This is my first time writing instead of reading, so please be nice! But I do of course welcome all criticism :) You know the drill I own nothing...
He slid the watch in the thin slither of light that escaped the door.
Just 2 minutes to go.
He put the watch down with the care it needed, the strap and glass had broken years before prompting his cousin to discard it. The risk of hiding it away had been well worth it, it had quickly become one of his prized possessions. With no windows to the outside world the broken and battered watch was his only guide as to what time it was, sometimes even what day.
1 minute to go.
He could still hear the quiet murmurings of the television in the front room, either his uncle had fallen asleep watching it, or his cousin had snuck down to watch TV shows no 11 year old should be watching.
The watch hands finally clicked over to midnight and he braced himself in the dark.
Nothing happened. There was no flash of light, no sound, no shaking of the house, and the tingling barely reached his ankles before subsiding. He reached his hand out into the slither of light next to the watch, not even a sparkle.
Well this is new….
Harry had learnt while still very young that what usually happened on his birthday wasn't exactly 'normal' but it had always happened for him. Every year on his birthday, there would be a, a flash of pure white light, the house would shake, his skin would tingle and most annoying of all he would sparkle like someone had carved him from diamonds for the entire day. It was awful! The house shaking and the flash of light would wake up the rest of the house causing them to shout and screech at him, like he had done it! And the sparkle would mean he couldn't go to school, or even do some of the chores, he would spend the entire day shut in his cupboard making sure no one could accidentally see him.
Harry turned his hands in the light a few more times just to check - not even a shimmer. Double checked the well, yep definitely his birthday. Oh well he figured he might as well try and get some sleep and dared to dream that it might just be a normal day.
"Happy Birthday" the young boy whispered to himself as he put his watch away and made to lie down until day break.