Chapter 15
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Esteemed Mr. Gaunt,
We write to inform the members of the Gaunt family of an attempt to access your family vaults. The individual requesting access has been denied and turned away due to not being in possession of a vault key or adequate paperwork to prove their identity, and there hasn't been any security breaches. Our bank prides itself in protecting our clients, and we assure you we will kickstart a detailed investigation should any further anomalies happen. If any member of the Gaunt family wishes to inquire for more information, we will be happy to send forth the detailed report.
Cordially,
Nagknus
Chief Head of Security
Gringotts International Bank
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"But you are sure this isn't a problem" Marzan repeated for about the fifth time.
Elerhys let out an exasperated sigh.
"Attempted break-ins are not unheard of at all"
To be entirely fair, Marzan had never had a vault in Gringotts even back in his first life, he could simply abuse his followers' fanatism to get anything he wanted, and being a criminal he simply hadn't had the right to open a vault of his own… It would make some sense however, bank robberies were very common occurrence in the muggle world. That said, he had a feeling it would not end there. He could not say why, it was simply… strange. The Gaunt vaults were completely empty, and frankly he had assumed they had just been closed entirely when their fortune was spent. They hadn't been used in at least a century, they were gathering dust and any wizard would know about their fall from grace, they were quite infamous. And a thief had tried to get into them?
"They likely thought to steal from you after you won the Tournament's prize" Iraia pointed, having read the letter over again. "It would be easy to assume you would've placed it in the bank"
"Instead of, I don't know, stashing it under the stones of your bedroom's floor?" Elerhys added dryly.
Marzan felt his cheeks heat up. It was not a fully rational decision, alright? He had grown having nothing to his name, he felt much safer when he knew only he had access to his most important treasures, and he had added multiple layers of strong curses around his stash and other private compartments of his rooms.
"It's for emergencies" he excused instead.
He now had a shiny new vault full of money anyway, a benefit from being adopted by literal royalty. All heirs of grand houses were given their own vault with an allowance derived from the main family vaults to prevent overspending, a useful practice that also served as a blanket of safety should anything happen that left their heir alone while they obtained ownership of the family vaults. His grandfather did not own a Gringotts vault, the bank didn't even have a presence in Romania, but seeing as he was studying in Britain Elerhys and Iraia had opened a vault for him, and it functioned in virtually the same way. Matter of fact, he had the key in his person at that very moment.
"You shouldn't worry about it" Iraia folded the letter and placed it back in the envelope, sliding it over to him. "Even if anything should come up, we'll handle it"
Everything should be fine, yes.
It was just that the feeling would not go away.
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With the lesser amount of classes he was taking that year, he took to filling his small amounts of free time with tutoring, mostly for other students of his same year, after Tiernan had given up on his pride and asked for clarification on a particularly complicated homework. Since they had their OWLs upcoming most fifth years were struggling to raise their grades as much as they could, knowing that their entire adult lives could very well depend on the results of said exams. The only people who hardly bothered were some pureblood heirs who simply did not care, having their lives already fixed and laid out… During his first life he had been surprised to note his followers were so set on their studies, but the truth is that the majority of them were just not the heirs of their own houses— in their friend group, only Abraxas was set to be a Lord; Orion and Alphard both had older sisters, and Tiernan had an older brother. Orion had only become Lord Black because he married Walburga the last time around, but there was just no telling what would happen now, unless Walburga married into another family and passed the Lordship to Alphard, they'd have to figure out other options. Luckily for them most pureblood houses had hands in multiple industries and businesses that opened a lot of doors, but they still needed to be competent. And Tiernan did want to at least partially pursue a quidditch career, he would need to be a star student to support it… though, thinking about it, he didn't quite remember how exactly he had ended up inhering the lordship instead of Harlan, it had been so long ago.
His peace lasted about two weeks.
This time, the strange feeling he had lingering at the back of his mind came to fruition when they received an emergency summon from the Ministry, more concretely from the Division of Mors et Vita, the one that oversaw the records of magical families. The last time Marzan had been involved with it was when he was added formally to the Gaunt family— now, his father interrupted his herbology class and made him get changed in a hurry, guiding him back to his personal chambers to use the floo network. Dippet had already authorised their leave.
"What do you mean emergency!? Is this about my petition for the lordship? I thought that would take a lot longer!"
Elerhys opened the door to their chambers. Iraia was already waiting for them.
"It most definitely would" he agreed. "The letter only said it was urgent and could not wait"
Of course, because it fucking would. Marzan sighed and let Iraia fuss over his collar, fixing it quickly before they turned to the chimney— he went first, and he emerged after directly into the department they needed to see. He distractedly cleaned all soot from his clothes with a snap of his fingers and looked around the quiet and sober decorations, barely paying attention to the sound of flames as his fathers followed. He didn't think he'd been in that particular reception years ago… just a minute later, a young woman appeared at the door, the classic image of a secretary with her hair gathered in a knot and holding a stack of papers under her arm.
"Lord Dracul, Mr. Staghart, Young Master Gaunt. If you please, Mr. Wildsmith is waiting for you"
She guided them down a short hallway to a door, and after knocking and being invited inside she stepped aside to let them in. First and foremost he registered the presence of Robert Wildsmith, who he knew to be in charge of his family's records, a middle aged man with a serious expression and harsh eyes who was thankfully, not prone to beating around the bush and performed his duties quite efficiently. He had visited Marzan when he was in St. Mungo at eleven, and collected his and Morfin's signatures and blood samples when his uncle attained custody. They hadn't met again since. Next he saw the uniform of a CPD employee, a younger man with a slightly anxious look to him who was standing silently in a corner. But, that was not the important nor the most shocking presence there… No, sitting in one of the two chairs before Wildsmith's desk was a teenager of about Marzan's age who turned to look at them when they walked in.
