Just so you know, if you thought I owned something, you are sadly mistaken. That being said, this manor, and its description, all came from my mind, whether that makes it mine, who knows?

~Chapter 9 The Manor

When the group arrived at the Manor it was late and after a long day so they settled in and went to bed. It had been years since James was at the manor, and Remus and Sirius never had been, so he showed them to there rooms and promised a more thorough tour in the morning.

James was the first to wake up and outside of his room this end of the wing they were in, was a den. He asked a house elf to bring food there and he would wait for his company. A magnificent spread was laid consisting of many fresh berries and bananas, scrambled eggs, toast, muffins of many varieties, sausages. James contemplated his lot in life while he nibbled waiting for his group. He told remembered Alice and neville was coming over some time today and told a house-elf to be ready for her, and alert him when she arrived.

As it turned out, she arrived before Sirius and Remus awoke, but not long after Harry did. James with Harry in tow went to welcome her into his home. He walked up to the main door and stepped out side watching her walk up the drive with Neville in her arms.

The gate that she entered through is one of 3 gates on the property. It was also the only one available to people who have not been keyed into the wards. It was around 20' tall, and made of iron and topped with spikes that go outward to prevent people from climbing over it or so one would think, the wards would prevent any from climbing over even if they made it to the top. The wall surrounding the gates extended all around the property their was made of a smooth marble and was also 20' high all the way around. the entire property was about 20 acres and was seperated into 4 areas.

The south quarter held the manor. The north quarter which was directly behind the manor, had a stable, a running track for the horses kept there. Above the track were 3 golden hoops at either side, obviously a quidditch pitch, nearly regulation size, but not quite. the west quarter held cultivated land for much of the food the manor used and if you looked you could currently see 3 different elves working in the fields. Because this was the largest of the Potter homes it had 5 elves there always, unlike many of the homes 2.

In the east quarter was a massive greenhouse which were actually split into 4 sections inside. The entire greenhouse covered a few acres, the first section near the door was various fruits and vegetation that thrive in a tropical environment. That section is kept hot and moist. The second is seasonal. In it during the summer months you can find various magical plants that can be cultivated in a single season. During the winter many of the foods grown outside in the fields are grown in this section. The third section held magical plants that needed a few seasons to grow before they were ready to be cultivated. The last section had just a few plants in it, but they were the most dangerous of the plants. Many took a many seasons to grow, and if not handled properly could kill the cultivator.

The manor which was made of pinkish brown bricks with layers of yellow bricks ever dozen or so feet. It had many arched windows covering the front of it. from an birds eye view it would look like a cross. From the main entrance where they were currently standing you were standing all you could see was one of the ends of that cross. The main door was in the center of the front of the building and was 12' tall and it arched towards the center, which both swung outwardly. There were two smaller but no less grand doors on the two sides. From what appeared to be behind the house but in all actuality was the center of the cross was a small tower, around 120 feet tall colored with the same bricks but it didn't have any windows until the top. They entered the main door which opened to a magnificent reception hall that was as tall as the house, and you could clearly see 2 balconies above leaving the impression that it was 3 stories tall. James asked Alice and Neville follow and he led them towards through to what was a massive den with a large fireplace. He explained that they were under the tower at this moment in time, he pointed out a set of stairs that would lead into the tower, he then led them toward to the wing which he had stayed in last night, he pointed out one door that looked different than the others, and explained that it had muggle cars and carraiges inside. Every Master of the house has puchased at least one, and there were some from every era. He then led them up a set of stairs that led them to the second floor and found that Sirius and Remus were awake and eating. After getting a few more things to eat and hearing that Alice and Neville had already eaten, James suggested Neville and Harry play in the nursery and be watched by an elf while he show the group the rest of the house.

While Harry and Neville were playing with toys in the nursery James explained that this wing had 2 floors which were almost entirely bedrooms, the bottom floor has the garage and a potions lab and a basic infirmary which at the moment is lacking in various healing potions. He Showed them the wing furthest from the main entryway which they discovered was almost entirely a library with a few couches and a large fireplace. Along one wall there were quite a few large desks. Remus and Alice quickly declared this as there favorite room so far. James then pointed out that the far wall on the second floor was dedicated to healing so Alice could take a look there later. For now, he would show them the rest of the house. Of the building they had seen the Entry wing, the Living quarters, the Library wing which left the Ballroom which took up the last leg of the cross shape. IT had marble columns and was covered in murals and the far wall from the center of the house was entirely glass and had a large patio area overlooking a pond and a garden which hid the greenhouses from view.

The next to last item to show off was the tower. Hames took them up the stairs which led to an empty cylindrical tower with about 4 stairs which he beckoned the others to step on, and said "up" and the stairs magically started moving up. They had a bit of magic that prevented anyone from falling off. They rode the stairs all the way up and entered a large round room that had windows all the way around. James exclaimed that at one time it was a lookout tower for the land. The land used to belong to an old family that was saved by his ancestors, and in repayment they were given this tower and bit of land, which they built around and built up into the grandeur that it is today. James showed off the round room which was a mixture of a lounge and office.

James led the group back to the stairs and said down. It stopped at the bottom of the tower and his guests went to step off, but he told him to wait. He said "Down" and the stairs started inverting and led to the dungeons. It didn't appear to be a dungeon though. The ceiling was enchanted to Look like the sky. There was a training area complete with deuling platform and many weapons. There were spears, shields, bow and arrows, crossbows, and swords of many kinds. There was also a smaller Library than the one found upstairs which was dedicated to dueling using both magical and mundane methods.

With the tour of the house complete he led them back to the main den and with that, he let his friends to explore the house on there own. If they had any problems they were instructed to call an elf. He told Alice that he knows she wants to visit the healing section of the library so, he would keep an eye on Harry and Neville.

Around 4 in the afternoon James remembered that he still had what he thought was voldys wand, and wanted to confirm it was so. He told the group he would be running an errand and Remus volunteered to watch Harry and Neville for a few minutes. James ran off to Ollivanders and confirmed the wand was the wand sold to voldemort, and was destroyed by sword into a few pieces, and fire and then the ashes were scattered in a lake. Then returned home, the entire adventure took just a 20 minutes and he returned to the manor.

All in all the day was successful, Alice asked if she and Neville could return the next day as the library is more extensive than any for the art of healing than she has ever been, and James jokingly said she could move in if she wanted.