A/N: This is a three part story. Mainly Harry/Ginny and the friendship between Ron and Harry is touched on, too. Characters may be a little OOC, but once again I blame it on age. Takes place after Ginny gets out of Hogwarts.

~~**~~

"That's IT!" Harry screamed, slamming his fist on the table, making his glass jump and spill over. "I can't take this crap from you anymore! I'm bloody out of here!"

Vernon stood as well, yelling at the boy he had just been arguing with. "Fine! Leave! We never wanted you here anyway! And never come back!"

"Like hell I would!" Harry spat and stormed upstairs to his room and starting throwing things in his trunk. "It's about time I left." He spat like venom to no one other than himself. "No one wants me here." He slammed his trunk closed and started grabbing other random things and transfiguring them smaller so they would fit into a duffel bag.

When he successfully cleared his room of all his most important things he kicked open his door and stormed downstairs, glad he left Hedwig with Ron for the week. He passed Dudly in the hallway and glared at him when he gave him a smug look. The front door left its hinges when Harry glared at it, sending it flying onto the lawn.

"You'll be paying for that!" His aunt screeched at him, pointing.

"Go ta hell!" Harry retorted, not even thinking straight. It was about time he left, his mind told him again. But where would he go? The Burrow. Yes, they would take him in. Harry felt his anger slip from him as he walked down the dark street. When he was in the clear he held out his wand and the Knight's bus appeared.

~**~

Harry thanked Stan and picked up his luggage, walking to the magical house of his best friends. It was one in the morning, but he could see a small light on in the section that would be the kitchen. When he reached the front door, he just realized how awkward it would be to come into his best friend's house so early in the wee hours.

Deciding to do it anyway, he raised his hand and knocked. He heard a startled cry, apparently the person in the kitchen, and smiled. 'That was probably Ginny' he thought and knocked again.

"Who is it?" The voice asked. Even though she was seventeen now, she still sounded cute Harry had decided.

"Albus Dumbledor." Harry replied jokingly. "Now let me in, it's freezing out here!"

The door flew open and Ginny tackled him in a hug. "Harry! So good to see you!" It then dawned on her. "What are you doing out so early in the morning with…." She spied his luggage. "Huh?"

"I really am cold." He told her, hugging back.

"Come in, come in."

~**~

Harry sipped the tea she made for him thankfully and let it warm his insides before telling her the story of the argument with his uncle. He couldn't even remember what it was about, truth be told, but Ginny ignored that, smiling ear to ear.

"You'll be staying with us for a bit then?" She asked eagerly, blushing fire.

"If you'll let me. I guess Ron won't mind having a room-mate for a bit."

"Oh you know he won't." Ginny told him around her midnight snack she was making earlier. "But I do believe he'll be edgy at one in the morning."

"Shall sleep on the couch?"

She nodded. "Hold on, I'll get you some blankets and a pillow." Before he could reply she bounded up the stairs, jumping the third from the top (as it squeaked when stepped on). Harry looked around a bit and grinned at the house. He loved it here.

'I could pay rent.' He thought to himself, waiting. 'Oh, I know they'll turn it down, but they don't have enough money to feed me… 'Specially knowing how Ron eats.' He smirked to himself. Ron was the only person he knew who could pack away so much food as he could in one sitting.

When Ginny came back down the stairs, she smiled at him and Harry helped he turn their couch into a nice make shift bed, complete with Ginny's bedspread and extra pillow. He could tell she flushed when he smelled it, so he gave her a grin.

"Smells like strawberries." She flushed even more. "Kinda like your hair."

"H-harry…" She found the floor suddenly interesting, but smiling broadly none the less.

"I'll let you turn in now." He grinned, hugging her and making an obvious display of sniffing her hair. "Thanks."

"Y-you're welcome." She looked up a moment and back down again before standing on her tiptoes and kissing his cheek before madly dashing up the stairs again.

Harry smirked. She was so much fun to tease, and he found it even funnier when she reacted the way she did around him lately. His mind was getting groggy now, and he decided to put off thinking about his best friend's little sister until the morrow and promptly laid down to sleep.

~**~

Mrs. Weasley hummed to herself as she walked down the stairs and started cooking breakfast. She had toast dancing onto plates and eggs breaking and cooking and coffee pouring all at once, in a magical display of elegance. She shined brightly and happily as she did so, caring for her family being one of the things she rather enjoyed doing.

This diversion, of course, made her not realize Harry was waking up until he let out an face splitting yawn, tugging at his shirt as if upset it choked him all night long.

"Harry?" She asked, seeing him for the first time.

"Morning." He greeted, smiling lightly. It was a little awkward waking up in someone else's home when they had no clue you were there. This didn't seem to faze her, however, as she quickly walked over to him and gave him a bear hug.

"Nice to see you again, it is!" she exclaimed happily. "When did you get here?"

"Last night around one in the morning." He offered meekly, pulling the covers back and revealing he was still wearing what he had the previous day.

"Harry James Potter, you march upstairs this instant and shower young man." She scolded, pulling him up and leading him to the stairs. He grinned and hopped up, skipping the third from the top like Ginny had earlier, and made his way to the bathroom.

