Happy Birthday Lily
Summary: Harry, James, Sirius, Hestia, and Remus celebrate Lily's birthday.
Harry stepped outside of the portrait hole, walking softly down the stairs. He stuffed his hands into the pocket of the blue hoodie he had put on over his pajamas. It was six in the morning. Lily didn't get up until six thirty. Luckily, Harry knew how to cook with magic to make things go quicker.
It was a cold January morning. The sky was beginning to lighten up. Lily had a habit of getting up before the sun rose in the morning. It has been a habit since she was a young girl. Her favorite time of the day was early in the morning. Only she and her mother were awake in the house. It was their special time together.
The corridors were quiet as he walked towards Lily's quarters. Harry could make the trip to his Mum's private quarters blindfolded. It was where he came to when he needed to be alone, wanted to escape from the craziness of the common room, and especially when he wanted his mother.
He came to Lily's quarters during the Heir of Slytherin deal. He came here to sleep when he had a nightmare. Sometimes, he crawled into bed with Lily and not in his own bed in his room. He came down here when he was sick. It was where he recovered from his appendectomy when he was fourteen. Lily's quarters became his safe haven, where he could escape from the world.
He and James always tried to make Lily's birthday special.
In the morning, he and James would make her breakfast and serve it in bed. Sometimes, Lily came down to the kitchen for breakfast. Before Harry was in school, they would spend the day doing something fun. When Harry went to school, James would make breakfast for Lily. They would take her out for dinner that evening.
Harry would present Lily with handmade birthday cards and a craft he made himself. James took him shopping for Lily's birthday and helped him pick out a small gift.
When Harry went to Hogwarts, James, and Harry shopped for Lily's present after Christmas. Now, Harry picked out the presents himself. A few times, he had even purchased it during a Hogsmeade weekend.
"Up early, aren't you, Harry?"
Harry jumped at the sudden voice. He turned around to find Professor Williams, the History of Magic teacher. He had replaced Binns in Harry's third year. It was an attempt the ministry made in hopes of improving OWLs History of Magic scores. It worked, and Professor Williams was now a permanent employee.
"Yeah. I'm heading to Mum's quarters."
"Oh," Professor Williams replied. "Off you go then."
Harry slowly let out a breath of relief. "Thanks."
Turning toward the hospital wing corridor, Harry decided to stick in the shadows until he reached the portrait of Nurse Helga. Once there, he would slip in and begin making breakfast. He already had the menu planned out in his head.
Eggs with sausage, chocolate chip scones, and fruit. Tea and orange juice to drink.
Since he was at Hogwarts, Harry could use magic to hurry some things along. Upon reaching the portrait of Nurse Helga, Harry whispered the password, to which she replied while reprimanding him for waking her up.
Harry grumbled about how cranky she was. Entering his mother's quarters, he noticed Lily wasn't up yet. Not knowing how much time he had, he got to work fixing breakfast. He had cooked here before and knew where Lily kept everything. James had brought him everything he needed that Lily didn't have.
Harry could have easily had Dobby get the things he needed. James had volunteered to do it when Harry had talked to him about his plans.
As Harry cooked, the memories of Lily's birthdays in the past came to his mind.
James came up for Lily's birthday when Harry was a first year. He pulled Harry from his afternoon class and took him and Lily to her favorite restaurant in London. Lily's birthday fell on a Saturday when Harry was a second year. Harry spent the night in his mother's quarters to spend the day with her. James took her out for a romantic dinner for two, while Harry stayed at Hogwarts with his friends.
Next year, James stayed with Lily and took her and Harry into Hogsmeade, and the family of three spent some rare alone time together. Usually, they were accompanied by Sirius and Remus, and it was a rarity that the Potters got out just them. To get Harry and Lily's minds off the upcoming second task for the Tri-Wizard tournament, James pulled Harry from classes for the day and pulled Lily off from work with assistance from Madam Pomfrey. He took them to London for Lily's birthday. It was also Lily's thirty-fifth birthday, and it had occurred to her that she was only five years away from forty. But at the end of the day, Lily said they had a good time.
