Capítulo 43: Tranversing the ancestral mansion
We have an elf apparate us to the location and come to see this stunning manor that could be something more akin to a palace in design. The place was absurdly massive to the point that it might as well be a university with a gate that likely shrouds the entire palace.
"Umm Aurelius? How are we supposed to find these hidden things that we should hide away from the manor until it is reconstructed? Also, does it even need to be fixed? It looks fine. The plants certainly have overgrown but surprisingly haven't even touched the manor," Asked Nagini.
"Honestly, not a clue. My best guess would be to accept ownership as the head of the Galegold manor and request items that should not be shown to goblin eyes." Said Aurelius.
"That does seem to be a pretty common theme with how your family does things, so that might very well be the case," said Martha.
"I agree, especially since in all families, the head of the family always has special privileges and freedom of control over how the house functions. Let's try that, but if it doesn't, we'll just have to look at all the clues and assumptions we made early on before coming here. Remember, we have about two days before we have to meet with the goblins to have a look at our home, but we can simply cancel the appointment if we see no need." Said Ann.
"Well, we will need renovations, not necessarily a reconstruction; after all, we need to have up-to-date defenses, so at the very least, the minimum will be an absurdly strong amount of wards and charms. I will want physical defenses and modern things that were likely, not available during its time, like a television, computer, traps, etc." I said.
"Really? No offense to muggles, but I've never cared for much of their tech, like computers. They are far too slow and inconsistent with the results and downloading files, and it is genuinely faster to go to a library or talk with them using a phone," said Ann.
"Hmm, perhaps?" I said aloud in thought.
"What's on your mind?" said Ann.
He responded to her. "Well, you said about computers being slow. I might be able to speed it up and even have it constructed to function solely on magical runes instead. As for file delivery, I thought perhaps I should look into creating a miniaturized version of a vanishing cabinet, but that would be very tedious. Perhaps one that can work with multiple different resonating frequencies? Or perhaps, just put many things together, put it into an extension charm into a container, put its contents inside, then send it in using a shrinking charm; this could be something like a P.O. mailbox on a shelf that contains multiple different boxes that the contents slide into."
"Well, there he goes again," says Martha with a sigh.
"He does have a tendency to ignore his surroundings and think aloud, doesn't he," said Ann with the same sigh.
"Well, let's get to it, I suppose," said Ann.
Martha grabs Aurelius like a sack of potatoes on her shoulder.
"Huh?" says Aurelius in surprise, just realizing he was being carried.
"Good, you're still with us. Confirm your ownership and all that before you go into your hypotheses." Said Ann.
"Oh right," said Aurelius.
"Alright, this should be it. I'm curious what the defenses will be like or if they will be degraded. Let me go first; it either won't attack, or I will be able to deactivate them to allow you passage." Said Aurelius
"Alright." Said Martha while the others nodded.
I walk forward towards the manor. I place my hand on the handle of the gates to push them open and then repeat the process with the front doors, and it takes a few moments. I can feel the manor drawing out magic from my hand for what I can only assume to be an analysis. From what I can tell, it was finished, and the front door was unlocked. "Tilly and Nagini Galegold, Ann Galegold, and Martha Galegold, you may enter."
The house doesn't show any signs of protest, and I feel the magic do something akin to shuddering. I guess the house is trying to accept my family since I've designated them as such. Since they aren't family by blood, it seems like it is a little less smooth.
"Alright, we'll be going to look for either the forge or the library. Either one should give us a book on the topic that should give us an idea of what we're working with," said Aurelius.
We arrived at the library.
"The book should do something about finding a metal that is akin to goblin steel or absorbing material to be stronger," I said to them.
Suddenly, a book shot out and hit the palm of my hand while I was talking.
"Huh, it looks like your family already had something in mind when it came to searching for books. I must say that it is rather enviable for anyone who knows what it's like to scour a library like Hogwarts, which has no rhyme or reason for its structure." Said the somewhat annoyed and amazed Nagini.
The house elf just nods dumbly.
I turn the book to see its title.
The book was titled New Goblin Steel? by Octavian Galegold. He opens the thin book at a passage.
<I finally found it in a metal combination that has similar properties to that of goblin steel. I was dabbling with random blends of metals, testing out what would happen. I wanted to use Dragon's Armory. After all, it is our family's strongest metal alloy, but it turns out that Dragon's Armory was effectively useless for imbuing property-changing abilities into the metal. It was a failure, so with a random nagging thought, why not use the components that make it? It turns out that tungsten was too stubborn and rejected anything that changed its inherent properties. However, rhenium, the far more volatile metal, stabilized itself by taking on properties of what's built into it, so I thought there was a chance to build something with it. I tested tens of different materials, but then I got the crazy idea of using just about anything in the shop. Eventually, I used a molten mix of the waste material that we put into a scrap pile that looked like oil paint as a joke. I had no idea it would actually be the answer to the damn thing. I have no idea why it works, but it does. Unfortunately, the oil-like material that, while not small, wouldn't be enough to create more than a few suits of armor or a dozen swords.>
"Yes," Aurelius said in pure excitement.
