The Family Predicament
They all leave the station and head to their homes, but Aurelius takes his mothers aside and casts a silencing barrier, disillusionment, notice me not charms, and revelio charm.
His mothers raised their eyebrows, noticing that the sounds around them seized and that he tested for hidden people.
"What's wrong, dear? I can't imagine any reason to stop eavesdropping." Said Martha.
"Well, I want to say that if things occur as I expect them to. I need to set up major defenses for everyone while also protecting our home." Said a worried Aurelius.
"What?" said a worried Martha.
"Okay, dear, we need a little more context; otherwise, you're just gonna freak us out." Said Ann in her serious lawyer mode.
"Okay, so the nature of my concerns is if any of the families of the nobles has debts to the Galegold in my family vault at Gringotts. If they have even a small debt, it's enough money to cripple them to the point that they're financial slaves literally until the planet is engulfed by the sun and beyond if we are able to leave the planet. I have designed and manufactured a method to defend us, but I need to gain some materials in my vault; however, I need about a week to create it, return to Hogwarts to manufacture it, and some of your blood to create it. Also, I want to put a fidelius charm on our home and put money into building a manor that will make the Black family manor look like a cakewalk." Said Aurelius.
"That's a lot. Let me unpack that." Said an incredulous Martha.
Ann responded nearly immediately after Martha spoke.
"Okay, so basically what I'm understanding is that your family would naturally have interest upon those loans, and since your family was supposedly dead. Naturally, they wouldn't pay, but since you exist, that debt is still owed. Large loans naturally are done on magical contracts, ensuring that the debt is paid or something of major value is forfeited, including their magic. And you want to make your new manor our new home with some tedious but necessary procedures to protect us should anyone attempt to kill you to end their debt?" said a focused Ann.
"Wait, you got all that? You even made serious assumptions and some dangerous implications. He only said that five seconds before you spoke." Said a surprised Martha.
"Hey, I'm a lawyer. I have to unpack a briefing of 10 pages in less than 2 minutes, but seriously, did I cover everything? And are your procedures airtight? Cause you can't half-arse security of this level. What are your plans?" Ann said, trying to cover all angles of concern.
"Wow. I did not expect you to unpack that so quickly, either, but right back on topic. So, I've developed accessories that are basically indestructible and will function as an automatic system that acts similarly to a wizard. Still, the effects are limited per accessory and will rely on you willing the accessory to function as necessary in the nonautomated functions. The house will be under fidelius with over-the-top wards. The accessories will be unsummonable and unremovable except for the bearer willingly; they will be locked to your person, and their estimated lifetime, even used constantly, will be your entire lifetime. They will absorb ambient magic, so there naturally is a limit of time of use, but the basic defenses will be on at all times. I have a guardian totem who can be the secret keeper. I'll explain that later." I told them.
"Do you have a diagram or something on you that covers all the details of each accessory?" said an anxious but also excited Martha because what she's partially hearing is that she'd be able to use magic, not like a magical, but close enough that it would have satisfied a long lost desire.
I take out the document with all my plans.
The first ring and two bracelets, mind, defense, and escape(imperative)
Mind ring: anti-confundus, anti-legilimency, anti-love potion, anti-imperius, and anti-mind-altering potions, anti-obliviate, self-identification resonance charm
Defense bracelet: releases mirrors that are essentially invisible by using disillusionment, notice me not, and silencing charms. These mirrors use the reflection charm speculo and enhancement charms to reflect a spell directly back at the caster three times faster than it was sent; it also slows down the person by a tenth of a second should they look directly into the mirror. As a result, it is an unexpected, unavoidable, unstoppable counter to all spells, including the killing curse. They also will cast a protego shield should they attack the area around the mirrors or be targeted using transfigured objects or concussive force instead of spells.
Escape bracelet: anti-apparition ward destroyer(activate), apparate(passively activates upon the condition of the anti-apparition ward destroyer activates), apparate(activate), body physical enhancement(passive), disillusionment, notice me not, and silencing spell, revulsion jinx to remove bindings, physical enhancement.
"Great Merlin, this already sounds more powerful and comprehensive than any defense ward system known to wizardkind. And there is more?" says a bewildered Martha.
"Please continue reading because while these ensure defense, we need to account for more things," I asked my mother, Martha, to continue reading.
Status ring: heal, remove poison, detect poison, detect potions, countering dark magic effects will have to be searched and applied in the future.
Detainment & information bracelet: detection charm, marking charm, tongue-tying hex, expelliarmus, incarcerous, memory stealing spell, revelio charm, and obliviate that erases two hours.
Storage ring: a ring that functions much like a locket with an undetectable expansion charm with a summoning charm that needs voice command to come out of the box, but its requirements must be specific, or everything that fits into that category will come out all at once.
"Okay, wow, I did not expect to be able to fight a squad of aurors by wearing a few accessories." Said Ann, who finished reading first.
"Okay, just finished, and I second that sentiment. It's like you're preparing us to be able to fight on the entire wizarding world." Martha said jokingly.
"...…" I didn't answer.
"Oh god, you aren't actually doing that." Said an incredulous Ann.
"I will not lose my family; my line will not die with me. If I am not prepared to fight everyone, I won't be prepared to fight every situation." I said with a resolute tone.
My mother, Ann, touches my cheek and smiles while looking into my eyes. "Dear, this is very sweet and disturbingly well thought through, but if you think that your heritage and their debts will endanger everyone you care about, those you will care about, is it even worth opening up that vault?"
