After standing in the entrance hall of Black Manor for about five minutes,
Harry remembered the letter in his hand. Harry sat down on the stairs and
opened the letter once again.
Dear Harry,
Firstly if you are not in Black Manor yet, stop reading this and get there. Then you can read the rest.
Right, since your reading this, you're obviously now in Black Manor, so now I want you to go to the top of the house. Two flights of stairs up, then the first, and only door on the right hand side.
Harry stood up, and walked up the stairs, noticing that many of the 'dark' things that had been covering most of the walls last time he was here were notably absent.
He continued up till he reached the second floor landing, before going to the door on the right. Harry realised that this was Sirius's room, and taking a deep calming breath, he opened the door and stepped into the room.
Harry smiled as he looked round the bedroom that had been Sirius's. You could tell from first glance that the owner of the room had been a Gryffindor.
The carpet was a deep scarlet, and very thick. The walls were painted in a slightly lighter shade of red, with the bottom half being oaken panelling.
As Harry looked around the room he noticed that all of the furniture was oaken. The two large armchairs were oak, with red padding and gold trim. The desk was oak, with gold leaf inset into the top panel.
But by far the most noticeable piece of furniture was the bed. It was big. In fact, it was the biggest bed Harry had ever seen. It was easily twice the size of his bed in the Gryffindor dormitory at Hogwarts.
It was a four-poster, again oaken, with heavy scarlet drapes, and sheets. The headboard was bright red velvet, with a golden Gryffindor lion in the center.
Then Harry noticed the fireplace. The room even had its own fireplace!
Harry decided that this room showed Sirius's true personality. Born into a family heavy in the dark arts, Sirius was still a true Gryffindor, and this room showed that better than anything Harry could imagine.
Harry sat down on the bed, before looking back down at the letter in his hand.
Dear Harry,
Firstly if you are not in Black Manor yet, stop reading this and get there. Then you can read the rest.
Right, since your reading this, you're obviously now in Black Manor, so now I want you to go to the top of the house. Two flights of stairs up, then the first, and only door on the right hand side.
Now, as you are probably aware, this is, was, my room. What do you think of the décor? Good, no?
As this is now your house, I want this to be your room. It is the master room in the house, and only fitting for heir of both the Potter and Black Families. That's right Harry, you are now a Black. That was another part of my will, along with you becoming an adult.
The double doors beside the main door into the room are for the walk-in wardrobe. You will find it already well stocked with clothes. The bathroom is though the door at the end, next to the desk.
As you probably noticed, many of the more, 'sinister' items in the house are gone. I have been spending the last few months redecorating the house.
I haven't yet finished, so there is still work to do, but you'll find that all the unwanted items should be gone, including that blasted portrait of my mother. You won't believe how long it took me to get rid of that!
I believe you know your way around most of the house, but there are a few, hidden places. There is a map, much like the Marauders map, in the second drawer in the desk.
I would appreciate it if you would offer Moony residence. He has enough money now that he doesn't need to work, but since you won't be here all year, he could look after the place, and look after you. Take care of him as much as he takes care of you.
At the moment the wards are set to only allow you to enter and exit, but you can change that without much problem. All you need to do is place your hand on top of the ward stone, the center stone in the main fireplace in the entrance hall.
Then just say 'Allow.' and the name of the person. To stop someone coming in, say 'Prevent.' and then that person's name.
O, while I remember, you will find Kreacher has gone missing, I wouldn't worry to much about this, and I wouldn't expect him to come back either.
Lastly, there is one more item that I leave to you. You will have to go to the Ministry to collect it though. Go to the Magical Items Confiscation Department, and go to the claims desk.
Show the man behind the desk the paper of ownership that you will find in the second drawer of the desk in you room, and he will give the item to you. I ask that you look after it, and put it to good use.
Well, that's about it. Look after yourself kiddo, and look after Moony too.
We will see each other again, in the next mystery of life.
