The first day of summer rolled in with clear morning skies and puffy white clouds. I stretched and rolled lazily over in my bed to check the digital clock for the time: 11:37am. I blinked and then rubbed my eyes in order to clear the sleep that had built up at the corners of my eyes during the night hours. It was so peacefully quiet, just laying there knowing that my brother was safe from harm and that I now had three months to do whatever with Ernie and Hannah. Also, how wonderful it was to know I didn't have to get up early for classes.
Pushing my tangle of sheets back, I sat up and noticed an opened envelope sitting on my night stand. Draco's letter was still there though it was hardly classifiable as a letter being only composed of four words and his initials. It was still a reminder that he hadn't killed Professor Dumbledore and that it had been Professor Snape. I pondered on Snape's betrayal of his long time colleague while I got dressed. Everyone at school that wasn't in Slytherin had stereotyped him as evil and cruel, but Dumbledore had seemed to think otherwise. All it took were two words to seal the betrayal. Two words and a flash of green light and that was the end of Dumbledore.
I shrugged off the notion that Snape had known he would have to kill the Headmaster because Snape knew how weak Draco was. I didn't like to think of this as premeditated murder on Snape's part. It was all too confusing and overwhelming to fathom so I simply let it slide and made my way down to lunch as the clock now read 12:04pm.
"She's awake, alert, and dressed! Impressive, sleep well, dear?" My father asked from behind his usual cup of coffee and newspaper. His hair was sticking out in various directions and his glasses sat crookedly on his nose.
"Perfectly well, thank you," I responded plopping down on the sofa next to him.
"You know Johnny got up this morning at 8:00am sharp and went off to that girl—what's her name—Genevieve's house?" He asked incredulously.
"Johnny? Up early? I thought that only pertained to Christmas or his birthday!" I exclaimed in mock surprise.
"It came as quiet a shock to your father and I."
My mother's unmistakable voice sent that remark from the kitchen.
"Morning, Mum," I called in her direction.
"It's the afternoon," she responded unamused.
"Good afternoon to you, too," I grumbled so she couldn't hear me. Dad chuckled, but I couldn't tell if it was from my sarcastic greeting or something off the funny pages.
"Davis, what do you plan to do this summer?" Mum asked.
I got up and left the comfort of the sofa to go speak more directly to her because I didn't imagine Dad would appreciate me yelling all my responses to Mum's questions over his head. I stalked over to my chair at the freshly cleaned dining room table and took my usual seat so I was near enough to Mum I wouldn't need to shout.
"Honestly, I'm guessing it will be a lot of time spent hanging out with Hannah and Ernie," I confessed as I fiddled with a placemat.
"You always go out to their houses and drive them around. Why not bring them over for a change? It seems like forever since I last saw them. Who was that other guy? Zeke or something? Isn't he part of your little gang?" She quizzed me.
"I'd love to have them all over, I'm sure it'd be great fun! No, it's not Zeke, his name was Zach and we had a bit of a falling out during the school year. I don't think I'll be seeing much of him anytime soon," I admitted sullenly.
"Well, darling, if he caused such drama in your life, you needn't worry about him. Whoever is meant to stay in your life will stay," Mum said soothingly.
"Thanks, Mum, I needed to hear that," I said as a smile played on my lips.
My mum tucked a curl of her shimmering red hair behind her ear and grinned at me over a pot of something she was busy trying to make simmer or maybe boil. Anyone who had met me while I was out and about with my family assumed that none of us were related because of how drastically different we each looked. We each had different colored hair and eyes and each of us was a much different height from the others.
I stood up, stretched, and looked out the kitchen window towards the warm day of summer that lay ahead of me. I knew just how to spend it.
"Where are you off to?" Dad asked as I passed the living room and started up the stairs.
"Keys, license, money, Hannah's house, Ernie's house, and finally back here," I prattled off as I ascended the steps.
"Drive safe and don't hurt the car," he said.
"Will do, Dad!" I called from my doorway.
I entered my room and grabbed my small handbag that carried my phone, keys, license, and a little money. I thought about adding some more so I checked my night stand for miscellaneous change. Underneath Draco's letter were a few coins so I stowed those away before tucking his letter back safely in its original envelope. Then in a flash, I was out down the stairs, out the door, and in the my car. It felt good to be behind the wheel again as I trundled down the road toward Macmillan Manor.
