Pride and Prejudice | James Potter

Chapter One

Naps and Nighttime

Elizabeth Thompson sighed and put her bag down on her bed. It was the first day of classes, and she was already stressed about her NEWT's. Every class she had that day had been all about how important NEWT's were and how they shaped their futures. Basically, she was tired of them before they had even started.

Her favourite dorm-mate, Bertha Jorkins was still in classes - she had decided to take Divination again this year - so Elizabeth was alone with her thoughts for a minute, not having any homework to do yet. Deciding that was a risky thing, Elizabeth instead opted to go for a walk across the castle grounds; it was still nice outside, and taking advantage of the weather seemed like a great plan.

She wandered the halls of the castle, slowly making her way to the front doors. When she reached them, she stepped outside, enjoying the sun. She walked down to the Black Lake, waving to students she knew as she went. Elizabeth wasn't exactly popular, but she had made her fair share of friends throughout the years, her closest friend being Edgar Bones, a seventh year Hufflepuff. They had quickly bonded in first year over their hate of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at the time, and had been practically inseparable since. Elizabeth had helped him ask out the girl of his dreams the previous year, and he had helped her with a few of her relationships. People often assumed that Edgar and Elizabeth had feelings for each other, but Elizabeth thought that people needed something better to talk about.

Elizabeth made her way to a tree by the lake and leaned against it, enjoying the warm sun and the sound of her fellow students playing. She sunk to the ground, eyes still closed, feeling positively free. She loved being at Hogwarts, and being able to enjoy the grounds was just another perk of having a few extra hours each day after dropping the NEWT's classes she didn't find necessary.

Slowly, Elizabeth drifted off to sleep, content to spend the afternoon napping.

~~~~~~~

When Elizabeth woke up, it was dark outside. She noticed most of the windows were dark, and cursed. It had to be past curfew, which meant that the doors were either locked, or just about to be. Elizabeth ran towards the castle, praying the doors where still open.

When she reached the front steps, she saw Professor McGonagall going to close the doors.

"Professor! Wait just a minute!" Elizabeth panted, running up the rest of the stairs. McGonagall let Elizabeth in, looking shocked.

"Ms. Thompson! What were you doing outside? Curfew was almost ten minutes ago!"

Elizabeth paused, catching her breath.

"I fell asleep, and I just woke up. I'm sorry Professor, it won't happen again."

McGonagall pursed her lips.

"I'm surprised at this behavior. You've never been troublesome before. I'm going to give you a detention, but I don't want you to think of it as a punishment. I trust you to make better decisions next time."

Elizabeth nodded. It wasn't her first detention, but it was certainly early in the semester to be getting one.

"At least I won't have it with anyone else." She thought.

If only she knew how wrong she was.