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"Quick stop again, Hagrid?" Blake asked pleadingly. They'd just gotten off the Hogwarts Express and bade all their farewells, but there was one thing, like last year, Blake had to do.
"Gringotts again?" Hagrid asked in disbelief. "Look 'ere, Blake, I know last year I promised yer I wouldn't tell no one, but-"
"Don't worry, Hagrid," Blake assured him. "I didn't do anything wrong to get this money, I promise."
Hagrid sighed heavily. "Well, I suppose I do need to thank yer for this year too…"
Blake cheered mentally.
/
"Hello, welcome to Gringotts. Your name?"
"Blake Renshaw, sir."
The goblin looked down at him apprehensively.
"I see… so you're the muggleborn child that deposited 4,500 Galleons of presumably your own money?"
Blake grinned and handed the goblin a pouch full of gold coins. "Yes, sir. I'd like to exchange a further 1000 Galleons for Muggle pounds."
Hagrid had chosen to remain outside, not wanting to hear how much money Blake had made (an odd place to draw a boundary, Blake thought), but Connor wanted to hear and see everything.
"I see," the goblin said, almost praisingly. "Here you are then, Mr Renshaw. A check for 5,000 pounds."
"What?" Connor gasped.
"Shush, Connor. Wait outside with Hagrid. There's something I want to talk to the banker about."
"But how-"
"Connor."
"Fine," Connor said, annoyed, before stomping out of Gringotts.
"Sorry about him," Blake sighed. The goblin merely looked at him in return. Weirdo.
"Anyway, I'd like to open another account, please, for my brother - Connor Renshaw."
"Certainly. How much would you like to deposit?"
"1,000 Galleons," Blake responded, handing the goblin another pouch.
"It is done," the goblin announced after counting the coins.
"Perfect, thank you. There was one - or actually, a couple more things on my mind though. Would it be possible to open a family account, under the name 'Renshaw'?"
"Of course, Mr Renshaw, consider it done. How much would you like to deposit?"
"Well, firstly, could you move 3,500 of the Galleons in my account to this family account-"
"Done."
"-and then, on top of that, I'd like to deposit 6,000 Galleons into this account," Blake said, pushing a small but full bag of the coins onto the desk. The goblin's eyes widened, and the boy swore he saw the banker smile for a second.
"Of course, Mr Renshaw. Will that be all?"
"One last thing, sir. I was wondering… would it be possible to make investments with the money deposited in the family account?"
/
When Blake and Connor returned home, after their mother berated them sufficiently about not responding to letters and the like, Blake presented her with another check.
"Blake…"
"He won the First Rank Prize, Mum," Connor confirmed through a mouthful of cereal, casting a cheeky look at Blake. "I promise. The prize money goes up every year."
"Is that so?" she said suspiciously.
"Yes," Blake said. "If you're doubting me, ask Hagrid. He'll tell you. He's the one that came with me to cash in the check."
"Maybe I will! And if that's the case, Connor, where's your prize?" Carol demanded.
Blake snorted the cereal out of his nose.
/
The Slytherin boy sat alone in his room. Connor and his mum were downstairs, watching TV.
Now what?
Blake was grateful and happy to be home, but it had been a week now. He had been spending the majority of his time with his brother and mother, occasionally exercising and writing to friends here and there, but nothing related to magic at all - and he missed it.
I should probably keep on top of stuff for now, he reasoned. It's not like I've forgotten anything yet, but it doesn't hurt to make sure. I could try to get ahead too - it'll definitely help to get Greengrass to agree to working with me. If I get my hands on enough resources - ancient resources - it'll be a win on both fronts.
Business for obvious reasons, but the other thing… his return.
I searched the entire library, and there was nothing about storing parts of your soul anywhere to be found - even in the Restricted Section! Dumbledore must've removed it - if Voldemort made the diary when he was in Hogwarts, and he was a half-blood, the most likely situation is that he learnt how to do it at Hogwarts. Even if he lived with his magical parent - who must've been his mother, considering his surname is Riddle - their family probably didn't have more magical knowledge than Hogwarts.
But suddenly, Blake gasped out loud and cursed himself.
I'm so stupid! There's a simple way to figure that out - Voldemort's been yapping on and on about being a descendant of Slytherin himself! I can definitely trace Slytherin's lineage, considering he cared about blood purity. If I can see his family, I've got even more intel, and I can find out much more about Voldemort himself!
Ok - that narrows down what I've got to do. Firstly, I've got to investigate Slytherin's entire family tree - Greengrass should be able to help me with that. Then, if Voldemort's mother's family has any influence or power, I need to figure out a way to access their resources. If not, it's definitely at Hogwarts, and I need to investigate that.
Luckily, though, I've got a hint.
Blake thought back to when he'd come across a book in the Restricted Section during his search for information about soul-splitting.
2 months ago…
"Magick Moste Evile?" Blake whispered out loud, reading the cover of the book. By now, he had covered most of the Restricted Section, and still there was nothing on anything related to this.
Might as well give it a go though.
Blake raked his eyes through the book, scanning each page, without any luck. As one minute turned into 10, and 10 minutes turned into an hour, he sighed.
Yet another waste of tim- Wait!
Blake drew in his breath as he read.
'Of the Horcrux, wickedest of magical inventions, we shall not speak nor give direction-'
Blake's mind raced. He had no evidence or logic, of course, but something deep in his gut told him.
'Wickedest of all magical inventions.'
The power of immortality.
If you drink unicorn blood, your life is prolonged, but at a terrible cost so unimaginable even the Darkest wizards wouldn't do it. If you managed to truly become immortal… what would be the cost?
Back to the present…
So, I've got a hint - well, a guess, really, but I suppose it's better than nothing.
Trace Slytherin's lineage.
Connect it to Voldemort.
Find out everything I can about his past.
Search for information about the soul-splitting spell - and for the worst magical invention ever.
Horcruxes.
Blake sighed, and made his way downstairs, joining Connor and his mum. As the three of them laid cuddled up together on the sofa, he couldn't help but reminisce on the last time his whole family had been together like this, all those years ago.
Dad… what made that curse break?
Blake shook his head imperceptibly - he would have time to investigate that later, well after everything else died down. For now, he could relax and enjoy time with his family - because, even more than he anticipated, third year would be a whirlwind.
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