Landlord ch.3

"Sorry for putting you in an awkward position, I understand how it can be uncomfortable. It's just so wild, hard to believe... So what happened next?" she pressed.

"Well, at first, there wasn't much interest. But then I gave out a few samples, paid for advertising, and added more features. That increased the demand," he explained.

"That's just amazing," Daphne said. "Seriously, it's impressive."

He shrugged uncertainty. "I don't know, I mean, it was a lot of work, but I wouldn't exactly call it smart work. More like sheer persistence. And I mean, they were essentially simple rune boards that a sixth-year at Hogwarts could make, and the professor wouldn't be impressed."

"And so what? Do you enjoy creating them?" she asked.

"Sort of, yeah," he admitted.

"Isn't that a good thing? You're doing what you want to do, enjoying it, achieving success, paying the bills, and people are using them and, presumably, they're happy. All of that is good and impressive. Don't undermine perseverance, effort, and resilience," she said, suddenly oddly serious. "So many people just give up or quit, Harry. I see it so often. The fact that you actually did it... I mean, it's a big deal. Or it seems that way to me. You know, how many people I've known who said, 'I want to be a runemaker,' but never really created anything, never utilized it after leaving Hogwarts? Dozens. Maybe even hundreds. I respect what you've done," she said firmly.

"Well, when you put it that way... yeah, it makes sense." He paused. "I feel like I've sort of taken over the conversation. You came here to talk about the awful turn your life has taken..."

"Ugh, no, honestly, I didn't. I came here..." She stopped, looked off into the distance for a moment as if searching for her thoughts. "I came here because..." She hesitated again. "I don't know why I came here, actually. I mean, for a place to crash and because I was losing my mind and wanted some basic human contact, but..." She stopped again and now just stared at him. Harry felt uncomfortable under the intensity of her gaze, her vivid blue eyes, her almost overwhelming beauty. He waited. It seemed like she was looking for something.

"Harry, I came here because I was desperate, panicked, and angry, and I seriously sat down and went through a list of everyone I knew, everyone I trusted or used to trust, and I realized you were the only person on that list whom I wouldn't curse if I came to you. You were the only person on that list who I genuinely believed would listen to me. That's what I remember from our conversations. You listened to me and were genuinely kind, not pretending. I came here because... I felt good," she said.

"Do you still feel good?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied. "I do. But... I don't want you to feel obligated to have me here and let me into your home for however long I can be here. You don't owe me anything, and I don't want to be some bitch who just demands things from people."

"I have no problem with it, really," he said. "If anything, I'm glad you're here. It's the first time I've been living on my own, and I was literally in the process of trying to find someone to come and hang out when you called. I had my phone in my hand, scrolling through contacts when you called. And... I'm in the same boat. I couldn't find anyone on that list that I wanted here."

"I'm sorry," she murmured. "But thank you for helping." She glanced around the living room again. "So, tell me, how did you get this place? You said you're renting it?"

"Yeah," he replied. "And it's a weird story. Basically, a month ago, I decided I'd had enough. Couldn't stand the smell of cat litter anymore. Didn't want to risk living with some random person, so I decided to find a place where I could live alone. I found this place, but the way it was worded was very strange. It basically said 'rent is negotiable for the right person.' Weird, right?"

"Yeah. I mean, if that's all that was written, it's really strange," Daphne agreed.

"So I thought, 'why the hell not?' and called that number. A woman answered, asked me a few questions. She sounded bored and ready to hang up until I told her about myself. Twenty-six-year-old guy, single, no degrees, and all that. It was a weird line of questioning, but I was curious. Eventually, we got to the part where I mentioned I make adult toys. And she just... perked up immediately. The whole tone of the conversation changed. She said there was a good chance we could work out a very nice arrangement, and she asked me to meet her at the park. Again, I thought, 'why not?' and met her. We talked, and apparently, she's the owner of this house, she's got a lot of money, and she's lonely."

"So... she just gave you this house?" she asked.

"Not exactly, but she gave me an amazing offer. Basically, I just have to pay for utilities and occasionally make her a surprise toy to live here," he explained.

"Damn, that's incredible," Daphne marveled.

"Yeah. The only real catch is that I have to give her a progress report on my ideas at the end of each month along with the money for utilities. Which I think is fair, considering the incredible offer I'm getting. And, uh, that brings us to now. I moved in today."

"Wow, just today?" she asked. Then, before he could answer, "Can I have a tour?"

"Yeah, though there's not much to see. It's a small house, furnished in a Muggle style," he replied, smiling. He found her smile infectious and agreed, getting up on his feet. "Alright, come on."

