I had a PM after the last chapter asking me to explain who all of the Potter/Weasley children belong to, so here's the list! Feel free to skip if you already know who's who.

Bill and Fleur Weasley have Victoire Weasley (fifth year girl), Dominique Weasley (third year girl), and Louis Weasley (10 year old boy).

Charlie Weasley is unmarried and has no children, though he claims that several of his dragons count.

Percy and Penelope Weasley (I know that JK said Percy married a woman named Audrey, but I did not know that when I was originally writing this, so he married Penelope in this story) have Molly Weasley (third year girl) and Lucy Weasley (first year girl).

George and Angelina Weasley have twins Roxanne Weasley (first year girl) and Fred Weasley (first year boy).

Ron and Hermione Granger-Weasley have Rose Granger-Weasley (10 year old girl) and Hugo Granger-Weasley (9 year old boy).

Ginny and Harry Potter claim Levi Idogbe as their eldest son. Levi is a sixth year boy who technically is the son of their neighbors, however, he started staying with Ginny and Harry when his parents traveled for work and just never really left. They also have Teddy Lupin-Potter (sixth year boy), twins James Potter (first year boy) and Phoenix Potter (first year girl), Albus Potter (10 year old boy), and Lily Potter (9 year old girl).


Chapter Four: Relations


As all good parents should, both my mother and my godmother delighted in telling embarrassing stories about their children. One of their favorite tales to tell was one that took place years before my birth, when Victoire was two and Teddy had only just turned three. It was before my parents had adopted Teddy, back when he still lived with Grandma Andy full-time, only staying with my parents on the weekends. He and Victoire were the very best of friends, as well as notoriously well behaved, so they were allowed to wander the garden while the sisters-in-law cooked dinner together.

Hardly expecting trouble from the duo, my mother and godmother took turns checking up on the children every few minutes, mostly to ensure that they wouldn't accidentally wander off. When my godmother had let out a yelp and rushed out of the kitchen, my mother had, in fact, been certain that the children must have been hurt by some outside force, for she couldn't imagine that they had found themselves in any sort of trouble of their own making. Wand in hand, she had been stunned to find the two young children with their mouths pressed together, no outside force in sight.

It was a very innocent kiss, with both of their faces tightly scrunched up as they pressed puckered lips together for a minute or two. Upon retelling the story, the women always stopped at this point to laugh, scrunching their faces up horribly in an imitation of what Teddy and Victoire had looked like. At the time, however, they had been less amused. Mum had pulled the two apart quickly, demanding an explanation for the behavior. Teddy explained that he had seen her and dad kissing, and dad had told him that it was something that people do when they love each other.

"I love Tori, so I kissed her," Ted had told my mother very simply.

My godmother had cooed at the two, but the sisters-in-law knew that they needed to explain kissing a bit better than my father had thought to. They told the children that that sort of kissing was something that you only did when you were in a relationship. When Vic asked what a relationship was, mum had used herself and dad as an example, explaining that they were in a relationship because they were engaged.

This, of course, led to more questions, as Teddy quickly asked what being engaged was, which then led to an entire explanation of the process of engagement and marriage. As soon as my Aunt Fleur had finished talking about her wedding, kindly leaving off the Death Eater attack for the toddlers' benefit, Teddy had shoved himself to his feet, careful to avoid crushing the little yellow flowers that Victoire loved so much in the process, and run into the house.

My very confused mother and godmother had debated tracking the boy down while Vic hummed to herself, ripping up pieces of grass and sprinkling them into a nearby patch of sand. Just as my mum began to climb to her feet, ready to go inside to look for Teddy, he had come barreling back out into the yard. He had something tiny and shiny clutched in his hand as he made his way over to stand before Vic.

Clutching a small plastic ring that he had won in a muggle arcade with Aunt Hermione a few weeks prior and jealously guarded ever since, Teddy got down on his knees before Victoire. He held the coveted jewelry out towards her, grinning when she reached for it at once.

"Tori, will you marry me?" He asked, already sliding the ring onto her finger as she nodded.

The two women were stunned, scrambling for words as they rushed forward to keep the children from attempting to kiss again.

My mother finally managed to explain that marriage-and engagement-was something that only grown adults could take part in. The children were very put out; Teddy promptly began complaining that weddings sounded like more fun than he had ever had before. They cheered up considerably when my mother promised them a spot in her wedding, as Ted was to be the ring bearer and Vic a flower girl.

That evening, after dinner, my Aunt Fleur had procured a pretty silver chain. The sisters-in-law helped Teddy thread the ring onto the chain and clip it around Vic's neck, which delighted both children to no end.

Neither Ted nor Vic actually remembered "getting engaged", but the story had been told enough times that everyone in the family knew it by heart.

A few of the little cousins had expressed once that they wanted Vic and Ted to get married because they wanted Teddy to be a "real part of the family". This had earned them lengthy lectures from the adults, and minor torment in the form of pranks from the rest of us. Teddy had not been adopted by my parents until he was nearly ten, but he was no less a part of the family than if he had been born into it. Only Victoire was exempt from calling him her family, as the two had not grown up using the term for one another and always claimed that they couldn't possibly consider themselves cousins.

This was probably fortunate, as the two were also rather obviously infatuated with one another.

The little plastic ring was never removed from its place around Vic's neck.


Jay was a wreck the morning of his first Quidditch match. I set my alarm for very early, and I was beyond grateful that I had when I entered the Common Room. The sun had yet to emerge over the horizon when I found Jay sitting in front of the fire looking as though he would fall over if someone near him sneezed. Not that there was anyone else in the room besides us.

I looked at him nervously as I entered the room, and I was grateful to see a look of relief overtake his face when he saw me. Though I had been planning to get up early to intercept him before the match all week, in the moment I had found myself wondering if he wouldn't rather be alone with his thoughts. I knew how important Quidditch was to him, and I wanted to try to calm his nerves before his first official game.

"Hey," He said, and I pretended not to notice his voice crack.

Though Hogwarts Quidditch matches were hardly life or death, I knew that the outcome of the game today mattered far more to Jay than it did to the average Hogwarts student. Not only was it his first real chance to prove that he belonged on the team, but he would also be closely scrutinized during the match, as the child of two professional players. I also knew that Jay wanted very badly to play well, as he saw Quidditch as a way to make both of his parents proud, and he was afraid of letting them down if he played poorly.

"Hey," I responded, sitting on the arm of his chair and smoothing a hand over his hair. "How are you doing?"

He opened his mouth to speak, and I knew that he was going to try and tell me that he was fine from the look on his face. I moved quickly to cover his mouth.

"I can tell that you're not fine. It's really okay if you don't want to talk about it, but you don't need to lie to me if that's the case," I told him, trying to say it gently so that he knew I wasn't being harsh.

He closed his eyes for a moment, grabbing my hand and squeezing it tightly.

"I'm so nervous I might be sick," Jay finally said, leaning forward to press his forehead against my knee as he did so. I could tell by the way that his ears burned that he was embarrassed at the confession. I continued to run my fingers through his hair while I waited for him to continue speaking. After a moment, he did. "I don't want to mess up. I know it's just Quidditch, but how I play today is going to matter. Can you imagine how miserable it will be if I completely bomb things today? People will be watching. My parents might even come. They'll pretend that they're not disappointed if I don't play well, but I know they will be. They'll go home and not say anything over dinner because they'll both know what the other one is thinking but they won't want to actually say that I sucked."

I tried to ignore the way that my stomach lurched at the idea of his parents coming to the match today. The prospect of meeting his professional Quidditch player parents sent my Quidditch obsessed heart into a frenzy, but my stomach rolled with nerves at the thought of meeting my best friend's parents. I shook my head, trying to ignore the niggling fear that they wouldn't like me and refocus on Jay.

"I would embarrass them if I failed today," Jay said softly, his voice crushed by the immense amount of pressure that had somehow fallen on the twelve-year-old's shoulders. I found myself once again angry at every person who had ever dared to demand that I acknowledge my fortune at having been born into fame. This was what fame wrought-intense pressure and the inability to look forward to something that Jay had earned the right to look forward to. "I don't want to embarrass them."

"Jay. You couldn't embarrass your parents if you tried. I've seen you fly; you're brilliant. The sky could be falling down, and it still wouldn't stop you from putting the quaffle through the hoop. Besides, even if you don't do well today-which you will-your parents will still be proud of you. They tell you how proud they are in every single letter that they send you. You love Quidditch, Jay, and you've been looking forward to playing for the team since you were old enough to know what a team was. This is going to be everything that you've ever dreamed, okay?"

