The welcome feast was rather uneventful. Dumbledore gave the usual speech, welcoming the students then going down the list or rules, discretely giving an amused glance at the four male Marauders. They all smiled back innocently, causing Liz to suppress a fit of laughter. Lily just rolled her eyes and continued to listen to the speech. "I hope you all have a wonderful year. Now, let the feast begin!" said Dumbledore, his blue eyes sparkling as he raised his hands in the air. The food appeared in front of the hungry students and surprised first years. The boys and Liz heaped food onto their plates while Lily helped herself, but not to the quantity that her best friend and the boys had done.
Towards the end of the dinner, Lily spoke up, "Liz, Remus, Potter, we should probably escort the first years up to Gryffindor tower and show them to their dorms." The three nodded, getting up from their seats. "See you later, try not to miss us too much," Liz said to Sirius and Peter. "I'll count the minutes you're away," replied Sirius dramatically, earning a laugh and an amused grin from Liz. He felt his heart skip a beat hearing her laugh and seeing her smile her perfect smile. Get a hold of yourself, he thought to himself, pushing away aside his sudden feelings for her. Sure, Elizabeth was beautiful and most guys would probably kill to go out with her. However, Sirius had asked her out at least once a month every year and she would turn him down every time. It was like an unspoken competition to see who would cave first. Either Liz would give in and go out with him, or Sirius would give up and never ask her out again. The winner would gain bragging rights, and neither of them was backing down any time soon.
Sirius spent the rest of dinner as well as the walk to the Gryffindor Common Room with Peter, avoiding his fan club. Most of the time he really didn't mind the swarm of girls who followed his every move, in awe of his presence, all dying to have a chance with him. But tonight he just wasn't in the mood to deal with a bunch of drooling fan girls. He wanted to relax with his friends. The two boys eventually entered the common room, finding it mostly empty with a few groups of people scattered around the tables, and their friends in their usual spots by the fire. James was trying to get Lily's attention while she was trying desperately to ignore him by reading a rather large book. Liz and Remus were playing wizards chess; they looked about tied with the number of pieces lost on both sides. The intelligence gene must run in the family, because when it came to wizards' chess and academics Liz and Remus were equals. Sirius plopped down on the couch next to Liz who was very deep in thought. James was now intently watching the game, having given up on the pretty red head. "Bishop to G-3," said Remus, taking his cousin's kingside castle/rook. Liz frowned slightly, obviously thinking of all the possible moves. Her eyes lit up as she said, "Queen to G-3," a triumphant smile formed, "Check mate!" Remus gave her a defeated sigh, "Well done Liz." He smiled at his cousin; she's the only one of his friends who could ever beat him at chess. Even Lily, as bright as she was, couldn't win a single match against him.
"Bloody Hell Moony! That's the second time she's beaten you today! You're losing your touch mate," exclaimed James. "That's my girl," said Sirius putting an arm around the dark-haired beauty sitting next to him, pulling her closer to him as they leaned back on the couch, her head resting on his shoulder. "How about you and me on the next Hogsmeade trip love?" he asked her softly. She chuckled quietly, "You know the answer as well as I do Sirius," she murmured. "Yes?" came his hopeful reply. "No," she said softly, traces of a smirk playing on her pretty features as she stared into the fire. They all stayed down there for a while, not moving from their positions. It was obvious to both Lily and the other Marauders that Sirius really fancied Liz and how perfect they were for each other. They all knew Liz fancied Sirius, but they also knew she wouldn't admit it. Although they had to admit her stubbornness was within reason since Sirius went through girls quickly, not to mention they were best friends. Both remained completely oblivious to the fact they both liked each other. Therefore the gang chose not to say anything, especially Lily, since Liz knew that she liked James and could use that against her. The six of them talked for a while until the girls went off to bed bidding the boys good night. They lucked out sharing a 2-person dorm room. Both girls falling asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.
