Snake Venom

The Trio

  Falcon and the twins strode into Gringotts with confidence as they made their way to the first open goblin. The teller looked up, giving a toothy grin as he saw who it was. "Lord Falcon, a pleasure. This way, if you will, he's ready." The goblin, who introduced himself as 'Ripclaw' to Fred and George, led the trio to the side and down a large hallway. As they walked, the granite of the main building faded into smooth stone, lined with rows of office doors. They stopped near the end of the hall, in front of dark wooden door with a plaque that read 'Hatokien Account Manager'. Ripclaw opened the door, announcing "Your appointment is here" as they entered. He led them to three leather armchairs, bowed, and left. Falcon took in the details of the room. Ther were dark walnut bookcases lining the entire left-hand wall, each filled with thick leather-bound tomes. A leather sofa with a pelt blanket over the back sat next to a large fireplace and mantle dominating the center, with an intricate suit of armor on either side. A light cough startled him out of his inspection, and Falcon turned as another goblin entered the room, this one significantly older than the last. The goblin took a seat at his desk, sliding a thick folder over to the three of them. "At Lord Hatokien's request, all legal paperwork required to adopt the two of you in as brothers is in this file, and the ritual is being prepared as we speak. It is a complicated one, so it will be ready to undergo tomorrow."

The next few hours were spent filling out paperwork. It was decided the Fred and George would be taking over the Peverell house, as the Lordships for the house could only be claimed by brothers with no other heir or lordships. Evidently, the tradition had been around since the Peverell house began. Falcon frowned, suddenly struck with a thought. "This means that we won't truly be blood related?" The twins paused as well, the mood becoming much more sullen. The account manager, Nettlefang, quickly spoke up. "Normally yes, however, through a blood bond ritual, you would become brothers." When the trio still looked puzzled, he sighed. "Think of it like this. A Wizard's blood becomes a blank board, magic becomes the chalk. Each family has their own unique pattern, written on the board. If a Wizard becomes stripped of their family magics, the board becomes blank again. Through the blood bond ritual, another family can grant access to their magics." After the clarification, the mood lifted, and the rest of the paperwork was finished. 

Falcon led them out of the bank and to the Leaky Cauldron, where they rented a room for the night. After a brief debate, the three split up to do Christmas shopping, since they were already in Diagon Alley. Falcon headed to a multitude of stores, leaving each with more than a few purchases. For the twins, an appointment and down payment at Shades and Shadows, the same place Snape had taken him for his wand. For Snape, he'd already received the order he placed for rare potion ingredients, it only needed to be wrapped. Each person he was shopping for now had a gift, but he was coming up short on ideas for Charlie, the twins' brother. Falcon had never met him, but Fred and George had been writing to both him and Bill, each who supported their brother's completely. He had been told how much Charlie liked dragons, but that did little to narrow down his search. Dragonhide or bone items were out for obvious reasons, and as much as he was sure Charlie would live a dragon egg, the buying and selling of them were illegal in Britain. In a last-ditch effort before he gave up, Falcon entered an old antique store. 

The wizard behind the counter looked older than some of the items in the store, leaning on his cane and breathing shallowly. Falcon approached the counter, speaking softly so as not to startle the man. "Hello, I was hoping you could help me?" The old man jumped slightly, then peered through thick glasses before smiling down at Falcon. "Oh goodness, you gave me a fright there young man. How can I help you?" Falcon smiled apologetically. "Sorry sir. I'm looking for a Christmas gift for a friend. He really loves dragons, but I have no idea what to get him." The man rubbed his chin for a second, pulling out his wand a summoning a few items to the counter. Falcon scanned over them, disregarding statues and small pendants before a bracelet caught his attention. He picked it up, inspecting it. The bracelet was black, with a silvery sheen to it. The bracelet was shaped into a dragon, small, even rows of scales etched into it. As he watched, the bracelet shifted, opening its tiny maw in a wide yawn before curling up again. He smiled, it was perfect.

Falcon had just finished tucking the gifts into his enchanted bag when Fred and George entered, carrying a mountain of bags between them. "Hey there-" "little bro-" "mind giving us-" "the room for a bit?" Falcon took a second to piece together their jumble of words, then nodded and headed down into the restaurant portion of the Leaky Cauldron, ordering a mug of butterbeer as he waited for the twins to finish. They came down almost half an hour later, and the three of them shared a meal before turning in for the night.

Early the next morning, Falcon woke Fred and George up, yawning as he got dressed. "Nettlefang said to be at the bank at 7, we should head out soon. The twins sat up groggily, but eventually followed suit, and the trio headed to Gringotts. Upon arriving, they were led down into a large stone cavern, which Falcon recognized as the same one his own ritual had taken place in months ago. Lucky for him, all they needed from Falcon was a vial of blood. He watched as they added the blood to a shimmering white potion, turning it a deep red. Fred and George stood in separate circles as the ritual assistants painted intricate patterns over them with the potion, and Falcon was led into a waiting area as the ritual began.