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

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.

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"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.

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.

"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."

Lila looks over the array of food and drinks, eyes widening when Lily gives her recommendation. She doesn't really know Lily yet, but should would have assumed that the girl she met on her way to an ice cream parlor, who bought music during her first week here, would have preferred something more along the lines of tea.

"Fire whiskey? That sounds exactly like my sort of drink," she says, letting go of Lily to pour herself a glass. She pauses with the bottle still in hand. "Would you like some, too?"

Lily enjoys the look of surprise on Lila's face when she mentions fire whiskey. She always likes surprising people, especially when it comes to her own tastes. People assume Lily is mostly gentle, and for the most part, she is. But she has her wild streak, too, which James and Sirius know better than most. So she kind of delights in catching Lila off-guard a bit.

"It's delicious," she assures her, watching her pour the glass. "And yes, please! I need to keep my energy up. Planning a surprise party is kind of exhausting."

Lila grins a moment and pours some whiskey into a second glass, handing it to Lily and returning the bottle to the table. She lifts her own glass to clink against Lily's. "Cheers." She takes a sip, eyebrows raising at the taste, and smiles in approval.

"And I'll bet it has been, you only just got here," she points out. "I think it was around this point when I'd been in Darrow that I was highly considering burning the entire city down. But it's a nice party, you've done a great job." She looks around at the tasteful decorations, the warmth of the house. It's the first of this sort of party she's ever actually been to. "Back home the only two parties I'd ever attended were royal balls. This place seems to throw them weekly, but they're obnoxious."

"Cheers!" Lily nods in agreement, smiling as their glasses clink together before lifting her own glass to her lips. The liquid nearly burns on its way down, warm and invigorating all at once. She sighs in happiness after, feeling the liquid soothe her.

"Well, I figure planning a surprise party is more productive than burning the place down," Lily notes wryly. "Even if I might still want to at least yell at Darrow, a bit, for bringing me after my son's been here." She shakes her head. "But thank you. I'm glad to hear it. Didn't really get much of a chance to throw parties, back home."

"Royal balls?" Lily lifts an eyebrow, lips twitching in amusement. She doesn't know much about Lila, but she doesn't seem quite the sort for royal balls. "Those must have been interesting to attend, I imagine."

"I never met your son, I'm sorry to say, but I've been told he was nearly your age when he was here. Wouldn't that have been a strange sight?" Lila asks, imagining that with as young as Lily is her son could only have been a baby back home. As it is, she's been told very little about their family. She and James aren't exactly friends, and whatever camaraderie she'd been building with Sirius has been all but undone.

"They were obnoxious in their own way. I had to infiltrate both, I'm the furthest thing from royalty," she says with a snort. "The worst of it might have been that I had to wear a dress, but that was only the first time. The second time I had to be someone else completely." She stops, afraid she'll just bore Lily.

"Strange, certainly," Lily agrees, shaking her head. "And likely to give me a bloody heart attack, too." It would hurt, to see her son fully grown, knowing that she missed out, again, on the chance to raise him. But still, it would feel much more thoroughly good to see him again, at any age, and get the chance to know him in life as she never did back home. "But it would be good, to get the chance to know him," she says, voice wistful.

"They both sound like quite the adventures," Lily says, curious about why Lila would have to infiltrate balls to beging with. "Were you on some sort of secret missions?" She thinks about the various tasks she's done herself, for the Order of the Phoenix, and she smiles.

Lila supposes Lily makes a good point. She can't imagine herself with a child, but if she had one and this place brought her here without it she'd probably be furious. If they were grown, it would probably be better than nothing at all.

She knows what Kell's made James, and though she protested that he hadn't deserved it, she hopes it will ease some of Lily's heartache.

"Sort of," Lila answers, steering them away from a painful topic. "The first time I had to rescue Kell. Have you met him yet? He was a Prince by adoption, and the royal guards had been looking for him. They found us and escorted him into a carriage to bring him back to the palace." She pauses a moment, leaving out the part with Fletcher for simplicity's sake. "I knew something was wrong, I suspected they were under some sort of enchantment, so I took it upon myself to rescue him. He'd indeed been taken back to the palace which was hosting a royal ball for the true prince, Rhy. I had to steal an invitation and borrow some clothes to get in, and true to my gut, Kell was in danger."

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

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