Chapter 3
The next day Lily woke up with a sense of renew in her. She remembered very little from the night before, but she did not care much. Today was her birthday and her worries were put away for today.
"Happy Birthday, Lily," she said to herself.
As she pulled back the curtains to her four-poster bed, she saw a heap of presents beside her bed. The first thing she noticed was a single red rose lying upon the presents. She picked it up and examined it. The rose had somehow been enchanted to glitter in the sunlight. As she pulled the flower closer to her face she smelled the beautiful aroma coming from it. She placed the flower gently on her pillow. Once again she looked at the presents. She picked up the largest one and began to unwrap it. It was a set of new quills, parchment, and a new cloak. The cloak was a dark velvet purple that sparkled. Naturally these had been from her beloved parents. Inside the cloak a note flew out onto the floor. She put her new belongings next to her on the bed and picked up the piece of parchment. It read:
May all your wishes come true on this sacred day.
Our little girl has grown into a beautiful woman,
And we want her to know that many love her.
Have a Happy Happy Birthday.
We love you with all our heart
Mom and Dad
She had become very happy with her presents and made a mental note to send her family an owl saying thank-you. Her next present was a long smooth package. She looked at the tag attached to it.
"Have a very Happy Birthday, love Hagrid."
Lily unwrapped the present to find a hand carved flute. The flute had been sanded and smoothed out for a soft texture. She put the flute up to her mouth and blew. A beautiful soft soothing note came out. Lily smiled and put the flute next to her other presents. One present remained left on the floor. Immediately she thought to herself,
"This must be from James."
She picked up the oval package and looked at the note attached. To her great dismay the present was not from James. Instead the present had come from Dumbledore, the headmaster of the school. She unwrapped the package to find a small box of chocolates. The chocolates looked very delicious but she decided to wait and eat them later.
Just as she had put her new found presents away in her bureau a young girl walked into the room.
"Happy Birthday Lily," said the girl.
"Thank-you, Piper," said Lily with a smile.
"You'd better get dressed soon James is waiting for you in the common room. He looks a bit anxious!" Piper replied.
"Tell him I will be right down."
"Okay," said Piper and she walked out of the room.
Lily quickly pulled on her new velvet robe and dashed toward the door. She stopped before leaving turned around ran to her pillow and grabbed the rose. She took a clip from her bureau and placed it in her hair. The rose glittered brightly in the sun and lily walked down to the common room. At the bottom of the stairs James was waiting. Piper was right, James looked like he had something on his mind. Lily had never before seen James so agitated.
"What's wrong?" she asked but he made no effort to reply.
He just stood there staring at her with an expressionless face.
"Nothing, come with me and lets get something to eat."
The two of them walked out of the common room and into the hallway. While they were walking towards the Great Hall James suddenly stopped.
"Now what's wrong?" asked Lily, but James remained silent.
Lily soon found out why.
As Lily turned she found herself standing face to face with a cruel sixth year named Severus Snape. Severus had always hated James and his friends and tried constantly to get them into trouble.
"How are you doing?" Lily asked reluctantly.
Severus did not reply, but stared blankly at her.
Then he replied, "You're in my way!"
"Hey don't talk to Lily like that," said James defensively.
Severus said nothing but walked straight through the two of them, and pushed them aside.
"The nerve," said James.
"Please don't get angry, not today. Today is a special day and I don't want anything ruining it."
"Yes your right today is a very special day," replied James.
With these words James face glowed a deep crimson red.
"Are you positive your okay? You don't look so good," said Lily.
"I'm fine really," James replied.
With that the two of them continued to walk to the Great Hall.
When they got there they took seats next to James's three best friends. Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew. Lily was never crazy about Peter. He always made her feel uncomfortably. He didn't look to trust worthy either.
"Hi guys," said James.
"Oh hey. Look who's here," said Sirius.
"Hi everyone," said Lily.
"Would you look at that. How you doing Miss Lily?" asked Remus.
"Very good, thank you," she replied.
Peter said nothing. Instead he continued to look at his golden plate sitting on the table.
"How about singing Happy Birthday to Lily. It's her birthday today," said James.
"Please you don't have to do that," said Lily nervously.
"Don't be silly Lily. We have to sing if it's your birthday," said Sirius.
All at once everyone started singing Happy Birthday. Lily's face turned red from her embarrassment. After they had stopped singing Lily quickly took her seat next to James. A few minutes later while James was in deep conversation with the others the mail came. Hundreds of owls of every kind imagined came flying in to drop letters and packages on their owner's laps. As lily watched the owls come in she spotted a package being held by five owls. She soon realized that the owls were heading her way. The five owls slowly and carefully placed the package in front of her. She was stunned that the package had come to her. She couldn't think of anyone who would send her a present. As she looked at the package it finally came to her. The present must be from James. She smiled deeply what could he have possibly gotten her.
"What you got there lily?" asked Sirius with a deep smile.
"I….I don't know," she replied.
"Why don't you read the tag and see who it's from."
To her surprise it had been Peter who had said that. It was the first time he had said anything since she had gotten to the table.
"Okay," she replied.
Although she already thought she knew who sent the package she took the tag off the package. It read:
Happy Birthday Lily! Hope you really didn't think we had forgotten your birthday. So here's a present from all three of us. We hope you enjoy it.
With love from, Sirius, Remus, and Peter.
To her dismay once again the package hadn't been from James. She was beginning to doubt whether James had actually gotten her a present. Although she was upset that the present wasn't from James, she couldn't wait to open it.
"You guys didn't have to get me anything. Just being here to celebrate it with me is enough," said Lily.
"Don't be silly, we were going to get you a present whether you liked it or not," said Remus.
"Go on and open it. I want to see what these three got you," said James. It's not much but it's something. Besides what did James get you for your birthday, lily" asked Remus.
"Well I'd like to know the same thing, actually" said Lily.
"You mean to tell me that he hasn't given you anything yet?" asked Peter.
"Come on guys, let's see Lily open our present," said Sirius.
"Okay, go on Lily," said Remus.
She took a quick glance at James and saw that he was sweating.
"Are you okay? asked Lily.
"Yeah, I…I'm fine" he replied.
Lily wasn't convinced but she went back to opening her present.
She unwrapped the glittering paper and found a large box.
"Gee, thanks guys. This is the best present ever," she began to laugh but the others urged her to open the box. Lily took the lid off the box and to her surprise found another box.
"Come on guys. Did you really get me a box?" she asked bewildered.
"Just keep opening it up lily!" said Remus.
She took the lid off the next box and found a small black and white fluff ball. As she looked closer she realized that the fluff was a small kitten. At that moment she suddenly got a flashback.
*She was sitting by a fire reading a book. The room was warm and cozy. There was something purring on her lap. Lily looked down and saw a black and white cat.*
"Lily are you okay?" asked James.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just saw the weirdest thing. This cat, I've dreamt about it before. It's just so odd," said Lily.
"Do you like him then. We had a hard time finding a kitten that was black and white like that. We really hope you like him," said Sirius thoughtfully.
"I love him thank-you so much. I want to know what you think about the name storm?" asked Lily
"Great idea Lily. With him being black and white and all, that should fit perfect," replied Remus.
Lily gently picked up the small fluff of hair and placed him in her lap. She began to stroke his fur and automatically he started to purr.
"We are going to get along just fine," said Lily contently. At that next moment food appeared on the tables and everyone began to eat.
"Still have a free day?" asked James.
"Yes, why are you so interested in today?" asked Lily. "No reason," he replied with a smile.