Potter and Evans

Lily's Birthday

Since Christmas, Thomas had been desperately trying to get to know Lily more. He sent her secret messages at meal times, insisted on walking her to her classes, sat with her in the common room, constantly bombarded her with his presence wherever she went no matter the day or time: and though they were nice gestures, Lily didn't want them from Thomas.

She knew she really should just tell him how she felt and that it wasn't right to lead him on like she was - hell if someone did that to her she would be pissed - but she couldn't make herself tell him.

She often reminded herself of James's advice: that she should go on the Hogsmeade date with him and at least see how it went. In fact, she was actually starting to feel bad that she was making nowhere near the same amount of effort as Thomas was making towards her. It was pure luck that he didn't seem to have noticed her lack of interest in him...or maybe it was pure stupidity.

As for Marlene...well Marlene had definitely noticed. However, she hadn't asked any direct questions, which made Lily quite suspicious and wonder if she was up to something, the same way Lily and James were up to something with Marlene and Sirius' so far non-official relationship. They were still trying to find a way to get them to go to Hogmeade together.

On Sunday when Lily woke up, her mind briefly became blank and if it wasn't for the large bunch of roses that sat at the bottom of her bed, she might've forgotten it was her birthday. She cuddled closer into her warm duvet, not wanting to leave the safety of it and enter the cold January air, but as she shut her eyes again to go back to sleep, she noticed the odd silence that settled uncomfortably over the dorm. Mary, who normally lightly snored could not be heard, and Alice who was an early bird was not bustling about getting ready.

She lifted only her head and looked at the 3 empty beds beside hers to confirm her suspicions.

Feeling slightly confused and hurt that her friends would leave early without her on her birthday of all days, she quickly dressed ready to go to breakfast, but stopped just before she opened the door. She looked back to the vibrant roses on her bed and noticed a note.

She took her hand off the door knob and crossed the room back to her bed. She slipped the note carefully from in between the flowers.

Cut from magazine clippings, it read: 'Astrometry tower, 9pm, come alone.'

A secret message seemed like a Thomas thing to do considering the ones she had been receiving for the past month, but these were often poems just as horrendous as the one she had received a couple days into the Christmas holidays...and the four that followed it. It seemed he had taken her claiming she liked it a little too far.

Her mind also skipped to Snape though, who might try and find a way to trick her into being alone with him. He was clever like that: sly. This person was obviously clever enough to not use their own handwriting and she wasn't sure Thomas would think of that.

Lily neatly lay the note next to the flowers on her bed and made her way into the common room, thoughts of who could have left the note preoccupied her mind so much that the loud bangs that sounded when she reached the bottom step made her jump back and topple onto her bum.

'Happy birthday, Lily!' A crowd of her seven favourite people, plus Thomas, erupted in unison. Large banners expressing the same words exploded out of thin air. Colourful confetti littered the ground and everyone's hair, while helium balloons bobbed up and down on the ceiling.

'We love you!' Sirius solely added onto the end. He jumped up and slam dunked a balloon straight onto Lily's face.

'I'm really feeling that love, thanks.' Lily said sarcastically, rubbing her forehead where she had been hit.