Harry woke early the next morning. Seeing the sun had yet to fully rise, he rolled over and tried to recapture his sleep, but quickly realised he was absolutely ravenous. He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. When he thought about it, he hadn't eaten dinner last night; no wonder his stomach was protesting.
Harry got up, drew open the thin translucent curtains to see the sunrise, and sat in one of the armchairs nearest to the window. Harry watched the sun just begin to touch the edge of the hillside and considered his options. He had no idea where the kitchen was, and even if he did, the house had been empty for many years. He doubted there would be anything edible inside.
Harry decided he would have to ask one of the house elves. "Ky?" Harry called out gently.
Kylix popped into the small sitting area, and with a low bow said, "Good morning. What can I do for the young master?"
"I hope I'm not bothering you, but I missed dinner last night and realised I'm quite hungry. Do we have anything to eat here?" Harry asked hopefully.
"We only have a few things in the pantry. Dri did manage to make some apple cinnamon muffins. We house elves can usually take care of the shopping but there was no gold for us to use. By the time we were ready to start popping bigger distances, the shops were closed, sir." Kylix hung his head in shame for being unable to properly serve his new master.
"It's okay, yesterday was a crazy day. And I would love a muffin." Harry gave the elf a reassuring smile. "I have some gold in my trunk, how much do you think you'll need to stock the kitchen?" Harry asked.
The elf seemed to perk up a bit. "We can sort the gold after you've eaten. One moment." Ky disappeared for only a moment and reappeared with three muffins on a plate.
"Master Harry should eat. I'll be right back with tea." and he disappeared again.
Harry was halfway through his first muffin before Ky reappeared. "Would you like to join me for a cuppa?" Harry offered as Ky set the tray with the tea set on the coffee table in front of him.
Kylix looked confused but nodded a moment later, albeit reluctantly.
Once they were both settled with their drinks Harry started, "You know, you're the first house elf I've ever met. I only just found out I was a wizard less than a year ago. This is all very new to me. If I offend you, or say something wrong, please feel free to let me know. I also know next to nothing about magical houses. If you need something or need me to do something, just ask me."
Kylix smiled as Harry spoke. "You're a great wizard master Harry. Potter elves are different from most other elves you will meet. Not all house elves are treated very nice. I'm happy to know you take after the Potters before you. Dri and I were born here in the manor and were able to be educated in more than just household duties. We speak a bit better than other elves because of this. There are elves out there that are bound to bad masters that treat them poorly, forcing them to punish themselves when they mess up; but once a house elf is bound, the bond can only be broken by the wizard or witch that holds the bond," he finished sadly.
"That's terrible. Aren't there any laws to protect the elves?" Harry asked, perplexed.
"No, sir. Laws are for wizards. They don't think about us elves unless their shoes aren't properly shined," Ky said sagely.
"Maybe you can help me fix that someday," Harry told him. "We can add it to the list of things I have to tackle in my young life."
"I would like to help my fellow elves. Maybe I can teach you wizarding etiquette too. If you want that is. It might come in useful. I got to help teach Master James when he was young."
"I would like that very much," Harry answered, and they sat and sipped their tea as the sun steadily rose over the hill. As Harry finished off the last muffin, he caught sight of something in the sky. As the speck grew closer, Harry realised what he was seeing, and with a smile threw open the nearest window.
A few minutes later, Hedwig sailed through the open window and settled on the arm of the chair Harry had stood from. Harry ran his finger over her feathers to pet her softly. "Smart girl. I'm so glad you made it. We will have to set up a place for you here, your cage is still with the Grangers." Harry crooned as he petted her. Hedwig preened and nipped his fingers affectionately. When she had her fill, she flew to the top of the nearby wardrobe and tucked her head under her wing. Harry took his now empty tea cup, rinsed and filled it with water in the bathroom, and brought it back for Hedwig. Using his trunk as a stool, he climbed atop it and slid the water next to the resting bird.
