The Marriage Decree

Chapter 104: You Know An Owl

Sophie's alarm clock wakes her up at eight o'clock in the morning of her birthday on the seventh of July. Excitedly, she threw her quilt off and jumped out of bed. Athena chirped her thanks as the beeping device was switched off.

"Good morning, Athena!" Sophie sings, using some tweezers to feed the owl a worm. "Enjoy your breakfast." She tells the owl, replacing the tweezers on top of the tub of worms her Dad had bought her.

She throws her bedroom door open, listening for her dad's presence. She can't hear him downstairs, so assumed he's still in bed and walks down the corridor to knock on his bedroom door.

"Dad, are you still in bed?" She asks.

"Yes, it's a Saturday. I'm sleeping." He tells her.

"But it's my birthday." She pouts.

"But it's a Saturday." Her dad returns.

"Dad," She whines. "I'm eight years old."

"You sound six." He sighs, and Sophie can hear the bed groan as he climbs out of bed.

"Dad," She snaps. "Stop trying to be funny."

Her dad laughs as he opens the door, tying his dressing gown around his waist.

"I think I saw some birthday breakfast in the kitchen last night." He mentions.

Sophie's eyes widen as she runs off down the corridor and the stairs. David follows after her with a yawn.

"Dad, who made this?" She asks, standing on her tiptoes to stare hungrily at the plate of syrupy pancakes with m&ms, cream and chocolate sauce on the kitchen counter.

"I did, ten minutes ago." He admits, putting the kettle on. "I knew you set your alarm for eight o'clock. I snuck back into my bedroom before you woke up." He smiles. "Quite funny, right?" He kisses the top of her head as he picks up the plate, taking it to the dining table, where Sophie climbs onto the stool, ready for her birthday breakfast. "I'll get you some milk." He returns to the fridge to fill a glass for his daughter. "And don't tell your aunt and uncle about this." He warns her.

"Obviously not," Sophie laughs, digging into her sugary breakfast.

David can feel his teeth rotting just looking at the plate, so makes himself some marmalade on toast instead, joining his eight-year-old daughter at the dining table with his cup of coffee.

"What are we doing today?" Sophie asks, mouth full of pancakes.

David sighs, letting her table manners slide for today. "I thought we'd go to this Diagon Alley of yours and you can show me around." He tells her.

Sophie's eyes sparkle with excitement. "You'll love it, dad. I wish I could tell Percy, Pansy, and Blaise; I want to show you them." She sighs.

"I've seen them before." David reminds his daughter. "Pansy came to your last birthday, and Blaise came around in May to borrow Athena." He explains.

Sophie jumps out of her chair. "I'll be back in two minutes." She states, running upstairs.

David shakes his head as he finishes his toast.

"Athena!" Sophie whispers as she enters her room. "Do you know where Pansy and Blaise live?" She asks the owl who chirps.

She doesn't know if that's a yes or a no, but it's worth trying. She just hopes Athena doesn't get lost on the way. Hermione and Draco would be very cross with her if she lost their owl after they trusted her to look after Athena.

Sophie quickly writes two separate notes to her two friends, Pansy and Blaise, rolling them up and tying them with an elastic hair bobble. She then ties the letters carefully, as she had seen Blaise do back in May.