Chapter 25 : The Heir's Castle

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"Yes." He answered laconically, withholding his laughter.

"Sev?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"Your house."

"What about it?"

"It's a castle." Harry said, finally turning to look at the amused black eyed man.

"It might not have occurred to you Harry, but I had already noticed. And it's actually called Silbreith." Severus admitted, using all his training in Occlumency to keep the smile off his face.

"Oh." Harry quipped, turning back to stare the building in the distance that was apparently Silbreith. There, peaking over the trees of the thick pine forest, nestled on what appeared to be a hill, stood the castle Severus claimed to be his ancestral home. It wasn't as grand as Hogwarts for sure -Harry had trouble believing any castle could hold a candle against Hogwarts' splendor- but it was breathtaking in its own accord. Harry could see the turrets from where he stood and counted two, no three towers rising from the main body of the castle.

"Shall we?" Severus asked with a smile and took a shell-shocked Harry by the hand to lead him towards the castle.

"Are you sure we can stay here?" The boy whispered as if he feared they would be overheard. This time Severus couldn't help himself; he laughed, a rare unguarded laughter that was becoming more of an occurrence as he spent more and more time with the green eyed boy.

"Considering I own the place, yes, I'm sure." Severus stated lightly.

"Wow!" Harry stated in lack of better words to express himself, eliciting yet another laugh from the potions master.

"Would you like to hear a bit about the story of this place?" Severus asked, knowing that harry was going to ask soon anyway.

"Sure!" Harry readily agreed.

"Well, it was built, in its original form, as a keep during the third goblin rebellion when the battles spread nation-wide." Severus explained. "Over the years the estate expanded to include the forests around, was surrounded with an outer wall and made unplottable. I, being the owner of the estate and the last Prince heir, have the ability to apparate inside said wall. Anyway, during the past centuries, rooms, galleries and floors were added, until the castle came to be what it is today." Severus concluded.

"Are there many families that have castle as their ancestral houses?" Harry asked peering towards the castle yet again.

"In Europe quite a few to begin with." Severus explained. "But many were abandoned due to lack of heirs or the demise of the whole families; having the ownership of a magical keep in the Middle Ages meant fighting in wars, leading armies to battles." The potions' master elaborated. "The families whose ancestral homes are mansions are younger, as pureblood families go."

"So the Prince family is older than the Potter line?" Harry asked smiling.

"Why yes." Severus affirmed with a smile of his own. "We didn't always bear the name Prince -the line is called Snape now after all- but the actual bloodline has risen to power before the Potters."

"That's brilliant!" Harry exclaimed.

"I will have to agree." Severus offered chuckling. They continued to walk in silence as Harry appeared to be considering what had been said. "Out with it Harry."

"I was just wondering…" The boy trailed off. "What happens to those castles that are left without an heir?"

"Good question Harry." Severus conceded. "You see, the magical signature of the family is still present on the castle so it cannot just be bought. In result, they remain vacant up to the moment when a wizard or witch appears to break the preexisting wards. It's a very strong form of blood magic, so it's easier said than done."

"But then the castle can be bought?" Harry questioned further.

"It wouldn't come cheap, but yes." Severus confirmed considering the boy's question. Something was going on in that brain of his, he could tell. "As a matter of fact, there is a castle like that not far from here, vacant for over a century." The boy regarded him with bright eyes before nodding once. "Is there anything that bothers you Harry?" The potions master asked as the main gate of the castle appeared around the corner.

"It's just a thought." Harry admitted, sending Severus a look that seemed to belong to a face much older, allowing a glimpse of the man he would one day be shine through. "It's just a thought still but when I have something certain you'll be the first to know Sev, I promise." The boy offered and then proceeded to tug on Severus' hand, urging him on. "Come on Sev! I'll race you to the entrance!" And he took off running before the young professor managed to agree -or disagree for that matter. They both ended up entering the hall still running, Harry laughing all the way there and Severus smiling at the boy's antics.

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