The Half Blood Prince Revealed

Summary :

Harry's summer before sixth year is no different from the others. Around every corner surprises, good and bad, and adventure of all kind await. And it looks like the gods have finally granted Harry a possibility for a nicer life. What will this mean for his 6th year at Hogwarts ?

General Disclaimer :

I am just playing in the sand of JKRowling's literary produced beach and am attempting to build my own sandcastle for others to enjoy.

04 Surprises and Meetings

Once again Professor Dumbledore sighed with a smile : "Well Fawkes has decided I see. We'll see you in the Tapestry room then." Harry grabbed Fawkes' tailfeather again and in a flash of light he appeared in Grimmauld Place. "Thanks again Fawkes, I'll have to buy you even more treats if you continue like that." Harry smiled.

Harry turned his attention to the tapestry on the wall and did a double take at the sight that met his eyes. Rather than the half eaten cloth he remembered from his previous visits a beautiful display had taken its place, and even more startling, there was his name, right under Sirius' name, the two linked by a thick solid silver line. Harry traced back the different generations and indeed found the entry for Sirius Harold Black. Harry was so engrossed in all the intricate detail that had appeared on the tapestry, that he failed to notice the absence of Professor Dumbledore and Remus. It wasn't until Fawkes let out a high note that he noticed he now carried a letter.

Harry

Are you OK wherever you are and why can't we get into Grimmauld Place ?

Remus

Harry pondered the situation for a moment and said out loud : "I am not sure how to go about this, but could you please allow access to Professor Dumbledore and Remus Lupin when they call in a moment ?"

A desk in one corner held writing utensils so he quickly penned a note.

Remus,

I am safe and sound in Grimmauld Place.

Please try again to get in here. It should work OK for you both now.

Harry

And indeed with a soft crack his two visitors appeared in front of him, both looking rather surprised when they took in their surroundings. The contrast was amazing. Where this had once been an almost dreary room it now looked very cosy and inviting with sunlight streaming through the windows.

Professor Dumbledore was the first to regain his composure and gesturing to the general improvement of the room asked : "Harry can you explain any of this ?"

Harry pointed at the top of the tapestry where the family motto stood and said : "I won't be able to tell for certain until I go to Black Manor, but my guess is that through the years the family motto has been seriously misinterpreted. The 'Toujours Pur' or 'Forever Pure' did not mean pure of blood but of heart. One of Sirius' forefathers, Sirius Harold Black was a wizard very much so on the Light side that he set up this family charm as you called it to look to the next heir, and depending on the result of this scan, more or less access was granted to the estate. The charm was performed on me too while I was reading Sirius' letter in your office Sir, the empty parchment however held what you could call my results of the examination.

As for you not being able to enter, I guess the protection charms have reset themselves now that there is a new owner of the place. Before, Sirius as heir had given permission for you to enter and now I as his heir have done so too. Until I get to Black Manor and look further into the protection I'm afraid you won't be able to use it as Order Headquarter as no one else will be able to get in. But I'm sure I'll soon have it sorted.

As for going to Black Manor, do you think Fawkes will come to me should I call for him Sir ? If he would, then I could send him with a note with instructions as to how to get there when it's set up for you to come too."

"Yes Harry I do think Fawkes will come when you call for him, especially if he's aware you will do so. But it's well past noon already, why don't we return to Hogwarts, have something to eat before you go off on your tour. And I'll have to alert the Order members that headquarters is temporarily eh, well out of order so to speak."

So after a good meal of chicken and ham pies, with a very nice treacle tart to follow, Harry set off to Black Manor. Under the watchful eyes of Remus and Professor Dumbledore, Harry silently said "Always Pureness of Heart" and just as if he'd travelled with Fawkes he found himself in the centre of a huge hall, located in a building four stories high. Straight ahead of him a staircase started its ascent, wrapping around the whole outside of the hall, it winded its way up to the top floor. The roof was a large glass dome like structure and bright sunlight seemed to pour in from all over the place. The next thing he set eyes on was a sphinx, just like the one he had encountered during his third task of the triwizard tournament.

She spoke with a very gentle voice : "If yesterday had been Wednesday's tomorrow and tomorrow is Sunday's yesterday, what day would today be ?"

Harry blinked at this sudden riddle but asked to hear it again, spoken a bit slower. She complied with his request and slowly repeated the riddle. "Wednesday's tomorrow would be Thursday and is considered yesterday, and Sunday's yesterday is Saturday but that would be tomorrow, then today is Friday." He looked at the sphinx and saw a radiant smile but the creature said : "I knew I should have tried something more difficult."

"What would happen if I had not guessed correct ?" Harry asked.

"I still would have let you pass, as you are now my new master. Welcome to Black Manor." Harry grinned at this, jokes seemed to be present in the Black family after all. "Thank you. When my friend Hermione comes to visit I'll let you know. She'll love to practice riddles with you."

The next he heard was a small plop and an old house elf appeared next to Harry. "Is you our new master sir ? We heard a new master is coming."

Well used to the way house elves spoke Harry answered "Well hello there. My name is Harry and I am indeed your new master. What is your name please ?"

Her eyes seemed to become even bigger when she heard Harry ask for her name. "I is Blythe, sir how can I helps you ?"

"Well, can you tell me where the new masters go for instructions please. I have a lot to learn." Harry asked, certain she'd be able to help.

"Oh yes, sir I knows, old master's study is where they go. I shows you Master." And she led him to a door to the right of him.

"Hmm, Blythe, please don't call me master, Harry will do just fine."

