Harry paced nervously up and down the rug in his living room, ignoring Teddy as he snickered at his frazzled Uncle. Teddy realized that this was a big deal, but only because he had overhead his Nana and Aunt Cissy talk about how shameful it was that Uncle Harry was so young yet so closed off since the end of the war and the following problems with the Weasley chit. Teddy didn't understand what that meant, but he knew that Uncle Harry was only happy when he was around and never had when he was lost in thought; so if Santana brought forth this kind of reaction from him then she should stay. Teddy giggled again as Harry absently sent out another cleaning charm to take care of what had to imaginary dust since he had cleaned the house from top to bottom only yesterday. The ringing of a doorbell brought Harry to a screeching halt as he checked the time; Santana was early. He cancelled the charms and made his way to the front door to let her in, all the while trying to calm his breath so that he wouldn't hyperventilate the minute he saw her. Harry never should have worried about that because the minute he opened the door the sun hit her at the right angle causing her to glow in an ethereal sense that made all the air in Harry whoosh out in a quiet breath. The dyeing rays of sun caught the rave strands of her hair and gave them an almost reddish tint, the dark blue of her sundress emphasized her tan skin and exotic features.
Santana beamed at Harry's reaction. It had been a while since someone had looked at her in awe instead of lust, and to be honest it was uplifting for the Latina. She let a slight giggle out at his dumb-founded expression before softly clearing her throat.
"Are you going to let me in?" She asked, breaking Harry out of his trance. He smiled sheepishly and waved her in, taking her wrap and purse before stowing them in the closet by the door. He put his hand on the small of her back and gently led her into the living room where Teddy had been playing video games before dinner.
"Teddy, are you going to say hi to Santana?" Harry asked his young charge that had turned his entire attention back to the game on the television. Harry was glad he was able to come up with a runic pattern that allowed electronics to work around magic. Teddy paused his racing game to turn and look at his Uncle Harry and Santana, the sight they offered was a striking one. Both raven headed and attractive, Harry taller than Santana by a good five inches even if she was wearing heels. He liked how they looked together and decided that they would make a good team together. Santana and Harry were both growing more nervous the longer Teddy remained silent as he stared at them. They let a quiet sigh of relief when his face shifted from serious to jovial and welcoming.
"Hi Santana! Do you want to play with me? Uncle Harry still has a few things to do before dinner is ready." He chattered excitedly now that he had made up his mind that Santana would be his new aunt. He scrambled up and hurried over to her and practically dragged her over to the couch so that she could play his racing game with him. Harry watched in amusement as Teddy commandeered Santana's attention like a young pup wanted approval. He took this as good sign and walked into the kitchen to finish off the few preparations before he could call in the others. He quickly checked the temperature of the sauce that was simmering on the stove before putting the bread in the oven to broil for a few minutes. Then he set the table for three people and laid out the bowl of salad he had prepared earlier in the day with his homemade Italian dressing. The hint of garlic in the air was his indicator that the bread was done and shuffled over to the oven to pull it out before it burned. He was slicing the bread and arranging it on a platter when he heard the chatter of Teddy and the clacking of Santana's heels drawing closer. He quickly settled the sauce and pasta together and put it on the table with the platter of garlic bread before the door to the kitchen swung open to reveal his nephew and his guest.
Santana was salivating at the smell coming from the kitchen and couldn't wait until dinner. When they finally made it to the kitchen the table looked like it had been prepared by an upscale restaurant and the food smelled like it could match. She smiled at Harry as he held out her chair for her and accepted the glass of water he handed her. She waited until Harry had served himself and Teddy before she began to eat. Harry almost choked when he heard the moan of Santana as she took her first bite of pasta.
"Where did you learn to cook like this?" She asked after she had chewed her bite and swallowed.
"I have a friend that is Italian and he had offered to let me spend a summer with him and his grandparents in Italy. When his grandmother found out that I could cook she took me under her wing and taught me everything she knew, so I basically spent a summer learning how to cook Italian food. The same thing happened when we visited his other grandmother who was half Greek and half Spanish the next summer." Harry explained easily, skipping over the fact that he already knew how to cook anything English and French due to the Dursleys' forcing him to cook for them when he was younger.
Santana just stared at him in disbelief, he studied in Italy and Greece on just cooking. It boggled her mind that he had that kind of experience, but it also kind of thrilled her that he could tell her about those countries. She had always wanted to travel to different countries, but knew that it wouldn't come until later in her life when she had her own money and didn't have to depend on her dad.
