Birthday Shenanigans (Part One)

Lily poured the mix into the bowl and started opening cabinets with a slight frown on her face. "I could've sworn we had a beater in here somewhere…"

Shiva raised an eyebrow as she tapped Lily's wand on the table. "Uh, hon, we are witches you know. We can just flick our wands and mix the batter without going full Muggle here."

"Cakes always taste better when made without magic," Lily said distractedly. "You agreed that we could do this my way this year and my way is the Muggle way. The Muggle way needs a beater…Aha! Found it!" She pulled back from the cabinet triumphantly raising her hand high with a mixer clutched in it. "I knew I saw this the other day! Now we can finish it."

Shiva just rolled her eyes good-naturedly and moved to the second bowl. "Well while you finish the batter I'll get the icing done. How long does this thing cook for again?"

"Well the box always says 30 minutes, but I find if you 'turn up' the heat a bit you can get it done in 20."

"Turn up the heat? I thought you said no magic," Shiva said laughing.

Lily shrugged. "No magic in the cake. Magic to speed up the baking a bit…well, I can be a bit impatient at times."

Shiva laughed harder. "Hypocrite." She teased lightly, shaking her head as she finished up with the icing. "I'm surprised the girls didn't want to help out honestly."

"I'm not. I asked Hermione yesterday and she was saying that they got to monopolize Harry in the evening so we should get to monopolize at least part of his day," Lily said. "What I'm amazed at is that we managed to get Dobby to let us help out."

"I bribed him," Shiva stated. "Promised the little guy he could make the next two weeks worth of meals – well lunch and dinner. Nobody steals breakfast prep from Harry if he's up."

"Why is that? I haven't gotten around to asking him yet," Lily asked as she slotted the cake into the oven and leaned back against the counter.

Shiva grimaced and hopped up on corner next to Lily. "It's partly because he enjoys it, partly because he feels it's one of the first things he was ever good at, but…largely it's because of habit."

Lily frowned. "My sister?" she guessed.

"Yeah. Sorry. Harry had to make them breakfast since he like five or something. Young enough that he needed a stool to reach the stovetop." Shiva's lips curled into a scowl and her fists clenched. "Don't ask him about it, okay? I only found out because I made him tell me about one of the scars on his arm. Apparently he spilled boiling water when the pot was too heavy to carry because of his age. Vernon hit him afterwards for 'getting the floor wet'." Shiva shuddered and continued in a quiet voice, "God I hate those people."

Lily's mouth had narrowed into a line. "Don't worry, we'll make them pay. My darling sister and her family aren't going to get off scot-free for treating my son like that. Dumbledore too for leaving Harry with them." Lily heaved a sigh and shook her head. "Enough of that. How are you doing, Shiva?"

Shiva's eyebrows rose. She chuckled and leaned over slightly to bump Lily's shoulder. "How am I doing? I'm not the one who came back from the dead here. How are you doing? Seriously, Lily, you've barely even mentioned your husband for weeks now. Are you doing alright?"

Lily grimaced, but nodded. "I'm okay. Really, Shiva, I'm okay. With James, I…I just…" she picked up her wand a cast a privacy charm around the room. "Look, don't tell Harry what I'm about to say please. I don't want him to get the wrong idea."

"I promise," Shiva said cocking her head at the other woman.

"Thanks." Lily shook her head and crossed her arms. "James and I probably shouldn't have gotten married." Shiva's eyes widened at that, but she remained silent. "I did love him. I really did. The man was just a bit too…immature and impulsive. I can be fiery and impulsive myself and I…well I always thought I'd wind up with someone a bit more methodical than me. Someone who could balance things out. James never did that. I was always the grownup in the relationship. He mellowed out a lot during his last two years when he actively pursued me and we started dating, but…he was a prankster at heart and that never fully went away." She laughed and gave a little smirk to the air. "He was a lot like Sirius is now actually."

Shiva nodded knowing. "Fun loving but can go a bit too far with the jokes sometimes?"