That boy was— well, quite frankly, very alike to him to the point it would not be outlandish to assume them to be brothers. His skin was brown as well, although lighter and of a much warmer undertone compared to his, while his eyes were a much deeper and intense shade of blue, once again in contrast with Marzan's silver-blue irises. His black hair fell in loose curls around his head giving him an almost innocent air, framing a face of almond shaped eyes and softer rounder features, along with a nose that was only slightly curved… but still, he was undoubtedly related to Marzan, and therefore was undoubtably a Gaunt. He was thinner and shorter than him by a few inches, revealing that he hadn't had the best life and opportunities, as he was evidently malnourished.
What.
"Young Master Gaunt" Wildsmith nodded and gestured to the free chair. "Perfect, just in time. Please do sit down"
A million questions were rising on his head but at the moment he had been taken completely by surprise— which, if he may add, was not easy to do since he had lived and experienced far more than a normal sixteen year old. Stiffly he walked towards the free chair and sat with his back perfectly straight, refusing to look back towards the other boy despite feeling his eyes intensely trained on him for a few seconds.
"We received your letter inquiring about to possibility of attaining the Gaunt Lordship" Wildsmith cleared his throat and glanced at the other boy. "However, as you can see, there is another member of the Gaunt bloodline who has decided to contest you. Mr. Gaunt, this is Nayaz Atkinson, your cousin"
His what now?
Marzan did not have any cousins, he was damn well sure about that. Morfin had never married, who in their right mind could even want that piece of shit of a man? This had to be some sort of karmic justice imparted of him after all those murders— he was sorry, alright!? Did Death want him to beg on his knees too!? While he despaired silently, Iraia set a hand on his shoulder and gently spoke out.
"If I may ask, why is this information only now reaching us?"
Wildsmith eyed the CPD worker and the man smiled nervously.
"Mr. Atkinson was only recently found and brought to the magical world, sir. He is a halfblood, and has been raised exclusively by his muggle mother. Due to being recently orphaned, the most rational course of action would be to set him in a more stable position… and uh, since he is related to the Gaunt family…"
"I have equal rights to the Lordship" finally the boy spoke, crossing his arms and lifting his chin as he directed his words towards Wildsmith entirely, a scoff twisting his features. "In fact, since I am Morfin's Gaunt son, who is the current Lord, I should be the one to inherit the title now that he is in prison"
That little—!
"How do I know he's telling the truth?" Marzan tried his best to be composed, although he felt his eyebrow twitch.
"We have conducted the blood tests, Mr. Gaunt. We wouldn't have notified you if we didn't have evidence to support this"
"Still! My uncle, the blood purist?" he let out a humourless laugh. "He wanted to kill my biological father! The only reason he accepted to have me added to the family registry was because he was getting money out of it"
Robert Wildsmith nodded in understanding of his denial, lacing his fingers together over his desk.
"I have seen many purebloods in this same situation many times before in all the years I have worked in this department. Unfortunately, it is rather common to see the most bigoted and extremist men fathering halfblood children" He looked in between the boys. "As you can imagine, Morfin Gaunt lost all his privileges when he was returned to Azkaban, and you are not able to deny the addition of Mr. Atkinson to the registry. Our department can do so if we have been shown proof of blood relation, and especially so if recommended by the CPD. That means currently, you are both eligible for the lordship"
This was going to give him such a headache. He hated it.
"I already said I'm the Lord Gaunt's son!" Atkinson protested.
"Well I was added to the family first!" Marzan couldn't help but retort.
They finally looked at each other again, narrowing their eyes. He knew that his cousin -and Merlin, that still felt alien to say- was just a child, but this was a very important thing to him… well, to his ego, but regardless! He didn't want to lose to a little boy.
Wildsmith let out a cough, although Marzan saw him hide the ghost of a smile behind his fist.
"I'm afraid, Mr. Atkinson, that you are incorrect… Morfin Gaunt is not Lord Gaunt"
That gave both of them pause.
"Wait, what?"
He nodded.
"The last Lord Gaunt was your grandfather Marvolo, but he passed away while Morfin Gaunt was in prison the first time. Lordships are normally inherited from father to son, yes, but they do not automatically pass down; upon the death of the Lord, their heir must submit their claim" the man explained the process as he picked a parchment from his desk, showing them the official paperwork for Lord Marvolo Gaunt. "But Morfin Gaunt never presented himself here in the Ministry, and he never submitted his claim even after Mr. Gaunt's existence was discovered. Since he did not actually inherit the title, that stands for any descendant of Merope Gaunt to lay claim on equal grounds to Morfin Gaunt's descendants"
In short, due to his uncle being a damn idiot, the line of inheritance was very vague. It could be either of them.
"Then, would it not go to the eldest?" Elerhys interjected from behind Marzan, speaking out of curiosity. He could tell from his tone that he was mostly just amused.
"I'm sixteen" Atkinson quickly said.
"When is your birthday?" Marzan retorted.
"January first"
Fucking seriously? Well, it hardly mattered because—
"I am older" he confirmed triumphantly.
"What!?"
Wildsmith checked his papers.
"Your date of birth is not marked in either the family records nor your new birth certificate"
"So he's lying!" Atkinson accused.
"I'm not! I don't want anyone to know my birthday but I know when it is, I have no reason to lie about that! I was born in December!"
"Well obviously you have a reason, you just want to have the advantage over me!"
His days of killing indiscriminately were over, he had to repeat to himself. He wasn't supposed to murder any children….
