The Rune Mage Starting at Hogwarts

From Andromeda's words, Rizz could guess that if he wanted to return to the Black family, he would probably have to pay a considerable price, and he might have to continue to face the difficulties posed by those pure-blood wizards in the future.

With the rune system at his disposal, Ryze doesn't need to lick the boots of these pureblood wizards.

Moreover, even after his adoptive father was expelled from the family, he still had some assets that hadn't been reclaimed, which he could inherit normally.

At worst, when they grow up, Ryze can drag Sirius along to start a new Black family.

Besides recognizing his relatives, Andromeda's arrival also had another purpose: to go to Gringotts to prove Rizz's identity and obtain the right to inherit Alfard Black's personal vault when they went to Diagon Alley to buy textbooks.

Besides, if he could clear his cousin's name, who was still wallowing in self-pity and punishing himself in Azkaban, Sirius Black would surely not mistreat his cousin, given his personality.

He then looked at Andromeda and Professor McGonagall: "Professor McGonagall, cousin, I personally still hope to enter Hogwarts to study magic as Rhett White, and make a decision after I learn more about the Black family and find out the reason for my father's disappearance, is that alright?"

“Of course, no problem. Although I don’t know why Uncle Alfard let you grow up in such an environment, I swear it was definitely not his own will. He must have let you wander outside for so many years for some reasons that we don’t yet understand.”

As Andromeda spoke, her eyes welled up with tears again as she looked at the frail Rez. Professor McGonagall asked her daughter to comfort her.

“Andromeda has always respected your father and has never given up investigating the cause of his disappearance over the years. After we told her about you, she offered to come and see you,” Professor McGonagall looked at Ritz. “Mr. White, among your surviving close relatives, she should be the one you trust the most.”

Rizz nodded.

“I can sense it, Professor McGonagall, it’s just… I’m still not quite used to it.”

Professor McGonagall didn't say anything more.

She whispered a few words to Nymphadora, asking her to take her mother to rest for a while.

Then she straightened her expression slightly and shifted the topic to another one.

"Now that your background is clear, Mr. White, could you summon that special little elf that appeared beside you last year, which you mentioned in your letter, so I can take a look at it?"

“Of course, no problem, Professor McGonagall,” Ryze said, summoning Aery with practiced ease, as he felt Nymphadora’s curious gaze beside him.

Chapter 3: Alfard's Vault

Professor McGonagall looked with some astonishment at the blue magical creature that was circling around Ryze, adopting a slightly defensive posture, and emitting a faint pink glow.

It is only the size of an adult's palm and looks somewhat similar to a fox.

What's most captivating is the mysterious rune on its forehead that even she doesn't recognize.

“It looks somewhat like runes, but I don’t recognize it. Perhaps Professor Babling would know its meaning,” she observed the strange magical creature for a while, but still couldn’t confirm the function of the rune.

“This is quite a strange familiar, Mr. White. Are you sure this little fellow appeared by your side automatically after your first magical outburst?”

“Yes, Professor McGonagall, Ariel is a little elf that suddenly appeared beside me last September. Over the past year, it has provided me with a lot of help in various ways, and it has never been discovered by ordinary people.”

“We have never been apart for the past year, which is why I wrote to you after seeing my Hogwarts acceptance letter to ask if I could bring it with me to Hogwarts.”

Ryze lied to Professor McGonagall, while simultaneously demonstrating Aery's defensive capabilities to him.

Seeing the transparent magical barrier appear on Ryze's body, Professor McGonagall took out his wand and tested it: "It's somewhat like armor, but the release speed is much faster than that of an ordinary wizard. It's a very good magical ability."

She then pondered for a moment: "I can't give you a definite answer right now. Before that, I need to discuss the meaning of the rune on its body with Professor Babling. However, if it continues to behave as well as it does now, I think there shouldn't be too much of a problem."

She turned to Andromeda and asked if she had any impression of the little elf.

