Lily's Birthday Romance Event

It snowed several times at Hogwarts in January, and the students began skating on the frozen lake.

"Lin, aren't you going skating?"

Mary, her cheeks red from the cold after playing outside, spotted me curled up by the fireplace when she came back to change. She looked a little surprised. "I thought you'd have been out skating for ages."

"It's too cold." I sprawled lazily on the sofa. Gryffindor students loved adventure and excitement, so naturally every last one of them had run outside to play in the snow. Having the entire common room to myself was a pleasure I could hardly have asked for.

"Cold-blooded animals hibernate in winter." Sirius raised half his head above his book. "I wonder why she hasn't crawled into the lake in Slytherin yet."

Well, I didn't have the place entirely to myself. The young master of the Black family was sitting here too.

The Gryffindor students were long used to the two of us not getting along. Mary changed out of her soaking clothes and went back outside to play, leaving the two of us alone in the common room with the crackle of the firewood.

It was hardly surprising that Sirius hadn't gone out to play. James and Snape had both been dragged off to help a professor sort out a storeroom after getting into a fight. Sirius had always acted like a young master, and I'd always thought that if not for James, he couldn't be bothered to take part in those adventures. It was only natural that he was sitting in the common room now.

Sirius seemed a little surprised by my silence. He glanced at me several times, then, once he was sure I had no intention of answering, snorted and returned to his book.

[Sirius's affection -1]

Why did I lose affection for not saying anything? And could his affection really go any lower?

I was ignoring Sirius simply because I was thinking about tomorrow. It was Lily's birthday, and I'd been racking my brains over how to celebrate it.

It couldn't be too ordinary, or it wouldn't feel like a birthday in the magical world at all. But I couldn't go too far in the other direction either, or how would I be any different from James?

James, who was cleaning out the storeroom at that very moment, suddenly sneezed.

What did Lily want most? That was the question I'd been pondering. I thought the thing she most wanted to resolve was the matter of Snape, but even if I could deal with Snape, I couldn't solve his problem. Apart from that, she didn't seem to want for anything.

In the end, I was completely out of ideas and started banging my head against a cushion.

"What on earth are you doing?"

Perhaps the thumping on my side was keeping Sirius from concentrating on his book. He looked up, visibly impatient. "Could you keep it down?"

"Sorry, this is a public space. If you want peace and quiet, please go back to your dormitory or go to the library." My face was still buried in the cushion. After a moment's silence, something suddenly occurred to me.

That's right! Isn't Petunia another thing that's been weighing on Lily's mind?

At the thought, I immediately jumped up and ran for the dormitory.

But for some reason, a [Sirius's affection -5] came right after me.

The moment I opened my eyes in the morning, a system notification appeared before my alarm clock went off, just as I'd expected.

[Today is January 30th. Lily's birthday romance event has begun! What birthday gift will you give Lily?]

[1. A gift full of love]

[2. Birthday wishes full of love]

[3. A letter full of love]

[4. A hug full of love]

Lily had a "romance event" too, then. So what exactly was the difference between a "birthday event" and a "romance event"?

I could only choose one option, but I'd already made my preparations.

"You'd better keep your mouth shut today. Don't say anything."

The common room was emptier than usual on Sunday morning, but James and I had both gotten up early. As soon as I saw him, I asked what birthday wishes he had planned. After hearing them, I suggested he'd be better off not saying anything.

"I think they're pretty good." James looked quite aggrieved.

"I don't think Lily would be happy to hear something like 'I'm giving you a chance to go on a date with me.' You don't want to get beaten up first thing in the morning, do you?"

While the two of us were talking, Remus and Sirius came out too. Remus had a gift for Lily in his hand, while Sirius raised a hand and yawned, looking as though he was still half asleep.

"Sirius!" As if he'd found reinforcements, James repeated what he'd just said and asked, "What do you think? Would it make your heart flutter?"

"Mate, if I heard you say that, I'd probably say yes without hesitation. After all, we've belonged to each other for ages." Sirius spoke with great enthusiasm, then shrugged. "But if it were Evans, she'd just think you were an idiot. If you do that, you'll never get anywhere with Evans in your life."

After one blow after another, James went and squatted in a corner, drawing circles.

Once Lily came out, we went to the dining hall together. Her table was piled high with all kinds of gifts, and the most eye-catching was probably a heart-shaped parcel in very strange-looking wrapping. Anyone could tell at a glance that James had wrapped it.

"I have a question." Thoroughly puzzled, I leaned closer to Remus. "The Potter Family is wealthy and influential, and James is good-looking too. By all rights, he should have been popular since he was little."

"So why are his methods so... indescribable?"

Remus fell silent for a moment before answering, "Maybe he was too popular, so people liked him no matter what he did?"

"Oh, I suddenly think you've hit on the truth."

Lily had received a huge pile of gifts, so it took a long time to deal with them. By the time we went back, most people had run outside to play.

The snow had stopped, but there were still great piles of it along the paths. Snowballs flew everywhere, and plenty of students were using magic in snowball fights. It looked like the Battle of Moscow.

