If there was anything Elizabeth hated, it was detentions. She found it oddly ironic that she got so many considering that she despised them - her and James were tied at the most amount of detentions, right at about 168.

And if there's anything she hated more than detention itself, it was detention with McGonagall.

"Here's another stack of transfiguration novels. Organize and dust them off, then place them on the shelves. Understood?" Professor McGonagall looked like a really angry bird to Elizabeth: she never seemed to be smiling and was way to strict. Elizabeth glanced at the clock. 8:45. 15 more minutes. She didn't know if she would survive.

"Yes, professor," Elizabeth sighed heavily and pulled out the first book, iTransfiguration at it's Best/i. She had a feeling it would be harder than she thought to organize the books if they all began with "transfiguration".

As she mindlessly put the books in alphabetical order, she wondered what Sirius was stuck doing. McGonagall decided she didn't want to have to watch both of them, so she sent Sirius off for his first detention with Binns: Elizabeth laughed internally at the idea. She had become well accustomed to Binns's detentions, but Sirius might possibly die during his first one.

Her thoughts lingered over Sirius. Her mind was clouded with images of his hands running through her hair and his lips upon hers. She sighed, she really didn't know what they were gonna do. Since the detention the night before, they hadn't had any physical contact, but who knows what would happen when they were walking back to the tower. Not only that, but she wondered what this meant for them: would they start dating? How would the rest of the Marauders react? It was all too complicated for her.

In what only felt like a few minutes, Elizabeth was on her way back to the common room from a grueling detention with McGonagall. Her knees were in excruciating pain from scrubbing and organizing and whatnot, and her head was pounding. She really hated detentions.

A loud path of swearing lead her to Sirius, only a corridor or two ahead of her. As she saw him from behind, she laughed as he kicked away objects.

"Told you he was bad," Elizabeth said as she kept walking toward him. Sirius turned around, glaring at her.

"He's beyond bad! He's awful! I am never doing detention with him again!" Elizabeth laughed at his dramatic claim.

"What did he have you do?"

"I wrote lines on the blackboard for the first half hour, then I organized his entire collection of books," Elizabeth snickered, having performed that task before, "and then he made me clean out his desk. His desk! It was bullshit,"

"Sorry, mate. Sounds crappy," Elizabeth and him began walking back toward the tower.

"If I wasn't afraid of getting detention with him again, I would pull a massive prank on him for all of the suffering he made my endure," Elizabeth chuckled at her friend, shaking her head.

"You are so melodramatic, don't you know that?" Sirius turned his head toward her and nodded, a smile creeping on his face.

"I learned from the best," He spoke quietly as he reached for Elizabeth's hand, grasping it in his. He sighed internally at the soft touch, how her hands seemed perfect and how she always smelled like lavender.

Elizabeth smiled when glancing down at her hands, unable to help herself. She chose not to question anything for once in her life: she figured Sirius must be tired of having to explain himself multiple times.

They walked up a flight of stairs in silence, each absorbed in their own thoughts. It was ultimately Sirius who broke the silence between the two.

"I suppose I can't ask you to be my girlfriend without a proper date, huh?" Sirius said, and Elizabeth stopped walking for a moment. As Sirius was about to ask her if she was okay, she began walking once more at her usual pace.

"I suppose so, but we're not even half way through September. Our first Hogsmeade trip won't be until October at least," Elizabeth felt sad at the prospect, knowing from all of the girls at school what dates with Sirius were like. Incredible, they would brag. How he would bring them flowers and take them to robe shops and buy them beautiful clothes. Sirius had the money to do that, and despite what everyone thought, he only bought girl's things if he truly liked them. Elizabeth remembered always feeling slightly jealous at those girls who were able to kiss Sirius and have those warm embraces with him, but she continually pushed those feelings aside.

"Doesn't mean I can't still give you a date," Sirius said, squeezing Elizabeth's hand slightly and rubbering her knuckle absentmindedly with his thumb.

"What do you have in mind?" Elizabeth asked, raising an eyebrow. Sirius smiled widely at her.

"Tomorrow night, meet me at the astronomy tower. At around 8 o'clock,"

"Won't Sinistra be teaching a class?" Elizabeth remembered when she took astronomy last year: she vowed to never do that again. The lack of sleep she suffered from while taking that class was more than she could bare.

