The weekend came and went, along with Monday, with no interesting developments, besides the group beginning to grow a little closer through several more secret meetings to stir their potions. Remus was not yet back, and his absence was driving Rose nuts. She had thought that she had found some runes in her book that matched the ones on the walls of their secret passage, and she had wanted to tell him. This was, of course not the reason why she wasn't quite in a good mood during breakfast.
"Just don't tell them," she was asking, practically begging, Ellie.
"Don't tell us what?" James asked, sitting down across from them and helping himself to toast.
"Don't." She warned Ellie, one last time.
"Well," Ellie began, heeding no warning. "Today is Rose's birthday."
"Happy Birthday!" Peter chorused.
"We'd better wish her one properly," Sirius said to the rest of the group. Before anyone knew what was happening, the entire Gryffindor table was singing, and Rose was smiling and laughing along, still looking a little abashed, hiding her face.
By then the owls were coming in, and there were several with special birthday deliveries. Her grandmother had sent her a pair of her great-grandmother's earrings. Her aunts had sent all kinds of enchanted powders and makeup and lotions and such that the boys seemed entirely bored with, although Ellie was practically foaming at the mouth. Her other grandparents had sent her a new Gryffindor scarf and socks that were handmade, knitted in gold and red. Her mother had sent her a few new sets of books, some of them even the muggle stories that she loved. Her dad had sent a box full of a brand new pair of dragon hide black leather boots that she practically screamed in delight when she saw. Her little brother walked over and delivered a hug and a small sneak-o-scope by hand, along with a new pair of gloves for broom-riding. He apologized for not wrapping them, but she didn't mind. Lastly came a package from her younger cousin who was a first year Hufflepuff, composed entirely of fifty pieces of her favorite candy, which she split with her friends along the way to Transfiguration in an effort to be on time, her bag bulging with all of her birthday presents. Ellie wouldn't give hers until later, as was their custom.
"Attention, students," said James in a perfect impression of McGonagall, his glasses pushed to the end of his nose, and his lips pressed into a straight line. "Today, we are celebrating a very special birthday. Please feel obliged to sing," he led the chorus of voices, Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, until half way through the song, when the real Professor McGonagall walked in, and James and Sirius finished singing by themselves.
"Thank you for your public display of idiocy, Mr. Potter. I think you would be doing all of us a favor by taking your seat," she prompted.
"Yes, Professor," James laughed, sitting down.
It all happened again in Charms, this time, Professor Flitwick leading the students himself, standing and almost toppling over on his books, with red and gold sparks popping out the end of his wand as he conducted with it. Rose tried to look modestly bashful, but inside, she absolutely loved it.
It started getting old as the song was sung by the Marauders (as she now knew they were called) around the grounds to all of her classes. Sirius even got Peeves to sing once. Although, he gave up bothering to ask Filch after he was threatened with a week's detention.
By lunch, they had sort of given up, and managed only to weakly hum it a few times as they ate. Herbology was another unfortunate miss, as they were working with fully grown mandrakes and were all required to wear ear protection.
But, they were back in full swing by the time potions came around, as James and Sirius stood on desks and sang in renewed vigor, purposely trying to annoy the Slytherins who they were sharing class with. Slughorn, however, rather missed the moment of birthday spirit, and walked in to find James and Sirius standing on top of his lesson syllabus, holding out the very last note in a rather offensive pitch.
"You two. I've had nearly enough," he said, pointing a finger at the duo, as they suddenly muted. "Yes, I have had quite enough of your foolish wand-waving, and silly incantations! Quite enough, indeed!" His anger was out of character. Perhaps it was because he had just realized that he had misplaced some ingredients from his stores. Then again, perhaps he had just remembered wrong and had used them up. Old age was coming for him fast, no doubt about it.
James and Sirius slowly hopped off the desk, and were about to sit down in their seats, when Slughorn stopped them. The Slytherins began to snicker.
"No, I should think you won't have the pleasure of one another's company from this point on. Miss Claybourne? I would like to kindly ask that you please Join Mr. Potter in the back row. Mr. Black. Please Join Miss Bennett in the front," he watched as the students shuffled by and made room for their new seats, until he was satisfied.
"That's quite good enough, thank you. These will be your seats for the remainder of the year. Instructions are on the board. Please note that this is a topic that has been known to appear on your O.W.L. examinations in the spring. You may begin when you're ready," Slughorn finished, going back to his desk to search for possibly mislaid ingredients.
The new seats were perfectly fine with all parties involved. Except for one. James and Ellie were getting along well, their potions set to boiling already. Remus and Peter were close to that as well. But not Sirius. On her own, Rose could have easily completed the Draught of Peace that they were assigned to make. Hell, with her experience, she could do it with one eye closed and one arm tied behind her back, and still be ahead of the rest of the class. But Sirius was a different story. He was clumsy enough to drop things in too early or too late. He was irresponsible enough to cut up ingredients badly, or just plain not put things in. He was careless enough to not worry about fixing his mistakes until the opportunities to right themselves were missed. In short, it was a mess, and before five minutes had passed, their potion had overflowed, all over the pair of them, covering them with a sticky orange goo that smelled very strongly of sandalwood. They were immediately forced to leave and get themselves cleaned up.
