The following morning, the Great Hall buzzed with an even greater fervor than usual. Instead of the typical chatter, an excited hum filled the air, punctuated by gasps and delighted whispers. At the center of this commotion was the Hogwarts Daily Prophet, distributed with breakfast, its front page a startling explosion of color and scandal. Echo, sauntering into the Great Hall, his black hair a calm, collected blue, immediately noticed the unusual energy. He grabbed a copy of the paper from a passing house-elf and casually glanced at the front page. His hollow eyes widened. His blue hair flared a furious, indignant red.
There it was, emblazoned across the top in bold, garish letters: "HOGWARTS STUDENT BETROTHED TO MERMAID QUEEN'S DAUGHTER! ROYAL WEDDING BELLS FOR THE BLACK LAKE AND BEYOND!" Below the headline, a candid, slightly blurry photograph captured the moment: Skate, her moonlight hair shimmering, pressing a wet, affectionate kiss to Echo's cheek, his face beaming with unadulterated happiness as he held her.
With a strangled cry of outrage, Echo crumpled the newspaper in his hand, slamming it onto the table with a force that made the silverware jump. His red hair blazed like a fiery halo. "This is horrible!" he practically shrieked, his voice raw with mortification.
Lily, Amos, Frank, and Severus, who had already seen the paper and were trying, with varying degrees of success, to stifle their amusement, looked at him.
"What's so bad about it, Echo?" Lily asked, her green eyes twinkling, though a genuine concern was also present. "It's a lovely picture, and the mermaids clearly adore you."
Echo threw his hands up in exasperation, his red hair flickering wildly. "What's so bad about it?" he repeated incredulously. "Lily, the entire school thinks I'm marrying a mermaid!"
Amos, still trying to suppress a grin, ventured, "And you're… not?"
Echo sighed, running a hand through his flaming red hair, then pushing it back until it settled into a calmer, though still agitated, orange. "I'll clarify. The entire school thinks I'm marrying a mermaid soon!" He took a deep, shaky breath. "Look, I am going to marry Skate. Eventually, she's my girlfriend, I love her, and she's totally amazing. But not today! It's too soon! I'm not old enough to get legally married… unless," his eyes brightened with a sudden, dangerous spark, and his orange hair flickered with a curious yellow, "that's okay in mermaid society?"
Severus, who had been listening with a mixture of detached amusement and mild horror, slammed his own cup of tea down. "Don't you dare get any ideas, Echo!" he snarled, his dark eyes narrowed.
Echo held up his hands, his yellow hair darkening to a thoughtful blue. "I'm not," he said, then, almost imperceptibly, he added, "yet."
Severus visibly shuddered, running a hand over his face. "The 'yet' part is what scares me," he muttered under his breath.
Echo, oblivious to Severus's distress, continued, "The point is, people shouldn't be thinking that a child is going to get married. After all, I'm… I'm just a… a…." He paused, his blue hair flickering with genuine confusion, his brow furrowing as he tried to articulate his age. He took a long pause, his eyes unfocused, as if doing complex calculations in his head.
Lily stared at him, her green eyes slowly widening in realization. "Echo," she asked, her voice soft and laced with a dawning horror, "do you… Do you know your own age?"
Echo snapped out of his reverie, his blue hair flaring a defensive, indignant red. "It's not my fault!" he burst out, his face flushing. "No one ever told me! It's not like they give you a birth certificate when you get shoved in an orphanage!"
Severus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Every Hogwarts student is allowed to attend by the age of eleven, Echo," he stated, his voice flat. "Headmaster Dumbledore brought you in at that age, and you were already in your second year, which means you must be twelve. Unless, of course, you have a late birthday, in which case you might already be thirteen."
Echo blinked, his red hair flickering to a thoughtful blue. "Twelve? Or thirteen?" he repeated, a faint, almost childlike wonder in his hollow eyes. He looked at Lily. "So… I might be thirteen already? That's… that's a lot older than twelve. That's a whole year older!"
