Echoes of Stone and Gold… Pt1
The first to step through the mansion's fireplace was Draco, who glanced around as soon as he emerged and found no sign of Harry nearby. The only thing he saw was the golem Euphemia, calmly cleaning as she always did.
"Hello, Mrs. Euphemia," Draco said with a proper greeting and impeccable manners. "Is Harry around?", he asked with curiosity.
"Oh, hello, dear," Euphemia replied with her usual kindness. "Harry took the two little ones to look for that chaotic dragon in the dungeons," she explained softly.
Draco frowned slightly, clearly confused. "Why does the Potter mansion have dungeons?", he asked, unable to hide his interest.
"That is an interesting question," Euphemia replied calmly. "As far as I understand, they were not dungeons at first, but rather a medical treatment room. However, I do not clearly remember what happened afterward. You will have to ask Fleamont if you wish to know more," she added.
"I see. I will wait for Harry in the sitting room, if you do not mind," Draco said politely. However, almost immediately, other flashes of green flames drew his attention.
Wendel and Remus stepped out of the fireplace. As soon as he passed through the flames, Wendel, who had never been in the mansion before, looked around with a mix of excitement and surprise. It truly was an ancient mansion, filled with magic, history, and a presence that felt alive within every wall.
"So this is the famous mansion," Wendel commented. "Hermione never stops talking about its libraries. At some point, I am genuinely afraid she might suddenly disappear and end up here without wanting to leave," he said with the expression of a worried father.
"It is either that, or you are afraid she might want to marry Harry just to keep the library," Remus replied with a lightly amused smile.
"That is a new concern now," Wendel said, having truly never considered that possibility before.
Remus gave him a friendly pat on the back before noticing Draco and greeting him naturally. Then he looked at the golem, whose screen displayed Euphemia's face, and of course recognized her. He was well aware of the existence of such golems, created to give physical form to old portraits.
"Mrs. Potter, it is a pleasure to see you again," Remus said with a smile full of memories.
He had been a friend of James. Perhaps not as close as Sirius, but they had shared important moments together. They had all visited the Potter home, had met both Fleamont and Euphemia, and those memories still lived vividly in his mind.
"Remus, you have grown so much," Euphemia said as she stepped closer to give him a gentle hug. "Sirius told me that the curse was cleansed. I am truly very happy for you," she added, giving him a few soft pats.
"Thank you," Remus replied. Losing his lycanthropy was something he was grateful for every single day of his life, both to Wanda and to Harry. To Wanda for healing him, and to Harry for providing the connection that allowed her to do so. Remus knew well that Wanda had little interest in anyone who was not part of her family, and he was fully aware that he had been cured simply because Sirius promised her an object that would allow communication with Harry, and she accepted without hesitation.
At that moment, the fireplace flared once more, announcing the arrival of the last two members who would take part in Sirius's supposed and exciting adventure.
Sirius and Edward stepped through the flames. The moment they entered, Sirius's ever lively personality immediately contrasted with Edward's cold and serious expression, forming a nearly perfect combination.
"You finally made it, Sirius," Remus said in a playful tone.
"Come on, Moony. You know the trip does not start until I arrive late," Sirius replied instantly, before approaching Euphemia and giving her a hug. "Godmother, it truly makes me happy to see you again. You always make my days better," he said quickly while wrapping his arms around the golem. "Have you been exercising? You look slimmer and younger," he added without thinking twice.
Euphemia gave him a light punch on the shoulder. Obviously, it made little sense, considering her body was a golem made of extremely heavy materials, but what woman would not feel happy being told she looked younger or slimmer.
"You always with that silver tongue of yours," she said with a genuinely happy smile.
Sirius smiled before glancing around, noticing that only Draco was present. Harry and the twins were nowhere to be seen.
"Where is my dear godson?", he asked immediately.
"Dungeon," Draco replied simply.
"Oh, that place," Sirius commented with a crooked smile. "It makes me think that if James had known about it, we would have had quite a lot of fun."
"Perhaps that is why Fleamont was waiting for them to be more mature before telling them," Euphemia said before letting out a soft sigh. "Although… it truly was far too late."
If James had known about the mansion, he would probably still be alive. Fleamont never managed to tell him because he died before he could.
"It is fine. I do not think James would be upset," Sirius said with a smile. "He looked quite well the last time I saw him," he added, referring to when James appeared as a ghost.
"I hope the real Euphemia and Fleamont were able to be with him then," she said. After all, more than anyone, she knew that she was nothing more than a soulless copy of the real Euphemia. That was how portraits worked. Memories left behind by the originals. Copies, but not the real ones.
Sirius looked away for a second, as if that thought was something he preferred not to dwell on for too long.
But then he clapped his hands, breaking the melancholic atmosphere.
