Trying to look down into the front garden, I can see the back wheel of my bike poking out of the porch and I breathe a sigh of relief, ready to head back to the warmth of the bed as I realize how cold my bare feet are. Maybe I imagined it, I think, Harry on my mind making me hear things that aren’t there. As I turn away from the window a movement in the corner of my vision makes me stop, and I turn back, my breath catching in my throat. There is someone there, just as I thought. The figure of a person stands under the dim glow of the streetlamp across the road, a hooded top pulled up over their head, making it difficult to distinguish whether it is a man or a woman. Holding my breath, afraid to make a sound, I watch as they raise their head to the window and I get the unmistakable feeling that they know I am here, that they are watching me.

‘Rupert!’ I hiss his name, turning to the bed, ‘Rupert, wake up!’

Rupert rolls over, mumbling under his breath.

‘Rupert, wake up, please! There’s someone outside, they’re watching the house!’

Remembering the face I saw at the bottom of the garden a few weeks ago, my hands start to shake, and I turn back to the window with my heart in my throat, only to see that the street is empty. There is no one there.

Creeping into the flat, I jump as Tiny rockets out of the kitchen, snarling and yapping. So much for sneaking back home without waking Mags up. I was hoping that it was early enough on a Sunday morning for me to sneak in, grab a quick shower again and creep back out before she got up, but not anymore. Not now Tiny is awake.

Despite a sleepless night, the faceless figure outside the house appearing in my dreams every time I managed to drop off, I feel remarkably chipper. Rupert thinks perhaps I either imagined the person outside – being half asleep and having Harry on my mind – or it was just someone waiting for a lift or something outside the house. Either way, my bike was still there, and even though I am tired, there was something magical about last night, about staying the whole night right through, sleeping in the space in Rupert’s bed that Caro used to occupy. I thought things might be awkward this morning when we woke, but it wasn’t at all. It was like it was meant to be. Only now, I have to face Mags, and any trace of my magical night with Rupert is washed away by her appearance in the doorway to her bedroom.