章 32: Heritage
7 Advanced chapters on Patreon: Fiction Haven
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"You are trying to find a way to monitor the content of the Lestrange Family Vault?"
"Yes. It will be better if you even can seize it."
"Are you serious? We have a treaty we don't want to break with the Goblins. We have agreed to let them manage our money in their way. There are terms we should abide by. They cherish their client's privacy, so peeking into other's vaults is hard. And you are asking me to seize them? Sorry, Son, that's impossible."
Harry sighed disappointedly at the uselessness of the man who fathered him, James Potter. Even though he was a Minister, he couldn't do anything to help them. Harry had told Dumbledore that Riddle might entrust one of his Horcruxes to his lieutenants. They had come to meet James in the hope that James could help them check into the imprisoned lieutenants' vaults. Unfortunately, James couldn't do anything.
"What about creating a new law? Make a law where the Ministry holds the ownership of the family's vault whose Family Head commits a grave crime, enough to put them in Azkaban," Harry suggested.
"The Wizengamot members will vehemently deny it," James shook his head. "They will see it as an attempt to control the Noble Houses, especially those whose family heads had been involved in a crime or two. Should I enforce it still, they would overthrow me, making the situation all the more complicated."
Harry turned to Dumbledore and the old man shook his head regrettably. "What do you think about breaking into Gringotts?"
"Do you want to get our family banned from the bank?" James looked at Harry incredulously.
Dumbledore only chuckled with sparkling eyes. Harry clicked his tongue. He didn't want to give up Gryffindor's sword to Griphook just to peek into the Lestrange vault. It would be worth it if the cup was there, but if it wasn't, it would be a great loss. Even though he didn't have any use of the sword, he would rather keep it than store it away.
"Is there no way to legally acquire the vault?"
"Actually, there is an unorthodox way of doing that."
"If it's through a marriage, you can say goodbye to that idea. The Lestrange heirs are all in Azkaban."
"Ah, no. That's not what I mean. You can declare a blood feud against the Lestrange."
"That thing exists?"
Harry's incredulous remark made James and Dumbledore curious, but none of them said anything. Harry didn't know such a thing existed because it was never mentioned in the book or the movie. Even if there was a blood feud, it wouldn't be magically binding. Intrigued, Harry immediately urged James to explain.
The law regarding blood feuds was simple: whatever the result was, the Ministry wouldn't be responsible for it. Blood Feud was a magically binding oath. Whoever started it must finish it unless he was willing to concede his possession to the challenged. The challenged family could never refuse as refusing would mean forfeiting everything it had.
What made Blood Feud quite tricky was the aides. The challenged family could request the aid of three allied families and the challenging family was allowed to get two. If push comes to shove, the aid families could declare Blood Feud against the others, making the feud even more convoluted. This was why the Ministry suggested solving interfamily matters through negotiation.
"No, Harry. You can't do that. You have to be a family head to declare Blood Feud," James deadpanned even before Harry could say anything. "Although I don't mind handing the family head position to you, I don't want you to put our family in danger. Forget the idea."
"Don't worry. I am not planning to do it under your family," Harry waved his hand dismissively.
"You can't claim as the head of Evans as Petunia has Dudley," James reminded. "Also, they are a Muggle family. You can't declare Blood Feud under a muggle family."
"Fuck…"
Dumbledore sighed and looked at James solemnly. "What do you think about telling the public about Voldemort's secrets, James?"
James had a reluctant look. While it could be a great reason to seize the Lestrange family vault, it would create a panic. On top of that, they might agitate the Voldemort and his followers. They would terrorise the people and the Ministry would be the one to blame. What was worse would be the number of victims of said terrorism.
As James and Dumbledore thought about a way to get into the Lestrange vault, Harry suddenly exclaimed, "Aha! I have figured it out."
Quest: Declare Blood Feud against the Lestrange and win!
Reward: The Lestrange's riches
"You have figured it out? How?"
