Albus Potter and the Prophesied Year

Ch 52 A Quiet Winter into Spring.

It was a beautiful spring day the end of April twenty-twenty-four. Albus and Harry were outside on a balcony connected to Albus and Cleo's quarters. The temperature was brisk, but the sun was shining on the balcony, and the slight breeze did not chill them. The smell of spring was in the air and there was a riot of spring colors.

The front of the palace faced the plaza. The rear of the palace was where Albus and Cleo's private quarters were, starting at the sub-basement. The quarters went from the atrium on the inside to the outside of the castle, and the balcony was on floor minus three, outside a large formal meeting room that was two stories high.

Albus had to admit that the numbering of floors could be very confusing. The floor on the level of the plaza was by design and appearance the main floor, and there were two floors above the main floor. There were ten floors below the main floor, which is why they were called "minus" floors, but three of the four sides were exposed, with plenty of windows, and only one side of the castle below the main floor was built into the mountain. The rooms on that one side of the castle, built into the mountain, could feel very underground, but the rooms on the other sides, with their windows, did not.

The lowest floor contained stables, and it just didn't feel like the main floor of a castle in any sense.

On three sides the mountains rose above the valley, each side full of the buildings of the Magi, work that had been going on for over three-thousand years. The crops and farmland were almost always close to the mountains, since the barns and homes of the farmers were built into and on the mountainsides. Directly across from the palace was a more moderate slope, no less high, with grass, forest, and farmland rising over halfway to the top of the mountain.

"Beautiful, isn't it," Albus told his father.

"Very different than England, or even Scotland," Harry replied. "but yes, it is beautiful." He put his hand on his middle son's shoulder and squeezed.

"There is a lake in the middle of the valley," Albus told his father, pointing in the general direction. "It drains through some hidden drains to the outside of the valley. Even in the heaviest rain it does not get more than half a meter higher, and even in the driest part of the year it doesn't get more than half a meter lower.

"There are cisterns that supply water to most of the valley. The valley has had running water of some sort for well over two-thousand years, thanks to Magi who learned Roman engineering. The valley is really a marvel."

"You love this valley," Harry observed.

"I am very content to live here," Albus replied. "Cleo loves the valley. She loves going to Resort Cleo, but she could never see living there. This really is home.

"I'm very ready for no more adventures, dad. Did you feel that way after you defeated Tom Riddle?"

"I remember thinking that I had experienced enough trouble for a lifetime," Harry answered, he leaned his elbows on the balcony as he looked out over the picturesque scenery. "I think I could have retired right then and there, except that Great Britain needed me. I didn't really get a vacation for a year."

"I feel the same way," Albus reflected. "I'm glad we went to Resort Cleo for two weeks, and that was mostly a vacation. I'm finding that with this, I guess you would call it a job, it is more than just a job, you never totally get away from your responsibilities."

"It is important not to let your responsibilities overwhelm you," Harry told his son. "There comes a time when you have to take care of yourself, and your family."

"How is mum?" Albus wondered, he leaned on the balcony, his voice filled with concern.

"Tired," Harry replied. "Terrified that Monica will die, but aware that she is not getting better. It is a very difficult situation. I hate to say it, but I'm not sure how much longer Monica will live, and every day she does it is very hard on your mother. Losing Monica would be hard too. No good, easy answers."