AU: Hogwarts, Part B of Part 0 (only planning about four parts for the origins saga)
Pairing: none yet!
Part B. Grotty revelations
Tenten shook her head, dying to know the backstory behind her sole legacy. "It's the key to a Gringotts vault. Gringotts is the chief wizarding bank, run by goblins." They turned round a corner, and continued down the street. She tried her very best not to gawk at the exquisite sights that surrounded her while Shizune talked. "It seems that at one point, someone left you with their belongings, and only you can access it, because you have the key."
Tenten looked down at the golden key in muted wonder. She was connected to someone, somewhere. Tenten, the orphan, was not alone - that notion single-handedly filled her to the brim with elated happiness. "Why me?"
A flicker of discomfort flashed across Shizune's face at this query. "I do not know."
Suddenly, a harrowing thought dawned upon her. "Shizune," the older woman hummed pensively, "If we're going to the bank - to examine my- my stuff, don't I need some form of identification? I mean, the banks in my world all need you to present your information before you can access your belongings." She quietened down when Shizune started to gaze at her curiously. "I'm sorr-"
"No, no," Shizune smiled kindly, "Don't be sorry. You're extremely sharp, for someone so young. It just caught me off guard."
"Oh." She blushed happily, ignoring the lack of an answer. After all, it wasn't every day that Tenten received a compliment. The Orphanage's staff were always so busy, and she didn't have many friends both in and out of school either. "Thank you."
Eventually, they reached a looming, white marble building with the word 'Gringotts Wizarding Bank' emblazoned in golden font, overhead a mahogany-wood door. "Wow," she caught herself gawking again, then quickly ran ahead to catch up with Shizune, who was already cracking open the front door. Inside, however, was another story, because the last thing Tenten was expecting to see was goblins. Goblins! They exist! What?
Shizune, completely unfazed, strode to the front of room with her head held high, towards a wrinkled creature sitting at the front desk.
"Name?" It croaked out, not bothering to look up at either of them.
"Shizune Kato. I'm here on Hogwarts business." She extracted a worn piece of parchment from the inside of her coat and handed it over to the goblin silently. Tenten refrained from asking Shizune what was actually happening.
The goblin finally deigned to glance up from it's paperwork, having read through the parchment, and handed it back to Shizune. Then, its beady eyes turned to Tenten, and it smirked maliciously. "It seems the House has returned."
"What?" Tenten eked out, mildly curious. Her guardian moved to shield Tenten from the goblin's stare protectively.
"May we return to our business, Blorgrod? I'm afraid that I'm a little bit pressed for time today." Tenten couldn't see Shizune's face, but the tensed muscles of her back and her defensive stance was more than enough of an indication that Shizune was quickly losing her patience. The question was, over what?
"Of course," Blorgrod grinned nastily, then stepped down from its pedestal and led them into a dark tunnel, where they were sat down into a metal carriage. "Hold on to the sides."
That, Tenten reflected, after being sent on the most terrifying pseudo-rollercoaster ride of her life, was a good piece of advice. By the time the hunk of metal screeched to a sharp halt in front of a large, circular vault door, she was ready to hurl up the contents of her meagre breakfast. Shizune placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, then moved towards the door with Blorgrod. The goblin held up a gnarly finger to the metal, then moved it downwards until a series of patterns separated under his touch. She winced at the horrible screeching sound that the movement made. "Vault 569, you have ten minutes."
Shizune thanked him brusquely, then pushed Tenten forwards gently.
Tenten, for the life of her, could not fathom the logic behind the sight that greeted her. Inside Vault 569 were piles upon piles of pure, sparkling gold. A sea of jewels, coins (coins!), shimmering trinkets and odd knick-knacks swam around in her vision, nearly blinding her. Her lips went dry. "What-What's all this?" She asked Shizune.
"It's all yours."
"No," she shook her head, finally tearing her eyes away from the treasures, "I don't own anything, much less all this."
Shizune had that uncomfortable look on her face again. "It belongs to your family, Tenten. They left it all behind, for you."
Well.
That was new information.
"Are you sure?" Tenten didn't want to get her hopes up too soon, lest she return to the dejection of losing a prospective family again.
The lady shrugged, though her expression was grim and resolute. "Rumour has it, only the descendants of this particular line will be able to step foot into this vault without being completely shut out. I myself would have only been able to walk in because you did."
"I-"
"Two minutes," Blorgrod informed them snootily. So, exactly two minutes later, they'd gathered up a sizeable amount of coins into a leather pouch that Shizune had procured from her coat, returned to the wild rollercoaster ride, and were stepping back into the sunlight with the pouch of coins jingling against Tenten's side.
Only then, when they were out of the vicinity of Bank, had she summed up enough courage to question Shizune about her heritage again.
"Perhaps we should discuss this matter in private," Shizune replied vaguely. They walked into an open-spaced ice-cream parlour filled to the brim with chatty witches and wizards from around the globe. It was, as she suddenly realised, a hot summer's day today. Tenten was thankful for the rest-stop.
Shizune ordered two strange-looking sundaes from the floating menu, pressed a few coins into the shop-keeper's hands, then ducked her head down to speak to her in a low voice. "Tenten. What I am about to discuss with you is highly sensitive information. You cannot, in any circumstances, release this information to anyone. Believe me when I say that only a few people know about your true identity-"
"Excluding me," Tenten interrupted impatiently, but nodded nonetheless.
"Yes," the woman nodded, "Even you do not know how you truly are." She took in a deep breath, frowned at the bustling crowd around them, then extracted her wand and muttered, "Muffliato." Nothing happened.
"What did you just do?"
