Disclaimer: I own nothing and am making no profit.
Acknowledgments: Goldrune09 and Zaion Indulias for the beta work on this chapter.
Chapter 10
Harry woke to find his partner's back pressed to his chest. He usually slept on his back, but for some reason, whenever he spent an evening with Hannah, he'd wake up spooning her. Not that he really minded. He just found the entire situation to be a little bit odd.
His face was buried in her hair. She smelled surprisingly like his soap and shampoo, but he suspected that was just what he deserved when she used his shower. At least this time she didn't transfigure his into hers. The flowery scent really caught him off guard the first time she'd done that.
One of his hands rested on Hannah's bare stomach, his other was wedged between them. She was mostly laying on it. It couldn't have been the most comfortable position, but she seemed to be sleeping soundly.
He traced his fingers over her stomach, playing momentarily with the piercing in her navel. He wasn't sure when she'd gotten it. She hadn't had it at the academy, or in Birmingham. It made its first appearance when she'd spent the night after breaking things off with Ernie.
"How is your hand so cold?" Hannah mumbled. She wiggled against him, pressing her back as tightly to his chest as she could manage.
"How is your stomach so warm?" he asked, shifting himself against her as she wiggled. He also took a moment to press his face into her hair.
"It's not," she said. "It's no warmer than the jewel you're playing with. Which is cold, by the way."
"When did you get it?" he asked, sliding one finger in a circle around her navel.
"Couple months ago," she shrugged. "Ernie hated it. Didn't understand why someone would want to pierce themselves."
"He hate earrings too?" Harry teased.
"No. But he hated when I pointed that out," Hannah sighed.
"Why'd you do it?" he asked.
"You said it was kind of hot when we were paging through that Muggle magazine on the Simms case. Then I was talking with Susan about it one night. She didn't get it and didn't think people would actually do it. So I did it to prove her wrong," Hannah said.
"You were drunk, weren't you?" Harry asked.
"Completely smashed," Hannah admitted. "It really surprised me in the shower in the morning."
"I bet," Harry laughed.
"I wasn't going to keep it," Hannah sighed. "But I decided I kind of liked it."
"It's cute," Harry agreed, toying with the piercing a little more.
"Cute isn't really what I was going for with it," Hannah giggled. Harry just slid his lips down across her neck.
"Sexy?" Harry asked.
"Better," Hannah nodded. "How is your hand still cold?"
"You're just hot," Harry scoffed. And then he slid his hand lower, thinking that he knew at least one way he could warm it up.
"Oh," Hannah gasped and wiggled against him. "Mmm Harry. What time is it?"
"I don't know," he shrugged, his hand slipping between her legs. He gazed over toward the clock.
"Cold, Harry!" Hannah gasped, but squirmed back against him.
"It's ten eighteen," Harry said quietly, whispering it into her ear.
"Dammit," she groaned and tried to wiggle away from him. But he just held her in place.
"What?" he asked. He had absolutely no intention of letting her go.
"I'm supposed to meet Susan for brunch," she gasped.
"Be late," he said.
"I'm already late," she whined and attempted to get out of the bed. But Harry just pulled her back to him and rolled on top of her.
"It's been a long week," he said, shifting against her. "Just tell her how early you had to get up all week. And how we had so much work to do on the case."
"Fine," she groaned and kissed him. And she didn't wind up being nearly as late as she thought she'd be.
He was tempted to go back to bed once she'd showered and left. But Hermione floo'd him and asked where they were going to meet for lunch. Harry just picked the first place that popped into his head.
A few hours later he found himself at O'Callahan's. The owner, Jack, waved at him as he entered the small pub. At the moment the establishment wasn't much more than a bar and a few booths in the windows. But if more people showed up the O'Callahan's could activate charms that expanded the restaurant.
Still, it wasn't Hermione's favorite place. She didn't usually join Harry or Ron when they stopped by the little pub. He was almost surprised that she hadn't protested when he'd suggested it, but it had been a while since they'd gone out for anything, so she probably assumed that it was just easier to agree and see her friend.
