20. BIRTHDAY BITCH

The start of November brought Elara's birthday, and she woke up on November 8th, to someone placing kisses all over her face. "Happy birthday."

Elara groaned and rolled over, stuffing her face in the pillow, causing Theodore to chuckle. "Lara, we still have classes today."

"I don't have to go." She faced him; eyes open now.

"No, but it would be good if you did, and didn't leave me alone." He guilt-tripped her, causing her to grumble.

"I hate you."

"Love you too." He grinned back at her as she got up and grabbed a pile of clothes, heading to the bathroom. She came out 15 minutes, hair still messy, but looking fresh-faced and dressed in her Slytherin robes.

Elara sat down at the dresser as her boyfriend went to get dressed. She pulled on her boots, combed her hair and grabbed her red lipstick as per usual. Just as she was getting up, Theodore walked back in. He grabbed his bag and hers as well, before offering her his hand.

She took it and they headed out of the room and towards the common room. There, she was greeted with a huge hug from Bianca. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY EL! YOU'RE AN ADULT NOW!"

Elara laughed and hugged her best friend back. "Thanks, Bia." The brunette backed away and handed the -now- seventeen year old a gift wrapped in silver paper with a black bow. Elara smiled and stuck it in her bag. "I'll open it at breakfast. You coming?"

"Yeah, let me grab my bag."

Bianca left to get her bag and came back with Daphne walking beside her. Daphne Greengrass was a recent friend she made. The girl was in the year below her and she was one of the sweetest people Elara ever met, and she was very glad they were friends now.

The pretty blonde hugged Elara gently. "Happy birthday, El. I got you something." She handed the girl a gift wrapped in pink tissue paper.

"Thank you, Daph." Again, the gift was placed in her bag, and then they headed down to breakfast. The hall was fairly full, with quite a bit of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students along with Hogwarts one.

Theodore sat down beside Elara, while Daphne and Bianca sat opposite them. Several people wished her a happy birthday, and she smiled, thanking everyone for their well wishes. Blaise appeared with Draco and hugged her, leaving a gift beside her growing pile on the table. He sat down beside his sister.

Draco hugged his cousin. "Happy birthday unofficial mum."

"Thank you unofficial son." Elara snickered, accepting another gift from him, and placing it atop the others. She was just about to start eating when the owls began landing in the hall, and the one that landed in front of Elara held a red envelope.

Everyone around looked at Elara in shock, whilst she groaned, covering her face with her hands. She reached out and opened the envelope, mentally preparing herself.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LITTLE MOON!" Her father's voice invaded the hall, causing many people to look over in shock and amusement. The teachers had varying looks of annoyance, surprise and slight amusement. Snape however had a look of absolute distaste on his face at hearing the sound of his old classmate.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE FUCKING 17! MY BABY GIRL IS AN ADULT! OH SHIT, REMUS TOLD ME NOT TO SWEAR, AND THAT YOU WOULD OPEN THIS IN THE GREAT HALL, SORRY LOVE! SORRY MINNIE!" Elara looked over at McGonagall to see her stifling a laugh. "ANYWAYS, ENJOY THE PRESENT, AND REMUS SENDS HIS WELL WISHES!"

Someone else's voice appeared in the back. "I CAN SPEAK FOR MYSELF, SIRIUS! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EL!" Remus' voice said, and Elara grinned. The letter burst into confetti and covered her hair and upper body, causing the smile to disappear and a scowl to take its place.

Then, she noticed the large box that came with another owl, and added it to the pile, deciding to open them all after breakfast. She downed a mug of coffee, and had some pancakes drenched in chocolate sauce. Once she was done, she turned to the presents, and pulled the one her father sent her towards her.

But before she could open it, she was hugged from behind. "Happy birthday, El!"

"Thanks, Harry!" She replied, and turned to face him. She saw he was accompanied by Fred and George.

"Happy bloody birthday, El!" They both grinned together.

"Thanks, Weasleys."

Harry handed her a present, and the twins gave her one too, along with a lumpy looking package. "That one's from Mum, she told us to give it to you."

"Oh that's so sweet of her." Elara smiled at the thoughtfulness of Mrs. Weasley. "Thank you guys."

"Anytime, El." Harry grinned. "I've got to head to class now, I've got an early one, I'll see you at lunch."

"Bye, Harry." She waved as he left towards the large doors, where Hermione was waiting. She saw her waving, and waved back, a smile on her face.

"We'll see you later El." George said.

"You can join us in pranking Filch." Fred smirked.

"Oh, I'd love to! Bye!" She smiled in appreciation as they left. And then turned back to the large present from her father and unwrapped it.

There was an emerald green box inside, and she removed the lid. The first thing she saw was a photo of herself in Lily Potter's arms, her little finger wrapped around that fiery red hair. Her father was on Lily's left, and James Potter on her left.