"The situation is that my owning Hogwarts alone and being incredibly wealthy, even if I were to forgive all debts, makes me and, by extension, you very tempting targets. I would still create all this if it meant ensuring your safety." I said, not willing to budge on the manner.
She sighs. "Very well, I'm in. What about you, dear?"
"I don't like this, but you are correct. Whether or not your debts are forgiven, we'll be walking targets. It's better to have control of others to ensure that we at least can reign in the extremists. Is there any defense that protects us from backstabbing?" said Ann, noticing a potential flaw.
"Yes, they're all made so that anyone who's made a contract with them will lose both their family line, and their children that have married or been married off cannot engage in having someone attempt to kill our family to end the debts. There are clauses in my family's contracts that whomever they deal with will not be allowed to explain any implications or details of the contract," Aurelius explained. "It can only be explained to anyone in the immediate family. Much like the fidelius charm, the information won't even be seeable if they write it down. There is a clause that allows me to tell a betrothed about a contract bearer if requested, but the person involved may only say, and I quote, 'I did not marry due to the debts that they carry and am unable to speak of the details due to a magical contract that should I attempt to inform someone in any way my life and the family's magic are forfeit," Aurelius revealed.
"Good. That ensures that they can't even attempt to have their allies or hit wizards to attempt to harm you, or they'd essentially be killing their family line. And it's in their best interest to stop any stupid family member from trying." Said Ann, visibly much less tense.
"For Merlin's sake, your family was cutthroat as all hell." Said an incredulous Martha.
"If I'm not mistaken, I asked you about procedures, and you said something about a totem guardian, but I don't recall you ever telling us about this." Said Ann.
"Well, first off, we need to have every ward available and make our own. I am going to make spells to attempt to break in and will make counters against it. I will isolate our home so that the only way to get in is an authorized elf with the same mental defenses as us. Our home will be so comprehensive that we rarely need to leave the house unless we want to. All the guests will be screened before entering. As for the secret keeper, that would be my friend and totem guardian." I told her.
I put my suitcase down and opened it. Outcomes a beautiful young woman who couldn't be older than 25.
My mother raises an eyebrow while the other is barely following along.
"Moms, this is Nagini. My totem guardian. She's a summoned being who has magically bonded to me through a magically binding loyalty contract. She is protected against all forms of coercion. So she is our most reliable ally." I told them with confidence.
"Hello, Mrs. and Mrs. Aulus. As your son has said, I am his totem guardian, bound to him for life, and I am happy to help however I can." Said Nagini.
"When you say bound for life, you don't mean marriage," said a curious Martha.
"Well, yes and no, it's more or less the same thing, but I am not inherently a wife; I am more akin to a knight to their lord; however, with our bond, there is also an inherent attraction that leans that way. He is still a child, and we both will respect that." Said a somewhat embarrassed Nagini, who was trying to keep a straight face.
"I know you, Aurelius, but at the same time, I understand that you are also a young man. Please tell me this was unintentional." Said Martha.
"It was. We weren't fully aware of the side effects of the totem guardian contract aside from being bonded. Also, if we want to, we can communicate with each other telepathically." I said, trying to avoid any misunderstanding.
"Handy. Anyway, it's time to decide the order of our next plans. I'm thinking we go home and set up the fidelius charm. Have a house elf apparate us infront of Gringotts. We go in and look over the bank stuff, debts, and potential marriage contracts. Grab the materials you need to make the materials. Bribe the goblin to keep their trap shut for at least this summer. Buy some land or possibly rebuild your ancestral manor. We all jump to Hogwarts with a house elf to build the rings. And then let the goblins build while we rest at home?" said Ann, summarizing a plan of action.
"Sounds like a plan, Mom."
"Good job, dear," said Martha.
"It's what I do best. Now, let's go. Please call that house elf you called earlier." Said Ann.
"Sammy," I called the elf.
"Yes, young master Sammy is here. How can Sammy help?" said the eager house elf.
"Please take us to this location," I say while showing him a picture with the address written below it.
They were apparated to their home.
"It will likely take a few tries, so bear with me. And as for setting it up, everyone, please place a drop of blood onto my hand." Nagini says while taking out a few pins she prepared for the fidelius. "Now, please state your name and your relation to each other as parent and child of the same house."
"Oh, that reminds me, I will need you to take my family name to fully protect you socially so people know not to mess with you, so you will also need to say your acceptance of my house name," I told them all.
"Already had that in mind, master."
"Understood." Both my mothers said.
"I, heir Galegold, accept Ann Aulus and Martha Aulus into the family of the Galegold should they wish it so."
"We, the family of Ann Aulus and Martha Aulus, accept the family name Galegold as has been requested by heir Galegold."
A golden light shines around them.
"Now, Aurelius, you need to accept me as your secret keeper."
I give her a curt nod. "I, heir Galegold, entrust the secret of my home to the secret keeper whom I have accepted into the family of Galegold, Nagini Galegold."
"I, Nagini Galegold, shall take the role of secret keeper. So be it, mote it shall be. Lumos."
Our home momentarily flashed, disappeared, then reappeared before our eyes.
"Did it work? Sammy, can you see it?" I asked.
"No young master. Sammy cannot see what young master is pointing at." Said a confused house elf, wondering why the young master was pointing at an empty clearing.
"That's good, okay I'm gonna go put away Hermes into the house before we leave" Aurelius told them and left.
We pop back into diagon alley and Sammy pops back into Hogwarts awaiting for his master's call after he returns from his excursion.