Harry Potter: The Golden Viper

SCREEEECH!

The ear-piercing screech of brakes suddenly shattered the snowy quietness of Grimmauld Place, startling it out of its winter slumber. The powerful gust of wind generated by the sudden stop ripped through the snowflakes dancing in the chilly air. The intense vibrations caused a rusty old lamp on the nearby street corner to flicker and sizzle erratically, its dim light blinking on and off in a faltering rhythm.

"Urrrgghhh," Harry was the first to practically launch himself off the purple triple-decker Knight Bus, stumbling onto the icy sidewalk.

Completely ignoring the enthusiastic farewell cries of Stan Shunpike, the bus conductor, Harry doubled over and squatted down in the snow, which was only slightly thinner than the thick blanket currently covering the Hogwarts grounds.

Overcome with nausea, he immediately started retching and dry heaving, as his stomach churned violently from the wild ride.

Right behind him, Hermione and Ron also staggered dazedly off the bus on rubbery legs, their faces had a matching shade of pale green. They immediately bent over with hands on knees, panted heavily gasping for breath as if they had just sprinted a marathon.

"I swear, the demented wizard who designed that blasted bus should be locked up in Azkaban for life as punishment——" Ron gasped out, his voice was a nearly inaudible raspy whisper and he looked like he was about to collapse.

The bracing rush of cool but refreshingly clean air helped revive Harry somewhat, making him feel much better and giving him enough strength to finally take in his new surroundings. They had arrived in a small city square on the outskirts of London, far from the bustling heart of the city.

The circular plaza was tightly surrounded in on all sides by rows of narrow, cramped detached houses packed closely together. But despite their neat, orderly arrangement, all the residences looked ancient and more than a little worse for wear.

The stone and brick facades appeared gloomy and bleak, their aura of neglect and decay seemed to ward off visitors and passersby from a thousand miles away. Several of the houses had windows with shattered glass panes that gaped like wounds, and even the solid walls showed frightening cracks and fissures, looking like they had barely survived a catastrophic earthquake or bombing.

The homes that were still inhabited didn't look much better either - mounds of rubbish and debris were piled high on the crumbling front steps of several dilapidated residences.

"I'm serious - if I EVER ride that Knight Bus again, may Snape poison me to death as punishment!" Harry swore dramatically between gulps of the cold air.

"I'd strongly advise you to take back that vow, Harry--" Sirius was the last to land from the bus, his face was also pale and sweaty as he panted. His struggle was due to the fact that he had insisted on singlehandedly carrying two large trunks by himself.

"Because there is an extremely high probability of that oath actually coming true. Speaking of which, Hermione, what in Merlin's name did you pack in your trunk? Yours alone seems to weigh more than Harry's and Ron's combined——" Sirius groaned.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Sirius——" Hermione's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "I just brought a few extra books to pass the time over holiday break--" she explained.

"Books? More like bricks! And you call that a 'few'? Godric's gonads, we're not opening a library branch! Well, never mind, we can solve this little dilemma with magic."

Sirius sighed and chuckled in amused exasperation. He quickly blocked Hermione's outstretched hand as she moved to take her trunk.

Sirius glanced around warily to make sure they were alone. Seeing no one, he lightly tapped the two trunks with his wand. Instantly, the two-luggage trembled and then smoothly levitated up out of the snow to hover obediently about an inch above the snow.

"Quickly now, you three, follow me. We'd best not dawdle and let the Muggles catch sight of this, or Molly will definitely have my guts for garters for making poor Arthur work overtime during the Christmas holidays to deal with the cleanup--"

Sirius's little joke made Harry, Ron and Hermione laugh softly. They hurried to help push and guide the trunks as they floated along in the air, following closely behind Sirius as he led the way across the square to one house in particular.

As they drew nearer, Harry noticed its plain wooden door, the black paint was cracked and peeling away in large strips to reveal the old timber beneath.

Interestingly, the main attractive feature of this plain door was the door knocker which was a complicatedly crafted silver serpent, tightly coiled and looking ready to strike. It looked quite realistically menacing too.

