14

Chapter 13 A Marauder Birthday

The next week flew by and suddenly it was the first Hogsmeade weekend of the term. A few strings had been pulled and Harry and Tonks were granted permission to go "under extenuating circumstances." And Hogsmeade was all any of the Marauders would talk about the whole week. It got to the point where Harry (with occasional help from Remus) would cast a silencing charm on the offending Marauder anytime the words "Hogsmeade" or "village" was said. Sirius was usually the victim, but James fell prey to it nearly as many times.

Before he knew it, Harry was trekking the familiar path down to Hogsmeade Village with the Marauders on all sides. Tonks was accompanying her roommates for a "girls' day out." He didn't want to imagine what that might entail. Harry listened in amused silence as Sirius and James debated fiercely on where they should stop first—Zonko's, or Honeydukes.

"Definitely Zonko's," Sirius was insisting. "You can get chocolate from the house elves any day."

"But not the specialty Honeydukes chocolate bars with caramel and toffee!" James countered. "And the new treacle bar—I have to try that! The Hogwarts kitchens don't have anything like that!"

"They have treacle tart," Harry interjected. "And nothing can beat the original."

"But Harrison, prank supplies!" Sirius moaned.

Harry caught Remus rolling his eyes.

"You know, Padfoot, you can order prank supplies by owl. You don't have to be in the shop itself," he pointed out.

"But that ruins the whole experience! There's nothing quite like the thrill of being surrounded by fellow troublemakers!"

Remus countered good-naturedly, effectively drawing Sirius into yet another debate. In the meantime, James dropped back to walk beside Harry.

"Hey," he began, "do you want to help us with a special prank this week?"

Harry raised a wary brow. "What for? There are no holidays this week."

To Harry's surprise, James snorted. "Sirius would disagree with you there. See," James dropped his voice, "it's Sirius's birthday on Tuesday. It's a Marauder tradition to prank each other on our birthdays."

Both of Harrys' eyebrows rose at that. "Seriously?"

James smirked. "Siriusly, actually. Ow!" Harry had smacked his arm for the pun. "Anyway," James continued with a slight pout, "we've already got a rough plan. Remus is in charge of distracting Sirius while we buy supplies. But our plan needs refinement, and who better than the one who's successfully pranked all of us?"

Had Harry really pranked all of them? Well, he'd gotten Sirius and James many times, and it was easy to pull the wool over Peter's eyes with mild flattery. But Harry was fairly sure he hadn't managed to prank Remus yet. Oh, wait…he had impersonated him once. Harry supposed that might count.

Suddenly it registered what James had said the reason for the prank was. "Sirius's birthday is this week?"

"Yeah, on Tuesday, the twenty-third of November," James repeated with faint confusion.

"Oh." Had Harry really never bothered to find out his godfather's birthday? No, he hadn't. The topic had never come up. It had always been about Harry, keeping Harry safe, and dealing with Harry's problems. Never had Harry turned around and tried to do something for his godfather in return. A wave of guilt washed over him and Harry agreed immediately. "I'm in. He's going to have the best birthday ever," he declared. He couldn't make it up to his godfather. But he could help Sirius have the best coming-of-age birthday ever.

James grinned and clapped Harry on the shoulder. "That's the spirit!"

By now, they'd reached Hogsmeade. Remus glanced subtly over his shoulder and flashed the trio of James, Peter, and Harry a thumbs-up before leading Sirius toward Honeydukes.

The moment the pair were out of sight, James grabbed Harry's and Peter's wrists and all but dragged them into Zonko's.

"Okay. So the idea is to wake him in a memorable fashion, and then inconvenience his everyday routine in every obnoxious way possible. And then have a grand show in the Great Hall over dinner wishing him a happy birthday." James barely paused for breath as he then began rattling off the supplies they'd need on his fingers.

"Um…that's a lot all at once. Could you…say it again?" Peter asked, hesitantly interrupting James, who blinked.

"Right. Sorry. Er…divide and conquer, then. Harry, potions. Peter, noisemakers, and little harmless, inconvenient pranks. And I'll get the rest. Ready?" Harry and Peter nodded. "Go!" James declared. And they scattered.

