Chapter 99: Shafiq's Assets
While Shafiq Manor couldn't compare to most country estates, it was still considered quite large. Though most of the grounds were landscaped gardens, the main house alone had a floor area of over a thousand square meters.
Earlier, Cyril had given him a quick tour of the main house's layout before returning to the living room.
After resting for a while and answering some of Ethan's questions, Cyril led him out of the main house and toward the backyard.
"Come with me to the family warehouse. That's where we keep most of the assets."
In the backyard, several sculptures, fountains, and other landscape features lined the central path.
Further back, several inconspicuous buildings sat against the wall, hidden behind lush trees.
"Those are storage buildings, along with several sheds for raising horses and other magical riding creatures. These days, only the utility room is still in use; the rest are practically abandoned."
Following Ethan's gaze, Cyril sighed.
He had visited Shafiq Manor often in his youth, and comparing its former glory to its current state filled him with nostalgia.
Cyril composed himself and pointed to a statue. "This is the entrance to the manor's secret warehouse."
Ethan studied the dark red statue of a giant dragon with four horns on its head and immediately thought of the gargoyle outside the Headmaster's office. "Does this entrance require a password?"
"Of course, but in addition to the password, you'll need to perform a specific action."
Cyril drew his wand and tapped rhythmically on several of the sharp claws of the dragon's outstretched foot.
Then he chanted the password: "Seven heads and ten horns."
The dragon statue slowly rose into the air and slid backward, revealing the entrance to the underground warehouse below.
To exit the warehouse after retrieving items, say, "Return to original position." The dragon statue will return to its original position, hiding the entrance once again.
Cyril pointed his wand at the statue, said the command, and the statue shifted back into place, covering the entrance.
Cyril pointed to the dragon statue. "Look at this claw. It has five toes. Starting from the shortest toe, tap the third one first, then the fourth one. That represents seven heads.
"Then tap the second and fifth ones, which represent ten horns."
"Of course, once I transfer full ownership to you, you can set your own password and sequence."
Ethan ran through the opening sequence once, accessed the warehouse entrance, and descended the stairs.
The basement that served as the warehouse wasn't very large.
Downstairs, a corridor connected several small rooms. The rooms had no doors, only shelves inside.
Enchanted torches hung on the walls between the rooms.
Cyril led him to the left-hand room and retrieved a small black bag that resembled a wallet.
"What is this?"
"A small bag enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm. I see you don't have one yet."
"I bought this through proper channels in France, and it's properly registered in Britain too. You can use it without worry. There's no risk of being reported for illegal use of an Undetectable Extension Charm."
Finally, Cyril shook his head with pity. "It's just that the space isn't large, about the size of a leather trunk."
He had plenty of items with Undetectable Extension Charms and greater capacities, but none were Ministry-approved, so he couldn't use them openly.
"Thank you, Grandfather. I really like it," Ethan said, accepting the bag with a smile.
Although he could cast the Undetectable Extension Charm himself, it wasn't approved by the Ministry of Magic, which made it illegal. Getting caught would still be a problem.
Besides, he wanted to buy such items through proper channels, but they weren't available in Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley.
Cyril met Ethan's smile. "As long as you like it."
After Ethan put away the small bag, Cyril began showing him the collection in each room. "Come see the Shafiq family's thousand-year-old foundation."
"This room contains some gems."
Cyril entered the room on the right and opened a box, revealing a ruby the size of a pigeon's egg.
"These boxes are full of rubies and sapphires. If you like, you can take some, whether you want to give them as gifts or exchange them for Galleons."
"I don't need them right now," Ethan said, shaking his head.
"Look over here. These are materials for alchemy, and they're relatively rare." Cyril pointed to the left, then produced several containers from the expanded space of his bag.
He walked forward as he spoke. "And these are finished alchemical items: dragon-tooth Wizard's Chess, and more."
The Shafiq family collection was vast and varied, leaving Ethan awestruck.
"What are these?" Ethan pointed to the Dark Magic items arranged in small compartments.
Cyril pointed to a long tooth. "These are Dark Magic items. This one, for example, is a poisoned dragon fang. It killed many witch hunters during the witch-hunting era."
"I don't know exactly what some of these do, and they might be dangerous, so it's best not to touch them yet. We'll need your grandparents' portraits to help identify them."
