A/N: This is just the first chapter in a much longer story I have planned out. Lots of other characters will be involved, and places will be explored that were never really touched on by JK. As I said, this is just the opener, and there's much more to come. On a side note, Harry will NOT be with Cho for this story. Her presence will only be in this chapter and the next, so don't worry, Ginny's on her way.
The world was bleak. London was frozen over as winter plagued the dark streets. Icy wind terrorized the tattered brick streets and stuck to windows of solemn buildings. Snow came in sheets and it seemed as though the sun struggled to rise every morning. The people were a direct representation of the city. They passed by quickly and quietly like a whisper. Bundled up in dark heavy clothes trying desperately to protect themselves against the relentless freeze. It was cold, but warmth had not been forgotten. A lonely bar on a quiet street refused to forget warmth. Windows and heavy door blocked out the hellish weather. It was cozy inside . Quiet music played. A fire made shadows dance on the hardwood floors. A low murmur of conversation brought the inexplicable comfort of human relation. It was warm. It was beautiful.
The bar was the only establishment still open in the frozen town. While others had shut their doors at the icy winds, knowing that even the most daring of travelers would not leave their homes, the cozy bar stayed open, just in case any patron decided to wander in. The crowd was sparse, however. One man sat alone at a corner table, several empty glasses in front of him and an expression telling of a hard day. A group of several women sat in a booth on the other wall of the bar, all visibly annoyed by their surroundings yet unwilling to face the conditions outside. A single bartender stood at his station.
The warm atmosphere of the bar was sliced when the heavy wooden door flew open. A small flurry of snow dusted the floor as a howling of wind was heard, and two men walked through the door. The condition of the world outside was evident by the pile of snow easily seen in the black hair of one of the men. As the man closed the door behind him, he shook his hair out, and a faint lightning scar could be seen.
While this man took his jacket off and began to walk towards the bar seating, his companion, a taller, redheaded man, wiped the snow off his own hair and took off his jacket and scarf, all while muttering an exasperated "bloody hell". The tall, freckled, red-haired boy walked and sat down on a stool next to the dark-hair man. The latter removed glasses from his face, glasses that were peculiarly round and somewhat childlike, wiped them of the fog they had created, and placed them back on his face, shielding bright green eyes.
The group of women, who had turned around and watched the entrance of these two young men, were now speaking in rushed, quiet tones. The tired man in the corner had barely glanced up at the entrance of the patrons, but he could not help but hear some of the whispers of the women at the booth.
"A lightning scar? You're sure?"
"..and with the redhead boy! Did you see all his freckles?"
"It has to be…"
"Harry? Harry Potter?"
At the mention of the the name, the women all once again craned their necks to look at the black haired boy. He faced away from them in silence, towards the bartender and the stone wall behind him. The ginger man next to him, however, ordered two drinks. The outside world was no longer visible from the windows in the bar. All that was able to be seen was the darkness of a winter night and the occasional snow flurry. The bartender placed two glasses of firewhisky in front of the the men.
"The training hours are rubbish. How do they expect us to do our jobs right if we're barely getting sleep every night!"
The red-haired boy took a long swig of his drink and placed the glass back on the table. His dark-haired friend smiled slightly, took a sip of his own drink, and replied,
"At least we're getting paid for it now. We used to do this for free."
A year and a half ago, a 17 year old Harry Potter had faced a battle alongside his classmates on the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that put the reign of Voldemort to a final end. The story was now legend, and although he no longer attended his beloved school, adult wizards and students alike were captivated by his story.
While the women in the booth still occasionally flitted their eyes to the boys at the bar, they had, for the most part, gone back to their own business. The redheaded boy pulled up his sleeve to check his watch, which was worn, but still in working condition. He muttered to himself,
"Where is she? Said she'd be here by now…", and then, glancing at his friend beside him,
"You don't think she got stuck in the weather, do you? It's bloody freezing out there and she's all by herself…"
"Mate, I think she's proven by now that she can take care of herself."
Just as these words left Harry's mouth, the heavy wooden bar door swung open again, redusting the floor with snow. This time, however, a girl walked in, brown curly hair viewable from underneath a hat that did not do a very good job of shielding her head from the flurries outside. As she removed her hat she left a small trail behind her, and every bounce of her curls let out a new mini snowstorm.
"Could you have chosen a worse night to go out! I mean really!"
She chose a bar stool next to Ron and sat down exasperatedly.