"Not if there's an unexpected, unexplained set of dung beetle bombs outside the tower," Sirius smirked at his friend, who shook her head.

"8 o'clock it is," She smiled at realized they were almost at the Gryffindor tower. She made the decision to unlock her hand from his, to which Sirius felt a slight pang of sadness when being separated from her touch.

The two walked into the tower silently and were automatically bombarded by the sounds of avid Gryffindors discussing homework, boys, and games of Wizard's Chess. They allowed their eyes to search the common room for their friends, and when unable to find them, they made the decision to go up into their dorm room.

"How was detention?" James asked immediately once Elizabeth and Sirius walked in. Sirius groaned loudly and plopped down on his bed while Elizabeth evaluated the scene. The three boys were on the floor, playing a game of muggle cards - she figured Remus must have taught them - and dressed in pajamas, except for James, who remained shirtless and in his boxer shorts.

"Fucking awful. I hate Binns," Sirius said, shoving a pillow over his head to groan even louder. Elizabeth laughed quietly.

"You got stuck with Binns? Murder. Sorry, mate. Elizabeth?" James glanced at her, and she shrugged.

"You know how much I hate Minnie, but it wasn't as bad as it usually is. Don't really know why, maybe she finally found a boyfriend?" Elizabeth sat down Indian style next to her friends and checked out Peter's cards, "you have a really shitty hand, Wormtail."

"I know, shut up. I suck at this game," Peter said sadly as he slammed the cards down.

"Cheer up, mate. Maybe you'll win the next round!" James said and Remus involuntarily began laughing, causing him to put his hand over his mouth to stop himself.

"How many rounds have you played?" Elizabeth questioned, glancing at her friends.

"I want to say twelve, but I can't be sure," Remus shrugged and placed a card down.

"Who's been winning?"

"Kind of a tie between James and I,"

"Aww, poor Pete, hasn't won a single round," Elizabeth shoved her friend slightly, who shoved her back, glaring.

"Screw this, I'm going out," Peter spoke and stood up, beginning to walk out of the room. Elizabeth laughed at her friend and yelled out an apology, but he ignored it and closed the door, going off to God-knows-where.

"He's so emotional," Sirius spoke from the bed, and his friends nodded in agreement.

"Sometimes I wonder what's going on in that boy's mind," Elizabeth spoke, laying down on the floor.

"Broaden your minds!" Sybil Trelawney hovered over Remus, Sirius, and Elizabeth in the middle of the Divination classroom, peering at their crystal ball. The classroom in which they sat was circular and oddly peculiar: more so than any other professor's classroom. The walls were mostly empty, but there were several marks and posters of quotes about divination. The floors creaked when you stepped upon them and dust covered several orifices of the classroom that clearly hadn't been touched in years. Elizabeth had always thought it was a nicer version of Azkaban.

"I don't see anything," Sirius whispered to Remus as he moved closer to the crystal ball in the middle of the table, scrunching his eyes up to see if he was missing something. He noticed out of his peripheral vision that Remus shrugged in confusion.

"Elizabeth? Wanna try?" Remus glanced at Elizabeth, who sighed dramatically and spun the ball around, staring into it. As she tried to clear her mind and focus - she really couldn't have another bad grade in this class (if an exceeds expectations is considered bad) - to see if she could pick up on anything. Suddenly, several figures appeared in the crystal ball. She could only see them from behind, and it was obvious they were hooded in dark cloaks. She could see a house in front of them, and an odd figure of a snake hanging above it in the clouds. Elizabeth raised her eyebrow, blinked, and when she opened her eyes, it was gone.

"I don't see anything," Elizabeth lied, pushing the ball back to her friends. They looked at her suspiciously, but simply shrugged and continued bickering with the ball. Elizabeth slumped against her chair and thought about what she saw: what could it possibly mean?

Before anyone knew it - or in reality, it hadn't come soon enough - the class was over and the three friends were packing their bags and strutting down the spiraling staircase to go to their next class, where all the Marauders would be: Transfiguration.

"Honestly, I'm really dreading Transfiguration today," Elizabeth spoke as the three walked down a crowded hallway. Elizabeth sighed as a first year ran into her, tripping over their cloak and knocking over someone's books.

"I thought you liked Transfiguration?" Remus glanced at his friend and Elizabeth ran a hand through her hair.

