In Pursuit of the Unknown Power

Harry went back inside his house and felt suddenly very alone. Even having his hated Headmaster with him was better than being crushed by the memories and the darkness. Thinking of the guests that would be arriving soon he came up with a course of action that would, hopefully, keep his mind off of the depressing thoughts attempting to overwhelm him.

"Dobby?" He called; soon he felt a tug on his trouser leg and turned around to find the little elf waiting patiently. "Yes Harry sir?" the elf squeaked.

"I have people coming soon, how long do you think it will take to clean up the house?" Harry asked, he had never actually watched an elf clean before. Dobby smiled up at him proudly.

"I's and Winky can have Master Harry's home all clean in less than a day sir, we promises we won't eat or sleep until we gets it nice and clean." Dobby looked elated, Harry looked horrified.

"Dobby I am ordering you and Winky both to eat when you are hungry, and sleep when you are tired. You don't have to clean the whole place that fast!" He stated emphatically.

"But sir, Dobby is a good cleaner. I cleans all of Gryffindor Tower last year. Other elves was afraid of She-Who-Makes-Hats." Dobby shivered and looked around.

It took Harry a moment before it hit him, and he collapsed to the floor laughing. "She who…" He laughed again. "She who makes?" He could barely breathe at this point, Dobby looked like he was going to punish himself for causing his master such pain that he would collapse.

Seeing this Harry took a few deep breaths and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Dobby, I was laughing not in pain. I am sorry for scaring you. Hermione is no longer making elf hats and you and Winky are already free so if you want you can ask her to make you some, you have my blessing. In fact, if you would like to wear some real clothes I wholeheartedly agree with the idea." Harry was still giggling but trying to get a reign on his emotions. "And when we return to Hogwarts I would like for you to split your time between here and there. Tell the other elves that She-Who-Makes…" He paused to giggle and gather his breath. "Hats, is no longer doing so and will not try to trick you any more into being free."

"I understands Harry sir, but what does you wish us to cleans first if you doesn't wants us to clean everywhere?" Dobby asked curiously.

Harry had to think hard to remember his plan from mere minutes ago. His mind wandered to images of Voldemort with knitting needles, leaving him wanting to laugh out loud. It was going to be rather difficult to face her later.

"Please start with the main floor beginning here in the entrance hall. Get rid of this," he kicked the Troll Leg umbrella stand. Tonks would probably kiss him later. "And all the elf heads on the wall." Dobby's face fell and he looked near to tears. "Dobby, it is not that I don't appreciate the service they gave to this house. But I do not remember them and I don't agree with placing them on the wall like that. Please?" Harry finished.

Dobby looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded. "Right Harry sir, we will getting to work. What would you like after that sir?"

"Uh.. After that please clean the top two floors, that is where my guests and I will be staying. Oh! Speaking of which." Harry pulled his shrunken trunk and cage out of his pocket and set them on the floor. "Can you enlarge these and put them in my room?" Dobby nodded and collected the miniature items. "That reminds me; please don't clean Sirius' room. I would like to do that myself. When I am ready." Dobby nodded.

"We's be getting to work right away Harry sir!" And with that the elf disappeared.

That taken care of Harry decided to check out the rest of the house. He had never spent much time exploring due to all the dark creatures and objects, and warnings from Mrs. Weasley. Making a mental map as he went, he began walking through the house.

Just inside the front door was a small foyer. To the right was the staircase and forward was the hallway, which led straight through past the sitting and dining rooms to the kitchen. There was a bathroom in the hall as well. The kitchen was a nice size, three times the size of the kitchen at the Burrow. There were plenty of cabinets and a large butcher-block style table in the middle for preparing food. There was a large gas oven and range next to a door, which led to a large pantry and another staircase. Harry decided it was probably how servants were expected to move about the place. He remembered the year before when the order was meeting in the kitchen, standing at the top of the stairs with his friends listening to the conversation with the Twins' extendable ears. Glancing past this he noted the kitchen sink with a window over it and just to the left of that was a door he had never taken note of before.

