Disclaimer : I do not own anything of the Harry Potter universe, it all belongs to JK Rowling, I just love writing about the fantastic universe she presented us.
They had slept for almost twelve hours when Harry woke at nine in the morning. Disorientated, he looked around for a while before he remembered they were in Los Angeles now. Smiling, he started to kiss Tonks' neck until she started to react to him.
"Good morning" Tonks murmured.
"It is a good morning, what are we going to do today?"
Tonks turned and kissed him thoroughly before she answered "Although I would love to go to the beach with you like you suggested yesterday, we really should start to look for a house. I don't really fancy living another month in a hotel"
"Neither do I" Harry had to admit. "But we should get some breakfast first"
"I am going to get a shower first, I really could use one after that flight" Tonks said and she started to get up.
"Alright, I'm going to empty that suitcase in my trunk, I' don't really want to take it with me everywhere I go"
Tonks gave him a kiss before she left the bed and headed to the bathroom.
After both of them had showered, they went to breakfast and then checked out of the hotel. The left the hotel to be greeted by a warm morning sun.
"This is why I wanted to come here" Tonks said and she grabbed Harry's hand. They took a bus that brought them to the center of Los Angeles, where they changed appearances in a public restroom. They walked around in the city without purpose for a while until they bought a burger and went to eat it in a park.
"How do you want to live" Harry asked after a few bites.
"I'm not sure, it has to be someplace where we can have a training room and a library"
"A potions lab could come in handy too. Do we have a specific budget?"
Tonks thought for a moment "With the inheritance I got from Sirius, we should be able to get a nice enough house"
"If Sirius was here, he would tell us to go all out and buy a large house to show off" Harry chuckled.
"A large house needs a lot of maintenance" Tonks pointed out. "And I'm no hero in cleaning"
Harry was quiet for a while before he said "If I'm honest, I would like a large enough house so we feel free to do whatever we want to and we can afford it. As for the maintenance, I might have an idea"
"I wouldn't be one to say no against a nice house Harry, what is your idea?"
"Could you put up a notice me not spell and a muggle repelling spell?" Harry asked.
Tonks nodded and did so before Harry said "Dobby, I need your help"
It was a while, but eventually the elf showed up.
Dobby looked around disorientated before he said "Harry Potter asked for me, what can Dobby do to help you with?"
"Dobby, I was wondering if you would like to come and work for us?"
The elf started to jump up and down with the prospect of that before he stopped at once and said "Dobby is not sure if I'll be able to help you that much Harry Potter. Dobby's magic is declining"
"How comes your magic is declining Dobby" Harry asked concerned.
"An elf needs to be bonded with a wizard to have enough power to survive. When and elf loses his family, they have a few years to look for another family, but if they can't find one, they die"
"Why didn't you ever told me this?" Harry questioned.
The elf blushed "Dobby didn't want to concern the great Harry Potter, you have much more important things on your mind"
Harry looked at Tonks who understood what he wanted to do and nodded "Would you like to bond with me Dobby?"
Dobby's eyes widened "Would you want to do that?"
"I would be honored Dobby, but I have some conditions"
When Dobby nodded, Harry continued "I want to pay you, you aren't to punish yourself, you are able to wear anything you like and you get a free day every week"
"You are too generous" Dobby said.
Harry shook his head and asked "How do we perform this?"
"You just have to say your name and tell that you accept me as your house elf and Dobby will do the rest" Dobby explained.
Harry nodded and he spoke "I, Harry Potter, accept Dobby the elf as my house elf"
A little glow came from Dobby for a moment and not much after that Dobby said "That you very much master, what can I do for you?"
"For starters, nothing changed between us Dobby, so please call keep calling me Harry and you can call Tonks with that name too. Second of all, whatever happens, you aren't to tell anybody where Tonks and I are" Harry explained.
"Of course Harry, Dobby will do as he is told" the elf said excitedly.
"Dobby, we are going to look for houses today, so hopefully we'll have a place to live very soon, until then you can do what you want" Tonks spoke for the first time since Dobby had arrived.
"You are bonded with Harry Potter" the elf said "Dobby can feel it with his elf magic, you are my mistress"
Tonks smiled "That might be, but remember what Harry told you to address me with my name only"
"Dobby will do as asked" Dobby said before he disappeared.
Tonks looked at Harry for a few moments, who had been looking at her interaction with Dobby with a smile on his face, and said "That was one strange elf"
"That would be the understatement of the year, but I believe I have solved our maintenance problem?" Harry replied.
"You have, now tell me how your dream house looks like" Tonks enquired.
Harry thought a bit before he answered "Like you pointed out, we really need a training room and a library and a potions lab would come in handy too, so a house with enough bedrooms would be nice. Also if all of this mess is over, it would be nice if my friends could come here. I wouldn't say no against a pool in the garden. And in general an open and light house"
"I could live in such house" Tonks said "If we want to have enough money to furniture and decorate a house, plus live for maximal a year, we can afford a house of 6 million dollar I think"
Harry was shocked by the large amount for a moment before he realized that that was only the tip of the iceberg once he came into his inheritance. "Alright, let's go house hunting" Harry said brightly.
Tonks smiled at his enthusiasm and let her be pulled up by him. While they were walking Harry added "A house close to the beach would also be a plus"
"You're right and it's a good workout to run in the sand" Tonks added.
"That is why I was suggesting it" Harry said with such a big smile that told her otherwise.
"Of course" Tonks laughed.
They almost needed an hour before they finally found a real estate agency and when they entered they were immediately ushered to a junior assistant, probably since nobody expected a green haired and blue haired couple to spend a lot of money.