He saw a bushy head of brunette hair sticking up from one of the booths and walked over toward it. She was seated in the corner of the booth, and was gazing out the window as he approached. A glass of tea rested on the table in front of her. A dark beer sat nearly untouched in front of a placemat to her left.
"Hey Hermione," Harry said as he slid into the booth across from her.
"Hey Harry!" she smiled. It was a chilly fall day and she wore a red sweater that made Harry wonder just when she developed such nice assets. He tried his best not to stare.
"How are you doing this morning," he asked while a waitress came to take his order. He peered at the drink menu. A Voldemort's Revenge stuck out, but he didn't think he wanted to drink that much absinthe at lunch, not to mention the vodka or rum that was also in it. He settled on the house brew, a red ale that Jack O'Callahan claimed his family brewed for the last five hundred years.
"I'm doing well," she said. "And yourself?"
"Tired," Harry stifled a yawn.
"Lots of work this week?" Hermione asked.
"Oh yeah," Harry sighed. "Two early wakeup calls and a stakeout. All that mixed with the usual questioning and working."
"I'm sorry," Hermione frowned. Harry just shrugged a little bit.
"It's part of the job. How was the floo system?" Harry asked.
"It's working out," she said. "It's slow work. But we're getting it down. I'm a little bit sick of helping out the Department of Transportation, but we're almost done."
"What's next once you're done?" Harry asked.
"I don't know yet," she admitted. "Mostly Kingsley just sends me wherever they need a hand."
"Look at you," Harry teased. "First name basis with the minister?"
"Aren't you?" she looked surprised.
"No," Harry laughed. "But some of the old-school Aurors are bigger sticklers about rank. Minister Shacklebolt included in that." It was only partially true. He doubted the minister would care if Harry referred to him by his first name. But, the Auror Academy taught all young Aurors to show respect for rank and experience.
Harry remembered thinking that being responsible for the death of a Dark Lord, and the wizard that many referred to as the most dangerous threat of their time should have rated him higher on the experience scale, but the Auror trainers hadn't agreed with him.
"I see," Hermione said. "Oh and they should have your apparation information by mid-week."
"Thanks. Where's Ron?" Harry asked, gazing around the pub.
"Bathroom," Hermione said. "And I'm sure he'll complain about his beer getting warm when he gets back."
"The glasses are charmed to keep the contents at the ideal temperature," Harry countered.
"So?" Hermione asked and Harry just laughed, causing his friend to smirk at him.
"Okay, valid point," he admitted.
"I know," Hermione turned her gaze back out the window. "Sometimes he really gets on my nerves?"
"Everything still good with you two, though?" Harry asked. He hadn't really pressed for any details on Ron and Hermione's relationship. They'd been together, more or less, since the Battle of Hogwarts, and they lived together. But Ron didn't seem ready to commit further than that. Harry knew that his two friends had fought about that about six months ago. But he'd been too busy on a case to really provide any type of support in the situation.
If he was honest, he was glad they'd sorted it out by the time he and Hannah solved the case. It was always nice to not have to be involved in any type of quarrel between his friends.
"Yeah," Hermione sighed in a way that made Harry think that things probably weren't okay.
"That doesn't sound like it," Harry frowned. He turned his gaze to the bathroom, but there wasn't any sign of Ron. It would have been fairly awkward for his friend to come into the conversation at this point.
"He and George have just been very busy lately," Hermione said. "They opened a new branch in Bordeaux a few weeks ago. And he spent a few weeks there. When I visited he was too busy for us to really do anything."
"Ron turned into a workaholic?" Harry couldn't help but laugh.
"I know, right?" Hermione sighed. "And I'm chastising him for it, which is terrible. But sometimes I miss the more carefree Ron. He really does want to run the joke shops well though."
"What about the joke shop?" Ron asked, sliding into the booth next to Hermione. Harry took a moment to just stare at him. His friend looked tired. Hell, Ron looked almost as tired as Harry felt. Harry hadn't noticed that yesterday when he'd questioned him.
