The First Day
Summary: It's the day after Ginny moved into Harry's flat. What will happen?
The sun shining through the curtain woke Ginny up a little after the sunrise. She opened her eyes, noticing with a smile that she was in Harry's (now and her's) bedroom. The day before activities came back to her and her smile widened. She had moved out of her flat and into Harry's. She felt Harry's arm around her waist and his breath on the back of her neck.
Judging by the light snores behind her, Harry was still asleep. She turned slowly and gently over, trying to keep from waking him and smiled at the sight of her fiancée. He looked peaceful and since the war ended almost four years ago, he had slept through the night without problems. His nightmares were occasionally and usually around May second.
She took a moment to go over the schedule for the day. She had the week off from training, which was well deserved and Gwenog had given the team some time off to spend with their families before the marathon of matches began in three weeks. Gwenog had decided to give the team a week of rest and Ginny took the opportunity to move into Harry's flat. This way, in the summer, they wouldn't have to worry about it.
She smiled when the thought of their wedding. She would be Harry's wife and as the plans stand now, they would be leaving for their honeymoon the day after their wedding. Harry had already booked it and a hotel to stay in for their wedding night.
They agreed that they wouldn't talk about anything wedding for the rest of the week, deciding to use the time to get Ginny settled in Harry's flat. But the way things looked now, Ginny was officially moved in. She just had to organize her things in the bathroom and bedroom, having just placed them in temporary spots.
Her thoughts then went to Harry. When Ginny told Harry she had this week off, he had taken a well deserved and overdue vacation from work. Robards and Kingsley were ready to force Harry to take the time off, but Harry had beaten them to it.
Ginny smiled when she noticed that Harry slept without a shirt last night, which for Harry wasn't unusual. She had learned this fact while they were dating during her fifth year. Unless it was really cold, Harry didn't sleep in a shirt.
She had a lot to thank the Auror program for. Harry's torso was toned, muscular and she loved running her hands along his abs and toned shoulders and chest. Ginny's eyes trailed down to the little patch of hair under his navel. Scratching there was one of the things that drove Harry crazy when they would shag. She even scratched there when she would rub his stomach and it was a struggle for him to lay still.
She shook her head from the thoughts that had crept into her head about another activity Harry and she could do in the morning. The last time, they did said activity, Harry had the mickey taken out of him at work due to the goofy smile he had on his face.
Making a decision, she slowly got up from the bed and headed towards the kitchen to start the morning tea. A peek at the window brought her attention to the Prophet owl. Dipping her fingers into a jar on the table beside the door, Ginny fished out enough sickles to pay the owl and got an Owl Treat. Dobby, Harry's owl, and her own, Dora, were sleeping on their perches.
She put the sickles in the money pouch and took the paper as she tossed the Owl a treat. Ginny untied the paper and laid it on the counter. She then headed to the door and unlocked it, bending down to collect the paper. Harry had decided to subscribe to the Muggle paper. Ginny didn't understand why, until she read it and found that a movie theater was playing some old movies.
She had talked Harry into going to the movies for a date night and they both had a good time.
"Good Morning," Harry's neighbor, who had the flat at the end of the hall, greeted. On the fifth floor, where Harry's flat was located, there were four flats. Harry's was the only on the left-hand side since it was the largest of the four. There were two on the right-hand side and one straight from the stairs.
The neighbor, who lived in the end flat, was who greeted Ginny.
"Good morning," Ginny returned in greeting.
"I heard about your engagement, congratulations."
"Thank you," Ginny returned.
"I'm heading out for a run, I love living in Soho. I'll talk to you later." With that, she was gone.
Harry and Ginny had found out when she moved in two months ago that she was a lesbian. Ginny had even considered introducing her to Gwenog, but Gwenog was taken…. by a man.
Returning to the kitchen, Ginny laid the paper on the counter beside the Daily Prophet, She opened the refrigerator and collected eggs to make some breakfast. She had considered making waffles since she had moved her waffle maker with yesterday. Deciding to save it for a day when they had Teddy, Ginny started scrambling eggs. She collected bacon and sausage links and soon the smell of bacon and sausage filled the air.
The tea was done and Ginny made herself her first cup of the day.
She was scrambling the eggs, frying the bacon and sausage when she felt arms wrapping around her.
"You know I was looking forward to waking up next to you, but this is good too," Harry said.
Ginny turned around, sitting the plate down on the counter, and wrapped her arms around Harry.
