House: Hufflepuff

Requested by: rubythethirdd

 "I still have no idea what to do," I admitted to my three best friends, James and Sirius playing a heated game of exploding snap whilst Peter watched.

"Still? AH!" James cried as the stack of cards exploded in his face.

"Moony it's in two days," Sirius enforced, standing up and pulling off the Gryffindor tie he was using as a bandana to hold his long hair back.

"Yeah thanks for that," I said sarcastically, slamming my book shut as I couldn't concentrate on reading it. My girlfriends birthday was only two days away and I had not come up with a single thing to do for her, not that I hadn't tried. I had spent days brainstorming ideas then when I finally gave up and ask her, she simply said 'surprise me'. 'Useful,' I remember scoffing internally at the time.

"You have no ideas?" Peter asked and I shook my head.

"None," I said for clarification.

"Well there's a trip to Hogsmeade tomorrow so we might be able to find some inspiration there," James pointed out and I sighed.

"Moony you're always so prepared, how did you let this slip by? She's your girlfriend!" Sirius said and I scoffed.

"I've been trying to think of things, I've just not been successful. She's not been very useful either, just saying things like 'I don't mind' or 'surprise me'."

"Ugh, I hate it when girls do that," Sirius said and I nodded in agreement.

"I think it's meant to be a test," James shrugged, catching my attention. "She's testing to see what you surprise her with, whether you'll go to the immense effort of doing something big for her, or whether you'll just get her a boring box of sweets."

"The king of romance, James Potter everyone," Sirius mocked, clapping. "You thinking of the things you could buy Evans?"

"Yes actually, when she finally agrees to let me take her on a date I'm gonna spoil her rotten. She deserves it after all," James started smiling to himself until Sirius pushed him onto his bed playfully, James retaliating by hitting Sirius with a pillow.

"Merlin this could be tougher than I thought," I growled, covering my eyes with my forearm.

"That's why you've got us, we'll be there to help you out," Sirius said happily, then whacking James with a pillow.

"Why don't you take her to Madame Puddifoots? Don't a lot of girls like going there for dates?" Peter asked and I rolled my eyes.

"That's not really (y/n)'s scene, nor mine if I'm perfectly honest. Plus it's something a lot of guys do because it's the 'easy option'. Prongs is right, I really need to do something for her, put the effort in," I said.

"So what then?" Peter asked and I let out a huff.

"I don't know," I admitted. "I'm going to bed. Can you guys put a pause on the pillow fight until morning?" I scowled at James and Sirius who had managed to get feathers everywhere.

"Sure thing Moony!" James jumped off of Sirius, mumbling 'reparo' at the pillows before settling down in their respective beds. "Night guys."

I however remained up for most of the evening, worrying about what to get my girlfriend. I knew she wouldn't want anything stereotypical, and James pointing out that her saying 'I don't mind' was probably a test got me worried. What if I couldn't pull off some big romantic gesture, what if I didn't satisfy her on her birthday?

- The Next Day -

James, Sirius, Peter and I were in the queue of people waiting to head down to Hogsmeade, when I suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist. "Remus!" (y/n) said excitedly, and I turned to see my girlfriend standing there with a beam on her face. "Fancy going into Hogsmeade together? We can play around in Zonko's, get some chocolate frogs from Honeydukes," she teased me for my love of chocolate and I chuckled but felt bad having to turn her down, due to the fact the Marauders and I were going to be shopping for a present for her.

"Sorry (y/n), I agreed to just go in with the guys today," I said, gesturing the other three.

"Oh," her smile faltered a little. "That's okay, don't worry! I'll go in with Martha," she gestured her close friend who stood nearby, Martha sharing the same dorm as her.

"Are you sure?" I asked, feeling little guilty but she shook her head.

"It's fine, you guys have a good guys trip out - just don't get into too much trouble," she teased, winking at us before leaning up and pressing her lips against mine. "See you afterwards though?" She asked and I nodded.

"Sure," I said and she waved, walking over to Martha.

"Someone's blushing," Sirius nudged my arm and I rolled my eyes. McGonagall came into the courtyard and gave everyone asides the third years, whom she needed to brief about the Hogsmeade trips, go. James and Sirius rushed down, wanting to be among the first to reach Zonko's to see if they had any new stock, leaving Peter and I to run after them.

"Hey, you know we're prioritising (y/n)'s birthday present don't you?" I called after them as they ran.

"Yeah yeah, we just wanna pop in to see what they have then we'll be done!" Sirius called.

"Plus you might find something in there for her!" James added.

"I seriously doubt she'd want any dung bombs or Nose-Biting Teacups," I said as the village came into sight. The guys immediately headed for the infamous joke shop and of course we were the first Hogwarts students in there. James and Sirius were spending an annoyingly long time looking through the shelves, the shop beginning to get quite full making me a little claustrophobic, so I stepped outside.

