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Miles sighed as he looked at their garden. It was a nice place, a really nice place with a large garden. The nice lady who sold them the domain was getting too old to tend to her garden like she used to and she said it was a too big place to live alone. As far as he knew, she was moving to France to be closer to her daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren. Miles smiled. In the few weeks they had known the old lady, Harry had grown close to her; they got along so well. It was a thing with Harry; he made friends with everyone. It was hard to not love him. Miles didn't know anyone who didn't warm up with him even if it took some time (looking at you, Malfoy). Even Marcus had a soft spot for his boyfriend! Miles and Harry got way back. Miles first talked to him after a Quidditch match in Miles' fourth year (and Harry's second year). They didn't start dating until Harry's fifth year though when that pink toad bitch was terrorizing the school and torturing school children. Let's not talk about her though.
The important thing was that Miles and Harry had been dating for years now. Logically, after years of dating, the next big step was to move together, right? So they did. They left London, where they both lived in Diagon Alley, only a few minutes from each other. Miles never really wanted to live there anyway and he could tell that staying here was getting to Harry. Things were too much and let's not even talk about the journalists. So they talked. They talked a lot and they eventually agreed to look for a house in the countryside. They visited a lot of places – there were a couple of flats that caught their eye but they wanted a house. Not necessarily a big house but something big enough for two. When they met Mrs Hughes, they knew this house was made for them. Sure, it was a bit bigger than they thought they would settle for but it only meant that they wouldn't need to use magic to make space for their friends should they stay the night. They both agreed that this place would be their new home and here they were.
Harry loved their new home. Miles? Not so much. There was this thing about visiting a new place. Often enough, the inconvenience of a place only became visible when you were already living there. Miles hated how noisy it was. Not... it's not what you think. He didn't hate the noise you would expect from the countryside. It wasn't the sound of tractors or the crow of the rooster at 7 o'clock (and all day long), no. That was not the problem. The problem was that they kept being invaded by animals and magical creatures alike. Miles liked those alright, okay? He never had a problem with those. Somehow though, they kept coming to Harry and taking all of his attention. Miles hated it.
More than the creatures though, it was the fact that they lived fifteen minutes away from Miles' friends and former housemates, Cassius Warrington and Terence Higgs. That! That... Miles hated it even more. They weren't even supposed to move to the South! Terence said he was going to study Healing in Ireland and Cassius had been hired by a law firm in Scotland. They did that but they also moved into a nice cottage in Wales of all places! So, okay, maybe deep down, Miles was glad to have his friends so close but he would never admit it out loud. As far as people were concerned, he hated it here. Harry loved it here though and Miles was nothing if not completely enamoured with his boyfriend.
With a sigh that Terence would qualify as “dreamy”, Miles walked through the sliding windows and went to the garden.
“Harry?”
“Here!” came a voice close by.
Miles raised a brow and followed the voice. He walked down the steps leading deeper into the garden. He dodged under a low branch and avoided a tentacle (either Mrs Hughes had ties with the Magical World or some magical plants had migrated over there without her knowledge) before finally stumbling upon Harry. His boyfriend was kneeling on the ground, with a-
“Harry... What do you have in your arms?”
Harry looked up at him with a grin on his face:
“Miles! Look what I found! Isn't he lovely?”
Lovely? That, err... That was certainly a word for it, Miles thought, staring at the mournful-looking grey bird cuddling to his lover. He wouldn't exactly call it cute but he knew better than to argue with Harry when it comes to magical creatures and animals. Somehow, Harry thought that the Wolpertinger they had rescued from a fox trap was the cutest thing ever. Miles didn't think it was but he knew better than to argue so he wasn't going to argue about that thing either.
“Is that... Is that an Augurey?”
It certainly looked like one if anything. It had that sad aura surrounding it.
“A chick, yes. Oh, Miles, he's so cute. But he's thin. He needs care.”
“Harry-”
“Please.”
Oh, dear. Here comes the kitten eyes.
Miles was a brave guy, okay? He had stared down Bellatrix Lestrange in the eyes when she had tried to attack Harry in the back and he and the twins had fought against her.
So, Miles was a brave guy... but he was also a weak man when it came to Harry.
“Gods, I hate it here. Fiine!”
Harry giggled and stood up, the Irish Phoenix snuggling in his arms.
“Liar. You love it.”
With a smirk, Harry went on his tiptoe and pecked Miles on the lips.
“Thanks, honey.”
“You're welcome, sweetheart.”
So, so weak for him.
“R- Right. We'll need to find things for him. Is it a "him"? It feels like a him.”
He heard Harry giggle as the other male skipped ahead of him.
“It is.”
“Good then... We'll need things.”
“You know, one day I'll get you to admit that you love it here. We had to be two to sign the paperwork.”
“Never. I'll never admit to such a thing. That would mean I don't mind living so close to Higgs and Warrington and I'll never do such a thing.”
Harry snorted:
“Whatever you say.”