New Chapter 1: Lull After the Storm
Harry had been staying at the Burrow since the Battle of Hogwarts and knew that sooner or later something had to give. He knew he couldn't impose on the Weasleys all his life and it wasn't as if he didn't have a house of his own. Grimmauld Place was his, and available, with a very much underused and sadly neglected house elf prepared to wait in his every need. Before he did anything, he needed to speak to Ginny ...

"Gin? You busy?" he asked tentatively.
Ginny looked up from the parchment she was studying by the window where the best available light was in the kitchen at the Burrow. There was a storm brewing and she was obviously trying to economise by not using the electric lights her father had had recently installed - that or she didn't know how to use the light switch. She shook her hair and grinned at him saying, "Not if there's a good excuse ... any excuse ... that gets me out of ancient runes revision." Harry grimaced. He knew that his girlfriend stretching herself to try subjects she wouldn't otherwise have considered was all Hermione's doing.

Students were currently studying at home since Hogwarts would remain closed until the evaluation exams after Christmas to allow for essential repairs, or so the official line went. Everyone knew there was more to it than that; people needed time with their families, there needed to be some distance put between those who hadn't openly opposed Voldemort and there were still trials being held that might need Hogwarts students to testify at.

Harry himself had been called to many of the trials, as had Ginny, though he'd not been allowed to observe while she was testifying. All he knew about her evidence was that testifying at the Wizengamot made her very uncomfortable with him and she went to her room with Hermione for many hours afterwards. He could hear her crying through the walls late into the night, but she refused to open the door to him when he'd tentatively knocked. She'd refused to talk to him about it later too; "Too raw, too soon, Harry," she'd said stubbornly. He could help her, he knew he could help her, but only with her cooperation and her refusal to trust him and confide in him had driven a wedge between them. Not so much that their relationship wasn't flourishing otherwise, but it was like a beautiful house where there was a room he wasn't allowed into and it festered in his mind, even when he didn't realise he was thinking about it.

Harry put aside all his mixed feelings and asked, "Gin. You know Grimmauld Place?"

Ginny nodded, "Yeah?", sliding into a chair next to Harry at the table in front of the fire, where a large cauldron was stewing dinner.

"Well ... you know it's mine ... that Sirius left it to me?"

Ginny was looking guarded, obviously wondering what was coming next. Uncharacteristically she keep quiet, simply nodding again, a curtain of burnished hair falling about her face.

Harry swallowed and Ginny looked almost scared, certainly apprehensive about what was coming next. "Well, will you help me redecorate it?" he asked, in a tone that suggested he expected her to start shouting or hitting him.

Ginny laughed, letting out a long breath that she hadn't realised she was holding. "Sometime, Harry James Potter, you can be a right prat!" she said, actually giving him a gentle swipe to the top of his head, which dislodged his glasses to one side. "What do you wanna do, winding me up like that? I thought you were going to say something serious, and not in a good way!"

Harry smirked apologetically and explained what his plans were for his godfather's childhood home. "I want to do it up. Make it more homely. I can't stay here forever, it's a bit weird living with my girlfriend's family, especially when she's got so many scary older brothers."

Ginny looked thoughtful. "And this is the Chosen One, the Boy Who Lived, who defeated Lord Voldemort, through his cunning and bravery ... scared of a few friendly wizards who treat him like an honoured member of the family?" She gave him a small play punch in the arm and continued. "You know you're welcome to stay as long as you want? Mum treats you like a son and she's never throw one of her own out. And before you say anything, Percy flounced out, she'd always have welcomed even him back, the jerk!" Harry knew she meant this fondly as Ginny was devoted to all her brothers even when angry at them for their various quirks and misdemeanours.

"I know. I just need a bolt hole and to feel that Grimmauld Place is really mine and not where Sirius had such a depressing childhood or I holed up with Ron and Hermione when Voldemort first went public or the Order had their HQ. I was happy", he said thoughtfully, "for it to be used for that before. It didn't feel like home and it was all too soon after Sirius died.

"I need it to be mine - cheer the old place up and give poor Kreacher something to do that's less taxing than flitting between there and here at my beck and call. I feel bad about summoning him when I don't see him beforehand to know how he is. He's not getting any younger ... but I know he feels underused and unwanted." Harry broke off to let her respond.

Ginny reflected that Harry had healed well enough to be able to mention his godfather's death at all now and start planning what to do with the house; the look of sadness was still there, but he could say it out loud to her and not close up his feelings again. She put her arm around his waist and squeezed him before saying,

"Of course I'll help. I'm good at that kind of thing ... We'll need some bright pink paint for the bedroom walls, some flowery curtains for the parlour and matching scatter cushions, some artificial daisies for the entrance hall and and we'll be well on the way ... And ooo! I've seen some darling wallpaper with pictures of dragons in various pastel shades that would look dreamy in the dining room!" She watched Harry's expression carefully for a moment with studied seriousness before exploding with laughter. "Oh, your face ... what a picture ... pink paint! Scatter cushions!" she laughed. "Priceless!"

The next step was get Ron and Hermione onboard. Harry could already see Hermione with paint in her hair, scowling while she consulted lists and plans to keep everyone on track. Ron, however, he pictured putting his paint brush into a mug of someone else's coffee while leaning on a still wet wall of paint. He wasn't sure of his best friend's abilities with such practical things ... have to wait and see, could go either way. At least Ron'd be tall enough to paint the picture rails, and possibly the ceilings, without a ladder ...