They say it's your birthday. We're going to have a good time. [Pre-dated to March 27]

[doeinbloom]

Since Sirius and James told her about The Nook, the quaint house in the country her son resided in during his time in Darrow, Lily has plotted and planned. In the way James spoke of the place, she knew instantly that he longed to live there. To absorb what he can of the same air Harry breathed, when he was here. So though that first trip out had been difficult, nearly impossible, really, what with the way Lily had burst into tears at the first sight of the living room, her son's things scattered about as though he might walk through the door any moment, she kept coming back in fits and bursts, sometimes with Sirius and James, sometimes by herself.

Two weeks before James' birthday, she took Sirius aside and they began plotting. Sirius helped keep James distracted, giving Lily time to sneak away and make the trips necessary for them to move into The Nook. She decided with Sirius that the best surprise they could give James was moving into the place, and to throw a surprise birthday party at the house along with it.

Lily took the time and care to make sure she kept all of Harry's things. She arranged for them all to be placed in one of the four bedrooms, a sort of shrine in the hopes that Harry might show up on their doorstep. For the most part, she kept the furniture in the living room as is. She sold the dining room table and chairs, replaced them with a set that better suited her and James' taste. She spent as much of her spare time as she could buying and arranging furniture; of painting rooms and decorating them to make the place feel more like their home in Godric's Hollow. She added to the spells and charms about the place, increasing security and adding warmth, coziness to their new home.

Finally, on the day of James' birthday, everything is set. She employs Sirius once more to distract James, while she Apparates and charms all of their belongings in their flat to the new place. She hurries to cook, clean, and set up decorations in Gryffindor colors, red and gold. She arranges everything in the backyard; she has charms ready to protect everything in case of rain. She'd spoken with a local witch, who informed her that she could find Firewhiskey and other drinks from her world at a place called the Beanstalk. She'd spoken with the owner, and now she has one table loaded with a variety of drinks, both from her world and Muggle, charmed to chilled perfection. Another table holds the food, a wide variety of all of James' favorites, including desserts.

She's set up the record player with speakers, using her magic so that the perfect song plays just when it's wanted most. There's a space set aside for dancing, as well as a table off to the side for presents, which Lily has already started to stack with some of her own. Fairy lights float throughout the party, each one a kaleidoscope of gold and red. She charms the whole of the house so that it smells different to each individual, matching their favorite scent that reminds them of home.

Finally, she sets up the banners and ribbons, the banners charmed with letters that dance and move. And she waits for James to arrive.

Comments

[doeinbloom]

Truthfully, Lily is exhausted, not just from setting up the birthday party, but from weeks of buying and selling, of arranging furniture and painting walls, fixing leaks and enhancing spells. So she may or may not concoct herself a quick Energy Potion in between laughing with guests and making sure everything is as it should be, adding a Cheering Charm on top of that to ensure she remains the perfect host.

More than anything, she wants this day to be perfect for James. She never thought, after that first bead of fear on Halloween, that she would get another birthday with James. That they would have the opportunity to grow older together. So she wants this day to go smoothly, without a hitch.

Because James deserves to have the best birthday ever. And Merlin knows she's going to make damn sure she gives it to him.

[isolemnly_swear]

James knows Lily better than he knows himself sometimes, and it hasn't escaped his notice that she's been acting a little odd lately. But she's still fairly new to this city and there's been a lot to take in, and James has mostly put it down to that. He hadn't wanted to press or push for details, and he'd trusted that she would tell him if she wanted to talk about anything.

Instead, he's let Sirius drag him around the city for all manners of ridiculous activities, some of which are just bizarre. Sirius is either bored out of his mind or going off his rocker, finding all kinds of excuses to drag James out of the house.

Today, it's James's birthday, but he had hardly a moment with Lily this morning before she'd begged off to do errands. Sirius had shown up not long after, and though James has accompanied him for birthday drinks and birthday lunch and a lot of what Sirius had called birthday shenanigans, he does miss Lily's presence. Eventually Sirius suggests a visit to The Nook, and James agrees and Apparates over, thinking it might be a good place for a go on the Firebolt to top off his birthday.

