Fleur sighed and leaned back against the counter, glaring up at the vent in the ceiling, not a wisp of air coming from it. The landlord told them someone would be out to fix the air today, but so far that had proven to be nothing more than wishful thinking. It could be worse, she supposed, it could be scorching outside as opposed to the middling heat they were experiencing. She wiped the sweat from her brow as she collapsed the empty box in front of her.
The kitchen was finally, officially, done, meaning the place was finally, officially, moved in.
She looked around their modest apartment and smiled, the sight reinforced the notion she'd had over the last four years: this was it. She didn't need a lavish home with sprawling grounds, fancy cars, or a new dress for every day of the year. The uncomfortably stiff parties, boring dinners, and intolerable brunches of her youth were never her. Not really, and they were never what she needed.
All she needed was to be herself…and a comfortable amount of nerdy things.
She went to the window and looked up, another smile playing across her face as the men worked their magic. She turned at the sound of the front door, smiling at Harry as he struggled his way in, burdened with a box and two packages. He kicked the door shut lightly before tossing the box onto the sofa, a long sigh escaping.
"Gah," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I love the Weasley's, but man can they get excited. I thought they were never going to let me leave. More importantly though, we've gotta cancel dinner with Luc tomorrow night."
She raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"On the way over here he said the Lord of the Rings Extended Editions were overrated and unnecessary. I won't stand for that heresy."
Fleur rolled her eyes.
"He's just messing with you. It could be worse, he could have said The Hobbit movies were better. He likes the Hobbit movies, but he's not braindead."
Harry gave her a dark look.
"He called them masturbatory."
Fleur laughed as she made her way towards him, planting a light kiss on his cheek before picking up the box.
"How are the Weasleys?" she asked, ignoring his pout.
"Molly kept crying and asking if I needed any tupperware. How much tupperware does one person need?" Harry questioned, more to himself than anyone else. "Fred and George made me promise to come by their studio soon. Apparently it's not too far from here and they asked if I would look at their finances for them. For a fee," he added as she raised an eyebrow.
"Is Ginny still up for DnD?"
He nodded. "Yep. I told her we'd help her ease into it since she's never played before. Luc let me know he doesn't have to work next weekend, so he'll be here too. Gabby is down for anything that involves Luc, so we should have a full party for once. Very excited about that."
"And Ron? Has he made a decision?"
Harry sighed and nodded. Ron had gone back and forth since their freshman year on his desire to play sportsball, falling in and out of love faster than a teenager going through puberty. He had, as everyone except Harry seemed to know he would, taken Harry's advice and put off the final decision until graduation. Molly had insisted he get his degree and that was his driving force behind delaying the inevitable.
Winning two more school championships didn't hurt either.
"He signed with a team yesterday evening," Harry explained, "on a three year contract. He's going to play out the contract, make a lot of money, and if he's still wavering at the end of the three years, he'll simply retire from playing."
Fleur nodded.
"Makes sense. Make a bit of money, have some fun, and decide later. Push the decision back a little more. How very…Ron."
Harry laughed. "It probably helps that the team he signed with is utter garbage. They paid him a boatload of money, so he thinks he's going to single-handedly make them into winners. I told him good luck with that. I love the man, but boy does his ego know no limits. At the very least, their bright orange uniforms should make for an interesting sight."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Why's the soundbar not set up?"
Fleur sighed in frustration.
"Because your instructions made no sense," she exclaimed as he went over to the small entertainment center. "Why would the console be plugged directly into the TV? It wasn't set up that way at my old place and I didn't have time to find the manual online."
He fished the HDMI cable out from the bird's nest of wires Fleur had left.
"Because it'll pass back through to the soundbar via eARC."
"The soundbar doesn't have Atmos though, so eARC serves no purpose," she said, grabbing the small packages. "What are these?"
He looked back briefly before returning to running the cable behind the TV. "One's from Angelina and one's from Hermione. Hermione's was in the mailbox, which, hey, our first piece of mail, and the other was given to me at the Weasley's."
He felt the cable lock into the port on the back of the TV. "Also, the console and TV support VRR but the soundbar won't pass that through, so you have to plug it directly into the TV."
"Ah, damn, that's right. Still doesn't make it less ridiculous. You'd think the AV equipment would support that by now," she pouted, opening the package from Angelina.
"This is your almost brand new TV and you're the one who's always complaining about screen tearing, my dear," he said mockingly before looking back. "What'd she give us?"
"There's a letter and another package," Fleur answered, opening the letter and unfolding it, reading it aloud:
Green Eyes and Blondie,
Congrats on the new apartment (or flat, whatever)! I know you two have been itching to find a place and it's about time it happened. Sorry I couldn't be there, the company still has me out in Egypt and I won't be back until Christmas.
Not sorry I don't have to help you move. Small victories, yeah?
Anyway, you two are sickeningly in love with each other and I wish you nothing but the best. Please have lots of nasty, disgusting sex on every surface of your new home. I'm talking stuff that would make a pornstar blush, if you get my drift.