~**~

Harry peeked out of the bathroom door and looked both ways before darting across the hall to Ron's room and letting himself in, only wearing a towel. The last thing he needed was for Ginny to see him in the buff. After being granted access to his best friend's room, he spied him asleep in one of the two beds. It was amazing how much room could be given when adding a bedroom for the twins and Percy moving out. Harry thought this while seeing that Ron claimed the room wholly for himself.

"Ron, hey Ron." Harry shook his friend. "I need some cloths, I left all mine in my trunk downstairs."

Ron stirred a moment before rolling over. "Geeze, Harry, just grab something already, don't wake me up…. Harry!?" He bolted upright and looked at him. "Bloody hell, mate, when did you get here?"

"About one in the morning. Ginny let me in."

"Wearing more than a towel, I hope."

"Oh shut up and get me some cloths."

~**~

Harry and Ron laughed while walking down the steps and into the kitchen. Fred and George gave Harry warm greetings while making fun of Ginny who had blushed when Harry sat by her.

The group chatted nosily over what they have each been up to since Ginny had graduated Hogwarts. Not much has changed, being only a few months since the spoken time, but the conversation did lead into a more curious one when Ron asked just why Harry had come.

"Well, me and my uncle had a bit of a row." He said lamely. "I kinda left, telling them I'd never come back, and well…"

"Need a place to stay, eh?" Ron asked, grinning. "Sounds like you. My room's open ya know."

"I can pay rent." Harry nodded.

"Oh, no-" Mrs. Weasley was about to protest but Harry shook his head.

"No, no, I insist." Harry demanded. "I impose upon you way too often."

"You also saved my daughter's life." Mr. Weasley pointed, motioning next to him, where Ginny found her meal very interesting all of a sudden.

"That was years ago." Harry retorted thoughtfully. "You've made up for that already."

"Made up for saving a life?" Molly asked him.

"Well, bringing such a pretty girl into the world is enough." Harry smirked at Ginny, who promptly dropped her fork and sputtered out something in coherent before ducking under the table to retrieve it. Harry blinked at her reaction, not understanding how a little tease made her blush so bad. Ron just sighed at his friend's cluelesness and went about eating. "Anyway," Harry continued. "I need to buy some wizarding cloths now that I can wear them all the time. I have to retrieve my money anyway."

"Fine, fine." Ron's father finally gave in. "Two gelleons a month."

"Six."

"Three."

"Five."

"Four."

"Deal." Harry shook his hand on it and grinned. "I'll stay here until I can get a place of my own. Maybe close by, I like it here."

Ron's face suddenly lit up. "Hey, Harry, I have been thinking about that too. Moving off, you know? Maybe we should room together? I mean, we already know we get along."

"Yeah!" Harry quickly calculated everything. "Two rents would be even cheaper than one…or maybe three?"

"Hermione?" Ron smirked. "She'll be working at Hogsmeade after she gets back from her vacation. We could set up a flu network…."

"Actually…" Ginny spoke up softly, looking down instead of addressing them properly. "There is a place in the town nearby who builds small houses… you could design and still live close by…."

Harry and Ron exchanged excited looks and bound out of the room after quickly scarfing down their food and began making plans. Harry stopped on his way only to pat her on the head and mouth an excited "Thanks" when he ran by.

~**~

"If Hermione can't share a house with us, we can always have a guest room." Ron thought aloud as he and Harry sat in his room, writing down ideas on a sheet of paper. "Being close by at home, someone would like to stay the night anyway every now and then…"

"Plus, Hermione would stay with us a lot even if she didn't move in…" Harry paused. "But she's in America right now, staying with her cousin. We won't know her decision for a while yet, but still, a guest room is needed…"

"…And us hiring people to build means money up front and not by rent…"

"… So that means more money can be spent on food…"

"…And furniture."

"…Right…"

"…Garden…"

"…Fence…"

Ginny shook her head at the boys when they stopped finishing each other's sentences and started reading minds and muttering nonsense. They had been at it literally all day long, only stopping to fetch a quill and a spare parchment to roughly sketch an idea of what they would do. It was safe to say they were both high on the idea of living on their own. She was a little sad about her brother leaving, but she reminded herself that he would more than likely be in walking distance and still had several months to go before a house could be built. Her mind also drifted into thinking about staying with them a lot. Being by her crush was an exciting idea.

"…In ground pool…"

"…Bloody insane…"

"…Both have job…"

"…We can manage to do it ourselves…"

"…Call Hermione…"

"… Get her to research hole digging…"

The girl sighed and walked into the kitchen, taking down a bowl and getting a bag of flour out.

~**~

"Umm…"

Harry looked up for the first time in what seemed like hours. It was already getting dark, he noticed. Ginny stood in the doorway of Ron's room, holding a plate of six muffins. Harry blinked at her but motioned for her to come in.

"I…um, made these for you two… incase you were hungry." She blushed and looked to the side.

"Thanks, Gin." Ron muttered deep in thought and reached for one and bit into it without even looking. "Mm, these are good… Hey, we can enchant the fence to keep gnomes out!"

