Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 74: End of the fun weekend
"Let us get out of here. I'll escort you three back to the manor proper." Harry started to walk towards the stairs and the three girls followed him. None of them wanted to stay here any longer.
As they were passing through the painting, Lyra decided to ask.
"Harry, who is the old geezer in the painting?"
Harry turned around and waited until they had all passed to close the entrance
"What if I told you that you just insulted the founder of our house?"
Lyra gasped.
"Oh no…really?. Is he the founder?"
Harry shrugged.
"I don't know. But he is definitely an old ancestor, so be more respectful."
"Oh…right, sorry." Lyra felt like she had been scolded by her parents.
"That painting is different than the ones at Hogwarts, right? My brothers told me the ones at the castle are very smart and you can even have conversations with them if you want to." Ginny commented.
"The ones at Hogwarts are living paintings. Those ones have been infused with the memories of the persons they once were, so they can talk and behave in a similar manner."
He points at the painting. The old man inside had remained completely immobile the whole time.
"That is just a normal painting that someone enchanted to perform a specific task. Is also part of the security system they put in here."
"Security system?, so…something bad would have happened if I didn't guess the correct password?" Lyra asked with concern.
"Oh…yes. You lot were very lucky there. Too many mistakes and you would have activated the ward defenses." Harry delivered the words with a very grave tone.
The girls opened their eyes widely. Even Astoria looked a bit scared.
"W-what would have happened to us?" Lyra asked with hesitation.
"Something very bad…I won't go into gruesome details thought." Said Harry.
"Merlin!" Exclaimed Ginny.
"Make sure you don't do something like that again. Old magical protections can be very dangerous." The three girls quickly nodded.
In truth, he had no idea what would have happened if were unable to guess the correct answer. Probably nothing serious, since Lyra is part of the family.
But he decided that it was better to scare them a bit now, lest they try to do something like this again in a more dangerous setting.
Magical wards from ancient magical dwellings are not something one wants to threaten carelessly. The use of dark curses to punish intruders was a common occurrence before the Ministry started to regulate their use until they were ultimately banned.
Harry navigated the maze-like basement with no issues, as he had come here every day since he was given permission by his father.
As they approached the exit of the basement, the girls became more relaxed and broke their silence.
"Say Harry…you think I can practice magic here too? Maybe in a different room though." Lyra decided to ask.
Harry gave her a glance.
"And what magic would you practice? You don't even have a wand yet."
She made a pouting face that denoted her age.
"I'll get a wand very soon!"
"A wand you don't know how to use yet."
She was about to rebuke his comment when he interrupted her.
"What about this…wait until next summer, when you had at least your first year of school, and then we can go talk with Dad about you doing magic here."
Lyra considered his suggestion for a moment.
"Okay…I think I can wait for a bit."
"Lyra, can I come too next summer?. I don't think my parents would let me do much at home…other than chores." Said Ginny.
"Sure!" Lyra grinned.
"Comming." Astoria also invited herself.
"Here we are." Harry opened the wooden door that led to the ground floor.
"Enjoy the rest of your morning, Ladies."
Lyra hit his shoulder in a playful manner.
"It doesn't suit you to talk like that"
She then turned to look at her friends.
"Let's go to my room, we can play some games before lunch."
Lyra and Astoria started to walk away but Ginny stayed behind and stared at him.
"Is something wrong?" Harry wondered what she wanted to tell him.
"When Dad is working and Mom is too busy in the house…I sometimes sneak into the shred and borrow one of my brother's brooms to fly around…my Mom would kill me if she ever found out, she doesn't want me to fly, says is too dangerous. I have only told Charley and Bill." She said in a whisper so the other girls didn't hear.
Harry was about to ask her why did she told him that, but then he realized. In her own way, she wanted to give him some reassurance.
"I understand….I'll make sure to keep your secret safe then."
She smiled. "And I'll keep yours," Ginny said before turning around and running to catch up with Lyra and Astoria.
<><><><><><>
The rest of the day passed peacefully and by late afternoon, Molly came to bring Ginny back home.
Harry was glad that he was able to patch things up with her and that she enjoyed her visit this time at least.
An hour later, Lady Greengrass appeared out of the fireplace and took Astoria away.
It was hard to tell if Astoria had a fun weekend since her face barely moved but Selene seemed to think so.
Harry wondered how his sister and her became friends.
Maybe Astoria could express herself much better in the letters they exchange. Or maybe it was just a matter of lack of options since Lyra cannot leave the house too often, just for some shopping with their mother or for some party at the Ministry.
But in any case, now that it was over, he could take it easy until the next weekend, when they were visiting the family vault.