House Wilkes

# **Summary**

**House Wilkes** is an Ancient and Noble House of the Wizengamot. Its former Lord and Lady are Erasmus and Linnea Wilkes. Per their House Charter, their daughter Amy is not eligible for the Heirship. The current (secret) Heir Apparent is Harry Potter. House Wilkes has changed its name five (5) times after the implementation of the Inheritance Act of 1588, finally settling on 'Wilkes' sometime in the early 19th century. The family's original name has been presumably lost to the annals of history.

# **History**

## **Background**

House Wilkes were one of seventeen (17) Roman families that emigrated to Britannia following the Fall of Rome. After centuries warring and interbreeding with each other and the preexisting Druid and Briton clans, the families established the Wizards Council in the 7th century, ruling Britannia for almost three (3) centuries. House Wilkes' motto - ***Praeteritum Est Praesens Futurum*** - represents the family's view on the cyclical nature of their history as it translates through time. Their House crest - a green scaled dragon-like serpent eating its tail - pays homage to their motto and their Slytherin ancestry. The House Charter is patrilineal; the Heir Presumptive must be the firstborn male magical child of the Sitting Lord.

In 1066 A.D., William the Conqueror invaded, and following his successful invasion of Britain, twenty-nine (29) Norman, Breton, and French wizarding families relocated to Britain. These twenty-nine new houses immediately challenged the power of the Wizards Council. The conflict between the entrenched Roman families and the younger, more numerous invader families continued for decades, long after the Normans themselves had subjugated Britain. The erstwhile Lord Malfoy broke his family's alliance with the other Roman families and engineered a peace treaty between the two factions. House Wilkes was granted Ancient and Noble Status as having been members of the original Roman invaders.

Sometime after the formation of the Wizengamot in the 1100's, a female descendant of Salazar Slytherin's family married into House Wilkes, introducing Parseltongue to the bloodline. The family is noted for their obsession with the Serpent's tongue, housing many arcane texts that span Parselrunes, Parselmancy, Parselcharms, etc. There have been a few notable Wilkes throughout history, including a handful of Unspeakables.

At the current time, House Wilkes is facing extinction as there is no Lord, Lady, or Heir. The current descendant Amy is ineligible for the Heirship due to the House Charter. Unbeknownst to everyone (save the Goblins, Lily Evans, Severus Snape, and Tom Riddle), the Heir Apparent is Harry Potter, who is scheming to assume formal Lordship by the summer of 1994.

## **The Family Residence**

**Wilkes Manor** was the family's ancestral home, located on acres of blood-warded lands in Leeds. It was destroyed in the Siege of Wilkes Manor which occurred in December of 1980. Linnea Wilkes was the sole survivor, giving birth to Amy in a Ministry holding cell some months later.

**The Wilkes Vault** - an impregnable crypt teeming with treasures - was believed to have been kept somewhere beneath the manor proper, only accessible by Erasmus Lord Wilkes.