After nearly half an hour of sorting through prank potions with effects anywhere from hiccups to boils to hair-growth, Harry finally selected a handful of vials for use in the prank. He also picked up one or two for his own future use. He met Peter in the muggle pranks section and helped him pick out some of the best ones. His favorite was the hand buzzer. So simple, and yet so elegant. Then, after more than an hour total in Zonko's, the pair met James at the counter and they paid for their purchases. James had to shrink his pile of boxes and packages just to be able to carry them away from the shop.

By now, their stomachs were growling. So they met Remus and Sirius in the Three Broomsticks for lunch. Afterward, Peter and James went with Sirius to keep him occupied while Harry and Remus stopped in Honeydukes so Harry could pick up a few bars of chocolate, some for himself and a few, with help from Remus, to give as part of his birthday gift for Sirius. From what he'd heard so far, he was the only one that hadn't gotten him anything yet (understandable, since he hadn't known until that morning that there were gifts to be bought). And Remus, being eager to escape Sirius for a time after spending more than an hour with him unfiltered, gladly accompanied Harry to offer advice.

Unfortunately, even after browsing through Quality Quidditch Supplies, Ned's Wizarding Novelties, and even a nameless pawn shop, Harry was still coming up empty. It wasn't that he didn't know what Sirius would like. He knew Sirius would be more than content with just the chocolate he'd bought. But he wanted to get his not-yet-godfather and current good friend something special, something more meaningful that would last longer than the three mouthfuls it would take Sirius to finish a Honeydukes chocolate bar.

Finally, Harry admitted defeat, at least temporarily, and accompanied Remus to a little rundown bookshop away from the main shopping district.

"None of the others ever want to come here with me," Remus lamented as they browsed. "Only Peter has set foot in here, and that only once. Sirius claims he'll have a terrible allergic reaction to the smell of old books and die if he came within a hundred feet of it, and James insists there are better things to do than look at books whose spines are so worn you can't read the covers." Remus scowled in remembered irritation, but there was a look of fondness in his eyes.

Harry smiled faintly. "That sounds about right."

"Either way, I'm glad someone appreciates literature the way I do—someone besides Lily, that is," Remus added.

"I've noticed that she tolerates you far better than the others," Harry commented.

"We've been friends since second year, in fact. I think she regrets not being able to sever me from the others' 'bad influence.'" Remus gave a wry smile. "But lately we've just been study partners—frankly, I'm afraid James will hex me if he sees us together for longer than prefect duties require, and even then, it's obvious he's jealous. He just tries not to let it show."

Harry sighed. "If he'd just stop being such an arrogant prat around her, there wouldn't be a problem."

"Ah," Remus corrected, "but if he stopped being an arrogant prat, he'd stop being James Potter."

Harry grinned. "That's true."

After that, the two spent about thirty minutes simply browsing, enjoying the quiet of the bookstore. Harry found a thick book on potions he'd been unable to put down, and with some regret he shelled out a galleon and eight sickles to purchase it. Then he gazed sadly at his much-lightened money pouch. He only had a few galleons, a dozen-odd sickles, and a handful of knuts left to last the rest of the year. He wasn't used to having so little money. He wasn't a frivolous spender by any means, but he had gotten used to the money simply being there.

By dusk, the quintet met up once again at the Three Broomsticks for one last butterbeer before returning to the castle, their stomachs and their money bags considerably more empty than before.

The rest of the weekend went quickly. Every spare moment Harry had, he was pulled into James's schemes for Sirius's birthday prank or working on his gift. It was certainly going to be a memorable birthday, Harry thought as he went to bed Sunday night. But he wondered if it might not be too much.

Monday, the day before Sirius's birthday, started out normal. Well, if one didn't take into account the almost palpable anxiety oozing off of James and Peter, and to a lesser degree, Remus. It was clear they couldn't wait for the next day.

Just as Harry was finishing off his third piece of toast—the first two of which had mysteriously ended up in James's face, jam and all—two owls fluttered down in front of Sirius. He stared in surprise for a long moment.

"Expecting something?" Harry asked.

