Seventeen
Lily was in her element. She was in the woods, at an ungodly hour, surrounded by the people she loved. She felt like nobody could touch her and all her issues melted away. It was an all too familiar scene tonight. Dorcas was surrounded by her empty fire whiskey bottles, Remus was laughing with Peter, Mary was talking with Frank and Alice, Marlene and Sirius were on the brink of making out for the 4th time tonight, and James was smiling, gazing at the wonderful friends he has. "Dorcas, tell us more about your adventure today!" Slurred Peter. Everyone giggled softly, knowing that Dorc was too drunk to have a filter and there was no knowing what she was going to say. She stumbled to her feet and walked towards the stool that had somehow made its way to the forbidden forest "You see, Lily, my dear friend, turned seventeen today" she paused for the applause. "I was on my way to the heads dormitory, to give Lily her present. When I walked in I noticed it was strangely quiet" She giggled softly to herself before continuing. Everyone listened intensely, as only Peter and Alice knew the story. "I'm making my way up the stairs to Lily's bedroom and what do I see. They couldn't even bother to get all the way up the stairs. Our very own Lily and James sucking each others FACES OFF!"
Her remark sparked a chorus of noise. Sirius was yelling at James for not telling him while playfully slapping him. Remus' jaw hit the floor and Frank laughed at him. Mary and Alice were laughing holding each other and Marlene glared at Lily with dagger eyes but all she could do was blush at James. The two of them has only been dating for a short period of time and they had not expected for everyone to know so much about them. Sure the two of them told their close friends of their adventures and milestones but they had hoped to keep that moment for themselves. Most everyone found it adorable, but Sirius, drunk out of his mind, found an issue with the situation.
Lily remembered the encounter quite well, actually, there is no way she will ever forget it. The two of them were about to finish their rounds when Lily let it slip that it was her birthday. She didn't want to make a big deal of it as she didn't find it that special. She didn't see the significance of turning 17 in the wizarding world as great as James did. One thing led to the next and the two of them didn't even bother to make it up the stairs to start snogging. "Prongs, I TRUSTED you, how could you betray me like this! We're supposed to tell each other EVERYTHING! Like I kept quiet when I found you and Lily in the locker rooms after practice!" Sirius didn't see any issue with what he had said, he only just spilled one of the biggest secrets James had entrusted him with. Everyone was yelling, playfully hitting the couple, but they could only blush and hold the other's hand.
James decided to join in on the playful argument and retorted quickly. "Yeah sure I can trust you, the first time you saw me kiss Lily you didn't hesitate to tell the whole great hall" Lily turned red, as she remembered the moment exactly. Sirius strut into the great hall with Remus trailing behind him, trying to talk him out of his idiotic plan. Of course Sirius being Sirius, he disregarded it completely and continued on with his plan. He stood upon the Gryffindor table and started yelling. "My dear friends! I have something to brighten your spirits!" Minerva stood up, ready to run to the table to get him down, as well as other teachers, with the worry he would spew some profane nonsense and ruin the minds of all the poor 1st years. "As of last night, it has been confirmed, that my brother James Potter is dating the one and only Lily Evans" Most of the castle laughed, as they had presumed so for a while, considering the constant flirting and hand holding they saw between the two of them. Sirius couldn't find a response to James and grabbed another firewhiskey instead.
The whole situation made Lily feel very sappy and emotional. Before she met her wonderful friends, she spent her birthdays with her sister and a few friends, all of whom couldn't care less about the occasion. But now, all the people that surrounded her cared about her more than she could ever understand. None of them saw her as the freak her sister did, and she felt so safe. She had her dorm mates Marlene, Mary, Dorcas, and Alice who she had spent almost every day of the school year with for the past 7 years. She had people she could always rely on Sirius, Remus, Frank, and Peter. Best of all she had James, who she loved with all her heart. After the 11 of them had nothing left to say and drank all of the firewhiskey they trudged back up the castle, making sure to be extra quiet as they passed Hagrid's hut. They made it to the heads dorm entrance with no issue, and they went their separate way. Everyone went to their respected bedrooms, except Lily and James, who just couldn't seem to make it all the way up the stairs again.