being a squib. That would be like blaming a child for their eye or hair colour, they had no control over that, they get that from their parents. If a child is a squib it goes back to the parents, not the child, and even then it's just the luck of the draw, as exemplified by Marius who is the only squib of 4 children. A child being a squib can be tracked back to a number of causes, including genetic flaws they inherit from their parents, or magical complications during pregnancy, but the child has no control over any of that.
And it is mainly the fault of this pure-blood obsession the family has. The simple fact that has been hidden for generations by those that seek power and control is that those referred to as muggle-born are in more often than not squib born. My own mother was originally thought to be muggle-born but was actually a squib line descendant of the Slytherin line. And the first time a Black marries a muggle-born their child will be the first full blooded metamorphmagus in nearly 300 years.
But, regardless of who is to blame for squibs, they are still magical and have access to magic, they just can't actively cast. They are perfectly able to brew lower level potions, do arithmancy, and even carve and in some cases power runes. All their blood line really needs is time to recover and cross with another magical bloodline, be they wixen or creature.
Marius is a squib yes, and so is his wife. After being abandoned by his family Marius married Zara Shafiq, Lord Shafiq's squib niece. Lord Shafiq gave them a nice little home in France as a wedding gift. They have three young children, and I can tell you now, all three of them are going to be receiving letters from Beauxbatons in the next few years. And between them they go on to give Marius half a dozen magical grandchildren and over a dozen great-grandchildren.
I may have been the last Black in Britain, but that didn't mean I was the last Black. At the time I left Marius's line was thriving with over 60 members, but none of them wanted anything to do with Britain or the Moat Ancient and Most Noble House of Black because of how Marius was just thrown away because he wasn't exactly what his parents wanted.
And welcoming back Marius will bring his sister Dorea back to an extent. She turned away from the family because she hated how her baby brother was treated. Dorea was always a grey witch, and she always will be, but she is not one of those blind light fools like she has been pretending to be the past years. She has a son a few months younger than Sirius and the two will be best friends. She will need the support of the family to keep her husband from completely ruining that boy. There isn't much hope for James Potter, he is as blindly light as his father, but at least his mother will be able to set rules and limits for him without worrying she is being too much like her own family."
Animus took a sip of the tea Melania had had served once he was sure there was nothing in it. "Another family member that needs to be brought back is Cedrella."
"But the Weasley's are blood traitors." Arcturus said in slight horror. He had never understood why his young cousin had chosen to run off with a Weasley, but then again none of her siblings had exactly chosen well in his opinion.
"Indeed." Animus said. "But I don't really care. Yes, Septimus can be a right fool, but he actually does still hold to some of the old beliefs. And his boys won't be much better. Besides, if you were to say… offer your assistance in finding a peaceful resolution to the Weasley Malfoy blood feud much of that blood traitor stain will be removed. And you would have extra leverage with the Malfoy family as the late Lord Malfoy signed a betrothal contract for his grandson Lucius with your cousin Cygnus's daughter without bothering to inform you or your father before his own passing.
You could also assist Cedrella in protecting her eldest from a rather unfortunate marriage contract. His girlfriend intentionally got pregnant in their final year, she had previously used lust potions and the like on him, though I don't know if that contributed to the pregnancy. I know for a fact their children even secretly tested him a few times over the years just to check if he was on potions but he always tested clean, he actually really did just love the woman. Either way, the Prewett's blamed him for their daughters condition and they forced his parents to sign the contract they created without any protections for Arthur or his children in place. From what I understood Cedrella never forgave anyone for that and actually ensured that neither her son or daughter-in-law got a sickle of the estate, including the Wizengamot seat, instead leaving it to their eldest child.
But that is neither here nor there right now, I'm playing the long game. It is their grandchildren I'm interested in. Arthur will go on to have 7 children. Two of them are absolutely useless and complete blood traitors, I mean, they make Septimus look like an upstanding pure-blood. But it is the other 5 that are of interest. One will go on to become one of the top curse breakers and ward masters in the world. Another will become a dragonologist, and really, who wants to go against someone that has the loyalty of dragons. Then there is the Ministry employee. He achieved 12 OWLs and NEWTs with some of the highest scores on record and became the youngest junior assistant to the Minister of Magic. Bit of a brown noser, but they do serve a purpose. And then there is the demonic duo, they started creating their own spells and potions before they were teenagers. I personally invested 1000 galleons with them and in less than a decade it was worth millions.