"I was just telling Hermione about how I'm always amazed whenever I step into it. It's been what, seven, eight years since it opened? And I'm still wowed every time," Harry explained.
"Thanks," Ron said as he picked up his beer and took a sip of it.
"And the child-care aspect of it was really a brilliant idea. But how often are you stuck with a kid for hours?" Harry asked.
"That was Hermione's idea, actually," Ron said, nodding to her. "But rarely. If you read the posted bulletins around the shop they state the rules. And we try to tell any parents that drop their kids off that. They have to pay if the kid is there for more than an hour."
"Really?" Harry asked. "And that goes over well?"
"No," Ron admitted. "But it prevents us from turning into a non-profit day-care facility."
"Makes sense," Harry said. He took a sip of his beer then, almost forgetting that the waitress has returned with it during his conversation with Hermione.
"Still annoys Verity," Ron said. "She thinks we should just do away with it. But I think it's bringing in enough business." It took Harry a moment to remember that Verity was the main sales clerk that worked at the joke shop. She'd been there since the store opened.
"Would annoy me," Harry laughed as he opened the menu. They lapsed into silence for a few moments while they each decided on what they'd like to eat.
"Would either of you like another beer?" the waitress asked as she stopped by to check on them. Harry gazed at his and was a little shocked to realize he'd downed almost the entire thing.
"Sure," Ron said. "Are we ready to order?" He looked at Hermione, Harry suspected because he knew Harry would be fine with ordering whenever.
"Yes," Hermione said. "I'll do the chopped salad, with chicken please."
"Fish and chips," Ron added. He took his and Hermione's menus and handed them to the waitress.
"Slider combo," Harry said, handing over his menu as well.
"Alright. That will be right up," the waitress smiled before walking back to the kitchen to enter their order and retrieve the refills.
"Still drinking the Drakenbranch?" Harry asked, with a nod toward Ron's near empty beer glass.
"Yeah. I love it," Ron said. "How can you not love anything with barley roasted by dragon-fire?"
"It's way too filling," Harry laughed. It had good flavor though, a sort of roasted taste that always reminded Harry a little bit of coffee. "I can't ever get past a second one and not feel bloated."
"It's not that filling," Ron laughed. "It just has a good body to it."
"It's filling," Hermione laughed. "I drank one and didn't eat for the rest of the day."
"Is that where the one in our refrigerator went?" Ron asked.
"Yes," Hermione admitted. "I had to see what all the fuss was about!"
"I was wondering where that went," Ron shrugged. "Thought I'd forgotten that I drank it."
"And you call me a lush for drinking at home," Harry teased. Ron hadn't ever implied anything of the sort. At least not in a serious way.
"Takes one to know one," Ron commented right back.
"Speaking of drinking," Harry said. "You guys thinking of going to Seamus's party tonight?"
"I don't think so," Hermione sighed. "Ron has some work to do tonight and I was thinking of heading into the office early tomorrow morning to see if the floo changes were lasting like we expected they would."
"Oh come on," Harry laughed. "I'm the only one who's supposed to ever have to work on weekends. Now just stop by for a drink or something."
"I actually probably don't have to work," Ron said. "I think I got enough done yesterday that I can afford to forgo a night experimenting."
"Really?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah. I don't suspect anything good would come out of it tonight anyway," Ron admitted.
"Then you should go to the party," Harry laughed.
"Maybe we should," Hermione smiled. "But you're not the type to be inviting all sorts of people to a party. You barely go to them as it!"
"I told Luna I'd be there," Harry said with a shrug of his shoulders. "It's been so long that I'm not even sure who's going to show up."
"I'm sure the same people as ever," Ron said.
"Are you and Luna an item?" Hermione asked, picking up on the casual part of Harry's sentence.