"Not until tomorrow," Sirius said. One the owls then hooted impatiently and gave Sirius a look that was somehow familiar, and that sent chills down his spine. It reminded him of the look Tonks gave him when he did something stupid that she disapproved of. Sirius suddenly brightened dramatically. He took both letters, shoved one into his pocket with the briefest of scowls, then tore into the other.

In his excitement, the envelope's contents spilled out all over the table. There were two pieces of parchment and what looked like pictures. Harry glimpsed one of them and laughed in surprise.

"Andy sent new pictures!" Sirius exclaimed excitedly. "Who wants to see?"

"Me, me!" James said childishly. He leaned around Peter to look as Sirius gathered the photos off the table.

"Is that—?" Harry began.

"Yup. The one and only Nymphadora Tonks. My favorite cousin and the cutest little bugger I ever saw," Sirius said proudly. Beside Harry, Tonks choked and pumpkin juice went everywhere.

"Wh-what?" She demanded.

A huge smirk spread across Harry's face. "Baby pictures. Of Nymphadora Tonks."

Tonks's hair started turning red. She clearly was just itching to rip those photos out of Sirius's hand, probably burn them, and send a furious letter to her mother. Harry tried very hard not to laugh.

"Nymphadora. That's quite a mouthful," Remus said. "Doesn't she have a nickname?"

"Yeah, I call her Dora. Andy hates it," Sirius said with a grin.

"Dora?" Remus asked. Harry bit his lip to hold back laughter when he noticed Tonks's face turning pink.

"Let me see!" James insisted, making a grab for the photos.

Sirius laughed and dodged nimbly out of the way. "Let me see first! She's my cousin!"

"Technically, she's mine, too," James corrected, smirking.

"Why don't we just pass them around?" Peter suggested. "So everyone can see."

"Good idea, Pete," Harry said. Sirius shrugged and handed a few photos to each Marauder.

The next ten minutes passed with the five of them gushing and oohing over photos of the two-year-old metamorphmagus in various stages of dress and with every hair color imaginable. Meanwhile, her future counterpart grew more and more red with embarrassment. Tonks's whole head looked like it was on fire when the pictures of the toddler in just a diaper were passed around.

"I am going to murder Mum when I see her next," Tonks muttered. Harry suppressed a snort of laughter and elbowed her in the ribs.

"You're red," he told her in an undertone. "Unless you want to blow your cover, you might want to get that under control."

Tonks glared at him, but then she took several deep breaths and her hair color returned to pitch black to match Harry's.

By the end of breakfast, everyone was in a good mood and they all seemed to have forgotten about Sirius's second piece of mail. But not Harry. Sirius had to run back to the dorm before their first class to grab his books, and when he returned he was clearly on edge. It became more obvious as the day went on. Sirius's laughter was just a little too loud, a little to raucous, and his jokes grew more and more off-color. To the point that even James started giving him sideways looks. No one mentioned it, though, probably figuring he'd forget about it by the end of the day.

However, it got worse, not better. In addition to his inappropriate comments, Sirius was also being more obnoxious and disruptive than usual. He got a week's detention for pranking his divination professor, as Peter reported later, and Harry noticed on the way to dinner that he started fingering his wand every time a student with a green tie passed them.

By the time dinner was over, Harry had subtly foiled half a dozen pranks on unknowing Slytherin underclassmen, mostly first years, and quickly reversed the effects of two more on Severus when they ran into him in the entrance hall. Severus was furious at the unprovoked attack, and it took Harry's and Remus's intervention to stop it from turning into an all-out war. Sirius was pissed at Harry the rest of dinner, and Harry quickly grew irritated because Sirius was being childish.

All the Marauders knew that Sirius was in a bad mood by then, but none of them were brave enough to intervene. Remus had only stepped in to stop Sirius from punching Severus in the nose after Harry had disarmed him.

After dinner, Sirius sulked through the homework Remus forced him to complete while James and Peter kept their distance. Harry watched for an opening to confront his moody friend. That opening finally came around 9:30 that evening when Sirius finally threw his quill down in frustration, snapped at Remus for being a bossy, meddling know-it-all, then stormed upstairs declaring he was going to bed, and woe betide anyone who dared disturb him.

