8
After the Battle
Chapter 18: Unexpected Developments
Ginny hurried down the stairs, eager to catch up with Harry who had headed down to the kitchen early to see if he could catch Bill before he left for Gringotts.
She smiled as she reached the bottom of the stairs because she heard Bill's and Harry's voices and sure enough, when she entered the kitchen, Bill was still there, sipping on a cup of tea while he and Harry talked about the places they had stopped at the previous day.
"Good morning, Love," she said, giving Harry a lingering kiss as she sat down.
"Oi, I'm eating here," Bill cried, though his eyes were sparkling wildly.
"Tosh, you're just sipping your tea. You've eaten your breakfast, and besides, tea is good for your stomach," Ginny replied impishly.
"Leave them alone," Fleur chided her husband playfully. "Ze are zo cute."
Bill laughed when he saw Harry blushing, though he did have a smile on his face as he gave Ginny a sappy look.
"All right, I'll leave them be, they are newly weds after all," Bill chuckled as he gazed at his sister and her husband. He had to admit to himself that they did make a cute couple. Plus they were well suited for one another, both were really powerful magically and while he was no slouch, he wouldn't want to have to face either of them for real.
Glancing at the clock, he gulped down the rest of his tea. "I've got to run or I'll be late and that wouldn't sit well with the Goblins," he cried as he jumped up, grabbed his cloak and rushed for the door.
"I'll meet you in the lobby at nine so I can take you to meet Jack. I'm not sure if I'll be able to come with you, we'll just have to wait and see," he said quickly before he left.
Fleur set a plate loaded to the edges in front of Ginny as she sat down with her and Harry.
"You know you should remember to cast a silencing charm," she said with a grin.
Harry and Ginny stared at one another wide-eyed. "I told you to cast the charm," Ginny said hotly.
Harry looked mortified but then a small frown creased his forehead. "Wait a minute, I know I did," he huffed.
"Just teasing," laughed Fleur. "I wazn't sure if you'd made love last night and wanted to check," she said impishly.
Harry buried his face in his hands, blushing furiously. Ginny on the other hand, smiled widely. "Well, if you're keeping track we did it twice last night and it was great," she stated proudly.
"Ginny!" Harry cried, staring at her.
"What's the matter, Love? I certainly didn't hear you complaining last night," Ginny replied innocently, causing Fleur to burst out laughing again.
"Sweet Merlin," Harry muttered as he dropped his head down onto the table, making a soft thumping sound.
"Don't be embarrassed, 'Arry. We women appreciate a man 'oo can keep us 'appy. Even my muther, grandmutherz and all my aunts say the same thing," Fleur smirked.
Harry lifted one eyebrow to glance at Fleur without raising his head. "TMI," he said lowly.
Of course set off Fleur and Ginny who howled with laughter.
"All right, Fleur. I think we've teased Harry enough for the moment," Ginny giggled.
"Godric, I hope Bill can come with us or I see I'm going to be in trouble," Harry lamented.
Ginny and Fleur just glanced at one another and giggled.
Harry sighed, figuring it was going to be a long morning.
Fortunately Ginny and Fleur took pity on Harry and didn't tease him, . . . too much.
As the time ticked closer to when they needed to be at Gringotts, Harry, Ginny and Fleur donned their cloaks and Apparated to the small Alleyway behind the Leaky Cauldron and they made their way to the Wizarding Bank.
They did do a little window shopping along the way but didn't see anything that they felt they just needed to have.
At five of nine they stepped into the lobby and only had to wait a minute or two before Bill arrived, a huge smile on his face.
"Great news, I've gotten permission to come along," he informed the others, looking quite pleased.
"May I ask how you managed that?" Ginny asked, raising and eyebrow questioningly.
Bill looked around carefully. "Maybe it's best if we don't talk of that here," he whispered as he led them off down a nearby corridor.
They had to walk a small maze of corridors before they got to their destination, a small office that had a small name plate reading Jack Witherspoon.
Bill entered without knocking and the others followed him in.
