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I found some old textbooks in the house that belonged to Bellatrix. At least that's what Kreacher said. No, I couldn't get anywhere in the house, it's too "mothballed, but a house-elf could. There were other Blacks' books here, too, but only hers, in sets and with notes in the margins.

If the Potter tale is to be believed, Hogwarts has a Snape textbook full of potions hints. Mostly on potions. So, Bella's textbooks had tons of sketches and hints on spells and enchantments and very little on transfiguration. They started from the third year, and the further, the more sophisticated they were in terms of formulas and the final impact on the target. By the seventh year, there were already only ready-made spells with rare formulas.

An already familiar clap came from the front. I put the book down, straightened on the couch, and looked at the Kreacher, who was looking suspiciously sideways.

"Mistress Walburga wishes to speak to a strange guest," he squeaked, immediately disappearing with the same clap.

I went downstairs from my allotted room to Walburga's portrait.

"Lady," I nodded, taking a seat in the chair that was specifically assigned to this corner.

"Maximilian," she nodded, sitting back in her chair. "Time is running out. Kreacher claims that your magic changes are slowing, but no one can be certain that they will stop. Tell me, Maximilian, have you made up your mind to take the lineage?"

"I think it's a perfectly reasonable move. As long as I don't have to dive too deeply into politics and other things - I'm interested in magic."

"You don't have to be in politics if you don't want to." Walburga smiled. "You don't even have to announce the arrival of Lord Black. Hmm... That's even better. Since you decided to take on this responsibility, we need to do one thing. Since the ring can't be found in the near future, let's at least tie you to the Tapestry."

"How does that help our situation?"

"Very simple, Maximilian. The house, the Tapestry, the ring, the various charms-it's all interconnected. The house has accepted you, but not completely. There are other elements missing, like runes in a chain. You have already conjured in the house many times, so your magic is here now. Binding to the Tapestry will be another link in the chain, and the moment you find the ring, it will not perceive your slowly changing magic as something alien."

"Lady Walburga. You will forgive my illiteracy in these matters, but what is the ring for?"

Walburga was obviously going to be indignant, but I hastened to add.

"I mean a purely applied aspect, not a symbolic one."

"Hmm," the woman's portrait was quite plodding, and in a second, she didn't want to cause a little scandal. "The application aspect, then? I don't even know what to compare it to for a better understanding. It is a key, a seal, and a document. It is a key for everything in the house to activate and deactivate various charms, artifacts, and the like. A seal is like a personal signature. For example, various contracts for cooperation between Houses, firms, banks, and in general, any agreement on behalf of the family is certified by its head, and in our case - the ring. As a result, the holder of the ring is also the holder of the contract. Unless there are additional conditions and personal seals, blood signatures, and other such measures."

Walburga decided it was time for her personally to drink her tea, albeit drawn. On the table next to her chair appeared service, and a cup of tea itself quickly organized, on a platter flew into the hands of the lady. A couple of sips and Walburga continued speaking.

"The role of the ring as a document is somewhat more complex and simpler at the same time. It has a role in the Wizengamot. Our House is assigned one seat, as it should be, in that dubious gathering. But in order for a new head to take his rightful place among the rest, he must confirm his status. The Ministry has a special ancient artifact for this purpose. This artifact fixes the authenticity of the ring and remembers the new owner. This artifact was invented a long time ago when there was neither Wizengamot nor Ministry. Still, the Council of Mages existed, but it doesn't matter. The important thing is that without the ring, even if the entire House lines up and swears that a particular person is their head, their place in the Wizengamot will remain empty.

"Is that all?"

"What did you expect? There's nothing much to it, but it will be extremely difficult to regain full control of the House without the ring. There will be no access to any ancestral contract or agreement, nor will the family vault be able to be opened."

"Family Vault?"

"Don't even think about it, dear nephew," Walburga spoke with a smile. "There aren't mountains of gold in there. Almost all the money is in circulation, and all the income goes into circulation. Money is the only thing you can trust to goblins, and be sure it won't go to waste. The main thing is the right contract."

"I see. In that case, it would really be best to make this binding."

"Kreacher!"

The usual clap from the side and the customary bent over the portrait house-elf once again spoke of himself in the third person.

"Kreacher. We need to do binding of Maximilian to the Tapestry."

"Mistress has decided to welcome a strange guest into the family?" wondered Kreacher but immediately bowed again. "Kricher will make all the arrangements."

This time he did not disappear but walked on foot, muttering something to himself and rubbing his hands.

"What's Kreacher for?"

"The binding has to be done by someone who is already related to the House or is a conductor of magic."

"How many different restrictions!" I whistled. "What if there is no one left at all?"

Walburga sighed.

"Then either the House will be completely extinct, or the found blood heir will have to break everything down and build again. But, to untangle the spells, twisted by many generations of ancestors, you will have to spend a lot of time and have a huge baggage of knowledge. And, perhaps, not to be deprived of talent. After so many years, all these charms can hardly be considered something separate anymore."

"In the sense of?"

"If you want to study such things, you should delve into the wilds of artifacting. It's an extremely complicated facet of magical art, but you can keep it short. Let's take a broomstick as an example. It uses a wide variety of spells to create it - flight, control, comfort. These are complex, multi-component enchantments. Over time, if they are not etched with runes, it is as if the enchantments merge, ceasing to be separate enchantments. It becomes a powerful single complex. For this reason, old brooms are not recommended for use, nor do they require constant prophylaxis. If a new broom loses a few twigs, nothing happens, but if it's old, who knows what effect a torn piece of magic will have on the broom."

"How ambiguous things are..."