: SweetIris98Disclaimer: I don't own anything (except the plot but you
needn't worry Mr. Warner and his brother, there isn't much of a plot); all
characters are J.K Rowling's, except a few of my own! Please don't sue me;
I'm broke!
Authors Note: I know I may be like totally overreacting (there's no maybe about it) and will probably be proven wrong but; lil kawaii doom, The UK is NOT switching to Euros okay?
I'm sorry if that kind of sounded snappish but I had to get it out of my system and it was nothing personal and I hope you will continue to read this story.
And sorry again about the quality of the chapter- it has got worse- and we changed the Internet server so it's been playing up about so I couldn't post as soon as I would have like to. But, I did mean that could add a little bit more on this chapter.
P.S. I based the most of Harry's apartment on my uncles flat in Manchester so all the description of the house is TOTALLY non-fiction!!!!
And a while back, Harry was making cheese on toast and put the pan under the grill- I'll say no more.
Chapter 4: House Warming, err, quite literally
She held up the paper for Harry to see. He noticed his advertisement immediately; it was one of many circled but the only not scribbled out in a bright blue pen. Blue, that was Ginny's favourite.
"So, is it taken?"
Harry was getting worried now, that had been the second time in ten seconds he had let his mind drift to Ginny. Then he smiled, not a phone call about it every since the advert went in.
"No," he said after moment, "It's free, do you want to come in?"
~*~
Ten minutes later Ginny, or rather Paige, was sitting on a chair in her future roomies flat. Looking around she could see that this was certainly a boy's flat.
Apart from the smell of Woodland glade air freshener and smelly socks mixed together, it was a complete and utter disarray.
Unfinished reports and papers were strewn about all over the coffee table and more then one had tea rings staining the corners. There were some books there hidden under some papers and several old mugs with some old tea in.
She ignored the smell and leaned forward and moved some papers out of the way. They revealed a thick, leather covered book.
1001 ways to repel Dark Charms
Paige grinned, so Harry was still some kind of Aura- perfect.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Harry's voice floating in from the kitchen,
"Do you want anything to drink? Tea, coffee, orange juice?"
"Please, I'll have a coffee" she replied, she was gasping for a drink- she didn't have any spare change for a drink on the train down so she couldn't buy one.
"How do you like it?"
Paige had to almost yell her answer; the sound of mugs and cups being hastily washed meant Harry couldn't hear anything until the third time she said it,
"Black, two sugars,"
The sound of water being poured suddenly stopped, and she remembered why.
"Pardon?" came Harry's voice,
She could have kicked herself then.
~*~
Ten minutes later Harry was in the kitchen wiping all the surfaces as quickly as he could while trying find two clean mugs. But he soon discovered that he was going to have to wash some and he wasn't looking forward to it.
The kettle clicked signalling that it had boiled; he had better ask if she wanted a drink,
"Do you want anything to drink? Tea, coffee, orange juice?"
She didn't answer for a moment, as if he had interrupted her if she was daydreaming,
"Please, I'll have a coffee" she replied, which was just as well, he didn't have any tea bags or orange juice.
He opened the fridge and closed it almost at once, milk wasn't an option but he asked anyway,
"How do you like it?"
He started washing two of the least dirty mugs he could find and as he did so he could hear her answer until the third time, and that was only because she yelled,
"Black, two sugars,"
Harry turned off the tap and placed the mugs on the side. Had he heard right? Black and two sugars? It wasn't a very common way to have coffee and he only knew one person, who has it like that,
"Pardon?" he asked after a moment,
She didn't answer for a moment and when she did it was kind of hesitant,
"Er.black with two sugars,"
He shook himself- he was jut getting paranoid. There were millions of people in London alone let alone in all the country. Did he expect Ginny to be the only one who had coffee like that?
He poured the steaming water into the mugs and carried them into the living room where she was sitting. Luckily she didn't seem to mind the mess too much.
He placed her mug on the only mat on the table before sitting down on the settee as well. They sat in awkward silence before Harry spoke,
"Sorry about the mess, I wasn't expecting anyone,"
~*~
Harry didn't ask any questions about the coffee thing and anyway, how many people in the world have their coffee like that? He didn't say anything after that; the only sound in the whole place was the sound of hot water being poured into some mugs and a teaspoon being stirred around.
Finally he came through the door and placed her mugs on what seemed to be the only mat on the table or at least the only visible one.
