The Perfect Gift

Thoughts

'Spells'

"Speach"

Letters/Writing

Ava's POV

As I sat there in front of Eric's desk waiting for him to finish the letter he just got from Twila. I began to think about the boy in the next room. All I could think of was the pain I saw in his eyes, such vibrant green eyes, yet you could see that he knew nothing but pain.

"Ouch!" I shouted in surprise and looked down at my hand where I felt a sharp pain. Twila nibbled my finger with her beak to get my attention as she rubbed her head against my hand. As I stroked her head with one of my fingers I heard Eric clear his voice.

"Ahem". I look up to see him smiling at me with amusement dancing in his eyes. I look down and chuckle in amusement when Twila squawked in dignation when I stopped stroking her head, however Twila flew off when Eric started to speak with me.

"Well Ava it's safe to say that the goblins are more than happy to assist us in finding out who the parents of this child are". I sigh in relief. "However they want to see the medical report of the child which I have not gotten the chance to look at yet so we both can have a look at them now before we go check on the boy?" I look up at Eric not answering just yet remembering seeing the boy bloodied and under that bench in the park. I couldn't help but want to know what the child has been through, so in response to Eric's question I just give a sharp nod of my head.

Eric pulls out his wand and quickly summons the three pieces of parchment. All three pieces of parchment were Charmed to extend with the amount of information in each sheet. "Would you like me to read them or would you like to read them out my dear?" I quickly shake my head and reply with a shaky voice. "Please. . . Eric can you please read them? I can't bring myself to look at them not after seeing the damage done to that child." I say not being able to look into Eric's eyes.

Eric nods and reads the first piece of parchment. "Well then I think it's best to start with the past injuries to better understand the present wounds. It will also help us with his mental state as well". He says with a hint of anger in his voice obviously not directed at me but at the person who did this to the child. Eric skipped a few ages seeing most of them were just normal injuries a child would have received at that age.

Magic made report

Past injuries

First severe injury at age 4 was a concussion 2 fractured ribs a fractured wrist and a broken pelvis as well as severe malnourishment.

Second severe injury at age 4 and a half was a broken left foot dislocated right leg and bruising along the jaw left side as well as a slight concussion.

Third severe injury at age 5 was inhaling water, severe head trauma and decrease in stomach size due to malnourishment.

Fourth severe injury at 6 was bruising around the neck, arms, and legs, as well as a hairline fracture in both the left and right legs.

Fifth severe injury at age 7 was a fractured jaw, a broken left arm, a fractured right leg, and a dislocated left leg. In addition, there were five broken ribs and a puncture to the left lung.

Sixth severe injury age 8 was severe malnourishment broken bone above right eye, popped eardrum in both ears and damaged vocal cords due to screaming scars along back and on all parts of his skin that is covered by clothing and words carved in his skin saying freak, monster, demon and die.

I could no longer hold back the tears that threatened to spill from my eyes as Eric finished the first parchment. There were still two more to go. I couldn't imagine how someone could do this to a small child at 4 years old. I look up to Eric, who is shocked at the severity of the child's past injuries and hesitates to pick up the second parchment for the present injuries. This sheet was much smaller than the others because it described only the injuries we saw today.

Magically made document

Present injuries

Severe laceration on left side deep cuts on arms legs back and inner thighs there are also traces of salt in some of the lacerations there's also signs of possible internal bleeding fractured bones in the child's legs and ribs.

After getting up from his seat, Eric opened his office door and yelled for one of the healers, I believe Leo, to come.

As Leo came in Eric quickly asked him if he and the others had already read the parchment and if they had already healed the injuries. Leo looked at the parchment Eric showed him and nodded his head in confirmation that they had healed these injuries. Leo was quickly dismissed as Eric sat back at his desk.

"Ok... This is the last one." Eric said as he picked up the parchment for the child mentality and began to read.

Magical made document

Mentality report

Due to the head trauma and lack of treatment and care, the child may still be a fast learner. However, speech, writing, and spelling will be the only things the child may struggle with, along with a slight case of madness. He will also be distracted very easily and may even become startled if someone takes him out of his mad episodes. The same would be true if you tried to help him recover from his attention. He may also have trouble trusting men, women and other children.

Also due to severe abuse the child is a perfect candidate for an obscurus to form and may already be a host to one.

