Authors Note: Oh my gosh!!! I am soooooo sorry it took soooo long to write this… school has been very hectic and I have not had much time to write. I hope you will forgive me. To answer some of your reviews, I actually have no idea whether this story will bash Ron and Ginny, at first I think I was against it, but as of now I have no idea what I am going to do whatsoever. I only have one pairing that is set in stone so the others will end up being a surprise to me too. And no fictionfanatic82, I will not tell you the Potter Family secret, you will have to wait and find out with everyone else. I hope you all will continue to read even though I disappeared for forever.

Chapter 4: Potter Castle

Harry found himself on the grounds of a very stately castle. An enormous house stood before him, and he realized that the building was almost half of the size of Hogwarts. The turrets and towers that extended from the top of the building reminded the young man of the only place he had considered home, and this allowed him to hope that this new place would soon replace the school. Harry's jaw dropped to the ground, while the little elf, Hokey, looked on in amusement. She was used to people reacting this way to the place that she had taken care of all of her life as a house elf.

"Please follow me, Mr. Harry Potter Sir. I can give you a tour of the house and then you may settle in. I will have the others make dinner at six o'clock." Said Hokey with a serious disposition.

"Others?" Harry asked with a furrowed brow.

"Yes Sir. the other house elves that work at the Potter Castle." Hokey stated, "There are approximately 30 others that also work at the castle and they will help you whenever you call for a house elf. Now would you rather have me show you the house, or would you rather wander?"

"Um… I think I'll just wander a little bit before dinner. Do you think that one of the others could come and tell me when dinner is ready and show me where to go so that I don't get lost?" Harry asked timidly. He did not want to burden the house elves, and he knew that if Hermione found out that his family owned house elves, he would be dead. The nod from Hokey answered his question and then he was alone after a loud pop from the sweet old house elf.

He walked up to the doors and noticed that the carving from the strange ring on his finger matched that of the knocker that was inscribed on the old wooden door that stretched a few feet above Harry's head. Harry carefully pushed the door in after turning the handle and made his way into a gleaming entranceway covered in shimmering marble. The floors were an elegant white with streaks of gold and flecks of a red that was almost pink. There were columns that surrounded the hall and a staircase made of the same marble that led to the second floor. Beautiful tapestries and paintings adorned the walls, most of them moving, but some still, causing Harry to assume some of the artwork was muggle made. He recognized a painting by Leonardo Devinci that was thought to have been lost hundreds of years before and he gaped at the splendor surrounding him.

He decided to continue out of the entrance hall and look at the first floor to begin with. Then he would make his way up the levels until dinnertime. He also thought to write a letter to Hermione and Ron, not telling them exactly where he was, but to determine if they were loyal to him or to Dumbledore. He would also send the letter to reassure his friends that he was safe.

He walked up the stairs, with his steps reverberating across the vast entrance hall. Once he reached the top, he looked on in amazement at the long hallway with various doors all along the way. He opened the first one, and saw an enormous ballroom with a dance floor and various tables surrounding it. The chandelier was dripping in crystals and the sconces along the wall cast an amber glow around the entire room.

Harry turned around and wandered a bit more until he came to two oak doors. He pushed them open and walked into the largest library that he had ever seen. There were shelves upon shelves of books, and there was even a second level. Leather and suede armchairs of the most beautiful butterscotch color were scattered around the room, with little oak tables by them. Harry decided that he would have to show Hermione this room if he found her to be loyal to him.

As Harry walked around the first floor, he found a smaller dining room, an elegant living room, and a well-worn family room that seemed to be furnished with some of the newest technology. There was an enormous flat-screen television, a multitude of DVD's, and speakers were attached to the walls in strategic places. He left this room and decided that he would go and check out the upstairs.