Jay looked up, giving me a half-hearted smile. "Thank you, Phoe."

I gave him a crooked smile in response, hopping to my feet and pulling him up.

"Breakfast won't have started yet," Jay told me as I pulled him towards the exit to the Common Room.

"That's okay," I told him. "We can take the long way to the Great Hall."

Jay didn't respond, instead choosing to wrap his arm around my shoulder and tug me into his side.

"Good luck on your match today!" The Fat Lady called from behind us.

Jay let out a laugh, turning to thank her over my head. I grinned at the portrait, mouthing my thanks to her. She gave me a warm smile in return before I turned back around to face the direction I was walking in.

"Hey, your outfit is brilliant, by the way," Jay told me suddenly, tugging on the end of my scarf as he spoke.

I grinned at him. "Thanks!" I spun in a circle, holding my arms up so that he could take in my outfit completely. "I had to show my team spirit!"

I was decked out in red and gold, choosing to ignore the way that the red clashed horribly with my hair. I had nicked my mum's old Quidditch warm-up shirt, knowing that the red long sleeved shirt with a horizontal gold stripe was no longer what the players wore before the match, so I didn't run the risk of embarrassing myself by looking as though I was trying to pretend that I was on the team. I had paired it with a red and gold striped scarf, gold pants, a gold beanie, and red converse. It was undeniably overkill, but I was too excited to be attending my first school match, which was also the first match that my best friend would ever be playing at, to care.

I didn't tell Jay, but I had also painted a banner with his name on it. It was very simple, but I had worked hard on it. I had charmed the letters to flash just enough to be eye-catching, but not so much to be distracting. Underneath the words, a tiny blue jay flew back and forth, chasing after a quaffle in an endless loop. Roxy would be bringing it down to breakfast with her, so that Jay didn't see it beforehand.

Roxy and James had almost completely stopped with their comments about my study habits as of late, which I accepted as a wordless apology, though Jay still thought that I should verbally address the issue. The difference in our opinion came down to the fact that Jay, who had no siblings or close cousins of his own, did not understand the unspoken rules that came with such relationships. I was, however, well aware that trying to spell this out for Jay would only serve to upset him, so I spared him the explanation. Though he hid it well, I knew that Jay really wished for siblings of his own.

Jay grabbed my hand as I finished my twirl, and we resumed walking in a cheerful silence. After a long while, we turned our steps towards the Great Hall, and I could tell his nerves were beginning to return.

"Hey," I told him, "You're going to do great, okay?"

He gave me a nervous smile, and I knew that that was the best that he could do at the moment.

James laughed as we sat down across from him, and I was grateful for the distraction, as it gave Roxy a moment to sweep my banner into her bag. Nikki was sitting on Roxy's other side, looking thoroughly cheerful and not at all nervous about her very first match as one of the team beaters. I would have thought of the stark contrast in her demeanor from Jay's as further proof of the negative repercussions being thrust into the spotlight before we had even graduated from Hogwarts, had I not known that there were actually just very few things that intimidated Nikki.

Nikki waved merrily at Jay, who waved back before nodding at James and Roxy. I let out a relieved sigh at the sight, nodding in agreement with the approving look that Nikki gave me in reference to the exchange.

After debating the matter at great length, Jay had reluctantly agreed to speak to my twin and Roxanne again, as he had refused even after I had decided that I was no longer angry with them. This had led to several awkward incidents where one of them had attempted to converse with Jay, only to be met with a frosty silence. He claimed that I was too quick to forgive people, while I was of the opinion that he was too determined to hold onto a grudge. Eventually, however, he had conceded that I was correct when I claimed that it should be up to me to determine when the issue became a nonissue, and gave up on his one-sided feud.

"A bit much, wouldn't you say Phoe?" James chuckled, looking at my outfit.

Roxy was quick to jump to my defense, and I grinned as I took in her similarly over the top outfit. "I think Phoenix looks great! Can I paint your face?" She asked, holding up a stick of red makeup.

I nodded, leaning across the table so that she could press the stick against my cheeks, leaving a swipe of the color across each of my cheekbones. I waited patiently as she dug through her bag until she found her gold stick, and then let her swipe it on just below the red. She rummaged through her bag once again as I leaned back into my seat, throwing a wink at Jay, who was staring at me.

"Here, you can use this after you eat," Roxy said, passing me something.

"Ha!" James exclaimed, "Good luck getting her to put that on!"

I just smiled, setting the tube of lipstick down next to my plate. Roxy and I had already discussed the makeup that I would be wearing for the match, as I had known that I wanted something on my face, but hadn't been sure what. Before leaving the Common Room, I had applied some mascara to my lashes, not wanting to look awkward once I donned the lipstick.

Now, I reached forward, taking a few pieces of toast off of a plate in front of me and buttering them. When I was done, I set two of the pieces down on Jay's plate.

He turned to protest, but I quieted him with a raised eyebrow. I pointed very deliberately at the toast, hoping that my expression made it clear that I would not be allowing him to leave the table without putting something in his stomach. Roxy, Nikki, and James were snickering at us from across the table, which was probably not helping my case, though I refused to lose the staring match that I was having with Jay in order to throw a glare at them. Finally, looking a touch mutinous, Jay raised one of the slices to his mouth, chewing on the corner as slowly as possible. Knowing it was as good as I was going to get from him, I poured him a glass of water and turned my focus to my own breakfast.

James positively gaped at me when I finished my food and began to apply lipstick to my mouth. I could feel Jay's astonished stare on me as well, though I did not turn my gaze on him, as I could see his mouth hanging open from the corner of my eye and didn't figure that laughing at him would be conducive to lipstick application. Ignoring my twin completely, I looked to Roxy and Nikki for approval before handing my cousin back the scarlet tube.

"Good?" I asked Jay, turning so that he could see. The complete overkill that was my outfit for the day was, after all, partially in celebration of his first match.

Jay nodded in response, eyes wide, and I grinned, satisfied.

Before I could fully process what was happening, Jay promptly lost all of the color in his face at the same time that Nikki let out a loud whoop. I spun in my seat to see Teddy standing, a grin on his face as he looked in our direction. "Gryffindor, time to go!"

I squeezed Jay's hand as he rose, trying to convey that he was going to be okay even as I cheered with the rest of the table. Someone started a chant, the three syllables of our house name quickly becoming a deafening mantra as nearly the entire table joined in. Nikki had raced up the length of the table, grabbing Vic's proffered hand with a grin before tugging her towards the door, her excitement palpable.

"Good luck!" I screamed to Jay over the noise, and he nodded at me before Teddy caught him by his shoulders, bending down to say something into my best friend's ear as he led him away.


Jay flew spectacularly. Though I had seen him fly in practice, it would appear that Jay was one to shine under pressure. As he made yet another sharp turn, I could hear people marveling at his skill. It was obvious that he was not only very naturally talented, but had years of practice and hard work under his belt. Despite being related to several members of the Gryffindor team, I spent most of the match with my gaze avidly glued to Jay. The way that he grinned when he caught sight of the banner that I held made it worth the hour and a half that I had spent making it. I screamed myself so hoarse throughout the match that I hardly had a voice left to cheer with by the time we won.

As the final score was called over the speakers, I pushed my way through the crowd, sprinting down the steps of the stands so quickly that I nearly fell down them. The rest of the team waved at me, laughing, as I blasted past them. Jay grinned as I rushed towards him, throwing his arms out. He caught me in a fierce hug.

"You did amazing!" I hollered hoarsely, ignoring how it made my throat hurt. People were staring at us, but I paid them absolutely no mind. "I'm so proud of you!"

Jay beamed at me, his mouth opening to respond before his eyes flickered over my shoulder. His smile grew impossibly wider.

A hand settled on my shoulder. I turned, anticipating a hug from Teddy or Vic.

Instead, my eyes fell upon Oliver Wood. I gaped at him, trying to pull myself together quickly. The last thing that I wanted to do was act like a total fangirl and make a bad impression on my best friend's parents.

Jay was shaking with laughter as he threw an arm around my shoulder, tugging me into his side. I was struck with how similar Jay looked to his parents. He had his mother's eyes, his father's nose, and the same dimples that both of them sported as they grinned at me.

"Mum, Dad, this is Phoenix!" He shouted over the noise, giving my shoulder a squeeze. Leaning down slightly, he whispered in my ear, "Breathing might be helpful, Phoe."

"Hi, Phoenix," Alicia Wood told me warmly. I took Jay's advice, inhaling deeply before I passed out. "You can call us Alicia and Oliver, if you'd like."