"Marzan" Iraia sighed softly. "Maybe you should just tell us, given the circumstances"
"I don't want to, everyone is going to make a big deal out of it" he adamantly refused, even if he was being childish by being so stubborn.
"We can promise not to tell anyone else, right Rhys?" and he elbowed his husband.
Elerhys rolled his eyes. "Yes, whatever"
Marzan pressed his lips together while Wildsmith, Atkinson and the CPD worker stared expectantly at him. After a moment he let out an exasperated sigh.
"Fine! December 31st. I was born at 18:47, December 31st, 1926"
He pointedly did not look at his fathers because he preferred not knowing what that information meant to them. Wildsmith noted it down dutifully and Atkinson rolled his eyes.
"We were born practically less than a day apart, how is that even relevant if we go by age?"
"That is a good argument" Wildsmith agreed.
Then why on Merlin's green earth had they forced him to say his fucking birthday out loud?
"I was here first, end of discussion! I am familiar with the wizarding world, I live fully between wizards, I have the connections with other pureblood families, and I am about to do my OWLs because I've had a magical education— even if we discard age -which I am still older by the way-, I am undoubtedly more suited for the title of Lord Gaunt. And!" he quickly added before Atkinson could say anything. "I have the support of my adoptive family as well, my father is the heir to the Prince of Wallachia, I can carry the Gaunt name forwards and restore it"
There was a short beat of silence while Wildsmith seem to now be inclined to his argument.
"That is unfair! I didn't choose to not grow up in this world, how was I supposed to know I could've gone to a magic school!? Just because my circumstances are different doesn't make me any less worth it!"
"You don't even know what being a pureblood Lord is!"
"And I'm supposed to trust you about it!?"
They were both raising their voices now and finally the adults had enough. Iraia stepped in between their chairs.
"Alright, that's enough!" he sentenced, fully using his professor voice, and both of them shut up. "Yelling and arguing is not going to take you anywhere. Marzan, I know you are much more rational than this"He looked away, crossing his arms silently, and his father nodded. "I think maybe all you need to do is get to know each other better, yes? Why don't we take a break from all of this formal talk? It is almost lunchtime and you both can eat while you work on this"
"That is a wonderful idea, thank you Mr. Staghart" Wildsmith nodded and stood up.
Great. Lunchtime play date.
Merlin, Marzan was way too old for this…
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They sat with their arms crossed for a while before Marzan decided being petty wasn't worth losing his appetite and he started to eat his own meal. They sat alone in a meeting room at opposite sides of the table, with identical meals, and they were alone for now. The food was simple, salmon and roasted potatoes, but he had hardly eaten that morning before class and he was very used to the schedule they carried at Hogwarts, so lunch suited him well. A few moments after he started to eat, Atkinson decided he too was not about to waste his plate and dug in, a lot more faster and with less elegance as if the food were to vanish if he didn't devour it quickly, much like any other child that grew without enough food.
"So. Orphan" Marzan commented as he calmly cut another piece from his salmon.
Atkinson looked at him for a split second before he nodded.
"Yeah. My mum was a prostitute, that's how she and my father met. Grew up around all sorts of scum but my mum was well liked and I never had problems with any of them" he paused, then continued talking as he chewed on his potatoes. "She died a few months ago, told me about my father. I didn't believe it at first, but I still tried to look it up 'cause I had nothing else to fall back on. Well turns out she was right"
Hmm. Marzan stayed silent as he processed that… it made sense. Even if Morfin hated muggles so much, he was a drunken egotistical fool with no family and no prospects of marrying. It was not strange that he had sought 'comfort' with prostitutes and whores.
"I grew up in an orphanage" he said, figuring telling his own story was the least he could do. "My mother died when I was born, and all the other kids and caretakers thought I was the devil. I could do magic since I was a baby, and muggles don't really understand magic. When I was eleven I made it to the magical world and the Ministry put me in your father's care, but he was a lousy tutor and just wanted the money they offered to care for me. I started Hogwarts at that age, that's what the school is called, and that's where I met my fathers— they're my professors, and they were concerned about how little Morfin cared about me, so last year they officially adopted me when he couldn't care less about me almost dying. Long story, that last part, but that's the gist of it"
Atkinson considered it for a moment too.
"So you weren't born a spoiled rich baby"
Marzan let out a huff.
"No. All things considered, your childhood was leagues better than mine"
"Hmm…"
They continued to eat in silence for another while. Next it was Atkinson who broke the silence.
"Marzan?"
It sounded like a question about the name.
"It's Arab. We're Persian— half Persian, anyway. Nayaz?"
"Hindi, it means noble. My mum's family was brought from India as labourers. You have two fathers"
Ah, the old dilemma for muggles and halfbloods…
"Wizards don't care about that" he shrugged. "Baba is a cultivator from China, tătă is an elder vampire"
Atkinson stared at him in silence for a moment.
"Your father is… a vampire" he repeated.
"An elder vampire, son of the original vampire" he nodded, a little amused at the look on his face. "No, he doesn't attack people for blood… he receives donations, or just eats meat. And yes, all sorts of magical creatures exist. Werewolves, fae, unicorns—"
"Right" he mumbled, staring at his half empty plate, and likely decided he'd have a crisis about it later. "Cultivator? Like, cultivating food?"
Marzan almost wanted to laugh but he reeled it in, it was an innocent question and they were supposed to get along.