"I do, but today I just don't feel in the mood to learn. Especially after another failing Divination class," Elizabeth slightly lied - which she hated doing - but pushed that thought out of her mind.

"We always fail, it's not a big deal anymore," Sirius joked, pushing into Elizabeth before running down the hall and disappearing into the Transfiguration classroom. Elizabeth laughed as she shook her head.

"Sometimes I wonder if he takes steroids and is just absolutely baked all the time," Elizabeth said and Remus chuckled at her joke, moving away from her as someone pushed through the two of them.

"That's quite possible," Remus spoke as they walked into the room, seeing Peter and James.

"Elizabeth! Elizabeth! Guess what!" James ran up to Elizabeth and jumped up and down like a three year old. Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

"First off, why did we give me the nickname "Paws" if we're never gonna use it? Secondly, what?" Elizabeth dropped her heavy book bag onto the desk, which landed with a loud thump, and slid into her seat.

"Sorry, habit. Okay, Paws, you'll never believe it. Josh Woods cornered me in the hallway after class because he decided he's sick and tired of being Quidditch captain, so he wants me to be captain!" James said, jumping again and clapping his hands. A smile broke across Elizabeth's face and she smiled widely.

"Prongs, that's great! I can't believe it! Although I deserve it more than you do considering I made the team as a first year and you didn't until a second year..." Elizabeth trailed off, smirking as James glared, "...but that's okay. That's really awesome, Prongs. You'll do a great job. When are try outs, anyways?"

"Not for a couple weeks, but he wants me to be prepared. This is going to be so awesome!" James finished as soon as Professor McGonagall walked in the room, whisking her hand and causing the door to shut. James sent a wink toward Elizabeth before sitting down in his seat in front of her, ready to listen.

After Transfiguration class - which was filled with little excitement and mostly boredom in the Marauders's opinion - the Marauders decided to skip dinner and head out to the Lake during the warm September air. Elizabeth had told the boys she wanted to grab a jacket and for them to head out without her. With some reluctance they left and Elizabeth searched her dorm room for her wool coat, just in case it wasn't as warm as the boys claimed it was. While she was searching, Lily walked into the room holding a letter.

"Oh, hey Liz. Whatcha looking for?" Lily smiled at her sister and parked herself on her bed, laying down with little sound. Elizabeth sighed melodramatically before answering.

"My wool coat. Have you seen it?" Elizabeth toppled over several pillows and sighed yet again as she was unable to find it.

"Yeah, I think Jade borrowed it," This comment made Elizabeth groan loudly and throw a pillow across the room.

"What is up with that girl and borrowing my shit? Ugh, anyways, is she wearing it now or do you think it's in her pile of insanity?"

"Probably in her pile of insanity," Elizabeth strutted across the room and fished about a pink suitcase, throwing colorful outfits all across the floor.

As Elizabeth hunted for her jacket, Lily spoke quietly, "I got a letter from mum,"

"Oh?" Elizabeth asked as she pulled out a grey coat, "what did she say?"

"Petunia's getting married," Elizabeth froze and after the shock settled, turned around swiftly.

"She's not even out of high school yet!"

"That was my reaction, but what do we know? She's engaged to some guy named Vernon... mum likes him... dad isn't very keen on him, but is shutting up... they're getting married when they get out of school in May,"

"Well, at least it's not Christmas. She'll be eighteen by then, so it should be okay. I guess," Elizabeth said as she shoved Jade's clothes back into her suitcase and shoved it under the bed.

"I agree, but still,"

"Are we invited to the wedding?"

Lily sighed before speaking, "Petunia didn't want us to come but ma convinced her that she didn't have a choice - but neither of us are allowed to be Maid of Honor, that's saved for Emily Spicket. We can be bridesmaids, and I'm not sure if we're invited to the reception yet,"

"Petunia's a real bitch," Elizabeth swore as she put her own clothes away and remade her bed.

"I know. It's been five years, you think she would have grown up by now,"

"Of course not. She holds grudges. Kinda like you," Elizabeth spoke the last part under her breath, but of course Lily heard.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You've hated James for five years. You can't forgive him for anything he's done. It's ridiculous,"

"When he changes, I'll forgive him. Until then he can suck my-" Lily began but was soon interrupted.

