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... He had sensed rather than heard it: someone or something was standing in the narrow gap between the garage and the fence behind him. Harry squinted at the black alleyway. If only it would move, then he'd know whether it was just a stray cat or – something else.

'Lumos,' Harry muttered, and a light appeared at the end of his wand, almost dazzling him. He held it high over his head, and the pebble-dashed walls of number two suddenly sparkled; the garage door gleamed, and between them, Harry saw, quite distinctly, the hulking outline of something very big, with wide, gleaming eyes.

As the title says, I don't understand "the pebble-dashed walls of number two". Is 'number two' the address number of someone's house or something?

-- From Harry Potter.

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  • When quoting from a work, best to keep the original paragraph structure, rather than break the paragraph up into pieces like that. At least I assume "Harry squinted at the black alleyway." is not its own paragraph in the original.
    – TimR
    Nov 10, 2018 at 16:41
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    @Tᴚoɯɐuo, I edited it.
    – dan
    Nov 11, 2018 at 3:29

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Houses in British streets are commonly given numbers, even numbers on one side, and odd numbers on the other. Number two would be the lowest-numbered house on the even numbered side of the street. A pebble-dashed wall is one which has been first coated with a thin layer of concrete, and while this is still wet, sprayed with small pebbles which stick to the concrete.

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  • Thanks! Can you also do me a little more favor to explain "between them"? I don't understand what 'them' refers to?
    – dan
    Nov 10, 2018 at 14:10
  • Between Harry, the garage of number 2 and the fence, in a narrow alleyway
    – James K
    Nov 10, 2018 at 14:22
  • @JamesK, "the number two" is "the garage"? I thought "the number two" and "the garage" are different buildings.
    – dan
    Nov 10, 2018 at 14:29
  • (1) the pebble-dashed walls of number two suddenly sparkled; (2) the garage door gleamed, and between them Harry saw, quite distinctly, the hulking outline of something very big...
    – Michael Harvey
    Nov 10, 2018 at 14:30
  • Actually I think "between" is rather ambiguous (and not very well expressed) But all we really need to know is that something big, black and scary is watching Harry from the shadows.
    – James K
    Nov 10, 2018 at 14:43

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