“I haven’t heard of it, but it’s possible that it’s a protective measure left by Uncle Alfard for Riz,” Andromeda said, adding that he hadn’t had much contact with the Black family’s secrets and that probably only the house-elf in the old Black mansion knew anything about it.

“However, I have already been expelled from the family, and that stubborn old elf Kreacher certainly won’t answer my questions. You know, the person he respects most now is probably my sister who is imprisoned in Azkaban.”

“Then I’ll ask Professor Basilin after we’ve been to Diagon Alley. Hopefully she’s still in England,” Professor McGonagall briefly introduced Raz to Professor Basilin, who taught Ancient Runes, and said that if he was interested in Ancient Runes, he could take her course after his third year.

Then Professor McGonagall asked if anything else unusual had happened to Ryze.

Ryze thought for a moment, then went back to his room and retrieved the useless stick that was even taller than him: "And this one, this stick appeared with Ari. I think it might be a wand, but it seems a bit too big compared to your wands."

He swung his useless club, releasing an arcane comet about the size of a fist, which circled around him a few times before dissipating.

"When I have it in my hand, I can use this move unconsciously."

"Impressive control over magic. After the period of magical turmoil, few young wizards can control their magic so precisely before starting school," McGonagall commented on Ryze's control, then carefully observed the useless stick in Ryze's hand.

"It does indeed have a strong magical aura, but this is the first time I've ever seen a wand that's nearly five feet long. These days, you can probably only see such large wands in fairy tales, with those ancient wizards from before the Middle Ages."

“You can take it to Olivander. He’s the best wand maker in England. He should know something about this wand. If you’re free now, we should head to Diagon Alley.”

Rizzi had been waiting for this day for a long time, and immediately asked them how they were going to get there.

Unfortunately, according to Professor McGonagall's explanation, the way they led Muggle families to Diagon Alley was very simple.

Take the subway or a taxi.

After all, Apparition or the biker bus is a bit too exciting for an 11-year-old, especially since Ryze looks quite thin.

Professor McGonagall didn't follow them after he saw them into the taxi.

With Andromeda by her side, she really didn't need to provide Ryze with any more Diagon Alley assistance.

She said she would go to Professor Babling now to ask what the rune on Ari's head meant, and if there was any news, she would send Ryze an owl letter so that Ryze could stay with Andromeda without worry.

In short, after a half-hour drive, they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron in Charing Cross, London.

This place is indeed very dilapidated.

This sense of decay becomes even more pronounced when placed alongside the bookstore on the left and the record store on the right.

Entering the Leaky Cauldron, which may not have been renovated for hundreds of years, Andromeda and Nymphadora greeted old Tom, the bartender, without discussing Ryze. Ryze also did not see Professor Quirrell, who was possessed by Voldemort. Their group made it smoothly to the back of the Leaky Cauldron.

Under Nymphadora's guidance, Rizz used the useless stick to strike the third brick on the trash can, then struck the second brick on the right horizontally, successfully opening the cobblestone passage to Diagon Alley.

It felt pretty good to have this magic appear before my eyes.

Even though he had seen more fancy special effects in movies in his previous life, this sense of realism still made Ryze feel a surge of excitement.

After entering Diagon Alley, Andromeda instructed her daughter, "Let's go to Gringotts to complete the formalities first. Nymphadora, go and buy your uncle's first-grade books and supplies, and wait for us at Madam Malkin's Robes Shop."

Nymphadora shrugged and took the list from Rizz: "What a nostalgic list. I don't even know where I threw all my first-grade books."

She waved to Ryze: "So when I see little Ryze later, I hope those goblins at Gringotts will be efficient and not keep me waiting too long."

When Andromeda scolded his daughter for not calling him "uncle" properly, Nymphadora just gave a perfunctory reply and walked away.

As it turned out, Nymphadora's concerns were valid.

