Once Ginny's bedroom door was
unlocked, Ron had written a quick reply to Hermione, York had opened her
monarchs case, Harry had locked Hedwig in her cage, and the Weasley twins
begged to go with no success, then they were ready to go.
"Remember, one week before
school starts, at Diagon Alley," Mrs. Weasley said waving to her children,
York, and Harry.
"Yes mum, we'll write you when
we get there," Ron said, dragging his trunk across the freshly de-gnomed
garden.
"Good-bye," Mrs. Weasley said
cheerfully, through her kitchen window.
York was standing in the center
of the garden, thinking deeply, scanning the ground for something. With
a her eyes closed she made the sound of an owl call and Pig flew instantly
to her.
"Traitor," Ron mumbled under
his breath as Pig hooted happily in York's hand.
"Well now that everyone is
here," York said reaching into her coat pocket, "We can get going."
York scribbled a note on a
scrape of parchment tied it to Pig's leg and let him take off into the
sky, "Hope you don't mind Ron," York said smiling.
"No I don't," he said crossing
his arms.
York pulled out a small box
and threw it to Harry, he caught it and read the label.
Mr. Harry Potter
Weasley's Residence
About to leave...
Harry turned the package over and
read;
S.W.A.L.K.
Harry hid the back of the package
from Ron's eyes and tore it open quickly, again there was just a tiny card
inside;
Smash the bubble, so we can get
going...
He glanced over to York, who
nodded for him to continue. Harry lifted the tiny bubble over his head
and smashed it on the ground. Again, nothing happened in front of them.
Then York squeaked loudly and disappeared; Ginny looked to where York had
been standing; Harry began searching for the tiny butterflies; Ron stared
at both of them like they were morons.
"What are you looking for,
Harry?" Ron questioned, as Harry walked around the garden staring close
to the ground.
"The Monarchs," Harry answered,
keeping his eyes to the ground, "That's how we're getting to the safe house."
"Really?" Ginny questioned
beginning her own search, "She has her own Monarchs?"
"Yeah. What's so different
about that?" Harry questioned, looking over at them.
"Monarchs are expensive," Ron
said quickly, "I doubt Malfoy could afford one."
"They're that expensive?" Harry
asked.
"Yeah, I hear that only royalty
ever experienced even riding them," Ron said, still staring at them strangely.
A bright orange butterfly landed
on Ron's shoulder; he looked down at it in disgust; right before he was
going to crush it Ginny scooped it up and held it in her hand.
"It's bad luck to crush any
butterfly," Ginny said, gently holding it in her hand.
"Too true, too true," a voice
echoed in Ginny's ear. She looked around trying to locate the owner of
the voice.
But before Ginny even had the
slightest idea of where the voice was coming from, she disappeared, along
with her trunk. The butterfly flew closer to Harry and landed on his head.
Ron gasped and ran towards
Harry, "That butterfly made Ginny disappear!" he yelled about to snatch
it off Harry's head.
"Stop Ron," Harry protested.
Stepping back quickly he recognized York's power, "York's controlling the
butterfly so we can travel."
"Oh, really?" Ron said in disbelief,
"Well then tell her to make me disappear too."
"All right, she'll understand
this," Harry thought to himself, ever since Harry's opened the Chamber
of Secrets he found it easier to speak Parselmouth. He just had to clear
his throat a certain way.
In Parselmouth:
York can you hear me?
Yes...
Ron doesn't think you can make
him disappear.
Oh really.... I'll have
to change that, I think he doesn't like me?
He just doesn't trust you.
Why is that?
I dunno, maybe he's scared
of you.
That's possible. Well, I'll
make him disappear.
Back to english;
"She says that she'll make
you disappear," Harry said looking at him.
"All right then, I'm waiting,"
Ron said, crossing his arms; nearly instantly after he'd said that there
was a snapping sound and Ron disappeared.
Harry looked left and right, "I'm
waiting," he said to the butterfly. Another snapping crackling sound and
Harry disappeared.
Opening his eyes slowly, Harry
found that he was in his own small bubble. His trunk, along with Hedwig's
cage and his broomstick, were sitting next to him. It was rather roomy,
even though he couldn't see anything around him except white walls.
York's voice began to echo
through in the white room, "Harry, Ron, Ginny, no need to fear, I have
to put you in these bubbles for awhile because I can't even let you know
where the safe house is. Please understand. We'll be there in 2 hours,
6 minutes, and 35 seconds, make that 34, no, 33... you get it?" York explained.
She sounded like a flight attendant, "If you need anything; a pillow, medicine,
food, whatever, just let me now by pushing the buttons which should now
be coming out of the walls."
