*Disclaimer* Harry Potter and all of it's characters belong to J.K. Rowling, it is not mine, and I am not making any money off of this story.

Driven Under

Chapter 3

Liz gazed at her cluttered room in a mild fury. "GODAMMIT!!!" she shouted at the top of her

lungs, not caring who heard. She flung a shoe at the door. Being only a flip-flop, it did not

make the satisfying 'bang' that she had intended, instead just bounced off the door softly.

With one last "ARGHHH!!!" she flopped down on the bed, tired and mad. 'Goddamn the fucking

Ministry!!! Why can't I just use magic! I'd only use it for packing, it's not like I'd try to destroy

the fucking world or something' she thought bitterly. 'How exactly am I supposed to fit

everything I need for the next year in this one trunk?' The angelic little voice in her head

whispered that maybe she shouldn't try to pack so much, to just pack the things she needed.

"But I need all of this!" she said aloud, looking around at the countless clothing items, pairs of

shoes, and pieces of jewelry strewn about the room. 'Well you'll just have to do without some

of it' the logical side of her brain argued. "FINE!" she shouted angrily, not really caring that

anyone who happened to be outside of her door listening would think that she was quite crazy.

She started to unpack and repack her trunk for the thousandth time, looking longingly at all

the things she was leaving out. 'Oh well, at least you'll see your friends again in just 24

hours..'

***

'God, I'm so glad to be back here' Liz thought for the umpteenth time since she had stepped

inside Hogwarts. Sitting at the Ravenclaw table surrounded by her friends was the best place

she could possibly imagine being right now. She wasn't even thinking about tired she was

from having to wake up at 5 o'clock, an almost ungodly hour in her opinion. Her friends

weren't faring quite so well, though. Julie's head was in a drooped over position, and Liz had

to keep giving her shoves to keep her from falling into her plate of food. Carrie had a dazed

expression on her face as she mechanically ate her mashed potatoes. Stephanie and her

boyfriend Timothy Bloom, who were sitting across from her, were actually asleep, with Tim's

face on the table and Stephanie sprawled across his back. It didn't help that everyone in the

other houses seemed to be wide-awake, some of them pointing and snickering good-naturedly

at the brain dead group of Ravenclaws. Liz and her group of friends were notorious for being

late risers, most of them having been in similar positions throughout the Sorting Ceremony

and feast in previous years. Liz was usually pretty good about hiding her fatigue, trying her

best to appear bright eyed and cheerful no matter how tired she was. At the moment, she was

talking animatedly to her friend Sean, who she suspected wasn't even half awake. After a

while, she left him alone, and looked around the room.

Her eyes rested on the staff table, where everyone was eating and talking to each other in

hushed voices, lest any students overhear their oh-so- secretive discussion over lesson plans

and new cauldrons, Liz thought with an eye roll. The usual professors were still there, give or

take a few, most of them looking no different than they had the last six years she had known

them. Liz seriously doubted that magical people ever changed in appearance once they

reached a certain age. She saw Remus Lupin talking to Professor McGonagal, who looked very

happy to see her old student and friend back at Hogwarts. Remus-no! Professor Lupin, Liz

thought with a mental slap to the forehead- looked a bit overwhelmed, but happy and

comfortable nonetheless. 'No matter how attractive you think he is, he is totally off limits, not

only because he is probably twenty years your senior and your teacher at that' she said

sternly to herself. 'Plus, he probably doesn't even remember you.' And the issue was closed,

for that was how it was with Liz. When she ordered her mind to forget something she had

thought, her brain effectively sent that thought to the back of her mind, unlikely to ever be

brought out again.

With that settled, she turned her attention back to her friends. With a contented sigh, she

rested her head on the shoulder of Sean (who was now asleep), smiled, and closed her eyes.

'How nice it is to be here' was her last thought as fatigue set in and she joined her friends in

their slumber.