"Basically yeah. We were good together and I firmly believe we could have been great if we had had more time and he had grown up a bit. As it stood though…" Lily shrugged and sighed heavily. "Without the war going on I probably would've ended up dating him for a lot longer rather than jump straight into marriage and motherhood. Harry was an accident, a happy accident to be sure! But well…we had just survived a large battle and we well forgot our wands in the other room when we fell into the bedroom. I'm not sure if I'm explaining this well. I just…"

Shiva leaned over and pulled Lily into a one-armed, short hug. "I get it, Lils. You loved him, but you're not sure if he would've been 'the one'."

"Yes, that," Lily said smiling up at Shiva. "James was a good man. I really did love him – I'm just not sure if he would've been my man had things gone differently. Especially with how things were going towards the end," she finished with a scowl.

"You've mentioned a few times that things got frustrating."

"It just felt like we were fighting almost constantly. Between the stress of hiding, being confined to the house, not knowing who was betraying us, my research, everything all piled on top of a toddler…It strained things so much." Lily paused and let out an annoyed sigh. "Anyway, my point is that I'm okay. I miss James and I probably always will, but I'm not going to let his death destroy me. I will not become like Alastor."

Shiva reared back goggling. "Mad-Eye was married?"

"You didn't know? The poor man's wife was murdered at some point by one of his targets. I don't know the whole story, but I can tell you for certain that it shattered him. Mad-Eye was never the same afterwards; it was when he became the paranoid old arse that he is today." Lily shook her head. "I will not become like him. I'm adapting and I'm moving on. I have others to think about, others that I have to worry about."

Shiva lightly punched her shoulder. "Good. If you feel any paranoid urges let me know and I'll knock it out of you." She paused and rubbed her chin in thought. "Actually…maybe I'm not the best woman to promise that. I don't have a great track record of deterring paranoia. Harry's a prime example of my failing in that respect."

Both women started laughing and were still going as Harry walked into the kitchen yawning and rubbing his forehead. "Something smells good. What are you guys laughing about? And why is there a privacy screen up?"

"Well, kid," Shiva said hopping down from the counter and giving him a hug, "we were laughing about your growing paranoia and my horrible failure of curing you of that problem."

"Oh, thanks for that, mum," Harry said rolling his eyes as he squirmed away from her. "I appreciate the vote of confidence there. All my stuff turned out to have great uses."

Shiva had been reduced to a blinking, gaping mess while Harry obliviously hugged Lily. Lily raised an eyebrow at Shiva and steered Harry towards the fridge to keep him distracted until she had a chance to pull herself back together. "We were just talking about women issues, Harry. No need for your delicate male ears to hear about it."

Harry grimaced and pulled out a carton of milk. "Yeah, agreed. Thanks. Tonks is bad enough with talking about that stuff. Anyone seen her by the way? She was gone when I woke up in the middle of the night. Fleur too actually now that I think about it…"

Shiva sat down with him at the table with a wide smile. "I wouldn't worry, kid. They're big girls; they can take care of themselves wherever they went."

"Why were you up in the middle of the night?" Lily asked sitting down as well.

Harry shrugged. "Nightmares, headache, nothing major. That's why I'm up so late in the morning now though." He gave them a rueful grin. "Guess for once I get to sleep in on my birthday though huh?"

The two women chuckled at that for a few moments. Eventually Shiva saluted the rest of the little family and stood up. "Well folks, now that the cake is in the oven, I'm going to take a short shower. Harry, if I'm not back before it's done, kindly vacate the kitchen to keep the decorations a secret, yeah?"

Harry waved off her comments and opened the paper. His attention diverted, the boy missed seeing Lily's eyes lingering appreciatively on Shiva's bottom as she sashayed from the room.

Voldemort reclined on his throne idly stroking Nagini with one hand and rolling his wand in the other. The frustrating Azkaban assault still grated yet it was not at the primary point of his ponderings. Only one Inner Circle member had fallen during that and Crabbe was…no great loss. The man had been a fantastic brute and an excellent attack sponge, but he'd had no intelligence to comment on. Like father, like son in that respect as the spawn was just as dimwitted. The loss of the six additional new recruits at this early stage had been costly, but with so many of his original followers saved it had been a decent exchange.

