author's notes: have a nice birthday, alecto. keep your pants on.

There was really only one way to describe how well Alecto's birthday went.

It didn't.

•

Alecto was entertained by the guests arriving until she saw that it was the same old crowd — Les, Barty, Ella, Thorfinn, Bellatrix, Fenrir, Tassie, Cam, and all the spawn. The few people whom she was glad to see were Dragon, Bellatrix, and of course Maisie and Amycus.

She had been forced by Walburga and Druella to wear a twirly party dress with sensible but fancy shoes, and her hair had been pinned in a severe-looking bun with about fifty bobby pins that poked into her skull. She was very uncomfortable, but Maisie was very stressed and all Alecto control had been (relunctantly) handed over to the sniffy old ladies.

Once everyone had gathered, Maisie, clad in a dress with shiny silver skull print all over it, invited everyone to the table for dinner. It was turkey, in honour of the Muggle holiday called Thanksgiving. Turkey was "healthy," so Alecto automatically hated it. There were also peas and mashed potatoes and gravy, which Alecto couldn't stand. She was amazed that Maisie had allowed this to be served on her birthday, her special day.

•

The guests were excused as Maisie, Bella, and Amycus cleaned up from dinner. There were juvenile party games such as Pin The Nose On The Dark Lord — which Tom, arriving fashionably late, thought barbaric — and Spin The Bottle, which ended up not working because of all the youngsters.

This wasn't going right at all, Alecto thought miserably. And the worst part was no one seemed to notice.

•

The shiny confetti machine cheered her up a bit, as did the black party hats with silver Dark Marks on it. She stuck a party hat over her bun and started the machine, laughing and clapping when shiny confetti flakes shot into the air and rained down.

Ella scowled and picked several out of her juice, then brushed more out of Draco's hair. She took his cup to inspect for confetti and the little boy's face crumpled. Ella sighed dramatically and grabbed her son and her husband by the hand. "I'm afraid we should go," she told Maisie apologetically. "It's rather late and Draco needs his rest." She eyed the confetti machine and the games. "And I do think this party fell rather flat."

"Oh, that's perfectly fine," Maisie said, smiling. "Have a good rest of your night."

The small family left, and as if on cue, both Les and Tassie came over. "We should also go," they said. "With the children, I don't think this late hour will work."

Alecto wanted to protest. She wanted to shout and scream and throw a tantrum because this was her party, goddammit! The guests weren't supposed to leave!

But, once again, no one seemed to notice or care.

•

Nothing was right today. The few remaining guests were ignoring her — even Nagini, Alecto's biting buddy, and her Aunt Dragon. Maisie was off somewhere, as were Bella and Amycus, and Alecto felt utterly discluded.

Alone again.

Like how it was before Amycus had found Maisie and she'd been adopted. Even Fen had left, saying that he needed to have a quick Muggle-hunt before bed.

Alecto sat down in a corner with Fiona, her pygmy puff, and cried.

•

Maisie awoke with a start. On the bed to her right, Alecto was sandwiched between her and Amycus. The clock on her bedside table read 11:59 P.M.

"Alecto," she whispered, nudging her daughter gently.

Alecto woke slowly, rubbing her eyes. "What?"

Maisie pointed at the clock. As she did, the numbers changed. Fireworks went off in the distance, lighting up the sky through the curtains hanging over the windows.

"Happy birthday!"

word count: 627