Disclaimer: I don't own anything; all characters are J.K Rowling's, except
a few of my own! Please don't sue me; I'm broke!
Authors note: Just to clear a few things up- Ginny and Harry were NOT married before, You will find out what Ginny did to Ron and don't worry- Ginny has to stop smoking! And do realise how much peer pressure there is to smoke in Manchester? No, nor do I.
Chapter 2- Coffee, black-two sugars
Ginny smiled when she saw Harry at the windowsill, he even had glasses on. He was just how she had left him, his hair tousled and bright green eyes glinting like emeralds under his glasses. He looked more muscular; Ginny supposed it was training for the job.
She slipped her glasses off to make sure it was Harry. She grinned; it definitely was him. She exhaled the smoke from her cigarette and glanced down at a Muggle newspaper.
She wasn't sure what name to search for; he wasn't stupid enough to be listed as H. Potter. He was an Auror still and was trained to go unnoticed. He was like trophy to Deatheaters and they would stop at nothing to win it.
Ginny looked around, she was in a small park sheltering under a tree because it had started to rain. She watched the raindrops slowly soak the dry autumn leaves as she thought of the very last time she had seen him up close.
She looked at the newspaper; this ad had Harry written all over it. It was in London, the west end (where Harry always wanted to live), and the name was James Redwood.
Ginny smile widened as all the pieces in this puzzle came together.
*Flashback*
Ginny sat curled up by the fire; every so often she sipped her coffee (A/N: she's an addict I know) and sighed. She was SO bored, it was a couple of days before Christmas and she had been s bored stiff she had done all her homework, even Snape's nasty essay on healing potions. (A/N: What have you done with real Ginny!!!!).
Harry was there too, not saying anything just gazing into the fire as if looking for something.
Ron came in the common room, came over, and fell into a chair next to Harry. He seemed unaware that the two of them were sitting in silence. He looked around a tapped his long fingers on the chair. Harry looked at him with a slight frown playing across his eyebrows.
"So." Ron said finally trying to make conversation. Ginny rolled her eyes and kept staring into the fire. Ron didn't seem to know that neither of them was talking. He kept on talking so much that Ginny eventually gave in and talked to him.
They were talking about utter nonsense, and then they came onto the subject on what they would change their names to if they were on the run,
"MMMM." Ron said, "I think I would be. Adam Gunn." He finally finished. Ginny thought a bit about hers, she always wanted an original name,
"How 'bout." she started, " Paige Jones," Ron snorted but stopped when he saw Ginny's face. She glared at him for a moment before directing her attention onto Harry.
"What about you Harry?" she asked gently, Harry had hardly said anything, Harry looked at her with a puzzled look,
"I dunno," he replied intelligently "Um. James Redwood I suppose."
*Present time*
Ginny looked down at the newspaper, it was too perfect:
ROOMATE WANTED
JAMES REDWOOD
NON-SMOKER
£100 A MONTH (A/N: I've no idea how much it would really cost- I don't live anywhere near London!) WEST END
And then it gave all the address and telephone number and stuff. This was the right address, right person but something was bothering her- maybe this was to perfect.
She looked up through the braches of the trees; at least it had stopped raining now.
^**^
Harry closed the curtains- he really needed to get a life. Here he was at home on a Saturday night, waiting for the grill to heat up. He couldn't even use magic at home or the Deatheaters could track him and they knew it. He put his hand in grill to see if it was working- nothing.
He put the tray in and wondered around his apartment. He picked up a book- he needed to read it by Monday or he would not know what he was doing for a raid.
He had quit his job two years ago- he got a few funny looks from his work mates and his boss when he told them. He moved and joined up as an Auror in a different department- Protection of the People. He had always wanted to join but when they heard Harry wanted it they moved him to the most BORING department possible- he had forgotten its name but he had to do A LOT of paperwork and got a decent paycheck.
He moved, changed his name (now James Redwood to the outside world) and signed up. The minister wanted him to change his appearance slightly so he now had blue eyes and for work his hair was slightly brown, but the charm wore off.
