A/N: I'm not dead! Also, Don't own. X's are scene breaks, Italics are either thoughts or mind to mind conversations. This chapter is kind of a bunch of things thrown together and it ends differently than normal. But here we are, Harry's Birthday. It only took two years to go from July 1st to August 1st. xD ~Case
-x-
Harry tied his trainers, glancing over at his friend. Teddy didn't usually sleep at the camp anymore but he had spent last night there, all three of them had. The other boy was half asleep, tugging a blue shirt over his head. The other boys in their cabin were slowly dressing, with loud yawns. He was excited for some reason he couldn't name. It was his birthday and he had never had a good birthday. But this year, this year just seemed different. Two of the boys in his bunk, the ones who actually liked mornings, had already wished him a happy birthday. No one had ever done that before. Sure, his friends had sent cards but no one had ever said those words to him before. He liked it.
-x-
"Our quarters feel empty." Remus remarked quietly, Severus entwined in his arms. It was too quiet in their quarters this morning. The children had opted to sleep at the cabins and while the time alone was welcoming, the silence was not. He liked having the children around; the noisy chaos of their quarters was music to his ears.
Severus snorted softly, rolling over to face his partner, still snug in his arms. "It won't remain that way for long, I assure you." He drawled, smirking at the other man for a moment. And it wouldn't. The children were bound to show up at some point during the day, they always did, as well as Bain would be there to work on potions. He had a lot of brewing still left before school started back; thank the gods for an apprentice. He didn't know where he would have found the time this year, other wise.
Remus soaked up the companionship of his partner for several minutes in silence, before sighing softly. "Severus, we need to talk about it." He murmured finally.
"If we must."
"Severus..." Remus frowned, staring into dark eyes for a long moment. "Severus?"
"Don't."
He bit his lip, venturing forward again. "Please, can we just talk?"
"Why?" He pulled away, folding his arms across his chest. It was hard to look intimating laying down and this was Remus after all; the older man wasn't intimated by him, not anymore, not for years.
"It is necessary that we discuss this."
"I'm listening."
Remus shook his head, touching the other man's arm. Hurt showed, briefly, in his eyes when he pulled away. "No you're not. You are not listening." "You never listen."
He hid a grimace, trying to ignore the hurt radiating off of his partner. But it was difficult. Feeling what Remus felt, feeling what his words and silence caused was difficult. And he hated this. He hated not having that control, being at the mercy of someone elses feelings. It was like empathy gone wrong. "I do listen. But we do not need to discuss it. I love you. That is all that matters." This ability was not necessarily a burden as much as a new challenge. Speaking mind to mind had its benefits and its downsides. The main one being that whenever they spoke this way, they could feel the emotion attached to the words. Tim had explained what was happening to him, what would happen if he tried to ignore it for too long, the damage it could cause Remus. And himself. Tim has also explained how it would develop, his best guess anyway. Every blood-bonded couple was different and their bond was not finished yet. He wasn't fond of change and he knew that even if he could control his temper now, his mind wasn't always a calm ocean. Sometimes he was a raging storm inside and he didn't want Remus to have to feel that. Not that the other man didn't know him intimately, didn't already know when he was seething or hurting inside.
He sighed softly, holding onyx eyes with warm brown. Severus was right of course, their love was what really matter. He just wanted to know what Severus really thought about this, not just the brief thoughts the man sent him or that drifted past his shields. "Alright. You would tell me if it bother you, yes?Or if I hurt you?" Remus pressed, needing to know if his partner really would tell him. He almost doubted it. Severus was good at pretending that everything was okay, even after years together the younger man tried to hide certain injuries or emotions, out of of habit.
Severus closed his eyes for a moment, pinching the bridge of his nose. Of course Remus would ask that. And while he would say practically anything to get him to drop it, they didn't lie to each other. "I can make no promises. But I will try." He responded finally, touching his partner's arm for a moment. "I believe we need to get up as Alexis might miss us at breakfast." He added quietly, although he stayed where he was, relaxing into the warm bed.
Remus snorted, leaning forward slowly and kissing the other man before pushing himself up. "As if Alexis would notice anything before her third cup of coffee." He drawled, stretching and moving toward their bathroom. He did still have a thirteen year old's birthday party to set up and children to wrangle after all.
