Rose gently shook her mother’s shoulder. “Mummy, Mr Ted is gone.”
Hermione’s head flopped around loosely as Rose shook her harder. “Mummy!”
The shout had its intended effect and Hermione sat up. Ron’s snores continued unabated.
“What’s wrong, Rosie?” Hermione rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock on the corner of the bedstand.
Rose stamped her feet. “I told you,” she said, exasperatedly. “Mr Ted is gone.” Tears began to flow down her cheeks and onto her pink nightgown.
Hermione rose, pulled on her slippers and took her daughter’s hand. “Let’s go find him and then we’ll go back to bed, okay? It’s one in the morning and little girls and mummies should be in bed.”
Rose’s lip quivered. “I can’t sleep without Mr Ted.”
They padded together down the hallway in the dim moonlight coming from the clerestory window above the attic stairs.
They arrived at Rose’s room, hand in hand. Hermione lit the tip of her wand and then lit an oil lamp with a flick of her wand. The soft glow of the lamp filled the room. Rose’s room was a mess. Her frilly bedding lay heaped on the floor and the contents of her toy chest spilled across the room.
Hermione pursed her lips and counted to five in her head. “What’s this?” she asked, indicating the mess.
Rose pulled her hand away and began digging through the bedding. “I was looking for Mr Ted.”
Hermione flicked her wand. “Accio Mr Ted.” She laughed involuntarily at the absurdity of what she had said, and she stood with her hand outstretched for a moment before she put it down, feeling foolish at having tried to summon a teddy bear and not having it succeed.
She took a closer look at the toys strewn around the room as her daughter flipped her mattress off the bed and looked under the bed.
“Rosie, do you know where your Holyhead Harpy doll is?”
Rose answered without looking up. “It’s in the toy box, Mummy.”
Hermione started digging through the toys and putting them in the box. “It’s not here, either. Did you take them anywhere?”
“No, Mummy.” She turned and started to help her mother search. “Mr Ted was with me when Daddy tucked me in and I saw the doll Auntie Ginny gave me in the box.”
A small smear of something on the carpet caught Hermione’s eye. She grabbed the oil lamp and held it closer. A small foot had stepped into an open pot of finger paints and left a trail on the floor. She followed the trail of prints down the hallway and down the stairs. Strange soft voices came from the kitchen, and the unmistakable sound of the pantry squeaking open caught her attention.
“What is it, Mummy?” Rose whispered.
“Stay behind me and be quiet, Rosie.” Hermione peered around the corner into the kitchen. She seemed paralysed as she watched the scene in the kitchen. Rose peeked into the kitchen from around her mother.
Mr Ted stood on his tiptoes (or perhaps, tip-claws), pulling open the door to the pantry with effort. His biscuit-shaped eyes blinked and he growled deeply. “Honey! I know it’s in here.”
The Harpy doll that resembled Ginny had dismounted from her broomstick and was prying at a cupboard with it. She flipped open the cupboard and climbed the broomstick to get the hazelnut-chocolate spread. Mr Ted had finally finished getting the pantry open and he stood on his hind legs and growled again as he pulled down the honey pot.
Another movement from the corner of the kitchen caught Hermione’s eye. She turned to see her Maggie doll pulling bread from the bread tray. Maggie’s threadbare dress ripped as the doll staggered under the weight of the slices of bread. Maggie dropped the bread on a plate on the floor and pulled open the drawer with cutlery. Mr Ted dragged the honey pot to the plate and the Harpy doll twisted open the chocolate-hazelnut spread. She began spreading the brown mixture onto a slice of bread and Mr Ted started smearing other pieces of bread with honey, using his paws to do so and licking them clean in between applications of honey.
Maggie took the first sandwich and cut it in two with the knife. She offered half to the Harpy doll, but Mr Ted snatched it away and began eating it with gusto. His prim little mouth opened impossibly wide as he ate and his tiny brown nose became covered in honey and hazelnut-chocolate spread.
Maggie ate the other half very primly and slowly. The Harpy doll cut another sandwich in two and began to eat it. She left the other half on the plate and Mr Ted snatched it up and devoured it messily. When they had finished, Mr Ted put the honey pot back in the pantry and the Harpy doll put the hazelnut-chocolate spread back in the cupboard.
Hermione’s paralysis seemed to end. She stepped into view. Immediately, all the dolls flopped bonelessly onto the ground. Hermione shook her head and blinked.
“Mummy, may I come in?” Rose asked.
Hermione picked up Mr Ted and examined him. She ran her wand over him, checking for dark enchantments, but found none. “Okay, Rosie, come on in.”
Rose padded into the kitchen and went to her mother.
“Teddy!” she exclaimed and took the bear. She bounced happily and started chanting in a sing-song voice. “Teddy! Teddy! Teddy!”
Hermione checked the other dolls for enchantments and didn’t find any. She picked them up and sat them on the table. She yawned and looked at Rose. “Do you know anything about this?”
Rose shrugged. “I guess they were hungry.” She wiped the honey from Mr Ted’s mouth with a finger and licked it.
Hermione smiled. “Are you hungry, love?”
Rose nodded.
“What would you like, Rosie?” Hermione asked, knowing the answer.
“I’d like a honey and Nutella sandwich, please,” the girl said gruffly, pretending it was Mr Ted who spoke.
Hermione made a sandwich and cut it in half. Rose offered half to Mr Ted and pretended that he shook his head. “He said you could have the other half, Mummy,” she said around a bite of her sandwich.
Hermione took the other half and ate it, watching as her daughter offered Mr Ted a bite before each of hers. When they had finished and the dishes had been stacked neatly in the sink, Hermione took her daughter back to her room and tucked her back in. She decided to leave the clean-up of the other toys until morning.
As she crawled back into bed next to Ron, he mumbled sleepily. “What’s going on?”
Hermione kissed him on the forehead, spooned up against him and whispered. “Our little girl used magic for the first time today.”