Lily, trying to suppress a smile, nodded. "Yes, Echo, it is. And if your birthday hasn't passed yet, then it will soon."
Echo's blue hair brightened to a curious yellow. "A birthday? What's a birthday?"
Severus, however, was already back to his usual dour self. "Don't encourage him, Lily," he muttered. "He'll be insufferable enough as it is. A birthday, Echo, is merely the annual commemoration of the day of your birth. Some people mark it with a celebration. Others, like myself, merely acknowledge its passing and get on with their lives."
Echo's black hair flickered to a curious blue. "How old are you, Severus?" he asked, a hint of genuine inquiry in his voice.
Severus, who had been meticulously cleaning a smudge from his teacup, looked up, a faint frown creasing his brow. "I am fifteen, Echo," he stated, his voice flat.
Echo blinked, his blue hair flaring a surprised yellow. "Fifteen?" he exclaimed, his voice incredulous. "You're old!"
A burst of laughter erupted from Lily, Amos, and even Frank, who had just joined the table. Lily clapped a hand over her mouth, her shoulders shaking with mirth. Amos slapped his knee, his yellow hair blazing with delight. Severus merely grunted, his dark eyes narrowed at Echo.
"As I was saying, a birthday is merely the annual commemoration of the day of your birth," Severus repeated, his voice a low, suffering rumble. "Some people mark it with a celebration. Others, like myself, merely acknowledge its passing and get on with their lives."
Amos, however, was practically bouncing in his seat, his yellow hair blazing with enthusiasm. "Nonsense, Severus! A birthday is a grand occasion! You absolutely get cake! And presents! And yes, people sing 'Happy Birthday' to you! It's tradition!" He turned to Echo, his eyes wide. "You've never had a birthday before, Echo?"
Echo shook his head, his yellow hair dimming slightly. "No. I told you I was in an orphanage. They didn't really do… individual celebrations. Just mass, communal misery."
A somber silence fell over the table. Lily reached out and gently squeezed Echo's arm, her green eyes filled with sympathy. "Oh, Echo," she whispered.
Amos, however, quickly rallied, his yellow hair flaring with renewed determination. "Well, that simply won't do! We have to celebrate your birthday, Echo! When is it? Do you know the month, at least?"
Echo paused, running a hand through his hair, which settled into a thoughtful black. "I… I think it's springtime, but that's my best guess," Echo said as he tried to make something up on the spot, still trying not to reveal that he's not from this world.
Lily and Amos looked at each other, a silent agreement passing between them. Frank, who had been quietly listening, nodded in understanding. Even Severus, though he merely grunted, seemed to soften slightly.
"Springtime it is, then!" Amos declared, his black hair blazing with an idea. "We'll just pick a day! How about… April? That's a lovely spring month. And we'll make sure it's the best birthday you've ever had, Echo. A real, proper birthday."
Echo stared at them, a strange, unfamiliar warmth spreading through his chest, his black hair flickering with a hesitant, curious blue. He had never considered having a birthday, let alone a celebration. The idea was… foreign, yet surprisingly appealing. "You… you would do that?" he asked, his voice softer than usual.
Lily smiled, her green eyes warm. "Of course, Echo. You're our friend."
Severus, however, interjected, a familiar sneer returning to his lips. "Just try not to summon any new beasts from the forbidden forest or get betrothed to royalty in the process, if you please. One scandal at a time is quite enough."
Echo rolled his eyes, his blue hair settling into a resigned black. "No promises, Severus. You know how these things go with me."
A nervous chuckle rippled around the table, but there was an underlying current of genuine affection. The concept of Echo's birthday, once a void, had suddenly become a tangible, anticipated event.