"It's nice to finally meet you!" Oliver added; his accent even stronger than Jay's. His hair was a mess, putting my own father's to shame. "Jay writes about you all the time! I don't think we've had a single letter from our boy this year where he didn't mention you at least twice."

I wasn't sure which was redder-my face or Jay's. The rather wicked smile that spread over Oliver's face clued me in to the fact that our mutual embarrassment had been intentional on his part.

I managed to stutter out a greeting to both of them while Jay smirked at me, though his scarlet cheeks and ears lessoned the effect a fair bit. When his parents were distracted, I stuck my tongue out at Jay, though I suspected that his mother saw. People were beginning to edge closer to us, probably gathering the nerve to ask for an autograph.

A familiar laugh sounded from behind me. I whirled around, spinning out from under Jay's arm and bouncing in place, my excitement too great to remain still.

"Hi, baby."

"Mum!"

A smile overtook my face as I threw myself at my mother, who was only too happy to wrap me up in her arms. I found myself slightly emotional as the smell of her floral perfume and the laundry soap that my parents used wafted around me, suddenly making me miss home. Another set of arms joined the hug, and I turned slightly so that I could wrap my arms around my father as well. Once they released me, they turned to face the Woods. I discreetly wiped my eyes as mum turned her warm smile towards my best friend.

"You must be Jay," She said, holding out a hand.

Jay shook it, looking slightly awestruck. "It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. Potter."

"Oh, please, you can call me Ginny," Mum laughed. She gave me a small wink over her shoulder. "Our Phoenix writes about you constantly."

"Mum!" I protested, feeling my cheeks heat up. Jay grinned at me. Apparently, all parents were the same when it came to embarrassing their kids.

"It's true. I think that we have yet to receive a letter from her that doesn't mention your name at least once," Dad teased, further proving my point.

I pinched Jay's side. "According to your parents, you mention me more," I muttered into his ear, my tone teasing. "Don't get a big head."

Jay chuckled, nudging me with one arm, his grin blinding. "It's nice to meet you, sir," He said, holding out his hand for my father to shake.

"And you as well. Call me Harry."

I watched as my father shook Jay's hand before turning to his parents. "Alicia, Oliver. It's nice to see you."

Mum laughed as Alicia batted my father's proffered hand aside and gave him a hug instead. "I've missed you! Why is it that we never do dinner or anything?" She scolded my father as she pulled back from the embrace, one hand gripping his bicep while the other swatted him lightly on the chest.

Dad chuckled, passing Alicia off to mum, who wrapped her up in a tight hug. I knew that my mother adored Alicia Wood, and it appeared that the feeling was mutual. Oliver stepped forward, clapping my father on the back as they shared a brief hug. "I honestly can't answer that, but I'm sure that we'll be doing dinner plenty from here on out," Dad answered Alicia's question.

"Well good!" Alicia said, wrapping her arm around my mother's, who beamed and leaned into the taller woman. It would appear that our parents were going to take our friendship as an opportunity to revive their own. "We're free after this, so put your money where your mouth is."

Dad laughed. "You've got it."

"Jay, honey, you were amazing, by the way," Mum turned her attention back to my best friend. "Teddy really got lucky, having you join the team this year."

"He did. He's really thrilled with how you played today," My father agreed, reaching out a hand and clasping Jay's shoulder. I let out a small laugh as he shook Jay's shoulder lightly, causing Jay to duck his head and chuckle himself.

My parents continued to shower Jay with praise, discussing certain elements of the game that he had done well. Though Jay was scarlet within minutes, he seemed to genuinely appreciate being able to talk through the match with three professional Quidditch players and a former prodigy. Still, he seemed rather relieved when we were joined by my brothers, Vic, Dom, and, to my delight, my Aunt Fleur and Uncle Bill.

"I'm saying hi to Annette first because you monopolize her!" Uncle Bill announced loudly, darting in front of Aunt Fleur and grabbing me in a hug that nearly knocked both of us over.

I laughed as I staggered backwards, gripping my uncle's torso tightly as I attempted to remain on my feet. Tipping my head back to smile up at the man, I forced my eyes to remain on my uncle's scarred face as I caught a glimpse of my godmother impatiently tapping her toe just behind his shoulder. Another giggle was threatening to burst from my lips, but I managed to maintain a straight face as I addressed my uncle. "Hello, Uncle Bill. I've missed you! I didn't know that you were off of that job already."

"Yes, I got back last week. It was amazing; I brought you back some pictures," He told me, handing over a small envelope. He too was fighting a smile, and I knew that he was well aware that we were currently riling his wife up.

"Thank you!" I told him brightly, using the pictures as an excuse to fully avoid looking in my aunt's direction. "These are great. Were you able to get that hexed vault searched?"

"I was! It was a mess though. For whatever reason, they decided that it would be clever to force an apprentice on us. He wouldn't listen to anyone and wound up in Mungo's getting his leg reattached," He said with a roll of his eyes. Aunt Fleur let out an audible huff, which caused me to glance up, meeting my uncle's eyes. We both cracked a smile, unable to keep a straight face when we were looking at each other.

"What curse did that?" Levi asked, interest piqued. Levi wanted to be a curse-breaker after he graduated.

As soon as he spoke, I knew that the gig was up. The look on my uncle's face told me that he knew it as well. I grinned at him, whining as he ruffled my hair in response.

"Yes, you two talk and give me my goddaughter," Aunt Fleur commanded, brushing her husband aside with a playful look before wrapping me up a tight hug. My smile grew as she muttered in my ear in French. "Hello, my dear. I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you too," I whispered back, leaning back to smile at her.

"Jay seems kind and very talented," She told me, smoothing down my hair as she spoke. "He played exceptionally."

"He did," I agreed proudly. "You couldn't even tell that it was his first real match. Did you see him catch the quaffle while dodging that bludger?"

Aunt Fleur nodded, looking slightly amused. I beamed at her as she finished fixing my hair, tucking a stray lock of it behind my ear before patting my cheek affectionately. Her own silvery hair was pulled back into a simple braid, the end of it pulled over her shoulder to rest on the soft golden sweater that she wore. My godmother was, as always, put together and lovely. I had missed her more than I had realized.

"You should meet Jay," I suggested, ignoring the urge to give her another hug in favor of introducing two of my favorite people.

"I will," She agreed, turning to face the others. There was a bit of shuffling as her gaze fell on Jay, as everyone moved so that she could stand before him. He looked more nervous than I would have expected as he held out a hand for her to shake. As she took Jay's hand, she said in English, "Hello, you must be Jay."

Jay nodded, giving her a smile. I once again bounced in place with my excitement, beyond delighted that Jay was getting to meet not only my parents, but also my godmother. Though he didn't look at me, Jay's smile widened, and I knew he had noticed the way that I was bobbing in place. To Aunt Fleur, he said, "It's very nice to meet you. You're Phoenix's godmother, right?"

"I am," She said proudly, reaching back to pull me into her side. I beamed at Jay, who chuckled back. "You may call me Aunt Fleur, if you would like. You played very well today."

Jay grew red as everyone once again began showering him with praise. Teddy soon commandeered the conversation, fully taking advantage of the multiple adults with an extensive knowledge of Quidditch to get pointers on what he should be working on before Gryffindor's next match.

As the sun sank lower in the sky, the Headmistress began walking through the crowds, letting parents know that they needed to start leaving the grounds. I laughed as my father mentioned having promised the Woods drinks, shaking his head at Oliver and Uncle Bill as mum looped her arms through Alicia and Aunt Fleur's and tugged them eagerly towards Hogsmeade. As they traipsed down the lawn, they all turned around to wave and blow kisses, seemingly oblivious to the stares that their group garnered. Once they were out of sight, Teddy ordered the team into the locker room.

"You were incredible today," I told Jay as I walked him to the locker room, hopping along and gesturing excitedly with my arms as I spoke. "I never would have guessed that it was your first match if I didn't already know. When you caught the quaffle while dodging that bludger, I knew that we had the game in the bag! You play like you were made to do it."

"Thank you," He was far more subdued than I was, seeming content to quietly relish in the atmosphere whereas I felt so full of it that I thought I might float away. Jay chuckled a bit, reaching out a hand to take one of mine, not looking bothered in the least when I immediately began swinging his arm in tune with my own. "I could hear you screaming the whole time, you know."

I blushed. "Well, I just wanted to make sure that you knew that I was rooting for you. It was quite loud."

Jay shook his head, looking immensely amused, but refrained from teasing me any further.

"Hey," He said suddenly, as though only just remembering something. "Could I have that banner?"

