Bittersweet

Chapter Four:

A Great and Terrible Power

The next morning Felicity awoke particularly early and dressed at top speed. Something important was going to happen today. She could feel it and it wasn't until she had tied the shoelaces on her Pumas and was straightening up to adjust her plain black robes did she remember that Harry Potter had arrived last night. He had arrived and Uncle Snape had forbade her to meet him.

Ha! As if she intended to listen to him. That would be admitting that he had some control over her and he certainly did not. Felicity grabbed the Extendable Ears she had "borrowed" from Fred and George, threw her Invisibility Cloak around her, and hurried out of the room, thinking she would return the eavesdropping device to it's rightful owners.

As she sneaked out of her room and down the stairs toward the twins' room, she began plotting how exactly she would present herself to the rest of the house. She was still pondering the possible ways to do it when she opened Fred's secret drawer and placed the fleshy stringy-thing back inside amidst its fellow fleshy stringy-things. She shut the door and before exiting paused to study the two drowsing occupants of the room. George was lying spread-eagle across his bed, with his mouth gaping open, snoring contently, his covers in a tangle at the foot of his bed. In the adjacent bed, however, Fred was curled into a neat little ball, his knees almost tucked into his chest, breathing quietly. From what Felicity had seen of Fred and George they were identical down to the very last thought. She was therefore extremely pleased that she had discovered at least one of their differences.

Then George rolled over and began stretching his arms and Felicity realized she had better get back to her room as she had more pressing matters than studying the twins at hand. Namely coming up with some way of revealing herself. She paused at the railing overlooking the floors below. Down on one of those floors were two people, one with intentionally tousled flaming red hair and the other with untidy jet-black hair that looked as though he couldn't quite control it.

She recognized Ron immediately and after the process of elimination (which took an unsurprisingly short time) she realized that the second boy must be Harry Potter. She watched them cross the second floor landing toward the drawing room.

"Now you get to experience what a pleasure it's been living here all summer," Ron said grimly.

Harry Potter laughed and the intense powerful feeling flooded back to her. "It can't've been that bad?" he asked as they entered the drawing room.

Felicity wished she could've seen his face as the hairs on the back of her neck prickled. She hated not knowing and right now she felt that her mind was leaving her in the dark. It knew something that it wasn't telling her about this Harry Potter. It knew why he made her feel this way.

She hardly noticed the two crack!s that came from the twins' bedroom, though they did make her get a move on away from the banister. She made her way back to her bedroom as possibilities came rushing into her mind:

Perhaps he was full of Dark magic. She had always been able to sense Dark magic and it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, like this did.... But, no that didn't make sense. He was Harry Potter, who had defeated the Dark Lord, the darkest of dark. He couldn't be dark himself, or it wouldn't make sense for the Dark Lord to try and kill him. So that possibility was out for the moment.

It could be infatuation. Maybe she was attracted to him... no that couldn't be either. She hadn't even seen his face. How could you be attracted to someone that you had only heard speak and seen the top of their head? There was no swooshing feeling in her stomach either, and that had always accompanied the feeling of attraction.

But her heart did beat faster when she saw him...

But there was no swoosh... so it wasn't possible. It was just... it was something else she couldn't place just yet. But she had a feeling that when she met him she would know how he had this hold over her.

Felicity sank to the floor and slumped against her bed, letting the Invisibility Cloak sag off her shoulders. So she couldn't figure out what the deal was with Harry Potter... she still had to figure out how she was going to meet him. Now she wasn't only anxious to meet him to disobey her guardian, but to satisfy her own curiosity....Knock, knock, knock.

That would be Sirius.

"Go away, Sirius," she called, trying to sound bored with him. She didn't want to be bothered by him jovially bouncing around her room talking about Harry Potter when she was trying to figure out how to meet the kid.

"C'mon, Felicity," said Sirius appeasingly. "You can't stay in there forever. You have to come out to go to Hogwarts you know."

"Hogwarts is at least a month away," she said, growing annoyed. She couldn't think while having to banter with him through the door.

"Ah, but you want to make friends before you go, right?" Sirius said. Felicity sincerely would have like to kick him, he sounded so cheerful. "You have a gang of teenagers downstairs that would love to meet you."

Not this again. "Whatever, Sirius," she said forcing her voice to sound bored again. "Just go away. I am not in the mood to put up with you."

"No can do. I'm coming in," Sirius said jauntily. Felicity's mind flashed trying to come up with some excuse."Don't, Sirius! I'm not decent!" she cried the first thing that popped into her head.

The door opened and Sirius strolled in as though he owned the place, though come to think of it, he did.

She scowled venomously at him. "Now what would you have done if I hadn't been lying!" demanded Felicity.

"I would have turned bright red and shrieked like a little girl," said Sirius with a laugh. "Anyway, that's not the reason I came. I want you to meet someone. He's my godson."

Felicity got to her feet as Sirius perched himself on the baseboard of her bed. "Sirius, dear, we've had this discussion," said Felicity in a sarcastically exasperated voice, while her heart beat violently and chills broke out over her skin. Just keep calm, Fee, don't give yourself away, she told herself soothingly. "They already don't like me because from what you've told me, my lame excuse of an uncle is a complete bastard to all of them, especially your godson." She was making her voice deliberately bitter and cynical. "I don't want to come down and force my company on a bunch of people who will do nothing but judge me for him and the fact that I'm American."

She wasn't exactly sure why she was refusing Sirius when she was just about to come up with a plan to expose herself to the rest of the house. But she was. She internally cursed herself, for being so proud. She couldn't just let go of her dignity, just this once and it really aggravated her.

Sirius looked at her kindly and said, "And what do you think you are doing right now? You don't know them either and you're judging them."