No, what Voldemort was deep in thought about concerned the prophecy. That Barty Crouch had managed to return with the addition of the prophecy in 'hand' was beyond gratifying. Voldemort had rewarded the man greatly for that bit of forward thinking. Flint had received a slight compensation. Voldemort was wary of gifted the lad too much as the boy was unstable and foolishly impulsive. Even Crabbe and Goyle had been able to curtail their urges when appropriate though Flint did not seem to contain that capacity. He didn't need another Macnair getting a large head.

Ah well, the prophecy was what was important at the moment. " 'Power the Dark Lord knows not,' " Voldemort murmured. "Perhaps I should have studied the runic arts more deeply. Yet, it does only state, 'the power to vanquish' not 'the one who will vanquish'." Voldemort grinned. "Harry Potter is indeed strong as well as resourceful; yet to think that a mere boy of 15 could defeat me in a proper battle…ludicrous! I have half a century of experience and power at my fingertips. He has a simple 4 years. Dumbledore was such a fool to pin his hopes to the child."

Voldemort leaned back and nodded. Yes, Potter's runes would be dangerous, but they were not a trump card. Not against someone with such esoteric and ancient knowledge as Voldemort himself. Instead he turned his mind to the more confusing line of the prophecy. " 'Either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives.' Nagini, this is intriguing. I wonder if perhaps we are both immortal until slain by the other? It could certainly help to explain just how Potter has managed to survive so many situations that should have killed him." He paused to consider and laughed. "How ironic that would be! To have pursued my own version of immortality with all the risks it had entailed only to have already been immortal through Fate's design! Well, I shouldn't worry about such a thing. I never was one to trust my destination to chance."

Nagini hissed her amusement and Voldemort frowned as he thought of a remote option. "Still…it is not wise to simply dismiss such a potentiality. Perhaps…perhaps I should approach Potter with an offer. If he leaves me Britain to do with as I please I will leave him – and his chosen companions – alone. Both of us could be assured an immortal life until the end…He would likely refuse, but if he took it…My pet we could have centuries of time to work before we had to turn our eye to whatever corner of the world he holed up in. It could be perfect. It could…no," Voldemort said abruptly. "No. I cannot risk it. Potter would never be content to allow me to reshape the world. It is better to simply kill him now while he is still weak and trust in my Horcruxes to carry me through the ages."

Voldemort's attention shifted and his eyes narrowed as the Gaunt ring heated up in a distinctive pattern. "Bellatrix!" he called. Immediately the doors to his chamber were thrown open and Bellatrix Lestrange ran into the room throwing herself to her knees at his feet.

"You called, my Lord?"

Voldemort allowed himself a smile at the woman's eagerness. Just like the Bella he remembered. She was too thin from her time in Azkaban but she had managed to retain at least some of her original looks in addition to…a modicum of her sanity. Not much of the latter granted, but it was enough that she was still a valuable member of his retinue. Insanity did have its own perks too. "Bella, someone has invaded the Gaunt shack. Take your team and…send them a message," he said softly as he reached out to stroke her cheek. Bellatrix reacted just as he'd expected, a shiver of appreciation, adoration, and desire crossing her body.

"It will be done, my Lord. My Lord, some of the key members are…still recovering. Might I take others in their place?" she asked.

Voldemort considered that request. On the one hand he could potentially eliminate any who were investigating his immortality – or were simply too curious. On the other he'd have even more who knew details that Voldemort had long kept buried. Details known only to a handful of his most trusted. "No. Take who is available and combat ready. Learn what you can of the invaders, but do not lose any of our own. If you can kill the interlopers do so. If there are too many for your group then send your message and leave."

"It will be done, my Lord!" Bella said nodding. She stood and ran back out of the room shouting for her chosen Death Eaters. Voldemort smiled and went back to stroking Nagini. He lifted his ring and eyed it chuckling darkly.

"Will you two get a room already?" Sirius groused good-naturedly at Fleur and Tonks with his arms crossed.

