May 11th, 1979

"Happy birthday!"

I shielded my eyes from the sun as the curtains around my bed were ripped open. It was far too early, and I was far too exhausted. After my patrol last night, I met Regulus in the Astronomy Tower, and we stayed there until well past three in the morning talking.

"You're eighteen!" Emmeline chimed.

I pressed my forehead into my pillow and gave her a thumbs up. "Yup, the big one eight," I mumbled.

"You seem exhausted, did the patrol run late last night?" Maggie asked.

I turned onto my back and sat up in bed, the duvet pooling around my waist.

"Uh-, yeah, a bit," I lied.

I know that people always make a big deal out of birthdays, but I don't get the fuss. Instead of being 'one year older', or 'one year closer to adulthood'; I am an adult, and now it just seems like 'one year closer to the inevitability of death'.

"Happy birthday, Meredith," Lucy chimed once I was up and out of bed.

I smiled, "Thanks, Lucy."

I got dressed, changing out of my pajamas and into my uniform. Since the weather was warming up, I wore my skirt, white button-up, and Gryffindor tie. My blonde hair was straight, falling halfway down my back, and my dark circles were less noticeable by the time that Emmeline, Maggie, and I headed down to the common room to meet the boys for breakfast.

"Oh, flowers!" Maggie said, excitedly. "Where'd those come from?"

I followed her gaze over to the coffee table. There was a big vase of red tulips sitting on the oak table, standing out against the dullness of the common room.

Thomas picked the note off of the vase and held it out.

"They're for Meredith," He stated, extending the note towards me. "Happy birthday, by the way."

"For me?" I asked.

Emmeline leaned over my shoulder to look at the note. Sure enough, my name was written on the parchment, in a familiar handwriting, sealed with wax.

"You have a secret admirer!" Maggie cheered. "Are tulips your favorite flower or something?"

"No, I don't have one," I answered.

Jack, who was sitting on the couch, rolled his eyes.

"Well, go on birthday girl, who's it from?" He asked, staring at me.

I stepped away from everyone's peering eyes and peeled open the wax seal. On the parchment, in perfect cursive, it read:

Happy birthday, princess.

- R

I smiled, my cheeks going pink.

"Oh, come on, who's it from?" Emmeline questioned.

I folded up the note and put it into my book bag.

"It doesn't say," I lied.

I walked back towards the coffee table, examining the red tulips. They were beautiful, and they smelled amazing.

"Liar," Jack teased. "An anonymous note wouldn't make you blush."

Emmeline shushed him, sitting down beside him on the couch.

"That is too cute!" Maggie said. "You know what tulips symbolize, right?"

Thomas frowned, "No, were we supposed to learn that in Herbology?"

"What-, no we didn't. Red tulips represent passion, respect, and true love," Maggie explained.

Jack glanced over at me, one eyebrow slightly raised. "Someone's in love with you, then?" He questioned.

I shrugged, wanting to avoid this subject. "I'm going to put these in the dorm, then we'll go to breakfast, yeah?"

Everyone was in agreement, so I slipped away, carrying the vase of red tulips up to my dormitory. I set them on my nightstand, letting myself smile at the fact that Regulus sent me flowers.

I took the note out of my bag and put it in the drawer of my nightstand, smirking to myself as I walked back down the stairs.

On the way to the Great Hall, too many people said hi to me, and too many people told me happy birthday. I didn't even know who half of them were!

The five of us sat down at the table for breakfast. Sam had gone to the library instead, so it was just us.

"Oh, we're having a party tonight, by the way," Emmeline said nonchalantly as she added a spoonful of sugar into her tea.

I dropped my fork onto my plate. "What?"

"Shit-, sorry I forgot to tell you," Jack added. "We're throwing you a birthday party tonight."

Once I got over my initial shock, I looked at all of them. "It's just a small thing, right?" I asked. "Not a big party?"

Maggie sighed, "Well-, it was supposed to be small. But a lot of people like you and wanted to come to your birthday party, so it's open to all houses now."

I raised an eyebrow, "How many people?"

A lot," Thomas answered. "All I know is that this is going to be just as big as that party that Slytherin threw in November."

Merlin, that party was interesting.

Regulus had been staring the whole night, I was drunk and wanted to be a tease, so I kissed Jack just to make him jealous. It had worked.

"So, who's going to be there?" I asked.

"All of Gryffindor," Jack began, "Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff quidditch teams-"

"All of the Prefects, quite a few Hufflepuffs," Thomas added.

Maggie said, "Rory, and a lot of Ravenclaws."

"Uh-, I invited Evan, so probably the whole lot of them," Emmeline explained.

If Evan's going, that means that Regulus is going.

"Merlin," I muttered, "As Head Girl, I'm going to pretend that I don't know anything about this."

- - - - -

After breakfast, I walked with Emmeline to Potion's. When I got there, Regulus was already sitting down in his seat beside me. He smiled at me when he saw me.

"Happy birthday, Meredith," He said, nudging my knee with his underneath the table.

"Thank you," I replied, giving him a small smile.

Evan turned around in his seat after greeting Emmeline. He had a grin on his face as he looked between Regulus and I, before settling on me.

"I wish you the happiest of birthdays," Evan said, smirking.

I stifled a laugh, "Thanks, Evan. Are you coming to my party?"

"Of course, I would never miss an opportunity for free alcohol." Emmeline kicked him in the shin. Evan winced, "And it's never better that it's because of your eighteenth."

He turned back towards the front of the classroom and started up a conversation with Emmeline. Nothing had happened between them since their date in February, at least to my knowledge. But Evan made her laugh, and Emmeline made him smile.

"Are you going to my party tonight?" I asked Regulus, bumping my bare knee against his.

Regulus smiled, "Yes, I was planning on it."

"You don't have any other plans?" I teased.

Regulus leaned in closer to me. "Unless you want to ditch your own birthday party, then no, I don't have any other plans. I'll be there," He whispered.

I hoped that he hadn't seen how my cheeks turned red. I crossed my legs, making my skirt ride up slightly. Regulus's eyes drifted down to the bare skin of my upper thigh for a quick second before he looked back up at me, a glint in his eyes.

"Am I going to actually get to see you tonight, princess?" Regulus questioned, his voice low.

I shrugged, "We'll have to see."

Regulus smirked at me, running his tongue against his bottom teeth.

"I loved the flowers," I whispered, changing the subject.

"I hoped that you would," Regulus said. His eyes darted down to my lips, then back up to my eyes. "Pretty, huh?"

I smiled, "Yes, the tulips were very pretty."

"I wasn't talking about the tulips, darling," Regulus whispered.