All my love. Padfoot.
Sirius T Black.
Harry sat there in stunned silence, going over the letter again in his head. He stood up from the bed and moved over to the desk.
Sitting himself down in front of it, he pulled open the second drawer, and pulled out two pieces of parchment. The entire contents of the draw.
Harry looked at the first piece, upon which was written,
Proof of Ownership.
This is to prove that the holder owns the legal right to claim confiscated article number 167. This proof of ownership must be presented within two years of the date specified below, after which the article will remain property of the Ministry of Magic, to do with as they so please.
Harry looked at the bottom of the paper, and saw that the ownership would become void on December the seventh this year.
Harry then looked at the other piece of parchment. And found it blank.
What was it Sirius had said?
There is a map, much like the Marauders map, in the second draw in the desk.
'Ah' Harry thought, 'this must be the map of the house.'
He set the other peace down upon the desk, took the map in both hands and said,
"I solemnly swear I am up to no good."
As Harry finished the sentence, lines of ink bloomed upon the face of the parchment, which quickly formed a plan of the house.
Wondering just how much of a house Sirius had left him, he did a quick scan of the map, and was surprised at what he found.
Deciding to take a quick tour of the property, Harry left his room, and, deciding to start at the top, walked up the stairs into the attic.
Harry looked around, and noticed that most of the junk that had been taken up to the attic the year before had gone. Sirius had probably thrown most of it out, leaving just a little left to be sorted.
Ensuring there wasn't anything left up here to see, Harry then went back to the second floor. On this floor the map showed his room and bathroom, along with two other bedrooms and another bathroom.
Popping his head into each room, Harry discovered that they were both newly decorated. One in green, with colours varying from mint green to deep forest green. The other was in shades of light blue.
Both rooms had beds and hardwood wardrobes, but not much else. The bathroom was also newly painted, though in just plain white.
Harry proceeded down to the next level, where the map showed a further five bedrooms, yet another bathroom, and a library.
Popping his head into the library first, Harry was surprised to see shelves full of books. Deciding to have a look at what books were here later, he moved on to the other rooms.
The first two bedrooms had also bed decorated, one in bright oranges, with hints of red, and the other in canary yellow. Both there rooms also had new beds and wardrobes.
The other three bedrooms, and the bathroom, were still awaiting redecoration. They had all been striped, and just need painting and new furniture. Harry decided that one of the first things he would do would be to finish the decorating Sirius had started.
Harry checked that he had looked in every room on this floor before descending once again, this time to the ground floor.
Looking at the map, Harry found a study, in dire need of repainting, a living room, which by the looks of it had only just been finished, and a reading room, or second study, which had also seen Sirius's hand at decorating.
Looking down at the map, Harry realised there was one room on this floor that he couldn't find. He walked into the main entrance hall, where the door should be, and found only a blank wall.
Looking back at the map, Harry saw his dot reach out and touch the wall, before a speech bubble appeared with the word 'entre'.
Harry put his hand on the wall, and uttered the password. All of a sudden a large set of double oaken doors appeared where the wall had been. Taking hold of one, and pushing hard, Harry stepped into blackness.
Raising his wand, Harry uttered 'Lumos' and was stunned at what he saw.
He was standing on the top balcony of a huge marble ballroom. Three giant chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and giant mirrors lined the walls.
Harry looked at the paintwork and realised that this ballroom probably hadn't seen the light of day for about twenty years. The paint was cumbering, and the entire room was covered in hundreds of cobwebs.
Harry slowly walked back to the main doors, on the top balcony, before quietly pulling them closed. As soon as they had shut tight, they once again vanished to be replaced with a plain wall.
Harry descended to the basement, where he found the kitchen and dining room. Both of them looked like they needed a new coat, and Harry figured Sirius hadn't got round to the lower floors yet.
He also popped his head into the storeroom, and found it to be a giant walk in larder, with enough food to feed most of Hogwarts.