Tonks pulled back from her deep, long kiss with Fleur and smirked at Sirius. "We have a room dear Cousin. We would be curled up in bed naked if we weren't here."

Sirius snorted. "Well don't let me stand in your way. Feel free to disrobe here." He stopped to consider who he was talking to and paled. "Actually never mind. Forget that teasing. You'd actually do it and I don't need to see my cousin naked."

Fleur raised an eyebrow and turned to Remus. "Does he actually zink zat we would disrobe prior to going into a dangerous situation?"

Remus shrugged. "I stopped trying to figure out how Sirius' mind worked ages ago after I caught him with Brian Friarbush in McGonagall's chambers."

Sirius shook his head. "I still maintain that boy came onto me!"

"Please, you were like a lost puppy for that month. And I wasn't questioning your choice of partners. I was questioning your choice of locations."

"McGonagall's room eh?" Tonks said appraisingly. "That's ballsy. I might have chosen Flitwick's myself. He'd be less likely to go on a hexing spree."

Fleur sighed heavily. "I am working wiz children. May we please get started? I want to get back early enough to shower before ze party for Harry."

Shacklebolt nodded. "Yes, Fleur is right. Enough jibes. Everyone ready? Good, let's move." The group started up the overgrown path towards the small Gaunt shack.

"This is where Voldemort's mother grew up? Seriously? No wonder the man turned insane," Sirius grimaced looking at the tiny, rundown hut.

"I doubt he ever saw zis place until after he was a teenager. By zat time he was likely close to ze edge already," Fleur said shrugging.

Tonks snorted. "Close? Hon, he was as insane as a psych patient by then. Getting all chummy with a basilisk and killing Myrtle should probably count as leaping over the line."

The group split up with Remus and Shacklebolt moving around the corner to the back checking for wards the entire way. Fleur took one side of the hut while Sirius moved to the front door. Tonks was about to head to the other side when she heard an odd noise that sounded somewhere between hissing and scales sliding against each other. Frowning she turned to Sirius and tried to remember where she had heard that noise before. Sirius reached out his wand towards the door and Tonks gasped as she finally placed the sound.

Lunging forward she yelled out, "Sirius, get back!" She dove and tackled him to the side of the door just as a giant spectral snake flew from the doorframe. It flailed about in midair for a few moments before dissipating as the others charged around the corner. Tonks breathed a sigh of relief as Sirius shakily got out from under her.

"Thanks, Tonks," he said. "What the hell was that and how did I miss it?"

"Some sort of parselmouth magic," Tonks said getting her breath under control. "I remember that noise from when Harry was reading from Slytherin's book we found in the Chamber of Secrets."

Shacklebolt stared at her. "You found more than just the diaries in that Chamber?"

Tonks nodded. "Yeah, Shack. There was a parseltongue book that described a lot of the different snakes Slytherin knew about. Completely harmless beyond a few minor spells but no publisher wanted to touch the thing even translated." She shivered. "Harry tried the few spells in the book, but said they made his skin crawl so he left them alone. Everyone nearby felt the same thing. It was just like whatever sprang from that door."

"Damn sneaky arse," Sirius said scowling. "Didn't even show up on the diagnostics or detection spells. We need to be more careful."

"I can take care of ze door. Stand back everyone," Fleur said moving forward. The group dutifully moved further away and Fleur cocked back her arm. A feral grin crossed her features and a fireball formed in her hand. "Let's see how your magic reacts to ze Veela shall we?" Tossing the fireball in a perfect overhand pitch, Fleur's passionfyre spread over the Gaunt shack's door in moments and soon only charred cinders remained. "Zere. Much better."

"I love you babe," Tonks said giving Fleur a light pat on her arse as she walked past her and headed inside. She let out a low whistle upon seeing the manky interior. "Bloody hell, the outside looked better than this."

Once everyone else had filed in Remus started casting a multilayered detection charm. It quickly brought up a positive response on a section of flooring just under a collapsed bed. Pushing the bed to the side Remus sighed in frustration at seeing the paneling already ripped up and the exposed hole empty. "It looks like we're too late. Either Voldemort himself or someone else has already retrieved it."