"That's amazing Harry! I wish I could visit those countries, it has been a dream of mine to travel to countries like that at least once." Santana told him, watching his face bloom in embarrassment. Harry was interested in the trace tone of longing in her voice when she spoke about traveling to other countries. He knew that Blaise and Daphne wouldn't mind him and Teddy visiting at some point when he had a break going on, maybe he and Santana would be a couple and he could invite her to join them on the trip. Maybe the week or two before Christmas, just as long as they were back before Andromeda, Narcissa, and Draco showed up. Harry shook those thoughts, it was way too early for him to be making any kind of travel plans with Santana and them just on their first dinner together and not even alone at that.
"It was pretty amazing, when I wasn't in the kitchen cooking Blaise had me out in the waters surfing or in the towns just looking around. Occasionally we would get stopped by a family member of his that needed our help with physical labor, but we never minded since it helped us keep in shape." Harry continued on explaining his unlikely friendship with the Slytherin loner despite the efforts made in keeping them from becoming friends. It wasn't long before dinner was over and Harry was clearing the plates and setting out the pudding he had made for dessert.
Santana was in food coma when Harry presented her with a decadent looking banana pudding. She could only groan in happiness and misery. She would have to start working out more vigorously if she and Harry continued to date.
"Seriously, I don't think I could eat another bite right now." She mumbled half-heartedly as she spooned a mouthful up. Her eyes rolled back into her head in bliss, the sweetness of bananas mixed with the coolness of whipped cream rolled over her tongue in a well-rehearsed symphony. She only mildly glared at Harry when she heard his slight chuckle, which made him laugh harder.
"I'm sorry, do you want me to wrap some in a bowl for you to take with you?" He asked, glad that she was thoroughly enjoying his cooking. He snuck a quick glance over to Teddy and saw him almost asleep in his plate of food. Harry excused himself and hauled Teddy up and into his arms before carrying him to his bedroom where he performed a switching charm on his clothes. Teddy wouldn't like getting up early and taking his bath, but it couldn't be helped. The poor child was fast asleep before his head hit the pillow. When he walked downstairs he saw Santana at the kitchen sink starting on the dishes from dinner. While he really wanted to walk up and put his arms around her and kiss her neck he tempered his reaction to only walking over to her.
"You didn't have to do that. I would have gotten them when you left." He told her quietly, and gently nudging her out of the way to take over what she had started.
"I wanted to repay the dinner, and dishes seemed to be the best bet for right now. Is Teddy down for the night?" She asked as she just started rinsing what he had washed and stuck them in the drainer to dry.
"Yeah, he was out before his head hit the pillow." Harry told her. They finished cleaning the kitchen in a comfortable silence before returning to the living room where they sat fairly close to one another on the couch. Harry had his arm around her shoulders and she had her head laying on his shoulder curled into his warmth as they just sat there quietly. She turned her head up to look at his profile and admired his rugged looks.
"What are you looking at?" He asked her when he felt her stare.
"I've been hoping for this moment since I first saw you," she whispered before she put her hand on his cheek and turned his face towards his before leaning up and touching her mouth to his in the gentlest kiss she could imagine. He only hesitated for a moment before he returned the attention back to her. One kiss turned into another before she found herself straddling his lap with her hands buried in his messy hair ardently kissing him. Harry had his hands gripped on her hips as he controlled his impulse to push her down onto his growing member and push them over into the brink of madness and release. It was a few minutes later before he wrenched his lips from hers and began kissing down the side of her neck, nipping and sucking in some spots causing her to moan in ecstasy and baring her neck to his ministrations.
"We need to stop before we go too far," he panted out reluctantly. Santana only groaned in protest.
"Why?" She whined out.
"I really like you and don't want to mess this up. We could be really good together Santana and I don't want to jeopardize that." He told her softly while rubbing soothing circles on her back. She sighed and slid off of his lap onto the couch beside him, ineffectively trying to straighten her mussed locks and wrinkled dress. She understood where he was coming from, but that didn't mean that she had to like it. Harry watched as she tried to put herself back together and smiled indulgently. He grabbed her hand and lifted it to his mouth and kissing it softly.
"I should probably go," she finally said, not looking the least bit happy with the statement. Something Harry fully could emphasize with. He walked her to the door before stopping her and wrapping her in her slip and handing her purse to her before escorting her to the car parked in his drive. He softly pushed her against the driver door and kissed her passionately before stepping back and opening the door for her.
"I'll see you tomorrow?" He asked.
"Of course," she replied instantly.
"Next dinner will be just you and me, I will get Shannon to watch Teddy for the evening." Harry promised, speaking of Shannon Bieste the football coach and his one friend on the teaching staff. She smiled up at him and started the car, he shut the door and stood in his drive and watched her taillights disappear into the darkness of night.