Potter Manor

8 July 1995

It was eleven minutes to eleven in the night, and Harry had already triple-checked literally everything he ever owned. After all, Professor Dumbledore would be visiting him as per the letter he had in his hand.

Harry hadn't really been enjoying his time at Number Four, Privet Drive. Frequent nightmares of the Little Hangleton graveyard, his Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia being their usual nasty selves, and Dudley… Well, Harry would rather stay away from Dudley. On the morning of the eighth of July, Harry awoke at five and sat on his bed. That was when he saw Hedwig fly towards his window.

"Hang on, you're not Hedwig." He said as he opened the window to let the owl in. It was a letter written in thin, slanting writing.

Dear Harry,

We must now prepare you for a lot of things ahead. I will personally be paying a visit tonight at the Dursleys' at eleven. Keep all your things packed. I hope you haven't unpacked everything yet. The rest, we will talk once we meet.

I am, yours most sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

Harry had never wanted to, as much as he did now, be out there and do something. As he sat down on his bed, he closed his eyes. The image of a girl with flaming red hair and chocolate brown eyes filled his mind. A smile curved his lips as he ran his fingers over his hair. He took out an old notepad of his parents and looked at the first page.

Right below "L.E" written by James, he had written "G.W." He had decorated the 'G.W' with Golden Snitches. His father had chosen to highlight his mothers' name with lilies. The doorbell rang just then.

"Ah, Mr. Dursley! I won't be taking much time and will be taking Harry away for the remainder of the summer." Harry dragged his trunk and Hedwig's cage (he had instructed Hedwig to fly to the Burrow that morning) downstairs as Dumbledore's voice became louder and clearer.

"There you are, Harry!" Dumbledore said pleasantly and turned to Vernon and Petunia, "The magic I evoked fourteen years ago means that Harry has powerful protection while he can still call this house 'home.' Even so, I'm taking Harry away about a week after the summer holidays have begun. You see, Petunia, Lord Voldemort is back. He has appeared in public and has killed one of our students, Cedric Diggory!"

"B-Back?" Aunt Petunia shirked in horror.

"So, that's Cedric Diggory, the boy about whom you keep moaning in your sleep about being killed by somebody!" Dudley said, connecting the dots.

"What sort of joke is this?" Vernon raged.

But Petunia pulled Harry to her bosom and began sobbing, "No! I have lost my parents in this stupid war! I have lost my sister and brother-in-law in this stupid war! I refuse to be parted from that one reminder of my lost family in the same war!"

Albus sighed. He knew this was going to be hard. Harry, on the other hand, was shocked out of his wits! What happened to Aunt Petunia all of a sudden?

"We were a happy little family! I had a good relationship with my sister and my parents! The four of us did no harm whatsoever to anyone! We never wanted to get involved in your world and your stupid problems! The day Lily's Hogwarts letter arrived, I knew our family was torn apart! Mum and Dad obviously thought Lily was better than me because she is so special and magical! And I was the talentless dolt loitering around! Death Eaters murdered Mr. and Mrs. Evans. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named murdered Lily and that Potter, and now he is after Harry here! How much more do I have to lose?!"

"You will lose everybody if you don't listen to me, Petunia, because Voldemort and his Death Eaters will find and kill all of you. Allow me to take Harry with me so I can train him to fight and defend everybody, including himself!" Dumbledore sighed.

"And what purpose do you serve, Albus?" Petunia spat as she let go of Harry, who immediately stood on the first step."Do not labor under the illusion for one moment that I'm going to blindly nod my head to everything you say just because my innocent little sister did. This sister in question is dead despite following every word of yours! Why should Harry do all the fighting? Why not you? Whatever happened to all the adults of your kind?"

"It's not like adults are doing nothing, Petunia. You seem to be laboring under the delusion that the wizarding adults sit around, leaving all the responsibilities on children. That's so untrue, and no, I don't have to go into detail."

"My sister died in this war! What's my role in this war anyway?" Petunia spat with so much venom that even Uncle Vernon, who had a spectacular rage, had to step backward.

Dumbledore, however, was calm. "Your role was to take care of young Harry Potter from the age of one to the age of seventeen. Your role was to treat Harry Potter as one of your own, although I see that would have been a travesty given what's happened to young Dudley Dursley here, who you and your husband have clearly mistreated. You did not do what I asked of you, Petunia. You did not provide love, care, affection, and support to Harry. No, instead, you're screaming yourself hoarse now as though you've been involved in Harry's life. Have you any idea what Harry's life has been like? How was his first, second, third, and fourth years at Hogwarts? What challenges and perils did he face? What his experiences were. No, nothing, absolutely nothing at all! You know what, Mrs. Dursley. I suggest you sit back with your husband and introspect everything you did over the last one and half decades."

