Disclaimer: All of the Harry Potter characters, places, and terminology belong strictly to JKR. Lizzie and her mother are mine, and that is it.

My name is Elizabeth Rose Black. I haven't got a father. At least, that's what my mother has always told me. She always said that my father was lost to us in the war against Voldemort. I was only two years old when it happened, so I have nothing more than a few old pictures and a couple of vague dreams to remember him by. We live in the same house that he built thirteen years ago, when my parents married.

We don't socialize much with other wizards in Britain, except on the occasion that we go into Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade. They're both brilliant, beautiful places, but I love going into Hogsmeade the most. If I stand on the hill that leads to the Shrieking Shack, I can see almost all of Hogwarts castle, with its high towers and glittering windows. My mum's twin brother has told me endless stories of their time at Hogwarts, from its secret passageways to its giant feasts.

Every time we go into Hogsmeade, I ask the same question.

"Mummy, when will I go to Hogwarts?"

"When you're elven, darling," she always smiles.

When I'm nine, her answer changes. She looks down at me, stroking my hair, and smiles, "I think you might rather go to Beauxbatons, sweetheart."

I stop in my tracks in the middle of the Cobblestone path, "What? Mummy, no! Why?"

"Beauxbatons is a nice school, darling. It's very pretty and has plenty of great teachers," We've just returned from France, and even though the school is very nice, it's certainly no Hogwarts.

"Mummy, is it because of what that mean man said? The one with the black hair and robes?" I ask, thinking of the last time we were here and went into the apothecary.

"Snape?" she clips warily, grabbing my shoulders and pulling me to the side of the cobbled street, "What did he say to you? Elizabeth, what did he say?"

"Nothing, Mummy!" I answer urgently. She sounds a little hysterical, and she looks scared, very scared, "It wasn't important."

She takes a deep breath and hugs me, "Please tell me what he said, sweetheart."

"He said that I looked too much like Daddy for my own good. And he sneered. Was that man a Slytherin, Mummy? Is that why he didn't like Daddy?"

Mum smiles at me, "Yes, darling. That's why."

"But that doesn't matter, Mummy. It's okay. They're just Slytherins. I can still go to Hogwarts!"

It takes a long time, and many tantrums, but when my Hogwarts letter arrives, I am finally able to convince her to let me go to Hogwarts. My uncle Moony has helped a lot. He is always on my side for everything. The night after my Hogwarts letter comes, I walk down the stairs for a glass of water, but stop on the living room landing when I hear them arguing in the kitchen.

"Regina, you can't keep her in the dark forever. She will find out either way."

"But not now, Remus. I can't just walk up the stairs and tell her!"

"Then when, Regina?! When will she find out? When some Slytherin smirks at her and calls her a traitor? Or maybe she'll read about it in the library! She needs to know who her father was."

"She knows full well who her father was, Remus! Sirius Black, a brave man who loved her above all else!"

My chest swells with pride at the thought of my father before my uncle speaks again.

"If the Ministry and the papers are right, then he is a coward, and a fool," he says bitterly.

I can't stand listening to them fight anymore, so I walk noisily into the kitchen. They fall silent at once, but the room is so tense that even an eleven year-old can tell. I grab a glass, and Uncle Moony pours water into it from the pitcher on the table.

"Uncle Moony, can you tell me a story before you have to go away?" I ask. My uncle is very sick, and once a month he has to go away because he forgets who he is. He and Mummy have never told me more than that, but I suspect that I know what it is. I've been to the library in town, and sometimes I look at muggle fairy tales and stories about vampires, witches, and werewolves.

He agrees to tell me a story, so I kiss Mummy goodnight and Uncle Moony lifts me up playfully and carries me fireman style up the stairs. He tucks me in and sits on the bed beside me. Mummy thinks that Moony tells me fairytales and traditional wizards' stories, but he really tells me stories about Hogwarts, and the Marauders, and my Daddy. Mummy never talks about Daddy. I think it hurts her.

"Now, where were we, my flower?" asks Moony.

"Keep going about the map!" I say.