When he had climbed down, Harry opened his trunk and found his money bag right on top. Thankful Hermione had put it back, he carried it over to Ky who had just finished cleaning up the morning snack.
"This is all I have on me right now. We will have to go to Gringotts for more if you need it. There may be an additional two people staying here. I'll let you know for sure after we talk to them." Harry passed the sack of coins over to the elf.
Kylix took the bag with a bow. "No problem Master Harry. Can I help you with anything else right now?"
Harry considered this. "I don't think so. It's still pretty early, but I'm wide awake. I think I'll get dressed and go for a quick fly around the valley here."
The elf bowed low again and with a pop, he was gone.
Harry pulled some muggle clothes from his trunk and dressed quickly. He got his Nimbus out next, followed by his school cloak to keep him warm. Throwing the cloak around himself, Harry mounted his broom and took off leisurely through the window he had opened to let Hedwig in.
An hour later, Harry finally decided to end his flight. As he neared the back of the manor, he saw Hermione waving up to him from the patio table she was seated at.
Harry altered his course and touched down a moment later. His hair was wind swept and his cheeks were red from the morning chill, but the wide smile on Harry's face was hard to miss. He leaned his broom against the wall near the door, slipped off his cloak, and joined Hermione and Remus at the table.
"Morning guys, everyone make it down ok?" Harry asked, as he helped himself to another muffin from the platter on the table.
"Good morning, Harry. Yes, I got a bit lost on my way down but Kylix came to my rescue. He told me you went for a fly and showed me how to get out here. Remus turned up just a couple minutes after me and we decided to eat something while we waited here for you," Hermione informed him, practically bouncing in her seat. She looked at Remus expectantly.
"Hope you had a nice morning fly, Harry. Dria showed me down to breakfast. While we were waiting for you, you got a couple owls from Gringotts. One was delivering a morning paper and the other had a letter for you." Remus passed him a stiff envelope. "We already read the paper, I hope you don't mind. We didn't open your letter though."
Harry pried open the wax seal and pulled a folded section of parchment free.
Mr. Potter,
I hope this letter finds you well. You will find it interesting that late last night, after you had left, Dumbledore showed up at the bank and tried to use the old key to your secondary vault. When the key didn't work, he was apprehended and placed in a cell to be questioned for the attempted theft from a Gringotts vault. He insisted he had permission to access the vault. When we pointed out he would have to take that up with the owner of the vault, he told us the heir had died and he was merely trying to see if there was evidence of any other family he could contact. We were forced to release him, since he didn't manage to take anything from the vault, and we have no evidence of his previous transgressions. We told him not to attempt to access that vault again and sent him on his way. He was quite angry. It was glorious.
I have also attached a newspaper. In light of the news, I had an emergency meeting with the Chief and the other advisors. Much was discussed. Ragnarok was very serious when he said he wanted to help you. I can't say more for now. I usually only have meetings here at the bank, but I think it would be safer if I came to you. If you can owl me back with a convenient time, I would like to come to the manor to meet. If Remus is still with you, maybe he can come and side-along me to the gates? Goblins can create portkeys, but only if they know exactly where they are going.
Let me know as soon as you can. I await your owl,
Firecrest
Potter Account Manager
Senior Gringotts Advisor
When Harry looked up he found two pairs of curious eyes on him. Instead of explaining, Harry passed them the letter and helped himself to another muffin while they read it over.
They finished reading at nearly the same time. Harry swallowed his bite and asked, "May I see the paper?"
Hermione nervously pushed the newsprint towards him. Even more curious now, Harry flattened it out and was startled by the mugshot taking up over half the page, the bold headline reading "SIRIUS BLACK AT LARGE."
Harry looked over the mugshot and the magical photo blinked slowly at him. The man had pale white skin and a sunken face. The only part of him that looked alive was his shadowed eyes. Harry glossed over the article that mentioned Black's history, told the public to be alert, and mentioned something called "dementors" that would be searching for him.
"What are dementors?" Harry asked, looking to Remus.
