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About Time

May 2004

He grabbed the second pillow and held it in his arms, closing his eyes and trying to sleep. A strong gust of wind rattled the window and a cool draft swept over his face. Grumbling, he flung himself over to face the wall. The slight parting of his eyelids reminded him of the empty half of his bed. He opened his eyes fully and sighed.

It had only been a matter of days. It wasn't as though she'd been there for weeks and months and years. No. Just a few days.

And he thought he just might go crazy sleeping alone.

Sitting up, he placed his feet on the chilly floor and quickly sought out his slippers. Finding them and his dressing gown, he made his way to the living room. He was greeted by a soft coo from the cage in the corner. The snowy owl blinked amber eyes at him and he smiled with a slight wave.

"Hey, Hedwig," he whispered, stepping to the cage, opening it and stroking her head.

A loud tapping sounded at the window, startling the bird and himself. Hedwig looked rather indignantly at the tawny barn owl on the outer ledge and stood straight while he went to let the other fowl in.

"Who are you?" he inquired quietly, removing the roll of parchment from it's leg. Without even opening it, he knew from the fragrance wafting from it who it was from. "Budge up, Hedwig," he commanded, motioning for the barn owl to join her in the cage. Hedwig stood firm, somewhat blocking the entrance. The man quirked an eyebrow at her. "This is rather important to me and he needs to wait for my reply … Unless you're up to making the flight?"

The white owl bristled and stepped aside, letting the other owl perch beside her and drink from her water.

Smiling, he leaned against the window sill and smiled and began to read. It was short but it was more than enough.

Neville,

Sweet dreams.

With Love, Luna

PS. Ginny tells me Harry's coming to Hogsmeade this weekend …

Spying a pillow on the end of the couch, he sat down and reclined. His head had hardly the pillow before he sat upright and grabbed it up. He inhaled deeply.

Strawberries.

Fluffing it carefully and laying down, he read the short letter again. He was feeling very drowsy suddenly, and as he slipped into slumber, he could have sworn he heard music; someone singing.
Stumbling out of bed the next morning, Harry noticed Neville's open door and wondered briefly where he'd gotten to, as he never worked Mondays. He went about fixing himself a cup of tea, and an extra for Neville is he turned up and went to sit at the breakfast table.

"Morning, Hed…" Harry began, but when his eyes landed on the tawny barn owl in the cage instead of his own snowy white one, he stopped and quirked an eyebrow. Hedwig fluttered in through the window and dropped a mouse at the other bird's feet, feasting on one for herself beside him. Harry frowned, but soon noticed the sleeping form on the sofa.

Moving toward his friend, he spotted a curled scrap of parchment on the floor beside the couch. He cocked his head a bit to read the handwriting and smiled. Harry picked the letter from off the floor and placed it lightly on Neville's chest.

"It's about time, Nebble," he whispered, walking back to his tea.