The goblin was regarding him with curious eyes as Caelum straightened and ran a hand over his hair. The family ring fit him perfectly – as all magical rings were designed to – and Caelum let it catch the light and admired the shining spirals of black and silver. He smiled, satisfied and happy the ring looked the same here as it had in his world. He gave it a little snap. The ring instantly turned invisible but he could still feel it on his finger and any creature with a gift for seeing magic could see the glow on his right hand.
"I see you are familiar with the functions of the ring."
Caelum gave Ragnuk an even look. "As I have repeatedly said, I have a deep connection with my magic and the family magic just connected with it. How could I not know what it is capable of?"
The mage knew he was being rude but it felt good to have access to his family magic again, especially since he was tired enough to fall asleep on his feet. He only wished he could have claimed the Potter magic as well but he did not want to steal anything from Harry. Sirius was another matter because Caelum had gotten the impression his godfather (Harry's godfather actually) wanted nothing to do with his Black inheritance. He'd run away from home when he was sixteen, after all. Or maybe he hadn't, in this world. But then again, he had been referred to as a blood traitor...
This brought his attention to the one problem that was Sirius's unjust imprisonment. He turned his eyes to Ragnuk and was just about to speak his mind when he remembered to be polite and closed his mouth. Ragnuk seemed to find this amusing. Fortunately.
"Since you claim you are bound by vows – and I somewhat believe you – further discussion on your profound knowledge on goblins and our customs will be put on hold. But I do require an oath from you."
Caelum nodded – he had expected no less. Ragnuk made a good king and no ruler should let rogues roam free. The mage was a rogue. As he'd earlier realized, someone unattached and undeclared with his knowledge and skills was bound to make people nervous. That was why he was creating a foothold in society for himself. Well, that and the possible benefits it would have on his and Severus' relationship.
Deciding on the wording took Caelum about thirty seconds, after which he gracefully rose from his chair only to kneel before Ragnuk. " – I, Caelum Black, swear never to use my knowledge on goblins to their evident disadvantage, nor to my own personal advantage. This I swear to Prince Ragnuk of goblins, by gold and gain. – "
" – I, Ragnuk the Third, accept your vow." There had been a long pause until the prince spoke and Caelum had to stop himself from sighing in relief when he finally did. His vow was not nearly the strongest but it was the only one he was ready to give. Too many vows already bound his magic and with the changes going on with him and the Emerald soon magic would mean his life as well. He stopped himself from rubbing his eyes tiredly.
"Thank you." Caelum nodded his appreciation and returned to his chair. Now business. "Who is the accountant of the Black fortunes? I would like to request his services in several matters."
Ragnuk got up and moved to the cabinet standing on his left. He opened the second to the top drawer, letting it slide. And slide. And slide. Until it hit the opposite wall. Caelum hid his amazement though taking into consideration the amount of clients the goblins handled he shouldn't have been surprised.
"Your account manager seems to be Gobteeth," Ragnuk read from the thick folder he'd picked from the drawer. One nod sent the same guard away, this time on a mission to find the accountant. "And as you probably are aware, the Black family has a long history as our clients. You are currently in possession of four vaults: 379, 500, 501, and 711. Would you like a tour?"
Caelum nearly turned down the offer but at the last minute remembered that any human suddenly in possession of four vaults would definitely want to have a look. And besides, perhaps the vaults would host documentation that would prove to be valuable and unknown to him. "I would appreciate it."
"Are you in need of money pouches?" Ragnuk seemed to be all business now and Caelum would have preferred to conduct his business with the prince instead of a goblin he'd never heard of.
"I have one and any more would just be a waste of space."
"May I see?"
Caelum shot Ragnuk a glance but since goblins would always be in charge of his money – for the most part – he saw no reason to decline. He reached for his belt and threw the pouch on the table. He saw he'd yet again managed to surprise Ragnuk as the goblin leaned in to inspect the pouch without touching it.
"This has been warded against anyone else's touch," Ragnuk said without looking at Caelum. He sniffed. "A weak glacius." Ragnuk always had had a sharp sense of smell.
