Harry J. Potter (stillliving) wrote in alliswell, @ 2012-03-15 17:41:00 |
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Meeting everyone in Wendy’s life had gone as well as Harry could have hoped for. Her parents had seemed to have liked him; he’d in fact spent a lot of time talking to her dad about racing cars and his wonderful granddaughter. And meeting Heidi’s dad and his wife hadn’t been nearly as awkward as he’d imagined it could be. All in all he’d actually enjoyed the afternoon, doting on the birthday girl whenever she’d wanted attention from him.
After everyone had left, he and Wendy had gone up to Heidi’s room to start on setting up her new big-girl bed for her surprise the next day. Harry was luckily very handy when it came to stuff like that, and putting the bed together didn’t take him very long. With the mattress in its place, he sat down on the bed, hopping up and down a bit.
"I’m thinking we’re done," he told Wendy with a smile, still hopping as he talked to her. "And it’ll survive her jumping on it if I can do this without breaking it."
Wendy was standing back, holding onto the sheets and waiting for Harry to get up so she could make the bed. Eyebrows lifted in amusement, she shook her head. "I should hope that she won’t jump on it," she said after a moment.
She crossed the room to sit on the bed with Harry, leaning against him. "Thank you for staying to help," she said, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Dad asked me if I needed him to, and didn’t seem too put out when I said that you were. I think you made a good impression on him."
Harry laughed, sitting still again. "She’ll jump on it. They all do at some point - especially if they’re not allowed to."
Smiling, he curled an arm around her when she sat down next to him. "You’re welcome," he said, "and I’m glad he wasn’t too put out about it. It was nice to meet him and talk to him. I think we’ll get along OK."
"Shh, don’t tell me that," Wendy whispered loudly. "I’m her Mum, and I’ll worry that she’ll jump off and hurt herself." She gave an exaggerated shudder. She smiled. "I’m glad. I’ll hear from Mum tomorrow about everything." She stood, pulling on Harry’s arm. "Right, get up, I’ve got to make the bed."
It wasn’t long before she had the sheets and covers over it, and Heidi’s pillows sitting at the head of the bed, with most of her stuffed animals piled high. She stood looking at it, tears in her eyes. "Oh, God, I feel like an idiot."
He nodded, getting up when she pulled on him. "You’ll tell me if they don’t like me?" he asked, teasing as he stood out of her way as she started to make the bed.
"You’re not an idiot. You’re her mum." He smiled, wrapping his arms around her from behind as they stood looking at the bed. "She’s going to love that. I remember when Teddy got his first real bed, he wanted to go to sleep right after his gran picked him up from school." Harry laughed softly. "And then that night he decided that the new bed was too strange to sleep in."
"Of course I will," she said, giving him a look. She sniffled a bit, leaning against him. Then she laughed. "Oh, I hope she decides she wants to sleep in her bed. She kicks horribly." She turned to wrap her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. She yawned. "God, it’s been a long day. Do you want a glass of wine?"
Harry laughed, giving her a squeeze. "I wouldn’t worry too much. We talked him into it in the end - it took two stories, really, but he slept in it."
Nodding, he took her hand to lead her out of the room and then down the stairs. In the sitting room, he pointed to the sofa. "Sit and put your feet up. I’ll get the wine." By now he had an idea of where she kept everything and it wasn’t too long before he was sitting down next to Wendy, handing her a glass of wine.
Wendy thought about protesting; instead she just nodded and sat, stretching her legs out and closing her eyes while she waited for Harry. She opened them again when he joined her, taking the glass with a smile of thanks. She had a sip, sighing. "Oh, that’s lovely." She gave him another smile. "There’s plenty of leftovers if you’re hungry."
"Thanks," he smiled, taking a sip of his own wine and stretching as he settled on the sofa next to her. "I’ll probably be hungry later. D’you think she enjoyed her party?"
She laughed. "Of course she did... all of her favourite people, giving her all the undivided attention she could ever want? She adored it." She was also half-asleep by the time she left with her father and step-mother. Chris had had to carry her the short walk to the Apparition point, the little girl was so exhausted from playing all day.
