Chapter Eight

DC: I don't own Harry Potter

It must have happened over night, because when Lily woke up, the boys were digging through their clothes. Lily thought this was odd. Usually she helped them get dressed.

When she appeared in the doorway, Sirius waved at her. "Hello mum!"

Lily cocked her head to the side, was Sirius's voice different? He looked a little taller too. She shook her head, and went over to Remus, who was having trouble with his shirt. "Here, put it on this way."

Remus pulled the shirt over his head, and smiled. "Thanks."

'Does he need a hair cut?' Lily asked herself. She looked at the other two boys. James's hair was very untidy, and Sirius's did grew. 'They all need a little trim…funny how quick it grows in one night.'

Lily went downstairs, pulling out a package of porridge from the cupboards. Somehow she was going to have to make it last for another week or so. She felt saddened that she couldn't get food out any faster, but she would just have to make due.

The boys came down a few minutes later. Lily looked at them. When they stand up straight they did look taller. Sirius being the tallest of the three. She set down some bowls, and the three boys waited patiently to eat.

"Mum can we get a fish?"

Lily took a look at James. "You really want a fish?"

"Yeah! Yeah!" Sirius cheered clapping his hands.

"Well…It'll have to wait just a little," Lily said mixing in the porridge to the boiling water.

"Okay. Are we still doing the 'Make Due', thing?" Remus asked.

"Yep, and we'll have to wait another week before I get paid." Lily scooped the hot porridge into four bowls. "Now eat up. I have to leave for work again today."

"Are Aunt Emmy and Aunt Alice coming?" Sirius asked.

Lily nodded. "They'll be coming all week. Sorry about that, boys."

"As long as we get more food," Remus said, scrunching his face up. "I'm not taking a liking to this stuff."

"Then I promise when I get my paycheck, I will take us all out for something good to eat. That is after I pay everything, bills and food and…there's a lot of things that need done."

The boys saw that Lily was saddened at the fact that they had hardly any money. They didn't say anything else on that subject for the rest of breakfast.

"Ooh! Mum could the fish be a birthday present?" James asked.

"Birthday present?" Lily thought about the birthdays. She knew when they were, not only did the Marauders have a party at Hogwarts whenever one came up, but they told it to everyone repeatedly so they memorized it. "It's not your birthday."

"Uh-huh! It's today! I'm six!" James said holding up the right fingers.

Lily stared at all the boys. 'Is that why they look different? They do look older! So they grow up?'

Lily cleaned up her bowl. "Well then, slip of memory, sorry James. Sorry Remus and Sirius. Happy Birthday!"

The three boys smiled and finished their meals. Lily was left to stare at them and ponder why they would grow up. It wasn't like her at all. She stayed a certain age for a month or so. They seem to be actually growing.

To get things off her mind, Lily washed the few dishes that were in the sink, and the ones the Marauders handed her. They then went into the living room, and she couldn't hear a peep out of them.

'I leave in about an hour and a half,' Lily thought, looking at the kitchen clock. 'I suppose I should get ready.'

Lily finished the dishes and went into the bathroom. She took a quick shower, magically dried her hair, and finished getting ready. The boys answered the door when Alice and Emmiline came in. Lily wrote the two a little note to explain what she thought might happen, and also wrote herself a note to owl Dumbledore about what was happening. By the time she was ready, she had twenty minutes to get to work on time.

"Boys, behave yourselves." Lily slipped on her shoes.

"We will!" they answered.

"Same time, again, Lily?" Alice asked.

Lily nodded. "I promise to pay you two."

Emmiline shook her head. "Don't worry about it. We know your going through some tough times."

Lily smiled up to her friends. "Thanks!"

She said her goodbyes to the boys, and left out the door.

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Lily spent her day learning. It was still like orientation, like it would be for another week, and things were starting to get easier. The potions weren't all too bad; the harder ones were for the more experienced in the office.

At lunch time, Lily went to the cafeteria provided by the Ministry. There were all sorts of foods there, and Lily had the very minimum to spend. She couldn't waste too much money.

But when she got down there she saw the most adorable cupcakes. She felt guilty for not remembering the boys' birthday, even though she had no clue about it, and wanted to repay them for it.

"Excuse me," Lily said to one of the cafeteria ladies there. "Are you opened after four?"

"Yes we are. We run all the shifts here," the lady replied.

Lily thanked her, and bought herself a cup of pumpkin juice. She'd stop in after work and pick up the boys a cupcake. She thought it would make them happier.

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"Hey, James! You really shouldn't be playing with that!"

"Sirius, stop flipping through the channels. There isn't much to watch."

James and Sirius were acting up just a little more then Alice and Emmiline had seen the other day. Remus was taking a nap, just as the two boys started to get hyped up. It was slowing down into the late afternoon.

"You two don't want to wake up Remus do you?" Alice said, trying to sound a little threatening.

"No," the two boys said guiltily.

"He gets grumpy, doesn't he?" Emmiline asked.

"Very grumpy. He hit me once!" Sirius said, pointing to his arm. "He gets angry at weird times."

"Does he now? Well then, it would be good not to wake up. Sit down, and we'll do something more quietly. You've only got another fifteen minutes till Lily gets back."

Alice got some crayons and paper. Sirius and James sat down, and watched TV while they colored. Emmiline checked on Remus, and Alice picked up little things the boys played with.

Lily came home twenty-five minutes later. She had a quick chat with the babysitters, in the kitchen, before they left. She set the box of three cupcakes on the table, and went into the living room. "Hello boys. How was your day?"

"It was fun!" Sirius said happily.

"Remus is sleeping, though," James added.

"I'm awake now."

Remus sat on one of the chairs, rubbing his eyes. Lily patted his head as she left the room. "Come into the kitchen, boys, I have a surprise for you."

They followed her into the kitchen where they saw the white box on the table. They crowded around her, standing on tip-toes, to see what Lily had brought them.

Lily opened the box, and the boys gasped. "Cupycakes? That's brilliant!" James said.

"Can I have the vanilla one?" Remus asked.

"Chocolate for me!" Sirius said.

"Here, here," Lily said, passing out the two chocolates and one vanilla. "Enjoy! It's your birthday cake!"

"What about Make Due?" Remus asked.

"Don't worry. It's a special day. You don't need to worry about that." Lily tore up the box and threw it away. "After this, though, you need to take a bath and I'll make you a little dinner. I'm sure you couldn't be that hungry after this."

Each of the Marauders, feeling slightly guilty, gave Lily a little of their cupcake. Lily thanked them for thinking about her, and ate the little pieces. She realized that piece of cupcake was the only thing she ate other then the porridge that morning.

The boys took a bath, with Lily's guidance (much to her horror). She still couldn't get the whole thing down about giving boys a bath. She helped them dried, and used her wand to clean off the water on the floor.

Lily made some chicken she found in the back of her icebox. She hoped it wasn't bad as she cooked it, but the boys didn't seem to mind it, and she thought it was good, too.

After that the boys found a book for Lily to read out loud. She read the book to them, and then told them to get ready for bed.

"Once again, happy birthday," Lily said as she tucked them in.

"Thank you mummy," Sirius said.

Lily turned off the light, left the door open a little, and traveled to her own room. She climbed into bed and shut her own light off. Just as she closed her eyes, she remembered she had to write Dumbledore, but decided against it. She'd do it in the morning.

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Finally the boys have grown one year...This is truly going to be a long fanfic, and I hope that I don't drag it out to long.

No one minds it being long, right? I hope not.

Anyway, I'll update soon if I can get some reviews!

Love, Lala Rue!