Chapter 15 An Intimate Gaze
“Stop moving! Remain still! Why are you giggling?”
“I can’t help it! I’m ticklish, especially there and there.”
“But I’m not even touching you there and there.”
Harry grabbed Aria’s hand and kissed it gently as both were gazing at the mirror; their reflections were grinning brightly back at them.
“So, what do you think?” Aria asked, freeing her hand and gently putting his glasses back on his face.
“I think you’re so beautiful,” Harry whispered in a teasing manner, still gazing at the reflection.
“I mean your hair,” she smirked as she took another snip at his bangs.
The last thing in Harry’s mind was his hair right now; his hair had always been messy anyway. All he could see and think of from the reflection was just how perfect and peaceful the image was, with Aria standing and giggling behind him, stroking his hair and face.
“Perfection,” he muttered as he got up from Aria’s dresser table and snuggled up to her ear. “Thanks, Aria…”
“Aria…”
“Aria…”
“Uh? What?” Harry blurted out. He lifted himself up, rubbed his eyes, and saw Aria smiling and hovering rather closely over him. She was trying to cover him with a blanket. It was nighttime already and he had unknowingly fallen asleep on her sofa. That was just a dream. But for him, it felt so familiar for some reason.
“Sorry to wake you. You fell asleep, and you were mumbling and giggling about something. What was it about?” she teased as she folded the blanket and placed it on the sofa.
He immediately blushed. Without realizing it, he was gazing deeply at her as the images of the dream began to creep in his mind: the familiar dresser table, their bright reflection, and the ticklish sensations. He felt a sense of déjà vu.
"Dinner is… ready…” Aria, turning to him, stuttered because she had just caught his heavy green eyes that were still gazing at her.
In his mind, he was busy debating with himself whether he should stay for dinner because it was getting late. The aroma coming from the dinner table was too hard to resist, and it would be rude to leave now, after all the trouble she had gone through to put everything together, he thought to himself. So he decided he would leave immediately after dinner.
“Oh, sorry,” he quickly looked away after having realized he was still gazing at her. He scratched his head shyly, touching his hair to check if Aria had just trimmed it like what happened in the dream. Swallowing hard and still feeling very drowsy, he slowly stood up and followed her to the table. On his way, he noticed the fireplace was burning brightly, warming up the entire house. Something else was burning on top of the fireplace. It was a jar containing burning incense, and it was emitting a strong but sweet floral smell. The dinner table was decorated with flowers. There was a lot of food, bread, a plate filled with beautiful fruit, and two beer pitchers.
“Everything looks and smells perfect,” he said as he instinctively pulled out a chair for her. She smiled and sat down, pouring more beer into the mugs. He quickly took her plate and put some food for her. Starving himself, he did the same for his plate and proceeded to eat.
The rest of the meal was very quiet and calm. It suddenly occurred to him that he never really had a dinner date with Ginny like this before. He never tried organizing something like this at Hogwarts, even though he did promise her a picnic on the mountain top overseeing the stars this past New Year’s after the two of them were almost killed by the dream curse. And during the summer, they were always being surrounded by the Weasleys at the Burrow. At the time, since they wanted to keep their relationship secret from Mrs. Weasley, they didn’t do much as a couple, other than talking, holding hands, kissing, and hiding in Ginny’s bedroom.
Suddenly, as he thought of Ginny’s bedroom, he remembered the dresser table in the dream and why everything was so familiar. The dresser was Ginny’s, and it was identical to the one in his dream. He recalled he was in Ginny’s room that day at the Burrow and she was cutting his hair, tickling him on purpose, while he was admiring their smiling reflections. Completely confused, he was wondering why Aria replaced her in the dream. But now that he thought of Ginny, he reminded himself that he must finish dinner quickly and head back to the castle to be with her.
The butterflies continue to dance around them in the house. He ate rather quickly. The aroma of the incense took over the house as the meal went on. Before he knew it, he had already helped her clear the table. All that was left were the beer pitcher and their mugs.
“You’re right. This is definitely a lot better than the ones at Three Broomsticks,” he said as he poured himself another glass, trying to come up with an excuse to leave politely. But his head was beginning to feel very light and his eyelids felt heavy again.
“It’s because it is a lot stronger. Be careful, Harry. Don’t drink too much,” she said worriedly.