Harry looked around and noticed the room wasn't hardly bigger than his bedroom at the Dursley's. It seemed even smaller because of all the filing cabinets, and the stacks of files that covered virtually every surface, except for a couple of chairs in front of the desk.
As soon as the man behind the desk spotted them he sprang up, extending his hand at Bill. "So did you wrangle it so you could come with us?" he asked eagerly.
"Yup," Bill replied with a smile, pumping the man's hand a couple of times before he turned to the others.
"I'm sure you remember my beautiful wife, Fleur and these two are your clients, my sister, Ginny and her husband, Harry," Bill stated, introducing everyone. "Ginny, Harry, this is my friend Jack who will be showing us around today.
Jack stepped around his desk to greet Harry and Ginny, stepping up to Ginny first and shaking her hand, laughing "I won't hold your being his sister against you," earning him a couple of chuckles.
He then turned to Harry. "It's also a please to meet you Mr . . .?" he drawled out questioningly.
Harry shot Bill a glance, frowning slightly. "Potter," he replied as he shook Jack's hand.
Jack suddenly froze, his eyes going wide when he glanced at Harry's forehead. "Blimey, your Harry Potter!" he cried in surprise.
He immediately spun and faced Bill. "You could have warned me," he accused good naturedly.
Bill was trying hard to keep from bursting out laughing, as it was he had a huge grin on his face. "What fun would that have been," he replied mischievously.
Jack looked at Fleur. "I don't know how you can stand living with him," he sighed, giving her a long suffering glance.
"Eets part of the Weasley charm," Fleur replied, her eyes dancing merrily.
Ginny looked highly amused and while Harry also had a small smile on his face, he was blushing slightly too.
"You have to admit the look on his face was pretty funny," Ginny whispered to her husband.
"Yeah it was. It's one of the only times that I've actually enjoyed being The-Boy-Who-Lived," he chuckled softly so that only Ginny could hear.
At Jack's urging they all sat down.
"Well, let's get started, shall we?" Jack said, opening a folder he had sitting on his desk in anticipation of Harry's and Ginny's visit.
Without waiting for a reply, he dove right in. "Normally when I get a request like this I look up the client's net worth and liquid assets so I know how much they should spend on acquiring a home but unfortunately in your case Harry I was unable to do so. Do you know what price range we should be looking at?" he asked, looking mildly concerned.
Harry got a slightly panicked look on his face before Bill chuckled. "Jack, don't worry about it."
Both Harry and Jack looked at Bill bewilderedly, Harry's being a small frown while Jack looked surprised.
Bill shook his head, laughing. "Jack, I doubt you could come up with a property that Harry and Ginny couldn't afford," he stated genially.
"Just how much are they worth?" Jack muttered softly.
"Sorry, that's classified information," Bill replied with a mischievous grin.
"Really?" Jack asked incredulously.
"Really," Bill replied firmly, though he was still smiling.
"Well, that certainly simplifies things," Jack finally stated with a small shrug. "In that case, why don't we start looking at properties," he added as the stood.
He withdrew a piece rope from his robes and handed one end to Bill while he kept hold of the other. "If everyone will just grab on, we'll get going," he smiled.
Harry sighed as he grabbed onto the rope, muttering "I hate portkeys."
"Don't worry, I'll hang on to you," Ginny giggled softly.
Harry's look brightened but you could tell he still wasn't looking forward to the trip.
Jack tapped the rope with his wand, murmuring "Activate One."
With the familiar jerk behind their navels, they all disappeared from Jack's office.
Harry did stumble on landing but with Ginny hanging on tightly on one side and a steadying hand from Fleur on the other, he managed to remain on his feet.
He grumbled lowly, earning him smiles from Ginny, Bill and Fleur. Fortunately to Harry's thinking, Jack was busy looking around.
He then took a couple of pieces of parchment from his folder and handed one to Bill to share with Fleur and one to Harry for him to share with Ginny.
Harry and Ginny quickly scanned the parchment before they started to glance around.
Trying to hide his grimace, Harry whispered to Ginny, "I hope this isn't the best they have."