I slowed the car to a crawl as I scoped for a suitable parking spot where Mrs. Macmillan wouldn't chastise me for being too close to a particular plant. Eventually deciding on stopping right in front of the door, I scrambled out of the car and up to the large door. Knocking gently, I waited patiently until the familiar scuffle of footsteps followed by the thunking of the dead bolt sounded the arrival of Ernie himself.
"Davis! It's only been one day since school ended and you're already looking to bother me!" He grinned with a slight twinkle in his brown eyes.
"No, moron, I need Hannah to completely annoy you. Does your family mind if I steal you away for the rest of the day?" I asked jovially.
"Being kidnapped by you or spend all summer cooped up here with my obnoxiously loud siblings. I have to say this is quiet the decision," Ernie pretended to feign deep contemplation.
"I do recall that I owe you a trip to the Krispy Kreme Donuts Shop," I added attempting to sway him.
"Yes but if I recall so correctly, it was an entire day spent at one and as of right now, the time is 1:30pm. Don't think that's the equivalent of one day," he said with a wink.
"Why did I even bother showing up here?" I muttered exasperatedly.
"Because you need something to do besides sit around and wait for September 1st when you can finally return to Mal—" I cut Ernie off by turning and making a dash for my car.
"Davis, wait! Slow down!" He chased after me giggling all the while.
I dove into the drivers seat and jammed the keys into the ignition. Ernie slid clumsily into the passengers seat and we were off to Hannah's home.
"Now that you know he didn't kill our Headmaster, how do you feel about him?" Ernie asked referring to Malfoy.
"Conflicted," I admitted.
"Over what now?"
"The fact he still left with all the other accomplices and that one of them was Snape. I don't know Ernie, I don't think he made the right choice going with Voldemort's league of Death Eaters," I said.
"You think the guy had a choice? You told me once he was already branded with the Dark Mark. I don't think that was his choice and it wasn't his decision to follow them," he responded.
I nodded as we rolled to a stop at a rather busy intersection.
"You're right, I don't think he had a choice," I commented as I slowly accelerated across the intersection and took a short cut to Hannah's neighborhood.
I didn't tell him, but I was secretly proud of Ernie for defending Malfoy like that.
When I reached her house, I observed Hannah out on her porch with her nose buried in a copy of Witch Weekly and a lemonade with a small umbrella bobbing in the cool drink next to her. I parked next to the curb and honked the horn. Ernie burst out laughing when Hannah started and dropped her magazine before shooting us a glare. The indignant frown was soon replaced with a bright smile when it dawned on her that it was us and we were both laughing pretty hard at her reaction. Hannah skipped down her porch steps and across her front yard until she reached my parked car. There was a gentle glow about the way she carried herself I hadn't seen since her mother's abrupt death last school year. Her long gold locks were loose about her shoulders instead of the usual pigtails and her blue eyes shone excitedly.
"Afternoon, Hannah," I chirped merrily.
"Hello, Davis, Ernie," she said nodding to each of us. "What brings the two of you here?"
"Just that it's summertime and I would like to cordially invite you to come over to my house for a while," I stated.
"How come I didn't get 'cordially invited'? Ernie grumbled as Hannah nodded and ran back up go her house to tell, or ask, her father.
"On account that I technically kidnapped you, remember that little tid bit?" I asked raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah," he said with a grin.
Hannah came through her front door a few short moments later, piled into the back of my Beetle, and we were off. I waited until we reached the intersection to turn on my CD copy of American Beauty // American Psycho and chuckled as Ernie let out a familiar groan and pretended to plug his ears. Hannah hummed along and tapped to the beat of the drums. Ernie did actually like Fall Out Boy, but got a kick out of acting as though he didn't. Thankfully, Hannah and I could enjoy Patrick Stump's magical voice together at the expense of Ernie's eardrums.
"You know you're enjoying the album," I chided him.
"If I knew where the off switch was on this radio thing, we wouldn't be listening to this," he muttered, but I could see him smirking out of the corner of my eye.
