"Do I really have to be blindfolded?" asked Rose.
"Well, no." said James. "But that would ruin the surprise."
Rose sighed. "Alright. This had better be good."
It was two weeks since Easter holidays, and James had written to Rose insisting that she come visit him on Hogsmeade weekend. When she arrived, James had announced that he had a surprise. He then proceeded to blindfold Rose and take her by side along apparition to an unknown location. By this point, Rose was getting a little annoyed, especially considering that students weren't supposed to leave Hogsmeade.
"Okay, now!" exclaimed James as he removed the blindfold.
Rose blinked. They were standing in a narrow lane bordered by short hedges and with trees overhanging. Looking to the right, Rose saw that the lane carried on a ways, intersecting with a few driveways, and then disappeared into the countryside. Looking to the left, Rose saw a small town a short town a short distance away, with a pub and a church and a few quaint little shops.
In front of them was a teensy stone house, with a chimney and shutters and a flagstone path leading up to the red front door. It had a miniscule little garden in front, with verdant foliage and copious flowers in a range of subdued colours. There was even a wrought iron bench at one end.
"James." breathed Rose. "What...?"
"Do you like it?" asked James, beaming.
"I love it! But why...?" Rose trailed off again.
"It's going to be ours." revealed James.
"What? Really?" exclaimed Rose.
James hugged her. "Really."
"But how...?"
"We can talk money later. Don't you want to see the inside before we have to get you back to school?" asked James.
"Right, yes of course. It's adorable." replied Rose.
They took the few short steps down the path, and James produced a key. "I would carry, you across the threshold, but well, you know." Rose poked him in the side.
The interior of the house seemed even smaller than the exterior. The outside walls were still stone, as was the floor, but the inside walls were painted a light brown. The couple entered into the main area. In the opposite corner of the room was a tiny kitchen, with glass fronted wooden cabinets and neat countertops. Straight ahead was an eating area with a table for four. They were standing in front of the fire place, and facing them to the right was a cream sofa. A hallway led from the opposite wall beyond.
"I had some things moved out." explained James. "Before there was hardly room for the table. It was a big shiny square thing in the kitchen."
"The refrigerator." laughed Rose.
"Right. And I brought in the rocking chair." said James.
"Everything's perfect." said Rose. "Let's go see the bedrooms."
The master bedroom at the end of the hall was much like the main area. Small, and mostly stone, but the inside wall was painted blue. There was a bed and a dresser, but what Rose liked best were the big windows looking out the back of the house.
"There's no yard." said James. "But I thought the view was nice. That's Bramble's copse up there."
They looked at the bathroom next. It was small, but it worked. There was a half sized tub too, perfect for kids.
The kids' bedroom on the west side of the house was nice too. It had a large closet for storage. At the moment there were just two single beds tightly fitted in there, but they could probably work it into some sort of nursery.
"This is wonderful, James." praised Rose.
"That's it." said James. "Well, there's the attic, but too small for anything other than storage. No ghouls though, I checked."
Rose rolled her eyes. "I absolutely love it, and I can't wait to hear your plans to steal enough money for us to afford it, but I really have to get back to school."
"Did you want to put the blindfold on?" asked James. Rose poked him again.
Dear James,
I loved going to see the house with you last weekend. Is it really ours? Can we really afford it? Also, where is it exactly?
Thanks, love Rose. XXX
Hey Rosie!
So yeah I guess you would be curious about the house. I talked to the goblins, and they're going to loan us ten thousand galleons. The house costs twelve, so we do have a little ways to go. I have about seven hundred saved up, maybe closer to eight by the time we'll be looking to buy.
The house is owned by the Bramble family (muggles). They own the field behind the house, and Bramble's copse. They have a few guest cottages along the road that they've been looking to sell for a while. I guess they've been there since before automobiles, and since the stables are at the main house, there isn't room for parking or anything. They have electric, but it's on and off apparently. When I said we didn't mind, Mr. Bramble was absolutely thrilled. When I also promised to 'forgo a home inspection,' he agreed to sell it to me on the spot.
I've already made a few renovations. I expanded the fireplace so we'll be able to Floo. Too bad we can't expand the rooms, but I think the neighbours would be suspicious. I also moved the re-frigid-ater, as you called it. Another thing was the plumbing had to be replaced. The electric was a safety hazard, so I just vanished it. We can do an undetectable extension charm on the closets for more storage. I thought you might like the character though, so I didn't change the décor, other than to move the stuff out of the nursery so we can decorate it together. Did I tell you that we get the furniture included?
The town is called Elbow. It's in Hampshire. I figured that it didn't really matter where we live, and it was the best place I could find. We'll have to be a bit careful with the magic, so the neighbours don't start asking questions though. There isn't much there, just a little grocery and a church and a pub.
Tell you more when I see you.
Love James. XXXXXXX