Hogwarts: The Blood Mage

In the depths of Gringotts, Fernuk and Aidan were riding one of the carts that lead to the deepest parts of the bank's underground. 

"So, we're going to Vault 57, you said?" Aidan asked, arms crossed and pretending to be nonchalant. Secretly, he was as amazed by the roller coaster that was Gringotts as when he first saw it with his father, before he even started Hogwarts. 

"Indeed." Fernuk answered. "Vault 57 is the Ancestral Vault of House Haimadros. It is where everything, from their money to other... possessions, is stored."

Aidan felt a form of excitement he didn't expect to feel. On the one hand, he was about to see things people had not seen in what seemed to be at least a century. On the other hand, he would have to deal with whatever consequences came with claiming what was rightfully his. The only thing he was certain of was that, whatever ended up happening, he would face it head on. 

'Hm, maybe the hat wasn't wrong when it said that I would be a fine Gryffindor.' Aidan thought as the stopped. 

"Please follow me, Mr. Haimadros." Fernuk said, having already adapted to the fact that he was not talking to the young Mr. Thorne Jr., as the goblins had taken to calling him. They walked down a long corridor for what felt like at least a few minutes, until Fernuk stopped in front of a door twice as tall as Aidan, and wide enough for at least four of him to enter side by side. And mind you, Aidan was not scrawny or slim. For a wizard, he would be extremely fit. "If you would, please present the door with your Ring." 

Without uttering any word, Aidan approached the door and saw a spot in the center that had an indentation in which his ring seemed to fit. Without removing it from his hand, Aidan pressed the ring against the indentation and felt how his magic communed with the one that kept the vault sealed. Then, the door starter moving, opening towards the sides. 

"Mr. Haimadros, I'll leave you to tend to any business you have in your vault." Fernuk said once Aidan entered the vault. "The door will remain closed, but you can open it from the inside the same way you just did." 

As the door closed, trapping Aidan in the vault, Fernuk realised the boy had not been paying any attention to him, completely enraptured by the sight before him. And how could he not be? All Aidan saw in the vault was stirring his inner Ravenclaw in ways he only felt the first time he visited the Hogwarts library. 

Books that seemed older than the vault that held them, gemstones of varying colours —some shining, some matte, some exuding magic—, ancient artifacts that Aidan had no way of knowing the function of. Everything was a marvel to him. Without much thought, Aidan approached the book closest to the entrance, the only one sitting in a lectern, as if expecting whoever entered to read it first. 

"Records of House Haimadros, the History of a Bloodline." Aidan read the title of the book out loud. It just happened to be exactly what Aidan was hoping to find; it was something that would help him understand his bloodline, its history, and its possible enemies. He had not forgotten, after all, that his mother left him because she was being chased. "Let's see what you have to offer." 

As Aidan opened the book, he had not expected what would happen. As if it was a Pensieve, the book absorbed Aidan into it, opting to show him the history of his surname. 

*

In a structure that looked much like an ancient Greek temple, Aidan found himself sitting in the cold stone floor. In front of him stood a young man, one who did not look much older than Aidan himself, with raven black hair spiked to a side, pale skin, and his left eye a deep green –his right was a bright red that Aidan could recognise from his own face in the mirror. 

"Lord Zagreus, to what do we owe your visit?" Aidan, or whoever he was seeing the memory as, asked. 

"Haimadros, how many times have I told you to drop the formalities?" The so called Zagreus answered. "I already told you, we are friends, mortal or god, god or mortal, those do not matter. You are worse than Achilles."

"Sorry, but it is quite hard to drop the formalities when speaking with the divine, Lord Zagreus." The one called Haimadros answered. "I will try my best in what little time I have left." 

"That's right! That was the reason I took the time to visit." Zagreus answered, as if he himself had just remembered why he was there at all. "You see my friend, as you are approaching the end of your mortal life, I still have not given you or your family anything in return." 

"In return... for what, Lord Zagreus?" Haimadros inquired, confusion marring his thoughts. "I am not sure I quite follow you." 

"In return for being the only family to ever tend to my temple, and to remember me as one of the Gods." Zagreus answered, matter-of-factly, as if it was normal for him to give something in return. 

"Lord Zagreus, we only do what is expected of us!" Haimadros answered, shocked at what his god was saying. "My father tended to this temple, and his before him, and so on!" 

"That is exactly the reason why." Zagreus stated, as if Haimadros was giving him even more motives to give something in exchange. "Listen, Haimadros, just accept it. Take it as a divine order if you will." 

"But... Lord Zagreus... I..." Haimadros could not answer to what the god had said. After all, to him, a devout follower of the god Zagreus, a divine order could only be followed. 

Choosing to smile instead of talk, Zagreus took a small needle from his robes and pricked his finger, floating a small drop of red blood in his hand. As soon as the drop left his body, the small puncture closed, and Zagreus solidified the drop, placing it in his one mortal friend's hand.

"Dissolve it in water and have your children drink it." Zagreus told Haimadros. "From now on, any descendant of yours shall be forever linked with me." 

As those words were spoken, Aidan realised the memory started twisting, which let him know it was over. Then he felt himself floating out of the body.

*

Aidan found himself back in the vault, staring at the book that had shown him the memory, his brain trying to sort and store what he had just witnessed, remembered, seen. Greek gods were real, and the House of Haimadros was related to one of them. Apparently this Zagreus was a Greek god, but Aidan had never heard of Zagreus. Thus, he would have to research. And luckily for him, he was surrounded by research material. 

That was how Aidan's quest to categorise every book in the vault began. It would take him the rest of the morning, but he had no complaints about it. After all, he had survived as top of the class in Ravenclaw for six consecutive years. While very well hidden, Aidan was a total nerd.

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