32 Chapter-32: 12 Grimmauld Place

The exam results didnt come as a surprise for Ronan. He was the top student of the year, followed closely by Hermione, who only lost to him courtesy of Professor Snape. But he didnt care about the results that much, but apparently Hermione did. He saw her face morph into an angry piranha in a matter of seconds after she saw her result. His friends dragged him away after they saw the results, so he didnt have the time to talk with her.

Before Ronan knew it, all of his stuff was packed in the trunks and they were off to Hogsmeade Station to catch the train back home. His friends, and Draco and his goons took a compartment for themselves. Draco was bragging and insinuating that he would talk to his father about Dumbledore's blatant disrespect to House Cup tradition. And his father in turn would talk to Governers. And he couldnt blame the boy, almost all the Slytherins were a little bit salty because of the results of the House Cup.

Making an excuse that he had to go to the toilet, he ventured out of the cabin and started looking for the four Gryffindors. He really wanted to know what had happened that night, and he didnt have to look for long. Sliding the door, he came in. Those four stopped talking, Neville and Harry bloomed a smile on their face as they saw him. Ron was indifferent, while Hermione looked pissed at him.

"So, I have heard a crazy rumor about this cabin.. I have heard that the second most intelligent witch of Hogwarts is sitting in this cabin…" Then he waved his hand, "Well you know what… forget about it. Who does even remember people in the second position." He said while smiling cheekily.

"You know what, I will get you next year Ronan," Hermione said with a huff.

"Permission to sit down and chat?" Ronan asked, Harry then shifted and gestured to him, "Sure mate, come sit down."

"So, Professor Quirrell, huh?" Ronan spoke, "I wonder if anyone suspected the person to begin with,"

Ron spoke, "You got one thing right. One thing."

"But it was the most important stuff, wasn't it?" Neville spoke, "He was the only one to suspect Quirell, and we all didnt even think of him as a potential suspect,"

"Yes." Harry said, "We would have never suspected Quirell to begin with."

"So, if you guys dont mind me asking, what happened back there? I was able to make sense of a few things, but.. I still dont know the whole story." Ronan asked.

Then Neville started recounting what happened that night…

Harry made the connection when he realized that someone might have duped Hagrid and would have gotten the way to bypass Fluffy, after all, how many people in England would travel around with a Dragon's egg in their pocket? And their fear came true when Hagrid admitted to telling he told the stranger who sold him the egg, the way of bypassing Fluffy. So they decided to steal the stone, before anyone else.

After bypassing Fluffy, they face many hurdles. But one by one, they passed through everything. When they reached the second last hurdle, which was a test of potions. Hermione solved it with ease, and insisted for Harry and Neville to move along, while she would go back to help Ron and send a message to Dumbledore. When Harry and Neville proceeded forward, they reached Quirell. And as it turns out, Voldemort was living on the back side of the Quirrell's head.

Ronan vaguely remembered the scene which he saw in his previous life. But things happened a little bit differently from he remembers…

Harry got the stone from the Mirror of Erised, but Quirell found out about it. And then he took Neville hostage, by putting his wand on Neville's head. But somehow Neville's touch was able to burn Quirrell, and with that, they were able to defeat the evil wizard.

"So you have magic touch?" Ronan asked, curious about the magic behind such a phenomenon.

Neville shook his head, "According to Professor Dumbledore, my mother cast a very powerful magic before dying. Because of which Voldemort couldnt touch me."

"Hmm…" Ronan mumbled, "That is one interesting piece of information… I would like to study this kind of magic in the future."

And then Ronan looked up, "Also, which brings me to another question that I had." He then turned to Harry, "Harry, we both are orphans and know what it is like to have no place to call your home. So if you need a place to crash in the future, feel free to send me an owl."

"Really? I can?" Harry asked.

Ronan nodded with a smile, "What is the use of having a house and gold if you cannot spend it with your friends."

"Well, not this summer," Ron added, "He is coming to my house this summer,"

"Hey, the offer stands for the future." Ronan said, "Also, the offer extends to you guys as well. Feel free to contact me anytime you want…"

They talked for a few minutes and then went back to his compartment with his friends. By the time he returned, everyone had moved on from the topic of the House Cup.

