AN: Thank you so much, GryffindorHealer, Dumnonian, and KSummrforever, for your kind assistance in making the chapter better readable.
Harry glanced at his watch, probably for the hundredth time that afternoon, and exhaled audibly when the hands finally pointed to half past four. Time to get ready to pick up Ginny. It was one of the two firsts today. He had taken Ginny home several times over the last couple of weeks, but today would be the first time he would pick her up from her flat. And the even bigger first time was that he'd invited her to his place. On their first date, Harry had suggested playing darts with Ginny, and today, he wanted to make good on that promise.
Before Harry left, he let his gaze wander around the room one last time. He'd removed everything that could remotely look odd to a Muggle. At least he had tried his best. Even the photographs on the walls were charmed, freezing the movements of the people in them. The charm should last a day or two. Other photos, especially those showing him riding a broom, he'd replaced and stored in a box. But maybe he'd better ask Kreacher to check again, just to be sure.
He grabbed the box with the wizard photos and went upstairs, where he stowed the box in the wardrobe before taking one last look into the kitchen. Another glance at the clock told Harry that he had to leave in five minutes to be on time. Luckily, he'd found an apparition point near Ginny's apartment.
"Kreacher," he called, and the house elf appeared.
"Master Harry called Kreacher?" The elf gave him a warm smile.
"Kreacher, please be so kind and make sandwiches for two," Harry asked. Ginny had asked him not to prepare a big dinner. They just wanted to have fun.
"Of course, Master Harry," replied the elf. "Is Master Sirius coming home early?"
"Not that I know of," Harry said. "Oh, and please don't leave anything magical lying around in the kitchen. And please...please stay invisible. A Muggle is visiting."
Clearly surprised, Kreacher raised an eyebrow.
Harry sighed. "Yes, I know, but... please do me the favour." Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "And please, make sure the loo and any places a visitor might go are Muggle-proof. Would you?"
"Yes, of course, Master Harry," Kreacher replied, his lips forming an amused smile. "May Kreacher ask if the Muggle visitor is a young lady?"
"Yes, she is," Harry replied, unable to suppress a smile.
Noises in the stairwell made Harry sit up and take notice. He wasn't actually expecting any visitors. To his surprise, his godfather, Sirius Black, walked through the kitchen door a moment later.
"Oh, I wasn't expecting you back until tomorrow," said Harry, surprised. A quick glance at his watch told him he would be late.
"We finished early and signed the contracts already this afternoon," his godfather replied, a broad grin on his face. "We only have to go to Gringotts tomorrow to finalize the deal. You're free at 9 tomorrow morning, aren't you?"
"Errm, yeah," Harry replied. "That's fine for me."
"I want to introduce you to the head of the Gringotts division I hired for the external work at the Muggle company. He's a wizard, not a goblin," said Sirius.
"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. It's about time for me to take some tasks off your hands."
"How about we celebrate the signing of the contract with a dinner tonight?" Sirius suggested. "I hope you don't have anything else planned."
Harry's jaw dropped. He shook his head, desperately trying to find a way out. "Sorry, I can't. Not today." His mind was racing. Of course, he could ask Ginny to join them, but somehow, he didn't feel ready to introduce her to Sirius yet. Not that he wanted to hide her. But it was just too new, and wonderful, and so easy. With Sirius around, everything would be a little...not more complicated, but different. Maybe in two or three weeks. He wanted Ginny for himself a little while longer, without anyone interfering. "Why don't you go have a drink without me? Maybe Remus has time," Harry finally suggested, what even sounded a bit lame to himself.
"Oh. Why do I suddenly have the feeling that you want to get rid of me?" Sirius chuckled and tilted his head, studying Harry closely. "What's her name?"
Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. There was no reason to deny it. Besides, it would be pointless. "Her name is Ginny, and I'm already late. Let's talk about it tomorrow."
Sirius studied him carefully, an amused smile crossing his face. "I've never seen you so nervous. She must have made a huge impression on you."
"I'm sorry, Sirius, but I have to go. It would be really nice if you went out for a drink with Remus tonight. I invited her over. We want to play darts downstairs," Harry said, giving Sirius a beseeching look.
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "You invited her here? Is it really this serious?" He shook his head in disbelief. "Now I'm really curious. You've never brought anyone home. Remember, you have to tell her the secret."
"She's different," Harry tried to explain. "And yes, I know. But I really have to go now. I promised to pick her up at five."
"And when am I allowed to meet her?" Sirius asked, a mischievous grin on his lips.
