"Don't forget about the boxes in the spare bedroom," Hermione said as she pulled Harry into a goodbye hug. 

"I really appreciate all your help," he replied. "This move would have been terrible without the two of you."

"Of course. You've helped us move twice now."

Ron smiled and gave Harry a hug as well saying, "Thanks for the beer and pizza, mate. Best Muggle custom I've ever heard of."

"I thought that would help you feel better about me moving into a Muggle neighborhood,” Harry replied with a smile. 

When he first broached the idea with Ron and Hermione they had both been hesitant, concerned that Harry was trying to drop off the map of Wizarding London. He’d explained that he just wanted to get away from the weird hero worship, but had no intentions of bailing, and his friends had let up. By the time his move-in date arrived they were more than happy to help him transport his belongings.  

Once they were both gone and the door was locked Harry realized how tired he felt. He went through the motions of getting ready for the night, then tossed himself on the bed and gave in to sleep. 

The next morning Harry used magic to unpack the kitchen and bathroom, as Molly had told him that these rooms were the most essential to unpack first. He built a new bookcase by hand, but set the books to file themselves on the shelves alphabetically. He ate leftover pizza and looked over the blueprints he'd been working on for a new client. The last thing he did for the night was to hang a large canvas print above his bed, using nails and a hammer. He wanted to do at least a few things the Muggle way, since he was in this flat. Luna had gotten the canvas for him during Christmas last year, it was a photograph of the first building he’d ever worked on renovating, outside of Hogwarts. In the corner of the photo print Luna had written -Harry, keep rebuilding. Love, Luna-

Since then he had put together a renovation business that was thriving in the post-war world. By May 2001 he'd done 7 renovations, hired a part-time team to help with building, hired an assistant, and moved into this new apartment. 

Harry settled into bed enjoying the sounds of his new place. The creeks of the pipes, the soft sounds of a river nearby, and the low hum of music from the wireless he'd left on in the living room. Just after midnight, Harry found himself staring at the ceiling, trying to determine what had pulled him out of deep sleep. He was startled when his headboard moved, slamming against the wall. 

Then he heard, from the other side of the wall, a low moan. Then, "Oh God." thump "Don't stop. That's-fuck."

Are you kidding me? Harry thought. 

"So good. So good." thump "Oh God, yes. Yes!" thump thump.

Harry glared at the wall behind him. He felt bitter for being woken up and really bitter for the sound of someone getting off so spectacularly while he hadn't been laid since summer. He'd been in a bit of a dry spell lately, his only company being married friends, clients, coworkers, and the occasional fan. 

His last two relationships, Ginny Weasley and then Parvati Patil, had ended a bit awkwardly. Harry had been told by each of them that he wasn't attentive enough. To be fair, Harry had felt rather uninspired by both relationships. He'd done his best to be a good boyfriend, given gifts, asked about their days, but he'd never been able to get around the lack of passion. He assumed that was how most people were though, real relationships weren't like the stories, right? Or Harry was too messed up from the war to feel real passion. That thought, and a talk with Hermione, had prompted him to see a mind healer. She did a lot of work with him to help with his trauma, his childhood, and the war. When it came to talking about a significant other though, Harry just shrugged it off. Eventually, she told him it was normal for someone with his upbringing, and the many losses he had suffered, to be afraid of intimacy. He hadn't felt like that was accurate for him, but maybe she was right. 

He didn't think about relationships or sex very often, actually. He was generally focused on his business and his spare time was spent with friends and family.  

Harry heard a loud moan come through wall, reminding him of the reason he'd started down that train of thought, followed by, "Fuck" thump and a pleading, "don't stop" thump thump. 

Merlin! How good can it be? Harry thought, feeling the wall behind him vibrate again from the force. 

The canvas above him moved and Harry jumped up to catch it before it fell onto his head. He cast a strong wandless sticking charm to remount the picture more securely than the muggle nails. -speaking of mounting-

The loudmouth next door started to whimper and Harry heard an unmistakable sound. 

Seriously? Spanking? He thought, now sitting on his bed and staring at the wall. 

You can't misinterpret the sound of a good spanking, and someone was receiving one next door. Finally, he heard the man next door groaning and Harry assumed whoever was over there had gotten off. Harry took the opportunity to remove himself fully from the bed, shoving off his blankets and springing to his feet. He moved the bed a few inches from the wall, sending it a fresh glare before getting back under the covers. 

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He promised himself he would bang back if he heard even a whisper of sound. Or groan. Or spank. 

**** *** ****

The next morning, Harry tried to focus on unpacking, but his mind kept recalling the sounds of last night. He ran a hand through his mess of dark hair and sighed heavily. 

I just need to get laid, he thought. 

He would go to Muggle club to avoid running into any fans. Harry shuddered at the thought of them, with their fake lightening scars and cheesy glasses, and felt any desire to get laid die at the idea of sleeping with one of them. 

