Semper

19

It was the 30th of January, and officially the birthday of Aurora and Lily Evans. And Merlin knows it started with a bang, literally. Aurora woke up with a gasp as a firework burst in her dorm and showered her and Lily's empty bed with confetti. Rolling her eyes, she sighed pulling the covers off her body as she stood up and stretched. Of course Lily was already awake, and of course, the boys didn't listen to me and are planning to throw a party.

But still, their gesture was sweet, so she sighed and sucked up her discomfort as she waved her hand and removed all traces of confetti from her bed – leaving it all on Lily's bed obviously – as she went into the washroom to get ready for her day. It was still a school day – much to the dismay of the Gryffindors as they anticipated the hungover state they'll most definitely experience tomorrow.

Soon she was up and out, heading straight for the Great Hall as she noticed none of the boys were in the common room or their dormitory. Soon she reached her destination, entering the hall, she was met with roars and cheers, a confetti bomb burst on her head as she laughed in shock. "James!" She laughed as she tried to stop the flow of the colored paper as she hugged Lily who had come up behind him. James smiled gently as he walked away.

"Happy Birthday Lee." She said as she got out of their hug as Lily smiled.

"Happy Birthday Rory." She giggled as she pulled a golden paper out of
Aurora's hair – she had put so much effort in it today, and it was all for nothing – as she continued, "I had the same experience." Waving a wand on her head, Lily charmed the confetti out of her sister's hair, much to Aurora's relief as both the girls walked towards their group of friends as Aurora noticed the huge pile of gifts on their table.

"Woah," She said as she neared it as everyone laughed.

"I thought we agreed to a small celebration with friends?" She said, crossing her arms across her chest, as a small smile came on her face as she faced her boys.

"And you know that we have never listened to you." Sirius cheekily said as she laughed, sitting beside Remus and Lily as James and Sirius sat in front of her.

"Okay, now that you've seen the pile, let's get this back to your dormitory, shall we?" On seeing her nod, Remus waved his wand and all the gifts levitated themselves and flew out, and with a not- so innocent wave of his finger, Sirius pointed one gift to flow the opposite way and hit Snape on the head, as Lily gave a stern look to him but laughed with everyone else.

Soon everyone was tucking into their breakfast, and just as Aurora had finished her birthday muffin, the owls swooped in with the daily mail as Aurora and Lily exchanged an excited glance, as they saw a familiar owl fly towards their direction. Quickly dropping the parcel, the owl flew off as Aurora excitedly tore open the wrappings of her gift as Lily meticulously opened hers.

"I can't believe it!" Aurora suddenly shrieked as Remus jumped in shock beside her. "What? What did your mum give you Rora?" He asked, placing a hand on his heaving chest as he willed his heart to slow down.

"Mum got me a polaroid camera!" She said as she waved the machine at his face, which he, unfortunately, couldn't see as she was moving it too rapidly but, he liked the look of pure happiness on her face so he didn't comment on it.

"Well, it's for both of us, but we both know the photography gene is in you." Lily teased as she showed Aurora the photo album she got, it must have been a combined gift because Polaroid cameras are very expensive.

But all the joy had to come to an end, as Lily straightened herself and nudged Aurora as she noticed Professor McGonagall coming towards the celebrating group.

"Minnie! How nice to see you today! Did you come to wish your favourite students a happy birthday?" Sirius grinned at her but instantly frowned when she didn't give him the stern-yet-smile-look she usually gave, as her attention was focused on a smiling Alice.