It was the next morning that Harry sat in the kitchen spooning his breakfast around his bowl. After dropping that bombshell on him, Ashleigh had disappeared up the stairs before he could follow. The Elves refused to speak on the matter, and he had merely stewed in silence until one had shown him to his new room. It had been the best room he had ever stayed in. A Queen sized mattress, soft sheets, and a blanket that was both warm and cooling to the touch depending on the temperature of the room. There was even a magical thermostat that he could play with as he wished. There was a desk as well, nestled into the corner of the room with a bookcase to its right. Other than that, the room was fairly bare, with a door that led into a nice bathroom. But even as he slept on that absolutely amazing mattress, he still continued to stew.

"When does Ashleigh come down to breakfast?"

"Mistress has already eaten, young master."

"But it's 6 in the morning!"

The elf nodded sadly, "Minnie knows, sir. Mistress stayed up all night working on her newest project, she only ate half her breakfast this morning before Yokie had to tuck Mistress in bed for sleeping at her desk."

"That… doesn't sound very healthy."

"Thats is what Minnie's says to Mistress, but she just waves Minnie off. It is fine though, Mistress has always been this way, and Minnie shall continue to look after her with the other elves." Harry groaned as his quest for answers merely added more questions.

"She said she used to be a Potter? What's the story behind that."

His question caused the elf to wring her hands and droop her ears, "Minnie… not knows too much of that time. Minnie became Mistress's elf only 20 years ago. Minnie only knows Mistress was married to a man before he passed. Sir Hadrian was his names. Mistress does not like bring up that time, no, no, she doesn't."

"Hadrian? Like Harry?" He frowned as he found more pieces to the puzzle. "Can you tell me how she looks so young? Isn't she supposed to be really old?"

"Oh, Mistress is a genius, yes she is, she's looked the same since Minnie began working for her. Mistress may be old as you say, but she is still very kind unlike some masters."

"Yeah, but how does she look so young? Is it an illusion, is she just obsessed with looking young or something?"

"Minnie does not knows exact magics that make her so young, she just knows there is a potion that Mistress must take every month. Minnie has had to feed it to Mistress when there have been accidents before."

A potion that might make you immortal, or look young, he'd have to ask Hermione about it soon, speaking of. "Am I allowed to send letters to friends?"

"Minnie does not see why Master Harry shouldn't be able to. If sir would like he can leave any letter's with Minnie and Minnie shall send thems out with Mistress's letters."

"Oh no that's fine my owl Hedwig can take any letters."

"Letters all the ways to Britain? You tax her Owlness too much. It takes days and days to get there. Minnie cans has them to their recipient in less than 3."

She was right, Hedwig could even get injured on such a long trip, she'd hate him for not using her, but he was sure a few pieces of bacon could help sway her back to his side.

It was lunch time now, and once more Harry was staking out the kitchen waiting for Ashleigh to come down. He had been sitting for 2 hours now and hadn't even glimpsed the woman all day.

"When's Mrs. Semenova coming down?" He asked as Minnie forced another plate into his hands.

"Mistress already eats up stairs. Minnie brought her a sandwich some time ago. Eat your greens."

Harry grumbled but complied with the elves request, "Does she even eat down here?"

"Oh no, kitchen is mostly for when Mistress has guests over. Mistress mostly stays in the study, or library, or one of her work rooms."

Rats, he'd have to track her down if he wanted any answers.

"Sir has been asking quite a bit of the Mistress, do you need to speak with her?"

"Oh well I just wanted to ask her a few-"

"Minnie shall let Mistress know the young master has need of her."

Before Harry could stop her, the elf was popping away to disrupt his new caretaker. He groaned as he prayed, she wasn't like the Dursley's. So far it hadn't been the case, but from his experience you couldn't trust many adults.

Minnie popped back in, breaking him from his thoughts, "Mistress says she shall put aside time during dinner tonight to answer any questions. But Master has to promise to…"

"Promise what?"

"To stop his incessant ramblings and a quit interrupting her work." The Elf looked ashamed to have said the words, but it still made his blood boil.

"Interrupting her work!? I've been here a day, and no one's told me anything! Of course, I'll want answers! Who does she think she is!"

"Minnie is sorry sirs," the elf whimpered at his rage. That sobered him up, he hadn't meant to scream at the poor elf, but this situation was starting to grate on his nerves.

"No it's fine, I'm just tired of people not giving me answers. I'll just continue working on my essay until then, thanks, Minnie."

Harry had to admit, the food that Minnie made was perfect. Even if it was just a simple meatloaf, it was better than the last one he had made for the Dursley's, probably because she was using high quality ingredients instead of the cheaper stuff Petunia would sneak into her cart when no one was watching. They may have pretended to be richer than everyone else, but that was only because they were great at penny pinching.

"Enjoying the food, brat?" Harry jumped as he felt breath tickled the back of his ear.

"How did you do that!" He shivered as he began cleaning the food he spilt.

Ashleigh laughed as she walked into the living room and fell onto one of the couches, "I have short distance silent Apparition down to a science. Only reason I made a sound at the school was because it was trans-Atlantic." Harry couldn't help but study the woman as she peeled a pair of thick leather gloves from her arms, folding them into a similar apron and draping them over the back of the couch. She had dark circles under her eyes, and even though she held herself upright in an attempt to look regal, he could tell she could fall over any minute.

"So come on then, Minnie said you've been trying to weasel answers out of her all day. Pretty demanding for such a short brat aren't you?" Strike one, Harry thought, or two really, her calling him a brat was already getting on his nerves.

