Lionheart (A Harry Potter Fanfic)

Chapter 4: Happy Birthday

Chapter 4: Happy Birthday

Leo blinked rapidly at Kreacher, his brain trying desperately to process the bomb that had been dropped on him. Home. He was home. He turned to Harry, grinning excitedly at the boy before frowning slightly at his expression. He looked a bit worried, and a tad upset for some reason Leo couldn't figure out. The blonde reached a hand out, grabbing Harry's and squeezing it slightly, drawing the boy's attention.

"Don't you see what this means, Harry?" Leo smiled. "We have a home – a place of our own. We never have to go back to the Dursleys again."

"No," Harry shook his head, pulling his hand away. "You have a home. Not me."

"Don't be daft, Harry," Leo huffed impatiently. "We're family, and family looks out for each other. If this is my home, it's yours too. Isn't that right, Kreacher?"

"Whatever Young Master Leo wishes," Kreacher bowed again.

Harry didn't look convinced, but let the matter drop as Leo requested a tour of their home. There were four floors and a basement in total. The basement housed the kitchen, a cavernous room with a large fireplace at the far end. Iron pots and pans hung from the ceiling above, and a long wooden table sat in the center of the room, large enough to fit a couple dozen people around it for a meal. Leo found it to be a bit gloomy and depressing, seeing how grimy the surfaces were and how dusty the floor was.

They made their way back up the stairs into the entrance hall, passing a wall decorated with severed, shrunken elf heads. Leo shuddered and asked if it would be possible to remove them at some point, to which the house-elf gave a curt nod before leading them up a grand staircase to the first floor. There were five rooms on this floor. There were three bedrooms, one bathroom, and the last was the drawing room.

The second and third floors housed more bedrooms and bathrooms, and a room on the third floor that was firmly frosted shut. Leo and Harry both tried and failed to open the iced over double doors before giving up and asking Kreacher what was in there. Kreacher remained silent before leading them up to the fourth and final floor where three bedrooms were. Leo ignored two of them in favor of the one at the furthest end of the hall, which had a plaque on it that read: Castor Perseus Black.

Dad's room. Leo strode forward, opening the door and stepping inside. There was a double bed with a dark blue bedspread pressed up against the wall in the center of the room. Several bookcases stood in each of the corners, their contents neat and orderly. A black dresser with an attached mirror stood between two bookcases, facing directly opposite of the bed. Surrounding the edges of the mirror were various pictures that Leo noticed were moving. One in particular caught Leo's eye and he snatched it off, bringing it over for Harry to look at.

"Look, Harry!" Leo exclaimed, pointing at the four people in the picture. "These must be our parents!"

There were two males and two females in the picture, all of them smiling and waving at the two boys. The furthest on the right was a male who looked exactly like Harry, with the exception that his eyes were hazel and he lacked the trademark lightning bolt scar on his forehead. The woman beside him had blazing red hair and bright green eyes – Harry's eyes. Though Leo would also swear that they had the same smile.

The woman beside her was blonde, with equally bright green eyes and a shy smile on her face as she occasionally glanced up at the man next to her. This man had jet-black hair, neatly combed and trimmed to where it sat elegantly atop his head. He had a handsome face, high cheekbones, sharp jawline, and blue-grey eyes like Leo's. What drew Leo's attention, however, was how tired and worn the man looked. Light shadows lingered beneath his eyes, as though he had gone a few nights without sleep. Despite this, his smile was warm and inviting – though not without a slight hint of mischief. Leo noticed Harry's father had the same sort of smile.