"Me neither," Ginny replied quietly.
"As you can see the property consists of ten acres, the house and several out buildings," Jack began as he started to walk toward the house.
While the building wasn't as haphazardly thrown together as the Burrow was, it was in in a state of disrepair, much more so than the Burrow and the out buildings were in even worse shape.
Not wanting to prejudge too much, Harry and Ginny did look around. The house was vacant and obviously had been for a number of years. The barn, on close inspection, seemed to be standing by force of will more than structural integrity.
The chicken coop wasn't in much better shape as was the workshop. As Bill and Fleur were talking to Jack, Harry turned to Ginny. "It would take at least as much as the asking price to make this place liveable," he commented quietly.
When Ginny gave him a surprised look, he shrugged. "The one thing I did learn making the repairs to my aunt's and uncle's house was what a lot of the materials cost," he explained hesitantly.
Ginny had to squelch down her spike of anger. While it was a good thing he was familiar with that information, they reason he knew made her hate his relatives all that much more.
They noticed Jack, Bill and Fleur glancing at them.
"Without knowing how much you could spend, I included a couple of properties at the lower price range," Jack said apologetically. "Shall we move on?" he asked.
"Yeah, I don't think this is what we're looking for," Harry replied with Ginny nodding in agreement.
Jack held out the rope and after everyone grabbed on, he tapped it, saying "Activate Two."
The next half dozen properties were better, though a couple only marginally so. Even the better ones just didn't strike Harry and Ginny as being what they were looking for.
Seeing the looks on their faces, Jack gave them an understanding smile. "Why don't we skip a few and I'll take you to one of the better properties on the list," he said hopefully.
Harry glanced around, making eye contact with Ginny, Bill and Fleur and they all nodded in agreement.
"That sounds good," Harry told Jack.
Once everyone was ready, Jack tapped the portkey, saying "Activate Ten."
When they appeared, Harry heard Ginny gasp and he understood why. The property was laid out at their feet from a small rise and it was spectacular.
The house was a large old stone edifice but looked in great shape, with a large lawn in front and a huge garden in the back.
A short ways off, the barn was a little weather-worn but was also in fine shape, just needing a fresh coat of paint. Nearby was a carriage house with attached horse stalls and paddock.
In the distance a small stream could be seen running through the property along with a large pond or small lake.
Harry glanced at Ginny and saw her smiling widely.
"Oh Harry, can we really afford something like this?" she asked breathlessly.
Harry glanced at the parchment Jack handed him and while the number was rather staggering, he gave a quick glance at Bill, who nodded with a smile.
"Yeah we can," he replied to his wife.
Seeing Ginny's reaction to that information gave Harry a wonderful warm feeling. Seeing her so happy just thrilled him.
They spent the next couple of hours going through the property from top to bottom.
Jack explained the the property had just recently been vacated and was in a move in condition.
They both fell in love with the house. It was perfect, besides the master suite, there were ten additional bedrooms, several having their own attached baths. There was also an office on the first floor along with the huge eat-in kitchen. Plus a formal parlour and dining room. Behind the kitchen was the laundry and a mud room.
There was a more casual parlour on the second floor near the master suite, along with a smaller bedroom that would be perfect for a nursery when the time came for it to be needed.
The rest of the floor was given over to four bedrooms and the third floor had the remaining six bedrooms, above that was a huge attic that spanned the building.
And that was just the house. The barn and out buildings were also in great shape and Ginny couldn't help but smile as she saw the look on Harry's face when they toured the carriage house and horse stalls.
"I guess we'll be getting that carriage and horses," she teased, though it was good naturedly. She could see how much Harry wanted to obtain them.
Harry smiled and gave Ginny a questioning look. She smiled and gave him a nod, both agreeing they had found what they were looking for.
Jack was explaining the property consisted of 150 acres with a large part laying fallow at the moment though a large section was given over to pasture.
"We'll take it," Harry stated firmly, smiling widely, though he did glance at Bill to make sure he could afford the 500,000 Galleon price.
Bill chuckled and nodded, knowing that they'd hardly be putting a dent in what they had.