Harry thought for a moment. "If you stay out of our way today, in a week or two." He rushed down the stairs to Apparate from the doorstep. Before slamming the door shut behind him, he briefly turned around. "She's a Muggle. So don't leave anything suspicious lying around."
After stepping out of the Apparition point into the street, Harry hurried with long strides down the pavement towards the house where Ginny lived. He studied the nameplates on the front door and breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted the names "Ginny Weasley and Cassy Wilson." So, Ginny's last name was Weasley, Harry noted. Oddly enough, this was something they'd never talked about yet. He rang the doorbell and pushed the door open when the buzzer sounded. On the first floor, Harry had to wait a moment to let a red-haired man with a ponytail pass. They briefly made eye contact and nodded as they passed each other. As Harry hurried further up the stairs, he spotted Ginny leaning over the bannister, waving at him, a broad smile on her lips.
"Sorry, I'm a little late," he said with an apologetic smile as he reached the third floor.
"Never mind!" Ginny replied, grinning. "You just missed my brother. He paid me a surprise visit."
"Was that really your brother coming down the stairs?" Harry asked, surprised, and then snorted. "Of course. The red hair. I could have guessed that. But what a coincidence. My godfather, Sirius, also surprised me. Came back home a day early. That's why I'm a little late."
Taking Ginny in his arms, he beamed at her. "I missed you."
Ginny giggled. "It was only two days, but I missed you too."
Harry pulled Ginny closer and kissed her, deepening the kiss as he felt her arms around him and the warmth of her body. Far too soon, Ginny released herself from his embrace. Glancing at the door opposite, she said in an apologetic voice. "The walls here have eyes and ears."
"I don't care," Harry replied lightly.
Ginny chuckled and waved Harry through the door. "Please come in for a moment. My brother held me up, but I was almost ready. I only need to change before we go." She closed the door behind him and pointed to an open door at the end of the short hallway. "Why don't you wait in the kitchen for a moment? If your godfather is back, I'll get to know him tonight, right?"
"No problem," Harry replied. "Though, I'm not sure if you'll see Sirius. He wanted to go out for a drink to celebrate a business deal."
"That's a shame. You definitely have to tell me what you two are doing, workwise, I mean. I'll be right back!"
While Ginny went to her room, Harry let his eyes wander over the kitchen. It was a small kitchen with a table and two chairs. The cupboard, a fridge and a two-burner stove were definitely enough for two people who weren't cooking large meals. Overall, it made a cosy impression.
"Your roommate isn't home?" Harry asked as Ginny returned, wearing skinny jeans and a green t-shirt.
"She said something about shopping. I have no idea where she is. I'm ready to go."
"Do you want to walk or take the bus?" Harry asked. "It would be a bit tortuous to take the tube."
"Oh, that's entirely your decision," Ginny replied. "Where exactly do we have to go? I've never been to your place."
"I live at 12 Grimmauld Place, not far from Kings Cross station. That's a good half hour walk," Harry said, somewhat relieved that it had been so easy to tell Ginny the secret of where he lived.
"Then let's have a walk," Ginny suggested. "If we take the bus, we won't be there much sooner."
Once down on the street, Harry reached for Ginny's hand, which she immediately accepted with a smile. They walked around 200 yards down the street when Harry turned left.
"Where are you going?" Ginny asked, giving Harry a puzzled look.
"I thought we'd walk down the Regents Canal Walk," says Harry. "It's not that crowded, and there are some nice spots by the canal."
"Oh, great. I don't even know the way. Never been there," Ginny said, letting Harry pull her in that direction. "Let me guess. You often walked along the canal with your godfather."
Harry snorted. "Exactly. But you'll like it." He gave Ginny a worried look. "You're so quiet. You're not going to get sick, are you?"
Ginny gave him a puzzled look, her brow furrowed. "No. I'm fine. What makes you think that?"
"You're so... I don't know. You'd think your cat got hit by a car," Harry replied, trying to cheer her up.
"Oh," Ginny replied, a smile crossing her face. "I don't have a cat. It's nothing. Really. I'm just being silly." She hesitated for a moment. "It's just... A patient's condition has deteriorated significantly. She's an older lady, and I like her a lot. Today, she had to be transferred to the intensive care unit because no one really knew what she had."
"Oh, that's really..." Harry started, but was cut off by Ginny.
"It's okay. I shouldn't take my work home. But sometimes that's not easy," Ginny said, squeezing his hand. "Let's just have a nice evening."