Last year was the first year that Harry took charge of Lily's birthday. James still came up to Hogwarts, but Harry surprised Lily with breakfast fixed by him without help from James. It was the first time Lily didn't need to go to the Great Hall for breakfast. Harry had fixed crepes and eggs. To his mother's surprise, it was really good.
As Harry cooked breakfast, he reviewed what he had gotten Lily for her birthday in his head.
Lily's birthday presents were simple, jewelry, clothes, books, and pictures of Harry and James. Last year, Harry had 'borrowed' Lily's owl order catalog and ordered a set of matching earrings and necklace.
There was a book that Lily wanted. The book was written by a fellow Hogwarts student and friend of Lily's. She, like Lily, was a Muggle-born and a Prefect. She wrote a book called Love Under the Enchanted Sky. Harry owled the author, who had sent Harry a copy of the book with a note for Lily.
He wanted something a little more personal. When he came across a picture of him and Lily, he got the idea to draw the picture. He asked James to copy the picture for him and got to work.
Drawing was a hobby of Harry's. He had drawn a picture of James and Sirius and had drawn one for Ginny for her birthday. He picked up a frame for it while in Hogsmeade. He had worked on it from the moment he decided to draw the picture and had even stayed up all night on Fridays to complete it in time for Lily's birthday. He still needed to put the finishing touches on the drawing.
The book was wrapped up and in his room, hidden in the closet in the trunk. The unfinished drawing was hidden in his desk drawer. The frame was with it to make it easier for Harry when he did finish it that afternoon. The trunk was one of the places Lily would never look as it was an extra trunk that she used to transport some of the clothes she kept of Harry's.
Harry pulled the scones out of the oven and plated the eggs. Checking the time, he saw it was six thirty. Lily would be up any minute.
Dobby appeared with the tea and some fresh fruit. Harry offered him a scone, and Dobby took it, returning to the kitchen.
Harry started to set the small table. As he put the finishing touches on the table, he heard his mother start to move around in her bedroom.
He finished setting the table and headed to his mother's bedroom. Lily was brushing her hair when Harry pushed the door open.
"Good morning, Mum," Harry greeted.
"Good morning, Sweetheart. What are you doing down here so early?" Lily asked.
"I made breakfast," Harry replied. He walked over to his Mum, hugging her. "Happy Birthday, Mum."
"Thank you, Sweetheart. You are so sweet."
"You're welcome, Mum."
Lily followed Harry out to the living area of her quarters. Harry had the table set for breakfast. Eggs, scones, fruit, orange juice, and tea sat on the table, ready for them.
They sat down to breakfast, making some small talk as they ate. They would save the major conversations for this weekend. It was rare that Lily got any alone time with Harry during the school year. Harry's free time was occupied with Ginny and his friends. Sometimes Harry would make time for her on the weekends. He even spent the weekend with her. This weekend was one of those weekends when Harry said he would spend the entire weekend with Lily.
After breakfast, Dobby appeared to clean up the kitchen. He volunteered to help out, and Harry asked him if he could help him clean up. Lily thanked him again for breakfast.
"How did I get so lucky to have a son like you?" She wondered.
Whatever it was she did, she was glad she did it.
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Lily didn't make an appearance in the Great Hall until lunch. She had spent the morning brewing potions for the hospital wing. It was odd to have three different potion makers at Hogwarts. Professor Slughorn had returned to his old post as Potions Master. Professor Snape's job now was to brew potions. He still taught potions only to those who needed help.
While Professor Slughorn mainly taught potions, Madam Pomfrey relied on Lily and Professor Snape to brew the potions needed for the hospital wing. Lily had worked on her contraceptive potion that day. She could make it blindfolded since she had made it so many times.