"I get the picture, but FYI, I'm sure he'd love to," Elizabeth winked at her sister as she walked out of the room with her coat. She could hear Lily gasp and Elizabeth chuckled as she shut the door behind her and then ran outside.

"What took you so long?" James raised an eyebrow as Elizabeth as she walked across some rocks to get to the boys. Peter and Remus awaited eagerly to hear what did take her so long, but Sirius was too entranced in the way the setting sun reflected off her blond hair and gave an angelic glow to her to really listen to what anyone was saying.

"Petunia's getting married," Elizabeth said as she sat down between James and Peter. Her friends gasped.

"Wow. I can't believe someone like her actually found a boy..." Elizabeth smacked James for his comment, who laughed gingerly.

"When's she getting married?" Remus questioned, leaning against a tree.

"May. I guess she's not going to college, who knows," Elizabeth shrugged and walked a couple feet, took off her shoes, and shyly put her manicured toes in the water. A slight gasp escaped her small mouth as the cold water surrounded her feed, but soon she liked it.

"Are you invited?" Peter squeaked nervously, and Elizabeth smiled kindly at him.

"Yeah, and if I'm invited, you guys are invited, too," Elizabeth said as she stretched, her shirt untucking itself and showing some skin.

"Will Petunia be okay with that?" James asked her.

"Fuck if I know, fuck if I care, but I'm not doing this alone," Elizabeth smiled and looked across the lake. Within seconds, she began stripping off her white dress shirt and tie. Sirius, who had been watching her the entire time, began glancing up and down her stomach, loving the tan skin. Elizabeth then slid off her skirt and left in her undergarments, dived into the Black Lake.

"What are you doing?" James asked, laughing at the wet girl as she bobbed to the surface.

"Taking a swim. It's warm, and that rarely happens at Hogwarts. I'm making the most of it. Why don't you boys come join me?" Elizabeth paddled backward, staring up at the sky. When she didn't hear anyone move, she spoke again, "Are you coming, boys?"

The boys glanced at each other nervously, but Sirius was the first to take the initiative. Unbuttoning his pants and ripping off his dress shirt, he dived into the lake with only his blue boxers on. When he came to the surface, he groaned due to the cold, but once he saw Elizabeth's smile he smiled back and ignored all other feelings.

"Way to be, Sirius!" Elizabeth laughed and pushed some water at him, splashing him in the face. Sirius smiled wider and glanced at his friends, swimming over near the shore.

"Come on, it's not like anyone will care. Unless we get eaten by the Giant Squid..." Sirius winked at his friends and then swam toward Elizabeth, who was wading several feet away.

The three boys on land shared eyes and decided they didn't have a lot to lose. They stripped off their clothes like the two before them and jumped into the pool, causing splashes of water to impound around everyone.

"Holy crap, it is cold," Remus said as he swung his head, letting drops of water spray everyone.

"But it's so nice," Elizabeth smiled and went underneath the surface yet again.

"When was the last time we went swimming?" Peter said reminiscently. His friends shrugged in response as their feet moved underneath the water.

"A couple years ago. Second year, at Elizabeth's pool during the summer," Sirius spoke, remembering the scene like yesterday. The images of hot girls in bikinis tanning on the poolside came up, along with images of water noodles and goggles. He remembered that Elizabeth's hair ended up turning green afterwards and no one knew a spell to fix it, so she had to walk around with lime green hair for two weeks. Sirius chuckled at the thought.

"Yeah, my hair friggen' turned green," Elizabeth said and the boys laughed, remembering too.

"That was so funny. And remember Remus didn't want to go in the water so I grabbed him by the arms and you grabbed him by his feet and we pushed him in the deep end," James spoke, gesturing toward Sirius and Remus. The boys laughed loudly.

"That was great," Sirius sighed, floating on his back and looking at the puffy clouds above them.

The Marauders stayed in the Black Lake until it got dark. They quickly got out of the lake and cast a drying and warming charm, put their clothes back on and began strutting inside.

"Paws," Sirius spoke behind Elizabeth, placing a small hand on her back as she put on her tie.

"Yeah?" She whispered glancing behind her.

"One hour, meet me at the astronomy tower," Sirius flashed a smile at her, and Elizabeth couldn't help but smile back.

"I couldn't forget,"