He sat down on the sofa next to her and for the next few seconds they sat in silence, Ginny
"Sorry about the mess, I wasn't expecting anyone,"
Ginny smiled politely to stop her self-saying, "Obviously, I've seen tidier bomb sites,"
She bit her bottom lip and took a sip of coffee, enjoyed the taste for a moment. She had forgotten how well Harry made coffee's- he never did tell her the secret of a perfect coffee.
Harry was getting uncomfortable- she could tell and the awkward silence that had followed Harry's last words seemed to be swallowing the flat whole.
"So," started Harry clearly trying to make conversation, "Do you want to see the room you would be having if you moved in?"
Ginny was apprehensive about moving away from the little neatness there seemed to be here and Harry must have picked up on that,
"Don't worry," he said smiling, "The room is tidy,"
She placed the mug on the table again before standing up and following Harry across the room.
At the very back of the living room/general living space there were three large windows, on both side there was a door. Harry led her to the right and opened the door and stood back so she could get through,
"This would be your room,"
Ginny walked through and was amazed - it was tidy. There was a bed on one side, a bedside table and a chest of drawers and bookshelf with a mirror on top- apart from that there were a few empty cardboard boxes in the corner.
The walls were painted light blue until they came to a border of silver stars where it went darker, there was a simple up lighter on the ceiling and that was it- this could be her room.
Harry came in after but wasn't nearly as amazed as Ginny and he just glanced around before speaking again,
"The room was like this before I moved in- you can change it if you want,"
Ginny turned around on the spot, she wouldn't change it for the world- it was so relaxing in here.
"And, sorry about the cardboard boxes- I'll move them,"
Ginny didn't care about a few boxes so her grin just widened. There was a door near the base of the bed that she just noticed and she pointed to it,
"What's through there?"
Harry smiled warmly,
"Just remembered," He said walking over to the door and opened it, "May I present to you," he opened it grandly as if he was just revealing a new picture in the gallery instead of opening a door,
"Your own personal bathroom,"
She stepped through not really knowing what to expect- it didn't matter anyway; she had never had her own private en-suite.
It was small, even she admitted it, but there was more than enough space for a bath/shower, toilet and a sink there was even a towel rack in the corner. It was just pain white with a single window at the end where the sink and mirror were it also had wooden flooring throughout.
She could do nothing except grin like an idiot as she manoeuvred as best she could in the limited space and went of to the window. It wasn't much of a sight because of the rain and the darkness but she could see the park she was little of a quarter of an hour ago.
~*~
Harry just lent against the doorframe of the bathroom while she gracefully walked over to the window and peered out- he had no idea why, it was eight o'clock in the middle of December pitch black and pouring with rain. Not the most picturesque time of year to look out, all the leaves in the park had fallen off and all the paths were littered with half-composted foliage.
She seemed happy enough with the flat even though it was such a mess. Now he was glad that he hadn't taken his friends from work advice to turn this room into a shrine to Quiddich.
Quiddich- that reminded him of Ron and he wondered if the study was still plastered with that orange kitted team. He sighed and rubbed his eyes where his glasses rubbed earlier on, well at least Paige seemed pleased with the room and everything.
That was really the reason he advertised for a roommate, because he never saw many people- sure there were people at work but apart from that he hardly ever went out. He was lonely. He had been living on his own for the past to years and a few weeks ago it had finally got to him and he put the ad in the paper.
But, if Paige moved in he would really have to tidy up even he admitted it was a mess but now he was really glad he hadn't come into this room at all.
Paige was now turning the taps on and off and generally wandering around checking out every nook and cranny of possibly her new en-suite.
When she looked up Harry noticed that she was grinning and he returned it and hoped it was a good sign.
~*~
Harry was just leaning on the doorframe watching her; she could feel it and surprisingly it didn't make her nervous. She had known Harry for over eleven years (she's twenty one) and knew that he would never hurt a hair on her head.
She owed him for what he did for her two years ago and now it was her turn to repay him even if it was small things first.
She looked up, the wide beam still on her lips and caught his eye, he gave her a half hearted smile in return but it didn't reach up into his eyes which made her wonder that something else was on his mind.