All of them will accomplish great things. Having them associated with the Black family will only improve our standing. And, they all seemed to be a throw back of what the Weasley family was originally. They are all extremely powerful and loyal, to those that deserve it. They even practice the old ways once they are old enough to escape their banshee of a mother."
Animus knew he was being ever so slightly disingenuous, but he was nothing if not a Slytherin at heart. He was a strong believer in editing the truth. Telling the truth without telling the full truth. Yes, Percy had become the youngest junior assistant to the Minister of Magic, but that was so he could spy on his family and give the minister access to Dumbledore's supporters, but no one needed to know that. And yes, the twins had turned the money he gave them into millions, but he never received a knut of it, not that he had wanted it. He just needed Arcturus to see them as having value enough to bring Cedrella back into the family.
"I would also recommend making sure that Callidora and Charis know the family will be there for them should they ever need it." Animus continued. "For the most part Callidora is fine with her life, her daughter-in-law is horrid, but she kept things mostly under control. It's Charis that is going to need the support. Right now she is pregnant with her one and only child, he will be one of your younger grandsons best friends. Charis's husband is a workaholic that will become extremely verbally abusive over time. He only cares about rising in the ministry and if he sees his wife or child as getting in his way or slowing him down he will make them suffer for it.
But the main people we need to talk about is Orion, Walburga, and the children. There are going to be a few issues in the coming years I hope we will be able to address and change."
"I thought you said the war wouldn't affect our family." Melania said worriedly.
"And it won't." Animus assured. "I'm sure you know that Walburga is not stable. She cares for no one but herself, but that will soon change. For some reason Walburga will be completely devoted to your younger grandchild, Regulus. But her love will not be a healthy love, it will be more of an obsession. She will see Sirius's presence as a hindrance to giving his brother everything she thinks he deserves. Over the coming years she will go from simply not caring about Sirius to becoming verbally and emotionally abusive towards him. She will always be careful to ensure Orion doesn't know, but it won't be to hard because Orion can't stand being in the same place as her for more than an hour at a time.
Sirius will grow up believing no one will help protect him from his mother as the Black family has never been overly close since you were just a boy. A major event that will push him even further away will happen when he is 7. Alphard will throw a party to introduce the family to his fiancée. But she will be a muggle-born and Walburga will take it as a personal insult. She will give Sirius a potion and tell him it is a headache cure for his soon to be aunt, she will order him to put it in a glass of champaign and give it to her. Truthfully the potion will be poison and Alphard will be devastated with the death of his fiancée. The family will ignore it as they always did causing Alphard to abandon the family and teach Sirius to hate the Black family more as he tries to understand his mother forced him to assist her in murdering someone and his own family acted like it was fine.
Things will get even worse when Sirius starts Hogwarts and isn't sorted into Slytherin. After that Walburga's abuse will become magical. Since Sirius has no faith in the family at all he suffers alone. It will come to an end when he is 16 and accepts that his family will never care for or protect him and run away after his mother starts using the cruciatus curse on him. Thankfully there is one Black that he knows he can trust and Dorea takes him in and accepts him like he is her own. Despite having the last name Black, Sirius never considers himself a member of the Black family again. And the only other Black he ever cares enough about to attend the funeral of is Alphard who comes to hate the family as much as Sirius does.
Walburga will be obsessed with making sure Regulus becomes Lord Black. Once she deems Sirius as being out of his way she turns her attention to the others in between him and the title. Since you wouldn't have ever been overly close to Sirius while Orion will always have had a soft spot for his first born she deems Orion the bigger threat. She worries that if Orion becomes Lord Black he might leave the title to Sirius just because he is the oldest. Another little 'potions accident' and Orion is out of the way. Unfortunately for her plans Regulus won't deal with everything happening well and ends up killing himself only a few weeks later."
Again, not exactly the truth, but Regulus did choose to go on a suicide mission that he knew could kill him. It was a bit of an embarrassment that such a Slytherin pulled such a Gryffindor move.
"I never liked that girl." Melania growled. She still held a bit of a grudge against her husband and his parents for deciding to arrange the marriage between Orion and Walburga against her wishes, even more so now. She had never liked how self-centred the girl was and had known her son was in love with someone else when he was at Hogwarts.