Ugh, you two are going to make some unfairly attractive children. You'll probably name one of them something cute like Arianne. Life is utterly unfair.
Watch out for each other.
Love ya,
Angelina
"She ended it with a kissy face and two hearts. Aw, that's kinda sweet coming from her," Fleur said as she grabbed the smaller package, tearing it open. "This is-"
"A box of condoms," Harry finished without looking back as he plugged the last remaining cable into the soundbar. Fleur looked up.
"How'd you know?"
He laughed and walked over, grabbing the box from her as he shook his head, looking down at the blue container.
"Last year, we had dinner with her at that burger place with the terrible art on the wall. You had gone to pay and she said to me, 'Green Eyes, when you two find a place you're gonna give my girl everything she wants, ya hear me? Everything.' She then winked at me and told me she'd send us a box of condoms to start."
Fleur shook her head.
"I still can't believe it, though. Her and Bill? Really?"
He nodded as he tossed the box onto the sofa. "I know, right? Like, I get it, whatever floats your boat and all that, and Bill's a great guy, but he's so much…"
"Older," Fleur finished as they locked eyes.
"Too old," they said at the same time before they both chuckled, a memory that felt like a lifetime ago flashing through their minds.
"What's in the one from Hermione?" asked Harry, sliding up next to Fleur as she picked up the package.
The outside had "OPEN TOGETHER" written in big, bold letters. Fleur tore it open and dumped the contents out, two books and a letter falling into Harry's waiting hands. She picked up one of the books and gasped at the cover of two massive ships orbiting a single small planet.
Tears at the Edge of an Empire: Daylight
Harry let out a long whistle. "Wow, she outdid herself this time. Last I talked to her she said this wouldn't come out for at least another 8 months. She got delayed writing scripts for the final season of The Veela and the Vampire, so finalizing the book had to go on the backburner. She must have had these custom-made." He picked up the letter and read it.
My Favorite Nerds,
I'm not egotistical enough to believe my book brought you two together, that would have happened regardless, I'm sure of it. I would, however, like to think that it had some small part to play. So, here's two copies, one for each of you, of the final book in the series. I hope you enjoy it as much as you enjoyed the middle one years ago.
I'll call you two soon!
Love,
Hermione
Fleur opened the book in her hands and her mouth fell open in shock, pointing at the dedication as Harry leaned over to peer at it.
To Green Eyes and Blondie. May you two always provide as much inspiration to each other as you have to me.
"Angelina can never find out about this," Harry said flatly as he placed the book on the back of the sofa and started breaking down the box the electronics had been in. "She'd be insufferable."
"Agreed," Fleur said in amusement as she went back to the window. The sun had set and the stars were just beginning to twinkle in the twilight sky.
"You've been looking out that window since yesterday," Harry said as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, placing a kiss just behind her ear. "What's so impressive out there when you've got me in here?"
"You're funny," she said, looking up and her eyes went wide. She turned around and grabbed his hand. "Come on, I've got something I want to show you."
She pulled him out of the apartment and up through the stairs, all the way to the roof. She pushed open the door and dragged him out into the moonlight, releasing his hand only after the door had closed behind them. He laughed.
To the left, under an awning, was a couch.
More specifically, her couch.
"I thought you…?" he asked, giving her a questioning look.
"I love that couch Harry, I wasn't going to let it go. I had it in storage," she said with a smile before turning away from him.
He moved over to the couch, noticing a bluetooth speaker beside it. He pulled out his phone, tapped the pairing button, and quickly paired it with his phone before slipping it back into his pocket, just as she turned back around.
"Ta da!" she said, extending both arms up and pointing overhead. Looking up, he saw a billboard, freshly hung, an advertisement for the largest tech manufacturer in the area on it. It was a good looking advertisement, he thought, but he was still confused.
"It's a billboard," he said and she rolled her eyes as she walked up next to him, hugging his arm tightly, beaming up at it.
"Yes, but it's my billboard," she said with pride. "They're going up all over the city tomorrow."
Harry smiled.
"Fleur, that's amazing," he exclaimed, "That's- wait, Miss Delacour, did you bribe someone to put this billboard up first knowing we were moving here?"
She gave him a look of faux innocence.
"I haven't the faintest idea what you mean, Mister Potter."
"Uh huh," he said, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her close, capturing her lips in a small kiss. "This calls for a celebration."
She smiled and buried her head into his chest.
"What kind of celebration?" she asked, sighing contently as he held her in his arms.
"A marathon of the last season of The Marauders, for one," he said, "but first…"
He slipped his phone out of his pocket and tapped the screen a few times before putting it away again. He grabbed her hand and began to sway as 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' started to play.
The two nerds who had found each other years ago, their shared passions bringing them together, danced on top of the building. Her squeals of delight as he spun her filled the air, mixing with his laughter, neither caring if the world was watching.
Because all they ever saw was each other.