The Sign
Chapter 12
Izzy
June 6
Early next morning, the four went again to Grimmauld Place. Luna stayed behind with Molly once more. The first thing they saw was Seamus sitting at the kitchen table, reading The Daily Prophet.
"So, Ginny, after talking last night, I had an idea. You have a lot to decide with little time. This builder supply guy has a designer on staff. I could have her come here with all her books and she could walk you through it in a day. Only problem, she's a bit pricy. If you wish to save money you can also go to the shop and talk with her there at no extra cost. That will take longer and be tiring, a lot of walking.
"Come here?" Ginny was intrigued with the idea. "How much time can I save?"
"Days, if not weeks." Seamus set the paper down and stood.
She silently asked Harry what to do. With his shrug, she smiled big. "How soon can she be here?"
"Let me see if I can phone her." He pulled a little black box from his pocket and opened it up. "Hmm, I almost have enough bars." He wandered up out the stairs, muttering and fiddling.
"What was that?" Ron asked.
"It looks like a mobile phone. I've only seen a few. Mum was thinking of buying one." Hermione shrugged her shoulders. "I doubt it'd work in here."
They heard Seamus leave out the front door and not return for nearly an hour. In the meantime, the women were busy pouring over design magazines.
Seamus opened the front door and let himself down to the kitchen, "Hey, Harry, I got things set up." He gestured behind him and a short, young woman stepped through. Her arms were over-filled with sample books, while Seamus also carried two large carry-bags with more supplies.
"Ladies? We have help." Seamus set his bags on the table. "This here is Isabeau Kelly, Izzy. She's a muggle cousin. She's the designer I told you about. Her dad is my supplier and a squib. They know all about magic. Be nice and she'll show you some design magic, alright?"
"Hi everyone. Seamus, here, has told me a bit about this project and I have to admit, I'm excited. Two projects in one. Shall we get started? First, who is Ginny?"
"That'd be her" Hermione pointed to her friend.
"Great! Now. As the female homeowner, I'm telling you my rule, you have the first and final say on everything. It's wonderful you have such a large support group. But you are the one who makes the decision, Right?"
"Right. So, where do we start?" Ginny was a little shy. Izzy was so energetic that it made Ginny feel a little behind.
"Cousin Seamus showed me a design he made for your kitchen. Can we start there?" Izzy made Ginny sit right next to her at the middle of the table. "Let's get these papers out of the way and can someone hand me that blue bag?"
Harry tapped Seamus and Ron on the shoulder, gesturing them to follow him out of the room. On the way out, Harry grabbed a folder. When they were back in the dining room, they all breathed in relief.
"Why did they all look so dangerous?" Ron was nearly frightened.
"Don't know, man. I see it all the time when there's more than one woman at this stage. It's best to just let them get on with it. Should I just set up with the storage unit? The owner, Mick is another cousin, He'll do it for you."
"Another cousin? How many do you have?" Harry laughed.
"Last count, ten. We're all in the business somehow. Half are muggle and half are not. Two Uncles are a part of the special team."
"Cool. Oh, nearly forgot. Here's your updated contract. And the receipt for the down payment. Does it look all right?"
"Thanks! My first payment for my first solo project." Seamus grinned.
"So, what we talked about yesterday, that still on?" Harry asked quickly before they opened the door to the basement.
"All's good." Seamus said cryptically.
Harry popped his head through the door, "Ginny?"
She looked up, still thinking of the latest trends in toilet seats, "Yeah?"
"Do you need any help from us?"
"Goodness, no! It'll take three times longer. No, you find that storage place. Maybe you can start looking at the furniture catalogues when you get back." Hermione spoke from her pile of magazines. "Here we are. I grabbed some on the way over."
Ginny saw how uncomfortable Harry and Ron were looking, "Before we go on, what do you guys want? What do you hate?"
They guys looked at each other, daring the other to speak first "Well, I want some big squooshy couches and chairs in the sitting room, and tables I can put my feet on. Nothing fussy or precious. I want the floor to be light wood, but with big fluffy carpets that feel good on the toes. Nothing black or dark. AND no wallpaper! I want this house to be comfortable, not fancy." Harry felt embarrassed to have been so opinionated, but if he was paying, he wanted his two cents in.