"Right, right," he nods, "Well, we had the map made with every room and passage in the castle, except for the Room of Requirement. We figured that it was Unpolttable."

"That means it won't show up on any map!" I say smartly.

"Precisely," he says, touching the tip of my nose, "But we figured, what was the point of a map of the school when we already knew the castle and grounds like the backs of our own hands? So we decided to do one better, and Padfoot—"

"My dad!"

"That's right. Well, he said 'What if we made this thing show us people instead of just places?' We thought it was brilliant, and got to work straight away. The map got us out of trouble so many times, almost as much as it got us into trouble," he winks and I giggle.

"Where is the map now?"

"It was confiscated about a month before we graduated from Hogwarts. If I'm not mistaken, it was in Mr. Filch's office last, although I wouldn't put it past a couple of tricksters to have found it by now."

"I hope I can find it," I say with a loud yawn.

"Well, until then, I do believe it's time for you to go to sleep," he says, pushing up my covers over me and kissing my forehead, "Goodnight, my little dogstar."

"Goodnight, Moony," I smile sleepily. He turns out the lights, and soon enough I am fast asleep, dreaming of four animals running through forests, and hidden passageways leading to secret rooms.

Two days after my letter arrives, we head to Uncle Remus' house to take care of him. He is always strongest right before he has to go away, but weakest straight afterward. He has to spend the day in bed, mostly sleeping, and it's hard for him to eat many things. Mummy tends to the wounds that he makes on himself and makes him soups. I stay in his room, sometimes curled up next to him while he sleeps. I read to him, too, but mostly keep quiet so that he can rest.

Mummy makes me go into the kitchen while she goes to get Uncle Moony out of his secret room where he locks himself up. I'm not allowed to see him until Mummy has put some old pajama pants on him and has carried him into his room. I listen closely until I hear the bedsprings squeak and start my way down the hall. Uncle Remus lives in a very small apartment because he doesn't make a lot of money. Mummy tells him sometimes to go live with us, but he always says he shouldn't, and she doesn't argue back, she just sighs and nods. I think they're afraid, because Moony gets very dangerous when he forgets who he is. I have never seen him, but I can tell because he always hurts himself.

I walk into Uncle Moony's room just as Mummy is pulling out bandages and potions from the drawers. I'm used to seeing my uncle all scratched up, with a bite mark or two on his arms and his eyes looking around all unfocused. But today he looks worse than most days.

His skin is really pale, and his light blue eyes that are just like mine have little yellow spots around the edges, making them look murky. His forehead has a deep scratch that is still trickling a tiny drop of blood, and I can see at least three bites on his right arm. His breathing is too fast and too short, like he ran a marathon and then proceeded to choke on a marble.

It's still him. I'm not scared. It's still Uncle Moony. He just feels sick. There's nothing to be afraid of, I remind myself. Just as he starts to wheeze, Mummy turns to look at me and hands me a small wooden basin, blocking my view of Uncle Moony.

"Darling, why don't you go to the kitchen and fill this up halfway with some hot water, yes? And put these cloths in there to soak them."

"Okay, Mummy," I nod, trying to take one last look at my uncle. Mummy keeps blocking him, though, so I sigh and walk out of the room and back up the hall into the kitchen.

Down the hall, my uncle lets out something between a moan and a scream. It's not fair that such a good person has to be so sick. Uncle Moony is the nicest man in the world. He's smart, and he's funny, and he always takes care of me. He works hard and he is a very talented wizard. He taught me to fly a broom, and he helped Mummy teach me how to read and write and do basic math. He's been there to wake me with a cupcake on every birthday, and he's sung me to sleep and told me stories. He's danced with me every Christmas, and tried to scare me every Halloween.

It's just not fair that he has to be so sick. And what's worse is that most Healers don't want to treat him, so all he has is Mummy and me. When I grow up, I'm going to be a Healer so that I can treat him better than anybody else. I've never told him or Mummy, but that is what I'm going to do.

