By Peppercat

Lily smiled as she felt the cool sea water touch her feet. It was a hot summer morning, perfect to start a weekend at the beach with her best friends Martha Sullivan and Gabrielle Fortunic. Tomorrow would be Lily’s sixteenth birthday and Gabrielle had invited them over to celebrate at her summer house at the beach.

"What do you want to do today, Lil?" asked the tall blonde girl to her left.

"I dunno Ella, whatever you girls want" was Lily’s answer " What about you Martha?"

The slim girl with enormous blue eyes and light brown buckles just shrugged.

"Speak up! Shout! SCREAM!" said Gabrielle scaring some sea-birds resting on a near rock. She enjoyed trying to make her friend speak loudly, or at least make her speak at all. Martha stuck out her tongue and kicked hard the water below, splashing her friends. A water fight started and soon they were all soaked to the bone. Later, Gabrielle suggested sunbathing and having lunch after swimming in the sea. After that, the girls set out looking for seashells.

"Oh look! Dolphins!" Gabrielle suddenly exclaimed.

"Where? Where?"

"To the left Lil, see?"

"I can’t see anything Ella" Martha said.

Gabrielle pinched her and winked. Martha didn’t understand at that moment, but followed, not knowing that the answer was on it’s way.

"Oh! Right there. They’re gorgeous!"

"I still can’t see any-OUCH!"

Lily jumped as a sand ball landed on her back. She turned around and saw James Potter grinning mischievously at her, his gang preparing more sand balls beside him.

"YOU!" she said splashing water to him as she ducked.

Lily crawled and grabbed his leg pulling him down. James lost his balance and fell.

A water-and-sand fight started and kept them busy for a long time.

"I give up!" declared Peter Pettigrew raising his arms "I’m exhausted"

Everybody, except for Peter, who sat on the sand trying to catch his breath, gave each other an identical meaningful look.

In a second, twelve more sand balls landed on Peter, and sand balls didn’t stop reaching him even after he started to run away. You see, these guys had a really good aim.

A few hours later, the gang sat on the sand, themselves full of it all over their bodies, watching the sunset.

"Guys, are you staying at Ella’s tonight?" Lily asked.

"No, Lily, we’re sleeping outside tonight" answered Sirius faking a frown.

"HA-HA, well then, I hope crabs won’t get your toes while you’re sleeping" said Lily sarcastically.

Lily started laughing it off, but stopped when she saw Ella grinning maliciously.

"You can’t be talking seriously…"

Remus Lupin pointed out a bunch of backpacks and sleeping bags to the far right.

"I bet you’ll never forget this birthday, Lily"

"Don’t you know how to light up a match, Sirius?" Lily asked sardonically.

Sirius was having trouble lighting up a fire. Already half the box of matches was lying on the sand around him, broken on half.

"You do it then" he said handing her the box of matches.

Lily took it and lit up a match. She threw it to the bunch of dry leaves and twigs that lay before her. Soon, a fire started. Lily smiled at Sirius and went to help James unpack the food.

"The muggle way is always SO hard" Sirius complained.

"And so much fun too" Remus added giving Sirius a stick and a sausage.

"Why do we study magic at school if we’re not able to use it?" Sirius asked.

"You will be when you grow up Sirius" Gabrielle said sitting by him.

"Grow up? I don’t even know what that means!" Sirius said grinning.

"That’s exactly why!" Lily said approaching hand by hand with James.

Peter and Martha came too. She sat next to Remus and kissed her boyfriend on the cheek. Remus smiled at her and kissed her back.

"I expect you won’t let Sirius put dead fish in my sleeping bag, Remus" she said.

"Don’t worry, that exclusively reserved for Ella" Sirius answered for him grinning mischievously.

Gabrielle rolled her eyes and put her sausage in the fire. Everyone followed and started chatting about something else.

"Seashells? Why seashells?" James asked as Lily gave him a pure white one.

"What else can you find in the beach?" she answered "Everybody have one?"

James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Gabrielle and Martha nodded.

"Ok then…I say…for our everlasting friendship!" Lily said throwing hers into the fire.

"For love in the rest of our lives" Martha followed.

"For justice upon us" Gabrielle said as she threw hers.

"For freedom" Sirius said throwing his seashell up and then sending it forward into the fire by bumping it with his head.

"For equality" said Remus letting his drop from his hand.

"For loyalty" James followed.

"For…"Peter hesitated before throwing his dark red seashell into the fire "May the Lord lead our lives…and bless us" he finally said, and smiled.

There was a silence in which they all looked at the fire, although nobody could distinguish their own seashell.

"Let’s sing!" Remus suggested reaching for his guitar.

"Did you get the words for ‘What a Feeling’ Martha? Lily asked

They spent the night singing and talking and laughing. Sirius made sure there would be something to laugh about in the morning. Gabrielle, as always, was the victim.

True, Lily never forgot this birthday.

Later that night, James put out the embers by throwing sand on them, that’s why nobody noticed a dark red seashell intact, the fire hadn’t touched it at all.