The Cupboard Series 2: Hermione's Book Nook

Chapter 2

A tall, thin man emerged from the wooden door to stand on the front porch of his Crawley house and stretched. One hand fell to rub the back of his neck behind his slightly greying brown hair and, not for the first time in recent weeks, he realised that he was well and truly overdue for a haircut.

He padded down the three steps and across the path that neatly divided the front lawn in two. Small red flowers dotted the deep green hedge just inside the fence right up to the ivy covered arch that bordered the gate. To the left of that gate, his morning paper had been wedged between two palings, as had been the habit of the boy who delivered it for the past couple of years.

As Dan Granger turned to retreat to his house, he allowed the paper to unfurl so that he could read the morning's headlines. But a strange sight took the paper straight out of his mind.

A dark lump lay on the small swing-seat on the extreme left of the porch, almost hidden in the shade of the surrounding bushes. Letting the arm that held the paper drop to his side, Dan slowly walked back up the path, his gaze firmly attached to the unusual sight.

A flash of white caught his attention and he realised that a beautiful white owl was perched protectively on the back of the swing. An owl that he'd come to know well.

"Hedwig?" he muttered.

And then he looked more closely at the lump. A shock of unruly black hair told him that the lump was a person. The skewed glasses perched on the sleeping face of the boy identified him. Dan paused, allowing his gaze to sweep over this person that he'd only ever heard about.

His clothes were old and tattered. The shoes that peeked out from the overly large jeans looked to be more duct-tape than leather. A flash of dried blood on one knuckle had Dan scowling, but for now, he was reserving judgement. And on the ground just under the swing, were a pair of canvas bags and a broomstick.

Slowly, quietly, Dan started walking once more. Stepping back inside the house, he closed the door behind him with a click. After dropping the paper on the sideboard, he sighed and walked towards the staircase.

A bushy-haired girl in purple silk pyjamas, still rubbing the sleep from one eye was descending towards him.

"Morning, Daddy," Hermione yawned.

"Morning, dear," Dan replied and then, "Hermione, I think that there's something of yours out on the porch."

She stopped to look at him, her head cocked quizzically.

"Go on," he said, stepping aside.

He watched as his daughter walked towards the door, looking back at him on every other step, her lip caught between her teeth. A pair of arms reached around him from behind and he leant back.

"Dan?" Emma asked.

Dan sighed once more. "Just wait."

He saw the door pulled open and Hermione stick her head out looking first one way and then the other. And then it came, just as he'd imagined.

"HARRY?" Hermione squealed.

-oOoOo-

"HARRY?"

Hermione's high pitched squeal startled Harry awake. He jerked, causing the swing to move backwards and toppling him awkwardly to the ground. Thankfully, his landing was cushioned by the soft folds of the invisibility cloak that must have fallen off of him sometime during his restless sleep.

A solid thump hit him, knocking him over further before a pair of arms had wrapped themselves around him.

"Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"