EPILOGUE
Hey guys, I had Prologue as the title before because I'm an idiot and I had a major brain lapse…Oh well!
"Ow! Watch it!" Harry exclaimed.
"Oh, sorry mate," Ron replied, sniggering.
"Remind me again why I have to blindfolded even though Ron and Hermione and Ginny don't know where we're going either?" Harry asked indignantly.
"Because it's your surprise Harry," Lupin replied.
Ginny giggled off somewhere to his left.
"Well I say someone else leads me, Ron keeps dragging me over all these rocks. Why didn't we just apparate?"
"Harry you know Madam Pomfrey doesn't want you apparating until you're fully recovered," Hermione admonished.
"Yea and since when can you apparate blindfolded?" Ginny asked with laughter in her voice.
Harry grinned.
"Hey! It's me," he told them.
There was a scuffled off somewhere to his right.
"No Ron don't hit him he's injured," came Hermione's voice.
Ron laughed.
"Just because he's injured doesn't give him the right to be cocky!"
"I was kidding!" Harry said defensively.
"Shhh," said Remus, "We're almost their children," he said patronizingly.
"Children!" Ron exclaimed.
Harry sniggered.
"I bet Hermione's rolling her eyes!" he yelled, he couldn't see anything.
Everyone laughed.
"I was not!" Hermione protested,
"Yes you were!" Ginny and Ron yelled in unison, sniggering.
They had portkeyed somewhere, Harry had been blindfolded then as well so he had no idea, and now they were walking up a hill somewhere else. That was the extent of his knowledge. There was the sound of clicking metal and then a long squeak that ended in a bonk against another hard object. To Harry it sounded like a gate swinging open.
"Watch your step," Ron said, "There're two stairs here."
Harry climbed them slowly and stepped onto some soft ground, probably grass.
"Oh!" came Hermione's voice breathlessly. "Remus you did this?"
"Well not the actual building, but the finishing touches and some interior decorating, and some landscaping," came his voice from somewhere up ahead.
Harry was tired of waiting, he broke away from Ron and pushed the blindfold up onto his forehead. He felt like he was in a dream. It was a beautiful old Victorian style house, with a big white front door and pillars holding up the porch in the front, with simple designs at their tops and bottoms. On one side, at a back corner it looked at though one of the rooms was circular, giving the look of a tower. It had wide, arched windows and shutters that swung out. The roof was sloped and the back of the house continued further out into a little grove of big, leafy trees on the right. To the left, the hill that the house sat on sloped down and if you walked over, you could look even further down onto a large expanse of rolling hills speckled with little groups of trees. A stream ran through the landscape and sections of it were chopped into large squares with white country fences. Harry assumed the land was used for cattle grazing, because there were several farm-houses and red barns at the edges of different properties. The front lawn itself was fairly large and over grown, with dandy-lions springing from the grass and vines and hedges growing up and around the white fence that surrounded the property. The wild look was somewhat endearing, it was unlike the common, perfectly sculptured gardens that typically came with a beautiful house. Wildflowers spilled through the white slats in the fence and tangled with thistles on long grasses. Harry walked behind the house, admiring it from all sides. It was larger than he had first thought, continuing away from the front door. He walked around to the side that was not in the trees, seeing that the hill stopped sloping in the back yard and continued levelly for a while before dropping rather drastically again right over a lake. When he came back, Remus was standing and waiting, and Ron, Hermione and Ginny were also exploring. They tumbled out of the grove of trees beaming.
"It's like a landlord's house," Harry said. "It sits on the hill and overlooks all the farmland."
Remus nodded.
"You got a letter a month after your seventeenth birthday didn't you?" Remus asked.
Harry nodded, and suddenly remembered something he hadn't paid much attention to. The letter had said:
1 Official Title to Godric's Hollow (restored/rebuilt)
"This is Godric's Hollow?" he asked weakly.
Remus grinned.
"I've been managing the restoration all of last year. I wanted to make sure they got it exactly right, just like it was before."
Remus put his hand in his pocket and pulled out something that jingled and held it out. Harry realized it was a shiny new key. He reached out and took it from Remus' hand slowly.
"It's all yours" Lupin told him.
