Birthday: Family, Friends and Gifts

It had been an entire month since the Longbottoms went to the Scamander Reserve and Alexis met Kane. Alexis himself was currently preparing for his birthday party since, according to his parents, there would be plenty visits. Kane was standing right by his side, this time in the size of a Golden Retriever. The look on confusion constantly present on the Gairean's face stemmed from Alexis' indecisiveness at what clothes to wear. After all Kane didn't wear clothes and, obviously, he couldn't understand its owners predicament.

Alexis came to a decision only after his mother told him to hurry up, as the visitors would be arriving in a matter of minutes. He chose some clothes that were fitting for a child, since he didn't really want to stand up, but still wanted to be fashionable. A simple black tight-fit jean, a red and black plaid hoodie shirt and a pair of also plaid black and white sneakers. Looking himself in the mirror, Alexis felt happy. He currently had blond hair and shiny green eyes, much like his mother. His face however, had taken the best of both his parents, and he had refined yet soft facial features.

Once he was over with his moment of narcissism, Alexis left his room and went downstairs -Kane never leaving his side.

*

The Longbottoms lived a rather humble life, in spite of their earnings allowing them to live lavishly. It didn't sit well with them, being the kind people they grew up to be, to be drowned in luxury. Besides that, they didn't want to spoil their child rotten and they had done a very good job, being neither too strict nor too liberal with Alexis. The proof of that being the month long punishment they gave him for doing something so, according to Hannah, dangerous, reckless and stupid. Alexis hadn't been allowed to touch any kind of electrica device for the entire length of said month, so he dedicated himself to play with Kane.

The problem with their way of raising Alexis was that, seeing him not living the life that everyone wanted to give to their children -yet didn't do so because of the consequences-, their friends spoiled him in their stead. The Potters, the Weasleys and even the Scamanders always sent many gifts to Alexis from their trips and jobs, which resulted in the kid accumulating a potpurri of magical artifacts, books and toys. And since todays was his birthday, it wouldn't be worse than any other day.

When Alexis had finally reached the living room, the first of the visitors had already arrived. Harry and Ginny Potter, together with their kids, James Sirius and Lily Luna. The first one to greet him was his "older cousin", as they had grown up to consider each other family. James ran up to him and picked him up from the ground, throwing him up and catching him once again. There was only a six year difference, but the firsborn of the Potters treated him like a child nonetheless. Lily was a lot milder when compared to her brother, walking up to him and hugging him tightly. She had never treated him like a cousin, and Ginny could tell why, as she had gone through the same. Then were Harry and Ginny, who simple knelt down and hugged Alexis.

A flash of light later and the Weasleys had arrived. Ron, being Ron, grabbed Alexis from where he stood and began to play with him, much like James had. He wouldn't let go until, five minutes later, his wife berated him for his childish behaviour. Hermione just hugged him and gave him a soft pat in the back and Rose, their daughter, gave him a short hugh and congratulations. Hugo also gave him a short hug, but in a more brotherly way. They were around the age were they didn't want to be seen hugging other boys, after all.

After all greetings and words of congratulations were said and done, it was time for the celebration. Based on a tradition that was born in the group of friends due to Harry never really celebrating any birthday before his eleventh, the eleventh birthday was supposed to be one of the biggest celebrations -only outshined by the coming of age. The "party" consisted of a sumptuous meal followed by a variety of magical games. There was even an enchanted variation of Uno were the effects of the cards were reflected on the person which was affected. For example, one grew the amount of eyes one got in cards if they lost to a +2 or more, or had their lips glued if they were blocked. Alexis assumed it was one of the more modern toys made by George, who unfortunately seemed to be unable to attend his birthday.

It was only when they stopped their games that someone noticed the weird winged tiger on Alexis' shoulder, and immediately asked about it.

"What is that creature? I haven't read about it in any book!" said Rose as she admired Kane's little form. Everyone then shifted their attention to whatever had caused the ginger's surprise, and no one could help the look of wonder from crawling its way to their faces.

"His name is Kane, and he is a Gairean" was all that Alexis was willing to provide as an answer. Not like there was much more to say about Kane, right? But he was wrong. Question after question, Alexis had to answer with a look of annoyance. Only after he explained how they met and that his pet wasn't really comfortable around other people did they stop asking questions. His mood got better when Hugo made a big deal of how jealous he was of him, being able to name a species of magical creatures and the honour it meant.

It was late evening when Alexis finally received his gifts and, for the love of The Allmother, he could swear they were tempting him to be a little bit more mischievous. The first gift he received was the Potters'. One of them had prepared something that Alexis himself thought would be more than necessary if he was to unveil the remaining secrets of Hogwarts. James, the oldest son of the Potters, thought it wise to gift a kid that was about to enter Hogwarts the Marauder's Map. Without his parents knowing, of course. Doing his best to not look too excited or suspicious, Alexis simply hid it inside his pocked, while receiving a smirk from Harry, who apparently knew all along but pretended not to. Lily has picked herself a slef-adjustable shirt that, knowingly or not, Alexis showed how much he loved by changing into it the moment he got it. Ginny and Harry had more "normal" gift, if anything magical could be called that. A Remembrall. That one earned a nervous chuckle from his father.