"They are the guards for Azkaban Prison. Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them. Even Muggles feel their presence, though they can't see them. Get too near a Dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself — soul-less and evil. You'll be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life," Remus finished with a shiver.
"We let these creatures guard people? That sounds really cruel!" Hermione said indignantly.
"We do, unfortunately. There isn't much of a defence against these creatures and they are very hard to kill. I think the ministry moved them to guard the prison just to try and keep them contained." Remus shrugged.
"Okay, so we have Dumbledore that we can't trust. An unknown magical that tried to assassinate me. Voldemort wanting me dead but off hiding somewhere. Demons that suck out your happiness and soul on the loose, and now my maybe murderous godfather in the wind. Did I get everything?" He asked shrewdly.
"That about sums it up," Hermione answered.
Harry blew out a breath. "Okay, first things first. Hemione, were you able to call your parents from here or do you need to be taken into town?"
"Not a single bar to be had. And I wasn't able to find an outlet to charge it, so after today, if they decide not to come here I'll have to meet with them at least to trade phones with mum."
"Okay. I would also like to meet with Firecrest as soon as possible. Remus, what did he mean in his letter by side-along?"
"He means apparition. You can get a licence to apparate when you turn seventeen. It is how most wizards move about. It allows you to disappear from one place and reappear in another."
"That's convenient. Do you think you could take Hermione to a nearby town so she can call her parents? Meanwhile, I can send off a letter to Firecrest. Is everyone okay if I invite him to come tomorrow morning? I figure that will give time for Hedwig to make it there."
Hermione nodded. "Makes sense to me."
Remus thought about this. "I'm not actually sure where we are or what the nearest town even is. I can only apparate places I have been before and there is a limit to how far you can go in one jump. For example, I'm not sure I could go directly to London from, say, Hogsmead."
Harry thought this over and then called, "Ky?"
The elf in question popped to his side. "How can I help sir?"
"Can you tell us what the closest city is?" Harry asked.
"We're near a couple of small towns, however the bigger town of Newport isn't too far and there is a small magical shopping district located in Cardiff. That's where we elves go to shop for household things," he suggested.
"Thank you, was there enough money in the bag to stock the kitchen for us?"
"Oh yes sir, we should be set for at least a month. If you want anything in particular, you need only ask." Harry nodded and Kylix disappeared again with a bow.
"I know of the place in Cardiff. I can take Hermione there when we are finished here if you'd like," Remus said as he brushed some stray muffin crumbs from his shirt.
Harry nodded. "Okay one thing down. Hermione, if your parents decide to come here, can muggles travel on that bus you mentioned? Cardiff is pretty far from Crawley, I would hate for them to have to drive."
"I'm not sure Harry. I only know it has to be called by a witch or wizard. I could probably call for it in Cardiff and ride it to Crawley to pick them up. I'm not sure how much that would cost though."
"Wouldn't a bus ride like that take a really long time? Would driving be easier?" Harry questioned.
Remus couldn't help but laugh. "No, Harry. The Knight Bus moves very fast. Magic and all. The muggles shouldn't have a problem getting on the bus, but Hermione is right, someone with a wand will need to call the bus."
"Okay good." Harry looked back to Hermione. "Did you get any other money from my vault other than what was in my money bag in my trunk?"
"Yes, there is a second bag in the other trunk. I resized it and left it in the foyer for you. I wasn't sure if you wanted to go through everything together or alone."
"You can use that for the bus fare if you end up needing it. Okay, I think that's everything pressing," he said as Hermione nodded in acknowledgment.
Harry turned back to Remus. "But I have to ask, do you know where Sirius would run to? Knowing what you know now, do you think he really murdered those people?" Harry asked, trying not to get his hopes up.
Remus sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Honestly? I just don't know anymore. The last few months before you were attacked were bad times all around. As missions failed, we realised there must be a spy in the order. Dumbledore didn't help things. He started sending us off in different directions and we started to get suspicious of each other. I think they thought the spy was me. When Sirius started acting differently around me, I thought the Deatheaters, that's what Voldemort called his followers, might have found a way to turn him to their side."