The goblins of Gringotts have a rather strict set of verification methods for "illegitimate children" like Ryze who come to inherit the estate.

After all, if no one inherits the wealth, those vaults will become Gringotts' assets after a certain period of time.

Verifying Alfald Black's bloodline through his cousin Andromeda is just one important step. It is also necessary to confirm that Alfald Black has indeed been missing for eleven years and that no one has touched his personal vault in those eleven years.

Ryze himself then went through about a dozen tedious Gringotts verification procedures over the next hour.

"It seems you are indeed a descendant of the owner of Vault 717. Given that the owner of Vault 717 has been missing for over 10 years, according to the wizarding inheritance law, you are indeed qualified to inherit this vault. Of course, you will need to pay some fees to truly own this vault, including the management fees for the vault over the past 10 years, as well as the cost of re-entering the vault information and obtaining replacement vault keys."

The shrewd fairy handed Rizz a list about ten inches long, explaining that these fees were entirely reasonable and legal.

Andromeda ultimately paid for Riz's expenses first, and then they rode in a small cart that was decades or even centuries old to Alfard's personal vault.

According to Andromeda, Alfard is a very capable person.

Before being expelled from the family, he was already a well-known adventurer who had amassed considerable wealth from numerous magical ruins.

So even though Alfard was placed under the family's economic control after his first financial assistance to Andromeda, he was still able to give a large sum of gold to his nephew when Sirius fled the family.

Looking at the several boxes of gold and Galleons stacked together in the vault, as well as a bunch of magical items that looked very valuable, Ryze knew that if he wanted to live a life of leisure, he could probably start living a life of retirement by now.

"Perhaps your Ariel and that wand were also treasures that Uncle Alfard obtained during his adventures... but we still don't know where he went on his last adventure."

Andromeda searched for a while and finally found several property deeds in the vault, which he solemnly handed over to Ritz.

"A small house in Hogsmeade, a three-story villa in Glaston Castle... and a storefront in Knockturn Alley. This is the property your father left you. Apart from Knockturn Alley, we can tidy up the rest of the place before the start of the school year so you can see where your father used to live."

As for gold and Galleons, Rizzo took 500 Galleons first, on Andromeda's advice.

This is enough for his daily expenses, and he has done some simple cleaning and repairs on the two properties he acquired. If he wants to do further renovations later, he can come back to get them without any rush.

Chapter 4: An Unexpected Encounter with Malfoy

When Rhett and the others came out of Gringotts and arrived at Madam Malkin's robe shop, Nymphadora looked like she had been waiting for a long time.

She was idly flipping through the thick history of magic in her hand when she saw her mother and Ryze return, at which point she waved to them.

As she put the History of Magic back into the small bag she had cast the Unseen Stretch Charm on, she told her mother what had just happened.

"You're finally back. Gringotts is really slow. It's a pity you came out a little late. If you had come out five minutes earlier, you probably would have bumped into Harry Potter at the Gringotts entrance. The whole Leaky Cauldron was chanting his name just now."

Upon hearing that familiar name, Ryze perked up his ears slightly.

Andromeda paused for a moment, then exclaimed, "Oh, that poor child is indeed of Hogwarts age. Who brought him here, Dumbledore?"

“It’s Hagrid. You know Dumbledore has always trusted him, although I’ve always thought that big guy isn’t very reliable. He exposed Harry Potter’s identity as soon as he arrived at the Leaky Cauldron. Didn’t he think about what would happen if they were targeted by some dark wizard?”

Nymphadora complained, then Andromeda slapped her on the shoulder: "Don't say that. Dumbledore has his own considerations. Hagrid's character is beyond question. He's just a bit straightforward and careless when he does things."

Nymphadora pouted: "Isn't what you're saying exactly what I mean? Okay, okay, stop looking at me like that. Let's not talk about this anymore. Let's hurry up and get everything sorted out. If we keep dragging this out, we'll have to have lunch in Diagon Alley."