Looking outside he saw a large overgrown garden bricked in on all sides with vicious looking creeper vines he didn't recognize and probably didn't want to tackle on his own. Thinking quickly to the wards he reset them so that Apparition and Port-keys would be redirected to the back garden. He did not like the idea of people popping in anywhere around the house even if they were guests. It was funny how the wards seemed tied to his intent, but he shrugged it off as 'Magic' and left well enough alone. Maybe if he got bored he would find a book to explain the theory to him.

Turning back from the window so he was facing the hallway once again, he noted the door to the Dining Room on his right. Going through the door he entered a large space that was used for full order meetings as well as special dinners or those that were larger than the kitchen table could handle. The room was dark even with the candles and torches that lit when he entered. He wondered briefly what it would take to put electricity into his home. He did not fancy living the rest of his life in the dark.

He walked through the room and back into the hallway, across from the dining room was the sitting room. There were outdated couches that looked over worn and many straight back chairs that looked as though they were meant to reinforce posture more than as a comfortable place to sit. The whole room screamed "Put Plastic On Me" as he thought about Mrs. Figgs house on Privet Drive. Why old people thought they needed to cover everything in plastic covers he didn't know. There was a wizarding wireless on a table in the corner and several portraits around the room looking at him suspiciously. He noted one in particular and walked over to see if he was right.

"Hello Mr. Potter, or should I say Lord Black?" The portrait said snidely.

"Hello Headmaster Black, or may I call you Phineas?" Harry asked.

The painting seemed to think it over before replying, "Phineas will suffice Lord Black."

"Thank you sir, will you please call me Harry?" He asked.

The painting nodded in response before speaking again. "I will admit, when I learned of my descendant passing the line to a Half-Blood I was rather put out, but I was listening as you dealt with the old bat in the hallway. I have to agree with her that you do indeed possess the traits required. You have been rather cordial with me as well, even though you have no reason. I cannot help but wonder; what are you up to?"

Harry paused for a moment with a surprised look on his face. The painting laughed, "Oh I am actually complimenting you Lord… Harry, you are demonstrating some Slytherin traits and I admire that in a Gryffindor."

"Actually, the sorting hat wanted to place me in Slytherin, but I had just met the worst possible representative who insulted my friend Ron. He was sorted in to Slytherin just before I sat down. I begged the hat to put me anywhere but Slytherin." Harry smiled at the memory, he had not told anyone that and it was nice to connect to his many greats ancestor on some level.

"Ah, a true Slytherin after all, hiding out in the enemy camp so to speak." Phineas grinned at him as his face went white. "Oh don't take it so hard Harry, I was only joking."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief before speaking again. "Phineas, are you allowed to tell Dumbledore anything I am doing here? I don't want to have to take down your portrait."

"Harry I can only reveal that which you wish me to, however the same goes for the Headmasters office, I cannot spy for you if that is what you are thinking."

Harry had not thought about that, but it was a nifty idea. "But you can pass messages if need be correct? Like you did at Christmas?"

"Yes, as long as you ask me to deliver the message I can move between my frames. There is a portrait of me at St. Mungo's as well if you remember."

Harry nodded, "It has been nice Phineas, perhaps later I can talk to you about my family? I only just learned that my Grand mum was a Black by birth." The portrait smiled and nodded. Harry turned out of the sitting room and headed for the stairs. He paused at the first landing but did not explore, he just noted that there were six open bedrooms on each side of the hallway and two bathrooms. At the end of the hallway was as suite on both sides with its own bathroom and large closet. And directly opposite the landing he was standing on, was a well-concealed doorway, which led, he knew, to the servant's stairs.

