Number 12 Grimmauld Place

"Grim Old Place, really, don't you think?" :)

Located: Between Number 11 and 13 Grimmauld Place, two shabby south London Muggle houses. This house is unplotable and hidden away by the Fidelius Charm. This family home is known as the "Noble and Most Ancient House of Black".

Once Owned By…: The Black Family, one of the most prominent pure-blood wizarding families. The mistress of the house, Mrs. Black, died c. 1985, and since then "stuff's been breeding in here," says Hermione. Mrs. Black's eldest son, Sirius, is the current owner of the home. Sirius' father put "every security measure known to wizard-kind on the house."

Now Owned By…: The Order of the Phoenix. Since Mrs. Black's death the house has become a derelict ruin of its former self. Sirius gave the house to the Order of the Phoenix to use as a Headquarters. Dumbledore put the Fidelius Charm on the house. He is also its Secret Keeper. The Order would use the house as a place to meet. When Harry is finally brought to the house as a safety precaution against the Dementor's and Lord Voldemort he, along with all the other non-Order members spend a lot of time trying to clean the house up, but it was slow work. Magical creatures had moved in and were very difficult to dislodge.

To be Inherited By…: It will be interesting to see who inherits 12 Grimmauld Place. If Sirius doesn't have a will, it will probably go to the Malfoy's who are linked to the Black's by blood, which will make for an interesting situation…

The Layout of the House

Front Entrance:
A walk leads from the street, up some worn stone steps to a black-painted door which is shabby and scratched, with a silver knocker in the shape of a twisted serpent; There is no keyhole or letterbox. The exterior of the house has dirty walls and grimy windows.

Basement:
The basement floor is a kitchen with rough-hewn walls, a large fireplace, and a large table with lots of chairs. There is a dresser where utensils and plates are kept. Up the steps is the main floor. A small pantry is connected to the kitchen. In a cupboard there is a water tank and beneath this is Kreacher's den, a filthy niche filled with mouldy blankets and bits of family heirlooms Kreacher has managed to scavenge as Sirius and the non-Order members cleans the house.

Ground Floor:
The Entrance Hall is a large room with peeling wallpaper, threadbare carpet, gas lamps, and a serpent-shaped, cobwebbed candleabra. A staircase runs to the upper floors. It smells of damp, dust and a sweetish rotting smell. The place has the feeling of a derelict building. There are a number of age-blackened portaits here hanging crookedly on the walls, including a large one behind moth-eaten moldy curtains. This portrait is of Mrs. Black, and when disturbed it screeches and screams in a most horrible manner, cursing everyone around and waking the other portraits, who also begin screaming. Not surprisingly, everyone tiptoes and whispers in the hall. There is an umbrella stand in the hall made from a troll leg.

Upstairs:
The dark staircase leading up to the upper floors is lined with the shrunken heads of house elves, all with the same snout like nose, mounted on plaques on the wall. The number of floors in the house is unknown. On the first floor is the drawing room; Hermione and Ginny's bedroom is also located on this floor. Harry and Ron sleep in a gloomy, high-ceilinged second floor room with a wardrobe in it and a blank portrait on the wall that breathes. Fred and George sleep directly above them on the third floor. Buckbeak stays in the upstairs bedroom which once belonged to Mrs. Black. Magic items in the house include an ancient set of purple robes that tried to strangle Ron when he attempted to remove them and a grandfather clock that shot heavy bolts at anyone who went past it. In an upstairs toilet, a rather murderous ghoul was lurking.

The Drawing Room
The curtains of the drawing room were infested with doxies and the writing desk had a boggart in it. A nest of dead puffskeins was found in the sofa. A tapestry hangs on the wall showing the Black family tree. There are dirty, glass-fronted cabinets on either side of the mantelpiece which contain a variety of sinister and Dark Magic items which didn't seem to want to leave their shelves. These include: rusty daggers; claws; a coiled snakeskin; tarnished silver boxes engraved in unknown languages; a fancy crystal bottle with a opal stopper filled with blood; biting silver snuffbox; which holds Wartcap Powder; many-legged tweezer-like instrument which scuttles like a spider; a music box that makes everyone fall asleep; a locket that no one can open; ancient seals; dusty box containing an Order of Merlin First Class given to Sirius' grandfather for Services to the Ministry; a large golden ring with the Black family crest and family photos in silver frames.

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