Jack looked at little surprised but then he smiled widely. "Great, let's head back to Gringotts and start the paperwork," he exclaimed, pulling out the portkey.
The next couple of hours left Harry and Ginny feeling mentally exhausted, along with their hands cramping from signing a multitude of parchments.
Things had been going on so long that Harry and Ginny were taken by surprise when Jack didn't push any more parchments at them to sign.
The man smiled and said "Congratulations, Mr and Mrs Potter."
Harry and Ginny shared a kind of stunned look, the reality of the situation kind of eluding them for the moment.
Harry cracked a smile. "We own a house," he said softly to her.
"A bloody big house," Ginny replied just as softly, her face mirroring his.
"A bloody big house that needs cleaning," Harry chuckled lowly.
"But we own it," Ginny smiled.
"Yes we do," Harry agreed, his smile growing just like hers had.
"We own a house," Ginny whispered warmly, envisioning what it would look like once they had moved in. Picturing the furniture they had bought along with all the curtains and linens, the art work, bits and bobs they had acquitred, seeing it as their home and not just as a big empty house.
Bill and Fleur smiled at one another as they watched Harry and Ginny exchange looks and heard what they said, both feeling so happy for the couple as they remembered what it was like when they found out that they had their own place to live.
"Come on you two," Bill cried happily. "We're taking you out to dinner to celebrate."
He and Fleur took turns hugging each of the Potters, offering their own congratulations.
The foursome left Gringotts and headed down the Alley toward the Leaky Cauldron with Harry and Ginny still feeling that everything was a bit surreal. It hadn't quite sunk in that they just spent a huge chunk of money and owned their own home.
"Zo, what are your plans?"Fleur asked with a grin.
Harry and Ginny stared at one another for a moment. "Cleaning," Ginny finally said with a happy little sigh.
"Godric, I didn't think I'd ever say that and be happy about it," she added with a giggle.
"I know, on one hand I feel the same but then I realize it's our home," Harry chuckled, wrapping an arm around Ginny and drawing her in close so he could give her a kiss.
Ginny giggled and gave a soft moan as Harry kissed her and she couldn't believe how happy she was. The war was over, she and Harry were married and they'd just bought their own home, she didn't think there was anything that could spoil how she felt.
It didn't take long before they were being seated and Bill announced that they should order anything they wanted.
"I don't know, some of these dishes are mighty expensive," Ginny protested, glancing at the menu.
"Don't worry, lil sister, I can afford to splurge once and a while, besides, I'm expecting to get invited to dinner once you two are settled," Bill teased.
Harry and Ginny exchanged glances, both thinking about having Bill and Fleur over for dinner, just like any family would.
"Give us about a week, and we'll have you over," Ginny stated firmly, her heart racing slightly as she hoped that she and Harry could have things ready in time.
Dinner was a very happy affair with Harry and Ginny relaxing as they lost that slightly bewildered look at having purchased their dream home. Yes it needed a little work, mostly a good cleaning because while it had been cleaned up for sale, it needed a bit more before they'd move in.
Bill ended up teasing Harry and Ginny, saying how happy he was that he had to work the next few days so he wouldn't be roped into helping.
Fleur threatened to hex him if he didn't behave and promised that she'd be there every day until they were satisfied and moved in, something that Harry and Ginny were extremely grateful for.
By the time dinner was over, Harry and Ginny were feeling beat. The adrenalin rush was long gone and they were both having a hard time keeping their eyes open.
Bill and Fleur smiled tenderly and they each took one of their young companions and Apparated them back to Shell Cottage. Once there, Harry and Ginny mumbled their good nights and slowly made their way to their bedroom.
They barely managed to undress before they crawled into bed, snuggled together and were asleep within moments.
The next morning was the total opposite. Since they had gone to bed very early, mentally exhausted from their day, they woke up feeling energized and they couldn't wait to get their day going so they could head over to their new house and begin cleaning it.
Bill and Fleur chuckled and smiled when they came down into the kitchen where they found Harry and Ginny already preparing breakfast.
