Living up to Family

Our First of Many – Ch 8

Harry

Harry was slightly panicking. Tonight, was his first date with Meredith, something he truly didn't expect to happen too soon. He had just took a longer shower, making sure to scrub the days build up of surgical sweat off his body. He also spent time grooming his beard, making sure it well trimmed up to his standards. He opted to listen to Hermione's suggestion of wearing his navy blazer. He paired it with a baby blue dress shirt, an embroidered navy blue and silver pocket square, beige dress pants and his new pair of tan suede loafers. He spent even more time to make sure his Potter hair was well tamed, using a mix of his great grandfather, Fleamont Potter's original sleekeasy potion and some muggle pomade. He made sure to put his wand inside the hidden pocket inside his jacket. (He had Hermione do the enchantment like her moleskin pouch.) Harry also opted not to use cologne just yet, he liked stronger scents typically and was worried that it would overwhelm Meredith. Not like he was expecting her to be that close to him, but better safe than sorry he supposed.

He eventually made his way downstairs and it looked like Ron had come home sometime during his shower as both he and Hermione were standing there like proud parents. "Oh look at you Harry, we are so proud of you, you handsome devil you," faked cooed Ron.

"Ronald Billius Weasley don't tease Harry like that! He never teased you when we first started dating!" reprimanded Hermione. Harry's relief was quickly short lived as Hermione turned to say "Now Harry, don't forget to give her flowers. Not roses, its too early for that, but maybe some lilies and gardenias? We also expect you to be home no later than midnight young man!

Harry literally banged his head on the wall. He hadn't expected this level of teasing. Ron and Hermione's faces quickly broke down as they laughed at his expense. "Don't you guys have anything else better to do? Literally about to give you both an empty house for the night," exclaimed Harry.

"Now, now Harry. Tonight's all about you," replied Ron. "If somehow, you and your bird come home tonight, we await your text and we will excuse ourselves to the cabin."

"Keep teasing me and you'll be only allowed in the cabin," muttered Harry.

"Harry! That's not how you treat your friends who are rooting for you! Honestly Harry! You deserve this, Meredith is a sweet girl and it seems like you both have plenty in common," said Hermione.

"I know, just worried that's all. Sorry guys."

"Go have fun mate, we'll see you when we see you!" as Ron quickly shooed Harry towards the door.

Harry was quickly shuffled out of his own house by Ron and Hermione. He made way to his Boxster. He decided to hit it with a half a dozen scourgifies to make sure it was pristine. He quickly settled into the drivers seat and sat for a moment, letting the roar of the engine bring his nerves down. Putting the car into reverse, he made headway to Meredith's house.

Meredith

Meredith was in a full blown panic. She had spent most of her time showering and was having a hard time deciding what outfit she needed to wear. She had teased Harry that she already had a dress picked out but in all honestly she had done it to get him all riled up. Unfortunately, this backfired on her, and she was now scrambling. Thankfully her new roommate Izzy and Cristina were over helping her pick out an outfit. Thankfully they didn't say too much about her date with an Attending. Harry had treated them all pretty fairly and even though they disliked the reprimands he had given the 2 of them, both Izzy an Cristina had come to a sort of understanding. Cristina in particular was aloof in regards to the ethics of dating an Attending, something Meredith wanted to pry into later. Eventually Izzy had come through for Meredith and lent her some of her clothes. She had picked up a light salmon pink pleated and layered skirt that ended just right above the knees, a sleeveless white lace top that barely contained her midriff, and a pair of modestly high silver heels that gave her bottom a nice boost. She had also opted not to wear a blazer as it was nice warm summer day in Seattle, which was a rare occurrence. To her it was a good sign.

Meredith was still working on applying her make up when she heard the doorbell ring. Both Izzy and Cristina booked it downstairs. She hoped that they stalled him just enough to let her finish applying her make up.

Harry/Meredith

Harry buzzed Meredith's doorbell and instead of seeing Meredith he was welcome by Dr. Stevens and Dr. Yang. "Umm, hello Dr. Stevens and Dr. Yang. Is Meredith ready?" as he stood their awkwardly with a bouquet of white lilies in the threshold of the home.

"She's just finishing up!" said a slightly winded Dr. Yang. They just stood there momentarily before Harry just had to speak up. "May I come in?"