The snake's disturbingly lifelike and ferocious appearance made even Harry, still lifted by high spirits, frown slightly in unease. It reminded him too vividly of the Basilisk he had encountered and fought in the Slytherin Chamber of Secrets during his second year. However, he also knew that nearly all of Sirius's ancestors were from Slytherin, so this design wasn't entirely surprising or worth mentioning.

Come to think of it, over their years at Hogwarts, Harry, Ron and Hermione had gradually developed fewer prejudices against Slytherin House and its members.

During their many discussions in school, they were focusing more on a person's individual actions rather than automatically judging them for their House association alone. This was undoubtedly large part due to the subtle influence of a certain professor who came from Slytherin.

"All right, come along everyone, inside quickly now--"

Sirius said quickly to the trio. After tapping his wand on the serpent doorknocker in a specific pattern, a series of loud metallic clangs, clunks and clinks sounded from the hidden locking mechanism behind the wooden door. Then, a sudden gust of warm air flowed out from the widening crack as the heavy door slowly swung open on squeaky hinges.

"Welcome to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black!" Sirius said in dramatic grandness with both pride and irony. "I will admit, this place used to be quite a filthy, dilapidated mess, but it's much improved now, if I do say so myself."

Sirius was the first to cross the threshold into the dimly lit interior. He turned around, grinning, and grandly waved Harry, Ron and Hermione inside like a circus ringmaster presenting his star performers.

Since entering the wizarding world, the only true wizarding family home Harry had ever visited was the Weasleys' Burrow. Bustling, cozy, and stuffed to the beams with magical odds and ends, Ron's home had perfectly fulfilled Harry's fondest fantasies of what living in a fully magical household would actually be like every day.

Now, Harry found he could barely contain his excitement and curiosity as he hurried to follow his godfather inside so he could finally see what Sirius's ancestral family home looked like as well. Would it be similar or completely different in style and atmosphere?

Crossing into the hall, Harry's nose was immediately struck by the aroma of some room freshening potions, a floral scent with spicy tinges obviously meant to cover up less pleasant odors. But beneath the strong fragrance, his sensitive nostrils still detected the subtle yet unmistakable smell of decay, mustiness and fungus.

This wasn't totally surprising, Harry thought, since he knew Grimmauld Place was Sirius's ancestral family home and therefore must have been quite old. Moreover, during the long years Sirius had been wrongfully imprisoned in Azkaban, the once grand house had fallen into a state of abandonment and neglect.

Sensing the presence of people entering its area, the glass gas lamps hanging on both side of the entrance hallway suddenly lit up one by one, emitting a bright glow. Looking closer, Harry noticed the rust colored stains and blemishes on the metal brackets connecting the lamp to the walls.

But in contrast, the curved glass shades themselves seemed to be brand new and were polished to a spotless, gleaming shine. Furthermore, the faded wallpaper and plush carpeting under their foot were clearly new as well, especially the thick, luxurious looking carpet...

The rug beneath their feet was obviously no ordinary floor covering. The intricate patterns and images formed by the numerous colored silk threads woven into the lush wool carpet were constantly shifting and moving, altering and changing shape in dizzying swirls.

Unable to resist, Harry and Ron found their gazes magnetically drawn downward to the captivating sight. They stared in wonder at the display for a good long while before their brains finally caught up and allowed them to process what these "flowing" designs actually represented...

"This is the pattern of Wronski Feint Krum used at the World Cup to trick Lynch into diving into the pitch!" Harry exclaimed in astonishment, his eyes tracking the moving figures. "And this section shows him catching the Snitch! It's all here!"

"These are all the most epic, classic scenes and highlights from the last Quidditch World Cup!" Ron added, his blue eyes widening in awe. "Merlin, this enchanted carpet is bloody brilliant!"

"I just knew you Quidditch-obsessed lunatics would love it!" Sirius said, grinning smugly. "This beauty probably cost me two months' salary!"

Hermione arched an eyebrow, her expression clearly showing her disapproval of Sirius blowing an excessive one or two thousand Galleons on something as impractical as a rug, magic or not.

However, the decline of the Black family fortune was a quite recent development. Before the dual blows of expensive war and the Ministry's penal reparations, the Blacks had been one of the oldest, wealthiest and most prestigious "noble" pureblood families in the wizarding world.

