EDIT 12.5.'15: This story placed second in the competition it was written for. Congrats to the winner! [who happens to be a teammate! Check out her story: Schloooooop by whitetiger91]
Two Hoots
"I can't find her, Mummy!"
Thwack.
"Ow! Jamie hit me!"
"Lily's being a twit!"
"Jamie! Language!"
"I think I found—oh…"
"Al touched the poo! Al touched the poo!"
"It was by accident!"
"Kids! Daddy needs to send that letter—look harder."
"Al touched the poo—"
Thwack.
"Ow, Lily hit me!"
"Remenge!"
"It's revenge, you dope."
"Language, James!"
"I'm gonna look outside!"
"Jamie, you and Lily go check the attic."
"The attic?"
"Scared, are you?"
"…not."
"Then, let's go!"
"Really, those three…"
She peeks out from behind the drapes, staring at the lady of the house as she lounges on the sofa. So much for looking harder. She peers out the window and sees the smaller boy racing his toy broom around the garden. Yes, fine job he's doing. After a time, the other two burst into the living room. Hearing the commotion, the boy outside hides his broom and rushes back in.
Does this lot actually want to find her?
"She's not in the attic," the girl declares, sounding teary.
"She's not in any of the rooms, either," the boy adds.
"Not in the garden!" the other boy gasps.
"Oh, where could she have gone? Your dad's going to be home any minute—"
There's a whoosh, and a familiar voice greets his family. She ruffles her wings. He's home.
"Daddy!"
"Did you get us sweets?"
"Should we tell him?" the boy whispers.
"Wait, let me handle it," his mother whispers back. "Harry, sweetheart, have you sent that letter yet?"
"Oh, no, I haven't."
There's silence in the room, and she reckons he's looking for her. She cocks her head, listening intently.
"Where's Hedwig Jr?"
Aha.
There's a lot of blabbering as the wife and children try to cover up their inadequacies in finding her. She fluffs her feathers, awaiting the moment where she can fly out and greet him.
"Did you look for her?"
"Yes, we did, but she's nowhere to be found."
Lies. She's been perched on the windowsill for ages, now, and none of them even had half a mind to pull open the curtains.
"Did you check behind the drapes? She's usually there."
She hops from one foot to the other, waiting, and the drapes are pulled apart to reveal his smiling face.
"Hedwig, there you are."
She hoots softly and flies onto his shoulder, nipping his ear affectionately.
"Doing good? Ready to take a letter for me?" He grins, a knowing glint in his eyes.
She blinks innocently and cocks her head, hooting twice in affirmation. He chuckles and pets her, making her warble with satisfaction. She gingerly takes the letter from his hand, and with an affectionate nudge, takes off.
As she flies out the window, she hears him admonish his family, and she can't help but feel smug. None of them understand her like he does. He's her master, after all. Just like she's his pet.
A/n: Written for the extra competition hosted by QLFC in the second issue of The Daily Prophet, A little bit of deja vu, where we had to choose a prompt for a position different from ours, from any of the rounds from any of the 3 seasons, and write a 500 word story using said prompt.
I chose Round 1, Family Roles, of Season 2: "The focus this time is family roles, so your job is to pick a person who falls into the role given in your position and focus on that character in that role. For example, if your role is "great aunt", you can write about Muriel being a great aunt to whoever she would be a great aunt to, or someone looking at her as a great aunt."
Position: SEEKER: family role: pet [Original position: Keeper for the Falmouth Falcons.]
Word count: 484