"If you're sure," Harry said, giving Ginny a worried look to see if she was really okay. Following the steps down to the canal, the two turned into Regents Canal Walk.
"You were right. It's beautiful here," Ginny admitted, looking out over the canal where the houseboats tied to the bank were rocking in the waves. "I'd never thought there was such a tranquil place in the middle of London."
"And it's almost the shortest route to you," Harry added with a grin. "Tell me, Ginny. Do you have anything planned for Saturday? It's my birthday the day after tomorrow, and I'd like to go out to dinner with you."
"You're not celebrating with family?" Ginny asked, somewhat surprised.
Harry snorted and scratched the back of his head, not sure how to explain it. "The party with the family is on Thursday, right on my birthday." He hesitated for a moment, not sure how to say it.
"Don't worry. You don't have to invite me," Ginny giggled. "I don't think I'm ready to meet your family yet. Besides, I'm going home for the weekend." Ginny admitted, rolling her eyes. "My mum wants to plan my birthday party with me. My birthday is in two weeks."
"Oh, then we almost had a birthday together." Harry laughed, relieved, but immediately noticed another matter he should address. "I know it's a little early, but Sirius urged me to introduce you to him. Soon. But I was able to put him off for a couple of weeks."
"Oookay," Ginny said, drawing out the O. Laughing, she added, "I'm curious about your godfather anyway. You talk a lot about him."
"He basically raised me," Harry explained. He ran a hand through his hair and decided to reveal a little more about himself. "After my parents died, Sirius took me in, and we moved to Canada for fifteen years until we came back five, six years ago."
"I'm sorry you lost your parents," Ginny said, her laughter gone. "But that explains why you talk so much about your godfather."
"Yes, Sirius is great. He was my parents' schoolmate," Harry explained.
"How did your parents die?" Ginny asked, her voice hoarse.
Harry hesitated for a moment and grimaced. Somehow, they had gotten onto a topic that he didn't like to talk about. But he'd brought it up himself, so he owed an answer. "They were killed by a... mass murderer."
"Oh, that's terrible," Ginny blurted out, giving Harry a horrified look. She nodded thoughtfully. "I understand that you don't like to talk about it. But... but if you want, I'm here for you. Anytime."
"Yes, I know," Harry said quietly.
The subject of his parents' deaths had brought their conversation to a halt, and they walked along the canal in silence until Harry pointed to steps leading off the canal walk.
"We have to go this way. The canal soon disappears into a tunnel until it reappears somewhere beyond Islington," Harry explained. "We're not that far from my house now, less than half a mile."
When they arrived at the front entrance, Harry reached for the door handle and pushed the door open. "Here we are," he revealed, somewhat unnecessarily, he realized.
"I didn't know your name is Harry Black," Ginny said, pointing to a copper plaque emblazoned above the heavy door knocker that bore the name Black in squiggly script.
"My godfather is a Black, and he more or less adopted me," Harry explained, immediately feeling guilty. What harm would it do if he'd told a Muggle girl his name was Potter?
Harry was relieved that Ginny accepted his answer without questions and followed him into the stairwell. "We renovated the house before we moved in. It's Sirius' childhood home, and it was pretty gloomy before because it hadn't been lived in for years," Harry said.
Ginny looked around, visibly impressed. "It seems to be pretty spacious. The entrance area alone is huge. What do you work at that you can both afford to live alone in such a big house in central London? Or does someone else live here beside you?"
"Well, as I said, Sirius inherited the house. Otherwise, we'd sure live somewhere else. You're right. The house is actually a bit too big for us. But we also earn good money… from various businesses."
"You don't have to tell me if it's a secret," Ginny said, amused.
"No, no. It's not a secret. Not at all," Harry assured her. "It's not that interesting, probably rather boring, but if you really want to know, I can tell you more while playing darts. Why don't we go down to the cellar? You can get acquainted with the darts board while I get us something to drink," Harry suggested, pointing to the cellar door.
"I wouldn't mind helping you," Ginny replied.
"Oh. Of course. Then I can show you around the house a bit," Harry replied and quickly added, "At least the ground floor. Most of the rooms on the upper floors are not actually used. Except for the library, the bedrooms, and the small terrace at the roof top."
Ginny snorted. "Don't worry. You don't need to show me your bedroom. I bet you haven't made your bed."
Harry blushed slightly before realizing Ginny was teasing him. "I have to disappoint you. My bed is always made," Harry replied, grinning, conveniently forgetting to mention that Kreacher insisted on taking care of the household chores.