"What's going on, Aurelius?" asked a curious Nagini.
"According to his description, one of my ancestors, called Octavian, used this oil paint-looking substance to create a property adopting metal. I believe that this substance is molybdenum," I told her with excitement.
"We're going to need a little more context." said his bemused family members.
"Okay, simply put, I wanted to be able to have an item like the sword of Godrick Gryffindor, but that sword, according to the sorting hat, has an enchantment that only a Gryffindor is able to call upon it, and only in times of great need, which means in life-or-death cases," I said.
"What's so special about his sword? I thought the only thing interesting thing about it was that it was supposedly made of goblin steel." Said Martha.
"That's part of it, but a very unique attribute about goblin steel is that it can absorb the properties of materials that it has assimilated into itself. So, let's say, for example, if you fed the sword poison, it would be a poisonous sword." I said.
"Okay, so basically, you now have a way to make yourself a goblin steel sword or rather the Galegold equivalent, but why not just get a goblin steel sword? You are already a friend of the goblin nation," asked Ann confused.
"And I want to keep it that way. The thing about goblins is that their creations are theirs and theirs alone. Whoever purchased the sword is merely paying the commission for their services and then is being lent the sword. Anything else is considered theft in their eyes. That's why Godrick Gryffindor had a falling out with the goblins." I informed them.
"Okay, but why does that matter? You literally could have it lent out to you indefinitely. It's not like the money dealt out for that purpose wouldn't diminish your coffers enough to be even called pocket change for you." Continued Ann.
"That's the thing. I want to use my family's methods and materials to make a virtually indestructible sword that has the powers of goblin steel." Telling them the pros of making the Galegold version.
"I see, so you don't want to worry about the sword and its secrets to get into others' hands." Said a thoughtful Nagini.
"Yeah," said Aurelius in response.
"Okay, one question," asked Martha.
"Shoot." Said Aurelius.
"Why do you even need a sword? Especially one that is so costly to make." Continued Martha.
I immediately activated my time dilation bubble to give me more time. 'I'm smart, but how do I lie about wanting to create a Horcrux-destroying weapon? Right, I don't need to tell them it's for a specific purpose; I just need to give them enough details that make it appear that I have no specific reason, but I can see it being useful,' I thought to myself while realizing the time bubble.
"If I ever need to make something absorb the properties of another thing, it would be beneficial to have. For example, take a phoenix tear; there is a chance that the item will gain the properties of the effects of a phoenix tear. That sounds invaluable. And should I never need a sword or dagger, I'd want it to be something like goblin steel." I said
Ann was skeptical if that was my true reason, but my point was still valid, so she let it be. "All right, that is a fair reason," said Ann.
"Well, anyway, I think I understand what he couldn't figure out that he stated," I said with confidence.
"That would be?" asked Martha.
"The nature of the oil paint-like substance in our body in trace amounts serves the purpose in the human body, which is to process what is called DNA or basically the building blocks of organic material. The element that is used in Dragon's armory, rhenium, is volatile enough to take upon the properties of the material that it merges with to stabilize itself. So, with this combination, he made the only wizard equivalent to goblin steel. So now, I have an alloy that can register and absorb organic material and adapt it to the sword." Said an excited Aurelius.
"Huh, why did it take so long for them then? From what it sounds like, this is just the mixing of two metals." Said a skeptical Nagini.
"You see, it is the byproduct of processing for tungsten. It doesn't occur naturally, so it's very limited in supply, and it may not have occurred to them to use that waste. Well, it makes sense why the Galegold weren't made famous by this metalwork. This would've literally revolutionized wizard Britain if it weren't so limited." Said a surprised Aurelius.
Here's the basic breakdown of the situation in formula form. Showed Aurelius.
Dragons' armory = tungsten + rhenium
Galegold equivalent of goblin steel = rhenium + molybdenum(a byproduct of processing tungsten)
"Since it cannot be found naturally, this metal alloy would be almost strictly known to the Galegold. After all, this requires knowledge and capability to work with our metals. Also, it is done by the deliberate separation of the material of molybdenite. While that is far more common, being able to break it down would either take a smith or someone who can separate them using a ritual," said Aurelius
"Couldn't someone just transmute or transfigure them into separate items?" said a confused Nagini.