Andromeda glanced at the time; it was already past eleven. Without saying anything more to her daughter, she pulled Rez into the robe shop.

Ryze originally thought he could just buy a few sets of wizard robes in a common size, but Andromeda insisted on making an extra set of more exquisite, form-fitting robes for Ryze that could automatically change color.

"That way, once you've completed your college selection, you can directly change it to the color corresponding to your college."

Therefore, he had no choice but to obediently follow the instructions of the smiling Mrs. Malkin, letting her measure his size, and it took almost half an hour to finally get it done.

“The custom-made robes can be sent here,” Andromeda told Madam Malkin where she lived, and then prepared to take her daughter and Rhett to the last wand shop.

“I was thinking of giving you an owl, but first-year students can only bring one pet. If you’re taking Ellie to Hogwarts, you won’t be able to bring an owl. If you need an owl, you can use ours for now…” Andromeda said as she walked out.

Then, they ran into another family who had brought their son to buy robes at the entrance of the robe shop.

“Narcissa?” Andromeda’s expression remained unchanged as he uttered the name.

Rizz noticed that the woman opposite him looked about 50% like Andromeda, only younger and with a paler complexion.

Looking at the couple and their son, it's likely that they are the Malfoy family.

As she uttered the name, the Malfoys across from her looked rather displeased.

“Andromeda Tonks,” the woman she called Narcissa emphasized the last name, then her gaze fell on Nymphadora and Ritz beside Andromeda.

Even Ryze could sense the disgust on Nymphadora's face when he saw her.

When the other person's gaze fell on Ryze, they first showed a look of surprise, but quickly became enlightened.

“So you’re that guy’s illegitimate son. No wonder I saw you here,” Narcissa scoffed and whispered a few words in her husband’s ear.

Lucius Malfoy glanced at Andromeda and his group with disdain, then said to his wife, "In that case, you stay here and talk to her about this bastard."

Nymphadora, who was standing nearby, disliked the family's arrogant attitude and was about to go over to say something when her mother stopped her.

"Take Ryze to buy a wand. Your aunt and I have some things to discuss. We'll come find you later."

Nymphadora snorted, not considering this haughty woman to be her aunt.

But she also knew that her mother would definitely discuss matters concerning Rizzi and the Black family with the other party.

So she grabbed Rizz's arm and headed toward Olivander's wand shop.

Considering Reese's age, she tried to introduce the Malfoy family's situation to Reese in a relatively calm tone as they walked down the street.

“That’s Malfoy, a typical pure-blood wizarding family. Narcissa is my mother’s younger sister, but we’ve basically stopped seeing each other since my mother got married. They’re the kind of people who don’t want you to return to the Black family.”

"Don't worry about them. With us here, they can't do anything to you."

Rizz nodded.

Malfoy is the quintessential fence-sitter, his specialty being betting on both sides and siding with whoever wins.

There's really nothing to be afraid of with a guy like that.

However, he hasn't truly become a wizard yet, and such things are not something he can get involved in before he grows up.

I wonder what Andromeda and Narcissa, these two "cousins," will eventually come up with.

Amid Tonks's grumbling, they soon arrived at Olivander's wand shop.

The storefront was small and shabby, with a sign next to it stating that Olivander had been in the wand-making business since 382 BC and still was today. A wand of unknown material was also displayed in the window.

“Take your wand out first,” Nymphadora rummaged through her purse and finally managed to pull out the useless stick with some difficulty. “Hopefully Olivander can figure out what this thing is made of, but I suggest you buy a normal wand instead, so it won’t be inconvenient to carry around.”

Nifadora led Rizzi into the store.

Amidst the ringing of bells inside the shop, a steady voice rang out from behind: "Good afternoon."

Following the sound, a very energetic old man walked out of the shop.

“Oh, Ms. Nymphadora Tonks, it’s been a long time… Mahogany, fourteen inches long, would be perfect for a disguise Magus like you.”