Alfie, Who?

Birthday Party and The Doctor

One week after the Owens' trip to the Statue of Liberty Alfie celebrated his 11th birthday. It was a small affair with just a few close friends and family. The children ate cake with the strangest blue frosting that turned their lips color. It was delicious but the grown ups wouldn't go near it. Mr. Owens was careful to leave out certain details of their trip to the States as the parents discussed their various excursions over the summer holidays. "She was quite tall." Mr Owens would answer when questioned about the great statue. Desperate to change the subject. "Yes, quite." Mrs. Owens would chime in and then offer her guests more tea, or turn her attentions to some imagined emergency amongst the children. "Um...Barry, what have you got there!" She would say before running after no one in particular. It was the objective of neither of them to let their friends and family know that there may be something wrong with their child, so they would change the subject or walk away when the details of the trip were brought up.

Alfie, who should have been most affected by the trip didn't seem at all bothered by it, but didn't bring it up at all amongst his playmates. They ran around the yard and played tag. Someone had brought a giant costume wolf's head and paws. It looked like something that a person would wear to a convention of sorts. Whoever was "it" would wear it and chase the others around. One's vision was impaired in this costume which made the parents uneasy, but the children had fun regardless and no one was seriously hurt.

When it was time to open the gifts Alfie had just become "it" and was donning the wolf's head. All of the other children started running toward the gift table. Alfie was just a little behind when he took the wolf's head off. He was facing away from the house. Just as his eyes became accustomed to the light outside the costume he thought that he saw a man watching from the other side of the fence and behind a tree. The man turned his face and walked away from the fence. He disappeared nearly as fast as he had appeared. "Alfie!" He heard his mothers voice. "Are you coming to open your presents?" He shook his head yes, still looking at the spot where the strange man had stood just a moment before. "Well then, come on now!"

"Ok." Alfie said and made his way back to the house where the table of presents was set up. All of the children were gathered around along with the parents. There was a special seat set up for Alfie as the person of honor. His father passed him presents to open as his mother took photos with her polaroid. An iPod from Wills, various Xbox games from Harriet, Trudy and Philip. A croquet set from grandma. An old fashioned film camera from his mum. But from his father, a very strange gift indeed! A mongoose. Not a ferret, mind you. But a living, breathing mongoose. She was beautiful. With speckled brown and white fur and the kindest eyes. She sounded off a tiny squeak when Alfie uncovered her cage.

"A mongoose, dad?" Alfie smiled as he stuck his finger in the cage to stroke her soft fur . She gave him the tiniest little welcoming nip on his finger and cocked her head toward his finger so that he could pet her where she wanted. They were getting along swimmingly!

"I, uh" Alfie's father said. "I saw her in that exotic pet shop in the village and something just drew me to her. The shopkeeper said that she had just showed up out of nowhere. He had no idea where she came from." He scratched the top of his head. "I just knew that I had to buy her for you, Alfie."

"I love her, dad! I'll call her Pennyfeather!"

"Pennyfeather?" His father asked. "Well, that's curious!"

"What, dad?"

"Take a look at her little tag."

Alfie reached into her cage and lifted the tiny little gold pendant clipped to the pink ribbon around he neck. Etched delicately on its surface was the name "Pennyfeather." Alfie looked at it in with wonder. "What do you know about that? It's as if I sent her to myself." He laughed nervously. "Thank you." He gave his father a hug and continued opening gifts.

By evening, the party was over and his friends and family have gone home. All but one. It is the strange man that Alfie had seen earlier. He was talking and laughing with his parents as if he had been there the whole time and as if they knew him as an old friend! Able to get a longer, closer look at him, he noticed that he had kind eyes and... a bowtie? Alfie put down the iPod that he had started setting up and walked over to his parents to see who the stranger was.

"Oy, Alfie!" His father put his hand out and reached for Alfie's shoulder to introduce him to the stranger. "This here is Doctor...I'm sorry, what was your name?"

The stranger put out his hand for Alfie to shake. "Dr. Smith." He smiled. "But you can call me 'The Doctor.'" His smile was big, but genuine. He seemed strange but Alfie felt at ease. Almost as if he had met him before. There was something about that bowtie.

"Have I met you before? You seem familiar."

"Well, Alfie, " his mother starts. "He says that he is an official at your school. Perhaps you know him from there?"

"I don't think so."

"Well, his papers are all in order." Alfie's father smiles. "You say that you have something for Alfie?"

"Oh, yes! Quite right." The Doctor pats himself down as if searching for the right pocket and finally reaches into the inside right breast pocket of his coat. He pulls out a fancy looking envelope with a red wax stamp holding it closed. "This is for you, Alfie. You have been selected to attend a very special school." He looks at his parents. Then back to Alfie.

"I don't understand."

"You have a very special gift. And this school will help you hone and manage this gift! It's really quite exciting." He makes a little excited giggle. "Open your letter."

Alfie very carefully breaks the seal and unfolds the letter and starts to read. "Headmistress Minerva... Congratulations, Alfie..... Hogwarts School of Witch...craft and Wizardry..."

"Happy birthday, Alfie."

"I don't understand." Says Alfie. "What is this saying?"

"You're a wizard, Alfie!"

"You mean like magic?" Alfie looks at The Doctor incredulously. Then to his parents. Then back to The Doctor. "You believe in magic?

"I don't believe in magic, but I believe in what I've seen. And, well, science was considered magic until we understood it! So, me and you. We're going to go there together and find out for ourselves!"

"Really? You, too, Doctor? "

"Yes, well apparently, I'm to be the new, something called ' the defense against dark arts' professor! I really don't understand to be honest with you."

"Mum? Dad?" Alfie asked. "Is this true? Am I really going to a special school?" He had never met this man before and as far as he knew, his parents hadn't either. But they seemed so sure of him and he observed his father interacting with him as if they were old friends. Even Alfie felt a strong connection with this stranger. As if he was an old friend from a time just outside the scope of his memory. Something about that tie!