𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒪𝓃𝑒

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The Leaky Cauldron was in the final stretch for officially closing up for the night. Only one straggler sat finishing their drink, taking advantage of every second left until the official closing time.

Off in the corner was a couple checked into the Inn, one quietly reading as the other sat sipping at a drink. They were permitted to sit all night if they truly pleased so were of no concern to the only other soul occupying the space.

Tom, owner and bartender, watched the clock intently as he waited for when he could finally shoo off his last customer and leave for the night. Every tick of the clock dragging as he mindlessly rolled his wand under his hand atop the bar.

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

As the smallest hand on the clock hit twelve, the minute hand moved to eleven, signaling five minutes til nine. Five minutes until his wait was over.

By some stroke of luck, the straggler decided that then was the time to leave. Tom smiled an ugly one and gave a cheerful goodbye as the bell of the door rang out. The bald man cleaned the once-occupied space with a simple flick of his wand. Being as he was the owner after all, Tom went to leave from behind his bar and close up a few minutes early for the night.

But his cheerful smile dropped when he heard that distinctive ring of the bell call out into the silent room once more.

Checking the clock as he rounded out from the bar he took note of the time, calling out before he could yet get a look at the new arrival, "Only time for a quick drink, three minutes til closing…." Tom was about to make a quick suggestion, but words died on him when he finally looked at who he was speaking to.

He halted in his step at the sight of the young girl who stood only a few steps away from the door; his eyes lingered on the backpack slung over her shoulder… and the suitcase in hand.

"I'm here for a room at the Inn." Her tone was almost empty. And if it wasn't for the poor lighting masking her features, Tom was almost certain her expression would be just as empty.

Tom considered the girl. A quick assessment ran through his practiced mind. Being in his business he thought of himself well versed in people. So he took note of her accent… the states, far from local. He took note of her age… no older than 15. And he took note of the fact she was alone.

A runaway if he had to make a quick guess. But he had no business prying and no business judging.

Tom then considered the situation. The Inn's office was located elsewhere and handled primarily by his night shift worker at this time of night. He was young, 18, and far from the most upright of people… as much as Tom wanted to send the girl in front of him off… he felt it was only right he handled getting her settled.

So, quickly rushing to flip the sign and lock the door, Tom beckoned the girl to follow him, making small note of her intense stare down with the couple in the corner. Their prying eyes locked on her, and her unblinking eyes slowly disturbing them.

Leaving the bar through a door and down an almost cramped hallway, the two wordlessly made their trip to settle the teen's stay. Tom's nature was to make conversation with people, but he was lost on where a good point to start small talk was with the girl. So silence it was.

Tom's night shifter watched curiously as his boss led the teen girl into the room, and after the curiosity settled, Tom saw the interest in the younger man's eyes as he glanced at the girl. Finally, in a space with better lighting, Tom spared a look at her again, knowing immediately what had sparked the younger man's interest.

"Roger, go finish cleaning up the bar." The girl didn't even spare the man a glance as he slid past her to stalk off toward the direction they just came.

Tom hurried behind the desk, wanting to get the girl settled quickly so he could finally end his day. A few things ran through his mind as he considered just where to place the girl, and giving her one last glance, he nodded. He'd put her in one of the more expensive ones, far from the shadier types and close to the stairs, so then she was given a quicker walk—

"Can I get a room far from the stairs? All the movement will keep me up at night." Her voice wasn't nearly as empty, a hidden sort of demand laced in.

Tom adjusted without thought, grabbing the furthest he had. Turning back to her with a new thought in mind, something he had never thought of before,… discounting the room.

Lowering it to the price of the average ones to give the teen more leeway with whatever budget she had, "It will be 4 galleons a night, we can set up just a nightly pay, and the price can be flexible. How long will your stay be staying?" Tom rounded back around the desk to stand in front of the girl, looking at her as he held out the key.

He went unanswered as the girl dug around in her backpack, eventually pulling out a small pouch that jiggled with a sound Tom knew far too well. With the pouch in one hand, the girl waved her empty one, and amazingly… gold coins began flying to the desk in an orderly line.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Tom found himself at a loss for words. Hardly even noticing the girl taking the key from his hand. He only snapped back when she spoke, her voice having an effect that demands all listen, "I leave on the 1st, and that should cover my stay at your normal rate up until then. If I did the math wrong, let me know."

Then she adjusted her backpack, spun the key around in her hand, and took off towards the stairs. Waving her free hand once more… her suitcase lifting from the floor and following her out of Tom's sight.

Tom met lots of people in his lifetime. And with his job… all the different types he saw come and go… he thought himself rather good at spotting when someone special was staying in his Inn. And Tom retired to bed that night, certain that he had just met someone extraordinary.