"Alright, let us wait for Harry before leaving. I really have everything planned out. A day at the beach, checking out girls in bikinis for the single ones, boring games for the married ones, and a day full of fun for the kids," Sirius said, listing the plans. It was evident that it was not a well thought-out plan; it was, quite simply, a very Sirius plan.
"It bothers me that you call me a kid when I am standing right in front of you," Draco said with a serious look.
"That is exactly why you are a kid," Sirius replied with a playful smile.
Draco rolled his eyes before sitting down to wait on a nearby sofa.
"We could have gone to the beach with the girls," Wendel commented when he heard that the plan was basically going to the beach, feeling that it would have also been fun to go with their wives and daughters.
"And have their wives be seen by others? That is what you want?" Sirius replied quickly, as if the matter had already been decided long ago. "I am pretty sure Edward would blind anyone who dared look at his crazy wife, so it is better not to risk it."
Edward said nothing, but it was implied that such a thing could indeed happen. And it had probably happened at some point before, because Selene was truly beautiful. More than once.
…
"Red!" Harry shouted as he moved through the dark dungeons, barely lit by ancient torches embedded in the stone walls. At first glance, this part of the mansion looked like the oldest of all; the stone was more worn, the air colder, and the silence heavier. Even so, everything was impeccably clean, showing that Gris and Liz always kept the mansion in perfect order.
Still, the place remained slightly unsettling. There were cells with truly old, rusted chains, some hanging from the ceiling or anchored to the walls. What was curious was that, despite their appearance, the beds inside the cells looked surprisingly comfortable, almost like hospital beds.
That struck Harry as strange. He rarely ever came down to the dungeons, mainly because there was never anything interesting there beyond the cells. Still, something in the air did not sit right with him, like a faint pressure he could not quite identify.
"Where did that idiot go?" Harry muttered.
After moving a bit further, they found the cell where Red had surely been locked up. The bars were completely destroyed, twisted and bitten through, without a doubt the work of the dragon's teeth.
"It is a shame Terra is not here to help us find him," Billy commented.
After all, Terra had gone with the girls, just like Dee, since apparently Dee was also a girl. By the way, Hedwig had also been taken by Luna and Astoria. Because of that, they suggested that Harry take Crookshanks with them, but Hermione's grumpy cat simply shot them a look full of disdain before going back to sleep on his cushion.
Obviously, he had no intention of joining them.
They could not take Fluffy, Destructor, or Buckbeak either. It seemed they were having their own adventure together with Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, who lately spent far more time with them and barely returned to his former owner.
So the only option left was to take Red with them, both to avoid leaving him alone and to make sure he would not cause trouble somewhere else.
Even so, Harry was not sure whether that was a good idea or a very bad one.
He continued walking through the dark corridors, followed by Billy and Tommy, who looked around with clear interest. However, after a while, there was not really much to see; all the cells looked the same.
"Why are there even cells in a mansion? Were the owners in the past really suspicious people?" Tommy asked with a slightly amused smile.
"Well, Hogwarts Castle also has dungeons, and it is a school," Billy replied thoughtfully.
"Yes, but it is a castle," Tommy retorted, as if that were a perfect justification. In truth, it was not, considering the castle had been built as a school from the very beginning.
"In the past, It was not normal back then to have a police force rushing in to save you. if a criminal broke in," Harry explained calmly. "Many powerful families had their own prisons, since they also had private security. Criminals were kept there before being handed over to the authorities. Feudal lords or nobles had legal authority over their lands; they could detain thieves, rebellious peasants, minor invaders, or people who broke local laws. The cells served as temporary prisons until a punishment or trial was decided."
He paused for a moment before adding, "They were also used to lock up debtors, punished servants, people considered dangerous, or even inconvenient family members. It sounds brutal today, but it was part of the medieval and early modern mindset. And as you know, the magical world is still quite medieval."
"Awesome," Tommy said, clearly interested in that dark history.
"Alright, let us just find Red quickly and—" Harry began, but he did not get to finish the sentence.
Something felt wrong.
The atmosphere seemed to shift all at once. Harry noticed it instantly, and Billy did as well. Both turned their heads in the same direction, while Tommy looked at them completely confused.
"What is going on?" he asked.
"Something is coming," Harry said, immediately stepping in front of his brothers.
An unsettling silence wrapped around them. Even the torches seemed to flicker.
Then, suddenly, a blast echoed from several cells ahead. At the same time, a sound similar to an alarm began to ring throughout the mansion, deep and vibrating, running through the walls like an ancient echo.
Harry, Billy, and Tommy watched in horror as the corridors ahead of them began to transform. The stone, the floor, and the walls started turning into gold, advancing rapidly toward them like a solid, gleaming tide rushing forward.
The heat began to rise sharply, and the air grew heavy, hard to breathe. The danger of whatever was happening could be felt clearly.