Remembering something, Harry pulled the key that was in the safe deposit box that his father had left him and wondered where it was to. Shrugging, he grasped the key firmly and said those memorable words and felt that tugging behind his navel that he hated so much.
It took a few seconds for Harry's eyes to adjust to the change in light as it was quite dark. The only illumination was that of the stars and the three-quarter moon shining above him. Harry noticed that he could see quite well in the dark, chalking it up to a crossover of his new animagus forms.
Before him was a large set of double doors about 10 feet wide in total, made from wide pieces of oak and bound with thick bands of black iron. The hinges were black iron as well. In the center where the doors met at about shoulder height was a golden door knocker in the shape of a large head of a griffin. The mouth was wide open and there appeared to be a keyhole there that looked like it would fit the key in Harry's hand. The rest of the building was shrouded in shadows, even to Harry's enhanced sight.
Mustering up the vaunted Gryffindor courage, Harry took the key and inserted it into the lock and gave it a twist. Suddenly the mouth closed around his hand and he got the funniest feeling that it was tasting him, yet he felt no pain. Just as quickly as it snapped shut, the griffin's mouth sprang open and Harry heard a distinctly audible click as the doors unlocked. Harry took a hurried step back, pulling his hand free, as the doors started to swing outward silently, apparently on their own accord. Harry quickly checked his hand and was gratified to see that there were no puncture marks.
A little unnerved by the hand-eating griffin, Harry cautiously entered the large house, the unnatural shadows having disappeared. Upon his entrance, he noticed that he was in some sort of massive foyer with a golden pedestal in the middle that looked very much out of place there. On top of said pedestal there were three items. One was an aged vellum scroll tied with a crimson ribbon with golden tassels with For Harry Potter written on it. The second was a smallish blue velvet jewelry box. The third item appeared to be an old piece of parchment with some lines and words on it but he couldn't make it out from over by the doors. Harry noticed that there were two exits from the room and a smaller room between the doors with a glass window in it that appeared to be a mud room. On the north wall there was a large colorful tapestry depicting the Gryffindor family crest.
Not knowing what to expect, Harry approached the scroll with great trepidation. Picking it up and untying the ribbon, Harry began reading.
Dear Harry,
If you are reading this then the worst has come to pass. Your parents and or guardians are no longer among the living and you are here before your seventeenth birthday. My condolences on the first and good for you on the second. We have always had troublemakers in the family line starting with me. If you haven't guessed who I am by now, my name is Godric Gryffindor and you are my last living heir. No, I'm not writing this before I died, my portraits hang not only here but in Hogwarts of course so I know some of your exploits. Yes I know there are no visible portraits of me but trust me, there are some and paintings do talk to each other. I expect more snogging with girls from you in the future as well as lots more pranks, especially on the Slytherins. There was a friendly rivalry between Salazar and myself – scratch that, it was a never-ending prank war. Never did we hate each other though, but see eye to eye on every issue we did not.
There currently are not as many house elves residing here as before at my manor which is now yours by right. There is need for two more and preferably free since all the rest are. The elves continue to serve out of familial pride now. They have all been adopted into our house. You will find that is a loophole regarding them, it's very easy to offer them clothes, especially by accident as Mister Malfoy found out the hard way, but if offered adoption into a loving household, then that can't happen. Wizarding laws do not allow for this but all it takes is a wizard's oath by the head of household for it to take effect. If the household is kind, then the elves will not wish to leave and serve even more willingly. Something done out of love has more effect than that out of obligation or coercion. This I can not stress enough. The head house elf is named Mister Tibbles.