Leaving all the three Dursleys speechless, Albus Dumbledore walked out in style, Harry's trunk right behind him and Harry bringing along the rear.

"Professor, that was… Merlin's Pants!" Harry breathed.

"I know I shouldn't have lost my temper, Harry." Dumbledore shook his head.

"You didn't lose your temper, sir. They deserved every bit of it. Locking me in the cupboard under the staircase for a decade, and bullying and mistreating me for a decade, and making me feel like a nobody for all these years."

"I'm sorry, Harry. I made Mrs. Figg, your Squib neighbor, keep watch on the Dursleys, but apparently, even she didn't notice any signs of physical abuse. She, of course, didn't realize the emotional abuse you were going through, and thus, I never realized it either. The good news is, you inherit your fathers' title and property by your fifteenth birthday."

"W-What?" Harry said, his eyes widening.

"Let us Disapparate, Harry. Hold my arm." Dumbledore instructed, making Harry's trunk and Hedwig's cage disappear with his wand hand. "Very good," said Dumbledore. "Well, here we go."

They were now at the entrance of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. Mrs. Weasley had no sooner opened the door than she had pulled Harry into the signature Weasley hug. "Harry, dear! Oh, sorry, Lord Potter!"

"What?" said Harry dimly.

"That's right, Harry. Lord Potter." Mr. Weasley shook Harry's hand heartily.

"That's my father's title?" Harry asked Dumbledore, who nodded happily.

As Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Dumbledore ushered Harry inside a room, he was enveloped in hugs from Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, and George "Harry, so nice to see you!". Some other members like Moody and Kinglsey shook hands with Harry and called him 'Lord Potter'.

"No, really. Call me Harry, guys." Harry told everybody in the room, and they all beamed at him.

Just as the Marauders, Tonks, and the Weasleys were settling, Ron and Hermione walked in. One look at Harry, and they cheered at him as they enveloped him in a tight hug. "Yay, Harry! This is the shortest summer you've spent away from us!" Harry hugged Ron tightly and hugged Hermione tightly. That's when Ginny entered the room, albeit unbeknownst to Harry.

There was a golden glow emitting from Harry at that point.

"Is Hermione Harry's soul mate, then?" Tonks wondered..

"Soul mate? What's going on?" Harry asked the guy sitting next to him, who, to his chagrin, turned out to be Severus Snape. "Potter, you're dumb at Potions, but you seriously can't be this stupid! Not even James was this stupid! Didn't it occur to you once that being a Lord means there will be a Lady too?" Harry scowled darkly at this.

Just then, Ginny hugged Harry, and the golden glow enveloped the two of them beautifully. A silver shield erupted around them as Ginny snuggled into Harry's warm embrace, and Harry rested his chin on her flaming red hair. "Hello, Harry."

"Hey, Ginny!" Harry grinned. He grinned, even more, when he saw Snape walk out of the room, leaving only the Weasleys, Tonks, and the Marauders.

"That would be Ginny, not Hermione," Dumbledore noted with a happy nod. He gave a minute for Harry and Ginny before continuing. "Right, I know it's past midnight. But I won't keep you all for too long. So bear with me. Harry Potter is now Lord Potter, the son of Late Lord Potter and Late Lady Potter, that is, of course, James and Lily, as you all know. The title gets passed to every Potter generation once they are close to the age of fifteen. Even they aren't told about being the Duke or Countess Potter until then. By becoming Lord Potter or Countess Potter, the individual may be allowed some adult rights and responsibilities to prepare them for when they turn seventeen and become a fully-fledged adult. By fifteen, it becomes clear who the individual's soul mate would be. In Lord Potter's case here, it is Ms. Weasley! Give them a round of applause!"

Everybody clapped and cheered enthusiastically. Ginny beamed at Harry, who was grinning at her.

"There was a prophecy concerning Harry Potter and Voldemort. Well, it's not just the two of them. I want all of you to know that Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and Neville are also deeply involved in this prophecy, as is Harry."

There were gasps and the sounds of hands clapping their owners' mouths. Dumbledore, however, continued, "These kids will be facing Voldemort in one way or the other, and I am afraid I have to insist that every one of you involved will have to undergo Auror training if you haven't already. So, welcome to the Order, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, and George."

Everyone clapped, although not so enthusiastically. They were clearly worried.

"Right, off to bed now!" Dumbledore dismissed the entire room except for Harry.

"Harry, do you wish to relocate to Potter Manor? That's your house legally. Just like this is Sirius' house legally."