"You sure?" Sirius asked.

"Relatively certain yes. All of the dust and grime in this area is gone and these planks were removed in a hurry," Remus said. "Whoever came here wasn't particularly interested in a good job; they were rushing and used little stealth."

Shacklebolt frowned. "We should assume it was He-Who – Voldemort. The parselmouth magic on the door was reapplied after all and besides Harry Potter we don't know of any other parselmouths."

Sirius swore. "Back to square one then. Merlin's balls, I was hoping we could get at least the one."

A cackling sounded outside and all eyes turned towards the portal back into the space beyond the shack. Sirius paled and Tonks' blood ran cold. She remembered the horrible laugh. It resounded through her nightmares enough that she'd never quite forget it.

"Come on out of there and let's plaaaay!" Bellatrix Lestrange sang.

"Hey, Cousin!" Sirius shouted in reply. "Seems you're just as crazy as the last time I saw you!"

"Why Siri is that you?" Bella said. Shacklebolt quickly motioned for everyone to take up defensive positions along the walls. "Well I bet that your mangy dog is with you then too! And who else would have been recruited for this hmm? Let's see, let's see…Oh I know! Nymphadora are you there too?"

Tonks growled at her insane aunt's use of her full name. No one got to use that name beyond her partners and parents. "Well good deduction, Auntie! If you'd rather live longer though I suggest you run back to your master!" Tonks yelled. She ignored Fleur's narrowed eyes. Sure she shouldn't let Bellatrix antagonize her, but still…

"Ah my adorable little niece. You are on the wrong side sweetie," Bella crooned in her sing-song voice. Tonks felt shivers of fear running down her back. "Come with me and join the winning team. The Dark Lord would find such…amazing uses for your talents!"

"I'd rather not be a fuck toy for Voldy's groupies thanks," Tonks replied.

From near where Bellatrix seemed to be a deep laugh rang out. "Shame," the unknown man called, "from what we hear you seem to love being Potter's little bitch. We thought you might appreciate some real men for once!"

Tonks lips curled. "Can we please kill these arseholes already?"

"I'll take Bella," Sirius said with narrowed eyes. "Remus, Shack, you guys get Dolohov. I'd recognize that voice anywhere. Tonks, Fleur, backup where needed." All heads nodded and Sirius held up three fingers counting down. When he clenched his fist, the group sprung up.

Sirius leaned around the edge of the door and fired off several quick shots before ducking back behind cover. Tonks jumped up to the window next to Remus, both of them blasting it out of the way and firing out into the yard. Shacklebolt used a blasting hex on a section of wall near him and used the resulting hole to fire from cover. Fleur shifted to the side and started lobbing fireballs out the door from one hand and tossing spells from her other.

Quite a lot reflected back at them though a cry of pain resounded through the early morning air signified that at least some of their attack got through. Bellatrix and Dolohov didn't stay idle however. They sent bone-breakers, blood-boilers and exploding curses screaming into the shack. Tonks danced to the side and just barely managed to avoid a killing curse sent by Bellatrix though the witch's follow-up cutting curse dug into her back eliciting a grunt of pain.

Abruptly the spell barrage ceased. "Well, it's been fun sweets! Tata! I can't wait to play more with you another day! If you live at least!" Bellatrix cackled. Tonks' eyes widened as she saw a jet of Fiendfyre streaking towards the Gaunt shack.

"Everyone out!" Sirius yelled. Tonks ignored the pain in her back and ran for the back wall with the others. Shacklebolt sent another blasting hex at the wall even as the front of the building was consumed in leaping figures of flame. One of the chimera flame beasts jumped for them but was met in midair by a ball of Fleur's passionfyre, both fizzling out.

Sweat ran down Fleur's face as she said, "Everyone out now please. Zis zing does not like me." She holstered her wand and used both hands to let fly fireball after fireball at each lunging flame figure as the others charged outside. Fleur flew through the open wall after them and the five ran down the hill. Once they passed beyond the tingle of the anti-apparition ward, they all twisted and apparated away from the inferno.