Just like Brothers

Chapter 53

"We need more balloons!" Draco screamed, running around the backyard looking flustered.

"Why do we need more?" Snape called incredulously, "they're everywhere!"

"You heard the boy!" Sirius scrambled for the pump, "more balloons!"

"Where's Harry! He needs to help! He's on streamer duty!" Draco checked his clipboard.

"We're fourteen, not five, Draco," Harry rolled his eyes, he had a trail of streamers dragging on the ground behind him. Party preparations had not been going smoothly.

"Just humor me," Draco pouted.

"Fine," Harry sighed, "where do these go?"

"Over by the table and around the fence," Draco pointed, "hurry, we're running short on time."

"We have three hours, Draco, we'll be fine," Remus put a soothing hand on the boy's shoulder.

"We still need to get a cake," Harry mentioned.

Everyone cringed when they heard him. The memory of their baking attempt was still fresh in their minds.

'Cake time!' Sirius called, tying an apron around his waist.

'I don't think we need five people to bake a cake,' Severus pointed out.

'Come on now, we can't leave anyone out,' Sirius smirked, 'you want to borrow a hair tie? I have an extra.'

One of the first things Sirius had done as a free-man was a trip to the barber. His long, ratty hair fell to his elbows after twelve years in Azkaban. He had opted to cut his hair to the nape of his neck, often wearing it tied out of his eyes in a man bun.

'No,' Severus spat, 'I do not need to borrow a hair tie.'

'Suit yourself,' Sirius shrugged, 'come on guys! Let's start cooking!'

'We're making a marble cake from scratch?' Remus eyed the ingredients hesitantly.

'Why not?' Sirius shrugged, 'you take a chocolate cake, a vanilla cake, smush them together and... boom! Marble cake.'

'Alright,' Harry interrupted, 'Severus, you and I are making the Vanilla cake, Remus, you and Draco are making chocolate and Sirius is making the icing.'

The real disaster didn't happen until the cake was taken out of the oven. Everyone was too preoccupied yelling at each other and trying to clean the mess of a kitchen to set a timer. 

Harry and Draco were handed wet rags to wipe up the mess of flour, eggs, and sugar that coated the countertops while the adults sent cleaning charms all around the room. Mainly focusing on the ceiling which had the end product of Severus trying to use the mechanical mixer for the first time splatted all over it. 

'How come you have an electric mixer if you can't use it?" Sirius seethed. 

'It was a gift,' Severus glared back. 

'Yeah, from who? You have no friends!' Sirius roared. 

Severus snapped and turned his wand on Sirius Black. 

'Bring it on, Snivellus,' Sirius snarled, raising his own wand. 

'Sirius! No!' Remus grabbed the man's collar, dragging him backward, 'Severus, lower your wand. This is not the example we want to set for the boys.'

'Don't lecture me on what to do in front of the boys!' Snape snapped, 'they are my wards, under my care, not yours.'

After witnessing the awkward exchange, Draco and Harry were eager to remove themselves from the situation. Silently, they slipped out of the kitchen and out the front door. 

'Do you think we can go back in?' Harry asked after a generous amount of time had passed. The yells had died down a few minutes ago and they could no longer hear movement from within the house. 

'Yeah, I think we're good,' Draco nodded, standing up from his seat on the steps. 

Sirius, Remus, and Severus were sitting in the living room, all three of them were sporting foul expressions. 

'Did you take the cake out?' Draco said in a panicked voice, amongst all the arguing, the cake had slipped everyone's mind. 

'The timer didn't go off yet,' Remus frowned. 

'Did anyone set a timer?' Harry asked, his eyebrows creased. 

The room was silent. 

Everyone stared with wide eyes as relation fell upon them, springing up, they all ran to the kitchen.

Severus pulled oven it's on and yanked the oven open. 

Smoke rose, making everyone gag, the smoke detectors began shrieking as Snape reached in and grabbed a pan. 

Instantly, Remus cast a cooling charm and grabbed the pan, dumping the burnt cake onto a platter. It instantly crumbled and what was assumed to be the chocolate cake batter oozed out. The second cake wasn't much better. 

'What did we do wrong?' Draco frowned, poking the pile of mess on the platter. 

'It seems the vanilla cake overbaked and crumbled while the chocolate cake is underbaked.' Harry observed. He poked the dark part of the mixture and his face twisted, 'it's sticky! Why is it sticky?' 

'Maybe we can reshape it and cover it up with the icing?' Sirius suggested. He went over to taste the buttercream icing Severus had made. 'It tastes like arse!' He shouted, sticking out his tongue and aggressively tried to wipe it on his sleeve. 

'No, it doesn't!' Snape protested he crossed the kitchen to try his concoction. 

To prove his point, Severus stuck a whole spoonful of icing into his mouth. 

Sirius grinned expectantly, Remus was shaking his head. 

Severus gagged, 'It tastes like arse.'

'Language,' Harry and Draco chided, grinning like maniacs. 

"Sirius, go get the cake," Draco ordered.

"What kind?" Sirius asked, dropping the balloon he was playing with. 

"It doesn't matter!" Draco shouted, "just go! Hurry!" 

"Aye, aye, captain!" Sirius saluted the blond before disapparating. 

The backyard had transformed by noon, multicolored streamers and balloons covered every inch of the fenced-in area. There was a table covered in every food imaginable, courtesy of Remus and Sirius, and a picnic blanket large enough to seat the entire 4th year. 

"I think we're done!" Draco chirped. 

Severus, Sirius, Harry, and Remus let out a sigh in relief. 

"Wait," Draco held up his arms. 

Everyone groaned. 

"Sirius, where's the cake?" Draco looked at the man. 

"Inside!" Sirius rushed to the door, "hold on, I'll go get it." 

"Ok," Draco breathed, "now we're done." 

"Here it is!" Sirius came back, carrying a giant, pink, princess cake.