Chương 30: Entering the Vault & Family
We travel along the rollercoaster known as the Gringotts mining car railway system and go down a lift shaft. I think we went down for 30 minutes.
'Isn't it canonically that the noble vaults are only supposed to be a couple of levels below? And only like a 10-minute fast cart ride?' I thought, unsure of what was happening.
We arrive at a huge vault that could be more accurately called a literal mountain, considering its raw size.
I estimated the thing to be about 1829 Meters(6000 feet) tall and just as wide. This thing is more than twice the height of the tallest tower in Dubai in my old world.
"So, is the vault in that building?" asks my mother, Martha, in an incredulous tone, not believing the sheer size of the thing.
"That is the vault." Said Grashnak, trying to keep calm but just as bewildered.
We all splutter as we crane our necks to look up the bloody mountain of a thing.
"Excuse me? I think I misheard you 'cause I could've sworn I heard that you said that mountain in front of us is the vault." I said with an incredulous tone.
"You are not mistaken. That behemoth in its entirety is your family vault." Said the goblin
"I expected something grand Aurelius, but I don't think anyone was prepared for this." Said a still dazed Nagini.
We all just dumbly nod.
"Well, I must remain here as your family vault is very strict on preventing outsiders from entering the vault." Said the head teller.
"Sorry about that," I told him on reflex.
"Think nothing of it; you've already compensated me for the extra workload, and as for waiting, this cart, in particular, houses an expansion charm that I may remain in as I await your return." Said the Goblin with a wave.
We nod and turn, heading to the mountain, and I place my hand on the door.
"I, heir Aurelius Galegold Evans Valriss Aulus, desire to enter my family's vault with my family members," I said proudly.
The door begins glowing with symbols that I am unfamiliar with and then reverts to normal, and then we hear a series of locks being unlocked, and the door then opens by sliding away to the side.
What everyone's first thought of what they'd see would be a massive vault that housed an uncountable amount of coins piled near the entrance, but to their astonishment, it looked something more akin to an office building that has hallways spanning the entire distance with a series of map guides that seemed to follow them as they traveled.
The vault had an expansion charm that was designed much like the Hogwarts Galegold house, with multiple smaller rooms that used undetectable expansion charms that dwarfed Hogwarts. It's like comparing a mountain to a planet. It's still absurdly large, but it just can't compare.
"Well, I think it's safe to say that this place is massive, but organized enough with the use of the map, we should always be able to find a meeting place. This guide at least lets us remember how to get to a said location, so keep this on you, and you can move around freely. Just avoid damaging things or drinking unknown liquids." I said half-jokingly at the end.
"Agreed, I suppose it would be fine if we take a gander at some of the rooms. And when Aurelius is finished, he can use a point-me charm." Said Ann, who got her bearings the quickest.
"Do you wish for me to accompany the ladies or you, Aurelius?" asked my totem guardian.
"I think you should accompany them. We don't know if something will require someone who can use magic to activate or mend the situation." I said contemplative.
We all agree and separate. He passed by several doors that read.
Feoh: gold, sicol & cnutas.(Money: gold, sickle & knuts.)
Gewritu: landarecednessa & cyricsceadungas. (Documents: property deeds & contracts.)
Officina: materiae primae, materiae factae, schemata, ultimae res, potionis & inventiones. (Factory: raw materials, produced materials, schematics, final products, potions & inventions)
Mægðrīm: foregengan, cynnstæf & snotornes wōrd.(Family history: ancestors, family tree & words of wisdom)
Magia: incantationes, ritus & imaginatio. (Magic: spells, rituals & imagination)
"It's nice that the doors are labeled, but most of it is in Olde English and Latin. Man, it is lucky that the family magic is essentially a universal language translator in speech, reading, and writing."
'Aurelius,' said my totem guardian, using our mental link.
'What's up?' I said.
'I never realized it until, but why can I read the door signs? Your mothers are starting to be able to read it to some extent, but it reads as easily as if it were English for me.' Said the Asian woman in confusion.