"Cultivation is the type of magic they practice in China, it is very different from mine. You've probably seen wizards use wands?" Atkinson nodded. "Baba doesn't need one, but he cannot cast spells like I do. On the other hand, he can make talismans and arrays that are ten times as powerful as any wizard's spell"
"Ah"
Atkinson toyed with his sleeve for a moment. He was wearing a white shirt that was old and worn, quite possibly second hand. Marzan could understand that he had immediately clocked him as a spoiled nobleborn given he in contrast was wearing a full set of robes in black with silver embroidery.
"I have never done magic before, so they told me I'm probably not very strong. You do have a wand, right? What is it like?"
No accidental magic… that was unusual, but not entirely alarming. Some children just simply did not show it since their instincts never saw it necessary to bring it forth. It didn't actually speak of his strength quite yet.
"It's hard to explain, and my magic likely does not work the same way as everyone else's. I have—" He paused and winced slightly. "I'm what you call an obscurus. Children like me suffer it when the conditions of our childhood drive us to hide and repress it, and as a result it forms some sort of… parasite that seeks to unleash that repressed power in often destructive outbursts. Once the obscurial forms it is indestructible and it will slowly consume the child until they die. I'm the oldest obscurus ever recorded"
Atkinson paled at the thought.
"So… you could die?" and funnily enough, he didn't sound any happy about it.
"Not anymore. Again, long story, but let's just say I have a failsafe. The obscurial and I are working to get along" And just to show off, he raised his arm and let the black and red mist rise, manifesting in the air for a few seconds before it retreated back into his skin. "But, you did ask me about wands… here"
Marzan pulled his wand from his sleeve, and Atkinson stared at it wideyed.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" he couldn't help but smile as he brushed his thumb over the scales of the snake. "This wand belonged to our ancestor Salazar Slytherin, one of Hogwarts' founders and one of the most brilliant wizards in history. It's been passed down for generations and I can't give it to you because it means a lot to me, but you can try it. It'll work as long as we share blood"
He offered it with the handle towards him and at first his cousin did nothing, too shocked to move, but then he tentatively reached out and held it. Marzan saw it, the obscurial pushing a bit of its power into his eyes so he could see the wisps of magic around Atkinson as it finally became tangible to him. It was not weak at all, he noted. Quite frankly he imagined he was probably strong for his age, something incredible taking into account he had no magical education.
"Try doing a spell. Move it like this" Marzan demonstrated with his knife. "And say lumos. It's a very basic one, easy to do"
Atkinson cleared his throat and wet his lips, fingers trembling slightly.
"Lumos"
The tip of the wand lit up with a warm light and he let out a breathless laugh.
"I did it! I'm doing magic!"
Marzan blinked, and at that moment he realised that maybe he truly had been a bit too petty before… Looking at him right there, he could see that he was truly just a sixteen year old child that was excited at the prospect of magic and that he just wanted to be part of their world. Whether or not they could be anything more than strangers didn't matter, he could do something to help him— he was an orphan too, and although it had been a long time since Marzan was a child himself, he remembered what it was like to be alone and he remembered what it was like to discover magic for the first time. Maybe he was growing a bit too soft, but as far as he was concerned helping this kid out would only reduce the amount of stress he had to deal with.
"Um, how do I stop it?"
"Ah, just say nox"
"Nox?"
The light turned off. Atkinson hesitated, likely sad that he had to let go of the warm sensation of magic, but he gave back his wand. Marzan slid it inside his sleeve again.
"I think— Why don't we try to work together?" he said after a moment of further reflection. "We have just found we are not too different, and let's be frank; we don't have any other biological family to fall back on. If Morfin ever gets out of Azkaban he could strike us both from the family records and you'd be screwed over worse than I. But if we join forces, then we can disown him. Right now our name has no weight and no worth, but we can turn that around"
Atkinson tapped his fingers on the table as he leaned back on his chair.
"You want me to relinquish the lordship so easily? How do I know you're not going to stab me in the back?"
Unfortunately a fair point.
"I have no reason to" he pointed out, gesturing to himself. "Even if I were to lose the lordship and be disowned, my grandfather is a Prince. With my trust fund alone I already have enough money to compete with other purebloods, all the while the Gaunt name is worth nothing. Besides, I know how the purebloods work; I know how to play their game and behave like they do, but you open your mouth? They'll instantly know where you came from and believe me, they are far more vicious than you think. Muggle nobles have nothing on purebloods, they will tear you to shreds"
Atkinson frowned slightly.
"And what do I get then?"
"I have some money set aside. I won a really big prize from a tournament last year and I've been saving for a while too. Once I can fix up the Gaunt name I can transfer those funds to a vault just for your use, and you'll be completely set"
His cousin nodded slowly and thought it over.
"I want in writing that my future children will be the ones to inherit the lordship afterwards" he demanded.
Oh, easy.
"I doubt I'll have any myself, so sure"
"And I want some land and properties"
"I don't think we have them, but I can definitely arrange for that"
"Right… well, if that's the case, then maybe we can make it work"
Perfect!
Iraia had turned out to be right, then. All they needed was to talk it over.
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"Marzan will be Lord Gaunt" Nayaz announced two hours later when they sat back in Wildsmith's office, to the surprise of all the adults. "We have decided on a mutually beneficial deal that leaves both of us happy"
Wildsmith looked at each of them for a long moment, shocked, but eventually nodded.
"If that's the case, then I suppose we have no reason to delay the formal paperwork?"
Both of them were equally surprised.
"Now?"
"It is quite an easy process" Wildsmith reached for one of the drawers in his desk and pulled out a couple stacks or parchment, placing one in front of Marzan and extending a blood quill towards him. "Especially since all the available members of the family have agreed to it"
Marzan took the quill and exchanged a look with Nayaz, who nodded. Thus, he signed his name with his blood and then passed both items back. Wildsmith then offered him a small box, which upon opening he discovered contained two rings, one of them being the ring he knew Marvolo had carried and the one he had thought was the lordship ring, and the other the actual lordship ring with the emblem of their family.