There was a long pause, during which Felicity looked from her feet to Sirius as he watched her. She didn't know what to do. If he left she would have time to herself to think about how she would meet this Harry Potter. But if he stayed she could let him take her downstairs to meet his godson. She would have liked to wear something a bit more impressive than just a white tank-top, jeans, and plain black robes, but if she asked Sirius to let her change before she went down with him... well he would harp on about it forever.

She would just have to allow him to take her down looking like this.

"Well," she said with a resigned sigh, preparing herself to allow him something she had been denying since she'd arrived. She knew it wasn't, but it felt a whole lot like admitting defeat, "I suppose you're right..."

"Good, then you can come in now, Harry," he cut in.

"You brought one of them-you brought him up here!" she shrieked, her eyes locking onto the door. Oh God, he was outside her door. Harry Potter was up here. Panic washed over her and her breath caught in her throat. But Harry didn't enter just yet.

"Looks like it," said Sirius, without a care for her obvious discomfort. "Come on in, Harry."

Felicity dove for the Invisibility Cloak she had left lying beside the bed and drew it over her head just as Harry Potter walked through her door, a look of amazement on his face as he gazed around her room.

Felicity scrambled to her feet under the cloak and Sirius began laughing.

"She's under her Invisibility Cloak," he explained to Harry Potter, shaking his head as he stifled another laugh.

"You have one too?" Harry asked curiously. He peered around the room for her, his gaze landing on an area near the window, obviously suspecting she was there. In truth she was leaning against the bookcase, trying to steady herself from the dizziness that had come over quite suddenly and appeared to have everything to do with the fact that he had spoken to her directly.

"You disgust me, Sirius Black!" Felicity said faintly, angry at him for bringing this unwanted weakness upon her. Sirius and Harry both jerked their heads toward the sound and she moved away from their gaze, deliberately trying not to look at Harry Potter. She wanted to, badly, but she didn't want to study him while he had no idea he was being studied. It just didn't seem right and would have made her feel slightly creeped out herself.

"Americans," Sirius said with an exaggerated exasperated sigh.

In three strides Felicity had crossed the room, a fold of her cloak unintentionally brushing against Harry, and bopped Sirius hard on the back of the head.

The convict leapt up from the bed, rubbing the back of his head furiously. "That hurt, Felicity Parish," he said seriously, looking around wildly and entirely in the wrong direction. "And I'll have no more of this! Now, come out!"

Felicity was unable to contain a small chuckle. It had felt quite nice to take some of her frustration to on him, as most of it was his fault. But there was a situation at hand. She could either come out from under the cloak and meet Harry Potter like she needed to or she could stay under and give Harry Potter the impression that she was just a childish American.

"Well," she said, trying to sound unsure even though she had already made up her mind. She paused for a while pacing across the room so they wouldn't know exactly where she was until she chose to reveal herself. "I suppose I can come out," she said in a tired voice, while inside excitement was coursing through her, "but only on one condition."

"Name it!" Sirius said forcibly.

"You stop calling me 'American' and 'Southern Belle'," she said, figuring she could at least get one thing out of this whole mess.

Sirius considered then said, "But that's what you are, but I guess if I must, I'll stop. Now will you come out?"

Silently, Felicity crossed the room to stand behind Harry Potter and Sirius, who were currently staring at the spot where her voice had come from last. She took a deep breath and let the Invisibility Cloak slide from around her into a puddle at her feet.

They didn't turn around.

Rolling her gray eyes, she took another deep breath and cleared her throat, her eyes on him.

Almost immediately Harry Potter spun around, his gaze traveling from her feet to her face. His eyes widened with... what? Pleasure? More amazement? Intimidation? Please don't like me, yet, she begged him with her eyes. You don't even know me. And don't look at me like that, you make my face burn and my skin spark...But she couldn't just stand there. For one thing she needed to be closer to him and she needed to look at him closer... and to stop looking like an idiot would be nice.

She marched over to him and stuck out her hand. "Hi, I'm Felicity Parish," she said, her eyes traveling along him.

He was about the same height as herself, big feet, wearing rather baggy jeans with a tears in the knees. He was a little skinny but with broad shoulders that looked as though they still needed to be grown into a little more. He had toned arms of an athlete, his lower lip slightly fuller than his upper, circular framed glasses perched atop a normal nose, brilliant green eyes, a lightening bolt scar on his forehead, and jet-black hair that stuck up in messy tufts all over his head.

Her gaze swept back to his green eyes just as they found her own gray ones and his hand took hers. Felicity's heart beat faster and faster, her mouth went dry, her breath caught in her throat. The room began to spin, causing her to feel seasick. Cold sweat broke over her and chills raced up her back. He was full of a power, a great and terrible power, a beautiful power, and one just recently developed and not fully manifested. He would be great someday. But his soul was tormented with the new power, with nightmares of the past, with agony of something missing, with anxiety of something new.

"It's very nice to meet you," she said automatically, feeling detached from herself as those green eyes glittered and lingered on hers, "and I hope you won't take what I said earlier to offense."

"Harry Potter," he said awkwardly, looking away from her over at Sirius, "and it's alright about the other thing." He let go of her hand and Felicity's self control returned full blast. The chills, quickened heartbeat, cold sweat, loss of breath, dizziness, and dryness of mouth left her and she had control over herself. All the odd things she'd felt when she'd heard him, seen him, touched him here gone now that she could name what had caused them. The only thing left was a swooshing in her stomach, which she could make go away faster than you could say quidditch and she did.

"Well," said Felicity sarcastically, aiming a contemptuous glare at Sirius, who was trying very hard not to laugh. Now she just needed them to leave so she could get a better hold on herself. "Now that we've all met, y'all can go back downstairs and tackle them dust-bunnies." Her gaze returned to Harry, begging him to forgive her for being rude. "Mr. Potter. Harry. It's been a real pleasure."

She moved to the door, opened it and gestured to them the way out. Harry politely took a step forward.