"No," Harry said quickly. So quickly that it surprised him a bit. He tilted his head to the side as he thought about it. He and Luna certainly weren't an item. But it wasn't something he was opposed to. In fact, quite the opposite. He'd probably try to do something with Luna. Maybe not after the party. She always seemed too cautious and guarded to move that quickly.
"But you're making promises to her?" Hermione asked.
"I run into her for work related things from time to time," Harry lied. But he knew they could at least reasonably guess at what an Auror would need of an apprentice wand maker. "She needs to get out more. We actually went to dinner the other night."
"You and Looney?" Ron actually laughed a little bit. Harry shook his head.
"Ron," Hermione scoffed.
"She's actually fun to hang around with," Harry shrugged. "She's getting closer to how she was before the war."
"I wonder what they did to her at Malfoy Manor," Ron shrugged before taking a sip of his beer.
"I'd rather not think about that," Harry said. And thankfully any further conversation on the topic was rendered moot as their food showed up. Hermione started on her salad, spearing small bits of it with her fork. Ron immediately started on his fish.
Harry just took a long swig of beer before staring down at his sliders. The sampler came with four, a pulled pork, a blackened hamburger with crumbled blue cheese, a tuna salad and a barbequed chicken. He picked up the burger first and started on that one.
The conversation trailed off while they ate. Ron and Harry talked a little bit about quidditch. But that was mostly just brief comments on Chudley or Ginny's career. Ron never quite understood that Harry didn't particularly care about either. But he just smiled and made conversation as he ate his sliders. The pulled pork wound up being the best.
He insisted on paying. It seemed to ruffle Hermione a bit, but Ron didn't make a comment. They went out enough and typically took turns and since Harry was pretty sure he hadn't paid the last time, so he insisted on it this time.
"So what are you two up to for the rest of the day then?" Harry asked. He didn't really have any plans himself until the party.
"I was going to do some shopping," Hermione said. "I think Ron was going to come with me."
"Shopping?" Harry made a face. "How'd you talk Ron into that?"
"I let him pick out things for me to try on," Hermione said dryly. Harry blinked a bit, he certainly hadn't suspected that answer. "And we need to get some groceries anyway. He insists I buy far too much health food."
"You do," Ron said. He was blushing a bit.
"So not a chance I can convince you to stay for a beer?" Harry laughed, nodding toward the bar.
"No, I said I'd take her shopping," Ron frowned. He looked like he was making an excuse. That he really didn't want to spend much time alone with Harry. It bothered the Auror, but he decided that he was probably just being overly paranoid.
Either way, a few moments later they all left the small pub. Ron and Hermione ventured off to do their shopping and Harry just wandered outside and around the London streets.
He just walked for about an hour, mostly to kill time. He liked to walk around London. It helped him think. Although, at this point, he wasn't really thinking about anything in particular. Instead he was just enjoying the fall afternoon.
After that he went home. There wasn't much else to do. He was mildly disappointed when there was absolutely no sign of Hannah. But he didn't really expect there to be any sign of Hannah. As much as he hoped that she'd decide to spend more time with him.
Harry couldn't help but take a moment and fantasize about Hannah quitting the Aurors and switching over into the medical field like she wanted to. Then there wouldn't be any regulation against a relationship.
Yet, at the same time, he wasn't sure how he and Hannah would work in a daily situation. There were many times they annoyed each other. And outside of sex and work, they pretty much never spent any time together.
He grabbed the morning paper off the counter and sat at the small table in the kitchen to read it. Gemma Farley's obituary was on the third page. He scanned it, but there wasn't anything of note in it. So he just paged through the paper and killed time.
Eventually the evening rolled around. Thankfully, he hadn't been contacted by the department and asked to do anything unusual that day. So he'd really just sat around at home and avoided doing anything.
He didn't bother dressing up, either. He just wore casual Muggle clothing similar to whatever he'd wear when he and Hannah were required to be out in Muggle London. He didn't even bother with his hair.
When he decided he looked presentable enough he apparated straight out of his apartment. He materialized outside of Seamus's building in north London. He walked up to the door and hit the buzzer. The outside door just opened when he did so he walked in with a shrug.