Remus looked hurt, but James quickly stepped in, muttering reassurance, so Harry followed Sirius upstairs.

He didn't bother to knock, just pushed the door open. He found Sirius sulking on his bed, giving an unsealed envelope a look that suggested that if he could shoot lasers from his eyes, the letter would already be a smoking pile of ash. When Harry was close enough, he quickly snatched the envelope right from Sirius's hand.

"Hey!" Sirius made a grab for it, but Harry was more agile and easily avoided him.

"Is this the reason you've been pissy all day?" he asked pointedly, waving the letter in front of his face. Sirius scowled darkly and didn't reply. But he also didn't try to take it back again, so Harry flipped it open and skimmed the contents.

Harry's brow furrowed and his lips pulled down in a scowl that almost matched Sirius's by the time he was done. The signature at the end was the last clue he needed to put the pieces together.

"Why would she even take the time to write down all this bullshit in the first place?"

Sirius scoffed. "Are you kidding me? She used a dicta-quill. Probably shouted the whole thing, too."

Harry frowned. "I guess that's better than a howler."

Sirius smiled humorlessly. "She tried that. Dumbledore put a ban on her howlers after she sent one every day for two months in first year."

Harry's scowl deepened. "Can I burn this?"

Sirius almost smiled. "Knock yourself out."

Harry smirked in grim satisfaction as he set the expensive parchment alight with a wandless incendio. A few seconds later, the letter was reduced to an ashy powder that Harry vanished without a word. Then there were several moments of silence.

Sirius looked a little better, having watched his mother's venomous words burn down to nothing. But it was clear that he was still bothered by them. So Harry sat down beside Sirius on the bed.

"You know everything she said is utter bullshit, right?"

"My head knows," Sirius replied irritably. When Harry didn't immediately reply, he continued. "You know, I actually used to care what she thought of me? It took me until halfway through second year to realize that nothing I did would ever make her proud."

"And now?" Harry asked.

Sirius opened his mouth, hesitated, then finally said: "I don't know."

Harry nodded, understanding. He'd felt much the same way at the Dursleys' the first few years he was there. It wasn't until third grade that he realized that no matter how good he was in school or how obedient he was, they would never be proud of him.

"I'm going to turn in," Sirius said abruptly after a long silence. He got up and headed for the bathroom, then he paused. "Thanks, Harrison," he said without turning. Then the bathroom door slammed shut behind him.

"You're welcome," Harry murmured to the closed door.

Sirius's birthday the next day was a roaring success. The morning started out with a color-changing potion along the same lines as the mood potion from before thrown like water over Sirius to wake him in the morning. When he emerged from the shower, he was covered in confetti and his hair was streaked with gold and crimson. Sirius's expression was a mix of chagrin and amused horror. Peter was quick the camera Tonks had loaned him. She'd happily handed it over, her eyes glinting with the idea of minor revenge for the photos the day before.

Their minor pranks throughout the day were effective and amusing. Harry's favorite was the hand buzzer, which he brought out during lunch and passed from hand to hand all down Gryffindor table at random intervals. Tonks and Remus perhaps had the most fun with it, though Marlene—apparently Sirius's childhood friend—certainly got her chance. Poor Sirius had no idea what to make of the muggle toy, and by the end of lunch he was wary of anyone touching him for fear of being shocked.

The most memorable instance occurred on the way to dinner. Harry had spiked Sirius's cologne with a watered-down version of amortentia. Throughout the day Sirius had been subjected to quite a few public displays of affection, as well as various confessions and date invitations. Additionally, the potion they'd thrown on him that morning was almost the same as the mood potion from before, except the Marauders could manipulate the colors at will. So, during those confessions and date invitations, one or another Marauder would deliberately change the colors to pink or red (indicating romantic attraction) to make the situation funnier.

So, on the way to dinner, a fifth year Ravenclaw boy accidentally bumped into Sirius in the crowded corridor. Remus of all people changed the color of the potion to bright pink at almost the same moment. To everyone's surprise, the Ravenclaw boy flushed dark red. He stared at Sirius for a long moment, Sirius confused and the other thoroughly flustered. Then, suddenly, the boy rose onto his toes and gave Sirius a peck right on the lips before turning and fleeing, his face redder than a tomato. Remus's mouth formed an "o" of realization—they'd unintentionally exploited someone's real crush on Sirius, and the love potion had simply made the boy more assertive.