"This house is Sirius'?" Harry was bewildered, and he never thought Sirius lived in a house that looked devoted to the Dark Arts.

"Potter Manor is unplottable and reveals itself only to the heir of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter. Since you never knew of its existence, you never realized Potter Manor exists and is yours. It was only Sirius giving me this Golden locket that helped me discover the whereabouts of Potter Manor. I'm your magical guardian, as you know. I'm responsible for your education and health, etc. Well, until now. Once you're 15, you're independent. I no longer am your guardian." Dumbledore held out a broken locket. Sirius smiled to himself from the door.

Before Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place was made Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, Sirius had visited the house once. He called Kreacher to him. Kreacher had a golden locket with him that he was unsuccessful in destroying. Sirius called Dumbledore, and the two of them inspected the locket. Dumbledore realized it was a Horcrux and took it to the Headmasters office. Sirius, on the other hand, called Kreacher.

"Kreacher, clothes! You're hereby dismissed! Leave all the Black possessions here!"

"Sure, Master Sirius, the Ungrateful Son of my poor mistress!" Kreacher croaked, "I wasn't interested in working for you anyway."

As Kreacher left, all the ugly portraits and statues were once again removable. As of now, they were all being hoarded to be destroyed, including the screaming portrait of the horrible and blood purist woman who had made Sirius' childhood hell.

Sirius shook his head and went up the stairs as Dumbledore gave Harry a pleasant smile and left. Harry had destroyed the Diary Horcrux, and Dumbledore had destroyed the Ring Horcrux and the Locket Horcrux. He knew that something that belonged to Ravenclaw or Gryffindor was left, as was Hufflepuff's Cup, the snake, and Harry. Dumbledore's heart gave a painful lurch. He didn't want Harry to die, and he was doing his very best to ensure Harry survived while the Horcrux within him died and Voldemort was defeated.

Harry went to the first-floor landing, and a door was partially open. He could see flaming red hair and knew instantly who it was. He entered the room and saw Ginny by the window. She seemed to be getting sleepy. Harry went to her.

"Ginny?"

"Harry?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I thought of waiting for you."

"Not sleepy, eh?"

"Not much, Harry. I've been thinking of Dumbledore's words."

"Soul mate," Harry said. "Actually, I've been thinking about something, Ginny."

"And what might it be, Mr. Potter?"

"Do you want to be my Lady?" Harry grinned. "Ever since I met you, I knew you were the one. So, will you be Lady Potter?" Harry said, standing on one knee.

Ginny stared, her mouth open. As realization sunk in, her eyes filled up, and she said, "Yes! I love you, Harry!"

"I love you too, Ginny!" Harry grinned as Ginny sunk her head into his chest, half crying, half laughing.

"Say, Fred, George. Dumbledore's speech last night had me thinking. I've even observed this. Ginny spends so much time with Harry. Ron spends so much time with Hermione. I can't help but wonder if Ron and Hermione too…." Percy said one day. It was eleven in the morning, and they had just seen Ginny, Ron, and Hermione walk upstairs in a closely-knit circle as though plotting how to save the planet from Global Warming.

Fred cut him off mid-sentence, "You're right on both accounts, Perce!" He and George grinned.

Percy, Fred, and George were sharing a room in Grimmauld Place. Percy, like Bill and Charlie, was a member of the Order of the Phoenix. The twins had told Harry that they were planning to do some market research at Hogwarts before running their joke shop.

"It's not just Little Gin-Gin. Ickle Ronniekins is in it too!" George said happily.

Harry decided to leave all his belongings from the Dursleys' at Potter Manor. At the entrance to Potter Manor was a house-elf with eyes brimming with tears at the sight of him.

"Lord Potter! Finally! I is Hope, Lord Potter!" She sobbed.

"Don't call me 'Lord Potter', Hope. I am Harry, Harry Potter."

"Hope has heard, of course, of Harry Potter's greatness! Hope has heard of the favor Harry Potter has done to Dobby! Hope has been alone in Potter Manor for 15 years now! Hope is delighted to have Master Harry Potter!"

"Nope, it is Harry. Just Harry. And the pleasure is mine, Hope." Harry smiled at her as he kneeled down and hugged Hope.

"Harry Potter is so much like James Potter! He, too, treated my mother and me with the same kindness and politeness!" Hope cried happily.

"Hope, how much do you get paid? And how many holidays do you get per month? I hope you have weekends off?" Harry asked.

Hope looked outraged and hurt. "I is not wanting payment or holidays, Harry Potter! Please don't hurt or insult me! My pleasure lies in serving the Potter family! I do not need weekends off or payments!"