A few moments later found him on the ninth floor. The hallway was completely quiet and it wasn't until after he knocked on the door and was pulled inside, that the music really hit him.
"Harry!" Seamus yelled. He was holding two beers, and he shoved one of them into Harry's hands. Harry recognized the broom logo on the side of the can and opened it quickly before taking a swig.
"Seamus!" he yelled back. He could barely hear himself over the music and he remembered why he wasn't really a fan of parties.
"How are you!?" Seamus asked as he escorted him through the kitchen and into the living room where a mass of people were standing around and talking.
"Good! Yourself?" Harry yelled back, figuring keeping it simple was the easiest way.
"Great!" Seamus yelled as a buzzer went off. "I have to go let someone else in now!" And he disappeared. Harry just laughed and sipped his beer before looking around the room.
"Harry!" he heard from behind him. He turned and saw a familiar redhead. She walked right up to him and kissed him lightly on the lips before giving him a hug.
"Ginny!" he responded. "How have you been? Nice game against the Bats." He knew she always liked being complimented on quidditch. But when she made a face at the comment, he remembered that they'd lost.
"Fuck Button," she scoffed, referencing a Ballycastle beater who was known for having a bit of a mouth on him.
"Pass," Harry said with a shrug. "But if you want to go for it."
"He is kind of hot," Ginny admitted with a sly smirk. "But he's too much of a cock."
"Isn't that necessary for the fucking?" Harry asked.
"You'd be surprised," Ginny countered. Harry just laughed and shook his head a little bit. He supposed the comment shouldn't have really surprised him. Hannah made similar comments from time to time. Once or twice she even talked a bit more openly about Susan Bones than Harry thought was probably healthy. But it wasn't his place to really comment.
"I'm surprised you're here," he yelled. "I thought you had a match tonight."
"It got rescheduled to tomorrow," she responded. "Some portkey accident. I don't think the Catapults seeker has shown up yet."
"You'd think that would be a forfeit," Harry countered.
"Should be, probably," Ginny agreed. "I'm surprised you're here though. I got the gist that you never came to these."
"I show up on occasion. You know how busy work can be," Harry said.
"I do," Ginny frowned. "I'm going to go get another drink. You need anything?"
"I'm good, thanks," he said, holding up his beer. She nodded and walked off back toward the kitchen. Harry just took a moment to look around. It was pretty much like a DA meeting. He exchanged brief pleasantries with Dean, before walking past Neville and Hannah who were debating the use of certain debilitating spells in a way only two aurors could. He joined in the debate for a moment, before continuing to make his way around the party.
He talked to just about everyone before he finally found the person he was looking for. She was standing awkwardly in the doorway looking around. She wore a casual blue dress and was holding a plastic cup in her hand. She was making a face and staring down at it, as if she was unsure of what it actually was.
"Hello Luna," he said, stepping next to her. "Not a fan of your drink?"
"No," she frowned. "I asked Seamus for wine, I'm not sure what this is. It's not like what we had the other night."
"Well we had good wine," Harry smiled. "Seamus doesn't strike me as the type to put much stock into his wine choices."
"Oh," she frowned.
"Want me to get you something else?" he asked.
"No that's okay," she said. And she emphasized her point by taking a sip of the drink again. This time she didn't make a face.
"How was your day?" he asked. He led her out of the doorway and over to the corner of the living room. It was still hard to hear over the music, but he made do.
"Long," she frowned. "Garrick wasn't very helpful at the store. But we weren't that busy. I had to make six oak wands."
"How did that go?" Harry asked. Luna just frowned.
"I have to go in tomorrow morning and finish the last two," she admitted.
"I'm sorry," Harry said. Luna just shrugged her shoulders a bit and took another sip of her drink.
"It's very loud in here," she said.
"Yeah, Seamus loves his music," Harry commented.
"I wish they'd turn it down," she said.