After a moment of shock, Peter, Remus, James, and Harry burst into helpless laughter. Sirius was thoroughly baffled, and for a moment he just stared in the direction the boy had fled, not knowing what to make of it and not understanding why he'd just been kissed out of nowhere by someone he'd never met. He looked so clueless that it took several minutes for the remaining Marauders to catch their breath. Then, just as they were calming down, one of them would glance at Sirius (who hadn't moved or changed hid expression) and burst into laughter all over again, leaning on each other to stay upright.

"What is going on here?" McGonagall's stern voice started them all. Peter's arm slipped on Harry's shoulder, where he'd been leaning, and he fell to the ground, gasping. His head collided with Harry's chin, making him grunt in pain. Sirius snapped out of his trance and whipped around to look at their professor. His elbow knocked into James's ribs. James gasped and fell to his knees, taking Remus down with him. Remus tripped in surprise and kicked Sirius's ankle by accident, making him fall as well. Then, in predictable Sirius fashion, Sirius grabbed Harry's wrist and yanked him down with them. In less than a second, all five boys were lying in a groaning heap on the floor in the middle of the corridor, surrounded by a crowd of bemused bystanders.

"N-nothing, Professor," James answered breathlessly, trying to untangle himself from the heap.

"Then explain this chaos," McGonagall stated firmly. The boys glanced around, wondering what chaos they'd caused besides a blockage in the corridor. It turned out, James's bag had fallen open and the color-changing potion they'd planned to use on Sirius during dinner had fallen out and shattered, and now a lurid orange color was spreading across the stone floor, dyeing everything it touched. Unfortunately, that included the floor, all five Marauders, several students' shoes, and the hem of Professor McGonagall's robes.

"Oops?" Harry offered. He wondered how they could possibly talk themselves out of this one.

"There is no 'oops' about it, Mr. Carter," McGonagall said primly. "Detention for all of you, tomorrow night in my office at 7 o'clock sharp, for defacing school property and disorder in the corridors. And ten points from Gryffindor." Then McGonagall swept her now mottled-orange robes off the floor and marched away.

"Happy birthday?" James said to Sirius, but it sounded like a question.

"This is better than what we'd planned anyway," Peter added, picking himself up off the floor. He offered a hand down to Harry, who accepted the assistance back to his feet.

"I agree. I prefer that color on you than on me anyway," Sirius said with a grin, yanking James to his feet as well. James helped Remus up, then they exchanged a sheepish smile as they saw the huge orange spot in the middle of the corridor.

Dinner passed without incident—aside from the banners, streamers, confetti, and noisemakers that James, Harry, Remus, and Peter set off halfway through the meal, wishing Sirius a happy birthday in front of the whole school. Harry could feel McGonagall's glare as they cheered, and then as Peter stood up and directed the whole student body in a chorus of the birthday song with his wand.

When the song was over, Sirius, of course, stood up and used a sonorous charm to state his lengthy thanks for the songs and the pranks and declare that he was now officially of age. His voice echoed off the walls of the Great Hall, and they didn't escape without another detention for the disturbance.

Sirius, as to be expected, simply reapplied the sonorous charm and added a thank-you directed at Professor McGonagall, stating cheerfully, "It wouldn't be a birthday without detention from you, Minnie!"

Laughter filled the hall at Sirius's words, and then the show was over and dinner ended without any more incidents.

When they returned to the dorm, the boys spread out, each finding a different activity to occupy himself. Sirius sat anxiously on his bed, waiting for the others to gather. But when none of them made any sign of retrieving presents or the like, Sirius got impatient.

"Isn't it time for presents now?"

"Presents?" Remus furrowed his brow. "What presents?"

"What would we get you presents for?" James added, looking equally confused. Harry bit his lip and avoided Peter's eye to keep from breaking into laughter at the horror and dismay on Sirius's face. (They may have spiked his pumpkin juice at dinner with a gullibility draught for just this reason.)

