Harry Potter One-shots

Home is where the heart is (Charlie)

A.N.

Hello everyone! 

It's been a while since I last did an author's announcement in a story of mine but I felt like this one-shot deserved an introduction. I don't even remember the last time I felt pleased with my work while in the process of writing something but this one-shot never once felt tiring. I am actually happy with it (at least for the time being). 

The inspiration came from various writing prompts I came across over the years and slowly started gathering on pinterest, the main one being "barging in on your roommate who has their music on way too loud to tell them off, only to see they are crying" or something along those lines. I definitely had fun writing this, and I hope you enjoy it.

Last but not least, you should know I have been greatly influenced by all the reading I've been doing in tumblr lately, since this one-shot is roughly 12k words long and if not my longest piece, then one of the longest. Still, I hope you stick around until the end.

Happy reading! 

-

"Sorry – do you speak English?"

The lady walking on the sidewalk, heading in the opposite direction you were turned to you with a mildly confused expression. She obviously didn't speak English. You tried to hide your disappointment as the only person that seemed friendly enough to ask for directions walked away and you were once more left alone. Or rather, you weren't alone. There were plenty of people walking in the same pavement as you but you were not brave enough to ask another and they all looked like they didn't want to be bothered. You let out a small sigh. You were on your own.

You had known living in Romania for the next few months wasn't going to be easy but how could you ever refuse such an offer, when your boss had directly suggested you got this position and the payment was almost twice the one you were used to? You weren't about to turn down such an opportunity. Besides, you had been feeling like you were asphyxiating in your parents house for a bit too long. You needed the change. Now you were faced with the truth of moving to another country, though, you realised how much harder than you thought this was actually going to be.

Communication was quite the problem – or you were simply so unlucky you had missed all Romanians who spoke English today. You knew you wouldn't be encountering that much of a problem in your workplace – the Auror department was supposed to be expecting you after all, they probably did have someone you could communicate with. Another issue was finding a place to stay, but the Auror department of the English Ministry of Magic had been supposed to be taking care of that. You weren't all that sure if they actually had, though.

You took another look at the small light blinking at you as if you were playing a game from a few ways away, in front of a house that looked too small. All houses on the street had a garden and two storeys, a beautiful fence to keep strangers away. This house was a bit different. To begin with, it occupied a lot less space than the rest. It seemed to have only one floor and the garden was not as well-kept. The fence door seemed unable to close completely. It wasn't exactly your idea of an ideal home and you were tempted to believe this was a mistake. But your light was still blinking at you in front of it, your magic unseen from any muggles nearby. You couldn't have been wrong. Hesitantly, you crossed the distance to the house and gently pushed the door so it would open all the way. You winced at the horrible screech it let out as you got in the house and gingerly tried to push it back closed. You managed to close it, and with a nod to yourself, you pulled back and got ready to head to the front door. The door screeched once more as it opened to hang ajar the way it had before. You shot it a dirty look and went on your way to the front door.