"I don't think Seamus is going to do that," Harry laughed. "But I have an idea." And he took out his wand and casted a sort of privacy charm around the two of them.
"That's better," she sighed. "But don't you want to be involved with the party?"
"I already talked to pretty much everyone," he admitted. "So I'm good."
"I see," Luna sighed.
"Unless there's something you'd like to do," he smiled. Luna shook her head.
"No," Luna said. "I only came because you told me to."
"Asked you to," Harry countered.
"Nuance," Luna joked.
"Well I'm glad you showed up," Harry said.
"How many Muggles saw you apparate here?" Luna asked. It took Harry to remember the condition she'd set out for his coming.
"None," Harry smiled. "I didn't get called into work today. A minor miracle, really."
"Lucky," Luna said.
"Very. But I got called in yesterday morning. So it was sort of an evening out."
"Why?" Luna asked.
"Another body. They may be linked," Harry admitted. "But I'm not supposed to talk about the case."
"Gemma Farley?" Luna asked.
"How did you know?" Harry responded. He was legitimately surprised she mentioned it.
"It was in the paper today," Luna admitted. Harry remembered that he read it as well.
"Oh," he sighed. "You know her?"
"Not really," Luna said. "She worked at the potion shop. I'd seen her around. I'm not sure if we'd ever spoken. But she usually smiled if you smiled."
"What?" Harry asked.
"Whenever I'd smile at her she'd smile back. Usually I've found the better people are the ones who do that," Luna said, as if that explained everything perfectly.
"And you had occasion to smile at her often?" Harry asked.
"Oh, well, sometimes. We'd walk past each other in the alley a lot," she said.
"So you'd smile at her?" Harry asked.
"Oh, well, yes. I do that whenever I walk around," Luna said.
"Smile at people?" Harry asked. He had the strangest feeling that he'd be asking this question a lot in the coming days.
"Yes," Luna said. "I started doing it at school. Whenever I make eye contact with someone I'll smile. And I keep track of who smiles back and who look at me like I'm crazy."
"And Gemma always smiled back?" Harry asked.
"Every time," Luna said, she sounded sad. "Even when she looks annoyed or bored or angry. She'd always smile."
"Do most people smile?" he asked.
"No," Luna said. "Only about half. At best."
"Do I smile?" Harry laughed.
"You're a special case," Luna admitted. Harry blinked a bit and tilted his head to look at her.
"How so?" Harry asked.
"You usually see me first. Which is odd. No one ever seems to see me first. But you do. And you're always smiling before I even see you," she explained, which, oddly enough, just caused Harry to smile.
"Well I am paid to be observant, you know," Harry said.
"Maybe you are," Luna responded. "But it's been the same way since school."
"Well I was only smiling because then you would smile," Harry teased. Luna just shook her head, but she smiled a bit.
"I'm going to get another drink," she said. And Harry followed her. They found themselves talking to other friends for hours. Harry quickly lost track of time. But he didn't really care as he planned on sleeping all of Sunday away. Assuming the department didn't call.
He noticed Hannah was hitting it off fairly well with Neville. But he looked away from that as part of it bothered him immensely. Still, he couldn't help but think they'd be a good pair. And he took comfort knowing that she couldn't date him because they were both Aurors. He couldn't help but shake his head a bit at that thought, knowing full well how much that had stopped Hannah previously.
It wasn't until way later, as he was leading a slightly tipsy Luna around the party, that he even realized what time it was. And even then, purely because Luna checked her watch.
"Oh no," she frowned. "It's like one in the morning. And I have to be up in like five hours!"
"Ouch," Harry said.
"I should get home," she frowned and slipped away from Harry.
"Want me to take you?" he asked.
"What?" Luna blinked.
"Home," Harry blushed. "Sorry, that came out wrong."
"Oh. No. That's okay," Luna said. "You stay and have fun. I'm just going to go." And he didn't really think to argue. Moments later she was gone. He frowned a little bit and looked around the party. Not sure of what to do now that his only reason for being there was gone. He debated following her. But he didn't. He wasn't sure how kindly that Luna would take to that.