I walk slowly back towards the bedroom. Mummy is whispering something at Uncle Remus and stroking his hair. His breathing sounds a little more normal, but still a little fast.

"Look, Remus. Lizzie's here. She's here to take care of you," Mummy extends her hand, and I place the basin on the bedside table and take it, walking closer to the bed.

"Hi, Moony," I whisper and stroke his hair like Mummy was doing. His eyes are the same blue as Mummy's and mine again, and he focuses his gaze on me with a halfhearted, tired smile, "We're going to make you feel all better. Go to sleep, Uncle Moony. Go to sleep, and when you wake up, we'll be here, and everything will be okay."

I put my fingers over his eyes like Mummy does sometimes, and his eyelids flutter closed. His skin is very cold, so Mummy puts a warm rag over his forehead. Pretty soon Moony's breathing is soft again, and I can tell he's asleep.

When Mummy has finished tending to his wounds, she hands me a pack of crayons and some paper for me to draw, then goes into the kitchen to make some lunch for Moony. I have to watch him in case he wakes up and needs something. I like drawing. Mummy and Uncle Moony say I'm very good at it. Uncle Moony always sticks my drawings on the walls when I give him one.

Uncle Moony stirs after a while and opens his eyes to look at me.

"Hello there," he says in a very scratchy voice.

I smile and walk toward him to show him my drawing, "Look, Uncle Remus. I drew the castle. These are the greenhouses, and here's Hagrid's hut, and there's the Quidditch field. I remembered everything you've told me."

"You paid very good attention," he smiles and scoots over on the bed, patting the place beside him. I put my drawing on the bedside table and move carefully onto the bed. I curl up under his arm and look at the ceiling.

"Uncle Remus?"

"Yes, little Rose?"

"Were you nervous before your first day?"

"Of course I was nervous, my little flower. But I made some excellent friends very quickly, and I'm sure you will have just as much luck."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Good," I smile, and soon enough, we've both dosed off.

Two weeks before I'm to go to Hogwarts, Mum and Uncle Remus take me into Diagon Alley to buy my school things. We head towards Gringotts first, where Moony insists on waiting for us outside. He isn't very fond of the ride down to the vaults.

"Mum, do I get to use the money in my vault today?" I ask. When my father died, I was left with all his possessions, including his bank account. We've never used it, because Mummy can get us by on her own salary, but she's always told me that I can use it for my expenses.

"Do you want to?" she asks. I nod eagerly, "I don't see why not."

After getting the gold from the Black family vault, we find Moony waiting for us with three ice cream cones.

"Minty chocolate chunk!" I exclaim, taking the large cone from my uncle.

"With gummy worms on top," he says, "Just as my favorite niece likes."

I giggle, "Uncle Remus, I'm your only niece."

"All the more reason for you to be my favorite," he says, "Where to now?"

"Wand!" I shout, pointing toward Ollivander's. It takes about five tries before a wand finally choses me. It's thirteen inches, maple, quite whippy, with a unicorn hair core.

We buy my books, robes, cauldron, and potions supplies afterward. I'm anxious to get home and examine all my purchases before I have to pack them. Our last stop is Eyelops Owl Emporium, where Mummy buys me my first owl. She's a large Eagle Owl, capable of making very long trips for when Mum has to travel farther away. I name her Cleopatra, Cleo for short, because she looks so regal and proud, and she's so pretty.

On September first, I step onto the Hogwarts Express after a long goodbye to Mum and Uncle Moony. I'm nervous, because almost everybody on the train seems to already know someone, and they've all found seats together.

"Alright, Elizabeth Rose," I mutter to myself when Platform 9 ¾ is out of sight, "If you want to be a Gryffindor, you'll have to be brave. So go make some friends."

I walk down the carriage hallways, peeking into the compartment windows in search of another lonely first year. Halfway down the train, I find a compartment that doesn't seem too full. There are three boys, two of which seem to be twins, sitting by the window wearing Gryffindor robes. At the other end, close to the door, is a girl wearing all black robes, which makes me guess that she's a first year. She's looking at her lap as if she's not sure what to do. I knock on the door and slide it open, making all four of them look up.