-x-
Jake forced down the urge to groan, gazing around the camp quarters for a long moment. His boys always seemed to get a bit rowdy right after lunch but never this bad. The younger kids were having quiet rest and play time in their cabins. His boys were suppose to be studying and finishing up summer work. Instead, he had solved three arguments and stopped two fights. "Marko do not hit!" He ordered briskly, shaking his head at the boy. The teenagers needed something productive to do or he was going to go crazy. Two of his were in sessions and while that helped, it didn't help that Henry had just left for a meeting. The girls group was at some activity, so he couldn't even ask Mary, and Kate was staring at his boys like she was afraid of them. Which she might be, to be honest.
"I'm not Marko!" The boy protested, glaring at him.
He raised an eyebrow, gazing at the blond-haired teenager for a moment. The twins had turned fourteen last week and were currently back to talking to each other. The two boys fought constantly, but he could understand why. He did know for a fact that the child in front of him was Marko and not Milo. "Oh? Last I checked, Milo was in a session with Paul. Now, unless you switched places, which I highly doubt, you are Marko. " He drawled calmly, keeping the fact the he could actually tell the twins apart to himself.
Marko scowled, but didn't argue. There wasn't much he could say to that. If he lied, they get in trouble for switching places. If he didn't, he'd have a strike. Which he didn't want. He was almost out of strikes for the day and he didn't want to spend the weekend grounded. That would be boring.
Jake sighed, gazing around the room once more. Gods, it was a mess! Such a mess. His boys had helped make it that way of course. And they did need an activity after all. "Alright! So here is what we are going to do. Since none of you want to study or play quietly, we're going to clean this room. All of us. Together." He called out firmly, ignoring the groans and mumbled words. He met the gaze of each young man in turn until the teens started moving. He just hoped it didn't end up being more of a disaster than it was before.
-x-
"Henry. You're late." Alexis remarked, not looking up from the paper she was reading.
Henry shrugged, dropping into his usual chair with ease. "I would apologize, however a young Headmistress has informed the staff that the children do come first." He responded, pleased at the half smile he had caused. Their conversations were often so serious that it was good to see the younger woman smile.
She finished with the paper, setting it down and turning her eyes on him. "Derek?" She inquired, sighing when that man nodded. What had the child done this time?
"He sought me out, Alexis. He finally trusts me enough to come to me. I wasn't going to turn him away." The boy had never sought him out before, it was something he wanted to encourage. The more the child opened up to him, the more he could help.
Grey eyes blinked as she raised an eyebrow. "He came to you?" Alexis repeated quietly, making a mental note of that. The young bully was changing; even if the changes were slight, they were still there.
"He did. But Derek is not at the top of my list today. I am working with him, trying to change the way of thinking that has been forced upon him. Only time will tell what will happen there. There are others who I am concerned about." Henry replied, green eyes watching as she found a certain sheet of parchment. It always went this way. He listed names first, she wrote them down, and then they discussed them.
"Who?"
"Of the students? Issac, Rose, Daniel, Robert, Emma, and Louis." He could have named half of the older students and she wouldn't have so much as blinked. But now she stared at him and he understood why.
"Emma and Louis?" She questioned, furrowing her brows. She didn't doubt him, she knew better than to do so. Even if he was wrong, it was better safe than sorry. But Emma was twelve. And Louis was an incoming first year. A first year. He was seeing signs of suicide in a first year. An eleven year old boy. Of course, she knew she shouldn't be shocked as she had seen those signs in patients that age and younger before, but so rarely. And this was one of her students! She ran through what she knew of the two younger children in her mind for a moment, frowning in thought.
Louis has just arrived a few days before and despite the tantrums and the protests that he didn't belong there, he could see it in the child. The boy wasn't in danger yet but he could quickly become that way without help. And soon. "You hired me for my abilities to see what others refused and since I can get closer to these children, although I spend much less time with the young ones, you knew I might find some of the younger ones. Louis is tricky. While the abuse he suffered wasn't as horrific as some of the other students, he was still clearly abused and, like many of the children, he denies it. But his eyes are dead, Alexis. That child does not know happiness. I have also heard him 'joke' to some of the boys in his bunk that he would be better off dead. And while the boys tried to dissuade him from that line of talking, they are all pre-teens themselves. I am worried that with the right push, the child could easily become suicidal or violent. Emma, on the other hand, is not tricky. The child was severely sexually abused, she believes herself to be worthless. According to some of the older teenage girls, who have tried to convince her that she isn't her abuse, her abuser once told her that she was 'only good for a fuck and if she couldn't be fucked, she better be dead'. It is easy to see her depression if you look hard enough." Henry detailed, observing the emotions that flitted across her face. It wasn't just suicidal behaviour that he looked for; he had been trained to spot even the most hidden aspect of an individual, including negative thinking, behaviours, and patterns. If he looked too hard, he could find it in every child, and many adults, currently at the Castle. But his job was to focus on the ones that might become threats and he did his job well. In all his years, he had only lost three individuals to suicide.
