Chapter 20

"Ah... um... thank you," Susan mumbled, suddenly finding her toes to be infinitely more interesting than anything else at the moment.

"So what other rooms does this house possess?" asked Harry, deciding it may be a good idea to change the subject before Susan's head exploded. He didn't know why she was embarrassed, it could have just been due to her natural shyness, but thought it best to switch topics so they could continue conversing. "I mean, this is a pretty large mansion."

"Aunty told me that Potter Manor was actually said to be larger than this," Susan informed him with a slight smile. That smile turned into a sad frown a moment later as another thought seemed to occur to her. "Though that was before it got destroyed during the war against You-Know-Who."

Harry could sense her apprehension about bringing up a topic that should have probably been a sore spot for him. While a part of Harry felt that the knowledge of his families ancient roots had been destroyed should depress him, he couldn't really find it in himself to mourn the destruction of a place he had never been to. The only thing that bothered him was when he thought about all the potential knowledge the Potter's may have held that was now lost to time because that psychopath of a dark lord decided to destroy his family legacy.

Not wanting himself or his friend to dwell on past pains, Harry carefully hooked an arm through one of Susan's and offered the girl a smile. "Why don't you show me around some more," he suggested.

Susan's reaction was immediate. Her face became as red as her hair, the glow of her blush covering not just her entire head all the way to her scalp, but also seeping down below her neck. It was very amusing to see how easily flustered this girl got.

She began trying to calm herself by taking deep breaths, but they didn't seem to work to well. Despite this, she did not make any attempt to remove Harry's arm from her own.

"Ah... yes... of course," Susan stumbled with her words a bit, but gamely tried to keep from letting her embarrassment get to her. "Why don't I... show you some of the other rooms."

And with that, the pair were off once again, walking down the hallways, their feet making light clicks along the bone white tile.

"You know, I never understood why people needed to live in such large mansions," Harry commented after Susan got finished showing Harry one of the five lounges used for informal gatherings. "I remember reading about how some of the wings of a manor were at one point used to house whole families when political gatherings took place, but there doesn't seem to be much of a need for that these days."

"I think it goes back to the days when pureblood families were trying to impress people with their wealth," Susan murmured. When Harry tilted his head, she flushed, then continued. "A lot of the older families like to have larger houses to show off how rich they are."

"That sounds like something the Malfoys would do," Harry commented offhandedly, causing Susan to smile a bit.

"It does, doesn't it?"

As the two continued the tour, they were eventually stopped when a tiny creature popped up in front of them. It was a very small thing, no more than three feet tall, with spindly arms and legs, which made a stark contrast to it's overly large head that contained a large pair of eyes and a long, pointed nose. Pointed, bat-like ears sat on it's head, flapping every so often. Harry recognized the creature as a house elf from one of the books he had read.

The house elf was not wearing what could be considered traditional clothing in any way. Instead it was wearing a tea towel, bone white in color and with the Bones Coat of Arms on the left breast.

"Misses Susy, Madam Bones is awaiting you and Mister Potters in the dining hall," the house elf informed the young red haired heiress in a squeaky voice.

"Ok. Thank you, Penny," Susan said as the house elf squeaked an acknowledgment before disappearing with a sharp crack of displaced air. Susan looked over at Harry. "Come on, we'd better head back to the dining hall."

The dining hall, as Susan had called it, was a surprisingly small and informal dining room with a rectangular table that could seat up to eight people and plush looking chairs with yellow and black padding. Both the table and chairs continued the scheme of looking like they had been carved from bones that made up the Bones Manor.

Amelia Bones was already seated at the head of the table, the position where the Head of House was supposed to sit.

"Aunty," Susan said as she moved over to sit on the right side of her aunt, and at a gesture from the stern looking, monocle wearing woman, Harry sat right next to his red haired friend.

"Did you enjoy the tour?" Madam Bones asked of Harry after they had all been seated.

"I did," Harry said with a pleasant smile. "This is a very nice manor, very ostentatious. Though," he gazed around the room, noting the polished marble and Corinthian columns. "I'm kind of surprised you are willing to live in such an extensive and likely costly place. You don't really strike me as the type to enjoy showing off such opulence."

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