"Congratulations, Lord Gaunt" a few sober claps accompanied his words. "I assume then that you will fully acknowledge your cousin?"
Marzan nodded.
"Yes. He has expressed the wish to use our surname"
The next parchment he was offered was far more important, as it showed part of their family line. Multiple different handwritings had added their children and close family names as they were registered, the most recent being Marzan's on Morfin's hand. Now, he was the one to add Nayaz Gaunt right next to it. He took a lot of joy in striking Morfin out of said records too.
"So… that's it?" Nayaz asked as Wildsmith set the documents back into the drawer, which no doubt enchanted to protect such delicate information.
"Correct. You are now formally and legally a Gaunt. However, we do have one more thing to go through" He set a new parchment on his desk, definitely much more older, and he pulled out a pair of spectacles from the inner pocket of his robe, setting them on the bridge of his nose. "As instructed to all the keepers of the Gaunt family records, we are to read this will and testament to all newly named Lords of the Gaunt name"
A will? Marzan frowned, he had absolutely no idea that there was any sort of will and it definitely did not sound like it came from their grandfather or anything. Nayaz immediately seemed a bit anxious seeing as not even Marzan had any idea of what was going on.
"Do you consent to it being read out loud to everyone in this room?"
That serious?
"Not the CPD worker. Everyone else is fine"
The young man nodded. "I will wait outside"
Wildsmith waited until the door clicked close before he looked down and started to read aloud;
"Due to the continuous decay of our family's prestige at the hands of my nephew and heir, I, Shahnaz Slytherin, thus divide forth our wealth and estate; from now henceworth the Slytherin Lordship will be locked from the Gaunt line until my conditions have been met and their worth has been proven. My conditions are; proof of full efficient management of the Gaunt estate for at least a full year, 8 OWLs of at least Exeeds Expectations, and the possession of the title of Lord Gaunt. All properties and vaults under the Slytherin estate shall only be accessible to Lord Slytherin. Should my nephew prove to not be worthy, this will and testament stands the same for his descendants"
No…. wait, this changed everything. Marzan was under the impression that the Slytherin name had simply transitioned to Gaunt, but this document had just proven that the Slytherin estate still existed and was completely untouched, that there was actually something left for them. The conditions were extremely easy to meet! Back in the time they were written they would've likely been considered much more extreme, since in those times some purebloods chose to not send their children to Hogwarts, seeing it as unnecessary since they would just inherit their family wealth anyway. Up until recent times, the OWLs and NEWTs had very little weight or meaning to them, but nowadays they were the standard and Marzan had already done them once, not to mention he was a star student.
"What does this mean?" Nayaz asked, overwhelmed.
"It means that I can apply to become Lord Slytherin, and then you can have the Lord Gaunt name, right?" and he turned to Wildsmith to confirm.
"That would be correct" the man nodded as he continued to examine the will. "They are separate titles, even if they are somewhat conjoined"
Nayaz grinned.
"Then we don't have to share—"
Marzan couldn't fight off the similar smirk off his face.
"Indeed we don't. Although— management of the Gaunt estate for a year… My OWLs are in May, but we have no estate to manage, how could we even prove that?"
"You'll find that you actually do, Lord Gaunt" Wildsmith passed a handful of parchments to him, copies of deeds pertaining to properties and vaults. "Your ancestors acquired an outstanding debt from Gringotts. Naturally, their assets were taken by the bank until the debt can be paid and all money deposited to the Gaunt vaults is garnished to repay it. According to these records, the Gaunt vaults receive a stipend from the Slytherin vaults regularly still to this day"
That meant they did have properties and they could acquire them by paying the debt!
"Do we know how much it's left to he paid off?"
"I'm afraid only the bank can offer such details"
That was fine, he could deal with some more bureaucracy if it meant their little inheritance problem was solved. He couldn't even be upset anymore, this was such good news! Surprise cousin and all, this entire trip hadn't been a total waste…
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They slept in a little break room in the Ministry actually, as Elerhys and Iria spoke with the CPD about Nayaz and his living situation. He had not yet been placed anywhere, and given they were related and now legally tied together, the CPD would likely be willing to let them foster him as well. Marzan didn't think they had ever considered fostering or adopting more children, but the circumstances were quite peculiar and Nayaz was nearly an adult anyway. Hopefully by the time they turned seventeen they would have most of their estate all ready and soon after they could both get their prize. Sleeping in that couch wasn't the best experience but by the time they woke up it was to find that they were allowed to leave freely. It was Saturday and before they returned to the school they dropped by Diagon Alley to shop for clothes and supplies for his cousin, as well as visiting the bank. Nayaz was predictably amazed by Diagon Alley, and he was starting to stare with yearning at the sight of wizards and witches going about their days with their wands. He would get one eventually, but Marzan insisted they shouldn't rush it and buy one— all the wands sold in any store would be enchanted with tracing spells for the Ministry, which he rather preferred not to deal with.
Gringotts wasn't going to be a long trip, goblins didn't like wizards and thus were more inclined to get their business done and over with quickly, since either way they just wanted to get their money back. The administrator of their vaults welcomed them into his personal office, although the goblins were a lot more reserved than even the Ministry, and claimed 'only Lord Gaunt and Mr. Gaunt' were allowed to discuss the matter of their finances, even if neither of them were of legal age yet. Elerhys had narrowed his eyes at the short vicious creatures, but agreed at the end to have it done quickly.
