I hope you enjoy this chapter and expect fluff in this one! Also big thanks to all those who favorited, reviewed and followed. It means so much to me. Also, I am SERIOUSLY considering turning this story into a Sirius x Winnie story. What do you guys think?
Chapter 14
I rubbed my eyes tiredly and annoyedly grabbed my red toothbrush, I hadn't gotten any sleep last night which meant that I was not going to have a good day. I brushed my teeth and tried to list three things I was grateful for, so I could start this day on a semi-positive note. I usually did not do this but Lily told me that this was a great way to be a more 'positive' and 'humble' person.
I racked my brain trying to find things I was grateful for but I was terrible at guessing at the top of my head. Eh- I was grateful for this toothbrush for brushing my teeth, I was grateful for my friends I was grateful for-
SWOOSH!
"What in Godrics name-" I said spitting out the toothpaste and wiping my mouth.
The door slammed open and five people stood there with bright, happy faces, holding a cake and then all at once they said, "Happy birthday Winnie!" and someone flicked their wand making sparks fly around the bathroom that spelled out 'happy birthday to you'. My jaw fell open and I gaped a few times before I could finally speak.
"Oh my Gosh- you guys!" I said, jumping up and down excitedly. "You got me a cake!" I said scanning the vanilla cake that was now floating in the air for some bizarre reason. "With my name on it!"
"Really? I hadn't noticed," James said, laughing before hugging me, "Happy birthday Dot! May you live to be old and toothless." He said, ruffling my hair.
I usually would've told him off for calling me Dot but I was so happy that he could've called me Satan and I wouldn't have said anything, "Thanks James. I hope you'll join me when I'm at that age." I beamed.
"Winnie! You're finally seventeen! Isn't that great?" Marlene gushed, pulling me out of the bathroom.
I shrugged, "I feel no different than being sixteen but it's not bad." I then sat on my bed, "Thanks for the cake by the way and for everything."
"Why are you thanking us? We haven't done anything yet, Winnie." Sirius said, sitting next to me.
I tucked a strand of curly hair behind my ear, "Yeah but just the fact that you guys care- it means a lot to me." I said, smiling with my teeth.
Marlene aw'ed and hugged me from the side, "Aw, isn't she just the cutest thing?" she cooed.
James laughed, "She's like a little baby. Little baby dot. Yeah, I like the sound of that." He said teasingly.
I batted her away like a mosquito, "Noooooo stop. I'm seventeen now you can't do this to me." I said in faux anger.
She proceeded to pinch my cheek and tug at it, "Aw, Winnie! You think you're all big and grown up, how adorable." she said, laughing.
I laughed, "Okay, okay. I get it. I'm adorable. So what did you guys get me for my birthday?!" I said excitedly.
Sirius smile turned into a grin and he turned to James and gave him a smug face, "Ha! I told you she'd say that! I want my five galleons." he said smirking at James.
Remus rolled his eyes, "Enough children." He said, amusement twinkling in his eyes.
James glared at him and fumbled through his pocket begrudgingly, "Fine." he said and muttered something incoherently and then reluctantly gave Sirius give galleons.
I raised a brow at them, "You made a bet?" I grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it at Sirius's head.
Sirius ducked right before the pillow could hit him, "Sorry darling, still love you though!" he said, his smile widening.
The door suddenly slammed open, making us all jump and direct are heads at Mary MacDonald who walked in, face red. "You guys! McGonagall is coming!" she said panting as if she had run all the way up here, which was probably all looked at each other and began to move around the room like gusts of wind, each of them going in a different direction - frankly it was making my head dizzy as I watched them.
James clapped his hands together and pointed at us, "Okay, everybody downstairs." He said and then turned to look at me, "Except for you. Stay here."
I watched as everyone left the room with an annoyed look on my face. My forehead furrowed and I crossed my arms, "What? No fair! Why do I have to stay here? What are you hiding? It better not be something crazy, James whatever you middle name is Potter!"
He gave me an apologetic look and quickly kissed the top of my head in a platonic fashion, "Sorry." he then left and closed the door before opening it once more, "My middle name is Harry." he said, grinning and then closed the door.
I rolled my eyes but then laughed, "James Harry Potter." His middle name somehow suited him.
The bathroom door swung open and Sirius walked out, "What was that?" he then turned around and glanced at the now-empty room, "Where is everybody?" he asked, confused.
"They're downstairs. Apparently McGonnagal is here."
His eyes widened, "No! she's going to ruin-" His eyes met my curious ones, "Nevermind. I got to go." he laughed nervously and then moved towards the door and tried to open it. Knowing James, I was certain he put a charm on the door to keep me from leaving. Smart git.
"Don't bother. James charmed it." I said lazily, sitting down on the edge of my bed.
Sirius cursed, "What in Merlin's name are we supposed to do now?" he groaned and then collapsed on the bed near the door. Also known as Lily's bed, she would not be happy.
I was going to say something but then I realised that with Sirius in the room I could weasel information out of him so I could figure out what they were planning. A smirk made its way to my face and Sirius must have noticed because he was giving me a suspicious look, I slowly made my way towards him in an innocent manner.