The Weasleys were simpler and more practical, so they had prepared useful gifts that made sense with their personalities. Ron, together with Hugo, had prepared an advanced guide on brooms and a servicing kit to keep whatever broom he used in top shape. Alexis pretended to be deeply excited about it, but deep down he knew that he would never need a broom with Kane by his side. Hermione had bought him books he would find useful during his time at Hogwarts, many of which advised on how to properly study and taught time management. Their daughter, Rose, bought a self-writing quill with her own allowance. This one was like Rita Skeeter's and it would write whatever Alexis said.

The last gift came in a big package with a card tied to it. Alexis picked up the card and read it out loud.

"Dear Alexis:

Sorry for not being able to attend to your birthday party, I know very well how important an eleventh birthday is for all of us. Still, I wanted to congratulate you and wish you a happy day.

As you already know, taking care of a magical creature may be difficult, so I sent you this big gift to help you take better care of Kane and, in turn, of yourself. You might not know this, but when a magical creature chooses an "owner", they become extremely protective of them. The healthier Kane is, the better for you.

Best wishes, Luna Lovegood"

Opening the package like a the little kid he still was, Kane was extremely happy to see a magical creature care kit. It had everything one would need, and enough for at least a couple years. Two different brushes, one more stiff and pointy to use during baths and the other one soft and flexy, to just brush kane's fur. Eyedrops of monthly use for care of the creature's sight and self-cleaning cotton balls for its ears. A special toothbrush that adjusted its size to match that of Kane. Lastly, a guide on how to identify and deal with different kinds of magical creatures, together with notes written by Luna herself on how Kane might react to them.

Alexis wondered if there was anything that could topple the gifts that he had already gotten, but he immediately thought that whatever his parents got him would be more than enough. After all, a gift his parents had gotten him was something special. It was a gift full of care and thought. And he wasn't disappointed.

When his parents finally had their turn to give Alexis their gift, he found something that made him feel extremely happy. People could send messages through phones. They could "surf the web" and do many more things. Alexis could also do those things with his new phone, but he could also do so much more. What used to be a simple OnePlus 7T Pro was now magically enchanted. Besides the usual apps that a phone already had, this one came with many magical ones that worked through the enchantments put in it. It was a piece of the most avant-garde uses of magic in modern Muggle technology.

The usual map function had been tweaked to work in real time and it would also show the favourite contacts who were in the area as a blue dot, with blocked people appearing as a red one. Those who weren't registered as contacts or were neither favourites or blocked would appear as grey dots. The messaging app had been disconnected from the Muggle phone service providers and now worked only with other magically tampered phones, with apps like Line or WhatsApp working as every other phone would. The last magical app it had was related to the camera. You could point you phone towards any place with the camera open and, as long as you activated the option, it would reveal any invisible creature or person. Besides it could also show the true appearance of someone who used a spell to change their faces, though it could still be fooled by a Polyjuice potion.

*

After all the gifts had been given, everyone prepared for the big event of the nigh. Cutting the cake and blowing the candle. This was special moment for Alexis, as he could feel the care, love, and the actual connections he shared with everyone present. Even if he had been an old man, he would've still been touched seeing so many people gathered together to celebrate his birthday and nothing else. Even Kane jumped from his usual spot in Alexis' shoulder and tried to sing with the rest, though it sounded like a mix between a meow and a purr.

When he finally heard everyone clapping and Hugo hurrying him to blow the candle so he could eat cake, Alexis smiled brightly, knowing full well what he would wish for. With the dim light of the candles being the only thing illuminating his face, he blew 'Please allow her to feel this same warmth'

*

Somewhere in... the Universe?

The Allmother could feel a small tug, as if something was trying to pull her back from her place of imprisonment. She heard the whisper of a wish, a wish that came from the bottom of the heart, wishing not for oneself or someone else, but for her. Someone had wished for her wellbeing. In the Eons she spent seeing their children come and go, not a single one of them had worried about her. But now someone had. Whatever forces kept her in place died out, releasing her of the curse that held her captive for such a long time that loneliness lost all meaning.

"Please allow her to feel this same warmth" were the words she heard, spoken by a voice she knew all to well, as it hadn't been really long since she had heard it last. She smiled, warmly and lovingly. Not for the happiness of being free, but because something she didn't deem possible happened. Someone had thought of her as an equal, deserving of love, care and a family.

Perhaps, now she could have an actual family. Perhaps she now could feel love. And perhaps, just perhaps, she could share her life with the one who broke her out of her prison.