A panel opened in the wall
revealing hundreds of buttons, each button labeled a different thing 'Water',
'Books', 'Drawing Pencils', 'Red Rose'. Every single useless object anyone
could ever think of, even a 'Rubber Duck'.
Harry, noticing a button labeled
'Inflatable Settee', he reached up and pushed it. Instantly, a bright green
inflatable settee flew from above Harry's head, and floated softly to the
ground.
"Well, Hedwig," Harry said,
talking to his snowy white owl, "We'll be at Hogwarts, and then for the
holidays we'll be able to come back here. It's overwhelming isn't it? I
never thought we'd leave Privet Drive. It feels wonderful doesn't it?"
Hedwig hooted loudly. She tried
to flap her wings, but since her cage was still locked it was a failure.
Harry chuckled at her disgusted hoot, then unlocked her cage for her. She
darted out and flapped around the white room. It was hard to see the boarder
line of the walls, and Hedwig hit them with irritated shrieks.
The time flew by rather quickly.
Harry had ordered three cups of hot chocolate, along with a banana split,
and a bucket of chocolate frogs.
There was a loud ringing, like
a massive bell, "Please keep your hands, feet, and other body parts inside
the bubble as we pull to a full stop," York said in a flight attendant
accent, "Thank you for riding air Yorkshire, come again, come again."
The white walls disappeared,
and Harry felt himself falling. He dropped several feet, and landed on
a soft bed. Outside there was a large clear lake; nothing but water for
miles and miles.
There were several muffled
complaints from the room next to Harry's. He opened to door slowly to see
Ron kneeling on the carpet. The knees in his jeans were torn and scraped
slightly. Ginny sat up on the island counter top, hitting her head on a
light fixture.
"Do you know where we are?"
Ginny asked, climbing onto a bar stool.
"No," Harry said looking out
of a sliding glass door, "I've never seen a place like this."
Nor had Ron or Ginny. The living
quarters were small, like a house for one. But outside there were large
slabs of concrete, a green painted fence, then around that there was nothing
but water.
There was a massive length
of docks, where hundreds of boats were tied. There were patches of grass
where the concrete ended. A tiny house with five windows surrounding it
sat on the concrete. There was a dark green pavilion where two picnic tables
lounging in the shade.
Harry open the glass door,
and stepped outside in the sunshine. There was a basketball net mounted
on the sloped roof of the shack. The shack itself was covered with white
siding, which was extremely bright in the sunlight.
Harp music filled their ears.
Harry dashed around the side of the house to see York sitting there on
a wooden fence post, playing a tiny harp. Ron and Ginny caught up with
him, even though they were off their guard when Harry had run off.
"Harp music calms the water,"
York said to herself as she played slightly, "I hate harps."
With that she threw it as far
as she could into the lake. It reflected several rays of sunlight as it's
golden base crashed into the water and sunk deeply in to the lake.
"Welcome Harry, Ron, Ginny,"
York said gesturing to the place around her, "Welcome to your new safe
house. For fourteen years now I've lived here, helping those wrongfully
accused, and those who need shelter and protection. But only recently have
I myself been able to come down and enjoy it."
York stood up on the fence
post and walked across like like a tightrope, "Harry, you will find someone
important to you here," she said with a smile, "Your godfather came to
me awhile ago. He's still here, until he heard you were in danger at Hogwarts
then I lent him my Monarchs so he could travel there quickly."
"Snuffles?" Harry asked out
of habit. He still didn't know if he should say Sirius.
"Snuffles?! He's thought of
some stranger name in the past though," York giggled at the thought, "Lolobell."
"Lolobell?" Ron asked.
"Yes, Sirius calls me Lolobell,"
York explained, "I got that name a long time ago. When a bright pink flower
in Hermology tired to eat my hair; Well lets have some fun, we've got a
month until we have to get to Diagon Alley."
"Can you get Sirius for me?"
Harry asked hopefully.
"Oh sure, he's probably playing
with Quat," York said jumping down, "I'll have to catch him."
Without a moment of notice York
turned into a large chestnut coloured horse, and galloped across a short
section of grass, before leaping over a long chunk of concrete, and landing
safely on another patch of grass.
There was a fence there, extremely
high, and inside Harry could see several other magical creatures. Buckbeak
the hippogriff was standing inside the fence, along with what appeared
to be multicoloured pixies, and three golden unicorns. Several moments
later horses hooves trampled across the grass. The chestnut coloured horse
leaped the fence carrying a black dog on her back.
The black dog jumped down from
York's back, and York turned into a long haired collie. Ron and Ginny both
gasped while the familiar black dog, apparently Sirius and the tan collie
were playing with each other.
York turned into a human and
the black dog jumped up into her arms, "Little Sirius always seems to chase
the magical creatures when he's bored," York said scowling him, "Come on
Sirius, your godson is hear to see you."