As she entered the Great Hall, Lily noticed Sirius was watching her closely. Lily had been lucky to avoid the shaggy-headed man but decided to get it over with. Sirius would sing Happy Birthday to her, James, and Remus every year on their birthdays. The downside was that Sirius couldn't sing. Harry described it as an Opera singer dying. James said that dogs sounded better than he did. But Sirius only did it because it aggravated Lily.
Sirius smiled, clearing his throat. He began to sing.
"Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday, Dear Lily!
Happy Birthday to You."
The students in the Great Hall applauded after Sirius sang. Remus shook his head at his best friend's antics. Minerva gave him one of her thin-lipped expressions. She smiled as Lily walked by.
"Happy Birthday, Lily, and may you have many more birthdays," Minerva said as the red-headed woman passed her.
"Thank you, Minerva."
Some of the other professors greeted her and wished her a happy birthday.
Lunch was almost over when Lily noticed Remus approaching her.
"Happy birthday, Lily. I'll see you tonight."
"Thank you, Remus."
Glancing down the Gryffindor table, Lily noticed that her son was nowhere to be found. Ron and Hermione were at their usual spot. Ginny was with her friends at the end of the table. She leaned over and asked Minerva, "Did Harry already eat lunch?"
"I'd seen him in here earlier. He had gotten a chicken sandwich and a bag of crisps with some water and headed out the door. I figured he was heading back to the dorm or something."
Lily thanked Minerva and walked over to where Ron and Hermione were. Some sixth years didn't have class on Thursdays to allow them time to study. Harry was in that group. But he still came to the Great Hall for meals.
"Hello, you two," she greeted her son's best friends.
"Hello, Lily, Happy birthday," Hermione said.
"Thank you, Hermione. Have you seen Harry?" she asked.
"He said he would get something to eat and head back to the dorm. He said something about an essay he needed to finish.
"Oh." Lily imagined it was the defense essay Remus had assigned last week.
Deciding to leave him to work in peace, Lily headed back to the hospital wing.
OoOoOoOoOoOoO
Harry bent over the desk, working on the drawing he had been working on since before Christmas. It was a copy of a picture of baby Harry and Lily. Harry must have been eight months old and was smiling and laughing in his mother's arms. It was one of Lily's favorite pictures. Because of this, Harry decided to copy it.
He had put the finishing touches on the border he had created along the top.
Smiling at his finished work, Harry gently placed the drawing in the frame he had picked out a while ago. Once the drawing was set, Harry got the wrapping and used his wand to wrap the present. At least it didn't look like it was run over by a car.
He laid the newly wrapped package on the table in the sitting room. James had arrived an hour ago and was beginning to fix the evening's meal.
"Hey, Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm going to go and return my drawing kit to the dorm and get that other thing for Mum. I'll be right back."
"Okay."
Harry walked back to Gryffindor Tower, slowly taking his time. He had owled Lily a necklace for her birthday. He had forgotten about it until the owl delivered it yesterday at breakfast. Luckily, Lily never asked about it. She probably thought it was for Ginny for Valentine's Day.
Now he had the necklace, a book, and the drawing. He hoped Lily loved the presents and didn't gripe at him about spending so much. But in his defense, the necklace was on sale.
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Laughter filled Lily's quarters as the meal was winding down. James had begun the Potter tradition of each person telling their favorite Lily memory from the year. He had decided to let Sirius go first since he said he had a good one. It was when he and James played a prank on Lily, which resulted in the red-headed witch having green hair.
"It was St. Patrick's Day. You're Irish, Lily," Sirius said in a fake Irish accent, prompting more laughter from Harry and James.
"Half Irish," Lily corrected. "My grandfather was from Ireland. He met my grandmother in England. Or at least that was what Mum said."
"That was why I had chosen green."
"It took a week for my hair to turn red again," Lily shrieked.
"And we apologized for that many, many, many, and many times," Sirius chuckled.
Harry played with the cake crumbs on his plate as James leaned back in his chair. He was thinking, Harry could tell.