I laughed a bit, glancing at the banner that I had made. In the chaos, I had almost forgotten that I was holding it. I held it out so that Jay could take it from me. "Yeah of course. It's not very good, but it's yours if you really want it."

"I want it." He confirmed, giving me a brilliant smile. "It's perfect."

"Oh, and you owe me a new scarf," I told him teasingly, fully anticipating confusing the boy thoroughly.

To my surprise, however, Jay merely rolled his eyes and gave me a playful glare. "You did not embarrass yourself in front of my parents, therefore I don't owe you a scarf. Nice try, though."

"That was ages ago!" I protested. "You weren't supposed to remember the exact terms of our agreement!"

Jay laughed, grinning widely at me. "Phoenix, I have a pretty good memory. Pick a best friend with a shoddy one next time; I don't know what to tell you!"

I shook my head as he gave me a look of faux helplessness, throwing in a shrug for good measure before smirking and disappearing into the locker room.

As was becoming my, hopefully temporary, role in life, I waited outside the locker room until Jay emerged with the rest of the team. The sun was setting once again, the now familiar setting of the pitch before a crimson sky bringing a smile to my face. When the team did emerge, Teddy promptly picked me up and twirled me around, grinning as he ruffled my hair. Vic gave me a kiss on each cheek, straightening my hair with a giggle before tucking her hand in the crook of Teddy's arm and setting off towards the castle. I grinned at their backs as Jay wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

"They seem happy," He commented.

I nodded. "I've been waiting years for this to happen."

"Can I ask you something?" Jay asked, tilting the side of his head against mine and lowering his voice.

"Of course. If you're going to ask what I think you will, I'm honestly surprised that you haven't asked yet," I replied softly. Jay hadn't grown up around Teddy and Victoire, so I figured it was only a matter of time before he asked me if it wasn't weird that they were dating.

He turned his head slightly to look at me. His brow furrowed a bit, but he didn't ask me what I meant. "It's not weird that Teddy and Vic are dating, but I feel like it should be. After all, your parents legally adopted him, making them cousins. I know that that was kind of a thing in our world for a bit, but we've rather moved past that at this point. With the rest of your family, it's pretty obvious that Teddy is truly family, but he and Victoire have never properly given off that vibe. They just seem like friends. Who…like each other, I suppose."

I smiled as Jay failed to properly ask a question. It was obvious what he was wondering, but it was just as clear that he didn't know how to ask without risking offending me. "It's because, for a long time, mum and dad didn't really plan on adopting Teddy. His legal guardian for most of his life was Grandma Andy. Mum and dad wanted him, of course, but they didn't want to leave Grandma Andy alone after she lost everything to the war. So, at first, Teddy was just coming over to stay with his godfather. Apparently, it sort of happened slowly. Teddy used to call dad "godfather", but he was so young that it soon became "father" and then after a while he was just calling him "dad". I guess they didn't really see a problem with it as long as he knew that he had another dad-Remus-which he did. Same with him calling mother "mum". Soon, though, Teddy was spending more and more time with us. When he was 9, he had only been spending a day or two a week, if that, with Grandma Andy for years. That's when she finally came by to talk to mum and dad about officially adopting Ted. They agreed, so there was this big talk between Teddy, mum, dad, and Grandma Andy that we were thoroughly banned from. Naturally, we eavesdropped on the entire thing."

Jay smiled. "Naturally."

"Basically, Grandma Andy wanted Ted to know that she still wanted him to be around her home and that she loved him just the same, but that she wanted to give him the option to legally be mum and dad's kid, as well as our brother. She told him that she still wanted him to come stay with her as much as he wanted and that he was at the very least coming by on godparent days. Mum and dad told him that he would be their son even if he didn't want to go through with the adoption, and that it wouldn't hurt their feelings or affect his coming to stay with us any. He asked if he could think about it, because he didn't really know what adoption meant and he wanted to know before he said yes. Obviously, they said he could take all the time that he wanted. Then, he did the only logical thing to do when you want to understand something and went to stay with Aunt Hermione for a few days. After that, we went to the Ministry and Teddy was legally our brother. Vic and Teddy didn't grow up calling themselves cousins though. Teddy was already calling mum and dad his parents by the time I was old enough to know the difference, but that's not true for Vic. She's always defended his position as properly a part of the family, but they're not related in the same way that the rest of us are. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, it does," Jay agreed, "Not to put the horse ahead of the cart, but could they still legally get married, if that's something that they want to do?"

"Yes," I said, laughing at the oddness of the words that were about to leave my lips, "Don't worry. Wizarding Society hasn't progressed so much that a couple who are legally cousins can't be wed."

Jay laughed as well, "Now that, that's weird."

We giggled together as we walked, joking about "the Black family wreath". I suspected that we probably looked a bit intoxicated as we staggered through the front doors of the school cackling, drawing stares from the other members of the team.

"I'm excited about this party," Jay told me, waving cheerfully at a slightly concerned Nikki.

"Me too!" I exclaimed, hopping a little as we walked. Jay chuckled a bit. "I've heard stories; I hope it's as good as they say!"

The party was as good, if not better, than what I had been expecting, though my favorite part of the evening was when Jay and I found ourselves a quiet corner of the Common Room to sit and break the match down play-by-play. He had, as promised, an exceptional ability to recall even tiny details of the match, so we spent quite a while on our in-depth analysis. A few people drifted near us, probably in an attempt to join the conversation, but no one else seemed willing to try and keep up with the rapid stream of statistics that Jay would rattle off in order to back up the points that he was trying to make. As such, we were able to avoid socializing with anyone else until the party ended. It was, in my opinion, the best way to spend a party.


"Happy birthday Annie!"

I let out a light shriek as several rather heavy objects fell on top of me, crushing me into my mattress. There were few ways that I didn't mind being woken up, and this was not one of them.

"I think you may be crushing her," Molly giggled, and I groaned as I opened my eyes to a face-full of blonde hair. Underneath my heavy comforter, with the sun streaming in through my open curtains, and three of my cousins sprawled on top of me, it was quickly growing unbearably warm.

"Vic!" I whined, shoving at her shoulder.

I heard her laugh, before she and Dominique shifted so that they were no longer on top of me. Roxy remained sprawled across my stomach, grinning as I pouted at her. Molly, Lana, and Lucy were sitting crisscross at the end of my bed, while Vic and Dom had moved to sit on either side of me.

"It's your first Hogwarts birthday, so we're going to make it special," Vic informed me primly, straightening her shirt as she did so.

I laughed lightly. "You just don't want to have to buy me presents again come Christmas."

Dom smirked. "Well, it is only 23 days away…"

"Dom!" Vic gasped, chuckling lightly as she smacked her sister on the arm.

Dominique held up her hands in surrender. "Joking, I'm only joking."

I smiled at her. "So, what does a very special Hogwarts birthday entail?" I asked, hoping that it wouldn't be the same as the day long spa treatment that we had given Roxy two months prior. I barely saw Fred on the twins' birthday because of how long we spent pampering Roxy. Though she had loved it, it wasn't my idea of a perfect birthday by any means.

"Well, we are going to pamper you this morning, but we won't spend all day on it," Vic explained. As she spoke, Molly handed me a cup of tea. I took a sip and smiled at Lucy, knowing that she had prepared it. She seemed to be the only one besides Lily, Fred, Albus, and Jay who could make me tea without over-sweetening it.

"Okay, that sounds nice," I told them, leaning back against my headboard in order to get more comfortable, though my legs were still pinned down by Roxy. Though their wake-up had been less than enjoyable, I found that, once I was mostly out from under the dogpile, the sun streaming through my curtains was actually quite pleasant. It reminded me of home, where I only used sheer white curtains in my window and was woken each morning by the sunshine.

They exchanged delighted looks at my easy agreement to their plans. "Okay!" Roxy squealed, finally giving me back my legs as she pushed herself off of the bed. "You're going to drink your tea while we look for an outfit. Here's a book for you to read!"

I smiled my thanks. For the next ten or so minutes, I diligently read the book while I sipped my drink. When my cup was empty, Molly pointed me towards the bathroom for a shower. I smiled when I saw that they had replaced my almost empty shampoo bottle. It had a silver bow on it, which I giggled at and tossed onto the counter before I started the water. When I was finished showering, I got out and began to brush my teeth. Roxy came into the bathroom and started applying a facemask while I did so. After I had spit and cleaned my toothbrush, she put the mask around my mouth and led me back to my bed.

