Bound To You

Chapter 26: Christmas Surprises!

Harry was amazed. The Black Mansion--renovated--was... amazing is such an understatement. He'd gotten a vague image of it before, when Sirius told him about it. Dark, creaky, gloomy, practically falling apart since it hasn't been used in... a few generations? Decades? He didn't know the exact time frame for that, but he gathered that it was quite a long time ago. Now...

Now it was absolutely breathtaking.

Lighter colours adorned the outer walls, beige and red, with tastefully carved pillars on the ground floor. It had a huge kitchen that would be every cook's wildest dreams, every baker's fantasy. The dining room was also tastefully done, with the same red and beige as its main colours. The hallways were decorated with flowers and paintings of sceneries, both magical and muggle ones.

On the upper floor were bedrooms, lots of it. It was supposed to be Remus' present, Sirius said, for when they had children one day. Of course, he didn't take into account that the three of them had to be bonded first before they could have kids. When he realized, he was already in Azkaban anyways, so he couldn't make any changes on it.

Harry had his own bedroom, where the walls were painted sky blue and had moving snitches in them. His bed was a queen sized bed with dark blue sheets and bright red and gold pillows. The floor was covered in red and gold carpeting, and there were other furniture that was strategically placed here and there, with colouring that fit the room's design. Harry was absolutely ecstatic when he found that this room was his and his alone--there were wards that he could customize himself, curtesy to Remus (who was smiling with a knowing twinkle in his eyes), and a whole shelf with no books in them.

He also had a balcony that oversaw the back garden, which he would be in charge of, along with Severus.

"Thanks, Sirius!" Harry said, excitement making him bounce in place as his eyes twinkled happily. He was eager to explore the place even more, and do many things within the upcoming months in which he'll be staying there.

"You're welcome, pup," Sirius beamed, happy that his efforts weren't wasted.

Later, Harry found a huge swimming pool and a large Jacuzzi-like tub beside it, where the water was warm enough to sit in for hours even in winter.

They'd also decided that they should invite the Weasleys and the Grangers for Christmas, which made Severus groan and grumble angrily while rubbing his stomach. Tom was alright with all of it happening, especially when he saw that Harry was practically beaming with happiness when the decided that. Though, he was slightly worried about that Ginerva girl doing something to Harry, which made him decide what gift he'll give him in Christmas... after they did their Yule rituals, of course.

The floo flared green, and out came the very familiar voice of Molly Weasley, who immediately hugged him right after she landed, with a, "Harry! How are you, dear?"

"I'm fine Mrs. Weasley," Harry said shyly.

"Oh, come on now, just call me Molly, dear," she smiled kindly.

"Sure, um, Molly," Harry nodded before extracting himself from her arms as more and more of the redheads stepped out of the floo.

"Harry!"

"Mate!"

"How are you--"

"Cool place!"

And more of their usual greeting words and smiles and hugs, mostly from the girls, as they stepped out of the floo and into the newly renovated mansion. Tom, like the proper host he was, directed them to the dining room, where Harry had served an army's worth of feast, just as the Grangers stepped in through the floo, Hermione grinning like mad as her parents--and sister, apparently--looked put out and baffled. With a wave of Molly's wand, the soot covering them from head to toe was cleaned up, and Hermione immediately hugged Harry.