Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures

Evan carefully studied the inscriptions on the stone slab. There were three different kinds of writing: Parseltongue, Ancient Runes, and Old English.

All three conveyed the same content, recorded together with such extensive wording, indicating that the above content was undoubtedly of great importance.

“This looks like… a land deed,” said Hermione, frowning slightly.

“Exactly — and an officially recognized one,” Evan replied, pointing to a series of symbols at the bottom of the slab for Harry, Hermione, and Elaine to see. “Look here, this is the symbol of the Council of Elders. That organization was the forerunner of today’s International Confederation of Wizards and held a status in the Middle Ages roughly equal to the modern Ministry of Magic. And this emblem here, without a doubt, is the Slytherin family coat of arms. As for the rest, if I remember correctly, they belong to several pure-blood Wizarding families and Muggle noble houses. Together, the Council of Elders, those families, and Muggle lords all recognized the Slytherin family’s ownership of these territories.”

“So, this is a land deed? Slytherin gave me a land deed?” Elaine asked, raising her eyebrows. “What’s the point of that?”

“It’s of great significance, Elaine. This deed says that the descendants of the Slytherin family who own it will automatically obtain ownership of the lands recorded on it, and this right is recognized by the Council of Elders, many pure-blood Wizarding families, and Muggle noble lords. By law, those rights should now be recognized and protected by the International Confederation of Wizards and the various national Ministries of Magic,” Evan explained. “In other words, all the lands recorded on the stone slab now belong to you.”

“Sounds impressive!”

“It’s more than impressive,” Evan replied. “As far as I know, no wizard alive owns this much land. Let’s see what areas are listed here… hmm, this part describes the Hogwarts castle grounds, the Forbidden Forest, and the surrounding mountains, rivers, and marshes — all of that territory once belonged to the Slytherin family.”

Though Salazar Slytherin had agreed a thousand years ago to establish the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry within his family’s ancestral castle, the land itself had always remained the property of the Slytherin family. He and his descendants had never relinquished that right.

To this day, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, while officially managed by the school’s Board of Governors, was still considered private property. The Board governed the school but didn’t actually own the land. It was simply that, for a thousand years, no one had ever brought up the matter.

Previously, saying Elaine “owned” Hogwarts might have been nothing more than a joke; but now, with this title deed in her hands, that joke had suddenly become reality. If Elaine were to take the deed to the Ministry of Magic and the school Board, the governors would be legally obligated to pay her a substantial amount in land rent.

Furthermore, the decision on whether Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry could continue operating there rested entirely with Elaine herself.

Of course, this was all from a legal and procedural perspective.

After all, this title deed was a thousand years old, and many would undoubtedly disregard it. With the passing of centuries, changes in government, and the extinction of many of the Wizarding and Muggle noble families listed on it, much of their endorsement had long since lost meaning. But at the very least, the International Confederation of Wizards and the Ministry of Magic would be obliged to acknowledge the deed’s legal validity.

Evan suspected that if Elaine were to actually take this deed to the Hogwarts Board of Governors, they’d most likely invite her to join the Board herself.

“This part here — the island located in the North Sea — that must be Azkaban,” said Hermione, pointing to another section of the slab. “Hmm, and here are a few other islands as well.”

Indeed, Azkaban had once been Slytherin family territory, and this had been confirmed.

“And this one, about the land in Diagon Alley, is probably referring to the area where Gringotts is located,” said Evan.

Gringotts was the largest building in Diagon Alley and had always been owned by goblins, but the land itself, as it turned out, had originally been the property of the Slytherin family.

This meant that, technically, the ground beneath Gringotts now belonged to Elaine as well.

While reclaiming the lands where Hogwarts and Azkaban were located might still prove difficult, Gringotts would be much easier. After all, wizards had imposed strict legal and political limits on goblins, and they would never side with them in a dispute. Most likely, Gringotts would end up having to pay Elaine a hefty sum in Galleons to continue leasing the land.

Considering the immense value of these lands, owning this deed would likely make Elaine the richest person in the entire Wizarding world.

From a penniless vampire in need of support from Evan, she could leap overnight into becoming the richest witch alive — all thanks to one drop of blood and a very wealthy ancestor.

Besides Hogwarts, Azkaban, and Gringotts, the deed also listed several tracts of land in southern England — though those areas were no longer wizarding settlements and must have long since passed into Muggle hands. The Slytherin family’s lands were not limited to the UK, but also included several estates located in other countries.

For example, the vampire castle in Norway was clearly marked on the deed.

Owning land abroad hadn’t been unusual at the time. The Statute of Secrecy hadn’t yet been enacted, and Muggles, whose technology was still primitive, held a deep awe and fear of magic, readily believing in wizards. The constant wars between Muggle kingdoms often gave their lords reason to enlist wizards as allies in battle, rewarding them afterward with land. Many ancient pure-blood families came to hold estates all across Europe, and quite a few of those properties remained wizard-owned even today.

The Malfoys, for instance, had their own private estate in Romania.

That land was now a dedicated dragon-breeding estate, something Draco Malfoy boasted about frequently at school.

Therefore, if Elaine so desired, she could use this deed to reclaim each of the lands that nominally belonged to her.

And Elaine wasn’t alone; her uncle and the entire Slytherin vampire clan would be there to back her.

What the vampires needed most was legal territory. Once they learned that Elaine owned land in the most prosperous areas of both wizard and Muggle societies, they would be very interested.

Evan wasn’t particularly concerned. While Hermione explained the immense value of these lands to Elaine and Harry, Evan quickly scrolled down, searching for any valuable information. At the bottom of the deed, he spotted the same map he had obtained from the eye of the evil god.

That location, somewhere in ancient Greece, had once been the lair of Herpo the Foul. It was a place of critical importance, tied to the key of Slytherin’s secret treasure. Since obtaining the map, Evan and Hermione had searched extensively through countless records but had found no clue where this place was.

Ultimately, they concluded that Herpo the Foul had transported it to another dimension, the very place Dumbledore had traveled to.

Dumbledore hadn’t spoken in detail about it, and Evan had never figured out how to get there. It had been a constant concern for him.

And now, he was seeing that same map again — only this time, in connection with a real, physical location.