Adlirg was the name of the administrator, not any less grouchy than any other goblin, and the office space felt rather small due to the fact it was not built for a wizard's comfort. Nonetheless, the desk and chairs were of a human's size, which gave a rather strange look to the entire place. He didn't speak to them directly at first, examining the paperwork Marzan provided to prove he was the new Lord Gaunt, and then the statements of their accounts. It felt as if they were being waiting for the results of a test they didn't study for.
"All seems to be in order" Adlirg pushed a few papers over the table. "Then, if you may, please sign here to acknowledge the terms of repayment established by the Bank. It includes interest rates, date limits to payments, and such"
Marzan pushed it back.
"There's no need. I will pay it all here today. How much is the debt, again?"
The goblin raised an eyebrow slightly, evidently imagining he was simply overestimating himself.
"Two thousand and forty four galleons" he said bluntly.
Two thousand! Those loans must have been titanic, or the interest rate was through the roof. Well, he would probably make it up once they regained the Slytherin vaults, and his trust vault had a decent allowance he was unlikely to spend entirely anyway. Nayaz looked at him with some visible panic, but he simply pulled out a chain from his neck, where his vault key rested, and pulled it out of the chain, placing it on the desk.
"Let it be known I repay my debts, unlike my ancestors"
Adlirg grabbed the key, unimpressed still, and then grabbed a box from one of the drawers, a device that seemed as if keeping important items, but it lacked a lid of any sorts, being more like a solid slab of wood. There was an ornate keyhole however, and as Adlirg inserted his key and turned it the runes carved on the device lit up in gold. Scowling, he returned the key.
"Very well, your debt has been repaid" he said unhappily.
Marzan smiled smugly, although he had the decency to disguise it behind a thin layer of politeness.
"Thank you very much. Now, may I please have the deeds to our properties and vaults?"
"Wait here…"
Adlirg walked out of the room muttering under his breath in his own language, and Nayaz sunk on his chair.
"For a moment there I thought you didn't have enough. Two thousand!?"
Marzan let out a soft groan.
"It's way more than it sounds. Even a pureblood family would not spend a thousand galleons on their fanciest galas"
If his grandfather and forefathers were not dead, he would kill them. Actually, he was half tempted to raise them from the dead in order to kill them again, slowly and painfully. With two thousand galleons he could buy an entire house.
The door started to open and they straightened on their chairs, back to the appearance of two aloof young men doing business. Adlirg sat back on his tall stool and dropped a sizeable file on the desk, which Marzan took without preamble and started to look at, Nayaz leaning towards his shoulder to see.
"Four main vaults… an utter waste of space and money" he mumbled in disapproval. One of them supposedly was the main family vault which kept relics and highly valuable heirlooms, while the three others were named as the personal vaults for a Lord, Lady and heir. In practice however, that many was completely unnecessary. A couple either shared finances or the person marrying into the family would just have a separate vault that did not form part of the family vaults. Similarly, an heir should only have a trust fund, not a full vault. Maybe they had been added to obtain more loans… seemed likely. "Please close all but the Lord's vault"
Adlirg grunted and started to note down on a parchment.
"Anything else, Lord Gaunt?"
"Nayaz is officially set to inherit the title, please mark him as the heir in your records"
Adlirg grunted again and continued writing, evidently salty his sarcasm was completely ignored by the young Lord.
"I think that is all we need. Thank you for your time" he offered him an empty smile and gestured for his cousin to follow outside.
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Elerhys and Iraia were waiting outside, and in the short twenty or so minutes they spent inside Iraia had apparently gotten his husband to buy him a cup of ice cream, which he was happily enjoying when they walked out to meet them. Marzan still thought they made a funny sight, with the elder vampire standing so stoically with his arms crossed, all the while the etherally beautiful chinese man was enjoying his sweet treat with a soft smile.
"Any luck?" Elerhys asked them.
"I would like to know as well" Nayaz shrugged.
Marzan rolled his eyes as he enchanted the file to shrink and set it in the inner pocket of his jacket.
"The contents of our vault are listed here and would take too long to go through, so that will take until later. We /do/ have three properties however, so I will have to send some letters and hire someone who can assess the state of all three of them. They all must be in need of repair at this point, and a year is a tight deadline but it should be possible to have it handled"
Administrating the estate would be hard work, but only for that first year, maybe two or three at the most, and after that first one they could hire someone else to do it too, at least until Nayaz had learnt all he needed to be a proper Lord. In fact, Marzan would probably have a much harder time, if they ever recovered the Slytherin Lordship. That could be the key to finding the lost properties under the name, and they would be in an even worse state no doubt.
"Well, I am glad to hear that" Iraia passed an arm around his shoulders and squeezed him gently. "But you have school to return to. I know you are brilliant and top of your year, but your OWLs take more importance than all of this, yes?"
Ugh, the OWLs…
"Yes, baba" he replied with a soft groan.
"Um…" Nayaz rubbed his arm, slightly awkward. "Where am I going to stay…?"
Excellent question. He looked up at his fathers too.
"You're coming to Hogwarts with us" Elerhys answered easily. "You can stay in our rooms. Staff is allowed to keep family members on school grounds as long as protocol is followed… we'll have a talk with Dippet. You're much too old to start from first year, Mr. Gaunt, but if you set your mind to making up for lost time, you'd be able to join Marzan and his classmates next year. Or at the very least, you'd finish your schooling in two or three years"
Nayaz blinked, surprised, and then quickly blinked again to brush away tears, nodding.
"… Ok. Thank you"
He was quiet, but it was obvious it meant something to him. After all, he did want to be a wizard too, and he was still just an orphan child who recently lost his mother.