But with this job he had to get his hands dirty. In this department they fought fire with fire- no questions asked. The only thing keeping them from going down to the Deatheaters level and using Dark magic was the uniform. Well, this is what the chief had said on the very first day of training.
And they didn't wear uniform anymore- they were undercover. (A/N: Sounds gay don't it?)
Even through only the minister of magic knew, now Percy Weasley, he often had people come up to him and say 'You're the spitting image of Harry Potter you are!' He had coloured contacts to hide his green eyes, through he took them out at night and wore glasses, and he found a spell to hide the scar. It only hid it for twelve hours but it lasted a shift at least.
So now everyone at work called him James and they had at last stopped making jokes about his last name which was to them Redwood.
But Harry had been promoted already- he was surprised. He always thought he was promoted because he had a scar and famous name. But he seemed to be a natural. He was also appalled that people treasured Harry Potter above another person when it came to jobs and lives. But the more he thought about it, the more he became angry. He was glad he changed then because he couldn't stand the publicity any longer.
It was only a matter of time before he killed a reported- he had already given one bad concussion for a week for taking a picture in his face and his reactions had gotten the best of him.
Harry picked up the book, Practises of Muggle torture, and started on the first page. This had to be the most boring book he'd read and he had only gone through the first page. He chucked back on the pile in the middle of the table and went to see if anything was happening to his dinner.
"Nothing," he growled as he looked into the grill, he almost wished he was back at home with Ron and Hermione. At least they had a decent grill. And he could do magic there as well.
He stomped back into his room and put his contacts in- he was very bored- and looked at himself. He waited for the tears to go and looked at his reflection. Why was his hair so god damn messy? It had definitely got worse over the past two years. And was he incapable of buying ANY decent clothes? He only had a t-shirt and some scruffy worn out jeans on. All his mates at work who lived in the Muggle world were smart at least some of the time.
But having to wear Dudley's old clothes for most of his life had had an effect on him- he felt uncomfortable wearing clothes that are not two sizes to big.
He walked back into the sitting room and switched the television on. Boring, Boring, Boring, Boring, Boring. Nothing at all (A/N: At this point I think I might have to say in the UK most people only have about four or five channels- Thank You!)
Harry switched it off and sat down with his arms folded, it was so boring living on his own. That was one of the reasons he had advertised for a roomie, he was practically a hermit- he never went out- and he REALLY needed some extra money.
He knew he was asking for trouble, if anyone picked up the newspaper and came he would have to uproot and move on- again.
Well, it wasn't like he had that problem. So far he'd had no calls about it and no one had come round. Well, someone would have to be desperate enough to call so it was just a matter of time.
Harry thought sadly of what he would do if he were at home with Ron and Hermione. Chances are they would be having an argument over something a small and insignificant as a sock (it has been known). He smiled sadly as he remembered how the toilets walls were plastered with Chudley Cannons posters and how Hermione tried in vain to stop any owls coming through her bedroom window.
Inevitably when he thought of the magical world he came onto Ginny.
It had been two long years and he had changed a lot. He noticed his reflection in the mirror across the room; scar was beginning to appear again. Harry could be bothered to re-do the charm and anyway it wasn't like Muggle's knew who he really was.
He wondered if Ginny had changed a lot. He could never imagine her without her dark ginger, almost brown, hair and her brown/hazel eyes. He sighed for no reason and shuffled into the kitchen.
He glanced hopefully into the grill- can we guess? - Nothing.
Harry swore as he turned around and searched through the cupboards for a clean mug, he glimpsed the sink. Piled up full of dirty dishes, he so desperately wanted to clean them but he decided to wait until he had a call or something.
He finally found a dirty, chipped mug at the back and he filled the kettle, turned it on and rooted around for some tea bags.
^*_*^
Ginny chucked her cigarette on the road as she crossed. She managed to dodge being splashed buy a passing black cab and walked up the steps towards the intercom.
She glanced up and down the list of tenants, her heart raced as she realised he wasn't there. She looked again and noticed that the writing was smudged on the last one- the person on the top.