"So all you want from us is to rebuild the family?" Arcturus questioned softly, he didn't want to mention anything about Walburga as he still remembered and feared Melania's displeasure over the marriage. He was horrified by everything he learned and immediately began thinking of ways he could be different than his father and grandfather. Originally he had been planning to continue following their plans as they had grown the Black fortune a fair amount even as they 'pruned' the family tree, but now he knew he couldn't.
"Somewhat." Animus shrugged. Normally such an action would be unbecoming, but this was family so he could get away with it. "For now you just need to protect the family mostly. But in a few years things are going to begin to change and that is when I'm going to need your assistance."
Animus flipped the top of the ring on his middle finger of his right hand up and withheld his sigh of relief as he saw the shrunken trunk inside. The ritual was more than a little complex. He knew from reading about the ritual that nothing could be brought back in the pockets, it was odd since clothes and a persons wand could be transported but you couldn't bring anything with you. He had created a shrunken ritual space in the hidden area behind an elfin emerald that had been placed in a ring made of celestial silver and hidden a shrunken trunk inside. Picking the trunk that was the size of a grain of rice out he magically expanded it. It wasn't an overly large trunk, even magic had its limits, but it was large enough to bring back everything he needed.
Animus pulled out the files he had brought for Arcturus. "This is a list of laws that will be put forward over the next few decades. I am going to be making a few changes so things might shift, but they are more than likely still going to be presented around the same times I have them listed. These laws can not be allowed to pass as they are written. Individually they are mostly just an annoyance, but taken together they lay the ground work to completely outlaw all forms of dark, blood, ritual, elemental, bardic, and even family magics.
If you can't outright stop the laws then I have given a list of amendments that will stop or circumvent that aspect. I also intend to give this list to a few others that I will be meeting with later so you will have some assistance from Malfoy, Nott, Lestrange, Avery, Rookwood, and a few others. A bit of a hint, Albus Dumbledore likes to use his influence to have any bills he wants to sneak through presented last since he knows most think the most important bills will be presented first and don't bother to return after lunch.
I may also have the goblins contact you and Alphard for assistance with a project I am planning in a few years but there is no guarantee on that yet. And now we come to these." Animus pulled out two envelopes. "I will sell them to you for 10,000 galleons each."
"What are they?" Arcturus questioned. Either way he knew he would purchase them, this man was family after all and 20,000 galleons was not any great amount in the context of the Black family fortune, but he still wanted to know what he was buying.
"This one." Animus held up the first envelope. "Is a list of different businesses and investments that will be doing quite well over the next few decades. And this one." He held up the second envelope. "Is a list of a few major sporting events and their outcomes. A savvy financially intelligent man like yourself would easily be able to use them to benefit us all I'm sure.
Note of caution though, you need to remember I'm changing certain things, it shouldn't have too much of an effect on sports and investments, but still be smart. Don't put all your eggs in one basket so to speak, and don't take risks that are too large. And most importantly, do not bet anywhere where the goblins hold a stake, they know of time travel and consider things like this to be cheating, unless they personally benefit from it."
Arcturus was more than happy to agree to purchase that information. Amongst all the things Lords of families were judged on growing or shrinking the family accounts was amongst the largest. With information like that he could outright double his family fortune. Giving his agreement he had one of the house elves collect his bank slips from his office so he could sign over the money. He didn't know what Animus could need the money for, but he wasn't going to argue if it gave him access to that kind of information.
Animus sneered when he saw the house elf.
"Do you have a problem with our elves?" Melania asked primly seeing the expression.
"The only problem I have is their condition." Animus told her, he would always have a soft spot for the little creatures. "Elves represent their families, having them dirty and in ragged pillowcases gives a very bad impression of the family."
"It isn't like we can give them anything else, giving them other clothes would free them." Melania pointed out.
"I got around that by giving them fabric in the colours I like for them and having one of the elves create uniforms for them. They were very proud to be in their uniforms with the family crest over their heart." Animus explained. "They also need multiple uniforms and proper accommodations. A happy, clean, well rested elf, is a loyal elf.
