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harry potter is never safe. ([info]halfbloodhero) wrote in [info]the_8th_floor,
@ 2012-02-13 10:14:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:ginny potter, harry potter

Who: Harry & Ginny
What: an early Valentine's surprise.
When: Monday, after Harpies' practice.
Where: their home --> Godric's Hollow
Warnings: TBD
Status: threaded; incomplete

The house was quiet, which was unusual. It was rare for Harry to be home alone, without Ginny or either of the boys, but Ginny was at practice, and Harry had taken the boys to the Burrow for the evening. It was nice; he felt neither anxious about the surprise nor bothered by the quiet. He felt calm, with a slight sense of anticipation.

He'd made dinner already, though he intended to do that last, unless she was very hungry from practice. And he hadn't dressed up, but his hair was still slightly damp and his cheeks a bit pink from the shower he'd taken after work, and he was holding a single red rose. He twiddled it between his fingers and relaxed into the couch, waiting for Ginny to come home.


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[info]justginny
2012-02-13 06:49 pm UTC (link)
Practice had been long for Ginny; there was a lot riding on the game tomorrow so their captain was especially hard on them. There were very few things in the world, however, that Ginny would trade it for. The ache in her muscles, the wind in her hair, it felt good to be back on the pitch and practicing.

Ginny had taken a quick shower after practice to get rid of the grime and the sweat, so when she arrived home it was in a similar state to Harry. The floo was never very exciting after cleaning up, but she made it work. She could smell something delicious cooking, but was not quite sure where her husband (or her boys for that matter) was located. She set her bag down next to the floo before making her rounds about their home. And there he was in the living room, sitting on the couch. "Hello, love" she said happily, finding it strange to have the tables turned like this.

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[info]halfbloodhero
2012-02-13 06:59 pm UTC (link)
"Hi, Gin," Harry said, smiling up at her. He got to his feet, and offered the flower, before leaning in to kiss her lightly. "There's dinner, and a surprise for you. Which one do you want first?" He smiled slightly. "You're not going to get the surprise out of me over dinner, if that's what you're thinking. I think you'd have to be the one who cooked it for that to work."

He was aware of how the roles had been reversed today, too. It wouldn't have bothered him to be the one who usually welcomed her home with dinner, although that would have taken away from the novelty of it today. Really, it was just about working with their schedules, which was also why he was doing this today and not tomorrow.

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[info]justginny
2012-02-14 12:15 am UTC (link)
"Well, bugger," she replied with a laugh, taking the flower. "If I can't weasel the surprise out of you over a meal, we should probably just eat afterward. You know that surprises give me terrible indigestion!" She was teasing of course, but quite excited to see what Harry had up his sleeves.

"Unless you think I can manage through a meal. You know how much I love your cooking," she added finally as she shrugged off her heavier winter robe off, heading to the cupboard to hang it up. "It smells bloody fantastic, you know."

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[info]halfbloodhero
2012-02-14 01:51 am UTC (link)
"It's really more about how hungry you are," Harry said, laughing. "The surprise doesn't have to take that long, but if you're starving, we can sit down first. If not, you may actually want to keep that robe on."

He had left his own robe out, and leaned over to pick it up while she decided. It sounded like she wasn't anxious to eat, so he figured they were going out first. He shrugged it on, and held out his hand for her to take, whether they were heading for the kitchen or apparating out of the house. "So, are we going or staying?"

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[info]justginny
2012-02-14 02:30 am UTC (link)
"Well, we'd better be going then," she replied, her excitement clearly audible. She turned around, slipping her robes back on before grabbing his hand. "Though I can't imagine where you might be taking me," she said slowly, raising an eyebrow at him.

She thought about the boys, only assuming that they must be at the burrow for the time being. She was slowly falling into routine, but she missed spending time with them terribly. Perhaps this weekend they could have a family outing--go to the park nearby or something.

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[info]halfbloodhero
2012-02-14 02:42 am UTC (link)
Surprises were not exactly Harry's forte, but it was true he'd managed to keep this one really well. Only Ron and Hermione knew, and they had obviously both kept the secret. He grinned mischievously, and took her hand.

He Apparated them out of the house, to land in the snowy lane of Godric's Hollow. They weren't far from the house where Harry had spent his first year with his parents, still untouched since the night that Voldemort had killed them, but he was heading for a different house. Another empty one, but intact, with a sign outside that read FOR SALE. Holding onto her hand, he started towards it. They couldn't see it just yet, but they would in a moment.