"And of course it's bottomless and carries featherweight charms and opens into a different pocket for muggle money," Caelum continued before reaching out and picking it up. "I did not claim my title for the money. I am quite wealthy even without the Black fortunes, though I do intend to put it to good use." He attached the pouch on his belt and turned his serious gaze on Ragnuk. "It is one of the things I wish to discuss with my accountant."
Ragnuk had closed the drawer and taken his seat though the folder was still on his hands. But he was not looking at it, Caelum had his full attention. And when the prince of goblins decided to give someone his full attention, that someone felt the weight behind that gaze. But Caelum met him eye to eye.
"Are you completely human?" the prince asked suddenly. Caelum blinked and threw back his head to laugh. He felt lightheaded and knew it was the fatigue getting to him and that he should really watch what he said next. The two Ragnuks were starting to blur in his mind.
"No, I am not," he replied, still chuckling. Ragnuk of his world had actually asked that same question when Caelum still was only human. But that was years ago. "And you should pray I never lose contact with my humanity."
"What creature would make me do that?"
"One you should pray to never face," Caelum replied, getting serious again. "But worry not. I've sworn to rather die than let it take over. One thing though... If I ever ask you to kill me, you should do it right away, without asking questions."
Ragnuk put the folder down.
"I do not expect it to happen since my will has never been broken but it is possible." Caelum straightened his back. "It is not for me, but for everyone else."
"The thing would endanger goblins?"
"Not specifically," Caelum replied truthfully. "But everyone is its prey."
Ragnuk eyed him seriously, as if seeing him for the first time as he truly was and Caelum was pleased. He did not like to lie and truth had always been the best way to deal with goblins. If someone also knew about his gigantic problem... well, all the better that way. Even if it had Ragnuk considering killing him right away.
"I see." Ragnuk's expression was unreadable and apparently in his opinion the matter was closed with this. At least he jumped to the next subject without pause. "As a representative of the bank, I am also curious of your maternal inheritance. Diana Miles, you said? Miles is not a wizarding family in Britain. Unless she was a muggleborn. As I find it hard to believe Orion Black would have chosen a mere muggle to father a son with."
"Half-blood actually. And I was more of an accident." The guard returned with the accountant but Caelum continued without paying them mind: "I would appreciate it if I could keep my maternal inheritance to myself. As I understand it, I am heir to a family with great reputation and through my magic I could override the bloodheir's claim. However, I do not wish to do so. I do not desire to deal with the publicity it would bring me. An illegitimate son claiming the seat of Black family Head over his older half-brother and rightful bloodheir is enough."
"Yes, I can see that." Ragnuk turned his attention to Gobteeth and Caelum followed suit. The stranger was like any goblin, a short creature with relatively long fingers and legs. Gobteeth was also wearing glasses that seemed to be slipping off his impressive nose.
" – Your Highness. – " Gobteeth gave Ragnuk a small bob of head. A king would have received a bow.
"This is Caelum Black, the new Head of Black family," Ragnuk introduced them and Caelum was certain Gobteeth would have been shocked no matter how the introduction was handled. As it was, the mage's accountant turned to him and openly stared, his black beady eyes growing in size.
"But-but... What of Sirius Black? Has he passed? The records have not changed!"
"I am the magical heir to the Black bloodline. The ring has accepted me." Caelum gave the ring another snap and it turned visible before fading from sight yet again. Those few seconds were still enough to convince Gobteeth and he took a hold of himself.
"How can I be of service, Mr Black?"
"Should we take our business to your office? I doubt the prince wants us disturbing the peace of Master Banker's office any longer." The mage smiled at Ragnuk who nodded briskly.
"It has been interesting, Mr Black. Am I right to assume you will contact me if need arise?"
Caelum shared a look with the prince and saw his appearance had given the goblin many things to ponder on and nodded seriously. "And I in return ask that you contact me if you think you have need for someone with special skills. I am quite capable, and I assure you no Black shall stand against you and still belong to the family."
"I will keep you to your vow." Ragnuk nodded to his errant guard. "Griphammer will accompany you to the vaults."
Caelum rose and bowed respectfully, in agreement as well as a goodbye. He waited until Gobteeth bid farewell to his prince and then followed his accountant out of the office. He was pretty sure there was some sort of bow that a stranger was required to perform when leaving the presence of goblin death herbs but to the death of him he couldn't remember it and only hoped Ragnuk would understand his ignorance wasn't rudeness. Thought he'd displayed even that trait of his in the past hour.