'Must be your exposure to reading magic books and being my magic guardian, but there is a convenient little thing about my family magic that essentially speeds up our ability to understand any language with enough exposure. The nice thing about it is that it has training wheels, so to speak. The magic translates it for you by using your body to listen, read, write, and say your thoughts in the desired language. It creeps me out a bit, but it's super handy. The thing that sucks is that you have to think of the entire sentence before you can speak. It takes time for the brain to understand everything, so you'll likely have a bit of a headache for that whole time of being heavily immersed in the said language, shoving all that information into your brain. Eventually, that information will be part of your knowledge, and you won't need the magic. I find that reading books, dictionaries, and thesauruses helps reduce the process by two days. Granted, it will likely take you the full two days to read those books, so it might not be helpful; however, it does allow you to use more sophisticated speech.'' Said Aurelius, explaining his experience.
'So, is this a one-and-done thing, or does it adjust when exposed to new words?' said a curious Nagini.
'From what I can tell, it's a one-and-done thing. Whenever I see a new word, it just seems like a new word that I decide to learn or not; however, keep in mind that it functions like a school course, so the magic will decide that you've learned a sufficient amount to turn off. That's why immersing yourself in the language is recommended instead of baby steps. Also, remember that you won't understand the grammatical structure when writing. It does that by itself, and you'll have to figure it out or learn their language structure by reading.' Aurelius explained.
'Alright, thanks Aurelius. Talk to you when I see you.' Said Nagini.
'Right.' I said, cutting off the link.
After walking through the door saying factory, he comes to a large hallway that houses several doors with names saying raw materials, produced materials, schematics, final products, potions, and inventions.
He went to the door titled produced materials. The items were placed like that of a warehouse on shelves that shot up like skyscrapers.
"Bloody hell, how am I supposed to get up there and come down with the stuff I'd need?"
I imagine someone trying to grab a suit of armor from all the way to the top and somehow manage to bring it down using a broom.
"Hmm, I wonder. Lift?"
Suddenly, an actual lift came rushing at me like a missile faster than I could move, making me wonder if I'd die by getting hit by a lift. He expected it to be the night bus since Truck-kun was in Japan.
It comes to a stop just a few feet in front of me. I let go of the breath I didn't realize I was holding.
"Bloody hell, I thought I was going to die. Well, at least I will get to live a little longer. Please don't tell me that is what it'll be while traveling in the lift. If it goes that quickly, I might prefer just going up and down with a broom. Maybe I can lower the speed accordingly? After all, there had to be at least elders who couldn't handle riding the thing. I hope there are buttons, or perhaps it responds to magic or voice commands. After all, it came to me when I said it." I said with some hope in my voice.
The door of the lift opens as I walk forward. Surprisingly, the elevator had buttons, but not for floors; it was only for speed. I pressed the speed of 5% and, while feeling like an idiot, told the lift to take me to where I could find metals related to dragon's armory.
The lift shoots off, to my surprise, at a diagonal, eventually reaching a speed of at least 17 meters per second(56 feet per second). I stumbled and ended up hitting the wall to keep myself upright.
I applied a sticking charm to my feet to keep myself from flying. Luckily, the lift was slowing down gradually rather than all at once. What dictates the damage is how fast you change in speed rather than the speed itself, so I was safe.
I did the calculations in my head while getting back my bearings. "Damn it, you old coots. They put the speed of the bloody lift that flew to me at just under Mach 1 when flying towards me. 5% of Mach 1, you've got to be absolutely bonkers. The lowest speed is 61.64 kph(38.3 mph). At least it gradually sped up and slowed down, but I crashed into the damn lift wall to find out.
While I was getting over my annoyance, I saw a mountain that was nearly half the damn size of the vault, of what I can only assume is rhenium and tungsten.
"Well, no wonder why so little of each material is found by muggles. All the bloody stuff is in this vault. And this isn't even the raw material. This is the produced material." I said in bewilderment.
I snap my fingers and place dozens upon dozens of ingots of each material into my bottomless bag.
"Whoever created the weightless enchantment, you have my thanks," I say in a thankful tone.
"Alright, I have all I need. I should go meet with the others." I said to myself.
I cast the point me spell to find where my mothers and Nagini are. My mothers in my family history ancestors are apparently in the family history room. I enter to see my mothers conversing with my mother.
"Hello, ladies. What's happening here?" I asked, slightly bewildered.
"Hello dear. We were talking with this portrait of your mother. Do the proper thing and greet her." Said Martha.
"Hello Mother, Cyprah Galegold. Is it safe to assume you've been informed about me in great detail?" I said in a respectful tone.
