Harry was never one to vent about many occurrences in his life. However, standing in front of the Barista that smiled so calmly at him he felt the overwhelming urge to unpack everything in front of her and not just what was bothering him at the present moment.
So making a decision in the quiet coffee shop he decided to tell her about his predicament. Starting with his move out of his friend Ron's room at the Burrow.
It had not gone over well with his unofficial family - especially not with Ginny, who had accused him of not wanting to live among her family anymore, or more importantly with her, after claiming his Lordship at Gringotts and seeing his "mountains" of galleons (her words). In actuality, he had felt guilty for intruding upon her family any further, especially when they had sacrificed so much during the war. Also seeing everyone having to pick up the pieces of what he felt him (along with his own family, Dumbledore and that damn Prophecy) was partially responsible for blasting apart.
He had arranged repairs and a bit of interior remodeling for a certain old place numbered 12. The Goblins had been the deciding factor in said repairs. They took the chance to offer their services to restore it and to remove a certain screeching painting after he had settled the bill regarding the damages said Golden Trio had caused when breaking out of the bank during the war. Said bill also included the contract for the dragon they commandeered who was presently living her best life being pampered at one of the reservations.
The move itself into number 12 was uneventful compared to the argument that had sprung up around the subject. Harry knew it would be an adjustment but was certain he would be fine and was capable of taking care of himself. He had actually made good progress at settling in and sorting through some of the items the Goblins had discovered hidden around the town house, when it started happening.
You see the kitchen at number 12 had been outfitted with muggle/magic hybrid appliances from a fast growing American company. The coffee machine, in Harry's opinion, was a gift from Godric himself. They had never been allowed to drink Coffee at Hogwarts and even mentioning it in the mornings at the Burrow awarded him with a stare that would make even the most notorious if glares-could-kill Professor Snape back down.
- The main reason he was in a coffee shop in the first place was to pick up a few bags of coffee that he had imported through the owner -
Apart from the coffee machine, there was an array of other useful inventions that he took great pleasure in testing out and experimenting with different recipes. Bachelor life was treating him exceptionally well and no article in any of the tabloids or the Prophet could dissuade him from that. The main cause for his predicament however was his fridge.
It was on the larger side with a freezer on one side and a fridge the other, what made it different from the muggle versions of it however, was the fact that it extended the shelf life of all products by at least 6 months. One thing Harry was not going to admit to the barista was that he wondered if the shelf life extension could work on humans as well and laughed to himself as he imagined Voldemort living in fridges like this as an alternative to making a Horcrux.
The problem started occurring one evening after an uneventful coffee date with Ron and Hermione. They had wanted to get his advice on their own move away from the Burrow, he had offered them rooms at Number 12 but they declined stating that they wanted more privacy and were not looking to share no matter how thankful they were for the offer. Kreacher had retired to bed after dinner and Harry had been reading a few articles on new potions that were patented. Specifically one that could assist with the after effects of the Cruciatus. He had deposited his empty plate into the sink and was waiting for his coffee machine to extract the last of his espresso, when he found himself standing in front of the open fridge door.
Not remembering opening it up he shook himself and had closed it again turning back to his coffee. It was still under the spouts of the machine and it was ice cold. Not in the mood to drink it anymore he vanished it and turned in for the night.
Come morning he had already forgotten what had happened. His life went on as usual; there were a few instances where he had problems with nosy reporters and fanatic fan club members but those were outnumbered by the amount of beverages and pleasant conversations he had taken part in with the Hogwarts staff as he assisted with a few of the dueling club and Defense against the Dark Arts demonstrations. But there were a few times where he had been drawn to his fridge again and had caught himself staring at it, not realizing what was happening until minutes had passed or Kreacher had shuffled past him grumbling about strange half bloods.
He realized how strange he sounded as he was recounting all of this to his Barista and he told her as much but she only shook her head and told him that he should perhaps consider reaching out to someone for assistance on the matter.
Harry considered her words and once again thought how strange he sounded even to himself and made his way home with only half the coffee bags he originally ordered.
A few months passed since that day with little incident and he was gradually forgetting about his strange fridge and how he had expressed his concerns to who was practically a stranger. He had been attending a function at the Ministry for the annual celebration of the war's end, trying to keep to himself and to ignore the stares on his person and failing miserably. Finding himself at the aperitif table his attention was commandeered by a group of old Hogwarts friends and students. They had made small talk and thankfully avoided asking him about his split from Ginny when the subject of muggle appliances came to the forefront of the conversation. They had just been laughing about a tale of how a kettle ate someone's knickers and set them on fire just as their soon to be mother-in-law entered the kitchen, when Harry remembered his own strange experiences with his fridge.
He explained as much to the group and stated that he was embarrassed to admit that he was getting a bit concerned as at one point it felt like he was just going to the kitchen to open the fridge and then close it again. The group, having consisted about a large portion of Muggleborns, began laughing again and explained that it was something they did a lot growing up that drove their parents up the wall and that they still did it from time to time. They assured him to not worry about it and that it was just his brain and his body being in a tug of war with boredom and snack cravings. He had put on a relieved face and laughed with them but in the back of his mind there was an itching sensation that made him think that it wasn't completely the same.
A few hours of drinking, laughing and dancing later Harry was making his way to one of the Ministry fireplaces to floo home when he was stopped by someone tapping his shoulder. It was one of the girls from the group he had an entertaining time talking to earlier the evening. She had looked slightly flushed and at first he thought she was going to make a move on him but instead she just shook her head as if forcing herself to stay conscious and told him in a low voice that he should mention the strange occurrences with his fridge to his old potions professor. She then bid him goodnight and disappeared into a fireplace before he could respond to her or ask why he had to tell Professor Snape specifically