On his way to the stairs leading to the bottom basement, Harry also found the small service door leading to the ballroom. It was also under a hidden wall charm, using the same access word as the main door.
Harry preceded to the last floor, and was more shocked then ever before when he looked down at the map to see what rooms it held.
Last summer, the door down to this level had been sealed, and covered with a wall hanging, but it was obvious that Sirius had uncovered and unsealed the door.
The bottom floor held just five rooms, but what rooms they were! There was a gym, containing all forms of exercise equipment than Harry could think of, including a weight bench, treadmill, rowing machine and lots more.
There was also a magic training room, covered in protection wards to prevent runaway spells. Opposite these was another bathroom and changing room and also a set of saunas and Turkish baths.
At the end of the hall way was the largest room on the floor, and as Harry walked in he came face to face with an Olympic size swimming pool.
All the rooms were newly painted and outfitted with equipment, and Harry figured that Sirius had done this floor first so that he could take advantage of the facilities.
Harry slowly made his way back to the ground floor, thinking over what he needed to do in the house.
Having made a decision, Harry went up the to fire place and put his hand on the center stone.
In a loud clear voice Harry said, "Allow Remus Lupin".
The keystone grew warm for a moment, telling Harry that the wards had been changed, before returning to its previous ice-cold state.
He then proceeded to point his wand at the empty fireplace, and stated a fire.
Harry then lifted the lids on the two jars on the mantelpiece. In one Harry saw Floo powder, the other contained fire call Powder.
Taking a Handful of the later, Harry threw it into the fire and called out "Hogwarts, DADA Office."
After a brief pause, Remus's head appeared in the flames.
"Ah, Harry. Good to see you again. Everything alright there?"
"Yeah Moony, everything's fine. I was wondering if you would mind coming over, there's a few things I would like to talk over with you, I've changed the wards, so you can floo in."
Remus smiled, "Yeah, sure. I will be over in a couple of minutes." And with that, his head disappeared from the fire.
Harry stood back and waited for Remus to arrive, and after a few minutes the flames rose, and Remus stepped out of the fireplace.
Harry proceeded to show Remus around the house, describing what he had in mind, although he left the ballroom till last.
Remus was shocked to see the pool and training rooms on the bottom basement, but he had already seen the decorating Sirius had done in the bedrooms as well as the living room and reading room.
Finally Harry stood beside the wall, which was in fact the doors into the ballroom.
"This is the best bit. You ready?"
Remus, being slightly confused, as he had seen every room in the house, merely nodded.
Harry turned to the wall and said the password, causing the large doors to appear again. Without turning back to Moony he pushed the doors open and stepped though.
Remus watched in surprise as a large set of double doors appeared where a wall had been only moments before.
As Harry pushed the doors open, he saw that there was a very large room behind the doors, although he couldn't make out any details for lack of light.
Remus stepped inside, held up his wand and lit the tip. The sight that greeted him left him all most speechless.
After staring around the ballroom for a few minutes, he turned back to Harry.
"How did you find this? Both Sirius explored this house top to bottom, and we never came across any sign of it."
Harry grinned before handing a piece of parchment to him.
"Sirius did find it, though I imagine not till just before." Harry trailed off.
Remus looked at the parchment in his hand and saw a map that looked just like the Marauders map, although for Black Manor.
He turned back to Harry as Harry addressed him once again.
"This is what I want to do. Firstly I want to finish redecorating the house, finish what Sirius started, then, at the end of the summer, I want to hold a party, in here, for the whole order, plus a few others."
Remus quickly ran his mind over what needed doing. Three bedrooms, a bathroom, the library, the study, the kitchen, the dinning room, and all the hallways. Not to mention this huge ballroom.
"That's a lot of work." He said to Harry.
Harry nodded, "That's why I need your help"
Remus thought. Finally he broke into a wide smile. "Lets do it. For Sirius."
