Chie: This story, similar to my earlier ficlet The Frogspawn Incident, is a separate oneshot taking place in the same universe as my chapter fic Their Halcyon Days and set during James and Lily's fifth year at Hogwarts, before the main storyline of THD.
Lily had chosen to spend her Friday evening in the library, working on her potions homework with Severus. They had had a good time, until Madam Pince had ushered them out just a moment ago. The curfew was only thirty minutes away, and the library was closing. So Lily had packed her bag, bid her friend goodbye and started her trek towards the Gryffindor tower.
As she trudged along the empty corridors, she hummed a soft tune to herself, a small smile playing on her lips. It had been a splendid day, she reflected, quite satisfied with the state of the world. She had got a package from home, done brilliantly in her classes, almost finished her potions essay, and James Potter had left her well alone.
She had been a little concerned that the arrogant boy would have tried to get into her good graces again by orchestrating some grand gesture, so it had been a pleasant surprise that the messy-haired, bespectacled young man had kept to himself all day.
As for Lily, she had her whole evening planned: there was a comfortable four poster bed waiting for her in the Gryffindor girls' dormitory, together with a good book and a fresh stash of chocolate and fudge. Not a particularly wild Friday night, but one that she would greatly enjoy nonetheless.
Finally, she reached the Fat Lady, and offered the portrait the password.
"They've been waiting for you, dear!" The enormous woman in the pink dress told her in a cheery voice, before she swung open, revealing the doorway of the Gryffindor common room.
The words took Lily aback but she had no time to dwell on them as the sudden noise washed over her much like a tsunami; a cacophony of thumping music and lively chatter, punctuated by shrieks and shouts and boisterous laughter.
Lily gaped at the common room. The circular cosy room was packed, most of Gryffindor seemed to be in attendance and everyone appeared to be in high spirits. The party was obviously in a full swing, and furthermore, bore all the tell-tale signs of a certain troublemaking quartet's handiwork.
Everyone always agreed that the four unruly boys in Lily's year threw the best parties, and while Lily had no objections to having fun, she did not particularly care for the aftermath of such merrymaking. Especially nowadays when, as a prefect, she was responsible for dealing with the mess, the multitude of noise complaints and the potential property damage that usually followed the boys' rowdy affairs.
But still, marauder parties were a special treat that were generally reserved to celebrating Quidditch victories, the four boys' respective birthdays or the end of the school year. Today should not have been any kind of a special occasion for them, unless…
Her stomach sinking, the red-haired witch's bright green eyes took note of the golden letters levitating in the air in the centre of the room: Happy Birthday Lily!
Lily's shoulders slumped in resignation.
Unless Potter had planned a grand gesture for her benefit after all.
The groan ripped from her lips the moment that she was finally spotted.
"There she is!" An enthusiastic voice shouted, and Lily was soon swarmed and pulled into the room.
Standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by bright, smiling faces, Lily's eyes finally found the familiar thin face and twinkling hazel eyes. The messy-haired boy shot her a crooked grin and then lifted up his wand. Lily tensed in trepidation.
He conjured one of those silly, flimsy toy-tiaras and walked over to carefully place it on top of her red head.
Then, he turned away from her and pointed his wand in the air. And with his prompting, the Gryffindor house joined their voices, bellowing out the birthday song to the rhythm of the long, theatrical arcs of his wand.
The corners of Lily's lips were twitching, and by the time the loud and enthused hoorays following the song rang in her ears, a full smile had bloomed.
James Potter was facing her again and swung his arm around her shoulders, gently steering her towards a table more to the side of the room, and the huge cake resting on it. Sixteen golden candles had been haphazardly decked on top of it, merrily burning.
"Go on, then," his playful voice whispered in her ear.
Lily leaned forward and blew the candles out.
Then, the red-haired witch was swept away by her friends.
The next she saw James Potter was a full hour later. She was sitting in her favourite armchair by the fire, surrounded by her friends, laughing and enjoying her third slice of the cake, when she noticed him out of the corner of her eye.
The host of the party skulked around at the edge of her group for a while, until finally there was a lull in the girls' conversation, and Lily set down her cake, having seen enough of the boy's indecisive hovering.
"What is it, Potter?" she asked, levelling her gaze at him.
He ran his hand through his hair and Lily noted in passing that the tips of his ears were decidedly pink.
"I was wondering if the birthday girl was up for some dancing," he said in a casual manner, his voice noticeable deeper than usual.
Lily bit her lip, quickly swallowing the giggle bubbling in her throat. She let the boy sweat for a few seconds before she stood up.
"I suppose I am," she said lightly, and strolled right past the awed boy.
She walked towards the dancefloor, followed by the sound of her friends' giggles and the hurried footsteps of James Potter rushing after her.