edited.

"Your birthday is nearly here, is there something you want to do for it?" Natasha asked one afternoon before movie night. It had started off on Friday as a way to pass time that night and eventually turned into a ritual and every Friday, they would turn off the lights and get comfy on the sofa to watch a new movie every time.

"Uh, I don't really know. I've never done anything for my birthday- it's always been like every other day," Hailey replied.

"But surely, you're turning thirteen. You must have some plans for your thirteenth birthday," Natasha insisted.

"I don't really know, I don't care much for them," she said. It was totally untrue. She did care for her birthdays, especially because each of Dudley's was so special but after thirteen years of experience, she knew better than to expect anything special on her birthday.

"Well, we can invite your friends over if you want. Ron, Hermione? Kate? And we can cut the cake together," Natasha said.

"I don't really want to put you through all that trouble Natasha, you've done so much already. It's unnecessary," Hailey began.

"Are you kidding? It is no trouble, we are absolutely inviting everyone over and celebrating. You can give me a list of everyone you want over and send them invites yourself," Natasha said. She had never had a childhood, let alone birthday parties. As a matter of fact, she didn't even know when her birthday was. She wanted Hailey to have all of that.

Hailey needed little prompting to start planning. Ron and Hermione were most obviously invited. Padma and Lavendar were her friends but she didn't want to invite them over all the way to New York. She had grown close to Kate over the fencing classes. Kate had even invited her over one weekend and they had spent the night binging Netflix and baking (disastrous) cookies.  Then, there was Dudley whom she desperately wanted to rub her new life into but it was her 13th birthday and it made no sense to ruin it by inviting him over. 

After debating, she decided to add Ginny to her list. They had bonded over the previous summer which they had spent sharing a room together and Ginny's first year at Hogwarts, although less than ideal had only brought them closer. 

And how could she forget Dobby?! Just the previous year, Dobby had tried saving her life--uh in creative ways that did her more harm than good (but it was the thought that counted!)

Satisfied with her small list, she handed it to Natasha.

"Dobby? What was it uh- the elf?" Natasha asked. Hailey was impressed with how many details Natasha remembered of her endless stories that she was sure just bored Natasha who went on adventures Hailey could only dream of.

"Yea, he's a house elf,"

"Are you going to tell Kate about being magical? I thought you wanted to protect the uh-Statue of Secrets," Natasha said.

Hailey mentally smacked herself. Of course! She could not tell Kate about being magical. It was against the Statue of Secrecy. It was best, she didn't invite Dobby.

"Never mind,"

"You wouldn't mind if I invited Clint over, Would you?" Natasha asked.

"Clint?" Hailey did not recognize the name.

"Remember I mentioned Laura earlier? She's Clint's wife. Clint or notoriously known as Hawkeye is one of my best friends,"

"Oh of course I don't mind, Thank you for letting me invite everyone over," Hailey replied.

"Of course," Natasha said returning back to her phone call.

Hailey hurried back to her room to write the invitations to her friends. She would give Kate her invitation tomorrow at class and she decided to text Hermione due to the lack of time and Hedwig would need time to deliver the invitation to Ron and Ginny in two days.

She kept the letter brief since she didn't know what the plan was but she informed them to arrive early afternoon and they had to stay the night. Knowing Ron, he would definitely be late.

She finished writing the letters to Ron and Ginny and sending the text to Hermione and Kate. Natasha had somehow managed to send Hailey over the moon about her birthday within a few hours.

~-~-~

The night before her birthday, Mr. Barton arrived with Cooper.

 Hailey knew a lot about him. Kate was his literal biggest fan and she had posters of this man up all over her room- nothing short of a literal shrine. He was very polite toward Hailey and his sarcastic sense of humor went nicely with Natasha's dry humor.

His 6-year-old son, Cooper however was extremely adorable. Hailey had spent only two hours with him before he was snoring softly on the couch mid-movie but, he had a lot to say. She wouldn't have known this much about Ron and Hermione. She knew his Aunt's favorite juice brand, How many teeth he had lost, and his very clear and educated (not) opinion on politics.

They watched a movie together but Hailey was too excited and everyone was too busy talking to actually pay attention to the movie. 

