The Fall of Dumbledore: The White King

Paperwork

A heavy silence hung in the drawing room as Severus Snape lowered himself into the chair beside Hades, his obsidian eyes boring into the young wizard. Lucius Malfoy steepled his fingers, a cat-like smile playing across his lips as he watched the two appraise each other.

"Well, Mr. Potter," Snape finally intoned in that silken baritone. "Or should I address you as Mr. Snape now?"

Hades met his father's piercing gaze steadily. "Hades Evan Snape, if you would. My apologies, I was unaware of the truth about my lineage until my recent inheritance reading at Gringotts."

A muscle ticked in Snape's jaw but he inclined his head almost imperceptibly. Voldemort leaned forward, steepling his long fingers.

"Let us dispense with the secrecy and niceties, Severus. Young Hades has proven himself exceptionally useful and trustworthy in my service thus far. He deserves to know the full truth."

Snape's lips pursed but he gave a short nod. Hades could feel the piercing weight of his father's scrutiny as the silence stretched onward.

"Very well. The truth is...I did not know I had sired a child until this very night." Snape's gaze bored into Hades. "Your mother and I were...intimate...during my days as a Death Eater shortly before her dalliance with James Potter. I believed the child was his, and by the time I learned otherwise, it was already too late. Dumbledore had sequestered you away."

Hades felt as though he'd been plunged into icy water, his father's words sending shockwaves of revelation crashing through his mind. Lily Potter had been unfaithful? And Dumbledore, that meddlesome old goat, had hidden the truth of his paternity all these years? A low burn of anger began simmering in his chest.

As if sensing his son's rising fury, Snape's eyes glittered with something almost like...pride? "Now that the truth has come to light, I wish to embrace my responsibilities as your father. If you will allow it."

"Of course, Severus." Lucius cut in smoothly. "We have already discussed claiming Hades here under the legal protections of a magical guardianship. Narcissa and I shall be honored to sponsor his official re-patriation into the Houses of Snape and Prince."

A spark of genuine gratitude flashed across Snape's pale features before his mask shuttered back into place. "You have my deepest thanks, Lucius."

Hades felt almost lightheaded at how rapidly his life had been upended in the span of a few hours. Just this morning, he had been the orphaned "Harry Potter." Now his heritage had been shattered and remade into something entirely new...something powerful. Something dangerous.

"There is still the matter of your inheritances and titles to address, my heir," Voldemort cut through Hades' whirling thoughts. "Now that your true lineage has been revealed, you must claim your birthrights in full."

Snape turned to Hades with an inscrutable look. "He is correct. We will return to Gringotts on the morrow to review the full breadth of your holdings and make the necessary confirmations with the goblins. As your legal guardian, I will be able to assist and advise you through the process."

Despite the maelstrom of emotions churning inside him, Hades lifted his chin in a regal nod. "I await your counsel...Father."

The barest flicker of what might have been paternal approval flashed across Snape's stern features before it was subsumed beneath his trademark sneer. No further words were exchanged as the wizards slipped into a heavy silence broken only by the crackling of the fire.

The next morning saw Hades and Snape passing once more through the imposing marble entrance of Gringotts bank. Despite his outward composure, Hades' stomach twisted into anxious knots as they descended into the subterranean maze of vaults and offices. He could scarcely fathom the power and riches that would soon be at his command.

At last, they reached the obsidian doors of the inheritance chamber where, less than a day prior, Hades' world had been shattered and reforged into something entirely new. The same quartet of sneering goblins in severe black robes presided over the rune-etched stone table.

"Ah...Mr. Snape," the eldest rasped in its reedy croak. "We have been expecting you and your...heir."

The way the foul creature seemed to sneer the words sent a flicker of unease rippling through Hades. He took an involuntary step closer to his father as the goblins began uttering a guttural invocation in their harsh tongue.

Thick, noxious fumes billowed across the chamber, swirling and congealing until they coalesced into a hovering crimson sphere. Images and documents began flashing across the orb as the goblins' chanting intensified to a fever pitch until finally, the sphere burst apart into a drifting cloud of pulsing runes.

"These markings represent the full holdings, properties, and estates now belonging to you as the sole patrilineal heir of the noble houses of Snape and Prince," wheezed the goblin elder.

For the next several hours, Hades and Snape were taken on a review of the staggering breadth of the young wizard's inheritance - from the towering stacks of galleons in his personal vault, to the expansive ancestral manors and lands spanning across the British Isles, to the troves of dark artifacts and rare tomes brimming with forbidden magic.

By the time their meeting finally adjourned, Hades felt as though his head were stuffed with clouds, barely able to absorb the enormity of all he now possessed. He had awoken a penniless orphan and by nightfall would be one of the wealthiest and most powerful wizards in all of Britain.

At last, the goblins turned to Snape with a ream of official parchments. "A mere formality at this point, but we require your signature as Mr. Snape's legal guardian and Head of House to confirm the transfer of full custodial rights and patriarchal inheritances."

With a silent nod, Snape accepted the quill and began tracing his spidery signature across the documents, binding himself spiritually and materially to his only son and heir. When the parchments had been filled out and filed, the dour Potions Master turned to Hades.

"Come, there is still more to attend to at the manor," he intoned, sweeping from the chamber with his robes billowing behind him.

As Hades trailed along, trying to wrap his mind around everything that had happened in the last day, a strange sense of peace and belonging settled over him. Though the path ahead remained shrouded in darkness and uncertainty, he now walked it as Hades Evan Snape - a noble heir with a powerful father to guide and protect him.

And with his birthright finally claimed, the true ascent of the Dark Lord's chosen prince could finally begin.