"I bet you when 'Favorite Record' comes on, you'll be singing along," Hannah called from the backseat.
"Will not!" Ernie said wrinkling his nose.
"Totally will," she said mussing up his hair.
Truth be told, when I pulled into my driveway was when 'Favorite Record' floated out of the speakers and Ernie made all of us stay in the car until it was over. After the last chord, I was able to turn off the CD and drag a rather salty Ernie out of the passengers seat with the help of Hannah and into the house.
Johnny was still out, but both of my parents doted over my friends as I locked the car and rejoined them. Mum made a huge fuss over how beautiful Hannah looked and how tall Ernie had grown while Dad simply waved at them from his spot on the couch. Mum had even baked some homemade cookies and poured milk for the three of us.
"Here's a little snack before you all disappear into Davis' room for the rest of the day," Mum cooed handing everyone a cookie and a cold glass of milk.
I had taken one bite and Ernie had already finished his. Hannah and I prolonged our delectable cookies and milk drinking while he was again gushed over from Mum.
"Mum, I think you've made your point about his height," I giggled and Ernie flushed a bright red.
"Have I made you uncomfortable, Ernest?" Mum gasped clapping a hand over her mouth.
"What? No, absolutely not," he said.
"That's a relief," Mum sighed. "You kids have a lovely time."
She left us and I climbed the stairs to my room with the two of them close at my heels.
"I'm so sorry about that," I said as Hannah and Ernie entered and I closed the door.
"No need to apologize Davis, your mother is a charming lady," Hannah said with a smile.
"It's all right. Though does she always get so carried away about guests?" Ernie asked inquisitively.
"More than I'd care to admit," I answered plopping down on my bed.
"What happens now?" Hannah asked.
I grinned. "I've got some videos to show the two of you."
Hannah clapped and slid over next to me. Ernie faked a grimace and took the adjacent side. I pulled out my phone and opened the YouTube App. My watch later list was comprised of several band vlogs, interviews, and new music that I had picked out, especially for viewing with friends.
"Drunk History: Fall Out Boy featuring Brandon Errie," Hannah read aloud.
"Brendon Urie," I corrected as the video loaded.
"What kind of a last name is that?" Ernie asked furrowing his brows.
"A great man's last name," I informed him. "Now shush and prepare to laugh."
For the most part, they both enjoyed it. I did have to pause and explain Brendon was the lead singer of another miraculous band called Panic! At The Disco and that Patrick's shirt did indeed say Twenty Øne Piløts and that Twenty Øne Piløts was another equally important band. As for the rest of the evening, we three friends laughed and discovered the wonders of new music.
Eventually, my digital clock read 9:30pm and my friends had to head home. Mum thankfully let me drop them each off at their respective homes and when I arrived back, Johnny had come home, too. He was sleeping on the couch in front of some old cartoon so I bid my parents goodnight and headed to bed.
The next morning, I awoke at a much earlier time. I didn't want to, but today was cleaning day so for roughly four hours that morning, everyone in this house was occupied by some sort of cleansing task. Cleaning my room entailed playing Fall Out Boy and being distracted by anything and everything I came across. When I was cleaning off my night stand, I discovered, again, Draco's letter and decided that I was going to write him a reply.
I stared blankly at the piece of parchment in front of me and frowned. It was in that moment that I realized I didn't even have an owl to carry the response to Malfoy. I most certainly wasn't going to fly the letter myself to his house. Sighing dejectedly, I placed the blank parchment and Draco's letter aside so I could continue cleaning—being distracted by—the stuff in my room. For the remainder of my time spent 'cleaning', I kept thinking about what I'd say in my letter to him. As I dusted my bookshelf, I thought about a proper introduction. I hung up some of my fallen flannel shirts, I composed over and over the body of the letter and how I wanted to phrase everything in my head. I threw out miscellaneous trash and I pondered how I'd conclude the letter. Once my room was spic and span, I was still back at square one of how to write a letter to the guy I liked and not sound like a complete idiot. Even during lunch, I quietly munched my sandwich and thought how overly complicated I was making this.
