I really wasn't alone at breakfast, Neville came a few minutes later and looking rather sleepy but he came.
It was a really nice breakfast and I wondered if all meals were like that when you weren't alone.
The week passed quickly and almost always Neville and I ate together.
The anticipation of Herbology with Neville had such a positive effect on me that Potions next to Malfoy was still not fun but at least bearable.
I had simply ignored him for the whole lesson and just worked on the potion as Professor Slughorn explained it.
Saturday morning I sat alone at breakfast, the first breakfast I'd had alone since Tuesday.
I was almost a little sad, but Neville had other friends, unlike me.
But at least I was able to read again, which I had done comparatively seldom in the past week.
The weather was okay today, the sun was shining but the strong wind made it quite cool.
Yesterday I had already decided to explore the Hogwarts grounds a little.
Mainly to go down to the lake, so I was glad that the weather was so good.
Armed with my rain coat against a change in the weather, I made my way to the Black Lake.
The wind was stronger than expected and after a short while some of my black curly hair had come out of my messy bun and was blowing in my face.
At the bottom of the lake I stopped and closed my eyes.
It was just quiet, only the wind and the waves on the lake could be heard.
A few leaves rustled in the wind and let it glide over the expanse.
This was really a beautiful place, I thought as I opened my eyes again.
A few steps further I found some stones which I skipped over the water.
At least I tried. My uncle had taught me as a child, but today my best stone only managed two bounces.
My fingers were cold so I put them back into my jacket pockets which I had equipped with a warming spell.
Again I praised myself for this clever idea and strolled on.
What kind of creatures live in the depths of this lake? , I asked myself as I looked at the rough surface.
I should ask Grandpa that in my letter, he probably knew each of them personally.
Raindrops fell on the lake and I cursed the British weather.
Couldn't it just stop raining for two hours?
With my hood on, I made my way back, hoping not to get quite so wet.
As I climbed the stairs to the castle, I spotted the Quiddich field to my left, which I hadn't noticed on the way there.
Contrary to expectations, someone was flying there, despite the rainy weather.
Not all of us are as afraid of water as you are, I thought and watched in awe as the flyer made circles on his broom, flew quickly from one side to the other, braked abruptly, and then flew towards the ground in a nosedive.
Shortly before he turned and pulled the broom back into the air.
I hated it when I had no solid ground under my feet and one reason for that had been the broom flying lessons in my first year at school.
After that, I never set foot near one again.
But my fear of flying did not prevent me from being completely fascinated by it.
To defy the laws of nature and fly freely through the air, wherever the wind took you.
I would give a lot to be so free, but no one would ever get me on a broom again.
The rain got heavier and I tore my eyes away from the spectacle and hurried back to the castle.
I wasn't in the dry for five minutes when the clouds broke and rain poured down on the landscape like I had rarely seen at home.
Then my day would probably continue in the library
I had to return a few books and then I would sit down in one of the armchairs with a novel and read.
That was the plan, but when I arrived the chairs were all taken and I had to sit down at one of the tables.
Then I will write the letter to Grandpa now, and maybe there will be a free chair then.
Half an hour later the letter was written but the chairs were still occupied.
I rummaged in my pocket and pulled out the map.
Hogwarts had its own Owlery, Min had said, so if I found it I could take the letter away myself and wouldn't have to give it to Min. And like that I would spare a few Minute of wait and then hopefully get a seat.
The Owlery was in a tower on the Hogwarts grounds, so I would have to go through the rain again, but as I didn't expect the rain to get any better any time soon, I set off.
Stowing the letter dry in my bag, I stepped out into the rain a few minutes later.
I hurried up the steps to the tower.
When I reached the top, wet, I regretted my decision not to wait.
At least I had my rain coat on.
The owlery was bigger than I had expected and swarmed with owls of all different forms and sizes.
"You can use the owls on the left, they can go the long way", Min's words echoed in my head and I turned in the appropriate direction.
A large brown owl tilted its head as I approached it.
I held my empty hands in front of his beak so he could see I was no threat to him and as he visibly relaxed I slid my fingers through the feathers on his back.
"You are a really handsome one.
Would you like to take this letter to my grandpa in Portland?
I know it's a long trip but my grandpa has the best owl snacks on the whole east coast, he'll be sure to give you lots of them if you deliver the letter unharmed."
The owl made a sound that could only be translated as agreement.
I carefully tied the letter to one of his legs, stroked his feathers once more and he took off.
I looked after him but quickly lost him in the rain.
"You're talking to owls now too, Harper?
It's getting ridiculous don't you think?"
I wheeled around.
Malfoy was standing a few feet behind me, quite unlike me he was completely dry and had a nasty grin on his face.
He seemed to be alone and although Neville said he wouldn't be so dangerous on his own I was now clearly more afraid of him because now there was no one there to stop him.
I still tried to stay calm and not let on how scared I was by his presence.
"Now you've lost your tongue, haven't you?
You're not so brave when no one's watching," he sneered after I hadn't given him an answer to his question.
And I would not answer this one either but simply walk past him back into the castle.
Slowly I walked in his direction and carefully passed him without losing eye contact.
Just before I was completely past him, he grabbed my wrist.
"Stay here Harper, you and I have some unfinished business," he hissed sharply, tightening his grip on my wrist.
"I don't think we have Malfoy and now let go of my arm" I hissed back, amazed at how forceful I sounded.