"Yeah, like he said." Rom blushed. "Only no maroon."
The three guys joyfully left the ladies to it and to the Leaky Cauldron, just to stay out of their way.
It was mid-afternoon when Ron, Harry and Seamus came back. Seamus looked over Hermione's shoulder. "Ladies, you've nearly every room done. I'm impressed. Ah, I see. You cheated." He laughed at Ginny's scared face. "Sorry. No, this is great. The same color for most of the house saves time and effort. Same with the wood floor. Great choice on those fireplace surrounds. Again, using the same design throughout. I'm glad you took my idea of moving the kitchen to the other side. You'll like the light from the garden greenhouse filtering in.
"Izzy, make sure she looks at stair components. Also, since we have natural gas for lighting and heating, we can put in a gas cooker. It's easier to cook on and cleaner. They'll need that by this weekend." He shuffled through a few more of the design papers. "I suggest we switch the light sconces to brushed nickel, or stainless steel. These brass ones will stain after a while. Yes." He grinned at his cousin, "Dizzy Izzy, you might not use a wand, but you're still magic with the designs." He messed her short hair. "Oh, and don't forget interior doors and knobs. I forgot to put those on the list."
"Got it! Once we finish with this part, we'll get there. We're back to working on kitchen cabinets and fixtures." She lifted the last book up as Hermione moved the previous one off, "Let's get this done and we'll be set."
"All set? As in everything?" Harry was astonished. His plan was working.
"Oh, yes, working with Ginny here, it's been a breeze." Izzy giggled lightly. "Give us another hour and I'll get out of your hair."
"Oh, Harry. Izzy suggested we talk to an interior designer. Someone to help us choose the furniture. She gave us a number." Ginny looked excited. So much was being done.
"In the meantime, look through the catalogues?" Demanded Hermione with a smile.
"How did she find time to write out this list?" Ron complained. He was leafing through the clipboard of all the furniture pieces they would need. Harry and Ron were sitting on the dining room floor, waiting for the ladies to finish. The catalogues were left untouched.
"Don't complain, it could be worse." Hermione retorted as she stepped in the room. "We're all done in there."
"Yeah? How can it be worse?"
"We could traipse store to store, without a plan. It should only take a few months and a lot of wasted time." She answered sweetly. She kissed his cheek but moved away before he could move in for more.
Harry had to hold himself back so he wouldn't throw the clipboard and the stack of printed ads. "No! We're going to call this number. We have one week, and I don't want to waste it by whatever this is."
Ginny entered the dining room and slid the door closed quietly. "I have her card. Who wants to find a phone to call?"
In the end, it was Harry and Ginny. They walked to a convenience store that was around the corner and used the pay phone outside. An enthusiastic woman was more than happy to meet up with them in the afternoon after the funeral. Come to find out, she was an aunt, a witch. She told them to look through what they had in catalogs, even if to decide what they hated.
While at the phone, they set about their gift to Hermione and Ron, a week stay at a first-class Hotel as a Honeymoon. Or as Ginny called it, a gift of privacy for themselves.
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At his third sigh is as many minutes, Ginny looked up and saw him staring at the wall while turning pages. "Harry! Really?"
"Honey, you know I don't care about all this." He tossed the book down.
"Yeah. You don't care about where you will sleep? Where you can put your feet? Where you can set your arse?" Harry could almost see steam coming out of her ears. "At least care about me."
"But I do care about you."
"If you do, then why are you putting it all on me? We are literally building our home. Ours! I could really use your input."
Harry took a good look at her. Her face was sagging with exhaustion. Her body encased in her oldest flannels. "I'm sorry. I'll try harder. Can you narrow things down for me, like just one thing at a time? I can't look at everything at once like you seem to."
She sighed and realized this was the best it will get. "Sure. Look for the squooshy couches and mark the ones you want to see." She picked up the catalog and tossed it back on his lap with a determined glare.
"I'm not going to live down the squooshy couch thing, am I?"
"Never." Was her sly retort.
A/N: Mobile Phones. In the late 1990s, they were a thing, for the very rich. Expensive and with very strange contracts, they were not as common as we would think. No texting and the only data was contact lists. This would change drastically over the next decade, now we can't even imagine not having one in our hands.