"Don't move, Harry," said Sirius, a laugh escaping from him with these words.

"Oh, no. You're not staying, Sirius," Felicity said sternly, giving him "the look." All women of every age, race, and nation, Muggle or witch, had their own look that can make any man or wizard back down and since Felicity was part Veela her look was much worse than a normal witch's. "Now, out!"

Sirius flinched under her glare and got to his feet, but made no move toward the door. "Oh no," he said, looking sly. "You're coming back down stairs with us to... ah... mingle."

She had turned her "look" off and his blasted sense of humor was returning.

"No I'm not!" Felicity said firmly. I need to be with myself for a few moments, she thought.

"Yes, you are!" he insisted."NO, I'M NOT!"

"Felicity Parish, if I have to carry you, and believe me I'll do it, you are going downstairs with us."Now was the time for a fit. Without another word she sank to the floor and crossed her arms over her chest. "Ready when you are, mate," she said, with a grin and a wink.

Sirius stared down at her for a few seconds, clearly trying to decide what his next move should be. One of psychological trickery or physical strength. She watched as he strolled across the room toward her. Then without warning Felicity felt herself being picked up from the ground. He had picked her up! He had picked her up and had thrown her over his shoulder!

She heard Harry drown a laugh in a cough.

"SIRIUS BLACK!" she shrieked. "Are you mad? Put me down!"

"Ready, Harry?" Sirius called to Harry as Felicity continued to shriek angry insults. Harry nodded, his eyes wide with surprise and dancing with laughter. "Right, then let's go!" Sirius said.

"You are mad! You crazy man! What is wrong with you? I don't want to go downstairs! Put me down this instant! Sirius Black! I don't know what's in your head or if there's anything at all, but you let me go! Put me down! You mad lunatic! Crazy escaped convict! Put me DOWN! NOW!"

Suffice to say he didn't.

So she didn't quit. She beat her fists against his back and attempted to kick his face, all the while shouting the horrid things that would happen to him if he didn't put her down. Down two flights of stairs she cursed him, thoroughly embarrassed, angry, and ready to gouge his eyes out. Then it dawned on her that she wasn't making any progress because Sirius found it funny and she was just embarrassing herself further. This in mind she began to sulk, avoiding Harry's gaze as he walked behind his godfather.

"I'm sorry you have such a beast for a godfather," Felicity said in a sympathetic voice, pushing the hair out of her face. "It must suck."

"How would it suck?" asked Harry, looking and sounding confused.

"It's just a saying," she explained, realizing that she wasn't in America anymore and half the things she said would not make sense to the rest of the people here. "Means it must be bad or something like that."

"Oh," he said as Sirius chuckled to himself some more.

No one spoke a word the rest of the way, indeed Felicity did not know what to say. She really wanted to go back upstairs and hide in her room, but she didn't seem to have much of a choice there, did she?

They reached the door to the drawing room and as Sirius opened his mouth a loud, clanging bell sounded from downstairs, followed at once by the cacophony of screams and wails that was Sirius's dear mother. Felicity wondered why her own shouts and insults had failed to motivate the angry portrait. Hearing Felicity insult her son had probably comforted dear old Mrs. Black.

"Haha, they woke your mother," said Felicity sarcastically.

"I keep telling them not to ring the doorbell!" he said as he put Felicity down next to Harry and turned to speak to her. "Alright, Felicity if you go back up stairs I'll just come and get you again, so you might as well just stay here. They are all good people and you have been upstairs alone too long."

And he hurried off, thundering down the stairs as Mrs. Black's screeches echoed up through the house once more: "Stains of dishonor, filthy half-breeds, blood traitors, children of filth..." Felicity had no doubt that he would indeed carry her back downstairs should she choose to run away right now so she didn't. She obeyed him, lest she resemble an arrogant six-year-old even more than she already did to the famous Harry Potter.

"Well, here we are," he said warily. He looked afraid she might combust or something and she was truly sorry for it. "Er... I'll go in first, shall I?"

"After you," Felicity said, with a heavy sigh, resigned for the worst.

He opened the door and walked into the room. Felicity followed reluctantly. Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were all grouped around their mother and she was a stern commanding look on her face. They were getting lectured and probably about her.

Harry cleared his throat. "Erm... everyone, this is Felicity Parish."

They all turned around at the sound of his voice and the male half of the group stared, their jaw lines sagging slightly.

"Hi," Felicity said, with a small wave, feeling embarrassed and stupid as they continued to gaze at her.

Efficient as always, Hermione strolled forward and held out her hand. Felicity took it. "Hi, I'm Hermione Granger," she said. That's Ronald the taller redhead; Fred and George the twins; Ginny their younger sister; and Mrs. Weasley, their mother."

"Hello," Felicity said, trying to be very polite to all these people that she already knew. Normally she wouldn't be so nervous, but she liked them already, and she wanted them to like her. "It's a pleasure to meet you all."

"Hello there, I'm Fred," said Fred, grinning as he grabbed her hand and gave it a hearty shake. "It's very nice to meet you.

George elbowed him out of the way and shook the hand that Fred had released. "I'm George," he said with a grin matching Fred's, "the good-looking half of the Weasley twins."

She laughed and beamed at them. Ron took her hand next and she offered him a warm smile.

"Ron, not Ronald," he said, rolling his eyes at Hermione, "and it's nice to meet you.

Ron stepped aside and Ginny squeezed her hand gently. "Hi, I'm Ginny, welcome to Grimmauld Place."

She smiled at her and squeezed her back.

"It's very nice to meet you, dear," said Mrs. Weasley, taking Felicity's hand in her own and patting it with her other. "Tell me, where in American are you from?"

"I'm from the southern states," said Felicity, thinking fondly of home. "The good old Confederacy."

"Wow," said Ginny softly. "And your parents let you come all the way to Britain?"