I've personally had five of my elves give up their own lives protecting mine because I treat them well and don't abuse them. They are very powerful creatures when the bond between them and their families is strong." Animus saw the skepticism in Arcturus's eyes. "House elves can get through the wards of Hogwarts without issue, witches and wizards certainly can't do that. They can actually get through almost any wards as long as their master calls them through it.
And they can be quite dangerous if crossed. Some of them have rather… Slytherin, like minds. I actually knew a house elf that hated its master that had inherited it. He was able to interpret the orders differently than they were intended. Ordering him out of a room allowed him to leave the property completely. Ordering him to tell no one the secrets he heard just meant he went and looked at a wall while he spoke their secrets so he couldn't see those standing behind him so he wasn't directly telling anyone. Ultimately he managed to manipulate the situation so well he got the master he didn't like killed so he could go to someone else.
House elves know everything that happens in the houses they care for. Even now, all of your elves know what is going on in this room, the only reason I do not fear them betraying me is because they actually like you, for now. A house elf knows all their masters deepest and darkest secrets, I don't know about you, but I'd much rather have them as allies rather than enemies."
That thought was slightly frightening. Arcturus and Melania knew it was true, their elves knew all of their secrets. Sharing a glance they knew they may just need to look into making sure the elves were better taken care of.
"Is there anything else you need us to do?" Arcturus asked as he pulled out some parchment from a side table and started making notes on all they needed to do.
"Not outright, but there is a few things that I would request you consider." Animus said. He had calculated the things that needed to happen to change things, but there were still other things that he wouldn't mind altering that could be useful in future. "As I'm sure you know Lord and Lady Prince disowned their daughter for running away and marrying a muggle, breaking her marriage contract in the process. I would appreciate it if you both used your influence in the social circles to encourage them to take an interest in their grandsons life. Severus was born a few weeks before Sirius.
Tobias Snape, Eileen Prince's husband, has a drinking problem. In time he will become resentful of his son and start to lash out and blame him for anything wrong in his life. Eileen prioritizes her husband over her son. Severus will become the victim of severe physical abuse by the age of eight. Nothing can be done for Eileen, you can not force someone to get help if they don't want it, and last time no matter how bad things got she still loved the drunken bastard. But Severus shouldn't have to suffer through that, it would be quite easy for his grandparents to take at least partial, if not full custody, once the abuse becomes physical starting when he is only five."
Melania was furious. She couldn't believe a mother would allow her child to come to harm, the idea children were sacred wasn't just an idea to her, it was a requirement. Nothing mattered more to the survival of their society than the next generation, she would most definitely be addressing Lady Ursula Prince and ensuring the woman looked after her grandson. Ursula had always been a bit of a cold fish, but Melania knew she wouldn't do anything that would make her appear anything less than perfect to her social circle and she would be using that.
"I can assure you, I will deal with it." Melania said in a prim voice as she already started to plan what she was going to say at the next ladies luncheon.
"I think it also might be beneficial for you to join the school board. I do believe the Blacks have an ancestral seat but just haven't used it in the previous few decades. The school would only benefit from your attentions." Animus smiled at the woman he knew was much more in charge than her husband. "Dumbledore will already be planning to cut back on the curriculum and that should be limited as much as possible. The students need to know things like laws and basic magical theory just to survive in this world and not end up in Azkaban for stupid little things they were never taught.
Nothing specific needs to be done at this time, but it would be a good idea to keep track of the failings of the dear Headmaster and his deputy. I will also be leaving a few time delay notes at Gringotts about certain things you might find interesting but I can't mention yet." When Animus had been calculating he had found he couldn't outright act against Dumbledore's control over the school, yet, but he could mention keeping an eye on things to those like Melania, free will was still a thing and she could act as she wished and it wouldn't effect the ritual he cast or risk rupturing it.
The fact that he could give hints and leave things up to the free will of those he was in contact with during this ritual was something he was truly grateful he had learned. He first learned of the ritual in a journal belonging to Dumbledore and the man had apparently not known that. It meant that he wasn't as limited as he could have been.
"I also would recommend updating the look of the castle." Animus said as he glanced around. "With the way the Black family has been drifting apart in recent generations it is no longer as open and welcoming as it once was.
