Chapter 112

"Hick!" Juni shouted, waving her hand out the back door at her husband, a letter in her hand. "We got a letter from Hermione!"

Hickory grinned and shook his head, holding up his hand to signal that he'd heard her, and finished putting away the tack and supplies from the day's chores taking care of the horses with Juni. She'd gone into the house earlier, to clean up and make lunch for them while he finished getting the horses out to pasture for the afternoon.

Juni went inside and sat at the table, opening the letter and began to read.

24 February 1995

Dear Hick and Juni,

I'm writing to say that Harry took second place in the second task. He and the other champions had to rescue us from the bottom of the Black Lake! He would have taken first place if he had just rescued Ron like he was supposed to... you see, Ron was Harry's treasure, I was Viktor's and then Cho was Cedric's and Fleur Delacour was supposed to rescue her sister. Fleur didn't make it past the Grindlows though, and dropped out.

I wrote to Oliver before the task, and I'm waiting to hear back, but in my letter to him, I said that I hoped that he wouldn't be disappointed in me. The thing is, with all the stress from the tournament, I think it would be a good idea to put the Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare on hold for a while. At least until things settle down. You see, we didn't know that we were going to be a part of the tournament until the last minute, and that added to the stress and worry that was already keeping me up. I hope you're not disappointed in me either.

Hermione

"So," Hick said coming in the door and causing Juni to jump. "What's she have to say? Sorry, sweetheart," he apologized, rubbing her back.

"Its okay," Juni replied. "I was just involved in her letter... I read it more than once trying to understand something."

"What's that?" Hick asked.

"Well, she says that they didn't know until the last minute that they were going to be involved in the task–her and Ron, Cho and that French girl's sister. Do you think they got parent permission?"

"Let me see," Hick said and Juniper handed him the letter, allowing him to read it. "Probably not," he said after a moment and sighed. "The Ministry doesn't always follow their own rules, though there aren't many in the Wizarding public that pay attention to that. They always wanted to make things 'more challenging' for the champions and more exciting for the spectators, but all they really meant was more dangerous."

Suddenly an alarm sounded and Hick and Juni looked at each other in surprise, then rushed into the den where the fireplace was located, just in time for it to ignite with green flames.

"Oh, Oliver!" Juni cried when her son stepped through the green flames into the den. "We weren't expecting you!"

"Hi Mum, Dad," Oliver greeted them with a smile.

"What brings you home, son?" Hick asked, patting him on the shoulder as Juni hugged him.

Oliver blushed, and it was a moment before he answered as Juniper looked at him curiously.

"A-actually," he replied. "It's Beaky."

"Beaky?" Juniper asked, blinking at him in surprise. "But I thought you outgrew him."

"Yeah," Oliver said with a laugh. "I did," he confirmed. "But I got this letter from Hermione, see?" Oliver continued with embarrassment. "She wants me to send her something. My teammate, Greene thought that Beaky would be perfect."

Hickory arched an enquiring brow and then chuckled loudly as Juniper looked at Oliver in confusion.

"He um," Oliver said flushing. "He hasn't been washed since I brought him home, has he?"

"No," Juniper answered. "At least I haven't washed him... Last I checked he was in your room."

"Oh, good!" Oliver said in relief. "I think he'll be perfect then."

"Oliver, what's all this about?" Juni asked in confusion, but Oliver just smiled and headed off to his room.

"Come on, Juni," Hickory said softly. "Asking if Beaky's been washed, saying it for Hermione... well, not exactly," he said after a moment, and chuckled again.

It wasn't long before Oliver was back, meeting his parents in the kitchen, Beaky tucked under his arm.

"Now," Juniper said. "Would you tell us what all this is about?"

Oliver blushed again, and avoided their gaze as he sat at the counter in one of the bar stools, fidgeting.

"Oh, um, yeah," he said and reached up, rubbing the back of his neck. "I got a letter from Hermione. She's having trouble sleeping with all the stress from the tournament..."

"Yes, she mentioned that in the letter to us that we got today," Juniper confirmed.

"Well, um," Oliver said and turned an even brighter pink. "S-she asked me to send her something..." he paused and swallowed. "Somethingwithmyscent," he said in a rush, avoiding their gaze again, leaving Hickory and Juniper to blink at him.

Suddenly, Hickory's booming laughter filled the air, and Oliver was glad that he was sitting on the bar stool when his father's boisterous energy nearly dislodged him from his perch and threatened to knock the wind out of him as his father clapped him on the back several times as he laughed.