"Good afternoon, my name is Rick, what can I help you with" the young man asked them.
Tonks and Harry smiled, since they immediately got a good vibe from him, so Harry said "Good afternoon, we just arrived here in America and we are looking for a house to live"
"Alright, do you want to rent or buy?"
Tonks grinned and said "We want to buy a house"
Rick scrabbled something on a piece of paper and asked "What is your budget?"
"Four million pounds, which if I'm correct should be around 6 million dollars" Tonks brightly told him.
Rick looked at them, thinking for a moment that they were playing a prank with him until he saw the determination and sincerity in their eyes. Recovering, he questioned "Do you have access to that money, or will you have to take a loan?"
"We are able to pay immediately" Tonks said, before she got out her muggle credit card and gave it to him "You can check"
Rick took the card and he only needed one look at the card before he knew for sure they weren't joking and handed it back to Tonks. "I'm sorry for my reaction, but it isn't every day that someone walks in and can pay such an amounts up front"
"No problem, we understand. It would be a good joke" Harry admitted.
Rick nodded "Do you have some criteria?"
"Yes, we would like to have at least five bedrooms, a light and open house with some terrain around it. A pool would be nice and we don't say no against a property with a guest house. Close to the sea would be a nice extra" Harry summed up. "And we would want to move in as fast as possible"
"If you give me a few minutes then I'll make a few phone calls, we could possibly head out to go and look at some houses after that" Rick told them.
Both Harry and Tonks nodded and gave Rick the space to do the phone calls by going to sit on a sofa a bit further.
"This is quite exciting" Tonks said.
Harry smiled "I know what you mean, this will be our first house together"
They sat there, fantasizing about living together until Rick came to them and said "If you are ready, there are a few houses we can go and watch now"
Harry and Tonks jumped up and followed Rick out of the office. His colleagues were looking at them a bit strange, but ignored them for the rest.
"Am I right that you don't have a car yet?" Rick asked.
"You are, we don't even have our drivers license yet" Tonks replied.
"You might want to change that as fast as possible, the public transportation in Los Angeles sucks, sorry for my language, but of course, the traffic sucks too" Rick pointed out with a grin.
He led them to a simple black car and they got in. They drove for almost a half an hour before they stopped.
"I have found three houses so far, but I believe that this house will have your preference. The beach is a quarter of a mile away from here. The lot is a bit over an acre and has a house and guest house. I'll start with showing you the main house" Rick explained, before he retrieved the keys from a woman that was waiting for them.
"This is Charlotte, she knows the specifics about this house" Rick introduced the woman.
"Good afternoon, please come in" she told them.
She gave them a grand tour of the main house first. It was a modern house with a lot of natural light. The hall had multiple doors and a large stairs which led to the two floors above. One of the doors led to the formal living room and dining room, which was clearly meant to welcome guests. Another door brought them to the living quarters with another living room that had a large fireplace which could come in handy. A third door gave entrance to the kitchen, but there was also a door connecting it with the living room. It was large and had the newest appliances, while it also had a breakfast bar and a sitting area. In the kitchen there was another door that led towards a wine cellar that could hold over thousand bottles. On the second floor, there were three bedrooms that each had their own bathroom, it also had a library, gym/sauna and a sitting room. The third floor gave the master bedroom, which had a walk-in closet and a large bathroom attached. There was also a little sitting area in the master bedroom. The third floor also had a fourth and fifth bedroom with bathroom. In the cellar, there was a large room that had been used as dance/ballet room, which would be perfect for their training room.
When they went outside, they came on a terrace, that gave view to a large grass field, a pool and another smaller building.
"That is the guest house, it has three bedrooms and two bathroom, a little kitchen and living room" Charlotte explained.
"Alright, is there a place to park a car" Harry asked "Rick pointed out to us that we will probably need one.
"Yes, there's a garage on the side of the house which has room for three to four cars" Charlotte explained.
Harry nodded "Could you give us a moment?"
"Of course" Charlotte responded and she and Rick gave them some room.
Harry looked at Tonks and he saw in her eyes the excitement "I don't think we need to see other houses, do we?"
"No, I don't think so, this is really perfect" Tonks answered. "Let's see if we can buy it immediately"
They joined Charlotte and Rick and Tonks asked "We don't need to see other properties, can we buy this house immediately?"
"If you decide today, you could move in in approximately three to four days, depending on the solicitor" Charlotte answered. "It has been empty for quite a while"
"That would be perfect, thank you" Tonks told them.
"Alright, I'll give the paperwork to Rick and he'll help you with everything. Good luck in Los Angeles" Charlotte said.
Rick drove them back to the office and when they entered, one of Rick's colleagues mocked "Managed to find an apartment for them?"
"Actually, I'm just going to finalize the paperwork for a 5.5 million dollar house, thank you" Rick responded, successfully shutting him up.
Harry and Tonks grinned and followed Rick to his little cubicle.
"I should thank you, the bonus I'll get from this sell will probably shut them up for a while and it might help me climb up" Rick said.
"We were happy to help" Harry told him and he meant it. Rick had helped them out really well, so he earned it.
Rick let Tonks sign multiple papers, since it was officially she who was buying the house.
"If you want, I can arrange a hotel for you two in the meantime, that way I'll have a way to contact you when the purchase is finalized"
"Alright, that would be nice, we don't really know our way around here" Tonks answered.
When they were ready, he gave them directions to the hotel that was a few blocks away from there and Tonks and Harry left the building. In the hotel, they only had to check in and they were led to their room.
AN : Sorry for the late update, my next updates will also take a bit more time since I'm busy with an internship and exams.