Wendy laced her fingers with Harry’s, resting her head on his shoulder. "You’ll be here tomorrow night?"
"That’s good," he laughed. He had another sip of wine, nodding at her question. "I will, yeah. I want to see her face when she gets her real present." Smiling, he leaned against her. "And I want to see her mum, because I’ve missed her last week."
Wendy laughed. "That’s good, because her mum happened to miss you, too," she said, turning her head to look at him. "Last week was so long." She hadn’t really realised how much she had come to rely on seeing him throughout the week, just for laughter and the fact that it was him.
"That’s good," he laughed, leaning closer to press a kiss to her mouth. "And yeah, it was long. And boring. And filled with work." He smiled. "This week will be better, I promise."
She returned the kiss, smiling against him. "Work weeks tend to be like that," she laughed. She sipped her wine, squeezing his hand. "I’m glad." She settled more deeply into the cushions next to him. "So, you’re really going to let me do something with your garden?"
"This is true," he agreed. Putting his glass down, he turned more towards her. "I am, yeah, if it’s going to make you happy. We’re going to have to go to a nursery or some sort of gardening shop, though." He grinned. "But I’m thinking you’re not going to complain about that."
She stared at him for a moment. "Really? If it will make me happy?" she beamed. "Sweetheart, it will make me happy, but it's not necessary. It's your house and if you want to keep it the way it is, I'm also happy with that." She laughed. "No, I definitely wouldn't complain about that."
"Really," he laughed, "and I won’t mind at all. You can do whatever you want - as long as you leave the grass for the dogs." In all honesty he really didn’t care all that much about the garden; it was there for his dogs to run around in and he kept it neat, but that was all. If Wendy could get some enjoyment out of changing it he had no problem with it. "We’ll have to go, then. What have you got in mind when you say ‘do something with my garden?"
She laughed, leaning in to give him a kiss. "Thank you," she said. "I always loved helping Mum in hers. And Nana." She sat back, sipping her wine as she thought. "I think some flower beds would be nice. Maybe a little pond or a birdbath. Nothing terribly fancy or difficult to keep up." Besides, she wanted to make sure that Lizzie and Sam had plenty of room to run around in. "Maybe something that will make decent shade during the summer, for when you have friends over or just want to sit outside."
He nodded, smiling at her enthusiasm. "Something for shade closer to the house would be nice. I’ve got the trees on the one side, but that’s also the side I’ve got neighbours." Thinking, he had a sip of wine. "If you want to do a pond we might as well make it big enough for the dogs to swim in," he said, "because that’s what they’ll do with a small one, too. Especially Sam - he thinks he’s a duck." Harry laughed. "He’ll probably try to get into a bird bath, the stupid bugger."
"As long as a bigger pond doesn't take up too much of the garden," she said. "I don't want to take away their running room, after all." She laughed. "We can put a trellis in, and weave in some vines and they will be even nicer next year. Maybe grapes or something. An ivy."
"You’ve got it all planned out already," he said, putting his glass down and settling back with his arm around her. It did sound nice, though, he couldn’t deny that. "When were you thinking of starting?"
She laughed. "I’ve had a long time to think about the sort of garden I would do if I ever had a house with enough land to do it," she admitted. "What I’ll do to yours is only a small part. I’d love little meandering paths and little grottoes and benches and trellises all over... and more than one pond." She shrugged a little. "I’ve always loved The Secret Garden and looking at photos of gardens at large estates and wondered what it would be like to have one of my own."
Harry nodded. "You can have your practice run here, then," he smiled, "before you move on to one of those big gardens. It does sound nice what you’ve got planned." He looked at her for a moment. "That means you’ll be here a lot over the summer."
Wendy licked her lips and leaned forward to put her glass on the table next to Harry’s. She shifted on the couch until she was facing him, taking his hand and resting their joined hands in her lap. "Is that all right? That I’ll be here a lot? That we -- Heidi and I -- will be? I mean, I would love nothing more than to spend even more time with you, and with the both of you."