Harry moved up the marble staircase to the second floor where he found a multitude of bedrooms. Looking down the long hallway, Harry could see doors upon doors, and he decided to just poke his head into a couple for the moment. Each room had a color theme, and the standard was a large sitting room, a queen size bed, and a bathroom for each guest room. The fabrics were rich, beautiful colors, and the elegance astounded the boy. After glancing quickly into a couple of rooms, Harry moved upwards once more to the third floor. This level of the mansion seemed to contain different rooms for dueling and getting into shape. Harry noticed a state of the art weightlifting room, a basketball court, a game room that contained everything from pool to a poker table, an Olympic size swimming pool (which was odd since they were on the third floor), and a bowling alley. Harry couldn't wait to play on this level.

The next floor of the house seemed to be the family wing. Once again, there were many bedrooms, but Harry decided to only enter the master bedroom, the door of which was also engraved with the unknown insignia. The room was decorated mainly in deep blues and greens, and whose furniture was a beautiful rosewood. Harry saw a desk, a king size bed, a couple of dressers, a sitting room, and a door leading into a bathroom that rivaled that of Hogwart's prefects.

At this time, a pop sounded in the room, and a little houself wearing the same uniform as Hokey scared Harry to death. He jumped ten feet in the air, and spun around with his wand pointing straight at the terrified elf. After a moment, Harry lowered his wand and apologized to the scared elf. "Oh, I am so sorry, you just frightened me," Harry explained.

"It is being okay," the elf replied, "I is being Pokey, and Hokey is sending Pokey to get Mr. Harry Potter Sir."

"Ok," Harry said as he grabbed the elf's outstretched hand. With a pop, the two vanished into thin air and reappeared in the dining room of the house. Harry was instructed to sit at the table, and as he did so, platters upon platters of scrumptious food appeared, enough to feed the entire student population at Hogwarts. Harry sat with his jaw hanging open at all of the delicious food. He decided to fill his plate with steak and kidney pie, mashed potatoes, green beans, and a salad, so that he would have a balanced meal. For desert, he savored a mouthwatering treacle tart. Once he was finished, Harry decided to wander around once again until he found the master bedroom, so that he may get settled into his new home. Harry stood from the table, and walked back into the entranceway, up the stairs, to the fourth level, until he came to the door with the odd insignia.

Once inside, Harry found his trunk and the rest of his belongings sitting on the floor next to his bed. He opened his trunk and pulled out his small number of clothes and robes, and placed them in the rosewood dresser. He put all of his previous school books on the bookshelves that surrounded the sitting area, and his writing utensils, parchment, and summer homework on the desk that sat in his new room. Once all of his belongings, including his invisibility cloak and photo album had been suitably placed, Harry decided to write a letter to Hermione and Ron to inform them of his new situation. He figured that his two best friends were together, so he decided to only write one letter addressed to both of them.

Harry sat down at his desk, grabbed a piece of parchment, his inkwell, and his quill, and started penning his letter.

Dear Hermione and Ron,

I visited Gringott's Bank earlier today, and some troubling information came to light. I have found out that I cannot trust Dumbledore as I would have hoped, and that the old coot has been stealing money from me for years. Once again, I am so sorry to have dragged you to the Department of Mysteries, and I would completely understand if you no longer wish to be my friend.

I will not tell you where I am now, but all that I will say is that I am no longer at the Dursley's house. I am going to start training to defeat Voldemort where I am, and I want you both to know how much I cherish your friendships. Please write back and maybe I can bring you to where I am soon. But I might need to make you take oaths. Just in case Dumbledore tries to force the information from your minds. Tell me if you would like to come stay with me.

Your friend (I hope),

Harry

Once Harry had sent Hedwig off with the letter, Harry decided to get a start on his classes for next year. He had picked up his schoolbooks while in Diagon Alley, along with many other interesting titles, and chose to start with his favorite, Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry diligently read and took detailed notes for about three hours before he decided to go to bed, hoping that tomorrow would bring positive replies from his friends, and a beginning to his training to defeat Voldemort.

Authors Note: Once again, I am soooooo sorry that this took so long, and hopefully it won't be so long in the future. I will attempt to get another chapter out before the end of Christmas Break, but no promises. I know this is shorter than previous chapters, but I just wanted to get something out for you guys. Please Review