There is a delightful firm that will be opening in the next few years called Divine Designs. It only stayed open for a short time originally given they make an effort to hire beings and the bigots of this world refused to hire them because of it. But, I did see the few buildings they worked on and they were marvellous even decades later. Just imagine what the gardens would look like if they were designed by flower nymphs or garden fairies, or the lake if it was tidied up by a nereid, or undine. Any construction needing done would go much faster with the enhanced speed and strength of werewolves and vampires. And there is no one that decorates quite like a siren or a veela. As I'm sure you know the decorations in the library were done by a siren and look at how stunning they still are after over 200 years.
I am hopeful that you will be able to get to spend more time with your children and grandchildren so the castle would need to be comfortable enough for them. Children do not do well in places full of breakables and nothing fun, as I would hope you both remember."
Melania chuckled slightly, she remembered all the chaos Lucretia and Orion had created as they grew up. Her parents-in-law who had previously resided at the castle had actually banned anyone under the age of 15 from entering. For a couple that had 3 children they really hadn't liked children. She personally would love for her grandkids to come and spend time with her, especially if it got them away from her horrible daughter-in-law.
"I would also recommend you get your hands on the book Mind Magics for the Berserk by Harald Fairhair." Animus told them conversationally. "You probably won't be able to find a copy here in Britain, but there should be a few in Norway or Sweden."
"Why that book?" Melania asked. "There are plenty of more up to date occlumency books available."
"Maybe, but not ones that will fully work for the Black family." Animus told her. "As I'm sure your husband could tell you, or may have previously, the Black family descends from berserkers. They actually descend from Harald Fairhair himself who was the first king of Norway.
The Black family madness is in fact a part of the berserker magics that are a part of the family magics. The stronger the family magics, the more 'madness' they will display. The techniques Fairhair uses in occlumency are much more useful to members of the Black family. Cygnus's eldest daughter, Bellatrix, will have the strongest family magic in generations, and Sirius won't be far behind her. The two of them in particular need to learn that way to help them with their impulse control."
"I will look into getting the book." Arcturus assured. He knew his families history and their issues with mental health. If just changing the type of occlumency they practiced helped then that would be wonderful.
"Other than that there really isn't anything you would need to be aware of." Animus said thoughtfully.
Gringotts
After leaving the Black Castle Animus headed for Diagon Alley. It was a lovely sight, if a bit grimy.
He had never understood why the alley wasn't properly maintained, they had magic for Merlin's sake. It hadn't been until over a decade after he finished school that he learned the alley was technically owned by the Ministry and he knew just how corrupt they were, they would never spend money on maintenance when they could funnel it into their own pockets, the company assigned to keep the alley clean and in good repair belonged to certain high ranking members of the Ministry, including Albus Dumbledore, and they gave themselves hundreds of thousands of galleons each year while doing nothing, the company didn't even have a staff.
He could still remember the first time he had walked down the alley when he went to get his first year supplies. He had been so filled with hope and wonder, what a foolish child he had been. He also remembered the last time he had walked down this alley before his return, it had been nothing but a charred and decaying husk. What a difference time could make.
Going into the bank Animus was pleased to see there was only one other person there and they weren't paying him any attention. The goblins however were all keeping a steady eye on him. Humans might not know what he was on sight alone, but all beings did.
He wasn't just any wizard, he was magics chosen Grey Lord. Goblins, like most beings, fell into the realm of the grey. As much as those like Dumbledore claimed, even phoenixes weren't light and werewolves weren't dark, they were both grey. While most beings acknowledged a Grey Lord they didn't follow them like sycophants like most witches and wizards did with Dark and Light Lords.
Goblins would never bow to a human, but they would show him respect as a Grey Lord. It also didn't hurt that their magic could detect that he was a time traveller. Almost no one knew it but there was a ward on the door and floos that recorded the name of a person entering as well as their date of birth so they knew exactly who they were dealing with even if they were in disguise.
"Greetings sir goblin." Animus bowed his head slightly to the teller he approached but made sure not to break eye contact so as not to show submission. "I wish to handle my business in private."
The goblin swiftly agreed when one of the guards brought over the log showing just who this Grey Lord was. The guards escorted them to a large office where Animus was seated across the desk from who he knew to be the Chieftain of the British clans, Ragnock, and the director of Gringotts, Ironclaw.
"I greet you Chieftain Ragnock, Director Ironclaw." Animus said formally. "I am known as Lord Animus. I came to open up an account."