"Oh posh, none of that noble pleasantry. I'm your mother, not some stuffy noble that can't speak to the common folk. We were always merchants before we were nobles." Said a mildly annoyed Cyprah.
"Understood, well mom, how are you? And how has your portrait come to be? To my knowledge, the moving portrait wasn't invented until centuries after your time." Aurelius said curiously.
"Huff, of course, your first thought is why something exists before you ask more normal questions," says an exasperated Ann.
"Think nothing of it, Ann; it is simply our nature as Galegold." Said Cyprah.
"As for your question, I suppose you could say that I invented the first and only moving portrait of its time, which was never known. I thought it prudent to have something to pass on experience and knowledge if you were to be the last. After all, despite my efforts, the only thing given to you was written text injected into your mind." Said a somewhat saddened portrait.
"Okay, and I guess I should attempt to ask more normal questions as my mother suggests," I said, bemused.
"Who is my father?" I said without hesitation.
My other mother, Martha, is flabbergasted.
"That's your normal question?!? That's like saying 'hi, how are you?' and then immediately smashing them in the gut with a bludger." Said Martha.
"Well, I feel like it was prudent to ask questions that are quick to answer and give as much potentially important information as possible," I said while shrugging my shoulders, not caring.
The portrait sighs. "While I do find the reasoning sound, and sometimes there is no easy way to enter some subjects; however, in this instance, I must agree with your mothers. A bit more tact would do even if I said to speak to me in a more casual manner." Said an exasperated Cyprah.
"I find that it is often better to experience a painful thing shortly than mull over it as long as the consequences are acceptable," I said, raising a point.
"Fair enough, I suppose." Says Cyprah.
"Well, to answer your question. Your father was Salazar Slytherin." She said
"Why am I not surprised?" Said a jaded Nagini. "However, it does surprise me that you didn't inherit the ability of parseltongue."
Cyprah interrupts Nagini before she can continue. "I'm not so sure about that. Nagini, as you've told me the details about your meeting. You've told me that you willingly submitted to my son. And had drank the potion that cured your maledictus shortly after. There is a chance that you awakened it for him." Said a contemplative Cyprah.
"Huh, how?" I said incredulously
"As you should know, there are some benefits for a willing participant; the first one is always a mental bond that allows direct communication. But some effects that happen to them may also happen to you as well. For example, my grandfather had inherited enhanced vision when his totem guardian's hawk's vision had improved." Said my portrait mother.
"The potion you took was known as the mutatio elixir. It can alter, improve, or remove traits. There is a chance you now have access to something hidden within your blood that wasn't already available. Perhaps none, some, or perhaps all of them. only time will tell." My mother said with a What can ya do face and a shoulder shrug.
"Why is it that every time you do something obscenely absurd, you somehow get even more powerful for no reason? You've got the luck of the devil, I swear." Said an incredulous Nagini.
"I never understood that saying. The devil got the short end of the stick. He got cast out of heaven because he wanted to help humanity. He then quickly gets ostracized by the people who he attempted to aid. If that isn't a hero being turned into a villain arc of a story, I don't know what is." I said in contemplation.
"Okay, on a brighter note, we could test if my theory is correct. Can one of you cast the serpensortia spell?" asked Cyprah, trying to prevent the rabbit hole that was beginning to form.
"Sorry, Mother, but no one here knows how to cast the spell," I said.
"Oh well, I suppose another time then. Well, anyway, can someone inform me if our ancestral home is still intact and operational?" she asked, quickly jumping to the next topic.
"That we have yet to do, mother. We only found the manor's location today just before entering the family vault for the first time."
She sighs. "Well, I suppose it makes sense, or otherwise, I'd be furious that you hadn't come to see your family history and, by proxy, me."
"Oh, and I have a few more questions, if you don't mind." Said Ann.
"Go ahead, Ann. I'm curious." Said the portrait.
"Why did you make your ritual for Aurelius last so long?" Ann said.
"Please give me some details here. I don't understand your meaning. It was only a couple of years." Said Cyprah Galegold, confused about why it mattered.
There was a lengthy silence.
"Should I tell her?" asked Ann
"You'll have to eventually. Just rip the band-aid off quickly." Said Martha.
"We received a letter from Lily Evans that supposedly said you were a witch from the time of the Hogwarts founders….. That was 1011 years ago." Ann said.