"I thought I would come and wake you once I had breakfast ready," Ginny whispered.
"Sorry, if I spoiled that for you."
Ginny smiled and stood on her tiptoes to come up a few more inches and kissed Harry on the lips.
"I could get used to this," she whispered.
"So can I."
Ginny smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist, spreading her hands on the bare skin of his back. She could feel some of the scars left on his back from his childhood with his relatives. Thanks to some balm and creams, the scars were now not noticeable. If she ran her hands along his bare back, the skin was smooth and the only way she could see them was looking under certain light.
With Harry's pale skin, they blended in well.
Ginny broke the silence when she reminded Harry she was fixing breakfast.
"I'll get the…." Harry trailed off as he turned around and noticed the papers sitting on the counter. He picked up the Muggle one and headed back to the bedroom. Ginny smiled softly and shook her head when she heard the bathroom door shut. It squeaked when it was opened or shut and Harry hadn't had the time to fix it.
Why did men take something with them to read when they go to the bathroom? She remembered Arthur took a section of the paper with him in the bathroom and her brothers took a magazine. Ginny realized that having something to read in the bathroom was a luxury for Harry.
Harry still to this day had to remind himself, he was allowed to read in the bathroom, he was allowed to eat what he wanted, he wasn't forced to wear Dudley's hand me downs, and he wasn't living with his relatives anymore.
The simple things that most people take for granted, Harry had to do without.
Ginny also learned when they were dating, that Harry could be just as bad of a bookworm like Hermione.
Between Hermione and herself, they had added to Harry's bookcase. Harry had developed a love for history books and stories about history as well and authors such as Mark Twain and Jane Austen. Old books weren't the only thing Harry discovered. He also discovered old movies. A favorite was Grease and a movie based on the Muggle board game Clue.
"Harry, breakfast is ready," she called from the stove.
Harry came back to the kitchen and sat down at the table. Ginny fixed Harry's plate and then her own. It was something they did. If Harry made breakfast, then he served it while Ginny cleaned up. Today, Ginny was making breakfast.
She sat down the plate in front of Harry with a cup of tea. She smirked at him.
"What?" Harry asked.
"Harry, are you going to put on a shirt?"
Harry looked confused and looked down at his bare torso. He smiled and picked up his wand.
"Accio red T-shirt," he called. The redshirt came flying in his outstretched hand. He sat down, his wand and slipped the shirt on before digging into his breakfast.
"Thanks."
Ginny hid a smirk behind her teacup. "You're welcome."
They sat in silence as they ate breakfast, only making some small talk. They both wanted to take advantage of the rare time office and spend time together. Ginny asked Harry about his thoughts on doing on a small redecorating project around the flat. In the two year years since Harry had moved in, he hadn't done much.
It was decided that they would live in the flat for a while until they decided where they wanted to live. Harry had warmed up to Godric's Hollow and Ginny wasn't sure she wanted to live in Devon.
"What's the plan for today?" Harry asked.
"Well," Ginny began. "I could get started on redecorating."
"You could." Harry glanced into the sitting room, the only room in the flat that hasn't been painted.
"Would you like to go shopping with me?" Ginny asked.
"Sure."
OoOoOoOoOoOoO
After breakfast, Ginny and Harry took turns taking a shower. As Ginny was done first, she slipped into a warm gray sweater and jeans, as the weather was chilly for October.
Grabbing a notepad and a Muggle pen from Harry's desk, Ginny walked around the flat and wrote down some things they would need.
She had helped picked out the bedroom furniture and it just so happened that the armchair she moved from her flat went with the colors in the room. But if she wanted the two armchairs to match, then she would need to buy covers or material to make it herself.
She wrote down the dimensions when they appeared after she did the spell that would measure the chairs. Flipping to a new page, she wrote down things to get. Some new towels, hand towels, and washcloths for the bathroom, small rugs for the bedroom and a large one for the sitting room. A few little decorative items. Plus, who knows what she could find.
After a look through the paper, she found some furniture store adverts and the best part of all of them was they were having a sale.
"Ready?" Harry asked the keys to his car in hand.
"Ready." Ginny picked up her handbag and jacket from the couch where she left them and followed Harry to the lift and down to the main floor. They walked out the door after a quick stop at the mailbox and headed out to the side car park.
"Where to first?" Harry asked.
"Let's try East London Furniture first."