"I can't believe I walked through that mess for you two...couldn't have just waited to meet in the morning…"
Her ranting, however, was interrupted by a kiss on the cheek by the readheaded boy. Before she could speak again, he told her he missed her, and Hermione was unable and unwilling to continue her chiding. Harry continued to sip on his firewhisky as Ron began talking to his girlfriend.
"Auror training is just mad, Hermione. They have us staying all night long reading reports and studying dark wizards, as if me and Harry don't have enough information on THAT for a lifetime, right Harry?"
Harry nodded, gave a small smile, and made a sound of agreement. Ron immediately returned their attention to his girlfriend, but Hermione's eyes lingered on Harry for a second longer, until Ron spoke to her again.
"It almost makes me want to go back to bloody school. I would rather write all the potions papers in the world than read another thousand year old report about some git that blew up some rocks with dark magic."
"Speaking as the only one of us who is still writing all dozens of school papers, you may want to watch what you wish for, Ronald. Being 2 years older than every other student and being gawked at every time I answer a question isn't exactly a dream..."
"Oy! I didn't tell you to go back to school after the war, you're the one who chose to finish seventh year even though you could've gotten any bloody job you asked for in the Ministry!"
"Education is important, Ron! How could I be trusted to run any Ministry going-on without finishing…"
As the two of them bickered on, the man with the glasses seemed to lose himself in thought, and it was clear that if not interrupted, he could do this for hours. The glazed over look on his face gave his features a stillness like glass, until it was shattered by his friend's voice.
"Oy! What're the chances!"
Once again the other patrons of the bar were drawn to the happenings of those near the door. However this time the attention of the women dwindled quickly, as the two women who entered the bar seemed nothing out of the ordinary; a tall blonde girl and a very pretty girl with long dark hair. They absentmindedly spoke to each other as they walked further into the bar, and their quiet conversing was only interrupted by a sudden hug the dark haired girl received from Hermione and the surprised yet excited greeting from the ginger man.
Harry reacted less readily, and when he turned around to see who his friends found so must pleasure in seeing, he too was taken aback by the slim chances of this run in. His apprehension grew the more he came to terms with the presence of the girl speaking to his best friends. If possible he felt an even greater wish to be in solitude than before she had arrived. He stayed seated on his barstool as his friends walked back over to their seat, and the dark haired girl followed. He only overheadrd snippets of their conversation, and through these pieces he heard the girl's name was Anna.
"Hello, Cho," Harry said politely, and as Hermione and Ron took their previous seats he faked a greeting smile in the direction of Anna. Cho sat on the stool next to Harry, and her cheeks, bright red from either the winter weather or from being slightly flustered from running into all her old friends, held a smile as she said hello back. The friend she had arrived with took the stool next to her.
The group sat and reminisced for quite some time. Hermione discussed how her final year at Hogwarts was going, Ron readily offered information about his and Harry's time at the Ministry so far, or, as much information as he could get out before Hermione would stop him with,
"Ronald! I'm sure you aren't supposed to be discussing matters like that…"
Cho told the group how after the war she spent time traveling and was now back in London to try and find a job. Enough time was spent at the bar that several empty glasses of fire whisky could be seen per person, and the group of gossipy women had gathered themselves and their bravery and left the establishment. As they opened the door to leave, the flurries outside were noticeable smaller. At the sight of this, and the obvious way Cho had been leaning into Harry all night, the Anna stood up to go home. She and Cho hugged and the rest said a polite goodbye, and she, too, was gone into the London night.
As the Hermione and Ron spoke to each other, Cho took this opportunity to lean over to Harry and as him something that may not had been thought about had they not spent the night drinking.
"Would you want to come back to my flat with me? It's dark out and we haven't spoken in so long, I'd love to catch up."
At this moment Harry did realize that he spent the majority of the night in silence. He immediately felt a pang of guilt, as she had chosen to sit next to him and he had been in his own world the entire time. This, combined with his own curiosity for what she had been up to since their last seeing of each other almost 2 years ago, and the sweet look on her face, Harry agreed.
The two of them stood up and gathered their coats and scarves. Hermione looked at them with a quizzical look on her face, while Ron smiled.
"We're, er, going to go back to Cho's. Ron, I'll be home later."
"Have fun, mate", Ron replied smugly.
Harry and Cho headed towards the door, and as he opened it the chill outside rushed inwards. The two of them then walked out, leaving the warmth of the bar behind.