"No, while the art of transmutation is impressive, it is fundamentally about the conversion of the item to have different properties rather than the separation of the materials. Transfiguration is about changing the shape or form of an object. What this process does is break apart and separate the items into two distinct entities rather than changing anything about the items themselves," I told her.
"Wow, I didn't realize that metalworking was so complex. I always thought it was about just breaking up pieces of ore to turn into a single ingot that has a specific property and then shaping it into the desired item," said Martha.
"That is the simplest form of metalworking. You have to also make the individual metals and determine what pieces will be useful. And not all of it is immediately identifiable except by a master smith," said Aurelius.
"Let's keep going. This was hidden, and this certainly qualifies as one of the items we are looking for, but we still have yet to look at other areas of this absurdly large place for the rest. And how many again was it?" asked Martha.
"Four, five, or six items," said Aurelius.
"Right, well, let's get going then." Said Ann.
"I'm curious, do you think the lights aren't on because we haven't prompted for the lights to turn on?" asked Martha
".....lights," we all said in unison.
And a blinding amount of light appears.
"Well, that answers that question," I say while trying to blink the stars out of my eyes.
When we all get used to the light.
"I feel like we've been going on forever. Is it just me?" asked Martha.
"No, I do too. My family was rather fond of extension charms, and we saw the outside was as large as a palace, so this might go on for miles," said Aurelius.
"Ugh, I am not keen on doing that. Do you think this place has a lift?" Ann
"I wouldn't think so since that sounds like an accident waiting to happen, but let's try, LIFT!!!!" said Aurelius.
And to my astonishment, a lift shows up.
"Hmm, that would explain why the hallways are so large," said Martha.
"I'm still apprehensive, but if it works, it works," I said while entering the lift.
"Huh, it's surprisingly different from the one in the vault. Why do you think that is?" asked Martha
"Hmm, probably because since it is in a home, it has to adjust much more if someone appears or another lift appears in its way, so it adjusts accordingly," said Ann.
"Okay, take us to the forge," said Aurelius.
We ended up speeding up to the point that I was concerned we'd die crashing into the lift wall, but again, we ended up fine. It wasn't until about 10 minutes later, going at that speed, that we finally arrived.
We step out of the lift and make the same inquiry to find the things that the goblins shouldn't be aware of.
Four items were highlighted, the first being a pile of ores, a sword that looked amazingly untouched by time, a sheet of parchment that had some notes from the inventor of Galegold steel that didn't specify what metal he was working on, and a glove?
"Do you think those are what we're looking for? Well, aside from the fact that the manor literally highlighted them," said Martha, chuckling.
"Yeah, but I wonder if the sword is Galegold steel or a stolen goblin sword," I said.
"What's with the glove? It's metal, but it doesn't seem like much," said Nagini.
"Perhaps it's symbolic? Like maybe a glove of one of their former leaders?" said Ann.
"No, it's far too large for that to be the case," I said in response.
"Perhaps it's just a crafter's glove, but it uses some techniques unique to goblins?"
guessed Nagini.
"Yeah, I think that's probably closer," says Ann.
"Well, I don't have any knowledge of spells or items to identify specific charms placed on the item, so for now, until we find one, let's just hide it for now," I said.
"Is it really necessary? From what we saw, there is a super overgrown field, but this palace of a place looks like time hasn't even touched it. Even that glove hasn't faded away. Do you think perhaps it's the same case with the state of the Galegold house at Hogwarts?" asked Martha.
"That actually makes a lot of sense. The last person to have access to those places was my mother Cyprah, so it would make sense to enchant all those places if she intended to leave it to me should she pass and no one was to take care of me," I said.
"But from what we can tell, she expected you to be born at most two years later," said Ann.
"I agree; if anyone were to teach and raise you, it would've been your father, Salazar," Martha says, blinking.
"Is it just me, or does it feel weird saying one of the founders of Hogwarts name so casually?" asked Martha
"No, I felt it too," said Aurelius.
"Perhaps, but if I couldn't use any of it until I was of age, it would be irrelevant. If it were organized to be normal, then I wouldn't even gain access to the place until I was of age to take the name of the head of the house." I said in defence.
"Well, we found everything we wanted to find. We've surveyed the place to see that nothing seems to be in disrepair. Any other issues we can look into with the surveyor." Said Ann.
"I agree, it's time we went to bed. It's been a rather long day. We have finished all the accessories, so can we finally go home? I loved our time at Hogwarts and will probably ask them to cook for us occasionally if we feel like eating something we don't know how to cook, but it just isn't home," said Martha.
"I agree. I think it's time to return home and relax," said Ann.
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