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.

11 Arrivals

Thursday morning found Harry awake bright and early. Knowing he'd never be able to fall asleep again, Harry decided he'd use the pool for a nice morning paddle. He'd asked Remus to teach him to swim properly, and Remus had quickly agreed and suggested to see if any of the others would want to join the lessons.

Harry walked to the changing cubicles at the far end of the swimming pool room and hoped to find a black pair of swimming trunks rather than a pair in some lurid neon colour as the ones he'd seen his aunt buy for Dudley. He heaved a sigh of relief to find a pair of dark green swimming trunks. "Not black but still a good colour." He thought as he quickly changed and walked up to the pool again. Feeling with his foot he found the water to be a nice temperature and decided to jump straight in. When his head emerged from the water a few moments later he found that he'd had a few safety precautions added to his swim wear. Looking down he now wore a swimming ring and matching arm bands in a neon yellow with orange and blue fishes swimming around it. Harry couldn't help it and started laughing. "Good thing I'm alone," he thought before saying out loud "Thanks for the protection, but could it please be a bit less noticeable in future ?" No sooner had he finished and the safety gear became transparent. It was still there but you couldn't see it. "Thanks." He started to paddle from one end of the pool to the other and after about twenty minutes got out and reentered the changing cubicle to find all the necessities for a nice shower. So Harry took the opportunity and after washing and drying got into one of the jeans and t-shirts Remus had bought him yesterday. He still had over an hour before Hermione arrived so he went to have breakfast in the kitchen. As he walked in he saw Dobby turning the bacon in one frying pan while three others had a good helping of scrambled eggs, mushrooms and fried tomatoes.

"Good morning Dobby, this smells and looks promising."

"Good morning, Harry, sir. It will be ready soon."

"There's no hurry. Hermione won't arrive for another hour." Thinking to pour himself a glass of juice, Harry walked to the fridge and found inside several pitchers of different juices and also a big bowl filled with a fresh fruit salad. He found a drinking glass and a smaller bowl and served himself a generous helping of the fruit salad and the tropical smelling fruit juice.

He'd just finished eating the fruit salad when a worried looking Remus came in.

"Harry are you alright ? Did you sleep well ?"

"Good morning Remus. Thanks, I did sleep well actually. I fell asleep real quickly but started to panic quite soon after thinking I wasn't dreaming and seeing Sirius but I heard my dad say not to worry because you could call Sirius on your own. It did work, didn't it ?"

"Oh yes, Harry, your dad was correct. I fell asleep and ended up in front of the Veil as yesterday and I decided to wait for you, but then I heard your dad too telling me to at least try. I did and Sirius appeared. I was still worried about you though."

"Remus, you don't have to worry about me," Harry laughed, "I have the entire house looking out for me." Seeing Remus' puzzled face Harry explained in colourful detail about his early morning swim and the sudden appearance of the swim ring and arm bands.

Remus chuckled at the mental picture he had from the story and now far more relaxed tucked into his breakfast with gusto.

The two sat at the breakfast table enjoying a cup of tea and talked of the plans for the day until it was time for Harry to put on his invisibility cloak and standing next to Neferti awaiting Hermione's arrival.

On the dot at nine Hermione appeared in the middle of the hall, Crookshanks in his carrier basket in her right hand, her left hand pressed to her trunk. She looked slightly worried and apprehensive and blinked her eyes a few times as if testing if she really was seeing a sphinx.

Neferti in her gentle voice said "Welcome Miss Hermione to Harry's Haven. I am Neferti and here to present you with a riddle. I'm not an airplane, but I can fly through the sky. I'm not a river, but I'm full of water. Please tell me : what am I?"

Harry smiled at the look of concentration on Hermione's face as she worked through the riddle. A few short moments later she answered "It's a cloud, right ?"

Neferti smiled and said "Well done Miss Hermione". At the praise Hermione relaxed a little but she jumped in surprise when a small pop was heard and Winky appeared. "Welcome Miss Hermione, I'll be taking your trunk up for you."

"Winky, is that you ?" asked Hermione. Harry taking this as the right moment to appear from under his cloak answered in Winky's place and said "Yes Hermione, she works for Remus and me now."

Hermione turned round and saw Harry, let out a shriek and ran up to him and gave him a good hug while firing off question after question.

Harry returned the hug and was finally able to say "Hermione, stop ! Neville and his grandmother will be arriving shortly. I'll explain later when the Weasleys have arrived too." Harry then turned to Neferti and reminded her to be sure to tell the beings in the forest to keep an eye on Crookshanks once he was allowed outside in a few days. Neferti confirmed she'd already spoken to a few of them about the visitors and that she'd let him know if anyone else wanted to speak to him. Hermione looked on with keen interest and Harry suspected she'd only added another few dozen questions to the already long list.