Vic was waiting in my bed with a brush and her wand. I let her comb and dry my hair. When she was done, she styled it before sending me into the bathroom to wash the facemask off. In the mirror, I saw that she had pulled the top half of my hair back in an intricate mass of braids. It looked nice, and I made a note to ask her to teach me how to do it at a later date. Lily would be delighted if I put her hair up in such a style.

"Here!" Roxy said as she walked into the bathroom and handed me a bundle of clothes. "This is what we picked out for you."

I carefully dressed in the pale green shirt and silver skirt, not wanting to ruin my hair. Roxy instructed me to tuck the shirt in, carefully helping me get it just right, and then nodded her approval.

"I like this," I admitted. I made a mental note of how Roxy tucked the shirt, already planning on wearing the outfit around my godmother at a later date. She would undoubtedly be delighted.

Roxy laughed. "I would hope so; we got all of this out of your closet!"

"I don't own this skirt!" I protested.

She shook her head. "You actually do, Phoe."

I was wracking my brain, trying to remember how I had come to own the skirt, while Roxy led me into a chair in the room. All of the girls crowded around me as Dom applied makeup to my face, instructing me to stop furrowing my brow as I did so.

"Sorry. I just don't know where I got this skirt," I told her.

Vic chuckled. "Oh, that was me. It was mine, but it didn't fit Dom or me anymore, so I wanted you to have it. I brought it over to the house the last time that I was there. Your mom must have slipped it into your stuff without telling you."

"It's pretty; thank you."

She beamed in response.

"Can I do your eyeshadow to match the skirt?" Dom asked, holding up a brush with a hopeful expression.

I tried not to wince as I looked at the bright silver skirt. "If you want to. Just don't make me look like a disco ball."

"I would never," She replied earnestly.

I had to admit that Dom did a good job when she was finished. Though I had a lot more makeup on than I would normally care for, I found that it didn't look overwhelming. She kept the silver on my eyes to the inner corners, making them stand out without it being too much for me.

"Thank you, Dom."

"You have to admit that this is more fun than you give it credit for," She said, meeting my eyes in the mirror and raising one silvery-blonde eyebrow at me.

I laughed. "I'm having fun, yes. More than I expected to have, in fact."

A series of squeals met my words. I knew that I had just set myself up for further makeovers, but found that I didn't mind as much as I would have thought.

They handed me some jewelry. I grinned as I realized that the earrings were new.

"Happy birthday!" Vic and Dom chorused.

I looked at the silver teardrop shaped earrings before flinging myself at the girls to hug them. Though I normally preferred gold jewelry, the earrings were lovely. "I love them! Thank you!"

I put the earrings in and fastened the rest of my jewelry. The girls nodded their approval enthusiastically.

"Now, we wanted you to wear heels, but we didn't want to make you uncomfortable on your birthday," Roxy said, "So we have graciously decided that you're allowed to wear silver flats instead."

I chuckled as I slid my feet into the shoes. "Well, thank you for that. I would hate to have to spend my birthday in the hospital wing."

They all laughed. I was then led downstairs, where we found the boys waiting.

"Finally!" James yelled.

We sprinted across the room to hug each other tightly, as per our tradition.

"Happy birthday!" We chorused.

I handed him a box, while he passed me a book.

"Nice, Phoe!" James said appreciatively. I had gifted him a special edition king for his wizard's chess set. It was gold and would turn all of the other pieces on its side gold after a victory. The pieces would remain gold until after the person playing lost.

"Of course! I know how badly you've wanted it," I replied. I turned the book over and gasped. "James, this is great!"

He had gifted me a book that explained how to charm objects to act out a Quidditch play. It would enable me to better see how my plays would work logistically, and therefore allow me to tweak them without having to try them first.

He grinned at me before he was swarmed with our female cousins. I squealed as Teddy swooped in for a hug that lifted me clear off of the ground.

"Happy birthday, baby sister!"

I laughed as he set me down only for Levi to pick me up and repeat his actions. This was another part of our birthday tradition, and I found myself missing my littlest siblings quite badly when I wasn't tackled to the ground in a double hug upon being returned to my feet. Shaking off the sadness that had suddenly fallen over me, I turned towards Fred, who gave me a tight hug as well. I grinned as Jay stepped in front of me next.

"Happy birthday, Phoenix," He said, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and giving me a warm hug.

"Thank you!" I said happily, bouncing lightly on the balls of my feet as he stepped away.

James's friends, Max, Conner, and Ross, were hovering uncertainly near the back of the group. Ducking his head to catch my eye, Conner gave me a grin and called happy birthday. The other two followed his lead, with Max adding a small wave into the mix. I laughed lightly at the entire awkward interaction, waving back and thanking them.

"Come on," Teddy began herding us towards the exit of the Common Room, "We're going to go eat."

James wrapped an arm around my shoulders as we walked, and I responded by throwing my arm around his waist. We had long since agreed that our birthday was a special day, and we had a unique sense of camaraderie whenever December 2nd came around.

Teddy hit us both with a warming charm, which earned him a highly suspicious look from me as we were steered into the hallways. Still, I didn't stop to question him, for I realized quickly that he had so hurriedly ushered us out the door because people were beginning to converge on our group. As we walked down the hallways, more people stopped to wave and stare, though we moved quickly enough that no one actually tried to approach us. James and I exchanged glances, but didn't comment on the situation.

Our family led us to the lake. I smiled at the clear sky, grateful that it wasn't snowing. I detested the cold, and I hated that there was always snow on the ground for my birthday. They led us to a spot near the shore of the lake, where the snow had been meticulously cleared from the frozen ground. Though the depth of the lake meant that it did not freeze, the water along the edges of the banks had a thin layer at the top that was frozen, deceivingly covered by snow just like the ground around it. I steered clear of the water completely, unwilling to accidentally step in the wrong place and find my foot plunging into the icy lake. In the spot that my family had cleared, a massive blanket was laid over the ground. James and I were instructed to sit in the center of it.

Jay sat next to me, smiling as he wrapped his scarf around my neck. The warming charm that Teddy had cast helped, but I knew my cheeks were likely still pink due to the temperature, so I appreciated the gesture. Pretty as the skirt that my cousins had selected for me was, the warming charm wasn't quite strong enough to ward off the chill that being outside in a skirt in December caused.

"You look nice," Jay told me with a smile.

"No, that one is Phoenix's!" Roxy yelled, and I glanced up to see my family bickering over a pile of gifts. I smiled at the commotion before turning to respond to Jay, who was watching the exchange, looking amused.

"Thank you. I'm glad you're celebrating with us," I said earnestly. I had never celebrated my birthday with someone who wasn't family or a very close family friend. It was nice, I found, to have someone at my party simply because they chose to be.

Jay grinned. "Teddy said that I got 'best friend privileges'."

I could feel my cheeks growing warm with a blush. "Yeah, we're a pretty tight knit group, but you've made the list."

His smile widened. "I'm honored. By the way, there's a gift from me in that pile, but I got you something else that I didn't want to bring down here."

"Jay, you shouldn't have! You didn't need to get me anything, let alone two gifts!" I protested.

He didn't respond, but he did reach down to squeeze my hand as my family finally began putting the gifts into two large piles in front of James and me.

"Okay, now we can eat!" Vic told everyone. "Squeak?"

I couldn't fight off a grin as I glanced up at Victoire and saw the way that my brother was looking at her. She looked lovely, her cheeks flushed with the cold, using both hands to tuck her silvery hair behind her ears so that she could make eye contact with the little house elf. Teddy watched as she smiled warmly at Squeak, his expression absolutely adoring. I wondered if he knew that his eyes were the same shade of blue-grey that Vic's were.

After talking to Vic for a few moments, Squeak apparated away, presumably to the kitchen. She then proceeded to travel back and forth multiple times, delivering trays laden with food. James and I made sure to thank her profusely when she placed a beautiful cake in front of us.

"This is great, guys," I told my family happily. "Thank you so much."

"Really, thank you," James agreed, his expression as delighted as I felt.

Teddy grinned. "I'm glad you like it! We made sure to get a strawberry flavored cake for you two."

I struggled to keep my disgust off of my face, while James openly gave the cake a look of revulsion. The white frosting, decorated with tiny red and gold flowers, no longer seemed appealing, knowing the monstrosity that lay beneath it. Our family roared with laughter.

"He's kidding," Levi chuckled. "We know how much the two of you hate strawberry flavoring. It's cinnamon."

James and I exchanged eager looks. We adored cinnamon, but Mum, Al, and Lily were allergic, so we rarely got to have it in meals. Fortunately for James and me, they only had a reaction if they ate cinnamon, so we were able to add it to foods or have it in snacks. We both added it to our hot chocolate, we always ate cinnamon ice cream, and when Dad took the two of us out, he would always find something with cinnamon for us to eat.