"Merlin! Take this!"

"Lin, want to join us?"

As soon as the classmates I was friendly with saw me, they all started throwing snowballs at me. I covered my head and plunged through the whirling snow into the dormitory. Almost as soon as I stepped inside, Lily hurriedly pulled off my scarf.

"You look like you just rolled around in the snow." Lily laughed. "Aren't you cold?"

"Cold? I'm freezing!" I took off my coat too. The common room was warm, and before long all the snow melted into water. "Everyone's just too enthusiastic."

After clearing all the snow off myself, I gave James a look. He understood immediately and jumped onto the table—we'd just come in from outside, damn it—and set off the streamers.

"Happy birthday, Evans!"

Mary brought out the cake we'd asked the House-elves to make, and all the Gryffindor students sang the birthday song together.

Lily was surrounded by everyone, and an excited blush appeared on her face. She looked very happy, and I could finally relax. I'd actually been worried at first that it would be a public execution, like celebrating a birthday at Haidilao. Luckily, we were all classmates who saw each other every day, and the atmosphere was pleasant.

"But how did you get everyone to sing the birthday song together?" I looked at James approvingly.

"Huh?" James looked even more bewildered than I was. "I didn't."

So everyone had started singing on their own... I had to admit, Gryffindor students were pretty enthusiastic.

The common room was filled with a cheerful atmosphere all day. Later, we went out for another snowball fight and even competed against the Slytherin students.

By the time the competition ended, the students had broken through the ice on the lake. The whole area looked as though it had just been hit by a force-eight tornado. It was terrifying.

Everyone looked exhausted when we returned to the common room. Some people even lay down and started snoring right there, and the Prefects woke them all up and sent them back to their rooms.

"I'm so tired today." Lily looked tired too, but her eyes sparkled with bright joy. At least she seemed to have been happy enough today. "Don't go out again tonight. Get some rest early, Lin."

"I'm not going out, but you can't go to sleep just yet." With that, I mysteriously pulled Lily into my dormitory and took out the Two-Way Mirror.

Before Lily could react, Petunia, who was already on the other side of the Two-Way Mirror, looked as reluctant as ever. She fidgeted awkwardly for quite a while before stammering out the words.

"Happy birthday, Lily."

That was all we'd agreed on. After all, this was only the beginning, and I didn't want to rush things. To my surprise, though, Petunia took out a little cake after she'd spoken.

"Someone's bound to have given you a cake already, right? I'm not saving this one for you. I'll eat it myself in a bit."

I was about to say that Petunia was the same as ever when I noticed Lily's eyes suddenly redden. The next moment, she actually burst into tears, startling Petunia too.

"Isn't it just a cake? Why are you crying?" Petunia was flustered, but there was nothing she could do from the other side of the mirror. In the end, she hurriedly called to me, "Merlin! What are you standing there for?"

"I, I'm not..."

Lily raised a hand to wipe away her tears. She was smiling, but the tears wouldn't stop flowing.

"I'm just so happy," she said. "I didn't think you would, Petunia..."

"Shouldn't you be happy in the magical world? If someone saw you crying like that, they'd think I was bullying you." Petunia's words were as sharp as ever, but her expression visibly softened. "...Don't cry, little sister."

Lily didn't go back to her room that night. The two of us chatted with Petunia until late. In the early hours of the morning, Petunia was so sleepy she could barely think straight, and, half awake and half asleep, she told Lily about many things from their past. Lily held the Two-Way Mirror the whole time, as though she could hold Petunia that way. She said that no matter how long the next holiday was, she had to go home for a visit. I told her there would be a spring holiday in late March, and she promised Petunia she would definitely come home then.

"Mum and Dad will be happy," Petunia said, though anyone could see that she was happy too.

In the end, because we still had school tomorrow, Petunia went to bed first. Lily, however, wasn't sleepy at all and continued chatting with me.

"Thank you, Lin. You went to see Petunia especially for this, didn't you?" Lily hugged me, her eyes red again. "This is my favorite birthday gift I've ever received."

"It was nothing." I put the Two-Way Mirror in her hands. "The mirror is yours from now on."

She stroked its surface and put it away carefully, but the next moment she took my hand again.

It was already very late. I felt as though I'd fallen asleep, and I drowsily heard Lily speak.

"It's like a dream," she said. "I was still thinking about Petunia yesterday, and I never expected to see her again today... She doesn't seem to be angry with me anymore. I can't believe it's real."

"It really is." Sleep dragged me under, and I sank once more into an endless dream.

"Stay this happy forever, Lily."

─────

[Author's note]

★Hint★

"Birthday romance events" are among the most special romance events. If affection is high enough and you choose something suited to the other person's tastes, you can greatly increase affection;

However, on Lily's route, be sure to distinguish between friendship and love in time, or you may end up on Lily's friendship route.

★Side quest reminder★

Congratulations on unlocking Petunia's main quest-[The Evans Sisters · 4]

Congratulations on triggering Lily's birthday romance event-[Two-Way Mirror]