Both goblins greeted him before the formal paperwork was pulled out.
"We will need some basic information before we start, all involvement of time travel in bank business must be recorded, you understand." Ironclaw said as Chieftain Ragnock sat back to observe.
"There is one request I have first." Animus quickly said before the goblin could begin the paperwork. "I would request the presence of Griphook. I believe at this time he will have just started his training to be a cart driver. While he will be decent at that his true talent lays in managing accounts, my account in particular. I would request that he be placed in charge of my accounts here so he should be aware of everything."
Chieftain Ragnock nodded his approval to one of his guards to go and collect his youngest son. It did him proud to know that a future Grey Lord didn't just know his sons name but thought him a worthy account manager.
Griphook was slightly startled to be called into a meeting with a Grey Lord and his father. He was still quite young by goblin standards, barely out of adolescence at 35 years of age and had only gotten his first job. In the goblin culture there was no such thing as nepotism, his father may be the Chieftain, but he was still going to have to work his way up, just like his elder siblings. Finding out this Grey Lord was from the future and wanted him to manage his accounts was amazing, normally he wouldn't even be considered for account managing status until he was at least 70. His young age was quickly discussed and the Grey Lord offered up a compromise by requesting the Black Account Manager Steelfang mentor him, something that was made easier with the knowledge that the Grey Lord was also Lord Black and Steelfang was his fathers cousin.
"Now that that is handled…" Ironclaw pulled out the time travel paperwork again. "Name? This includes your birth name and any titles you use… We do not need every alias you have, just your formal ones.
"I was born Harry James Potter." Lord Animus informed them, knowing full well they already knew that. "I formally changed my name to Harrison Sirius Black when I was 19, it was not magically changed.
As I have stated I am now known as Lord Animus, the Grey Lord as you obviously know. I also have the titles of Lord Black, Lord Potter, Baron Peverell, Count Gryffindor, and Count Slytherin. I also hold the title of High King Pendragon. And I have a further 37 headships through rights of conquest but I have never taken up those positions so I am hopeful I do not have to list them all."
The goblins all gave him a blank look before Ironclaw cleared his throat. "No, as you have not taken up those headships we don't need you to list all of them. Date of birth?"
"July 31, 1980." Animus informed them, pleased for a quick and simple answer.
"And what date did you travel from and method of travel?"
"I conducted the neslavno minato ritual on December 21, 2113."
"Cause for travel?" Ironclaw questioned.
With the goblins there was no need to lie or mislead much to his joy. Goblins could be counted on to keep to a set pattern, even when dealing with time travel so Animus had had no problem getting all of his calculations in regards to them to work out. "There is a wixen civil war that is set to start tonight. The war will come to an end in 1981. Another wixen civil war will begin officially in July1996, although it will begin in a covert fashion in May 1995, and it will end May 1998. Neither of these civil wars will be a major issue in the grand scheme of things, just more wixen killing each other." He had no intention of mentioning the attack on the bank by Voldemort that had resulted in over 50 goblins being killed as he did not wish them to side against the dark, plus he was going to stop that attack.
"The problem is what happens as a result of the wars as the idiots on the so called Light side will take control. The fools that they are decide it's a good idea to attempt to merge the muggle and magical worlds once again, completely going against every magical treaty we have in the process. I initially worked with the International Council of Wizards and the International Council of Magical Beings to attempt to stop them and cover things up but it ultimately failed in September 2024. The muggles responded as they always have to anything different or that they don't understand and can't control, they waged war. By the time I returned much of the world had been decimated by the war and we had effectively gone back to the middle ages.
Coming back allows me to change enough that I am hopeful that I can put a stop to it. I already have made contact with the current Lord and Lady Black and given them a list of the laws that begin the process. I also already plan to start changing things to ensure those that cause the troubles do not gain positions of power. I can not act against them outright without risking the ritual I used but by my calculations there is a 87% chance that I can nudge things just enough to avoid the muggles finding out about us but I would still recommend the Goblin Nation of Gringotts take precautions."
"We thank you for your warning and will indeed make preparations for the worst possible outcome, as we always do." Chieftain Ragnock assured gravely. Goblins were a nation that was always ready for war, because of that they kept an eye on all who may threaten them so they had seen the growth of the muggle war capabilities and would not underestimate them as the wixen did.