He stood suddenly and began to pace. "Which is crazy, because he was so loyal to your dad, they could have been mistaken for brothers. By the time I found out about what happened to James and Lily, Sirius had already been taken to Azkaban and Peter had been declared dead. I had to mourn every close friend I made at Hogwarts. The only person left alive to blame had been Sirius and myself. Now, I realise how blinded by my grief and self loathing I was."
Remus stopped to take a steadying breath before continuing in a quieter voice. "I accepted the story because it was the only way to process at the time. I don't know what really happened on that street corner, but the Sirius I knew was better with a wand. If he had been aiming at Peter, he would have hit him. He wouldn't have killed a bunch of muggles. Peter wasn't so good. He was a mediocre wizard at best. Add in that Peter was working for the other side, and I would have to bet it was him that killed those people."
Remus gave Harry a hard look. "But the only person that knows that for sure is Sirius, and I wouldn't want you to gamble your life on that Harry. He could still be dangerous. Azkaban is a hellish place. It's not really the walls or bars that keep the prisoners in, but the dementors. They trap you in your own head, living your worst memories over and over. Most people go mad in the first few months."
Harry listened and tried to hold out hope for Sirius. "Do you know where he would go?"
"I'm not sure. His parent's home is in London but he hated that place. He shared a flat with me for a bit after school, but they demolished that old building. He knew about this house, but he should know the wards won't let him in. The problem is, I don't know why he would break out of Azkaban now, after all this time. Without knowing the why, I can't guess the where," Remus finished exasperated.
It was Hermione that grew thoughtful at this. After a moment she asked, "Do the prisoners get newspapers?"
"They don't get sent to them directly, but there are a small number of human guards that may bring a paper with them to read while they're on shift. I don't know if they let the prisoners read them when they are finished. Why?"
"Well, think about it. What big news event happened that day that may have sent him running?" Hemione pointed out eagerly.
"The papers said I died!"
"Exactly! It said they weren't able to confirm. Maybe they dont get news often and he broke out to see for himself. Maybe he's looking for you, Harry!"
"That's a big maybe, Hermione. We have no idea if he even saw the article," Remus tried to reason.
Harry dropped his gaze to his hands. "He's my Godfather. That has to mean something. I mean, he cared for me at one time, right?" he asked in a small voice, causing Hermione to give Remus a stern look.
"I know you want him to be good and whole. Trust me, I do too. I'm just saying we should be cautious. That's all." Remus held his hands up in surrender and re took his seat.
Harry nodded, and tried to shake off the melancholy mood. "Fine. Next subject. Did you think things over last night Remus? Will you stay and help train me?" Hermione shot him a look, "er-Sorry. Us. Help train us. Make sure I don't make bad decisions, tell me to eat my vegetables. You know, adult stuff," Harry joked.
They smiled at him indulgently.
"I will stay for now. Mr. Wells is feeling better and took back over at the bookshop. I may not be able to stay all the time though, we can discuss that later. I have a few...obligations that will need my attention," Remus finished with a frown.
Harry accepted this. "I guess that's meeting adjourned. You two sort out the Grangers. The house elves are stocking the kitchen. I'll send the letter off to Firecrest. If there's nothing else, I suppose we should get to work, maybe we can all be back in time for lunch."
They all stood from the table in agreement.
"I just have to run and grab my bag, I'll meet you by the front door," Hermione said to Remus as she hurried back into the house.
Remus and Harry followed behind at a slower pace. They reentered the manor through a door that opened to the family room. They passed back through the kitchen and down a hallway that led them back to the foyer.
Harry saw his dad's trunk, exactly where Hermione said she left it, and decided to bring it with him. The feather light charm made it easy for him to carry it up to his Grandfather's office. Setting the trunk just inside the door, Harry moved to the desk to draft his letter to Firecrest.
"Good morning, Grandpa Henry. Do one of these drawers have parchment in them?"