Sirius transformed into a human
and looked up at York mischievously. She sniggered slightly still holding
him, then she let her arms dropped quickly and he fell to the ground.
With a scowl, Sirius stood
up and walked towards Harry, "It's nice to see you again," he said, opening
his arms for a hug. Harry overcome with emotion leaped forward and hugged
him tightly
"I'm glad you're alive," Harry
said, whilst hugging his godfather.
"I'm not dying yet," Sirius
replied, with a slight sort of snigger, "Welcome to my home. This is why
I could never tell you where I was. It's protected all the time. How was
the trip?"
Ginny let out a loud scream
and clutched her fist to her mouth, she never knew about Sirius and the
last she'd heard of him he was still a convicted murderer. It had been
two years but she still could recognize him. No ones escaped from her mouth
she just trembled in fright.
York darted over and put her
hands on her shoulders, "You have nothing to fear," she said calming her
down. York reached behind her and made another feather appear. She pressed
it onto Ginny's mouth and she instantly relaxed and fell into York's arms.
"No need to fear Ron she's
just been put to sleep," York said lifting Ginny up easily, "We'll have
to explain to her in the morning."
"Alright," Ron said agreeing
to her even though he was scowling. York carried Ginny back into the house
and reappeared almost instantly.
"Your birthday is soon isn't
it?" Sirius said trying to get back into conversation with Harry, "July
31?"
"Harry I need a word with your
godfather for a moment," York said before Harry could respond to Sirius'
question.
Harry nodded and looked around
the landscape, "Can we go swimming," he asked her.
"Yessum sure you can," she
said smiling, "Be careful though, the water can get deep quickly."
Harry hit Ron's shoulder and
brought him inside.
"Well that explained a lot,"
Ron said as they entered the building, Ginny was fast asleep on the couch
and Ron seemed more nervous them before.
"Explains what?" Harry asked
as they lifted Ginny off the couch to reveal the buttons.
"I always forget Harry, I'm
sorry." Ron said turning over one of the cushions, "York just turned into
two different animals on her own will."
"Yeah so?" Harry said pushing
the button labeled 'Day at the Beach'.
"Animagus can only turn into
one creature one will," Ron explained.
"And since she turned into
two she's???" Harry questioned looking at Ron in confusion.
"How do I put this," Ron thought
a moment, "Well it's impossible for a human to turn into two different
animals without transfiguration, she's not human, she's well dead," Ron
said casually.
"She's dead? Then how can I
see her?" Harry asked more stunned then ever, "She's not a ghost, she's
still got skin and bones."
"I dunno what's going on, but
she can't be alive she turned into a horse then a dog without using a wand
she's dead," Ron said trying to piece together facts.
"Let's just ask Hermione when
we see her in Diagon Alley," Harry said trying to change the subject quickly.
They quickly changed into swim shorts and went outside to the beach.
-----
"Are you going to tell him?"
Sirius questioned, looking over his shoulder. Harry and Ron were safety
out of site before he'd begun speaking, York walked behind Sirius there
was a flash of light and an older woman stood in her place, she had the
same eyes as York but her hair had changed drastically, all the brown strains
had fallen out and were replaced with fiery red.
"Not yet. He can't see me in
this form, so I have nothing to fear about that," the older woman said,
"I can't stay forever Sirius, so I'd like you to officially adopt Harry
before I leave."
Sirius was shocked at this,
and stared her her strangely, "What did James say to that?"
"He wouldn't answer me when
I asked," she said with a smile. The gray stood out in her hair and her
eyes smiled happily at Sirius, "My hair is changing. I'll have to change
back soon."
"When are you going to tell
him?" Sirius questioned looking back at her.
"When I have to, for right
now I am Governess Yorkshire," she answered, snapping her fingers, The
older woman's gray hair and semi wrinkled skin melted and York's normal
appearance reformed but, for a strange reason her hair remained fiery red.
"So clever to use your best
grandmother's maiden name," Sirius said.
"I figured that Petunia wouldn't
have mentioned it in her house," York said. She cleared her throat and
imitated Petunia, Harry's aunt, "Just because your mother favorite children
doesn't mean I'm letting you set foot in this house, your a disgrace to
the family name you horrid wretch."
Sirius laughed and so did she,
"My time is limited, but I love being here with him," York said with a
sigh, "I'd better join them swimming, they'll get suspicious."
"Be careful Lolobell," Sirius
said, grabbing her shoulder lightly, "You're strong now, but don't let
false emotions surround you. Be the honest, caring, competitive person
you always were, and everything will be fine."
"And you, Sirius," York said
turning around, "Or, should I say, Snuffles...?"