My own birthday was less than one week away and I really missed Patricia. I really missed rushing up to my room to change out of my school clothes and running across the street to her house so we could go for a ride. I stood at my window, which faces the street and saw Jaya standing out in front of Patricia's house. They were drawing on the front walkway with colored chalk. My heart dropped. I didn't want to still be hurt, but I was.

And that strange cat was sitting under our mailbox again. It wasn't grooming itself or laying down in the grass or looking for mice; it was just sitting there as if it was looking into our windows. Not just any window, my bedroom window. It was as if that cat was staring right at me; right through me.

The miserable, lonely days at school passed by achingly slow. I had never before regretted doing the months' worth of reading in advance so I would have a jump on the material. I had no one at all to talk to. I ate my lunch in the library, which wouldn't have normally been allowed but our school librarian knew how much I revered the library and I wouldn't dream of leaving a mess.

I really was a complete loser, not a single friend in the world, hiding in the library with my sandwich.

On the morning of my birthday (thankfully it was a Sunday), I slept in late until after 11.00. Even after I was awake, I pretended to still be asleep whenever Mum knocked on my door. Finally around 1.00 I decided I couldn't lay in my bed another minute. I got up and showered and put on fresh pyjamas. While it was still wet I dragged a comb through my hair, much more harshly than usual, and twisted it into a bun.

I went downstairs and saw Mum and Dad watching a television program. I flopped down onto the divan and pulled a blanket over myself. My parents cast worried glances at me but I pretended not to notice.

"Hermione? Shall we go for a walk, darling? It's a lovely day." Mum finally said sweetly.

"That's a wonderful idea!" Dad offered with a little extra enthusiasm. "Or we could go to the cinema, anything you want to see – it's your choice!"

I didn't respond verbally, just shrugged.

"What about some ice cream? Or cake? We'll go to any restaurant you choose, darling." Mum offered.

I lifted my head and rested my chin on the heel of my hand. I tried to smile. They were trying so hard to cheer me up but it just wasn't working.

"How about a cup of tea to start, Mum." I said softly. My voice came out in a squeak from disuse. Mum kissed my forehead when she started to make her way to the kitchen.

"Things have a way of working themselves out, sweetheart. The girls will come round, you'll see." She said.

"And if they don't, they aren't good friends and you're well shot of them." Dad said definitively. He was always rather protective of me; I knew it really upset him when I was sad.

While Mum fixed my tea, Dad put a film on the player that never failed to make me laugh. Halfway through it, I felt better but I remembered the last time I watched it was during a slumber party at Tasha's house. That damped my mood a bit but I tried not to show it.

I got to a point where I didn't have to force a smile anymore and Mum suggested I go change and we would go out to eat together. I nodded my head and went up to my bedroom to dress. I chose an autumn-weight brown dress with knee socks and black Mary-Janes. When I was dressed, I looked out my window towards Patricia's house, out of habit more than anything else. That black cat was sitting across the street looking right at me. I felt a shiver.

"It's just a cat, Hermione. It's not looking at you, it's just sitting there." I said to myself when I pulled the curtain shut.

When I came back down to the living room, there was a stack of presents on our coffee table almost taller than I was. Mum and Dad looked up and smiled at me.

"Happy Birthday, Hermione!" They said together. I sat on the sofa and they handed me box after box to open. The boxes were full of books and new clothes. After I'd opened my gifts, I hugged Mum and Dad and thanked them. New books always excited me, I sat back down and tucked a leg under myself while I organized my new books in the order I'd read them.

"There'll be time enough to do that later, Hermione. Let's get something to eat and get you some strawberry ice cream!" Mum said holding her hand out to me. I nodded and took her hand. Just before we were ready to leave, there was a knock at the front door.

My heart leapt. Patricia must have decided to be my friend after all! She'd told the other three to pound sand and she was here to apologize. I pictured the two of us sitting at the counter at the sweet shop giggling like the old days while we enjoyed ice cream sundaes. Mum read the expression on my face and smiled as she made room for me to run to the front door, completely ready to accept Patricia's apology.

You can't imagine my astonishment when I opened the door to find an older woman with silver hair slicked back into a severe bun, an even more severe expression pulled tightly on her face. Once the initial shock of seeing someone I didn't expect at the front door wore off, I looked down. She was wearing a long, flowing black robe. I cocked my head to the side and took a step back from the threshold.

I expected her voice to be quite harsh but the words she spoke surprised me more than the calm, even tone of her voice.

"Hermione Granger, I presume?" She said with a hint of a twinkle in her eye.