"It's actually just the living room down here," Harry explained and opened the door to the left of the stairs. "But we only use it when we have guests. Then we have a cloakroom here, and next to it the facilities. If you need to go to the loo, that would be here. And finally we come to the most important room in the house, the kitchen. We're either sleeping, or can be found in the kitchen."
"Oh. The kitchen is nice and big," Ginny said, nodding approvingly. "As big as the kitchen at home in Devon." Ginny chuckled. "At home, we need space enough for 10 or more people. There's only two of you."
Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise. "How so?"
"I have six brothers, a few of whom have family," Ginny replied and continued, amused. "That's the reason my birthday party is at home. They don't all fit in my tiny flat here in London."
"Six brothers?!" Harry nodded, impressed. "That's a lot of people I need to make a good impression on, not to mention your parents."
"Don't worry," Ginny replied, gave him a pensive glance and continued somewhat vaguely. "They may be a little special, but they are nice. My family has always supported me 100 percent." Her eyes widened, and she pointed at the sandwiches on the kitchen table. "Are you expecting guests? These are enough for half a dozen people."
Harry sighed. Kreacher had overdone it again. He shrugged. "If there are any left, I'll eat them for breakfast tomorrow. What do you want to drink? Lemonade or beer?"
"Beer goes better with playing darts, right? Then I'll take a bitter if you have one." Ginny said. "You take the drinks, and I'll take the sandwiches, lead the way."
"Harry, where are you taking me?" Ginny exclaimed as they walked down the stairs to the cellar. "Do you have prison cells and torture devices down here to subdue innocent girls? It's pretty scary down here."
"What?" Harry blurted out, almost stumbling down the last few steps as he turned around to look at Ginny. He chuckled in relief when he saw her mischievous smile. "I wouldn't even put it past Sirius' ancestors. They were a bit...weird," Harry said, barely avoiding revealing they were in Dark Magic. "There's only old junk down here, except in this room," Harry said, opening the door opposite the stairs. "Here, we've created a cosy corner." He let Ginny pass so she could take a look at the room with a bar with three bar stools, a table with comfortable chairs, and the dart board on the opposite wall. "When we moved in, we were down here pretty often. But lately, we've been too busy or just too lazy and stayed in the kitchen." He pointed to the bar. "If you want something stronger with your beer, just let me know."
"No thanks. I'm fine with beer," Ginny replied, laughing.
After clinking their bottles, they both took turns throwing their first darts.
"It's harder than I thought," Ginny admitted with a laugh.
"You'll get used to it quickly," Harry reassured her. "Let's just practice, and when you think you're ready, we can always play a 501."
"Then you can explain the rules to me while we practice," said Ginny while she pulled the darts out of the board. "Your turn."
Harry stepped up to the board. "Okay. There are 20 segments, and each segment is assigned a number, you see, from 1-20. The outer ring indicates the double numbers, the ring in the middle indicates the triple numbers." Harry pointed to the respective areas on the dartboard. "Right in the centre is the bull's eye."
"Bull's eye," Ginny snickered. "Sorry. Keep going."
Harry grinned. "The bull's eye has a green ring worth 25 points, and the red centre worth 50 points. Why don't you start throwing? Try to hit the 20. Later, we'll try the doubles and triples. Let's just start. We always take turns. Before you throw, you should announce what you are aiming at. This way, we always know how good the attempt was."
Ginny nodded enthusiastically and threw her first darts. The first hit the 1, the next the 20, and the third the 18, but it fell to the floor. She collected her darts and cheered as she pulled the dart out of the 20.
"Only the darts that stick are counted," explained Harry, starting to throw his own darts.
They took turns for a while, with Ginny getting better and better. Two out of three attempts usually hit the 20th.
"You wanted to tell me what you do for a living," Ginny said after she had gained some confidence.
Harry laughed. "Right. Where should I start?"
"It's best at the beginning," Ginny replied, laughing as she started the next round.
"Okay," Harry replied, laughing. "To make a long story short, we have a company that sells, installs and maintains security devices. Private people, as well as companies who want to secure their properties, come to us."
"That's interesting," Ginny said, frowning. "Do you really make that much money doing this?" She looked up, startled. "Forget the question. It's none of my business. I was just wondering."
Harry chuckled. "No problem. But both Sirius and I inherited some money, which also yielded some profit. In short, we're doing quite well."
Ginny nodded thoughtfully. "If you're trying to tell me you're a good catch, then I'm telling you I don't care. I would also like you if you were as poor as a church mouse."
