Carys Potter woke up on the morning of the 16th of August and knew without a shadow of a doubt that today was going to be a great day. It was her 17th birthday and there was no other birthday which held more significance in their world than this one. Today she finally became legal and she highly doubted that anything would be the same again.

She threw her duvet cover off her and quickly got herself dressed in the first clothes she saw. From the look of it, it was already late morning and people would already have arrived at the Potter mansion in preparation for her large party which was being held in the afternoon.

The Potters were sparing no cost concerning it and if the little hints she had been receiving were accurate it should be amazing.  She made her way down the large staircase, smiling at their house elves Dorian, Rhett and Lolita who were polishing the long wooden banister so it gleamed. The Potter’s Labrador Francis was lying at the bottom of the stairs on their dark blue carpet, chewing on a squeaky toy so Carys took a minute to pet him, paying close attention to his stomach. Francis was extremely old even for a dog and he had belonged to her father who had got him about 16 years ago when he had decided that his children needed a better pet then an owl.

She made her way down the corridor and into the kitchen. She had expected everyone to be outside, what she certainly didn’t expect to find was herself surrounded by organised chaos. There were several of her relatives in the large kitchen all of them busy with some task or another.      

Her mother a small, slim woman with shortish dark brown hair and sharp hazel eyes was organising everyone at the same time as making a sauce which from the smell of it was going to be to dip crisps in. Her older sister Sophie was cutting several different kinds of quiches into eatable portions and her older brother James was seated at the kitchen table with a bowl full of cocktail sausages and several small sticks which he was using to put the sausages on. Her Uncle Kimball was standing by the sink making several ice trays up while her Aunt Freya seemed to be in charge of all the washing up and was steadily making her way through a large stack of dirty bowls and plates. Other than that there seemed to be no one else in the kitchen.

“Morning everyone” she sung out in excitement, smiling as Francis tottered in behind her, she waited till he was in and closed the door, the old dog sniffed the air before making his way to his basket in the corner of the room ,where he curled up and promptly went to sleep.

“Happy Birthday” came the various responses attracting her attention from Francis to everyone in the kitchen; she looked around smiling at everyone then stopped. Her gaze dropped onto James and she observed him suspiciously. Carys couldn’t remember one birthday where her brother hadn’t pranked her, something which had only gotten worse when he had gone to school and met people with minds similar to his own and a love of pranks which echoed his. Her attention turned away from her brother and focused on her mother as the other woman walked up to her.

“Happy birthday Sweetie” she remarked, hugging her with more force than usual. Carys straightened once she was released since hugging her mum was occasionally uncomfortable given that she was 5 foot 7 and her mother was only 5 foot 4. Carys smiled at her “Just look at you” her mother remarked fondly “You look lovely just like usual” she pulled Carys back into a hug “And now you’re legal and grown up and I suppose you won’t need us as much as you did” Carys awkwardly patted her mother’s back.

“It’s ok mum,” she replied rather breathlessly “I’ll still need you, like I need you to let go of me because I can’t breath” Maris Potter laughed and released her, patting her on her cheek before making her way back to the stove where something was simmering, letting off a delightful smell.

“Is it too late for me to get something to eat Mum?” Carys asked, glancing round at all the counters which were covered in tasty looking food, she blushed slightly as her stomach rumbled loudly. The door opened behind her and she looked round smiling as her Uncle Rowan walked into the room, holding a package in his hand; he smiled back at her and ruffled her hair as he passed, fully aware that it annoyed her.

“Of course not” Maris replied using magic to stir the sauce while she cut up some cucumber with a sharp knife “What exactly would you want? You can have anything in reason but don’t forget that we’re having a large bbq later on and then they’ll be a meal in the evening” Carys nodded her head and looked thoughtful.

“Can I have a sausage and egg sandwich then mum? I’ll probably eat around 2 so it will give me enough time to recover and so on…” her voice trailed off and she looked hopefully at her mother. Maris glanced over her shoulder at her and nodded

“I don’t see any reason why not” Maris replied, she glanced around at the people in the kitchen, her eyes focusing on the tall black haired man with dark green eyes who was rubbing Francis’s ear and allowing the dog to show his affection by licking his hand “Rowan can you make Carys her sandwich please, everyone else is busy and you’re not” Rowan sighed and got to his feet, washing his hands before starting the sandwich.

Carys smiled brightly at him ignoring the face he made at her before turning and smiling at Sophie who had just finished her task and wiping her hands on a towel. She ran a distracted hand through her shoulder length dark brown hair making sure it was neat then stepped forward and hugged Carys tightly.

“Happy birthday Sweetie” she muttered quietly then spoke loudly, The Potter siblings rarely showed any affection to each other even though they all got on extremely well “You do realise Carys that you’re now ancient, it’s all down hill from here on in” she released her and smirked “No more running to mum and dad when James does something to you, you’ll have to learn to fight properly now, you know duelling and stuff so you can cause him some real harm, that’s always amusing to do” she glanced at James who stuck his finger up at her without looking.

“Can’t wait” Carys replied before turning away and addressing everyone in the kitchen “Can I just have a group hug please and get it all over and done with?” A moment later when she was being hugged by everyone in the kitchen she decided that individual hugs had their advantages “Help” she squeaked out, they laughed and released her going back to their tasks before Maris decided to turn on them

“Thanks” Carys remarked, finally taking a seat at the large oak table. She smiled around her at her family, it was rare for the Potter clan to be together but she was glad that they were. She was quite the family girl at heart even if she never showed it.

Her wandering gaze landed on James again and she frowned, he was a lovely looking boy with wild wavy black hair that was impossible to tame in any shape or form something they had learnt from several years experience, his face was bright and attractive and he had the same sharp intelligent hazel eyes as their mother the only difference was that his eyes were hidden behind glasses. It wasn’t that which had attracted her attention though, it was the fact that James was looking very focused and innocent a sure sign that he was up to something.   

She spoke as Rowan placed the sandwich in front of her before turning to Maris for further instructions something which she promptly did; there was no slacking to be had in Maris Potter’s kitchen.