Opposite Zonko's was Madam Puddifoots Teashop and I wondered whether it'd be best to go for the easy option - after all, it'd be better than nothing. I approached the teashop, looking through the window but was immediately put off. "Come on Moony, everyone takes their girlfriends there, you gotta be a little more inventive," James said and I turned to see him and the other two crossing the street. I rolled my eyes and turned back to look at the cakes in the window when it suddenly hit me.

"I'll make her a cake!" I spun around and the three of them raised their eyebrows.

"Moony you don't know the first thing about making cakes," James pointed out.

"Unless you get the elves to do it for you?" Peter suggested but I shook my head.

"Look, they have cookbooks, I'm sure one will have a cake in," I pointed through the windows. The boys nodded in agreement and together we went in, buying a desserts cook book which indeed had a recipe for a birthday cake.

"Making her a cake is all well and good, but are you gonna get her anything else?" Sirius asked as I flicked through the book.

"Of course I am," I furrowed my eyebrows, panicking internally as I still didn't know what. I had my grand gesture planned, now all that needed to be gotten was the gift.

"Wait, isn't that (y/n) up there?" Peter pointed and the four of us stopped. I indeed spotted my girlfriend with Martha, the two of them heading into a shop I hadn't really noticed before. The four of us approached it, and I noticed it was a jewellery shop. We peeked through the windows and spotted (y/n) and Martha looking into one of the display cabinets.

"Moony you should go in, find what it is she's looking at," Sirius nudged my arm.

"(y/n) will notice him if he goes in... Wormtail, you go instead," James said.

"What? Why me?" Peter asked, panicked.

"Because you're unnoticeable, just slip in and hover round some of the display cabinets near her, and eavesdrop. Then report back," James said and I thought this would actually be a good idea. We pushed Peter into the shop then hid around the side of it, waiting. Sirius was on watch as we waited, me studying the recipe intensely. "Why not just have the elves make it? She won't know," James said and I sighed.

"Because I want to be the one to make it, it'll have more sentimentality if I'm the one to do it," I said and he nodded. Sirius announced that the girls had just left the shop, Peter running out not long after and dragging us inside.

"She was looking at that necklace," he pointed to a silver and gold necklace with a small yet intricately designed snitch upon it. She was the Hufflepuff seeker after all, so her interest in such a necklace made sense. I immediately bought it despite the price tag, and James, Sirius and Peter all headed back to the castle with my gifts for (y/n) whilst I went to find her, wanting to spend the afternoon with her.

I spotted Martha coming out of the Three Broomsticks however (y/n) wasn't with her. I frowned and headed inside, seeing my girlfriend sat on her own with a mug of butterbeer. "(y/n)," I announced my presence as I walked up to her table.

"Rem! What're you doing here?" She asked, scooting over so I could sit beside her.

"Well the guys went back up to the castle... what are you doing on your own?"

"Martha felt a little ill so I told her we should head back up to the castle but she insisted that I stayed and finished my drink as I'd only just gotten it," she explained and I nodded.

"Then I'll stay with you," I smiled.

"You don't have to, if you want to be with the Marauders-,"

"I'd rather be with you," I leant in and kissed her sweetly.

- Timeskip -

I had flour all over my trousers, there were cracked eggshells scattered everywhere and cake batter drops all over the counter. I pulled another failed attempt out of the oven, swearing under my breath. "Why is this so damn hard?!" I exclaimed, irritated.

"Look Moony, it's almost midnight, why don't you try again in the morning-," Sirius started but I interrupted him.

"Because it'll be her birthday by then and I won't have it done!" I exclaimed, pulling at my hair.

"Alright then, lets take a breather and get this mess sorted out," James gestured the mess I had made and I just let out a sigh, collapsing on the long wooden bench behind me. The four of us were in the kitchens, trying to make (y/n)'s birthday cake but every attempt somehow went wrong, despite following the instructions in the book perfectly. The elves had attempted to intervene at times until I ended up shouting at them in irritation, this whole thing being much more difficult than I anticipated.

"For fucks sake," I growled, looking at the past attempts. "I don't understand! We're following this recipe exactly, but it's still not working!"

"Just be patient Moony, it's your first time baking, it's not gonna come naturally," Sirius said and I sighed. "Ready to start again?"

"Ready," I said, clapping my hands together. We got to work, Peter reading out the recipe whilst James, Sirius and I worked on the cake. James and Sirius had calmed down a bit, the pair of them originally having a food fight but after seeing my stress they cooled down and helped me, making sure I did everything correctly.

It had reached midnight and a sound made the four of us jump out of our skins. We turned towards the door of the kitchens that was now being opened, and to our shock we saw (y/n) standing there, glancing between the four of us. The four of us immediately stood in front of the mess we'd made, not wanting her to see what we were doing.

"Remus? What are you all doing in here?" She asked, stepping into the kitchens. It was then I remembered that the Hufflepuff common room was only down the corridor.

"Er- we're-,"

"Just grabbing some midnight snacks," Sirius intervened. "What about you?"

"Well it's midnight now so it's officially my birthday. I thought I'd treat myself to a dessert," she said with her adorable smile.

