Hello everyone!

Chapter 7 here! So, here's Potter Manor. I didn't really go into detail because I didn't think that was really important. This chapter is more about Harry reacting to the childhood he should have had, if Voldemort had never existed. If you read my other story about Lily and James (it's called Mere Mortals) then you will probably have a deeper sense of nostalgia about the Manor. But don't feel that it's necessary to understand what Harry is feeling here.

Thanks to all my amazing reviewers, PottedLilies, SiriusObsesssion, isigirl, and DukeBrymin. Thanks so much, guys!

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The morning was no better than the night before. I could tell Ginny was getting truly worried.

She put her hand on my shoulder lightly, urging me to look at her.

"You didn't have dinner, Harry, you have to have breakfast."

I blinked down at the table, suddenly aware that I had a plate. And there were steaming pancakes with a smiley-face on them.

I was slightly disgusted.

"The elves are excited to go back to Potter Manor," she whispered to me in explanation, almost as if saying it quietly wouldn't be as upsetting.

I just nodded.

We had decided last night that we would finish the cleaning here by mid-morning, then apparate to Potter Manor. But that didn't mean that I actually wanted to go. And Ginny knew that.

She nudged my arm. "Eat."

I did as I was told, but I was feeling a bit nauseous. And we were getting ready to go to Potter Manor much too soon for my liking. I would much rather have stayed at the Burrow. But everything was clean now, even the redecorating was done, and so we had to go.

I had to go see my inheritance.

At least the elves were excited. They had been puttering about all morning, whistling and cheerful. The exact opposite of my mood, in other words.

"You will take my hand today, Master Harry," Winnie said happily, "And I will take us to Potter Manor!"

I tried to give her a smile, but from Ginny's expression it must have come out more like a grimace.

"Thank you, Winnie," Ginny said, smiling. "That sounds fine."

The little elf squeaked with happiness and immediately took my hand.

I felt myself being yanked through that awful suction tube, and just as I was about to suffocate my feet hit ground. I could suddenly breathe again.

"I will now get Mistress, Master Harry," Winnie squeaked at me, apparating with a loud crack.

I looked around quickly, hoping that no one had heard. But we were too far up from the village for anyone to have seen or heard her disappear. I shook my head, suddenly realizing that she would have known that.

I turned slowly on the spot, taking everything in. There was such a large expanse of ground that I'm sure I would need a broomstick to cross it in a reasonable amount of time. And, given the mounds of gold in my Gringotts vault, I have a nasty feeling that the small wood on the far end doesn't really mark the end of the property.

And the house itself….

Well, the title of manor was well-deserved, I have to say. If only there was a turret here or there I might have called it a small castle. Or a large fort, at the very least. As it was, I was staring at a rather impressive manor.

This is where I would have grown, if Mum and Dad had been there. This is where I would have come home every Christmas and summer. I may have even looked forward to it.

I couldn't help it.

I burst into peals of laughter.

This, all of this—and the life that went with it—would have been mine if Voldemort had never existed.

That bloody bastard.

xxxxxx

"Bonky, I would like you to take two others and go clean the house-elf quarters, erm, wherever they may be."

"Yes, Miss!" Bonky replied slightly unenthusiastically, but nonetheless he quickly gathered up two of the other elves and made out of the kitchen with them. Well, I suppose it's a house-elf thing to need to take care of the wizard portion of the house before their own quarters, but Harry will never forgive me if I let them work all day without a nice bed tonight. And anyhow, I've never had a house-elf before, but if Dobby was any example I think they deserve to be treated just as well as any wizard.

Better than some wizards, actually.

"Kreacher, I'm putting you in charge of the kitchen again. Do you think you can manage it by yourself?"

"Kreacher would be most honored to tend to Harry Potter's kitchen, Miss," he said, bowing low. "You may be assured that it will be spotless by nightfall, befitting of a king's palace—"

"Thank you, Kreacher. I am sure you will do wonderfully," I cut him off. Honestly, I'm glad he likes Harry now, but he can get a bit annoying. "And you don't need to clean the whole thing today, just be sure that you can get some meals on the table for everyone. Oh! What foods do you need?" I asked, suddenly realizing that this house had been abandoned for at least twenty years.

"Kreacher will go to Diagon Alley, Miss, just as he did yesterday. You needn't be bothered by my humble tasks."

"Oh, right," I mumbled, realizing too late that we hadn't really had food in the ice box at the Burrow either. Well, at least he's got it all worked out.

I turned my attention to the last of the house-elves. "Winnie, how large is the manor?"

"We has two floors above ground and one below, Miss!" She answered cheerfully. Wow, she really is happy to be home. "And each floor is the size of two Quidditch stadiums!"

Holy Merlin.

That is a lot of cleaning, even for seven house-elves.

"Well then," I said, strategizing with the four elves I had left. From what I can see, there's no need for anything more than dusting, really. And not all the rooms need to be dusted right now. "Winnie, you will take two elves upstairs to help you clean one room for Harry and one room for me to sleep in. Then you will come back down to help me and the other elves clean the main floor."

"Yes, Miss!" Three elves disappeared so quickly I thought they might have apparated.

Well alright then. I motioned for the last elf to follow me out of the kitchen so that we could set to work.

xxxxxx

I'm not entirely sure what I expected to find here.

I suppose I expected destruction. Death.

Instead, there is only dust.

Everything is perfectly in place. I've gone through at least twenty rooms, and I expected each one must be the one where I would find some sign of a fight.

But nothing.

They are all pristine.

Well, I mean, expect for the inch of dust on every surface.