Harry, in a mild state of shock, walked slowly to the door. He looked up at the little overhang porch, and the pillars that held it up, hardly believing it. He inserted the key into the lock and turned it, hearing it click. He let go and the door drifted open voluntarily. It was everything that a Victorian house should be, with soft colors on the walls, and elegantly carved baseboards. He stood in what appeared to be a stair-hall. The room had wooden panels on the walls and tiled floors. Ahead of him, two curved staircases starting at opposite sides, curved up and met at the top. There were two doors on his right and two on his left. He walked to the closest on his left and opened it carefully, peeking in. This was the parlor. The house was fully furnished, it had a large fire-place with a couple logs already in it, and comfortable looking armchairs and a couch. There was a chess table in the corner with two chairs. Two large windows shielded with upholstered draperies and lace curtains beneath those covered the wall opposite him. He went over to them and threw apart the curtains in turn, letting some light into the dark room. Harry exited the room and went to the other door on the left, finding a short stone staircase that ran perpendicular to the door instead of straight out from it. He took them slowly, and found himself in a large room with a heavy raw wooden table in the middle and a gigantic hearth in the wall. Big copper pots hung on the wall and sat on the hearthstone and there was also a large stove, the kind that is just one huge metal base that heats up entirely and one can cook anywhere on its surface. The room had small rectangular windows at the top of the sidewall, because it sat mostly underground.
"It's definitely a kitchen to prepare for parties in," came a voice behind him.
Harry whirled. It was Remus, who had followed him down.
"It's incredible!" Harry exclaimed.
Remus smiled and headed back out. Harry followed him. The two doors on the other side was a library with only one of the shelves full of books, and the other was a luxuriously sized bathroom, with a large bathtub and shower alike. Upstairs, the double staircase led to a large door, which opened up onto a hallway. At one end was the dining room. It had a little window cut into the wall with a closing door that served as a little elevator to put food or dirty dishes on, because it went straight to the kitchen, which was below the room. At the other end of the hall, was the master bedroom, with its own bathroom in the corner. Another small hall intersected the one Harry stood in perpendicularly, right down the middle. He opened the door that was opposite the entrance to the staircases and found it. There were four doors, one on his right, two on his left and one at the very end of the short hall that was made of glass. Harry could see that it led to a porch that looked straight out into the trees. The three doors were all guest bedrooms, the two on the left shared a bathroom in the middle, inaccessible from the hall and the other had its own private bathroom like the master bedroom. Each room he had been in was luxuriously large and tastefully furnished, with nicely painted walls and drapes and curtains similar to the parlor. Harry's excitement built with every step. Now this was a house. This was the kind he had dreamt about when he was a little kid. Big, but not so big you had to get lost in it. He turned and went back to the stairs taking them slowly because of his injuries. Remus, Ron and Hermione waited there, all looking excited.
"Some of the furniture was saved from the wreck and repaired or reupholstered, but most of it was lucky finds. I was trying to make it look as similar as possible," Remus told him.
" It's amazing!" Harry exclaimed enthusiastically. But then he wondered something, and his smile faded slightly.
"I'll pay for the construction," tone breaching no argument
Remus smiled,
"And I'm sure you could easily but I'd like to. Think of it as a combination of all the birthday presents I could have bought you."
"But this is expensive, I couldn't possibly…" He protested.
"Harry, since Sirius died I have more money that I know what to do with. Which reminds me, he left you some of his money, and a few possessions,"
Harry wasn't about to let the matter slide, but he let Lupin change the subject.
"I'll go down there sometime and see," he said, giving Remus a look that told him he wasn't going to get away with this.
"Where are you staying Remus?" Ron asked behind him.
Lupin turned.
"I'm in a flat in London, it's a nice place with a good view, people don't bother me," he said.
Harry smiled.
"You'll always be welcome here," Harry said, looking around at his new surroundings. He noticed then that there was another door he hadn't seen before. It sat in the wall between the staircases.
"Huh," he said, walking over to it. He opened it to find, much to his surprise, a whole unexplored section of the house. There were two rooms that looked like parlors or living rooms but were unfurnished, a door that led outside, and a circular room on the right side, where the short tower was. It had windows all around it a large cushioned covered bench that ran around the entire wall of the room, next to the windowsill. It was the perfect place for sitting and reading.
"This parts an extension," Remus called from the stair hall. I figured you'd want more room if you have friends or guests. I left it to you to put the furniture in."
