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Chapter 15– Finding an old friend Pt.1
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Now on with the chapter!
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At early 9:30 in the morning, Harry and Bella took a portkey to Potter Manor. The fireplace in their new house was still being installed, though Bella was considering moving to a more luxurious home soon. Still, the portkey wasn't an inconvenience for either of them and they landed safely.
The moment Harry took in the Potter Manor however, and it's surroundings, he was left stunned.
The Manor was built upon a plain grassland, longer and wider than a quidditch pitch. The Castle-like structure itself was grand as grand can be without becoming obscene, with a shade of gold and white striped pillars and massive towers completing the exterior image from the front.
This in itself hadn't even caused him to pause. But what did blow away his mind was the place the grand structure sat upon.
Harry Potter knew this place.
They were in Caithness, Scotland without a doubt. It was a historic county at the east coast of northern Scotland.
He knew this because he'd been here before, when on the run. Just, instead of the Potter Manor there used to be a castle here, Dunbeath Castle.
And instead of a completely flat grassland, this used to be a defensive site enhanced by a dry ditch on the landward side, which cut cross the narrow promontory on which the castle once stood.
Still, surprising though it was, Harry didn't ponder upon it for long. Though one thing struck to his heart for the rest of the day; No matter how similar this world looked, and no matter how similar the events proceeded, this wasn't the same world he'd lived 20 years of his life in.
And he would do well to remember that.
Harry and Bella soon walked towards the manor, stepping upon the glistening marble path that led to the large main door.
The Manor had a large fenced border that separated it from the rest of the grassland, and the scenery around was quite beautiful. An active fountain was built in the center of the garden, with sparling water gushing out of it constantly. The garden itself was filled with the more mundane flora that was found in most muggle houses.
It was still a very refreshing view.
The Manor also seemed to have a muggle bell, which Bella rung as they waited for his family.
He glanced at Bella out of the corner of his eye, a small smirk forming on his face. After the morning events, Bella had been giving off an awkward hesitant vibe around him. She'd went back to normal pretty soon, but he still caught her a couple of times, shooting him subtle glances whenever she thought he wasn't looking.
Especially when he came downstairs, having put considerable effort in dressing appropriately for the occasion.
Though she seemed to have put those events aside for now it seems, as she stood tapping her foot on the floor impatiently, before checking the time with a non-verbal tempus. "Merlin, today's gonna to be such a busy day. Thank Morgana I took that two-day leave. Otherwise I would've been too exhausted for tomorrow. So would've you, for that matter."
Startled by the sudden comment, he turned to her with a frown, confused. "Why?"
Her eyebrows shot up as she turned to him. "Why? Are you kidding me? Cause of your and Jacob's birthday of course! It's usually a massive mess anyway, what with it being one of the biggest social events of magical Britain, but with your recent fame? The crowd will be even bigger. And wilder. Don't be surprised if you get a marriage proposal or two by the end of the day. Though if you find yourself naked and draped around some random witch with no relocation of any alcohol, do be sure to file a case against her. You may just have been drugged with a love potion or two."
Harry snorted. "Surely you're joking. I'm not the only famous person in this world, and for some reason I doubt every famous guy roams around practicing constant vigilance."
She looked startled for a second before she shook her head, shooting him an amused glance. "I'm surprised. Normally you're so mature and smart, it's weird seeing you being as clueless as any 14 year old. You may not have noticed this Harry but you're a ladies heartthrob. Add to that your power, abilities, and Potter name, and you'll quickly find yourself being the most prized mule in the market. Having went through something similar, I can assure you it's as discomforting as it sounds."
Harry rubbed his eyes in irritation. For some reason, he'd completely ignored the more social side of things when taking into account the reaction his power's reveal will cause. He hoped Bella was exaggerating though, cause he really wasn't looking forward to being put in Azkaban for murdering a scheming bitch or two.
He shook his head as the door clicked open. "I'll handle it."
Bella gave a twinkling laugh. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
Harry sighed. "I'll handle it with extreme brutality then."