"Cinnamon?" Jay asked me as Vic and Levi began to dish out food.

"It's my favorite. Anything with cinnamon in it is going to be a food I enjoy," I replied.

"Noted," He said. "I like cinnamon as well, so we can see about tracking down some dishes with it at meals."

I grinned. "That would be amazing. We can't have it often at home because everyone but James, Dad, Levi, Teddy, and I are allergic."

Jay winced. "That sucks. Gran makes the best cinnamon rolls in the world. You'll have to come by the big house and try them sometime."

I opened my mouth to respond, but Levi cut me off.

"Phoe, take the plate please. My arm is going to fall off."

I hastened to take the loaded plate from him, apologizing profusely. He could only get so close to me with the gifts that were piled before me, so he had really been straining to hold the plate out. He handed me another one, gesturing for me to give it to Jay. I did, laughing as the boy lit up at the food. Apparently, no one had been allowed to eat all morning, so everyone was ravenous.

"You two can open cards while we all eat if you want," Teddy told James and me.

We reached for our respective stacks. Roxy was sitting behind me, and, upon feeling me lean backwards, she shifted so that we were back to back, so that we could lean against one another.

I opened the notes from my various aunts and uncles. Most of them were simple notes of well wishes. There were several from family friends, which made me smile at their thoughtfulness.

"Your parents sent me one," I told Jay, surprised and slightly awed.

"I thought they might; mum hinted at it," Jay replied, laughing as he took in the expression that I wore as I turned the envelope over.

The note was fairly simple, wishing me a happy birthday, thanking me for being a good friend to Jay, and wishing me fair flying. I knew that I would be pinning it to my bed post as soon as I got back to my room. Despite their son being my best friend, I was unabashedly still a huge fan of Oliver and Alicia Wood.

The note from my parents was lengthier. They both expressed regret at not being able to see me for my birthday. A few weeks back, they had offered to see about coming up for our birthday, but James and I had declined the offer. We knew that we would miss our parents, as we had never celebrated our birthday without them, but we didn't want special treatment. Besides, we would be seeing them very soon, as our birthday was extremely close to the start of the Winter Break.

James and I both resented our birthday's proximity to Christmas. Our family had always made sure to buy us separate gifts for each day, but we had received combined gifts many times from people outside of our family. This, combined with people's habit of giving us joint gifts, made for much disappointment growing up.

Albus and Lily had added notes to the one that my parents had sent, which made me smile.

The last note that I opened was my Aunt Fleur's. She wrote an entire paragraph about how proud she was of the woman that I was becoming, which made me blush. She also promised me my birthday gift over the break, as she wanted to give it to me in person. I wasn't upset at the delay in the slightest; I was more eager to see my godmother than receive a gift from her, anyways.

"What language is that?" Jay asked as I set the letter aside.

"French," I responded, handing it to him.

He looked at it before turning to me, clearly impressed. "You can read French?"

I nodded, grinning a bit at him. "I'm surprised you haven't noticed yet, all of my letters from my godmother are in French."

"Well," Jay told me with a chuckle, "At least you know that I don't have a habit of trying to read your mail."

I laughed as well. "I can also write it and speak it. I'm better at speaking it than writing it, though I've been improving this year. Aunt Fleur insisted on teaching me."

"Lucky you, too," Dom called, in French. "French is the superior language."

I giggled. "It is indeed," I agreed, more than happy to converse in the language that I loved so much.

"Oi!" James protested. "No speaking languages that I don't understand on our birthday!"

"Well that severely limits things," Vic teased.

"Not quite," James responded in a language that we had made up. I grinned as I recognized our special Potter-kid dialect. It was one of the best kept secrets that we had, as we had only written it down once, and we had burned the page years ago. The language changed a bit each time that it was spoken, so it was basically impossible to learn without knowing the rules, which we had all sworn to keep a secret. We had even agreed that we would never teach the people that we married, though it was a laughable rule as small children.

I laughed as Vic's face twisted in confusion at the sudden shift in dialect.

"God, we haven't used this in forever," Levi laughed, picking up on it immediately. Though he wasn't actually our sibling, it would have been cruel to not include him in learning the language given how much time he had spent at our house growing up. Plus, we all considered Levi our family.

"You two may not have, but Al, Lily, James, and I still use it all the time. You guys just got boring after you left for Hogwarts," I teased him and Teddy.

"Maybe that's because we came up with a special Hogwarts lingo!" Teddy countered.

James and I exchanged disbelieving looks. "Let's hear it then."

The two exchanged slightly panicked looks before breaking into two very different noises at the same time. James and I began laughing as Levi and Teddy realized that their fib had been proven to be false.

"Okay, maybe we could speak a language that we all understand?" Molly suggested over our laughter.

"Meaning English," Roxy added, firmly.

"Fine," James whined.

"I think it's really cool that you speak French. I'm not really sure what to think about that other language," Jay chuckled.

I grinned, flipping my hair with false cockiness. "You're just jealous that you don't know our amazing language."

Jay laughed. "Yeah, that's exactly it."

"Oi!" James yelled once again, though he was sitting right next to me, which meant he simply shouted in my ear. "I want to open presents, twin-o-mine."

"I'm game!" I said happily, ignoring my mistreated ear. Roxy leaned forward as I did the same, turning instead so that she could watch as I began to sort through my gifts.

"Mine first," She said excitedly, pointing towards the gift in question as she spoke.

I obliged, digging out the red package marked with her name. I tore the paper much more carefully than James, who ripped the paper off of gifts like it would eat the present if he took too long. Under the paper was a box containing a new pair of combat boots, one of my favorite types of shoes.

"Rox, I love these!" I told her, turning so that I could give her a tight hug.

"Good! They're cute and practical! They're charmed so that you're much less likely to slip in them. They also have built in temperature regulation, so you can wear them when it's hot or cold out and they'll heat or cool your feet accordingly."

"You're the best," I told her earnestly. "You can pick out an outfit for me to wear with these sometime, if you want."

"Yes!" She squealed, her grin blinding. "It's like my birthday too!"

Everyone laughed at her joy. I turned back to my pile of gifts. Uncle George and Aunt Angelina had sent me a box of WWW products. Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron had sent me a new Quidditch play book, for when my current one ran out of pages. Uncle Percy and Aunt Penny had sent me a book on runes, which looked interesting.

Uncle Charlie had gifted me a book on rare, ethical potions ingredients that could be gathered from dragons. I made a mental note to offer to let Fred read it, as I knew he was interested in both dragons and potions.

Uncle Bill and Louis had mailed me a new Puddlemere United banner specifically for my dorm, as I had left all of mine at home. Everyone roared with laughter for several minutes at the spectacular shade of crimson that I'm certain my face turned. I had been teasing Jay all year, telling him that I thought that Holyhead was the better team, but I knew that he had been on to my secret love of Puddlemere for a while. Now that he had his confirmation at my true favorite team (which irked my mother to no end) I was certain that I would be teased mercilessly for it. Once he had stopped laughing, Jay assured me that he also had multiple Puddlemere banners hanging in both his dorm and at home.

All of my siblings and cousins had purchased a gift for me. My brothers had all sent a different item of outwear charmed with temperature regulation spells, mild protection spells, spells that protected against every day wear-and-tear. Fred gave me a quill.

"I'll show you what it does later, okay?" He assured me.

"Okay," I replied easily. The rest of my family looked slightly wary, but I trusted Fred. I knew that he wasn't going to give me a prank on my birthday. "Thank you. It's a really nice quill."

He grinned. "It's a hawk feather."

Dad sent me a new broom care kit, which I received happily. Mum sent tickets to the Screaming Banshees concert that would be taking place over the break. James immediately began teasing me for it, for Mum and I were the only ones in the family that enjoyed the band. It was our guilty pleasure, and we got flack for it from everyone else.

Jay's parents had sent me a new broom polish that wasn't yet on the market for non-professional players. It was top of the line, and I was extremely excited to try it. It was supposed to improve grip and aerodynamics considerably.

I received an unmarked gift containing a book called 101 Methods for Struggling Herbologists and a new pair of gloves. I grinned, knowing instantly that the gift was from my godfather, who had apparently been in collaboration with my brothers, as the gloves were spelled the same as their gifts.

I thanked everyone profusely, making sure to comment specifically on everyone's gift, as I knew it was nice to be appreciated when gift-giving. As I spoke, I reached for the gift that I had unconsciously saved for last.