She got up as well and followed him into the kitchen. He showed her that, then the bathroom, the closet in the hallway, the bedroom, and finally the second bed— the room he had turned into his office. At the moment, there was only an old, crappy desk and chair, along with the tools for creating rune boards.

"Everything is so neat and clean, organized," she said. "Well, I'm a bit of a neat freak, but after living in filth for such a long time, I decided that this house would be... very clean. Plus, I'm broke, so I don't have a lot of stuff. I spent a lot of money on the move and buying some new furniture. Stocked up the fridge. On top of that, I have some debts that I'm still paying off..."

"Hey, me too," she said.

"Really? And you? You..."

"I know, an accountant. Let's just say... I haven't always made the best decisions."

"Fair enough." He paused, wondering where to take the conversation next. "So, um... do you have anything you need to do?"

"Probably, but I don't care. If you're okay with it, I'd honestly just like to have a night to just... check out of hell in my life. We can just... order pizza and watch a movie or something? I'll pay. Or do you have things to do?"

"To be honest, I feel the same way right now. I have things to do, but they can wait. I really would just like to check out and unwind too. I haven't been able to do that for... I don't even know how long. So yeah, I'd love to get pizza and watch a movie."

It was entirely surreal.

They ordered pizza. They grabbed a few beers from the fridge. They sat on the couch and picked a movie, a suitably crazy action flick. When the pizza arrived, a large triple meat with extra cheese, he took it and placed it on the coffee table, and then they shared it. When the movie ended, they started talking, and the conversation went on for hours.

The whole experience was completely surreal.

It wasn't just that Daphne was in his house, eating pizza and watching a movie—Daphne, who was pureblood and came from a pureblood family, and also seemed much more mature and put together than anyone else he knew—but it was more about how... natural it all felt. How easy it was to relax and slip into conversation. Harry had heard the phrase "it was like we've known each other for years" over and over again to the point where it sounded nonsensical, but suddenly he understood it.

When the pizza box was empty, he stood up and started cleaning it up along with the empty cans and used napkins. He groaned as he moved, one of his sore muscles releasing a twinge of pain.

"What happened?" Daphne asked.

"I'm just sore from the move," he replied, leaning into the kitchen and tossing the trash into the bin. "I didn't have anyone to help, and this area is too Muggle for me to use magic, really, so I had to do a lot of heavy lifting, and I'm not exactly what you'd call strong."

"Wait, hold on," she said, looking around. "You're moving all this completely on your own? Like, seriously?"

"Yes," he replied, gathering the leftovers and disposing of them. He sat back down in his spot. "Technically speaking, I bought the couch brand new, and a couple of guys from the store helped me load it into the moving van. But other than that, I had to haul all this crap out of my apartment on my own."

"How?" she asked. "That's a big bed..."

"The frame is actually lightweight, and while the mattress is heavy and cumbersome, it's not impossible to move on my own. I had a dolly, and that really helped."

"That's just... really impressive. And sad. You didn't have anyone to help you?"

"I didn't have anyone willing to help me," he replied, then groaned as he stretched and let out a small sigh of relief.

"That's something we have in common, I guess," she said. Then she tightened her lips, studying him. "Turn around," she suddenly said after he had sat back down.

"Why?"

"Well, I'm really good at giving shoulder rubs. I have strong hands," she replied.

He couldn't really think of anything to say to that besides "okay," and he turned around. Because the idea of Daphne touching him, let alone massaging him, was exceptionally enticing. She placed her hands on his shoulders, then paused. "Take off your shirt," she said. "Uh... okay," he replied.

"It'll make it easier."

He took off his shirt and was grateful that he was facing away from her because he was blushing worse than ever. Her hands touched his shoulders, his bare skin, and he involuntarily took a sharp inhale. It had been far too long since he had been touched by a woman. Living in a place that reeked of cat piss made it really difficult to score, and he had never lived in a place where he felt comfortable enough to bring dates home. Well, except for now.

More intense thoughts quickly started drifting through his mind as she massaged his shoulders.

"Wow," he murmured. It felt really good. Her hands were soft and warm. And big, considering her height.

"Told you," she said, and he could almost hear the satisfied smile in her voice.

Sex with Daphne was basically the first thing that entered his mind the moment he saw her, but that wasn't exactly a newsflash. He was a horny twenty-something guy, and he thought about having sex with most women he saw. But what started as mere desire turned into an intense infatuation with her. He wasn't sure if she was single at the time, but it was obvious that she was so far out of his league that it was a joke. He was a twenty-something loser working in a store, dreaming of being something more through his own efforts, not just through the fame of something his mother did. She was a high-ranking accountant who was ridiculously attractive and had her pick of men who were actually attractive and successful. So he simply pushed the thought of anything happening between them out of his mind and instead focused on having pleasant conversations with her.