A/N: Welcome to the first chapter of "Understanding Elizabeth!" I hope you enjoy it! I've got two chapters written and Beta'd and a third one in the works. And I'm also working on re-editing my other story "Kisses Behind the Portrait Door," and working on Chapter Ten, but it's slow going. "An Unexpected Surprise" (QaF) is still going as well, but REALLY slowly. Just moved to college. VERY BUSY. Enjoy!

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"Go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend," Fred said as he sat down on the couch in the Common Room next to Elizabeth James, a fellow sixth year. Well, flopped was more like it.

Rolling her eyes, Elizabeth closed the book she was reading and twisted around to face him, her legs tucked under her. "And why would I want to do that?"

"Because. . . I asked you?" Scratching his neck, Fred regarded her with a confused expression.

Elizabeth stood up and slammed her book down on the coffee table. "Fred Weasley, you are the most arrogant person I've ever met!" she snarled, stomping away towards the steps to the girls' dormitory. She stopped, however, when she saw George coming down the boys' stairs.

"Elizabeth? What's wrong?" he asked.

"Tell your brother to get a clue," she said roughly before running up the stairs.

George sighed and walked to the couch to sit with his twin. "What have you done this time?"

"Why do you think I did something?" he asked.

George rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Because it's Elizabeth. And you always do something when it's Elizabeth."

Sighing, Fred nodded and fell against the back of the couch. "All I did was ask her out to Hogsmeade."

"Again! Fred, that's the fourth time this month!" George threw up his hands and sighed. "When are you going to learn? She doesn't want to go out with you, mate."

Groaning, Fred fell forward with his elbows on his knees. "I know, George, but I can't help it. I've been asking her all year and she won't say yes!"

"That's called a clue, Fred. She doesn't want to go out with you!"

"But I want her to!" Fred yelled, jumping up. "She's all I want, George!"

George stood up slowly and stared at his brother. "Just wanting her isn't going to make her say yes."

"Then what do I do?" Fred asked.

Before George got a chance to answer, however, the boys were interrupted when Katie Bell came down the stairs and picked up Elizabeth's book. "You could start by trying to have a conversation with her. Try to find out something about her. Don't just assume that because you're a tall, handsome Quidditch player she'll say yes to whatever you ask."

"Well can you tell her to come down here so I can talk to her?" Fred asked as Katie started to walk back up the stair case.

She just shook her head and kept walking. "She was right; you do need to get a clue."

Fred turned around to his brother with a confused look on his face. "What did I do?"

"When a girl calls you arrogant and then runs off, that's not the time to go after her, mate." George held up his hand to silence any reply his brother was about to give. "Now come on. It's the last Hogsmeade weekend tomorrow. Then there's the final task and after that we'll have all summer to work on your approach. There's still another year. Just be patient." Fred conceded and followed George up the stairs to the dorm, hoping to run into Elizabeth the next day in town.

Unfortunately, Elizabeth was nowhere to be seen, and none of her friends would tell Fred where she was when he asked, so he sulked around the village all day, and sulked some more at dinner and in the Common Room when he didn't see her there. Apparently, she'd spent the entire day in the library, and managed to avoid him when she came back to bed. There wasn't anything else he could do, short of kidnapping her and making her talk with him, so he resigned himself to his dreams and plans for the summer.

Everything seemed to be going normally for the end of the year. But that was all changed at the final task of the Tri Wizard Tournament. Plans were changed and lives were disrupted. Most handled it quite well. Elizabeth wasn't one of them.

"Why do I have to go!" the seventeen-year-old fumed at her uncle, Remus Lupin, as she paced around her room in the tiny flat they had shared since she was seven. She had only been home one day before her uncle announced that they would be spending the summer at Grimmauld Place.

Remus just sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Elizabeth, we've been over this. Headquarters is the safest place right now. I can't leave you here alone all summer."

Groaning, Elizabeth flopped onto the bed, her deep brown hair fanning out onto her quilt. " He'll be there, won't he?"

"If by he, you mean Fred, then yes. Molly and Arthur are bringing all of the younger children to stay. Hermione will be there as well. You'll have no shortage of girls to talk to," he told her, leaning against her doorframe.

"By he, I mean the most arrogant, annoying, asinine person to ever walk the planet. And now I have to spend the summer with him." Sighing, she sat up and turned her amber eyes to her uncle. "Fine. But when I hex him, please be around so I can say that I told you so."

Remus just laughed softly and kissed his niece's head. "Wouldn't miss it, love. Now get packed, we don't have much time."

With a great sigh, Elizabeth flopped back onto her pillows. It wouldn't do any good trying to argue with Uncle Remus now, not once his mind was made up. She just hoped there were enough places at Headquarters to hide from Fred and his advances. Despite how horrible she felt about having to spend her summer with the Order, there was one person who couldn't have been happier.

"George, tell me the story again," Fred said dreamily from his bed. He heard his brother sigh and could picture him rolling his eyes. "Pretty please?"

"Fred, I told you when I came up here. Dad told Mum that Lupin is coming to stay at Headquarters this summer and is bringing his niece.

"Elizabeth," the enamored twin sighed, staring up at his ceiling.

Resisting the urge to stand up and smother his brother with his own pillow, George rolled over and groaned. "Yes Fred, everyone knows that Elizabeth James is Lupin's niece, you don't have to remind me every five seconds."

"But George, don't you know what this means?" Fred asked, lifting himself up onto his elbow.

"Yes. But I'm sure you're going to tell me again anyway."

Grinning widely, Fred held in a yelp of joy. "I get to spend the entire summer with the one girl I want to go out with."

"Just make sure you brush up on your shield charms before we move tomorrow."

Fred just brushed off his brother's comment and fell back onto the pillow, dreaming of what the summer would hold for him.

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I hope you liked it! Please review, feedback is always appreciated so I can know how I can get better!