Semper

1

It was 29th January, almost midnight when some shuffling could be heard from outside of a bedroom in a small, quaint house in Cokeworth. The two occupants of the so mentioned room looked at each other, giggling as they heard the not-so silent yelp of pain from a person outside.

The alarm clock which was in the middle of their beds chimed, indicating the start of 30th January, also called as their eleventh birthday.

"Happy birthday Lee." Said the newly turned Aurora Evans to her twin sister.

"Happy Birthday Rory." Lily said to her older sister by 14 minutes , just as the other occupants of the house barged in, shouting Happy Birthday! to the giggling girls as they were enveloped in the hugs from the two parents, even getting a small hug from their elder sister Petunia, because of which both the girls were very happy.

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"Uncle George!" The birthday girls greeted their uncle as the old man joyfully laughed and picked Lily up, spinning her around and then doing the same with Aurora. The house was bustling with activity, celebrating the twins' birthday. Jean, the birthday girls' mother, was busy in the kitchen, making treats for the guests and the cake - already made and hidden from Aurora's prying eyes - was being chilled in their neighbour's refridgerator.

Most of their family was already inside the house as the three entered inside, the girls scurrying off to find their cousins as George shook his head amusedly as he slowly walked up to Michael, the girls' father and his brother.

From the corner of her eye Aurora saw Lily exit the house, rolling her eyes at her attempt to be stealthy. Quickly saying a bye to her cousin, she scurried off to find her before she was too far. Catching up to Lily, they both walked down the street, knowing exactly where they were heading.

"So, does Severus know what's the significance of today?" Aurora said, walking side-by-side with her twin, as they reached the end of the street, and just as Aurora had known, Severus Snape was there, holding a black flower in his hand. Aurora rolled her eyes, as she stopped but motioned her sister to go. "I'll be fine!" She said as Lily nodded brightly and skipped off to her bestfriend.

Even as an eleven year old girl, Aurora could clearly see that Snape fancied Lily. Even though it disgusted her - boys have cooties, you know? - she knew Lily was happy with him , so she let them be as she ran off to the park beside the pair, playing on one of the swings as she kept an eye on the two.

She saw Severus shyly give Lily the flower he had, as Lily happily took it and hugged him in return. Aurora laughed to herself at the red face of him, shaking her head at the pair.
Taking her attention off them, she focused on swinging, eyeing a stone in front of her. From the corner of her eye, she could see the two making their way to her, but she kept her focus on the stone.

Suddenly, as if experiencing a pull in her gut, she noticed the stone flying. Hovering, more likely, but it was in the air. Suddenly, she felt someone's hand on her shoulder, and in surprise Aurora yelled in shock, and the stone flew straight at the person behind.

"Ouch!" Aurora looked behind to see who had shocked her and got the stone in reply, and it was Severus. Lily was laughing beside him, she was the one who had touched Aurora but Snape got the stone. "Sorry!" Aurora squeaked out, wincing when he moved his hand from the forehead and their was a bright welt there.

"Its okay, happens to everyone." He reluctantly said, although Aurora knew Snape had many things to say to her, but kept mum because of Lily. But she didn't focus on it much.

"Is this what happens with you too, Lee?" She asked her twin, because this is the first time anything like this happened to her. She did see Lily doing wierd things like this before - blooming a wilted flower was one of the most common things she liked to do - but she never thought she could be like her twin as well.

"Yes! It's good too, because it means we will go to the same school Rory! Lily exclaimed happily as she hugged her twin, jumping up and down, while Severus looked severely unhappy. As if the thought of sharing Lily even in this 'special' school was exhausting to him. She opened her mouth to say something but someone interrupted her from behind.

"Its very good and all, whatever you three were talking about, but it won't be good if you girls don't get any of your cake!" Jean Evans' voice could be heard as Aurora looked at her mother in alarm.

"No mother, I'm coming! I'm coming, don't feed the cake to Dory!" She screamed as she ran up to her house, leaving Jean and Lily and Severus back on the park, Lily laughing.

"She does know you won't do that, doesn't she?" Lily asked her mother, after saying goodbye to Severus and now on her way to their home.

"No one knows with that girl, for Almighty's sake." Jean sighed amusedly, as they reached home and saw Aurora jumping up and down excitedly, coming just in time to see the cake being bought in by Michael.

"Cake time!" Lily and Aurora screamed at the same time as the girls huddled up to cut the cake, the family laughing around them at the girls' antics.

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"That was one good birthday." Said Aurora as she flopped face down on her bed, groaning as Lily laughed and sat down on her own bed softly.

"I'm so full, I can't even breathe." Came her muffled voice again as Lily snickered.

"That's because you literally can't breathe with your face like that Rory." Came Lily's smartass reply as Aurora faintly heard the sound of a book opening. Huffing slightly, she moved her body so it was facing towards Lily as she opened one eye and saw her sister reading one of the boys they got as presents.

"Is this the one Uncle George gave or Aunt Marjorie?" She sleepily asked, sitting up and rubbing the laziness out of her eyes. It was five pm and Aurora was already feeling sleepy. Sleep and food. All Aurora seemed to do. And some occasional reading.

"No, Petunia gave this one actually. Said one of her friends got it for her on her own birthday, but she never read it." Lily exclaimed , a little sad at the end. Aurora frowned, she knew all Lily wanted was some genuine love and attention from Petunia, but all she ever got was genuine snark and attention only when absolutely necessary. It had all started when Aurora and Petunia had witnessed Lily blooming a wilted dahlia, and while Aurora had been much more fascinated by it, Petunia had been repulsed.

"She'll come around eventually, Lee. I'm sure of it." Aurora wasn't sure of it. Petunia just wasn't ready to accept that Lily - and now even Aurora - were different and it was going to cost her her relationship with both of her younger sisters in the future.

"I hope so." Lily mumbled as Aurora came up to her , calmly taking the book from her hands and placing it on the side, and pounced on Lily's lap. "Aurora!" Lily shrieked as Aurora started tickling her twin to get her spirits high, and it worked as all traces of sadness were gone from her twin's eyes as she started laughing and tickling her sister back.

Both the girls were laughing wildly, as the adults on the lower floor heard the laughter, assuming it to be three sisters and not two as they shook their head in amusement, all the while Petunia stood behind the closed door seperating her and her twin sisters, a sad and dejected expression on her face. It was soon gone when she remembered why she shunned Lily, and she huffed away into her room, closing it loudly.