"May I?" I ask quietly. The boys nod and go back to their game of Exploding Snap, and the girl sits up a little straighter and tucks her feet back to allow me in.

"Are you a first year?" asks the girl.

I nod and extend my hand, "Elizabeth. Everybody calls me Lizzie."

"Katie," she shakes my hand, "Do know what House you'll be in?"

"Well, my Dad was in Gryffindor, and all of my Mum's family have been in Gryffindor. What about you?"

"My mum was a Ravenclaw, and my dad and all of his family were in Gryffindor."

"What about your Mum's family? Were they all Ravenclaws, too?"

"My grandfather was a muggle, and my grandmother was a muggleborn, but she was in Hufflepuff," says Katie, "So I guess I could end up anywhere. Except maybe Slytherin."

One of the twins speaks up, "Well, if you two do end up in Gryffindor, you're welcome to sit with us anytime. I'm George, by the way. And this bloke over here is Fred. I'm told we look alike, but I can't really see it."

Katie and I laugh a little.

"And this is Lee," says George, pointing at their friend, "We're second years, all Gryffindors."

Before we can answer anything, the compartment door slides open to let in another girl.

"There you are. I've been looking for you lot everywhere!" she says to the boys, then stops in her tracks when she notices Katie and me to brightly exclaim, "Hello!"

"Hi," we answer shyly.

"This is Angelina," says George, "She's a Gryffindor second year, too. Angelina, these are a couple of prospective Gryffindors. That's Elizabeth, and Katie."

"Nice to meet you," she says, plopping down in the seat beside me, "And welcome to Hogwarts."

Katie and I do end up in Gryffindor, and the day after our sorting, I write to Mum about it. I get replies from both her and Uncle Moony the next morning at breakfast. Mum says she's proud, and that she knows my dad would also be. Uncle Remus sends a small box with a short message attached.

Congratulations on being a Gryffindor, my little Rose. I think it's time you should have this. Prongs bought these for us in seventh year. This one was your fathers. Wear it with pride.

With love, Uncle Remus.

I open the box and let the contents fall in my hand. It's a large silver pin, glittering in the light of the Great Hall. Four animals sit together in a huddled group. A wolf on the left, a stag on the right, upon whose shoulder sits a rat, and in the center is a large dog, almost as big as the stag, with bright green emeralds incrusted in its eyes.

"Oh, how pretty," says Katie, "Where did you get that?"

"My uncle sent it," I answer, "It was my dad's."

Katie goes strangely quiet, in the same way that everybody else did when my name was called for the Sorting. After that, nobody mentions my pin, even though I wear it on my robes every day.

First year passes quickly, between classes and Quidditch matches and afternoons by the lake. Katie and I are practically inseparable, sitting together in every class, at every meal, and every match where we go to watch Angelina and the Weasley twins play. I do well enough in my classes, and I turn out to be rather good at potions making, despite the fact that Professor Snape really doesn't like me at all. He's particularly unpleasant to all the Gryffindors, but it is clear that despite being the best in his first year class, I am his least favorite.

I begin second year a bit more anxious than the first. Harry Potter, the son of my parents' best friends, will be starting school. He was raised by muggles, and knows nothing about his life as a wizard, or about any of us, despite us being practically family. Mum advises me to leave him alone, because he will be overwhelmed enough when everybody starts giving him attention. I do what Mum tells me, because honestly, everybody seems to be trying to become Harry's friend, and it must be stressful enough without some second year going up to him and saying "Hello, you don't know me, but I'm supposed to be like a sister to you."

He gets even more attention when he becomes the youngest Quidditch player Hogwarts has seen in a century, and even more at the end of the school year, when he fights Professor Quirrell for the Philosopher's Stone.

Third year is honestly scary. While on Christmas holiday, Mum considers taking me out of Hogwarts until it's safe again, and placing me in Beauxbatons or whichever school is closest to her next job destination. I beg and plead with her to let me stay, and in the end I convince Uncle Remus to take my side, which in turn convinces her to let me stay, on the condition that I write every day and don't break a single rule.

