Friday night was finally here. This had been both one of the quickest and one of the longest weeks of Harry's life, what with everything that was happening to and around him. At this point, he wasn't entirely sure what he should be doing from moment to moment and which problem required what part of his focus. It was a minor miracle that he had made it to all of his classes and not caused Snape or McGonagall to put him in detention, and he hadn't even really begun his duties as the new captain of the quidditch team yet.

Now, those problems were a lot simpler. It was just after eleven, he had a good chunk of his homework from the week done, and Harry knew exactly what he should be doing now, which is to say exactly what he WAS doing, slipping into the library under the invisibility cloak, checking the Marauder's Map one last time to make sure the coast was clear, and then taking off the cloak and slipping it in his bag. He wiped the map and then stuck it in the pocket of his jeans, thinking that he show it to Felicity later, depending on how this went.

His sneakers squeaked lightly as he made his way over to the appointed section. Why Felicity didn't want to just meet at one of the study tables to talk, Harry had no idea. His Puddlemere, shirt, one of the few things he owned besides school robes and Dudley's old things, was stuck to his back from sweat. Apparently he was more nervous about this meeting than he had initially let on. If Felicity really was Padfoot's goddaughter, he would once again have something of a family.

That was getting ahead of himself, though, especially since he had apparently gotten here earlier than the Hufflepuff, assuming that she was going to show. Now he was glad to be in the sports section after all. Rather than sitting at the table where his bag was and getting slowly more nervous, he was able to grab a book about quidditch strategy and flip through it for ideas until someone came in to stop him.

As Friday finally rolled around, Felicity found herself barely able to contain all of her emotions. She was overcome with excitement and nervousness, along with a certain sense of dread. What if what she found out wasn’t what she wanted to hear? She was trusting a lot of people with a lot of sensitive information, and how could she be sure what she was getting was the truth? That Granger girl had already scared her quite a bit with the whole blood test and those genealogy books that talked about the Blacks being some terribly dark wizards. She didn’t think she could handle much more in the way of negative news.

Still, Felicity knew her mother wanted her to seek out Harry Potter, and that had her preparing for a late night trek to the library. She’d owled her mum on Monday after having confronted the boy and set up the meeting. The response had been encouraging, if a bit cryptic. “I should do that charm mum mentioned…” the blonde muttered to herself, whispering a spell that had been written in the note just as her mum had told her to. She’d said it would ‘help her remain undetected’ in her journey to their secret meeting. Felicity figured it must amp up her disillusionment charm or something, as she added that one to the mix and shivered at the feeling of an egg cracking on her head and spreading over her body.

There was no reason the witch should be caught out of her dormitory, and so she smiled, heading for her destination on feather-light feet. She’d made quick time and gotten there rather early, noting the lack of anyone else as she whispered “alohomora” to enter the locked room. Leaving the door unlocked, she closed it and wandered over to the sports section, sighing at the choice she’d made. Why hadn’t she just made the boy find the medical section? At least then she’d have a good book to peruse.

Leaving her disillusionment charm on, along with the other spell her mum had sent, Felicity simply browsed the titles. She had never really paid much attention to quidditch, so she was amused by the names of the teams that glinted off the spines near her nose. She was silent in her observing until the boy she waited for appeared to the sound of squeaky shoes, much to her continued amusement. He had told her not to do anything foolish and get herself caught? Meanwhile he wandered about so loudly that anyone might hear him? That was a laugh.

She watched as he grabbed one of the nearby books and started flipping through it, thinking of how mean she could be. She wanted answers tonight, however, so she decided not to press her luck with the boy. Instead, she tapped her wand to her head and sighed as the charm wore off, bringing her back to the visible world. A grin crossed her face, and she tilted her head at the boy. “Anything good in there?” she asked. Her fingers found the loops for a belt in her khaki pants and she leaned forward on her toes a bit, long blonde hair waving with her motion. Felicity still wore a white button up from classes that day, only having changed the skirt for ease of movement’s sake, making her feel rather overdressed compared to the younger boy.

“So, will you tell me about my dad now? I even have ‘scientific proof’ if you’d like,” she said with a sour expression, recalling the equally sour girl who had given her such proof.

Harry lept away from the voice in shock, dropping his book to the floor as the girl from the other day appeared. He opened his mouth and closed it again, trying to speak and having no success. Finally he took a giant breath and controlled his racing nerves.