Gobteeth led him through the dark corridors, apparently expecting him to see his way through the dark without any help. Griphammer followed them silently and Caelum stopped himself from asking if he was a relative of Griphook's. The goblin naming system had never made any sense to him and it wasn't something a wizard would find useful to know.
Gobteeth's office was smaller and messier than the Master Banker's but it was to be expected. Caelum took a seat without being asked to and voluntarily opened the discussion. "I apologise for the lateness of the hour."
"Yes, yes. Your arrival was quite unexpected and your identity even more so." Gobteeth was busy going through the papers on his desk but not busy enough to refrain from shooting him a displeased look. Caelum nearly smiled. His earlier account manager had been called Boglin and somehow with the similar attitudes it felt like he hadn't even changed. He hoped Boglin would make sure his will was properly distributed to all beneficiaries. At least as soon as he was declared dead. Which might take a while. If he didn't get back.
The mage shook his head to concentrate on the moment. Now was not the time to decide whether he even wanted to return.
"May I see your wand?" Gobteeth asked and extended his hand, ready to receive it. Caelum blinked.
"I don't have one." Well, he did but none of his wands would leave his possession without a fight.
Gobteeth stared at him in disbelief and from behind his back Caelum could also feel Griphammer's eyes on the back of his skull. The urge to fidget was great but he fought it.
"Mr Black, are you or are you not a wizard?"
"I am very adept at wandless magic. I did carry a wand but it snapped a year ago and I have not seen the need to replace it." One of his wands had snapped a year ago. A secondary wand. He pushed the memory out of his mind.
The goblins stared at him in incredulity and Caelum knew they wanted proof of his claim. He snapped his fingers and all the papers on Gobteeth's desk arranged themselves on neat piles. The accountant leaned back and stared at his table. Then he glanced at Caelum and went back to staring at his now organized desk. Even the quills were arranged by size.
"Satisfied?" The mage was careful to keep the smugness out of his voice.
Gobteeth nodded slowly and handed him a pile of parchment Caelum hadn't noticed him retrieve. "Tap these then. A finger will do."
Caelum leafed through the documents. The pile consisted of familiar property deeds and Gringotts confidentiality and contract papers. He obediently tapped the pile with his finger, sending a surge of his magic through it. After confirming the signatures now adorning the documentation were indeed his new one – thankfully they were – he handed the pile back to Gobteeth who went through every parchment with pedantic attention.
Caelum could see why he was a good accountant.
It took Gobteeth nearly quarter of an hour to finish and through all this time he did not spare one glance at the wizard. Caelum was quite used to this kind of treatment and waited patiently. He mentally went through everything he needed to bring to Gobteeth's attention. Finally the goblin nodded, satisfied, and handed Caelum an identical pile of parchment, sans the signatures. The mage again hadn't seen him retrieve it or even spell it into existence.
"I believe the Black London house is liveable if you wish to move there," the goblin grunted.
"I spent the night there already," Caelum pointed out and automatically sent the papers to non-place. He could go through them more thoroughly later, now he needed to talk about Sirius.
"It has come to my attention that my brother, Sirius Orion Black, was imprisoned without proper trial or the chance to confess under Veritaserum. I would like you to hire a wizarding lawyer to review his case."
Caelum could see he had yet again surprised the goblins but this time Gobteeth did not waste time on stuttering and stupid questions. "Mr Sirius Black has spent the past nine years in Azkaban. You want to review his case now?" The goblin had no qualms about expressing his disbelief. The mage was pretty sure he'd caught onto the unspoken thought: Are you insane?
"My brother was innocent. Peter Pettigrew framed him and escaped." Caelum made a face. Probably it had happened in this world as well. "Unfortunately I have no idea where he is at the moment. Only that he is a rat animagus and missing a finger on his right paw. The finger that he himself cut off and that was sent to his mother as his only remains."
Gobteeth stared at him for a long moment then nodded. "I can see if I can find a lawyer... willing to take the case." Insane enough to even consider defending Sirius Black.
