A Dark Time For The Light

27

The next day the boys spent in bed, only emerging for meals, flushed and happy. Thursday and Friday, they began a systematic trawl through the local estate agents, registering with a few letting agencies. Draco was intrigued by the whole process of looking for a home. Harry was pragmatic, “It may take a while, Dragon”. It was clear that Draco had no idea what having your own home entailed. They thrashed out a budget, and when Harry added Council Tax, utilities, phone etc., they swiftly realised they would have to look in the not so well off neighbourhoods. Draco was stunned at the extra costs.

“You mean we have to pay extra for all these things?. What the hell does the rent cover?”. Harry smiled at his lover’s quandary and explained the housing market as well as he could. Friday night saw them on the little High Street nearest to the Bunker, and Draco spotted a small card in a shop window.

2 bedroom flat to rent. Rent negotiable to the right people. Furnished or unfurnished. Enquire within.

“The right people?. What the hell do they mean by that?”. Harry shrugged, “Let’s go inside and ask”. They entered the shop, a mini-mart, busy with home-going commuters picking up forgotten items, cat food, milk, the evening paper.

“Excuse me, but we’re enquiring about the flat. To whom do we need to speak, please?”, Harry’s manner impeccable. The man behind the counter smiled, opened a door behind the counter that let onto stairs and bellowed, “Hussain. Someone to see the flat. He will be with you in a moment”, he turned back to the boys.

A minute later, then a short flustered man barrelled down the stairs and into the shop. “Hi, m’names Hussain. You here about the flat, then”, the man was as camp as ninepence and gave the boys a good long look. Harry blushed. Draco smiled, “Yes we are. May we see it?. Oh, by the way, I’m Draco Malfoy, this is Harry Potter”, Draco held out his hand. It was shaken. Harry’s too, and the man led them outside and down the road a way.

“The flat’s above one of these shops. It’s very quiet at nights”. Harry was intrigued, “Your advert stated, ‘the right people’. Who or what are the right people?. Only I’d hate to waste your time and ours”. Draco shot his lover a glance and left the negotiating up to Harry. Hussain turned to them appraising them, “I’m looking for workers. You’re not on the dole are you?”. Both boys shook their heads, “No, we both work. Draco’s work takes him away, but mine is mainly here in London. We’re not students or dolies. We can give you proof”.

The small man smiled, “I’m looking for long-term tenants. It’s a pain to keep swapping between tenants. I’d like to think that you would be prepared to be here for at least a year. The flat is for two people so no more. No pets, no children, and the right sort depends on whether I take to you or not. The rent’s actually very reasonable, both for the area and for the size of property. Ah, here we are”.

They were standing in front of a furniture shop. Hussain went to a door between that shop and the next and inserted the key in the lock and opened the door. It let onto a long narrow hallway, stairs leading off at the far end. Harry sniffed the air. No damp, no cooking smells. So far, so good.

Hussain turned on the light and led the way, up the stairs and into a large airy two bed flat on top of the shop. The flat was spread out on a single floor, common to a building of this age. A large living room that overlooked the street. An apron of space above the front of the shop, then a large kitchen-diner to the rear. A bathroom and two bedrooms faced the side of the house where the sound of traffic was quietest.

It was certainly the largest square footage that they’d seen. Harry took a quick glance around and most of the adverts they’d seen were for units roughly half this size. There was space but a feeling of cosiness that Harry liked. As Hussain turned to show them a detail, Harry stuck a thumb up to his lover with a wink. Draco grinned, then leaned in, “I’ve no idea how much space we need, love, but this has loads more than the Bunker and so light. I like it”. Without thinking, he threaded an arm around Harry’s waist as he regarded the space of the lounge and the fancy plaster architrave and picture rail. He had plans for the plasterwork, not to mention the ceiling rose.

Hussain turned, saw Draco’s arm around his boyfriend, the beautiful blond examining the architectural details and decided that these were definitely, the right people, and pitched his sale, “Normally, I let this go for 850 a month, but to the right people I only charge 725. That’s rent only. You have to pay all bills”. Harry nodded and glanced at his lover. Saw his eyes alight. Draco glanced back, “Can we talk it over in private?”. Hussain gracefully inclined his head and they went for another look around.

Harry’s murmur was low and urgent, “This is just right, babe. All the others we’ve arranged to view are all loads smaller, most for more money. Granted, they’re in better areas, but, here, we’re close to the others. There’s a supermarket up the road. The Tube’s nearby, there’s a launderette up the block. There’s a last thing I need to ask Hussain. Shall we take it, Dragon?. I’ll try to negotiate the price down a bit”. Draco shrugged then pulled Harry to him for a long kiss, then they rubbed noses and grinned, “Do your worst, Harry”.

“Hussain, that parking space below, is that attached to the flat or the shop?”. The man grinned, “That belongs to this flat”. The clincher. “Well”, the dark-haired man intoned, “If you want to do it for 650 cash-in-hand then we’ll take it. Unfurnished”. The man grinned, “Make it 675 and you’ve got a deal”. He held his hand out. Harry took it and the deal was sealed. They had a new home. They all went back to the shop and signed the paperwork. Harry politely enquired if the shop took plastic, then paid over the first three month’s rent plus deposit, to the great pleasure of Hussain, who shook their hands fervently as he pressed the keys into their hands. As they parted, he whispered, “I knew you two were right the moment I saw you”.

They made their jubilant way back to the Bunker, hugging and kissing on any quiet bits of street they found themselves on. They passed a cheap offie and bought a load of beer then ordered a taxi, conveying them to a blank street near the bunker, then shipping the beer by relays to safety. There were the warm smells of cooking all around as they delivered the beer and stacked it in the fridges. There was another party that night, albeit celebrating yet another departure. Hermione and Ginny had already bagged the boys’ room once they left. Hermione had been working harder on obtaining a phone and Internet hack at the main site, and had finally found a line in. She climbed down from high above the station, filthy and jubilant as she tested the line with the handset, a pair of pliers gripped between her teeth, her eyes shining. Over the weekend, the Net was moved back into the main station.

Over the same weekend, Harry and Draco left the Bunker for the weekend and spent the it on the floor in their new flat, in borrowed sleeping bags, usually in a tangle of limbs, one bag beneath them, one opened out covering them.

They knew they had to stay relatively quiet between 10 and 6 while the shop was open, but as both of the upper floors either side of them was storage space and all of the adjacent premises were closed after six, they could make as much noise as they liked. To start with, mainly shouted or shrieked, then moaned. Not a soul heard. No need for restraint or silencing charms. Sunday afternoon, they both moved out of the Bunker. Harry had slipped off shopping in the morning.

They brought Hermione, Ginny, Seamus and Dean with them, helping carry bits of tat that they already had. A lamp, a coffee table, a rug. That night, they drank beer and ate take-out, then Harry unpacked the new sound system, hooking it together, then pinned two fleece blankets over the windows and they all danced to loud music, not a complaint from the neighbours.

The others all left for the Bunker deeply envious of the boys. As they walked back, Hermione said, “They’re right, we shouldn’t live in a frigging hole in the ground. Have we no pride?”. Ginny cast a glance her way. “We’ll need jobs first, baby. When we do, though, I’d love to get a flat with you. Even a big shared house between a load of us. I may be a pure-blood, but I’m used to being poor and sharing with a bazillion people, but I tell you what. I’m bloody sick of waking up to pitch blackness every morning. It’s not too bad in the winter, you kind of expect it, but it’s summer and we should wake in the light. We’re humans, not frigging moles”, she finished heatedly. The others couldn’t help but agree.