"That’ll be fine," he assured her with a smile. "I’d actually like that very much. After this past week it’s clear that I need to see more of you; just seeing you over the weekend really isn’t enough." He brushed his thumb over the back of her hand. "You can even bring a few things over for the two of you if you want. For when you’re there and need a clean change of clothes or if you want to stay."
Wendy drew in a breath, surprise catching it in her throat. "Harry, I..." She smiled, looking down. "Merlin." She leaned in to kiss him, laughing as they pulled apart. "I’ll do that... as it becomes necessary. And get things for her to keep here as we need them." She laughed again, squeezing his hand.
"OK, that sounds good. I don’t have a lot of people over, but you and Heidi are always welcome here." He grinned. "Clothes and toys and everything else included." He pulled Wendy close, giving her a kiss, before settling back against the sofa again. "D’you have plans for next Saturday night?" he asked suddenly.
"Thank you," she said, returning the kiss. She frowned slightly. "Not at the moment, no. I reckon I had sort of thought we would make plans for a date or something. Why?" She paused. "Will you be doing the present you got Ron on Saturday?"
"No, we haven’t actually decided when we’re going to do that," he said with a small shake of his head. "But he’s been talking about a pub crawl in Dublin on Saturday night and I’d like it if you were there."
Wendy blinked; she hadn’t expected this. She and Harry were dating, yes, but so far it hadn’t been something that was public. This would make it public: Harry Potter seen out with a woman. And she knew that it would be obvious that they were together; the times they had been in Muggle London neither of them really shied away from holding hands or unconscious gestures of affection. "I... I’d love to go." She took a deep breath. "Do you mean, there with you, or just there in general?
"There with me." Harry knew that there would no doubt be a fuss made in the media about him seeing someone and it was something he really wasn’t looking forward to, but he was also not going to skulk around and try to keep Wendy a secret while they were together. "If you’re ready for the madness this would probably cause."
She smiled at him and nodded. "I... don’t know if I’m ready, but that doesn’t really matter. I’ve had a little bit of it, when Chris started to gain some notoriety with his music. And Mum and Dad... Harry, they’re both well-known in the Muggle world. Mum still gets noticed sometimes, and Dad is still acting and still has all of his girlfriends. It’s been awhile since I’ve really been in the public eye, but you are important to me, and I don’t want to hide what we are."
He nodded. "OK. As long as you’re prepared for it." Harry smiled. "And as for Saturday night - we probably won’t stay for the whole thing, but you will get to meet the few people I’ve got in my life that you haven’t met yet." In all honestly he wanted Ron to meet her, everyone else didn’t really matter.
She brought his hand to her mouth to press a kiss to his knuckle. "All right. I’m honestly looking forward to it. I want to meet your friends," she said. "And your family. You’ve met mine, and I want to meet the Weasleys. All of them. And assure them that I really do like you." She laughed softly. "I’m certain that they’ll wonder."
"You’ll meet them. Mrs Weasley will probably invite you and Heidi for dinner as soon as she finds out about us," he said, "and we can have Teddy and his gran over one night, so they can meet you, too. Then she won’t have to worry about having a strange woman along when I take Teddy to the zoo again."
Wendy nodded. "I like the sound of that," she said. She laughed and admitted, "I'm sort of nervous about meeting them all. I hated meeting Chris's parents. You saw how they are, sort of stiff and disapproving. They don't really like me and blame me for not marrying their son." She shrugged. She'd refused to marry him and then have to put her child through the pains of a divorce, especially when she knew that she and Chris wouldn't have lasted.
"That’s apparently normal," he said with a grin, "because I was definitely a bit nervous about meeting your family. And that went OK, so you’ll be fine." Harry couldn’t help but frown at what she said next. "They blame you for not marrying him? Really?"
