Wow, two chapters in one day. I'm a bit on a roll. Thanks for bombarding my inbox you guys, I really appreciate it. Hope you guys like this chapter as much as you liked the first one. Don't forget to review! :o)
Love,
Adrien
Disclaimer: This is not my sandbox no matter how much I love playing in it. This sandbox and all its inhabitants belong to the lovely J. K. Rowling.
Chpt. 2: The First Letter
"Snuffles!" The young girl shrieks, laughter spilling from her lips and melting away the stress that had no business being on her young face. Sirius grins down at the young girl whose name he still didn't know, glad to make her happy even if it is just for a moment. Maybe he can stay with her until the school year starts, make sure she's alright until then. It's not like he knows where Harry is staying over the summer. "Just let me rinse you off and then we can be done buddy."
Tap. Tap. Tap. Hermione looks up at the window from the book she had settled down on her bed with, a grin stretching across her face as she quickly shuts her book and scrambles off her small twin sized bed. She flings the window open and a beautiful snowy owl flutters in, landing softly on Hermione's shoulder and giving her ear a loving nip once Hermione had taken the letter from her claws. "Hello to you too, beautiful." Hedwig coos gently, nuzzling her face into Hermione's cheek. "I'm surprised to see you so soon. Harry never writes this early."
Hermione's eyebrows pull together in concern as she makes her way back to the bed, sitting down close to the end where Snuffles was watching her first out of curiosity and then out of concern. Well, as much curiosity and concern a dog can show that is. Hermione carefully flips the letter open and takes a deep breath before opening it:
Dear Hermione,
I know I don't usually write you this early in the summer but I'm worried about you. Something didn't seem right when I saw you with your parents yesterday and I wanted to make sure that you were ok. You are ok right?
With Love,
Harry
P.S. Can you make sure to feed Hedwig when she gets to you? Uncle Vernon took anything edible I had (including her food) at the same time he took my trunk this year because apparently I drew too much attention to myself when they picked me up at the station. I'll probably be sending her to you a lot for food because you know Ron never feeds her when she goes over to his house. I hope that's ok, I promise I'll pay you back for all the owl food. Maybe I can buy Crookshanks some food when we go shopping in Diagon Alley with Ron?
A frown tugs at Hermione's lips as she sets the letter down on her bed and makes her way to her closet where she squats down and run her fingers along the bottom of the back wall until she finds the indent she is looking for. A small piece of walling pops out when she pries at the indent and she reaches into the small whole, pulling out a bag of feed before turning back to the two animals sitting on her bed. Hedwig doesn't look at all surprised by the small hole in her wall but Snuffles is staring at her in surprise.
"You have to be prepared for anything," she tells the dog, pouring a little bit of the feed into the seemingly decorative bowl on her nightstand before replacing both the bag and the piece of wall. "You two stay up here, I'm going to go downstairs and get some food to send over to Harry."
Hermione quickly makes her way down the stairs, glancing at the clock as she enters the kitchen. 5:01. Half an hour until her parents get home. Pulling open all the cabinets, Hermione starts pulling down things she can send to her best friend. Things that won't spoil within the first week. Crackers. Peanut butter. Canned chicken. Chips. Hermione shuts the cabinets, Hedwig won't be able to carry more than that, and makes her way back up the stairs. She pulls a spare sheet from the shelf at the top of her and sets it on her bed before placing all the food in the center of it. God, a box would have been so helpful to have. Grabbing a piece of parchment from her still half packed trunk, she quickly scrawls a letter to Harry.
Dear Harry,
Everything's fine. I promise, nothing out of the ordinary here.
I fed Hedwig like you asked but I'm also sending some food for you back with her. It's not much but I didn't want to overload your poor bird. I don't actually have Crookshanks anymore. He didn't like my Father at all so my parents told me he had to go. I did get a new dog though! His name is Snuffles and he's a big sweetheart, I'm sure you'll like him.
Write back soon.
With Love,
Hermione
A sigh escapes Hermione's lips as she folds up the letter and places it on top of the small stack of food. She didn't exactly lie… This was normal for her and Crookshanks had hated her father. The cat had attacked him as soon as Hermione had let him out of his carrier and her father had thrown the cat across the room, killing him almost as soon as his small body had hit the wall… She really did hate keeping things from Harry though. Hermione ties the ends of the sheet together and holds the small parcel out for Hedwig to take. "Come on, girl. We've got to have you away from here before my parents get home."
The bird swoops by Hermione's head, nipping her ear gently and brushing her cheek softly before grabbing the small parcel in her claws and exiting the room.
Not even ten minutes later a car door slams outside and Hermione is ushering her new pet into her closet. "No matter what you hear, boy, you have to be quiet," she whispers, flinching slightly as the front door slams, before shutting her closet doors.
"HERMIONE!" The voice booms through the entire house as Hermione exits her bedroom, squaring her shoulders.
Sirius fights the urge to cover his ears as the man, mostly his new friend's father, continues to yell at Hermione: "WHY WEREN'T YOU HERE TO HELP ME WHEN I WALKED THROUGH THE DOOR?!" A crack pierces the air and Sirius tries to push his way out of the closet on instinct, not caring that she had told him to be quiet no matter what he heard. No one had the right to hit that sweet girl.