Sirius glanced around, his eyes widening at the vastness of the Gringotts underground. It was nothing like the upper levels; here, the caverns opened into massive, bioluminescent chambers with stone bridges arching over bottomless chasms, reminiscent of the sprawling subterranean ruins of a lost age. He hadn't realized the bank went this deep.
"Vault Seven!" the goblin quipped as the cart screeched to a halt before a massive door.
The entrance was ancient and incredibly intricate. It reminded Sirius of the door to the stasis chamber they had just left, yet this one was forged entirely from gleaming goblin silver, etched with runes that seemed to hum with their own internal light.
"I didn't know the bank went this deep," Sirius muttered, his voice echoing off the high, jagged ceiling.
"These were among the earliest vaults created by Gringotts, hundreds of years ago," the goblin replied, hopping off the cart with practiced ease.
Sirius shifted his weight, glancing down at the little boy bundled in his arms. "You alright, Harry?"
The boy looked up at him, his face lit with a rare, toothy glee. "Again!" he chirped, his eyes bright with excitement. It turned out the high-speed, plunging ride through the Gringotts caverns was the most fun he'd had in a very long time.
Sirius grinned at the giggles the little pup was emanating, the sound a welcome contrast to the cold, echoing silence of the deep vaults. He then glanced back at Esme, who was focused and steady as she worked. With a precise flick of her wand and a gentle guiding hand, she used her magic to lower the three stone slabs onto the floor. The three children remained undisturbed, still sleeping safely atop them as they touched the ground without a sound.
A goblin stepped forward from the shadows of the vault entrance to meet them. This was no ordinary clerk; his armor was etched with gold, and his bearing commanded a level of authority that marked him as a high-ranking official within the Gringotts hierarchy. Sirius recognized him immediately as Ragnok, the Director of the London branch.
"Esme. Welcome!" Ragnok greeted her, his voice a low, raspy rumble.
"Ragnok, it is nice to see you again," Esme smiled, greeting the goblin with a comfortable familiarity that suggested they had been allies for years. "Are all the... preparations on their way?"
"Oh, they are, Ms. Esme. They are," Ragnok replied, his sharp eyes glinting. He then turned his gaze toward Sirius, looking him up and down with a clinical, weighing scrutiny. "And this is the man to be part of the ritual?"
Esme nodded.
"Hmm." Ragnok let out a non-committal grunt.
Sirius remained silent, remembering Esme's warning. He was a Black, heir to one of the most powerful families in Britain, but here, miles beneath the earth, that title meant nothing. The goblins didn't recognize family ties or pureblood posturing; they respected wealth, raw power, and above all, the kind of competence Esme clearly possessed. He kept his jaw set and stayed quiet, leaving the negotiation entirely in her capable hands. He did not want to offend the goblins.
Harry, on the other hand, was looking at the goblin in absolute awe. His wide eyes followed the glint of Ragnok's armor and the sharp lines of his face without a hint of fear.
What a brave pup, Sirius thought, a surge of pride warming his chest. Most children his age would have burst into tears or hidden behind their parents' legs at the sight of a goblin, especially one as intimidating as Ragnok. But Harry just watched him, fascinated by the strange new world unfolding around him.
Esme had explained to Sirius exactly why the goblins were vital to this ritual. During her medical journeys, she and Portia had unearthed records of a "True Blood Adoption"—a rite far more potent than the superficial potions used by modern wizards. Most who had attempted it in the past had failed, consumed by the sheer magnitude of the magic they couldn't ground. However, one recorded success in Africa proved the ritual could effectively "restart" a bloodline. While the exact meaning of a "restart" remained a mystery them, Esme knew that for children in conditions as severe as Nathan, Penelope, and Pietro, an ordinary potion would never be enough.
The records also revealed that goblins possess a superior resonance with ancient magic due to their ancestral ties to the world's core. Their preservation magic is so renowned that the very air of their deepest vaults hums with it. While goblins might not wield magic with wands, they harness it through their innate connection to the Earth. This is why they were often perfect partners when it comes to ancient rituals.
Sirius was surprised to learn that the goblins' respect for Esme went beyond mere business. She had not only developed specialized healing potions that worked on their unique physiology, but she had also spent years returning lost goblin artifacts she discovered within the castle. To the goblins, she wasn't just a witch; she was a healer and an honorable ally who respected their heritage.
The silver doors of Vault Seven parted with a sound like a low, resonant bell, and Sirius stepped inside, clutching Harry tightly to his chest. He felt as though he had crossed a threshold into another realm entirely. Behind him, Esme entered with a silent, focused grace, her presence seemingly expanding to match the ancient power of the chamber.
The scale of the vault took Sirius's breath away. It was a massive, hollowed-out geode of obsidian and silver, reaching so high that the ceiling was lost in a swirling nebula of bioluminescent mist. This was the raw, primordial architecture of Ancient Magic—the same echoing, monumental stonework found in the ruins of the Highlands (A/N: If you play Hogwarts Legacy, you'll know what this is).
Glowing, crystalline runes spiraled up the walls like rising smoke, casting a soft, rhythmic pulse of light that matched the beat of Sirius's own heart. He could feel the sheer weight of the magic here; it was thick, tasting of ozone and cold iron, pressing against his skin with the force of a deep-sea current.