Harry started the car and backed it out of the parking space. Once on the street, he merged into traffic, heading what was going to be known as later, the start of the day's adventure.
OoOoOoOoOoOoO
East London Furniture was a bust. The one piece of furniture that Ginny relatively liked, Harry found uncomfortable. It was a stool that Ginny thought she could put a potted plant on. But the idea was dismissed when Harry reminded her of one factor….. Teddy. They had left empty-handed.
They had better luck at SCP.
"Which do you like? The coat rack or the coat stand?"
Harry looked between the two. The coat stand was higher, but the rack was something he would have to install.
"Where would this again?" Harry asked, looking between the two.
"By the door," Ginny sighed. She had told him five times already.
Harry leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
"This one." He pointed to the coat rack.
Ginny smiled at him and said to grab it as she walked towards the rugs.
"If that was a green, it would work for the bedroom. We could get two of the small ones." Ginny glanced at the price of the small one and then times it by two. She pulled out back from the wall and asked Harry "What do you think?"
"It might look better in the kitchen than the bedroom or the large one in the sitting room." Harry turned the price tag around for the large rug. "If you like this one, we could get it."
"I like this one and I like the large one. I think it would work in the sitting room."
"If it doesn't, we'll put it in the guest room. The only reservation I have about it is Teddy spilling juice on it."
"A cleaning charm would take care of that," she whispered.
"I know."
Ginny turned around and seen a sales clerk on the other side of them.
"Excuse me, Miss. Could we get the large rug in this." Ginny pointed to the blue and white rug.
"Yes, Ma'am. One moment."
Ginny turned to Harry. "I'm done here."
OoOoOoOoOoOoO
Ginny browsed through Unto This Last, finding most of the furniture too modern for her taste. So far, here all she had found was a wooden chopping block. This one was larger than the one she had gotten from Molly when she moved in her flat. But having a second one would make it easier for Harry and Ginny both to cook at the same time, which they had done often before they lived together.
"I think I'm done, Harry. Let's go…" Ginny trailed off when she turned around and didn't see Harry behind her.
She looked around for a minute and started to walk back to where she had come from. A whistle brought her attention to behind her.
"Gin, I'm over here."
Ginny walked over to where Harry was standing. She handed over the cutting board and together they headed to the tally.
"Where to next?" Harry asked.
"Little Paris."
Once back in the car, Harry merged into traffic, heading towards the little shop that Ginny had mentioned going. Harry parked in a space and soon Ginny found herself in the small shop. She had decided in the five minutes they were in the shop, to look for decor items, especially for the bedroom, she was now sharing with Harry.
Within a few minutes, Harry had lost Ginny in the back of the shop where women's accessories.
"Of course, she goes to the accessories," Harry muttered, heading back to where Ginny was browsing through the French style hat.
"I was thinking while we're here, I would look for a Christmas gift for Fleur. Which color do you think?"
Picturing his soon to be sister in law's silvery blonde hair, Harry looked between the purplish color one and the red.
"The purple one, I think."
"Harry, sweetie. That's cranberry."
"Okay, cranberry. Get it and let's move on."
"Alright." Ginny collected the beret and stood on her tiptoes and placed it on Harry's head. "Hold on to that."
Ginny browsed through the shop, only finding a cosmetic bag for herself. While she didn't wear makeup on the field, she did in press conferences and this way, she could pack her own and do her own makeup.
"I didn't see anything for the flat, here. Let's go."
After paying for her purchases, Ginny headed on out of the shop and found Harry waiting for her.
"I don't see much of anything that would be worth going into."
"Alright. Let's head back towards Soho. Maybe we could check out Oxford Street?"
Heading back to the car, Harry asked, "Did you want to go somewhere for lunch?"
"Sure." Ginny noticed that it was getting close to lunchtime. "Where do you want to eat at?"
"What about the fish and chips shop near the flat?"
Ginny, who had a craving for fish and chips, agreed. She opened the passenger side door and laid the bag with her purchases in the seat.
She got in the car as Harry started the engine. "We'll go to Oxford Street and then maybe TK Maxx if we need to."
Harry stifled a yawn behind his hand and had concluded that he should have worn his trainers and not his boots.
OoOoOoOoOoOoO
Entering the fish and chip shop, Harry and Ginny were able to find sitting really quickly. They both ordered an iced tea to drink and Ginny needed a minute to look over the menu.
"I've had a good time today. I think next we'll need to go shopping for wedding stuff."
