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Thank You for Being a Friend - Part Two

Liesel didn't get much  sleep as she was too excited. Laurie peeked in on her daughter quietly  to see her roll over and smile at her. "Is it time to get up?"

"You can sleep more if you like. The sun's barely up."

Liesel shook her head. "I'm awake."

"What's wrong Darling? Nervous?"

She shook her head again  and smiled. "I think I've gotten so used to him hogging all the covers that I don't sleep well without him next to me."

Laurie nodded her head. "Ah. Well, I certainly understand that. So he steals the covers before you can, does he?"

Liesel grinned. "Most of the time."

"Aww!"

Finally Liesel sat up and lowered her head. "Am I doing the right thing, Mom?"

Laurie sat down on the mattress next to her daughter and lovingly brushed the hair from her face and tilted her head toward her and she smiled. "Nervous?"

"No, it's not that."

"What is it then?"

She shook her head. "I dunno!"

Hearing John tiptoeing up the stairs, Laurie turned her head and smiled at her husband to pushed the door open with his foot, and enter the bedroom. "Breakfast in bed for the Bride!"

"Oh Daddy! I would have come downstairs!"

"Hey, take the breakfast in bed while you can get it! I happen to know that your husband to be can't cook an egg even if his life depended on it!"

Liesel laughed as she sat up straight and flattened out her legs for the tray. "No, he can't! That's why he hired a cook!" She looked at the food on the plate and couldn't decide what to start on, so her father reached over as he lay at the foot of the bed and took a piece of the streaky bacon from the plate and crunched on it as he winked at her. "Hey!"

"Eat it or I will! I'm famished!"

She cocked her head and pretended to glare. "My food! I'll bite, I swear I will! I'm eating for two you know!"

"Don't remind me," he replied as he lay flat on his back and rubbed roughly at his unshaven face. "I'm not ready for all this," he groaned into his hands.

"Well, like it or not Sweets, it's here," Laurie said.

"I know!" He rolled over. "Are you certain that you want to do this Pet?"

"Daddy, of course! Besides, all those people are at the house having breakfast with Sirius right now!"

"So what?"

"Do you want me not to?"

"I didn't say that. I only want you to be certain that you want a big ceremony is all? It's not really your way and I get the impression that it's not his either."

Liesel looked to the side.

"That's what I thought." He reached for her hand. "You don't have to do it you know. People will understand."

"No they won't! We're doing this because he's the Head of the Ancient and Most Noble  House of Black and it's expected of him. That's why he's footing the bill for all this, well except for my stuff."

"That's not how it goes Darling! It's the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black!"

"I know how it goes Mom," Liesel said rolling her eyes.

"Well, ya best not let Sirius hear you say it that way!"

"Why?"

"He's liable to wet himself from laughing too hard," Laurie replied, trying her best to look stern, although her light voice gave her away. "Now, what were we talking about?"

"What this is costing Daddy," she said.

"Oh yes," Laurie mused.

John rolled his eyes. "Only because I insisted on paying for at least your part in all this."

Liesel nodded. "You're expected to hand over a dowry too, you know," she giggled.

"That's already been taken care of," he said as he rolled onto his back again.

"You did! What did you give him!"

"Besides you? Well Al gave me access to the family library. Turns out that there are tomes in our library not found in the Black family library. They're worth a fortune. Sirius argued of course, but tradition demands it. He only picked out two."

"A library! We don't have a library of any consequence! It's pretty vanilla actually," Liesel said.

He rolled back over again and looked into his child's eyes. "Yes you do. It's hidden. Sirius told me that he'd show you tonight."

"Did you see it Daddy?"

"No."

She took a piece of bacon from the plate and raised it to her lips and crunched on it as she remembered the magically enlarged room where she found Sirius on the night she informed him that she was pregnant. She nodded her head and cut then pierced her french toast with her fork and brought it to her lips. "Heaven on a fork, I swear," she said with her mouth full.