Felicity's heart sank. She had been hoping this could have waited a little while at least until they'd gotten to know each other a little better. "Umm... my-my parents... both my parents are dead," she explained quietly. "See, I finished my private schooling last semester and my somehow godfather, whom I refer to as 'Uncle' sent for me and now I'm here. I'm going to Hogwarts this term to take some of the classes my school back in America didn't offer."

She knew they were all looking at her, but she could actually feel Harry's eyes searching her own. She would always know when he was watching her...

"We're so sorry, dear," said Mrs. Weasley sympathetically.

"Oh, no it's fine," she said, nodding her head and trying to sound chipper and not think about her mother and father. "I don't even really remember them, I was only a child when they were... when they died."

There was an awkward silence and she had started it so it was up to her to end it. Felicity shook her hair back out of her face, tied it up with a hair elastic, and picked up a cloth and a spray bottle of something, studying it closely. They were trying to get rid of doxies, apparently, a creature she'd only seen once out in her garden. She had been with Tyler and Anne and the little black fairy-like thing had given Tyler a nasty bite.

She looked back up at the others, still watching her and smiled. "So d'you have room for one more?" Felicity asked with a small laugh. "I don't think I've ever done this before, so, Ginny, Hermione, you'll have to help me."

"Of course," said Hermione, smiling at her and Ginny nodded, eager to fix her mistake of bring up Felicity's parents.Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests lay open on the sofa and Mrs. Weasley leaned over to check what it said.

"Right, you lot, you need to be careful, because doxies bite and their teeth are poisonous. I've got a bottle of antidote here, but I'd rather nobody needed it."

Mrs. Weasley straightened up, positioned herself squarely in front of the curtains, and beckoned them all forward. Felicity was standing between Ginny and Ron, both of whom looked slightly bored that they would be spending the afternoon, stunning doxies.

"When I say the word, start spraying immediately," Mrs. Weasley said, reminding Felicity of a general leading her troops into battle. The only thing missing was the patriotic music and the flag fluttering behind her in the background. "They'll come flying out at us, I expect, but it says on the sprays one good squirt will paralyze them. When they're immobilized, just throw them in this bucket."

She stepped carefully out of their line of fire to stand beside Hermione and raised her own spray. "All right --- squirt!"Felicity began squirting the curtains and within minutes the enemy presented itself. A full-grown doxy flew out, winging whirring, fangs bared, and tiny fists clenched in fury. Felicity let it get within a foot of her nose before she raised her spray bottle and gave it a good blast in the face. It fell with a thunk to the floor and she picked it up and threw it in the bucket.Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. More doxies rained down to hit the floor as the team of eight attacked the charging foes that inhabited the moldy curtains.

Had they been at actual war, Fred and George would have definitely headed up the Torture for Information department. One of the twins had a wriggling doxy pinched between his forefinger and his thumb, looking amused as it struggled in fury.

"Fred, what are you doing?" said Mrs. Weasley sharply, obviously spotting the trouble. "Spray that at once and throw it away!"

"Right-o," Fred said brightly. He sprayed the doxy in the face and it went limp between his fingers. Mrs. Weasley gave him a satisfied look and turned to continue spraying the curtains. But instead of throwing the doxy into one of the designated buckets Fred placed the doxy in his pocket and gave Harry, who was also watching the mischief, a wink.

Just then a hoard of doxy troops zoomed out at her and she was forced to turn her attention back to the matter at hand or risk being bit.

"After this I can't really blame you for wanting to stay in your room," Ron said, spraying vigorously at a pair of doxies flitting toward him.

Felicity smiled and laughed. "No, it's really no problem," she said quickly. "This is... fun."

Hermione rolled her eyes at Felicity. "This is fun?" she asked. "I guess I didn't get the memo."

Felicity laughed again and shook her head.

"Seriously, given the choice between doxy spraying and hanging out in my room, I would have would have definitely chosen my room and you should see my room," Ginny said with a small laugh.

"I really don't mind," Felicity argued. "It's actually rather nice to be out of my room for once."

Suddenly she felt Harry's eyes upon her again. She laughed as Ginny made another comment about this place being a run like a sweat shop and furtively glanced out of the corner of her eye at Harry. He was talking in low voices with Fred and George. His gaze flicked back onto her and she immediately pretended to be extremely interested in what Ron was saying.

"I think I'll get her a horse-hide whip for Christmas," he said sarcastically. "She's a slave driver, honestly."

"Really, Ron, be nice," Hermione said, pointing her spray bottle at his face. "You're mum's just trying to get this place clean and let's face it, there probably isn't a house that needs it more."

"It does seem like it, doesn't it?" Harry said from behind Felicity. She hadn't even noticed he'd moved. Felicity laughed and begged her face not to turn crimson.

"We were just telling Felicity about how we don't blame her for not coming down and joining the rest of the slaves," Ron said, raising his eyebrows at Harry.

"You two are in for a real treat over the next couple of weeks," Ginny said. "You get to experience the magic-"

"-the mystery-" Fred put in.

"-the majesty-" added Goerge."

"-and the misery-" said Ron dully.

"-of decontaminating Number twelve Grimmauld Place," Ginny finished.

Felicity and Harry shared a look and began to laugh.

"I'm sure it can't be that bad," Felicity said doubtfully. "Really, I don't mind at all."

"Oh you don't mind now," Ron said, spraying a doxy in the face. "Just give it a couple weeks. Then you'll mind."

Just then a hoard of doxies came zooming out and headed straight toward Ginny. It took the combined efforts of Felicity, Hermione, Harry, and Ron to keep Ginny from being bit. Mrs. Weasley was not impressed.

"You lot had better quit chattering and pay attention," she said irritably. "That wouldn't have happened if you had been on your guard."

"Sorry, sir, I'd forgotten we had joined the army," Ron muttered under his breath, as he shot down another doxy.