"I've been thinking," he said. "James is getting bigger, and soon Albus is going to be getting big, too -- we're going to need a bigger place. And I thought..." he trailed off as the house, and the sign, came into view. "I thought maybe, if you wanted, we could move here." He figured he didn't need to explain the significance of Godric's Hollow to Ginny, or even to tell her where she was; she had come here with him more than a few times since the war ended. "I was looking at this place," he said, stopping in front of the house. "I haven't put any money down, or anything, but the realtor seemed really pleased with the idea of Potters living in Godric's Hollow again, so it's probably ours if we want it."

He looked at Ginny, waiting for her input. The realtor had told him where to find the key to the place, but if she already hated the idea, or the house, then there was no real point in opening the gate and going up to look inside.

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[info]justginny
2012-02-14 03:18 am UTC (link)
The area was beautiful, Ginny thought as the popped into the quiet, snowy town. She took in the sights around her, curious as to why Harry had brought her to Godric's Hollow. She was very curious, however, when they didn't take their usual path through the town--past the churchyard, to his childhood home. When she heard him speak she stopped her mind from wandering and listened, nodding in agreement at the comments on their sons--sometimes their flat felt far too tiny for two boys.

When Harry continued, her breath caught in her throat. The For Sale sign outside told her everything she needed to know, even if he hadn't continued. A--a house. Harry had brought her to Godric's Hollow to look at a house. Her jaw had somehow found itself unhinged, but she quickly composed herself. "I--oh Harry this is--" She turned to look at him, swallowing quickly. "Our own home?" she said softly.

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[info]halfbloodhero
2012-02-14 03:37 am UTC (link)
Her expression mostly conveyed surprise, but Harry thought from the look in her eyes and the tone of her voice that she liked the idea as much as he did. Or maybe that was his wishful thinking; maybe she was overwhelmed. He smiled slightly, and raised his free hand to run through his hair, though there was probably no real reason for him to feel nervous.

"Yes," he said, looking at her. "Our own house, with enough room to grow into, and an entire village that knows our family, and I even toyed with the idea of getting a dog," he said, starting to laugh as he finished that sentence. "I know it's a big thing, I've been thinking about it for a while. You don't have to decide right now."

A wife, two kids, a house, a dog... they were cliche, yes, but to Harry they represented normality. The kind of normality that he'd been longing for all of his life, even before he'd realized just how abnormal he was. Granted, when he was younger, he'd just wanted to be a kid in a normal family, not the husband -- but it was the same thing, really. The dream had evolved with him. "D'you want to go inside?"

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[info]justginny
2012-02-14 03:56 am UTC (link)
The information all felt overwhelming. A house, watching the boys grow, a dog--it was a lot to think about and take in. She stared at the house for a moment or two, however, trying to mull everything over.

"I--yes, of course I want to go inside," she said finally, turning to look at him. She really loved the idea of this, no matter how much difficulty she was having at showing that to him. "How long have you been looking at this place?" she asked curiously as she pushed open the gate. It was such a quaint house; the gate outside, the small yard with what looked like space for a garden, a porch for sitting together during the summer. She grinned at the thought--it was a good sign that she could imagine their boys running about here, growing up here.

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[info]halfbloodhero
2012-02-14 04:08 am UTC (link)
Harry's smile widened when she said she wanted to go in; that was a definite good sign, at least. He reached out to help with the gate, and walked beside her towards the steps. He was looking at the house and the garden too, but since he'd seen it before, most of his concentration was on Ginny. "I came to look at it last weekend, with Hermione and Ron," he said. "Well, this one and a few others, but... I like the idea of living in Godric's Hollow."

It was more about the idea of this place than about the actual house that Harry was attached to, which was why he'd needed his friends' eyes. He felt it was entirely possible for him to see a perfect home here, even if the home wasn't really in good shape, wasn't worth investing in. So much of Harry's heart was here; he felt like he left a bit of himself here every time he came to visit. But that was because his old home was here, and his parents' grave. This house would be something entirely new.

When they got up on the porch, he let go of her hand to rustle around for the key in one of the plants, and came up with it. He unlocked the door and opened it, standing back so she could go in first.

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[info]justginny
2012-02-14 04:22 am UTC (link)
Ginny nodded, still trying to process (she had a feeling this feeling was going to last for a while). Living in Godric's Hollow--she personally had never given it much thought but she could understand why it seemed so appealing for Harry.