He continued up the stairs past the second landing, this was where he and his friends had stayed the last time he visited; it was laid out the same as the floor below. As his eyes skipped past the floor his heart hurt for a moment as he eyed Sirius' door. At the top of the stairs was the Master Suite. There were two master bedrooms set in the far wall and he could make out the shape of the doorway that told him the servants staircase came all the way to the top floor. The rest of the space was taken up with a large sitting room that was approximately 900 feet square. He thought briefly of pool tables and Butterbeer but decided the space would be better used for training. He made a mental note to speak to Dobby later.

Walking through the room he entered one of the suites and was immediately hit with the stench, he remembered too late that this was Sirius' Mums room where he kept Buckbeak. He quickly exited and closed the door wondering idly what had happened to the Hippogriff now that Sirius was gone. He went to the other door and took a deep breath just in case there was another surprise. Opening the other door he was relieved to find a dusty but scent free room. He walked in and looked around.

He had to walk down a wide but short hallway to get into the room proper. Taking the time to size it up, he decided this room must be about 450 square feet if you included the bathroom. Speaking of which, he turned right and entered the bathroom and examined the fixtures inside. On the wall to his left was a large black marble bathtub set into the floor with what appeared to be jets in the walls; directly behind that, in the corner of the room was a large glass box. Upon further inspection he saw that this was a shower with no less than five separate nozzles at different heights, hidden across from the shower there was a small room, which contained the Commode. Next to the water closet was a black marble counter with two large sinks. He noted that the faucets and handles were varying forms of snake and decided he would need to update those quickly, He hoped the rest of the fixtures in the house were not the same but a glance at the tub did not help to allay his fears. 'Poor Ginny' he thought. 'She had to use snake shaped faucets all last year, I can't imagine the memories that brought back of the Chamber.' Between the WC and the Shower was a doorway, which he entered, inside was a large walk-in closet with multiple shelves, drawers, and poles for hanging though it was currently bare. And another door which led back into the bedroom.

Entering the bedroom proper he noted that it took up the other half of the space. On the left was a double-king sized bed set against the wall. With A nightstand on either side, he noted that all the furniture in the room was made of dark wood with marble or granite, which matched the bathroom. Even though it was rather dark, Harry found he liked the look and decided to keep the furniture. Turning left he saw that glass windows, which offered him an unobstructed view of London, took up the entire wall. There were a few tables and chairs arranged by the window for reading or socializing. Turning left again he faced the wall that was shared with Buckbeak's room. Looking closer he saw that there was a hidden doorway in this wall as well. He supposed that these were the Masters Chambers and the other would belong to his wife. He wondered briefly if he would tell the girls about it when he offered the room to them.

After entertaining the idea a few moments he decidedly reluctantly, that they would find a way to seal the door off after he told them about it. Besides he would offer his room to share with Ron and that idea might not go over too well. He decided to change his plans a bit. "Dobby?" He called out, but when he heard the Pop! Winky appeared instead.

"Dobby is busy Mast… Harry, can Winky helps you?" She asked.

"I'm sorry Winky, you do such a good job that I forgot you were here as well for a moment." Winky beamed at the compliment. "I decided to change our plans a bit. Can you and Dobby please get these rooms cleaned up and ready for company before you start on the third floor? If you or Dobby could move my trunk up here that would be appreciated."

"Oh no sir, first thing Dobby does was to put away the things in your trunk. But Winky will be happy to move your things in here. If you doesn't mind me saying so Harry, you have a lots of space in the closet, and you is needing new clothes." The female elf finished.

Harry thought about it for a moment before nodding in agreement. "I am going to be an adult in just over 9 days time. It think it's time I went to spend a bit of my inheritance. I will have to ask Professor Dumbledore if we can make a trip." He said the last more in question to himself than to the little creature in front of him.

She coughed politely to get his attention. "Mast… Harry sir, Winky did shopping for old master many times, if yous would like I can take your measurements and pick up a few things, I's can also make things if you would like that better. Winky is a fine seamstress." She said proud of her skills.