Oh, speaking of which…
"If we're going back, can I have five minutes to go buy something?" Marzan asked quickly.
Elerhys looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"Marzan…" he started to say as warning.
"Nothing dangerous or stupid, promise"
He still looked reluctant and his cousin mildly amused, but Iraia shook his head.
"Fine, but go quickly. We'll be waiting in the Leaky Cauldron"
"Thanks, I'll be back later"
Marzan darted away from the bank and he only vaguely registered Elerhys' voice in the distance warning him to be careful before he disappeared between the people walking up and down the alley.
First, he slipped past the small openings between buildings to reack Knuckturn, barely paying attention at the open sign before he barged in, ignoring the attendant to go to the back wall. No Mr. Borgin or Mr. Burkes, apparently. Quickly, quickly… nothing seemed too good. He crouched down to look at the boxes at the bottom like last time, but now there wasn't anything special, just rotten carboard barely holding up, and wands in such disrepair their sight would surely send Ollivander into a coma. At the end, he chose one of the wands on the lower shelves, not very old but definitely not new at all— the box read the date it was made, 1765, but it was in excellent shape still and it was long at about twenty seven centimetres, with a sober simple design. He paid fifteen galleons for it, which was about right for a wand, and then returned back to Diagon, pushing the door of the menagerie open.
They didn't have many snakes, they never did. Clicking his tongue in disapproval of that choice, he examined the selection. Oh, but there was…
«Hello» he spoke to the completely white snake, a young specimen that hadn't grown completely yet.
«Hullo?» it answered in a childish voice that leaned high. A female, then.
«Would you like to have a new home, little one?»
The snake perked up and slithered closer to the glass.
«New home!»
Well then, seems like the choice was done. He carefully picked her up and held her in his arms as he walked to the front, with the store manager jumping when she saw him holding the snake.
"Oh dear! Are you sure you want that one? She's very quick to bite and hasn't grown to full size yet…"
"I know" he offered her a charming smile. "Don't worry, ma'am. I have experience handling much more dangerous reptiles"
She looked doubtful, but the little snake was very comfortable wrapped around his arm already, and she nodded slowly.
"Well then, if you're so sure…"
Marzan walked down the alley back to the Leaky Cauldron soon after, and found his cousin and fathers sat on a calm corner waiting. Iraia smiled fondly as he stood next to the table and offered the snake to Nayaz, who looked surprised but ultimately delighted.
"For me? How did you know I liked snakes?"
"It sort of runs in the family" he grinned. «Little one, this is Nayaz. He's going to take care of you now»
The snake leaned in to feel his scent and ultimately slithered onto Nayaz's shoulders, finding that she was quite happy there.
"You can talk to snakes too"
"We inherited it from Salazar Slytherin" he nodded. "My own familiar -one of them- is an eyelash viper. His name is Rai. Now, this beauty is a leucistic Texas rat snake. She might be quick to bite sometimes, but she's not venomous. She will grow a lot however"
He then pulled out the box and set it on the table.
"This one is… a token, let's say, showing my good will. It's only temporary until we find a better one, but it should suit you well. Since it's owner died long ago, it'll be much more mellowed out and work smoothly"
He had selected it because it was quiet and letargic, but still attentive. Some wands as they fell into disuse would simply stop working.
Nayaz picked up the wand, touching it with reverence. The smile on his lips was small but genuine.
"Thank you"
Oh well… Marzan was definitely going to be stuck on babysitting duty from now on, wasn't he?
.
.
Marzan stopped by his bedroom first. Rai was in his enclosure, although he was asleep, so he let him be as he took a shower and changed clothes, feeling much refreshed afterwards. A long shadow moved over the crystal ceiling once he was placing his things back on their place and he raised his head to find that HanQiang was floating underwater, peering at him from the window next to his bed.
"You left the school grounds" it wasn't an accusation, but it wasn't a question either. A statement, more like.
«I had urgent business in the Ministry»
«Bad stuff, Master?»
He looked down to see Rai slithering up the opening of his enclosure, peering at him. He smiled and reached to scratch his head, gladly letting him climb up to his arms, holding him to his chest to caress his scales. Now that they were nearby he could feel their bond again, and the affection shared through it. In contrast with the simple bond that only shared some feelings, his tie to HanQiang was much stronger; it felt like a tight spiderweb wrapped around his very soul, and although the dragon never let anything go through, the simple touch of a soul against another was a constant hum at the back of his mind.
«No, not bad. I just learnt I have a cousin, a blood relative. It was a big surprise»
"More serpents" HanQiang huffed.
He laughed softly and nodded.
«Yes. He's just a boy, and he painfully reminds me of myself at that age… I suppose I'll look out for him until he's a bit older»
"You are a child yourself"
«Everyone is a child compared to you!»
A torrent of bubbles escaped HanQiang's nose in a quiet laughter and then he swam away, likely to go hunting— he only ever swam in the lake for food, since he didn't like how long it took to dry his scales.
«Can I go hunt too, Master? I'm hungry»
«Haven't you eaten well?» he asked, frowning slightly.
«Was worried» Rai said in a slightly huffy tone. «Master must take me next time»
Marzan kissed the top of his head briefly.
«I will, promise. Go ahead. I'll see you later, I should just be in class»
He set him down on the floor and opened the door to let him out with a hand gesture, but as he stood back up he found himself face to face with one Abraxas Malfoy, who was looking at him with a harsh glint to his green eyes and a slight frown twisting his fair face. His arms were crossed over his chest and although he didn't carry his bag with him he was fully dressed for class since he should be in their shared advanced charms class at that moment.
