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It was dinner time in the Great Hall. Hogwarts students were chatting about the latest Quidditch match, Professor Snape’s nasty unexpected Potions quiz, and making plans for the next trip to Hogsmeade. It’s Skyler’s 4th year and she’s looking forward to a calmer year than the last three. She glances slyly at her neighbor. Seamus Finnegan is looking less than excited to be there. She knows that he’s feeling pretty let down. It’s his birthday and only Skyler and Dean Thomas have said anything. Skyler sat between Seamus and Harry at the Gryffindor table. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were discussing the game across the table with Fred and George Weasley while Seamus occasionally added in a thought, but mostly moved his food around his plate. Two days ago, he’d gotten a howler from his mum saying how disappointed she’d been with his last transfiguration exam results, and not to expect any treats from home for a month.
All of a sudden, the doors to the Great Hall were thrown open, and a misty fog rolled through the room. The lights dimmed and a shadowy figure holding what looks like a highly ornate staff steps forward, into the room. Suddenly, the sound of snare drums echos through the halls and a strangely musical moan fills the air.
Skyler hears Seamus gasp from beside her and smiles. The drummers march into the halls in pairs. The figure raises the staff and at their silent command, they split into two lines and start edging around the room. The unmistakable sound of bagpipes reverberates through the hall as two rows of pipers follow the drummers around the edges of the room. The Drum Major marched down the middle of the tables and at her signal the lines came together again in front of the teacher’s tables. They proceeded to play two songs before the drum major signals for them to stop.
“What’re pipers doin’ here?” Seamus whispers to himself.
Skyler giggles, “Maybe we’re about to find out,” she replies as she nudges his shoulder with her own.
Professor Dumbledore stands up to speak to the school and a hush descends on the students. He places his goblet on the podium and clears his throat.
“We’d like to welcome ‘Nightshade's Numinous Drum and Pipe Band’ to Hogwarts. They are here to help us celebrate the birthday of one of our Fourth Years, Seamus Finnegan.” He gestures for Seamus to stand. “Everyone please rise.” Dumbledore raises his goblet. “To Seamus! May you have cause to celebrate many, many more birthdays!”
While Slytherin stands they don’t toast, well most of the fourth years don’t. Around the room “To Seamus!” can be heard in not quite unison. Everyone raises their glass and drinks. As soon as the toast has been made, the musicians break into playing “Oh, Danny Boy” with the Weasley twins belting out the words. Soon the whole table is singing along.
Skyler can’t help the laugh she feels when George loudly changes the words from Danny to Seamus. Or how red the tips of Seamus’s ears turn when the entire table is singing to him with raised glasses. She tries to stop herself from slipping her hand around his arm to help him sway to the song as the rest of the table are doing, but she doesn’t try very hard. He doesn’t pull his arm away. In fact, turns to grin at her as she sings along and she trips over the words at the sheer happiness in his face.
Everyone erupts in applause when the song is over.
The drum major moves down the lines of teachers and with a bow to Professor Mc Gonagall the band strikes up, “Scotland the Brave.” Seamus is beaming and it seems quite a few of the other students with Irish and Scottish heritage are as well. Skyler thinks she sees Professor McGonagall wipe a tear from her eye, but it all happens so quickly she’s not entirely sure.
As they finish this song, they begin to move again. This time they form their two rows to march down the center of the room. The snares go first, followed by the pipes, and the tenor drums, with the two bass drums bringing up the rear. Their eyes forward, marching together with great precision in such tight quarters. When they pass Seamus, their heads snap to the side, give a quick nod, and snap back to the front.
When all but the bass drums have exited the door, the bass drums turn back to face the crowd. They do a complicated set of rhythms and on the ending beat, wizard fireworks burst from the drums and whiz around the Great Hall.
Everyone watches as a Lion and Unicorn made of light have an epic flight around the room coming together at the front forming the crest of the UK. Only for the Lion to suddenly wink out and the Unicorn to canter around the room one more time before disappearing into the night sky of the Great Hall. A display of fireworks in the “night sky” of the ceiling done in the colors of green, white, and orange end with the formation of a sparkling leprechaun that rains golden sparks over the spectators.
A thunderous applause rolled through the room. Seamus sat stunned as he realized all this had been done for him.
“Who--?” he asked, “What-?” He looked at the smiling faces of his friends as birthday cake appeared up and down the tables. The band members reappeared minus their instruments. They gathered around Seamus and very off-key began singing Happy Birthday, while others from their table joined in.
“Now you know why we play and don’t sing,” the drum major said with a huge smile. She turned to the person sitting on Seamus’s right. “Was he surprised Sky?”
“Was he ever!” she jumped up and gave the leader a hug. “Thanks, sis!”
“Sister?!” came from not just Seamus but to a few others around.
“Didn’t you hear the name of the band?” Hermione said with a huff. “Nightshade's Numinous Drum and Pipe Band. What’s Skyler’s last name?”
“Nightshade,” Seamus immediately replied then looked back at Skyler. “This is your band?”
Skyler’s sister giggled as Skyler shakes her head. “Do you really think I have my own band?” she asks incredulously. “My family have been playing the pipes for as far back as bagpipes can be traced in Ireland.”
“The band was only formed about six generations ago though,” her sister supplies.
“I’m related to nearly everyone in the band,” Skyler says. “Well except for Robbie,” she points to one of the drummers sitting further down the table, “but he’s pretty sweet on Ginnie here, so it’s only a matter of time before he’s a member of the family,” Skyler says.
