Chapter 74. Leather Armor
Several days later.
Descending into the basement, Severus walked to the center of the room. In the middle stood a silver pedestal, which, like the rest of the room, was completely covered in red symbols, with a small depression at its center.
Without a word, he took a transparent dark crystal from his pouch, one the size of a human head, cut in a precise shape. Lifting it with magic, he brought it to the depression and lowered it into place.
In the next moment, inscriptions far smaller than those on the building's walls flared to life across the crystal, and the crystal itself began to shimmer with rainbow radiance.
"Now the second stage." He cut his palm and squeezed his fist, letting blood drip onto the crystal. Gradually, its color shifted to scarlet. Closing his eyes, he began whispering something unintelligible, and with each word, the radiance intensified.
The runes on the pedestal lit up, and the glow spread in a wave through the inscriptions on the walls, then flowed onward to those beyond the room.
At that moment, enormous streams of magic poured from the air, rushing at incredible speed as the house began to absorb them. There was so much that even Nagini, standing outside the manor's grounds with the house-elves, could see it clearly. Wild currents of air swirled like a storm. They could have easily demolished an ordinary building, yet they didn't affect this house at all. If Severus hadn't placed a concealing barrier beforehand, within minutes scores of wizards and Muggles would have gathered to witness the spectacle. It looked like a gigantic tornado with the house at its epicenter.
Watching, Nagini couldn't help but worry about Severus. Still, she believed in him and tried not to think the worst. The Maledictus could clearly feel his calmness through their connection, so she didn't panic and simply waited.
After some time, in the basement, Severus removed his hand from the crystal and, sighing wearily, looked at it with a satisfied smile.
Everything turned out simpler than I thought. And now... He lifted his gaze to the room and raised his hands, slowly spreading them apart. At that moment, the walls began to move away. Within seconds, the space grew from a modest forty square meters to three hundred. "A house as an artifact. I never thought I'd use this one day."
"House as an Artifact" could not be classified under runology, enchanting, potion-making, or charms. It was magic that combined all four disciplines. Created by a Great Archmage millennia ago, it could transform a house into a true artifact capable of protecting itself, concealing its presence, and attacking uninvited guests. The interior could be reshaped however the owner desired, with one exception: furniture. The house could not create furnishings; those still had to be purchased. It drew magic from the air to power itself, but Severus still planned to create ten more crystals in addition to this one, just in case. He had no way of knowing what the future held. Since his rebirth, he had become far more cautious and refused to lose his life to some accident. If he were attacked, if the ambient magic surrounding the house were limited, if the opponent proved too strong or the enemies were too numerous, he would always have a reserve to fight them off and escape the danger zone.
After returning the room to its previous size, he began altering the interior, shifting to lighter tones. It was not difficult, nor did it require much magic. This was not illusion but transformation, one level below transfiguration. It operated on the alchemical principle of equivalent exchange; nevertheless, it proved extraordinarily useful. It could not create objects from nothing, but in cases like this, transformation was far more effective.
Ten minutes later, after finishing the interior, he left the building, where the house-elves and Nagini were already waiting for him.
"Almost everything is ready. I suggest we go buy furniture and move in already. What do you think?" Severus smiled at Nagini and held out his hand. She quickly slithered up his arm.
"Why are you asking me? If you want to, let's go," she answered calmly, pressing against his cheek.
"And who else should I ask? Them?" He pointed at the house-elves. "They don't care. That's obvious, I think. All right, let's go already. I'll show you everything inside."
Uh-huh!
Over the next two days, they settled into the new house. Severus transferred everything from the shop, and yesterday he bought furniture, mostly from the Muggle world. It looked much more pleasant than that old-fashioned monstrosity from Diagon Alley, though magical beds, pillows, bedding, and kitchen utensils were far superior. Severus charmed everything, so practically speaking, there was no difference.
Besides, yesterday evening he visited the Malfoys and met the elder Malfoy. The elder Malfoy was talkative and kept offering to buy potion recipes, promising substantial sums. Severus refused again, saying he had an agreement with the Ministry and only they and he himself could sell them.
From what Lucius said after the meeting, Severus understood the invitation had been the father's idea. He wanted to see the young man who had made a huge fortune in such a short time. The attempt to purchase the recipe was simply a test. If it had worked, the elder Malfoy would not have minded signing an agreement like the Ministry's, because potions were enormously profitable, especially in troubled times.
In general, there was nothing special about the meeting, except that Severus removed slave seals from two more Death Eaters close to Lucius and became better acquainted with the Malfoy family. Lucius took after his father completely, but the elder was more cunning and hid his emotions and thoughts better behind a façade of indifference.
Gringotts Bank
The very next day, in a forge with a huge furnace and anvils, Severus examined a set of dark leather armor with interest: metal shoulder pads, bracers, boots, and a belt, along with patterns along the edges of the cloak and across the chest. He barely suppressed a satisfied smile; the craftsmanship was even better than the blueprint. Goblins had excellent taste.
The elderly goblin, seeing the human's pleased expression, lifted his chin proudly.
"One of my best works."
"Honestly, I'm surprised. I thought it would be much worse, but everything is perfect." Severus ran his palm over the patterns on the shoulder pads, nodded, then touched the pocket on his chest. A moment later, a meter-long piece of Basilisk hide appeared on the floor. At the sight of it, the eyes of Gobrari and the other goblins lit up. The hide of the King of Serpents was exceedingly rare. One could even say it was impossible to obtain. It appeared on the market once every ten years, or even decades, and only in small pieces of poor quality.
"Do not underestimate goblins! We are the best craftsmen! Not a single little human can compare with us!" Gobrari spoke with solemn pride, even as he dropped to his knees, drooling and practically licking the hide. The contrast was jarring.
"Of course. And did I deny anything?" Severus stowed the armor in his wallet and regarded Gobrari once more. "If I require other items, may I contact you?"
"Of course."
"But not for free?"
"What did you think?" Gobrari carefully rolled up the hide and placed it in a chest beside the largest furnace.
"That's what I thought. Well then, thank you for the excellent work." Severus smiled, or rather grinned, and held out his hand.
"I await your next order with impatience," Gobrari grinned back, shaking the offered hand.
Severus didn't voice his thoughts aloud, but his expression made it clear enough: "You're waiting for my Galleons, damn goblin."
As soon as Severus left the room, Gobrari turned his thoughtful gaze to the chest. Then he walked to the wall and touched it. A magic circle lit up around his hand.
"This hide is identical to that one. He tried to age it a bit, but I'm sure it was only recently removed from a living Basilisk," Gobrari said confidently, stroking his beard.
The response came silently through the connection.
"I think so too. We should not make rash moves, even as a group."
Another silent response.
"Yes, understood. I saw nothing."
After removing his hand, Gobrari looked at the chest again, rubbing his palms together and grinning. He couldn't wait to start working on the hide, and the behind-the-scenes affairs of the elders and the chief goblin barely interested him.
Leaving Gringotts, Severus went straight home to cast protective charms and inscribe runes on the armor. But ten steps from the door, he heard the beating of wings. Turning, he spotted an owl bearing the distinctive marking near its beak that identified it as Malfoy's.
"What does he need now? We just discussed everything yesterday." The owl landed on his shoulder, rubbing its head affectionately against his cheek, then raised its leg to reveal a small red box tied there.
"Hmm?" Severus tilted his head, bewildered. He inspected it carefully before opening it. To his surprise, inside lay a ring with powerful mind-protection enchantments and a moon engraved on a black gemstone. "Er, what am I supposed to make of this?"
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