𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐌𝐘 - 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫

two | hogwarts

-TWO-

Sunlight streamed through her thin grey curtains, their golden rays falling across her eyes in a sharp strip, waking her up from her delicious slumber. On her side lay Lilith the Kneazle, snoring away rather deafeningly. She mumbled to herself, "For such a tiny thing, you do make an awful lot of noise."

She slid out of bed, her bare feet soundless against the polished wooden floors of the house. She stepped into the shower, bathing and cleansing herself till her father knocked on the bathroom door, saying, "Lida my love, it's nearly 8 o' clock and it takes quite a bit of time to get everything sorted and ready till we leave for King's Cross."

"Coming in a minute, Papa!" She replied, towelling herself dry. She stepped out, smelling distinctly of chocolate and mint.

"Now, pack the last of your things in the trunk, and I'll be waiting for you downstairs with breakfast." Remus smiled. he exited her room, and she began to calmly and neatly put in her things, not forgetting her box of writing material, notebooks, diaries, and ink pots (bewitched by her father to prevent any spillage).

Lilith woke up only when Khalida poked her gently, asking her in a soft voice to get off the bed so that the girl could make it properly. The kneazle meowed in annoyance, but nevertheless moved onto the top of Khalida's brown trunk and continued her deep slumber there.

Once she'd packed nearly half the room, the girl nodded to herself and sighed softly as she nudged her kneazle off the trunk, waking it up yet again with an indignant sound.

She dragged her trunk down the carpeted wooden steps, the loud thumping of it hitting each elevation audible probably for miles around. She tripped over the last step and came crashing down, landing on the floor as her trunk landed on her back, nearly knocking every last bit of breath she had out her lungs.

Remus simply chuckled to himself and sipped his tea, ignoring the momentary quake of the house and struggled to maintain his composure as his daughter called out, "I'm okay, don't worry! No broken bones!"

As she entered the dining room, Remus laughed, "If this house wasn't almost completely carpeted, I'd say you'd have broken all your bones once atleast by now."

The girl rolled her eyes, laughing a little as she said, "Oh you underestimate me, Papa. I've broken my left arm three times and my right ankle twice. So honestly, I'd say I've exceeded your expectations."

His eyes went wide as he replied, "And I do hope you don't aspire to exceed my expectations any further."

Khalida simply hummed abruptly in reply and ate the toast Remus had made for her.

--Time Skip--

The pair arrived at King's Cross station, where the bustling crowds and loud noises startled Khalida's sensitive ears, scaring her almost witless. She clutched her father's hand tightly, sticking close to him as he smiled and continued walking.

They arrived at platforms 9 and 10, and Khalida knew what to do. She was still overwhelmed, however, which froze her in place. Remus didn't blame her. He understood that she'd lived in the silence and peace of the country all her life, and her ears had been sensitive from birth, due to her being a born Animagus.

"Papa," his daughter whispered snapping him out of his thoughts, "I'm scared."

He held her close and replied, "Don't be scared, my love. It's all just noise. Remember what I told you, replace it with the sounds you enjoy. And run with me."

Within seconds, the loud road of trains and babel from the people died away, and Khalida was back under the apple tree, reading her book as the birds chirped around her, and the soft wind rustled the leaves and grass ever so slightly.

She was so wrapped up in her imagination, that she didn't notice they had reached platform 9¾ until her father tapped on her head.

Remus spotted a little crowd of redheads, and immediately recognised the lot of them. He approached the woman, who held a girl, about a year younger than Khalida herself, by the hand tightly.

"Molly!" Laughed Remus, tappu g the woman on the shoulder. The woman, Molly, had a round face with pink cheeks, along with crinkly and happy eyes. Her face was framed perfectly with a mop of curly flame-red hair which was held a little flatly under a small hat.

"Remus!" She laughed, "It's been ages!"

Khalida tugged on her father's sleeve and asked him in a soft whisper, "Who is she, Papa?"

He suddenly realised that his friend didn't know Khalida, and added, "Ah, Molly, this is Khalida, my daughter."

Molly bent down a little to Khalida's height and grinned, "Hello, I'm Molly Weasley. Your father's old friend."

"Hello," Khalida smiled, taking the woman's hand, "Nice to meet you."

The adults conversed a little, and suddenly, the whistle of a seemingly invisible conductor rang out. Remus noticed and said, "Hand your things over to the porter, but if you want, you could keep Lilith with you." Khalida nodded and smiled as she undid her kneazle's cage door and let her out. Happy, the cat clambered onto the girl's shoulder and sat there, looking around inquisitively with her teal coloured eyes.

Remus hugged his daughter tightly and said, "Write to me whenever you can, don't take any snide from anyone, and if you need to talk about your canine, go to Professor McGonagall."

"I will, Papa." Khalida smiled. Remus looked around and took off his coat, handing it to her and winking, "If you get cold."

"I love you, Papa." She smiled, hugging him tightly as he stroked her hair gently, kissing her head.

"I love you too, my Lida." He replied. He held back his tears as she turned around and walked up the train steps. She found a decent place to sit, her night-bag with her, and turned to the window to see her father shedding silent tears as the train began to hiss and pull out of the station. She exhaled on the window and drew a smiley face, winking at Remus as she did, making him laugh a little.

The train hissed and pulled out of the station, gaining speed. Handkerchiefs waved from windows, and last calls of 'goodbye', came as well. Khalida waved at her father, who wiped his eyes and waved back, not wanting the train to round the bend. It did, however, and as he Apparated home, he realised that he had to get used to the silence.

But he wasn't ready for it at all.

----
OMG WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN NEXT!?

I'll post the next chapter in a little bit <33

Question: Is this book going too slow??? Lmk by commenting on this paragraph!

Dedicated to: MarinasMaleWife!!!! ILYSM FOR COMMENTING BESTAY

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Daisy Rose