"How did you do that?" he said, doing his best not to sound panicked. It was not the appearing out of nowhere that had Harry freaked out. Various forms of invisibility had been the norm since he was exposed to the magical world. None of them made you invisible to the Marauder's Map, however, and he was certain that she hadn't been on there before. His hand was halfway to his pocket to check and be sure when he remembered that he wasn't sure about sharing it with Felicity yet.

Harry made his way over to the nearest chair instead and sank down onto it. This girl was clearly full of surprises. Anyone who could fool the map was not someone to be taken lightly or trifled with. "Your dad, right." The problem was that Harry had no idea where to begin. The good-natured pranks, the every day stories about Harry's parents, the easy way he laughed; what good were those to the man's daughter? Harry looked all around the room, as if one of the shelves would tell him what to say to the older girl.

Suddenly he realized that yet more unaccounted for nerves had made his mouth completely dry. He swallowed with great difficulty. "You don't happen to have anything to drink, do you?" he asked, giving the Hufflepuff an apologetic smile.

Felicity grinned, considering whether or not she should tell the boy about her mother’s spell. She figured maybe it would come up later, as she noticed the boy seemed distracted. It was fun that she’d taken him completely by surprise, though she wasn’t sure just what her mum’s little trick had done. A simple disillusionment charm shouldn’t have had him so shocked, and that was a bit concerning. She’d have to figure that out if she did discuss the charm with the boy later on.

He mentioned her dad and her eyes lit up, but Harry seemed distracted. Felicity felt her heart fall a bit at the sight, but she refused to let herself get too down about it. While she was hungry for information, she also knew she would get it at some point from the boy. It wasn’t necessary to rush him, and she was rather interested in the potential friendship blossoming between the two.

“Actually, I do have something to quench your thirst!” she answered brightly, remembering the side trip she’d made to the kitchens on her way to their little meeting. She pulled her school bag off her shoulder, removing four bottles of butterbeer and two bags full of foodstuff. One had little sandwiches with turkey and cheese, while the other was full of chocolate chip cookies that were still a bit warm. Felicity grinned wider as she placed all the goodies on the table near her companion.

“One of the biggest bonuses of residing so near the kitchens,” she said, taking a random bottle and cracking the seal, slipping the cap into her bag and taking a sip before grabbing on of the cookies. “And I don’t believe you can spoil your appetite by indulging in desert while it’s still in its best form, so I highly suggest a cookie while they’re still nice and toasty.” This last bit was said with a mouth full of chocolaty goodness, as the Hufflepuff indulged in one of her biggest weaknesses. She hoped the boy appreciated her treats. She definitely couldn’t eat and drink it all on her own.

Remembering the other thing she had to show him, Felicity grabbed a piece of parchment from her satchel. “Oh, and your bushy haired friend helped me produce this,” she said, smoothing out the family tree in front of the boy. “It grew from my blood.” She hoped he might be able to tell her a bit about the names on the tree, since she didn’t know any of them. Even Sirius was a mystery to her, even though she knew his name, and that greatly bothered her. Hopefully that would change after tonight.

Harry took a butterbeer, removed the cap, and drained half the bottle in one go. This was quickly followed by a cookie, which was delicious. Apparently all thoughts of Hufflepuffs trying to slip him love potions had already been forgotten. Then again, the butterbeer was sealed, and she ate the cookie first. That made it okay, right? "I thought the ability to get food from the kitchens was some closely guarded prankster secret," he said musingly. "Tell me at least that I'm still the only one who has a favorite house elf."

He glanced at the parchment she was showing him. It seemed to be a miniature of the family tree in the drawing room about 12 Grimmauld Place, expect that all of the decent people hadn't been blasted to smithereens. This was impressive, and would surely show a picture of the extended Black family that even Harry hadn't seen. "And what did Hermione think of this?" he asked with a wry smile, not sure whether he really wanted to know or not.

"Honestly, I've never met half of these people and the majority of them are fairly terrible." There really was no sugarcoating the Black family tree. The majority of the people on the page she had would be dead, and the world was really a better place for it. "Sirius was the black sheep of the family, so if you don't want to get the wrong impression of him, I would ignore anything else you see about the family for now."

He took another swig of butterbeer, wanting to see how Felicity would take this information before they moved on. Would she trust Harry to know about this? How well had her mother really known Sirius, and maybe his brother? This was a lot of information to spring on her, and Harry had to think their whole acquaintanceship couldn't be going the way the Hufflepuff had planned. Would she be okay with that?