My wand was in the pocket of my coat and I would use it when he pulled his.
"Voice recovered mudblood?
You bet we need to sort something out."
He grabbed my second wrist energetically and my chances of being able to use my wand dwindled but now he didn't have a free hand to pull his either.
I stared at him and hoped that maybe I could kill with glances, because that would be quite helpful now.
"Your big mouth gets you into a lot of trouble, Harper.
Be glad that McGonnagal is breathing down my neck, otherwise you wouldn't have got off so lightly the last few times.
Even now I can't do to you what I really want to do.
So if you don't want to risk me forgetting myself and shooting an unforgivable curse at you, then you'll keep your mouth shut from now on."
Cursing okay, but an unforgivable?
Who did he think he was?
"And what if I don't?" I replied bitingly.
He must have expected a different reaction, because his features slipped for a brief moment.
"Then..." he thought for a moment but I beat him to it.
"Then you curse me, in front of your friends, so that everyone can see how powerful you are?
Attacking a defenseless little Hufflepuff? That doesn't look as powerful as you think it does.
If you're going to curse someone, curse someone as powerfull as you.
Oh no, cursing a first year, I'm sure Professor McGonnagal wouldn't like that.
It's a pity really, I would have liked to watch such a fight on equal terms".
That had exactly the reaction I wanted.
He let go of my hands to grab his wand and I did the same.
In a split second we were standing in front of each other with our wands drawn and glaring at each other.
But before either of us could throw a spell at the other, the door to the Owlery slammed and Malfoy quickly lowered his wand.
But it was only a couple who stumbled into the tower, completely wet and giggling.
I took my chance and sprinted past them into the rain.
I quickly changed into my Animagus form and jumped onto the banister.
Not ten seconds later the door of the Owlery banged again and I was sure it was Malfoy, but I didn't turn around but kept running down the banister.
"What, where did that mudblood go?
She can't vanish into thin air" Malfoy cursed loudly behind me.
Not vanish into thin air Malfoy, just use her advantages.
If I could have laughed, I would have, but cats didn't, so I pulled myself together.
I heard him run up and down a few times and finally he ran past me towards the castle still swearing but now also dripping wet.
Underestimated me, didn't you Malfoy?
Don't worry, it happens to the best of us.
Still disguised as a cat, I now sprinted back through the rain to the castle.
Grandma would be proud of me for standing up to Malfoy, I thought.
She had taught me early on how to defend myself. As a child, I had always been the smallest everywhere and therefore always physically inferior.
If someone was to get in my way, I had to learn to use my not yet fully developed magic. I also knew a bit about No-Maj martial arts, but what Grandma liked best was when I defended myself with words.
She quickly realised that my mouth got me into trouble more often than it protected me from it, but as she had just proved again, it worked brilliantly.
A little out of breath and dripping wet, I arrived at the castle.
In a corner where I was sure no one saw me, I changed back and dried myself and my clothes with a spell.
Actually, my plan was to read a little in the library, but now I was so agitated that I decided to just sit in my room for a while.
When I came into the flat the lights were on and I wondered if I had forgotten to turn them off when I left, but then I saw Min sitting on the sofa reading.
"Not in the office at all today?", I asked her, because in my last two weeks here I had hardly seen her as she was just working.
"Obviously not."
She put her book on the side and stood up.
She looked at me sceptically over the rim of her glasses for a moment and then abruptly took me in her arms.
Taken aback, I stood rooted to the spot and instinctively held my breath.
My whole body stiffened and I no longer understood anything.
Min had never been the physical type, even as a child she had rarely taken me in her arms and now she just hugged me for no reason at all.
Something must have happened, it occurred to me.
It was the only logical explanation.
Grandpa, I thought fearfully, please not him too.
Carefully I released myself from Min's arms and looked at her fearfully.
"What happened?", I asked in a trembling voice.
I braced myself for the worst, for having lost my grandfather too and not even having been with him, and immediately my fear gave way to guilt.
"Is Grandpa okay?", I asked my question more precisely when I got no answer.
Min held me by my upper arms and looked deep into my eyes.
It was always hard to read her eyes, but now I saw the concern in her gaze and I struggled not to cry.
"He's fine under the circumstances," she finally broke her silence.
"He was careless and took a knock from an erumpet. He was unconscious for a short time, but by the time Pierre found him he was sitting up.
He apparated with him to the hospital, he will stay there overnight for observation but Pierre says he doesn't want to stay because he is fine."
Now I could no longer hold back my tears and they ran down my cheeks.
"He really does have a thick head," I laughed,
"But of course he doesn't want to stay in hospital, that's just Grandpa."
The tears that ran down my cheeks were no longer of sadness but of happiness and relief.
Grandpa had often been injured in his work, but never seriously.
Now Min smiled at me too.
"Yes, I guess he does. Your father and you inherited it from him."
Again she took me in her arms and gave me a kiss on the top of my head.
This time I didn't stiffen but simply enjoyed the embrace, the closeness that came with it and the smell of Min's citrus perfume.
For a few minutes we just stood there, enjoying each other's presence, for those moments when we didn't tease each other were rare.
"We could have dinner together up here tonight," she said softly at one point and we disengaged from each other.
I nodded in agreement and turned towards my room.
I had just opened the door when Min spoke to me again.
"I love you Daisy even if you don't believe me. I'm really glad you're here. "
I turned to her again and smiled.
"I love you too Min," I closed the door behind me.