"Oh yes sorry about that Dr. Potter-Black!" as Cristina stepped aside to let him in.

"Please, out of work you can call me Harry. Dr. Potter-Black is a mouthful to say I know," he said cheekily.

"Then please call me Cristina then."

"You can call me Izzy!" said an overly excited Dr. Stevens.

The 3 of them just stood awkwardly in the foyer waiting for Meredith to finish up. To Harry it felt like a lifetime. But he heard footsteps and he watched as what he would literally describe as an angel descending from the heavens. He felt his throat tense up and his mouth parched. If had been paying attention he would have seen both Izzy and Cristina share a look that screamed "She's going to have him in the palm of her hand." As Meredith came down, all he could see what those beautiful grey eyes and that resplendent smile that really melted him to his core. Meredith made a quick move to shoo away the prying eyes of Cristina and Izzy as they booked it into the kitchen. "Well, what do you think of my wonderful dress?" she teased.

It took what felt like a minute before he uttered "Wow". Harry immediately felt his face flush and quickly stammered out "I had these picked out for you." As he quickly handed her the lilies, he had earlier conjured.

"Oh, these are lovely. Just give me a moment to get a vase for them and we can get on with our lovely evening!" she replied.

Meredith quickly took off to the kitchen to get a vase. Harry could have sworn he heard happy squealing and giggling. He was extremely confident that Hermione will eventually hear from Meredith about his embarrassing start to the night. Just another bullet for Hermione to embarrass him with. Meredith eventually came back out and he offered her the crook his arm as they left the house. Ever the consummate gentleman, he opened the door for Meredith, and he could have sworn she purposefully flashed a bit of her upper thigh. He stared a bit and thought he could catch a bit of self-satisfied smirk on her face. He thought to himself "Oh I can play this game too sweetheart." He made way to the driver's seat and started up the car and pulled down the road towards downtown Seattle.

"So are you finally going to tell me where we are going?" she questioned him.

"It's still a surprise, don't like surprises?" he teased.

"I like knowing what I am getting into Dr. Potter-Black," she replied.

"Okay, well this place is relatively quiet, fantastic food and cocktails, and a romantic atmosphere." He made sure accentuate the word romantic in a thicker British accent.

Meredith had shivers crawl up her spine when he brought out his thicker British accent. She realized that he may have caught on to her teasing and decided to turn it up a notch. She was going to make him puddy by the end of the night.

Eventually they pulled up towards probably the most generic of restaurants that 99% of most couples go to on first dates. Harry could tell Meredith looked a tad bit disappointed. "Don't worry, we're just borrowing the valet parking," he said to her as he handed the keys to valet. Once again, he offered the crook of his arm to her as they leisurely strolled about a block towards to what looked like an antique bookstore. Meredith had a confused look on her face as they walked in. But Harry had given her a reassuring look as he led her to the back. There he tapped on a door and a panel slid open. "Password?" said the man behind the door.

"Snapdragon," Harry replied.

The panel shut as the door was opened. The door quickly revealed to Harry and Meredith to what looked like an open courtyard behind the building with only a few dozen or people sitting at small tables throughout. She could see that they had hung white Christmas lights throughout the trees, lighting up the space. "I found this place a few days before I started working at Seattle Grace. It's an old speakeasy/bistro that was founded back during Prohibition. Doesn't even have a name but it was place my parents had visited once and my mum had written this in one of her journals," explained Harry.

Meredith could understand why Harry said it was a romantic place as she was taking it all in. She definitely knew that Harry had some connections and it was something that they will have to talk about down the road.

"You were right, this is quite romantic," she sighed as he leaned her head on his shoulders.

Harry then walked them over to a quiet corner where there was an empty table. "I hope you enjoyed this surprise."

"Very much so," she replied.

The sat down at the table and Harry motioned for the waiter. He put in an order for a bottle of a fine red wine to start the evening off. Both Harry and Meredith just looked at each other as the wine was poured and they could feel the tension. After a few moments they both laughed at each other's awkwardness. Meredith was the first to speak up. "I don't normally do this Harry. My history hasn't been good with men. Any time it gets serious, I have this massive urge to flee. But with you, I don't know. It feels like I am meant to be here with you at this moment."

