Weekend at the Granger's
Written by K-Chan
Chapter 1: Hermione's Owl
"Say the magic word."
The whole table lurched unpleasantly as Uncle Vernon leapt to his feet. Harry gazed up at him with a slight look of confusion, then struggled to redeem himself.
"No! Wait! I meant 'please'! Dudley asked for the potatoes, I was only trying to be..." Harry sputtered.
He never got to finish his sentence, or his meal for that matter. Uncle Vernon always had the final say, and as Harry found himself on his butt in the hallway, he could hear his uncle hollering,
"WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT USING THAT... THAT... WORD IN MY HOUSE!?! GO! ROOM! STAY!
Sitting up, Harry pushed his round glasses back into a comfortable position. Silently mimicking his large relative, he got to his feet and trudged up the stairs. Harry paused half-way up to examine himself in the mirror. A tall thin boy of about 16 looked back at him. Harry ran a quick hand through his jet-black hair. Darn, he thought, it was getting long again. Time for another haircut.
As he reached the end of the hallway, Harry heard a loud screech. He smiled and opened the door to find Hedwig perched on his bed. Shutting the door behind him, Harry greeted the snowy owl,
"Hey, girl. Did you have a good hunt?"
Hedwig clucked her beak in a proud manner and dropped a letter into his lap. Surprised that he hadn't noticed it before, Harry tore open the envelope and immediately recognized Hermione's tidy handwriting.
"Dear Harry, How has your summer been so far? I hope your uncle isn't giving you too much trouble."
Hah, Harry thought. He could handle whatever that old git dished out. Suddenly, his stomach rumbled deeply. Ignoring the pains, Harry frowned and went back to the letter.
"He looked most unpleasant the last time I saw him. Anyway, the reason I wrote you this letter. My parents gave me permission to invite some friends over before school starts, and I was wondering if you'd like to come. Lavender and Parvati already said okay, and I'm still awaiting Ron's owl. Please send your reply with Hedwig as soon as possible, my parents want to know how much food to buy. I hope you can come. Love from Hermione."
Taped to the bottom of the letter was a Hershey Kiss. Harry smiled. Unsticking the Kiss, he plopped onto his bed. Laying on his stomach, Harry popped the bit of chocolate into his mouth and stared out the window into the night sky.