Weeks turned into a blur of classes, study, and the lingering after-effects of the Great Hall's latest scandal. Echo's "betrothal" to Skate became a running joke, a source of endless amusement for some and mild horror for others. Lockhart, surprisingly, had taken his defeat with a rare, albeit short-lived, period of quiet brooding. Hopefully, he'd never challenge Echo again. He still offered smug smiles and exaggerated poses, but his challenges towards Echo had, for now, ceased. The warmer days of late March began to arrive, bringing with them a hint of spring. Echo, his black hair a calm, focused blue, was in the library, poring over ancient runes. Shimmer, a faint silver ripple, was curled up on the heavy tome, occasionally batting at Echo's quill as he meticulously copied symbols. Sniffles, ever curious, had managed to unearth a discarded candy wrapper from between the pages of another book and was now attempting to wrestle it open, a task made all the more difficult by the tiny creature's lack of opposable thumbs.
A shadow fell over his book. Echo looked up to see Lily, her dark hair neatly braided, her green eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Echo!" she whispered, her voice barely containing her enthusiasm. "Guess what? We've set a date for your birthday! Amos and I, and Frank and Severus, we've been planning!"
Echo's blue hair flickered with a curious yellow. "Oh? A date?" he repeated, a strange, warm feeling spreading through his chest. "What date?"
Lily beamed. "April first! It's next week! We thought it would be a perfect day to celebrate you and a new beginning. And we're going to have a party! A real one, in the Room of Requirement!"
Echo blinked, his yellow hair dimming slightly. "April first," he mused. "Isn't that… a day for pranks?"
Lily's smile faltered for a moment, a faint blush rising on her cheeks. "Well, yes," she admitted. "But we thought it would be funny! And besides, no one would expect a serious birthday party on April Fool's Day, would they?"
Severus, who had just arrived, carrying a stack of even heavier, darker-looking books, let out a long-suffering sigh. "It's a terrible idea, Lily," he drawled, his voice devoid of humor. "The entire day will be chaos. And Echo, with his… proclivities for accidental mayhem, will undoubtedly cause a catastrophe."
"Nonsense, Severus!" Amos interjected, appearing as if from nowhere, his usually cheerful black hair now a vibrant, excited orange. "It'll be brilliant! A surprise party! Echo will never see it coming!"
Echo's yellow hair brightened with a mischievous glint. "A surprise party, you say?" he repeated, a slow, predatory grin spreading across his face. "On April first?"
Amos, oblivious to the warning signs, clapped him on the shoulder. "Exactly! We've got everything planned. Cake, presents, decorations… well, we're still working on the decorations. But it's going to be amazing!"
Severus merely scoffed, his dark eyes narrowed at Amos. "You absolute imbecile, Digorry," he drawled, his voice laced with disdain. "It cannot be a surprise party if the recipient is already fully aware of the date and, indeed, the very nature of the event itself. It's simply a party. A planned party. A highly anticipated, entirely unsurprising party."
Amos's cheerful demeanor dimmed slightly. "Oh. Right. Well, still. It'll be a great party!"
Echo, however, was already deep in thought, his blue hair settling into a calculating black. A mischievous glint entered his hollow eyes. "A planned party on April first, you say? With decorations... and cake... and presents." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I love it!"
Lily, seeing the glint in his eye, narrowed her own. "Echo, don't even think about it," she warned, her voice firm. "No pranks. No chaos. This is your birthday, we want it to be nice."
Echo raised an innocent eyebrow, his black hair flickering with feigned innocence. "Pranks? Who, me? I wouldn't dream of it, Lily. That's what you should be telling James and his posse. I'm just... anticipating the festivities. After all, I im bustling with excitement for my first-ever birthday. Besides, chaos follows me; I don't control it."
Severus let out another long-suffering sigh, clearly not fooled. "I foresee an immediate and unmitigated disaster," he muttered, adjusting his stack of books.
The Room of Requirement, April First
The Room of Requirement, having been specifically requested for a "birthday celebration that defies expectations," had transformed itself into a whimsical, if slightly chaotic, party venue. Streamers of every color imaginable hung from the high ceiling, some sparkling, others gently swaying as if caught in an unseen breeze. Balloons, in various animal shapes, floated lazily through the air, occasionally bumping into each other with soft thuds. A large table, laden with an impressive array of food—from treacle tarts to cauldron cakes and an enormous, brightly frosted birthday cake—dominated the center of the room. A banner, crudely but enthusiastically hand-painted, stretched across one wall, proclaiming in glittery letters: "HAPPY (SURPRISE!) BIRTHDAY, Echo!"