Jay gave me a custom Puddlemere jersey, which were sold at the games for a decent price. It had Potter and 2, my favorite number, on the back, similar to one that my parents had gifted me several years ago.

Unlike the one that my parents had bought me, however, this one was signed by the team.

"Oh my god," I whispered, both of my hands coming up to cover my mouth as I stared into the box that rested on my knees.

James and Roxy both leaned over to see the gift and groaned.

"Way to outdo the rest of us, mate," James said, shaking his head with mock outrage.

"What is it?" Dom asked.

I held up the jersey very carefully, turning it so that they could see the back. Immediately everyone began discussing their admiration for it, and several people echoed James's statement at Jay.

"Jay, thank you so much," I told him earnestly. "I love it!"

He grinned. "I'm glad you do. I couldn't think of what to give you for a long while, but I figured out that you were actually a Puddlemere fan about a month ago. After that, I started working on getting you that."

"How did you figure out that I liked Puddlemere best?" I asked him.

"I overheard you defending them to that kid after your flying class. You called them the 'best team in the league, hands down'. I had suspected for a while, but that confirmed it for me."

I pouted. "I kept up my ruse for so long!"

He laughed. "You did. I'm proud."

After we had finished opening our gifts, which Squeak kindly delivered to our dorms for us, we ate cake and started a game of exploding snap. Once the game was over, with the victory going to me, much to my pleasure, Teddy suggested we go back up to the castle. The warming charms were beginning to wear off, and I was in a skirt.

Levi insisted that I wear his coat on our way back, despite the heating charm that Teddy recast on everyone and the girls' protests that it ruined my outfit. I was forced to hand it back to him as soon as we returned, though I noticed no one commented on the scarf that Jay had loaned me.

James and I were once again arm in arm as we walked towards the Common Room. We moved at a much slower pace than we had on our way down to the lake, and people took advantage of this to stop us and wish us happy birthday. I rolled my eyes at James as Teddy herded us into a mostly empty corridor.

"Our birthday was in the paper, wasn't it?" I asked aloud.

"Slow day at the Prophet, I suppose," Teddy replied.

James and I groaned. As much as James liked to be popular at school, he wanted it to be on his own terms. Having people wish you happy birthday because it was in the newspaper was a lot less exciting than having people remember your birthday. A frown settled over my features as I wondered if I would ever have the chance to be even moderately normal at Hogwarts.

"Going to remember my birthday if it's not in the papers?" Jay teased, poking me lightly in the arm.

"April 12th," I replied, rolling my eyes at him playfully. "I'd have to be a pretty terrible friend, to forget my best friend's birthday."

He grinned. "Just checking."

We were steered up to Teddy and Levi's room upon entering the Common Room. Eli had apparently graciously agreed to spend the day with his girlfriend, so we had the room to ourselves. I quickly claimed a spot near the fire, grinning as no one contested my choice seating.

"I think that a game of dare is in order!" Dom yelled as everyone got settled in.

I laughed as James, regular dare champion, began to stand and flex. We all broke into applause.

"James wins dare almost every time," I told his very confused friends. "Personally, Lily and I think that it's because he lacks common sense."

"Oi!"

I smirked at him, "Don't forget who helped mum clean you up after you threw up all over yourself and the bed last year."

James grinned, his expression nostalgic, which I thought rather proved my point about his lack of common sense. "Right, that was pretty epic. I ate a pickle filled with that liquid cheese stuff and peanut butter, dipped in mayonnaise-"

"James!" Molly shrieked, looking faintly green. She had also wound up losing the contents of her lunch to James's, admittedly horrifying, dare. "No. We don't need a recap."

He laughed. "Alright, Molls. I'll save my victory recap for later, just for you."

"Thanks."

"So, rules of dare," Teddy said loudly, gaining everyone's attention. "It's a bit like spin the bottle, to start. One person will spin the bottle. Whoever it lands on is it. If you're it, you have to go sit in the corner, which we'll put a silencing spell around. The rest of the room will get to vote on or adjust the dare ideas that the person who spun the bottle comes up with. When you come back, the spinner will give you instructions. You may not be told everything about your dare. Once, we decided that we were going to have Dom call Grandma "Molly" and then run from her when she got mad. We just told her to go down into the kitchen to start with. Once she got down there, we told her to start chatting with Grandma. Once they were into the conversation, Vic wrote the rest of her directions in the air with her wand. As soon as the word "Molly" left Dom's lips, we shouted at her to run. It was more fun for us, because Dom didn't know what she would be doing until it came time to do it. If you don't complete your dare, you become a spectator. Spectators can offer advice to the spinner, but they may not spin, issue dares, or be issued dares. Also, a dare does not count against you if you don't complete it due to a genuine issue that can't be worked around. We're not going to make you do something you have a true phobia about, and we do not want any allergic reactions. Does everyone understand?"

Everyone nodded. Those that had never played dare before looked slightly apprehensive, while the rest of us were eager. Dare was a family favorite. We had even, on occasion, convinced some of the adults in the family to play with us. Uncle Charlie was pretty spectacular at dare, and we always played a round when he was home.

"Let's get this party started!" Dom yelled, clapping her hands together with a grin.

Teddy procured an empty butterbeer bottle, which would serve as the bottle that we would spin. He magically reinforced it, as we had learned several years ago that it was entirely possible for the bottle to be broken during dare.

"Alright James, you're up first," He said.

Jay leaned over to me while James made a show of pretending to polish the bottle. "So, James normally wins this?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Dom is normally the one who wins if he doesn't. Teddy and I usually make it to the end as well, just because of how stubborn we are. Vic can't eat anything gross, so we can usually get her out with that, but we normally keep her in for a decent bit because she's a lot of fun otherwise. Lily and Lucy are also surprisingly good at dare."

He hummed, seeming to mull over my words as James's spin landed on Dom.

"Strong start," Fred commented with a grin.

Several of us nodded our agreement.

Dom curtsied as she stood up before walking over to sit in the spelled corner of the room.

"Alright, James, let's hear your ideas," Teddy said with a grin.

His grin was wicked as he began laying out some prospective dares for our cousin.

James won dare, though it was extremely close. Dom dared him to jump into the lake, and he very nearly refused. In the end however, his pride won over common sense, as it always seemed to with my brother. His victory prize was a dose of Pepper-Up, after Dom refused to eat all of the dead spiders from her potions kit. I was the fourth to last person to bow out, with Jay beating me for a spot in the final three. He had nerves of steel, but he couldn't choke down the truly horrific combination of food that Teddy helped James to craft.

"Okay, I think I might take a shower and go to sleep," James admitted a bit sheepishly upon our return to the Common Room.

"Are you okay?" Dom asked, looking guilty and concerned.

James laughed. "I'm fine, it's not because of your dare. Uncle George sent me one of his new dream drops, and I'm excited to try it."

We all chuckled. Uncle George's dream drops were widely believed to be his best product, and were notoriously difficult to attain. His new line was supposed to be his best yet, and I knew that James was likely far more excited than he was letting on to try it. I had received one as well, but I had already decided to save it for a rainy day. The drops let you dream about the things that made you the happiest or gave you fantastic, impossible dreams, giving you a night's rest that was positively blissful. They were very expensive and sold out as soon as they hit the shelves, which only happened a few times a month, as a few of the rarer ingredients could only be purchased in small increments. This was probably a good thing, as the dream drops could be very addictive. Aunt Hermione had helped Uncle George come up with a way to spell them so that a person couldn't consume more than three in a year. It was impressive magic, and she had been delighted when I had asked her to tell me about it. She even took me out for ice cream while we discussed it.

"That's completely understandable," Teddy told James. "Go enjoy your birthday gift."

James hugged me, both of us wishing the other a happy birthday one last time, before making his way up to his dorm. Max, Conner, and Ross followed suit, though Conner paused to wish me a nice evening. He was, I had decided, my favorite of James's friends.

"Are you going to go to bed as well?" Dom asked me.

"Not yet. I wanted to read for a while."

My family nodded, most of them coming over to hug me and wish me a happy birthday before going their separate ways. I made sure to thank everyone once again for my gifts as well as a wonderful day before they left. Once almost everyone had left the Common Room, Nikki, Don, and Arnold came over to wish me a happy birthday. I giggled as Nikki kissed me on both cheeks before passing me off to the boys. Arnold ruffled my hair, giving me a slightly awkward grin as he did so. Though I spent a lot of time with Jay's friends, the short boy had always been just the slightest bit sheepish around me. It had been progressively getting better, but I suspected that he was probably a huge fan of either my mother's or my father's. Don, on the other hand, promptly wrapped me in a massive hug before fixing my hair. They had all chipped in to get me a fairly rare Charms book, which I thanked them enthusiastically for before they disappeared into the second year boys' dorm.

