Chapter Text
Green eyes surveyed the expanse of area around him, taking in all the details that had made this place once upon a time his home. He took in the now cream and grey colored walls that he had painted as soon as the war was over, having decided that if Sirius had wanted him to have this dreadful place, it was because he had the hope that he could – perhaps – turn it into a home, a proper one.
All the dark furniture that had been spread around the house had been taken to the Black family vault and he had bought newer and much more tasteful ones, going for warm earthly colors that helped give the house a more homely look. The elf heads had been taken away along with some cursed portraits, making the house look a thousand times more welcoming. He had then replaced it with some artwork pieces that he himself had created in the spur of the moment after Luna had suggested that, by decorating the place with things he had created himself, it would give the house more life and make it his own.
Part of him suspected that she had been trying to get him into a new hobby, to help him cope with everything that had happened. And as much as he hated when other people got their noses into his business, he could not bring himself to be angry at Luna. He knew very well that her suggestions had come from a well-meaning place, plus, she had been right in a way. Her suggestion had made him realize just how good he was at creating things, and it sure as hell helped him reduce his stress levels.
But now he had to deal with not sleeping because he was in too deep in his latest project, but he would rather not be able to sleep due to his creative mind going overdrive than not sleeping because of recuring nightmares. Besides, he had Kreacher to remind him to eat and sleep, so he was not completely helpless.
Probably.
Speaking of the elf, he was currently standing beside him with a small bag over his shoulder where he had packed all his most precious possessions. He was once again impressed by the change that the elf had made this last year. Gone was the dirty and tattered piece of fabric that he used to call clothes, in its place, a nice soft grey Greek style robes with black and purple details served as clothing. Over his right breast, the coat of arms of the Black, Potter and Peverell family stood out in bronze colored thread.
He still remembered the day when he gave the elf a bag of galleons and practically ordered him to buy himself some cloth to make himself some proper clothes, as giving him clothes himself would be taken the wrong way. Kreacher had wept when he told him that no member of his family will wear rags as clothes if he could do something about it, having never expected that he would be considered equal to a wizard, especially one that he had badmouthed and hurt many times in the past.
Needless to say, that, after that little incident, the elf had become very attached to him.
So, it was only natural for the old elf to be the first to pack his things when he announced him that he would be leaving Britain and would not return, not even if the British ministry begged him on their knees for him to come back.
He was done fighting for them, and he was more than done with them trying to dictate every moment of his life and he certainly was not going to miss being treated like hero one second only to be considered a villain the next.
“You have everything ready, Kreacher?” he asked.
The old elf nodded, “everything is in order Master Harry, this is the portkey that Master Griphook provided for us” he handed his master a cylindrical metal object that possessed strange dentures on the tip of the object and a red handle at the bottom. He found it weird that the goblins would have such a strange weapon in their possession, surely that small thing could not be very useful in a fight, “it will take us directly to Gringotts’ branch in Japan”
Harry, for his part, was having a hard time suppressing his laughter at the sight of his elf holding a screwdriver in his hand, looking at it as it if were a strange bug. But really, the elf’s reaction should not come as a surprise, having always relied on magic to fix everything in the house, it would only make sense for Kreacher to have never stumbled upon a screwdriver.
But he did wonder why the goblins had opted to use one as a portkey, knowing full well that it was more likely for a muggle to pick up the screwdriver than to leave it where it was, as it was a very useful tool in the muggle world and muggles were always in need of one, for there was always something or another that needed to be repaired. It defeated the purpose of using an object that muggles were not likely to pick up, perhaps he should have a word about what this in another time.
“What is the time of departure?” he inquired, hoping it would be soon, having forgotten the time of departure amidst the haste of making sure he had everything he wanted to take in his shrunk trunk. He had no intentions of staying there for longer than an hour, the longer he stayed there, the higher the chances of certain people finding out about his plans were.
The last thing he wanted was for someone to intervene in his plans.
“7:45 am Master”
So it would activate in five minutes, that was good to know. Harry nodded to his elf and took a moment to go through his mental list of what he would do as soon as he arrived at the Japanese Gringotts branch.
First of, introduce myself to whomever greets us at the bank, he began, then get Kreacher and myself settled in our new home. He had honestly no idea if the small Manor they were moving to would have proper plumbing, he should have probably consulted with the goblins first, but that would have taken too much time – valuable time that could mean the difference between dying or living. Besides, it’s not like he could not contract the goblins to help him have it installed if it became necessary, he had the money to pay them for their services after all.
Then I have to learn the language, maybe I should get some books there to learn. If he was planning on staying there for the rest of his life, then it was only logical that he would need to learn the language. Translation spells and potions could give him a helping hand during his first months there, but said spells could only help him so far, so he would need to learn the language as fast as possible. Good thing that he performed well while under pressure.
I will also need to question them about whether they’ll keep me as an Unspeakable for them. Not that he would mind it if they told him no. Don’t get him wrong, he loved being an unspeakable as he had no one to answer to except the head of the department and, more importantly, he could research magic to his heart’s content. Not to mention that he was the one to decide how much time he spent working, giving plenty of time to spend time with his godson.
But researching magic was something he could do on his own, as long as he was careful and he did not break any law, there really was no need for him to continue being an Unspeakable. With the combined wealth of the Potter, Peverell and Black families, he could spend the rest of his days in blissful luxury without having to work a day in his life. But that would just end up killing him from boredom.
Perhaps he could research what other crafts there were in Japan, learn them and build a business upon that? It certainly sounded like a nice idea.
He knew that the time had come when he began to feel that pulling sensation from the place where he had gotten hold of the screwdriver. With one last goodbye to the land that had seen both his birth and his death, he let the magic do its job and take them to where they could have a new start to their life.
Hopefully, this one would be a more peaceful one.