The Physical Kids’ Cottage is quiet and dark. I step through the doorway and narrow my eyes, struggling to make out shapes in the blackness. The illumination spells that usually keep the Cottage glowing at all hours have gone out, and there’s not a single body draped over the arm of a couch or the sloping back of a chair that I can see.

The single point of light in the room comes from one of the nooks cut into a bookcase in the common room. As I make my way closer, I recognize the feet poking out immediately.

“Eliot?” I peek my head inside, greeted with a frown.

Eliot lies slumped against a mound of pillows, his fingers wrapped delicately around the neck of a bottle. “Quentin,” he says carefully. “How nice of you to join us.”

I furrow my brow, eyes darting around the cramped space. “Who’s, uh… is someone else in here with you?”

Eliot lifts the bottle and takes a swig. “Nope.”

“Okay, so… do you want me to...” Clumsily, I shove myself inside without waiting for an answer.

Eliot sighs and tucks his legs closer to his body, passing me the bottle once I’ve gotten myself settled.

“So, why are you—”

“It’s my birthday,” Eliot blurts out, casting a spell that makes fireworks burst from the tips of his fingers. "Hurray."

I frown. “Why aren’t you having a party?”

Eliot huffed out a laugh. “Because. It’s... my birthday.”

I take a swig from the bottle, wincing at the burn before passing it back. The warmth of his knee against mine sends a strange tingle through my body. “I’m sorry you’re alone on your birthday,” I say softly, studying his tired face in the golden light.