"Hey there Sirius my good friend, my old pal." I laughed, sitting at the edge of the bed. "Isn't it a lovely day outside? I think it is."
He quirked a brow at me, "What do you want? You're acting weird." he said, sitting up.
I twirled a strand of my hair, "What? no I'm not. It's just usual me, Except I'm seventeen. Seventeen year old Winnie." I laughed. I wasn't good at manipulating people for my own benefit and I was almost certain that I sounded like I was under the influence of something.
He inspected my face disbelievingly, "Right, okay." he said and laid back down.
I gave up and sighed, "Sirius, tell me whats going on downstairs." I said, nudging his arm.
He shot up immediately, "Ah, that's why you were acting all weird. You sly girl." He said, nudging my shoulder.
I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, I'm a sly girl whatever. Tell me!" I said grabbing his collar and making him look at me.
He stared at my hand that was grasping his shirt, "Merlin Winnie I didn't know you liked me that way." He said flirtatiously.
He was obviously saying that to distract me and to get me to yell at him so I took no heed of his flirtatious ways and asked him again, "Sirius Orion Black you tell me whats going on right now or I'll-"
He cut me off, "You'll what? Curse me to oblivion?" He said, tantalisingly.
Annoyingly he was right, I was going to say that. "Shut up, Black." I said, irritated and let go of his shirt, before crossing my arms and huffing at the fact that I was getting nowhere with him.
"As much as I would love to tell you what's going on downstairs I can't. I'm sworn to secrecy, love. Marauders honour and what not- plus James swore that if I said anything to you he'd rip me to shreds." He said and then lazily put an arm around my shoulder.
I leaned back onto the bed and after a minute or so I decided to ask, "So...what did you get me for my birthday?"
He chuckled and put a finger to his lips, "Sorry love, it's a secret." he said with a wink.
I tugged on his arm, "Aw c'mon Sirius! Fine, don't tell me exactly what it is, but give me a hint. Please?" I said, in the nicest most innocent voice I could muster. I could physically see Sirius give in and when he sighed I knew he broke.
"Alright, alright." He paused, "It has something to do with the sky."
What? The sky? Did he get me a cloud for my birthday? Not that I would mind of course, that would be quite cool actually.
Sirius threw his head back in laughter startling me, "No, I didn't get you a cloud you idiot." He said flicking my forehead.
I didn't realise I had said that out loud, "So what do you want for your birthday?" I asked him.
He looked at me funny, "My birthday isn't for another five months."
I rolled my eyes, "Obviously. I'm planning ahead, you dummy. If I leave it to the last minute I mind end up getting the same gift as one of the boys. Remember fourth year?" I said smartly.
In fourth year, James and I had completely forgotten about Sirius's birthday and only realised it three days before his birthday so we went to random shops and bought the first thing that reminded us of Sirius. A black stuffed dog toy. We had no idea we got the same present until after we both gave him the present at the same time. Sirius ended up burning both of the toys in the fire.
He laughed "Oh yeah - completely forgot about that. That was the day my mom sent me a howler telling me that it was the anniversary of the worst day of her life." He said running a hand through his hair. "She was talking about my birthday."
Instinctively I grabbed his hand and squeezed it comfortingly, "Your mum's a downright she-devil. What an awful woman, I absolutely hate her." I said, angrily.
I couldn't understand why a woman would ever treat her son like that. Her own flesh and blood and she treated him like he was a burden - nothing more and nothing less. It just infuriated me, Sirius was such a good person and he could be an even greater person if only his family didn't make his life a living hell.
"You and me both, honey." He said bitterly and then his eyes trailed onto my hand that firmly grasped his. I felt like if I let go of his hand he would somehow get hurt again.
"Oh sorry." I said releasing his hand and laughing awkwardly.
The door slammed open and James walked in with a huge grin plastered on his face, "Hello - hey, what's going on here? Are you hitting on my sister?" James asked, dubiously looking at Sirius.
"I'm not hitting on Winnie." Sirius said, rolling his eyes.
I raised my brow at James, "I'm not your sister, James! You don't have any siblings. Also, quick question. How do you keep getting up here? Boys aren't allowed up here or the stairs turn into a slide."
James rolled his eyes, "Yeah, but you're like my sister! to answer your question, that doesn't happen if you walk up with a girl and Mary was with me - say hi, Mary." He said and Mary came into our view and gave us a small wave which we returned.
"So can I leave this room now or what?" I asked, excitement bubbling in me like a kettle filled with hot water.
James nodded looking as excited as me, "Yes! yes you can!" He said and then grabbed my arm and dragged me down the stairs and into the common room.
My mouth fell open. The whole room was decorated with pictures of me and the marauders and almost everywhere it said 'happy birthday Winnie!' There were balloons and flowers in almost every corner of the room in my favorite colours. The gryffindor colours of course! I was so happy. It was just us, the good old marauders plus Marlene. It was perfect. I didn't want something big and crazy, I just wanted to have a good time with my friends. I noticed the pile of gifts on the couch and immediately grinned.
