4 Getting to know the family
1956.
When Harry opened his eyes the first thing he saw was a large room with nothing but portraits hanging on the walls. The portraits were blank - just a dark background and nothing more. Of all the paintings, four stood out, they were larger than the rest and richly decorated.
As he rose to his feet, Harry felt something rustle in his pocket. Pulling it out, he saw that it was a quadruple folded paper with the words, "Read it, Harry Potter" written on it. Unfolding the note, he began to read:
"Harry Potter!
As you may have guessed, I sent you at a time when Voldemort and Dumbledore had not yet begun their actions. You have six years to prepare yourself before their actions begin. After that time you will have to go to Hogwarts and deal with Dumbledore, as he is older and therefore much more dangerous and experienced than Voldemort. You have plenty of time, you will have everything you need - name, clan, finances, house, time, and help. Good luck, don't let me down! Your task is to send Dumbledore and Voldemort to my world. And most importantly, forget that you were once Harry Potter - the Boy Who Survived. There will be a Harry Potter in your time, sooner or later. You must appear at the family castle of the Peverells. You have a new appearance and a new name - Alexandros Peverell. Go to the ancestral stone and awaken it by dropping a few drops of your blood. After that go back to the portraits and wait for them to awaken, they will help, you can trust them, and they won't betray you. Ask them to tell you where the kin keeper is."
After reading the letter, Alexandros went to look for the birthstone. The boy didn't know where it was, but he reasoned that he should look in the lower levels of the castle and went there, looking around on the way. The castle was huge, but no one had lived in it for a long time, so it was dusty and cold, and the walls were cracked.
Descending to the lowest floor, Alex saw a long dark corridor and a large door at the end. When he reached the door and pushed it open, he stepped inside into a large, round, darkened room, which, despite the long absence of the owners, showed no signs of neglect. In the center of the room stood a pedestal on which rested a large black stone, which the boy understood was to be sprinkled with his blood, but Alex had nothing sharp enough to cut his palm. Not knowing what to do, the boy began to look around the room. Suddenly catching on a rock sticking out of the ground, he fell to the ground. The impact on his head made his eyes blurry. Coming back to reality, Peverell looked at the rock he had tripped over. It was sticking out of the ground, pointing arrow-like into the center of the room, and the tip of the stone appeared to be quite sharp. Pressing it hard with the index finger of his left hand, the boy jerked his hand away sharply. A warm red liquid flowed down his finger. As he approached the birthstone, Alexandros stood for a moment, struggling internally with his thoughts, but let a few drops of blood fall onto the smooth surface of the stone.
For the first few seconds nothing happened, then the stone glowed, and the liquid soaked into it, sizzling slightly. After that, the whole castle began to shake noticeably. Alex decided to go back to the portraits. As soon as he stepped out of the room, an old house elf appeared in front of him.
- Welcome to Peverell Manor, master, old Toby is glad to welcome the new master after so many years, - said the elf in a hoarse, aged voice.
- Thank you, Toby," thanked the Boy-who-is-already-not-a-boy-who-survived.
- I am the eldest of the house elves of Peverell Manor.
- And I seem to be the new Lord of Peverell, Alexandros," the young man introduced himself in turn.
- What is your command, Master?
- How many more elves are in the castle? - the young lord asked.
- Fifty, including me," Toby answered.
- I have awakened the birthstone, but no one has lived in this castle for a long time, so it is very dusty. Clean it up and take me to the portrait room," the boy asked, clearly trying not to be too strict, but not too soft either.
- That will be done," the housekeeper replied.
When Alex appeared in the room with the portraits, he noticed that now instead of emptiness there were different personalities on them, who were talking to each other. When the young man appeared, they all stopped talking and looked at him. Under the gaze of several dozen portraits, the young lord felt uncomfortable. Finally, the man in the largest painting began:
- Greetings boy, my name is Horace Peverell, and I am the founder of this family.
- Hello, my name is Alexandros and I am most likely the new lord of the Peverell family.
- I see the clan features on you, but I don't see the ring of the head of the clan on you," Horace said thoughtfully as if talking to himself rather than to someone else.
- Clan peculiarities? - Alex asked with surprise and curiosity.
- Clan traits are the things that distinguish each clan from the other, it can be: hair and eye color, face shape, mental characteristics - anything. The Peverell bloodline is white hair and dark blue eyes," Horace explained.
- I see," the boy nodded.
- Well, tell me how you got here. You're not wearing your ring, and you can't get here without it," asked the man from the other portrait. Alex hesitated.
- I don't even know how to start the story," he admitted.
- Don't worry and calm down. Start from the beginning - who you are, how you got here. Everything in order, - the man from the third portrait calmed him down.
