Closed It's Your Auntie's Birthday

[Ten Layton-King]

Ten didn't really know who to believe, between Ned and Felix, they were better of fighting it out between them than getting her involved. Of course she had loyalty to both, so it was hard when they were against one another. She relaxed a little when Ned found the letter, and bound over to meet her, almost snatching it out of her fingers once again to take a look, peering at the scrawl that was neatly presented. She was about to ask what it said when Ned pushed Felix straight into Colin. "Get off him!" Ten screamed, suddenly bolting across the floor to give her brother another shove and break his cycle of repeatedly squashing his vines. Felix flew out of the bedroom, and Ten knelt beside the plant, trying to calm it down enough that it was stop wiggling.

 

[Eluned Strangewayes]

For a second, Eluned thought Ten was talking to her and was surprised at the redhead's unprecedented display of protectiveness. Then she gave her brother an even harder shove, and Ned realised she had been referring to Colin, her vine, all along. Well, that made much more sense. Ned hesitated, torn between offering sympathy and getting back to the matter at hand - her Hogwarts letter. "He's OK," she said. "Look, he's wiggling. Now look at my letter." She gave it a tantalising wave in front of Ten's face.

 

[Ten Layton-King]

Ten was too busy stroking her branch to notice that Felix crawled away the moment he'd hit the floor. It was true, Colin was wiggling but not a good wiggle, more like the rolling around because you'd stubbed your toe type wiggle. "He's hurting," she corrected, looking up at Ned and seeing the letter waving around in front of her face. Of course, the whole reason she'd come here in the first place. Ten would have to give Colin some loving later, but for now she turned to stand next to her best friend. "Can I read it?" she asked, eyes fixed on the letter as it bobbed up and down in the air.

 

[Eluned Strangewayes]

Frankly, Ned wouldn't have cared if Colin were on fire; it was her eleventh birthday. She smoothed the tattered letter against her chest, then offered it to Ten. "Be careful," she said. "No sudden movements."

 

[Ten Layton-King]

Ten nodded, thinking she'd probably be just as nervous if she had to give her letter to someone else too. She sniffed and wiped her nose on the back of her hand before taking the letter very gently. Dropping her eyes she began to read, lips subtly moving in time to her slow reading, about how Ned was invited to the school and what she would need to bring with her. "Do you think everyone gets one of these?" she asked without thinking, wondering if her own required materials would be the same. "You should frame it," she added, "Get Mervyn to hang it up somewhere nice," Ned's brother would probably be proud too, if he saw it.

 

[Eluned Strangewayes]

All of the excitement of the morning suddenly came flooding back, and Ned vibrated on the spot as Ten read over her letter. "Probably," she said, taking the letter back. She'd already read it a dozen times, but she read it again now for good luck, belly-flopping onto Ten's bed. "This is the best present ever. Even if Mervyn and Leda don't give me anything, I'll be happy." Of course, Ned said this with full confidence that Mervyn and Leda had bought her plenty of presents. She rolled over and smiled innocently at Ten, a prompt if ever there was one.