She reached up on her toes to place a quick kiss on his lips before taking her first steps into a potential new home. She stepped into the house, looking at the spacious front room as the fading sunlight softly illuminated the walls. "Wow--I think we could fit most of our furniture in here alone," she said softly, as she took a walk around the room. This was such a big step, she wondered how long it would take her to settle into the idea of it.

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[info]halfbloodhero
2012-02-14 04:45 am UTC (link)
Harry kissed her back briefly, then stood near the door as he watched her make her way through the place. It was even nicer in here than he'd remembered, but that was probably the effect of the evening light, or maybe the fact that bringing Ginny here had somehow made it more real.

"Yeah, we probably could," he said, chuckling. It was quite a bit bigger than their current place, and bigger than they really needed right now, but they would need more space in a few years, when Albus was growing out of being a toddler, even if they didn't ever add a dog (or a third child) to the family.

Which appealed to him, and he could tell that it did appeal to her, even if she was struggling with it a little bit. After a little while, he moved towards the stairs, gesturing for her to follow him. "C'mon, I want to show you the upstairs."

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[info]justginny
2012-02-15 02:23 am UTC (link)
She found herself trying to take everything in...but it was almost too much at that moment. She had caught just the smallest glimpse of the kitchen that was adjacent to the living room, but was pulled away from it when Harry called her over to go upstairs with him.

She walked up the stairs, loving the familiar sound of the stairs as they creaked under their feet. The stairs led up to a small hallway, doors on each side of the corridor. She peeked her head into one, trying to get an idea for how large they were. "How many rooms does it have?" she asked, turning to face Harry. She would love for the boys to have their own space as they grew up.

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[info]halfbloodhero
2012-02-15 03:36 am UTC (link)
"Four," Harry answered, as he started down the hallway, opening the doors without entering the rooms as he went. "It's more than we'd need right now, obviously, but eventually James and Albus will want their own rooms, and we could use the fourth for something else."

Anything else, really. He wasn't really thinking along the lines of it being for another child: actually, he'd been thinking more about turning it into a guest bedroom, or a playroom for the boys. "It might be too big for us, I don't know. I don't think there's anything smaller available here right now, but something might open up. Or we could look somewhere else."

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[info]justginny
2012-02-15 03:54 am UTC (link)
As she made her way down the hall, she took a quick peek into each room. She could just see the boys as they grew up living here, posters plastered on the walls, running up and down the hall, even the occasional slam of a door. Ginny's mind didn't immediately go to another child either, but the size made it feel like they would have more than enough room. If the boys wanted to have mates over in the future, they would have space--not to mention if their cousins came by to spend some time together!

She spent a little bit of time in the loo, checking out the size of everything in there. She didn't have a lot of things, but they needed room to get the boys bathed and everything else. The amount of toys they had for tub time was astounding.

"I don't think it's too big," she replied as she moved on to what was obviously the master bedroom. "It might be nice to have extra space, after all." The room was fairly spacious, not to mention the closet space and--Merlin was that a separate bathroom? Where they wouldn't find an obscene amount of rubber ducks all over the place? This package kept getting better and better!

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[info]halfbloodhero
2012-02-15 08:03 am UTC (link)
"Yeah, it would," Harry said. He chuckled. "I was thinking we could pad one of the extra rooms, so James could have a place to bounce off the walls without hurting himself. Albus too, when he gets old enough, because with our luck he'll be twice as energetic."

He was amused that she lingered in the bathroom, but it was true that the idea of having their own bathroom was appealing. He was trying not to let himself want this house too much, though, not until it seemed like she really wanted it too. He wanted to be excited about the idea of getting a bigger place, without the disappointment of falling in love with a house that she didn't like.

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[info]justginny
2012-02-15 04:52 pm UTC (link)
Oh, she was definitely feeling all sorts of excitement over this home. Granted, she wasn't sure how many houses he, Ron, and Hermione had looked at, but this one seemed brilliant so far. "Oh, the boys would love that, wouldn't they?" she replied with a laugh, just imaging the two of them running about up here, being goofy. She knew that the size of things wasn't a bother, living in the Burrow was proof enough of that; even with a space so large and probably empty for a while, she knew that it could feel like home for them. And with Harry's family roots tied here in Godric's Hollow, it felt like the logical place to settle down.

