AN- Thank you all for such great messages. You're all appreciated more than you would suspect.
Now I kept you forever last time so we'll get straight onto the chapter this time. As always betad by the ever present Celran.
Chapter 86
Harry had forgotten how run down this cottage was. It had, after all, been through a small battle. Sirius and Remus clasped hands as they stood in the garden; Severus stood to the side battling his own demons.
It felt almost as if Harry was standing here for the first time.
The main block of the cottage was a quaint size, but had been extend by about the size of one room on the first and second floor. This extension had a large hole in the roof. Harry had to look away. The room underneath that hole was his nursery; the room his mother had died in.
Ivy covered most of the southern and western walls. There were no flowers in the garden anymore, and the grass and hedges had grown wild.
"I don't know if this is the best idea." Harry spoke softly. The statue of his parents looked on silently from behind him.
"No Harry, This is the best idea. Your parents would be honored to offer their home to you for this." Remus placed his hand onto the younger man's shoulder.
"Just let me have a look around first okay pup." Sirius had already extracted his promise from his godson.
"Of course. There's some things I'd like to see." They headed towards the door; preparing their minds for the memories. Draco was the only one of the five that had no history in this place but felt honored to be brought with them.
Harry walked in directly behind Sirius. The older man seeming to hone all his courage for this moment. The door opened with relative ease. The hinges on this door had been the only thing in the house to be mended since the attack.
There was a small surprise when they didn't walk into over a decade of dust. In fact there were very few things out of place. They walked directly into the kitchen and noted how spacious it was on the inside. Harry suspected an expansion charm may have been put in place after the muggle extension.
A sharp pop sent everyone on guard.
"Lord Potter you return." An old looking house elf bowed lowly in front of Harry. "We have awaited many years." Before anyone could react further three more pops sounded. "Lord Potter." Two middle aged elves; a male and female bowed to Harry. A tiny elf needed a bit of a nudge to bow.
"Elves?" Harry smiled at them lowering his wand. "Hello to you."
"Sabrey. You're still kicking then." Sirius nodded very surprised at the elderly elf.
"Yes Lord Black. I am not an old elf yet." Harry didn't know if it was just him but he heard a little defiance in the voice of this elf. Harry noticed that these elves were dressed very smartly; for elves at least. Were they free elves?
"Harry pup. These are the Potter family Elves. Sabrey, Ceesy, Talbec." Sirius introduced the three older elves. "I don't know who this is but I knew Ceesy was expecting."
"I'm Plip."
The other male elf moved to scold his child. "Plip do not address-"
"Hello Plip. I'm Harry Potter." Harry leaned down to the tiny elf.
"I know Lord Potter." The girl elf bowed to him with an elvish smile.
"Would you all give us a moment in the house?" Harry looked at the eager elves. They hadn't had a master or mistress for over a decade; stuck alone with only each other. Harry had no idea what that would do to the elves. "Then I have something I would like your help with, if you would?"
"Of course, Lord Potter. We have kept the properties clean for your return." Sabrey spoke again.
"Thank you, Sabrey. We will not be long."
Severus found walking through the house was not as hard as he had believed. So did Sirius and Remus. They found themselves reliving history in the best of ways. The sadness on their hearts lifting ever so slightly with this piece of closure. In fact, the three men were found by Harry and Draco laughing in the living room. Sirius on the floor and Remus draped over a chair. Severus was only chuckling at this new story for him.
They were ready to move on. Not fully, and not forever, but for now they were ready for the steps before them.
With help from the overly eager house elves, the house was quickly fixed up into functional state.
Remus was the one who fixed the roof; he had done building work in the muggle work for money, the elves only supported Remus in the job.
"It looks good." Draco commented.
"Luckily it was only the one room." Sadness hit his voice but was quickly accepted and banished. "Those house elves did a good job at keeping the rain out."
Talbec and Plip were helping Harry move things to the Potter Manor and cleaning the seventies from the house as it was very out of date.
There were going to be remnants of it but staying in the past was not going to help anyone face this new future. Also, it made Harry and Draco cringe; so yeah, most of it had to go.
"Remus how quickly could you convert the attic. We need a couple more bedrooms." Harry asked as he packed two ugly lamps into boxes.
"Five's not enough?"
"You saw all my friends yesterday." Harry flicked his wand to seal the box.
"Alright, I'm on it." Remus turned. "You know those were my wedding present to your parents."
"No, I didn't." Harry sent them away with the tiny elf. They seemed to be so happy to finally be helping with something. "They were kind of ugly, Remus."
"It was the eighties, Harry. Of course, they were ugly."
Harry laughed. "They're staying at the manor. If you're ever interested in having them back."
Five hours later there was a bellow at the door. "Hey, Harry, you here Mate?!" Ron bellowed through the house.
"Hey Ron, guys." Draco greeted the Weasleys and Hermione. "He's moving some things from his old room." Draco came in from the kitchen, dining room. He was helping the old elf extend the table.