You may be concerned about being found here. Let me set your fears to rest. The manor is under a spell that is the forerunner of the Fidelius Charm and is more powerful. Actually the Fidelius is a variation of this spell to be accurate. The secret-keeper is the manor itself which being magical has imbued with some sentience, similar to dear Hogwarts herself, which holds secrets not even known by the Headmaster yet accessible only to the heirs. This is why the spell was very seldom used and the Fidelius was developed since a sentient residence is very rare indeed. The lord of the manor who is the eldest male heir (yourself in this case), though has the ability to share the secret with others. Unlike the Fidelius though, the secret can be revoked by the heir in case of emergencies. This should not be taken lightly since the effects may be farther reaching than one may expect. unlike the Fidelius, ones other than the secret-keeper can not reveal information about it, verbally or written unless they are an heir. Since it is revocable, when a person is told the secret, his or her name appears on a scroll that is located in a hidden safe in the muggle room that does not appear on the map(the location of the safe that is). It is located in the floor underneath the bookcase in the southeast corner. The bookcase will swing out after you unlock it by using your key in the keyhole located behind the painting of the Dogs Playing Poker. You then need to rotate the torch held by the Statue of Liberty one hundred-eighty degrees clockwise to open the false stone beneath which the safe is hidden. It is a charmed muggle safe so that unlocking charms will not work on it and most other spells will have no effect either. The combination is six to the right, twenty-six to the left, nine to the right, twenty-seven to the left, one to the right, and nineteen to the left.
The other objects on the pedestal you will find useful and somewhat familiar. The first is a magical map of the manor and it's surrounding grounds. Your father and his Marauders used this map as the basis of the infamous Marauder's Map (which since I was not consulted on it, could still use a few improvements). It is activated in the same way (where do you think he got it from?) The other object is a necklace with several charms and some magical charms on them. The necklace itself is normal. They are also a series of portkeys that you can set for a total of three more destinations for a total of five. The two permanent ones are here and my room at Hogwarts (which you have yet to see – I know this cause I've got a portrait there as well. That is the room that the Marauders used for the headquarters and every other prankster to come out of this family. Your great-great-grandfather was even worse than your father if you can believe that.) The instructions for programming the portkey are simple. Touch the key to the appropriate charm on the necklace and while visualizing the location, speak the keyword you wish to use for that destination. To activate the portkey, hold the charm and speak the keyword. The preset keywords are Hogwarts and Home. Which charms those are linked to should be obvious.
To tell you a little about the manor itself, there are several special rooms in it. The first I want to mention is the Quidditch room, which is where all the Quidditch memorabilia is kept, including the broom workshop area. There are both a private laboratory and library attached to the Master suites. I don't know if you have encountered it yet, but the Room of Requirement that can be found in Hogwarts has its predecessor here. The biggest difference is that Time can also be affected in that room, unlike the version which is located at Hogwarts (that particular part was left out of the Hogwarts version due to accessibility by students). Time can be slowed to the point where either a day passes inside while only less than four minutes passes outside, or a day passes for every hour. I DO WARN YOU THOUGH. Unless some sort of potion for age retardation is taken before entering while using the time dilation effects, you will age and it is permanent.
The final room I want to mention since you were raised by Muggles and your great-great-grandmother insisted on converting this room to that use, is there is a room devoted to Muggle recreational activities and like the Muggle Studies Room in Hogwarts, it is a null area for magic. That does not mean that spells will not work in there, it just means that the ambient magic surrounding it will not affect items inside that room. Unfortunately that means it is the most dangerous room in the manor since it basically is a hole in the sensory net (although luckily not in the security net).
Since Occlumency is needed to be learned by you, there is a primer on it in your private library. How to access the library can be found on the map. It will take time to learn it well enough and the room of requirement can be a useful training tool. In fact, the techniques used in the book will help you in other areas as well. There is also a family Pensieve in your library as well that has memories from almost all of my heirs and myself of course. It is a little on the large side though.
Good Luck and Have fun Pranking,
GodricWiping away the tears that had formed in his eyes while reading the letter, Harry tucked the scroll into his knapsack. He then picked up the jewelry box and looked inside. What he found was a gold box chain necklace about 30 inches long and five golden charms attached to it. The first was one that looked like an exact replica of Hogwarts. The second was a rampant griffin. The other three were realistically carved animals as well. One was a phoenix, another a raven, and the last was a badger. Harry slipped the necklace on and under his shirt, resting it against his bare skin.