At that last sentence, Eric and I both paled at what the parchment said. It was me who came to first. "There's no way in hell I'm willing to let this child become that thing." I say with determination. I look at Eric to make sure he listens closely. "This is what's about to happen Eric. I'm going to go to Diagon Alley and get some stuff for this child maybe a stuffed animal or a book I don't know yet maybe I'll get both." As I say this Eric slowly gives me a confused look but doesn't say anything. "You however are going to go into that room and take that child to Gringotts for the ritual and blood test after that's done. When you bring the child back here, he will be in my care. You can deal with the parents." When I'm finished Eric gives me a slightly amused look as though he predicted I would say something like this. However, he merely nods and gets up and leaves to check on the child taking the three parchments with him.

However, I quickly get up and grab a pinch of flu powder from the fireplace. I then throw the powder into the fireplace while saying Diagon Alley. When the fire turns green I quickly step into the flames. When I step out of the fireplace I am no longer in Eric's office but in a toy store in Diagon Alley. I couldn't help but laugh as this is my aunt's store.

"Auntie are you there?" I ask not too loudly if there are other customers. However, as I dust off the powder left on my work uniform I jump at the voice that comes behind me. The voice is strong, firm but feminine. "Well it's about time you came to visit me, leaving me all alone in this shop. Where have you been anyways?" Asked the voice from behind me. I couldn't help but burst out laughing as I turned around to face my aunt's Stern look however she too burst out laughing after a moment.

"Hello auntie it's so pleasant to finally see you again and you know just as well as I do I've been at work." I say as I take a closer look at my aunt. She was a small woman with lovely brown hair like my mother's and very pale skin with blackish brown eyes. I quickly hugged my aunt before asking her a question. "Auntie I don't mean to be any trouble but do you have any toys that would be suitable for a child that may have never had any toys in their life as well as being suitable for a child that has suffered abuse?" I asked her with a serious tone in my voice and hope in my eyes.

My auntie gives me a look and I know that look too well. "Aunt, I know that look, but it's not like that. I have a child in my care who has suffered severe abuse. From the reports that I have read it appears like he never received a present in his life. I really want to make him happy." I say without breathing. My aunt seems satisfied with that answer and rushes through her store looking at everything she has. My auntie has lots of stuff in her store, such as stuffed animals that can move, board games and simple things like Nik naks but the one thing she doesn't have are books which she was unhappy about.

As my aunt looked through her store, I looked through it myself. I wanted to see if I could choose something for him. However as I browsed through the teddies I couldn't help but notice nearly all of them were covered in pink sludge. I quickly looked around to see where the source of this pink sludge could be coming from. It was then that I noticed the Potters with their two children. Wouldn't you know it there sweet little boy who lived is covered in ice cream touching anything he was near. I quickly got out my wand and cast three spells. I cast a cleaning spell at the toys and the boy. I then spell the ice cream to prevent another mess.

As a result, my actions did not remain unnoticed. My aunt looked at me and gave me a slight nod thanking me for my actions. The two adult Potters, however, looked at me with scorn on their faces, evidently not impressed by my efforts.

I quickly looked away when I felt a tap on my arm. There stood my auntie holding a small black wolf with dull eyes. Looking up at her with a look of confusion on my face about the Wolf's eyes, my aunt simply gave me a look that said, must I explain? "The eyes will change to match the child's ones, and there will also be an emerald green bow tied around his neck that will send the Wolf back to its original owner if someone steals it." my aunt explains, her face clearly exasperated.

I quickly thank her and take the wolf into my arms as it licks my face. I smile down at it and quickly turn back to the other toys with my aunt by my side helping me pick another. "Would something like a snake or dragon work for the other toy?" I asked. Auntie nodded slowly in agreement with the idea then she clicked her fingers and three eggs appeared in front of us all three of which were in fact toys. I turned to her with a questioning look on my face.

"These three eggs are special. One is a snake, one is a dragon, and the last is a Phoenix. They only hatch when they are in the presence of the one they are meant for." she says as she points to each egg. I looked closely at the eggs. The snake egg was black with hues of blue, red, and violet. The Dragon Egg was red with shades of gold, yellow, and orange. Finally, the Phoenix egg looked like the Dragon Egg in colour except the red was lighter. I looked at all three again and couldn't help but feel a pull towards the snake egg. I quickly picked it up and turned to my aunt.