"I heard that Ronald Weasley," Mrs. Weasley said disapprovingly.

The five of them then thought it best that they focus on the doxy situation and not get Mrs. Weasley further riled up. What had started off as a somewhat thrilling task slowly turned into an agonizing chore as doxy after doxy dropped to the floor and the curtains became steadily droopier with the weight of the Doxycide.

It was past midday when Mrs. Weasley finally removed the scarf from over her face and sank down onto the sofa, only to jump back up again with a shriek. She had sat on a bag of bloody dead rats for Buckbeak. She threw the bag into the floor with an exasperated sigh and dropped back down on the mottled sofa. She fanned herself with her hand and nodded toward the two glass-faced cupboards on either side of the mantle.

"I think we'll tackle those after lunch," she said.

Felicity glanced over at the old dusty cabinets and through the glass could see an odd assortment of strange and even dangerous objects. There were old rusty daggers, jagged claws, and books with covers so faded Felicity could scarcely read their titles. Lurking in a far corner was a rather large crystal bottle decorated with garnet and a large opal set into the cork stopper. It was full to the brim with a dark red liquid that looked unmistakably like blood. But most interesting were the many different tarnished silver boxes with odd inscriptions engraved in them in languages even Felicity, who could read almost everything from Latin to Gnommish, could not interpret.

Felicity took a step toward the cabinet in order to get a closer look at the sterling cases, when the doorbell clanged loudly. She turned to look at Mrs. Weasley, at the same time everyone else did."Filth, vile, stains of dishonor! Soiling the house of my fathers, with its scum! Smut and slime-"

"Stay here," Mrs. Weasley said firmly.

She got to her fee and grabbed the bag of dead rats as Mrs. Black continued to howl insults from below.

"I'll be back in a moment with some sandwiches."

Mrs. Weasley marched from the room, carefully closing the door behind her so there was no way they could get it open again without her knowing. They heard her footsteps tramp down the stairs and instantaneously everyone ran to the window. Down on the doorstep Felicity could see a messy head of gingery hair that belonged to someone balancing a stack of swaying cauldrons.

"Mundungus!" said Hermione disapprovingly. "What's he brought all those cauldrons for?"

"Probably looking for a safe place to keep them," Harry said. "Isn't that what he was doing the night he was supposed to be tailing me? Picking up dodgy cauldrons?"

"Yeah, you're right!" said Fred brightly. The front door opened and Mundungus carried his cauldrons through disappearing from view. "Blimey, Mum won't like that..." His voice trailed off as Mrs. Blacks screaming affronts subsided.

The twins quietly crossed the room and leaned against the door, listening intently.

"Mundungus is talking to Sirius and Kingsley," Fred muttered frowning with concentration. "Can't hear properly... d'you reckon we can risk the Extendable Ears?"

"Might be worth it," whispered George. "I could sneak upstairs and get a pair-"

But at that precise moment there was an explosion of sound from downstairs that rendered Extendable Ears quite unnecessary. All of them could hear exactly what Mrs. Weasley was shouting at the top of her voice.

"WE ARE NOT RUNNING A HIDEOUT FOR STOLEN GOODS!"

"I love hearing Mum shouting at someone else," said Fred, looking and sounding happy that his name was Fred Weasley and not Mundungus Fletcher. He opened the door just barely and Mrs. Weasley's shrieks became less muffled and smiled. "It makes such a nice change."

"-COMPLETELY IRRESPONSIBLE, AS IF WE HAVEN'T GOT ENOUGH TO WORRY ABOUT WITHOUT YOU DRAGGING STOLEN CAULDRONS INTO THE HOUSE -"

"Wow," Felicity said softly to Ron. "Your mother has some lungs on her."

"The idiots are letting her get into her stride," said George, shaking his head. "You've got to head her off early, otherwise she builds up a head of steam and goes on for hours. And she's been dying to have a go at Mundungus ever since he sneaked off when he was supposed to be following you, Harry-and there goes Sirius's mum again-""Wretched dirt, filth, scum, offspring of smut and grime! Dishonorable half-breeds! Crooked fiend and freakish monstrosities infecting the house of the Blacks-Mrs. Weasley's voice was drowned out amid Mrs. Black and the other portraits' howls of fury. George moved toward the door to shut it and tone down the screams and insults, but before he could manage it the squat, wrinkly little thing that had picked up Felicity's jacked Extendable Ear yesterday sidled into the room.

Its profile in the half-light of the stairwell had been ominous enough but now in the sunlit drawing room Felicity felt like retching when she looked at the beastly little hunchbacked thing, which apparently proved to be a house-elf though it didn't resemble Jimney or Twinkle her own house-elves at all. The only clothing it wore of was loincloth that Felicity suspected had once been white but was now a muddy sort of gray. It's skin reminded Felicity of an old man who had once been very round and had lost a lot of weight in a very short time so that it's flesh sagged down around it and had ugly brown liver spots. Its weepy pale gray eyes were bloodshot which reminded Felicity of a drinker, there were tufts of wiry white hair protruding from its large batlike ears, and it's nose which also had a saggy layer of flesh resembled a very large pig snout.

Felicity did not like this elf at all. And it wasn't just the thing's appearance and obvious disdain, she could already tell that the elf would cause them all problems in the future. Something just told her so.

Its aim didn't seem to be to cause problems now, however. Indeed it appeared not to even notice any of the people in the room, but hobbled determinedly toward the back of the room, still pretending it couldn't see any of them.

"...Smells like a drain and a criminal to boot," it began, muttering under its breath in a hoarse croaky voice, "but she's not better, nasty old blood traitor with her brats messing up my Mistress's house, oh my poor Mistress, if she knew, if she knew the scum they've let in her house, what would she say to old Kreacher, oh the shame of it, Mudbloods and mutants and werewolves and traitors and thieves, poor old Kreacher, what can he do...."