Honestly, she could have figured Emma out herself. She had noticed how hard it was for the child to adjust, although all of the children had trouble adjusting to change as drastic as being removed from their homes. She made a quick note on her parchment before looking at him again. "Anyone else?"
"No. I had a quiet word with Jake and he is working on getting Charlie more comfortable with him and you have an eye on Kate. I did speak to my contact at the Children's Research Institute. There is a doctor there, a reputable one, who is the brother of a mundane-born healer. He is willing to assess Lila and any other student who shows similar signs." He responded quietly, offering her a sheet of parchment with the man's information on it. He knew that all of the healers had been digging through their contacts, trying to find someone from the non-magical world who could assess Lila for autism. Usually, mundane-borns with autism were assessed at primary school and went to any of the magical schools with a plan already in place. Lila was different. There were no primary records for Lila, no one had ever even thought to do an assessment. Which made helping the child all the more difficult.
She nodded, scanning the information for a moment. She would be contacting this doctor soon. "Alright, tell me about Robert." Alexis requested, leaning back to listen. It would be a long day.
-x-
Eric paused at the doorway to the room he had left Mia in, listening for a moment.
"You are my age, right? It's okay if you can't talk. Do you sign? My parents taught me when I was younger, I couldn't talk either. After my accident." Mia followed the jittery, smaller girl with her eyes, her hand griping the rest on her wheelchair. The headmistress had said that they were working on a magical wheelchair for her, in case her parents let her come to school. She wanted to come to school, so badly.
Lila tugged on her hair, eyes darting from the other girl to the wheelchair to the door to the girl's red hair. She finally nodded, her hands forming quick, decisive movements. -What name? I Lila. You hurt bad?-
"My name is Mia, I'm eleven. And I'm not hurt. Well I am hurt but its an old hurt. I was in a bad accident when I was little. A car hit me and I can't walk anymore. I used to not be able to talk or move at all, but I got better." Mia shrugged, tilting her head slightly at the next onslaught of questions. "Slowly, please. I'm out of practice."
-Is Alexis fixing legs? Are you coming school? Do you have parents?- She hesitated, bouncing in place for a moment, hands twitching.
"I want to come to school but I'm not sure my parents will let me. Of course I have parents. Don't you? The healers are trying but they said it might not work. They tingle though, my legs. They haven't tingled like this before." She replied, watching the little blond. The smaller girl couldn't really be her age, could see? She knew she was smaller than average because she was in the chair, but the other girl was even smaller than her! And why would she ask if she had parents?
-No. No parents. No parents. No parents!- Lila screeched, covering her ears and rocking hard.
"Are you okay? What's wrong?" Mia leaned forward, trying to reach out to the girl. Did she say something bad?
Eric moved quickly into the room, bee-lining toward Lila. He knew a meltdown when he saw one, after all. He lifted the little girl up, swinging her gently onto his hip and ignoring the hands and feet that started hitting him and the almost inhuman screams that came from the child. "It's alright Lila, it is alright. Shh, I got you child." He murmured soothingly, rubbing a hand over the girl's back. He turned brown eyes to the little red head and gave her a reassuring nod. Mia looked terrified and he could understand why. "She's alright, Mia." He added softly, keeping his tone gentle and calm. The child in his arms was slowly starting to calm back down.
"I'm sorry Eric! I don't know what happened. We were just talking and she just...I'm sorry!" Mia gasped, meeting his eyes for a moment before looking at her new friend.
"It is not your fault. These things happen, Mia. Sometimes people get upset and they react in ways that we don't understand. Lila cannot verbalize her feelings and that makes her react differently when she is upset or scared. Her reactions aren't wrong, just different. Now what's this I heard about a tingle in your legs?" Eric finally stopped pacing, a small head resting on his shoulder and an arm around his neck. Thankfully, this hadn't been a full blown meltdown or tantrum. While he knew he could handle two preteen girls during a serious meltdown, it wouldn't be ideal.