Despite my Marauder instinct, I don't go anywhere alone, nor do I leave my dormitory after hours. I may have troublemaking in my genes, but I certainly don't have a death wish. Many people seem convinced that Harry Potter is the Heir of Slytherin, and that he's the once setting the monster on the students, but when Hermione Granger becomes petrified, any suspicions toward Harry suddenly become erased, and everybody is left as clueless as ever. I never dared think it was Harry, and my guess is as good as the next, but Draco Malfoy seems to be taking this all a bit too well, and his good mood only improves when Dumbledore is suspended by the school governors, amongst which is Malfoy's father.

One mid-May afternoon in the dungeons, Professor Snape stands at the front of the class and looks down his pointy nose at all of us.

"As you are all aware," he drawls, "The mandrakes from the school greenhouses are nearly matured, which means that the time has come to begin preparing the potion that will be necessary for reviving those who have been petrified. I will be choosing the best student from each of my classes, third year and up, to assist in the brewing of this potion."

Katie pulls at my sleeve and smiles. My potions are always excellent, and I know that she, like me, thinks that I will be the selected student.

"Miss Chang, stay after class."

Cho Chang practically squeals in delight, and I feel my insides bubble in anger. Her friend Marietta, who has never liked me very much since I told her pink wasn't her color, is looking particularly smug. I scowl at her and spend the rest of class stirring my Shrinking Solution a bit too harshly, making it so strong that it manages to shrink my cauldron about two inches by the end of class.

"How dare he?" I mutter angrily as Katie and I walk toward the Gryffindor Tower before dinner with the rest of the Gryffindors, "Everybody knows that I am the best student in that class! Cho Chang couldn't make a decent Swelling Solution if her life depended on it! She can't even make a first year potion without looking around at the rest of us to see how it's done! It's outrageous!"

Katie listens to me rant on all the way into our dormitory, then back downstairs to the Great Hall before speaking, "Honestly, Lizzie, the man just hates you."

On the day that the Mandrake solution is meant to be ready, classes are let out early, and the Gryffindors receive the worst news yet from Professor McGonagall. Ginny Weasley has been taken into the Chamber of Secrets, and the Heir of Slytherin has left yet another message.

I go upstairs to write to Mum, and after four failed attempts to do so, I think better of it. I can't go to the Owlery, anyway. Instead, I walk back down to the common room. Many of the students have gone upstairs to bed. Percy and George shut themselves up in their dormitories a few hours ago, and Ron and Harry seem to have gone as well. Fred had gone upstairs with his twin, but he's in the common room again, sitting alone in a corner and doing something that I never thought I would see a Weasley twin doing: pouring over a stack of books.

Everybody seems to be giving him a wide berth, but I take my chances and go sit in front of him.

"Can I help?" I ask, and he doesn't look up, only points to a book and nods. I take up the heavy tome and open it onto my lap, looking for anything that might have to do with ancient monsters or hidden chambers. Nothing comes close, but I'll be the last to put down a book and tell him it's hopeless.

After another half hour of pouring over the same book and finding nothing, Fred suddenly slams his book shut and tosses it onto the table with a heavy thud, "This is pointless!" he says loud enough to make half the common room start, "There is not a single book in this common room that could help! I'm just wasting my time, aren't I?"

I don't say anything, because I'm fairly certain that now is one of those times when a person shouldn't say anything, but just let the other vent out all their feelings instead. I don't really know. Katie is the one who's good at this sort of thing, but I think that's what she would do.

Fred's shoulders start to shake, and everybody averts their eyes so as not to look at him with pity. I stand up from my armchair and sit on the arm of his, placing a hand on his back. I want to tell him that everything will be fine, but the most certain thing is that it's not. Right now, there is no doubt in anybody's mind that Ginny Weasley is by now dead. The common room begins to empty slowly as the night draws on, until Fred and I are the only two people left. I'm sure that the amount of Gryffindors asleep is next to none, but we all feel so helpless that there isn't much else to do. I stay with Fred in the Common Room, not exactly sure if it's alright for me to move or not. I somehow end up sitting on the table in front of him, and after we've been alone for a few minutes, he speaks in a hollow voice that seems void of hope.