She grabbed Harry's hand and kissed his cheek. "I think we need to take a peek at the kitchen," she said finally. She was hoping that it wasn't too bad. The rest of the house was lovely so far.

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[info]halfbloodhero
2012-02-15 06:25 pm UTC (link)
"Yeah," Harry said, smiling. "I think they really would. And there's room for a play structure in the backyard, too." And for a dog, too, but he wasn't going to revisit that just yet. It wasn't anywhere near as important as the rest of this, and she was still processing the house part of it.

He took her hand again, and led the way down to the kitchen. It was bigger than their current one, as well, which he hoped she'd like. It was also probably the part of the house he'd spent the least time in, though briefly imagined cooking in it, and having dinner round the table.

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[info]justginny
2012-02-15 06:42 pm UTC (link)
Ginny took some time to inspect the kitchen. There was plenty of space for their table and still make it around to cook easily. Everything seemed to be in proper order, which pleased her. She made her way to the back door, staring out over the yard. Even that had plenty of space!

She turned back to Harry after a few moments with a smile. "Do you imagine the boys would like growing up here?" she asked curiously. It seemed like everything was too good to be true, especially now that she was getting attached to the house.

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[info]halfbloodhero
2012-02-15 11:03 pm UTC (link)
"I think so," Harry said. "Well, they're young enough that they'd adjust pretty quickly and probably think they'd always grown up here, don't you think? I don't really remember anything from that age."

And Merlin knew he'd tried, on multiple occasions, to remember -- because at that age he'd still had his parents. He'd only remembered the transition to the Dursleys in dreams about a flying motorcycle. Dreaming about a different house would be much less confusing for James and Albus, if they did that at all. If they did have any confusion, Harry and Ginny would be around to explain it to them, too.

He moved over to stand behind her as she looked out at the yard, curling his arms around her waist and pressing a kiss to the back of her head. "So what do you think, Gin?"

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[info]justginny
2012-02-15 11:48 pm UTC (link)
She let her hand wrap around the top of his, giving it a gentle squeeze. "It's lovely," she said with a smile, thinking she could get used to looking out at the backyard just like this.

"We're not rushing into this, you don't think?" She asked, turning herself around to look at him properly. It was a big step for them--one that she did want to make, but was it the right time for them? Would they be able to get things squared away with their flat and get everything moved with their busy schedules?

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[info]halfbloodhero
2012-02-16 12:14 am UTC (link)
"Well, what's the best way to do it, you think?" Harry asked. He hadn't really thought that far along, honestly. But he calculated that with help and magic, they might be able to manage the essential things in a week, maybe even one extremely busy weekend. The rest could work itself out from there, he figured, but maybe he was underestimating the amount of work it would be. "I'm not saying we should move in here this month, unless you want to. I think we're going to need a bigger house soon, even if it's not this one. Although I really, really like this one," he admitted, smiling against her hair. "I like that it's here in Godric's Hollow, especially. If we're really going to settle somewhere, I'd love to do it here."

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[info]justginny
2012-02-16 12:27 am UTC (link)
There was furniture, yes, but they'd have to paint the walls and decide if they wanted carpeting or not and what in each room and--oh, the painting itself would take up some time because the rooms were so large.

"I don't know the best way about things, I just--can we sleep on it? I do really like the house, I just want to be sure that this is the right house--a permanent house," she said finally. She could definitely feel herself leaning towards this being 'the one' so to speak, she just wanted to be sure.

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[info]halfbloodhero
2012-02-16 01:03 am UTC (link)
"Yeah, absolutely," Harry said. He hadn't expected Ginny to decide today. He'd been sleeping on it, after all - for a little over a week now. But the deciding factor was still whether she was happy with it. "It's really the idea of getting a house, more than the house itself, that I meant to surprise you with. Do you think we're ready for that?"

It did seem like she was on board with that part, but it didn't hurt to make sure. The fact that they might lose this particular house if they took too long to decide didn't bother him particularly. Home was not a house to Harry, no matter how nice the house was, or how perfect the location. It was the family that went into it.

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[info]justginny
2012-02-16 01:56 am UTC (link)
"Absolutely, I do," she said happily. She let out a laugh of relief, wrapping her arms around him. "It's a big step but I think we're ready for this." They were going to be home owners...sometime. At least they both agreed that it was where they wanted to be. Their family was expanding, it was time that their house did the same.

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