“I like them all equally, so I guess you are the only one with a favorite, as far as I know,” she laughed, happily finishing her first cookie and grabbing a second. She would make herself eat a sandwich next, but Felicity wanted to enjoy the chocolaty goodness while it was still warm. She was happy that the boy was helping himself to her treats, and she couldn’t help but grin as he seemed to enjoy himself. “They do make wonderful goodies, the elves. And it cheers them so to have visitors. So I figure, if it makes them so happy, I might as well pick up some of my favorites every now and again.”

Her happiness faded quickly as Harry mentioned his bushy haired friend. Felicity’s face took on a sour expression as she remembered the way the girl had acted the two times they’d been in each other’s company so far. “I honestly don’t know how you deal with her all the time. That witch is a beast to put up with. Thinks she’s so superior and fantastic…” her glare was a bit scary, and Felicity fought to rein in her emotions. “Can you believe she tried to make it so I couldn’t show you this?”

With a roll of her green eyes, Felicity focused on Harry’s assessment of the family tree. So, the books were right. The Blacks were a dark family. “So, my dad was a good guy then? Mum was honest about him for the most part?” The Hufflepuff had always thought her mum had been honest with her, but it was nice to know that for sure. After all, the woman had kept her father from her for nearly seventeen full years. It was only natural to think she might have kept a bit more from her.

“I found a bit of information about those dark wizards, actually,” she muttered, letting out a sigh. “It frustrated me, to be honest. That was when I asked your friend about my dad. And she asked me to provide some blood.” Felicity blanched at the memory, thinking of how rude the Gryffindor had been. “I don’t think she likes me at all. Not sure why, though. I tried to be nice. She’s just… abrasive. She accused me of lying right from the start! Why would I lie about something like this?”

The blonde’s eyes were a bit glossy as she thought about how heartless it would be to lie about her parentage, especially given the circumstances. Bringing up a painful death without good reason? That would be so low. “Anyway,” she said, helping herself to a sandwich. “I’d love to know more about him. What was he like, my black sheep dad? Was he a good godfather to you?” She hoped that Sirius had been a good father to at least someone, even if it wasn’t her. She knew he didn’t get much time to prove himself in that role, but she hoped he at least took advantage of the little time he did have. Then maybe she could learn what he might have been like for her…

"Hermione can be a little, er, protective," he said defensively. He had heard rumors about this side of Hermione that kept people away from her, as well as him to some extent, but had never seen that side of her himself and tended to think it was better off if he didn't know. As far as he was concerned, Hermione was a great person, the best sister he could ask for, and what she did with other people was her business as long as it didn't actively affect him.

For once Harry was glad to be back to trying to talk about Padfoot, as it was a welcome distraction from the direction they had been going. Still, it took quite a bit of effort to figure out what he wanted to say. "He was the best man and the best godfather he could be," he finally said heavily. "It was hard for everybody." He almost teared up, but choked it back down. "I only knew him really for a couple of years, he was a fugitive the whole time, and for most of the first one he was on the run. The second one we were mostly banned from communicating because Voldemort was on to him and after him. So it was hard."

That had all sort of just come out. He hadn't meant to say all of it, but it truthfully summed up the situation. Harry wasn't entirely sure it answered her question, though. "Was he a good godfather? I don't know how to judge that question. He was the best man I knew, but I know I'm biased, and I don't know how to judge father figures, because I only really ever had terrible ones that were around for more than a little bit."

His hand drug across his eyes in an effort to hide the forming tears and his butterbeer came up to his mouth. He took a gulp to try and hide his tiny sob, not wanting this girl's pity. The last thing Harry needed on top of everything else was pity.

Felicity held back a snort at the thought of how ‘protective’ the bushy haired girl could be when it came to the bespectacled boy before her. He seemed to think highly of the girl, either way, so the Hufflepuff figured she should at least try to remain civil in regards to her. When he started talking about her dad, the girl’s heart swelled with a mixture of joy and sadness. She was so happy to learn about the man, but so sad that he was forever gone.