"Oh. Right sorry." Ron used a gloved hand to rub the back of his neck. "We're all here now though."
"There isn't much left to help with. Although Harry was talking about buying something called bunk beds."
"Guys!" Harry cantered down the stairs not looking the least bit sad as Draco had made him out to be. "Have you seen my parents yet? I can see them from my old bedroom window." There was an audible silence. "Oh, alright I'll show you later. According to Sirius the stone mason did a pretty good job."
"Right now it's officially awkward; how secure is your garden Harry? Sir Cluckington needs a run."
"It should be fine but I would still watch him."
"Alright call me if you need anything. I'll be chillin' with the cluckster."
"Dad dropped him on his head when we were babies." George laughed. "I saw a shed out there; want us to go have a look at the gardens for you."
"That'd be great." Bill and Charlie followed him to help. They were out door people. "Hey Bill."
"Yu."
"When Mad-Eye Moody arrives, can you help him with the wards."
"With pleasure, My Lord." Bill winked Harry with a smart grin as he followed his younger brothers out of the house.
"Please tell me that wasn't what I think it was." Ron begged.
"What did you think what was?"
"Merlin, never mind. Let's just do something." Ron shook his head and moved on. "Who's already here anyway?"
Harry showed the group around as only new furniture was needed. He explained what each room was going to be used for. Hermione gave many adjustments to these plans.
When the original muggles had extended it, they worked on the kitchen and added a bedroom. The kitchen became a kitchen diner which James Potter extended to be quite huge for his Lily. It would now play host to Harrys Order of nuisances; as Severus Snape referred to them as.
The living room was filled with plush chairs and sofas, much better than the seventies furniture Harrys mother had in the room. Lily's books lined the walls, but Harry added piles more of his own; with the help of Bill he ensured they wouldn't leave the cottage.
The old nursery was the biggest bedroom as Lily had planned it to be the playroom when Harry grew out of it. This was a boys dormitory of sorts; the main bedroom was the same for the girls. Then the three rooms on the third floor and six in the attic would be for adults.
Severus Snape would be using the one he built in the basement next to the potions lab he also built. If he was having to stay he was going to make it as comfortable as possible for himself. That meant as many floors away from the teenagers as possible.
The house was finished within the day. The benefits of magic. That was Harry's favorite thing about being Lord Potter. Using magic outside of Hogwarts.
"Hey Black." Allister Moody's voice echoed through the house. Many of Harrys group was present now. Even Viktor found himself comfortable in the attic room besides Fleurs. It was the best option as he had nowhere else to stay. The Quidditch star had ran away from his home and team to be with a girl who was currently rejecting him.
"Hey mad-eye. Here already?" The elderly house elf wouldn't leave the Black Lord alone after all the trouble he and James had given the elf in their younger days.
"Good place you got here Black. Good foundation for wards."
"That's a good thing." Sirius nodded. "Harry wants you to work with Bill Weasley on that."
"Great kid, that godson of yours. He's got some commanding power behind him. "
"I've noticed. No idea where he gets it from." Sirius shrugged. "You sure you're okay staying. I know you and Dumbledore were old friends."
"Still are as far as I'm concerned but I trust my gut Black. Your boy is doing the right thing down here. I just feel it."
"That's good-" Sirius couldn't finish his sentence as Weasleys were loud. A group of the older ones came bowling in with mud and chicken feathers everywhere.
Harry made a huge gasp as he entered the kitchen. He looked the red heads up and down with shocked distance. "Okay I know for a fact your mother raised to better than this. Clean your shoes or clean the floor." He ordered before moving to get himself a drink.
"Woah, Okay." The twins held their hands up in submission and walked outside; followed by Charlie.
"Lord Black." Bill asked before leaving. "Could I borrow you outside? I need to ask about something."
It was only a few days now before school started. Bill and Moody had done great work on the wards; there were dozens layered on top of each other, even ones from the founder's Library had been added. Mad-eye looked at Harry as if he wanted to ask about them but didn't.
"Harry we need to show you something." Remus interrupted the boy as he was mulling through his mothers books.
Harry took a moment before leaving his books. "Is something wrong, Remus?" It was a pleasant morning, still fairly early as Harry had believed only he and Hermione were awake. Well Zana and Sir Cluckington were chasing around the living room but they didn't count as Harry was sure his cat had not gone to sleep at all.
"No, but Sirius showed me something last night I think you need to see."
Remus led a confused Harry out into the garden shed. "Apparently Bill Weasley found it. Sirius and I forgot it was here." Remus moved a couple of brooms out of the way and reviled a trap door. "Bill broke the counselling charm way to easily. This was going to be your dad's man cave."
"What's down there?" Harry looked down what seemed to be an endless hole.
"It's not deep. Few feet. It's literally just a cave. It's unfinished but Sirius, Peter and I were helping him before he died. I'm sure we could get it finished and Sirius suggested it as a meeting room. Rather than the kitchen."
AN- Thanks for reading. We will be back in a little over a week I think. ~TIA (and the amazing CELRAN!)