She smiled and gingerly pressed the wet button.
She heard a far off buzz and some far off swearing- definitely Harry then.
^*_*^
"Where the hell were those BLOODY tea bags!" Harry hollered to no one,
He had his head and his shoulders in looking for the things and as he thought he saw them the buzzer went.
It caught him by surprise and he banged his head on the inside of the cupboard and swore loudly- that stuff is metal and it was hard,
"BUGER!" he yelled as he removed himself from the smelly cabinet. He got up and rubbed his head then remembered the buzzer,
"DAMNIT!" he swore as he slipped on the wooden floor ran towards the intercom,
"Hello?" came a small voice at the end of the line. Harry stopped in his tracks, it sounded like Ginny.
"Is this James Redwood's apartment?" Harry's heart sank; they were just here about the roomie thing. He tried to shrug off the feeling he got when he thought it was her,
"I am he," he answered into the speaker, "Come up, the door is open,"
He pressed another metal button and raced around the apartment picking up stray laundry and spraying an air freshener all over the place with his spare hand.
DING-DONG
The doorbell announced the person's arrival,
"Shit," he muttered urgently looking around for any place for him to dump his load. His eye fell onto the door of his room, which was slightly ajar- it was the best place in such an emergency.
He ran over, slipping all the way, jumped of the sofa and fell over and the clothes went flying into his room. He hastily slammed the door and chucked his socks in with them and sprinted over to the door.
He wrenched it open and looked at the person in the landing,
"Wow," they said at the same time.
They stood there for a moment just looking at each other- Harry forgetting that the kettle was whistling and Ginny almost forgetting to breath.
@Authors note@
Thanks everyone 4 reviewing, you are just the BEST!
I know there are bout a MILLION faults with this chapter so I can't really be bothered to go through them all. And yes I have put it through a spell checker before any of you start on me about the wording- I'm just sorry ok.
Thanx especially 2 momo 4 helping me out with the story and stuff- it would love to thank all of you on your own but there are too many!
E-mail me with any ideas u have.
Thanks and I'm working on chappie 3 as u read!
Authors note: Just to clear a few things up- Ginny and Harry were NOT married before, You will find out what Ginny did to Ron and don't worry- Ginny has to stop smoking! And do realise how much peer pressure there is to smoke in Manchester? No, nor do I.
Chapter 2- Coffee, black-two sugars
Ginny smiled when she saw Harry at the windowsill, he even had glasses on. He was just how she had left him, his hair tousled and bright green eyes glinting like emeralds under his glasses. He looked more muscular; Ginny supposed it was training for the job.
She slipped her glasses off to make sure it was Harry. She grinned; it definitely was him. She exhaled the smoke from her cigarette and glanced down at a Muggle newspaper.
She wasn't sure what name to search for; he wasn't stupid enough to be listed as H. Potter. He was an Auror still and was trained to go unnoticed. He was like trophy to Deatheaters and they would stop at nothing to win it.
Ginny looked around, she was in a small park sheltering under a tree because it had started to rain. She watched the raindrops slowly soak the dry autumn leaves as she thought of the very last time she had seen him up close.
She looked at the newspaper; this ad had Harry written all over it. It was in London, the west end (where Harry always wanted to live), and the name was James Redwood.
Ginny smile widened as all the pieces in this puzzle came together.
*Flashback*
Ginny sat curled up by the fire; every so often she sipped her coffee (A/N: she's an addict I know) and sighed. She was SO bored, it was a couple of days before Christmas and she had been s bored stiff she had done all her homework, even Snape's nasty essay on healing potions. (A/N: What have you done with real Ginny!!!!).
Harry was there too, not saying anything just gazing into the fire as if looking for something.
Ron came in the common room, came over, and fell into a chair next to Harry. He seemed unaware that the two of them were sitting in silence. He looked around a tapped his long fingers on the chair. Harry looked at him with a slight frown playing across his eyebrows.
"So." Ron said finally trying to make conversation. Ginny rolled her eyes and kept staring into the fire. Ron didn't seem to know that neither of them was talking. He kept on talking so much that Ginny eventually gave in and talked to him.
