Harry had just gotten out of the shower and felt so much better. Like usual, he had spent the whole day at home. But unlike most days, he'd actually done something. He'd spent all afternoon cleaning the apartment and putting things in order.
An owl arrived just as he left the bathroom, towel wrapped about him. He assumed it was Tonks's response. He opened the note and read it quickly. Now, how to get Mandy to agree to go?
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Mandy spent the day running an open house at a townhouse in Dover. She had a few prospective buyers, but the commission wasn't going to be all that great. Still, selling it meant she could stop popping over to Dover all the time. With a small popping sound, she apparated into the living room and immediately took off her very tall heels. Already, she felt better. "Harry, you home?" she called. He was always home, but she always asked anyway.
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Harry leaned out the bedroom door, still in his towel. "Yeah, I just got out of the shower. Dressing. How was work? Did you make that sale?"
Harry went back into the bedroom and pulled a blue sweater and gray pants out of the wardrobe.
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"I wish," Mandy said as she poured herself a glass of wine. "I have some interested people, but nobody comes to an open house to buy. They wanted to check out the competition. I think I might sell it to a witch who works for Gringott's, but I just have to wait."
Mandy looked around for a moment. Harry cleaned. "That flat looks great, by the way. Thanks."
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Dressed, Harry walked out of the bedroom to greet Mandy. He put his arms around her waist and kissed her. "It was nothing. I'm sorry that you haven't made the sale yet. I'm sure one of the prospects will pull through soon enough. So, what shall we have for dinner?"
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Mandy kissed Harry back, squeezing him with the arm that didn't have a wine glass attached to it. "Dinner? Hmm... We could roast a chicken if you're not hungry right away... with some rosemary and olive oil, and we could roast some potatoes with it, I guess. Unless you're really hungry, then I think we should just order something."
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"No, the chicken and potatoes sound great. Why don't I go thaw the chicken and peel the potatoes while you relax."
Harry was in a chipper mood today. Weekly Order training had done wonders for his attitude. Of course, he had occasional bruises to explain to Mandy.
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Mandy raised an eyebrow in mock-suspicion. "Harry Potter, you are being awfully nice. Are you up to something?" she joked as she laid down on the couch to rest her feet, making sure she could still see him over the little counter island that separated the kitchen from the living room.
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Harry took the chicken out of the freezer and cast a thawing spell on it. Then, sliding the rubbage bin next to the counter, he spelled the potatoes to peel themselves.
"Well," he called in response, "yes and no. I want you to go out with me later this week, but really, all this is just because you should get to relax a little after work."
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"Go out? What has to happen to get you to go out?" Mandy joked goodnaturedly. Harry was no social butterfly, even he had to admit that. Whatever it was, he seemed to think it would take convincing. Mandy sincerely hoped a Weasley wasn't having a baby shower.
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"Well, oh wait," Harry started and then stopped. The potatoes had finished peeling themsevles quickly, so he had to go on with the next step.
After a few minutes, he had gotten the cooking process underway and was able to go on. "You remember the lunch you, Daphne, Theodore, Tonks, and I all had after the meeting a few months back? That was nice, wasn't it?"
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"Er, year, but I'm pretty sure you don't want to have regulat lunches with Mrs Malfoy," Mandy said with a smile. "Unless you do. She's a lovely girl," she added hopefully. She really did wish that Harry liked her friends more. Very few people in her social group were Death Eaters, after all, and is wasn't like Mandy enjoyed Draco's company.
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Harry held back a cringe. Daphne didn't seem like a horrible person, but she did marry Draco Malfoy. Ick. "Er, well, not exactly. Well, Tonks, one of the sharers, is having a birthday party on the 5th. She invited us, and I was hoping that you'd be interested in going."
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Mandy quirked an eyebrow. "Who else is going to be there?" Tonks seemed all right, but she wasn't sure who Tonks socialized with when she had the choice. Mandy sipped some more wine, trying to decide if going meant that she'd be able to get him to go to something later in exchange.
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He was hoping that she wouldn't ask. He had figured that if he could get her there without saying who else would be there, she'd just make the best of it.
"Well, I'm sure that most of the younger Weasleys will be there, and probably their significant others. I'm sure that Kingsley Shacklebolt, the head of the Aurors Office, will probably be there. He's always seemed like an incredibly interesting person."
