******a work of FanFiction******
CHAPTER 1
It was around midnight when a beautiful white cat went up the stairs of Jethalal's flat's wing in a stealth motion, its fur shining bright under the alluring moonlight. Careful with her steps so that Daya's colourful rangoli doesn't get spoiled, the cat reached the entrance. The Animagus was gone. Babita ji stood in the very same place, with a letter in her hand. She rubbed her fingers gently on the Hogwarts seal which secured the envelope tight. After tapping the door thrice, she slipped in the letter and transformed into a cat one more time, hurrying down the stairs to get to wing C before anybody catches a glimpse of her.
Knock.... knock.... knock......Bapuji has the tendency to wake up even from the faintest of sounds. The eerie taps on the door was enough to send a chill down his spine. Not wanting to wake up Tappu, he gets up from the bed quietly and makes his way to the living room.
"Eh Jethiyaaa!!!!!!" An angry Bapuji screams at the top of his voice, as he catches Jethalal watching a dance reality show in the middle of the night. "Babuchak. Raat ko tv dekhta he, der se sota he, subah to der se uthta hi he. Uske baad fafda jalebi chai chai chai. Kab nahayga kab dukaan jayga?"
"Arre Bapuji kal sunday he, kabhi to thoda aaram karne dijiye" Jetha replies back. By then, both Daya and Tappu have also arrived in the hall. "Ssssssss" Bapuji spatters his saliva all over as he shuts Jethiya up. "E aaramwaadi, Sunday ho ya Monday, raat ko jaldi sona aur subah jaldi uthna, yehi is ghar ka niyam he."
"Meri maa bhi sundar aur mujhe yehi sanskaar bachhhhpann se deti aayi he. Wah maa....maa... wahh..." Daya quips, supporting Bapuji even as she feels Jethalal's angry glare on her. *Background music of lion roaring*
"Waise, tumlogo ne koi awaaz suna?" Bapuji shifts his focus back to the sound that woke him up. "Nahi to" Jethalal replies back, relieved that the subject of attention has now been shifted to something else. How can one listen while being engrossed in the television anyway, wonders Bapuji.
"Darwaze pe mene takkk takk aisa awaj suna, shayad koi ayaa tha, jaake dekke aa", Bapuji orders Jetha. "Wo aise hi suna hoga aapne Bapuji, calling bell nahi bajaya to koi nahi hoga na..... yaa fir aake chala gaya hoga. Aap so jaiye", Jetha tries to allay Bapuji's doubts. "Tu rehne de, me khud dekhta hu jaake....." Bapuji gets irritated and shoves and pushes Jetha back to the sofa and hurries to the front door where he finds an archaic looking sealed letter. He picks it up and brings it back to the hall. "Arre ye to kisiki naam pe chitthi aayi hain. Tappu beta dekh to kya likha he angrezi me". And suddenly in a powerful motion, the envelope dashes out of Bapuji's hand and flies fast till it eventually gets stuck on Tappu's face. The letter continues to writhe and shake as Tappu struggles to remove it from his face.
"Bapujiiiiii" howls Jetha as he runs across the hall and tries to jump upon a rather horrified Bapuji's arms, failing to do so as Bapuji himself is trembling and busy clutching the ends of his dhoti in fear.
"Hey Maa, Mataji" Daya cries out. After a small struggle, she manages to succesfully remove the envelope from her son's face. Quickly removing the seal, the strong and powerful Ahmedabadi Daya pulled the letter out of the envelope. It had gone still by now.
Even as the immediate danger was out of sight, nobody moved. Nobody smiled. Nobody spoke. For they knew, it was not a time to be relieved, as the horror of seeing a seemingly normal, inanimate letter come to life was fresh in their memories.
******to be continued......******
