Chapter 7-Settling In
With their plans settled, Ginny decided it was time to implement phase one. She kissed Harry and Luna good-bye before apparating back to the Burrow. Her parents, Ron and George were all sitting at the table and glared at her as she popped in. A chorus of 'Where have you been?' echoed through the Burrow.
"I have been with Harry. In case you forgot, I am an adult now. Which reminds me, I need to go pack. I'm moving to Grimmauld Place."
With that, Ginny exited the room, leaving her parents and brothers in stunned shock. Several minutes later, Ginny heard a knock on her door and opened it to see her mother. Mrs. Weasley walked into the room and collapsed in a chair.
"Ginny, are you really sure what you are doing? It hasn't been quite two months since the battle and everyone is still recovering."
"Yes, mum, I am very sure. Harry and I are in love and I have waited for him long enough."
"What about school Ginny? You have one year left."
Ginny sighed.
"Mum, I've thought a lot about this and after everything that happened over the last year, I don't want to go back to Hogwarts. I have excellent OWL scores and there are plenty of jobs that I am qualified for."
Ginny continued packing with a wave of her wand and then Mrs. Weasley spoke one more time.
"Ginny, there isn't any other reason for this sudden decision?"
Ginny paused, momentarily stunned that maybe her mother somehow knew about Luna. Then she realized what the concern really was.
"No, mum, I am not pregnant. I just want to be with Harry."
Mrs. Weasley sighed, but remained silent as Ginny finished her packing. When she finished, Ginny took her mother's hand and they went downstairs with Ginny's bags floating behind them. When Ginny reached the living room, she said her final good-byes and hugged her parents and the two brothers that were present.
"Please everyone, quit looking so sad. We have all been through hell and now I have a chance to be happy. Please understand."
Then Ginny took hold of her bags and apparated back to Grimmauld Place. Harry was waiting for her and immediately took her in his arms while he sent her bags floating upstairs. He said nothing, just held her, understanding how difficult her return to the Burrow must have been. After a few minutes, Ginny felt like she could stand on her own again and turned to kiss Harry. Then they began the process of settling Ginny into her new home.
The next two weeks were busy for Harry and Ginny. Harry began his new position as a junior Auror and Ginny took a position in the Department of Magical Games and Sports, Women's Quidditch division. Harry had several lifetimes of gold stashed at Gringotts, but they both enjoyed their work and also enjoyed returning home to their new domestic bliss. Most nights Luna joined them and often stayed over. She even commented that her father had questioned her because he was worried that the port fairies were abducting her in her sleep. While their mutual passion continued, some nights they retired to bed, enfolded in each other's arms and were instantly asleep.
As wonderful as the time was, there were bumps along the way. Ginny made a mistake one day when she found that Kreacher had done the laundry, but had not matched up any of Harry's socks. Ginny decided to be helpful and corrected the problem, but then found that Harry was quite frustrated with her. Ginny hadn't realized that Harry hated having his socks matched. He preferred to leave them loose and pair them as needed.
Then there was the evening after dinner when they sat in the living room reading and Ginny discovered that Harry had the annoying habit of reading lightly under his breath, which made it hard to focus on her own book. She tried to ignore it, but finally lost it.
"HARRY, can you please read to yourself? If I wanted to read your book, I would."
Harry looked up and grimaced at her. Then he took his book and flounced out of the room. Exasperated, Ginny tried to return to her own reading but found she was too distracted. Later, when she went up to bed, she found Harry was already there and had dozed off with the offending book at his side. His glasses were slightly skewed, his hair was rumpled, and he looked so gorgeous laying there that any anger Ginny had left melted away. She moved the book and crawled into bed next to him. Harry woke up drowsily and squinted at her.
"Sorry about earlier Gin, I'll try to read quieter."
Then he leaned over to kiss her while still not fully awake. As they kissed, Ginny was on fire and soon had Harry fully awake. The passion that followed lasted for several hours and Ginny wondered afterward how such a small thing had annoyed her so much. The only problem then was that the next morning they were both tired and late to work after too few hours of sleep.
Two weeks and three days after Ginny moved into Grimmauld Place it was Luna's turn. She joined her father at breakfast to break the news.
"Daddy, now that I have finished helping you with the last special edition of the Quibbler, I need to move on with my life."
Xenophilius Lovegood looked up at his daughter, startled.
"But Luna, I'll need help with future editions."
"I know Daddy, but you may need to hire someone for a couple of days. Maybe cousin Stan."
Xeno made a face.
"Luna, in a few years the Quibbler will be yours."
Luna bit her lip, her father was making this so difficult. She needed to be firmer.
"Daddy, I love you, but I want to be a painter. I don't plan on taking over the Quibbler. And I am in love and I am moving out today."
Xeno sat in stunned silence for several minutes.
"Luna, have the nargles gotten in your brain?"
"Argh, no Daddy. No nargles. This is me, all me. I need to live my own life now."
With that, Luna stood up and went to her room to collect her bags. When she returned to the kitchen, her father had not moved.
"Daddy, good-bye. I'll be in touch. I love you."
Before Luna could apparate, Xeno had one more thing to say.
"Luna, where are you going?"
"I'm moving in with Harry."
Then she kissed her father on the cheek and apparated to Grimmauld Place.
Luna's arrival at Grimmauld Place delighted Harry and Ginny. Finally they all felt complete. Kreacher even adjusted to the change better than expected and it was soon apparent that he had taken a clue from Harry and regarded both women as mistresses of the house.
The whole house settled down and the threesome daily wondered how they had gotten so lucky. Luna had confided in her loves that she had long harbored a dream to be a painter and they both encouraged her. Ginny wasn't the least surprised when she remembered the ceiling of Luna's bedroom, which Luna had painted. Then Ginny remembered what they were doing when she was admiring that painting and she grinned.
Soon life settled into a routine. Harry and Ginny would go to work while Luna would go upstairs to the converted bedroom studio that Harry had set up. She would paint for several hours. In the afternoon she would often run errands for the household, leaving Kreacher with just the house to care for. She also enjoyed cooking and Kreacher occasionally let her help. In the evenings, she would take a canvas downstairs so that she could be with Ginny and Harry while she painted. When the evening ended, the three of them would retire to the large bedroom at the top of the stairs. Each of them had wondered if their passion would wane, but many nights found them all panting in exhaustion.
One night Ginny came home late after dealing with an emergency at the office. She was so tired that she went to bed early. Luna and Harry came to bed later and made passionate love next to her. She woke briefly, watched for a few minutes, and then fell back to sleep with a smile on her face.
The following week then saw Harry being sent on assignment for several days, leaving Ginny and Luna missing him, but enjoying the time between themselves.