It was 7:06pm when Mum called me for dinner and by now, I had gone through a large number of pages in a random notebook attempting to author something that would make sense to Malfoy. It had been literally hours and I was no closer than I had been earlier today. Perhaps dinner would clear my mind.
Mum had prepared meatloaf and baked potatoes with gravy for the evening meal tonight and I suppressed a chuckle when I was reminded of Ernie stuffing his face with roast and potatoes back at Hogwarts. Everything tasted exquisite and I even found myself asking for another serving of baked potatoes. Johnny, on the other hand, was not a fan of meatloaf or gravy so he refused to eat that part of his meal and instead ate only the baked potatoes plain. Mum fussed about him not eating the main part of the meal, but he simply turned up his little nose and pushed the plate away. She sighed and began clearing the table. It was my turn to wash the dishes so I had even more time to stress about my letter writing and how I was to get the letter to Draco.
Scrubbing congealed gravy off a plate is never a fun task. No matter how much soap I used, the blobs refused to leave the plate. It was times like this I wished I could do magic outside of school. I remembered that I'd be turning seventeen fairly soon which meant the Trace would lift! Mum would probably not allow me to use magic anyway, but still the thought of being seventeen was a marvelous one. Eventually, I finished scrubbing the kitchenware and trudged up to my room where I forced myself to sit down on my bed and write to Draco:
Draco,
I'm relieved to hear it wasn't you, but I'm not exactly sure why I feel that way. Perhaps I was a little concerned about you and what this would have done to you if it had came down to you. I was shocked as anyone was to discover it had been Professor Snape who had completed said task anyway. That aside, I'm still glad it wasn't you who had to go though with the act.
Hope your summer goes better than your school year went and I guess I'll see you around next year,
—Davis
The more I read through what I had written, the more I felt like I had zero concept of what writing a letter actually entailed, but at the same time, I thought it was enough. Now came the problem of not having an owl or other way of transporting this to him. It's not like I could go to the phone book, look up the Malfoy's mailing address, and send it off without a care in the world. They were wizards so they obviously weren't in the phone book anyway. Huffing, I folded my reply in thirds and slid it inside an envelope before scrawling Draco's name across the back. I liked how his name looked in my handwriting. The clock read 9:57pm, so I thought it best to brush my teeth and go to sleep. I'd find a way to send my letter sooner or later.
The next few weeks passed by uneventfully. Johnny and Gwendolyn hung out a lot together and I spent an awful lot of time listening to Fall Out Boy. Though on the morning of June 18th, I was rudely awakened when Johnny burst into my room at 9:00am sharp with a huge grin on his face.
"Wake up, sleepy!" He trilled hopping up on my bed and tugging at my covers.
"Go away," came my muffled reply as I was currently buried deep beneath my covers.
"The Trance is gone today!" He shouted.
Blearily, I poked my head out from under my nest of blankets and blinked at my baby brother for a few long seconds. My hair must have been quite the sight as he abruptly started giggling. I pushed myself reluctantly from the sheets up onto my pillow and ran a hand through the mess that was my hair.
"Johnny, what do you mean Trance?" I yawned reaching for my glasses.
"Isn't that the thingy that leaves you when you turn seventeen in the wizard world?" He asked while furrowing his brow.
"That's the Trace, silly," I replied with a grin. "Yes, it does leave when you turn seventeen which is today so now I can use magic outside of school!"
"Hex something! Hex something!" Johnny giggled clapping his hands.
"I'll hex you off the bed if you don't move, buddy," I said jokingly.
That was enough to get Johnny off my bed and him to run from my room laughing. I heard him call out happy birthday to me as he dashed down the stairs. I was finally seventeen. I didn't feel any different than yesterday, but I had almost expected to experience some sort of magical sensation now that I was of age.
I dressed and tamed my messy hair with a lot of combing. Leaving the sanctity of my room, I sleepily walked down the stairs and towards the kitchen. My nose was blessed with the scent of freshly baked cupcakes, the store bought scent of wrapping paper, and something else I couldn't quite put my finger on. Upon entering the kitchen, I froze and found my gaze was locked on the dining room table. Sitting next to three neatly wrapped packages was a large wire bird, or should I say owl, cage and perched inside was a brown barn owl with yellow eyes. It cooed ever so gently when it noticed me gaping at it.
