Think of every town you've lived in Date: Monday, 20 October, 2001 Time: Late evening Location: Harry's flat Characters: Luna Lovegood and Harry Potter
Harry stood for a moment on the stoop of his flat, fumbling with keys that had gone unused for quite some time. Finally, he found the right ones to unlock the door, then pulled out his wand and reset the wards, modifying them slightly to their "home" setting rather than the "away" setting, much like a muggle alarm system. He stepped back when he was satisfied that all wards were changed so they were harmless, indicating that she could go in.
"There we are..." he chuckled. He followed her in, realizing for the first time just how much of the furniture had been Ron's and Hermione's. "It's a bit sparse, isn't it?" he muttered almost apologetically.
She'd been holding her hands in the pockets of her long, emerald green velvet coat, the blue scarf around her neck not quite enough to keep off the chill. However, she didn't blame Harry for the precautions he took. Quite the contrary, in fact, as they seemed to ease a sort of tension in the back of her mind that she'd never even realized she still harbored. Stepping inside, it appeared a bit unfamiliar to her. Though the last and only time she'd ever been there they'd spent most of the time in the kitchen, and really, she'd been so surprised by the whole development that she hadn't really taken in much of Harry's home.
"Was it always like this, or just since they moved out?" she laughed lightly. "If it was I don't really think I can blame you for wanting to stay at my place."
It really was a lovely place, just very... masculine. Well, a young sort of masculine, she amended with amusement.
He flushed a bit and smiled sheepishly. "Er, no... it was a lot more... furnished when Hermione was here. She had a ton of things that made the place look a lot better." He tossed his jacket across the back of the dark blue sofa, then his scarf and his gloves followed. "There used to be curtains and... you know, tables and things." he chuckled. "Even the occasional flower. Hmm, speaking of flowers, wonder if she took those with her too." he smirked and wandered over to the back door, which lead onto a little stone stairway and down into a lavish garden. "Nope, she left them... though, I see she left self care charms on them." He couldn't blame her, really... if left to his own devices, he'd never remember to care for them. "Do you like to garden?" he asked as it suddenly occurred to him that he had no idea if she did or not.
Tugging off her gloves, she popped them into her jacket pockets. Sparse was probably just the word for it, she agreed, watching him step out to inspect the back yard. Really, it was just sort of habit that they spent so much time at her place. In fact, they'd probably be there now if it weren't for the fact that the morning held an appointment with an agent for helping them find a place of their own, and Harry's place really was a good bit closer than Luna's.
"Well, anything other than rather useless flowers seem to insist on dying on me," she confessed, pulling off her scarf. With a very faint blush she added, "I can't even tell you how many of Neville's plants I've killed."
He'd used to ask her to come and tend them while he was out of town, quite confident she couldn't be as lethal to his plants as she expected. After the third time, he just stopped asking, much to her relief. Luna couldn't help but marvel just a bit at how empty the place felt, even apart from certain textile lackings. Maybe it was because last time there was at least the awareness the Ron and Hermione were also living there, even if the three of them had rarely managed to see each other. Merlin, sometimes she could still barely believe the things the Ministry had tried to put Harry through.
"Is it strange, to not be living with them?" she asked as her eyes swept over the townhouse's traditional dark wood floors and high, white walls.