These words helped the young lord calm down a little. Taking a deep breath, he began to talk about his life - how he was Harry Potter, his death, Dumbledore and Voldemort, his encounter with Death, and his purpose. The portraits didn't interrupt him, letting him speak. With every word the boy spoke, they grew darker and darker. When it came to the meeting with Death and the boy's purpose, Horace tilted his head approvingly. During the whole story, Alex tries his best to hold back the tears. By the end of the story, he felt pain from the memories and relief that he was able to express his pain. The portraits were silent, thinking over what they had heard. The long silence was interrupted again by Horace.
- Don't be sad and don't grieve for what happened, it will pass in time and you will learn to live with it, - those were his words.
- Okay, I'll try," Alex said in a slightly husky voice, but then he quickly pulled himself together.
- Well, if that's all for today, then go and rest, - said the man from the fourth portrait, who was very similar to the two previous ones. Hence, they were the three Peverell brothers.
-, not all of it," the young lord replied uncertainly.
- What is it? - The same man asked with obvious interest.
- Who is the Keeper and where can I find him? I was told that you know where he is, - after these words, there was dead silence in the room, all the portraits looked at the boy with shock.
- Who told you that? - asked the second of the three brothers.
- After I woke up in this room, I found a letter from Death in my pocket," Alex explained, realizing, perhaps, how delusional it sounded.
- If the Mistress wrote it herself, does she allow him to be awakened? - The third of the brothers asked the eldest in an uncertain voice.
- It would seem so," he replied. The boy remembered that in the legend his name was Antiochus.
- What are you talking about? - the young lord asked.
- Well, listen," said Horace, who had been silent until then. - You should know that our clan ceased to exist six centuries ago. No one knows why, and there are different opinions about it - some think it was some kind of clan curse, some think that we killed each other, and some think it was our ill-wishers, but the truth is somewhat different. There was only one branch of our great family left, and its last representative was stripped of his heir status for inappropriate behavior. And so, when the current lord died, the family was left without a head, and this heir, because he was the last Peverell, was allowed to revive it. Which he did - he was able to become head of the family, marry, and have two sons and two daughters. As the years passed, he felt the clan was in danger and asked the patron of the clan to release the guardian. The patron refused as there was no danger. But the then lord disobeyed and released the keeper without her permission. This enraged the patron of the family, and she ordered the guardian to punish the disobedient lord and his entire family. The guardian killed the lord, his wife, and their four children with his hand.
Alex was shocked (and that was putting it mildly!). He asked with difficulty to control himself:
- Who is he, this guardian?
- The guardian of the clan is the one who protects the whole clan, all its members from danger. But besides that, he can be indispensable in helping," answered Cadmus, the second brother.
- And what kind of help? - The boy asked curiously.
- Anything. He can teach you everything a young lord should know, for example, or protect you from anyone, or get rid of anyone," Ignotus, the third brother, helped quench Alex's curiosity.
- How do you awaken him? If I'm allowed to do it, I want to do it," the boy said with a light in his eyes.
- Call the housekeeper, have him take my portrait and take us to the ancestral stone," Horace said with a grin.
- Toby," Alex nodded into the void. A second later the old elf appeared with a characteristic clap.
- What can I do for you? - Toby asked, staring at Alex with his big eyes.
- Take the Founder's portrait and take us to the Ancestral Stone," the young lord ordered.
CLICK!
And the Founder's portrait hovered in the air.
CLICK!
And all three of them appeared in front of the birthstone.
The room had not changed since Alex had visited it, except that it was much brighter, and now they could see it. A circular room, a pedestal with a large black stone in the center, and four stones at the corners pointing in an arrow to the center of the room.
- You must drop three drops of blood from your right hand on each stone. On the northern one from the index finger, on the eastern one from the middle finger, on the southern one from the ring finger, on the western one from the little finger, and from the thumb on the ancestral stone, - instructed the boy Horace. When Alex fulfilled his instructions, he saw that a door opened at the far end of the room.
After that, Horace fell out of favor.
- Is something wrong, have I done something wrong? - The boy asked worriedly.
- You did everything right, I just didn't expect the door to open," the Founder replied, coming out of his daze.
- Why?
- After the destruction of the clan, the Lady put a seal on this door, and it will not be removed without her permission," Horace answered.
- Let's go, - the boy said and was the first to enter the door, the painting floated in the air behind him, and the housekeeper completed the procession.
Alex walked down a long corridor and found himself in a small room where there was a statue of a tall man in a cloak. At his feet lay a stone book, and on it was a handprint.
- Put your hand on the mark," Horace said.
When he had done so, the boy looked at the statue, which began to glow and crack. It shattered into pieces - now in its place stood a tall man with long white hair and dark blue eyes, dressed entirely in white.
Alex felt himself losing consciousness. The last thing he saw was dark blue eyes that looked at him with concern.