"For Sirius" Harry echoed, before pulling Remus into a hug.
Dear Harry,
Firstly if you are not in Black Manor yet, stop reading this and get there. Then you can read the rest.
Right, since your reading this, you're obviously now in Black Manor, so now I want you to go to the top of the house. Two flights of stairs up, then the first, and only door on the right hand side.
Harry stood up, and walked up the stairs, noticing that many of the 'dark' things that had been covering most of the walls last time he was here were notably absent.
He continued up till he reached the second floor landing, before going to the door on the right. Harry realised that this was Sirius's room, and taking a deep calming breath, he opened the door and stepped into the room.
Harry smiled as he looked round the bedroom that had been Sirius's. You could tell from first glance that the owner of the room had been a Gryffindor.
The carpet was a deep scarlet, and very thick. The walls were painted in a slightly lighter shade of red, with the bottom half being oaken panelling.
As Harry looked around the room he noticed that all of the furniture was oaken. The two large armchairs were oak, with red padding and gold trim. The desk was oak, with gold leaf inset into the top panel.
But by far the most noticeable piece of furniture was the bed. It was big. In fact, it was the biggest bed Harry had ever seen. It was easily twice the size of his bed in the Gryffindor dormitory at Hogwarts.
It was a four-poster, again oaken, with heavy scarlet drapes, and sheets. The headboard was bright red velvet, with a golden Gryffindor lion in the center.
Then Harry noticed the fireplace. The room even had its own fireplace!
Harry decided that this room showed Sirius's true personality. Born into a family heavy in the dark arts, Sirius was still a true Gryffindor, and this room showed that better than anything Harry could imagine.
Harry sat down on the bed, before looking back down at the letter in his hand.
Dear Harry,
Firstly if you are not in Black Manor yet, stop reading this and get there. Then you can read the rest.
Right, since your reading this, you're obviously now in Black Manor, so now I want you to go to the top of the house. Two flights of stairs up, then the first, and only door on the right hand side.
Now, as you are probably aware, this is, was, my room. What do you think of the décor? Good, no?
As this is now your house, I want this to be your room. It is the master room in the house, and only fitting for heir of both the Potter and Black Families. That's right Harry, you are now a Black. That was another part of my will, along with you becoming an adult.
The double doors beside the main door into the room are for the walk-in wardrobe. You will find it already well stocked with clothes. The bathroom is though the door at the end, next to the desk.
As you probably noticed, many of the more, 'sinister' items in the house are gone. I have been spending the last few months redecorating the house.
I haven't yet finished, so there is still work to do, but you'll find that all the unwanted items should be gone, including that blasted portrait of my mother. You won't believe how long it took me to get rid of that!
I believe you know your way around most of the house, but there are a few, hidden places. There is a map, much like the Marauders map, in the second drawer in the desk.
I would appreciate it if you would offer Moony residence. He has enough money now that he doesn't need to work, but since you won't be here all year, he could look after the place, and look after you. Take care of him as much as he takes care of you.
At the moment the wards are set to only allow you to enter and exit, but you can change that without much problem. All you need to do is place your hand on top of the ward stone, the center stone in the main fireplace in the entrance hall.
Then just say 'Allow.' and the name of the person. To stop someone coming in, say 'Prevent.' and then that person's name.
O, while I remember, you will find Kreacher has gone missing, I wouldn't worry to much about this, and I wouldn't expect him to come back either.
Lastly, there is one more item that I leave to you. You will have to go to the Ministry to collect it though. Go to the Magical Items Confiscation Department, and go to the claims desk.
Show the man behind the desk the paper of ownership that you will find in the second drawer of the desk in you room, and he will give the item to you. I ask that you look after it, and put it to good use.
Well, that's about it. Look after yourself kiddo, and look after Moony too.
We will see each other again, in the next mystery of life.
All my love. Padfoot.
Sirius T Black.
