Chapter 29: Secrets and Safety
Both Grangers were shocked when Remus was finished with his explanation. Annabelle was the first to recover and she thanked Remus with a hug and a kiss on his cheek, leaving him red faced and John laughing at his blush.
Recovering from his blush, Remus stood up and said, "Well, if you are ready to go, I'll take you both there now."
Both Grangers took one last look around the house before nodding to Remus.
"Okay, grab onto my arm and I'll Apparate us over there. This is going to feel a little weird, but don't let go." When they grabbed onto his arms he turned on the spot and vanished with a pop.
When they arrived, Remus had to stifle a laugh as both of the Grangers were rubbing their ears, glaring at him. "Please follow me and concentrate on what you read earlier."
The Grangers followed Remus through the small park and when they reached the row of townhouses, they stared in awe as a building appeared on the end of the row. Remus ushered them inside quickly and the house faded from view to the outside world.
John and Annabelle stood in the entry hall of their new home still adjusting to their surroundings. There was a pair of small pops as Dobby and Winky appeared in front of them.
"Welcome to your new home Mr. and Mrs. Granger." Winky said while Dobby smiled and nodded in agreement. "Would you like a tour of the house?"
"Yes, please." Annabelle said automatically.
Remus called out; "Dobby and I will be in the kitchen putting together a snack. When you are finished with the tour I will answer any questions about the house and the surrounding area for you."
"Okay, thanks." John said before they followed Winky on a tour of the house.
The tour started in the sub basement. There was a door to their underground parking garage and their two spaces, which were also under the Fidelius Charm. There was an indoor pool with a hot tub and a fitness room located in the sub basement. The basement proper had a large office, the laundry, a guest bedroom and two full bathrooms. The basement floors were a light travertine and the rooms were a myriad of warm colors to brighten them up.
The ground floor had a comfortable family room with a large fireplace that connected only to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. A modern kitchen with stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops took up the back half of the house. The dining room was between the other two rooms for easy access. With the high ceilings and warm colors, the whole floor had a very homey feel to it.
John and Annabelle were following Winky in stunned silence. The house was simply amazing and they had only toured half of it so far.
The first floor held the master suite. It was 'simply beautiful,' thought Annabelle as she looked out the window overlooking Kensington High Street. She noticed that there was no sound coming in from the outside and she guessed that it was something magical that Remus, Sirius, or one of the elves had done.
Turning her attention back to Winky's explanations of the rooms she stopped cold when she realized that she was standing in a vast library. There were floor to ceiling shelves along the walls in a rich walnut color with matching wood paneling on the lower portions of the walls. There was even a window seat with pillows and a large fireplace on the far wall with comfortable looking chairs and a sofa arranged around it. There were a few magazines placed upon the coffee table in the center. The writing desk was located in the opposite corner underneath the other window looking out onto the park.
John Granger was having a hard time not laughing outright. He knew the moment that he saw the library that Annabelle and Hermione would absolutely love this room. He reached over, closed his wife's mouth with a single finger, and said, "No drooling please. At least I know where to look if I cannot find you or Hermione in the house. This place is enormous!"
Annabelle blushed when her husband closed her mouth. She had not even realized that it had fallen open. She had always wanted a library in her home but they never had the space for a proper set up. She wanted to grab a book, sit in the window seat, and forget the rest of the tour.
It took her a moment to realize what John had said and then her blush intensified. With a tiny scowl on her face, she turned to him and said, "I don't drool!"
John's only response was a raised eyebrow and a smirk before he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room after Winky.
She was still spluttering and muttering under her breath about; "payback and not drooling" when they reached the bedrooms located on the third floor.
After viewing the bedrooms, they headed back down to the kitchen to chat with Remus. Once everyone was seated around the table, snacking on the food that Dobby had provided, Remus intoned; "I'm sure that you have a few questions for me. Please ask away."
John spoke up first. "Remus, since I know that we couldn't afford a place like this, would you please explain it to us?"
"Of course. Sirius took care of the financial arrangements by paying for the house using multiple companies as a front. We are trying to put as many obstacles as possible between you and anyone that may try to find you through normal or magical means." Remus paused as he gazed into the Grangers eyes.
Seeing that they understood he continued; "Most wizards wouldn't know how to sort through dozens of dummy corporations to locate your new home. The ones with contacts in your world will still have a hard time because of all of the entities that a law firm helped to set up. When they were finished we removed all of the records and Obliviated the staff."
The Grangers were a bit shocked, and a bit impressed, by this revelation. The complexity of the entire scheme was amazing. The regular government would have trouble sorting through all of the corporations, meaning that a wizard would have almost no chance at all.
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