James smiled at his wife. "My favorite memory is from last summer on the coast. For the first time, we went on a walk along the beach. At sunset. Alone."
Lily smiled when she remembered the walk along the beach. It was romantic. They kissed when they reached the most central section of the beach.
"Oi! I'm right here," Harry reminded them, causing them to laugh.
"Okay, Prongslet, your turn."
Harry had thought long and hard about his favorite memory with his mother. Then it came to him.
"Mine is also from the coast trip last summer. When Mum and I went for a walk on the beach," Harry said. "We talked seriously about things. From how serious he was about becoming an Auror after Hogwarts to his relationship with Ginny."
"Speaking of, where is Ginny?" James inquired.
"Study group," Harry replied. "She was helping a friend of hers with her Charms homework."
Hestia talked about the girls' night they had over Christmas break.
"It was like old times," She murmured.
"Okay. Remus, you're last."
"Well, my favorite memory is when I came to the house after my date Dora. You sat up with me, and we talked. You reminded me that I was worthy of having someone who loved me. In that way," He shrugged.
Sirius and James faked being offended.
"Oi. What are we?"
"Chopped liver?"
"That's disgusting," Harry added.
"If you hadn't set me up with Dora, I wouldn't have fallen in love with her. Thank you again, Lily."
Lily smiled and reached over, taking his hand in hers. "You're welcome."
They moved the sitting room where James served tea, and Lily would open her presents.
"Oh, James. You didn't," Lily exclaimed, opening James's present first. James smiled with a smug expression on his face. Lily had been eyeing the earrings for a month.
Harry realized that the earrings would somewhat go with his present.
"That's not all, my dear," James informed as he handed her an envelope.
Lily opened it and pulled out a day pass for a London spa. She looked up at James, stunned, too stunned to talk.
"I have the other pass," Hestia said. "Sirius got it for me as a just-because present."
"You've earned it," Sirius murmured, kissing her head.
"I figured you could go while you're on break for Easter."
"Thank you, James." She kissed and picked up Remus's gift. It was a potions book, a signed copy of the newest book that had come out. Lily loved it and hugged Remus as she said thank you.
"Open mine next," Sirius said as he handed her his.
Lily was hesitant at first. After a few minutes and nothing squirted out at her, she ripped off the paper. There in a frame was a picture of her and James when they first started dating. Lily had lost the picture in a fire at her parents' house and had never found a copy. Sirius had found a copy. He had it copied when he realized that Lily had lost hers.
Hestia found a picture of the two of them in their Hogwarts days. She made a copy to give to Lily. This picture, too, was lost in the fire.
"We need to recreate this picture," Hestia said.
"We do," Lily agreed. "Thank you."
Lily looked at the three remaining presents. She glanced at her son and picked the first present.
"Breakfast this morning would have been enough from you."
Pulling the rest of the paper off, Lily found the book she had been wanting and could never find. She looked up at her son, too stunned to talk.
"I owled Katrina. She sent me a copy of the book. There's a note on the inside."
Lily opened the book. Sure enough, there was a note inside.
To my friend, Lily
Happy Birthday, Girl.
Best wishes,
Katrina.
Lily smiled. She put the book aside and reached for the small box.
"Harry, this is…." Lily trailed off. She had been wanting this necklace for a while. It was a heart pendant necklace with Harry's birthstone in the middle of the heart. She thought Harry would get this for her for Mother's Day. Lily had mentioned wanting something like this when she saw it in the catalog.
"This is beautiful."
"Do you like it?" Harry asked.
"Oh, sweetheart, I love it." Lily pressed a kiss to his forehead. She sat the necklace to the side and picked up the last present.
She pulled off the paper and paused when she saw the drawing.
"Oh, Harry, baby. It's beautiful. I love it." Lily pulled off the remaining paper. "This is my favorite picture."
She turned to her son and pulled him into a hug. "I love my gifts, thank you."
"Happy birthday, Mum. I love you."