They all were smiling at the camera, and Elara smiled now as she gazed down at the beautiful moment. She folded it and put it in a pocket in her robes. Then, she pulled out the next thing inside. It was another box, but this one black and velvet.

Elara carefully opened and her eyes widened at what was inside. It was a beautiful ring with an emerald in the center, surrounded by little diamonds. There was a little card inside.

El,

Your wonderful grandmother found out it was your birthday, and demanded I send you this, because it was a Black family heirloom given to the females in the family.

Love,

Dad

Elara slipped the ring onto her ring finger, before looking back in the box to find three more things. One of them was a jumper, that when she took out, she saw it was slightly worn, and big on her. It was in Slytherin colours and said 'BLACK' on the back, so Elara immediately knew it belonged to her uncle Regulus.

She appreciated her father taking the time to look through his dead brothers things, and actually send her something of his, to keep the memory of him alive perhaps. Elara was delighted and honoured to have it.

"Who's is that?" Blaise asked, nodding his head towards the jumper.

"Uncle Regulus'." The girl replied, and everyone nodded, understanding. Theodore touched his knee to hers and sent her a smile, which she returned before pulling the last two items out. One of them was an envelope, and the other a golden box.

She opened the box, and gasped at seeing a pair of diamond earrings inside. There was another card inside, and she unfolded it to read;

My little moon,

Happy birthday sweetheart. I hope you enjoy these gifts. I saw these earrings, and I knew I had to get them for you, I hope you enjoy them, and have the best day ever. I'll see you in the summer.

Love,

Dad

Elara smiled a watery smile, before putting the earrings into her ears, which she had gotten pierced a few years ago. She turned to the last card to see her father had written her a long message in French. "Oh, my dad's written the whole thing in French. Can't wait to read it."

"French?" Bianca asked.

"French." Elara smiled. "Spent the whole bloody summer learning. We came from France originally, I believe."

"Oh El, that's so cool. France is beautiful, not as beautiful as Italy, of course, but it's nice." Bianca smiled, nodding her head. Blaise nodded his head in agreement.

"Your families originate from France and Italy?" Daphne questioned.

"Yes, our mother is Italian, and I don't even know about our father, he died long ago. But our mother is, and we took her Italian surname. We're half Italian." Blaise began.

"We visit Mum's family every summer, so we speak fluent Italian." Bianca continued. They all now looked at Elara.

"Black's did come from France originally I believe. Our motto is 'Toujours Pur' which is French, and my father spent the summer teaching me French until I was fluent. We've also got some Veela, so maybe we have Bulgarian roots too, I don't really know." Elara explained as she put everything back into the box, closed it and grabbed the next gift, which was wrapped in scarlet paper.

There was a little card on the front that had a little message on it.

El,

Happy birthday! Thank you so much for helping over the years, you have no idea how much I appreciate it, and I'm so grateful to have you in my life.

Love you lots,

Harry

Elara traced the letters as she read, smiling softly before unwrapping the present. Inside she found a black dog plushie, that she laughed at and hugged to her chest before putting it back in the box. There was a photo frame inside the box as well, and when Elara unwrapped the wrapping around it, she gasped.

It was a photo of her with her father and the Potters, including baby Harry. She was being carried by her father, and Harry was in his mother's arms, who was stood in between Sirius and James. They all looked so happy. "Oh." Elara blinked furiously to keep the tears at bay, and brought a hand to her mouth.

"What is it?"

Elara simply flipped the frame around to show everyone and they all crowded around to get a good look, and awed at the site. Elara then placed the frame back in the box and turned her attention back to her friends.

Bianca pushed her present towards Elara. "Open mine, please."

Elara laughed at her friends eagerness, and unwrapped the present to find a box and on top of the box a photo of the two girls from their first or second year. They were both dressed in their robes, laughing as they had their arms wrapped around each other.

Elara smiled and flipped the picture over, looking at the message on the back.

Love of my life,

Happy bloody birthday, my love. I'm so happy you're in my life, and you've no idea how much better you've made it. You made me so confident in my own skin, and not ashamed to talk about my mother, no matter what others say, and I will be eternally grateful for that.

Thanks for always being there for me, and loving me no matter what. I love you lots.

Bia <3

Elara sniffled, and looked up at her best friend with watery eyes. "Bia, you made me cry, you bitch." She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her robes, pouting.

"Sorry, my love. If it makes you feel better, I cried writing it." Bianca shrugged; a sheepish smile spread across her pink lips. Elara shook her head and took the lid off of the box, looking inside and clapping a hand to her mouth at what she saw.