Felicity was utterly repulsed. The nasty little elf was talking about them like they weren't even there.

"Hello, Kreacher," Fred practically shouted, closing the door with a resounding snap.

As if following something step by step, Kreacher (a very fitting name Felicity thought though she could have probably come up with some more colorful ones herself) froze. His insulting mumbling stopped and he feigned a very unconvincing surprised flinch.

"Kreacher did not see Young Master," he said. The elf turned around and gave Fred a bow, though it really didn't have to bend much to perform such a feat. This surprised Felicity as she was sure she had just heard the elf verbally bash Fred and his brothers and sister. But the elf had not finished speaking and it added, still fully discernible in its nasty croaky voice, "Nasty little brat of a blood traitor it is."

Felicity's eyes widened with surprise, though she knew she shouldn't be. She felt immense pity for Sirius at having to put up with this thing most of his life, then having to come back to it.

"Sorry?" said George coldly. "Didn't catch that last bit."

"Kreacher said nothing," said the elf, hobbling toward George and bowing to him in turn as he added, "and there's its twin, unnatural little beasts they are."

Felicity glanced around the room. Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny, had looks of mingled disgust and anger, Hermione wore a look of pity, and Harry looked confused as though he didn't know whether to laugh or not.

But Kreacher had not finished his verbal abuse, he straightened, which was barely noticeable due to its normally hunched stance and began to mutter more profanities.

"... And there's the Mudblood, standing bold as brass, oh if my Mistress knew, oh how she'd cry, and there's a new boy, Kreacher doesn't know his name, what is he doing here, Kreacher doesn't know..."

"This is Harry, Kreacher," Hermione said cautiously, as though she hadn't heard his obvious to her. "Harry Potter."

"The Mudblood is talking to Kreacher as though she is my friend," the elf began to mutter furiously, it's almost white eyes wider than ever, "if Kreacher's Mistress saw him in such company, of what would she say--"

"Don't call her a Mudblood!" said Ron and Ginny together, very angrily. Ron took a menacing step toward Kreacher.

"It doesn't matter," Hermione whispered, grabbing hold of Ron's sleeve, "he's not in his right mind, he doesn't know what he's-"

"Don't kid yourself, Hermione, he knows exactly what he's saying," said Fred, the look of disgust still upon his normally grinning face.

"Is it true?" Kreacher said, sounding as breathless as possible with such a gruff voice, his eyes on Harry. "Is it Harry Potter? Kreacher can see the scar, it must be true, that's that boy who stopped the Dark Lord, Kreacher wonders how he did it."

"Don't we all, Kreacher?" Fred said simply still eyeing him with distaste.

Then the creature looked up and his eyes fell upon herself. For a second Felicity could have sworn she saw the beast give her a sneer before it grimaced as though it couldn't bare to look at her.

"That's the monstrosity who haunts the bedroom up stairs what belonged to the young Master, Regulus," he said in an equally nasty and grieved voice. "Young Master was a good son who did as his mother told him. Now this halfling has converted Master's room into not what it was. Oh, how my Mistress would sob if she knew what foul filthy wretch of a human lingers there now, Kreacher is so ashamed. Why has the abomination upon the race of men come down to torment us all?"

Felicity's hand flew to her throat and she gasped, "Excuse me!"

She felt like slapping the little beast and breathing heavily started around Fred toward it. Halfling, she despised being called a halfling. She assumed the elf was referring to her Veela ancestry, which wasn't at all ashamed of, but it still hurt to be called something that brought to mind a mutant freak! And that thing was one to talk, calling her an abomination!

"You have to learn not to let what the beast says bother you," said Ginny, looking at Kreacher with disgust in her brown eyes.

"What do you want anyway?" George asked.

Kreacher's huge eyes darted onto George.

"Kreacher is cleaning," he said vaguely, gesturing to the rest of the room with a gnarled hand.

"A likely story," said Sirius as he shut the door behind him. Felicity who had still be staring at the elf, clenching her fists to keep from shooting flames at it, hadn't even noticed him enter. Sirius too was scowling at the house-elf and Felicity felt all her former anger toward him leave her.

Instead of pretending not to notice Sirius as he had done the others, Kreacher immediately threw himself into a deep bow that almost caused him to summersault over himself.

"Stand up straight," said Sirius impatiently, clearly not impressed with the elf. "Now, what are you up to?"

"Kreacher is cleaning," Kreacher repeated. "Kreacher lives to serve the noble house of Black--"

"-And it's getting blacker every day, it's filthy," said Sirius, glancing around the room.

"Master always liked his little joke," said Kreacher, bowing again, though more carefully this time and not so low, but continued in an undertone, "Master was a nasty ungrateful swine who broke his mother's heart--"

"My mother didn't have a heart, Kreacher," Sirius snapped not even trying to pretend he hadn't heard the elf's mutterings. "She kept herself alive out of pure spite."

Kreacher bowed again and said humbly, "Whatever Master says." Then as expected Kreacher began to mumble, "Master is not fit to wipe the slime from his mother's boots, oh my poor Mistress, what would she say if she saw Kreacher serving him, how she hated him, what a disappointment he was--"

"I asked you what you were up to," said Sirius coldly. "Every time you show up pretending to be cleaning, you sneak something off to your room so we can't throw it out."

"Kreacher would never more anything from its proper place in Master's house," said the elf, then muttering very fast and betraying his motives added, "Mistress would never forgive Kreacher if the tapestry was thrown out, seven centuries it's been in the family, Kreacher must save it, Kreacher will not let Master and the blood traitors and the brats destroy it--"

"I thought it might be that," said Sirius, casting a disdainful look at the opposite wall. Felicity followed his gaze to see a large stretch of canvass on the far wall with faint glittering lines snaking their way across it. "She'll have put another Permanent Sticking Charm on the back of it, I don't doubt, but if I can get rid of it I certainly will. Now go away, Kreacher."