When he arrives, the banners first catch his eye, strung up everywhere in reams of red and gold. There are streamers and fairy lights and it smells heavenly, like broom polish and Lily's perfume in alternating bursts. The first thing he does is sweep Lily into his arms, grinning and pressing a kiss to her lips. He's fairly certain he already has the best birthday present ever in the form of his wife, but there are other people here and after a moment James tears himself away to grab a drink and socialise.

[thebloodtraitor]

"Can't believe we managed all this without you catching even a whiff of a clue," Sirius remarks with a wide grin. He's on only his second firewhiskey, but he already feels quite warm and pleased with himself.

Of course, nearly all of it had been Lily's doing. Sirius had only been in charge of dragging James all about the city, sometimes with only a moments notice. It'd hardly been a difficult thing; Sirius had spent years pulling James into all manner or ridiculous shenanigans, after all.

But he'd thought, with James's birthday coming up, he might have some idea.

[isolemnly_swear]

It probably says something about the state of his intellect that they could pull this off without him catching wind, but James likes to think that his wife and best friend are particularly cunning, rather than thinking himself particularly stupid. The party is fantastic though, so he doesn't mind all that much.

James has a firewhiskey of his own by the time Sirius finds him, and he claps Sirius on the back with his free hand, beaming at him. "Must be getting thick in my old age," he laughs. That's a pleasant thought all by itself. Twenty-two is hardly old age, but the fact that he's surpassed twenty-one at all is cause for celebration. He thinks there's a good chance that's why Lily has gone all out like this; James was never supposed to make it to twenty-two.

"I suppose a thank you is in order," he drawls, giving Sirius a wry smile. "For all the distracting and other nonsense, and this." He waves a hand, gesturing vaguely to the party around them.

[thebloodtraitor]

There isn't a chance James is getting thick at all or in any fashion and they both know it. In all likelihood, it's more to do with the fact that he's still adjusting, both to this new city and to Lily's arrival. It's been a whirlwind the past several months and, looking back on it, Sirius can only marvel at how much has changed in such a short amount of time.

And for the better, it would seem. Certainly far preferable to hiding and waiting and scheming as they had back home.

"I'd say it is," he says with a tip of his chin, though is voice is all joking. "Look at this! She's pulled no punches, has she? Not that I'm surprised, of course. She's always been a bit of an overachiever in her own way. And she only shared some of her plans with me, I'll have you know. So anything you don't like was almost certainly something she didn't share with me and I couldn't advise her against."

He gives James's side a playful nudge with his shoulder. "You do like it though, don't you? May be a bit weird here all things considered, but it's better than that flat."

[doeinbloom]

Lily grins so wide when James first steps into their new home. The expression on his face is worth every drop of blood, sweat, tears, and magic she's poured into the place to make it just right, for the both of them and for James' special day. Merlin, but to be able to celebrate the marvelous fact of James turning twenty-two; the thought along with the reality makes her happy as to almost the point of tears.

She yelps playfully as James sweeps her up in his arms, laughing into the kiss he presses to her lips a moment later.

"Happy birthday, Potter," she tells him. "I hope you're not expecting to go back to the flat after this, because it's empty. Fridge and all."

"I've also got you other presents," she says, pressing another kiss to his lips, this one a tad more lingering than the last. "One of which you'll have to wait for everyone to leave to open," she says meaningfully, arching her brow at her husband to emphasize her meaning.

[isolemnly_swear]

Twenty-two feels, James thinks, absurdly good. It's not a particularly special age and he knows that few people at this party will understand the gravity of it, but Lily does. He suspects that's why she's gone to such lengths to make this a surprise and a delightful one at that.

"Empty?" James echoes, raising his eyebrows at her. The Nook has been decked out to suit a party, but James hasn't ventured off into any of the rooms proper yet. He certainly hadn't expected to find their own furniture and things here, fridge and all. In all honesty James is still struggling to understand the point of a fridge at all when he could just cast a simple charm, but Lily seems to enjoy the muggle oddities of this city.