Around 11:00, Natasha sent her off to sleep and she wasn't allowed back out of her room until they came to get her. 

Hailey tossed and turned in her bed for hours. She didn't want to check the time but she knew she was already thirteen and she could hear balloons popping and the pair laughing and arguing downstairs. Hailey did not know when or how she fell asleep.

Hailey woke up to the sound of a trumpet playing in her room. Mr. Barton had taken it upon himself to play the happy birthday song on a trumpet (or at least attempt to).

"Wake up! Wake up! Is your birthday!" Cooper exclaimed jumping on her bed, "And daddy won't stop playing if you don't," he added shutting his ears.

"I'm up! I'm up!" she said shutting her ears. Mr. Barton laughed and stopped playing.

"HaPpy BirTHdAy To yOU..." They sang completely off-key with Cooper leading them. She sat there waiting for them to finish. Nobody could take away the joy she felt when they sang to her and how special it made her feel. This had literally never happened before. It was already the best birthday she had ever had.

Cooper jumped a big jump and landed beside her holding out a card for her.

"Lookit! I made dis for you," he exclaimed holding out a handmade card for Hailey.

"He woke up extra early to make it for you," Natasha said smiling and Cooper smiled proudly at the praise.

Hailey took the card gratefully. It was the first birthday card Hailey had ever received. It was adorable. Cooper had written 'happy birthday Hailey' on the front decorated with stars and stickers. Inside, he had drawn flowers and a stick figure (Hailey) with a sword fighting a big snake.

Hailey may or may not have taken the liberty to tell him about her adventures in Hogwarts. He believed her but any sensible person would not so even if he chose to retell her stories, no sensible person would pay any heed.

"Do you like it?" he asked with his big eyes.

"Noo...I love it!" Hailey exclaimed pulling him into a hug.

They had a special breakfast- Nutella crepes with whipped cream and strawberries which were absolutely delicious. Then, they spent the afternoon playing games until Kate arrived. Natasha who Hailey had told about Kate's Hawkeye worship, sensed that it would be more comfortable for everyone if they went upstairs.

"WAS THAT HAWKEYE IN YOUR LIVING ROOM?" Kate screamed in a whisper as soon as they entered Hailey's room.

"Yes Kate, that was Hawkeye in my living room," Hailey said trying to remain as calm as possible while Kate was freaking out.

"Why didn't you tell me you knew Hawkeye!?!" Kate asked shaking her shoulders, practically ratting her brains.

"Calm down- if I told you, you would've ditched me. Besides, Mr. Barton is here as Clint Barton, Natasha's friend, not Hawkeye though I am sure he wouldn't mind if you asked for an autograph,"  Hailey suggested.

"An autograph?" she asked her voice becoming super high-pitched. "I can't! Hailey, we need to go out. We can go to the park or the mall or anywhere!"

"We can go to the park until the others arrive," Hailey agreed, "You do know he won't mind,"

"No no, I will just ruin the entire day if I have to talk to him. The park?"

"Yes, let's go," 

They walked to the park and Kate returned to her normal self happily chatting away about random things.  They walked around and bought some ice cream until about an hour later, Natasha texted them that Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were there. Hailey knew that Mr. Weasley had arranged for their fireplace to be connected to the Floo Network so it worked out perfectly. Since she hadn't told Kate about magic, she had also specifically written in her invitations to keep magic away from Kate.

Hermione and Ron were waiting for her in the living room with Cooper while Mr. Barton and Natasha were making food (emptying takeout into fancy serving bowls) for the party.

They wrapped Hailey in a hug the moment they saw her.

"It has been a month!" Hermione exclaimed. "Happy Birthday!"

"Happy Birthday, mate," Ron said. "Came here all the way from India, I couldn't miss-" 

Hailey gave Ron 'the look'. Leave it to Ron to screw something up in a matter of minutes.

"India?" Kate asked. "I'm so lost. For Hailey's birthday?"

"Butter Chicken!" Cooper exclaimed.

"No, they live in Washington D.C. actually. They just cut their vacation short when I invited them," Hailey covered. She knew that was a place in the USA because she had heard about it on a Netflix show.

"Oh D.C! That is so cool. My Grandparents live there. Which part?" Kate asked.