Caelum kept his calm. "Thank you. I would also like you to invest in the Bolt Company. They will soon produce the best broom on market for decades. We do not want to miss on this." At least he sincerely hoped he'd soon get to mount a Meteorbolt again, or a Firebolt in lack of anything better.
Gobteeth was clearly wondering where he got his information from but did not ask, only scribbled some notes. "Anything else?" he asked guardedly.
"Yes, actually. Am I to understand Gringotts does not exist in the Muggle World?"
"Of course we do!" Gobteeth snarled. Caelum blinked but otherwise hid his surprise. Some things indeed were different.
"You do? Oh. That makes everything so much easier. I need to create an alias in the Muggle World under my mother's maiden name. Miles. Caleb Miles. I need the paperwork to be legitimate and I need to open an account at one of the British muggle banks. A 100 thousand pound deposit will do. Not only that but I also need you to be as discreet as possible. I do not want any connections between this identity and the wizard Caelum Black."
For a second Caelum was sure Gobteeth had turned speechless but the goblin quickly recovered. "That is... quite an extensive request. I will have the paperwork ready in a couple of days but nothing can be finalized until after the human holidays. Any details I should include in the birth records?"
"Make me a found child who grew up in the orphanage. Date of birth August 2nd, 1965. I doubt event he Australian Ministry has any records of me as I tended to lay low and was mostly self-taught. Not even with the muggles as I tried to stay as untrackable as possible. There won't be a birth certificate anywhere to be found and you just need to forge the records." It should be easy with this ancient technology. "I will of course take responsibility for any expences that you need to use. Just please get it done as quickly as possible.
"I also do have some plans considering the wizarding market but nothing definite. Now, if we're done here, I'd like to see my vaults."
It took them three hours to visit all the vaults, mostly because two of them – numbers 500 and 501 – contained objects instead of money. 500 had a wide array of magical weaponry that Caelum had never seen. He actually ended up picking himself a Gaelic claymore that buzzed with magic. The sheath was beautifully decorated with black dragons and silver and Caelum found it oddly fitting. Vault 501 hosted several magical objects, most of them reeking of dark magic. Caelum knew he could have spent days there, finding out what each artefact was used for. Even Gobteeth didn't possess a catalogue. The Blacks, it seemed, had merely hoarded all the dark artefacts they could find and then dumped them in their vault. Some of them were really powerful and old, dating back to Egypt.
But Caelum was far too tired to go through them now.
It was past midnight when Griphammer escorted him to the Apparition point. Caelum gave him a nod, sent his money pouch and the claymore to non-place – he honestly didn't want to risk losing them mid-Apparition – and Disapparated with a pop.
He appeared in his bedroom and only paused to ward the room before falling on his bed and asleep before one could spell dead tired.
oooOOOooo
It was snowing silently as Caelum stood opposite to the Charing Cross Road entrance to Leaky Cauldron. It was nine o'clock in the morning on Christmas Eve and even London seemed to have quieted down. Caelum had opted on walking here and enjoying the Christmassy morning. He'd woken up at six, completely refreshed and rested. Kreacher had been sleeping in his cot and Caelum had slipped out after transfiguring his cloak into a long muggle winter coat that hid his robes.
He'd stopped at a small café to eat breakfast and had gone through the papers Gobteeth had given him. He owned exactly the same properties here as he had in his own world. Grimmauld Place in London, Black Manor in Wales and La Tanière d'Ombre in France. He also had a seat on the Governing Board of Hogwarts and on the Wizengamot, and Blacks had been on record in Gringotts since its foundation.
Nothing new.
Now he stood in the cold, waiting for the right moment to enter. Yesterday it had been easy to push all his memories to the back of his mind because he'd been so tired and focused only on dealing with the goblins and legalizing his presence. He'd even managed to push most of his thoughts about Severus away.
But now he was wide wake and about to enter into a world he'd last enjoyed with Severus. A new beginning. A new chance at life.
Caelum took a deep breath, readying himself, and checked his glamour extended over his eyes, turning them black instead of the livid green they normally were. It was always good to be careful. Without thinking about it further he crossed the street and stepped into the pub. The Leaky Cauldron had not changed and as soon as Tom noticed him, the barman sauntered his way. He looked so young for a second Caelum had trouble believing this really was Tom. But even here he was just as bald and gummy walnut-looking as Caelum expected him to be. Though he now was carrying a lot more around the waist than in Caelum's memories. War did that to a person.