"It's weird. It doesn't really hurt but it feels like something is running across my leg. Sometimes it hurts a little. Like a static shock." Mia shrugged, knowing that being honest was the best way for him to help her.
" I see. Do you mind if I run a scan on your legs, Mia?" He questioned quietly, conjuring a rag doll and giving it to Lila. He tried to set the younger girl down but she locked her legs before hitting him. "Uh-uh Lila. We do not hit." He scolded quietly, rubbing the child's back for a moment.
Mia hesitated for a moment, gazing between the younger girl and the older man. The littler girl didn't want to be put down and she understood that, she liked to be held sometimes too. But to check her legs, he would put her down. Finally she shrugged again, meeting the dark skinned man's eyes.
Eric bit back a sigh, conjuring a footstool so that he would be level with the child's legs. He slowly started to maneuver Lila so that she was on his back instead of his hip. The little blond didn't even fight him; apparently the child understood exactly what he was doing. With her holding onto his back, he lowered steadily onto the stool before lifting one of Mia's feet and placing it gently on his leg. He placed a hand on her ankle, letting his magic flow up the limb for a moment before frowning slightly. "Does it hurt when I do that, Mia?"
She grimaced, biting her lip to keep the pain in. When he had straighten her knee, it had hurt. Her leg hadn't hurt like that in years. She avoided his gaze, not one to complain and met Lila's eyes. The smaller girl had an armed wrapped around Eric's neck with one hand holding the doll and the other signing at her. She frowned, taking a moment to register the signs before shaking her head. She wouldn't tell him. She was use to pain, even if it wasn't pain like this. She was used to the constant pain in her spine, so used to it that she was adapt at hiding it now. But her spine had not been hurting as much in the last couple of days as it usually did.
Lila frowned at the wheelchair-bound girl, making a rapid, one-handed gesture before smacking Eric's shoulder.
"Lila, we have talked about hitting." He remarked calmly, tilting his head to see the younger of the two girls. She made a sign that he knew well before pointing at Mia. He raised an eyebrow, turning his eyes back to the red haired child. "Lila informed me that you are in pain." He remarked quietly, forcing down a smile when the rag doll floated passed his head and landed shakily on Mia's lap. A child who had so little was sharing something with another child who was hurting. He had noticed the pain as soon as he had sent his magic into the girl's leg. That's why he had asked her. He had wanted her to tell him herself, but if she wouldn't, at least she had a friend that would keep her honest.
Mia shrugged, looking down. "It hurts a little."
Eric sighed softly. He knew that it hurt more than 'a little'. The fact that it hurt the child when he straightened her leg was interesting. He moved one of his hands to rest of her knee, letting his magic examine the joint closer. After a few moments, he removed his hand, summoning a pain potion with a slight shake of his head. The nerves in the child's leg were re-forming faster than they had expected. Her magic, which had already been trying to repair the damage, had been amplified. If the pain she felt now was anything to go by, the process was going to be extremely painful. There was little he could do for the child except give her something to help with the pain. "Drink this Mia. It will help. If you are in pain, you must let Alexis, your parents, or I know immediately so that we can help you. Your legs might be painful for a while and it is not necessary for you to be in that amount of pain." Eric remarked finally, offering the child the potion vial. He waited until she had finished it before gently easing her legs back down and moving Lila to sit on his lap. He conjured a second doll, offering it to the smaller girl, and leaned back slightly, so that they could converse and play with ease.
-x-
Teddy grinned at his friend, easily taking his free hand and pulling Harry into the party room. "You have to see what Alexis did!" He had given her the idea, of course, but Harry didn't have to know that.
Karrie smiled at Teddy's excitement, letting Harry pull her along with them. She blinked as they entered the room, eyes wide. This was so much different than the other parties she had attended here. Granted, Harry would not like either a fairy nor a princess party. But this... this looked like a mundane party she once attended. She completely understood Teddy's excitement.
"This is awesome!" Harry grinned, green eyes darting from place to place. There was a bouncy house and an inflatable slide on one side of the room and a magical Snitch pinata hovering just past the table. This was so wicked! But how did Alexis know he would like this? He had only told Karrie and Teddy. Unless Teddy had told her, which was possible. That didn't make it any less awesome though. He wasn't quite sure what he wanted to try out first. Maybe they could do the bouncy house while they waited for the rest of their friends? "Let's play." He shrugged finally, pulling both Teddy and Karrie toward the colorful bouncy house.
