Bright sunlight streamed through the green leaves in the park across the street from the houses of Grimmauld place. After a long and bitterly cold winter, all citizens of London were happy to see the sun and blue sky again. Families from all over the bustling city were in the park enjoying the fresh air so long withheld from them. One small trio ambled along through the park, stopping here and there to smell flowers, or in the case of the gangly redhead among them, exclaim vociferously whenever a squirrel picked up and ate a nut.
–Ron!†the girl yelled at the redheaded boy. –Stop wasting time! Yes, squirrels eat nuts, they’re magnificent creatures, but can we please move faster?â€
–Sorry, Hermione,†Ron replied, then pulled her in for a quick kiss. The third person of the trio, a boy with jet-black hair and glasses, turned away and feigned gagging at the sight of his amorous friends. Ron snickered, but understanding his disgust, let go of Hermione and walked with long strides across the remainder of the park.
The three friends soon reached the edge of the park and crossed the street. The black-haired boy casually turned around, seemingly admiring the view, but his eyes carefully scrutinized everyone anywhere near them. Once assured that no one was watching they approached the area between number 11 and number 13. Another house sprang forth in between the two others, visible only to the three standing on its steps. The people in the park were too busy having their own fun to notice that the three had completely disappeared.
–Master Harry!†a small, dirty house elf greeted them with a low bow as they entered the house. –I have made supper for you and your friends, as you requested. It shall be ready in twenty minutes.â€
–Thank you, Kreacher. I don’t know what we would do without you!†Harry said to the elf. –It will only be the three of us for supper tonight, Ginny’s practice has been extended tonight due to the good weather, so she will be here in a few hours.â€
–Not a problem, I shall keep some food cold for Mistress Ginevra to have when she arrives,†the house elf replied with another bow.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione went into the sitting room while Kreacher returned to the kitchen. Smells of seasoned steak wafted into the room, making Ron’s stomach growl. Hermione laughed at his persistent hunger.
–So what exactly is the plan for the night? We have to clean what, exactly?†Ron asked.
Harry replied, –Well Ginny and I found an attic last week that we had never seen before, and we were unsure of what might be in there. We need to explore it, make sure everything’s safe, you know? When it’s all done we want everything to be put into storage.â€
–Great, more cleaning!†Ron said emphatically, throwing his hands in the air. –Haven’t we been doing enough of that at the Burrow getting ready for Perce’s wedding?â€
Hermione gently put her hand on his arm, the small diamond on her finger sparkling in the sunlight that filtered in through the windows. –Calm down, Ron,†she said. –It will be fast work with the three of us.â€
–I don’t think it’s even a big room, at least by what we saw when we peeked in it,†Harry said. –The attic is above Sirius’ room, so it’s bound to have interesting things.â€
–Interesting, dusty things,†Ron said in an undertone. Hermione then shot him a look that he knew meant stop complaining, so he promptly shut up.
Supper was ready soon after, to Ron’s great delight, so the three friends relocated to the recently redecorated kitchen and continued their conversation.
After she had taken a few bites Hermione asked, –Do you think there will be any enchantments on things in the attic?â€
–Dunno,†Harry replied with his mouth full of half-chewed steak. –I’d say it’s fifty-fifty, since for one it’s above Sirius’ room, but other of his family’s things may be up there.â€
Ron puffed up his chest and said, –Even if there are chests full of boggarts and pixies, I’ll take care of it, Hermione.â€
His mock-manliness did not have the intended effect on Hermione, who rather than thinking her fiance the bravest Gryffindor in the world, burst out laughing. –My knight in shining armor,†she laughed sarcastically after her fit of giggles died down.
When all their food was eaten and Kreacher had cleared the table, the three of them headed up the stairs to the top floor and ventured in to Sirius’ old room.
–Ah, my favorite room in the house!†Ron said, staring at the posters of models on the walls. Harry looked at the pictures appreciatively, while Hermione just shook her head in amusement.
Ron finally took his eyes off the models and examined the room more closely. –Where exactly is this as-yet-unexplored attic?†he asked.
Harry lit his wand and pointed to the farthest corner of the room where a bookshelf was. –Up there,†he said. –It’s hard to see, because it’s hidden by the bookshelf. I’m amazed we even found it in the first place.â€
–Well then,†Hermione said, –let’s get started. Locomotor bookshelf!†The bookshelf hovered in its place and moved up against the adjacent wall as Hermione moved it.
Harry opened the attic and climbed in first, followed by Ron and then Hermione. Harry lit the lightbulb hanging in the center of the small room, exposing the rows of boxes and trunks that entirely filled the room.
–So much for getting done quickly,†Ron said dejectedly. –This is going to take all night to get through!â€
The three of them each found a space to work and carefully began opening up the old boxes. They worked in silence for only a moment before fascinating treasures sparked their interest. The boxes contained old medals awarded to long-deceased members of the Black family; faded photo albums with portraits of witches and wizards glad to have a change of view for once, happy to see light rather than the dark, dingy pages of other photographs; and newspaper clippings from The Daily Prophet listing special achievements done by prominent relatives, along with other old memorabilia. The three friends shared their findings with each other whenever they came across something particularly interesting.
–This stuff is so cool! Look at this hat!†Ron yelled, putting a decaying wizard’s hat on his head.
–Well,†Harry said after they had been working for a few minutes, –it doesn’t look like there’s anything dangerous or magical in here. It’s just a lot of old Black family keepsakes.â€
Ron screamed suddenly and jumped up from his spot. He backed up and whimpered in the corner.
–What happened?†Hermione asked.
Ron just whimpered more, mumbling incoherently. –Sp-sp-, there was a-a-a spider!â€
Harry stood up and walked to where Ron had been sitting. He laughed then asked, holding up a small spider, –You were scared of this thing?â€
Ron just grimaced, then crept back to the box he was unpacking, and everyone went back to work.
A little while later Hermione nervously called out, –Hey... Harry? I found some letters Sirius wrote. Have you ever heard of an Élisabeth LaBelle?â€
A Black at Heart by Miss B
Chapter Endnotes: Thank you for reading! Please leave a review to tell me what you think of the story so far. The next chapter should be up soon.