Harry smiled at her and reached out for a muffin that Ginny was handing him. Their hands touched and she almost dropped it. "Oops." Harry grinned and took it from her, giving her hand a friendly squeeze after safely holding it, mouthing a thanks to her.

~**~

Ginny expected the boys to act quickly, but she didn't expect them to go to town the very next day to inquire on prices. Fred had told her that they had their dimensions laid out for a pretty fancy one-story house with a big living room and kitchen, with two baths and three bedrooms. She was shocked at the suddenness of it all, but smiled and thanked him for information.

The day passed by quickly and the boys came home at noon to a well cooked meal and an idea of how much a house would cost them. They had a month and a half before the crew could start working, and they still needed to pick a place, design their new home, and find jobs. They decided on a muggle construction crew after finding that a single galleon held a pretty impressive amount of pounds to it. This, of course, meant more work for the boys after it was completed, but with the drastic reduce in price, they could afford the little extras they needed to make their first place memorable.

Ginny had personally offered to lay out the details of their new home and began to draw for the better parts of the day, getting ideas about certain things from Ron and Harry as they checked in on her every now and then. When they had gotten a full idea of a layout and confirmed with each other, Ron left Harry to Ginny and went looking for a job for them in the town of Hogsmeade.

This was how Ginny liked it best.

~**~

Ginny sat on her bed, looking at the tablet before her. Laying out her brother and Harry's home was a little more difficult than she had originally planned. There were several accounts to take in, and the boys had changed their minds repeatedly over the course of her blueprints. This was another reason she was thankful when Harry had the plans all in his head after he and Ron had settled down from their high.

"What'cha doing, Gin?"

Ginny jumped a little, looking over at her door where Harry stood. 'Speak of the devil' she mentally grinned and sent him a smile. "Doing your plans." She replied happily, glad she no longer flushed as bad as she used to with him around her more often now.

"Can I see?" He didn't wait for an answer and instead walked across her room and sat next to her on the bed, looking. "Hey, nice. I like it."

"Really?" She beamed at her floor plan.

"Yeah. But hey," He touched her hand, fingering the quill. "May I?"

"Uh, yeah." She only hoped that wasn't as lame as she thought it sounded.

"Can we add a skylight here?" He asked, thoughtfully, drawing a light shaped box on a small picture of the outside of the house.

"Hmm…." Ginny took the self-inking quill from him and drew her finger over his marks, erasing them. "It would need to be like this." She told him, redrawing it at a slant. "The roof is slanting, so it needs to be as well, so it'll be even."

"Wow." He honestly sounded very impressed with her. "You're really getting into this."

Ginny turned and looked at him, smiling like an idiot. "Yeah! I mean, er, yeah." She found her fingers interesting. "I always thought about maybe doing something like this, but never knew if I could."

"You have great sense." Harry thought aloud. "You're very creative and it shows."

Oh god oh god oh god oh GOD! Did he just compliment me!?

"R-really?"

"Yeah." Harry flipped threw the pages of her tablet, oblivious to the effect he was having on her. After a few flips and suggestions he found himself shifting so he could talk to her easier. This led him to be sitting behind her with her in his lap and his legs on the outside of hers. Ginny found herself growing hotter and hotter as he pulled her back when he leaned against the headboard on her bed. His arms were under hers so he could easily point and she could easily draw.

Ginny also found that there was absolutely no free space between her back and his front.

The hours passed by quickly for the pair. They had the house blueprints completely finished and the inside was getting decorated and designed with the furniture they knew they would have. Fred and George came in at one point and commented on how cute the 'couple' was, but Harry ignored it without a second thought. Ginny, however, still felt the blush along her neck and ears and face.

Ginny had lost all of her shyness toward the end of their session and had snuggled up to him, resting her head into the crook of his neck and basically using him as a pillow. He had stopped making suggestions a while ago and was content just watching her move around drawn furniture and doodling little designs for wallpaper they could enchant onto their walls.

Mrs. Weasley knocked on Ginny's door and smiled at them when she saw the two on the bed. Ginny's eyes were wide with delight and she beamed at her mother with a smile that could light up any night. She had told them that dinner was ready and to wash up before coming down. Harry practically leapt from Ginny and dashed down the stairs at the prospect of food and Ginny was left with her mother, finding that her back was dreadfully cold now.

"He doesn't have a clue." Mrs. Weasley told her daughter, who was still on cloud nine. "If anyone has to take you away, I hope that it will be that boy."

"Muuummmmmm." She wined but hugger her anyway. She was glad to have such an understanding mother. Plus the fact that Harry probably knew next to nothing about "the birds and the bees" made him the prime choice for a boyfriend in her parent's eyes. They also all knew that Ginny could strap him to the bed buck naked and put whip cream all over him and he still would have no clue what was going on.

'Although I could teach him really quickly…' Ginny thought seductively before gasping and putting her hand to her mouth. 'Did I just think that?!?!? '

~~**~~

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it. The next chapter will be posted Friday, December 20, 2002 around 7:00 P.M. Central time. See you then. Please review if this story touched your heart in any way. I do it for you guys.