Harry Potter and the Year After

Chapter Six: The Shrieking Shack

Chapter 6: The Shrieking Shack

A week later, a wizard's real estate agent named Cassandra Wood, who looked a bit like Fleur, had shown Harry and Ron five different places. The first two flats were near Piccadilly Circus and they were both extremely expensive. Harry wondered if the woman was aware of Harry's inheritance—of which, Harry still was not sure of the exact amount—or else if she had assumed that Harry had somehow been paid to kill Voldemort. In any case, Harry and Ron decided against the first two.

The third was extremely small—Harry and Ron would have to share a bedroom. Ron was perfectly fine with this. Harry, however, was not, though he didn't tell Ron this outwardly. It also didn't have an oven as the kitchen was actually a "kitchenette". On the up side, it was in Diagon Alley, overtop of Ollivander's no less, so that was a step forward.

"You've got to be joking," Ron said, letting go of the real estate agent's arm. The three of them side-long Apparated to the fourth property. She'd wanted it to be a surprise.

"The Shrieking Shack?" Harry wondered aloud as he let go of the agent's arm as well.

"Oh, so you've heard of it?" Cassandra said, tossing her blonde hair behind her shoulder.

"Yeah, you could say that," Ron said. Cassandra started walking toward the gate. The two boys followed slowly behind.

"Splendid," she said over her shoulder, "Well, you know that this house comes with a history. Just been cleared of all ghosts—"

"This place never had any ghosts," Harry said. She heard him and he watched as her face colored and immediately felt bad. He promised himself he'd stay silent from now on for her sake.

She continued on about how it had four bedrooms, and how the attic could be converted, a large kitchen... something about plenty of potential... they'd be renting off of Hogwarts...

The three of them stopped in the front yard of the place while she talked. That was when Harry remembered about the direct line that ran under the place to Hogwarts. They'd been sealed off, but how hard would it be to open the tunnel again?

"Give us a minute, yeah?" Ron asked when Cassandra was finished with her prattle.

"Sure," she said, and stepped away a few yards until she was out of hearing distance.

"We'd be close to Hermione here," Ron said immediately, raising his eyebrows significantly.

"Yes. But Snape died here," Harry said, glancing up at the place. It could have just been his imagination, but Harry could have sworn that the house swayed with the breeze. He could tell that he'd made Ron uncomfortable by reminding him of Snape's death, but ever since seeing his mother and Snape in the Pensieve, he couldn't remember Snape's abuse over the years as clearly anymore. It had become very muddled in his mind.

"We should just move into Grimmauld Place," Ron said, "Save us the rent."

"You really want to live there?" Harry said, grimacing. Every time he thought of that place, he immediately thought of Sirius, spending his last days locked inside. Or else of the lonely, somewhat nerve-wracking days they'd spent there before they'd gone into the Ministry under disguise...

"Well, no, but do you really want to live here? In the Shrieking Shack?" Ron said, gesturing up to the place.

"No," Harry said, shrugging, "There's got to be somewhere else though."

"Well," Cassandra said, her high heels sinking into the yard as she ambled back toward them, "Don't answer yet. I've got one more place to show you. It's in Ottery St. Catchpole."