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 ?
Author's Note : For my "baby-sister" (even if she is 9 years my senior) who celebrates her birthday today and to jekl who sent me my first review.
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.
06 Home in all its glory
And just like the day before Harry ended up in the dead center of the hall. Not ten seconds later Blythe stood next to him, beaming when he said "Good morning Blythe I'm happy to see you again."
"I is happy too, Harry, as I was fearing I just dreams you."
"No worries, Blythe I am real alright and I hope to be staying here for almost two months."
The next moment two cracks announced the arrival of his guests. Remus was the first to give his comment.
"Are you sure we are at the same place Harry ? This is not how Black Manor looked when I visited."
"That would be correct, as you would have seen the version the heir of the time was allowed to use. Our young Harry here is the only heir ever to end up with the entire estate as it was when last it held a Pure of Heart Black." said a well-known voice from the right.
Both Remus and Professor Dumbledore turned to the stranger and Harry was enjoying the stunned look on both their faces when they took a good look at the ghost. Contrary to the ghosts at Hogwarts somehow Mr Black came in full colour and looked a lot more human then his Hogwarts counterparts. Add the resemblance to Harry's recently deceased godfather and the surprise was all the greater.
"Mister Sirius Harold Black, please allow me to introduce you to my Honorary Guardian, Mister Remus Lupin and the current headmaster at Hogwarts, Professor Albus Dumbledore. Gentlemen, this is the ghost of Mister Sirius Harold Black, born in 1499 and passed away in 1695. He created the Black family inheritance charm and set up the wards around the different Black estates."
Again it was Professor Dumbledore who spoke first. "It is a true honour to meet you, sir. Harry was adamant yesterday that the wards around the Manor were extremely good and I must say I can but agree with that statement. I am hoping you will teach me how to achieve this perfection as I would like to give Hogwarts a similar protection in these dark days.
And Harry, I need no further information to agree fully with your holiday plans. I just hope you'll allow me to join you from time to time."
Harry happily agreed and turned to Remus "And Remus, will you spend the rest of the summer holidays here with us ?"
"As if you need to ask Harry."
"In that case, why doesn't Blythe show us two around and meanwhile Professor Dumbledore and Mr Black can get started exchanging information."
All were happy with this arrangement and so while Mr Black and Professor Dumbledore walked to the right and into the study, Remus, Harry and Blythe set off for the door next to the study. This would be the place for Remus and Hermione. Row after row after row of books were cramped in the light and airy room. In opposite corners reading areas were installed with comfortable sofas. Ideal spots for some light reading. The two other corners held a desk each, an ideal set up if you wanted to do some studying. Hermione would love it and Remus was already perusing the titles he saw nearby. One caught his eyes and he said : "Harry, some of these titles are very rare. Even Albus was never able to come by these."
"Well, I guess we'll see a lot of him then over the summer !" laughed Harry. "And we'll need to limit Hermione's time allowed in here, or she'll live here for the entire summer."
They walked back to the Hall, and continued their tour clockwise away from the study and entered a living room. The Gryffindor Common Room was about the same size. It contained several sofas, and in one corner a few tables were set up to play chess and other board games Harry didn't recognize. Despite its size, the room looked cozy but was light and airy and there were flowers everywhere. "Blythe, who looks after all these flowers ? They are gorgeous."
"I is, Harry, old master loved them, and so I does."
"So do I Blythe, so do I."
On they moved to the next room, which turned out to be yet again a living room, but it was set up far more formal. It felt cool in some way, not as homely as the living room next door or the one at The Burrow. The dining room next to it had a seating arrangement for some 40 people, but again a very formal set up reigned this room. The next room was a big surprise for Harry and Remus. When Blythe opened the door situated next to the staircase even the sunny hall looked dark and dim compared to the room they entered. Sunlight streamed in from three sides and Harry decided it would be his favourite place in the house. As far as Harry could make out, it would run the length of the building combining the formal dining room, hall and study. It held a huge kitchen to the left and clearly what was a family dining room in the middle, and to the right a room divider allowed glimpses of a garden room, and everywhere there were flowers and plants. Neville would love it here.
"Blythe, this place is brilliant. And all these plants and flowers. They are lovely but they must take a lot of work."
"Oh, Harry, sir, I is good elf, I do good job."
"Blythe, it is OK, I know you do a very good job but we will have many visitors staying for the rest of the summer holiday, and it would be too much work for just one house elf. Your job will be to take good care of the flowers in the house, and one of my friends, Neville might like to know how to care for them. So maybe you could show him if he asks."
"Well," Remus mentioned, "it didn't look anywhere this grand and bright when I came but I do recognize some things. There must be some strong magic around to pull that off."
"You is young mister Moony," Blythe remarked happily, "you was here before."
"Yes I was and close to being the best three weeks I ever lived they were too. We enjoyed ourselves very much. I look forward to spending the rest of the summer here."
Harry meanwhile was looking around more intently and through the floor-to-ceiling windows he could see outbuildings and nicely tended gardens, so he suggested having a quick look outside, before moving up a floor.
