I wrote this while being high on sugar and ibuprofen (damn period!) so I'm sorry for any kind of mistakes.

13- Hogwarts AU II

It was the first day back at Hogwarts after the Holidays. All the students were in the Great Hall, telling each other about what they have gotten for Christmas. Iris and Sara have tried to convince Felicity to go with them and eat something, but she refused. Felicity had spent most part of the day at the library, doing research. She had told her friends that she wanted to prepare for the classes of the following day, but in fact she just wanted to be alone so she could spend time in her secret project.

She was hungry, yes, but dinner time was the only moment of the day when she was sure that the library would be empty. She made sure that she was alone before taking out her Hanukkah present: a brand new tablet. Her mother had given it to her with the idea of being able to keep in touch with her daughter more easily.

"I'm tired of those owls." She had said. "They enter in the living room and they leave everything covered in feathers. And I think that a couple of them pooped on the carpet."

The complete look of devastation on her mother's face when she explained that muggle object did not work in Hogwarts would haunt Felicity for the rest of her days. So that's why she was determined to fix that damn tablet and make it work while being at school. She was pretty sure that was illegal and an almost impossible mission, but she had been exceding in her Charms class and she was sure she could work something out, even if she was just a 3 year student. She was a genius after all.

She had been working for a couple of hours when a voice interrupted her concentration. "2nd of January and you already are trying to make the rest of us look bad?"

Oliver Queen. Since that horrific first meeting more than one year ago they hadn't talked much. They have shared a couple of classes, but Felicity haven't even bother to socialise with him outside of them. Sometimes their eyes would meet in the middle of the Great Hall or crossing by in the corridors, and that was the whole extension of her interactions with Oliver Queen.

"Well, someone needs to be the first of the class." She answered, trying to hide the tablet under some books.

"What are you doing?

"What? Me? Nothing?" She then noticed that Oliver was holding a plate with food on it. It smelled like roast potatoes and chicken. "What is that?"

"For someone as intelligent as you, you should know that starving yourself to death is not healthy." He answered with a smirk, leaving the plate on the table, next to her books.

"You brought me dinner?" He simply shruged. "Why?"

"Sara said that you were still here and that she was going to bring you something to eat, but then she got distracted with that Slytherin girl, Nyssa, and... I don't know. I just thought that you should eat something."

Was he babbling? Usually she was the blabber. And did he implied that she was too skinny? "Thank you." She simply said. "So, are you going to tell me now what were you doing?" he asked again. When Oliver saw that Felicity was still looking at him warily, he added "I promise not to tell anyone. You can trust me." And strangely Felicity felt like she could truly trust him, so she took the tablet out.

"What is that?" Oliver asked, sitting on the chair next to her.

"It's a tablet. A muggle object. It was my present for Hanukkah, from my mother."

"You know that doesn't work here, right?"

"Yes... That's why I'm in the library. I'm researching. I will find a way to make it work."

"Ohhhh... so illegal stuff" Oliver joked.

"It's not illegal!"

"It kind of is." He couldn't stop smiling. Annoying Felicity was funny. "The Ministry has a whole Department to prevent people like you" he pointed at Felicity "doing things like this" he pointed at the tablet.

"Well... You promised not to tell anyone, so you better keep your promise." Felicity sounded like an annoyed five-years-old child, and she knew it.

"I keep my promises." Oliver change his facade, adopting a more serious expression. "But you should be carefull."

"I know. That is why I'm doing this now, while no one is around, instead of going to the Great Hall."

There was an awkward silence, interrupted only by Felicity's stomach. "You should eat" Oliver simply said.

While Felicity attacked the chicken and potatoes, Oliver grabbed the tablet to look at it more closely.

"Why is so important to you to make this work? Apart from proving that you are better than everyone else?"

Was that a compliment or an insult? Felicity wasn't sure, but she decided to ignore it. She swallowed a piece of chicken before answering. "Because my mum gave it to me. She misses me. And she doesn't exactly like the owl-communication system that we have here."

"And do you miss her?"

Felicity stopped for a moment, gathering her thoughts. Her and her mum did not have the best of relationships, but at least they had always been able to count on each other. "Yes. I miss her. For a few years now it had only been us. And know she is all alone at home. I try to write almost everyday, but it's not the same as being actually there."

"I know how you feel. " Oliver answered softly. "I miss my sister. And now that I'm not at home, she is not... She does not really like it there. My mum and dad, they tried to make it look as everything is fine, but they are having some problems and my sister is in the middle of everything."

"I'm sorry, Oliver" she reached for his arm trying to comfort him. He looked down at her hand. They stayed like that for a few seconds, until Oliver cleared his throat. "I should get going. I don't want to miss dessert." He said, getting up. "Finish your food before continuing your little project. You need energy."

"Thank you, Oliver."

"It was no problem. Good luck with the tablet. I would offer my help... but we both know that I would just slow you down."

Felicity watched him going. She couldn't described what had just happened, but it had made her see Oliver in a very different way. Maybe he wasn't a jerk after all.