LOVE ISN'T EASY (but it sure is hard enough)

DECEMBER 29TH, 1994

Olivia Danes had forgotten her fucking birthday.

She hadn't noticed the balloons adorning her bedroom that Robbie was chasing around and hitting with his paws. She had ignored the presents on the brown leather sofa and the streamers thrown about every available surface. She didn't even glance over at Juno and her parents, wearing colourful metallic party hats with party poppers in hand. Instead, she ducked her head into the fridge and pulled out the carton of milk for her morning tea, since nobody else could make it properly.

After what felt like forever, she sat down at the kitchen table beside Juno, feeling three pairs of eyes staring at her in shock.

"What's with the hats? Special occasion?"

"Olivia, what day is it?" Sarah asked, placing a plate of golden-brown waffles. Surprisingly, they weren't on fire, which led Liv to believe that they must have had some supervision.

"December 29th."

"Which is?"

"Thursday."

Henry let out a large sigh, watching as his daughter put the pieces together.

"Wait..."

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

The streamers flew out of the party poppers, floating through the air and landing in her hair. She laughed lightly, as Henry turned up the playlist he had made specifically for her birthday. He twirled her around the kitchen, Sarah keeping the camera pointed on the pair. Juno was pulled up to join the pair, nearly slipping on the checkered tile in her fluffy socks as she spun around and around. Sarah placed down the camera, keeping it rolling and picking up Robbie who tried to bark and howl in tune (yet failed miserably, much to everyone's amusement).

She peeled back the pink paper of the presents, old books and new clothes she was expecting. But by far the best thing she had received was her playlist, a small cassette tape with a tracklist handwritten on parchment. Every single song was marked with the date of the beginning of the weeks of the past year, detailing how that week had felt for Olivia. It was a family tradition dating back to the day she had been born.

It was no secret that Henry Danes adored music, but he might have adored his little girl even more.

The music from the year's start had been more basic and steady, as she had spent most of her time studying listening to old classics that had reminded her of home- from Stevie Wonder to Fleetwood Mac. During the summer, the music was more bright and fun, Cyndi Lauper and Journey taking her back to spending time in the sunshine with her three best friends. But things shifted as soon as she had met Juno.

First of all- there was far more ABBA, from the song she had recommended Ginny dance her worries away to, and the one they had tipsily sang to with Lee on the rooftop. Then there was the increeping of love songs, and to be perfectly honest she hadn't really realised just how many of them she had been listening to. She suspected that they might have been to do with the boy she had left back in the castle, but she chose not to dwell on this for very long.

She pulled her parents into a hug, grabbing Juno's hand and practically dragging her up the stairs and into her bedroom. The Slytherin girl handed her a small box, wrapped neatly in green paper and tied with a silver bow. A rose gold watch sat in the box, dainty flowers trailing up the metal band.

"June, it's gorgeous."

"It's tradition to get a watch when you come of age, I asked your Mum ages ago if it would be okay for me to give you it."

Liv pulled her into a hug, short but sweet, letting her go quickly and turning to her drawers so she wouldn't see her tearing up. Juno looked around Liv's room properly, golden sunlight streaming through the large bay window that was surrounded by old books. A double bed with white sheets sat on the wall beside the door, George's patchwork blanket strewn across the pillowcases, as if she had been cuddled into it whilst she was sleeping. Candles that smelled like clean cotton sat atop her messy desk, covered in papers from past essays and ink stained poetry. An old cassette player played the music from the past year of her life, making Juno feel as though she was right there living it with her. Posters from movies and parchment with Shakespearean quotes hung on the walls, surrounding a large mirror smudged beyond belief.