Harry thought about it for a moment and then smacked himself on the forehead for not getting more money while he was at the bank earlier that day. "Winky can you access my vault at Gringotts?" He asked.

"If master sends along a note and places a drop of blood at the bottom for the Goblins to verify, then Winky or Dobby can access his vaults to do shopping. We will be needing groceries as well Harry." She said looking down.

Harry had not even thought about food. "Winky you are a very smart elf, thank you. I will write that note and you can go shopping for the house as well as some clothing for me." He praised her.

"If master wishes, I can bring in what clothes he has brought with him in the mean time. It won't taking Winky long at all and she will still finish with the cleaning before his guests arrives." She said.

Harry nodded and before he knew what was happening the little elf was rushing around him with a measuring tape that appeared out of nowhere. After a few minutes she seemed satisfied and Pop'd out of the room. Harry headed out of the room and decided to check out the hidden stairs. He pushed on the wall where he could see the outline of the door and with a click it swung toward him. He noted that stairwell was only as big as it needed to be, and looking at his mental map, decided that the rest of the back wall was the passageway between the bedrooms. Heading down the stairs he noted that they continued past the first floor to a basement. Deciding to explore that later he entered the kitchen and gasped. The kitchen had been the only clean room in the house before, but now it was immaculate. The whole place almost sparkled and he would have to make sure to praise Dobby and Winky till they passed out. Thinking of them he sat down to begin writing a note to Gringotts. Not knowing whom to address it to, he thought of the goblin he had seen that morning.

Dear Griphook,

I apologize if you are not the person I should be writing to in regard to this matter, but you are the only contact I could think of at Gringotts. I am sure you do not remember but five years ago on my first day in the magical world, you took me to my Vault for the very first time. You were at the Will reading of my Godfather this morning and I noticed that you seemed to have been promoted from driving carts. So congratulations.

I recently employed two free house elves that I would like to give access to my Vault for running of the household. I am not sure how things are normally set up in these cases so if you have suggestions please feel free to make them. However it is done, I am including a drop of blood for verification.

Please give Winky and Dobby whatever they need and thank you for your time.

Respectfully,

Harry Potter

He looked it over quickly before deciding it was good enough, he checked the kitchen drawers until he found a knife and steeling himself, placed as small a cut as he could manage in the tip of his finger. He let the blood drop onto the parchment before lying on the table to dry. He then walked to the sink and washed the wound before wrapping it tightly in his T-shirt and applying pressure to keep it from bleeding. He was no healer but he had taken care of his own wounds on more than one occasion at the Dursley's and was a fast learner.

Before he could turn back to the table he was surprised out of his memories by a tapping at the window. "Hedwig!" he exclaimed and hurried to open the window to let her in. She flew once around the room then landed on the table and turned to look at him. If he had to guess, she was annoyed with him.

"Sorry girl, I honestly didn't know this place had sealed itself up, I hope you were not too bored waiting outside for me." He stepped over to the table and began stroking her feathers. She relaxed a little under his ministrations and let out a short chirp, which he took to mean 'It's OK'. She then turned to look at the note on the table and back to him.

"Yes girl, that note needs to go to Griphook at Gringotts Bank. But you have been stuck outside all day, do you want to stay here for awhile and rest?" He asked her. Once again she looked annoyed, then puffed up. "Oh, I see. You are such a great owl you don't need to rest anymore?" She bobbed her head in agreement and held out her leg for him to tie the parchment to. "Hold on Hold on." He laughed.

He checked to make sure the ink and blood were dry, then folded and sealed it before attaching it to her leg. She nipped his fingers affectionately before flying out the open window.

He looked around for a clock but found none in the kitchen, so he headed back to the sitting room and found a Grandfather Clock ticking away. This room as well looked much better and he wondered if Kreacher had cleaned anything since his Mistress died. It had been a few hours now since the Headmaster had left and he had no idea when the Weasleys would arrive. If they didn't get here soon he was afraid he would go mad just like Sirius.