If you had asked young Harry what his ideal adult flat would be like, he would have said he would have been happy with four walls and a roof. He had no idea that the Dursley's would have helped him get a flat, let alone furniture to put in it. He had been expecting to have been tossed out on his ear the moment he was of age and they were no longer obliged to 'care' for him.
Here he was though, still only seventeen and moving his trunk which contained all his worldly possessions into his flat. The other Weasley's had come with him, though there was nothing to help him move. Molly seemed very upset that all of Harry's worldly belongings fit into a single trunk. She had tried to give him some towels and bed stuff but he had just laughed and explained that the apartment was fully furnished.
"Sirus lived here before he was arrested," Harry explained as they admired the flat's decorations. "My grandmother set the whole place up for him when he wanted to be on his own. It will do nicely while Grimwald Place gets fixed up more. Kreatcher thinks it will take five years to get it fully fit for human habituality again."
Molly hugged him tightly. "Are you sure you don't want to continue to stay with us? I will worry about you being all alone this summer."
He hugged her back. "I'm sorry, but I need some time on my own for now. I fought in a war and nearly died more than once. I need to come to terms with everything, especially since I didn't expect to live the Killing Curse the second time. I appreciate everything you've done for me and I hope to still count on you as family, but I need this."
Arthur clapped him on the back and soothed Molly as he lead her away from Harry. "What he is asking for is very reasonable, Molly dear. You will still come to dinner at the Burrow, Harry?"
Harry nodded. "Ever day for at least this summer. After that, it might need to be once a week."
Molly brightened up. "I've always wanted to do a large Sunday dinner for the family. Perhaps we can make that tradition. I'll speak to Fleur about it later."
Ginny snickered but covered it with a cough. She had just come from the bedroom and Harry narrowed his eyes at her. He wanted what she had done in there. No one else had seen her come out, except for Hermione. She had a raised eyebrow. They might need to tell her their secret sooner, rather than later. Bill came over to Harry and handed up a packet.
"Here, Harry. I got you that Muggle money you asked for. The exchange rate is awful. I really must speak to someone in the Ministry about that. Its awful in your favor though, that is a lot of muggle money, I understand for very little wizarding."
Harry smiled up at the redheaded man. "Thanks Bill. Hermione was going to help me shop for some basics. You coming, Ron?"
Ron shook his head. "Sorry no, Geroge is needing my help at the shop. Hermione, keep an eye on Harry and make sure he doesn't go and find the next Dark Lord, will you?"
Hermione chuckled as she kissed him. "I think I can manage to keep our best friend out of trouble for an afternoon. Don't let George wind you up to much or I'll sleep in Ginny's room tonight."
Ron blushed and quickly made his escape. Now only Harry, Hermione, and Ginny were left. He could tell Ginny wanted to come with him so they could shop together, but she also knew nothing about Muggle shopping. She would need to have a solo trip with Hermione first before she went with him. He hated to see Ginny go through the fire place, but he knew she would be sneaking over later this evening.
"Shall we go, Harry?" Hermione asked. "What would you like to get first?"
"Clothes." Harry said firmly. "I have plenty of robes and the like and while I would prefer to wear those from now on, I will need muggle clothing too. I refuse to continue to wear Dudley's hand-me-downs now that I am an adult."
She giggled and headed for the door. "I was hoping that would be your choice. You and Ginny should burn those old clothes when she comes back later."
Harry blushed, to be called out so easily. "What gave us a way?"
She beamed at him, shaking her hair from her eyes. "Nothing, actually. I just know you that well. No one else in the family has an idea. I heard Molly crying last night that she would never get you for a son-in-law now."
He nodded. "Thank you for not telling them. We just want some time to ourselves before we become the new you and Ron."
She grimaced. "I know. If Percy walks in on us in a tender moment one more time, I am going to scream. So, I do understand Harry. Just try not to take too long, alright? I'll have a talk with Ginny in private when I share her room tonight."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Already expect Ron to lose your challenge?"