While Harry plated up everything, Ginny served Bill and Fleur their tea and they all sat down as Harry joined them at the table.
Bill and Fleur tried, but failed miserably, to keep from smiling and laughing at Harry and Ginny. They were so animated and exuberant as the chomped at the bit to get going.
Watching his sister and new brother-in-law, Bill shook his head and smiled. "Seeing you two almost makes me wish I could go with you . . . Almost," he laughed.
Harry and Ginny just smiled and shrugged, not letting him get to them.
"You're just jealous," Fleur teased her husband. "We're going to 'ave so much fun while you'll be stuck at the bank. . . Working."
Bill almost retorted 'What do you think you'll be doing?' but held his tongue. He knew there was a huge difference with what he would be doing compared to Harry, Ginny and to some extent, Fleur.
They would be working on getting their house ready to move into, starting the process of turning it into a home, filling it with love. Truth be told, he was a little envious of his wife because she'd be there and part of it.
Harry and Ginny quickly downed their breakfasts and ran off to get dressed so that they could leave as soon as possible.
"Have fun," Bill teased as he gave Fleur a kiss before he left for work.
"You're not fooling me. I know you'd rather be with us," his wife replied with a smirk.
He just gave her a small shrug, not willing to tell her she was right.
By the time Harry and Ginny returned, dressed in some rather ratty and worn clothes, Fleur had assembled a small pile of cleaning supplies to take with them. Besides several buckets and a huge pile of rags she had several bottles of Mrs Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover.
Ginny and Fleur giggled when Harry wrinkled his nose when he spotter the bottles of the cleaner, remembering the acrid smell from the many times he had been forced to use it during many of his detentions with Filch.
Gathering everything together the three of them made their way outside the wards and Apparated away.
Unseen by them, someone was observing them from afar, hoping for an opportunity to present itself.
They all gasped when they arrived outside the house because Bill was standing there with a couple of other wizards and a number of Goblins.
"What are you doing here?" Ginny asked in surprise.
"We're here to install the wards," Bill replied with a smirk.
"Oh," Ginny stated with a shocked look. She glanced at Harry who shrugged, indicating that he hadn't known anything about it either.
"While the property is too big for a Fidelius Charm, we'll be installing some Notice-Me-Not and Muggle Repelling Charms, among others to insure your privacy," Bill explained.
"Thanks Bill," Harry stated in relief. Truth be told, he hadn't even thought about placing wards around the property.
"While I'd love to stay and help you clean, I'd better help get the wards in place," Bill laughed. He then turned and went over to the group from Gringotts and began discussing what needed to be done.
Harry noticed that a couple of the Goblins had a number of large crystals and he wondered what they were for.
"They're ward stones," Fleur explained when she saw Harry's puzzled look. "They'll be placing one at each corner of the property and tying them into the control crystal that they'll bury somewhere near the house."
Ginny saw Harry looking at the warding team wistfully but then he gave a soft sigh and shook his head and turned back toward the house.
She quirked an eyebrow at him questioningly and she was about to tell him to go with Bill if he wanted to when he smiled at her and shook his head.
"I can always talk to Bill later. It's more important for us to get started on cleaning," he replied to her unasked question.
Ginny gave him a brilliant smile and when he came over to her, a deep kiss, letting him know how proud she was of him for passing up the opportunity to watch the wards being placed and concentrating on their house.
The three of them entered the house and headed right into the kitchen as that was where Harry and Ginny, well mostly Ginny, had decided to start.
It took them most of the morning using a combination of Mrs Skower's, magic and good old muggle muscle power to have the room spotless and gleaming.
Seeing they had some time before they'd break for lunch, they headed up to the master suite.
Fleur was surprised when Harry volunteered to clean the master bath while she and Ginny tackled the bedroom itself.
By the time they were ready to break for lunch, the bedroom and bath were sparkling clean, just like the kitchen.
Ginny was ecstatic and Fleur smiled as she threw herself into Harry, hugging him hard as she told him that she wanted to start bringing the furniture over that afternoon, starting with the kitchen table and the bedroom set they had purchased.
