《Harry Potter: My Life as Hermione》Chapter 15: Thank Goodness—Qin's Letter Finally Arrived

"Hermione, how was your day?" Mr. Granger asked as they sat down for dinner.

"It was fine, I suppose." Hermione replied listlessly, poking a piece of carrot onto her fork and chewing it without much enthusiasm.

Seeing her daughter's mood, Mrs. Granger shot her husband a look, silently scolding him for bringing up the wrong topic.

Mr. Granger sighed inwardly. There really wasn't much he could do.

And so, a heavy silence settled over the Granger family table.

Of course, both parents knew the reason. Ever since that little boy from the East had left for some mysterious magical school, their daughter's smile had faded. She spent her days glued to the mailbox, waiting for a letter addressed to her.

"Hermione, Qin's only just started school. He must be terribly busy, and sending letters takes time. I'm sure you'll get one in a few days," Mrs. Granger said, trying to comfort her.

"Who's waiting for his letter? Not me!" Hermione huffed, stabbing at her broccoli as though it were someone she was cross with.

"No, of course not! We're not waiting for his letter. We'll just forget all about him!" Mrs. Granger teased, smiling.

"Yes, I've already forgotten him! I haven't thought about him at all! Hmph, he can't even keep his promises!" Hermione declared, though her tone was more fierce than convincing.

The Grangers exchanged an amused glance. Just as they were trying to hide their smiles at Hermione's contradiction, a sudden "tap tap tap" sounded from the front door.

From the sound of it, it was definitely not a human knocking.

"I'll get it!" Hermione leapt up at once and dashed to the door.

The moment she opened it, a large white bird swooped inside.

"It's an owl! It's an owl!" Hermione cried out in delight.

Qin Yu had promised, before he left, that he'd send her a letter by owl. So the moment she saw the beautiful white owl, she knew who it must be from.

Sure enough, after circling above her head, the owl dropped a letter neatly into her hands.

"Dad, Mum, it's a letter from Qin!" Hermione exclaimed, her eyes shining as she read the name on the envelope.

The Grangers looked at each other, both thinking, Well, so much for not waiting for his letter…

But neither would dream of saying so out loud. Their daughter had been sulking for days, and now that she was finally happy, they wouldn't risk upsetting her again.

"Hermione, let's finish dinner first. You can read Qin's letter after you've eaten," Mrs. Granger suggested gently.

"Okay."

Hermione placed the letter beside her plate with great care and, for the first time in days, finished her entire meal—vegetables and all.

As soon as she'd wiped her mouth, she waved to her parents, snatched up the envelope, and dashed off to her room.

But just a few minutes later, she came running back out.

"What is it?" Mr. Granger asked curiously.

"Qin says I should give Trigger something to eat—toast or ham will do." Hermione explained, grabbing a plate and piling some food onto it before hurrying back to her room.

Watching the door close, Mrs. Granger couldn't help but sigh, "Thank goodness, Qin's letter finally arrived!"

"Yes, if it hadn't, I'd be too afraid to even speak loudly in this house," Mr. Granger replied, only half-joking.

That earned him a rare laugh from Mrs. Granger.

"By the way, who's Trigger?" she wondered aloud.

"I'd wager it's that white owl," Mr. Granger guessed.

…

"Trigger, eat up!" Hermione set the plate of food on the windowsill.

The white owl tucked in, clearly delighted.

In fact, Hermione hadn't even opened the letter yet. She'd spotted a note on the envelope in Qin Yu's handwriting: Hermione, my owl's name is Trigger. He's very gentle. If you give him some toast or ham, he'll be even friendlier to you.

That was all the encouragement she needed to fetch him a treat.

Watching Trigger enjoy his meal, Hermione felt a warmth blossom inside her.

Finally, she sat down, hands trembling just a little as she broke the wax seal and opened the envelope.

Inside were two folded sheets of letter paper—and a hair clip shaped like a tiny cat.

"Now that's more like it. At least he knows to send a present," Hermione sniffed with mock pride, though her heart was already melting.

She slipped the hair clip onto her head, then carefully unfolded the pages and began to read.

The letter wasn't long, nor especially detailed, but Hermione read every word with rapt attention.

She read it once, then again, and again—until Trigger, the owl, hopped onto her desk, breaking her reverie.

Looking into those round, expectant eyes, Hermione immediately understood.

"Sorry, Trigger! I'll write back right now—just wait a moment!" she apologized, hurrying to fetch a blank sheet of paper and a pen.

"Hoo hoo~" Trigger hooted softly, as if to say he forgave her, then fluttered back to the windowsill to wait patiently.

Hermione smiled at the well-mannered owl, then sat down to write her reply.

She'd barely finished "Dear Qin" when she remembered something from his letter. Reaching up, she tapped the cat's eye on her new hair clip twice.

A gentle white light spilled down from above her head.

What a wonderful, practical magical gift!

A smile crept across Hermione's lips as she used the soft glow to write everything she wanted to say—so many things, she hardly knew where to begin.

…

"Sweetheart, it's very late. Time for bed," Mrs. Granger called, knocking gently on the door.

Hermione glanced at her nearly-filled letter and called back, "Alright, Mum! I'm going to bed now!"

She quickly reread her letter, made a few small corrections, then folded the pages and slipped them into an envelope.

She added a few flowers and leaves she'd collected over the past few days.

"Thank you, Trigger!" Hermione said, handing the envelope to the owl.

Trigger hooted twice, took the letter in his beak, and after nodding a dignified goodbye, flapped out the open window into the night.

Watching him disappear, Hermione stood lost in thought for a while, a little envious of the owl who could cross mountains and rivers to go wherever he pleased.

"Haven't you turned off the light yet, sweetheart?" Mrs. Granger's voice called again.

"I'm turning it off now, Mum!" Hermione replied, switching off the main light.

She climbed into bed, but after a moment, she reached for Qin's letter once more. With her other hand, she tapped the hair clip on her head twice, and the gentle white light filled her room.

Turning the brightness down until it was just a soft glow, Hermione read the letter again. With each word, she felt as if she were right there beside that boy, living out the magic of his school days…