"Silencing Charm. Never mind that. Listen. Eleven years ago, a dark, dark wizard rose to the heights of his power, and led one of the most horrifying massacres in magical history. Thousands of men, women and children were slaughtered under his rule; nobody was exempt, save for the purebloods."
"Purebloods?"
"Magical folk who descend from purely-magical lines. There are three, widely-believed, categories of blood magic: muggle, half-blood, and pureblood. There are, of course, absolutely redundant notions and attitudes associated with each type, with 'purebloods' being the most prized amongst supremacists. This Dark Lord, in particular, believed that only those of a pure line of magic were allowed to practise magic, and that everybody else defiled the wizarding name. False claims, Tenten, these are false. Some of the greatest witches and wizards in the world are muggleborns."
Tenten took a hesitant sip out of her sundae, letting the fizzing sensation travel through her body. This was an awful lot of information to pass down in one day. Shizune, who had been close to tears before, composed herself.
"What-uh, what happened to this Lord?"
"That's the thing," her voiced lowered to a hushed whisper, even though they were already, allegedly silent to those around them, "Nobody really knows. All reports of his activities ceased eleven years ago, when he attacked a small wizarding family in Godric's Hollow, a village. Rumour has it," Kami, there were a lot of rumours in this world, "that he was destroyed by a toddler."
"A toddler," Tenten said flatly, "A toddler killed this Dark Lord?"
"You seem doubtful," Shizune noted, "Many were, but his disappearance and this little boy's survival was more than enough proof to most people. We hope, dearly hope, that he is gone forever. And, that's where you come into the picture."
"Me?" This story would have been the most ridiculous of them all, had Tenten not already witnessed the mechanisms of the wizarding world first-hand.
"Yes, you." Another deep breath. "You, Tenten, are his daughter."
"No." Tenten said immediately. How could she possibly be the daughter of a mass-murderer? "That's not true. There's no proof. Why me? How did he even have enough time to procreate, on top of killing off half of the world? I can't-"
"You can't believe it," Shizune finished swiftly, the uncomfortable expression returning. "He was known to have...procreated, as you so aptly put it, during his younger years. Profusely. And, for some unknown reason, chose to leave all of his belongings to you."
Tenten shook her head, several times, then some more, then pushed the sundaes away from her. She felt her lips wobble uncontrollably, and felt a moist pressure dribbling down her cheeks. "Disgusting," she said, "I'm disgusting."
"No," Shizune frowned, "You're innocent. Children don't choose their parents, but you can choose how to move down your own path by yourself." Though the woman's words were logical, it suddenly struck Tenten that Shizune was terrible at comforting traumatised children.
"I'm a predetermined killer. You can't change what you already have." She was eleven, for Kami's sake! Who tells an eleven-year-old child that their father is a mass-murderer, and hope that she'll be fine with it? What if she went along with her nature? Her calling?
"But you don't have the makings of a killer, Tenten. You can make yourself."
"Why did you even tell me all this? What is the point of burdening me with this, so early on? Couldn't you have waited for me to grow up? I'm eleven tomorrow! What is wrong with you?"
Shizune breathed in and out again, "Would you rather that I lied? I've only known you for a few hours, but you've never struck me as someone who appreciates lies."
Tenten sat back, chest still heaving from the revelations of the day, and the sudden, lead-like weight on her chest.
This Dark Lord, a ruthless killer, was her father. She would rather take another rejection than acknowledge that fact. Even she didn't want to accept her heritage, now that she knew. Now that her questions were finally answered, after a decade's worth of questioning, she wanted to take it all back and return to her previous, ignorant state. She pawed at the tears, still flowing down her face, grabbed a tissue from the table, and wiped down her face miserably.
Because, even with all of this information, Tenten thirsted for more.
After a long period of silence, during which Tenten hiccupped her way through her sundae and ignored the concerned looks of passers-by, and Shizune guiltily nibbled on a biscuit, "Who was my mother?"
"I don't know," Shizune responded silently. "Her identity was kept a secret from the world, much like yours is now."
What if Tenten knew her parents? What if they'd all, under an unlikely chance, lived in harmony with each other and celebrated her birthdays together, and their anniversaries?
"What was my father's name then?" Surely, Shizune would know.
"I don't know that either. He operated under a pseudonym, and revealed his name to no one."
Maybe she would have known who her father was. Perhaps he was a gentle soul before he rose to power. Unlikely, yes, but Tenten wanted to hope, of all things. She had a surname, but it was hidden in the pages of history; she didn't know which pages to read or know anyone who could tell her. Tenten was the nameless orphan yet again, stuck with a key that would only lead to her a vault of gold. That thought alone filled her with sadness, mixed with a hint of anger. She didn't want gold, not when she had a family to look for!
"Then, what was his pseudonym?"
The woman seemed terrified at the mere thought of saying his name out loud. "I-" Tenten stared at her pleadingly. Murderer though this man was, he was the only link she had to a family. "Don't make me say this more than once."
"Izanagi." Shizune held a hand to her heart while taking deep, heaving breaths.
"Izanagi?" Tenten parroted out loud.
"Tenten, p-please-"
"Right, sorry. Sorry," though she wasn't exactly sure why, "How come you..." She made a hand motion instead of elaborating, which Shizune accepted.
"Most of us don't like to say his name. It...brings back bad memories. Terrible memories," she seemed to notice the reappearance of Tenten's sadness, as she clasped her shoulder comfortingly, "Like I said earlier: you control your own fate, Tenten. It doesn't matter what your parents did, because you are not them."
"Why would you tell me all of that, when I can't even say who my parents are in public without being shunned?"
Shizune had no reply for that.
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