Harry agreed since they decided to get the things they both would need to agree on done first.
"I've said it before, Gin. I'm happy if you're happy. We both agreed to have the wedding at the Burrow."
Ginny to sip of her tea through the straw and was about to say something, but the waitress came back to get their order. Ginny basically order the same as Harry only without coleslaw. She wanted garden peas with hers instead.
"Were you going to say something?" Harry asked.
"I was thinking. We've decided on June and an outdoor wedding. Mum was able to salvage the tent from Bill's wedding and Audrey said we could borrow the one for hers if we too. But I was thinking if the weather was rainy, we could use the shelter tent from Audrey to keep everyone dry."
Harry listened as Ginny rattled on about some of the things she had been thinking about. He waited until Ginny was finished before he said anything.
"I think that would be a good idea. And using the tents that some of the family has already used would be helpful and save us from having to buy one unless you do just to have in case we would need it. I don't that we would be living in the flat all our life."
"How long do you have?" Ginny asked, realizing that Harry had been living in his flat longer than she had.
"I renewed it before you moved in. Herb said we could stay as long as we needed. If after we get married, and we decided that we want to live somewhere else, we could sublet the flat. Like we did with yours."
Ginny thought about it. The flat was ideal for a newlywed couple who was just starting out. She loved the area and unless she got pregnant sooner than what they'd planned, they would be happy where they were now.
"Oh. Good."
The waitress brought their order and they dug into their meal, talking about the plans for the flat, Teddy, and what else Ginny wanted to look for.
OoOoOoOoOoOoO
Harry had decided to return to the flat and dropped off the purchases from that morning. Ginny helped Harry carry the rug and let Harry take the coat rack and she carried the bags. Somehow, they managed to get on the lift with the rug and rode to their floor.
Using his wand, Harry unlocked the door and carried the coat rack and rug into the flat.
"I'm going to use the bathroom, while we're here," Ginny told Harry.
"Would you want to take the tube to Oxford Street and leave the car or do you want to drive?" Harry asked, following Ginny into their bedroom.
"Tube," Ginny decided. She went into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.
Harry sat down in his armchair and summoned his trainers. He sighed as he took his boots off.
Ginny returned a moment later, ready to go again. "You know, we should drive, that way if we do find what I'm looking for, we'll have somewhere to place it."
Harry agreed and got out the keys. They returned to where Harry parked the car and soon they were off again, this time to Oxford Street.
OoOoOoOoOoOoO
Oxford Street was crowded as Harry figured it would be. They had walked to Debenhams and Ginny grabbed a cart and walked towards houseware. Harry noticed on Ginny's list was towels and washcloths for the bathroom. A lot of his were worn from use and threadbare. Ginny came back to where he was a few minutes later with an assortment of towels of all sizes and washcloths.
"Now, I want to see if we could find some rugs for the bedroom and a bench we could sit at the foot of the bed."
Harry noticed the rugs first and followed Ginny to the small ones.
"There are a little higher than that place we bought the other one. And I don't want it to match what we have in the sitting room with the bedroom."
Ginny pulled a taupe colored rug closer her. The wool material felt soft under her hand. She glanced up at the price and paled.
"It's okay," Harry assured her. "We can afford it. If that's the one you want."
"Are you sure?" Ginny asked, still unsure.
"As long as it makes you happy," Harry replied.
"Alright." Ginny located where they were below the display. Luckily, they were in stock and Ginny grabbed two.
"Where will those go?" Harry asked, looking at the taupe wool with white flowers.
"One will go on your side of the bed, and one on mine." Ginny turned around and stopped. "Harry, what do you think of this?"
Harry turned and looked at the rug Ginny was looking at. If his measurements in his head were correct, the size on display would fit in front of the bed.
"Pretty. Do you want to get it too?"
Ginny turned to Harry, shock written on her face. She was still getting used to having an unlimited amount of funds. Plus, between her job and Harry's, they were well off.
"Yeah, I think it would be perfect for in front of the bed. I like the hardwood floors, but it could get cold to the feet." She stepped back to allow Harry to handle the rug. It was heavier than the others and Harry managed to get one out and stand it up. He would carry it since it wouldn't fit in the cart.
"Okay, now where do you want to look?"
"In furniture, that space in front of the bed is missing something and it wasn't just a rug."
Harry followed her, obediently to furniture, carrying the green rug with harlequin poppies.