Sirius himself, born as heir into such nobility and privilege, obviously had a very different concept of money and "reasonable" spending than those of humbler origins.

"Just leave your school trunks sitting here in the hall for now, Kreacher will bring them up and deal with them later——" Sirius said casually, already starting to move on down the passage.

"By the way, how is Kreacher doing these days?" Hermione asked, immediately perking up in concern. She hurried to follow right on Sirius's back, determined to check on the situation of the Black family house elf.

Meanwhile, Harry and Ron followed along at a calmer pace, their attentions were still focused in on watching the fancy flying patterns beneath their jockers.

"Oh, he's doing so-so, I guess?" There was a confusing hint of vague hesitation in Sirius's tone as he responded with a shrug. "To be honest, ever since I made up my mind to renovate this mausoleum and change things up, he hasn't exactly been too keen on showing himself to me if he can avoid it——"

Sirius casually patted the walls on both side of the hallway.

"There used to be loads of massive, moldering portraits of my dear departed Black ancestors hanging all along here. Time and neglect had completely ruined some of the frames and canvases beyond even magical repair.

I found a spare room to relocate and store them all separately for now. Needless to say, Kreacher wasn't exactly thrilled with the change in décor. He kept trying to sneak the portraits back up whenever I was out of the house. We had a big quarrel over it and I had to give him a rather harsh direct order to make him stop and submit.

Wait - careful there, you three--"

Hermione had been gazing curiously at the décor and her arm accidentally brushed against a set of thick, dusty curtains hanging on one wall.

Sirius immediately tensed and raised his voice in warning, "Behind this particular curtain is the last uncooperative portrait I couldn't manage to pry off and relocate, so you all need to be very careful not to disturb it. She won't show any welcome to the guests I bring back--"

Sirius's cryptic words immediately caught the trio's full attention. Harry and Ron finally managed to tear their gazes away from the fascinating carpet, glancing over at the curtain with curiosity.

But they obediently followed Sirius forward to a closed door at the end of the gloomy passage without further questions.

To the right of the door, a staircase led up into the dark upper floors of the house. Unable to resist, Harry cautiously peered up into the gloomy ranges, his mind already busy imagining what other wonders and oddities might be lurking up there in the many rooms. But he quickly hurried to follow Ron and Hermione through the doorway Sirius was holding open, not wanting to get left behind.

"Harry, Ron, Hermione! How wonderful to see you three again!"

Walking down a short path of stone steps past a Christmas tree on a stand opposite the bottom step, adorned with mistletoe, ribbons, the trio looked into the kitchen that had rough plain stone walls on all sides, giving it a rustic, medieval feel. Nevertheless, the large space was very tidy and had a cheery, welcoming atmosphere.

The main feature of the kitchen was the long wooden table at the center of the room. It was clearly large enough to accommodate over a dozen chairs. Remus was sitting at the far end showing a warm smile as he greeted them.

Harry, Ron and Hermione grinned back with delight. Compared to when they had last seen him last summer, Remus's cheeks looked a bit fuller and healthier, the thinness brought on by too many skipped meals seemed to have disappeared.

The change made him look years younger. The faint melancholy and world-weary resignation that had always faintly lined his brow had almost completely vanished as well.

A few new vertical lines on his high forehead had taken their place, but their presence somehow stripped away the slightly fussy air of overly-polite reserve he usually gave, leaving behind a touch of no-nonsense sternness that was oddly authoritative and reassuring.

"You're looking good, Remus!" Harry observed happily as he led the way over to the table to greet him properly.

As he drew closer, he glanced down curiously at the messy stacks of documentation, parchment, charts and diagrams piled on the table in front of Remus, but couldn't make heads or tails of the complicated looking material.

"So, how are you? How is the new business with the Goblins?" He asked, moving to take a seat near him.

"Phew, how to put this tactfully...——" Here in front of them, Remus felt no need to carefully conceal much. He shrugged expressively and gave a slightly pained but wryly amused smile. "I can only say it's a lot more troublesome than being your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor!"

*******************************

For More Chapters; /FicFrenzy