Till The End | h.p

presents

It was getting closer to Sam's birthday as they all sat in the Great Hall for lunch.

Hermione asks her, "So what would you like for your birthday?"

At the mention of her birthday, Harry, Ron, Fred and George all turn in her direction. Not to mention the several other boys at the surrounding tables who were vying for her attention.

"Nothing, really. I just want to spend it with you guys. One day of peace, with the exception of whatever mischievous plan Fred and George conjure up."

The twins high five each other, Hermione turns back to her book, "Well, I'm still getting you something."

"No, no, please just save your money. All of you. That's what I want."

As she finishes her sentence, the Patil twins walk by their table and say, "Hi, Harry."

He nods at them, without really acknowledging them and Sam gives a small smile as she looks back down.

Hermione makes an exasperated noise and she throws down the new edition of the Daily Prophet, "Look at this, I can't believe it! She's done it again. 'Miss Black, a beautiful but troubled girl, daughter of notorious mass murderer Sirius Black, seems to be developing a taste for famous wizards. Though many other suitors follow her around, her latest prey, sources report, is none other than the dashing Cedric Diggory. No word yet on how Harry Potter's taking this latest emotional blow.'"

Sam chuckles, "Don't worry, Harry, trouble seems to follow you everywhere. I'm sure the troubled Sam Black will come around."

He smiles at her, "Are you sure? Diggory might be 'the one'," he emphasizes the last one with a snigger.

"Well, sources say, the one might just be the famous Chosen One, swoon," she says with a playful wink.

Harry can't help but wonder if she's joking or not, little does he know that she is, in fact, not joking. Nigel walks up the main aisle and towards Ron, carrying a few packages.

"Parcel for you, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, Miss Black, and Mr. Potter."

"Thank you, Nigel," they say as they take the mail from him.

As the boy walks away, Ron tears open his parcel first, "Oh, look, mum's sent me something," he pulls out something absolutely hideous, "Mum sent me a dress."

"Well, it does match your eyes. Is there a bonnet?" Harry jokes as he pulls something out, "Ah-ha!"

Hermione begins to laugh, and Ron looks quizzically at her, "What are you on about?"

"Dress robes," she tells him.

Everyone at the Gryffindor table laughs, Ron looks around embarrassed, "Dress robes? For what?"

Hermione shrugs as she, Sam, and Harry wait to open their packages later.

Fred and George squeeze in on either side of Sam, "So, wanna have some fun with our dear friend Filch?"

Sam smirks and looks at Hermione, "Only if Hermione agrees to tag along."

Fred and George both give her puppy dog eyes and she sighs, "What are we doing now?"

Harry chuckles before standing up and following the twins out of the Great Hall. As walk through the corridors, the twins go over their plan to flood Filch's office with swamp water.

"Okay, but why?" Hermione inquires.

"One because it's fun," Fred states.

"Two, for retribution after all the the times he's thrown us into detention," George concludes with a proud smile.

"If we're going to do it, might as well go all in and flood the entire corridor," Sam suggests.

Fred grins and kisses her forehead, "Brilliant. This is why I love you."

Ron rolls his eyes, "Alright, what's the enchantment?"

Once everything is in place, they run down the corridor and wait for Filch to approach his office door. Once he rounds the corner, they all peak their heads around and watch as he fumbles through his plethora of keys. As the door clicks and unlocks, an abundance of murky swamp water gushes out, knocking Filch off his feet as the entire corridor floods. He begins to shout as he tries to stand. Sam covers her mouth to keep from laughing as he stands but falls once again.

Hermione fails to cover her laughter and Filch spots them from behind the corner.

"Hey! You!"

Sam's eyes widen and Fred yells, "Scatter!"

Harry grabs her hand and they book it down the hall with Ron and Hermione hot on their tail. Fred and George split up going down separate halls and Harry pulls Sam up a flight of stairs, skipping steps each time. Sam laughs as she follows behind. He pulls her to the side and they hide in a very small corridor, chest to chest. Sam peaks around the corner for any sign of Filch.

"Do you think he followed us or the twins?" Sam whispers.

Harry peers around the corner as well, "Fred and George, definitely."

They both chuckle quietly as they lean back against the wall. Sam notices their close proximity and blushes slightly.

Harry's eyes widen, "We should- uh-"

"Go check on the others?" Sam finishes and he nods.

The second they step out of the small corridor, George bolts by them and grabs Sam's hand along the way.

"He followed us! Run!" Fred shouts.

Sam grabs Harry's hand before running, once again. They dart around corners quickly in hopes of losing Filch, but when Sam turns around, he's nowhere in sight.

"We lost him," she alerts.

George laughs, "Yeah, we lost him a long time ago, it was just more fun to think we didn't."

Sam punches his arm, but they all laugh. Ron and Hermione run smack into their group, gasping for breath. When they all make eye contact, Sam is the first one to burst into laughter, quickly followed by the others. When Harry's laughter dies down, his eyes are drawn to Sam and the way her own eyes sparkle in amusement. After all the running, a faint red tint rises to her cheeks and makes her glow.

"Come on, let's go back to the common room before he finally does catch up to us," Ron states.

"What? In eighty years?" Fred jokes.

That night they all sit together in the common room, apart from Ron who is currently sulking in their dorm. Sam, Hermione and Harry decide to open their packages now.

As Harry opens his faster, he looks at Sam, "It's from Sirius," he whispers as he holds up a pair of his own dress robes. They weren't horrible like Ron's, thank Godric.

Sam and Hermione look at each other before eagerly opening theirs. Sam rips open her package and opens the letter first.

'My lovely daughter,

Molly informed me that you were in need of a dress. In case you don't know, I won't tell you why. She offered to get you one, but as I haven't been able to give you many things, I insisted I get you this. Please, let me know if you like it.

All my love,

Sirius.'

A large grin forms on her face and she sets aside the letter to look at the dress. Her jaw drops completely. Hermione leans over and they show each other their dresses.

"That's beautiful!" Hermione notes.

"Well, I wanna see," Harry leans over to look, but Sam closes the box.

"Absolutely not, you'll see it when everyone else does."