They were talking about utter nonsense, and then they came onto the subject on what they would change their names to if they were on the run,
"MMMM." Ron said, "I think I would be. Adam Gunn." He finally finished. Ginny thought a bit about hers, she always wanted an original name,
"How 'bout." she started, " Paige Jones," Ron snorted but stopped when he saw Ginny's face. She glared at him for a moment before directing her attention onto Harry.
"What about you Harry?" she asked gently, Harry had hardly said anything, Harry looked at her with a puzzled look,
"I dunno," he replied intelligently "Um. James Redwood I suppose."
*Present time*
Ginny looked down at the newspaper, it was too perfect:
ROOMATE WANTED
JAMES REDWOOD
NON-SMOKER
£100 A MONTH (A/N: I've no idea how much it would really cost- I don't live anywhere near London!) WEST END
And then it gave all the address and telephone number and stuff. This was the right address, right person but something was bothering her- maybe this was to perfect.
She looked up through the braches of the trees; at least it had stopped raining now.
^**^
Harry closed the curtains- he really needed to get a life. Here he was at home on a Saturday night, waiting for the grill to heat up. He couldn't even use magic at home or the Deatheaters could track him and they knew it. He put his hand in grill to see if it was working- nothing.
He put the tray in and wondered around his apartment. He picked up a book- he needed to read it by Monday or he would not know what he was doing for a raid.
He had quit his job two years ago- he got a few funny looks from his work mates and his boss when he told them. He moved and joined up as an Auror in a different department- Protection of the People. He had always wanted to join but when they heard Harry wanted it they moved him to the most BORING department possible- he had forgotten its name but he had to do A LOT of paperwork and got a decent paycheck.
He moved, changed his name (now James Redwood to the outside world) and signed up. The minister wanted him to change his appearance slightly so he now had blue eyes and for work his hair was slightly brown, but the charm wore off.
But with this job he had to get his hands dirty. In this department they fought fire with fire- no questions asked. The only thing keeping them from going down to the Deatheaters level and using Dark magic was the uniform. Well, this is what the chief had said on the very first day of training.
And they didn't wear uniform anymore- they were undercover. (A/N: Sounds gay don't it?)
Even through only the minister of magic knew, now Percy Weasley, he often had people come up to him and say 'You're the spitting image of Harry Potter you are!' He had coloured contacts to hide his green eyes, through he took them out at night and wore glasses, and he found a spell to hide the scar. It only hid it for twelve hours but it lasted a shift at least.
So now everyone at work called him James and they had at last stopped making jokes about his last name which was to them Redwood.
But Harry had been promoted already- he was surprised. He always thought he was promoted because he had a scar and famous name. But he seemed to be a natural. He was also appalled that people treasured Harry Potter above another person when it came to jobs and lives. But the more he thought about it, the more he became angry. He was glad he changed then because he couldn't stand the publicity any longer.
It was only a matter of time before he killed a reported- he had already given one bad concussion for a week for taking a picture in his face and his reactions had gotten the best of him.
Harry picked up the book, Practises of Muggle torture, and started on the first page. This had to be the most boring book he'd read and he had only gone through the first page. He chucked back on the pile in the middle of the table and went to see if anything was happening to his dinner.
"Nothing," he growled as he looked into the grill, he almost wished he was back at home with Ron and Hermione. At least they had a decent grill. And he could do magic there as well.
He stomped back into his room and put his contacts in- he was very bored- and looked at himself. He waited for the tears to go and looked at his reflection. Why was his hair so god damn messy? It had definitely got worse over the past two years. And was he incapable of buying ANY decent clothes? He only had a t-shirt and some scruffy worn out jeans on. All his mates at work who lived in the Muggle world were smart at least some of the time.
But having to wear Dudley's old clothes for most of his life had had an effect on him- he felt uncomfortable wearing clothes that are not two sizes to big.
