9 9 - Gringotts
{Diagon Alley, London}
{3rd August 1989}
As a transmigrator in a world resembling that of Harry Potter, Matteo had a list of things that, as an avid Harry Potter fan, he was all but forced to do.
He had already done the first– he had acquired his wand.
'The wood of a whomping willow, the feather of a thunderbird. 13 inches. Unyielding...' Matteo was happy that it his wand was somewhat 'special.'
Even if, to him, it was practically useless.
If he had acquired his wand the moment he learned about magic... Matteo could see himself being a lot more excited. Unfortunately, this had happened after he had spent three years perfecting his magic, as well as his mana control. It could still be used as an instrument, a way to better divide his focus... but he had Mastery.
He already did everything in the best way possible, dividing focus included.
The next thing was to pick out a pet, but... that one would have to wait a bit, since Matteo already had a specific one in mind.
The third thing, however, was what they were doing now.
'Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.'
After reading the infamous sign, a faint smile graced Matteo's face.
They were at Gringotts Bank.
"Um, are we really going to..." Camilla muttered, before thinking, <are we really going to make a bank account, in run by goblins?>
<Huh, to think that my mother was racist...> Matteo teased. Before she could so much as retort, he continued. <But no, they may be greedy, but that makes them trustworthy. They would never risk looting their own coffers... just think of all the money could cost them.>
But no, that wasn't why they were here. Or at least, that wasn't the main reason.
Camilla, Chloe, and Matteo entered through the slanted, crooked entrance... and Matteo was immediately hit with a wave of nostalgia.
Matteo had only acquired his 'perfect' memory two years ago, so everything before that was a bit more fragmented... but it was still there. So when he saw the rows and rows of wrinkly, short, but oddly well dressed goblin tellers, the constant bustling of witches and wizards alike, the cathedral-esc ceiling, the sunlight shining in...
The nostalgia hit hard.
'It's just like it was in the movies,' he thought, perfectly hiding his giddiness.
The three of them approached the closest open teller.
"I am here to open a Vault," Camilla said, her voice quiet but firm.
The teller didn't even raise his head, saying, "Name?"
"Camilla. Camilla Brooke."
The teller snapped up from his booth, eyes wide.
Even through all the bustling, Camilla's words turned a few heads. Murmurs and whispers could be heard through-out the hall as more and more people realized that the Brookes, the family that they had read about on the pandering asswipe of a paper that was the Daily Prophet, were in fact, at Gringotts.
"This way, quickly," the goblin guided them out of the main hall. Matteo could understand the goblin's thought process– if they had spent just one more minute in there, there was a good chance that they would've been swarmed.
'And at a his height,' Matteo thought, amused, 'the poor little guy'd be trampled.'
"Lady Brooke," he turned to Chloe, "Lady Shaffer," then to Matteo, "Heir Brooke. Please feel free to call me Cutthroat. When we heard about House Brooke's reappearance, we checked our records... but it seems as though the Brookes are truly the independent sort, never having held a Vault with us. I'm assuming you're here to open one now?"
"You assume correctly," Camilla answered. "We'll take one with High Security."
"That will be 300 Galleons to open, along with a 7 Galleon monthly fee. Is that acceptable?"
"Expensive, but understandable," Camilla sighed. "That's fine."
It wasn't like they had made their fortune with hard work, anyways. If it meant keeping up appearances, Matteo was more than willing to throw away a few millions.
"Very good. If you're opening a Family Vault," Cutthroat glanced at Chloe, "I'd advise–"
"She stays."
The goblin blinked, slightly startled. "Uh, very well. We'll get on with the ritual. All that we'll require," Cutthroat said, guiding them towards the pedestal near the edge of the room, in which a basin sat on top, "is the blood of a Brooke."
Camilla held out one hand, and conjured a knife in the other. Then she slashed open her the inside of her palm, splashing the basin, before silently healing her self-inflicted wound, all in a matter of seconds.
The goblin hid it well, but Matteo could tell that Cutthroat was impressed.
Camilla's blood drained into the grate of the basin, and out of sight... before appearing on a piece of parchment off to the side.