"So." he started clearly unsure about where to start as he looked round the cramped room for any sign of inspiration. Smiling, she waited a for him to finish all the time wondering what that smell was ad it definitely wasn't woodland glade,
"What do you think?" he asked at last, "Of the room and stuff,"
Ginny would have grinned if she weren't already smiling like a manic, stuff- a typical 'Harry' word,
"I think it's." she began but that smell was really heavy now, what was it- it was like burning cheese or bread, "Sorry but what IS that smell," she finished putting her hand on her hip.
Harry sniffed the air and his eyes widened. She only just had time to see this because then rushed out of the room skidding on the rugs that were thrown here and there on the plain floor boards that seemed to cover the entire apartment, she followed him warily and carefully after seeing what happened with the rugs.
He was in the kitchen swearing loudly at something,
"FUCK!" he hollered into the air, "STUPID, CRAPY CHEAP GRILL!!!!"
Peeping round the corner, she saw him by a grill trying to waft the smoke away from what appeared to be two pieces of coal with some burnt yellow gloop on top - she couldn't resist a giggle.
~*~
His dinner had burnt. Usually it would even heat up but now, now he still couldn't eat it. He skidded into the kitchen, no chance for embarrassment, and saw the smoke billowing out of the top and hugging the ceiling. The fire alarm hadn't gone off because the battery was hanging of a wire below- he never took Muggle Studies and the Dursley's would let him near a fire alarm.
He grabbed the pan and yanked it out quickly, there lay the remains of his tea all shrivelled and burnt.
"FUCK!" he hollered into the air, "STUPID, CRAPY CHEAP GRILL!!!!"
Suddenly one of the remains of bread ignited sending another wave of panic over him. Wafting the nearest tea cloth over it didn't seemed to do any good, if anything it made it worse. The smoke was again clouding his vision as he grabbed it and chucked it under the sink and ran the tap over it.
After several moment of hissing and spitting, the smoke finally clearly and he was left with all his face blackened glad for once he wasn't wearing glasses.
Running his fingers through his hair he looked up. There, trying her hardest not to laugh out loud was Paige using the doorframe for support.
~*~
It was just so funny; she had to use all of her self-control not to laugh out loud. But that was over half an hour ago and no she was in the door way onto the landing out side. She was moving tomorrow, just before Christmas but she had no idea how to do it the muggle way. Maybe it would be time to use her wand again.
Authors Note:
Soz about the wait
If anyone would like an update email just leave your email address in the review cos my Outlook Express doesn't work
*Next Chapter* "Why have you got black hair dye?"
Authors Note: I know I may be like totally overreacting (there's no maybe about it) and will probably be proven wrong but; lil kawaii doom, The UK is NOT switching to Euros okay?
I'm sorry if that kind of sounded snappish but I had to get it out of my system and it was nothing personal and I hope you will continue to read this story.
And sorry again about the quality of the chapter- it has got worse- and we changed the Internet server so it's been playing up about so I couldn't post as soon as I would have like to. But, I did mean that could add a little bit more on this chapter.
P.S. I based the most of Harry's apartment on my uncles flat in Manchester so all the description of the house is TOTALLY non-fiction!!!!
And a while back, Harry was making cheese on toast and put the pan under the grill- I'll say no more.
Chapter 4: House Warming, err, quite literally
She held up the paper for Harry to see. He noticed his advertisement immediately; it was one of many circled but the only not scribbled out in a bright blue pen. Blue, that was Ginny's favourite.
"So, is it taken?"
Harry was getting worried now, that had been the second time in ten seconds he had let his mind drift to Ginny. Then he smiled, not a phone call about it every since the advert went in.
"No," he said after moment, "It's free, do you want to come in?"
~*~
Ten minutes later Ginny, or rather Paige, was sitting on a chair in her future roomies flat. Looking around she could see that this was certainly a boy's flat.
Apart from the smell of Woodland glade air freshener and smelly socks mixed together, it was a complete and utter disarray.
Unfinished reports and papers were strewn about all over the coffee table and more then one had tea rings staining the corners. There were some books there hidden under some papers and several old mugs with some old tea in.
She ignored the smell and leaned forward and moved some papers out of the way. They revealed a thick, leather covered book.
1001 ways to repel Dark Charms
Paige grinned, so Harry was still some kind of Aura- perfect.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Harry's voice floating in from the kitchen,
"Do you want anything to drink? Tea, coffee, orange juice?"
"Please, I'll have a coffee" she replied, she was gasping for a drink- she didn't have any spare change for a drink on the train down so she couldn't buy one.
"How do you like it?"