"How in the—?" I started to ask, but Dad cut me off with a simple word.
"Dumbledore."
"Isn't he—?" I tried again.
"Yes, darling, he's dead. This was an arrangement we made the same time as your broomstick. The reason we didn't give it to you then was because we knew you were having a busy year studying and with Quidditch and after talking it over with your mother, we decided you didn't need to worry about a pet on top of everything. We were able to keep the owl at a local pet store with specific instructions for him not to be sold," Dad explained in one fell swoop of information.
Approaching the cage hesitantly, I examined the ruffled feathers and brown pattern of the wings and shockingly yellow eyes of this beautiful owl. He needed a name but I wasn't sure right away what to call him.
"Thank you, thank you all so much," I breathed gently still slightly stunned that an actual owl was sitting in front of me. This was my pet from now until the upcoming school year ended. Then, I assumed Johnny would get to keep it as his pet. I was still floored by the magnificent bird.
"What are you going to name him?" Johnny inquired.
"I'm not sure yet. Definitely not Pigeon, I'm still not entirely sure to this day why Ernie named his owl that. I'll think of something soon," I answered.
Mum had me open my gifts which were a new pair of gloves for Quidditch, the CD version of Fall Out Boy's 'Infinity On High', and a guide book on how to care for owls. Everyone then indulged in the vanilla cupcakes and I kept profusely thanking my parents for the owl.
Later that afternoon, Ernie's owl, Pigeon, made an appearance with a letter from him and Hannah that sang Happy Birthday when I opened it. The two of them had family matters today, but that was fine with me. I was just excited that they remembered.
I whiled away the rest of June with my new owl and trained it to carry small things. Hopefully by July, I'd be able to have it flying long enough distances that it could deliver my letter to Malfoy. If he had expected an instantaneous reply from me the day he sent it, I'm guessing he gave up waiting for one now. I had faith in the bird that I had finally decided to name Echo. The neighbors gave me weird looks whenever I was out on my lawn with him, but I didn't mind. Echo learned fast and flew even faster.
Then came the first of July when I deduced from the way Echo was soaring great distances and carrying sticks that would suffice as practice with carrying letters, that I knew today he could get my message to Draco. Feeling confident, I secured the letter in Echo's shiny black talons and set him free to the currents of the wind. Three hours later, he was outside my window and tapping impatiently with his sharp beak. I opened my window which allowed him to flutter in and perch on my bed. I ran the crook of my finger over his feathers and retrieved a few owl treats for the trusty owl to enjoy. He gently cooed and released another envelope from the grasp of his claws that I hadn't noticed upon his entry. Draco Malfoy had replied to me. My heart seemed to momentarily skip a beat as I removed the small piece of parchment that bore his familiar handwriting across it.
I didn't know you had an owl, Nine. Bit me, fantastic bird. I suppose I should thank you for your concern. Didn't really expect you'd reply. Thank you and I'll see you next year then. Hope you're having a nice summer, too,
—Draco
I stared at the piece of parchment in shock. Despite what I had overheard at the Dumbledore's funeral, he was actually coming back to school next year. And Echo had bit him. I slipped the bird an extra treat before letting him out to fly around the yard. Laying back down on my bed, I kept re-reading the part where he thanked me. I suppose it wasn't too far fetched, I mean the guy had kissed me so a simple thank you wasn't off the table. Thinking about the kiss made me blush profusely and also wonder if he still thought about it.
I tucked away the letter and meandered down to the kitchen for dinner. Dad made sure that Johnny was distracted after the meal so Mum and I could prep for his birthday, July 3rd. Mum had tried to arrange it so Gwen could join us for the day, but sadly she and her family were off on vacation. The two of us wrapped his presents, (new socks, alarm clock, and comic books), quietly in the basement. He was turning twelve and was super ecstatic about it.
The next morning, Dad took Johnny out for the whole day which gave Mum and I plenty of time to bake his favorite chocolate cake and make him homemade birthday cards. I wanted to see if I could enchant mine to sing for him, but Mum said no magic. When Johnny and Dad returned from their day out, my little brother was very tired and went straight to bed. Dad and Mum told me to wake him up at exactly 9:00am and drag him out for cake. I agreed happily.