"Whoa now, don't cause an even bigger mess. My advice? Just take advantage of the situation and snag a witch or two."
She said it casually though Harry couldn't help but notice her tone getting flatter by the end.
The door soon opened, and he stored the subject away for later reviewing. They were greeted by an elf dressed in tidy little clothes, and a red bow tie.
The elf led them in, and Harry couldn't help but give an appreciative glance around the enormous Manor. Just like the outside, the inside was colored in the shade of gold and red, though a much more warmer type that gave a homey feel to it.
As soon as the front entrance room was crossed, a large hallway greeted the two. He may call it a hallway, but it was twice as wide as his own current room, with two curved sets of stairs at either side of the hallway, climbing up to the next floor.
The other side of the hallway wasn't enclosed by a door, being fully open through a curved oval entrance, and granted access to what he considered to be the main hall.
It was a thing of luxury and comfort, with red velvet cushions and sofas resting in front of a massive fireplace that even Hagrid could've entered inside.
The elf requested them to wait in the hall but it shouldn't have bothered, cause a frantic Lily quickly came to greet them with hurried and excited steps.
Harry paused for a second as he took in the woman.
Her hair was wrapped in a white towel, still dripping with water. Her top stuck to her wet body in a skintight vase, insinuating the massive knockers that weigh heavily on her chest, swaying gently as she bounced towards them.
Harry frowned slightly, occluding away his hormonal response. While he no longer adhered to any sort of code or morals in his life, there was a common decency that he still tried to stick to. Perving on his mother was one of them.
He didn't really consider Lily his true mother, but the woman certainly considered him her son. And he was sure she wouldn't want him checking her out.
Though he really couldn't be blamed here. If there was a woman who could rival Bella toe-to-toe in figure department, it'd be Lily. He'd done his best to keep his thoughts clean whenever they'd met before, but even he couldn't ignore something that was being blatantly presented for his eyes to feast upon.
The matter however went from bad to worse when the woman approached him enthusiastically.
"Harry!" She exclaimed as she stood on her toes, throwing her arms around him in a tight hug, pressing a kiss on his cheeks. "Happy Birthday!"
He could feel the warm water on her lips, feel the damp hands around the neck, feel the roundness and enormity of her breasts squeezing against his chest...
And he promptly ignored it all as he now actively began to use occlumency. He had no doubt the woman would've felt his hardening wand had he not done so.
And he doubted she would want to feel that.
... though maybe she'd let him get away with even more for his birthday...
Thankfully she soon disengaged, and he didn't get to complete that line of thought.
"You look so good!" She exclaimed as her eyes looked him up and down with a wide smile that widened even more when they fell on his wrist. "And you wore my watch for your birthday!"
Indeed, on his wrist lay a gold plated sophisticated watch with runes and esoteric magical symbols that even he knew very little about. It was further inlaid with tiny red rubies around its oval edges, that he almost thought were pieces of Philosopher's stone due to how similar they looked and felt. Of course, that was a little too farfetched, but he couldn't be blamed for the assumption.
The watch had been one of the six gifts that Lily had send in the last two weeks, along with the house elf Blinky, the elemental magic book that he was currently reading, A high-end school trunk with a very powerful extension charm, and a first edition Firebolt. The rest were scheduled to be handed to him personally today, along with his new birthday present.
Honestly, there was no way Harry was ever going to leave this thing of beauty behind now. The watch wasn't just water and fire resistant, it was almost completely magic resistant. No one could Transfigure, Vanish, Summon, blast...or do anything at all to the watch. He'd already tried some of his more destructive spells on it, and suspected it had some kind of rune or ward that let's it absorb foreign magic.
Whatever the case, he loved it. And he reiterated the same to Lily, gratefully. She just grinned like a Cheshire cat, promising something even better today.
Honestly, Harry couldn't even begin to guess what it could be, so he didn't bother.
"Anyway, I'm glad you two are early." Lily said, absently removing her towel to let her long shiny red hair cascade down like molten lava. "I was meaning to arrange a day out with you Harry, but you're quite a hard young man to talk to these days. Probably forgot about your poor old Mother in favor of dozens of letters from those young French witches."