"I was just asking questions."

"Then start asking, I have a potion I'm working on that needs my attention. Minnie! Watch if for me alright!" She shouted into the open air. "Now, what do you want to know."

Harry scrambled to find the sheet of parchment he had written down a load of questions on, "Um, hold one I had a few."

Ashleigh sighed as if that was the most annoying thing in the world to her, "Hurry up."

Harry grit his teeth and trudged over to the woman as she sunk into the couch. "You know you could be a little nicer."

She merely scoffed.

"It probably wouldn't hurt you," he mumbled while straightening his sheet. "Anyways the first question I had was how we were related."

"I thought I already answered that one. Next question."

"All you said you that you were once a potter, what happened."

"Well, brat, when two people love each other very much they get married, write off a bunch of taxes and maybe pop out a baby. I married a Potter, we had a kid, that's the end of that story."

He gritted his teeth are her blasé attitude, "Yeah but what happened to them?"

"They're dead, you want to know how gruesome it was or something?" She shot him and annoyed look.

"No, I just- whatever," He wasn't going to argue with her over something like that, "What do you do for a living?"

"Track people down and research, next question." She summoned a drink with a wave and Harry wrinkled his nose as he smelt his uncles favor after work drink, Alcohol.

"Could you at least try to actually answer the questions instead of dodging them?"

"Could you try not to ask stupid questions?"

Harry jumped to his feet and glared at the woman, "If you're just going to be rude the entire time, then why did you want to look after me?"

"Why would I want to look after some brat I barely have relations to?" The woman waved his anger off. That… actually broke something in Harry, he had never been wanted at his "home" but now to hear that another relative thought the exact same thing, well it made him think that perhaps the whole thing ran in the family. "You're making a lot of assumptions for a brat that doesn't know a lot."

"You're a cold heartless bitch!" The words jumped out before he could realize what he was saying. Ashleigh choked on her drink and looked as if she had been slapped, "I want to go back to Hogwarts, you're just like the Dursley's. You put on a face, say you'll take me in, then treat me like garbage. If you didn't want me, then why did you tell Dumbledore you'd take me in!"

"Watch who you're talking to brat."

"Stop calling me that. You haven't used my name once, I know I'm young, but you could at least treat me like a human being!"

"You're a 10-year-old brat who's 60 years my junior, I'll call you a brat even when you're rotting in a grave a century from now."

"Just cause you're an ancient fossil who has to chug beauty potions to hide from her wrinkled skin doesn't mean you'll last forever!"

"Beauty potions? Is that why you think I look so young? Not the smartest brat in Hogwarts, are you? What are you middle of the pack? Lower?"

"Shut up!"

"Oh? You can poke fun at my looks but I can't poke fun at your deficient brain?"

Harry seethed at the woman, trying to burn her with his eyes, "At least I don't pretend to be something I'm not."

"Oh, and what's that? What am I pretending to be?"

"You act like you're not human, like you're better than me just because you were born into a nice house like this." She was like a mix of Malfoy and Snape, two evil bastards rolled into one, but at least they both feared the teachers and Dumbledore. "You're acting like you're some kind of god."

"I am a fucking God kid, with a capital G, you should be groveling at my feet begging me to take you in."

"Why would I want to be looked after by an old lady with delusions of grandeur." He knew she'd snap at some point; the Dursleys always did. She'd hit him and prove him right, then he'd call Fawkes and go back to Hogwarts like nothing ever happened.

"Delusions! Says the brat who's only famous for not being murdered while he shit himself in his cot. I earned my position; I've seen into the eyes of a God and been given strength unimaginable. I've ascended into something more, something far great than the other ants that walk this earth. I've created spells that even Dumbledore would look at in awe."

"You're nothing compared to the Headmaster; unlike you, he actually cares for other people!"

"You're a petulant brat, you know that?" She actually had the audacity to laugh at him. "You're here for the summer, I just have to make sure you're alive come August 31st, you're lucky I don't keep you locked in a room with nothing more than your pecker and school trunk. I've given you food, water, fine sheets, a good bed, a bathroom that belongs in a ball room, and access to one of the greatest libraries in the world! I would have killed for something so great as a kid, and still, you demand more from me?"

"I-" He tried to speak but his mind was starting to blank.

"You what? You're in my home, the only rules you need to follow are simple. You're a spoiled brat that's done nothing but demand since you got here."

"You practically kidnapped me!"

"Your magical guardian put you under my protection. So I never kidnapped you."

"I want to leave."

"Too bad, Wulfric is going to help me push the ICW into a new age, which means you're stuck here. Too bad for you."

"I'll…"

"Hm?"

"I'll send him a letter telling him what you've done."

She laughed once more, "What I've done? Pray tell me what I have done? I've answered your questions and given back the same respect you've given me."

"You were rude to me first!"

"It's not my fault you and Albus don't know that time zones exist in the world. You almost cost me an important meeting. Never even apologized."

"You're an adult and you're acting like a child."

"And you're a child trying to pretend he's not a 10 year old."

"I'm 12! Almost 13!"

"Oh my mistake, when should I get down on my knees and beg for forgiveness?"

"You-" He choked on his own anger as she began to laugh once more.

"Go take a nap Brat you're a little cranky."

"You take a nap!"

That was the last word he got into the conversation before the woman smirked and waved her hand. His eyes began to droop, and his vision swam as she laughed once more, it was like bells ringing in slow motion. He struggled to move as he tipped to the side. He was asleep before he hit the ground.

Honestly, he really should have come up with a better comeback.