"What will it be, good sir?"
"Just passing through. I might stop by to eat lunch later, though." Caelum extended his hand and Tom gripped it easily. "Caelum Black, a pleasure to meet you."
"Just old Tom." The bartender's eyes had widened at his name and as always, he had to ask. "Of the British Blacks, you say?"
"Yes, actually. Current Head of the family. My magic overruled my brother Sirius's blood status and I claimed my seat last night." Tom was still gripping his hand, had probably completely forgotten that he still had a hold of it. The barman was openly gawking at him and the mage had to stop his smile from extending into a full-blown grin. People's reactions could actually be amusing to a point.
Carefully he extracted his hand from the hold Tom had on it, waved it and moved across the pub. "See you at lunch," he threw back as he entered the small, walled courtyard. Sighing in exasperation, the mage used his finger again as a substitution, sending small surges of magic into the bricks as he tapped them in the right order. Only when the archway slowly appeared he realized there had been good chance the order might have been different.
Without delaying it further, Caelum entered Diagon Alley.
New snow had coated everything and children very happily playing all around as their parents did their last minute shopping. Every shop was open and most had red and green decorations and posters declaring happy Christmas to all wizards and witches. The mage slowly walked forward, taking it all in but was careful not to even glance the apothecary – too many specific memories. It was weird seeing everything again and really looking at it. Comet 260... He'd probably crash and break it with him being accustomed to brooms light years ahead of these old series.
He walked past the Eyelops Owl Emporium, feeling a pang in his heart where Hedwig used to reside. He had bought another owl after her death but the nameless barn owl had only acted as a messenger. He knew he should probably get one now and entertained the idea of finding Hedwig again. However, he did not want to steal Harry's his first real friend. Even though he assumed Harry was alright with no mysterious news in the Prophet he still needed to check on the boy. He had not claimed the Potter name and now he was saving Hedwig for the boy without even knowing for certain his double in this world was alive and well. Still, better to assume he wa alright than to do something irreversible. Tampering with the Potter account would surely alert Dumbledore and Caelum could not ahve that happen. He would wait and simply establish himself in this world first.
There was a big crowd around Flourish and Blott's and Caelum picked out that apparently some Gilderoy Lockhart was giving out autographs in celebration of his newest book. Caelum had never heard of him and the glance he caught of the extravagantly dressed wizard already settled his opinion. The mage quickened his pace.
The first store he ended up entering was Ollivander's. Like Gobteeth's reaction last night had indicated, it was abnormal for a wizard not to own a wand. But Caelum was nervous for another reason entirely. Ollivander had been killed by Voldemort when Caelum had been sixteen. That was nearly ten years ago and the wizard had not missed the creepy old man one bit. Seeing him alive would be... disturbing at best. So far the mage had only dealt with Kreacher and goblins, and Ragnuk had been his closest friend among that race. From here on he'd be mingling among people, most of whom he'd seen die and some he'd even killed with his own hands. Tom had been a good friend of his and he never changed but seeing supposedly dead people walking...
He hadn't even considered the effect this might have on his mind.
The mage knocked once and entered, the familiar and nostalgic tinkling bell announcing his arrival. He let his senses stretch and reinforced his mental shields. Ollivander was one of the most powerful Legilimens he'd ever met. At least in his world.
And sure enough, the mage only needed to wait five seconds before feeling a gentle whisper against his shields and gleefully gave a little mental zap to the invader. The foreign presence reverted behind its own shields quickly after that and Caelum turned to look at the last descendant of the once proud High Elven race. Of course this Ollivander was far more human than elf but that did not change his ancestral roots.
"Ah... I'm sorry but who are you?" Caelum could tell Ollivander did not like being left in the dark. His usually soft voice had a slight strain on it.
"Caelum Black, at your service." The mage bowed his head respectfully. "I am need of a new wand. Your shop is greatly valued when it comes to the art of wandmaking."
"Someone of your age certainly has already had a wand. May I inquire what happened to it?"