I turned around to the guys that stood there. Those stupid idiots that I loved. I felt tears well up in my eyes and I gave them a group hug.
"Guys I just want to thank you all for everything, not just for this. For everything. I love you all." I said, shutting my eyes and trying to savour this moment for as long as I could.
"We love you too, honestly." Remus said, smiling kindly at me.
"I won't believe you until you name your first born child over me." I said looking solemnly making everyone laugh.
Remus laughed, "Consider it done." I wasn't sure if he was being serious or not.
"Cake anyone?" Marlene's voice said, making me turn to her.
"Oh yes please!" James said and we all followed to the fireplace where the cake sat.
They all started handing out the cake and I didn't have the heart to tell them that I actually preferred chocolate cake over vanilla cake. But they were all so happy and they looked like they were enjoying themselves so I knew that I couldn't possibly. All that mattered was that they were happy and so was I.
"Present time!" Marlene's voice said cheerfully and she sat down next to me. She pulled out a neatly wrapped present and handed it to me, looking very very excited.
I laughed at her optimism and took the present unwrapping it, what lay inside was a perfume in a beautiful, sleek looking bottle. I raised my eyebrows at her, surprised at her getting me such a luxurious gift, 'Wow, Marlene. I don't know what to say, thank you so much. It's gorgeous." I said, admiring the bottle.
She smiled looking pleased, "It has the essence of amortentia so it smells differently to everyone based on what they're attracted to! It's so strange and when I saw it I knew I had to get it for you." I thanked her one more time.
Remus handed me his gift - it seemed big and bulky so I unwrapped it to find a art book by my favourite artist, "Wow Remus thank you so much! How did you know that I love Monet?" I said, scanning the pages of the book. Each page was a painting or sketch done by Monet, ranging from his sketches to his most famous paintings.
"Whos Monet?" Marlene said, tilting her head to the side.
I passed her the book so she could see, "He's a famous muggle impressionist, his art is absolutely amazing." I said, admiring the cover.
Remus cleared his throat, "You um - told me about him once. Last year, I think. You said that he was your favourite." He said, scratching the back of his neck.
"Well, thank you - I love it. Honestly. You're so thoughtful." I said and smiled softly at him.
James gave me two gifts, "This one's from me and this one's from your mum and dad." He said grinning at what I assumed to be his present. I was very eager to see what he had gotten me because James had a habit of getting presents that were useless and pointless and every year he got me something weird that I could never use. It was hilarious.
I unwrapped his present and found, "A cup with all our faces in it! Hey- it's also re-fills itself. Thank you, this is actually useful. But no honestly- I'll use this." I said, grinning at the cup. It was a moving picture of all of us, making funny faces and smiling at the camera - a picture we took last year.
I then moved onto my parent's present and opened it and found a pair of thick woollen socks and I burst into laughter, they had taken my letter seriously and actually sent me a pair of socks. Not that I minded of course. Attached with the socks was a note saying 'be careful what you wish for -Greg' I smiled and made a mental note to thank them.
Sirius passed me his gift and I took it curiously wondering what his present had to do with the sky, I opened it carefully and was shocked when I found a necklace that had a sun and moon together in a ying-yang formation. The sun part was glowing, actually glowing. "Wow, this is..breathtakingly beautiful Why is it glowing?" I said and trailed my fingers over the necklace. I was so surprised, not because it wasn't something you'd expect from Sirius. No, he had a knack for picking out expensive gift, it was because in fourth year I drew a sketch that was exactly like the necklace and I gave it to him.
"It reflects your emotions. The sun glows when you're happy and the moon shines when you're sad." He said watching me, "I'm guessing you like it?" He said with a half-smile.
"I don't know what to say - thank you. It's stunning. It looks exactly like the drawing I gave you." I said, running a hand through my hair. The gift was so beautiful - it was a bit overwhelming.
He nodded, "I know." He said simply.
"Look at my present!" Peter said, making me turn to him. I put Sirius's present in my pocket and shot him a grateful smile before I took Peter's present from his hand.
I glanced at the poorly-wrapped present and laughed, at least he tried. I was surprised when I found, "Wow, Peter. How did you manage to get a Zonkos exclusive do it yourself prank set?" I said impressed.
Peter shrugged, "It was on sale." I didn't know why or how but he had been acting a lot more calm around me which was quite a relief.
I laughed, "Thanks anyway." and then turned my body to face all of them, "Thanks for everything guys."
"The party is not over yet! There's a actual party!" James said, grinning.
I laughed and gave in, "You know what? Go nuts. Throw the actual party." I would've said no to the party but I was having such a good night that I just wanted to do whatever would make them happy.
"Oh come on Winnie it'll be fun- Wait what did you just say?" James said, eyes widening when he realised I had actually agreed. "You're okay with it?"
I shrugged, "Yeah, you know what? Maybe it'll be fun. I'm going to go and change out of my pyjamas though but when I return I expect to find a awesome party down here, James Harold Potter!" I said, grinning and walked up the girls stairs.
He gave me a two-finger salute, "You got it, Winifred Erhard Powers!" he said enthusiastically.