Star-Crossed
-The Story of Sirius and Adhara-
June 1977- a day before the Marauders' graduation from Hogwarts
Hearing the portrait creak open, Adhara Gris' eyes darted from her parchment to the incoming figure. She immediately recognized the silhouette as none other than the boy she loved to hate, Sirius Black. She didn't really loathe him; it was just widely believed that they despised each other due to their incessant competition in all their classes, as beaters for the house quidditch team and in everything else as well. As he walked further into the common room, she got a mischievous grin on her face.
"Tarantallegra!" she shouted, pointing her wand at him as she tossed her copper-blond hair over her shoulder. Crossing her legs, she let her deep green eyes stare intently into his as she reclined on a couch. "Take that," the adroit eighteen-year-old thought with a smirk.
As he felt him self begin dancing involuntarily, and quite ridiculously, Sirius gaped at Adhara. "That the best you can do?" he shot back, slowly regaining control of himself and turning his wild and erratic dance steps into impressive intricate footwork. Grinning, he pulled out his wand, anxious to start another mini-duel with her. "Rictusempra!' he called out, directing the tip of his wand at Adhara as he continued dancing.
Dropping her wand, Adhara's hands flew over her body in an attempt to rid herself of the uncontrollable tingling. "Sirius Black," she began, struggling to speak through her giggles.
"Yes, Adhara Gris?" He danced his way over towards her, obviously getting a kick out of the erratic yet futile movements she was making in an effort to stop the tickling.
"Reverse the spell!"
"Why? You look like you're having such a good time!" Sirius grinned.
"Do it!" Adhara's eyes stared into his with pseudo-rage. Although she loved the little "duels" that Sirius and her had, she was beginning to get a cramp in her stomach from laughing so much.
" Eh, you're no fun." Smiling, Sirius pulled out his wand and pointed it at the giggling girl sprawled on the couch. "Prior incanto."
As the tickling disappeared, Adhara lay back across the couch with a sigh of relief. "Uggh," she groaned, putting a hand on her aching stomach.
"Hey," Sirius said, putting his hands on his hips as he continued dancing, "You gotta do me too, Addy."
Adhara raised her head up to meet Sirius' gaze. "Do I have to do you right now?" she asked jokingly. "You look like a dancing Irishman with your arms like that, and you know my feelings about men who wear skirts..." Sirius shot her a look, and she plucked her wand off the ground. "Aw, all right. Prior incanto."
Walking over to the couch, he lifted Adhara's back up a little and sat down, gently letting her fall back down so she was lying across his legs with her head on the opposite end of the couch. "That was fun," he said with a smile, looking down at her as he entwined his fingers with hers.
"You think so?" Adhara replied, returning the smile. "I don't know. I think I know something that might be a little more fun." Her warm smile changed into a mischievous grin.
Sirius raised his eyebrows. "Oh, really? And what might that be?" he asked feigning puzzlement.
Rolling her eyes at him, she reached her arm up and gently pulled his head down towards hers. "Well."
Sirius grinned, then closed his eyes and bent his head down to kiss her.
"Great Merlin!" came a voice as the portrait creaked open.
Adhara snapped her head towards the voice, causing Sirius' lips to land on her neck, making the situation look even worse than it already did.
Realizing this, Sirius also looked up towards the opening in the portrait. "Professor McGonagall, we were just, um."
Adhara's terrified expression changed to one of relief as she realized the voice belonged to none other than her best friend, Lily Evans. "Oh, hey! How've you been, Lily?"
"What is it, Lil?" came a voice from the behind her. Lily just stood there and gaped as she gently pulled her other arm through the portal, dragging James Potter into the room.
James shrugged, used to seeing Sirius making out in the common room with his girlfriend. "What?" he asked, oblivious to Lily's shock.
"Look!" she exclaimed, pointing at them with a look of both shock and happiness on her face.
Putting his arm around her waist, James smiled. Lily was so adorably innocent. "It's alright, Lily. They're not doing anything too extreme." His eyes flitted over and met Sirius in nonverbal congratulation. "Right?" he asked Sirius with a slight grin.
"Course not, Prongs," Sirius replied nonchalantly, stealing a glance at Adhara. As she seemed perfectly content lying on him, he decided against moving and instead ran a hand along her face. She was so beautiful. Her long copper blond tresses surrounded her face, and her green eyes sparkled as they stared into his.
Smiling warmly up at him, Adhara pressed her face against his hand and closed her eyes, indulging herself with his touch. What had been just a clichéd competitive friendship a little less than a week ago had blossomed into a wild desire for one another.
Seeing Sirius and Adhara lying there, James almost smiled. Lily had told him that Adhara had liked Sirius forever, and he was happy that Sirius had finally noticed the girl. Still, he was a little upset that Adhara would soon have her poor heart broken by his best friend. Then again, there wasn't really anything James could do; it was just how Sirius was. Every week, he'd have a new girlfriend. It had been like that forever. Maybe that's why he was so popular; everyone wants what they can't have, and Sirius was certainly unattainable to anyone.
