The Things No One Notices (A HP Fic)

Chapter fourteen

Harry and Draco tumbled to the ground. It was a rough landing. Harry absolutely despised apparating. If it up to him he would never do it. But it was there only way. And frankly, they had been running out of time. Harry and Draco stood up.

Draco stared in shock at their location. It was a simple cottage. There were overgrowing flower boxes in the windows. Lupins lined the cobblestone path to the front door. A lake could be heard in the distance.

"Where did you find this place?" Draco asked.

Harry scratched the back of his neck, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "It was a property left to me in Sirius's will. Apparently, it was never registered with the Ministry. Never got the chance to be is more like it." He mumbled the last sentence under his breath. He said the next one a bit louder. "Still isn't. We're completely off the grid, from the Ministry, The Order, D—Voldemort, and anyone else that might try and come after us. The only person that can find us is Remus. And I don't think he wants to."

"How can that be possible if it was listed in a will?"

"A spell. I was the only person that could read it. Not even Dumbledore knew it existed." He took a step towards the door. "I haven't had a chance to see what it looks like inside, so..."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Just open the door. We're already covered in dirt and it's practically one."

Harry nodded and pushed the door open. Inside the cottage was like an entirely different world. Even though the outside was covered in overgrowing vegetation the only wrong with the inside was that every single piece of furniture was covered in dust. A leather jacket was hung up on the coat rack next to the door. A tea set was on the table.

It looked like the place had only been used once. Or at least for a short time. The only sign that the place had been lived in was the chair in the kitchen that was splintered against the wall with a note on the table that had a hole in it.

The fireplace crackled as they entered the living room. Both boys jumped. Wands drawn. They put them down feeling foolish. It must be spelled to come on as people entered the room. Harry took a step towards the fireplace. His curiosity getting the best of him. Usually spells stopped working when the caster died. Then that meant that Sirius had not casted this particular spell. Someone else had. Someone else that was living in the house. Someone was strong enough to throw a chair hard enough to not only splinter it but to create a whole in the wall.

Harry felt a shudder go through him. This place was not only just lived in shortly. It was abandoned. Silently he left Draco alone in the living room and went to the kitchen to read the letter. He only managed to get past the first couple of lines when Draco's voice caught his attention.

"What in Merlin's name happened here?" Draco asked.

Harry rushed over, letter still in hand. He gasped. Draco was standing in the doorway of one of the bedrooms. It was completely trashed. The bed curtains shredded. A whole in the wall. The top of the dresser completely crushed. Someone had gone lost themselves in a rage. The evidence was noticeable in the kitchen, but here, in the bedroom, it was prominent that this rage was fueled by something. Something strong. Something uncontrollable.

Harry's eyes fell to the letter in his hands. The ink was faded from years of being left to the elements. The only word visible on the page, which was where the latter had been gripped so tightly that holes were left in the parchment, making the word prominent amongst the faded ink, was Azkaban.

He could not bring himself to read anything more. Not that he was able to.

"I have no idea," Harry said, softly. "We'll set up on the couch or something."