He Will Be Loved

Chapter 17 - Finding Home

When the dizzying motion stopped, they stepped out onto the hearth of a large drawing room. Harry leaned heavily on Sirius for support as the world spun around him. His head throbbed, and he closed his eyes tightly, pressing his face into his Godfather's shoulder.

A hand gently cupped the back of his head, another grasping his shoulder, the steady weight grounding him. Fingers ran through his hair, and Harry heard a soft voice whispering to him comfortingly. Finally, the room stopped spinning and his headache subsided. He lifted his head from where it rested on Sirius' shoulder and looked around the room they were in. 

It was dark, the only source of light the flickering orange glow of the fire, illuminating the room. A long wooden table ran the length of the room, with high backed wooden chairs on either side, and a larger throne-like chair at the head. A large, crystal chandelier hung over the centre of the table, the dozens of candles it held unlit and melted down to the base, hardened wax dripping from the fixtures. Several old-fashioned armchairs sat facing the fireplace, a large bear-skin rug covering the stone floor in front of them.

"Are you okay, Harry?" Sirius asked, patting his shoulder lightly to gain his attention.

"Yeah," Harry reassured him. "Just got dizzy, is all."

"Okay, well, the Order meeting has just finished and it's about an hour until dinner. Do you want to go and see everyone, or would you rather rest until dinner's ready?"

"Rest." Harry said immediately. His body ached with tiredness and exhaustion, even from the short trip to Grimmauld Place, and he didn't feel like talking to anyone right now. From what Ron and Hermione had told him, there where a lot of people who came to the meetings that ended up staying for dinner as well, and he wanted to put off being around so many people who knew about his situation for as long as possible.

Remus was standing near the set of double doors at the far end of the room with Harry's trunk at his side. As they exited the room he led the way upstairs. Harry had to pause every now and then to catch his breath, and Sirius and Remus waited patiently, no sign of irritation showing on their faces. 

"Sorry," Harry gasped out as they paused for the third time, when they were most of the way up the second flight of stairs. 

"It's okay, cub." Remus said soothingly. "Take as much time as you need."

Finally, they reached the third floor, and Remus opened the nearest door. As they entered, Harry noticed that the door opposite held a plaque that read 'Sirius Orion Black' in bold red and gold lettering. Harry grinned at the obvious Gryffindor rebellion in the house of a family of Aristocratic Slytherin Purebloods. 

"This is your room, pup." Sirius told him as he ushered Harry inside, his countenance one of childlike excitement. 

Harry gaped as he caught sight of the room.

It was huge, even bigger than Dudley's room back at the Dursley's. The walls were painted a dark burgundy and the floor was made from lacquered mahogany wood floorboards, with a thick, fluffy, dark gold rug in the centre of the room.

The bed, which was positioned against the leftmost wall, was gigantic –easily big enough to fit five of him– and was made from the same mahogany wood as the floorboards. Harry's trunk now sat at the foot, and the quilt was a slightly brighter shade of burgundy than the walls, with a dark gold throw rug draped across it. The multitude of pillows piled at the head of the bed were red and gold, matching the rest the room.

Neither colour was as vibrant as the Gryffindor house colours, for which Harry was glad. The darker, more muted shades created a calm, homely feel that reminded Harry somewhat of the Gryffindor common room. This feeling was added to by the brickwork fireplace on the far wall, with two brown leather armchairs positioned facing it. Several more throw rugs in brown, red and black hung off the backs of the armchairs, along with throw pillows in matching colours, creating the perfect space for curling up and relaxing.