A few moments later two cracks indicated that Neville and his grandmother had arrived and Harry walked closer to welcome them. From the surprised look on Neville's face Harry could tell his grandmother hadn't told him about the destination of their travel and he hoped Neville would want to stay. Winky arrived to take the travelling cloaks and Dobby took care of Neville's trunk and Trevor the toad's new carrier and, probably sensing a new plant Blythe appeared to take the mimbulus mimbletonia to a safe place.

Harry then took his guests on a tour of the study, library (where he had difficulty to get Hermione to continue with the tour), the two sitting rooms and the dining room. He showed them the master bedroom and a few of the other rooms on either floor and ended on the top floor where even Mrs Longbottom was impressed with the large flexible rooms. From the balcony Harry had wished for in the room above the kitchens he also gave them a view of the gardens and forest below. They ended the tour in the kitchen and were welcomed there by Remus and the smell of freshly baked cookies. Harry introduced Remus to Mrs Longbottom and apologised for taking tea there rather than in one of the other rooms, but Mrs Longbottom expressed her pleasure at the room. As it was now almost ten Harry excused himself and went in the hall to await his next guests. The Weasleys arrived with a bang as Ron dropped his trunk just as they apparated in the middle of the hall. The twins both held in the expletive they wanted to utter as Ron's trunk had managed to hit the both of them. Mr and Mrs Weasley were occupied checking if all the possessions had made the transfer so it was Ginny who saw him first and threw herself in his arms with a squeal. She was talking to him, but Harry couldn't hear her properly as the other five Weasleys were talking too. Ginny let him go and Harry was soon swept in a hug from Mrs Weasley. Harry was now saying how happy he was they'd all arrived and extended the invitation to tea.

"Just leave your trunks here, Dobby and Winky will take them upstairs in a moment. Mrs Longbottom, Hermione, Neville and Remus are waiting for us in the kitchen."

The boisterous group followed Harry in the kitchen and a few hectic minutes followed as they all said hello to each other. Once the whole group was seated at the table and every one had a drink it was Mrs Weasley who finally noticed the splendour of her surroundings and asked Harry about the house.

So Harry set off on the long explanation of how he'd come to live here, occasionally aided by Remus. He told them of Sirius' last prank, still visible in his bright pink hair and produced the mirror to share the funny replies it came up with.

It was Mrs Longbottom who broke up the happy meeting quite some time later as she realised she would be almost late for a meeting with her local vicar. Harry and Neville escorted her to the hall where Dobby was ready with Mrs Longbottom's cloak. She told Neville to behave and have a good holiday as she hugged him and kissed the top of his head and she turned to Harry to thank him. But Harry, feeling a bit silly for not thinking of this sooner invited her to come over as often as she wanted, even for a longer stay as there was plenty of space anyway. Mrs Longbottom was clearly pleased with this invitation and promised to let them know a few days ahead of her visit.

Back in the kitchen Harry suggested to the group to go on a tour of the house so that bedrooms could be sorted. While climbing the stairs to the first floor Harry explained that both Remus' and his room were on this floor so that it seemed reasonable to house all the men on the first floor and let the ladies the choice of the remaining bedrooms on the floor above. No sooner had they all chosen their bedroom when little name plaques appeared on the doors and the four house elves offered to unpack. All moving to the top floor the wrap around balcony offered Harry a chance to show them the gardens and explained how two gardeners working mainly early in the morning looked after them. Hermione sided up to Harry and whispered her question for the bathroom. Harry gave her a small smile and explained out loud that the whole house acted a bit like the room of requirements at Hogwarts and so when needed any door would lead to a bathroom.

Once returned to the ground floor Harry showed them the two formal rooms, the sitting room, library and study before returning to the kitchen. Once everybody was seated at the table waiting for lunch to be served Hogwarts style Harry told them of his biggest surprise. How he'd arrived for the first time to find the place inhabited by one of the original owners. Just as Harry had finished his story in came Remus and Mr Black. To say they were shocked was putting their reaction mildly. His life like appearance and his uncanny resemblance to Sirius made Mr Black's presence feel very natural and very strange at the same time. After the first few awkward moments the mood was back to fun as the house elves had once again outdone themselves to dish up a meal fit for kings and queens. After lunch Remus took over to talk about the plans they'd come up with for the summer : just fun and games until the end of the week, after that the mornings would be dedicated to study for Harry and anyone else interested in joining. He also mentioned the presence of the needed-shelf in the library that, like the room of requirements, would provide you with all the available books in the extensive Black library on a subject of your choice, even coming up with the one book if your request was detailed enough. Blythe had offered to share her extensive knowledge on plants and their care with anyone interested and Remus would be giving swimming lessons.

With the exception of the study where Mr Black would be spending most of his time the ground floor rooms were open to anyone. For the bedrooms the general rule would be to stay out of any room with a closed door.