Lily, Amos, and Frank were putting the finishing touches on the decorations, their faces vibrant with cheerful excitement. Lily's red hair was tied back with a festive ribbon, while Amos practically glowed. Frank was attempting to balance a particularly stubborn balloon animal on his nose.
"He should be here any minute!" Amos whispered, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Is everything perfect? The cake looks amazing!"
"The cake is fine, Amos," Lily said, giving a final, critical look at a string of fairy lights. "And yes, I think we're ready. Severus, are you sure you hid the presents well enough? Echo has a knack for finding things, especially with Sniffles."
Severus, leaning against a wall, arms crossed, his black hair as smooth and dark as ever, merely scoffed. "They are ensconced within a series of interlocking charm-protected boxes, concealed behind a disillusionment charm, and further protected by a locking spell only I can undo. Short of him dismantling the very fabric of the Room, he will not find them or the niffler."
Just then, the door to the Room of Requirement shimmered and opened. Echo stepped inside, his black hair a calm, observant blue, his eyes sweeping over the scene. His expression was carefully neutral, but a faint, almost imperceptible flicker in his blue hair betrayed a hint of genuine surprise.
"SURPRISE!" Lily, Amos, and Frank yelled in unison, jumping out from behind a particularly large, brightly colored banner.
Echo blinked, his blue hair flickering with feigned shock, though a genuine smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Oh, my," he drawled, his hollow eyes gleaming with amusement. "A surprise party. For me. On April 1st. Who would have ever thought?"
Amos, still buzzing with excitement, ignored Severus's barely suppressed eye-roll. "Happy Birthday, Echo!" he exclaimed, rushing forward to clap Echo on the back. "We told you we'd make it special!"
Lily, beaming, stepped forward with a small, wrapped package. "It's not much, but we hope you like it," she said, her green eyes sparkling.
Echo took the gift, his blue hair shifting to a warm, appreciative yellow. "Thank you, Lily," he said, genuinely touched. He carefully unwrapped the paper to reveal a beautifully bound, slightly worn copy of 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.' His eyes widened. "Wow," he whispered, tracing the golden lettering on the cover. "This is amazing. Thank you."
Frank, looking a little awkward but smiling, offered a clumsily wrapped box. "Mine's, uh, less educational," he admitted.
Echo tore open Frank's gift to find a set of intricately carved wooden Quidditch pieces. "These are incredible, Frank!" Echo exclaimed, turning them over in his hands, his yellow hair brightening with delight. "Did you carve these yourself?"
Frank blushed, pleased. "Yeah, I did. Thought you might like to, you know, practice strategy or something."
Amos then presented his gift, a brightly colored, magically animated portrait of a smiling Demiguise and a mischievous Niffler, clearly Shimmer and Sniffles. Echo laughed, his yellow hair blazing with mirth. "Amos, this is brilliant!" he chuckled, watching the animated creatures cavort in the frame.
Finally, Severus, with a theatrical sigh, stepped forward, his expression still carefully neutral. He held out a small, unadorned box. "Here," he said, his voice clipped. "A practical gift. Given your proclivity for… questionable endeavors."
Echo, his yellow hair now a curious blue, opened the box to find a sleek, black, well-oiled wand holster, designed to be worn discreetly on the forearm. It was clearly of superior craftsmanship. Echo stared at it, then at Severus, a flicker of genuine surprise in his hollow eyes. "Severus," he said, his voice uncharacteristically soft. "This is… actually really useful. Thank you."
Severus merely grunted, a faint, almost imperceptible flush coloring his pale cheeks. "Don't mention it. And don't get any ideas about what 'useful' implies."
Suddenly, the birthday cake, sitting majestically on the table, began to wobble. The elaborate frosting started to swirl, and then, with a soft POP, a tiny, glowing pixie, no bigger than Echo's thumb, emerged from the top. It zipped around the room, giggling, leaving a trail of glitter in its wake.