"Fine, but at least a room to sleep in?" Harry asked. "Where do you sleep, anyway?"

"In the kitchen, Harry Potter!" Hope said, with her nose in the air.

"No," said Harry defiantly. "Either you accept a proper room and bed, or you accept payment. I'm afraid I have to insist that you take holidays as well."

"I'll take the bed, Harry Potter. But if you insist that I take weekly offs, once a month is fine by me."

Harry smiled, "So be it."

Harry looked around with awe, sadness, excitement, hope, and nostalgia. Potter Manor meant more to him than just a Manor. This was where his parents lived when they had first married. This is where his father and a few generations before James Potter lived. The Manor had thirty rooms in the East Wing and thirty rooms in the West Wing. The North Wing had a Quidditch Stadium and a large area Harry decided to use for muggle gym equipment. The South Wing had a beautiful fountain and a lawn. The library was on the second floor. Apart from these, there was a vast kitchen made of marble, and a magnificent living room. The Master Bedroom was on the First Floor, the only room there. To access the other rooms, you had to walk up to the East or West Wing. It was so good that Harry decided to invite everybody who meant a lot to him to live at Potter Manor.

Hope's storeroom was right next to the Master Bedroom. The Potters always treated their house-elves kindly. The Manor was magnificent and Harry had tears in his eyes just by looking at the grandeur.

"Once a month?!" Hermione was spectacularly red at this point. "And a bed in the storeroom? all that we are doing for S.P.E.W? Explain this, Harry."

It was later that day, and Harry had taken the two Marauders, the Weasleys and Hermione, to Potter Manor. To Hermione's shock and fury, a House Elf called Hope was the caretaker of Potter Manor.

"Hermione, I tried my best to offer payments, weekend holidays, and everything else Hope could ask for. But she asked only for a cozy bed in the storeroom here! In any case, I didn't know about Potter Manor or Hope until now..I will not be cruel to Hope, I promise!"

Ron was with Fred and George, happily exploring the Quidditch pitch. "I would love a match here!"

"We do not think", Fred said.

"That Ickle Ronniekins can play", George said.

"With us in there," said Fred.

"Because we play alone," said George.

Ron rolled his eyes, "Whatever!"

Hermione's eyes were filled with tears. She was currently at the entrance of Potter Library with Remus Lupin, looking at the sheer amount of books and bookshelves!

"This… Is… Wonderful… Professor!"

"Remus, please, not Professor," Lupin said pleasantly. "My most favorite place at Potter Manor."

Bill, Charlie, and Percy were at the first-floor landing, full of praise for the Manor as they walked by. Sirius kept chuckling at the looks of wonder on their faces.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were in the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley kept insisting she cook the food while Hope refused any help. Mr. Weasley was fascinated with the Muggle appliances like the Dishwasher.

Ginny was sitting on the swing in the Potter Lawn. Harry went and sat next to her.

"Like this place, Lady Potter?"

"Of course, I do, Lord Potter!" Ginny said as she crushed her lips to Harry's lips. What started as a gentle kiss soon turned into a passionate one as the two fell off the swing and were snogging the living daylights out of each other on the grass. As the sun began to set, they were lying on top of the grass at a little distance away from the swing. Harry held Ginny in his arms, and the two of them occasionally shared a deep kiss.

"Hermione seems to be damn busy," Ginny noted, looking at the library window. "I can see bushy brown hair there."

"Oh, yeah?" Harry said. But when he turned and looked, he saw a tall, lanky figure instead of bushy brown hair.

In the library, Hermione was so buried in her book on Arithemancy that Ron's voice made her jump, "There you are, Mione! I brought you sandwiches!" Remus Lupin had excused himself to go and spend time with Nymphadora Tonks and Sirius Black.

"R-Ron, you scared me. S-Sandwiches? Why did you take the trouble, Ron?" Hermione asked.

"No trouble. You look so beautiful there, reading the books! Your chocolate brown eyes move so swiftly it looks like a blur, and your bushy brown hair makes me want to play with it all day long!" Ron said.

Hermione's eyes went over Ron's red hair. "But, Ron! Your flaming red hair looks so fiery and inviting to me! The freckles you have make me want never to let go of you!"

That was it. They were so close now, and they knew it was time. They captured each other's lips in a passionate kiss, the book fell to the floor, and the sandwiches lay forgotten. Hermione had cuddled into Ron's chest, and Ron was dragging his hands alongside her bushy hair. They snogged and cuddled on the table. Down in the lawn, Ginny and Harry had seen the two shadows clearly kissing passionately.

"Looks like they're as busy as us." Ginny shrugged, and Harry chuckled. The night was young, and love was in the air!