Chapter Fourteen - The Housekeeper
It was a rather long trip, with some short stops to eat and take care of a few Nature calls. Uncle Ron and Luna talked most of the time, jumping from one topic to another. They told me about their time at Hogwarts, things that my mother had not told me, either from embarrassment or because the situations were mostly life-threatening.
I petted Crookshanks until my hands felt numb. I knew my mum's cat was demanding, but I didn't think it was that bad! Besides, after spending most of the day in a car, without much to do, a person starts feeling rather restless. In my case, I felt ready to run all the way to Godric's Hollow by myself.
"Do you think anyone will be able to help us?" Luna asked, as the car slowed down. I was snapped out of my thoughts just then, as I looked around, and noticed we had entered in a relative small city. The sun was nearly hidden behind the horizon, so it must have been a bit later than six o' clock.
"Last time we were here, there was a housekeeper. A Muggle," Uncle Ron told her. I wasn't sure what he meant when he said 'we.' "Since he still was being paid, he never had stopped looking after the house," he continued. "He's probably still around. Very reliable, the old man."
The car stopped twenty minutes later in a remote area of the village. The houses were separated by large patches of grass and trees, but still visible and near each other. We were in front of a house, which looked pretty much taken from a movie of the 80's.
Uncle Ron turned off the engine and leaned back in his seat. "Wait here, I'll go see if Mr Aedes is at home," he said as he opened the door and exited the car. He had left the lights on, since the house wasn't illuminated, and it was almost night outside. The sky was slowly turning from orange and brown to dark blue.
It didn't take too long for my uncle to return. He wasn't alone though. An old man, quite short and wide, was right behind him. The man had a few gray hairs at the sides and back of his head, and a white mustache. "Oh! Look at him!" the man exclaimed as he noticed me. "That Harry's son?"
My uncle nodded and opened the door for me. "Come, Mr Aedes will show you the house," he said. I nodded and got out of the car. "John, meet Mr Aedes, housekeeper of the Potter residence."
Mr Aedes was watching me with fascination, but it wasn't like the magical people in Diagon Alley. No, this was more sincere and less obsessive. It was of a plain housekeeper that was seeing the third generation of a family with a history of disappearing or dieing mysteriously. I remembered Uncle Ron had said the man was a Muggle. "Hello, there, John," the man said
"Hello, Mr Aedes," I said politely. Luna got out of the car just then, to greet the man. The three adults began talking about the conditions of the house and how the village was being modernized. I could tell Uncle Ron and Luna didn't understand a thing of what the man was saying, but they nodded and agreed to his every word.
I looked around the front lawn until they decided it was time to go inside. The four of us, plus Crookshanks, who didn't want to be left behind, entered the house. The old man quickly turned the lights on, and I was surprised at how Muggle the house was. But then again, Mr Aedes had apparently been the housekeeper since that dark wizard's first fall. It wouldn't do to have a Muggle housekeeper in a magical building...
"As you can remember, my wife and I decided to rebuild what was destroyed after that explosion," Mr Aedes was explaining to my uncle. "A few years ago, our daughter came back from London and helped us with some additional changes. She's an architect, so the changes were done professionally."
It was true. The house looked quite modern inside, but still simple. It looked like an artwork. As we looked around the house, I noticed some pictures in my grandparents' bedroom. A very young couple holding a baby. The man was slightly taller than the woman. He had black messy hair and brown eyes. She had dark red hair and green eyes. Like my own. I had my grandmother's eyes, just like Petunia had told me.
"Those are James and Lily, your grandparents," Uncle Ron said softly. "And that brat is your father," he added amusedly. I couldn't help grinning. It seemed odd to see my father as a baby.
There were other pictures. One of the pictures that caught my attention had my grandfather and three other young men. They all looked rather cheerful...
"That's Sirius Black, he Harry's godfather," Uncle Ron explained. "Remus Lupin, and... Peter Pettigrew," the last person's name was said in an irritated tone. I looked up to see my uncle glaring at the picture. Something bad seemed to involve that chubby man.
I didn't ask just then, because Luna put a hand on Uncle Ron's arm. He seemed to snap out of his thoughts and looked away from the picture. "Why don't you ask him now, Ronald?" she said in a quiet voice. He nodded and turned to Mr Aedes.
"Sir, I was wondering when was the last time you saw Harry," my uncle asked.
Mr Aedes stopped looking around and raised his eyebrows. He looked at me and then at the other two adults. "Well," he said uneasily. "He was here eight years ago. He told me to keep looking after the house, to use it if I needed to, and he left me with a big amount of money."
"Do you know where he went?" Luna asked.
The old man sighed heavily and ran a hand over his bald head. "He told me not to say anything..." he said nervously. He glanced at me once again. "Alright, I'll tell you because I know you Ronald, and because I don't want John not knowing where his father is... That is, if he's still there." He sighed again and walked out of the room. "Come with me, I'll tell you on the way."
"On the way to where?" Uncle Ron asked curiously, as we followed Mr Aedes.
"To where James and Lily are," the man replied.
Notes: Heh, I'm afraid I have some bad news. I had two exams, and I only passed one. I get to
take it again in April, so next week I'll start studying for it. And this week, my father is visiting for a few
days (he lives in the States), so I'll probably hang around with him.
That taken care of, I hope you like this chapter. Our little trio is getting more clues and John is learning more about
the Potter lineage.