"Sorry," Sirius said sheepishly, as they made their way back up to Gryffindor tower to find a change of clothes.
"It's alright. I don't much mind. That was a basic potion to make. It's not like I'm missing much by ditching and having a bath," she said.
"Am I invited too?" Sirius asked, seriously. Rose laughed, and swatted at him.
"No. Not until after I stop smelling like someone poured a bottle of cologne over my head," she replied.
"Fair enough," Sirius replied.
"Sandalwood gardens," Rose said, the password to get into the tower. The painting of the Fat Lady swung aside.
"How fitting," Sirius murmured. He headed up to the boy's dorms.
After Rose grabbed what she needed, she went to the prefect's bathroom on the fifth floor to rinse off, taking her time to try to get rid of the smell, and clean off her clothes. And she could take as long as she needed. It was, after all, her birthday, and Slughorn had dismissed her for the rest of the afternoon. She opened her favorite faucets and filled the pool with hot water and bubbles, in shades of bright blue and green, and went in for a soak, not coming out for nearly an hour. When she did leave, it was more because she had gotten bored than anything else. Maybe you should've invited Sirius, she joked with herself.
Once she had dried and gotten her clothes back on, she headed back to Gryffindor tower, where Sirius was, in fact, waiting for her, sitting on the sofa and reading the book that she had left there that morning.
"Hello, dear," he said, closing the novel and giving her a smile. He looked fresher, somehow, and his hair, which was on the shorter side of long, was ruffled messily and still a bit wet.
"Hello," she replied, sitting down next to him. "Resorted to stealing again?" She asked, gesturing to the gold bound book that was in his hands.
"I was just... Waiting. It is a good story. Although, these muggles are quite strange," he said.
"How far did you get?" She asked, taking the book in her own hands and paging through.
"A few stories in. This Holmes fellow's quite good, isn't he?" Sirius asked, referring to the famous detective that the collection was about.
"Yeah. He was. Doesn't even need magic to get along. Resourceful and clever enough to work it out himself," she replied.
"I quite liked that. Although his friend, Dr. Watson, is a bit average, I think," Sirius said.
"Ah, but that's only because he's more human. He's supposed to be relatable to the reader. Because Sherlock's as smart as anything, but is as human as a brick wall. The ideal person, of course, would be between the two," she replied. Sirius nodded in understanding.
"What was your favorite mystery?" Sirius asked.
"The Speckled Band," Rose responded. "And you?"
"I liked the Man with the Twisted Lip," he answered.
"That's more than just a few stories in," she accused.
"You were gone a long time," he shrugged. She leaned against him and gently put her head on his shoulder, her heart beating so loudly that she almost couldn't hear anything else.
"I'm sorry again about today," he said, his tone soft. She opened her mouth to say that it wasn't his fault, but he quieted her. "No, listen. I'd like to make it up to you. It's your birthday, and I'd like to treat you to dinner. Will you come with me?" He asked, looking down, the grey eyes meeting the hazel.
"I'd be glad to," she replied.
"Are you hungry?" He asked. She lifted her head and nodded.
"Then let's go," he stood, offering Rose a hand, which she took. Sirius pulled her along the corridors, carefully going past classes that were in session, and then through a tapestry and down a slowly sloping spiral staircase. They ended up somewhere that must have been near the great hall, but not past the main doors, instead in a long passage, occupied almost entirely on one side by a giant painting of a fruit bowl.
"Here we are," Sirius said, coming up to a stop before the painting. He reached up, and tickled the pear, which giggled, as the painting swiveled forward and opened to reveal an amazing sight.
It was the Hogwarts kitchen, bustling and busy with house elves working to prepare dinner and puddings.
One of them stopped as Sirius led Rose through the portrait hole.
"Master Sirius!" A small elf squeaked. "Lovely to see you!"
"And you, Nori. How are you today?" Sirius asked, good-naturedly.
"Excellent, Mr. Black! What can we help you with?" The elf squeaked back.
"Well, I've messed up rather badly, and gotten Miss Bennett's birthday ruined in the process. D'you think you could help me?" Sirius asked the elf, and two more that had come along to hear what he had to say.
"Yes, Sir! Absolutely, Sir! We'd be glad to!" Nori squeaked, sending the other elves off to do something.
"Thank you," Sirius said.
They had to wait for a moment for anything to happen, and they used that moment to take in the enormous sight of the kitchen. With what was needed to feed all of the students and staff, there was a large army of house elves, doing every task imaginable to get prepared. Almost all of them were using magic, levitating trays of things into ovens, rolling out dough, even washing dishes.
