It was early in the morning, and Harry Potter had just flooed to Hermione's flat, where he promptly began cooking breakfast. Just a few minutes later, Hermione called from down the hall, "Harry, that smells delicious!"
"Well, it's ready, so come eat!" Harry answered as he slid the salsa-pepper-cream cheese mix of eggs onto two plates.
Hermione came into the kitchen, and began eating, as did Harry. She swallowed and reached for a glass of orange juice, and took a long, draining sip of it. Harry just raised his eyebrows teasingly.
"What?" Hermione exclaimed. "I'm thirsty!" Harry just chuckled, and took a sip of his own juice.
"Okay, Harry, I admit that there is more to this breakfast than me begging you to feed me. See, before all of this... stuff happened; I was looking for a new place. A house, actually. I really hate being in the city, and my flat is just too small! So, would you consider moving into a new house after the wedding?"
Harry began to laugh at Hermione's nervous face. "But of course Mione! Only thing is- it needs a fenced in yard, so that Ennee, my puppy, will have lots of room to roam about, alright?"
Hermione exhaled a heavy breath, jumped up, grabbed her purse, and said, "Let's go, then!"
"What, now? I haven't finished my breakfa-" Harry cringed at Hermione's face. "Well, where are the car keys, then?"
And with that, they walked out the door.
"I simply cannot believe that there is nothing out there by the means of houses! Honestly, they're all either in the absolute wilderness, or so close to the city that you can still hear the traffic! Mione, maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Harry complained.
"Harry James Potter, don't you dare get whiny on me! We'll find something, I know we will. I just have this feeling, ok? Don't worry, we'll find the right one." Hermione said gently, patting her best friend's knee from the driver's seat.
Harry smiled, squeezed her hand, and closed his eyes.
"Harry, Harry! Wake up! WAKE UP!" yelled an angry, annoyed voice.
"What, what?" Harry yelled, obviously panicked.
"Nothing Harry, I just think that I've found the perfect town... look, it's called Cherry Hollow, says so on that sign there..." Oh, Harry, isn't it just adorable? Oh look, they even have a main street!" Hermione squealed all in one breath.
"Hermione, it's very cute and all, but where are we?" Harry questioned, one eyebrow raised.
"Oh, don't worry, we're only about forty minutes outside of London. Far enough away to be quiet and close enough to get to all the shops!" Hermione cheerfully answered.
"I have to say, Mione, this town is very nice... I like it. Do you think there's a house around here somewhere for sale?"
Hermione shrugged, but answered, "The only way to find out is to look, isn't it?" she said, turning on a small, pebbled road off of the main street.
Huge oak and elm trees lined the two-car-wide street, all evenly spaced apart. Their massive branches caused the road to look like a passageways of shadows. The sun filtered through the leaves, in all causing a very pretty sight.
Just as they were both admiring the scenery, Hermione stopped the silver Mazda Miata suddenly. "Oh Harry... look at that house! Isn't it beautiful?"
"It sure is, Mione." Harry quietly said, for he too was admiring the charming house.
It was a white, one-story cottage, with a large porch that wrapped around the entire house. The windows, all of which were open, were framed by yellow shutters and colorful window boxes. The boxes were overflowing with tulips, hyacinths, and lilies. The gardens, all around the front of the house, were too, immaculate and beautiful. And the best thing of all- they were filled with red tulips and yellow daffodils- Hermione's favorite flowers. The sun was throwing light onto the porch, causing the entire home to look like it was seeped in golden light. The grass was an emerald green, and a waist-high white picket fence went around the entire perimeter of the gigantic lawn. Thehome was the perfect image of an old-fashioned country cottage.
"Wow." Hermione just said one word, but Harry could tell that she had fallen hard into love with this house- it was obvious in her eyes.
"Yeah." Harry answered.
They sat in the car for a few more minutes, just soaking in the charming beauty of the house. They were quiet, until Harry took a deep breath, and said, "Do you think they'll sell to us? We can alter the house magically if it's too small, but you love the house, and I want you to be comfortable with this whole situation, okay?"
"Oh, Harry!" Hermione whispered, throwing her arms around his neck in a tight hug. Harry squeezed her back, then pulled away and opened his door. Hermione did the same.
They let themselves in through the picket gate and walked up the flagstone walk. They stepped onto the porch, unconsciously reaching and grasping onto the other's hand. Harry reached up and knocked on the pretty wooden door, and stepped back.
The duo glanced at each other nervously, hands growing sweaty. "I feel like we're on the first day of school again," Hermione muttered. Harry just grunted in response. And then the doorswung to open.
Hey! It's Lady B., I am so sorry for the wait! You will be glad to know, though, that during this time, a friend of mine, Jessie, will be co-writing with me! I am so excited for this to be happening, I think that we will work well together.Jessie will be writing the next chapter, so look forward to it!
Thanks so much to all of my reviewers; you guys are what keep me going! Thank you so much, all of you, it means a ton to me! By the way, for all of those people who asked for the picture of the ring, it's going to take a while. It was saved in my favorite's section, but unfortunately my computer contracted a major virus, wiping out all of my files. This is one reason why I took so long to get this chapter up! But anyway, thanks so much for your support, and I'll do my best to get a picture of the ring. Adios!
Lady B. and Jessie