"North," Ron said.

"East," Hailey also said at the same time.

"uh Northeast," Hermione finished for them.

"Northeast? Is that how locals describe it? But then why do you have a British accent?" Hailey cut Kate off.

"Kate, you can ask them all about it later. Let me introduce you to them first. Ok, so this is Hermione, Ron, and Ginny,"

"And this is Kate, Of course, and this is Cooper," Hailey added since Cooper was pulling at her jeans wanting to also be introduced despite having already talked to everyone. 

They went upstairs to Hailey's room to play board games- the muggle kind obviously. Ron was easily the best at Monopoly despite how hard Hermione tried to beat him. Ginny, Hailey, and Kate were getting a kick from watching them argue over something as trivial as rent like their life depended on it. Cooper- well Cooper thought the color of the board was very pretty.

They continued playing until it somehow became a singing competition. Hermione started it by humming the wrong tunes and Kate corrected her. Soon it became a Karaoke competition and the obvious winner was...Cooper!

Later, they were finally called down for cake and gift opening. Everyone went downstairs and she quickly put on her light yellow dress, specifically picked out for her birthday, and freed her curls which were shiny and frizz-free today. She put on some earrings and went downstairs.

Hailey quickly realized she couldn't open the gifts with everyone when Hagrid's gift came in with a letter from him and Hogwarts.

So, they stuck to cutting the cake. The cake was chocolate-flavored obviously the best flavor in the entire world and Natasha and Mr. Barton had 'made' Chinese. After they were stuffed to their throats, they settled on watching a new Netflix series. 

Hailey thanked Natasha many many times for the amazing day. The adults and the little kid retired to bed one episode in leaving just the teens to do whatever they pleased all night.

Painting Nails-✔️ (yes, even Ron, the manliest of men)

Pillow Fight-✔️ (unfortunately, without Hermione's blessings but she did participate).

Finishing the Series despite having talked so much they didn't even know what was going on-✔️

Take lots of photos-✔️

At around 4:00 AM in the morning Kate, Ron and Ginny had gone to sleep in their sleeping bags leaving just Hermione and Hailey. Hailey didn't want the day to end. It was easily one of the best days she had ever had.

"You look very happy, I think New York is very good for you," Hermione whispered so as to not wake anyone else up. They were finally trying to go to sleep as well since they were going to leave early morning.

"I love it here too, of course, nothing could beat Hogwarts but it's almost like having a family. Even if it's just me and Natasha," Hailey whispered back.

"You looked so radiant and happy today. I don't think I've seen you that happy," Hermione acknowledged.

"I hope Natasha thinks the same way about me because sometimes I get the feeling that Dumbledore forced me onto her but she's just nicer than the Dursleys" Hailey said.

"I don't think so. She looked very happy when she saw you smile. I think you're overthinking it,"

"Maybe,"

"We should go to sleep,"

"Yea, we should sleep now,"

~-~-~

The next morning after everyone had gone back, Hailey sat down beside her bed to open the presents in private. Only god knew how she had waited for so long to open them. She was beyond excited.

She had already opened Hagrid's Monster Book of Monsters and it was now stowed away under her bed. She picked up Ron's present- a little box wrapped in brown paper and unwrapped it. 

Inside was what looked like a miniature glass spinning top. 

There was a note from Ron beneath it.

Hailey — this is a Pocket Sneakoscope. If there's someone untrustworthy around, it's supposed to light up and spin. Bill says it's rubbish sold for wizard tourists and isn't reliable because it kept lighting up at dinner last night. But he didn't realize Fred and George had put beetles in his soup. Bye — Ron

She pocketed the sneakoscope and turned to Hermione's present. She picked up the present. It was very heavy. Knowing Hermione, she was sure it would be a large book full of very difficult spells — but it wasn't. Her heart gave a huge bound as she ripped back the paper and saw a sleek black leather case, with silver words stamped across it, reading Broomstick Servicing Kit with a note attached.

Hailey- I ordered it via Owl-order. I really wanted to see your reaction to the kit but do write back and let me know how you liked it.

"Wow, Hermione!" Hailey whispered, unzipping the case to look inside. 