Kreacher didn't even try to hide the look of deepest hostility that he aimed in Sirius's direction as he ambled out, still muttering profusely.

"-Comes back from Azkaban ordering Kreacher around, oh my poor Mistress, what would she say if she saw the house now, scum living in it, the bloody American in her beloved son's bedroom, her treasures thrown out, she swore he was no son of hers and he's back, they say he's a murderer too-"

"Keep muttering and I will be a murderer!" said Sirius angrily, slamming the door shut and glancing at Felicity. Their eyes met and Felicity tried to tell him through her eyes how much she loathed the creature.

"Sirius, he's not right in the head," said Hermione imploringly. "I don't think he realizes we can here him."

Felicity had to work to keep from snorting. She knew Hermione meant well, but honestly how could she take up for such a horrible swine.

"He's been alone too long," said Sirius, "taking mad orders from my mother's portrait and talking to himself, but he was always a foul little--"

"What if you just set him free," said Hermione hopefully, "maybe-"

"We can't set him free, he knows too much about the Order," said Sirius curtly. "And anyway, the shock would kill him. You suggest that he leaves this house see how he takes it."

"I think I just might do that," said Felicity, thinking that might not be such a bad idea, "if you're sure that it will kill the beastly little demon, that is."Blast, she thought as tears began to cloud her vision, shut the damn waterworks off , Felicity, she ordered herself. She met Harry's eyes and turned away. What was with her these days? Why should she care what a moldy old house-elf had to say about her? She seriously needed to get a grip on herself.

Sirius walked over to her and put his arm around her shoulders protectively. "You mustn't let what that elf says bother you," Sirius said soothingly, as they walked across the room to where the tapestry Kreacher had been trying to protect hung the length of the wall. "He's half mad and hateful to everyone, except my mother's portrait of course."

"Horribly beast," Felicity muttered, furtively wiping her eyes on Sirius's sleeve. "I've got half a mind to hex him."

Sirius smiled down at her. Felicity smiled back and then turned her attention to the ugly old pale tapestry that took up half of the wall. The heading at the top, shining in large black print read:

The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black

"Toujours Pur"

Felicity studied the tapestry closely, reading all the names of the Blacks that appeared to have began back in the Middle Ages with Lord and Lady Black of Grimmauld Palace.

"You're not on here!" said Harry suddenly exclaimed

Sirius shrugged and pointed to a small round charred piece of tapestry. "I used to be there," he explained. "My sweet old mother blasted me off after I ran away from home--Kreacher's quite fond of muttering the story under his breath."

"You ran away from home?" asked Felicity. "You didn't tell me you ran away from home."

"Me neither," Harry added.

"I didn't want you to get any ideas," Sirius said with a small smile.

"When did this happen?" Felicity asked curiously.

When I was about sixteen," said Sirius. "I'd had enough."

"Where did you go?" asked Harry, staring at him.

"Your dad's place," said Sirius. "Your grandparents were really good about it; they sort of adopted me as a second son. Yeah, I camped out at your dad's during the school holidays, and then when I was seventeen I got a place of my own, my Uncle Alphard had left me a decent bit of gold-he's been wiped off here too, that's probably why-anyway, after that I looked after myself. I was always welcome at Mr. and Mrs. Potter's for Sunday lunch, though."

"But... why did you...?"

"Leave?" Sirius smiled bitterly and ran a hand through his long, unkept hair. "Because I hated the whole lot of them: my parents, with their pureblood mania, convinced that to be a Black made you practically royal... my idiot brother, soft enough to believe them... that's him."

Sirius pointed to the name Regulus Black without even looking at it. A date of death (some fifteen years previously) followed the date of birth. Felicity winced involuntarily, he'd only been twenty-one when he'd died.

"He was younger than me," said Sirius, "and a much better son, as I was constantly reminded. You have his old bedroom," he added to Felicity. Felicity shuddered. She did not like to think that she slept in the bedroom of Sirius's dead younger brother.

"But he died," she said, gesturing to the date of death.

"Yeah," said Sirius. "Stupid idiot... he joined the Death Eaters."

"You're kidding!" said Harry and Felicity together.

"Come on, you two, haven't you seen enough of this house to tell what kind of wizards my family were?" said Sirius testily.

"Were-were your parents Death Eaters as well?" Harry asked delicately.

"No, no, but believe me, they thought Voldemort had the right idea, they were all for purification of the Wizarding race, getting rid of Muggle-borns and having purebloods in charge. They weren't alone either; there were quite a few people, before Voldemort showed his true colors, who thought he had the right idea about things.... They got cold feet when they saw what he was prepared to do to get power, though. But I bet my parents thought Regulus was a right little hero for joining up at first."

"Was he killed by an Auror?" Harry asked tentatively.

"Oh no," said Sirius, shaking his head. "No he was murdered by Voldemort. Or on Voldemort's orders more likely, I doubt Regulus was ever important enough to be killed by Voldemort in person. From what I found out after he died, he got in so far, then panicked about what he was being asked to do and tried to back out. Well, you don't just hand in your resignation to Voldemort. It's a lifetime of service or death."

"Lunch," said Mrs. Weasley's voice, making Felicity jump.

Felicity turned around to find her very red in the face and huffing irritably. There was a large silver platter of sandwiches and cakes balanced on the tip of her wand. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George left to get some food, but Felicity stayed with Sirius to look at the tapestry some more and was surprised when Harry stayed as well.

"I haven't looked at this for years," Sirius muttered as he bent closer to examine the family tree. There Phineas Nigellus... my great-great-grandfather, see? Least popular headmaster Hogwarts ever had... and Araminta Meliflua ... cousin of my mother's... tried to force through a Ministry Bill to make Muggle-hunting legal... and dear Aunt Elladora... she started the family tradition of beheading house-elves when they got too old to carry tea trays... of course, anytime the family produced someone halfway decent they were disowned. I see Tonks isn't on here. Maybe that's why Kreacher wont take orders from her--he's supposed to do whatever anyone in the family asks him..."