Harry sat there in stunned silence, going over the letter again in his head. He stood up from the bed and moved over to the desk.
Sitting himself down in front of it, he pulled open the second drawer, and pulled out two pieces of parchment. The entire contents of the draw.
Harry looked at the first piece, upon which was written,
Proof of Ownership.
This is to prove that the holder owns the legal right to claim confiscated article number 167. This proof of ownership must be presented within two years of the date specified below, after which the article will remain property of the Ministry of Magic, to do with as they so please.
Harry looked at the bottom of the paper, and saw that the ownership would become void on December the seventh this year.
Harry then looked at the other piece of parchment. And found it blank.
What was it Sirius had said?
There is a map, much like the Marauders map, in the second draw in the desk.
'Ah' Harry thought, 'this must be the map of the house.'
He set the other peace down upon the desk, took the map in both hands and said,
"I solemnly swear I am up to no good."
As Harry finished the sentence, lines of ink bloomed upon the face of the parchment, which quickly formed a plan of the house.
Wondering just how much of a house Sirius had left him, he did a quick scan of the map, and was surprised at what he found.
Deciding to take a quick tour of the property, Harry left his room, and, deciding to start at the top, walked up the stairs into the attic.
Harry looked around, and noticed that most of the junk that had been taken up to the attic the year before had gone. Sirius had probably thrown most of it out, leaving just a little left to be sorted.
Ensuring there wasn't anything left up here to see, Harry then went back to the second floor. On this floor the map showed his room and bathroom, along with two other bedrooms and another bathroom.
Popping his head into each room, Harry discovered that they were both newly decorated. One in green, with colours varying from mint green to deep forest green. The other was in shades of light blue.
Both rooms had beds and hardwood wardrobes, but not much else. The bathroom was also newly painted, though in just plain white.
Harry proceeded down to the next level, where the map showed a further five bedrooms, yet another bathroom, and a library.
Popping his head into the library first, Harry was surprised to see shelves full of books. Deciding to have a look at what books were here later, he moved on to the other rooms.
The first two bedrooms had also bed decorated, one in bright oranges, with hints of red, and the other in canary yellow. Both there rooms also had new beds and wardrobes.
The other three bedrooms, and the bathroom, were still awaiting redecoration. They had all been striped, and just need painting and new furniture. Harry decided that one of the first things he would do would be to finish the decorating Sirius had started.
Harry checked that he had looked in every room on this floor before descending once again, this time to the ground floor.
Looking at the map, Harry found a study, in dire need of repainting, a living room, which by the looks of it had only just been finished, and a reading room, or second study, which had also seen Sirius's hand at decorating.
Looking down at the map, Harry realised there was one room on this floor that he couldn't find. He walked into the main entrance hall, where the door should be, and found only a blank wall.
Looking back at the map, Harry saw his dot reach out and touch the wall, before a speech bubble appeared with the word 'entre'.
Harry put his hand on the wall, and uttered the password. All of a sudden a large set of double oaken doors appeared where the wall had been. Taking hold of one, and pushing hard, Harry stepped into blackness.
Raising his wand, Harry uttered 'Lumos' and was stunned at what he saw.
He was standing on the top balcony of a huge marble ballroom. Three giant chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and giant mirrors lined the walls.
Harry looked at the paintwork and realised that this ballroom probably hadn't seen the light of day for about twenty years. The paint was cumbering, and the entire room was covered in hundreds of cobwebs.
Harry slowly walked back to the main doors, on the top balcony, before quietly pulling them closed. As soon as they had shut tight, they once again vanished to be replaced with a plain wall.
Harry descended to the basement, where he found the kitchen and dining room. Both of them looked like they needed a new coat, and Harry figured Sirius hadn't got round to the lower floors yet.
He also popped his head into the storeroom, and found it to be a giant walk in larder, with enough food to feed most of Hogwarts.