At some point, I made my way up a grand, spiral staircase and found myself in a hall full of bedchambers. I pushed one door further open and made my way inside.

It had obviously been empty for a while before the house had been abandoned. There were no small effects to make it look like home to anyone, except for a few photos that had been framed by the bed. Closer inspection showed them to be moving captures of James and Sirius, fooling about on broomsticks and laughing wildly.

But one tiny picture, in the very back, did not move. It was a picture of a boy who looked very much like Sirius, although the difference between the two was apparent. I never would have imagined that Sirius had kept a picture of his brother.

It must have been the only still he could find, because it was unmoving and obviously very outdated. Regulus could not have been older than ten in the photograph.

I almost gathered all the photos to put in Hagrid's old album before I realized that there was no need. These were already mine, and they wouldn't be going anywhere. I decided to leave Sirius's room as he had left it, and went off to push open another door.

The next room I wandered into was obviously James's. Or Dad's, I suppose. I wonder why I never actually call them Mum and Dad, they're always James and Lily. Although I suppose it's hard to call someone Mum or Dad when you don't recall ever meeting them. It would be easier to call Mr. and Mrs. Weasley Mum and Dad, really.

I walked over to his bed and sank down onto it, looking about. After all these years, the closet was still propped open. Well, I suppose if it was left open it wouldn't close all by itself, it just seems…odd. It was still full of old clothes, quite a few of them muggle, and an old Comet 360. A sense of longing kicked in and I was sorely tempted to take the rusty old thing out for a spin before I heard a soft pattering of footsteps out in the hall.

I went to the door just in time to see the little elf scurrying past.

"Erm, Winnie?"

She turned immediately. "Yes, Master Harry?"

I stopped for a moment. What exactly had I been planning to say?

"Erm…was, was this James's room?"

Why did I bother asking that? This is obviously James's room.

"Yes, Master Harry, but he spent most of his time in Miss Lily's room. Winnie did not tell Mistress this, of course, but Winnie knew that Master James did not sleep in his own bed."

"My Mum? She has a room here?"

"Yes, Master. Master James brought Miss Lily here after the Evanses died, Master."

I stood there in shock for a moment. Thankfully, Winnie waited for me to unscramble my brains and didn't leave.

"Can you take me to her room?"

"Yes, Master," she squeaked, "Winnie would be delighted!"

xxxxxx

I found him sitting in a room stuffed with golden lace. It was a bit nauseating, actually.

The lace, I mean, not Harry. Harry was just depressing.

Despite the chairs scattered about the room, he was sitting on the bed, just staring about. I leaned against the doorframe, not wanting to bother him. I mean, I was upset to see the Burrow a few days ago, but it's just a house. This is entirely different for Harry. I'm sure he would gladly have this house shattered to pieces if only he could have his family put back together.

I don't know how long I stood there before his stare finally fell on me. I managed a weak smile, and he beckoned me over to him.

"Always trying to get me in bed with you, eh, Potter?"

He didn't even bother to blush. He was really in a mood, then.

I walked over and sat next to him, taking his hand. "Out with it, then. What's got your wand in a knot?"

He wasn't looking at me anymore. He was back to looking about the room.

"This is where my Mum stayed, after her parents were killed. And the way Winnie tells it, this is where she and Dad spent most of their time until they got married and moved to Godric's Hollow."

My lips fell into a rather round 'o.' Well, that explains why he's so intent on memorizing the place.

After a few minutes of holding his hand, I thought I had come up with a solution. One that might even let me get food into his stomach.

"How about we leave this room just as it is?" I suggested. "I mean, not that we've changed anything else, we've only cleaned up a bit of dust. But, let's just leave this room exactly as it is, to remember your Mum and Dad in it."

He didn't respond for a moment, but then he shook his head.

"No. I've been sitting in these bedrooms all day, and it hasn't done me any good. I have photos of them, to remember them by. But all of these bedrooms need to be changed."

I nodded. It was his decision, after all. "Okay."

xxxxxx

I was prodded awake the next morning by a certain impatient redhead.

Well, at least she had a steaming plate of waffles in her other hand.

"Morning," I mumbled as I sat up and made to take the plate from her. She moved it away quickly.

"Not until you're up and dressed. We have to get back to Hogwarts today, I'm sure everyone noticed that you're missing."

I groaned, but I rolled over and headed toward the loo. By the time I came back out, Ginny had left the plate on a nearby table and disappeared. I decided that if she had time to disappear, I had time to eat properly. So I sat down and tucked in.

I was nearly finished with my stack by the time she reappeared at the door.

"Alright, I've got the house-elves all organized," she told me, striding over to take a seat at the opposite me. I have to say, these giant bedrooms seem silly at first glance, but they're very convenient once you give them a couple of days. But Ginny was fixing me with her business-stare, so I knew I should pay attention or risk getting hexed.

"I told Kreacher to stay here, at least for the time being. I know he's bound to the master of Grimmauld Palace, but we don't know if there might still be Death Eaters who can get in there, and there's no need to put him in harm's way."

I nodded. "Agreed."

"Winnie and Bonky seem to have a handle on the other elves. Apparently Winnie was your grandmum's favorite and used to run the whole cleaning production. I'm sure she'll have everything in order while we're at Hogwarts. And as for us, well, we've been gone four days, and I'm sure we'll have some explaining to do when we get back. Let's hope they haven't sent out another search party."

"Mmm. I did promise Kingsley that I wouldn't disappear again."

"You broke your promise."

"I realized, thanks."

Finally a grin broke through her business-stare. "Are you excited to get back home?"

I grinned. "Yeah, you have no idea."

xxxxxx

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