'Very showy,' Matteo thought, before using Analyze. Then he had to keep himself from scoffing aloud. 'And of course, incredibly inefficient.'
"Vault 763..." Cutthroat recited. "Your Vault Key will be ready in eleven days. Is there anything else that I can do for you, or will that be all?"
'It's time,' Matteo thought excitedly.
"Just one more thing," Camilla answered, "Matteo will be taking an Inheritance Test."
The goblin frowned, confused, "why would–"
"Does it matter?"
"...No, I guess not. That will be 11 more Galleons," Cutthroat said, eyes glinting, "and that'll just require the blood of one Matteo Brooke."
As Matteo held his hand over the basin, he was brimming with excitement.
Using magic, Matteo would easily be able to figure out who his parents were, but he hadn't cared. They had abandoned him, after all. But knowing that he was a wizard, and one that hailed from Magical Britain, he couldn't help but feel a little anxious as he slit open his palm above the pedestal.
While his expectations weren't high, he couldn't help tensing as the words appeared.
'Let's see, let's see, it says that I'm a–' Matteo stalled. 'The fuck?'
~~~~~~~
Name:
Matteo Orion Brooke né Black... Half-blood
Parents:
Regulus Arcturus Black... Father... Pure-blood
XXXXX - XXXXX - XXXXX
Living Relatives:
Sirius Black III... Uncle... Pure-blood
Noella Narcissa Black... First Cousin... Half-blood
Alexandra Andromeda Black... First Cousin... Half-blood
Beatrice Bellatrix Black... First Cousin... Half-blood
Narcissa Malfoy née Black... Cousin Once Removed... Pure-blood
Libra Malfoy... Second Cousin... Pure-blood
Draco Malfoy... Second Cousin... Pure-blood
Andromeda Tonks née Black... Cousin Once Removed... Pure-blood
Nymphadora Tonks... Second Cousin... Half-blood
Bellatrix Lestrange née Black... Cousin Once Removed... Pure-blood
~~~~~~~
Of course he was a Black.
But despite how contrived it felt... Matteo couldn't help but think of a phrase that he had heard in his past life. 'Black Madness.' It referred to how almost all of House Black was mentally deranged, to the point that it was most likely genetic... a phrase that led to Matteo mulling over everything that he'd done the last three years.
'Well,' Matteo thought, 'if the shoe fits.'
But compared to his influx of new family members, Matteo was currently faced with a much more pressing issue. Since he had tampered with Camilla's DNA, but left his own unaffected... he technically had two birth-mothers. The ritual was unable to account for something like this, and decided to display X's... which, unfortunately, is the exact same thing that it displays when it detects possible blood theft.
Magic flared from the pedestal, threatening to tell the entire bank of Matteo's 'crime,' but he reacted just in time, suppressing and deactivating the ritual.
The basin cracked from the pressure.
"You–" Cutthroat's eyes widened. "BLOOD–!"
'Quiet,' Matteo casted. 'Memory Wipe.'
Contrary to the annoyance that his fuck-up was causing, however, Camilla and Chloe were still reading the parchment, both of them... blushing.
"So many cousins..." Camilla muttered, almost panting.
He let out a quiet sigh. 'Of course.'
Well, Matteo was most likely going to sit on this reveal for a bit.
Not only was it the result of what was technically a crime, Matteo also wasn't really hurting for the Black's Vaults– he just did it to, well, to do it.
And most of all, he didn't know how he felt about being related to Sirius.
If Sirius knew that Matteo was Regulus's long lost son, the man would most definitely try make himself a part of Matteo's life... and Matteo honestly couldn't care less. Not to mention that, Sirius was Harry Potter's godfather, so he would be brought right into the thick of the 'golden trio.' That wouldn't be disastrous, nothing would really, but it sounded like a hassle.
No... for now at least, he was going to remain 'Matteo Brooke.'
Now he just had to salvage their Gringotts trip, which shouldn't be too hard, seeing as he managed to prevent any alarms from going off.
But, despite all the ups and downs, Matteo was satisfied.
