Aurelian (Dramione)

Chapter 43: Epilogue

Two Years Later...

"Happy birthday toooo youuu...."

Aurelian beamed as his family and friends finished their song and he blew out the candles on his cake to a raucous chorus of woops and cheers.

"Very good, dear," Molly smiled. "Now let me see that cake so I can slice and serve it up."

Molly pulled the large cake closer to herself, but Aurelian was able to snatch one of the candles from the top before it was beyond his reach and sucked the frosting from the wax stick.

"What did you wish for?" Teddy asked excitedly from the chair to Aurelian's right.

"Oh, he can't tell you that or it won't come true," Fred smiled as he and George swooped in from behind.

"Happy birthday, buddy," George greeted.

"We got you a present," Fred grinned, placing a neatly wrapped gift on Aurelian's lap.

"Presents come later," Molly admonished lightly, snatching the gift away and placing it on the table, just out of Aurelian's reach.

"We know that," George whispered to Aurelian, "but we thought that now'd be the time to give you this." George secretly slipped a tiny wrapped gift into Aurelian's pocket and gave him a wink. Aurelian looked around to be sure that no one had seen and returned an exaggerated wink.

Hermione stood across the dining hall and witnessed the whole thing. She simply rolled her eyes. Surely the twins had to know that all their secret gifts weren't so secret. She might not have known what the gifts were when they were given, but she never missed the exchanges. The fun, she supposed, was in the element of surprise and the exhilaration of mischief. So long as Aurelian didn't get in too much trouble, she wouldn't be the one to ruin their fun.

"Merlin," said Ginny. "He can't really be five years old now, can he?"

"I've been asking myself the same thing all day," Hermione smiled. "He most certainly is though."

"Hey," Harry said, bringing a plate of cake to Ginny. "I thought you ought to know, Fred and George slipped Aurelian a secret gift."

"Yeah, we saw that," said Draco. "It's fine. I only hope it doesn't cause too much trouble."

"I can't believe that he's already five," Ron said, joining the group with his own slice of cake. "Did you have a chance to look at the Daily Prophet today?"

"I had the chance, but I've been avoiding it," Hermione answered. "I really don't want Aurey to see it. He's beginning to understand the time travel concept, but I'd rather he didn't see the world's reaction to it. Not to mention, I dread seeing what kind of nonsense they've printed. Draco and I gave them statements when they asked, hoping that they'd find the facts interesting enough, but who knows what kind of things they threw in there."

"It really wasn't that bad," Ginny said with a shrug. "They did use one of your quotes at least. Is the request that people not approach him about his past the thing you were hoping for?"

"Yes, and I'm glad they did. I only hope people heed it," Draco said moodily. "Can you believe that last week a woman stopped us in Diagon Alley to ask him her son's future? Some people are so ridiculously dense. He's not a fortune teller."

"Some people will just never understand, but perhaps more will after they read the article," Ginny said optimistically.

"I brought you a copy," Ron told Hermione, offering her a folded piece of newsprint. "I thought you might like it for Aurey's scrapbook. You know, for when he's older."