Lumi

Today is Val’s 7th birthday. I am going to start my first year at Hogwarts in two months. She doesn’t have any friends, she will be lonely, so I asked father if I could buy her a pet owl to keep her company when I’m away. We went to Diagon Alley to Eeylops Owl Emporium while Val was still sleeping. People kept on giving me and father strange looks, I don’t know why. I got my owl when I was there too - he is an eagle owl. I haven’t named him just yet because I want Val to help. Father helped me get her a beautiful barn owl. I thought its face looked like a moon, so Val would remember me whenever she looked at its face.

When we got back home, I went up to Val’s room. Like always, she was reading. She is only seven and she already reads big books, like my potions textbook I had gotten earlier this month from Flourish and Blotts. It is one of her favourite stores there. She also likes Obscurus (because books), Scribbulus (because writing), Whizz (because books again), and of course Ollivanders. She can’t wait until she gets her first wand. I’m getting mine when it’s closer to start of term.

Val saw me and her big blue eyes just widened. “Ooh! An owl!” she exclaimed as she jumped out of her chair and ran towards me. She is adorable. She was so happy when I told her that it was for her birthday. She didn’t take the cage at first, so I thought she didn’t like it. But after a few seconds, she walked up to the bird and stared it in the eyes. “Hello, Lumi, nice to meet you. I’m Valeria. Let’s be friends,” she said as she hugged the cage. She put Lumi down in the corner of her room, and then ran back to give me a hug.

“Merci, Alain, this is the best birthday present ever!”

And then she whispered something funny.
“Is it a boy or a girl?”
Well, I thought it was funny.

I just got my hands on Alain’s diary (he likes to call it his ‘notebook’ because it sounds “more masculine”, quoting him) … without his consent of course. Honestly, I don’t think any brother would allow their baby sister to read his diary. Or anybody, for that matter. But it was just lying there, unguarded, on his bed. I went to his room to find him. And seeing as he was elsewhere doing some things for maman et papa… well, I was curious. Just a peek, I swear. He’ll never know.

This story in particular caught my attention. Alright, it was the first one I opened up to, coincidentally, before I decided that I shouldn’t be snooping. Just in case he came back, which he did a few minutes after I had left his room. I’m in my bedroom now, by the way. The moon is of a crescent shape, so Alain is okay for tonight. Putting that all aside, I definitely remember this day. It was a while ago, but I still remember it. And Lumi is sitting beside me right this moment, picking at her feathers. Funny, how well Alain knew me back then. He still does now, but I feel as if we have grown more distant. Maybe because he’s in Slytherin, and I’m in Gryffindor which… my entire family does not like, by the way. But that’s a story for next time.

I’m getting fairly tired now, so I think I’ll just leave it as is. It was great though, being reminded of our childhood.
(And by the way, Lumi is a girl. I found that out after I asked.)