The Unwanted Malfoy Heiress

Twenty: The Restricted Section Pt. 2

Twelve Pensieve knights surrounded me, and they were all itching to slice my head clean off of my body just as they attempted to in Rackham's bank vault. However, I was on my own this time, and the only thing that kept me going was the drive to prove to my family that I was the worthy heiress to my family's legacy. Colin had overshadowed me due to his convenient gender assignment, but I had a power my prick of a brother could never have or understand, and that gave me the strength to obliterate them utterly.

The booby traps by comparison afterward were child's play, even though the retractable platform within the second chamber leading to the third was quite terrifying in and of itself. The third room revealed itself to hold an impressively large, very intricately carved sculpture of Professor Rackham himself, and in the center of that space was a single book hanging over a pensieve basin that resembled a baptismal font one would see in a Catholic church.

"Great. More memories. What do you have in store for me this time, Professor?" I asked aloud.

I lightly touched the book, and it opened up automatically, flipped to a specific section, and poured out the memory filament I was meant to see this time around.

I stuck my head into the liquid and witnessed Rackham and his co-workers bring much needed rain to a village that was going through a devastating drought at the time. Rackham spotted a little witch who stared up at him in awe, and the memory shifted to years later when she was admitted to Hogwarts in her fifth year. Apparently, he began school as a fifth year as well, but unlike these two magic users before me, I had already received my four previous years of magical schooling, in addition to pureblood witch etiquette training.

The witch's name was Isidora Morganach, and she seemed quite Slytherin to me, which I respected, but she wore Ravenclaw colors on her uniform, so there was that. I was to learn much about this girl in the course of my ancient magic training, but her surname didn't seem to be part of the Sacred 28 families, which was odd to me. Was she half blood? A muggleborn? I was intrigued now, I had to admit as I came out of the pensieve.

The hard cover book was able to be carried after it revealed its memories to me, and I shrank it down to be able to be more easily transported in my school robe pocket. I found the exit easily enough in an adjoining room, but as I traveled the corridors the wisps of ancient magic were leading me, the room seemed to fill with water, only the ancient magic protected me in a protective ward I know that I did not cast. What manner of magic was this??

I continued on until the ancient magic within me led to a pair of doors with the swirl pattern I had seen before on the portkey, and the Gringotts portal carved upon it. I touched it, and it led me into a beautiful, cavernous room that must have cost more than a few galleons to build in its time. Upon one wall were empty portraits with gilt edged frames, and under my feet appeared to be either a swimming pool that had frozen over or a gigantic pensieve. A magical portrait appeared within the frame, and it was, of course, Percival Rackham himself.

I suppose if I had not been a witch, such a sight would have alarmed me more, but it only intrigued me. "Welcome," He greeted, his British accent sounding slightly clipped as it did five centuries ago, "You are the one who visited my bank vault, correct?"

I cleared my throat and curtsied. "Yes, Professor. I am Anastasia Malfoy. May I ask as to why it was necessary to enchant knight statues to try and slice my head off at every opportunity?"

He chuckled. "Ah yes, the pensieve knights. That was not my idea. My associate Charles Rookwood, who was a Professor of Hogwarts the same as I thought martial protection, was best to guard the secrets I and my fellow Keepers as we took to calling ourselves. Now that you have experienced some of this power yourself, you can see why such measures were necessary. I detect that you have a unique accent, Miss Malfoy. You were not raised wholly in England, were you not?"