"Maybe we should wait, Harry." Teddy suggested hesitantly. He wanted to play on the bouncy house too. But he had a feeling that messing around on it unsupervised would not be acceptable.
"For what?" Harry frowned, glancing at his friend for a moment, stopping beside the bouncy house and kicking off his shoes.
"An adult." Karrie supplied quietly, shaking her head slightly. She had played on one before and there had been an adult nearby at all times, in case something happened.
"We'll be careful." He shrugged, glancing between the two of them for a moment before dashing up the little incline and through the entrance into the bouncy house.
Teddy looked at Karrie for a moment and they both rolled their eyes. Harry careful? On something that he could flip, jump, and tumble? Yeah right. With a shrug, he kicked off his own shoes and slowly entered the bouncy house. If nothing else, they could have fun together.
-x-
Remus bit back a smile, watching the three preteens bounce and tumble. He was quite happy that Severus had required alert and safety charms on the bouncy house. When Alexis had ordered the set, they had been a bit skeptical. But with the safety charms and the charm Filius placed on the toy to keep it completely inflated, he felt better about it. The fact that Alexis felt the need to buy seven different bouncy toys, some of which could only be used outside due to their size, was not actually shocking. The younger woman wanted these children to have the chance to actually be children. What better way than to have an end of summer party with bouncy structures and water toys. Of course, the children wouldn't know about it until the end of summer, but the counselors were already trying to plan the event. Remus frowned, raising an eyebrow as one of the black-haired children did a flip that was risky. "Children, your friends will be here shortly. Why don't you come out and help me set up the table?" He inquired finally, partly for his own peace of mind. Severus probably would have smirked at him for worrying over Harry's risky moves, but that child was a danger magnet. He didn't need to take unnecessary risks.
Harry groaned, following his two friends out of the bouncy house and back over to the other half of the room. He wanted to bounce! It was fun and it was almost as cool as flying. Almost. He moved over to the table, taking the plates that Remus offered him and moving to set them out. Harry blinked, staring at the plates for a moment before grinning up at Remus. The plates had zooming snitches on them. Glancing at the plastic cups, his grin widen. There were Quidditch players zooming around the cups and a plastic snitch floating up the straws. This would be the best birthday ever. It was his first party and the first time he would spend his birthday with his friends. He wasn't quite sure what the feeling in the pit of his stomach was but he thought it might actually be happiness.
Karrie looked up from helping Remus set up the cupcake stand with the snitch and broom cupcakes, turning her eyes toward the door. Her eyes lit up as she moved steadily toward the group of kids trying to all enter the door at once. "Neville! Daphne!"
Teddy turned toward the door at Karrie's voice, smirking as Blaise and Draco playfully shoved each other through the door way. Millie followed them with a roll of her eyes. That was everyone but one then. He had 'overheard' Alexis talking to Severus about someone Harry wanted to invited. He wasn't sure if that person would come or even if he wanted her to. But Harry did, so that was all that mattered.
Draco paused, staring at the large, inflated contraption for several moments before grinning widely. That looked like fun. It wasn't something that they had at the manor but if it was as wicked as it looked, maybe he could talk his dad into getting one for the manor's kids. "Harry! Happy Birthday!" He brushed his friend's arm softly, ignoring the slight flinch. They were slowly teaching Harry how the Slytherins and Ravenclaws greeted each other with gentle, subtle touches that were to create comfort and kinship. The Ravenclaws were a bit more hands off but Karrie had quickly picked it up. If only her and Millie would stop fighting! He wasn't quite sure why they were fighting, since Millie wouldn't talk about, but he wished they would just get over it. He fought with Blaise regularly but they always made up quite quickly.
Green eyes gazed around the room, stopping briefly on each of his friends faces. Harry had seen the moment they had noticed the bouncy houses, as his friends faces had looked puzzled and then excited.
"Harry."
He turned as his sister tugged on his arm, turning away from the friends milling about, ready to play and eat, toward the doorway. Toward Severus. Severus was standing halfway in the doorway, talking to someone outside the room for a moment before the man slipped into the room and beckoned for the person to follow him. Harry blinked before a huge smile lit up his face. Hermione had come! She had actually come! Now all of his friends were here, the ones his age anyway, and he knew that this would be a great evening. It just had to be.