"It snapped a while ago." Never good to give Ollivander information he didn't need. He was old, and a weak man to boost.
The tape measure was already measuring him on his own. Ollivander's wide silvery eyes grew even wider when the measure relayed him some unexpected information. Caelum was also not one to like being kept in the dark and raised his brow in a silent question.
"It appears you have owned and used quite a variance of wands. Seven, I believe?" Caelum could only nod. "And the reason your wands did not last was... because your magic was too strong for them to channel? You are intriguing." The wandmaker was already pulling out boxes from the ceiling high piles and arranged them on his desk.
Caelum waved the tape measure away and spoke: "I should warn you that two of those seven wands had to be custom-made."
"It also seems you use some other, unknown channel for your magic," Ollivander pointed out. Caelum shrugged with faked nonchalance that he was sure did not fool the old wandmaker for a second. No one would find out about his Staff and live. No one. "Well, we'll see, we'll see," Ollivander continued without a pause and passed him a wand. "Oak, dragon heartstring, 11 inches. Very strong."
Caelum stared at it for second then reached out his left hand to pick it up. He'd merely brushed it when the wand zoomed out of Ollivander's hand and burst to pieces. The both wizards stared at the splinters falling on the dusty floor. Even Caelum had never had such a violent reaction before.
"Oh my. You are a tricky customer." Ollivander turned to Caelum, his silvery eyes now shining with curiosity. "I believe a custom-make wand is indeed in order. Unless you feel drawn to anything in this room?"
Caelum looked around. He knew without a doubt where the holly and phoenix feather wand was and felt its pull. But it was not meant for him but for Harry. His phoenix feather wand was safely tucked in the non-place where no one but Caelum could reach it. But as an answer to Ollivander's question, no, no eligible wand drew his attention in the room. He shook his head.
"No matter, please follow."
Caelum walked after Ollivander who had quickly disappeared into the backroom of the shop. Unlike the main room, there was not a speck of dust in sight and it obviously was Ollivander's workshop, if one could judge by the amount of jars and different wood samples.
"You are aware of the process, Mr Black? After all, you have had two custom-made wands before." Caelum could hear in doubt in his soft voice, doubt whether or not Caelum should have another wand when they seemed so expendable to him.
The mage cocked his head to the side, ignoring Ollivander's opinions. "I am not a wandmaker but since you only have three core materials I would suggest dragon heart string from a fairly powerful dragon, preferably either a Hungarian Horntail or Peruvian Vipertooth. And many wands I've owned were made of maple."
If Ollivander was impressed by his knowledge, he did not show it. The wandmaker collected different jars and sticks and placed them on his spotless desk without looking at Caelum even once. The mage could see he had disturbed the old man greatly and that he would be glad to be rid of this particularly tricky customer.
Caelum wondered if Ollivander could see through his glamour. One night sleep had not been able to completely remove the dark rings around his eyes and the paleness of his skin. Not to mention when he'd looked into the mirror in the morning, he'd noticed his eyes actually shone with magic and power, even through his shields. Without his glamours he did no longer even look like a human, the deep green colour of his eyes ensured that.
Already one step ahead of the wandmaker, Caelum positioned his hand over the items. He channelled minimal amount of magic through it and pointed the heartstring and wood that resonated most. Ollivander nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. Caelum had always thought a wand could tell more about the wizard than any other tool and he was really curious as to what Ollivander had read of him.
"I do not know how long the wand will take. Where can I reach you?"
Caelum's eyebrows shot up. His world's Ollivander had always known to the minute how long he'd be spending with each of Caelum's wands. Did the wandmaker have some ulterior motive? Did he intend to put a tracer on his wand? Or was he just cautious? However, resulting to threats or Legilimency now would only force the mage to find another wandmaker, and Ollivander was the best in Europe.
"I am currently staying in Grimmauld Place 12 in London. Send an owl." With a tight nod, Caelum left the shop.
When he got outside, he spent a couple of minutes just concentrating on his breathing. He needed to remember that this was not wartime, not even after-wartime. There were only few true veterans of war left and Caelum would do well to constrain his instincts. Normal people were not used to attitude like his. Look where it had gotten Mad-Eye Moony. The general public thought he was half crazy and only a handful of people took him seriously.