"Oh, hi"
Marzan went to grab his books, all the while the half-elf stormed forwards across the room. He was taken by surprise and could only let out a sound of protest as he lost his balance and fell backwards on his bed, the blond's arms caging him in at either side of his head.
"Where were you?" he demanded to know in a hiss.
The air arround them felt charged with static, a tell-tale sign of Abraxas' hidden magic, but it didn't come forth entirely and remained unseen.
"The ministry…?"
His right hand was snatched away and Abraxas stared at the two rings on his middle and index finger. They felt a bit strange, because Voldemort had never really liked wearing any accessories and Marzan only ever wore his vault key and locket around his neck.
"You obtained the Lordship"
"I did, although that was the least surprising part of the trip" and what an understatement that was… "Can I be freed now, please?"
His wrist was slammed back down on the bed, held down with far more strength than any human ought to have— he wasn't human after all.
"Everyone was worried" Abraxas told him dryly, still with a spark of anger in his eyes. "Alphard slept in your bed"
The guilting was, unfortunately, successful.
"I'm sorry, I promise I will not disappear again" he swore. "Not unless I really have no choice"
Abraxas leaned down, their noses almost touching.
"Good"
And then he finally let go, standing back in a fluid motion. Marzan was considerably less graceful, smoothing down his uniform with a sigh. He was vaguely amused by the whole thing, but he figured Abraxas wouldn't find it so if he smiled, so he simply picked up his bag and dutifully followed him out of the room and towards their classes.
"Oh, come on, are you really mad at me?" he asked after a few minutes of silence.
Abraxas was never mad. He didn't think he had ever been mad in his first life either, except maybe for that one time he had to interfere in between the Order and his followers. He had been furious when they finally got away because Voldemort had been hit with a good few spells, even to the point his magic destroyed his glamour spells and revealed his elongated pointed ears. If he remembered correctly he had screamed and raged, cussing him out with far more profanities than he had ever heard in his entire life. And to be fair, it was perfectly warranted.
The Malfoy heir stopped in his tracks and turned around abruptly. Marzan neary ran into him.
"The last time you were missing you were in the brink of death" he hissed.
He blinked.
"… That was during the Tournament"
For a moment they stood in the middle of the hall, silent. That incident with the caves had been completely out of his control, he hadn't meant to get trapped there or anything—
"You're an idiot"
Abraxas turned his back on him and stormed away, and as confused as he was Marzan found himself feeling a pang of guilt.
"Abraxas! I'm sorry, alright?"
Fuck. He hurried to go after him, but he had the feeling he was going to give him the silent treatment for a while.
.
.
"You should apologise to him" Alphard told him later when they were having dinner. Abraxas hadn't even bothered to go to the Great Hall, returning to their bedroom after classes for the day were over. It felt strange to have the seat to his right empty. "Not just by saying sorry, you have to mean it"
"But I don't even know what I did wrong" he clicked his tongue in frustration, stabbing his food with his fork.
Alphard looked a bit conflicted for a second, as if not knowing what to say.
"He already apologised anyway" Orion unhelpfully pointed out. "Isn't that enough?"
To that Alphard finally decided to be bewildered, sending him an incredulous look.
"Do you both ever think about how other people must feel?"
Marzan tried but he barely had a basic understanding of human emotions. Orion shrugged nonchalantly.
"Ugh, Walburga and Lucretia are so right, boys are complete animals" he grunted, standing up and picking up his bag to walk away.
It was Marzan's turn to be bewildered, and Orion leaned backwards to call after him;
"You're a boy too!"
Alphard ignored him entirely.
…
"What was that?"
Tiernan, who hadn't participated in the conversation up until then, closed his DADA book and set it aside to eat.
"Well, you know, girlfriends appreciate it when you try to understand their feelings. Maybe you don't think you upset her, but she was hurt by something you said anyway" he pointed out as if this was common knowledge.
"Abraxas isn't a girl" Marzan stressed, because now he was ten times more lost.
"Obviously" Tiernan nodded, "but the same principle applies"
He didn't know why it would, but…
"So I have to apologise for hurting his feelings" he repeated slowly.
Tiernan scrunched up his nose.
"Maybe not completely like that, it's still Abraxas we're talking about— just think. What did you say right before he called you an idiot? Then you have your answer"
The whole thing about him being missing?
"Or you could wait until he isn't upset anymore" Orion added.
Tiernan shoved him to make him shut up but Marzan was already in deep thought.
Merlin, being a normal teenage boy was a fucking nightmare.
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* After much thought I decided the Lordships aren't inherited automatically. It just seems to me like the type of thing that requires a lot of bureaucracy. It is also very amusing to think about how infuriated Morfin will be, thinking he was the Lord of their house and then suddenly finding himself disowned.
* Nayaz is, of course, completely made up. I have included him because it was a nice parallel to draw to Marzan. They are nearly the same, born of similar circumstances and even similar backgrounds, except their paths diverged drastically. In Tom's first run, he would've lived a simple life as a muggle. It was all chance and good luck— and the butterfly effect, I suppose. Who knows what else changed in history just by Death sending Marzan back?
* As a side note and although I didn't intentionally make it happen, I reaised I gave them all names that are somewhat similar in sound thanks to the z? Marzan, Nayaz, Salazar— even Shahnaz. Fun little fact.
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Tom's Odyssey continues! He is still baffled by normal human interactions…
Like I keep saying, he'll eventually figure it out. Maybe.
New character introduced too… wink wink. It remains to be seen if they will become a deadly duo or accidentally murder each other. Who knows!
Thank you very much for your continuous support, I will try to update more often but I will start university (again) this month, so I still have to figure out my schedule when I get all that info.
Comments are, as always, very much appreciated.
See you as soon as I can!