The Purest Kind of Magic

- forty five -

"This wasn't exactly what I had in mind for my fifteenth birthday, Draco," I said as I stared at the balloon-filled living room.

"I don't know what you'd like for your birthday besides me, you can't really blame me on that," Draco said with a pout as he waved two balloons around.

I laughed, "Can't argue with that, it's the thought that counts. And I suppose being with you is a pretty great birthday gift."

His pout turned into a mischievous smirk. "Oh, really? So, you're saying I'm the best thing you could ask for?" he teased.

I rolled my eyes playfully, pretending to be annoyed. "Don't get too full of yourself."

"You know, I did have something else planned for your birthday," Draco said as his silver eyes looked into mine.

"Oh, really?" I raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

He nodded. "Yeah, but it seems I underestimated your birthday preferences," he said, gesturing to the balloons around the room.

I laughed, "It's fine, balloons are nice."

"Thanks, I put so much of my breath to blow all of these... 50 balloons up. By the way, I may or may not have invited all our friends over."

My eyes widened in surprise. "You invited all our friends?" I asked, both excited and curious about the surprise Draco had planned.

"They should be arriving soon," he said, glancing at his watch. "I wanted to throw you a surprise birthday party, but I got a little carried away with the balloons."

I raised my eyebrow, "Not so much of a surprise since you told me already, ain't it?"

"Well, I might have let it slip a little, but I didn't reveal all the details," he said, winking at me playfully.

"Are the balloons also part of your surprise?"

"Err... Well, yes. I was actually planning on stuffing them all in the cabinets and releasing them once you're awake. I didn't really expect you to be up a hour before usual," Draco replied as he scratched the back of his hair.

I smiled, "Don't worry, it's a great surprise either way." 

"Yeah, I suppose so," Draco replied, looking a little embarrassed. "But hey, at least the balloons still add a festive touch to the celebration."

"You're right, they do," I said, looking around at the colorful balloons floating around the room. "It's actually quite cute."

"I'm glad you like it," he said. "And don't worry, I still have a few other surprises up my sleeve."

"Oh, do you now?" I asked, raising an eyebrow playfully.

Draco nodded. "Of course! The day's not over yet. We still have the whole afternoon and evening ahead of us."

As if on cue, the doorbell rang, and Draco's mischievous grin returned. "And that might be the first surprise guest," he said, heading towards the door.

I followed him, excited to see who had arrived. As he opened the door, I was greeted with the smiling face of Elmia and the Weasley twins. 

Elmia immediately threw herself at me to give me a huge hug, probably because it's been quite a bit since we've last talked.

"It's been a while, Y/n, how have you been?" Elmia asked as soon as we parted.

"I've been great, how's you and Fred?" I said as I nodded my head towards the twins that are currently bantering with Draco.

"We've been fantastic, thank you for asking, Y/n," Fred said as he rested his hand on Elmia's shoulder.

"That's great to hear," I replied with a smile. "I'm really happy for both of you."