-Chapter 4-
~*Hermione*~
Chelsea really isn't that bad of a city. It's not too big but not small enough that we were looked at strangely on the streets because we were outsiders. Getting adjusted was…well it was an adventure to say the least. Ginny was almost infuriating at times because she was so stubborn. I spent most of my time the first few days on the internet at the hotel looking for job opportunities that would fit us both. I found the writing job for Ginny and a job for me at a library. When we came here to Chelsea we stayed in a hotel for another few nights before we found this flat. No wait, the Americans call it an apartment. We both got the jobs and Ginny took on a second one waitressing part time so I could start taking classes right away. I decided on a nursing degree since they're in rather high demand and after the war blood and broken bones don't really bother me. School is easy compared to what it took to get Ginny used to living the Muggle way.
The apartment kitchen came furnished and our first few meals…well they were a disaster. Ginny refused to even acknowledge the microwave for weeks. She told me that anything that made food hot without an actual flame was Dark Magic and she refused to touch it. Luckily the stove is gas and there is a flame otherwise I'm sure I would've been stuck with the meals. I don't even want to think about what she would've said had it been electric. When she did finally use the microwave…well we won't go there.
I have to admit I kind of got a kick out of playing with the light switches when we first moved in. She wasn't really keen on the idea of light without fire or her wand, either. She would be on the couch reading and I'd flick the light switch off and she'd scream. I'd laugh. She wouldn't speak to me for an hour.
We did find out that there is a small Wizarding population in the city and there was a post office. Ginny sent George a letter with our address about a month after we got settled. We received one two weeks later in our post box. He said Percy had reported it and once they found out we were gone they had contacted other Ministries to see if either of us had filed for jobs. Obviously they got nowhere. Our names are on a watch list along with Lee Jordan and about a hundred others that fled the country in the last few years after being found out. He got a Muggle Post Office box so we could send him letters as often as possible letting him know we were okay.
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~*Ginny*~
Muggles are crazy. Seriously. I caught a cold and it got to the point where Hermione forced me to go to a Muggle doctor. Never again. I would rather find a Healer and risk being caught. Honestly, what the hell? I know Hermione is going to school to be a nurse and apparently it's an okay job but really…do they have to torture people like that? Look, all they had to do was tell me I was dehydrated and I would've had some water. Forcing me to sit there for three hours after they stabbed me with a needle and left a tube in my arm to put a bag of water in my veins was really unnecessary. All I really needed anyways was some Pepper-Up Potion but apparently going to an apothecary to get the ingredients was too risky or something. She told me I just needed to get used to it. I told her where she could put the pills they gave me that were capable of choking a Hippogriff. I slept on the couch for two nights.
After a few weeks I decided to give that microwave thing a try. We had to buy the landlord a new one. That thing needs a warning label on the front of the door. "Do not put metal objects in here". Don't put it in tiny print in the inside. Really, who is going to stick their head in that evil contraption to read that? Hermione told me to just put whatever I wanted in there, in this case it was leftover chicken and ham pie, cover it, and then start with about a minute and go from there. She neglected to tell me that it should've been put in a glass bowl and not a metal one. Normally when I see blue sparks flying I think they're pretty. This was downright terrifying. I'm not allowed to touch the new one.
George's letters make me miss home even more. He sent us a picture of Bill and Fleur's daughter and some of his wedding pictures. He said when Hermione and I aren't busy that he and Angelina want to come for a visit. Unfortunately that won't be anytime soon with Hermione going to school through the summer and me working constantly.
I have discovered that I really like bicycles. Hermione bought a pair the spring we moved here and taught me to ride. It was really embarrassing at first but once I got the hang of riding it was pretty fun. Neither of us ever work on Sundays so if the weather is agreeable then we ride around. It also makes getting to work easier since first and foremost we can't afford a car. Also, Hermione is terrified at the thought of either of us driving anything larger than the bicycles.