She sighed, nodding. "More or less," she said. "I think they think I was the one who broke it off for good with him, that I didn't really try. But it it really was both of us. We had thought we were done, and he had started to see Katy by the time I found I was pregnant. He stopped seeing her to try again with me and then we really did not work, and they chose to believe that I'm the problem. They no doubt wish that he'd gotten Katy pregnant and not me." She squeezed his hand. "I only ever see them once a year, really, and Chris and I really do get on quite well and Katy and I talk at least weekly. We're friendly, you know?"
"So they would’ve preferred for their granddaughter to grow up with parents who didn’t get along and had rows all the time? How nice of them," he said, the words out before he could stop them. He grimaced, then. "I’m sorry - I’ve got no right. I’ve only just met these people." And he already didn’t like them if this was the way in which their heads usually worked. Returning the smile, he gave her hand a squeeze back. "I could see that today."
She nodded. "Apparently so. But it is what it is, and she sees them when she's with Chris and Katy so it works out." She laughed. "Chris cornered me in the kitchen while you were talking to dad and it felt like I had an older brother, interrogating me about my new boyfriend. He'll be all right. Just a little jealous, but he'll get over it."
"That’s good." Harry snorted at that. "Jealous about what?" he asked. "Are you not allowed to move on with your life?" He was quiet for a moment, but couldn’t stop himself from going on to ask, "What did he say?"
"Not of you and me, Harry. Of you and Heidi and how much she obviously adores you," Wendy explained gently. "This is something he hasn't ever had to deal with -- I've only ever gone out on stray dates and they were never anything serious. He knew you would be here, I've told him from the beginning that I'm seeing you. But I don't think he was ready for how much Heidi likes you, and it's going to be a little bit before he gets over it."
"Oh, right," he said, not really sure what to say to that; it was after all a sensitive situation and not something he’s had to deal with himself, and he supposed a part of him could understand Chris’s reaction. But there was also a little part of him that thought it seemed a bit childish.
Wendy dipped her chin a little, looking at him with eyebrows raised. "I’m sorry," she said finally, as sympathetically as she could. Heidi had grown up with Katy around, and Wendy knew only a little of what Chris was going through. It was difficult to see your child shower affection you thought belonged only to you on another person. "It will be okay, I promise. He just needs to get used to the idea of another man truly sharing the father duties."
She leaned forward and planted a kiss on his mouth. "Let’s talk about something else," she said with a smile. "Today really was a good day, you know."
Harry shook his head. "Don’t apologise. I get it." And he did, but he was also not going to put Wendy in the middle of it, having to apologise each time he and Chris ended up not getting along. And hopefully she was right and it’ll be OK.
"It was," he agreed, smiling. "I’ll probably not want cake again for a day or two."
Wendy shook in silent laughter. "And here I was going to offer you cake for pudding," she said, turning into him and giggling. "I don’t have anything else in the house that’s sweet." She kissed him. "Thank you for picking it up, sweetheart. It made the day that much easier."
"I’m thinking I’ll survive without something sweet," he laughed. He tightened his arm around her shoulders, pressing a kiss to her temple. "You’re welcome. You had enough to do before everyone got here."
She rested her head on his shoulder, eyes slipping closed for just a moment. "I’m so glad you stayed to help. I’d still be working on that stupid bed," she muttered, her eyes dragging down again. "Would you be terribly offended if I took a small nap?"
"I won’t," he said softly, smiling as he shifted so she can curl up against him. She was clearly knackered after the days she’d had with a birthday party for a three year old and having a whole gaggle of people over. "We can have something to eat when you wake up."
She nodded, sighing and relaxing against him. "You can get something if you want," she said. "I won’t mind. I’ll be all right here on the sofa." But she really hoped he wouldn’t; it was nice to be sleepy and held by someone.
"No, I’ll wait for you." He stifled a yawn and stretched his legs out in front of him. "I’ll probably have a bit of a nap, too. It’s tiring work trying to make a good impression."
That brought a laugh, and she lifted her head to look at him, grinning broadly. "I’m so glad you worked so hard at it, then," she said, kissing him before laying her head back down again. It wasn’t long before she was asleep and completely relaxed against him.