Fleur nodded, saying that she'd make sure they also brought along the curtains and linens so that at least those two rooms would be ready for them to move in.
When they went back outside to head back to Shell Cottage for lunch they found the team from Gringotts just getting ready to leave too.
Bill came over and after receiving a kiss from Fleur, he told them that he was going to come back with them to have lunch before he'd have to go back to work.
Ginny could see how excited Harry became and she was sure that he'd be questioning her brother about the wards. It made her feel so warm inside because her husband and brother got along so well.
Since it was so nice out, they decided to eat outside, and while Fleur and Ginny went inside to make lunch, Harry and Bill set up a table, with Harry questioning his brother-in-law about the wards and how they were placed.
They were soon joined by the women and they had a wonderful time eating lunch and just spending time together. Harry and Ginny loved how Bill and Fleur treated them as equals, as adults.
Fortunately for them, their watcher wasn't present as she had returned to the Burrow to make lunch for Ron and Hermione.
"Hey Mum, where have you been?" Ron asked as he came into the kitchen.
"Oh, out running a few errands," Molly replied off-handedly.
Ron gave a small frown, it seemed that his mother had been out running a lot of errands lately, much more so than he could ever remember. He was just about to ask her about it when his girlfriend came down the stairs and into the kitchen.
He gave her a goofy smile, remembering what they had gotten up to after everyone had gone to bed the previous night. Ever since they had discovered the joys of having sex, they found they could hardly contain themselves.
So much so that Ron reconsidered questioning his Mum as they'd been using the time she was missing during the day to indulge themselves.
"Hi, Mrs Weasley, can I give you a hand," the bushy-haired girl asked.
Molly smiled at the muggle-born girl, thinking at how good an influence she'd been on Ronald. "Why don't you get the pumpkin juice out and pour everyone a glass," she said brightly.
"Okay," Hermione replied as she headed to the cold box.
"Hey, Ron, could you grab glasses for all of us?" she asked as she grabbed the pumpkin juice.
Ron was just starting to sit down but hadn't even touch his arse to the chair yet. He scowled at his girlfriend, looking like he'd really rather not but then he sighed and went over to the cabinet to get the glasses.
His scowl didn't go unnoticed by neither his girlfriend not his mother. "Ronald Bilius Weasley, don't give me that look. You need to help around here more. You've had it pretty easy up till now and it shouldn't be a big deal to get a couple of glasses when the rest of us are working to make lunch. If you expect to eat, the least you can do is help out a little. You're not a little boy any more to be catered to," Molly fumed, getting tired of his attitude.
"Yes, Mum," Ron grumbled unhappily.
Molly had to grit her teeth to keep from exploding at her youngest son. "Ronald, if you can't help and be civil maybe you should just head up to your room and think about the situation," she growled unhappily.
Ron looked at his mother in shock. The though of being sent to his room without lunch horrified him. "Sorry, Mum," he mumbled contritely.
Molly nodded her head in satisfaction. She'd been much too lax in raising her youngest son and though he was now of legal age, she wasn't going to let that stop her from correcting the situation.
"Ronald, after lunch I want you to de-gnome the back garden. They are completely out of hand because of the poor job you did last time. If you persist in doing such a poor job there will be consequences," she threatened with a scowl.
"Yes Mum," Ron replied sadly. He'd hoped that he and Hermione would be able to sneak off and have a little fun. He looked imploringly at his girlfriend who rolled her eyes but gave him a small reassuring smile.
"Mrs Weasley, would it be okay if I helped Ron?" she asked pleasantly.
"That's up to you, dear," Molly replied with a warm smile. "You're a guest and not obligated to help if you don't wish to."
"Well, I was hoping to take Ron over to meet my parents this afternoon," she explained. The thing was she knew her parents would be at their office and she wanted to take Ron to her parent's house so they could make love in her bed.
"That's nice and as long as Ron does a good job I see no reason you can't go afterwards," Molly beamed, hoping that Ron would get his head out of his arse and ask the brunette to marry him. He needed a strong, wilful woman to keep him in line.
