Chapter 079

"I guess," Hannah said, shrugging. "I've never really thought about it, but then, I've never really seen what he does when working. I mean, sure, mum and I have traveled with him during the summer, but it's not like we actually go near the vineyards. Usually, mum and I just go into the nearby towns and do some sightseeing and shopping."

Harry nodded, understanding that Hannah probably wasn't interested enough in her father's business to go with him while he worked. It was that way with most children. At least, it seemed that way. Lisa had never been interested in what her father did either.

Just then, Hedwig descended from above, landing right next to his goblet of pumpkin juice.

"Hedwig," Harry greeted with a smile as he reached over and ran his fingers down her fathered back. "How are you, girl? I haven't seen you since I sent that letter off to Lisa. Where have you been?"

Hedwig gave a soft hoot, her amber eyes not leaving Harry as she presented him with the letter attached to her leg.

"Harry, is this your owl?" asked Hannah, staring at the snowy owl while Harry took the letter from Hedwig. The pig-tailed girl looked at Hedwig with what could only be construed as awe. Harry would not have been surprised in the least if cartoonish-looking hearts randomly replaced her eyes.

And who knows. With magic, perhaps such a thing was actually possible.

"Yes," Harry answered as he looked over the envelope, and smiled when he saw who the letter was from. Without wasting time, he opened the letter and began reading.

"She's so beautiful," Hannah breathed as she stared at Hedwig. The snowy owl preened under the compliment, puffing out her chest and hooting proudly. Harry would have laughed if he were the sort to let his emotions show more. He knew Hedwig loved getting attention. She was quite possibly the biggest attention-whore he had ever met in his life bar none.

"She is," Harry agreed absently, his eyes skimming the letter, a soft smile working its way onto his face. "Just try not to give her too many compliments or she may get a big head."

Hedwig gave him an angry sounding hoot and tried to nip his finger as a reprimand, but Harry was ready this time and swiftly moved his hands away from the angry owl.

"I'm just kidding, Hedwig," Harry told her soothingly as he grabbed some bacon and offered it to her. Hedwig looked at the bacon distrustfully, prompting Harry to say, "everyone knows you're the most beautiful owl here."

Hedwig continued to stare at him for several more seconds, before taking the peace offering. She then nipped his finger gently and allowed him to stroke her feathers.

"Can I pet her too?" asked Hannah.

"That's up to her," Harry said, looking up from his letter to stare at Hedwig with a raised eyebrow. "How about it, Hedwig? Can Hannah pet you?"

Hedwig blinked her large amber eyes. Her head twisted so she could look at Hannah, who had a hopeful expression, then looked back at Harry, eyes staring at him unblinkingly. After another second, she hooted, then bobbed her head up and down.

"Hedwig said sure," Harry informed Hannah, who promptly reached over and began stroking Hedwig's back. "Just be careful not to ruin her feather's. She spends an awful lot of time on them."

Hannah gave Harry an amused look. "Right," she said. "I'm sure she said all that."

Harry shrugged, not really bothered if Hannah didn't believe him. It wasn't like Hedwig had spoken or anything, not in words at least.

And it wasn't like the blond girl had the connection he had to Hedwig, so she couldn't know how they communicated with each other. The truth was, even Harry wasn't 100 percent sure how he could understand Hedwig so well, though he did have a working theory. Legillemency, or at least, an animal variation of it. Whenever Hedwig 'spoke' to him, she did so by presenting images into his head to convey thoughts and feelings. That was how he understood her.

Of course, this did present an interesting number of questions. Namely, why was he able to understand her when none of the other owls he had seen so far seemed to display any kind of magical aptitude? What was it that made Hedwig special? Or did her ability to telepathically communicate via images have something to do with his own aptitude for mind magic? Perhaps, rather then her being the one to present images in his head, he was simply pulling them out of hers. He supposed it was just one of those great mysteries he would need to discover for himself.

"So who's the letter from?" asked Neville. He blushed when he realized what he asked could be considered invasive. The round-faced boy had already learned that Harry was an innately private person. He was never rude, but when someone asked Harry something that he didn't want to answer, he would smoothly redirect the topic of their conversation away from him. Most of those around them didn't seem to notice, but Neville had, and he was sure Susan had too. With this in mind, he hastened to add, "that is, if you don't mind me asking."

"Not at all," said Harry, smiling as he set the letter down. He was in a good mood now. The letter had gone a long way to easing his mind. "The letter was from my friend, Lisa. I sent one to her our first night here. I wasn't expecting to hear back so soon."

"Wait," Hannah said suddenly. "Isn't Lisa that muggle friend you were talking about on the Hogwarts Express?"

"Yes." Harry gave her a nod. "She is. I wanted to keep in touch with her, so I found out how the wizarding world sends letters to the muggle world without breaking the statute of secrecy."