"Morning lad. The middle one has the Potter letter head. Plain rolls are in the bottom right."
He gave the portrait a grateful smile. Pulled out a small section of parchment and drafted a reply to the goblin. When he finished and the ink was dry, he rolled it carefully and tied it with a bit of string that had been in the same drawer.
Harry walked down the hall to his room and tried to coax Hedwig down from her perch atop the wardrobe. "You feel up to delivering a letter to Diagon Alley? I have an important letter for Firecrest."
Hedwig slowly untucked her head from beneath her wing and stared appraisingly down at Harry. Hearing the letter was important, she ruffled her feathers in what Harry figured she thought was a dignified manner. She flew down to the armchair and held out her leg impatiently.
Harry chuckled at his bird's antics and crossed the room to tie the letter to her leg. With the letter secured in her talons, she set off through the open window. He watched her fly until she was only a speck in the distance.
Harry returned to the office and decided to take the trunk back to his room and go through it in his sitting area.
Hours later, Harry found himself in the middle of his bed with books, letters, journals, and pictures scattered all around him. He was currently absorbed in one of his mother's journals. It seemed to be a bunch of notes she had taken in a subject called ancient runes. She must have been really good at it, because the book was nearly full. Harry didn't understand most of what was in there, but he found he loved reading his mother's notes and musings about different rune arrangements. Her passion for the subject was amazing to Harry.
As he read through the journals, he felt like he was finally getting to know more about his parents. Apparently, his dad was really great in transfiguration. He had considered pursuing a mastery in the field. Harry had also found out his dad had become an animagus like Professor McGonagall. It was that same journal that hinted at Remus's secret; calling it his "furry little problem." It also revealed Sirius was an animagus as well.
At Harry's knee sat two envelopes with his name written on them. One in his mother's handwriting, the other in his father's. He had yet to open them. He wasn't sure if he wanted to open those alone, or if he wanted Hermione to be there too. He must have picked them up and chickened out at least fifty times since he found them in the trunk.
When Harry had his fill of the rune journal, he searched through the books for things his dad had written. He hoped to learn more about his godfather, in hopes of being able to track him down before those dementors found him.
Not seeing anything in the pile he had brought to the bed, Harry hopped down and went back to the trunk for another arm full. The inside of the trunk was quite spacious and Hermione had clearly done her best to pack it full. Harry wondered idly if there was anything left in that vault at all.
Scooting back to his position on the bed, he began to sort through his bounty. The first couple were just old school books; Harry set these with the others on the growing stack on his night stand. The next one seemed like a diary from his mother's childhood, if the crude handwriting on the first few pages were any indication. Harry placed this one to his other side, and moved on.
After sorting through the books, Harry had finally found another journal with his father's handwriting and settled in to read. He flipped through the first few pages and figured his dad had started this one sometime in his last year at Hogwarts. Harry made it a way in before he found a passage about his mother that had made him turn bright red and snapped the book shut.
There is not enough brain bleach in the world to help me unknow that. Harry thought with a shiver.
Deciding that hearing all his teenager dad's thoughts was a bit dangerous, Harry reopened the book closer to the end.
Harry's heart sank. This was the journal his dad used during the war. He read entry after entry and finally took to just skimming for Sirius's name. He even took to looking for the name Padfoot, as he realised that was the name his dad usually used for Sirius. Not finding anything helpful, Harry placed the journal to the side.
Harry thought maybe his mom would have some insight and began searching for something she wrote anytime after they left school. He found one of her diaries in between two advanced rune books. Harry began skimming again for Sirius's name.
He was just beginning to get discouraged, when he found an entry that finally seemed promising.
"I've finally convinced Sirius to help me. James was too upset the last time I brought up Tunie. I know his anger is well placed after the things she said about our baby, but I have to try and protect her if I can. She's my big sister. The war is getting worse and more and more muggles are getting targeted. Sirius and I are going to sneak out when James has his next meeting with Dumbledore and place a couple wards around Tunie's house. It's not much, but it might keep her safe from the Deatheaters. I made a special ward stone just for her.