"Peeves!" Lily shrieked, her hands flying to her mouth.
Peeves, in his tiny pixie form, landed on Echo's shoulder, his eyes twinkling. "Happy birthday, little human! And a very merry April Fool's to all!" He then zipped off, heading straight for the bowl of cauldron cakes and causing them to levitate and perform a chaotic dance.
Echo, however, was no longer looking at Peeves. His eyes were fixed on the cake. "Who made the cake?" he asked, his blue hair darkening to a thoughtful indigo.
Lily, recovering from the initial surprise, smiled. "Amos and I did most of it. Why?"
Echo's lips twitched. "No reason," he said, a dangerous glint entering his hollow eyes. "Just wondering."
Just then, a collective gasp rose among the assembled students, who had been slowly filtering into the Room, drawn by the commotion and the promise of free food. They pointed towards the cake, their faces a mixture of horror and amusement. The enormous birthday cake, which had looked perfectly delicious moments ago, now began to pulsate with a faint, greenish glow. From its perfectly frosted surface, tiny, almost invisible tendrils began to writhe, extending outwards.
Amos, his orange hair flickering with sudden alarm, stared at the cake. "What is happening in Merlin's beard?"
Severus, who had been observing the cake with a detached, almost scientific interest, suddenly snapped to attention, his dark eyes narrowing. "Digorry, Evans," he hissed, his voice sharper than usual. "What, precisely, did you use for the ingredients?"
Lily, her face paling, stammered, "Just… regular ingredients, Severus! Flour, sugar, eggs, butter… and a few, uh, 'special' sprinkles we found in the back of the pantry."
Suddenly, with a sickening SQUELCH, the cake began to collapse inwards, its layers dissolving into a bubbling, sentient mass of green goo. Two large, googly eyes popped out from the center, followed by a wide, toothy grin. The cake, no longer a cake, but a monstrous, gelatinous blob, let out a delighted burble.
"A Boggart?" Frank whispered, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"Worse," Severus drawled, taking a step back, his hand instinctively going for his wand. "A Boggart that has been fed an entire pantry's worth of sugar and several questionable 'sprinkles.' It's a sentient, sugar-fueled nightmare."
The cake blob jiggled, then, with a surprisingly agile movement, lunged towards the nearest student, Frank, who shrieked and scrambled backward.
Echo, however, burst out laughing, his blue hair blazing with pure, unadulterated delight. "You guys made a sentient, edible monster cake?" he choked out, tears of mirth streaming down his face. "This is the best birthday ever!"
The cake-blob, seemingly delighted by Echo's reaction, wiggled towards him, extending a gooey, frosting-covered pseudopod as if offering a hug.
Lily, however, was horrified. "Echo, it's dangerous! It's an overgrown, sugar-crazed Boggart that thinks it's a cake!"
"And it's brilliant!" Echo countered, still laughing. He then looked at the approaching cake blob, a mischievous glint in his hollow eyes. "Alright, cake monster," he said, his voice still shaking with amusement. If you're going to be my birthday cake, you might as well sing for me."
The cake-blob paused, its googly eyes blinking. Then, to everyone's astonishment, it began to sing, a high-pitched, surprisingly melodic rendition of "Happy Birthday," its voice a sweet, if slightly gooey, harmony. As it sang, it began to spin slowly, its green goo shimmering with tiny, edible glitter.
The entire Room of Requirement fell silent, and every student and teacher was utterly captivated by the sight of the singing, dancing cake monster.
Amos turned to Lily. "Remind me again," he whispered, "why we thought a surprise party for Echo on April Fool's Day was a good idea?"
Lily merely shook her head, a faint, resigned smile on her lips. "Because, Amos," she said, her voice soft, "with Echo, you never truly know what to expect. And sometimes, that's the best surprise of all."
Echo, his blue hair blazing with joyful gold, took a slice of the singing cake-monster, which obligingly offered up a limb. He took a bite, his eyes closing in pure bliss. "Best. Cake. Ever," he declared, his mouth full.