“If he made you happy, then he was good to you,” she said softly. “That’s all that matters.” She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as she thought about the man who acted as a father to this man. “I… I’m glad he could be there for you, even if it was only for a short time. He… he sounds like a g-great m-man.” Felicity couldn’t stop the tears from sliding down her cheeks then, as she thought of all the years that were stolen from her dad. He was innocent the whole time he was kept in that terrible prison, and then he was kept away from the one bit of family he knew about. This boy, who only ever wanted a father figure.

It just wasn’t fair.

Taking a small sip of her butterbeer, Felicity wiped her cheeks and shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she muttered, fighting to pull herself together. “I just wish things had gone differently. I wish… I wish he could have been with you for longer. And I wish I could have known him. Merlin, how I wish I could have known him.”

“If it means anything, I don’t really know how to judge dads either.” A small laugh actually escaped as she confessed this fact. It was better than crying, so she let herself grin at the thought. “My mum didn’t exactly make many male friends after dad. She especially didn’t let ‘em anywhere near me. It was just us girls my whole life, really. So I have no idea what makes a good dad, really.” That was what she wanted to know, though. What made a good dad, and was hers one? From the way this boy seemed to care for him, she was sure Sirius would have been one of the best, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

If he’d been a terrible person, maybe it would have been easier to accept that he was gone.

Harry lowered his bottle and nodded along. He was right to come here, no matter how hard it was. Hermione and the Weasleys were supportive, but they didn’t really understand, not like Felicity did. They had always had a supportive family that they could count on. This older girl knew what it was like to not have a father around, only a hole in your heart. He could bond with her in a way that he couldn’t with anyone else he could think of.

His hand went across the table, taking hers as he grabbed another cookie, hoping it would calm him down a little. He knew that he could cry in front of her, but at the same time it wasn’t a good use of her time. “Let me show you something,” he said with a smile, reaching into his pocket and pulling the currently blank Marauder’s Map out.

He pushed it across the table, seeing her confusion at a blank piece of twenty year old parchment. “Talk to it and try to get it to reveal its secrets,” he said with a mischievous grin. “That’s the only way I know to get it to do what I want it to, which is more a defense from eavesdroppers than its actual purpose.” The smile grew bigger and a little bit nostalgic as he thought of the only other time he had seen it do this. “If it works, your dad will be Mr. Padfoot. Mine will be Mr. Prongs.” The smile grew sad again at that thought, but he knew that it would be worth it, if only for Felicity to see a little bit of her dad when he was their age. That was always awesome.

“Talk to it?” she asked, tilting her head at the old piece of parchment that the boy had handed her. “Harry Potter, if you are messing with me I swear I’m going to smack you with one of these bottles…” she trailed, but stopped when words started appearing on the paper. Her breath caught in her throat when she realized what the words said, and who they were from.

Mr. Prongs kindly asks the blonde not to harm his son… too badly.

She stared at the parchment in awe for a minute, then started laughing uncontrollably. “You’re dad just gave me permission to hurt you!” She held her stomach as she watched the words fade into the thick parchment, leaving it blank once again. “What is this thing?”

Mr. Moony would like to inform Miss Taylor that she is looking upon the Marauders’ Map, and hopes that Mr. Potter knows what he is doing in sharing it with her.

She gaped at the ‘map’ as the man called it. “Who is Mr. Moony?” she asked Harry. He had only told her about two of the marauders. How many of them were there, anyway? It made her rather happy to know that her dad and this boy’s dad were friends in school, though, and she found herself staring at the parchment, wanting so much for the name ‘Padfoot’ to appear.

Thinking for a moment, Felicity decided she would do just what Harry told her to do. “Daddy,” she murmured. “A-are you… are you really there?”

Mr. Padfoot wishes he could hug his beautiful daughter…

Felicity’s eyes welled up with tears and a choked sob escaped her throat at the fading words. He was there! At least, kind of. It wasn’t the same as him actually being there and talking to her, but it was something. She looked at Harry with love in her green orbs. “Oh, Harry,” she whispered, throwing her arms about his neck. “Thank you!”

Mr. Moony must insist that Padfoot and Prongs stop punching each other at once.

Mr. Prongs must insist that Padfoot locate his missing testicles.

Mr. Padfoot feels the need to point out how emotional Prongs can get when his kid is involved.

Once again, Mr. Moony thinks it wise for his friends not to fight.

The map was moving too fast for the girl to really follow, and she didn’t want the marauders to fight. “Um, Harry,” she choked, willing her tears to stop as she watched the scribbling keep up the frantic pace. She couldn’t read any of it anymore, and it almost seemed like the parchment was having a seizure. “What do we do now?”

