Harry Potter: Syndicate of Heroes

With a sigh, Hermione lay the letter in her lap and looked out the window, not that she was really seeing anything. Hearing from Harry was wonderful and always left her with a bunch of mixed feelings. There was the warmth and affection for her friend; the thrill of hearing about his adventures and experiencing them, even if it was second-hand; regret that she never went with him; irritation at just hearing snippets and not every fact that she'd love to hear; and, of course, the longing to actually see and be able to talk to and hug her best friend.

And now he'd added in temptation. She'd love to be as carefree as Harry, to be able to simply pack a bag, jump on a plane or grab a portkey and go. But that wasn't her, as much as she sometimes wished it were.

America. New York. The temptation was so, so strong. And it wasn't like she hadn't accrued a bunch of leave time after working at the Ministry for over six years. Yes, as soon as her latest assignment was settled, perhaps it was time to take a holiday.

ooo00ooo

Harry peered up the shaft that he'd created. It went all the way up from where he was in the basement, past the walled in first floor, and ended on the second floor. Satisfied with his work, he took the doll-house sized circular staircase out of his pocket and carefully positioned it on the ground.

It'd been a major find that he'd discovered in a building slated for demolition on the far side of the city. The fact that it encompassed three floors, exactly the size that he was looking for, meant that he simply couldn't pass it up. Sure, it needed a couple of reparos and a touch of transfiguration on a few of the steps, but that was neither here nor there. Especially for something that only a very few people would ever see.

Stepping backwards, he flicked his wand free from his arm holster and pointed it at the miniature staircase.

"Finite incantantum," he intoned.

Instantly, the stairs grew, expanding to their original size.

Harry grinned as he stepped forward, twisting and turning his head as he peered upwards. Taking the stairs two at a time, the tip of his wand providing the only light, Harry raced up to the first level of his apartment. But where he found himself at the top of the stairs, was about twenty degrees to the right of where it needed to be, mostly facing a brick wall.

Climbing the rail, he slipped out of the staircase and into the back of the broom cupboard. It was with a touch of irony that he'd built the false door into the broom cupboard. He could just imagine the look on Hermione's face if she ever came over and he suggested that she accompany him into the broom cupboard because he had something 'special' to show her.

Then, with a slight twirling of his wand, he rotated the stairs until they aligned correctly with the doorway. It was then simply a matter of fixing it in place, both up here and then down in the partitioned off area of the basement that he'd created by building an extra wall and then expanding the small space using space expansion charms so that the basement area was now twice its original size.

And the only way down there was by accessing this hidden doorway up here.

He figured that having a large hidden space that could be used to house the blatantly magical items that he owned, plus be large enough (and warded enough once he got around to it) to use as a duelling area would be a very good thing. Not that he expected to do much duelling, but he'd let his skills lapse a lot more than he was comfortable with these past five years.

Today, of course, was the perfect day to work on these 'secret' projects of his: the builders doing the renovations had finally finished and it'd be another two days before the decorators began their work.

At least, he figured, he finally had some ideas of what he wanted to create on the main floor. He even had a name for the mini-restaurant cum pub cum café that he was planning on opening. Not that that could happen any time soon, there was still a lot of permits and decorations and hiring or staff and half a hundred things to do.

But that was okay, Harry was in no hurry. And between times, he had his own little projects, plus a host of sightseeing that he wanted to do.

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