When Molly turned her back to finish making lunch, Hermione gave Ron a wink and burning look.
Ron's eyes widened in surprise. He'd been rather nervous about meeting her parents but if the look she was giving him was any indication, he didn't think that was going to happen that afternoon.
He dug in, hurriedly eating his lunch, wanting to get out back and start de-gnoming the garden so he could get done as quickly as possible, looking forward to what Hermione was implying.
Harry and Ginny
With lunch over, Bill headed back to Gringotts while Harry and Ginny helped Fleur clean up. After they had that accomplished, they headed up to their bedroom and collected the things they wanted to take with them.
When each of them had as much as they could comfortably carry, they headed back down stairs and to the Apparation point. Then with three soft pops they were gone, reappearing at the Potter's new home.
The first thing they did was get out the kitchen table and Harry resized it.
Ginny beamed as she saw how wonderful it looked in the newly cleaned kitchen, to her it just shouted Home. She could envision having family over for dinner and also sitting around with their own family once they started having children.
Harry removed the set of chairs they had purchased that matched the table wonderfully.
Once that was done they headed up to the master bedroom and began to set that up.
They all began to resize the furniture, placing it where Ginny wanted. It took a little juggling of the furniture but eventually they had everything just where the redhead wanted it to be.
Fleur smiled as she watched Harry and Ginny embrace, their eyes scanning their new bedroom. She could tell from their looks they were thinking about christening the bed.
She gave a soft laugh. "Why don't we go back down and start putting away the things in the kitchen," she stated with a smile.
She almost lost it when Harry and Ginny gave her embarrassed looks, blushing as they smiled at their sister-in-law.
Returning to the kitchen they began to unpack the boxes of utensils, pots, pans and dishes.
Ginny sighed wistfully as she was putting the plates away.
"What is it, love?" Harry asked worriedly.
Ginny gave him a wan smile. "I was just thinking about the set of china that my Grandmother Prewett gave to me. It's packed up at the Burrow," she replied sadly.
"Don't worry, we'll work something out. Maybe we can talk to your father and he can sneak it out of the house," Harry replied as he hugged her to his body.
Ginny smiled, liking his suggestion. She gave him a mischievous look. "Do you think we can spend the night here?" she asked lowly, just loud enough for Harry to hear.
"I think that's a wonderful idea," Harry replied, smiling brilliantly.
"Why don't Fleur and I go get what we'll need while you continue to put things away," Ginny suggested.
"Sounds like a plan," Harry replied happily.
Their plans set, Ginny and Fleur left while Harry continued to work putting things away.
Appearing at Shell Cottage, Ginny and Fleur hurried inside with Ginny going up to hers and Harry's bedroom to get the linens for the bedroom.
While she did that Fleur began to pack up some food for them so they could have something to snack on that evening and breakfast the following morning.
Ginny came back down and seeing what Fleur was doing, she smiled and hugged the quarter Veela. "Thanks for being such a wonderful friend," she whispered emotionally.
Fleur smiled, loving the sentiment. To her, Ginny was like another younger sister, and she loved being able to help her and Harry.
Gathering their burdens, they headed outside. Just as they were approaching the wards, Fleur remembered she wanted to include a bottle of champagne.
"Jinnee, wait a moment, I forgot something," she stated as she hurried back toward the cottage.
Ginny barely heard and continued forward, exiting the wards. Just as she cleared them, one of the boxes she was carrying slipped off the top of the stack she was carrying.
Huffing in frustration, she bent down to pick it up, never seeing the person sneaking toward her and she didn't see the spell flying her way.
Molly couldn't believe her luck, she saw Ginny step outside the wards as Fleur disappeared back into Shell Cottage. Sneaking forward she raised her wand. "Stupefy" she whispered with glee.
She hurried forward, keeping an eye on the door to the cottage and she grabbed Ginny and Apparated away.
Harry and Ginny
A/N: Harry and Ginny have acquired their dream home, too bad Molly has spoiled their plans for the evening.
As always, I truly appreciate your reviews.