CHAPDISC: DH10, Kreacher's Tale - House of Black

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 180106

--- In "potioncat" <willsonkmom at ...> wrote:

> 
>  
> Potioncat:
> ...
>  
> Questions:
> 
> 1. Sirius' room is described as dusty and there is a 
> spider's web and mice inhabiting it. .... Do you think that
> Sirius actually stayed in his old room in "The Order of the
> Phoenix" or that he stayed in another bedroom?
> 
> Potioncat: 
> I have bowed to the overwhelming viewpoint that this was
> Teen! Sirius's bedroom, and that certain of his belongings 
> were brought here after he went to Azkaban. ... I find it a 
> little creepy that adult?Sirius would have slept in this 
> room with no changes to it; so no, I don't he used this room. 
> 
> The house has been in bad shape for many years, and it's been
> at least a year since anyone has "lived" here. It's unclear 
> how often the Order used it after Sirius's death. So it's not 
> surprising that there are spiders and mice. But, just how big
> is this house? At one time it held Sirius, Remus, 7 Weasleys, 
> Hermione, Harry and Buckbeak. Yet neither Sirius's or Regulus's
>  rooms appear to have been used.
> 
> ...
>

bboyminn:

Just a couple of points before I run off on my own tangent.

Did Sirius stay in his own room? Pure speculation, but I 
think he did, though I agree it would have been difficult for
him. I suspect Remus took Regulus's room and Sirius kept his
own. Unless you have Slash leaning, then we could speculate
they shared a room. Being the generous guys that they are and
both being used to sleeping in the rough, I think they would 
have told Molly that they would take care of cleaning their 
own rooms, and then only done a (pardon the expression) 
half-assed job of it.

They would have tidied the room sufficiently to be used and
left it at that. Like I said, these are two bachelors who are
used to living rough and sleeping in the wild. A little dust
and a few cobwebs wouldn't have mattered much to them.

Since the rooms were only vaguely clean to begin with, it 
wouldn't take them long to revert to their apparently long
abandon and disused look. 

Now to the tangental question; 'just how big is this house?'.

Big I think, I think in it's day it was a very grand townhome.

I speculate at least 6 bedrooms and certainly more than one
bath.

I haven't cataloged everything, but from the beginning of OotP
we have the following.

Though first a tangental tangent. The British have a funny
way of designating /floors/ in their houses. We have references
to Ground Floor, Main Floor, First Floor, and Third Floor.

Are Ground Floor and Main Floor the same, or is ground floor
essentially the half-underground basement, and the Main Floor
is the level at which most people enter the building? Then
are First Floor and Main Floor the same? Usually, UK buildings
are Main Floor (at roughly street level) then First Floor (
one floor above street level) and so on. 

I think in any case since there is a third floor referenced,
we can assume this is a four floor building; four above
ground floors, and the basement/kitchen. 

Back to the house; so 6 bedroom at least. There is a reference
to the Upstairs bathroom, which implies a second downstairs
bathroom; so two at least though I suspect at least three. 

We know the Drawing Room with the Bogart Desk and the Black
Family tapestry is on the first floor (second floor in the
USA). We know there is a little used Dining Room on the
'ground' floor. We know there is a Grandfather Clock that shot
bolts that is not mentioned in the Drawing Room. 

I suspect reasonably that their is a Study/Den/Library room
as well, it seems very unlikely that a nice house like this
wouldn't have one.

Now, is the Drawing Room the same as the Living Room or Lounge,
or would those be other rooms in the house?

So -

6 bedrooms
3 baths
Drawing Room
Dining Room
Study/Library
maybe a Living Room/Lounge

Not a bad little place. If this was within sight of the river,
it would probably be an easy seven figure place. Though as it
stands, it is in what was probably a grand neighborhood at one
time, but the gentry have moved on to bigger and better home, 
and left the neighborhood to fall into working class apartments,
which have then in turn deteriorated into one of London's 
shabbier neighborhoods.

I speculate that the Black House is in the N7 postal code 
(Islington/Barnsbury) because it is about a 20 minute walk
to Kings Cross. A 5 bedroom / 2 bath house in this area is
selling for $1,395,000 (US$2.8 million). 

http://www.primelocation.com/uk-property-for-sale/details/id/WIKT999001334/

That should give you some indication, but since Grimmauld Place
has yet to be redeveloped, I think the housing prices are
lower.

I have always pictured the Black House as looking distinctly 
out of place. Amoung somewhat modern brick and stone house,
it would have a very dark and dreary castle-like quality to
it.

Just a few thoughts.

Steve/bboyminn