The sound of the kettle whistling woke her up first, followed by the light sounds of laughter and small voices. Extracting herself carefully from the bed beside her sleeping husband, Jean Granger went out into the hall to check on Hermione.
As expected, her daughter's room was empty. She was probably too excited to sleep and had gone down stairs to make a cup of tea. Shaking her head fondly, Jean headed down the staircase listening as she went.
A muffled voice came through the door of the living room followed by Hermione's loud laughter. Frowning slightly she approached the door.
"Hermione? Is that you sweetheart?"
There was silence for a beat, and then the unmistakable sound of a mug smashing. It echoed strangely as she opened the door. Hermione was standing there looking sheepish, shuffling slightly on her feet.
"Hey Mum…I couldn't sleep…so I uh, made a cup of tea…" She finished lamely whilst avoiding her mothers eyes.
It didn't take long for Jean to notice the second cup of tea sitting across from where her daughter was standing. Hermione had followed her gaze and also noticed the other cup of tea. The girls eyes darted quickly across the other coffee tables, a small frown on her face. She turned back to her mother with a very serious expression on her face.
"That's Dobby's tea."
"Dobby…?"
"Yes. Dobby the house elf, he came to make sure I had everything ready before I went to school tomorrow." She nodded sagely.
Laughing lightly, Jean grabbed the dustpan and brush and began clearing up Hermione's smashed cup. "Well I am sorry to have disturbed the pair of you. Come on sweetheart, let's get you back to bed." Picking up 'Dobby's' mug and placing it into the sink, Jean noticed that it was only half full.
Hermione explained that this was because Dobby was only small and she didn't want him to feel obligated to try and drink a full one.
The whole way back to her room, Hermione explained about house elves and how they could use special magic. And how Dobby was her friend and how he belonged to a family of witches and wizards.
She was still chattering when Jean tucked her into bed and kissed her head. "Now Hermione, you can tell me more about Dobby in the morning. Time to sleep, big day tomorrow."
"But muuum..."
"No bottoms Hermione!" That got a giggle. "Go to sleep, I'll see you bright and early tomorrow. Love you Sweetie."
"Love you too, mum."
Closing the door quietly, Jean headed back to her own room. Sliding back into bed, she began thinking about the interaction with her daughter. If she didn't know better - which she might actually not in this instance - she would have thought Hermione did have a house elf round for tea. Smiling to herself she settled back down to sleep.
Magic…There was a lot she was going to have to learn.