Snape walked with trepidation through the halls. To most his billowing black robes and confident stride would hardly seem out of the ordinary. But the way his eyes moved rapidly from side to side like an like a golden snitch trying to outrun an eager Seeker told another story.

It was his birthday. And he had yet to figure out what Dumbledore had planned. He’d avoided the man all day, but dinner in the Great Hall was mandatory for all teachers during the Holidays.

Last year the Headmaster had filled his quarters with balloons and magical noise makers. And not just one or two balloons either. The unbreakable kind that spread from floor to ceiling in a thick mass, not unlike an army of pink, purple, green, and blue helium aliens intent on overtaking the Potions Master through helium poisoning. Charity Burbage had been kind enough to let him sleep on her couch that night.

That incident was nothing though in comparison to the year Dumbledore let the date of his birthday slip to the Weasley twins. The twin terrors had charmed every suit of armor in the castle to sing “Happy Birthday” to him when he walked past.

Of course those birthdays, as horrendous as they were, were in their own way far better than those he'd spent on Spinner's End.

The first birthday he could remember was his fourth. He was sitting at the kitchen table. His stomach rolled in hunger as he thought of all the pastries he saw in a bakery window that morning while shopping with his mother. He had closed his eyes, thinking he could smell a chocolate cupcake and how wonderful it would be for him to have one when an angry shout from his father had his eyes flying open. The entire kitchen was filled with cupcakes of every shape, size and flavor. Not only had he just had his first bout of accidental magic, but it was the first time his father acquainted Severus with his belt. On the bright side, however, he did get to eat one of the cupcakes his father hadn’t destroyed, his mother having smuggled one up to his room later that night.

Then there was his eleventh birthday, which had started out pretty good. He had woken up to find his mother sitting at his desk with a package in her lap wrapped in brown paper. Upon seeing he was awake, she handed him the package, wishing him a happy birthday. Severus tore off the paper and was at a loss for words at what was inside. His mother had given him all of her old Hogwarts textbooks. The two of them had spent hours pouring over the texts, his favorite one being the Potions texts. In fact it was the first year Potions text that his father had caught him reading later that night. Of course, that meant Severus got the customary belting from his father, but it was the first time the man had broken Severus' nose.

His seventeenth birthday was by far the most horrible one of all. It was the day his life changed forever, the day he took the Dark Mark. Having had lost his friendship with Lily the year before, and of course the Shrieking Shack fiasco with the Marauders, Severus had become bitter and vengeful. To his deluded seventeen-year-old self the promises of power, wealth, and acceptance the Dark Lord spewed forth were like a dream come true.

He would not longer be the tormented boy, but a powerful adversary.

The birthdays he’d spent with Lily were his nicest. Snape recalled as he rounded a corner smartly, the tail of his coat waving effortlessly down the hall. Lily always gave him something special for his birthday. In fact, he still had each and every gift she’d given him. There was the childish handmade leather beaded bracelet she made for him when they were twelve. The Beatles record she gave him when he turned fourteen. The magical amulet, the framed picture of the two of them at Hogwarts, the potions book…

Giving himself a mental shake, Snape stopped himself from going down that road. It still hurt to think of Lily, even after all these years. He would probably always love her.

In an attempt to rid himself of the bittersweet memories, Snape's thoughts turned to revenge. To be for precise, his revenge against Dumbledore for whatever the old man had planned. He could always spike his lemon drops. Of course, the day Severus did that would be the day the Dark Lord would attack the school with his luck. He could just imagine that going over well. A drugged Headmaster going head to head with a maniacal, possibly possessed, definitely evil Dark Lord.

Snape repressed a shudder at the image of Albus with a lampshade on his head, throwing cake and hexes at the Dark Lord.

No. He would have to think of something else. One thing was for sure, though, if the barmy old coot presented him with a chocolate cake again, Albus would be wearing it.

Standing outside the doors to the Great Hall, Snape drew in a deep breath. He was totally on guard for whatever idiotic plan Dumbledore had concocted. Pushing open the doors and only getting a foot through the door, he was assaulted with a garishly loud shout of "Surprise!" Oh, Albus had really out done himself this time, for not only was the entire staff in attendance, but Potter, Granger, and most of the Weasley children as well. The old coot had even decorated the Great Hall in silver and green balloons with matching streamers. Little snake-shaped confetti fell from the ceiling, hissing as they floated to the floor.

And right dead in the center of the group was a two layered chocolate cake complete with silver and green candles, which looked like it had a few too many candles on it.

Before Snape could turn around and storm out of the room, however, he heard Potter snicker and say, "I think we have rendered the Professor speechless."

"On the contrary, Mr. Potter, I do have one thing to say to the lot of you," he said, pointing his wand at the cake. Two seconds later, the cake exploded, effectively covering them all from head to toe with bits of cake.

Snape then laughed before throwing his hands up into the air. "Surprise!" With that being said, he whirled around and briskly walked out of the Great Hall with smile. As he tuned down the hallway that lead to his quarters, he laughed at the image of the Headmaster covered in cake with one lone candle sticking out on the top of his head still lit. This had turned out to be a very memorable birthday after all.