A/N: Happy Birthday Lorcan and Lysander!

February 29 2016

Lily crouched low in the river, only her head visible above the murky surface. Her keen, brown eyes scanned the area for any sign of Lysander, for he was it for Hide and Seek. She felt quite proud of her hiding place; nobody else would be brave enough to go in the river, she was certain. It was nearing spring, but the cold, winter chill still hung in the air. Her teeth were chattering and she couldn't feel her toes anymore, but she cast that aside. Her older brothers would be proud of her, showing true, Gryffindor spirit, as James would call it. And Roxanne would be jealous for thinking of such a good hiding place herself. Yes, Lily was confident in her choice of hiding places.

There was a sudden rustle and Lily whipped her head around to see a tanned, blonde boy grinning at her. She recoiled immediately and backed away from him.

"Lysander?" she demanded, crossing her arms and throwing him a glare like her mother's.

The boy shook his head and smirked. "Nope. Lorcan," he replied.

Lily sighed and drove the heel of her palm into her forehead. Of course, she thought angrily to herself, Lorcan and Lysander were twins and looked exactly the same. She scolded herself and felt her cheeks redden as she realised the horrid mistake she had made.

"Oh," she muttered in embarrassment. "Sorry, Lorc. I just thought you were - "

"My brother," he finished for her with a smile. "It's okay. Even Mum gets us confused sometimes."

He waded towards her and Lily noticed how his eyes were the exact colour of the clear, sky above.

"Aren't you cold?" he asked her.

Lily shook her head stubbornly, spitting damp strands of red hair out of her mouth. "No," she lied.

Lorcan smirked at her again but didn't say anything more.

"How does it feel to have your birthday only every four years?" she asked curiously.

Lorcan shrugged. "I have my birthday every year."

"No you don't. You're born on the 29th. That only happens in a leap year. Don't you know the saying?"

He frowned at her. "Yes, I know the saying," he replied shortly. "But I still age every year, even though my exact birthday only happens every leap year."

Lily could tell that she had offended him and she muttered a quick apology, which he accepted . They sat in the freezing cold water for a few moments in complete silence, until Lorcan turned to look at her.

"So, you gonna help me look for people?"

Lily gaped at him in confusion. "Why would I? I'm not it."

Lorcan cackled with laughter and grinned at her. "Yes you are," he told her. "I'm Lysander and I found you."

"You little liar!" Lily cried indignantly and splashed water in his face. Lysander continued to laugh as she pelted him with water until he crawled out of the river and helped her onto the bank.

"Come on, Lils," he said as he pulled her along. "You can help me look for your brother."

February 28 2024

"It's weird being born on a leap year, isn't it?" Lorcan mused as he began to tie his Ravenclaw tie. He and Lysander were upstairs in their dormitory. The other boys had already gone downstairs for breakfast, leaving the twins alone.

Lysander shrugged. "I suppose," he replied nonchalantly. He was sprawled out on his bed. , his shirt half done up, and still in his underpants. "But we're half Scamander and half Lovegood. Weird stuff happens to us."

Lorcan laughed and turned to face his brother. "Are you going to get dressed any time soon?" he frowned. "And for Merlin's sake, put some bloody pants on!"

With a cackle, Lysander threw his head back and laughed. "It's m'birthday, brother!" he exclaimed. "It's the only time a man's allowed to walk about without pants. Embrace it!"

Lorcan merely shook his head at his brother. Although they were twins and looked identical, they were almost completely different personalities. Lorcan was far more studious and level-headed, much like his father, whereas Lysander was hair-brained, erratic and completely care-free. Although, Lorcan thought to himself, his carefree attitude was probably enhanced by his frequent smoking bouts.

Last summer holidays, Lorcan and Lysander had discovered that their mother's Dirrigible Plums had hallucinogenic properties, and to their delight, had spent almost the entire summer getting high every night. Only, when they returned to Hogwarts, Lysander had smuggled them in, and often spent hours tucked away with Lily Potter in the Room of Requirement, smoking plums and snogging. Of course, Lorcan disproved of such behaviour, but who was he to deprive his twin of a good time?

"You'd spend your life in your underwear, Ly, regardless of whether it's your birthday or not," Lorcan remarked.

"It'd do you good to follow my lead, Lorc. Clothes are overrated."

"I'd love to see McGonagall's face if you walked down to the Great Hall dressed like that," Lorcan gave his brother a sly smirk.

Lysander's face went bright red and he hurried began to pull his pants on. "Don't make me sick, Lorc," he muttered.

"Did we get anything from Mum?"

"Dunno. Guess we'll find out when we go down for breakfast."

Once they had finished dressing, they hurried downstairs towards the Great Hall. As soon as they entered, a red-haired girl threw herself at Lysander and kissed him firmed on the mouth.

"Happy birthday, Ly," she beamed when she pulled back. Lysander looked quite smug as he kept his arms around her.

"Ahem," Lorcan coughed awkwardly.

"Oh, Happy Birthday to you too, Lorc," Lily smiled, before turning back to Lysander. They pressed their foreheads together and began muttering sweet nothings to each. Rolling his eyes, Lorcan made his way over to the Ravenclaw table, but not before he heard Lily mutter in a low voice, "I've got a surprise for you later."

A/N: My second favourite twins! Feel free to scrawl a review if you feel like it! :) xx