"Yeah of course! Happy birthday," I walked up to her and wrapped my arms around her tightly.

"Thanks Remus," she whispered, kissing me. The rest of the Marauders wished her a happy birthday before she turned to see the state of the counter we'd been working on. "How have you made such a mess if you're only here to get snacks?" She exclaimed.

"Er... we were - er-," I couldn't think of a decent enough excuse as she raised one eyebrow.

"We'll leave this to you Moony," Sirius patted my shoulder, walking towards the door of the kitchens.

"Good luck mate," James added, following Sirius. Peter said a quick goodnight before scurrying after the two.

"Remus?" (y/n) coaxed an answer out of me so I decided to tell her the truth.

"Okay... look, I couldn't think of anything to do for your birthday, that's why earlier today - or rather yesterday - I went into Hogsmeade with the guys. To try and find something for you. Then I realised that I could try and make you a big birthday cake as a... you know... surprise? Only baking isn't exactly my forte," I admitted, gesturing the mess I had made.

"Remus you didn't have to do all this!" She said, wrapping her arms around me. "Don't get me wrong, I'm so grateful but honestly just a box of sweets would have sufficed," she said, leaning up and kissing me again.

"Really? But James said that you were testing me... that I should do some big grand gesture to show my love," I said and she chuckled.

"Thank you Remus, really, for all this effort," she said and I sighed.

"Not quite the birthday plans you hoped for, huh?" I said sadly but she shook her head.

"Quite the opposite actually. Now we can bake this cake together!" She beamed, holding onto me tightly.

"Really?" I asked and she nodded happily.

"Is it in the oven?" She asked and I nodded. "Then lets get started on the icing!"

I let out a laugh of relief, the two of us getting down to work and making the icing. It was clear she had done this before making me feel a little guilty as she was effectively making her own birthday cake, but I did find it cute how she concentrated, how she was giving me instructions on what to do and how to do it.

It was just us in the kitchen and it wasn't long before a playful food war started, when I slapped a little bit of icing on her face. After fifteen minutes we were covered in icing and sprinkles, having made a mess of the kitchen by accident.

We had to make a new batch of icing giving the cake time to cool. Neither of us wanted to leave this mess up to the house-elves, so we began cleaning also, us not realising how late - or rather, early - it had gotten. Neither of us were tired though, so we spent the next hour decorating the two-tiered cake. "It looks good!" (y/n) beamed happily when we stepped away.

"It looks messy as hell," I laughed and she hit my shoulder. Sprinkles were scattered everywhere and there was different coloured icing covering the entirety of the cake.

"Shall we try some?" She asked eagerly, her (e/c) eyes bright.

"Nah, lets save it for later. It's 04:00, we'll leave it here and come back for it when the suns up. Come on, I'll walk you back to your common room," I said and she nodded. We quickly spoke to a house elf about the cake, them promising to save it for us, before I walked her down the corridor. "I'll see you later," I whispered, my arms around her.

"See you, Remus," she whispered, pressing her lips against mine in a passionate kiss. I didn't want to let go of her but we both needed sleep, so I bade her a goodnight, me keen to get to bed for a good couple of hours of sleep.

- Timeskip - - (y/n)'s POV -

I tickled the pear painted on the still life painting that hung at the entrance of the kitchens, revealing a door. When I entered I expected to see loads of house elves running about, getting ready for dinner but instead I saw Remus sat at one of the long benches near the fire, the cake on the table and a small present next to it. "Happy birthday," he said with open arms which I immediately ran into.

"Thanks Remus," I whispered, snuggling into his chest.

"Here," he said, holding the small present up to me.

"You shouldn't of made me a cake and gotten me a present," I said, my cheeks heating up.

"Well I wanted to spoil you," he said, lifting my chin up and pulling me in for a kiss.

"Thank you," I whispered when we pulled apart. The two of us sat on the bench as I opened the present, it revealing a small jewellery box. I was a little concerned about what would be inside, hoping he hadn't spent too much money on me. I flipped open the lid and my mouth fell open, seeing the necklace I was looking at only yesterday in the jewellery shop in Hogsmeade. "R-Remus..."

"It's the right necklace, right?" He quickly asked, slight concern laced in his voice.

"H-how did you know?" I asked, gobsmacked.

"We - er - kind of followed you yesterday, in Hogsmeade," he admitted making me laugh.

"Remus this is too much, I can't accept this! I mean I'm so grateful for it, thank you, but it's too much!"

"No, I insist," he said, raising his hands up as if to say 'stop'.

"But-,"

"Honestly (y/n), I want you to have it," he whispered, cupping my cheek. I couldn't help but smile broadly, loving him more than I thought I ever could.

"It's perfect Remus, thank you so much," I said, pulling it from its box.

"Here, let me," he took it from me and wrapped it round my neck, locking it in place. "It suits you," he complimented. Happiness had filled me completely, this being the perfect birthday - getting a beautiful gift, having a delicious cake and sharing it all with Remus Lupin.