Aid: Wakey-Wakey Lazy
Prerequisite: Gather four phials of dragon blood from ten different kinds of dragons and inject them into your body!
"I need dragon blood from four different kinds of dragons."
P.S. The more diverse the kinds are the better the effect of the aid is.
"Scratch that, make it ten!"
"…what are you planning?"
"Something amazing, James."
With a mischievous laugh, Harry stood up. He didn't know what Wakey-Wakey Lazy would give him, but he was sure it would help him in his quest. Dumbledore watched as Harry left the office and turned to James. Their eyes met, asking what happened to Harry. They didn't have the answer. However, they had decided to help Harry gather dragon blood.
…
Much to Harry's chagrin, gathering dragon blood took longer than he expected. It would have been quicker if he had settled with mediocre dragons, but he didn't want that. He had specially requested to James and Dumbledore that they only brought him the blood of the wildest dragons. They did as requested and it took them two months to accomplish.
"Now, what are you going to do with them, Harry?" Dumbledore gestured at the ten phials of Dragon blood Harry was holding.
"I will tell you if you tell me all your secrets," Harry said nonchalantly.
"Sorry for asking," Dumbledore sighed.
Harry ignored the old man and exited his office with Bella and Lily in tow. Harry had almost died in his last ritual and he had learnt from the experience. He had requested Bella and Lily to look over him during the ritual. Although Kowalski had assured him from time to time it would never harm him, it wouldn't hurt to be extra careful. Besides, Kowalski might not harm him, but the rituals would.
The trio made their way to the Room of Requirement. As soon as the door opened, they were greeted by a vast room full of stone. It was the same room that Harry had used to destroy Ravenclaw's Diadem. Their last memory of the room wasn't exactly pleasant, so they were quite wary. They didn't want Harry to attempt another stupid shite, which he would do, unfortunately.
"All right, ladies. Sink your fang into me!" Harry exclaimed as he took off his shirt. When he noticed the hungry look in the women's eyes, he quickly clarified, "No, no, no! I mean, help me inject the blood into my veins."
"What?" Lily shouted. "Do you realise what you are doing?"
"You are going to burn yourself from the inside, sweetheart," Bella warned dangerously.
"I know." He didn't. "That's why I need my two life-saving angels." Despite the risk, he didn't back down.
Bella and Lily were not thrilled but respected Harry's decision regardless. Lily opened the phial and dipped her wand into it. Her wand absorbed the blood, emptying the phial. She asked Harry to give her his arm and then put the tip of her wand on one of his veins. Lily pushed her wand slightly, causing it to inject the dragon blood it had absorbed into Harry's veins.
"Ooh, that burns," Harry winced slightly. "Ah, please, make it quick, my sweet liquorice. I am afraid I would crumble before the last drop of blood enters my veins if you dilly-dally."
"That's why I told you it is a bad idea," Bella grumbled as she repeated what Lily did to the other arm.
Harry smiled at the two women helping him. They didn't agree with his decision but still helped him. They respected his decision. They were strong but caring. They were prideful but listened to him. He was lucky to have them…which was why he didn't want to die.
Fuck, it's painful. Why is every ritual more painful than the previous ones? Oh, Merlin! I don't want to die, but if I have no choice, let me die between Lily's tits!
Harry's lazy smile began to erode as a grimace was replacing it. Bella and Lily began to get worried but kept doing their tasks. By the time they were done, Harry was frowning harshly. His skin was red and his veins were light blue. His emerald eyes shone brighter than ever. His eyes were the only reason Lily and Bella didn't fret over him.
"Lily, Bella, get away from me!"
Burst!
As soon as Harry shouted, he was engulfed in fire. Lily and Bella were shocked but were forced to move away when the flame exploded. Fearing for the worst, they stared at the burning figure wide-eyed. Maybe, the room already knew it was going to happen, which was why everything was made of stone.
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