Harry could see her eyes widen yet again and her ears were slightly trembling, hopefully just from excitement when she agreed : "Yes, Harry I will do as you says."

By now they arrived at the door which when she opened it came out into a huge study, lined with rows and rows of shelves holding books and all kinds of strange equipment. It reminded him a little of a combination of the library at Hogwarts and the Headmaster's office. He was quite startled however when he saw someone sitting in the chair by the desk and hardly contained a joyous cry of "Sirius" when he recognised the figure.

"This can't be true. Sirius never had access according to the letter." Suddenly he realised the house elf standing next to him looked from him to the figure at the desk and she stammered "Sir, he sees you, oh joy, he is good wizard he is sir." And slowly tears started to roll from her huge eyes.

"Blythe, are you alright ? Why are you crying ?" Harry asked, somehow nervous of the answer.

But it was the man at the desk, looking and sounding so much like Sirius who answered his question. "Since I passed away now 300 years ago, only a few of the Black heirs have been allowed inside the Manor, but no one has seen the place in all its splendour. I am sorry to say you are the first heir to actually see me, since I died. It will be a nice change to have someone to talk to."

It was Harry's turn to widen his eyes as he realised the original Sirius Black stood in front of him. "Sir, it's an honour to make your acquaintance. I wish I could say I've heard a lot about you, but my information is very limited. But the fact that your wards have baffled my Hogwarts' Headmaster is a sign I could learn a lot from you if you are willing to teach me. Would others be able to see you too when they come to visit ? If they can, I'll have to warn Remus. He was best friends with Sirius and you two look so much alike he'll be too startled otherwise. Only the fact he picked up on my anti dementor seemed to rouse him from his grief."

"Hang on, young one, you are going too fast. Who is this Sirius and Remus you are talking about ?" ghostly Sirius asked.

"I'm sorry, sir. Sirius Black, the last of the Black was my godfather. He fell through a veil in the Ministry two weeks ago when he was hexed by his cousin Bellatrix. Remus Lupin was one of the four Marauders as they were known at Hogwarts. Sirius, Remus, my father James Potter and a boy called Peter were best friends. Remus mentioned just before I came here that my dad and him came here one Easter holiday. But that must have been some 25 years ago."

"Ah yes, I remember those three. Mischief making was written all over their face, mind you not an ounce of evil in any of the three. But how was it possible that Sirius was not allowed rights to come to the manor then ? Do you know ?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't learn of either of their existence until three years ago when Sirius escaped from Azkaban to come protect me. We had Remus that year as DADA teacher. But I believe that Sirius' father died while Sirius was in prison. Maybe the charms did not take those circumstances into account."

Harry saw the ghost only ended up with more questions, so he started to tell him about the young marauders, about the betrayal by Peter, the wrongful imprisonment of Sirius, his escape and the little time they had been able to spend together.

"Sir, maybe we could continue with this later. Remus and Professor Dumbledore will be getting worried about me. Can I invite them over, and some of my friends too for that matter ? You would need to tell me how I go about it though. At Grimmauld Place it seemed to work to just ask but I guess that might be too easy ? And would the Ministry be able to detect underage magic here ? In that case we could practice a bit over the summer. And are there more house elves than Blythe around ? If I invite all these guests for the remainder of the summer holidays she will have far too much work."

Ghostly Sirius was laughing at the stream of questions coming from the young man. "Now, Harry, you are lord and master of this place, so you can invite who you want anytime you fancy inviting someone. The underage magic cannot be detected, nor can any magic for that matter. For now it would be enough to indeed say out loud who you want to invite and they'll be allowed in, but if you want I'll tell you all you want to know about this ward and the charms in place. Your visitors will be able to see what you allow them to see. And Blythe is indeed the only house elf left on this estate and she is a bit elderly. It is very good of you to think of that."

Harry was thinking hard. If he could make Professor Dumbledore see the advantages of staying here rather than at Privet Drive and he invited his friends over for the summer they could have a bit of practice and enjoy themselves too for a change, without worries of attacks and such.

"Alright, I will return to Hogwarts and Privet Drive for tonight and return tomorrow with Professor Dumbledore and Remus so we can have a good look around and meet with you and then I'll arrange for my friends to come in a few days so I have some time to get to know you and explore the Manor before that. Can you tell me how they can come here ? Do they too say the "Always Pureness of Heart" incantation, or is there something else ?"

The answer was quick to come : "The "Always Pureness of Heart" is reserved for the heir, but you can make up your own incantation for your guests. It is really as easy as saying it out loud."

"So 'Harry's Haven' sounds like a good incantation to get them here and for now Professor Albus Dumbledore and Remus Lupin will be welcome here please. And now I'll be going but I will be back tomorrow Sir." Harry had hardly finished speaking when a phoenix appeared on the chair next to him. He was about to say hello to Fawkes, when he realised this phoenix looked different. He turned to the ghost and asked : "Where did this phoenix come from ?"

"Ah yes, another of the unusual occurrences Harry. She was mine, but would only show herself to an heir who was able to see me. I'm glad to present Lilly to you. She will now be your phoenix."

Harry turned to the beautiful bird. "Lilly, you are beautiful. Thank you for being my phoenix. I'm truly honoured. My mother was called Lilly too you know." Harry said. "Will you bring me to Hogwarts please, Lilly, the headmaster's office. And beware there is a very nice man there called Fawkes. He will be surprised I'm sure when he sees you."

Author note: If you enjoyed these I'd like to hear any comments over on my yahoo group at http/ groups. yahoo. Com / group / TheHalfBloodPrinceRevealed/

You will find two more chapters and a little extra in the files.

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