The Smart Choice

Chapter 13 - Potter Manor

The day after Yule, Harry met Sirius in the entry hall of Black manor at eleven o'clock. Today was the day that Harry would get to see his ancestral home, the place where he was born and lived before his parents went into hiding. He still had no idea how Dumbledore convinced them to leave to Godric's Hollow, according to Sirius, Potter manor supposedly has some of the best defensive wards of anywhere in Britain. Sirius also said that there was something very special waiting for him when he gets there.
"You ready pup?" Sirius asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be." He answered a little nervous.
"No need to be nervous Harry, I think you'll really enjoy this." Sirius said smiling.
"I hope so." Harry replied.
"Right, let's go." Sirius said.
Harry then walked towards the fireplace before Sirius stopped him.
"We're apparating Harry, so you can see the house before you get lost exploring." Sirius explained.
"Okay Sirius." Harry said a little confused.

Once they appeared on the front driveway however, Harry completely understood. The building before him was absolutely huge and looked incredible. It looked to be six floors tall, made of faded white bricks that looked almost like marble. It had many large windows along its front and a large oak double door with a steel handle. The area around them was covered in well kept grass, with forests a little further away. There was a fountain in front of the house that was made out of marble with a large 'P' adorning the top.
"This is amazing." Harry said after he managed to gather his thoughts enough from the shock.
"You haven't even seen the inside yet Harry." Sirius replied smiling. They walked up to the door which opened itself when Harry stepped up to it.
"The house recognises it's Lord Harry." Sirius said to Harry's confused expression.
Harry walked into the building, seeing straight through the large windows at the back of the house into the grounds.
The main entrance hall appeared to stretch all the way up to the roof. There was a staircase on each side of the room leading up the landings above. The hall itself had a large fireplace about ten feet high, clearly for convenience in floo travel. The back wall was almost all windows with another large double door leading to what Harry could see were extensive grounds. The main colour scheme was predominantly red with silver accents around. 'Well the red makes sense with the Potters being descended from Gryffindor'. Harry thought to himself.
"Olly." Sirius called.
"Yes master Sirius?" Olly replied.
"Can you have lunch ready for us in about two hours and inform us then please?" Sirius asked.
"Of course master Sirius." The elf said and popped away.
"Right, shall we take the tour?" Sirius said, receiving an enthusiastic nod from his godson. "Okay, the top tree floors are all dedicated to living in, so there's the master bedroom and family bedrooms. Plus there's several guest bedrooms."
"Okay, it is six floors yeah?" Harry asked
"Seven because there's a basement as well."
"Oh, so are we starting from the bottom or top?"
"Let's go from the top." Sirius replied. They made their way up the five flights of stairs to the top floor.
"Right, so there are four bedrooms on this floor. The master bedroom being the largest." Sirius said as they entered an absolutely massive bedroom that was bathed in the natural light from the large windows. It had a huge and very comfortable king sized four poster bed, what Harry assumed were two very old dressers, a large full length mirror and several paintings of scenery on the walls. It had a walk in wardrobe the size of the average muggle house's bedroom and an en-suite with a massive bath. There was also a balcony outside, facing the back of the house and the expansive grounds.
"This is my bedroom?" Harry asked in awe.
"Of course Harry, you are Lord Potter after all." Sirius replied. The other three bedrooms on that floor were also large, though not in the same level as the master bedroom, there was also an extra bathroom on the floor even though each room had its own en-suite. In one of the other three bedrooms, Harry had found a crib and a stock of baby clothes.
"I don't imagine I need to tell you this, but this was your room pup." Sirius said sadly.
The fifth one fourth floors both had six guest bedrooms with their own en-suites, as well as two extra bathrooms.
The third floor, housed the top level of the library which started on the ground floor. There was also a potions lab with an almost unending stockpile of ingredients, there were there was a large gym and duelling practice area together that took up the entirety of half of that floor and there was also a bathroom on this floor.
"Really not lacking for bathrooms are we?" Harry said sarcastically.
"Just saves you having to change floors whenever you need to go." Sirius replied.
The second floor of course held part of the library, had its own bathroom and a rather cosy looking living room. They then came to the final room on that floor.
"I think we should save this one for last Harry." Sirius said as he walked to the stairs.
"Why? What's in there?" Harry asked.
"That's the Lord's study and it is also where the surprise is. Trust me, if you go in there now, you won't want to see the rest of the house. I'll show you after lunch." Sirius replied.
"Okay Sirius." Harry said a little annoyed.
They were now once again on the ground floor. This allowed Harry to properly take in the library from the ground floor. There was the dining room with a long table, easily able to sit twenty. There was also a much more formal sitting room, one which was clearly meant for guests and of course another bathroom in the back corner.
"I think you'll like the basement." Sirius said smiling.
They went down the stay to the basement only to find a huge games room with both magical and muggle activities. There was a pool table, a dart board, a ping pong table, a fabric table Harry knew was for playing muggle card games, wizards chess, exploding snap and an assortment of muggle board games along with a table to play them on.
"Your right, I do like this one." Harry said with a laugh. "What about that room?" He asked pointing to a door near the stairs.
"The kitchens Harry, when you move, I'll split the elves from Black manor and have some come here. Which reminds me actually, Olly has agreed to come with you and be your head elf. I think the old boy's gotten a bit attached to you as you've grown up Harry." Sirius said with a fond smile.
"Oh, that's nice of him and you. Saves me having to try and find elves to work for me." Harry replied happily. Olly was always good to him growing up.
Just at that moment, Olly popped in. "It is time for lunch sirs." He said.
"Thank you Olly." They replied in unison and made their way back up the stairs to the dining room.
After a lunch of some rather nice sandwiches Sirius spoke up. "Right, time to head to the study I think.".
Harry smiled and followed his godfather up to the study. Sirius opened the door and the two walked in. It was a large room with what looked like some sort of vault in the corner. There was a large ebony desk with large windows behind the Lords seat. And two seats on the other side of the desk for visitors. There were paintings of Potter family members around the room who appeared to be appraising the young Lord. There were however two paintings who he hadn't noticed until one voice he oddly recognised spoke to him.
"Hello darling."