#*lily potter

"Wait baby Potter had a boyfriend? How did I miss that, it must have been so unimportant that it didn’t even register on my radar... Must be embarrassing for her. Any comments Lily?”

Birthdays did not mean much to Lily Potter. At least, not when there was a civil war raging right outside her front door. 

It was, however, unlike her to completely forget. Usually, the date just sat at the back of her mind, waiting to show itself when January came around. This year she just had so much to worry about, everything from the progression of politics to the care of her small son Harry, that it was simply impossible to think of herself, much less frivolous things like birthdays. Now, her life was real. It was not training. It was not Hogwarts. She had a family to look after, and this war was very much real. Consequently, she had completely forgotten (or at least, subconsciously disregarded) her own birthday. 

She woke up on the morning of January 30th in the arms of her husband, holding her close. Opening her eyes, she reached up to touch his face. He smiled and traced patterns on her skin with his fingers.

"Happy birthday," he breathed. Her smile faded into a look of confusion.

"Is it really?"

James laughed softly. "It is."

"I had forgotten."

There was a comfortable pause between them.

"Remember your fifteenth birthday? When I asked you out eight times?"

Lily laughed at the memory; a real laugh. Not exactly reminiscent of bells, but real.

"And then Sirius set off those fireworks?"

"And accidentally lit McGonagall's eyebrows on fire?"

"Yes!"

The memories came back to Lily, strong and clear and so sharp that her breath caught in her throat. Good times; easy times. Times where she didn't have to think about her future, or her fate, or the lives of herself and her family. Perhaps she should have embraced it more when it was all hers.

"James?" she asked quietly. "What if… What if this is my last birthday?"

The realization of what Lily had just asked him seemed to hit him like a ton of bricks. It showed very clearly on his face.

"Lily," he said, gripping her hand tightly. "We're going to pull through this. Harry isn't going to grow up alone."

He said it with such finality that Lily had to believe him.