"Anyway," Oliver said and cleared his throat when his father stopped his movement, and Oliver met their gaze. "Greene thought it might be best to make her a care package... Maybe that would give you a chance to make some cookies or something?"

"Well," Juniper said. "That's a good idea... It would give me a chance to make something on my own. Just make sure you write to her too..."

"What do you mean?" Oliver asked.

"In our letter she expressed some uneasiness about how we'd feel if she didn't do anything with that club of hers," Juniper answered. "Apparently the poor girl's worried that we'd all be disappointed in her. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. We understand if things are too hectic with the tournament."

"Oh, yeah," Oliver said. "Hermione was worried I'd be disappointed as well."

"Then you should write and tell her that everything's okay, and we'll do the same," Juniper said. "They can be included in the care package, and I'm up for making cookies if you've got time to help," she asked, arching a brow in question.

Oliver nodded with a grin.

Hermione blinked in surprise the next morning when Red appeared with the other owls delivering the post. She wasn't surprised at seeing him particularly, she was expecting a reply from Hick and Juni in regard to the letter she'd sent them, but she was not expecting him to arrive clutching a small box.

He dropped it in her lap, avoiding making a mess of her breakfast dishes and circled to find a place to land as she quickly moved some of the dishes out of the way.

"Hello Red," she greeted him and gave him some of her bacon as a treat. "What have you brought me this time?"

She picked up the box and looked at it noticing the note stuck to the outside. Taking that first, she opened the envelope and unfolded the parchment.

26 February 1995

Hello Hermione, dear,

Thank you for letting us know about the tournament. Not everything was covered in the article from the Prophet. Not surprising though. They are much like Muggle newspapers in that they sensationalize certain things, and you hardly get any of the story on others. For instance, we didn't know that there were students that were used as part of the second task. Did the Ministry and Hogwarts get permission from your parents? Oh, you probably don't know anyway... sorry dear, I just worry about things like this and Hick is convinced that they probably didn't.

Anyway, we wanted to let you know that its okay to take care of yourself in stressful times like this tournament and the Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare is your club dear, you can do what you like with it. We're not disappointed in you for taking a break or even changing your mind. You don't have anything to worry about. We just want you to be happy. It sounds like you've not been able to get the rest you need in a time of stress. We just want you to take care of yourself and do what you need to do. We're glad you're safe and that everyone is doing well.

Hick and Juni

PS. The box is charmed so that Red could carry it with ease. You'll need to return it to its original size to get everything. Hope you enjoy it. Oliver came home and helped make the cookies for it yesterday.

Hermione turned the box over in her hands and noticed another envelope stuck to it. Pulling that one off she opened it and read:

Hello Kitty cat,

I hope you don't mind, but I'm not going to date this one since my mum dated hers and they were sent in the same package. Also, I wanted to let you know that I'm not disappointed in you for not doing more with your club, especially since you wanted Harry and Ron to be a part of it and Harry's under a lot of pressure with the tournament.

I also wanted to let you know that Zach read your letters–but only because I asked him to... I just didn't know what to send you or how to respond. He suggested a care package for you and I thought mum could help with that so I went home yesterday to help make it–after practice of course.

Boy it sure surprised mum... da to, I think... I forgot about the alarm they had on the Floo... I think I set it off because they weren't expecting me. *blush* Anyway, I have included some things for you like you asked. I hope you enjoy them and that they help.

Oliver

Hermione folded the letter and stuck it in her bag before looking thoughtfully at the box, wondering how big it would be when she resized it. Deciding not to open it there, she tucked it in her bag as well before pulling out a quill, ink and parchment since Red seemed to be waiting for a response.

27 February 1995

Dear Hick and Juni,

Thank you for the care package. I look forward to the cookies and whatever other goodies I find in there. Honestly, I haven't opened it yet but will when I get back to my dorm.

I also wanted to thank you for understanding about the club, and I'm glad you're not disappointed that I'm putting it on the back burner for a while. It has just been so stressful this year with helping Harry and the tournament.

I will write again soon.

Hermione

She dried the parchment and folded it, holding it out to Red.

"Here you go," she said giving him a smile. "Don't worry, I didn't forget Oliver, but I don't have time to write just now. I'll have to do it later. This is for Hick and Juni though."

Red bobbed his head and then flapped his wings as he grasped the letter in his claws and took to the air.