The Ultimate Sanction

**The Ultimate Sanction**, also known as **Sanctumen Ultimo**, is a provision of the Inheritance Act of 1588 that gives any Wizengamot House's Head the ability to disown a member of their House if the Head judges that the member has committed treason against their House or has committed actions that, if left unchallenged, threatens the survival of that House.

However, the Inheritance Act and the Ultimate Sanction were passed in a time of national panic and includes many clauses that, in retrospect, were ill-advised.

## Effect

When activated, the recipient will be forcefully removed from their House, with the recipient's surname becoming "No-Name", and losing any ties to their former house, including inheritance.

In addition, the recipient becomes targeted by magic similar to an Oath of Enmity; their former House will regard the recipient with disdain and hatred. What makes the Ultimate Sanction so unused however is the extend of the it's hatred, as not only is the recipient's former House affected but also their Vassal Houses, any House that has sworn a reciprocal oath with the recipient's former House, *plus* all of the sworn Houses' families and Vassal Houses. This results in a cascade effect that turns a large portion of the wizarding public against the recipient . Anyone who associates with the recipient for extended periods will also find themselves the target for disdain.

It is possible to remove the Ultimate Sanction though.

* **Marriage** could remove the Ultimate Sanction, provided that both the recipient and their partner were over seventeen and had the approval of the spouse's Head of House.

* **Adoption** into a House of Noble status or higher would also remove the Ultimate Sanction if the recipient held the life debt of a House member or the House was bound by oath magic of similar power. If not, the House in question would become also become disdained by the Sanction.

* Although not a wide spread method, use of the **Time-Turner** could also remove the effects of the Ultimate Sanction. If the Time-Turner's user travelled back before the Sanction was applied, their alterations to the timeline could prevent the Ultimate Sanction from being placed. Due to the Time-Turner's existence being concealed by the Unspeakables, this method isn't reliable.

## History

### Creation of the Inheritence Act & First Usage

In 1588, England was attacked by an alliance of Spainish Wizards and Muggles led by Duke Estaban de Cortez y Slytherin, the most powerful and influential descendant of Salazar Slytherin alive at the time. Although the invasion was repulsed, leading Muggles to celebrate the victory, the Wizengamot took a more cynical view of the event. Their fears were exacerbated by the fact that several British wizarding families, including four in the Wizengamot itself, were openly descended from Salazar Slytherin. This lead to them being suspected of divided loyalties, if not actual treason.

After much heated discussion, the Wizengamot eventually passed the Inheritance Act of 1588 which changed the process by which Heirs to Wizengamot Houses could claim their family seats. It also required the Slytherin-descended families to disclaim their heritage, take new family names, swear allegiance to Wizarding Britain over all other nations, and expel any family members who refused to comply.

To facilitate this last requirement, the Ultimate Sanction was created, to ensure that no descendant of Salazar Slytherin (nor any other wizard whose heritage threatened the Wizengamot) would ever be able to make use their family's resources in the process.

In response, the Houses followed the Act, changing their names and denouncing their Slytherin heritage. There were only a dozen wizards who refused to follow the Act and were subjected to the Ultimate Sanction because of it.

However, the Inheritance Act and the Ultimate Sanction were passed in a time of national panic and includes many clauses that, in retrospect, were ill-advised. When created, The Ultimate Sanction was worded so it wasn't limited to Slytherin-descended families, even though that was the reason for its passage. It also doesn't actually define what sorts of crimes justify the use of the Ultimate Sanction either.

### Misuse over the Ages

Over the four centuries since it's creation, less than a half-dozen other witches and wizards were subjected to the effects of the Ultimate Sanction. However, all of them were already sentenced to Azkaban due to serious crimes and, whilst they were disowned by the Sanction, the other effects of its magic were minimised.

### Usage against Theodore Nott

During the summer of 1992, Tiberius Nott asked Alexander Nott for the Nott Invisibility Ring. However Alex had already given the ring to Theodore, along with a number of other heirlooms, to help keep Theo safe from Tiberius and was unable to produce the ring. Tiberius immediately knew what Alexander had done and demanded what else he had given Theodore. It resulted in a argument between the two Notts until Alexander gave Tiberius an ultimatum; leave Theo alone or Alex will go the DMLE  and denonce Tiberius as an un-Imperiused Death Eater. In response, Tiberius made an Unbreakable Vow with Alex; Tiberius wouldn't hurt or disown Theo nor would he interfere with Theo's education, whilst Alex wouldn't reveal family secrets and would become a willing Death Eater should Voldemort return.

Over the next year, Tiberius searched for a loophole in his Vow with Alexander so he could remove Theodore from the family. To this end, he uncovered The Ultimate Sanction. Once this was found, he started to formulate a plan. He would present the heirlooms to Theodore, forcing Theodore to either state he stole the heirlooms and let Tiberius use the Ultimate Sanction on him, or allow Alex to be severely punished for going against Tiberius' wishes despite Alex's status as Heir Apparent. Should Theo confess, he would bind Theodore to an Unbreakable Vow to never again seek recourse against Theo if Theo agreed to undergo Sanctumen Ultimo.

When Theodore returned to Nott Manor in the summer of 1993, Tiberius put his plan into action. Tiberius ordered the Nott House Elf, Rogo, to remove the heirlooms from Theodore's luggage and present them to him at breakfast. Tiberius then gave Theodore the choice of who would be punished. As Tiberius had hoped, Theodore took the blame and agreed to the Vow. Tiberius then called upon his solicitor, Mortimer Renwick, to have Theodore sign a formal confession (entirely using a blood quill) and file the required forms for the Ultimate Sanction to take effect. Once done, Theodore was allowed to leave with a few possessions, mainly his school equipment and a set of casual clothes, despite the Nott Manor defences trying to kill him.

