In the two weeks leading up to Buckbeak's trial. Felicity and Kitty trek down to Hagrid's hut every evening, even after Quidditch practice, laden with books and armfuls of parchment. Tonight, Hermione joins them, looking as exhausted as ever.

Hagrid is waiting in his hut with a fresh pot of tea. On the rug in front of the fire is Buckbeak, enjoying a fresh bowl of dead ferrets. Felicity sits down on the floor next to the hippogriff, who doesn't bother to look up from his food as she settles in. Kitty and Hermione sit at the table with Hagrid, who smiles down at Felicity and Buckbeak.

"I don't know what I'll do withou' Beaky ta keep me company," Hagrid sniffles into his handkerchief. Felicity watches as Hermione's eyes begin to water as well, but Kitty is quick to pat Hagrid's shoulder and squeeze Hermione's hand.

"He's not going anywhere, Hagrid," the blonde says firmly.

By the time the three girls are ready to leave, the crescent moon is nearing its peak above them. Hagrid hurries them from his hut, glancing into the darkness engulfing the grounds shiftily. Felicity trails behind Kitty and Hermione, enjoying the rare moment of piece the night brings, unaffected by the fear that tingles along the spines of her companions.

Felicity stops, straining her eyes to see into the bush next to the gravel trail. It rustles and a gleaming pair of eyes flash in the moonlight. She frowns, her mind wandering back to the black dog she saw the night Black broke into the Gryffindor tower.

"Felicity?" Kitty calls from ahead, finally noticing her absence.

"I'll be up soon, don't wait for me," Felicity says quietly, not taking her eyes off the bush. Felicity waits for her friends to get further away before she crouches down. "Hey there," she coos, extending her hand towards the glinting eyes. The bush rustles and the eyes are gone.

The following day, Felicity leaves the Great Hall early after dinner, waving goodbye to Fred and George and heading for the kitchens. Mitzi, Felicity's favourite house elf rushes to greet her.

"Felicity Black!" She cries, hugging her leg tightly. "Does you need food?"

"I do actually, if you wouldn't mind, Mitzi," Felicity says with a gentle smile. Mitzi nods rapidly, taking her hand and leading her further into the kitchens. "I need some meat, sausages, chicken, whatever you have."

Mitzi rushes around the kitchen as other house elves approach Felicity to say hello. Felicity, with Fred and George in tow, discovered the kitchens in their second year while hiding from Filch after setting off a barrage of dungbombs in the dungeons one evening. They'd been returning regularly ever since and Felicity knew almost every single elf in the castle.

Felicity emerges from the kitchens the same time as Kitty appears from the Hufflepuff common room, just down the hall from the portrait that hides the entrance. Kitty eyes the paper bag full of sausages suspiciously, but doesn't mention it as the pair head down to Hagrid's hut.

"I found a case from 1832, involving a Thunderbird. They won the trial," Kitty says, dropping her stack of books on Hagrid's table with a deft thud.

"They won because the Shaman who owned him conjured a storm in the courtroom until they conceded," Felicity says with a sigh, scratching Buckbeak's head as she passes him, heading for the stove to put on tea.

"I was hoping that particular aspect of the case wasn't common knowledge," Kitty frowns, resting her chin in the palm of her hand.

"Don' you worry, Kitty, we'll figure somethin' ou'."

Felicity waves her wand at the pot, uttering a spell under her breath to boil the water. Hagrid sets cups on the table for them and urges Felicity to sit down.

"I could probably let some ferrets loose in the courtroom, Buckbeak would have a field day and he'd clean them all up," Felicity suggests with an edge of sarcasm.

"Wha' 're we goin' ta do abou' Hermione? I 'ave half a min' to knock those two boys' 'eads together," Hagrid says to the two girls, ignoring Felicity's jibe and sipping from his bucket-sized mug. Felicity rolls her eyes, leaning back in her chair with a sigh.

"I'm not about to get involved in any of their business, I might end up in the middle of one of their bizarre adventures," Felicity scoffs, ignoring the warning glance from Kitty.

"I think the only thing to do is talk to them. They won't listen to either of us though, Hagrid."

The man in question nods, stroking his beard idly. The rest of the evening goes by in a blur of dates and lost cases. Kitty leaves before Felicity, who pretends to have lost a quill to put some distance between them before leaving as well. This time, Felicity walks slowly, eyes scanning the bushes for those glinting eyes.

Nothing, so Felicity crouches down on the dewy lawn and pulls out a sausage, breaking it in half and tossing it gently. It lands a few feet away and she waits, breathing as quietly as possibly. Moments pass before a bush a few feet down rustles and the wiry dog emerges.

"Hey there," Felicity murmurs as the dog creeps towards her, ears swivelling and eyes darting around the area. It crouches down, wolfing down the sausage in two swift gulps. Felicity pulls out the paper bag and extends another sausage with a soft smile. The dog takes it from her and Felicity is surprised at its gentle grab.