Both of the mentioned people have a distinct blush going on. Other band members start wishing Seamus happy birthday and members of Gryffindor start budging up to have them sit so they can have cake with them. Skyler sits back down next to Seamus.
“I get why you played most of the program,” Skyler says to Ginnie as her sister sits on the other side of Seamus, “But what’s with singling out Professor McGonagall?” she asks.
“Well, she could have flunked me about twenty times over the years so I figure I owe her,” Ginnie says with a shrug.
“Wait, you could have flunked out of transfiguration?” Seamus asks, turning to look at her instead of Skyler.
“Oh yeah,” Ginnie said as she grabbed a piece of birthday cake. “And I wasn't the only one. She had to have had five or six of us in there gettin' tutorin' on average.” She took a bite of cake but kept talking. “I've never known that woman to flunk a student that was really showing they were trying no matter how bad their grade.” She stops to think. “There are a couple I can think of that were failed for their sheer bull-headedness. they insisted they didn't need help, but they couldn't turn a teacup into a tea towel.”
Skyler sees the tips of Seamus's ears turn red, but he seemed to have been taking in what her sister said.
“So to answer your question, oh sister o’ mine,” Skyler turns her attention back to her sister seeing her grinning at catching her looking at her crush, “anytime we play, and I know that McGonagall is in the audience, we play that song for her. I happen to know it's one of her favorites.”
“Skyler,” Seamus turned to look directly into her eyes, “did you do all this for me?” He gestures to encompass the Great Hall and ends up pointing at himself.
“Well yeah,” she smiles gently at him feeling her cheeks warm a little. “Last year all you got were cards from me and Dean, and your ma sent that care package, but that was all. So after you got that howler I decided you needed a better birthday this year.”
His eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open a little. The look of wonder on his face was making her stomach feel full of fluttery butterflies.
She continued on, “I sent an owl off immediately and Ginnie got the band together.” She looked behind her. “Hermione and Harry helped me talk to the house elves to get you a birthday cake. And Fred and George,” she nodded at the twins, “supplied the fireworks.”
“They were super amazing!” Seamus told the mischief-makers, excitement clear in his words.
“Yeah, well,” Skyler spoke and Sheamus’s eyes were back on her, “usually Uncle Dan supplies fireworks for the band, but since this was such a rush job he was willing to go with the Weasley ones.” She looked across the table grinning at the boys, “They were pretty awesome. I bet you could easily sell those to my uncle. Especially if you could do another one where the lion seems to win. They could use the lion when they play in England and the unicorn when they’re in Scotland.”
Fred smiled back at her.
“That’s the plan Sky Angel,” he said using the nickname he’d used for her since second year. Skyler missed the frown on Seamus’s face, but Fred didn’t. He leaned closer over the table, noting happily the deepening of Seamus’s pout. “We’re planning on doing fireworks for all of the UK. Right George?” He nudged his twin with a wink.
George’s smile turned downright predatory as he also leaned across the table, almost blocking out Seamus as he stretched to be nearer to Skyler’s ear.
“Yup, right now we’re working on something for Wales.” He winks at her. “Ireland will be right after that. Maybe you could give us some feedback on that one?”
Skyler sits back slightly, but grins back at both the boys. “Of course! I’d love to help you.”
“Well, the trouble right now is trying to narrow down which dragon to use as the base for the dragon,” Fred murmurs as they both sit back on their bench. "Charlie keeps changing his mind as to which one is best. But we’d love to have your help for Ireland. Might take several tries before we get it right.”
As Skyler opens up her mouth to reply, she’s tackled from the side. She squeaks a bit as Seamus’s hug knocks her into Harry, but she’s far more focused on the fact that the hug she was hoping for is actually happening.
“Thanks, Skyler,” Seamus whispers in her ear. “This is the best birthday I’ve ever had.”
Skyler turns to tell him it was her pleasure, but is struck by how close together their faces are and suddenly she can’t form words.
Seamus takes a quick glance at her lips before asking, “Do you think I might be able to get a birthday kiss, too?”
Her face is now flaming hot, but Harry responds before she can.
“Of course you can get a birthday kiss, but Skyler is kind of in the way.”
The group laughs, breaking the tension between Skyler and Seamus. She can’t help but notice that Seamus has yet to let go. She also notices that when she was tackled she’d put an arm behind Seamus, and she’s not letting go any time soon, either.
Skyler licked her lips. “I think I’d like to give him that kiss if you don’t mind, Harry.”
The group laughs again.
She looks back at Seamus who is grinning at her.
“How am I supposed to kiss you when you’re grinning like that?” she asks him with a smile that matches his.
“Like this,” he says as he leans in to gently place his lips on hers.
There’s whistles and clapping as they break apart, though neither one gets too far from the other.
“I think you need one more to grow on.” Skyler says as she stretches back up to kiss him and he meets her half way.
Seamus sighs when they break apart again as he leans his forehead against Skyler’s. “This was the best birthday ever, my Sky. Thank you.”
Skyler leans against him, resting her head against his shoulder.
“Skyler, will you be my girlfriend?” Seamus asks shyly.
“Of course I will!” Skyler exclaims as she pulls Seamus into a tight hug.
The cheering doubles as the Gryffindors celebrate one of their favorite ships sailing.