"You mean you moved all our things here?" James asks, his smile widening as he realises. It's not like he hadn't considered it; since Sirius showed him the place James has wondered about moving in here himself. It had seemed to make even more sense when Lily arrived. But something had always held him back, whether it be the feelings the memory of Harry evoked in them both or the desire to let Lily settle in before James uprooted her again. He's glad she'd thought of it, too, and even more glad that she's taken the steps to actually move them.

James kisses her back fervently. He really does have the best wife ever. Especially, he thinks, if she's going to keep looking at him like that. "Oh?" he questions, smirking a little. "I'll call the party off right now then, they can all go home early."

[doeinbloom]

"Good and truly cleaned out," Lily confirms with a firm nod of her head, delighting in James' response to her news. Sirius has mentioned their trip out to the Nook, how James had noticed that the house seemed to have just been sitting there in the wake of Harry's departure from the city. As soon as Lily saw the place for herself, even before setting eyes on all of the stuff her son left behind, she knew that both she and James needed to live there. Their flat is fine, a little bit like their first one back in England, actually. Before they'd gone into hiding. But the Nook is an actual home, and Lily is so glad that they're both now living here.

"That I did," she says, preening just a bit because she can. After all, it did take quite a bit of magic for her to get all of their things over. "I thought it'd be the most direct way to tell you I wanted to move in." She grins at him, eyes bright and full of all the happiness at being here, alive, with James.

She giggles into the increased fervor of James' kiss, returning it with equal enthusiasm. "James Potter," Lily says, pulling back with a mock scolding. "You cannot simply dismiss the entire party just to open one gift." She's still eyeing up like they're already alone in the new place, though.

[bloodandflowers]

Kell is a little hesitant about his gift. He believes he's made a working model, but it will take the particular wand wielding magic that James, Lily, and Sirius use to be certain, so his gift is yet untested.

He's wrapped it, as is the custom, but the shape of the curved Pensieve is obvious despite the colorful paper when he presents it quietly to James. "I studied the books of your world when making Sirius' wand," he says. "I believe I've made a Pensieve. I don't have many memories of Harry while he was here, but you are welcome to them all." Kell hesitates, realizing he's forgotten the proper custom. "Happy birthday."

[isolemnly_swear]

James hasn't spoken to Kell all that often, so he's a little surprised to see him here. He is Sirius's friend however, and James is pleasantly surprised when he approaches. Even more so when he hands over a gift of some kind.

"You didn't have to get me anything," James says when he takes it, a little surprised at the weight of it. He hadn't really expected presents from anyone except Lily and maybe Sirius. But then Kell tells him what it is without James needing to unwrap it, and James feels awfully touched. It would have been enough that Kell thought to give him a gift at all, but this gift... James hardly knows what to say.

"Kell," he starts, looking down at the wrapped Pensieve and back to Kell again. "This is... I can't thank you enough, really."

[bloodandflowers]

"Thank me when it works," says Kell with a small, pleased smile. He's almost certain that it will, even if he knows his own memories won't be much. "Perhaps Sirius can add his as well - they spent so much time together. He looked after Harry like his own."

Kell looks around the home that had once been Harry's, wondering if it's painful to reside here. "Can I ask a personal question?"

[best_thief]

Lila suspects she's the only guest here James doesn't want to see, but it honestly doesn't bother her because she enjoys whatever ways she can manage to bug him. The back and forth pranking hasn't been entirely successful on either end, mostly because the lot of them can all do magic, so whatever messes or traps are set are cleaned up with a spell, and any enchantments cast are just as easily broken.

She's waiting for the gifts to be opened, because her box to James has been filled with glitter that's enchanted to swirl out when opened and stick to the nearest solid object. Which, she hopes, will be James' face.

If only it didn't smell intermittently like the Stone's Throw and the Spire. Lila walks one way and the taverns scent hits her like she's back in London, another, and it's salt water and Olo's signature stew. It hits her so strongly at times she swears she can even hear the ocean's waves hitting the side of the ship. Wondering if this is James' idea of a prank, and looks for Kell to find out how to break the enchantment.