I woke myself up at 8:30am the next morning and messed around on my phone for a while before dressing and preparing to wake up Johnny. Creeping silently down the stairs, I approached his door and waited till the hallway clock read 9:00am to open his door and saunter in.
"Good morning, sleepy head!" I chimed.
He mumbled something and rolled over.
"Who wants cake?" I tried again.
Johnny shot up in bed all wide-eyed and excited.
"I do!" He practically screamed.
"Come on, birthday boy," I said gesturing to the door.
He hopped out of bed and flew past me still clad in his pajamas hurriedly. I chuckled and followed the boy. When I reached the kitchen, his little blue eyes were sparklingly in awe at the chocolate cake, cards, and presents. Mum and Dad were sitting on either end of the table each with a coffee mug in hand and a smile on their faces.
"Happy birthday, pal," Dad said ruffling Johnny's hair.
"Happy birthday," Mum cooed.
I leaned against the kitchen doorway and watched as Johnny gleefully opened his gifts and read each card. Then, Mum cut him a slice of cake for breakfast. He thanked us all and I smiled down at him. He deserved all the happiest birthdays in the world and I hoped we would be able to make the next one just as perfect. Later on in the day, a postcard arrived by mail from Gwen wishing Johnny a happy birthday and that she was excited to see him again at school in the fall. I couldn't get over how much he was smiling as he read her written words. It made me wonder if that's what I looked like when I read Draco's letter.
The rest of July passed on and August dragged by with ragingly hot temperatures. Echo did a lot of flying and resting in the shade while I mostly rested in the shade. It was rather boring here and I was anxious to get back to Hogwarts. It was during the middle of August that I drove Ernie to the Krispie Kreme Donut Shop for an entire day as promised and he thoroughly enjoyed himself despite having to pay for his own pastries. Before I knew it, the final day of summer was upon Johnny and I. Johnny went to hang out with Gwendolyn and I arranged to go to the movies with Hannah and Ernie. We three had decided upon seeing another movie as a celebration of our last day of summer. I picked up both of them and we jammed to my new 'Infinity On High' CD all the way there. Arriving at the theatre, I was suddenly reminded of a year ago and how Zach had been part of this group. It felt a little weird not having him as an active member of our friend circle anymore but I kept reminding myself it was for the best.
"Davis, can we get popcorn?" Ernie asked as we entered the cool building.
"I'm not your mother, Ern, your allowed to buy whatever you want," I responded.
"Great! Can I bother some money?"
I sighed dramatically and raised an eyebrow at him.
"Just kidding, I'll get Hannah to pay for it," Ernie winked.
"Absolutely not!" Hannah cried out.
"But—"
"For goodness sakes Ernest, you can buy your own," she huffed but started giggling when he glared at her.
"The movie starts in five minutes and we haven't even got our tickets yet. Ernie, if you haven't any money, then I suppose you won't have the ability to get popcorn. Also, there is no way Hannah is buying for you so shall we get our tickets and find our seats?" I asked boldly.
"Fine, Mum," Ernie said sullenly.
I rolled my eyes as we paid for, (well Hannah and I chipped in to get Ernie a ticket), and received our tickets and went to find acceptable seats. One and a half hours later, the three of us were attempting to hum along to the soundtrack as the credits rolled and failed miserably. We stumbled from the theatre giggling and made it to my Beetle.
"This was a great way to end the summer," I said as we trundled down the street to Hannah's house.
"It really was," Hannah grinned over at me from the passengers seat.
I smiled at her as I parked in front of her driveway. It was good to finally have the old Hannah back.
"I'll see you both on the platform tomorrow!" She said merrily and headed toward her front porch.
Ernie and I waved until she was inside with her father. Shifting into drive, I cruised away to the intersection that would take me to Ernie's mansion. Upon arriving at his home, he mussed up my hair and smiled as he hopped out of my car.
"See you tomorrow, nerd!" He called as I started driving away.
I waved at him out through the passengers side window and then headed home. This was the perfect ending to a wonderful summer. Tomorrow began the adventure of a life time back at our second home: Hogwarts.