Breaking the shadows

Childhood memories.

1987

Wednesday July 15th. 

"I'll race you to the tree house" Hermione yells, I start running, she is already ahead of me, but somehow, I get past her and reach the tree house first. I climb up and rise our pink and purple flag, and across of it is written in capital letter "Granger sisters". Hermione reach the treehouse too and as she climbs up, I say teasing: "Ha-ha, you are too slow"
Hermione laughs, and climb the last few steps of the rope ladder. And then she captures me, in a tight hug, she starts to tickle me as she says: "But I got you now." I squirm to get free of Hermione's grip, but without any luck, as she lets me go, I fall to the floor laughing. When my laughing dies down Hermione lays down beside me and we watch the skies, she points to one and says: "Look, it looks like a bunny."

"And that one looks like a lizard."

Hermione: "Yeah, you are right"

A while later I hear footsteps on the ground and a couple girls yelling: "Hermione, are you there?"

Hermione sits up and leans over the gate, I hear her voice: "Yeah, what's up?"

One of the girls answers: "We are going to the movies; you want to join us?"

Hermione: "No thanks, I'm fine here"

The other girl says: "But you are all alone here."

Hermione: "I'm really not, I'm with my sister."

"That little weirdo that looks nothing like you."

Hermione starts to crawl down the rope ladder and I hear her yell: "My sister is not a weirdo; you can leave now, or I'll punch you."

The first girl says annoyed: "Fine, you'll be alone forever if you stick with your weird little sister."

I'm standing up now, looking at the two girls and Hermione, I can't see her expression, but I know that she is not happy with the girls right now, and she says: "I said you can go now; or I'll punch you."

Both the girls start laughing and the second one says: "You are too chicken to even do it."

And as quick as lightning Hermione has slapped both the girls across their faces, so hard that it left a red mark. As the girls run away Hermione yells: "Don't say that I didn't warn you."

Hermione climbs back up and says: "None of what they said is true, you are perfect just as you are. Don't ever think otherwise, okay?"

I nod, I'm surprised as I've never seen her be so violent, but It's nice knowing that she has my back.

We lay back down but the skies quickly turn grey, and we go inside the treehouse, and then it starts pouring down. I while later the rain turns to hail and its hammering on the roof above us. I hear my mother's voice: "Harlow, Hermione dinners nearly ready my darlings."

Hermione: "Coming mom"

Hermione takes my hand and we run towards the house, the hail hurts on our skin. I start to cry, Hermione stops, and says: "Hop up, I'll give you a piggyback ride."

I stand on a tree stump to get on Hermione's back, and she helps me too, as I'm seated correctly, she starts running, the hail still hurts but its starting to settle down.

Mother is standing in the doorway with towels, and she wraps both of us in each a towel, before we sit down at the dinner table she says: "You two need a bath, but after dinner."

We both nod and then we sit down eating shepherd's pie. After dinner Hermione and I both take a bath, I'm first, because my bedtime is before hers, but only with an hour. After a warm bath I get into my purple poodle pyjamas. As Hermione is done with her bath, she reads me a bedtime story, I read to myself sometimes, but the last two years its been a tradition that Hermione reads for me, It started about two and a half years ago, mom, Hermione and I were reading a bedtime story, and Hermione started reading out loud from the book and ever since, she started to read more and more, and now its just her reading for me at bedtime. 
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Puplished: 17-05-23