Looking around the place he realized it was a bit of a mess. He went back to the boxes with focused intention. About 20 minutes later he heard voices in the hallway. The neighbors! Harry ran to the door and pressed his ear to it, he could hear a bit of the conversation. 

"Last night was well worth being tired for my meetings today." It was a man's voice, it sounded like the loudmouth from last night, but his voice was rougher now. 

"You made that clear" another man's voice responded, and Harry pressed his ear harder against the door, "when you were on your knees in the shower this morning." The voice sounded sexy, even though it was muffled through the door. 

Harry rolled his eyes, of course the bloke has a sexy voice, he thought. 

"Can I see you again?" the first man said. 

"If you book in advance."

Harry heard the man chuckle and then he heard the door close. 

Interesting, Harry thinks. At least the loudmouth doesn't live next door so he wouldn't have to hear him again. 

By noon Harry had at least the living room unpacked and looking good enough for his 1pm meeting. Luna, Seamus, Dean, and Neville, showed up, filing in one at a time through his floo. 

Harry had paid extra money in donations to the ministry for them to agree to add that floo to the Muggle flat he lived in. He knew he was going to need it because, at the moment, his clients were only from the Wizarding world. He was making plans to expand into the Muggle market next year. 

Neville brought Harry a houseplant and made him promise to water it at least three times a week. He told Harry that this plant would need the least maintenance and was safe to be around Muggles. Honestly, Harry really appreciated the thoughtfulness, as taking care of a house plant wasn’t really a desire at the moment. He was really just trying to take care of himself and his clients. 

Luna, however, didn’t seem to realize that when she had chosen her house warming gift. The kitten poked its tiny head out of Luna’s backpack. Harry would like to maintain that he wouldn't have caved immediately if the kitten hadn't been so adorable. It was the black fur, the three small markings lined up on his forehead, and the adoring eyes. Luna informed Harry that the kitten's name was Orion and that she had chosen him with the important task of raising a good cat. 

Seamus and Dean updated Harry on their latest progress with Xenophilius Lovegood’s house. Luna’s father had been reluctant to renovation in the beginning but Luna had convinced him to do it because the house needed what she called “a fresh face for their new adventures.” They had begun work last month. Luna had somewhat fallen into the role of marketing for Harry, and, though her musings always threw people off, she tended to get sales easier than anyone else. 

Neville, ever the perfect assistant, reminded Harry of his meeting with the interior designer tomorrow, and text him the address so it was a fresh notification on his cell. 

That night, as Harry climbed into bed, the kitten paced around meowing and padding at the carpet with his paws. Harry watched him for a few moments, then, deciding he wasn’t likely to let up, he scooped the kitten up and placed him on the bed. Orion curled up behind Harry’s knees and fell asleep quickly. Harry motioned towards his lamp and it shut off, leaving the room in darkness, and he fell asleep as quickly as the kitten. 

Thump, thump. 

Harry opened bleary eyes, thump thump, then whined into his pillow at the sound coming through the wall. 

Orion woke when the moaning started, and he sat up to look curiously at the wall. Harry could hear an odd chinking sound. Thump, chink, thump, chink chink. 

He twisted his body to stare at the wall, his head tilted, in much the same way as the cat next to him, curiously. 

“That’s better.”

It was the neighbor, the wallbanger. That voice! It seemed to filter through more than the wall, snagging not only at Harry’s memory, but swirling down into a pool of lust that Harry couldn’t deny. He told himself it was natural, most people hearing sex live would get turned on. When you add on the bloke’s seductive voice it was inevitable, this guy could read Molly’s recipes and it would sound hot. 

Thump, chink, thump.

“Mmm, you’re being so good for me now, aren’t you?”

Merlin, that’s hot! This guy he brought home must be a sub. Harry thought, remembering his exploration into sub play when he had tried out muggle fetish club stateside. The Dom wasn’t really enough to keep Harry’s interest but the scene had been fun. After all, when you’re trying to play dominate over the vanquisher of Voldemort, you need something different than the standard. 

Listening to the moans of pleasure next door, he realized the sub must be in handcuffs. Briefly, Harry wondered if the Wallbanger would be better at playing his Dom. He blushed furiously at the thought and reminded himself that he was supposed to be asleep, and therefore, supposed to be upset with his neighbor, not fantasizing. 

One last thump, one last groan, one last whimper, then all was silent. Well, at least all was silent on from the neighbor. In Harry’s room, a rambunctious kitten had apparently woken up enough to demand a potty trip and more playtime. 

By the time Orion played enough to tire himself out and go back to sleep, it was nearly an hour later. Even after being distracted, Harry couldn’t get the night’s events out of his head. He laid in bed till 4 am considering the morale issue of wanting to get off while having a kitten in bed. Exhausted from too little sleep, and still hard, Harry huffed and climbed out of bed, heading to the ensuite. At least the shower would be private, and help him wake up. 

Harry set the kitchen to cook his breakfast with a few waves of his hand while he sat at the table drinking his coffee and considering how many cups of it he could have before it was considered a problem. 

Stupid sub. Stupid voice. Stupid Wallbanger.