Amulet of Time 2: Two Worlds, Two Wars

Chapter 15: Domus Corvus Corax

The students looked around the room they had entered in awe. Even Harry was surprised, and he knew what to expect. The fireplace they had exited was in an enormous entrance hall. To their right was a set of enormous white marble doors in an elven style, which reached up to the top of the twenty foot high ceiling. The ceiling itself was pure white marble, matching well with the doors, and had carvings around the edges. The walls were a deep mahogany, decorated with assorted tapestries and paintings, mostly elven in origin, but some obviously art from different magical cultures. The floor, like the ceiling and doors, was of a white marble, this time flecked with grey, giving it more character. The enormous hall had little furniture, only the occasional table with a strategically placed lamp here and there. The fireplace they had come out of was enormous, eight foot high and ten foot across. The mantelpiece was made of a deep ebony, decorated in ivory trimmings, delicately carved to make the cream colour stand out against the black. Above the fireplace was a large picture frame that appeared to be empty, but Harry was looking at it with a small smile on his face, and what looked like anticipation glittering in his eyes. Opposite the wall with the fireplace was a gigantic mirror, strategically placed the make the room look twice the size it actually was. To the left of the fireplace was a vast staircase of black onyx, which filled the centre of the room and grew narrower nearer the top, where it split in two directions, each leading to a balcony on either side of the room, from which many corridors split off. On the ground floor, doors could be seen leading off from the main hall, obviously leading to more corridors. The whole area was illuminated by several glowing crystals floating near the ceiling. Although they didn't seem to be giving off a very bright light, what they did emit spread around the hall, giving it an ethereal look.

" Bloody hell!"

" I agree."

" Language, Ron. This is…wow!"

" Yeah, wow."

" Do you like it?"

Everyone looked at Harry, quickly nodding their heads. He had a proud look on his face and was looking around the hall in approval.

" I'm glad you like it."

" Harry, what is this place?" Hermione asked him.

Harry didn't answer, he simply gestured to the large picture frame behind them. They all turned around and looked at the blank canvas in confusion. By way of an explanation, Harry waved his hand, muttering, " Proles Corvus Corax," and stood back to wait. After a second or two the canvas began to shift, and colours started to swirl from the centre outwards. A few minutes later they had arranged themselves into a portrait of a young girl and a little boy. They were both dressed in fine robes of silk, of an old fashioned style. The boy looked to be about two years old, and had messy black hair and crystal blue eyes. The woman was tall and had long flowing hair, and eyes of the same blue as the boy. Underneath the painting was a small inscription reading Gallatea et Glenadade Ravenclaw, par infinitas. The four time travellers and Minh looked at the painting in growing comprehension. Eustace merely looked confused. Finally, Hermione turned to Harry for an explanation.

" Harry? Is that…?"

" 'Tea? Yeah."

" Wow. So, tell us, where is this place?"

" This is Domus Corvus Corax, otherwise known as Raven House."

" It's beautiful! Who does it belong to? We can't come trespassing…"

" We're not trespassing, it's mine."

The three older friends just gawped at Harry. He merely laughed at them, waving off their shock. He was amused at the number of times he had managed to surprise them in a matter of a few minutes.