Animus was surprise that was the end of the time travel paperwork, usually goblins liked to delve into every little detail but assumed they knew that would be to risky with the ritual he had used since there were things that couldn't be changed. After that he was led to a newly arranged office with Griphook.
"How may Gringotts assist you this day Lord Animus?" Griphook asked formally once they were in his new office.
"I came to open a new account." Animus told him as he handed over the bank slips from Arcturus.
With a few quick taps and a few signatures the new account was opened. Griphook looked to his new client. "Is that all?"
"No." Animus pulled out two parchments that were slightly larger than the ones he had given to Arcturus, he still needed to maintain some equilibrium in the stock market or risk throwing it completely out of whack and changing it so much that his investments were no longer profitable. "I wish for you to invest and grow my money until my return. I have a list of investment opportunities that I feel both myself and the bank may benefit from, as well as a list of sporting events and teams I wish to have bets placed on. I both acknowledge and accept the 5% fee that will be paid for such services as well as the additional 15% betting fee for all bets made by a time traveller in a goblin run betting establishment."
Griphook gave a toothy grin. Goblins were all about the gold, of course they understood time travellers may wish to play the market, and they were all for it, so long as they got their cut and it was only done by the traveler themselves, anyone operating off a tip from a time traveller would be considered a cheat and treated as such if caught in one of their establishments. They would also of course use his information to benefit themselves. "Do you have any specific requirements with your accounts?"
Animus grinned back at the young goblin that he had only known for a few years before his death, he had grown to trust him in those years though. "Yes, as I am changing things there are no guarantees so a limit will be set on how much can be invested and bet. No more than 50% of the account balance can be placed in one investment or on one bet."
"Naturally." Griphook agreed. This was his first chance to prove himself, something he had not expected to come around for another half century, he wasn't going to do anything to screw it up.
"Perfect." Animus smiled as he pulled out more parchments. "This is a section of land I wish to purchase under the title of High King Pendragon. Currently it is a part of the muggle world so you will need to use a proxy in the purchase. The good news is that this land will be incredibly cheap as there was a chemical spill here a few years previous and the muggles consider the land useless.
And this." Animus moved another folder forward. "Is a property that I wish to buy, just not yet. The owner of the land will be killed in a potions accident on February 26, 1969. He has no other family so the Ministry will auction it off March 1, 1969. It won't be an issue to buy the property at a steep discount as it originally sat abandoned for over a decade before being purchased."
"And what do you wish to do with these properties?" Griphook questioned and then started to worry slightly, it wasn't his place to ask questions like that and he knew it. But thankfully the Grey Lord didn't look offended at his presumption.
"The man who will die is a magical creature smuggler." Animus informed Griphook, he didn't want just a business relationship with the goblin unlike most wixen, he wanted to be able to work honestly and openly with him since he was trusting him with so much that was vital to the future. "Hidden in the back stables he will have 17 demiguise. The land I wish to purchase is saturated with dioxins and benzene, toxic to wixen, muggles, and most creatures and beings, but a tasty treat to demiguise.
I will be giving you a time delay letter to send to Alphard Black once you have managed to purchase the property with the demiguise. By that time he will have earned his magical creatures mastery and will be able to properly care for them. Set up a salary for him to care for them, I will leave the negotiations of his wages to you. You will also need to work out a contract with Lycrois Black, youngest brother of Lord Black, who has his own weaving shop in Ireland as I have a letter for him that contains information on a potion that can be used on sheered demiguise hair to refine it to make invisibility cloaks without having to kill the creatures for their hides. The cloaks will only work for a decade or so, but that's better than nothing and we can still turn a tidy profit from them which you can than invest."
Griphook nodded his understanding. It was a clever way to bring in even more money. Although, he did wonder about what had originally happened to the creatures if no one had purchased the property…
"Other than that I wish to take out 100 galleons and that will conclude my business. But I will be returning to drop off a few time delay letters in 3 hours." Animus informed the goblin.
After leaving the bank Animus bought some ritual ingredients and then rented a small sitting room in the Leaky Caldron for a few hours. There he wrote out his letters and made a few more preparations.
When the time came for the very first meeting Voldemort was going to hold with his followers Animus was ready. His letters had been left at the bank, and his rituals and spells were ready.