She rolled her eyes. "Only because I bribed Geroge to make Ron as mad as possible. I needed an excuse to our privacy charms on Ginny's door and talk the night away. Do try to not get caught. I will act like I had no idea this was going on if you do."
He laughed. "Thank you, for understanding. It will be nice to have someone to talk to. Being with Ginny has been amazing though having to sneak around does suck. I can't wait to have her here with me, and without needing to hide every moment."
She shook her head. "Keep that invisibility cloak handy. If you think Ron or George won't show up uninvited you are in for a surprise. "
"Yeah, I am a little worried about what Ginny did to my bed. Probably used a cleaning charm on the sheets and blankets. Who knows how many witches and muggle girls Sirus invited back here."
His best friend grimaced at that thought. "Maybe the entire house. The couch for sure needs to be cleaned."
Harry nodded. "I'll take care of it. Don't worry."
They headed out to do the shopping. Harry got some cheap shirts and jeans as well as some shorts and warmer tops. Once they were all safely stashed away, Hermione returned to the Burrow.
Harry headed into the bedroom and checked the bed. He noticed right away the bed smelled of Ginny. She had used a simple charm to make the pillows, sheets, and blankets all smell like she had slept in them. He inhaled deeply of her scent. One day, these things would carry her scent naturally as they shared their life together. This would suffice for now, at least until she was seventeen. There was still over a month until that day. He would just have to make do until then.
Harry sat on the couch with Ginny's head in his lap. Her hair was loose and all over him but he didn't mind. She was in cut-off jean shorts again and her long pale legs were tucked up on the remaining length of the couch. Her bare feet were up on the other armrest. He was playing with her hair as she was reading an article about the Hollyhead Harpies, the team she wanted to play for.
"Any news?" He asked as she finished the article and tossed the magazine aside.
"Not really. The sports correspondents are bad, Harry. I could do a better job than that. Maybe that is what I should do."
She sat up and snuggled into his side instead. He pressed a soft kiss to her cheek.
"Whatever you decide, Gin, I'll support you. Though you could always play first and then switch over to writing later."
She smirked at him, and they shared a real kiss. He longed to touch her in more intimate ways, but he had sworn to wait until she was of age like him. They may be alone and in love with no adult supervision, but he still refuses to violate the Weasley's trust. It was hard though, she was the very image of summer in her tank top and shorts.
"We should take a trip to the coast or perhaps a lake before you return to Hogwarts." He said as he tore his gaze away from her.
She laughed as she noticed his blush. "I would love that. We'll either need to take everyone or come out to the family first. I think we should tell them right before I go back to school though. I can just imagine the look on Mum and Dad's faces when I give you a goodbye kiss with tongue right before getting on the train."
Harry laughed. "Is that the goal? Try and keep it from them until September First? I think we can manage that."
She smiled as she pushed him over and climbed on top of him. "Plus that way, we have a couple weeks to enjoy this flat in our new role as lovers. My birthday is coming so slowly."
He nodded, the days felt like treacle when he thought of what was to come. "I know, Gin. There is still lots to do. I'll be going next week to arrest Umbridge."
She nodded. "I need to get with Hermione on your birthday plans as well. Can't give you the same gift as last year."
He smirked up at her. "Oh, why not? I quite enjoyed my gift last year."
She smacked him lightly on the head. "You can have that now, whenever you like. I need to get you something else."
He sobered up. "Gin, just to let you know, Hermione knows. She is firmly on our side and is alright with us keeping the secret. She plans to talk to you about it tonight."
She nodded. "I thought as much. Well, let's enjoy our time together while we can before we have to head back for dinner."
He nodded and pulled her into a very long kiss.
A/N: Thanks for reading the latest chapter! Getting my updates for December started, almost caught up on my WIPs for this month. Then It's back to working on my novel though only 1K words a day now. See you in 2024 for the next chapter!