The mage scanned the street. He needed parchment, quills, a cauldron or two. An owl, perhaps a snake because of their refreshing conversational abilities. Robes. Scourgifies were useful but he had only so much variety in his non-place wardrobe and a change would be welcome and necessary. Therefore the man opted on heading past the Magical Menagerie and to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.
The place was luckily open and Caelum was immediately directed to Madam Malkin herself. The witch was happy to receive his order for an entire wardrobe and excited about his identity.
"Black, you say?" She lowered her voice. "Not a good reputation here in Britain, no offence to you, sir, of course. But since you've come from Australia I thought I'd tell you." Madam Malkin seemed shocked she'd just said that aloud.
Yes, Caelum had put her under a suggestive truth spell.
"I know my family has a Dark history, Madam. I'm trying to change our image. What do you think the reaction to my appearance will be?"
"Oh, nothing good, nothing good. You'll ruffle some feathers all right. An old family returning after such a long silence, it's going to make people nervous. That Malfoy, he's going to contact you soon, mark my words." Madam Malkin nodded decisively. "Fudge – he was just here a week ago – he'll be interested in allying you. Better be careful with who you trust."
"Thank you, Madam."
It took several hours but Caelum left the store with several packages filling up the non-space and his money pouch definitely lighter. He picked up writing equipment from the stationery shop and since the crowd at Flourish and Blott's seemed to have dispersed the wizard headed that way. He had a wonderfully peaceful time of selecting books on history and time travel. He also found the book A Guide To Wizarding World – How To Avoid Embarrassment? that was actually written for muggleborns immigrating into wizarding society but it contained such mundane knowledge that Caelum wouldn't have found elsewhere and that he wanted to compare to his own knowledge. He also picked up A Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry, Defensive Magical Theory, Most Potente Potions and Olde and Forgotten Bewitchments and Charmes. He was wholeheartedly glad he didn't have to actually carry all the packages he'd purchased.
Since it was late and it was actually starting to snow heavier, he walked back to the Leaky Cauldron to have that lunch he'd promised Tom. Apparently he wasn't the only one who had had that thought and the pub was filled with people chattering lividly with plates of food in front of them. Tom waved him to a free spot and Caelum shook of his cloak. He noticed Tom staring and grunted in annoyance. Yes, the cut of his clothes was different and he'd heard about it from Madam Malkin already. Fortunately the barman decided to keep silent.
"What will it be?"
"Ahm... Butterbeer? And whatever you recommend from the menu."
"Coming up." Tom gave him a grin and sauntered away to serve other customers.
Caelum's butterbeer arrived and he sat alone, sipping straight from the bottle, undisturbed by all the glances thrown his way. Rumours had apparently spread and people were curious even surrounded by the Christmas spirit. But Caelum had spent his entire life in the spotlight and ignoring the attention was now a second nature to him. He was more curious about the main article on Daily Prophet. The Sphere was again declaring Albus Dumbledore as the Supreme Mugwump and the entire incident was being swept under the rug as an elaborate joke. One problem solved.
Caelum's food arrived. Kidney pie. He ate with good appetite and even stole The Prophet from a neighbouring table. There was nothing especially interesting in it except for the main article. Christmas welcome and big advert on tonight's Ministry Ball. Caelum had gotten an invitation for it in his world but not in this one and he doubted crashing it was a good idea – even if it would be a great opportunity to meet the so called cream of wizarding society.
The barman came to check up on him a couple of times but was too busy to stay and talk. Caelum was quite satisfied with this arrangement because he hadn't prepared to create any kind of an image for himself. It wasn't a good idea to let the rumours brew to unimaginable heights but as Madam Malkin had suggested, he would probably be buried in owls after Christmas. Or maybe tomorrow already.
Caelum could tell many wizards and witches were gathering courage to come and introduce themselves to him so he paid and escaped to Diagon Alley to avoid dealing with them. He knew he should have gone to the apothecary to get ingredients but his feet froze and he couldn't enter. He'd last been there with Severus. For the past year he'd been shopping in France for his potions ingredients and brewing them in empty classrooms in Hogwarts. He hadn't been able to go to the dungeons even once. Same with the Diagon Alley Apothecary. The scents, the atmosphere... Everything reminded him of Severus. Caelum knew if he went in he'd faint of pain.