Paige had to almost yell her answer; the sound of mugs and cups being hastily washed meant Harry couldn't hear anything until the third time she said it,
"Black, two sugars,"
The sound of water being poured suddenly stopped, and she remembered why.
"Pardon?" came Harry's voice,
She could have kicked herself then.
~*~
Ten minutes later Harry was in the kitchen wiping all the surfaces as quickly as he could while trying find two clean mugs. But he soon discovered that he was going to have to wash some and he wasn't looking forward to it.
The kettle clicked signalling that it had boiled; he had better ask if she wanted a drink,
"Do you want anything to drink? Tea, coffee, orange juice?"
She didn't answer for a moment, as if he had interrupted her if she was daydreaming,
"Please, I'll have a coffee" she replied, which was just as well, he didn't have any tea bags or orange juice.
He opened the fridge and closed it almost at once, milk wasn't an option but he asked anyway,
"How do you like it?"
He started washing two of the least dirty mugs he could find and as he did so he could hear her answer until the third time, and that was only because she yelled,
"Black, two sugars,"
Harry turned off the tap and placed the mugs on the side. Had he heard right? Black and two sugars? It wasn't a very common way to have coffee and he only knew one person, who has it like that,
"Pardon?" he asked after a moment,
She didn't answer for a moment and when she did it was kind of hesitant,
"Er.black with two sugars,"
He shook himself- he was jut getting paranoid. There were millions of people in London alone let alone in all the country. Did he expect Ginny to be the only one who had coffee like that?
He poured the steaming water into the mugs and carried them into the living room where she was sitting. Luckily she didn't seem to mind the mess too much.
He placed her mug on the only mat on the table before sitting down on the settee as well. They sat in awkward silence before Harry spoke,
"Sorry about the mess, I wasn't expecting anyone,"
~*~
Harry didn't ask any questions about the coffee thing and anyway, how many people in the world have their coffee like that? He didn't say anything after that; the only sound in the whole place was the sound of hot water being poured into some mugs and a teaspoon being stirred around.
Finally he came through the door and placed her mugs on what seemed to be the only mat on the table or at least the only visible one.
He sat down on the sofa next to her and for the next few seconds they sat in silence, Ginny
"Sorry about the mess, I wasn't expecting anyone,"
Ginny smiled politely to stop her self-saying, "Obviously, I've seen tidier bomb sites,"
She bit her bottom lip and took a sip of coffee, enjoyed the taste for a moment. She had forgotten how well Harry made coffee's- he never did tell her the secret of a perfect coffee.
Harry was getting uncomfortable- she could tell and the awkward silence that had followed Harry's last words seemed to be swallowing the flat whole.
"So," started Harry clearly trying to make conversation, "Do you want to see the room you would be having if you moved in?"
Ginny was apprehensive about moving away from the little neatness there seemed to be here and Harry must have picked up on that,
"Don't worry," he said smiling, "The room is tidy,"
She placed the mug on the table again before standing up and following Harry across the room.
At the very back of the living room/general living space there were three large windows, on both side there was a door. Harry led her to the right and opened the door and stood back so she could get through,
"This would be your room,"
Ginny walked through and was amazed - it was tidy. There was a bed on one side, a bedside table and a chest of drawers and bookshelf with a mirror on top- apart from that there were a few empty cardboard boxes in the corner.
The walls were painted light blue until they came to a border of silver stars where it went darker, there was a simple up lighter on the ceiling and that was it- this could be her room.
Harry came in after but wasn't nearly as amazed as Ginny and he just glanced around before speaking again,
"The room was like this before I moved in- you can change it if you want,"
Ginny turned around on the spot, she wouldn't change it for the world- it was so relaxing in here.
"And, sorry about the cardboard boxes- I'll move them,"
Ginny didn't care about a few boxes so her grin just widened. There was a door near the base of the bed that she just noticed and she pointed to it,
"What's through there?"
Harry smiled warmly,
"Just remembered," He said walking over to the door and opened it, "May I present to you," he opened it grandly as if he was just revealing a new picture in the gallery instead of opening a door,
"Your own personal bathroom,"
She stepped through not really knowing what to expect- it didn't matter anyway; she had never had her own private en-suite.
It was small, even she admitted it, but there was more than enough space for a bath/shower, toilet and a sink there was even a towel rack in the corner. It was just pain white with a single window at the end where the sink and mirror were it also had wooden flooring throughout.
