Dear Stranger

Chapter 6

Hermione had been sitting down for dinner when Henry arrived at her window. She retrieved the letter and brought it back to the table with her as she started in on a bowl of pasta.

Dear Stranger,

The only thing going through my head is an image of you in a periwinkle jumper, sitting across from me smiling at The Three Broomsticks. Hopefully you will be smiling when we meet, I'd rather not be a disappointment. I have been wondering though, what will happen to poor Henry once we've met? Will we be brave enough to tell Susan Bones that we directly disobeyed her orders and that we will no longer be in need of a Ministry owl? Now that I think about it actually, I don't have an owl. I didn't need one until Medicinal Mail and I rather like Henry and would hate to part with him.

Also, I wanted to tell you, I had a friend at work today ask me why I was so happy as of late and he was shocked to say the least when I explained why. (He thinks it's mad that I don't know your name or anything but I think not knowing is part of the fun, and it definitely makes meeting more suspenseful and ultimately exciting.) He's one of the only friends I have and it felt good to tell someone. He's the only person that knows. At least from my perspective, I am a bit curious though, have you told anyone? (Did they think that you're mad too?)

Until we write again,

Your Stranger

She pondered the Henry situation a bit after reading the first paragraph. Maybe she could be brave and somehow convince Susan Bones to let her and him adopt Henry? She was a bit concerned seeing as Henry had become a fairly important part of her life. She didn't have an owl either and Henry was a brilliant flyer and an exceedingly smart bird. She decided she would tackle this issue later after she finished the rest of the letter and her dinner.

She felt a bit bad that he had so little in the way of friends. She'd have to introduce him to Harry and Ron. Well, maybe not Ron. Ron had taken the breakup surprisingly well but he may not take the news of a new man in her life so soon quite as well. Nonetheless, Harry would surely love her stranger, though he may be a bit irked by the fact that she hadn't told him. She had wanted to, she really had, but she knew Harry wouldn't like to keep something from Ron that was a detriment to their relationship. She had told Hannah and Colin, not only because she trusted them and loved them dearly, but because she had been positively desperate to tell her secret to someone. It was exciting and some days it was hard to keep a smile off her face, which Hannah and Colin had noticed and obviously inquired after.

She finished up her pasta and did the dishes before heading to her desk to write her reply:

Dear Stranger,

I'll see what I can do about Henry, I may be able to convince Susan Bones to let us adopt him or something. She's quite a lenient person if you nudge her in the right direction. I would also be truly distraught to see Henry go as he's become a very important part of my life.

To answer your question, yes I have told people. Only two, though. My two co-workers. It was hard to keep it from them as they're very intuitive and we all work in particularly close proximity to one another. I'm fairly certain they could feel the happiness radiating off of me like heat at some point. At first they thought it was a bit odd but at this point they are as enthralled with the whole ordeal as I am. They ask for updates frequently and were ecstatic to hear that I had finally bucked up the courage to ask you to meet me.

Until we write again,

Your Stranger

She handed the letter off to Henry and realized as the bird flew off into the clouds that that was one of the last letters she would write him as a stranger. In a matter of days, they would know each other and she would be able sign Yours, Hermione instead. She couldn't wait to meet him. She had imagined many times in the past two days that once they met, everything in life would just fall into place and she would be perfectly content. She certainly hoped she wasn't wrong.