"Good to see you too," Aunt Amelia said, shaking hands with the young boy as he extended his hand for her to grab. "You seem to be in good health."
After they shook hands, Harry turned towards Susan and smiled.
Susan found her face turning hot and she just knew she was blushing.
"It's good to see you, Susan," Harry said, his voice a lot less formal than when he was speaking to her aunty. He eyed her dress for a moment, causing her flush to spread from just her cheeks to the rest of her face. "That dress looks good on you."
"Ah, um, thank you," Susan tried not to squeak. She wasn't quite sure she succeeded.
"Susan," Aunt Amelia said suddenly, her eyes smiling with amusement in a way her lips probably never could. "Why don't you show Mister Potter around the manner. I have a bit of business to attend to before dinner, then the three of us can meet in the dining hall to eat?"
It was obvious to Susan that her aunty was doing this to give her time with Harry before they got to the real reason he was there.
Susan was grateful, really she was. But at the same time, a part of her wished her aunty had not made the suggestion at all. Then she wouldn't be so embarrassed.
"Of course, Aunty," Susan tried her best to steady her breathing. She had been alone with Harry before. There was no need to be so flustered. It would be just like that time they went to the kitchens at Hogwarts.
Yes, just like that. Except they were at her house.
Susan really wished she could just crawl into a whole right now.
She looked over at Harry and gave him a nervous smile. "Follow me, Harry."
XoX
Having never been in a magical household like Bones Manor before, or any magical household (not since his parents at any rate) for that matter, Harry had to admit that if this was the standard most pureblood households held themselves to than he would be impressed.
It probably wasn't, since the Bones were a Founding house, but that was besides the point.
Bones Manor was a Baroque styled mansion. It had exactly five floors and four hundred and sixty-two rooms. According to Susan, who led Harry on the tour, the mansion was built in seventeen fifty-six after the original Bones Manor was destroyed during a siege by the Dark Lord of that time and his minions.
The hallways they wandered were a combination of commanding imposition and spartan elegance. There was very little in the way of decoration, but the floors, walls, and ceiling were made of bone-white marble that was polished to a shine. The few decorations the halls did have were the Baroque Corinthian columns that lined either side of the walls every five feet exactly, the bronze oil lamps that gleamed as the light reflected off them, and the few magical portraits of past Heads of the Bones family.
Susan did not show Harry many of the rooms, as there were far too many to show in a single sitting. Instead she showed him a few of the more important rooms in the east wing, which was where she and her aunt lived. Apprently the west wing was for political guests and the like. So far she had shown him her Aunt's study, the dining hall, the kitchens, the foyer, several guest rooms, a billiards room, and last but not least, her room.
The room of Susan Amelia Bones was about what he would have expected from someone whose aunt was Amelia Bones. It was girly, yet spartan. The carpet was soft and colored in the same bone white scheme as the rest of the house. The walls were bare of posters like Lisa's room, but it did have a few magical photos featuring a young couple (Susan's parents he presumed), as well as a baby Susan and a younger, less worn looking Amelia.
She had a large walk-in closet on one side and a door leading to what he presumed was the restroom on the other. Her room only had a few commodities; a large Queen sized bed with yellow and black striped sheets and pillows with a badger on it (the Bones family has been predominantly Hufflepuff since 1762), an antique dresser that looked like it had been carved out of bone, a nightstand, a book shelf, and a desk with a comfortable looking chair.
"So... um... this is my room," Susan said softly, looking embarrassed by her room for some reason. Maybe she was afraid he would think it too bare? "It's not much, I know, but..."
"I like it," Harry interrupted, casting his gaze around the room before focusing on the slightly surprised girl standing next to him. He smiled. "There's no clutter, everything is neatly organized, it has a few personal touches but you don't overload the walls with posters and pictures. It suits you."
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