𝑆𝐴𝑉𝐼𝑁𝐺 𝐷𝑅𝐴𝐶𝑂 𝑀𝐴𝐿𝐹𝑂𝑌

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟎 - 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠

"Ophelia! Dinner is ready!" I heard my mother calling from the kitchen but I could also hear something sizzling in the pan. My mother always did that – she would announce dinner way before it was ready.

I figured I had a few minutes. I took Alaska in my arms and let her outside the room. Since my cat was not very friendly, I had to close the door before opening the window to take the letter off Hedwig's beak and read it.

I must admit, I was not looking forward to this.

Dear Ophelia,

I hope you're well – actually, please write back and confirm you're indeed okay because I'm starting to freak out.

I am with the Weasleys for the last week before Hogwarts and I thought that I would find you here, just like last year. Hermione says she has been sending letters as well but that you hardly ever reply, even though your father told Mr Weasley that you're at home and well. Ron said he passed by the café on his way to the twins' new joke shop one day but didn't see you there. Is everything okay?

In any case, I hope you will answer this time because I have a very practical question. Tomorrow we are all going to Diagon Alley. We really want to see the twins' shop and we thought we should stop by the Coffee Bean at about 3 o'clock in case you would like to come. I hope you do.

We miss you.

Love,
Harry

My heart was racing, my palms were getting clammy and sweat was transferring to the paper. I opened the window wider to let some air inside the room but the mellow summer night didn't have a lot to offer.

Relax. Relax.

The more I said it, the less effective it was. What was I going to say? How was I going to explain to Harry, Hermione, Ron or even Neville why I completely disappeared for two months?

Now my hands were shaking and, shit, I was creasing the paper! I had to stop. The letter dropped from my hands and I involuntarily threw my head back, thinking it would help with my breathing.

I tried concentrating on something small in my room. I think the first thing I saw in front of me was a quill, so I tried only looking at the feather until the bad thoughts could take a step back. When I could breathe freely again, I flipped Harry's letter over and scribbled down my hasty answer, accepting the invitation. I let Hedwig hold the letter in her beak and watched the owl vanish towards the west.

I heard the front door open and then shut again. Dad came back from the Ministry and I could hear him talking about some awful news to Mum. I overheard a newspaper slamming on the counter. Another hard day of work.

"Ophelia!"

"Coming, Mum!"

Mum had put some classical music on the record player. She had just discovered some old vinyl in the attic and was determined to find which one was her favourite before summer was out. She had also started cleaning our library, the one that was taking most of the wall behind the fireplace, and so the whole house was taken over by books. Of course, she did it in a very muggle way, so it would take half a week more. Maybe I should stay up all night and try to sort all those books in genres – since that was a better option than lying in bed, sleepless as always.

And with that thought, I was calm again.

When I walked downstairs and sat myself at the dinner table, I noticed Dad's cloudy look.

"Oh, shoot, I forgot the water!" Mum shot up, a second after settling in her seat. She was still wearing her apron and seemed tired from her day at the coffee shop.