“Can you tell me more about this place?” he blurted out, taking another sip as he gazed at her with a starry impression on his face.
“It’s my hideout. I come here to be by myself, you know… to escape… to get some peace and quiet,” she muttered and took another drink. “Harry, are you all right?”
“Oh? Sorry. I’m fine,” he lied. He actually felt very hazy, light-headed, and his cheeks felt very warm. Aria was right. The beer was much stronger than those from Three Broomsticks, and much more addictive.
“Go on. Continue with what you were saying. You said Hagrid gave you the animals?”
“Animals are great, aren’t they? They never lie; they don’t judge. Sometimes I wonder which one is more human. Hagrid loves them too,” she mumbled and went to the record player.
“You want to dance? Is it okay to dance with a friend?” she asked, turning the player on. Music suddenly filled the entire house.
“Okay,” he heard himself blurt out. He couldn’t believe he had just agreed to dance because he hated dancing. He had forgotten that he had wanted to leave, and the next thing he knew, he had his arm on her waist and her hand was on his shoulder. They were spinning wildly across the room to the beat of the music in the butterfly-filled background. It was the most liberating feeling he had ever felt. He felt free to do anything, to be himself, and safe. He was whistling with the music, his steps becoming faster and faster, as he held her tighter and tighter, until he banged into the bookshelf, almost knocking the vases off it.
“That was incredible, and I managed the entire dance without stepping on your feet,” he choked, trying to catch his breath as he grabbed his mug from the table and took another sip of beer.
“Aria, thanks for all of this… I’ve never felt so great,” he took off his jacket because the room began to feel very warm. The fireplace continued to glow brightly in the background. He threw his jacket wildly across the room.
“Harry, you’re drunk. Look at you. Come rest on the sofa. I’ll turn off the music,” she laughed and helped him to the sofa but when she got back up, he found his arms suddenly reaching out to her. Without knowing it, he pulled her into him and she landed on his lap. Her blond hair brushed against his face.
“Why did you do that?” she yelled as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
“I really want to thank you for tonight. It’s just that I’ve never felt like this before, so carefree, light, just like these butterflies… as if nothing matters anymore. I can be free of my problems, burdens. I love this place,” he heard himself whisper as he gently leaned his flushed face onto her shoulder.
“You’re welcome to stay here for as long as you want. As a friend, of course…” she turned to him and smiled eagerly, reaching over to hold his head tightly towards her lips, her fingers teasing his earlobe as she was now passionately kissing the side of his neck.
“Aria, I have to go now. It’s getting late,” he mumbled, struggling fruitlessly to free himself. But it appeared the music had drowned out his voice because Aria remained on his lap.
“I have to go back to the castle…” he protested, struggling to catch his breath.
“Listen, I should… go…” he muttered softly, wanting to set her onto the sofa, but he found his arms were very stiff and he was unable to move them.
“Harry…”
She suddenly gazed deeply into his eyes. It was the most penetrating and intimate gaze he had ever experienced. As her eyes were anchored with his, he could see everything about her, her life, her experiences, her pain, and her emotions flashing in front of his eyes. She was drawing him into her soul. He could feel her drinking his energy, and he wanted to close his eyes, but it was futile, because fighting back meant that he was only leaning even closer to her, so close that the tips of their noses were touching each other.
“Stop… No, Aria… Please don’t…” he pleaded, with each syllable getting weaker and weaker. They were the only words that he could muster together.
Her green eyes were now sparkling in silver light, and he could feel her inside his mind, exploring him intimately, his dreams, his secrets, his beliefs, and his desires, and he found himself doing the same thing to her, exploring her thoughts deeply. All the barriers between them were slowly falling to the wayside. Everything that he believed in and stood for began to peel off and melt away. There was nothing separating them anymore. Their minds were united as one.
“Please…stop…” he whimpered one last time. But his words simply sank to the ground. He felt like he was floating in between consciousness and unconsciousness.
Clenching his teeth helplessly and weakened and overwhelmed by all these breathtaking sensations, he discovered that his blurry vision was fading away. Everything that were in his view suddenly vanished except her. All he could see was her, and all she could see was him...
When I See Only You by gossipweaver
Chapter Notes: It is nothing more than a spiritual telepathic connection… but it is so intimate, and it means so much more...