Chapter 24
"Harry! Harry!" Draco shouted, running through the house. "You aren't gonna believe this!"
He burst into the study. Dean, Ginny, Ron and Harry were laying on the floor, sorting through catalogs, looking for nice houses. Draco hurtled over Dean and Ginny, and fell face-first into the couch. He tossed his broom next to him and sat upright.
"Hey, Dray, look at this," Harry grinned, pushing himself to his knees and holding up a page ripped from a catalog. "I found a nice house, and Fred and George just went to – "
Draco kissed him quickly to shut him up.
"Oh, something important?" Harry chuckled. "Well, get on with it."
"I have a surprise for you," Draco smiled. "You know how Puddlemere United was having Seeker tryouts?"
Harry nodded.
"Well, I tried out. That's where I was today." He looked around. Everyone was staring at him in high interest. "And Wood – Oliver, came up to me afterward and told me I got the position!"
The entire room seemed to take in a breath. There was a stunned pause, before a flurry of congratulations started. Harry hugged Draco tightly. "That's great, Dray! When do your practices start?"
"I'm not sure. Oliver said it wasn't official yet, and that Quimby would send me an owl when they were positive."
They talked for a while, mostly about Quidditch and Draco's new career. Ron was disappointed that Draco didn't try out for the Chudley Canons; Ginny and Dean were impressed that he'd be playing for a professional team; Harry was thrilled because he would get free tickets to all the games; but Hermione, on the other hand, was worried.
"Draco, what if you get hurt?" she asked after a while. "What if you can't play anymore?"
Draco glanced at Ron, who was staring at Hermione as if she were crazy, then at Harry, who was shaking with suppressed laughter.
"Really, Hermione, has seven years at Hogwarts taught you nothing?" Ron asked skeptically. "Med-wizards can cure cancer in a day – they can fix a broken nose or sprained wrist with the wave of a wand!"
"Besides," Draco shrugged, "It hasn't even been a full day yet, Hermione. I haven't even decided whether I'm gonna get another broom yet."
"Yeah, he doesn't have to make all his decisions right now."
Everyone turned to the doorway from the kitchen, where Fred and George were standing.
"Congrats on the job, mate," Fred grinned, falling onto the couch across from Draco.
"Thanks. Where've you two been?" Draco asked.
"Just checking out a house," George sighed.
"It was nice, Harry," Fred said. "Three bedrooms, five bathrooms, a study, a den, huge kitchen and living room and a big basement. It's three stories, and the back yard's nearly as big as the house. Oh, and they have a double garage. It's in a Wizarding neighborhood near Hogsmeade, too. I think you should come and check it out for yourself."
Harry looked hopefully at Draco, who grinned and nodded.
"Alright, Dray and I will be back soon," Harry smiled as he pulled out his wand.
Both Harry and Draco Apparated to the address George had showed them. They were both standing on the lush, green grass when they appeared.
Harry looked up at the house and gasped. It was beautiful – just as neat as the houses on Privet Drive, but much more welcoming. The house was painted a mellow grayish-blue. The trimming was off-white, and the shudders were a bright, lively green. Each window in the house had thin, nearly completely invisible curtains over them, and a heavier set of curtains pulled halfway to let in light.
There was a woman in a professional-looking suit standing on the fairly big porch, in front of a lard oak door. She smiled when she saw them.
"Ah, hello!" she called cheerfully, waving to them. "Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy? I was expecting you! You were the two those twins were talking about!"
Harry grinned as they made their way towards her. He gripped Draco hand excitedly – he already loved the house.
"My name's Emma," the woman said happily. "And I expect you want a tour of the house." She opened the door and stepped into a long hall. "All these houses around here were built by muggles so they have all the traits that muggles like in houses. They have electricity, garages, things like that. But the muggles deserted this neighborhood ages ago, so you don't need to worry about doing magic around here."
It took the woman nearly two hours to show them the entire house. Harry was most impressed with the huge backyard, which was a bit bigger than a Quidditch pitch, which slanted downwards at the back, right down to the edge of a large, calm lake. The came with a dock, also.
Draco, on the other hand, wasn't as thrilled with the house as Harry was. The inside of the huge house was much more spunky than he liked – he preferred elegance and grace instead of high-tech and colorful. The thing he loved the most about the house, however, was the walk-in closet in the master bedroom, which, Harry had promised, he could have all to himself if they bought the house. Draco seemed much more cheerful about the mini- mansion after that.
Harry was in awe as they left the house. His eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging open. He looked adorable. Draco stopped him and kissed him softly.
"You're too cute for your own good," Draco whispered.
Harry grinned. "I know I am." Then he hugged Draco tightly. "Draco, it's perfect! I don't think there's such a thing as a better house! And the neighborhood – it couldn't be more beautiful!"
Draco really didn't see what he thought was so beautiful about it. Each house was painted a different color, making it look like it was all thrown together using scraps. All the lawns were healthy and green, but unkempt and looking like a jungle in the making. In Draco's opinion, nothing could be more imperfect.
But, he supposed, Harry had never really had that. And he never had, either.
When they got back, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were still waiting for them. Hermione was removing all the books from the shelves in search of something she hadn't read yet, while Ron and Ginny played Wizard's Chess.
"Checkmate," Ginny said casually as her knight trampled Ron's king.
Ron growled. "I'll beat you one of these days," he muttered, standing up.
"Wow, Gin, you must be the best chess player in all of England if you can beat Ron," Harry joked.
"Well, I try," Ginny smirked playfully.
Hermione, who had finally found a book and was now picking up the ones she had dropped, asked, "How'd it go? Did you like it?"
Harry grabbed Draco's hand again. "Well, I think we found our new house."
Well, I'm having a bit of trouble with writing right now. In other words, I have too many ideas and not enough paper.... So I might slow down even more on writing.
I feel unloved.... I only got one review on my story Sleepless Nights. That's not cool....
TTFN, Deathdragon4