He walked back into the sitting room and switched the television on. Boring, Boring, Boring, Boring, Boring. Nothing at all (A/N: At this point I think I might have to say in the UK most people only have about four or five channels- Thank You!)
Harry switched it off and sat down with his arms folded, it was so boring living on his own. That was one of the reasons he had advertised for a roomie, he was practically a hermit- he never went out- and he REALLY needed some extra money.
He knew he was asking for trouble, if anyone picked up the newspaper and came he would have to uproot and move on- again.
Well, it wasn't like he had that problem. So far he'd had no calls about it and no one had come round. Well, someone would have to be desperate enough to call so it was just a matter of time.
Harry thought sadly of what he would do if he were at home with Ron and Hermione. Chances are they would be having an argument over something a small and insignificant as a sock (it has been known). He smiled sadly as he remembered how the toilets walls were plastered with Chudley Cannons posters and how Hermione tried in vain to stop any owls coming through her bedroom window.
Inevitably when he thought of the magical world he came onto Ginny.
It had been two long years and he had changed a lot. He noticed his reflection in the mirror across the room; scar was beginning to appear again. Harry could be bothered to re-do the charm and anyway it wasn't like Muggle's knew who he really was.
He wondered if Ginny had changed a lot. He could never imagine her without her dark ginger, almost brown, hair and her brown/hazel eyes. He sighed for no reason and shuffled into the kitchen.
He glanced hopefully into the grill- can we guess? - Nothing.
Harry swore as he turned around and searched through the cupboards for a clean mug, he glimpsed the sink. Piled up full of dirty dishes, he so desperately wanted to clean them but he decided to wait until he had a call or something.
He finally found a dirty, chipped mug at the back and he filled the kettle, turned it on and rooted around for some tea bags.
^*_*^
Ginny chucked her cigarette on the road as she crossed. She managed to dodge being splashed buy a passing black cab and walked up the steps towards the intercom.
She glanced up and down the list of tenants, her heart raced as she realised he wasn't there. She looked again and noticed that the writing was smudged on the last one- the person on the top.
She smiled and gingerly pressed the wet button.
She heard a far off buzz and some far off swearing- definitely Harry then.
^*_*^
"Where the hell were those BLOODY tea bags!" Harry hollered to no one,
He had his head and his shoulders in looking for the things and as he thought he saw them the buzzer went.
It caught him by surprise and he banged his head on the inside of the cupboard and swore loudly- that stuff is metal and it was hard,
"BUGER!" he yelled as he removed himself from the smelly cabinet. He got up and rubbed his head then remembered the buzzer,
"DAMNIT!" he swore as he slipped on the wooden floor ran towards the intercom,
"Hello?" came a small voice at the end of the line. Harry stopped in his tracks, it sounded like Ginny.
"Is this James Redwood's apartment?" Harry's heart sank; they were just here about the roomie thing. He tried to shrug off the feeling he got when he thought it was her,
"I am he," he answered into the speaker, "Come up, the door is open,"
He pressed another metal button and raced around the apartment picking up stray laundry and spraying an air freshener all over the place with his spare hand.
DING-DONG
The doorbell announced the person's arrival,
"Shit," he muttered urgently looking around for any place for him to dump his load. His eye fell onto the door of his room, which was slightly ajar- it was the best place in such an emergency.
He ran over, slipping all the way, jumped of the sofa and fell over and the clothes went flying into his room. He hastily slammed the door and chucked his socks in with them and sprinted over to the door.
He wrenched it open and looked at the person in the landing,
"Wow," they said at the same time.
They stood there for a moment just looking at each other- Harry forgetting that the kettle was whistling and Ginny almost forgetting to breath.
@Authors note@
Thanks everyone 4 reviewing, you are just the BEST!
I know there are bout a MILLION faults with this chapter so I can't really be bothered to go through them all. And yes I have put it through a spell checker before any of you start on me about the wording- I'm just sorry ok.
Thanx especially 2 momo 4 helping me out with the story and stuff- it would love to thank all of you on your own but there are too many!
E-mail me with any ideas u have.
Thanks and I'm working on chappie 3 as u read!