Must Be Magic
Kitty sat in the library attempting to work on her Transfiguration essay.
It wasn't easy. Not that the material was difficult, but it was hard to concentrate. It was her birthday and here she was doing schoolwork.
Not that it hadn't started out okay. It was a Hogsmeade weekend, so Clarice and James had dragged her down to the village for butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks and coming of age presents. Kitty had tried to play along like she was happy, but her efforts had been halfhearted at best.
Bobby was away from school. In the interest of not wearing out his welcome at the Proudstars's place, he had gone to Professor Xavier for permission to leave the grounds to look for a place of his own on certain weekends. Given that Bobby was such an exemplary student, it hadn't taken much to get Xavier to agree.
Most weekends, Kitty didn't mind this. She always had enough work to keep her occupied. But today...
It was her birthday. And it wasn't just any birthday, it was her coming of age birthday. Kitty might not have been raised in the wizarding world, but she still knew what a big deal it was. And for Bobby to miss that...
And she had hoped he would have been back by now. He'd never been this late before.
Deep down Kitty knew he hadn't forgotten and she was sure he had a very generous gift waiting for her. But it still stung just a tiny bit.
The Ravenclaw girl let out a sigh as she looked over what she had written. It wasn't complete rubbish, thankfully, but she knew she'd have to revise it once she wasn't preoccupied.
"Is this seat taken?"
Kitty nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Bobby's voice. She hadn't heard him approach.
He seemed to realize this, because he smiled apologetically as he sat down beside her. "I didn't mean to startle you," he said. "I just figured I would find you here."
"It's okay," Kitty replied, sighing again. After a moment, she attempted a smile for him. He returned it before leaning over to kiss her.
"Happy birthday."
"Thanks."
Bobby reached into the inside pocket of his cloak. "I have something for you," he went on. "Well, two things, but the other one is upstairs. Have this one first." The Gryffindor boy handed her a small flat box.
Curious, Kitty lifted the lid. She couldn't have been more surprised by what she found.
It was a key, an ornate silver key dangling from a loop of gauzy lilac ribbon. Kitty turned it over a few times, trying to decode what it meant.
Finally, she looked to Bobby again. "I don't understand."
"That is a key to my new place."
Kitty felt a much more genuine smile make its way to her face. "You found a place? That's great," she enthused.
"And I thought you might come visit over the summer. If you wanted to, I mean." Bobby looked away as he said the last part. A hint of a blush appeared on his cheeks.
The key suddenly made a lot more sense. "Oh."
She could have sworn she saw a flicker of disappointment. "You don't have to or anything. I just thought, you know, for a couple of days..." His face was now a brilliant shade of red.
"I would love to visit, Bobby," Kitty assured him. She put the key down and took both of his hands in hers. "In fact," she added, "I'd love to spend the whole summer with you."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Bobby's eyes widened. Kitty couldn't believe she had even said it, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized it was true.
"I'm of age now," she went on. "And everything is going to be different soon. I'll be here and you'll be out in the real world starting Auror training. I want to spend as much time as possible with you."
"I feel that way, too," Bobby admitted. "So it's decided, then. We can work out the little details later."
She nodded. "We can." Kitty's head was already full of plans. There were so many things she wanted to show him...
He was smiling again as he leaned over to kiss her. "I'm glad you said yes."
"So am I." Kitty picked up the key again and pressed it into her palm. "Tell me about your place."
Bobby's face lit up. "Oh Kit, wait til you see it..."