"Okay." Ethan nodded. For a family with such a long history of Dark Magic talent, possessing such items was only natural.
Seeing these Dark Magic items, Cyril suddenly seemed to remember something. "By the way, didn't I tell you about our family's resistance to Dark Magic?"
"No."
"There were things I couldn't easily discuss at Hogwarts, so I neglected to mention this: you can study various forms of Dark Magic with confidence. Our family has a very strong resistance to it. So far, no one in our family has gone mad from studying it."
"Also, except for the few who truly can't, most of us can cast the Patronus Charm." Cyril looked relaxed, clearly proud of his bloodline.
Ethan nodded, wondering if their bloodline really had something to do with Satan himself.
In the room at the far left end of the basement, Cyril explained, "Most of the Shafiq family's Galleons and other coins are stored in Gringotts. The wealth accumulated over thousands of years is immense. Only this room in the warehouse is specifically used for coins; the rest are stored in Gringotts."
Cyril took a key off the wall at the end of the corridor. "The Gringotts key. Take it."
Ethan looked at the room on the left, which was piled high with gold and Galleons. He had thought there was a lot here, but apparently there was even more in Gringotts.
Finally, Cyril took Ethan into the room on the right. "This last room contains certificates, land deeds, equity shares, and so on."
Cyril opened the ornate boxes one by one, showing him what lay inside.
"I checked earlier. The family owns two shops in Diagon Alley, one vacant and the other rented to a secondhand broom shop. There's also a textile factory, a magical household goods factory, and an herb greenhouse. All of these belong exclusively to the Shafiq family.
"They also hold shares in several other factories, jointly operated with other families."
After Ethan finished surveying the room, Cyril said, "All right, that's the warehouse. There's also an underground spell-training room and a study. Let's go take a look."
Ethan nodded, climbed the stairs, tapped a switch on the statue's base, and exited the basement.
After passing a square pool, he saw another giant dark-red dragon statue.
This one differed from the previous statue only in form.
It served as the entrance to the underground spell-training room. The password was the same as for the basement, but the command sequence was slightly different: four, three, five, two, representing seven heads and ten horns.
The underground space was much larger than the warehouse. Spell damage still scarred the walls, which had yet to be fully repaired.
"Protective magic runs through the entire underground complex," Cyril explained, indicating the empty training ground. "We practice and develop spells here." Then he led him to a room near the entrance.
"This is the secret study. Unlike the one in the main building, the notes and books here aren't meant for prying eyes. Unlike the notes on family abilities that I gave you before, these are records of Dark Magic studies."
Cyril casually took a notebook from the shelf.
"These are experimental notes left by your paternal ancestors. There are also many from the French side. Browse through them if you like. Some of the theories inside aren't entirely accurate."
"Okay." Ethan looked around the room. It was roughly forty square meters, and aside from an antique desk, it was lined with bookshelves.
Dark Magic texts and ancestral notes unfit for public viewing lined the shelves.
Ethan also picked one up and flipped through it. The radical ideas inside made his head spin.
He grabbed a notebook and headed back upstairs to the living room.
They had toured the manor's important buildings. The remaining time was reserved for Henry and Grace, whose portraits hung on the wall.
Ethan and Cyril each pulled up a chair and sat in front of the magical portraits. Ethan listened as the three of them told stories about his parents.
Through their narration, Ethan gradually formed a three-dimensional picture of his deceased parents.
After they finished speaking to the two portraits, Cyril took down Henry's portrait and carried it into a room dedicated to the portraits of Shafiq family ancestors.
As Cyril held the portrait, Henry introduced the ancestors whose portraits the family had preserved over the past thousand years, one by one, beginning with those on the nearest wall.
Ethan bowed after each introduction.
------------------------------------------
"Chapters on Patreon progress: Currently at;
1. Harry Potter: Satan? Nah, Just My Family Crest = CHAPTER 238
2.Marvel: Cosmic Forger of Infinity = CHAPTER 167
3.Harry Potter: Beyond Good and Evil in the Wizarding World = CHAPTER 241
4.Harry Potter: Reborn as Draco Black = CHAPTER 95
support me on Patreon for instant access to the 80+ advance chapters: patreon.com/redofic"