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A gaggle of Weasleys. That sounded thrilling. "I suppose I can go. I mean, I should get to know your friends better," Mandy said with a smile that was very supportive in a practiced sort of way. This might be a very long party, but it would give her a credit to use for a future social gathering. "When is it?"
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Harry stopped holding his breath and relaxed a little. "It's the night of the 5th. So, um, three days from now. It should be a lot of fun. Tonks is a bit wild, and I'm sure she'll throw a great party. And the Weasleys are usually pretty funny and fun to be around."
Harry went back to check on the roast. It was coming along nicely, but it would still be a little while. Magic only sped up the cooking process so much.
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Mandy couldn't truthfully say she was looking forward to this little get together, but she also couldn't say she was dreading it. After all, she got along with them just fine in school, and Harry didn't mention the ghost on the guest list. "What's the dress code for this party?" Mandy asked. It wouldn't do at all to be over dressed.
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Harry never really thought about what to wear to things. In fact, if he and Mandy were going out he usually just waited until she told him what she wanted him to wear, but he supposed that wouldn't work this time.
"Um, well, these people don't stand on pretense too much. Casual should be fine. Maybe something hip if you want to show off a little." Harry smiled and winked at the last part; he knew that Mandy usually dressed to impress.
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Mandy laughed a little. "Somehow, I don't think that showing off is very easy next to Tonks given what she wears to business meetings," she joked as she got up to pour herself more wine. Suddenly, a thought occured to her, "Will most people be wearing robes or muggle clothing?" Tonks had worn muggle clothing to the meeting, and she'd seen various Weasleys in muggle clothing too. Mandy didn't own much of it.
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"I imagine that most of the people our age will be. I don't see Kingsley Shacklebolt wearing Muggle clothing unless he's on an operation or something. We could go shopping if you really wanted to? I know of a couple decent Muggle shopping malls."
He checked the food again. It was getting close.
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A muggle shopping mall? Really? Mandy chuckled softly, "I know of a few stores myself. I'd rather go by a boutique or two than a mall. I always feel like I'll do something very, very witchy when I'm around too many Muggles at once. You know, like using the escalators wrong or pulling out a sickle instead of their money."
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He put his arms around her again and leaned his chin on her shoulder. "It's really not that hard sweetheart. If you want to go up, you get on the escalator that's going up. And generally speaking, the escalator won't suddenly decide to deposit you on the wrong floor and all of the steps are corporeal. You should give it a chance."
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Mandy scoffed loudly at Harry's little comment but leaned back against him just the same, "Oh, you know what I meant, prat. You're just making fun of me. That settles it. Now you can't go shopping with me... It's a pity, I was going to try on so many miniskirts."
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Harry let out a mock whine. "Aww, that's not fair. You have to give it to the Muggles, though, they have taken every opportunity to wear as little as possible. I can only imagine that the average Muggle would find us robe-wearing Witches and Wizards very stuffy and uptight."
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"The robes designed in Italy over the last two summer seasons have had little to no sleeves and all been above the knee, so I wouldn't say we're that stuffy. Our parents might be, but we're not," Mandy reasoned. She'd bought quite a few of the new robes, and though muggle dresses were wilder, these robes weren't terribly conservative. "You still can't go shopping with me. It will ruin the surprise of you seeing me in a muggle dress... I might buy some other clothes while I'm out, and they would definitely need to be a surprise."
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Harry put on that goofy smile of his for a moment and was about to say something when the timer went off.
"Oh, sounds like dinner's ready."
He flicked his wand and silverware, napkins, and other table stuffs set themselves. Then he crossed to the table and pulled Mandy's usual seat out for her.
"Have a seat," he said, offering her the chair.
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"So formal, Harry," Mandy said, taking her seat. She was rather impressed at all this: clean house, homecooked meal, being seated. It seemed like a lot of trouble to go through just to get her to go to a party. Maybe there was more to it than that. Maybe Harry was inspired to be more proactive. That would be simply wonderful. "There isn't some horrible secret you're waiting to tell me until after you've fed me, is there?"
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Well, he did have a secret, but he certainly couldn't tell her that he'd joined the Order. Or what the Order was.
"No," he said, shrugging his shoulders and guiding her chair forward as she sat. "I'm just in a good mood, I suppose."
Harry went to the kitchen and put dinner on to plates. He carried the plates and spelled the wine bottle and a glass for himself to follow.
"Voila," he said as he set the plate in front of her. He took his own seat.
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