Breakfast would be served between 8:30 and 9:30, lunch at 13:00, tea at 16:30 and dinner at 19:00 and for in between meals snacks and drinks would be available in the large kitchen fridge.

And so started the most fun days for Harry and his friends. They spent hours flying around the quidditch pitch with even Hermione and Mrs Weasley joining in the fun when they realised the brooms fitted the expertise level of the flyers. They'd spent an afternoon exploring the maze in the garden. Despite the shrieks and laughter from the others Harry had trouble putting aside the bad memories of the last Triwizard test and somehow made it out in record time. It wasn't until he was observing the others from the safety of his broom that Harry realised the maze adjusted itself. The swimming pool too proved to be a big hit. Both Mr and Mrs Weasley were very good swimmers and spent quite a lot of time in and around the pool. Ron and the twins had had less luck than Harry the first time they jumped into the pool. Like Harry they were surfacing seconds later attired with swimming rings and arm bands in the craziest of colours and cartoon characters. Unfortunately for them it happened in full view of all the others present at the time. Their complaints only resulted in the colours to change to even weirder combinations until Ron finally used the magic word of please and the bands finally turned transparent.

As agreed with Gringotts Lily went to pick up the reports on the Black and Potter estate on Friday. Harry had asked her to deposit the documents on his desk in his bedroom. Immediately after dinner Harry excused himself with his friends and retreated to his bedroom. To say Harry was surprised by the size of the package was an understatement.

The first page he found was a letter from the Gringotts manager.

Dear Mr Potter

As per your request I have enclosed a summarised overview of the current status of both the Potter and Black estate as well as an in depth report of the Black family estate.

You will find that your late godfather has left you in charge of an immense estate with a wide variety of properties and investments.

It is my wish to continue to assist you in any way possible and look forward to meeting you in the near future. Should you have any further inquiries please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely

Schmegg

Head Goblin

Gringotts

Looking through the smallest file first Harry learned that his family had been fairly well off to begin with and that the lack of costs for the past 15 years combined with a smart management by Gringotts had made the estate quite sizeable. With the muggle connection through his mother they had ventured in the muggle investments and real estate world and a steady income was guaranteed.

Unfortunately they were unable to provide him with the information on the contents in his family vault but with the written permission from Dumbledore already in their possession a visit to the family vault would be included when Harry visited in the next few weeks. And provided the Potter family vault contained any and allowed their removal Harry would be able to take a few items of his choice out of the vault for his new home.

The second larger file contained a similar summary for the Black estate as he'd received for the Potter estate. Harry learned that the Black estate as it was now was the sum of three different entities. First was the public part that the Black family had been aware of and it had served as the provider of funds for the Black generations of the last 300 years. It mainly consisted of a little money, jewelry and other family heirlooms in the family vault. This part was used to make a few monthly payments.

The second part was everything that belonged to Sirius personally and last but not least, the third part were those funds set aside by the late Mr Black when he created the inheritance charm and handed over to Gringotts for management. With free reign on what was a hefty amount to begin with the goblins had outdone themselves to accumulate properties beyond Harry's wildest dreams. Not only was there an immense portfolio of stocks and bonds from the muggle world, here too a lot of gem stones had been acquired and only two days ago the purchase of the 1700th muggle property had not been executed now a new owner might like to change the instructions.

Harry closed the summary report on the Black estate and looked down at the huge third report. Not feeling ready for the details it would contain Harry decided to turn in quickly and ask Sirius for some advice.

Sirius listened to Harry's account of the state of the Black estate with growing surprise. He'd been aware that the Black family was well to do, but he had had no inkling as to the true size of it. When Remus made an appearance he immediately noticed something was troubling Harry. When Sirius brought him up to date with details of Harry's discovery he too was speechless. After a few moments he came with the sound advice to just not be hasty. Only when he'd become a little more used to the situation was Harry to look over the details and start taking actions.

When Harry got up on Saturday he put the reports in the top drawer of his desk and decided to worry about that after the weekend. Now he would have some more fun.

Saturday was spent mainly outdoors playing quidditch and croquet, a muggle game Hermione and Remus had introduced to cater for those less eager on a broom. As had become habit in the evenings they all gathered in the sitting room and listened to stories Mr Black told them about his younger years. On Sunday Professor Dumbledore joined them for lunch and a tour through the maze in the garden. He got cornered three times by Neferti before he finally made it out. Afterwards he retreated to the library while the others decided another go in the swimming pool would round off their day in beauty.

Author's Note :

Thanks for reading. Would love some feedback from you though.

If you enjoyed this (and previous) chapter(s), you might be interested to know the story is a few chapters further along on my yahoo group (for link see profile page).

Have a nice weekend all.

kadedeetje