The day rolled on by rather quickly, the next morning's sun pouring into the quiet house. Rune dragged himself out of bed and headed down the hall to the stairs with a yawn to slip past his lips. The sound of the coffee maker had caught his attention about half way down the stairs.
Someone must be up already-- the only question in his mind was Who? His footsteps made the wood creak softly as he made it to the bottom and looked into the kitchen.
His father smiled lazily my way and spoke quietly, "Morning.. You're up rather early." His father was leaning against the kitchen counter, a robe wrapped securely around his body to keep himself warm-- though with the faint sound of the fire crackling in the living room, it wouldn't really be something to worry too much on for too long.
"Morning," Rune mumbled. He moved to stand next to him and lean against the counter as well. As another yawn pushed past his lips, his father's arm moved around his shoulders to give him a side hug. He rubbed his upper arm and began to create friction to help him warm up within the chilled house.
"Coffee should be done soon, if you want any." His father offered. He had began to look behind him to see if the brew was almost done when the stairs began to creak once more. Rune's mother had finally woken up, it seems. A smile pulled to Rune face when he saw her own. When she would wake up more, she would begin breakfast like always, planning on remaining in her family's company until that time came.
However, before a word could leave her lips, the screech of a bird sounded from the kitchen window. The sudden noise caused everyone to jump in place and turn to look at its source.
An owl was perched on the windowsill. The owl had warm, brown feathers with black speckles dotting the surface every now and then, which created a beautiful pattern. "Strange," Rune's father spoke curiously as he neared the window, "Owl's are usually nocturnal creatures." As if on cure, the bird screeched almost impatiently, gently flapping its wings. It took Rune a moment to realize that it was holding something in its beak, the surprise of seeing a dang owl outside his kitchen window at-- what-- seven or eight in the morning kind of blinding him from it temporarily.
His father seemed to have noticed that too, for his hands reached to undo the latch on the window to open it. The moment he did, the owl ducked under the window's rim and flew into the house. It perched on the back of one of the kitchen chairs with slightly fluffed up feathers. It looked over to Rune and tilted its head. "Its the same letter from yesterday.." Rune murmured, carefully taking the letter from it. It wasn't long after he did that the owl flapped its wings and flew off out of the window with another screech as if to give them a word of parting.
"How odd.." His mother spoke, watching as his father shut the window. Rune opened the letter and, sure enough, it held the same exact contents as before: both the greeting letter and the list of items he would need if he accepted this invitation. "Maybe we should indulge in this?" His mother suggested as she reread the letter from over his shoulder. Surprise displayed itself on Rune's face when he looked up at her. Before he could begin to question it, she began to speak her reasoning, "It's odd that we got this letter two days in a row, don't you think-- the second time being delivered to us by an owl. And for this Hogwarts to send you an invitation to this place must mean its something special, right?"
"You do have a point, dear." Her husband spoke, joining her side to look at the letter as well. He hummed in thought, contemplating it for a moment. "I supposed we could. We were needing to head into town today, anyways-- though it is an hour train ride from Cookham to London. We better eat and wear something comfortable before leaving and wake Jenna up." His mother nodded in agreement to his words and stood up straight.
Rune sat the letter down on the kitchen table as her hand placed itself on his lower back and began to guide him to the stairs.
"Let's go and get dressed, yeah? Then I'll start up some breakfast and then we can head off." His mother walked at his side as they both climbed to the second floor.
The last thing he saw of the ground floor before reaching the top was his father going to the coffee maker to begin making everyone a cup, the light above the bathroom blinking silently to signal that the brew was completed and ready to enjoy.
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TO BE CONTINUED.....