Chapter 3 London Rain
As the summer holidays drew to a close, Mrs. Weasley decided to spend the remaining days at the Leaky Cauldron in London so everyone could go conveniently to Diagon Alley and get all the schoolbooks and supplies ready. Harry and Hermione were both thrilled that they were also invited because they could stay close to Ginny and Ron respectively.
“Ron, where is Mum?” Ginny asked.
“I think Mum went to bed already,” Ron replied casually.
“Ron, where are Fred and George?” Ginny pressed.
“I haven’t seen Fred and George all day,” Ron’s voice now had an annoying tone to it.
“Ron, is it raining outside? I think I hear the rain. Can you hear the rain, Ron?”
“Ginny, please! Why all these questions? Are you trying to distract me so I will make a wrong move and Harry will beat me?” Ron blasted. “I am your brother! Harry is just a boyfriend!”
Ginny sneered and quickly glanced at Hermione and Harry, who were both giggling.
“Ron, I am not just a boyfriend. And for that remark I will make it a mission to beat you today,” Harry smirked as he gave Ginny a victorious look, who gently kissed him on the cheek.
Ron and Harry were playing wizard chess in the Leaky Cauldron, with Hermione cheering for Ron and Ginny helping Harry. It was clear Harry was fighting a losing battle, judging from how many pieces he had lost. But he was determined to beat Ron tonight. For some reason he believed that beating Ron tonight would make Ginny really happy.
“Ha! There goes your bishop! Check!” Ron hissed.
Staring at his embattled bishop and king, Harry could hear a cheer of excitement from Hermione. To block out all the noise, he quickly covered his ears and mentally mapped out the entire chessboard and the locations of all the pieces, but he didn’t know what to do. Then suddenly he could hear a soft woman’s voice in his head:
“Move your castle in front of your king…”
“Uh?” Harry asked Ginny, taking his hands off his ears. “Did you say something?”
Ginny looked at him in a dumbfounded way and started to blink very quickly, “Nope, I didn’t say anything.”
“Oh, okay,” Harry shrugged. After a slight pause, he hesitantly moved his castle in front of his king to protect it. As soon as he did this move, he could see Ron’s eyes quickly focusing on Harry’s knight, which was threatening Ron’s king. Harry’s castle, the piece he had just moved, had now effectively trapped Ron’s queen. There was a very long pause as Ron sat frozen, breathing deeply, with his eyes concentrating on the chessboard. The four of them remained very quiet at this point. Suddenly, there was a draft of cold wet air coming in and it blew past them as the entrance door opened and closed.
“Oh, I think it is really raining…” Ginny said casually, hearing the raindrops and wind.
“Sis, please! Forget the rain! I’m concentrating here!” Ron bellowed nervously.
“It’s getting late. Make your move,” Hermione whispered to Ron.
Ron, who was still underestimating Harry’s chess skills, quickly made a move, believing that Harry would not catch on. However, in a matter of seconds, Ron had lost his queen, both his castles, and…
“CHECKMATE!” Harry yelled out as Ginny bounced up happily and hugged him from the back.
“Harry, congratulations. You won,” Ron said in a slightly sour way.
“Thanks, Ron. That was a good game,” Harry said as he tapped Ron’s shoulders, trying very hard not to gloat.
“Boys, it’s late. I’m heading up,” Hermione yawned as Ron got up and followed her.
“I want to check out the rain before I head up since you keep mentioning it all night,” Harry said as he pinched Ginny’s cheek softly.
“Okay then. Don’t stay too late,” she said to him as they kissed each other goodnight. After wishing Harry pleasant dreams, she slowly followed the others upstairs.
Harry walked towards the entrance door and exited the Leaky Cauldron in the London night, but he immediately darted backwards to the wall where the roof extension was, because the rain was indeed falling very hard. Without noticing, he accidentally rammed into a person.
“Oh, sorry. I wasn’t looking,” Harry said sheepishly to the individual as he was brushing the water off his clothes. As he looked up at her face through his water-stained glasses, he could see that the lady was stunningly beautiful, with long flowing blond hair and big green eyes that were sparkling in the rain. She was also slightly taller than him, which made him blush faintly.
“That’s alright,” the woman smiled softly.
Harry was startled by her soulful voice because it was the one he had just heard during his chess game earlier. Without realizing what he was doing, he gazed deeply at her with his mouth slightly open for what seemed to be an inordinately long time. It wasn’t until a magic chariot had sped past them and splashed water onto Harry’s arms that he woke up from his trance.
“Uh…sorry, I…I…” Harry stuttered nervously, trying to hide his embarrassment and trying to explain why he was ogling her. “I recognize your voice from earlier…and it was chess…”
“Yes, Harry. That was me. I told you to move your castle in front of your king,” the woman said gently, gazing into his green eyes.
“You know my name?” Harry asked. Then it had occurred to him that it was a dumb question because it was obvious she knew his name from his lightning scar.
“No, it is not because of your scar that I know your name,” she replied casually.
“Excuse me?” Harry asked blankly, getting a bit confused.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be doing this to you, but I really wanted to help you back there with the chess game,” she said hesitantly.
“I don’t understand, Miss…”
“My name is Aria. Nice to meet you, Harry,” she interrupted him, as if she didn’t want him to pose his questions.
Harry quickly wiped his clammy hand with his pants to regain his composure, “Nice to meet you, Aria.”
As he shook her hand, he was wondering how he was able to hear her voice earlier and why a pretty lady like her was standing alone waiting at the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron in the rain. But he hesitated because he didn’t want to appear foolish in front of her.
“So, you live in London?” Harry blurted out as he quickly pulled his hand away, finally realizing that he had forgotten to let go.
“Yes, but only for a very short period. And I’ll be moving soon,” Aria replied. “I found a new job so I’ll be relocating there. I’m standing here waiting for the rain to subside because I forgot my umbrella and wand. Now I understand what London rain is all about. It never stops!”
Harry thought of his wand in his pocket, thinking that he could transform it into an umbrella so he could walk her home, but then he remembered that underage wizards were not supposed to use magic in the Muggle world.
“You are so sweet, Harry. No wonder Ginny loves you so much. She is a very lucky girl. I wish someday I will be lucky like her and find someone just like you,” Aria said to him, interrupting his thoughts.
She gazed into his eyes as she stuffed a handkerchief in his hand, “Here, wipe your glasses. It looks like I’ll have to make a run for it. Thanks for keeping me company.”
And with that, Aria ran and disappeared into the London rain, leaving Harry standing alone at the entrance door, confused and dazed.
“I will see you soon…” Aria’s voice suddenly echoed inside Harry’s head.
“Uh, what?” Harry looked around but there was no one.
“I am so sweet?” he thought to himself as he stared at the handkerchief blankly. “But I didn’t even do or say anything. And how did she know about Ginny?”
When I See Only You by gossipweaver
Chapter Notes: Harry encounters a captivating yet mysterious woman in the Leaky Cauldron and is unwillingly drawn to her because she seems to know everything about him, as if she can read his mind.