"What?!? How?!? Salazar and I looked over it. It should've lasted two years at maximum. Granted, we did it over a temple with a magic leyline, but we considered that when doing the calculations. I was meticulous in preparations, so how?" my portrait mother said in absolute bewilderment.
"Well, it appears to simply be an unknown anomaly that would rarely occur or shouldn't have occurred, but at least the only issue was the duration was much longer than intended." Said, Martha
When Nagini sees Aurelius using his contemplating gaze,
'Master, what's on your mind?' Nagini says on their mental link
'Should I tell them about my being in this world?' I asked.
'It seems rather unnecessary. And could raise some questions you don't have the answers to,' said a confused and surprised Nagini.
'No doubt in my mind that should my origins be told at large, some people will attempt to duplicate my mother's actions; however, it will likely fail to get similar results, so they may think my mother, Cyprah, did some incredibly dark things. The most likely thought would be, 'What could she have possibly done to get such a result?'.'
'Not necessarily, as your mother Martha said, it should've never occurred. And it can be treated as a freak accident. After all, many rituals are performed on a leyline but don't have as long-lasting results.' She said in response.
'I have my suspicions that someone put me here. It's all too coincidental that I'd be put right in the same year as the story's protagonist this world aligns with.' I told her in consideration.
'You're likely right that someone manipulated your placement, but it isn't necessarily the worst thing either. You already have a great life and enjoy the adventures of the stories you've read. Escapism to the extreme, so to speak.' Nagini said in response.
'It is left up to speculation both for us and others. But what if they attempt to test their theory using what they thought my mother would've used to get such an extreme result?' I told in concern.
'Like?' she said, trying to yank my thoughts out of me.
'Like sacrificing a few hundred people.' I said, showing my other concern.
'Oh, that is indeed worrisome. It could be even larger but remember that only those who don't believe what you said is the truth. That it could've been an unknown anomaly, and you have no clue. Even If you were right that someone with substantial strength could toss you here.' She said.
'Why must my life be so troublesome? The only way I can think of preventing that is by showing that it is impossible by creating the most powerful ritual that wouldn't be able to accomplish what my mother did, but my presence at this time would argue against it.' I said while sighing.
'I agree, making anyone believe it is impossible is hard, but its difficulty will dissuade most. And for the loons who are smart enough and wish to go further, they'll realize that it is impossible, even with darker means. So, you won't have to say you were brought to this world by some higher being. It will be simply a miracle case. Besides, you could always take others to the temple and show everyone Cyprah's notes for making the ritual. In the worst case scenario, have the Wizengamot toss the person into Azkaban after all punishments are also the deterrents of society,' she said with confidence.
'Thanks, Nagini. It helped clear my thoughts a lot.'
'Anytime. Perhaps there will be other means to help you in the future, but for now, this will have to do.' She chirped before finishing off in a more seductive tone.
'Damn it, woman, you're lucky I haven't hit puberty. I have no wish to show any of my mothers a tent appearing in my pants.' I said, annoyed.
'It's not like you won't be able to reduce the effect since you're a partial metamorphagus. Besides, you're a natural occlumens. Reducing blood flow shouldn't be difficult.' she said with a mischievous smirk.
I cut my mothers off by telling my portrait mother our plans and that she can be placed inside the ancestral home when it is fully prepared.
"Oh, dear, no, from what I understand from what your mothers have told me, your moving portraits can travel to another linked portrait. So, there is a chance that is all that is necessary." She said.
"Well, I guess that will be a good choice. As well," said Aurelius
"Okay, well, I have the materials, and we will need to manufacture the rings and bracelets as quickly as possible, so we will need to take our leave."
"Oh, so you're getting into metal craft. Do remember that there is some stuff that is hidden within our manor that it would best that the goblins remain unaware of." My mother said cryptically.
"Can you explain in detail?" I asked while waiting for a longer response.
"Where's the fun in that?" She says with amusement in her voice
"I will never understand why some people must be cryptic when it isn't necessary," I said with an annoyed tone
"Well, anyway, we shall take our leave. Talk to you later, mother. We'll get that portrait for you to jump to by the time the manor is working at full capacity." I said.
"Goodbye, son, it was pleasant talking with all of you." My mother said while we left, waving to her.
They all leave the room.
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