"And I love you. Very much."
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Lily smiled as she looked down at her son. Harry had fallen asleep while James, Sirius, Hestia, Lily, and Remus were talking.
Harry had lolled his head against his mother's shoulder. His eyes kept drooping until he was asleep.
"He must be exhausted to fall asleep this early," James whispered. It was only nine in the evening.
"He was up early this morning to come down here to make breakfast. No doubt he's been staying up late to help Ginny study," Lily suggested.
"Do you want me to move him?" James asked.
"Not right now," Lily whispered. In truth, she was enjoying having Harry close to her. Even though Harry was sixteen, he still sought his mother's comfort. Lily savored each moment like this when Harry was leaning against her. She savored these moments because she didn't know how many more she would have.
Eventually, Sirius and Remus left to head to their own quarters, and Hestia left to go home.
"You wouldn't think he was sixteen when you see him like this," James whispered. Lily nodded and began to run her fingers through his hair. He may have inherited James's messy jet-black hair, but the texture was like hers, soft and thick.
"I'm thirty-seven. I can't believe it," Lily whispered, even though she knew they wouldn't wake Harry if they talked in a normal volume.
When Lily decided to go to bed an hour later, James placed a lightweight charm on Harry. He picked him with ease.
"Don't hurt your back," Lily warned. They could have woken Harry, but Lily didn't have the heart to wake him.
James laid him down on his bed. With practiced ease, James managed to change Harry into his pajamas. James lifted him enough for Lily to pull down the duvet. She tucked him in, kissing his forehead. James ruffled his hair before joining his wife at the door.
"Happy birthday, Lily-Flower," James whispered.
"Thank you," Lily returned.
"Ready for our other birthday tradition?" James asked.
Lily smiled and nodded, letting James lead her to her bedroom.
They had just crossed the threshold of Harry's room when they heard a voice mumble, "Don't forget the silencing charm."
James and Lily looked at each other, then turned back to look at their son. Harry was sound asleep."
"I thought that was," James trailed off.
Shutting the door to Harry's room, James threw Lily over his shoulder and ran to her room, ready for birthday tradition number two.
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Lily lay awake sometime later. James was fast asleep, judging by his snores. She thought over the day's events. She had woken up to breakfast prepared by her son. Sirius sang to her off-key. Many people had wished her a happy birthday. She had received owls from friends with birthday wishes and small gifts from her closest friends. The day was complete with dinner made by her husband, another one of her favorites. Her evening was spent with her best friend and four of her favorite men.
She turned over and watched James sleep for a while before getting up and walking to Harry's room. He was fast asleep. The duvet was piled at his feet. His shirt rode up halfway up his torso. His head was thrown back.
Gently not to wake him, Lily repositioned his head, lest he not wake up with a stiff neck in the morning. Then he pulled down his shirt and then readjusted his cover. She leaned over and kissed his cheek before returning to bed.
She crawled back under the covers and snuggled up to James, who had wrapped his arm around her. She smiled, feeling content with her life. She had a loving husband, who she loved dearly. A son who was one of the sweetest boys she knew, and she loved him very much. Hestia was the sister she wished she had gotten. How she managed so long without her best friend, she didn't know. Remus and Sirius were the greatest friends she had the pleasure to know. She loved them like family.
Letting the memories from the day, she let sleep claim her as she dreamed about events from that day.
AN: Sorry for the late posting. I planned on posting this yesterday. For those of you who had suggested that I do a Lily takes care of James Sirius, fear not. I'm working on it in another series that would be considered the sequel to this series. It will be called Harry's Life with Parents After Deathly Hallows. I'm skipping over DH and jumping right after the battle, which brings me to my dilemma. Because I'm letting Sirius, Lily, and James live after DH (spoiler alert), I need three more people who come to Harry when he uses the resurrection stone. I'm open to your suggestions. I should mention that Harry would casually mention them. There will NOT be a scene.
Thank you!