My aunt smiles at me and says. "I thought that would be the one you'd go for." She smiles. When I reached into my pocket to get my Gringott's bag to pay for the toys, my aunt stopped me. She quickly wrapped up the two toys in soft fabric instead of wrapping paper. "I do believe that fabric would be better to wrap the toys in instead of wrapping paper just in case." she explains as she passes me the two wrapped toys. I try again to grab my Gringotts bag, but my aunt stops me. As my aunt puffs up her chest with pride, she reminds me that if a child is in my care at the medical center you don't need to pay.

I however froze at what my aunt had just said very loudly. However, it was too late and even my aunt realized what she had just said. Her eyes twitched as we both heard a boy's whiny voice. "MOMMY SHE JUST GOT TWO FREE TOYS. I WANT FREE TOYS, MOMMY!" shouted Alexander Potter shortly after we heard footsteps walking our way.

I quickly turned to face them. Exactly as I predicted, both potters James and Lily stood scornful. Lily changed her expression to a smug one and spoke in a demanding voice. "Well seeing that you're giving out free toys today my two children are going to get free toys too." I quickly turned to my aunt. She looked very angry.

"I think you'll learn that these toys are for a little boy in the medical wing where my niece works. As you and your husband both know I often send free gifts to that same place where my niece works for all the children that are in there." As my aunt said this a smirk slowly crept across her face. Both Potters stood shocked.

"My son saved us all from you know who. Anything he wants he gets!" screamed Lily Potter. Before my aunt could say anything else a small voice spoke out. "Daddy get Mummy to stop this is silly we can just go to a different store." said Rosea Potter.

James Potter looked down at his daughter and heaved a long sigh before grabbing Lily by her upper arm. He pulled her out of the door with Rosea and Alexander following behind them. I looked at my aunt. "Well at least one Potter has common sense." I remarked before bursting out laughing with my aunt laughing with me. My aunt sighed before saying. "That little girl has her father wrapped around her finger. Some might say it's a good thing and some might say it's a bad thing. However, in this case she did well." I nodded.

Picking up the two gifts my aunt had wrapped and saying my final goodbyes to her I left her shop taking one last look at the store and reading the sign that read. The kingdom of toys and imagination. Turning around, I walked slowly looking at all the different signs while walking past them looking for the next store. With it being still dark out there wasn't too much going on. In fact I'm quite surprised that I saw the Potters out this late. Saying that and remembering the ice cream the Boy Who Lived had in his hand they probably came out because their son was demanding yet again.

After a few moments I finally spotted a store. 'Flourish and Blotts.' Walking through the doors and seeing not many people inside I quickly walked down the rows of books looking for something suitable for this child. I remembered that he may have difficulties reading.

After quite a while looking through all the books on each shelf and not seeing a book that I think he may be able to enjoy or like. I walk over to the register where the store owner is. " hello Mr. Flourish or is it Mr. Blotts that I'm speaking to?" I ask with a smile making the tall man laugh. " it's neither. Mr. Flourish and Mr. Blott are not here at this time with it being so late however I am Frank and I will be helping you this evening what does thou maiden need?" Frank asks causing me to smile more. " well Frank I have a child in my care at St. Mungo's Hospital who may have difficulty reading and I was wondering if you have a book that will be suitable for him." I reply with trepidation. " I kind of guess you are with the hospital considering the fact you are still in your work uniform. Try this book it does have a lot of words in however it does have moving pictures and the book has a century spell on it which makes it read out to the person holding the book if they cannot speak or understand." he says handing me a book, when I take it I quickly look at the cover which says magical creatures and plants what they are what they do and what uses they have to our world.

I looked up to Frank and quickly asked him. " how much is the book?" wanting to get out there as quickly as I could as a feel of dread was sinking in the pit of my stomach. " that will be eight Galleon two sickles and five knuts please." As he said this I quickly get the correct amount out of my gringotts bag and hand it to him, after that I quickly turned around with the objects in my arms and quickly left the store as fast as I could however I stopped in my tracks when I saw Lily Potter walking quite fastly towards me I turned around to face Frank. " you wouldn't mind me using your flu would you it's just that I don't feel like confronting an angry Lily Potter." Frank quickly gave me the go ahead and walk over to the door to stall Lily Potter as much as he could.

When I got to St. Mungo's Hospital I started to walk to the young boy's room, finding that he wasn't there nor was Eric either. To pass the time, I tidied up the room and set the gifts down on the bed. I was ready for the child to return with Eric. While I waited I sat in the rocking chair in the corner of the room closest to the door. After a long day, I closed my eyes and fell asleep quickly.