The end of the bed benches wasn't Ginny's favorite and after a quick look, Ginny didn't see anything that she would like or would want.
"I think I want to shop around and see what I could find. Maybe I'll think of something."
"Okay." Harry picked up the rug he was carrying and followed Ginny to the tally.
Ginny took the bags and Harry took the rugs. At least, Harry was smart to park close to the first store they went to.
"Do you want to go anywhere else?" Harry asked her, shutting the boot and using the empty side of the street to his advantage to shrink the large rug to fit in the back.
"Can we walk around and see if they're anywhere I want to go before we head home?"
"Sure."
After loading the rest of their purchases and locking the car, Harry and Ginny walked down Oxford Street. They window shopped for a while and went in a few places. Ginny had found herself some new shoes, scoring a deal on the black knee high boots. She looked around in one store and found a new handbag.
It was when she noticed how late it was getting and Harry yawning that she asked, "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah, let's pick up some takeaway on the way home," Harry suggested. He took the bags from Ginny and they walked back to the car.
"Good idea."
They stopped for tacos at a Mexican restaurant they frequented and stopped at Tesco for milk, salsa, and tortilla chips. After the stop at the store, they made their way back to the flat. Harry had shrunk the rugs and placed a lightweight charm on them to carry them in the bag with the towels.
Ginny carried the food and the bag with her boots and handbag. This allowed her to open the door to the building.
"I see you two had quite a day," Hazel said as Harry came in carrying the rest of the bags.
"We're doing a small decorating project," Ginny explained. "We're talking about painting the sitting room."
"Oh, that would be nice. Do you know what color?"
"Not yet," Ginny replied, moving out of the way for a woman to get to the door.
"Well have fun. I was just checking our mail since Herb forgot to today." Hazel opened the door to her flat, with the landlord sign on the side. "Have a good evening."
"You too," Ginny returned and followed Harry to the lift. They rode to their floor and Ginny unlocked the door. Opening the door, she pushed it open so Harry could enter.
Using his foot, Harry shut the door and sat the bags down on the couch in the sitting room for the time being. The towels and washcloths would need to be washed before they used them. Harry got out the rugs, including the one they purchased earlier in the day and enlarged the one he shrunk. He unrolled them before heading to the bathroom, washing his hands, and joining Ginny at the table.
They ate in silence for a while until Ginny broke it.
"I was thinking that we could paint a calming blue in the sitting room."
"We'll look at paint samples tomorrow if you want to."
They discussed paint colors, other than blue, and whether or not they want to rearrange the furniture.
"This is what I was hoping would happen when you moved in," Harry suddenly said, as Ginny made the evening tea.
"What? That I would want to change some things?" she asked.
"I don't mind. It's like I said in one of the stores we were in today. As long as you're happy I'm happy. This is your home as much as it is mine and I want you to make your own. If that involves some rearranging, painting, or decorating, I wouldn't care. As long as I wake up with you next to me in the morning."
Ginny smiled and approached her fiancée. She kissed him deeply and they kissed until the kettle whistled for the tea.
They moved to the sitting room where Harry kicked his trainers off and stretched his feet out in front of him. Ginny turned on the television and they sat back to settle in for the night of watching television together.
OoOoOoOoOoOoO
Ginny could hardly believe that she had moved in with Harry. She really loved living with Harry and was happy with her decision to go ahead and move in with him before they were married. He followed her around today and never once complained. He took her where ever she wanted to go and even when she did some shopping for herself, he encouraged her and helped her pick out things.
She wanted to make the flat something that was both of theirs, a job that Harry had started even before he moved in. He had set the flat up with her in mind. She knew eventually she would be living with him. She had considered it when she graduated, but she wanted to try to live on her own.
It was a happy accident that she found the flat across the hall. When she found out that Harry was across the hall, it was a selling point for her. He had helped her set up her flat, even bought her bedroom furniture as a flat warming present. It was funny when she thought about later, they both had helped each other pick out a bed. There were a few nights that Harry stayed over in her flat, but more often than not, Ginny was staying at Harry's.
Ginny smiled as she turned over and watched Harry sleep. Some would call it creepy, but to Ginny, it was comforting. She feared that one day she'd wake up to find that it was all a dream and Harry was with someone else.
She wrapped her arm around Harry's waist and snuggled into his side, smiling as he wrapped an arm around her. She let her eyes drift shut and soon she was fast asleep.
That night, she dreamed of her wedding and her life as Mrs. Harry Potter.