"You must be hungry," she whispers, sitting down in the dew and ripping the bag open, sitting it in front of her for the dog to eat freely. In a few minutes, all the food is gone, but the dog lingers, still crouched in front of her. He whines quietly, edging towards her and Felicity's heart twists in pity. "I'd take you inside if I could, but I don't think even Dumbledore would turn a blind eye to a dog as big as you," Felicity sighs, raising her hand slowly for the dog to sniff. His wet nose tickles her palm as he snuffles, only to rest his head in her hand, nuzzling into the hem of her sleeve.

Girl and dog stay like that for a few minutes longer, before the dog looks up suddenly, darting up and loping back into the bush, pausing for one last look at Felicity, still sitting on the damp grass in surprise.

The weather begins to clear just in time for the next Hogsmeade visit. Felicity, alongside Fred and George, are eager to get out of the castle before their mountain of homework starts to properly snow them in.

Kitty joins them in a rare moment of confidence as they find a booth in the Three Broomsticks, laden with sweets from Honeydukes and more firecrackers from Zonko's. Her golden blonde hair is pulled back into a neat ponytail, a polar opposite from Felicity, who barely finds the effort to brush the mass of curls, let alone wrestle them into a ponytail without the urging of a teacher.

"So you're supporting Gryffindor in the final, right?" Fred asks Kitty, who holds her hand over her chest, looking affronted.

"Well obviously," Kitty replies.

"No, Fred," Felicity pipes up with an eye roll. "She's supporting Dumbledore's left sock."

Kitty snickers into her cup while Fred and George chuckle loudly, gaining a few salty stares from older patrons at the bar. For the first time since making the team, Felicity genuinely believes they're in with a chance of winning, and, try as she might to ignore it, they probably owe at least a little of it to her father.

"Let's be honest about this though, Harry and I's Firebolts made all the difference last game," Felicity points out. Fred and George shake their head.

"I mean yeah, they're good brooms but a broom is only really as good as its rider," Kitty says earnestly. "You make that broom look fantastic, not the other way around."

"They are bloody fantastic though," Fred adds with a sly smile. The group exchange hums of agreement, falling into a fit of laughter. Back at Hogwarts, Felicity is met in front of the doors by Aura. In her beak, a letter is clasped.

Aura perches on Felicity's shoulders while she, Fred and George walk up to the Gryffindor tower. In the common room, Felicity stands with her back to the fire, allowing the wafting heat to spread warmth across her back.

Felicity recognizes the uneven scrawl of Hagrid's hand immediately and her stomach jerks into her throat. Breathing in deeply, Felicity breaks the seal and unfolds the parchment. Fred and George's heads snap up at the sound a muffled sob.

Felicity tears up the letter, throwing it into the fire before storming up to the girls' dormitories, disturbing Aura so intensely the Owl takes off with a disgruntled screech. Tears fall freely down her face as she cries, sobs raking through her lungs. Felicity sits up, wiping her face roughly with her sleeve as her misery is overwhelmed by a burning fury.

She shoves open the lid of her trunk, rifling through her things aggressively until she comes across a worn piece of parchment. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," she mutters, tapping the map with her wand. While Fred and George had given the original map to Harry, Felicity kept her replica of the map, though she didn't need it for directions, it came in handy when she needed to find someone.

Felicity's eye dart over the parchment until she finds the name she's looking for. She strides back into the common room, shrugging off her concerned friends as she climbs out the portrait hole. Unfazed, they follow her as she navigates the maze of stairs and corridors until they reach Entrance Hall. Felicity slows, keeping her head down as her steely eyes scan the room.

"Flo," George says, placing his hand firmly on her shoulder. "What's happened?"

Felicity ignores him, pointing her wand over the crowd to land on a thin, blonde haired boy. "Avis Oppugno," she hisses, shoving her wand back into her pocket as a little flock of birds bursts from the end of her wand, speeding towards Malfoy, who shouts in surprise as they scratch and peck at his skin, circling his head. He cries out, flailing around until Professor Snape rushes down the stairs, vanishing the birds with a silent flick of his wand. Felicity, closely followed by wide-eyed Weasley twins, slips into the Great Hall, just in time for dinner. Fred and George flank her, sitting either side with expectant expressions.

"What was that all about?" George asks. Felicity sighs, stabbing a potato with her fork with such veracity that it rattles her peas. The birds hadn't managed to satiate her desire to cause the conniving third year pain, though at this moment, Felicity couldn't be sure anything would.

"It's all his fault. I worked so hard with Hagrid to make sure Buckbeak wouldn't lose the case, but he did anyway and it's all because of that slimy twat. He's lucky I didn't hex him."

Fred and George place comforting hands on her back, saying nothing more on the matter. Felicity gives them both a grateful smile and tries to ease the tightness in her throat with her pumpkin juice.