Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 72: Settling Down
North of Scotland, there was a magical forest where Harry had created his new tower.
An ivory stone structure rose over a hundred feet from the ground. Clusters of runes were carved on its surface. The enchantments were merely to keep Muggles and animals away, so the ambient magic of the forest was more than enough to sustain them.
Inside it, Harry was sitting on a large table, using a knife to cut apart the tough leather he managed to salvage from the basilisk.
V was resting on top of a nearby chair. "Do you need to do this now?"
"Why not? The Headmaster said that chasing after him now would be too reckless. And you agreed with him," Harry replied sharply.
"No need to get upset over it. It was good advice," V said.
"I know that." Harry sounded exasperated. "The problem is that he still wants to treat me like a child."
"He is not treating you like a child. Even though, in many ways, you are still one."
"I don't want to hear that now." Harry made a long cut along the leather.
"It's not about what you want to hear. It's about what you need to hear," V told him.
"Tsk." Harry realized he had just cut the piece in the wrong place. "Shit… could you be quiet for a bit? I need to concentrate."
"Sure, but I don't think that is going to help. You are not distracted by my beautiful voice. You are distracted thinking about what you are going to say to your new girlfriend when you go back home. If you ever decide to d—"
"Damn it!" Harry realized he had made another bad cut, making the entire piece useless.
He threw it away and picked another one.
"Well, at least you have a lot of material to work with," V said.
Harry glared at him. "Maybe I'll use that piece I threw away to make myself a substitute hat."
"Good luck with that. It will never be as handsome as me," V responded in a cheeky tone.
"I don't think hats can be handsome…"
"That's because you know nothing about style," V said.
Harry stopped what he was doing and stared at V with a puzzled expression. "I literally made you!"
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It was a bit late at night when Harry arrived at the House of Black.
"Ahhh!"
The moment he stepped out of the portal, he heard the annoying voice of Walburga Black.
"Silencio!" Harry closed the gate and put a silencing charm on the painting.
"You know… you could open that portal in a different part of the house, so we don't have to hear that woman every time," V suggested.
"But I already got used to this place," Harry said. "Those portals require a very detailed mental image. It takes time to get a new location down to make it safe to travel."
"You may still want to consider it, and it's not just because of the ugly painting," V then said.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"Look behind you."
He turned around and realized that there was another large gash on the wall that almost went from the ceiling to the floor.
"Oh… right. Okay, I guess I will look for another location."
"Master Harry. Welcome." Kreacher appeared in front of him. "Would you like to have some din—... Master, there is a hole in the wall."
"So there is. Ehmm… hold on." Harry placed his hand on the wall and muttered a repairing charm.
A moment later, the hole was gone.
"See? All fixed." Harry noted that the elf was now staring at the painting.
"The Miss looks very quiet."
"Don't worry, you will be hearing her again in an hour or two," said Harry. "Can you bring me something to eat to my… actually, I don't remember if I have a room in this house."
"Master Sirius said that Master Potter could choose any of the bedrooms on the last floor. They are all empty at the moment. Unless Master Potter prefers to stay in the same bedroom where the redhead boy was placed. It is just one floor above."
Harry didn't need much time to consider it. "No, I think I will take the private room. Let's go take a look."
It wasn't that he didn't like Ron, but sharing a room with him was no longer the same fun that it used to be… before the incident.
While Harry had changed and grown in many aspects, Ron remained the same. And that made it difficult for Harry to connect with his old friend.
The house-elf accompanied him to the top floor of the house and showed him the available bedrooms.
"This one seems nice. And very spacious," V commented.
"This is the master bedroom, Master Potter. It used to belong to Lord Pollux Black while he was still the leader of the house," Kreacher explained.
"Shouldn't this belong to Sirius now?" Harry asked.
The elf shook his head. "That is what Kreacher said. Master Sirius rejected it… firmly."
"Fine then, I'll take it."
Kreacher nodded. "Does Master Potter wish me to bring him something to eat?"
"Yes, but wait an hour for that. I want to take a bath and…" Harry removed his burned clothes. "I'll need to find something else to wear."
"Master Potter." Kreacher pointed at the massive wardrobe in the corner. "You will find all you need in there. The sizes of the robes can be adjusted with magic. If Master Potter wants t—"
"Thank you, Kreacher. I think I can manage that myself." Harry walked up to the wardrobe and opened it.
"Oooh, so much black," V commented when he saw the clothes inside. "Kinda expected, I suppose."
"That will do," said Harry as he placed the hat down. "The basilisk robes are going to take a while to finish, and even then… those are not going to be very useful for casual attire."
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