Harry gave her a gentle response "I can understand what you mean. My last serious relationship took a toll on me, and it's taken me up till the moment I met you to recover from it."

Meredith was curious about Harry's previous relationship, but figured it was a discussion for a later time. "Well how about we just go at a pace we are both comfortable with? I don't want to rush into anything without me knowing you and you knowing me."

"I can go with that."

"Okay let's do this. We get to each ask other questions back and forth. It can be as silly or as serious as we want it to be. But we both have the right not to answer, but you do have to take a sip of your drink."

"Alright, seems like a fun game."

"Ok well ladies first. Why did you decide to be surgeon Harry?"

Harry thought for a moment. "Well, to be honest in school I was preparing to get into law enforcement, but I had some experiences that changed my perspective on things. You see, my parents made enemies of a local terrorist group and I've had my share of watching everyone I love being hurt by these terrorists. Thankfully they were put down a decade ago, but to me I didn't want my future family to be involved in any of my dealings with the criminals I was expected to hunt down. The British law system was rather relaxed at the time and I knew that these criminals would only get a slap on the wrist. Thankfully though, the system has become rather stringent and justice if fully enforced. I became a doctor in general because I was tired of fighting. I just want peace in the end. My parents will mentioned that my father was on track to become a doctor as well before he was taken from us. My mother was into medical research, so things just clicked for me."

Meredith gave it some thought about what Harry had said. His childhood seemed to bear many scars on him in the mental department, something she was all too familiar with as well.

"So, I take it it's my turn to ask?" he questioned.

"I believe Harry that you just asked a question," she teased him. "But I'll let it slide this time."

Harry let out a chuckle "So what about you, how did you get into medicine? Must have been an easy choice given the path your mother took?"

Meredith took a moment to formulate her answer. She normally didn't want to answer this question as the talk about her mother left her the urge to scream. However when she looked into those gentle green eyes of Harry, something told her that it was going to be okay. "Harry, what I am going to tell you must stay between us okay?" He nodded, sensing that the subject was a bit touchy for her.

"Since I was child, becoming a surgeon was all I've ever known. For example, on my 6th Birthday my mother got me an anatomically correct doll called Anatomy Jane. My education was tailored by mother as well that would eventually lead me to become a surgeon. I really didn't get a choice in it. My mom isn't an easy person to understand you see. To the outside world, Ellis Grey was a famed and decorated surgeon, the winner of 2 Harper Avery awards. One as a resident and another as an attending. The Grey Procedure became a staple in the surgical field and that's all that could be associated with her. As a mother though, she was never around unless it was reprimand me, scold me, or downright lecture me in her displeasure. I never really knew a childhood. When I turned 18 I left to tour Europe for quite sometime to find myself. Somehow, no matter the resentment I felt for my mother, I still felt the pull towards becoming a surgeon. I knew that I could do good, and maybe…just maybe I could for once make my mother proud of me."

Harry knew this was not something that Meredith was sharing lightly. He reciprocated with a bit of his own childhood. "I never got to be child either, I can see that it hurt you a significantly, but it feels like you are slowly overcoming it, you are your own woman Meredith Grey," he took her hands in his. "When my parents died, I was left on the doorstep of my aunt and uncle. They took me in, but they were rather abusive. I cooked and cleaned for them every day from the age of 5 till I left their home at 17. I didn't have a real bedroom until I turned 11. Instead, I had a crawlspace underneath the stairs, practically a cupboard if you will."

"Both of us are really messed up huh?" Meredith replied.

"The way I see it, the both of us are stronger for it. I don't think I could be the man I am today without understanding the level of pain I did."

"Is that how you came to specialize in Pediatric and Trauma surgery?"

Harry nodded. Only Ron and Hermione had known his reasons for his specilizations, and now Meredith knew.

"Okay that a sincere moment, how about I ask you something fun?" as Meredith brightened up.

"Sure thing!"

"According to Hermione, you had plenty of misadventures in school. What would you say was your best adventure?"

Harry chuckled; he was going to have to eventually get back at Hermione for this one. "Well, my first year, we got lost inside our boarding school and we stumbled upon this gigantic guard dog. Pretty sure Ron wet himself when we ran for it. When we got safely back to the dorm, all Hermione, who at the time was a very no nonsense, by the book, high achiever yelled at us. I can remember the exact words she used to scold us," and in his best Hermione voice he could muster "You could have gotten us killed or worse EXPELLED!"

