The Years We Were Alive: Year 1

Valentine's

February 14, 1972

"Some of the older kids are throwing a Valentine's Day party," Sirius mentioned.

"Dude," Lizzie said dryly, "it's a Monday,"

"So?" James answered, "we haven't been to one of their parties since Halloween!"

"So?"

"Ugh, you're such a spoilsport,"

Lizzie was okay with parties, they just seemed lonely to her a lot of the time. People all over the place vying for even their best friend's attention. And the Halloween party was the time that Remus yelled at Lizzie, so she had started to associate parties with being yelled at by her friends. Well, friend. Remus was the only one that shouted at her on a night of a party, but she missed how it was with him before that happened.

"Does that mean we have to find dates?" Lizzie raised her eyebrows at the boys.

"No, no, it just means that we get to go to a party,"

"Fine, I'll go," Lizzie caved in, "why didn't you tell me about this a while ago?"

"So that you'd have less time to think about it," James shrugged.

"Yeah, I told him he should do it that way," Remus smiled at Lizzie.

"You're right of course," Lizzie rolled her eyes, "y'all know me better than I know myself, I swear," she chuckled.

"Y'all," Sirius whispered under his breath. Lizzie heard it and cracked a smile, but she was sure nobody else did. The things she said were oftentimes endearing to the British people surrounding her. She found a lot of what they said endearingly too but being told she was wrong was definitely getting old.

Lizzie jammed her elbow into his side and rolled her eyes when he finally looked at her.

"What house is it in?" Remus asked.

"Hufflepuff,"

"And how do we get in?" Lizzie sighed.

"Don't worry about it!"

***

The entire castle was cloaked in pink. Lizzie had wondered what it would be like. Valentine's Day across the pond and in a different world. She remembered fondly exchanging Valentine's back home. In elementary school, she had to give one to everyone, but her last year in the muggle world she got to choose.

She gave her friend Kim four. She would go around giving out her others, but then she kept going back to Kim's desk. They giggled about it for weeks.

"It's so..." Lizzie paused.

"Pink," James said with a pop.

"Yeah,"

They sat down at the Gryffindor Table. Lizzie sat in the middle of Remus and James. They were the first to get her little Valentine's.

"Here," she smiled and pushed over handmade cards to all the boys. Inside was a small Hershey's bar.

"Aww, thanks Liz," James looked at her, "I knew you loved me,"

"In your dreams Potter," she made a kissy face at him.

The owls started flying into the hall to bring all the students their morning mail. James got a letter from his mum that wished everyone a Happy Valentine's Day. A chocolate frog fell out of the package as well. James blushed, but it was cute that he got that from his mum.