But that was none of his business.

~~~~~~

It was a still night… quiet… odd when one considered that London was just beyond that thin pane of glass acting as a window. It was cloudless, the stars faint but visible… all one could ask for in the heart of a city. And the moon was bright, only filled halfway but just as eye-catching as when it was full.

The room was equally still… quiet… the only signs of life from the slow rise and fall of the sleeping girl's chest. She had fallen onto the bed dressed in her previous day's attire… her boots lay awkwardly in the middle of the room, thrown off in haste, no doubt. She slept so quietly… so intensely, that you almost had to wonder when she last slept at all. She was a peaceful sleeper, one of those people that just seem content when asleep… truly calm.

A still, quiet night.

Then the stillness broke… a twice of her fingers… and then… curiously, her breath seemed to catch…

Within seconds she shot her eyes open. A sharp intake of breath. Hands clenching at the covers. Body jolting up, preparing itself to jump, run… move. Her eyes hurriedly roamed the room, searching every shadow she saw for the dangers she had been pushed into a panic by. Struggling to regain her sense of safety in the unfamiliar space.

Eventually, she found it… well no. Perhaps she didn't find the safety, but she also failed to find a danger… so she could reel herself back in. Push away the panic. Lean back into the pillows. Release her hold on the covers. Steady her breathing. Close her eyes once more.

The still returned for several long seconds. The girl almost seeming to have fallen back into her deep sleep… but then a deep breath left her, and up she was. Starting her day much too early for the average person… but unable to really do much else.

Once on her feet, she took a moment to get her bearings. Rolling her shoulders, straightening out her back as she rolled her head in an attempt to ease a tightness in her neck. And one more deep breath in… and then deep breath out before she started moving her feet.

Making her way to her suitcase, which had been discarded beside the door, her voice called into the room with a question… "Which bricks do I tap to get to Diagon Alley?"

Despite seemingly being alone, the girl did in fact receive an answer… from the direction of the mirror above the dresser, "From the trashcan, three up and two across." It was a peppy voice, one in which you could tell the whole purpose of its existence was to answer the questions asked to seemingly the room itself.

The girl hummed in what was, more likely than not, unnecessary acknowledgment. Storing away the information for later as she set her suitcase on the floor to safely unzip it and search the contents within. Digging around for a moment, she slowly pulled together everything absolutely necessary for a morning routine. From the socks to the skin care, everything most definitely an essential.

And then off to the on-suite bathroom she was, her hand performing a wave vaguely similar to ones from the hours prior when checked into The Leaky Cauldron.

And as the door to the bathroom shut… the room came alive.

From the suitcase seemed to be an explosion of movement. Everything within flying through the air. But unlike an explosion, nothing seemed to land randomly. Tops neatly hung themselves on hangers within the wardrobe. Socks and bottoms were organized into their own separate drawers in the dresser. Shoes lined up neatly along the wall. A small collection of books partially blocked the mirror. A box was placed beside the books, opening to reveal the hidden jewelry.

The suitcase smartly moved beside the wardrobe, no longer a safety hazard that blocked the door.

The cheap, thin curtains flew apart to further show off the window it had been attempting to hide. Allowing more of the small amount of light from the night to settle into the room. The window opened a crack to quash the feel and smells that came from a lack of a fresh stream of air. The sounds of the city seemed to hum into the space, destroying the air of silence.

The room seemed to freshen up. Questionable stains vanish from sight, dust lifting off the empty spaces.

All within a matter of minutes, Room 37 seemed like a whole new place than it had a moment prior… and honestly looked the best it probably had in many, many years.

A moment after the bed had finished smoothing out the covers, the door to the bathroom reopened, and the girl returned to the spruced-up room. Throwing her old clothes into the empty space by the door, she busied her free hands by gathering her dark hair into a bundle, holding it together with the scrunchie around her wrist.

Glancing her outfit over quickly in the mirror, the girl approached the dresser. Pulling out items from her jewelry box… a necklace joining the one already around her neck, a ring going to her left pinky, a second ring discarded to her jacket pocket.

Looking herself over once more, the girl seemed to skillfully avoid making any real eye contact with herself in the reflection. Then she spun around, making a beeline for the backpack she left at the foot of her bed. Opening it up to begin the process of searching for and moving around more items.

Her money pouch hidden away in her jacket pocket. An odd looking key joining it a second later. A notebook thrown randomly onto the bed… and eventually, she pulled out an envelope.

The backpack was dropped back to the ground. Her mind locked onto the envelope as she pulled out the contents. Grabbing one of the papers, which looked vaguely like a list, she discarded both the envelope and the second paper onto the bed. Folding up the one of interest before tucking it away in her back pocket.

Climbing on the bed for a moment to reach a hand under the pillows, she pulled back away with a fancy stick in hand, it too tucked away in her back pocket and then hidden from sight by her jacket.

Then ready to go, she slipped on a pair of shoes before making her way out of what would be her makeshift home until September 1st.

Sitting on the bed were the envelope and letter. In plain sight and just daring…

Challenging anyone to read the letter signed by a man named Albus Dumbledore.

But that was no one's business.