-x-
It was when they were in the bouncy house, half of them anyway, that Blaise shoved Hermione. Karrie frowned, eyes focused on the older girl. The bushy hair preteen merely looked up at Blaise, shrugged, and bounced back up. The girl who was notorious for ordering people around said...nothing. Hermione did keep her distance from Blaise, but honestly, she was also staying out of pushing range from Blaise. He thought it was funny to see people fall and bounce back up. If one of the adults didn't catch on soon, she was going to hex him.
"I don't like it." Draco murmured softly, waiting for Millie to go down the large slide first. He glanced sidewise at Teddy, nodding his head in the direction of the bouncy house.
Teddy bit his lip, running a hand through his hair. He didn't like it either but she was Harry's friend. She hadn't written Harry all summer but she was here. It wasn't like the older girl was like the Weasley boy. "She's his friend. We just have to give her a chance, for Harry."
"And if she hurts him?" Draco inquired casually.
His eyes darken for a moment and a sly smile graced his lips. "Then we destroy her." He responded softly, before climbing up the inflatable wall and flying down the slide.
"Children! I think it is time for cake and presents!" Remus called out, eyes focused on that bounce house. There was too much shoving going on for his liking. The group of rampaging children that suddenly appeared around him was mildly disturbing. Maybe he didn't want to give them cake, after all.
Harry took a deep breath, eyes pulled toward the pile of presents. Those were for him. Him. He had never received so many presents in his life! Let alone in one day! He glanced up when Severus took his hand, gently pulling him to the front of the circle of now seated children. He sat down where the man had gestured, eyes lighting up when Remus handed him the first present. It was wrapped in fire-breathing dragon paper! He traded a grin with Draco before carefully peeling away the paper.
A child should not open a present so carefully. Granted, Neville had been the same way as had Teddy. It made him wish that he could harm those who had hurt these precious children. Lucius bit back a smile when the child's face split into a wider grin at Draco's present. Who knew comic books could cause such joy. He raised an eyebrow, watching the face of the mundane-born child drop before turning back to watch, and take pictures, of Harry. He had offered, of course, so that the two parents could control the present pile and the group of sugary monsters disguised as children.
Harry was enjoying this. It helped that his friends knew him well. Teddy had gotten him an awesome drawing book, Alexis had given him nice inks for it; Karrie had found a magical griffin and a practice snitch that changed colors! All the other kids have given him equally thoughtful presents. The one he held was the last one, as Severus and Remus had explained earlier that they would give him his presents in their quarters later. It was wrapped in plain deep purple paper and it felt like a book. He opened it just as carefully as the others, gasping at the comic books that greeted him before his eyes flew to Hermione. These were Mundane comics!
"Spider-man? The Avengers? The Hulk?" Draco read softly, eyes scanning the titles as Harry lifted each one from the bundle. It wasn't Merlin and the Dragon or the Mad Potions Master, but they looked intriguing. "Harry?" He whined, causing Teddy to nudge him and Blaise to chuckle.
"Yes Draco, you can borrow them when I'm done." He rolled his eyes, huffing out a breath in dramatic exaggeration. "Thanks Hermione, these are great."
Maybe the other girl wouldn't be so bad after all, if she knew that Harry liked purple and that comics, of any type, were his favourite. Karrie mused nudging Daphne with her foot. "Two galleons, we both hear about 'The Hulk' for a week."
Daphne giggled. "Make it two."
-x-
Harry sat up as his sister sneaked silently into his room. He didn't have to look at the clock to know what time it was. He just knew. It was August 1st now, the day between.
Karrie moved quietly, eyes watching for the stray toy that she knew Harry had left on the floor. She reached his bed safely, climbing up and crawling in beside him. It was in-between now and she could feel the magic within them both. "Happy Birthday Harry." She whispered, leaning into his side..
"Happy Birthday Karrie." He smiled, watching the glitters of magic dance around them for a moment before he closed his eyes.
She also smiled, feeling something change ever so slightly before she also drifted off to sleep.
They were twins in all but blood. Magic knew it and made it so. Children might not understand the rules and rituals that adults used. That did not, however, make them any less capable of magic. A magic called by the simple wish of two children, close in age, to be twins will do just that. The two might not have realized the magic they had invoked that night, by simply deciding that they wanted to share a birthday, but magic knew. Magic knew.
-x-