[doeinbloom]

"Lila!" Lily exclaims, rushing over to her. She's glad to see the other woman again, after meeting her during her first shopping trip in the city. "Thank you for coming! I'm glad you made it."

"Can I get you anything to eat or drink?" She offers. "There's all sorts of good stuff, and plenty of it."

She knows Lila and James aren't the greatest of friends, but she's glad Lila came, regardless. Besides, there are only so many other women here, Lily feels a little bit outnumbered.

[best_thief]

Lila blinks, interrupted from her thoughts of being at sea by Lily's bright smile. "Hello," she replies, returning the smile with one of her own. "Thank you for inviting me." Lily really does seem too good for James, too sweet and nice for someone like him. Of course, someone might say the same thing about her and Kell.

"Sure. Can you show me what you've got?" she asks, looping her arm through Lily's. Lila has always shied away from making lasting connections, but she's determined to be friends with Lily to get under James' skin.

[doeinbloom]

"Of course," Lily says, gesturing to indicate that inviting Lila hadn't taken much effort at all.

"Yes," Lily says, surprised but gladdened when Lila loops their arms together. "We have all sorts of good stuff. The food is over here," she says, leading Lila over to the table holding all of James' favorite sorts of food. "And we have drinks over here," she says, leading her over to the drinks table. "I recommend the fire whiskey."

[isolemnly_swear]

James can just about guess who each of his gifts are from, but there's one small parcel that he can't pinpoint. It's nestled among the others, plain enough, and when he rattles it he can't make out any particular sound. James has never been one to turn down a gift, so he tears the ribbon off and opens the box, and in seconds there's glitter bursting out and covering him, all over his face and his clothes.

As pranks go, it's relatively harmless, and James laughs even as he blinks away glitter. A quick wave of his wand gets the worst of it off his face but he doesn't bother with the rest of it. It's stuck to his clothes and his hair and in patches along his cheek and jaw but this is a party, so he figures to hell with it. He can rock the glitter look.

When he turns he catches Lila's eye in the crowd, and it makes entirely more sense. It's a Sirius kind of prank, but James is usually in on Sirius's, so that leaves Lila. He supposes he should have been more prepared for retaliation. He's a little surprised to see her here, in all honesty, but Lily seems to have invited all sorts of people, and he doesn't really begrudge her. Lila is a pain in the neck and has a tendency to pierce her words a little too close to home, but James doesn't dislike her, necessarily. He heads over, running his hand through his hair to dislodge some of the glitter, but it's a useless effort.

"Not bad," he commends her, nodding his head, "if a little tried and tested."

[best_thief]

Lila's eyes light up and her face breaks into a grin at the sight of James sparkling under all that glitter. It's dusted in his hair, his neck, his chest. "Fuck," she says with feeling, even though she's still smiling. "I wanted to record you opening it on my phone." She sighs dramatically. "Maybe next time."

"Is this a usual prank, then?" she adds regarding his comment, slightly unsure what he means. She thought she was being clever. She'd seen the glitter make-up at Rat's store back when she was new to Darrow, and discovered that it was sold by itself as well. "You have the advantage pranking history. Where I'm from we don't prank, we just revenge kill."

[isolemnly_swear]

James is sure the glitter will stick around long enough for Lila to get a proper kick out of the joke. He'll be trying to scrub it off for days with the amount there is, and he's sure Lily will find it covering their furniture soon enough. "I could do a repeat performance, if you like," he offers, smiling a little. "If only there were more glitter."

She's here to prank him rather than say happy birthday, that much is clear, but James is in a good enough mood that he doesn't even really mind. It's a harmless joke and in truth he's gotten a laugh out of it as well. "It's the kind of prank we might have pulled in first year," he tells her with a laugh. "In fact, I think we did. I seem to remember Sirius being determined to cover Snape in glitter head to toe, cheer him up a bit."

It hadn't worked, obviously. Snape was a miserable sod no matter what, but James at least had gotten a good laugh out of it. "But it was a good first effort." He pauses, considering. "I'd humbly request that you don't revenge kill me on my birthday. Bad form."