Draco then invited them all to visit on 25th August to Malfoy Manor. It was his birthday, and they were all invited. Then that boy went on and bragged about how maybe the Minister of Magic might also pop in during the celebration.

***

"Certainly Mr. and Mrs Greengrass, I will make sure to visit the Greengrass Manor sometimes," Ronan said, he was currently talking to Daphne's parent who came to pick her up at the station, before these two he had also met Pancy's parents who were all delighted to meet with him. His blood status and his family name had come in clutch here.

Everyone that he had met had invited them to dinner or tea in their house. He understood that this was all in the hope of making a connection with him. Although the Black Family does not hold the kind of power that it commanded in the past, but their name still holds value in today's wizarding world. Seeing his performance and reputation, everyone wanted to create amicable relations with him, and it was not like he hated the idea.

When he came out of London Station, he went to the curve called for a knight, and reached the Grimauld Place. And it was not a place that he expected.

Ronan found himself standing in front of dingy old apartment buildings in front of a muggle park. The interesting part was, he was standing before 11 and 13 Grimmauld Place, with no sign of 12 Grimmauld Place. He felt that something was amiss here, the goblin had warned him that this house was protected with various charms and security measures. He wondered whether this was a security measure as well.

To understand what he was dealing with here, he approached the 11 Grimauld Place. And it was then he saw 11th and 13th number buildings had started shaking vigorously as if there was an earthquake. It was a very bizarre sight, both the buildings started getting shoved aside, and then emerged 12 Grimauld Place from between. The interesting part was, that no muggle in the vicinity or in those buildings felt their building shove aside.

Dragging his trunk behind him, he went to the door and pushed it open. Ronan was greeted with a long hallway, he swiftly got in and shut the doorway behind him. He then looked inside him and found himself standing in a musty and dusty hallway, which was lit up with gas lamps lighting his way. There was a very intricate Chandilieer above him, which looked recently cleaned. The wallpaper on the walls seemed to peeling off, while the carpet below his feet looked worn off.

It was then with pop, Kreacher appeared before him, "Kreacher welcomes master,"

Ronan then let go of his trunk, and looked at the thing before him, "Kreacher. Show me around. Give me a tour of my house."

"Kreacher would be most delighted,"

This place looked like a haunted house. The pillars of the house had intricate vines carved on it, making it look like a house that was built during the Victorian Era. The place was so big, that it didnt feel like he was walking in a dingy apartment, and felt more like a mansion. The kitchen although looked old, had everything a magical household would need.

The dining hall had this big and long wooden table with a crest, which consisted of three crows standing side by side. The crest was also engraved on all the chairs as well. If that was enough, he had a lot of goblin gold crockery, with their family insignia. There was a pantry, and wine cellar as well.

If that is not weird, there were portraits of unknown Black ancestors looking at him, shaming him to be a mudblood. And among them stood the portrait of his grandmother, Walburga Black, who sounded like a very venomous woman.

"Who is the filth!" she shouted from her portrait that was on the grand staircase. She was this creepy old lady, who had heads of previous generations of goblins beside her portrait, preserved under glass containers.

"My name is Ronan. I am son Regina Black and Victor Johanson." Hearing his introduction, her expression softened for a moment, "Regina's… son." Her portrait couldnt believe it.

"Hello there grandmother," With that he moved away, he didnt bother with her after that.

As he moved further into the house, he managed to find a study room, which was previously used by Arctus Black, his grandfather. There were several bedrooms in the place which belonged to his mother, his brother, and his grandparents, and two guest rooms. Clearly, he could not complain about the space that he got in there.

From what he saw, as he had ordered, Kreacher was able to clean most of the place to the best of his abilities. Still, there were several things that he wanted to change about the place. Like, he wanted to get rid of all the portraits, he didnt know how he felt about unknown people watching him as he went by his day. He wanted to change the carpets of the place, as well change the wallpaper. Last but not least, he wanted to get rid of the family tree tapestry, which was creeping him out. Especially the part where it told him that Malfoy was his cousin.

There were several things to do, but for now, he decided to settle in the master bedroom and rest for the day…