I think Sirius is only going because he feels like he failed to protect Reggie, like maybe helping me keep my sister safe will help ease his guilt. I don't know. Whatever the reason, I'm just glad to have the back up. The baby could be here any day and James would blow his top if he realised I left the safety of Godric's Hollow. He doesnt have siblings and just doesn't understand. Sirius won't admit it, but he understands why I want to do this. Hopefully that dang knight bus doesn't put me into labour. I hate that bus, but I don't think it would be safe to apparate this late in my pregnancy. Sirius agreed. He offered to fly there on that bike of his, but I really don't like to fly. We'll see. I'm not sure which is less dangerous, the death bus or that flying motorcycle.
That's all for now. I need to get Harry's crib put together. Remus was supposed to come help me but this full moon was particularly rough on him since the boys couldn't be with him. I hope he feels better soon."
Harry closed the book when he finished the entry. He had so many emotions running through him; he laid back on his pillows and closed his burning eyes. When he felt he had his emotions back in control, Harry began analysing what he read. So, mum had warded Privet Drive with a special ward stone. He'd have to check her rune book again to see if she says what was special about it. Sirius knows exactly where Petunia lived since he went with mum.
Full moon? Furry little problem. Sounds like Remus's big secret might be that he is a werewolf. Harry remembered copying down a section about treating werewolf bites during his Defence class, but couldn't remember what it said. He had been too busy talking about the Philosophers Stone with Ron. Neville had also told him that he heard there were werewolves in the Forbidden Forest. Harry tried to recall anything else useful, but came up empty.
Feeling stiff, Harry scooted off the bed and stretched. He decided a walk to explore the manor may help to sort through his thoughts.
Leaving his room, he looked around. There were only two doors nearby; the one leading into the room Hermione was staying in and a linen closet, so Harry tried the other side of the staircase. The hallway attaching the two wings overlooked a grand ballroom that Harry paid little mind too. On the other side, the first two doors here, he knew, led to the study and Remus's room. There was a third door he found that just led to another large bedroom with an attached bath.
Back at the stairs, Harry was trying to decide to check out the top floor, or explore the rest of the ground floor. Shrugging his shoulders, he climbed the stairs two at a time to the third floor.
He skipped the first two doors, remembering these from when he had woken the elves the day before, and came around the stairs to a small room that looked like it was once an artist's studio. Blank canvases in all sizes were propped against the wall and long forgotten easels stood bare. A tiny sink stood next to a wide cabinet on the back wall that Harry found held all different types of media and various paint brushes. Harry closed the cabinet back and continued his exploration.
The next couple doors revealed nothing interesting, some old storage rooms and a cramped water closet. Moving to the back of the manor, Harry took a couple steps down into an open sunken room. There was a pool table, a dart board, a ping pong table, and a chess board on one side of the room, and a small bar with stools, and a poker table on the other. Harry even managed to find a collection of old muggle board games in one of the cupboards.
Moving to the back of the room where the pool table was, Harry climbed back up a couple steps to find another seating area completely full of natural light. The windows here ran nearly floor to ceiling in a semi circle on the very back wall. To the left, he spotted a door. This ended up leading to a veranda that was just as spacious as the patio below it, however, the view of the garden and pond was far superior.
Harry paused here and decided to stay for a while; just taking in the sights and sounds around him.
He was just about to head back down to his room when he was startled by a tiny elf popping to his side.
Dria bowed low. "I'm sorry, Master Harry. I didn't mean to startle you. Your guests have returned. Shall I have Ky show them up? Lunch is almost ready, I can serve it here if you'd like."
"You can just call me Harry if you want. Um, go ahead and have Ky show them up, the weather is nice enough to eat outside so lunch here would be great. Also, is there a room here on the ground floor for the Grangers?"