"But…it's my birthday…" Sirius looked around disappointedly with his famous kicked-puppy look. They all stared steadily back, varying degrees of confusion on their faces. Then James's lip twitched and Peter poorly disguised a snicker as a cough, and the disappointment on Sirius's face vanished into indignation.

"You're having me on!" he exclaimed, and they all burst into laughter.

"You didn't honestly believe we would forget about the most important part of a birthday, did you?" James asked with a grin, pulling a wrapped package from behind his pillow. The others did the same, pulling packages of varying shapes and sizes from hidden pockets, wardrobe drawers, and, in Peter's case, out of a sock. Then he unshrunk the matchbox-sized package until it was the size of his head. Sirius's face brightened considerably until his excitement was such that, were he in his dog form, his tail would have been wagging uncontrollably.

"Whose do you want first?" Harry asked, grinning.

"Hmm…" Sirius mused, looking at the different-sized packages the others were holding out. "Peter's, 'cuz it's big and mysterious," he decided. Peter grinned and handed Sirius the present. The others finally gathered around and on Sirius's bed and watched as their friend tore through the paper. Several boxes of varying sizes and colors emerged, clearly held together by magic.

"Godric, Pete, what is all this?"

"Open them and find out," Peter answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Grinning, Sirius obeyed. He threw the scrap paper at Harry, and the boxes at James once they were empty. Most of the boxes contained sweets and basic prank supplies they used all the time, though one of the biggest boxes held several specialty and novelty items that had only recently been released. Sirius's face lit up when he saw them.

"This is awesome, mate!"

"Happy Birthday, Padfoot," Peter answered with a smile. "Just…remember who gave them to you and be merciful, yeah?"

Sirius smirked. "No promises. Now, what's next?"

"You choose," Remus said. Sirius glanced at the remaining packages and finally pointed at Remus. "Yours, Moony."

Remus smiled and tossed over the rectangular package. When Sirius caught it, though, he pouted.

"A book? Moony, I'm disappointed in you."

Remus whacked Sirius on the shoulder. "Just open it, you prat."

"Ow! Okay, okay, fine. But if it's another study aid…" He let the threat trail off. Harry grinned, remembering all the planners and study helps Hermione had given him over the years. Sirius saw his smile and frowned. "What are you laughing at?"

Harry shrugged. "I just had a friend back home who would always give me planners and the like. Any gift from her was almost guaranteed to be a book."

"Her?" Sirius waggled his eyebrows.

"Open the thing already, Padfoot!" James broke in with a slight whine. "So you can open mine!"

"Okay, okay." Sirius tore into the package (and threw the paper at Remus). What remained in his hands was, as predicted, a book. But not just any book. "'A Prankster's Best Friend'," Sirius murmured, reading the cover. "By R. J. 'Moony' Lupin. You wrote this?" Sirius looked at Remus in disbelief.

"Compiled, really," Remus said with a shrug. "It's all those secrets and ideas I refused to tell you plus some, and other helpful tips and tricks."

"Moony's secrets?" Sirius looked at the book with new, hungry eyes. He was clearly dying to try out some of those secret pranks.

"My turn!" James exclaimed, and all but forced his oddly shaped package into Sirius's hands.

Sirius took it and tore the paper off, then threw it at Harry. Then he stared in confusion at a potions vial and a blank sheet of parchment. "Uh, Prongs? What is this? You're not pranking me again, are you?"

James looked affronted. "Me? Prank? Never!" He declared. Then he started to explain, suddenly uncharacteristically nervous. "The parchment is an unofficial adoption form, not valid yet. The potion…is an adoption potion," James said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. Sirius stared at him in shock, his eyes strangely bright. "Each of us puts a drop of blood into the potion, and then you drink it. It doesn't take away your Black name or inheritance, but it makes you a Potter in name as well, and gives you a place as an official member of the Potter family. The parchment will then change and become an official document that the adoption has taken place." James hesitated, then continued.

"It's blank now because…I want it to be your choice. My parents have already taken care of all the legal stuff. All you need to do is drink the potion to make it official. It'd be cool, y'know? You'd sort of be my real brother then—not that you aren't already, but—"

"Shut up, Prongs," Sirius said hoarsely, cutting James off with a hug. His voice sounded congested, like he'd suddenly caught a bad head cold. After recovering from the surprise, James returned the hug.