"Oh Bia." Her voice was muffled, but it cracked as more tears sprung to her eyes. It was a little pinkie ring with the Zabini emblem on it, and a silver wrap bracelet, with a crystallised snake head for the tip, that had glowing emerald eyes.

Elara lifted the ring out and slipped it onto her pinkie. "You're an honorary Zabini, El. You're my sister." Bianca smiled at her best friend, reaching out to hold her hand tightly. "And then the bracelet is because you're a Slytherin."

"I love them." Elara slipped the cold bracelet on, admiring how to resized itself, and wrapped snugly around her slender wrist. She lifted it up, and the light glinted off it. "They're beautiful Bia, thank you so much."

She blew a kiss to her best friend, before turning back to pile, she had quite a few left, the twins, Mrs. Weasley, Draco, Blaise, Daphne and Theodore. She reached out for the one from Blaise and unwrapped it, finding inside a beautiful eagle feather quill, and an assortment of different inks.

"Thank you so much Blaise, they're beautiful." She smiled in his direction, and he nodded, a smile twitching on the corner of his lips. Next, she grabbed Daphne's, and when she unwrapped it, she grinned.

"Oh Daph, you know me too well." It was a book on constellations, stars and planets, along with a detailed star chart. "It's bloody brilliant, thank you."

"Of course." The blonde girl smiled at her delicately. Next, she reached out for the lumpy package from Mrs. Weasley and ripped the wrapping off. The first thing she saw was a knitted jumper, that looked very comfy. It was black, and had a silver E on the front. Elara smiled, and folded it, putting it on the table with the rest of the gifts. There was also a box inside that was warm, and when she opened it, she saw some brownies inside, which caused her eyes to widen happily.

"Guys! I got brownies!"

They all laughed at her enthusiasm, and she handed them out to everyone, before leaving the rest in the box for later, and reaching out for Fred and George's gift. She held it out at an arm's length, and waved her wand, causing it to open. It exploded in a shower of confetti and glitter, making the girl glad she opened it far from herself.

Now that it had exploded, she brought it closer to her, and looked inside to see several Honeydukes chocolate bars, some liquorice wands, and a few prank supplies. A smirk appeared on her lips, and Theodore groaned. "Oh no."

"What is it?" Draco questioned, trying to look into the box, and when he did, he paled even more. "Shit."

"What's so worrying?" Daphne had a curious look on her face.

"They got her prank supplies." Theodore stated.

"Fuck."

"Oh come on guys, you won't be my targets." Elara shut the box, rolling her eyes as she grabbed Draco's present. She unwrapped the black wrapping and removed the lid off the box, bursting into laughter at the first thing she saw. Draco grinned, knowing what she had seen.

Everyone looked at the girl, concerned, as she cried literal tears of laugher, holding her stomach. When she calmed down, she reached into the box and pulled out a mug that had '#1 mum' emblazoned on it in massive black letters on a white background.

Everyone around laughed at the gift, and Elara turned to Draco and held her hand out, he smacked his palm against hers in a high five. "Lovely idea, Draco."

"Why thank you, Elara."

She put the mug back in the box, and looked inside again. She pulled out a little leather box and opened it, and inside was a leather bracelet, with an elegant metal clasp, and engraved on the metal clasp was a little dragon, and beside it the moon Elara, symbolising Draco and Elara.

"That's beautiful Draco, thank you." She wrapped him in a side hug, before reaching out for the last present, the one from Theodore and unwrapped it.

There was yet another box inside, but this one had a lock on it. Theodore took his wand out, muttered a few words and unlocked it. It popped open and Elara's mouth fell open as well. Inside there were several books on Animagus, the theory and the process, along with a few yellowed papers with handwritten notes. There was also a jar with several leaves inside, and from her Animagus research, she knew these were Mandrake leaves.

"Oh." Elara whispered.

"Theodore, what did you give her to make her go this silent?" Bianca asked, a teasing smile on her face.

"Something." Came the boys vague reply.

"Bloody hell." Elara closed the box, and rested her hands on it briefly, before turning to her boyfriend and hugging him tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

"It was no problem. Your father helped a little." Theodore chuckled, hugging her back. She let go and placed the box on the table with the rest of the presents.

"Aren't you going to tell us what he got you?" Blaise asked.

"Oh, I will." Elara nodded. "Just not today, or anytime soon." They all groaned. Elara grabbed her bag from Theodore and placed an undetectable extension charm on it, having learned that spell specifically from the higher level charms spells.

Then, she grabbed all the gifts, and carefully stowed them inside.

"Thank you, all of you. I love you all." Elara looked at each and every single one of them, grateful for having so many people in her life, that loved her and cared for her and were always there for her.

*elara will always be wearing the rings she got from sirius and bianca, the bracelet from bianca and the earrings from sirius. even if i don't say it, she's always wearing them*