But what was even more amazing was the fact that every single one of them looked incredibly happy. They all smiled and seemed to genuinely enjoy their work, even though it was that of a servant.
When Rose remarked to one of them how amazing the operation was, the tiny elf had practically hit her head on the floor bowing.
"Thank you, Madam! So pleased to have pleased you Madam!"
Many of them were even humming softly to themselves, several different tunes, making the kitchen air feel like it was abuzz with its own life.
"Right this way, Sir!" The elf said, as the other two reappeared with him.
Sirius took Rose's hand, and led her into the back of the kitchen, to what must have once been some kind of small private dining room, perhaps for one of the founders, or the headmaster. It hosted one small table, set for two.
"Your dinner will be served shortly!" The small elf said, pouring butterbeer out of a bottle and into their fancy glasses. As he passed Sirius, he stood on tiptoe and whispered something into his ear. Sirius nodded in reply.
Rose sent a look that asked what was going on.
Sirius replied with one that said to just wait and see.
Nori left with a cheery skip to the kitchen door.
"You knew that all this was here?" Rose asked, still in wonder of the scene.
"Not all of it. But I knew that the house elves would be able to help me. It's what they live for," he commented.
"They quite like you," she replied.
"They love all of the students, and working here from what I've heard. They all get what they want and they enjoy making people happy," Sirius said.
"Dinner is served!" Squeaked a voice, coming in from the door. Following him were four elves carrying dishes of all kinds of delicious looking food. They placed them on the table and left again. "Let us know if you'll be needing anything, Sir and Madam!" The little elf squeaked.
"Thank you, Nori." Rose replied.
He bowed low and began to exit the room. "We are glad to help!" He replied, shutting the door once again behind him.
"This food is so good," Rose replied, a few minutes later, already, regrettably, starting to feel full.
"I know. They really are miracles, this lot. Entirely opposite the wretch I've got at home," Sirius replied. Rose didn't want to ask about the elf that Sirius must have had.
They finished after quite some time and quite some conversation.
No sooner had they put their forks down than the elves were back to clear everything away.
Another group came in a moment later, carrying a bright blue iced cake, that said "Happy 16th Birthday!" In green icing, along with little tiny cauldrons around the outside.
"Sirius! This is absolutely gorgeous!" She exclaimed, seeing the cake in all of her favorite colors, with her favorite subject on it. Seventeen (sixteen and one for good luck) candles were magically lit on top of the cake, and there was a small crowd of elves watching the scene.
"Don't thank me," he replied, gesturing to Nori.
"Anything to help!" Nori exclaimed.
"I think that I've sung to you enough times today," Sirius said to her. He was right. She was sick of that stupid song.
"Make your wish," Sirius told her, softly.
She closed her eyes thoughtfully and opened them again to blow out the candles. The house elves all cheered. She had done it in one breath. Good luck, or a wish granted.
The cake was the most delicious thing that she had ever tasted.
"Rose?" Sirius asked, after a few minutes.
"Yeah?" she replied, licking her silver fork.
"I have a bit of a confession to make," he said. "I messed up the potion on purpose. I-I wanted to give you something for your birthday, but I didn't have enough time to buy anything. I didn't think that you would skip with me so I-"
"Next time," Rose interrupted. "Just ask."
They leaned in and a kiss began, something that both of them had been itching to do since that night at the forbidden forest, maybe longer. He could taste the sweet icing on her soft lips. The feeling made him so incredibly happy, that she was with him. She could hardly believe that she was kissing Sirius Black, the boy who had walked right out of her dreams, even if he did still smell like sandalwood. She could feel his happiness, and her own, colliding where their lips met. And they split apart, savoring that happiness, not wanting to hurt it in an attempt to go faster.
"Shall we head back up to Gryffindor tower?" He asked.
"Perfect." She replied.
It was in their posture, in the way they moved, the way that they suddenly were always close enough to be touching.
Even Ellie noticed that there was a difference.
They were waiting for the rest of their friends in the common room, reading separate books, but still leaning up against each other, her copy of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes in his hand, now nearly finished. She was reading one of her new books, still clean, with straight edges and a solid spine. She looked like she would have been purring if she was a cat.
"How's the birthday girl?" James asked.
"She's doing quite well," Rose replied. "No thanks to your singing."
"Aw, bite me," James replied.
"It's alright, I liked it," Sirius said. "At least the first fifty times."
"And to think I only got threatened with two detentions. Well worth the cost," James said.
The boys all laughed and began their own work elsewhere.
"How was dinner?" Rose asked Ellie, not bothering to close her book.
"Good. But where-"
"Later."
-
Fun fact: I started writing this for a friend of mine, and a lot of the names and personalities are based on people I know. Feel free to review with any thoughts! Thanks for reading, and don't let the muggles get you down!