Blythe guided them through the garden room and they ended up in a huge tropical swimming paradise. The water in the large pool was crystal clear and Harry had to fight off the impulse to just jump in, clothes and all. And here too, lots of flowers bloomed and plants were looking decidedly healthy.
"Too bad I don't have swimming trunks. That pool looks very inviting," Remus sighed.
"Not a problem, mister Moony, dress cabins there, provide suitable clothes for every body whose go in." said Blythe as she pointed to the opposite side of the room, where several doors were visible through the plant foliage.
Left and right of him, there were floor-to-ceiling windows, showing more of the garden outside. Harry spotted well-known hoops to the right and asked : "Is that a quidditch pitch out there, Blythe ?"
"Yes, Harry, and all equipment and however many brooms in broom shed are there too.
Through the windows on the left he could see part of the gardens he'd spotted from the kitchen so he stepped in that direction to take a closer look. The garden looked big and beyond the well-tended lawns it looked like a forest was adjacent to the Black property. "Are those woods safe, Blythe ?"
The house elf only vaguely answered with a "For most of the time they is safe Harry".
Deciding to venture outside at another time, they returned to the hall and started up the wide staircase.
Remus reminisced and stated Sirius had loved the banister as it was perfect for sliding down it. Harry who had his hand on the beautiful wooden handrail got an image of a young Sirius gaily yelling at the ever-increasing speed as he was coming down, closely followed by both a young Remus and … James Potter. All three were yelling their joy.
"Admit it, Remus, you and my dad enjoyed it just as much !" laughed Harry.
"How did you … ?" stuttered Remus, and when seeing the wistful look on Harry's face continued "Well, yes actually. It was great fun at the time, we were here at the right age. By the summer holiday a few months later, we would have considered ourselves too big for such child's play."
Blythe had led them to a beautifully carved double door with a gold coloured plaque saying "Harry's room". She explained "This be the Master bedroom for master of the house."
The room was huge. Larger than the dormitory at Hogwarts, it housed a large four poster bed, a huge writing desk with a bookcase close by and a pair of sofa's by an impressive fire place. Red and gold, very much like the Gryffindor colours, were everywhere and Harry felt at home immediately. From the view out of the windows, this room was located above the kitchen, and looking out, he could see what looked like a huge maze to the left.
"Blythe, is that a maze out there ?"
"Yes, Neferti likes to trap visitors there, as long as they don't solve one of her riddles."
"Is Neferti the sphinx I met yesterday ?"
Blythe nodded and showed them the 14 other rooms on the two floors with colour schemes and fittings ranging from dark earthy tones to the light pastel.
The top floor turned out to be a huge surprise : all the rooms were bare. But Blythe explained they would become whatever was needed. As he opened the last door Harry was thinking about the Room of Requirements they'd used for DA practice and so he was mightily surprised to see an exact replica of it here. He closed the door again, thought of the opulent prefect bathroom he'd been to in his fourth year, opened the door again, and indeed there it was.
"This will be handy when we want to practice, Remus. And since you arrived first you have first choice for a room, well apart from mine that is. Maybe we could put up all the boys – eh sorry men – on the first floor and the girls and Mr and Mrs Weasley up on the second ?"
As they were about to descend the stairs, Harry looked at the banister. It looked very inviting indeed. Just this once, Harry thought and pushed himself off. It was like the banister took him on and at a slow pace the trip down began, ever increasing as he sped downwards. He too couldn't hold his shout of enjoyment as he ended up down in the hall.
"Come on Remus, just once more, for old times' sake. Admit you're itching to do it." And just as Harry thought Remus had decided against it, he too sat on the banister and hurdled down, landing by Harry with a joyous expression on his face. As he ruffled through Harry's still pink hair Remus said "Thank you Harry".
They returned to the kitchen and asked Blythe for a cup of tea. They'd hardly seated themselves when Mr Black and Professor Dumbledore joined them. Professor Dumbledore had a slightly dazed expression on his face. He shook his head and sighed "And here I was thinking I knew a lot …" After sipping his tea, Professor Dumbledore said :"Harry, I know you deserve a fun and carefree summer for once, but please spend some time learning from Mr Black here. His knowledge of the old magic will prove to be of great help !"
"I'd hoped to be studying most mornings Professor, either with Remus, the others or with Mr Black alone. We will have plenty of time to enjoy ourselves too. If it is OK with you Mr Black, I was thinking to spend some time with you now, so you can tell me how to open up Grimmauld Place for the Order, while Remus gives Professor Dumbledore a guided tour. And after lunch, we could go to Grimmauld Place, free it up and explore a bit and then travel on to Hogwarts to pick up my things and ask Dobby and Winky if they'll consider changing jobs. Tomorrow I would spend exploring a bit further and learning even more from Mr Black about the rest of the estate. And if by Thursday the rest could come out, we could spend the remainder of the week on play-time, and then start to incorporate the studying as of Monday."
His plans met with general approval and so Harry and Mr Black retreated to the study.