"So…that's a yes?" James asked with a tentative smile.

"Where's your potions knife?" was Sirius's answer.

His grin widening, James flicked his wand in a lazy summoning charm and the requested knife flew toward him from his trunk. James caught it neatly by the hilt and held it out to Sirius, who took it. Without hesitation, he pricked the tip of his middle finger with the blade. James uncorked the potion, then took the knife back and did the same. Then the two of them held their cut fingers over the open vial and let a single drop of blood fall into the potion. It hissed and turned dark red, then Sirius threw it back like a shot, grimacing at the taste. The parchment glowed and writing formed on it, formally declaring Sirius Orion Black an honorary member of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter.

A moment passed while James and Sirius grinned at each other, both of them with suspiciously wet eyes. Then Harry spoke.

"My gift utterly pales in comparison to James's," he said, only half-faking the note of disappointment. "Maybe I should just keep it."

"Oy! Hand it over, Harrison, or I'll take it by force!" Sirius lunged at him, but Harry laughed and dodged.

"Just kidding, Padfoot," he said with a grin, then he handed over his package.

Sirius eyed it suspiciously, noting its rectangular shape. "It's not another book, is it?"

"Open it and find out," Harry replied matter-of-factly, hiding his nerves with a grin. This was the first real gift he'd been able to give his godfather. He'd put a lot of thought and work into it, and he hoped Sirius appreciated it.

Sirius scowled playfully, then tore off the paper and threw it back at Harry. When the paper was gone, a leather-bound photo album lay in Sirius's lap. Runes for water-resistance, long-term preservation, dust repelling, and other protections had been painstakingly carved into the spine. Sirius ran a finger over the blank cover, a confused look on his face, then he opened the cover. His face broke into a grin and seeing the first page—a photo of the five of them on Halloween, ridiculously-colored skin and all. Sirius flipped through a few more pages, his smile growing wider.

"Where did you get all the photos?" he asked.

"My sister carries her camera with her all the time, hoping to get some embarrassing shots of me. The rest I got from Remus and Peter."

"That explains the ones from earlier years," James mused. Then suddenly he jumped up. "Oh! I almost forgot!" He rummaged through his trunk for a moment before coming up with a small wrapped box. "My folks sent me this two weeks ago and told me to keep it for your birthday," he said, handing Sirius the package.

Sirius eagerly tore off the paper and threw it back at James, then a look of surprise spread across his face as he opened the box and saw the gold watch that lay inside.

"They knew you probably wouldn't get the traditional watch from your parents, so my folks decided to take care of it. It belonged to my mum's grandfather, so it's a real Black heirloom. I'll be getting the one from my dad's dad on my birthday."

"Don't forget to write and say thank you," Remus admonished with a smile.

Sirius stuck his tongue out in reply. "Nag," he pouted. Then he smiled. "Thanks, guys. This has been the best birthday ever!" he exclaimed, falling back onto the pile of wrapping paper on his pillow.

Suddenly Sirius was engulfed in a series of bangs, pops, and colored smoke. He emerged coughing, blue, and covered in stinksap and confetti. The other four burst into hysterical laughter, and Peter even fell off the bed he was laughing so hard.

"Oy! Enough is enough!" Sirius exclaimed, laughing.

"You really should have expected it, considering you were throwing paper at us," Harry said with a grin.

"Yeah. You should know that every action deserves an opposite and exaggerated reaction," Remus added, deliberately altering the quote.

"That should be our motto," Peter chimed in.

"It's certainly accurate," James added with a grin.

"Are you done now? Because I am knackered," Sirius said with a yawn.

"Yep," James replied, popping the "p".

"Good. I'm going for a shower." Sirius pushed the paper off his bed, stowed his gifts in his trunk, then grabbed his towel and headed into the bathroom. When the door closed, James looked at Harry and Remus.

"We did set the pranks on the shower to be a one-time thing, right?"

Remus and Harry exchanged a look of horror. Then came the shout:

"HARRISON!"