{Ritual Room 2, Dungeons, Greengrass Manor}
{31th Oct 1991}
{Rigel's POV}
...
As I walked into the room, the enigma, Daphne's mom, was pushed out of my mind. She had directed me to this room while she took Daphne somewhere else. My mana sense locked onto the two mana signatures, one familiar and one unfamiliar. I looked at the occupants in the room, one with whom I had shared a dance earlier, and the other whose presence and visual appeal screamed attention.
Her pink dress complemented her dyed hair, but the punk-style hairstyle, tattoo, and dark yet vibrant makeup said otherwise. Her eyes were pink, though I'm pretty sure it had something to do with the fact that she could change that at will rather than the charm everyone had been using.
"Rigel, meet Nymphadora Tonks, my daughter-" Andromeda began to introduce her, but was cut off by the girl.
"It's Tonks," she asserted, her eyes glaring at Andromeda as they stared briefly at each other. Andromeda then sighed quite dramatically as she turned back to me, "Shall we get started, dear? Your uncle is a little busy and asked me to help you with this." I sensed her annoyance at the mention of Sirius, so I decided to move the conversation in a safer direction.
"What's this ritual like?" I asked as I looked at the ground. The difference between the rune structure arranged on the ground was quite easy to spot. There were no outlets like the ones in the last ritual, so hopefully, no animals will be harmed during this process.
"It's a simple ritual, and even calling it a ritual is a stretch." Andromeda started speaking as she extended her hand, "Do you have the ring?" She asked.
"Yes...it's in my room." I lied. The ring was in my inventory, so that would be an issue. Since I'm wearing a see-through robe, I can't fake-pull it out of my pocket.
"Twinky," Andromeda called out, and a house-elf popped out. It wasn't the one I had seen, but it must be a part of the Greengrass household as she instructed, "Take Mr. Black back to his room."
'Good, that would make things way easier. I could fake rummage through my travel backpack.' I thought as the elf bowed to me and grabbed onto the hem of my robes. An uncomfortable yet thankfully short moment later, I was back in the guest room.
"Give me a minute, Twinky," I said. The elf nodded, and it popped away. After ensuring his mana signature wasn't around, I pulled out the heir ring from my inventory. Since I could not claim the heir ring for the Gaunt House, it was my only claim to magical nobility.
'Unless I could do something about it after Voldemort is dead.'
"Twinky," I said aloud, and the house-elf popped back in the same spot beside me.
"Let's go back," I said, and he nodded, not saying another word. The tiny figure grabbed onto my robes again, and a second later, I was back in the dungeon. Our arrival must have interrupted their conversation as Tonks was glaring at her mother, who was now ignoring her.
I pulled out the ring and extended it to her, her focus now captured by the shining black gemstone on the ring. Even Tonks took a step closer to look at the piece of familial artifact.
'It does look good, though it is a bit janky; thankfully, it has a function that would allow it to go invisible.'
The ring is forged from a lustrous, obsidian-black metal, giving it a weighty and imposing presence. At its center, a large, polished onyx gemstone sat, its surface almost mirror-like, capturing and reflecting light in a mysterious, almost ethereal way. If one were to peer closely at the gemstone, one could see a replica of the starry sky reflected inside.
Encircling the onyx, intricate silver filigree weaves around the gemstone, forming the ancient runes and sigils of the Black family. The ring's band is engraved with the Black family motto, "'Toujours Pur'" in a flowing script. On each side of the band, the Black family crest is carefully etched, featuring a shield bearing the proud emblem of a rampant black hound, symbolizing loyalty and strength, flanked by serpents, denoting the family's cunning and ties to Slytherin House.
The entire ring exudes an aura of ancient magic, commanding respect and awe, making it clear that this is no ordinary piece of jewelry but a symbol of the power and heritage of the House of Black. Plus, it was an artifact clearly engraved with powerful magic and runes, as I was able to 'Observe' it.
...
[Black Heir Ring (Unique): A Ring enchanted to signify and protect the next heir to the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. A certain degree of blood connection is required to activate and bond with the ring and gain access to its protection.
It is also possible to use the ring as a focal object, but the resulting spell might have a diminished effect.
Bonded - ~
+ 10% Affinity to Offensive spells.
+ 10% Affinity to Mind Arts.
+ Advanced Alternate Occlumency Shield.
+ Advanced Charm Detection Runic Scheme.
+ Advanced Charm Disruption Runic Scheme.
+ Advanced Potion Detection Runic Scheme.
+ Advanced Poison Detection Runic Scheme.
+ Advanced Resize Runic Scheme.
+ Advanced Invisibility Runic Scheme.]
...
My eyes once again read through the whole list of protections that the ring would provide. It had an impressive selection of warning systems, but the most impressive thing was that it could be used as a focal point, which means I could use it to launch surprise attacks when I lose my wand.
'But then again, maybe this ability would be known to my enemies, and then it won't be a surprise.'
"Your father, Regulus, was the last one who wore this. Your grandfather went mad when it appeared in the Black Family vault." Andromeda spoke, her voice solemn.
"Will it accept me as the heir, you know, considering my mother was a squib?" I asked. This was my only worry. The ring didn't display any harmful charm that was placed on it, but there is no reason not to be careful.
"As long as the Bloodline Trace Ritual accepted you, it would work for the ring as well; you see, activating and bonding to any magical artifact is the same." She said as she walked toward the room's darker corner and returned with the same marble bowl that he had seen placed on the Goblin's desk. A well-placed observer told me that it was, in fact, the same thing, just a little more advanced.
...
[Bloodline Trace Ritual Bowl (Unique): A Ritual Bowl enchanted to trace the bloodlines of the 77 founding families that built the Britain Magical government, Wizengamot. The 539 Runes etched onto the Ritual Bowl have been configured to recognize the magic present in the blood and can successfully trace the bloodline back thirteen generations.
The 100% accuracy is only limited to the parent's magic, after that, only the name of the house could be detected.]
...
"How many drops did you use during the Bloodline trace Ritual last time?" Andromeda asked, noticing that I had recognized the bowl.
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AN: I chose a mix of Punk and Goth for Nymphadora's image. Since she's a Metamorphmagus, she can easily switch between the two.
P.S- 50+ chapters on P.atreon!