"I'll go and get that quill," I told Fred once everyone had cleared out.

He nodded. "Bring a roll of parchment too, okay?"

I quickly ran up to my room, grabbing the items that he had instructed, as well as the book that Uncle Charlie had sent me and the book on runes from Aunt Penny and Uncle Percy.

"Here," I told Fred as I re-entered the Common Room, holding out the book from Uncle Charlie for him to take. "I want it when you're done, but I'm going to read this one first, and I know that that's right up your alley."

He took the book, his lips slightly parted with shock. The look on his face was nearly unreadable as he lifted his head to look at me, but I could see the slight sheen in his eyes, cluing me in to the fact that my comment had meant more to Fred than I had anticipated. "Yeah, it is. How did you know that?"

I shrugged, not wanting to embarrass him by calling attention to his rather misty eyes. "I pay attention. Now, about my quill."

He set the book down almost reverently before taking the quill and the roll of parchment. I pretended not to notice as he cleared his throat before speaking. "Okay, so it's not exactly some big secret or anything. I just didn't want to spend ages explaining it to you when I could just show you. So, how often do you find all of your quills snapped or missing from your bag?"

"Often," I admitted.

"Yeah, me too. So that's where this comes in. If you place it on any sort of paper, be it parchment, a book, or anything of the sort, and tap it three times with your wand…" He acted out the words as he did so, and I gasped as the quill slowly faded into the paper. On the paper was now a perfect image of the quill, but it was completely indistinguishable from the parchment when I ran my fingers over it. "So, it's there, it's just in storage. The best part about this is that you can retrieve it from any piece of paper. It doesn't have to be the one that you originally put it in. Look."

Fred picked up the book, opening it to a random page and tapping his wand three times. Both the image of the quill on the parchment and the page in the book glowed brightly for a moment. When the glowing dimmed, the image was gone, and the quill sat in the book.

"You just have to think about the quill and want it to appear when you tap whatever you're using to call it," Fred told me. "It's also self-inking, since it wouldn't make much sense otherwise."

I threw my arms around his neck. "This is an amazing gift, Fred. Thank you so much! I really think that this is the coolest."

He grinned, grabbing the book that I was loaning him as he responded. "Well, I had to pay you back for the collapsible potions kit that you got me for my birthday. I've been wanting one for ages, but I hadn't saved up enough to get it yet."

I smiled at him. "I'm glad you like it! I know how much you enjoy potions."

He stared at me for a long moment. "You really do pay attention, don't you?"

"Of course. Everyone is so different; you have to pay attention if you want to have any chance of knowing everyone."

He gripped my shoulder as he stood up off of the couch, his eyes once again slightly shiny. "Happy birthday, Phoe."

"Thank you, Fred. I'll see you tomorrow!"

He waved as he walked up the stairs. I watched him go for a moment, considering the conversation. I suspected that Fred was unused to being seen outside of our Uncle Fred's shadow, and I pitied him greatly for it.

Shaking my head lightly, I turned to face Jay, who was the only person besides Fred who had remained to talk to me.

"Hey," I said, giving him a grin that was probably slightly goofy. It was silly, but I really loved birthdays.

"Hey," He echoed. "Take a walk with me?"

I nodded. He handed me a sweater, which I tugged over my head. It smelled nice and was very warm. I had been forced to part with the scarf that he had loaned me during the game of dare, as one of my dares included taunting Devil's Snare and I was loath to ruin the borrowed item, so I was touched that Jay had apparently gone to grab the sweater for me.

Once I was done putting on the jumper, Jay grabbed my hand and led me from the Common Room. It was growing late, but we still had plenty of time before curfew. I was pleased to realize that he was leading me up to the Astronomy Tower. There were few things that I enjoyed more than a clear night sky in winter, despite the cold.

"Do you like Astronomy?" I asked him as we walked, our footsteps echoing slightly in the empty stone corridor.

"I do. It's actually one of my favorite classes," He replied with a smile.

I returned his grin. "I didn't know that."

"Yeah, I'm honestly not sure why I enjoy it so much. I'm not especially keen on trying to use it for divination or anything. I just think that the stories behind constellations are interesting, the stars are a really great form of navigation if you know how to use them, and I really enjoy learning about space in general," He said with a shrug. "Do you like Astronomy?"

I nodded. "Yes, I also like knowing the constellations and that sort of thing. I'm glad that it's a core subject, for sure. On the note of electives, though, do you know what classes you'll want to add next year?"

"I haven't given electives much thought, to be honest. Have you?"

"Yeah," I admitted. "I'm probably going to take Runes, Arithmancy, and Care of Magical Creatures. I'd like to get a NEWT in all of them, too."

"That's ambitious, but I think you'd do really well in those," He told me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as he spoke. He pointed at something out a window as we passed it. I grinned as I watched an owl swoop low over the ground before flying away with something clasped in its talons.

"I hope so," I told him, returning to the subject at hand. "Aunt Fleur is my godmother, obviously, so I know a fair bit about ancient runes because of her and Uncle Bill. Not to mention, Levi wants to be a curse breaker as well, so that was a favorite topic at home. Aunt Hermione thinks that Divination and Muggle Studies are a waste of time, so she made sure that we all learned the basics of arithmancy. James and I liked it, so she kept teaching us. He'll be taking Arithmancy as well. He's far better at it than I am. He says that it all just makes sense to him. I don't think that James has ever met an equation that he didn't understand, if I'm being honest."

James nodded. "He seems to enjoy logic-based activities."

I hummed my agreement. "His favorite hobbies consist of chess and arithmancy. He rarely lets on how intelligent he really is, but James is probably one of the best strategists I know. Ironic, I suppose, since his common sense goes completely out the window any time he feels he's been given a challenge."

Jay and I both laughed, and I wondered if he, too, was recalling James's earlier swim in the lake. A snowflake drifted down to stick to the window that we were passing, and a small shudder ran up my spine.

"What about Care of Magical Creatures?" Jay steered us back to the topic of electives.

"I love animals, Hagrid is a family friend, it's interesting, and Albus absolutely adores magical creatures. I love Al, so I'll take it so that we have something to talk about that he likes."

Jay grinned at me. "You're sweet."

I laughed. "Don't tell anyone."

"I think they already know."

The view from the tower was as breathtaking as I had hoped. The stars were easily visible, and the sky was lit spectacularly by the moon. Jay grinned at me as I tipped my head back and looked around, hunting for one star specifically.

"I thought that you would enjoy this."

I turned my gaze on the grounds for a moment, admiring the way the snow shimmered in the moonlight. The lake was pitch black, but perfectly still. With the stars reflected perfectly on its clear surface, I found myself remembering my very first glimpse of Hogwarts, when I thought that the lights of the castle reflecting in the lake felt like floating through the stars.

We sat down, leaning back against the wall that surrounded the top of the tower so that no one fell over the side of it. I turned towards Jay as he reached his hand into the pocket of his jumper.

"I wanted to give you this now because…well, honestly, I thought that your family would maybe think it was weird and I didn't want you to be embarrassed," He admitted with a blush. At my raised eyebrow, he hastened to reassure me, "It's not anything bad! I just saw them and well…"

He carefully turned his hand so that I could see the pot that he held. I took it from him gently, trying to figure out what he had given me.

"Is this a marigold plant?" I asked him.

He nodded. "You told me that you couldn't keep plants alive, except for marigolds. I know that you wanted plants for your room, since you think they look nice, so I figured this would help with that."

I turned the little plant around in my hands, smiling at it. The pot was clay, the tiny green plant within only barely beginning to bud. I wasn't sure what color the flowers would be, but I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I would keep the marigold plant alive long enough to find out. My smile growing at the thought of bright marigolds blooming in my window, I leaned over and kissed Jay on the cheek, snickering at him when he blushed.

"Thank you. I really love it. This is a great idea."

He smiled. "I did a bit of research, and we can make a special carrier for the plant before the break if you want. It's pretty easy, and it'll help you transfer it back and forth from the school, since you can't leave it here."

I leaned into his side, cradling the pot in my hands. "You're the best."

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, tugging lightly at a loose piece of my hair. "Happy birthday, Phoe."

We stayed outside for as long as we could, occasionally casting a tempus charm so that we could give ourselves time to make it back to the Common Room before curfew.

It was, undoubtedly, the best Hogwarts birthday that I could have asked for.


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