I held my breath as I tiptoed past the shut door that emitted loud, pig-like snores. I felt exactly like Indiana Jones, avoiding the floorboards that would creak and thus set the enormous rolling entity of my uncle down the hallway towards me. I glanced behind me to make sure the nosy neighbors weren't looking from their house to our hall window again, but then remembered that it was 3 am and if they were awake and snooping at that hour they deserved to see a tall, skinny, 15 year-old boy carefully choosing his footing down the hallway.
There were so many boards that creaked in the old hall, but so many years of sneaking around at night conditioned me very well; I was sure I could get all the way downstairs with my eyes shut. Well, maybe not all the way... but I could use the Animadverto charm I just learned on myself, which would let a person see through their closed eyelids.
I got to the end of the hallway and down the flight of stairs without one creak, so I rewarded myself with some strawberry ice cream. "For a job well done," I muttered and scooped out chunks of strawberry from the carton into a bowl. I placed the ice cream back in the freezer and walked to the study. I settled myself in Dudley's new computer chair; he got stuck in his old one. He must have sat in that old chair all day, eating everything he could because when he got up to go to the bathroom, he couldn't.
So, the new chair ended up being almost bigger than the desk the computer sat on. I flipped the power switch and it whirred to life. I glanced nervously up the stairs, half-expecting to hear Vernon's voice booming towards me.
"You've got mail!" the computer proclaims. I smile joyously, and click on my mailbox. "She wrote back!" I exclaimed quietly as a reply to my message appeared. I clicked on it, but disappointment clutched my chest.
"Your e-mail is being returned to you because there was a problem with its delivery. It is unknown if your message has reached the recipient..."
Bitterly, I said a word I know Hermione would probably scold me for using. How was I supposed to know if she got the e-mail or not? I threw my spoon into the empty ice cream bowl angrily. Unfortunately, this created a bit more noise than I hoped... okay, it created a bit more noise than anyone this side of the ocean would have hoped. The bowl fell to the ground and broke its crown and the spoon came tumbling after, like some kind of ironic, noisy nursery rhyme.
There were so many boards that creaked in the old hall, but so many years of sneaking around at night conditioned me very well; I was sure I could get all the way downstairs with my eyes shut. Well, maybe not all the way... but I could use the Animadverto charm I just learned on myself, which would let a person see through their closed eyelids.
I got to the end of the hallway and down the flight of stairs without one creak, so I rewarded myself with some strawberry ice cream. "For a job well done," I muttered and scooped out chunks of strawberry from the carton into a bowl. I placed the ice cream back in the freezer and walked to the study. I settled myself in Dudley's new computer chair; he got stuck in his old one. He must have sat in that old chair all day, eating everything he could because when he got up to go to the bathroom, he couldn't.
So, the new chair ended up being almost bigger than the desk the computer sat on. I flipped the power switch and it whirred to life. I glanced nervously up the stairs, half-expecting to hear Vernon's voice booming towards me.
"You've got mail!" the computer proclaims. I smile joyously, and click on my mailbox. "She wrote back!" I exclaimed quietly as a reply to my message appeared. I clicked on it, but disappointment clutched my chest.
"Your e-mail is being returned to you because there was a problem with its delivery. It is unknown if your message has reached the recipient..."
Bitterly, I said a word I know Hermione would probably scold me for using. How was I supposed to know if she got the e-mail or not? I threw my spoon into the empty ice cream bowl angrily. Unfortunately, this created a bit more noise than I hoped... okay, it created a bit more noise than anyone this side of the ocean would have hoped. The bowl fell to the ground and broke its crown and the spoon came tumbling after, like some kind of ironic, noisy nursery rhyme.