On his way to the stairs leading to the bottom basement, Harry also found the small service door leading to the ballroom. It was also under a hidden wall charm, using the same access word as the main door.
Harry preceded to the last floor, and was more shocked then ever before when he looked down at the map to see what rooms it held.
Last summer, the door down to this level had been sealed, and covered with a wall hanging, but it was obvious that Sirius had uncovered and unsealed the door.
The bottom floor held just five rooms, but what rooms they were! There was a gym, containing all forms of exercise equipment than Harry could think of, including a weight bench, treadmill, rowing machine and lots more.
There was also a magic training room, covered in protection wards to prevent runaway spells. Opposite these was another bathroom and changing room and also a set of saunas and Turkish baths.
At the end of the hall way was the largest room on the floor, and as Harry walked in he came face to face with an Olympic size swimming pool.
All the rooms were newly painted and outfitted with equipment, and Harry figured that Sirius had done this floor first so that he could take advantage of the facilities.
Harry slowly made his way back to the ground floor, thinking over what he needed to do in the house.
Having made a decision, Harry went up the to fire place and put his hand on the center stone.
In a loud clear voice Harry said, "Allow Remus Lupin".
The keystone grew warm for a moment, telling Harry that the wards had been changed, before returning to its previous ice-cold state.
He then proceeded to point his wand at the empty fireplace, and stated a fire.
Harry then lifted the lids on the two jars on the mantelpiece. In one Harry saw Floo powder, the other contained fire call Powder.
Taking a Handful of the later, Harry threw it into the fire and called out "Hogwarts, DADA Office."
After a brief pause, Remus's head appeared in the flames.
"Ah, Harry. Good to see you again. Everything alright there?"
"Yeah Moony, everything's fine. I was wondering if you would mind coming over, there's a few things I would like to talk over with you, I've changed the wards, so you can floo in."
Remus smiled, "Yeah, sure. I will be over in a couple of minutes." And with that, his head disappeared from the fire.
Harry stood back and waited for Remus to arrive, and after a few minutes the flames rose, and Remus stepped out of the fireplace.
Harry proceeded to show Remus around the house, describing what he had in mind, although he left the ballroom till last.
Remus was shocked to see the pool and training rooms on the bottom basement, but he had already seen the decorating Sirius had done in the bedrooms as well as the living room and reading room.
Finally Harry stood beside the wall, which was in fact the doors into the ballroom.
"This is the best bit. You ready?"
Remus, being slightly confused, as he had seen every room in the house, merely nodded.
Harry turned to the wall and said the password, causing the large doors to appear again. Without turning back to Moony he pushed the doors open and stepped though.
Remus watched in surprise as a large set of double doors appeared where a wall had been only moments before.
As Harry pushed the doors open, he saw that there was a very large room behind the doors, although he couldn't make out any details for lack of light.
Remus stepped inside, held up his wand and lit the tip. The sight that greeted him left him all most speechless.
After staring around the ballroom for a few minutes, he turned back to Harry.
"How did you find this? Both Sirius explored this house top to bottom, and we never came across any sign of it."
Harry grinned before handing a piece of parchment to him.
"Sirius did find it, though I imagine not till just before." Harry trailed off.
Remus looked at the parchment in his hand and saw a map that looked just like the Marauders map, although for Black Manor.
He turned back to Harry as Harry addressed him once again.
"This is what I want to do. Firstly I want to finish redecorating the house, finish what Sirius started, then, at the end of the summer, I want to hold a party, in here, for the whole order, plus a few others."
Remus quickly ran his mind over what needed doing. Three bedrooms, a bathroom, the library, the study, the kitchen, the dinning room, and all the hallways. Not to mention this huge ballroom.
"That's a lot of work." He said to Harry.
Harry nodded, "That's why I need your help"
Remus thought. Finally he broke into a wide smile. "Lets do it. For Sirius."
"For Sirius" Harry echoed, before pulling Remus into a hug.