Harry Potter gets smart and takes control - The Goblet

Chapter 43 Accepting the Heirdom

"Before we get into accounts and things though," Harry said, "can you shed any light on how I'm part of these houses? I still don't really understand the inheritance's listed."

Rodgrip pulled out a scroll and tapped it with a long finger. It grew and unrolled itself to show his family tree. Harry's name was down the bottom and branched up into hundreds and hundreds of names.

"Well," Rodgrip said, "you are, through your father, the heir of House Potter, formerly known as House Peverell." She started tapping the family tree. Harry's father's line glowed yellow making it stand out from all the other names on the tree.

"You are also related to House Black on your paternal side. Your father's mother was Dorea Black." She tapped the tree again, and the Black line lit up in purple.

"The intriguing bit is that the lines of House Gryffindor and House Slytherin, long thought extinct, were not in fact. They merely went dormant. You are part of those two houses through your Maternal side," she continued. "The last descendants until now were squibs. Your mother was the first magical of those lines in a very long time. But as a currently patriarchal house, she could not take up the mantle. As her son, those dormant titles fall to you." Rodgrip tapped the tree again, and those two houses lit up in red and green respectively.

"Riddle said he was the Slytherin's heir," Harry cut in.

"Riddle is a liar," Rodgrip spat. "His father was a muggle, but his mother was a Gaunt. The Gaunts prided themselves in being Slytherin's descendants. They may have been genetically descendent, but they were not, however, actually heirs or even part of that house. Their Slytherin ancestor, Isolde Slytherin, was disowned when she married Convictus Gaunt. The Gaunts at the time were, very inbred and rather rich. They had been a once prominent part of society however they became caught up in a scandal involving kidnapping, murder and pyromania. They ended up shunned and never quite recovered.

Isolde was completely disowned for her 'shameful' actions in eloping with Convictus." Rodgrip went on, "so technically the Gaunts were related genetically to the Slytherin line, but they were not part of House Slytherin."

"So how was mum a Slytherin then?" Harry asked curiously.

"The last Slytherin had two children, a girl and a boy. The eldest, as a girl, could not inherit. That was Isolde." She pointed to a name, Isolde Merope Gaunt.

"The younger boy was a squib. So he was abandoned in the muggle world, but not actually disowned. Abandoned squibs often died, so they probably didn't bother with proper disownment in those days. But he survived. Your mother is the descendent of that Slytherin."

She pointed to another name on the tree, Marvolo Slytherin, "the squib had no magic, so he could not inherit. That left the line to go dormant when Isolde's parents were murdered before they could sire more children to carry on the line. That is why so many people believed it to be extinct. And the fact all other Slytherins had died is why the Gaunts got away with the saying they were Slytherins. They are not."

"The Gryffindors ended also with one girl who was also a squib. She was sent out in the muggle world. Unfortunately, again, her parents died without any other children. So the line fell to her, but as she was both female and a squib, she could not inherit. So again, it falls to you.

"What does that mean for me? I've started reading up on houses and things, but I'm still not too familiar with them?" Harry asked, "And why couldn't mum inherit? That's not very fair."

"It depends on the house." Rodgrip explained after muttering something unfavourable about the gender inequality in the Wizarding world. "The Potters were patriarchal, as are the Blacks, the Gryffindors and the Slytherins. But some houses are matriarchal or just don't care about gender. It depends on the house. Really you wizards cut off your noses to spite your faces in thinking males and females are all that different."