Scratches (Fred Weasley)

(175) Moony Day

Florence had found herself not as preoccupied at training as she had anticipated. After the house raid during the previous month, she had thought that they were going to up their training hours and make them even more laborious then they usually were. But they had resumed to their regular training, while the senior Aurors worked like usual.

Tonks had approached her in the middle of practice one day, pulling her aside to discuss 'important matters', which made Florence worry instantly, as Tonks was a superior Auror and could mean something big.

"So... It's Remus' birthday in four days." she said in a low whisper, Florence releasing a breath she didn't even realize she was holding, her brows shooting up, "Oh...? I've known him quite a while and we've never really celebrated his birthday..."

"It's 'cause he doesn't like talking about it too much. Which is ridiculous, right? Everyone deserves a birthday party."

"Of course." She agreed, a small smile on her face, "So what do you have in mind?"

"Well I was hoping to throw him a surprise party. You know, it's gonna be his first birthday while we're, er...together, and I just want to do something nice for him is all." Tonks said, rather nervously, "So, would you help me out?"

"I'd love to help out!"

"Great!" Tonks cheered, clapping her hands together, "Great. Well, I've talked to Sirius about it, and Sloan. And Molly. Sweet woman has volunteered to make the food. I was just thinking of a small gathering you know? With family and friends... And if you could make him is birthday cake that would be lovely."

"Of course. I'll work on it at the flat and I'll bring it over. When's the party going to be?"

"I was thinking on Saturday. Most of us don't have work then, so there will be a lot of people who can go." Tonks said, "Could you ask Fred and George if they can make it to the party too? I'd love their help with decorations."

"I'm sure they can. I'll ask them tonight."

A birthday party was exactly what they needed to ease the tension a bit. It had been a good while since Florence had baked and decorated a whole birthday cake, so having a project in the horizon made her a little bit more excited.

The minute she got home, she immediately ransacked through the boxes that were kept under her and Fred's bed. There they kept all of Florence's books, including her most prized cook books, as they had yet to buy a bookshelf for all of them. Fred popped his head in to the room, before leaning against the door frame, as Florence had made a beeline for the room without greeting him or George who were at the living room.

"Hello there, busy bee."

She looked up from the dessert book she was skimming through, an apologetic look on her face, "Sorry. I just got excited. Its Remus' birthday this week. Tonks wants to surprise him with a party."

Fred's eyes lit up at this, "Sounds just like what everyone needs right now. What can George and I do?"

They heard a pair of footsteps coming towards the room, George peeking his head in moments later, "I heard my name... what's up?"

"Tonks was wondering if you'd like to help her with the decorations for the party?"

The pair looked at each other, before nodding, "Yeah, we can do that. When's it gonna be?"

"This weekend."

"We can close the shop." they said in unison, before scrambling down to the shop downstairs to see if they had any decorations in the supply closet. Florence smiled, before continuing to flip through her thick book of cakes and pastry recipes. She eventually settled with a triple chocolate cake, since Remus had a well-known fondness for chocolate. And because she wanted everyone to have at least a slice, she decided to make it a two tier cake.