So he walked past the store, and didn't slow his pace until he reached the Magical Menagerie. A snake was what he needed. They could always make sense of the most problematic things and were so down-to-earth orientated that emotions did not make any sense to them. Still, they always had the most interesting answers.
"Hello, sir," the proprietor greeted him over all the noises of the animals. Suddenly the witch's eyes widened alarmingly behind her heavy black spectacles which really was the only warning Caelum needed. He already had the kneazle by the neck when the witch was only opening her mouth to shriek a warning.
Caelum handed the ginger coloured creature to the amazed owner. "I am not looking for a cat. Where would the snakes be?" The witch pointed a finger to her right and took the cat on her arms.
Caelum nodded his thanks and headed to where he was hearing Parseltongue already in use.
"Moussse. Deliciousss mousse..."
"Ssstupid human... Wrap around..."
"Essscape... Trapped... Gone..."
Mostly all the snakes were thinking of food or belittling their captors. But there was one green, about a foot long, that simply watched Caelum with interested through the glass of the terrarium. From the man's experience the observant ones were the best conversationalists. The mage leaned closer and made sure the witch was busy with the cat-kneazle.
"Hello, little brother," he whispered in Parseltongue. The snake raised his head and blinked his black eyes. The other snakes quieted down and turned to follow their exchange.
"You ssspeak? Human ssspeaksss?"
"Would you like to come with me?" Caelum let the glamour fall from his eyes and the snake to see the magic he carried. A shiver ran through him. "I have magic to ssshare and I promissse to never cage you." The snake didn't seem convinced. "And you can leave at any time. I look for a companion, not a ssslave." The other snakes hissed their acceptances but Caelum did not spare them one glance. This one was different from the others and Caelum could sense his magic and power. If he was to get a snake, he might as well get one that would prove to be useful as something else than as a mere companion. It was not what he had been looking for, but a good leader never turned down an unexpected opportunity.
He opened the lid and let the snake slither up his arm. The green creature was just positioning himself around the mage's throat when a demanding screech drew his attention to the ceiling. From there a beautiful white hawk was regarding him curiously. Caelum extended his arm and the hawk glided down, carefully attaching herself to him. She had black on her tail and on the tips of her wing feathers and she was beautiful. Caelum opened his mind to her and saw that not only was she intelligent but she had decided to come with him. Somehow he got the impression she'd been looking for him for a while now.
"What're you- That's a poisonous snake! Mister!"
Caelum grabbed a hold of the witch's hand with his free one just as she was about to cast a spell on the snake around his throat. He only did not have any confidence in the witch's aim but the snake was magical and there was no telling what a spell might do.
"I am quite alright, Miss," he said soothingly and let go of her. "I'll take the snake, and the hawk has apparently decided to follow me anyway."
"She showed up yesterday, half-dead of fatigue. First time I see a White Hawk in Britain, and during the winter nonetheless." She was eyeing the snake distrustfully, clearly disturbed by the hissing. Caelum rubbed the snake's head with his thumb and the hissing rose in volume. The hawk shrieked and Caelum changed the subject of his attentions. The hawk seemed to enjoy a good scratch on the head.
"That'll be eleven galleons for the snake. And three sickles for the hawk's food from yesterday and this morning. You don't need any..." She swallowed uneasily, unable to take her eyes off the snake, "equipment?" She wasn't even offering information about the snake.
"No, I'll be fine." He ended up balancing the hawk on his left shoulder because trying to find the right amount of money from the pouch was just impossible with one hand. The snake and hawk eyed each other warily but seemed to accept each other easily enough. Both were very magical, after all.
Snowing had stopped and darkness had fallen when the mage got out of the crammed and noisy little shop. The stores were closing down and the world was preparing for Christmas. The snake immediately slithered inside his shirt to stay warm and the hawk pressed against his neck to shield herself from the cold. Caelum was just wondering if a muggle taxi would accept him and his companions when he felt a dark presence he hadn't sensed in over seven years and whirled around.
"Mr Caelum Black? Lucius Malfoy." The silver haired man offered his hand, expecting to get a response.
Caelum honestly did not know what to do.