Taking the map, Harry rolled it up and stuck it in his pocket to look at later.
Taking a deep breath, Harry said firmly, "Mr. Tibbles." If the house elf was anywhere nearby, he would hear that appear.
With a pop Harry had become accustomed to hearing being around Dobby so much, a house elf appeared in front of him. The elf was dressed in dark blue pajamas and a royal blue dressing gown. He was carrying a book titled "Infinity Loves Careful Drivers". Harry thought, he definitely has better taste in clothing than Dobby, that is for sure.
"Master Potter, I presume? How may I help you at this late hour?" inquired Mr. Tibbles.
"Thank you very much for appearing so quickly. The letter said that there was a book for me on Occlumency in my library and I wanted to ask you a favor." said Harry.
"I would be happy to get that book for you and what is that favor Master Harry?" asked Mr. Tibbles.
"Would you please see if Dobby and Winky who are at Hogwarts would come work for us at your convenience." stated Harry.
"It would be my pleasure Master Harry." said the house elf and with a snap of his fingers, disappeared only to reappear a moment later with a large thick book and a much thinner book as well. Handing them to Harry, he pops back out, presumably either back to bed or to talk to Dobby and Winky.
Putting the key in his trousers pocket, Harry pulls the map out and looks at it for where he is in relation to the Room of Requirement.
Okay then, I'll need the right-hand door out of here, down the corridor, passing first the intersection on my left, then one on my right, the hallway will jog left then make a right and then a left and it will be my first door on the right. In fact it should be the only door in that hallway. I see the other book he gave me is a guidebook to the room. Since I want to learn Occlumency as quickly as I can before going back to the Dursleys, I better use the time function on the room. I can probably practice my dueling as well. Staying in the room for two months should be long enough at least for the basics. Then I can go back and it should only be about five in the morning. Although whether I will use the portkey or fly back I am not sure. Harry mused as he pondered the map.
Remembering something, Harry pulled out the key and while thinking hard about his room back at the Dursleys, he touched the key to the Badger charm and said "Prison". Harry also set the Phoenix to "The Burrow" where he would appear in the kitchen.
Opening the door, Harry saw a long corridor with white plastered walls, a fifteen-foot tall vaulted ceiling, and thick red carpeting under foot. Instead of walking, Harry decides to shift to wolf form and lope down the corridors to the room.
On arriving at the room, Harry changes back and sees a plain oaken door with iron hinges and door handle and lock. Trying the door he finds it locked. Quickly inserting his key into the lock, Harry finds it fits and turns. Upon opening it, he finds a replica of the Gryffindor common room with a large bowl of crisps and a frosty mug of butterbeer on an end table near his favorite stuffed chair. On the mantle of the fireplace, there are two hourglasses, one smaller than the other. Both of them are glowing an electric blue at the moment.
Examining the manual, Harry discovers that yes, the two hourglasses control the time dilation affects with the larger one giving the one-day to one-hour ratio. Harry turns the smaller of the two hourglasses over and the hourglass starts glowing a bright orange as the sands begin to drip downwards. Two sets of numbers appear above it, similar to a muggle digital clock display. The left set of numbers was moving normally, counting up from zero by seconds, while the right set was not appearing to move. The manual said that the right-hand display was the outside world time.
Harry settled down for a nap on the couch since he had not had any sleep yet and it was after midnight real-time.
Author's Note: I wanted to just clarify when this is if I have not before. Currently it is after midnight on Sunday July 27th. (This should match up with the year 1997 correctly for Harry's 6th year if I figured it correctly) Yes, Harry will do more Fudge Bashing as his alter ego. B.T.W. did anyone catch the reference to a Marvel character in chapter 2?