Harry folded his hands with an intense frown, blatantly scanning her up and down. "Well, I don't see any 'poor and old Mother' here. If she comes, let me know."
She may have blushed slightly but he couldn't quite catch it cause she started drying her hair, covering her face behind a waterfall of hairs as she bent over.
He did hear her delighted giggle though. "Oh hush, you flatterer."
He smirked. "Just saying it as I see it."
She gave another twinkling laugh. "Thanks, darling. My self-confidence has gone off through the roof now."
"Ahem, I'm sorry but you do know I'm here as well right?" Bella cut in with an annoyed sniff. "I'm all for some Mother and son bonding session, but I'm sure as hell not gonna be a third wheel."
Lily parted her hairs like a curtain to shoot Bella a smug smirk. "Aww, ickle Bella jealous? Come here and lemme give you a hug. I'll make the pain go away."
"Lily I'm warning you, I will curse you if you keep that up. Don't think I won't."
"Alright, fine! Geez, looks like someone's a little short on fuse today. Did something happen this morning?"
The question was asked absently, but Harry could see Bella give an involuntary jerk, her eyes taking a quick little peek at him before she replied. "Nothing, of course. Nothing at all. What could possibly happen to us?"
Lily hummed, straightening again. "Alright, stay here you two. I'll be back in just a second. James and kids are with Remus this morning, having went to watch today's match. They'll get started on renovating the Manor as soon as they come, so we'll have plenty of time for some quality shopping. Merlin, I'm so excited for today! Just wait for a second, I'll be right back from changing."
Lily turned around with a wave, quickly walking back where she came from. Though Harry couldn't help as his eyes fell upon those curvy bubbles that made up her rump. Her bathsuit was doing very little to hide her exceptional physique, and Harry had to once again use occlumency to avoid Bella catching him check out his own mother.
But then her words finally hit him and he turned to Bella with raised eyebrows. "Wait, what shopping?"
The mischievous little grin that she gave him made his entire body shiver a little from the sudden chill. "Why, your birthday shopping of course! Why do you think I brought you here so early?"
His almost perfect memory provided the answer to her rhetorical question.
"...To give a hand with arrangements in Potter Manor?"
"Oh Harry, you're so sweet." Bella's grin widened even more. "I lied. Now c'mon, get ready. We're gonna have so much fun!"
He folded his hands, scowling. "Why on earth would I ever go with you after that? Hell, what's stopping me from just going back home?"
"The fact that you can't apparate, are in a completely unknown location, and would probably get lost half-way around the country and find yourself in another continent altogether. Now stop giving me that look, I'm sure you want to buy something too. What with all your new money."
Harry rolled his eyes with a snort. "We're in Caithness, and it takes around 12 hours to reach Godric's Hollow through muggle transport. But I'll probably reach it in 30 minutes, depending on Knight bus' traffic. And I can very much do my own shopping without babysitters, thank you very much."
Her stunned face was a sight to behold, and he turned around with an exaggerated swagger, only to be quickly stopped by Bella as she moved forward to block his path.
"Okay Mr. Genius! I get it. I'm sorry for ever questioning your wisdom. But surely you don't want to break Lily's heart? She's been planning this for even longer than me, you know."
Then she leaned ever closer, and Harry had to stop himself from glancing down at her cleavage. "Plus, What will you even do at the house all alone anyway? Read your books all day? Lily's got her own personal library, you know? I'm sure if you ask nicely, she'll let you take anything you want."
"Well..." Harry hesitated slightly, before finally repenting with a sigh. "Just don't take too much time, alright? I have a lot of things that I need to get done before the final match. And I really can't delay them."
"Of course! You can count on me! It's not like we'll spend half a day in shopping or anything."
For some reason, her 'innocent' and 'honest' smile looked a little dark to Harry, and he wondered if he was making a mistake...
'Eh, it'll be alright. How long could a little shopping trip be afterall?'