"She was so excited…to come here. Since George and I started, she would always want to come with us…Hogwarts…Hogwarts was like some crazy, far off dream for her…She even had a calendar to count down the days."

Fred goes on talking about Ginny for the rest of the night, until I manage to end up on the floor, my head plopped against the table. I'm not sure who falls asleep first, but at around midnight judging by the grandfather clock in a corner, I'm shaken awake by a beaming Fred.

"Lizzie! Lizzie, they found her!"

I get up groggily, almost losing my balance as a rather dirty Ron Weasley helps to steady me before yelling. "I'll go tell George and Percy! Dumbledore's arranging a feast!"

"Elizabeth, did you hear me?" Fred shakes my shoulders, getting rid of the sleep that was still in my eyes, "They found her! Harry and Ron went into the Chamber and they saved Ginny! Harry killed the monster and saved my sister!"

He grabs me around the waist and hugs me so tight that my feet come off the ground, and I smile back and hug him, "Did Ron say there was a feast?"

"Yeah," Fred answers, "Yeah, he did."

"But it's almost midnight!" I say as noise starts to come from upstairs. The older students were awaken by Ron stepping in to yell at Percy and George that Ginny is alive, and now the younger students seem to be rustling awake as well.

Professor McGonagall comes in and calls everybody into the Common Room, ordering us all down to the Great Hall at once for a celebratory feast. Fred, Ron, and I seem to be the only ones not wearing pajamas, but it doesn't matter. What does matter is the look on the Weasleys faces as we all walk down to the Great Hall, the bright faces of all those who were petrified walking into the Hall looking good as new, the cheers that greet the announcement of no final exams and the fact that Ron and Harry score four hundred points for Gryffindor.

The final days of term pass so quickly that they seem more like a dream than anything else. After that night in the common room, Fred Weasley and I have become closer friends than I ever thought we would be. At Hogsmeade Station, I take a few moments to look around. A few yards away from me is a tall black lantern that I've heard about in stories. Every year, just before boarding the train, the Marauders would make a notch in the pole of that lantern, to leave something behind. From where I stand, I can see seven little lines at the base of the pole.

"Come on, or we'll get left behind!" Fred pulls on my arm, "What are you looking at?"

"Sorry." I start to walk toward the train door, "I was just remembering a story that Moony told me."

Fred stops dead in his tracks, "Who?"

"Moony," I explain, "It's what I call my uncle. He's had that nickname since Hogwarts."

"Moony?" he asks and I nod, "His friends didn't happen to have weird nicknames, too, did they? Something like Prongs?"

"Prongs was Harry's dad! They were good friends. And Wormtail was another friend of theirs named Peter. And Padfoot was my dad. They called themselves –"

"The Marauders!"

"Shh," I cover his mouth with my hand momentarily, "How do you know about them?"

"Because George and I found their map," Fred whispers, climbing onto the train as it begins to whistle, "It was in Filch's office in first year. It took us ages to figure out how to use it, until one day we just asked it!"

"It probably sensed that you wanted to use it for troublemaking," I explain, thinking about everything my uncle has told me about the Map, "Otherwise, it would have never told you how to reveal it."

"It's been the secret to our success, that map," says Fred, "But if it was your dad's and uncle's then I guess it rightfully belongs to you."

"Keep it," I answer, noticing the dejected look on my friend's face at the thought of parting with it, "Keep it for now. Besides, it's also partly Harry's. Maybe someday he'll need it more than me. Just promise to let me borrow it now and then."

"What's ours is yours," says Fred, opening the door to the compartment where the rest of our friends are. I sit down in front of Katie, who immediately starts to fawn over somebody in the magazine she just bought at the newsstand. The boys pull out the Exploding Snap cards, and I watch Hogwarts fade away and think that maybe one of these days, my friends and I can leave behind something of our own.