When Harry found out of Theodore's subjection to the Ultimate Sanction, due to the pilling issues, Harry Potter went to his father, Lord James Potter in hopes of receiving help with both Theodore's banishment and the Nott-Wilkes Marriage but James was unable to provide any support regarding Theodore's banishment.

By the end the Hogwarts 1994-1995 year, Theodore has began proceedings to be adopted into House Black as Theodore Black. Once completed, the Ultimate Sanction will be removed from him. How Theodore came to be accepted into House Black's favor is currently unknown.

### Usage against Harry Potter

In Harry Potter's personal timeline, after the events of the 27th March, 1994, Harry Potter meets with his father and Lord of House Potter, James Potter, within Hogwarts. James asked Harry were Sirius Black was but Harry evaded the question by wondering why James would believe that Harry knew anything, considering it was Peter Pettigrew, a now-known Death Eater, who informed James that Harry would know anything.

When James then asked Harry about the Prince of Slytherin, Harry figured out that, although James only knew the title existed, it was why James has acted the way he has towards Harry. However, when Harry refused to answer again, James formally accused Harry of conspiring against Wizarding Britain by helping the "Death Eater" Sirius Black. When Harry tells James that Pettigrew has admitted Sirius is innocent and and was probably the one who put Jim under the Imperius, James' reaction reveals to Harry it was James who cursed Jim.

Due to Harry's providing aid to a "threat to the nation", James declares Harry as a "traitor to the nation." Harry, realising what's coming, tries to stop him but James invokes the Ultimate Sanction on Harry.

Harry, having realised all his plans were in tatters, felt immense rage but due to his Occlumency, sensed ***it***. ***It*** wanted Harry to kill his father but Harry realised if he did, ***it*** would win***.***Not wanting do be subjected to ***it's*** fate, Harry relaxed and asked James why he had done it. James bound Harry to the Potter Oath then revealed the existence and history of Cassandra Trelawney's Prophecy.

After the meeting, Harry told Hermione Granger about what happened over course of the evening. Hermione, under the effects of the Time-Turner, had Harry meet her when she would come back into contact with the Time-Turner. When this occurred, she altered the Time-Turner to accept Harry as it's next user, allowing him to travel back in time. When Harry arrived in the past on March 26th, 1994, he realised that the effects of the Ultimate Sanction were gone since, at the point in time, James hadn't invoked it yet. This realisation gave Harry great joy.

Due to Harry's alterations to the timeline, Pettigrew never revealed Harry's connection with Sirius Black. This prevented James from having the legal basis to invoke the Ultimate Sanction, thus preventing Harry from suffering from its effects in this timeline. However, Harry and James reach an agreement so Harry is disowned from House Potter through normal means (that don't interfere with Harry's plans).

## Usage

* Several Slytherin-descended Houses used it against rebelious members when the Inheritence Act was first created in 1588.
* Since 1588, less than a half-dozen witches and wizards were subjected to the Ultimate Sanction. All of which were imprisoned in Azkaban when the effect took hold.
* Tiberius Nott used the Ultimate Sanction on Theo Nott (now No-Name), who had falsely confessed to theft of family heirlooms. However, the real reason was that Tiberius suspected that Theo was actually Lucius Malfoy's child, and so wanted to get Lucius accused of line theft while simultaneously getting rid of Theo.
* James Potter used the Ultimate Sanction on Harry Potter in Harry Potter's personal timeline in order to prevent Cassandra Trelawney's Prophecy by making sure that a Potter did not become the Prince of Slytherin. However, this was overturned by Harry's use of Time-Turner, and he went through a normal disownment instead.

## References

Book 2 - HP&TSE - Ch. 83 - Prelude (Theodore Nott),

Artie Podmore explains the effect of the Ultimate Sanction.

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Book 2 - HP&TSE - Ch. 83 - Prelude (Theodore Nott),

Artie Podmore explains the history of the Ultimate Sanction.

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Book 2 - HP&TSE - Ch. 83 - Prelude (Theodore Nott),

Alexander explains his Vow with Tiberius to Theodore.
Book 2 - HP&TSE - Ch. 83 - Prelude (Theodore Nott),

Theodore is banished from House Nott.

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Book 2 - HP&TSE - Ch. 83 - Prelude (Theodore Nott),

Harry goes to James to get help with the Nott-Wilkes Marriage and the Ultimate Sanction. He isn't successful.
Book 1 - HP&PoS - Ch. 1 - The Meeting Begins,

Harry explains Theo's adoption to Dumbledore.
Book 3 - HP&DEM - Ch. 125 - The Hunting of Sirius Black (Pt 4),

James meets with Harry then uses the Ultimate Sanction on him.

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Book 3 - HP&DEM - Ch. 125 - The Hunting of Sirius Black (Pt 4),

James reveals Cassandra Trelawney's Prophecy to Harry.
Book 3 - HP&DEM - Ch. 125 - The Hunting of Sirius Black (Pt 4),

Hermione arranges Harry to meet her with the Time-Turner.
Book 3 - HP&DEM - Ch. 126 - Speaking of Time,

Hermione has Harry use the Time-Turner.
Book 3 - HP&DEM - Ch. 127 - Redux (Pt 1),

Harry arrives in the past and learns what he still knows.
Book 3 - HP&DEM - Ch. 129 - Redux (Pt 3),

James meets with Harry and is shocked by the results.

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