She could do nothing except grin like an idiot as she manoeuvred as best she could in the limited space and went of to the window. It wasn't much of a sight because of the rain and the darkness but she could see the park she was little of a quarter of an hour ago.
~*~
Harry just lent against the doorframe of the bathroom while she gracefully walked over to the window and peered out- he had no idea why, it was eight o'clock in the middle of December pitch black and pouring with rain. Not the most picturesque time of year to look out, all the leaves in the park had fallen off and all the paths were littered with half-composted foliage.
She seemed happy enough with the flat even though it was such a mess. Now he was glad that he hadn't taken his friends from work advice to turn this room into a shrine to Quiddich.
Quiddich- that reminded him of Ron and he wondered if the study was still plastered with that orange kitted team. He sighed and rubbed his eyes where his glasses rubbed earlier on, well at least Paige seemed pleased with the room and everything.
That was really the reason he advertised for a roommate, because he never saw many people- sure there were people at work but apart from that he hardly ever went out. He was lonely. He had been living on his own for the past to years and a few weeks ago it had finally got to him and he put the ad in the paper.
But, if Paige moved in he would really have to tidy up even he admitted it was a mess but now he was really glad he hadn't come into this room at all.
Paige was now turning the taps on and off and generally wandering around checking out every nook and cranny of possibly her new en-suite.
When she looked up Harry noticed that she was grinning and he returned it and hoped it was a good sign.
~*~
Harry was just leaning on the doorframe watching her; she could feel it and surprisingly it didn't make her nervous. She had known Harry for over eleven years (she's twenty one) and knew that he would never hurt a hair on her head.
She owed him for what he did for her two years ago and now it was her turn to repay him even if it was small things first.
She looked up, the wide beam still on her lips and caught his eye, he gave her a half hearted smile in return but it didn't reach up into his eyes which made her wonder that something else was on his mind.
"So." he started clearly unsure about where to start as he looked round the cramped room for any sign of inspiration. Smiling, she waited a for him to finish all the time wondering what that smell was ad it definitely wasn't woodland glade,
"What do you think?" he asked at last, "Of the room and stuff,"
Ginny would have grinned if she weren't already smiling like a manic, stuff- a typical 'Harry' word,
"I think it's." she began but that smell was really heavy now, what was it- it was like burning cheese or bread, "Sorry but what IS that smell," she finished putting her hand on her hip.
Harry sniffed the air and his eyes widened. She only just had time to see this because then rushed out of the room skidding on the rugs that were thrown here and there on the plain floor boards that seemed to cover the entire apartment, she followed him warily and carefully after seeing what happened with the rugs.
He was in the kitchen swearing loudly at something,
"FUCK!" he hollered into the air, "STUPID, CRAPY CHEAP GRILL!!!!"
Peeping round the corner, she saw him by a grill trying to waft the smoke away from what appeared to be two pieces of coal with some burnt yellow gloop on top - she couldn't resist a giggle.
~*~
His dinner had burnt. Usually it would even heat up but now, now he still couldn't eat it. He skidded into the kitchen, no chance for embarrassment, and saw the smoke billowing out of the top and hugging the ceiling. The fire alarm hadn't gone off because the battery was hanging of a wire below- he never took Muggle Studies and the Dursley's would let him near a fire alarm.
He grabbed the pan and yanked it out quickly, there lay the remains of his tea all shrivelled and burnt.
"FUCK!" he hollered into the air, "STUPID, CRAPY CHEAP GRILL!!!!"
Suddenly one of the remains of bread ignited sending another wave of panic over him. Wafting the nearest tea cloth over it didn't seemed to do any good, if anything it made it worse. The smoke was again clouding his vision as he grabbed it and chucked it under the sink and ran the tap over it.
After several moment of hissing and spitting, the smoke finally clearly and he was left with all his face blackened glad for once he wasn't wearing glasses.
Running his fingers through his hair he looked up. There, trying her hardest not to laugh out loud was Paige using the doorframe for support.
~*~
It was just so funny; she had to use all of her self-control not to laugh out loud. But that was over half an hour ago and no she was in the door way onto the landing out side. She was moving tomorrow, just before Christmas but she had no idea how to do it the muggle way. Maybe it would be time to use her wand again.
Authors Note:
Soz about the wait
If anyone would like an update email just leave your email address in the review cos my Outlook Express doesn't work
*Next Chapter* "Why have you got black hair dye?"