"So you and Luna?" He was a little startled that he didn't see Ginny walk up next to him, or lean against the same wall as him.
"I just figured she should get out more," Harry said.
"You're actually fairly cute together," Ginny laughed. "Almost makes me jealous. But she's so clueless."
"She's is, a bit, isn't she?" Harry sighed.
"Keep at it though. I bet she could be a blast," Ginny teased. Harry rolled his eyes.
"Maybe," he said. He looked at Ginny for a few moments. She had her hair loose and she held a drink in her hand. She was giving him a little mischievous smile. And he missed her, he knew that much. She'd always been fun to be around. They just never seemed to be on the same page with all of the life decisions.
"So," she said carefully, "You want to get out of here?" Harry paused and looked at her. He knew he should probably avoid it, but he just shrugged his shoulders.
"Sure," he said, and they left the party.
The next morning he pretended to be asleep as Ginny dressed and made her way to Quidditch. While it had been fun, he wasn't quite sure how to take it. He certainly didn't really want to get back involved with Ginny. But they were both adults. And if the papers were to be believed then she'd had her fair share of casual relationships.
Of course, he wasn't sure if he was in any position to comment. He'd had perhaps a bit too much fun after they'd broken up. At least she hadn't said anything about making another serious attempt at a relationship. In his judgment, it had been purely physical. But he hadn't really given her much of a chance to speak.
Once she'd left he'd gone back to sleep. And he hadn't bothered to crawl out of bed until about one in the afternoon.
When he finally decided to get up and face the day he didn't really do much. He read the morning paper, as per usual, and went to the deli for a sandwich. He sat outside and ate it, enjoying the day. He often wished that was more how his life was.
The thought of just sitting and eating lunch outside with someone while not having a care in the world seemed far better than early wake-up calls and dead bodies. He couldn't help but wonder if maybe he should have tried for a different career.
People always said he could have been a professional. And working a few days a week for half of the year did seem like a much better option. But he hadn't played a really organized game in years. He missed it.
After he finished his sandwich he went back home. He turned on the wireless in time to catch the start of the Harpy-Catapults game. But he didn't really pay that much attention to it. He was distracted after about an hour of play.
"Potter, you home?" a voice rang out. He blinked and looked toward the entrance of his house. The wards should have alerted him had anyone tried to enter his apartment. But there wasn't anyone there.
"Pooootter?" it rang out again, but this time he could trace the sound to the fireplace.
"Hello?" he responded and stood to move toward it.
"Hi," Daphne Greengrass's fiery face said.
"Daphne?" Harry responded, legitimately alarmed. He almost immediately started questioning her. But the first one that came out was not the one that he really wanted to ask. "How did you get my address?"
"I'm clever," she responded.
"Try again," Harry said, crossing his arms and attempting to sound stern.
"I asked Hannah," she frowned and he felt a bit like he ruined her fun. But most Aurors took privacy fairly seriously. It wasn't a good idea to let potential dark wizards know where you lived, no matter how good your protections were.
"I see," Harry said.
"And you are absolutely no fun. But more to the point. I spent way too much money shopping and am now hungry. You promised to pay for a second meal on account of me crying through the first. So what do you say to meeting at Le Bistro Colonial around seven tonight?" Daphne asked. Harry paused. He wanted to say no. He wanted to tell her to report immediately to the ministry for questioning. But he also wanted to try the bistro. He heard they had a fantastic gnocchi dish.
"Sure," Harry said. "But if you start crying during this one I'm just going to take it personally and not take you out again."
"Deal," Daphne said. "See you in a few." And her face disappeared. Harry just sat there for a moment, wondering why he didn't jump on her about the case. But he shook his head and moved to his bedroom, figuring he'd have to put on something nicer for date number two. At the very least he could question her there.
Author's Note: As always thanks for reading. The best way to contact me is through PM on the site. I try to respond to all of those.