Opening my eyes the next morning, I noticed that I was the first one awake.  Slowly crawling out of Remus's embrace, I tiptoed quietly out of the room. Careful not to let the door creak as I shut it, I made my way to the kitchen.

Swinging the kitchen door open, I noticed a piece of paper on the island.  Sitting down on one of the stools, I picked it up and realized it was a note from Mum.

Good morning, kids!
Your father and I are out shopping. Afterwards, we'll be at the Anderson's for the celebratory Auror Party they're hosting. We'll be back by 11 tonight. If you want, you can get a pizza from the nearby muggle town for dinner. James and Sirius, please don't touch the stove. We don't want another incident like last time. Laura and Remus, you two are in charge.
Love,
Mum and Dad

I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized we weren't expected to attend the Anderson's party. Every year that James and I have been forced to attend, we had to dress fancily, be polite, sophisticated, and talk politics with all the other adults. The only bright side to attending these parties was that there was always one adult that drank way too much and acted like a child.

Standing up, I walked over to the cabinets and grabbed one of my many favorite coffee mugs as the bewitched coffee pot began brewing coffee. This mug was a Christmas gift from Remus. It was white and in black letters it read: Good morning. I see the assassins have failed.

Behind me, I heard the kitchen door swing open. Turning around, I saw that it was Sirius (and he was still shirtless).

"Morning, Sunshine," he mumbled through a yawn.

"Morning," I mumbled back.

Neither of us were morning people. James and Remus, however, are a different story. As Sirius read the note that Mum had left, the coffee pot dinged, signaling that the coffee was ready. Padding over to the fridge to retrieve the French vanilla creamer, I glanced at my reflection in the stainless steel door. With my hair in a messy bun, I didn't look as horrid as I could have.

Heading back to the coffee pot with my creamer in hand, I heard Sirius scoff playfully.

"We catch the kitchen on fire one time, and they won't let us forget it."

Not trusting myself to respond before coffee, I leaned against the counter as I took a long drink from my cup and sighed contentedly as I felt it warm my soul. "Calm down, they were joking. Now, if you want coffee, I suggest you get it before I drink the rest."

"Where's my coffee mug?" Sirius asked. The coffee mug that he was referring to was actually one of mine that he had stolen and deemed his. It was white and read in black letters: A giant cup of who the hell knows

I pointed to the cabinet that I had gotten my mug out of. As Sirius raised his arm above his head to grab his mug, I gasped loudly. Running half way up his side was a red, fresh looking, scar that was surrounded by a couple of black and blue bruises. Realizing what I was gasping about, Sirius quickly put his arm down to cover his side.

"What happened?" I asked in a horrified whisper.

Chuckling darkly, Sirius poured a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter next to me before answering. "Just a little family reunion. Its nothing to worry about."

Deciding not to push him on the subject, I took another sip of my coffee as an awkward silence surrounded us. Thankfully, James and Remus interrupted it a few seconds later as they stumbled through the door.

"Good morning," Remus chimed cheerfully.

"Morning," Sirius and I mumbled in unison. "Mum left a note," I added.

After they read it, James looked at Sirius and I and asked, "What are you two drinking?"

In reply, Sirius just pointed to his cup. Remus, knowing better than to converse with us before we've finished our coffee, pulled a box of waffle mix out of the pantry and set work on breakfast.

****

As the four of us sat around the island and ate breakfast, we discussed our plans for the day.

"Your mum mentioned a nearby muggle town in the note. Why don't we spend the day there?" Remus suggested.

"Sounds good to me," I answered.

"Its a plan," James and Sirius said together.

****

Twenty minutes later, the four of us were properly dressed and heading out the front door. Seeing as to how we were all too young to drive and had to walk everywhere today, we were all dressed comfortably.

As the warm summer sun hit me, I slipped my sunglasses on. Smiling happily, I jumped onto Remus's back.

He caught me with ease and didn't skip a beat. His werewolf strength really came in handy for things like unexpected sneak attacks.

Walking most of the way in comfortable silence, the small town suddenly came into view. It really was quite small. There was a park, a couple of  convenience stores, a pizza parlor, a movie theater, some houses, and a daycare.

"So where are we going first?" Sirius asked.

"To the park!" I commanded playfully. "Onward, my noble steed," I said referring to Remus. "We must reach the swings before these peasants do!"

Laughing at my childish antics, Remus followed my orders as we ignored James and Sirius's cries of protests. Reaching the swings, I jumped off of Remus's back and hopped onto a swing. As James and Sirius caught up to us, I realized that we were the only people there. However, this wasn't including the group of boys at the basketball court. Remus took the swing next to me as James took the one on the other side of him. Sirius was the only one that remained standing.

"If you're not going to swing, come push mine, Mr. Wannabe Punk," I teased.

Coming to stand behind me, Sirius dragged my swing as far back as he could. Before he let go, he said in a fake offended tone, "I am not a wannabe punk."

Ignoring his comment, I swung my legs forward to go even higher. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as James and Remus swung up in unison. As I continued to swing, I watched the basketball game unfold. None of the boys playing were particularly good but they played better than I could so I was in no place to judge. One of the boys seemed vaguely familiar but I couldn't get a good look at him from this distance.

Suddenly, Sirius grabbed the sides of my swing, causing me to come to a sudden stop. Looking around, I saw that Remus and James had stopped swinging as well.

"Earth to Laura. Did you hear me?" He asked.

"Sorry, Sirius. I guess I zoned out for a moment. What did you say?"

Sighing exasperatedly, he answered me. "I said, do you want to go check out the shops?"

"Sure," I said as I jumped off of my swing.

Leading the way towards the nearest store, I slowed down as we passed the basketball court to get a look at the boys playing. Examining them closely, I suddenly recognized the familiar looking boy.

As I stopped walking completely, I put one of my hands out to stop James, Sirius, and Remus as well.

Ignoring their looks of confusion, I cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted, "Seth Hatton! What are you doing here?"

Realization suddenly dawned on James's face. The blond boy that I had yelled at dropped the basketball he was holding and he wheeled around. Upon seeing me, a grin immediately spread across his face. Running forward, I hugged him tightly as he spun me around.

As Seth sat me down again, I said, "I thought you moved!"

Laughing, he said, "I did. I'm just visiting some relatives for a few days."

As he spoke, I couldn't help but examine his body. Unlike the last time I had seen Seth, he now had a California tan, accent, and abs.

Sighing disappointedly, I said, "Well, you need to move back. Summer vacation is boring without you here."

Before Seth could answer, Sirius shouted, "Oi! We don't have all day, Potter."

"Who's that? Your boyfriend?" Seth asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"No!" I replied defensively. Sighing, I hugged him again as I said, "But he is right. I need to go. Hopefully I'll see you before you leave."

"Hopefully," he replied as I let go and walked back to Sirius, Remus, and James.

"Who was that?" Sirius asked.

"Just a childhood friend," I replied casually. "Now, let's go shopping."

****

The rest of the day passed quickly. Sirius got us kicked out of the sweets shop when he 'accidentally' knocked over an entire row of candy. I managed to talk him into getting a bad ass leather jacket that looks amazing on him. After shopping, we had ordered two pizzas and walked home.

Everyone but me had fallen asleep about halfway through the movie. We were all sleeping in the same spots from yesterday. As the ending credits rolled across the screen, I finally let my eyelids close and dozed off to sleep as I heard the front door open.