There was a large jar of Fleetwood's High-Finish Handle Polish, a pair of gleaming silver Tail Twig Clippers, a tiny brass compass to clip on your broom for long journeys, and a handbook of Do-It-Yourself Broomcare.  

She zipped the case back. She hadn't had a chance to take her Nimbus out for a ride this summer especially because Natasha lived right in the city and there was just no possible way she could get even six feet in the air without it being on the news. Hailey slid it under the bed beside Hagrid's book of monsters and her precious box of memories.

She turned to Ginny's present. Hailey ripped off the paper and was pleased to find a de-tangler brush inside. Not just any brush, it was the same one Lavendar had. It magically de-tangled your hair to make it smooth.

Hailey turned to Kate's present. It was a gift bag that contained chocolate bars and a tiny box wrapped in pink and silver packaging.

Hailey opened the box first, it was a necklace. The pendant was shaped like a moon with a beautiful white stone. She opened the note.

Hailey--When I tell you, I had no clue what to get you. You are a hard person to shop for so I got you a mood necklace. It's supposed to change color as your mood changes, the guide is at the very bottom of the box.

That was cool. Hailey tried on the necklace. The pendant slowly changed to a light pink. Hailey checked the guide which meant she was happy. She liked how the necklace looked on her so she decided to leave it on.

She saved Natasha's gift till last and she was most definitely not disappointed. Natasha got her the prettiest gold watch which she slipped on right away. The watch claimed to be completely waterproof with a three-year warranty!

 Hailey then turned to the letter from Hogwarts noticing that it was rather thicker than usual, Hailey slit open the envelope, pulled out the first page of parchment within, and read: 

 Dear Ms. Potter, 

 Please note that the new school year will begin on September the first. The Hogwarts Express will leave from King's Cross station, platform nine and three-quarters, at eleven o'clock. 

 Third-years are permitted to visit the village of Hogsmeade on certain weekends. Please give the enclosed permission form to your parent or guardian to sign. A list of books for next year is enclosed.

 Yours sincerely, 

 Professor M. McGonagall
 Deputy Headmistress 

 Hailey pulled out the Hogsmeade permission form and looked at it, no longer grinning. It would be wonderful to visit Hogsmeade on weekends; she knew it was an entirely wizarding village, and she had never set foot there but Natasha might not agree. Hailey decided to try anyway, she was in a good mood today.

~-~-~

"Natasha, I have to ask you a question," Hailey said trying to be as normal as possible but her mood pendant was starting to turn red indicating that she was nervous.

"Yea,"

"Can you sign the Hogsmeade permission form for me?" Hailey asked and refrained from giving any details in hopes that perhaps she wouldn't know much about it. She didn't see a reason why not and she hoped Natasha wouldn't either.

"Can't, Sorry," she said biting an apple.

"Why not?!" Hailey asked.

"Sirius Black. He's on the loose," Natasha said. How did she even know about him?

"But that has nothing to do with me," Hailey argued back.

"Dumbledore hasn't told you? He was a loyal follower of Voldemort and to this day remains faithful." Natasha informed her. 

"Voldemort is dead," Hailey said. Not true- per se but Natasha had no way of knowing the details. Unless-

"Hailey, when I say a detailed report, I mean detailed. Voldemort's merely in a weak state, Dumbledore is sure he will return and in Black's eyes, you're the only one standing between Voldemort and his rise to power," Natasha said. How the heck did she know more than Hailey about Sirius Black and the Wizarding News?! 

"Natasha, I won't be alone though. Everyone will be there," Hailey pleaded.

"I know it sounds unfair but I need to make sure you're safe even at Hogwarts,"

"Hogwarts is far from safe," Hailey rolled her eyes.

"Maybe so, if everything is handled well by Christmas, I'll sign it when you come home for break," Natasha said.

Hailey would've argued further but she knew when she was fighting a lost cause. Besides, she was too busy thinking about coming home for Christmas. She always stayed at Hogwarts for Christmas and Easter and even begged to stay for summers as well. For the first time, she would get to come home. The way Natasha had said it was also very important to her. She had said it so casually like it was the most normal thing in the world.

A/N: I normally don't post outfit pics but some outfits are simply irresistible not to post :)