July 25th
The Livanthos family's country estate in the Cotswolds was a vision of honey-coloured stone and manicured perfection, basking under a flawless July sun. For Talora's birthday, the sprawling lawns had been transformed into a scene of understated, impossible luxury.
But for Talora, the true luxury was the sleepover that would follow. As the last of the adult guests departed and the string quartet packed away their instruments, a giddy sense of anticipation settled over the five girls.
They had commandeered the sunken living room, a cavernous space with floor-to-ceiling windows that now showed the deepening twilight. Piles of silk cushions and cashmere throws were scattered everywhere, and the remains of a decadent, freshly made dessert platter sat on the coffee table.
Earlier in the day, Roman and Cassian had made a brief appearance at the main party, delivering their gifts with polite formality before returning to their own families. Roman's was a first-edition magical text, while Cassian's was an ancient, silent astrolabe.
"My turn!" Shya announced, practically vibrating as she handed Talora a long, slender Tiffany box. "Arya insisted on the ribbon. I think he licked it to make it stick."
"Ew, Shya!" Lisa giggled, wrinkling her nose.
Talora laughed, untied the ribbon, and lifted the lid. Inside lay a solid gold pen, elegantly engraved with her initials, TL, picked out in a delicate line of pavé diamonds.
"Oh, it's perfect," Talora breathed, her voice full of genuine pleasure. "I'll use it to write terribly mean things about Granger in my diary."
"That's the spirit," Shya said with a grin. "But wait, this is the main event." She gestured to a large, flat box. Talora unwrapped it to reveal the miniature Hermès bicycle. "The real one's in the garage. We are so charming it to fly. Imagine me chasing Peeves on it."
"You'd run him right through a wall," Mandy said, eyes wide.
"That's the point, Brocklehurst."
The other girls presented their gifts. Mandy's Glamour Potions were met with squeals.
"Ooh does this one really make your pores vanish?" Lisa asked, holding a vial to the light.
"For a whole day! I tried it before the party," Mandy confirmed.
Lisa's magical makeup kit was an instant hit. Padma watched, amused, as Lisa immediately swiped the cosmic eyeshadow onto her eyelid. "Merlin's beard, it's like having a galaxy on your face!" Lisa gasped, staring at her reflection in a compact mirror.
"Here, let me try the fire lipstick," Shya demanded, snatching the tube. She applied a bold swipe. Her lips shimmered with enchanted, moving flames. "Okay, this is brilliant. I'm never taking it off. I'm going to terrify the first years with this."
"Your mother will love that at the next gala," Talora deadpanned.
Padma's gift of a self-correcting journal was passed around with appreciative murmurs. "This is so much better than my boring old one," Lisa said. "Mine just has a spell that yells 'LOSER' in a really judgey voice when I write something personal."
The conversation, as they lounged, inevitably turned to their Hogwarts letters.
"Herbology," Shya announced with a dramatic shudder, flopping back onto a cushion. "An 'A.' I don't know what Professor Sprout has against perfectly logical reasons for why certain plants shouldn't be touched. 'But it's a Fanged Geranium, Shya, it's supposed to bite!' So? It's rude."
Talora snorted. "Defence Against the Dark Arts," she countered, wrinkling her nose. "An 'A.' I'm blaming Quirrell entirely. How was anyone supposed to learn anything with that stutter and the constant smell of garlic? It was an assault on the senses. I think I learned more from the chapter titles than his actual lessons."
"Everything else was an 'O,' though," Mandy said, and it wasn't a question.
"Obviously," Talora and Shya said in perfect unison, then grinned at each other.
"Show-offs," Lisa mumbled affectionately, now trying to blend the nebula eyeshadow into Mandy's hair.
As the night deepened, the talk turned to their summers.
"Ugh, I'm just going to be stuck at my grandmother's in Wales. She still thinks Floo powder is a newfangled invention," Lisa moaned.
"Could be worse," Shya said, examining her flaming lips in a spoon. "I have to go to a tech gala in Silicon Valley with my parents. I'll have to talk to people who think 'magic' is just a word for good user interface."
"I call that a win," Talora laughed. "You can just make up anything. Tell them your wand is a new prototype for on the go charging."
The room dissolved into laughter. In that moment, surrounded by her friends, the glow of the gifts, and the simple, silly joy of being eleven and together, the haunting image of a mutating forest felt like nothing more than a forgotten bad dream. Tomorrow, they would go their separate ways, but for tonight, the world was perfect, and it was all theirs.