Felicity dimly wondered who the heck Tonks was. The name reminded her of a clown's nose for some reason.

"You and Tonks are related?" Harry asked, sounding slightly surprised.

"Oh yeah, her mother, Andromeda, was my favorite cousin," said Sirius, his clear blue eyes traveling over the tapestry, searching. "No, Andromeda's not on here either, look--"

Sirius gestured to another round burn the size of a wand tip between two other names, Bellatrix and Narcissa Black.

"Andromeda's sisters are still here because they made lovely, respectable pureblood marriages, but Andromeda married a Muggle-born, Ted Tonks, so--"

Sirius reared back holding an imaginary wand in his right had pretended to blast Andromeda's name off. He laughed bitterly and pretended to tuck the wand into his invisible jacket pocket. Felicity smiled.

She knew where he was coming from with the pure blood nonsense. It wasn't just wizards that were as dense about it. Felicity could remember listening to her mother cry after she'd received letters from her grandmother. Not that her grandmother didn't care about her mother, the Veela clan just forbade Danielle to have anything to do with her daughter or her daughter's family. Elizabeth had only received letters on special occasions, birthdays, anniversaries, and the like. They were sent a whole hoard of presents on Christmas, but Felicity knew her mother would rather Danielle come and visit more than anything. She missed her terribly and now Felicity knew how she felt.

"You're related to the Malfoys!" Harry said suddenly, jolting Felicity from her thoughts.

If Felicity remember right, Snape had said something to her about a Malfoy. She followed Harry's gaze on the tapestry and saw a little dot labeled Draco Malfoy.

"The pureblood families are all interrelated," said Felicity said simply, trying to remember what Snape had said about this Draco.

"If you're only going to let your sons and daughters marry purebloods your choice is very limited," said Sirius, "there are hardly any of us left. Molly and I are cousins by marriage and Arthur's something like my second cousin once removed. But there's no point looking for them on here-if ever a family was a bunch of blood traitors it's the Weasleys."

Felicity smiled softly at Sirius's joke.

"Lestrange..." Harry said distantly.

"They're in Azkaban," said Sirius shortly.

Harry looked at him curiously.

"Bellatrix and her husband Rodolphus came in with Barty Crouch, Junior," said Sirius curtly. "Rodolphus's brother, Rabastan, was with them too."

"You never said she was your-" Harry pressed. Clearly he knew of them somehow.

"Does it matter if she's my cousin?" snapped Sirius. "As far as I'm concerned, they're not my family. She's certainly not my family. I haven't seen her since I was your age, unless you count a glimpse of her coming in to Azkaban. D'you think I'm proud of having relatives like her?"

Sirius was getting tense. Felicity knew he didn't like to talk about his relatives who he was obviously ashamed of being related to. Come to think of it, Felicity would be to. Time to loosen up.

"Sirius, he didn't mean it like that," said Felicity hitting him playfully. "He was just surprised, we both were."

"I'm sorry," Sirius mutter apologetically. He turned away from the tapestry, and stuck his hands deep in the pockets of his jeans. "I don't like being back here," he said, staring across the drawing room. "I never thought I'd be stuck in this house again."

"It's ideal for headquarters, of course," Sirius said. But Felicity could tell he didn't care in the least. He still hated being back in this house. "My father put every security measure known to Wizard-kind on it when he lived here. It's Unplottable, so Muggles could never come and call-as if they'd have wanted to-and now Dumbledore's added his protection, you'd be hard put to find a safer house anywhere. Dumbledore's Secret-keeper for the Order, you know-nobody can find headquarters unless he tells them personally where it is-that note that Moody showed you last night, that was from Dumbledore... And the directions Snape gave you had a part with Dumbledore's handwriting, didn't it?"

Felicity nodded.

Sirius barked out a laugh as though what he was talking about wasn't very funny. "If my parents could see the use it was being put to now... well, my mother's portrait should give you some idea.... You know, I wouldn't mind if I could just get out occasionally and do something useful. I've asked Dumbledore whether I can escort you to your hearing-as Snuffles, obviously-so I can give you a bit of moral support, what d'you think?"

Felicity glanced at Harry. He was watching the Weasleys and Hermione enjoying their sandwiches and looking thoroughly miserable.

"What trial?" asked Felicity curiously.

"I did magic to stop a dementor from sucking the soul out of my cousin and me," said Harry apathetically, still watching the other forlornly.

"Oh... yeah, duh, sorry," she said running a hand through her hair. How could she forget about something like that? Easy, she'd been trying to figure out what it was about Harry that made the clairvoyant section of her mind go crazy.

"Don't worry," Sirius said comfortingly. "I'm sure they're going to clear you, there's definitely something in the International Statue of Secrecy about being allowed to use magic to save your own life."

"But if they do expel me," said Harry, quietly, "can I come back here and live with you?"

Sirius smiled sadly.

"We'll see."

Felicity immediately began paying close attention to her fingernails. They were clearly having a moment and she didn't want to impose and ruin it with her participation in the conversation.

"I'd feel a lot better about the hearing if I knew I didn't have to go back to the Dursley's," Harry pressed him.

"They must be bad if you prefer this place," said Sirius gloomily... and evasively.

Felicity glanced up to see Harry looking at him imploringly, begging Sirius with his eyes and Sirius smiling at him. Felicity could tell he wanted to say yes, but held himself back for reasons unknown to Felicity. Probably didn't want to get both of their hopes up.

"Hurry up, you three, or there won't be any food left," Mrs. Weasley called.

Felicity lead the way to Mrs. Weasley. She heard Sirius and Harry both sigh discontentedly behind her.