Harry and Meredith laughed at how Hermione was back in the day. "It took her a few more years before she started to become the Hermione you met the other day that belts out the lyrics to Rent and eating a tub of ice cream while doing so."

"Wait you heard us singing?" squeaked Meredith. She was very embarrassed at the thought that Harry had heard her.

"Oh yes, and I must say Dr. Grey, that you have the voice of a thousand angels," he teased.

She playfully whacked Harry. "You better not tell anyone, it's my one weakness."

"Ow, how come you've only met Hermione once and already hit me like she does," he winced.

"Better get used to it Dr. Potter-Black. I think I rather like hitting you."

Harry smiled at the thought of it. She was letting on that she comfortable in the direction that their relationship was heading.

"Yes Dear," he replied to a bit sarcastically.

Once again, she smacked him, but she had a grin on her face.

During their banter, their waiter appeared, and they both ordered a light dinner. He had ordered a simple dinner of mesquite smoked salmon and a very generous helping of a side salad. Meredith ordered the same, but with a soup instead. They eventually kept talking about their past and with each passing story they found out about more and more of each other. Harry knew that he would have to bring up his abilities and his lordships eventually. However it was a bit too early to let Meredith into the secret of magic. So, he opted for the latter.

"So, there is something you need to know," he said.

"Oh, and what's that?" she replied playfully.

"I wanted to get this out into the open early and I don't want to hide this from you. Its about my family. Where I come from, we are an old family. I can trace my family back to the 12th Century. Not only are we an old lineage, but my family is a part of the peerage in the UK."

Meredith was a bit confused. "What does that mean you are noble or something?"

"It makes me the 18th Earl of Gloucester. I am the Earl Harry James Potter of Gloucester, and Baron of Blackmoore. I was awarded the Victoria Cross as well by Her Majesty the Queen for valor in the face of an enemy to the United Kingdoms and all her territories" said Harry solemnly.

"Wait…you're not joking, are you? Please don't lie to me." She said wide eyed.

"I don't think I could lie to you about this. My family is old, and my father was Earl before me. I am the last of my family and so the title defaulted to me as soon as my father died. It's not something I ever wanted. I'd happily give everything up just to see my parents alive and happy. I'd give up my family's wealth if I could feel what it's like to be hugged my parents."

"Harry, I don't care about any of that."

"Huh?"

"Look, is it kind of cool and sexy that you are a Lord of some sort? Absolutely! But I agreed to a date with Dr. Harry Potter-Black, the trauma doctor that has the kindest eyes and the man who could command an entire ER with his presence. I like you a lot Harry, don't let it get it to your head that something like this will get in the way."

With that, Harry smiled. He quickly paid for dinner and took Meredith's hand in his. It was still early in the night, so the two of them decided to take a stroll in a nearby park.

"I'm happy I took the job in Seattle, Meredith, truly."

"I'm happy that you did Harry."

The two had approached a lit gazebo and it was a perfect moment. Meredith leaned in slightly to Harry, giving him permission. He wrapped one arm around her waist and used his free hand to caress her cheek as he leaned in to kiss her. It was a moment that he wished he could be in forever. He'd knew that he would have to make a copy for his pensive for later.

"Harry?" she whispered.

"Yeah?" he replied as they kept their foreheads touching. He could smell the sweet wine on her breath.

"Let's go to your place tonight."

"You sure about this?" he asked. He didn't want her to feel pressured.

"Absolutely."

With her in hand they quickly walked back to the car and made the drive to his home. Like Ron and Hermione promised they were no where in site. Clothes were quickly discarded as the 2 made their way to Harry's room. They made their way onto the bed and let the inferno that was being built up in their hearts take over.

A/N – I'm not too comfortable writing smut and I think it's best to leave it how Grey's Anatomy does love scenes. Just enough to tease the audience to hook them into the next episode/scene.

A/N 2 – Relationship might be moving fast, but my head cannon says that their may be a potential soul bond that these 2 are experiencing. It's a bit cliché, but both main characters have been through enough up this point that they deserve happiness and I'd rather seem them tackle most of the main events like the bombing and Denny Duquette event as couple.