Harry’s face spread into a wide grin. That was even better than he expected. Apparently the Map could recognize who it was talking to and the show he remembered had been specifically for their old enemy Snape. He had thought at least that their spirits in the Map would stay seventeen forever, like Riddle in the creepy death diary, but apparently even that had been a false assumption. Then they started getting out of control.

“Dad! Sirius! Behave yourselves for this young lady.” At that he couldn’t help but let out a snort of laughter. “You need to calm down so that she can understand you or I will find a way to turn the both of you off!” he shouted in a stage whisper.

Sorry, son.” flashed onto the paper in two different handwritings and everything else faded away.

“Now then, there are actually four people who live in the map, but you’ll only really recognize three of them at all. Obviously the two I told you about, but Mr. Moony is Professor Lupin, Defense Against the Dark Arts from three years ago or so. He was their other best mate all through school and the reason for the nicknames. I’ll get into that another day.”

He paused, not wanting to talk about the other hand that might appear on the map. Still, it would confuse her if he didn’t. “Hopefully the three of them don’t let Mr. Wormtail talk anymore, but if they do ignore anything he says. He’s a worthless git, a Death Eater, and the worst decision that the three of them ever made.”

Harry’s breathing was heavy, his talking was getting louder, and he was going to get them both caught if they kept going much longer. “I’ll tell you what,” he said more calmly. “Tomorrow is Hogsmeade day. Keep that tonight, have a chat with those amazing guys, and bring it around to the Three Broomsticks at lunch time. I’ll buy you a butterbeer and a meal and we can talk some more then. Sound good?”[/i]

A huge smile broke over Felicity’s face as the two scrawls of ‘son’ flashed over the parchment. Her dad was calling this boy his son, and it warmed her heart. She knew he was a good man, and he was slowly proving her right, one comment at a time. As Harry explained the paper to her, the Hufflepuff’s green eyes widened in wonder. Four people resided inside of it? She wondered how much they could say. How much could they communicate with her? It was probably limited by general magical limitations of some sort, but that was all beyond Felicity. Perhaps that brainy brunette would know? But she didn’t want to ask her. Maybe Harry could ask at some point in the future… For now, Felicity was happy enough to have said hello to her father.

“Wow. Professor Lupin? Really? He was friends with dad? I wish I would have known then… I could have asked him about him. Oh, Harry,” she was talking fast and mostly to herself at this point, so she wasn’t sure if the boy would even understand what all she was talking about. “Do you think I could talk to him sometime? I mean, do you think he’d even remember me? Does he even talk to any students anymore? I mean… I don’t even know whatever happened to Professor Lupin. He was a wonderful professor though. I do so miss having him here at the school. I don’t see why he had to leave and…” She realized she was rambling and stopped herself, clamping her jaws shut and blushing profusely.

The blonde shook her head, relaxing as she calmed herself. “Sorry. Um… that other man sounds terrible. I hope they have him silenced somehow. I’ll ignore anything he manages to say, though.” She reached out to rub Harry’s back, hoping she might calm him a bit. It seemed the very idea of the Wormtail man had him riled up to a point of murderousness, and that had Felicity a bit concerned. She rubbed his back as he spoke, her eyes growing wider still as his words sunk in.

“A… are you sure?” she asked in barely a whisper, holding the parchment close to her heart. “I mean, I would… I would love to.” She was absolutely stunned at the very thought. A whole night to talk to her dad? Or whatever remnants there were of him. Either way, it was her dad! This was incredible. An amazing gift for this boy to entrust her with, and she’d forever owe him. Plus, he was asking her out for a drink and some food on their first Hogsmeade trip of the year. The Hufflepuff couldn’t help but feel special as the boy proposed this plan, and she nodded with a huge grin on her face. “Yes, please! Oh, Harry. You are an amazing man, you know that? Mum was right about me talking to you. This has been the best decision of my life!”

Quickly, Felicity leaned in and pecked the boy on his cheek before turning on her heel and running off out of the library. She’d forgotten to put on her disillusionment charm, but somehow managed not to get caught on her way back to the Hufflepuff dorm. Hopefully Harry had done something with the cookies and sandwiches that were left, because Felicity had completely forgotten them. She was much too excited to spend the night getting to know her dad and his best friends, and dream about the boy she’d so daringly kissed.