In the dead center of the chamber sat a pool. It was a wide basin carved from iridescent white stone, glowing with an inner light that turned the surrounding obsidian into a mirror. The liquid within was not water; it was a shimmering, viscous substance that looked like molten starlight, swirling in slow, hypnotic patterns.
Silver vapor curled off the surface, drifting upward in defiance of gravity, while the three stone slabs carrying Nathan, Penelope, and Pietro hovered silently at the pool's edge, held in place by the room's invisible tension
Sirius looked down at Harry. The boy wasn't crying; he was reaching out a small hand toward the glowing runes, his emerald eyes reflecting the silver light of the pool.
"Now?" Sirius asked, his voice sounding small against the vast, humming silence of the vault.
Esme stepped up beside him, the light of the ancient basin reflecting in her eyes, making her look both timeless and terrifyingly powerful. She placed a steadying hand on his shoulder—a touch that was both a comfort and a command.
Esme's voice was a soft, grounding anchor in the humming vastness of the vault. "Now, my petit. Remember what we talked about, right?"
It had taken a monumental effort to prepare Harry for this. Over the past few days, she had used stories and gentle magic to explain the process, peeling away the fear without overwhelming his young mind. They needed him to be calm, to be willing, and to be brave.
She reached out, taking Harry from Sirius's reluctant arms. The transition was seamless, but Sirius felt the sudden chill of the vault the moment the boy was gone. Esme knelt and helped Harry peel out of his small jacket, leaving him in his swim trunks. The air in the deep cavern was biting—a damp, ancient cold that seeped into the bone—but they could not use warming charms. Any external magic, even something as simple as a heating spell, could act as an impurity, fracturing the delicate resonance of the ritual.
Harry shivered, his breath blooming in small white clouds, but he kept his eyes locked on Esme's. He trusted her completely.
"Brave pup," Sirius whispered, his voice thick with emotion as he watched the small boy stand trembling but resolute on the white stone rim.
Esme led Harry to the very edge of the basin. With a strength that belied her slender frame, she supported him as she guided him into the liquid moonlight. As he touched the surface, the silver vapors curled eagerly around his limbs.
"Just like we practiced," she murmured. "Like floating in the stars."
She laid him down gently upon the viscous, shimmering surface. The liquid didn't splash; it yielded like silk, supporting his small weight. Harry lay there, his head resting just above the surface, his dark hair fanning out like ink in a pool of light. He looked tiny against the scale of the ancient vault, a single spark of life in the chamber.
The little boy floated at the center of the formation, his wide eyes tracking the other three children as the pool's current arranged them into a perfect, symmetrical circle. Nathan, Penelope, and Pietro drifted around him like silent moons, their pale faces illuminated by the shifting light of the liquid starlight.
Ragnok stood at the edge of the glow, his gold-etched armor gleaming with a fierce, metallic luster. He struck the floor once with his silver staff—a heavy, echoing thrum that vibrated through the stone and into the very soles of their feet. At the signal, the runes on the obsidian walls flared to life, transforming from a soft, ghostly blue into a searing, molten gold that filled the vault with a blinding brilliance.
From the shadows beyond the pillars, the other goblins began to chant. It was a low, rhythmic humming, a guttural muttering in a tongue so ancient it predated the invention of the wand. The sounds weren't just words; they were vibrations that seemed to pull at the earth itself, a song of stone and iron that only their kind could truly master.
Sirius and Esme shared a final, weighted look. There was no room for doubt now. Together, they stepped onto the iridescent white rim of the pool, the heat from the molten runes warming their faces.
They reached down and grasped the ceremonial knives laid out beside the basin—blades of pure goblin silver that hummed in anticipation. Without breaking eye contact, they both moved with synchronized precision. They flinched simultaneously as they drew the sharp edges across their palms, a deep, clean slice that opened the way for the ritual's true catalyst.
Thin, luminous strings of white light began to rise from the surface of the water like ghost-threads. At first, they were delicate, swirling around the four children in a gentle, protective cocoon before spiraling outward to encircle Sirius and Esme. The sensation was cool, like a summer breeze, as the magic began to stitch the new family tapestry together.
But then, the atmosphere in the vault shifted.
The low hum of the goblins' chant broke into a sharp, discordant rhythm. The white threads suddenly thickened, turning a heavy, aggressive shade of molten gold. The gentle swirl became a violent vortex. Without warning, the golden light lashed out, transforming from ethereal strings into solid, glowing chains that snared the children and yanked them toward the center of the pool.
"Esme?!" Sirius roared, reaching out for Harry, but the golden light grabbed him too. The magic wrapped around his chest and limbs with a crushing, suffocating grip, as if the earth itself was trying to pull him down into the stone.
Esme's face was a mask of shock, her eyes wide as the gold light climbed her own arms like living vines.
"Sirius! I don't—!" she started to yell, her voice strained as she struggled against the unexpected surge. "Something is wrong! The resonance is too—!"
She never finished her sentence. The gold light flared with the intensity of a collapsing star, blinding and absolute. The last thing Sirius felt was a searing heat in his blood and the sensation of being pulled through a needle's eye before the world, the vault, and the light all vanished into a void of total blackness.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
I didn't expect this chapter to be long. There is also another chapter after this. That will be the last update for today. Thank you for your support.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRiCy1ouo4g
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