Chapter 4
Harry woke up when he heard a car door slam. The seat next to him was empty, so it must have been Caedmon. He still didn't know the guy's first name, and he wondered when he was going to tell him.
Caedmon opened Harry's door from him and gave him a ghost of a smile.
"Welcome to Maith Cara, Harry," he said as Harry got out of the car. "It's old, but it's comfortable."
Harry stared up at the old house. Three floors, probably with five rooms on each floor, it was an old gray stone building with a low stone wall around it. He could see bushes in the garden poking up over the top of the wall. An ancient oak stood behind the house, and holly trees stood on either side of the heavy front door. Scrolled copper metalwork ornamented the door and shutters over the windows. It was an interesting place, and he could feel the magic around it.
"This is the summer house," Caedmon was saying, carrying Harry's trunk up the front walk. "In the fall we'll move up north."
"Wouldn't you go south for the winter?" Harry asked, perplexed, as Caedmon opened the door.
"No, I've family up north, and they would never forgive me if I failed to see them during the holidays. You may remain at school, if you like, or you may join us, whichever you prefer."
Harry listened but didn't say anything. By that time, they were standing in the front hallway, and a wave of Caedmon's hand brought lit the candles in sconces on the walls.
"Well, let's get you settled in, and I'll give you a tour," Caedmon said, trying to be cheerful. Harry followed him up the stairs, and he wondered what was different about this house that was beginning to bother him. It felt as if he could hear a talk show from a badly tuned radio in the back of his head. He was positive that whatever it was had its eyes on him.
Caedmon led Harry into a large room toward the front of the house on the second floor. Candles lit at their entrance, and Harry looked around, quite pleased. It was a large room with a four-poster bed like his one at the Ministry, but unlike the Ministry, this one had windows. A bay window faced north, and in front of it was a window seat with the shutters pulled back. Once he sat down on it and closed the shutters, he could shut out his room and see only the outside. The rest of the room was just as great. Carpets covered the floor in places, and brightly colored tapestries covered the bare spots on the walls. Bookshelves covered one wall, and a desk sat in its own little nook. An armoire stood in the corner. Harry guessed that the walls were stone underneath the plaster, and building tiny rooms with stone was difficult. An armoire was much more practical. Chairs stood in front of the fireplace, which was not lit, but a basket of orange, red, and yellow flowers gave the illusion of a fire. Harry's eyes passed over the fire irons and then snapped back to look more closely. They were made of copper and they had wooden handles. Why on earth were they made like that?
Harry decided not to ask as he helped Caedmon unpack his things. It didn't take long before Harry had everything he owned arranged to his liking. Caedmon even left the room for a few minutes and brought back a perch for Hedwig.
"There you are," Caedmon said as Harry made sure that Hedwig was comfortable. "Now if you'll follow me, I'll give you a tour of the house."
There was a lot more to the house than Harry had first thought. Rooms opened into one another on the first floor, and Harry looked over the parlor, dining room, study/library, conservatory, and the kitchen/pantry/scullery with cool approval. Harry did another double take in the kitchen when he saw that the large kettle bubbling over the fire was copper.
"Supper," Caedmon explained. "It's not quite ready yet, so shall we continue?"
The second floor contained his bedroom and Caedmon's, as well as Caedmon's work room. The other bedrooms were guest rooms and weren't used that often, according to Caedmon. Harry was shown another tiny, winding staircase that Caedmon said led to the kitchen. The third floor held a variety of tiny rooms that were either empty, occupied by old furniture, or filled with trunks.
"When it rains or if you're bored, you can come up here and poke around if you like," Caedmon said, leading Harry back downstairs. "I certainly won't mind. Just don't enter the work room, I have experiments going on in there that shouldn't be disturbed. The attics are fun on long, wet afternoons, I can tell you. We always came and spent our summers here, and I'd spend all day up in the attics when it rained."
Harry said nothing, but followed Caedmon down the winding stairs to the kitchen. Caedmon served up stew for them both and sliced bread with a knife that was made out of copper.
"What…?" Harry said, unable to form a question but unable to keep silent.
Caedmon looked at him, waiting for him to speak.
"What's with all the copper?" he finished lamely.
"Well, I have Sidhe blood, and iron and steel are poisonous to Sidhe, so I have to use copper if I want metal around the house."
"But what about the car?" Harry asked, stumped. "That has steel…"
"Not anymore, I had it done over in a way that wouldn't hurt me."
"Oh," Harry said, taking the bowl of stew and bread that Caedmon handed him. Was it possible to use copper in a car? It could be, if one also had magic on it.
"Sorry it's such simple fare tonight," Caedmon said apologetically. "I didn't have time to cook, so I asked that it be made up for us."
"Who made it?"
"Friends of mine. They'll introduce themselves to you in their own way and time."
Harry nodded, storing all of that information away for later. Not much of it made sense, and there was a lot about Caedmon that he didn't know. He'd have to be careful.