Dri twisted her apron in her hands nervously. "Master Harry, sir, the master suite and a guest suite are the only bedrooms on the ground floor. We had the master suite set up for you sir but you asked to be near Miss Mione and Mr Remus."
"That's okay, Dria, Thank you for getting our rooms ready. I quite like the room I'm in for now. I'm sure the guest suite will be great for the Grangers. Is there anything I can help with?" Harry offered.
"Oh no sir, we'll have everything taken care of in a snap," and with a pop, she disappeared. He would have felt bad about having someone waiting on him, if not for the beaming smile Dria had given him before she popped away.
Harry moved back to the railing and looked out at the moor once more. It wasn't long before he heard footsteps and a myriad of voices as they discovered the rec room and sunroom. He turned to welcome everyone just as Ky was opening the door for them.
"Welcome back guys, everything go smoothly today?" Harry smiled warmly as Hermione and Remus came through the door.
He was only slightly surprised to find Mr. and Mrs. Granger just trailing behind them. "And Welcome Drs. Granger. I'm so happy you could join us." Harry added as they joined him on the balcony.
"Everything went great. When I called mum, she told me they had some free time in their schedules. They had planned on taking a holiday but hadn't any plans set in stone yet. I told her that you had invited them to come here and, as you can see, mum and dad agreed to come along. By the way," Hermione's ramble turned stern, "I hate that bus. You better pray you never have to take that thing. I thought the portkey was bad. Portkeys have nothing on the Knight Bus."
Harry realised all of the Grangers were looking a bit green and Hermione's parents were nodding in agreement at her assessment of the bus in question. Remus, on the other hand, seemed to be fighting off a smirk.
"Well hopefully we won't need to take it again anytime soon," Harry said, trying to be sympathetic. "You know, I found an entry in one of my mum's journals. She hated the Knight Bus too. I believe she called it the 'death bus.' Anyway, are you guys feeling hungry? I think the elves said they would be serving lunch soon. Is everyone okay if we eat out here?"
When they all agreed, they turned back to the table to find plates and cups already set for the five of them. Once they were all seated, it was hardly a second later that Dria appeared and levitated a tray of sandwiches and a jug of juice on the table in front of them.
As they ate, everyone chatted happily between bites. Even Remus seemed to come out of his shell a bit when Mr Granger and Hermione had started talking about the merits of some poet Harry couldn't remember the name of. Harry even got to talk about quidditch when Mrs. Granger asked if they had any sports at Hogwarts. He explained how the game worked and all about the games he had played in that year.
As the sandwiches were polished off, Harry looked to the Grangers. "How long do you guys think you'll be staying with us?"
Helen glanced at her husband, who nodded. "We were only able to clear our schedules for two weeks. We might have a few weeks free near the end of July, but two weeks is all we could manage out right now. Is that okay? Are you sure we aren't imposing?"
Harry shook his head. "Not at all. As you can see we have plenty of space. You guys took me in when I had no place else to go. I'm happy to have the company. We have a room ready for you on the ground floor."
When everyone had had their fill and the conversation lulled, Harry got to his feet and suggested they head inside, as the sun had begun to grow hot.
"If you would like to see your room and freshen up I can have Dria show you the way. I would do it myself but I have no idea where it's at," Harry said with a nervous chuckle
The Grangers agreed and just as they arrived in the foyer, Dria appeared and showed them away to their room. Remus excused himself to his room as well, leaving the two friends alone.
"Come on," Harry nodded to the side of the manor they hadn't seen yet, "I got to explore the top two stories while you were out, and we saw that side with the kitchen and family room. Let's find out what's over here."
Hermione brightened and followed Harry as he turned the handle on a set of double doors. He gave them a firm push and what was beyond them caused Hermione to gasp.
They had found the Library.
AN:
The description of Sirius Black is reworded from the one used in chapter three of PoA.
The italics describing the dementors is from Chapter ten, PoA.
Thank you to Dubz for his continued beta skills, any left over mistakes are my own.
Thank you to everyone commenting and following along. Next chapter: Late Night Talks and Morning Meetings