Harry nodded; this seemed reasonable. He could not suppress his excitement. He couldn't wait to spend his first night in the house. He returned to the stair hall.
"Are you guys staying?" he asked.
Ron shook his head.
"Nah, I have to get home, Ginny can't apparate yet so we have to walk down to the village and take the floo."
"And I should get home to Mum and Dad," Hermione put in.
"You'll come in visit?" Harry asked.
They all nodded.
"Plus you're taking classes at the ministry right? You'll see us their," Hermione reminded him.
Ron and Ginny nodded, but Harry shook his head.
"I'm going to take the newts next month."
Ron and Ginny stared at him incredulously. Hermione looked shocked.
"Oh but Harry it's so much work, you can't stop in the middle of the year…" she trailed off, concerned for his academics.
Harry smiled.
"You know, I already knew everything they were teaching us this year. I'll review this month and that should be enough," he said.
Hermione looked unsure, but didn't argue.
Harry said goodbye to his friends, reminding them to owl so they could make plans to go furniture shopping in the next few days with him and help him make the house more familiar. When they were gone, Harry turned to Remus, prepared to thank him again. Remus laughed.
"Your welcome," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "Let's just hope you can take care of it."
Harry grinned, looking around again, still amazed.
"I was wondering that myself, maybe I should get a house elf," he pondered.
Remus cocked an eyebrow at him.
"I'm sure Hermione would love that," he said sarcastically.
Harry chuckled,
"Oh I wouldn't dream of getting one and not paying it. She'd have a fit."
Remus smiled.
"I actually have to get back and tell Dumbledore you approve, he wants to come down tomorrow and put up wards, is that alright?"
"I can do that myself," Harry suggested.
Remus shook his head grinning.
Harry held up his hands.
"Fine, fine."
Remus slapped him on the back affectionately.
"No offense to your hero complex,"
Harry threw a punch but Remus dodged with surprising agility.
"Hey not so bad for an old man!" he exclaimed jokingly.
"Old am I?" Remus asked, mock offended.
Harry waggled his eyebrows.
Remus was grinning but he soon turned serious.
"You'll be fine on your own?"
Harry looked at him.
Remus shook his head.
"My mistake, of course you'll be fine, but for all our sake keep the fire going incase you need to contact us fast, the wards aren't up yet remember."
Harry nodded seriously.
"I will," he said, "That is, if anyone can get past me in the first place."
Remus smiled.
"I doubt they could anyway."
He pulled out his wand and saluted Harry.
"I'll come by tomorrow," Harry nodded, and waved watching until his friend dissapparated. Remus paused for a second.
"I almost forgot to mention. You know all that land down where all those farms are?" he asked
"You mean all that below this hill?" Harry asked
Remus nodded.
"It's all yours. The farmers pay rent to the property, the money was transferred to your vault when you turned seventeen. It'll keep gathering as long as they stay."
Harry was completely shocked. All that land below the hill, you could see it for miles. All his. When he looked up, Remus was gone. There was a strange silence in the house. A huge house… I guess it's a manor really, Harry thought to himself. He had no idea what to do with himself. He was fresh out of school and he already had his own house, acres of land and private income. It was amazing; something most people only achieved after years of work. He felt like a pampered child, and it hardened his resolve to not turn out like Malfoy. Harry glanced out the window. The day was still young. Struck with an idea, Harry grabbed his coat and the keys, and exited Godrics Hollow, locking the door behind him. He had the intention of meeting his tenants, he had no idea how he was supposed to act as a land lord. Harry shook his head in amazement. Things sure had changed lately.
Thanks to all my readers and all your wonderful reviews! I plan to write a sequel to this one, and I promise this time Voldy will get what he deserves! Keep checking for the new story, thanks everyone!
ALSO PLEASE EMAIL ME IF YOU WOULD LIKE MY LITTLE COMPUTER DRAWING OF THE LAYOUT FOR GODRICS HOLLOW, I TRIED TO INCLUDE IT IN THIS CHAPTER BUT THE ENCODING DOESN'T COVER THAT. IF YOU EMAIL ME, OR SAY SO IN A REVIEW, I WILL EMAIL YOU AN ATTACHEMENT OF THE DOCUMENT. DON'T FORGET TO INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADRESSES!
~Miss Zonko