[bloodandflowers]

Kell came out here once, months ago when Sirius was searching frantically for Harry. It's nice to see the place newly alive, lit from within with a warm glow instead of abandoned and empty. Kell's nearest blood mark for travelling is at the edge of the forest, which leaves quite a ways left to go on foot, but he doesn't mind the exercise despite the cold, following the lights towards the party.

When he arrives at the Nook he's flushed with exertion and the wind, but it's the sudden smell that has him reaching for the outer wall to steady himself. For a moment he could swear he caught the flowers of Red London, mixed with Rhy's scented oils. He looks up almost expecting to see him, but there's no one there. Kell swallows, blinking back the sudden moisture in his eyes. Rhy isn't here - Kell would feel him the instant he was, the mark on his chest sees to that. It's only an enchantment, and probably meant to be kind if it didn't make him so homesick. Kell shakes it off as best he can and looks about for someone he knows.

[thebloodtraitor]

Between Lily, James, and Sirius, quite a decent amount of people have been invited to the party. It's all very adult, Sirius thinks, with people streaming in and out throughout the evening and a terrible lack of mischief all around. But Sirius had promised Lily he'd be on his best behavior, just this once, though he thinks he might be able to get away with something a bit naughty later on, if only to make the birthday boy smile.

For now, however, Sirius is only wandering about, sipping at a bottle of fire whiskey as he makes his rounds. It's helpful, he thinks, that he and Kieren have moved into the Burrow not so far from here. If Sirius has his way, he'll be far too pissed by the end of the evening to chance Apparating anywhere. Better to just stumble down the path toward his own warm bed.

He's only on his second drink at the moment, not quite in the realm of stumbling, though it seems Kell's exceeded his limit already.

"Have you even been here long enough to have had more than one drink?" Sirius asks with a warm laugh as he slides an arm around Kell's middle. His smile falters, however, when he sees the look on Kell's face, eyes worryingly lucid. He stands up a bit straighter, a frown slowly curving his lips. "Kell? What is it?"

[bloodandflowers]

Kell is soon accosted by another familiar scent, fire whiskey and soap and whatever it is that Sirius conditions all that hair with, but this time the scent is attached to a body. Kell straightens, too, grateful for his friend's presence, even if he wishes his cheeks weren't so pink.

"It's foolish," he says. "Rhy used these oils in his curls. I've never smelled them anywhere else, but I could have sworn I smelled them just now."

[thebloodtraitor]

Though Sirius is well aware of Kell's brother, his name is not one that's been brought up recently. The way Kell clutches at his chest, right above where Sirius can picture the brand upon his skin makes him wonder if simply the smell is enough to cause Kell physical pain.

But then, knowing what Sirius does of loss already, he's well aware of the answer.

"How strange," he remarks instead, sliding his hand up Kell's back in attempt at comfort. "I could ask what it is Lily's used to brighten up the place if you'd like. Or perhaps this strange city is trying to mess with your head."

[best_thief]

Lila was going to ask Kell about James' prank, but his typical solemn expression has a certain tilt to it. He looks unhappy and Lila isn't sure why, her own moods are often too mysterious to discern let alone the moods of others. Still, she returns to him, touching his hand. "What's wrong?" she asks as plainly as he wears his heart on his sleeve.

[bloodandflowers]

"Nothing," says Kell, straightening at Lila's presence. "Just a sense - I thought Rhy was here for a moment." Now that he's said it aloud, it feels even more foolish, and Kell longs for a drink.

"He isn't, of course, I don't know - nevermind. Have you found our hosts?"

[best_thief]

"Yes," Lila answers, but she's far more concerned about why Kell thinks he's seen Rhy. She glances around, but it's not exactly a huge house, or a huge gathering at that, and among the people here someone with Rhy's brown skin and dark hair would definitely stand out. She looks even for something that reminds her of Rhy, someone's outfit, a decoration, but nothing registers.

"Why did you think you Rhy was here, Kell?" she asks quietly.