He had gotten his Hogwarts letter, he had gone to Diagon Alley, he had gotten his wand, and now, he had taken the fabled 'Transmigrator Inheritance Test.'
Matteo was looking forward too what was next– riding the Hogwarts Express, being sorted into a House, meeting the characters, and... just Hogwarts in general.
He was also going to be the first Parselmouth to attend Hogwarts in decades.
'Well, I might not be an actual Parselmouth,' Matteo mused, 'but speaking to snakes is something that you can practice, which makes it something that I can master.'
Now, Matteo wasn't going to go out of his way to provoke Dumbledore... but he also wasn't going to go out of his way to stay in line, either. He'll just go with the flow, doing whatever he wants, and if his actions somehow manage to set off any alarms in the old man's mind... then so be it.
He smiled thinly.
'I wonder what would happen,' he mused, 'should he peer into my mind?'
Before he did anything else, though, Matteo was going to have to make one more stop.
***
{Unnamed Cliff, Great Britain}
{3rd August 1989}
Matteo frowned as he looked off the side of the familiar cliffside.
Though it was rather hard to notice, since it was near the very bottom of the cliff, where the roaring waves crashed along the rocks... there was a cave.
The cave where a young Tom Riddle traumatized his fellow orphans.
The cave where Voldemort left a piece of his soul.
The cave where his father died.
"Hah..." Matteo sighed. 'Well, I'm already here.'
Matteo had wanted to wait before visiting the sites of Horcruxes, not out of fear of changing canon... but to ease himself into the story that was 'Harry Potter.' Matteo knew that he was more powerful then every single character to grace the Harry Potter books, but he wanted to 'play' with it for a bit.
It really broke his own immersion when he could just waltz right through the Riddle Cave's defenses, something that Dumbledore had nearly died doing.
He didn't jump into the cold, freezing ocean– for he could fly, far better, far smoother than Voldemort could. He didn't cut his hand to pay the 'blood door,' no, Matteo just analyzed and disabled the enchantments before him, then continued on through.
The lake that 'had to be sailed' and 'couldn't be touched' was frozen over, Matteo slowly walking above the ice, arriving at the basin at the center.
Then he reached into it, grabbing the locket... that wasn't a Horcrux.
"To the Dark Lord," Matteo read, "I know I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match you will be mortal once more. R.A.B..."
Matteo smiled slightly. 'My father was a bit of a badass, huh?'
Matteo bit his lip. His father's corpse should still be here, in this very lake.
That was why he was here, after all.
'Summon.'
Matteo watched as the water ripple slightly, a few seconds later, his father's corpse leapt out of the water and flew towards him, landing gently at his feet. It was surprisingly well-preserved, especially so for a corpse left underwater for over a decade.
Despite looking like he did in his last life, Matteo could see the resemblance.
That just made him wonder if his 'real' father looked like Regulus– Matteo wouldn't know, since he had grown up an orphan twice.
"Alright... father," Matteo said, "let's get you a proper burial–"
He froze.
With Mastery, Matteo had improved many of his abilities over the years, and his senses were no exception. His sight, hearing, and smell were many times better than the average person, and they were also much, much more accurate. He could pick people out by their scents, by the way they walked, all without even trying.
It was practically impossible to breathe around Matteo without him knowing.
But... Matteo hadn't noticed it at first.
It was quieter than anything he had ever heard before, but breathe was being drawn. Matteo's father was breathing, his heart was beating. His father's blood was flowing at a snail's pace, but it was flowing all the same.
Regulus was on the brink of death... and he would continue to be so.
"Fuck," Matteo felt a headache coming on, regardless of how much it made sense. 'If I was Voldemort, I wouldn't immediate kill those who knew of my Horcruxes... I would want to interrogate them first, and find out if anyone else knew. But before Voldemort could interrogate Regulus, he got Harry Potter'd...'
Matteo mulled it over for a bit... before eventually deciding.
"Yeah, no."
He wasn't going to deal with this, not right now.
Matteo 'stored' his father.
'You waited over a decade, you can wait a bit longer.'
***
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The next chapter, Making Waves, releases March 29th, 11:00AM (MDT).
Patreon is up to Chapter 12!
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