Harry grinned. "I thought so." Realizing his mishap, he stopped mid-throw. "Of course, I meant that I knew you weren't after my money. That wouldn't suit you. But I'm glad you like me because I like you too."
Ginny laughed good-naturedly. "Excuse accepted."
"And what does your family do for a living, and how did you come up with the wish to study medicine?" Harry asked a question that had actually been bothering him the whole time.
Ginny seemed to hesitate for a moment before answering. "I was twelve when I decided to become a doctor. It's hard... it's hard to explain, but it was the only way to go to the Mugg... erm, to university and study something I was interested in. I was lucky my family supported me right from the start. My dad works in a ministry here in London. He always took me to school when I was younger."
"You said that your brother lives in London. Your father, too? Isn't it a bit too far to commute between Devon and London every day."
"No. My dad doesn't live in London. But he travels a lot," Ginny said vaguely.
Harry noticed that Ginny was kind of avoiding his question, but he didn't inquire further. She would tell him when she was ready. Maybe her father's job was secret. To close the topic, he offered to get another round of beer.
"When are you coming back from home?" Harry asked as he handed Ginny a bottle.
"Sunday evening, probably late afternoon," she replied. "Why?"
"What do you think if we go out to dinner on Sunday night to celebrate my birthday?"
Ginny laughed. "It's hard for me to find an excuse this time."
"Is that a yes?"
Ginny giggled. "It is."
** HG **
The next morning, Harry was already sitting in front of a plate of sandwiches, the left-overs from the night before, when Sirius finally showed up, a vial of Sobering Potion in his hand.
Harry chuckled. "Merlin, you look like you drank the whole pub dry."
Giving Harry an annoyed look, Sirius grumbled morosely, "You never told me how long you wanted to get rid of me, so I stayed a little longer just to be sure. Remus wasn't helpful either. Had to go home after two hours. He's pretty much under Dora's thumb. I know why I'm not getting married. Ever. When Remus went home, Rosie and I had another bottle of Firewhisky. Rosie is the best." With shaking hands, Sirius uncorked the vial and downed the contents in one gulp.
"Oh, so you went to Hogsmeade," Harry said as Sirius shook himself from the taste of the potion.
"It was easier for Remus. He lives right around the corner from Rosmerta," Sirius replied and ordered a full cooked breakfast from Kreacher.
Harry chuckled. "Seems the curse on the position of the DADA teacher is broken. How long has Remus had the job, three years, right?"
"There's no need to get off topic," Sirius replied, shaking himself again before exhaling deeply and fixing his eyes on Harry. "Tell me."
Confused, Harry glanced at his godfather. "Tell you what?"
"What? How did it go yesterday? And how long do you know...Ginny was the name, right? How long do you know her anyway?" Sirius asked, clearly over the effects of his booze session.
"Yep, her name is Ginny, and I met her two weeks, well, almost three weeks ago. Everything else, you'll find out when you get to know her," Harry replied, trying not to sound peeved.
"Invite her to your birthday," Sirius suggested.
Harry groaned. "She's a Muggle, remember? I'm not sure it's a good idea to invite her when all the other guests are wizards. She'll notice something. Especially if Dora and Teddy keep changing hair colours."
"One day, you'll have to tell her," Sirius said firmly.
"I'm not sure I can to do that," Harry replied, worried. "Remember. There's still the Statute of Secrecy. There are other options. But we're not there yet."
"What do you mean?" Sirius looked Harry in the eyes.
"If we stay together, and I hope we do, we could always live together in the Muggle world. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there." Harry paused for a moment. "Ginny can't come to my birthday because she's going home for the weekend anyway. I won't see her again until Sunday evening. You see, there are still a lot of things to sort out before I can introduce her to the family. She's too important to me to rush it."
Kreacher served Sirius' breakfast, and the conversation was halted for now.
Their appointment at Gringotts was actually routine. They met with Ragnok, the goblin in charge of their business accounts, and finalized the details of the new deal. It happened near the end of the meeting when Sirius wanted to introduce him to the man responsible for installing the wards and Muggle repelling charms they needed for their deal with the Muggle company. Harry's jaw dropped when the red-headed man with the ponytail from Ginny's flat walked into Ragnok's office.
"This is Bill Weasley," Sirius said, indicating to the man.
Harry stood up and squeezed the man's hand, not sure what to think. "Hi. I'm Harry," he stammered. Judging by his raised eyebrows, Ginny's brother had recognized him. That changed everything. How was he supposed to tell Ginny that he knew? And above all, he'd better tell her before her brother did.