He thought about pulling Sirius aside and talking to him, but decided against it; it was better just to let things run their course. Sirius would flirt relentlessly, Adhara'd fall in love, Sirus would fear commitment and they'd break up. Of course, Sirius would just take the next girl in line and move on. But Adhara. James didn't know her well enough to predict how she'd take it.
Sighing, he glanced at Lily. "So. we should probably get started on that project for our transfiguration final," he whispered, gently leading her back out the door. "Not that transfiguring a few pillows into useful items will take a pair of animagi all that long," he added with a wink. "But I'm sure we can find a way to entertain ourselves until dinner, don't you Lily?" James' voice reflected a hint of mischievousness as he raised his eyebrows at Lily.
Lily smiled as she shook her head in mock disapproval. "The prefects' lounge is normally empty around now," she stated with the slightest resemblance of a sly grin. James scooped a hand around her waist and off they went, leaving Sirius and Adhara alone.
After just watching the girl with veneration for a moment, Sirius broke out of the breathtaking reverie with a start. What was wrong with him? Staring into a girl's eyes, leading her on like that? It was sick and it was wrong. Sirius Black had never been big on commitment, but he had never purposely led someone on like that before. He may have been blasé, but he wasn't cruel. All his relationships consisted of was flirting and making out, none of that dedication or love stuff. Once any obligations entered the picture, he made a quick getaway. Now, with only a day of classes left, why was he deliberately making things complicated for himself? No, it was just a lack of sleep. Dismissing it as that, Sirius shook his head wondered why he was having such a hard time looking away from her.
Hearing James and Lily make their getaway, Adhara opened her eyes and stared into Sirius' for a moment. Letting go of his hand, she replaced her hand along the back of his neck and slowly pulled him closer to her, never taking her eyes off his, almost as though she was in a trance. Finally closing them, she kissed him warmly for a minute then relinquished his head and gazed up into his eyes once again. "I think I love you, Sirius," she whispered, toying with his unruly black hair.
Every alarm in his brain was going off at full volume. "Merlin," he thought, averting her amorous gaze, "what did I get myself into?" He turned his head away, causing Adhara's caressing fingertips to recoil. A girl had just told him she loved him! This wasn't supposed to happen. They were only supposed to flirt, and kiss a bit. Then he'd tell her that she was cool, but that he wasn't a committed type of boyfriend and that'd be the end of it. That was all he'd ever known; now this had happened. What was he supposed to do now?
He sighed; all he could do was get up and leave, maybe pretend it never happened. Despite his full intention of doing that, his head involuntarily reverted back to Adhara's and his eyes looked into hers again. Wrapping an arm around her, he leaned down and gave her a loving kiss. "I think I love you too, Adhara," he replied quietly as he ran his hand through her long blonde locks.
Although Adhara was relieved, this new vow created an unwanted obligation to Sirius for her, not to mention an awkward feeling in her stomach. Looking away, she tried to clear her mind enough to think things through. "What the hell just happened here?" she asked shaking her head as she crossed her arms over her chest and sat up.
Regardless of that incommodious feeling in the pit of his stomach, Sirius couldn't help wanting to comfort Adhara. "Hey," he said softly. Gently turning her head back towards him, he gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "I don't know what just happened, but it'll be alright; I promise. Okay?"
Adhara tilted her head and looked up inquisitively at him. He wasn't the nonchalant, outgoing Sirius she had always known; he was so considerate and so understanding it almost scared her. If she hadn't been there when to see it, she wouldn't ever believe that Sirius Black could have possibly changed so much so quickly. Or maybe he had always been that way deep down and had just never shown that side of him to the world. It made sense. "Okay," she whispered, taking his hand in hers again. Somehow, things would work themselves out.
*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*
Things did eventually work themselves out, but not for awhile. The summer after graduation, Sirius and Adhara became engaged and moved to London, where Sirius had grown up. Adhara worked as an Auror and Sirius was an investigative spy for the Ministry, and at the end of the long day, they retired to the flat that they shared. It wasn't much, but both of them were happy. at least until Sirius' parents met Adhara on Christmas Day, 1977.
December 1977- Christmas after the Marauders' graduation from Hogwarts
Being Muggle-born, Adhara hand-cooked the entire Christmas feast, which, needless to say, Sirius found impressive. She had begun at a little past nine that morning and, around eleven Sirius apparated out to help his parents find the way to his and Adhara's apartment. They knew he was engaged, but hadn't heard anything about Adhara other than the fact that she was "absolutely gorgeous" as Sirius had said.
Thus, Adhara was alone in the flat, still cooking dinner. She stood at the counter, cracking several eggs into a bowl, preparing a small custard for dessert as she hummed merrily. Seeing this pleasant scene, Sirius, who had returned from his excursion, crept up from behind and wrapped his arms around her, resting his head on her shoulder. "Boo!" he whispered into her ear.
Feeling strong arms wrap around her waist, Adhara jumped. Had she not been accustomed to Sirius' frequent entrances like that, she would have most certainly spilt the custard. "Sirius!" she exclaimed happily when she heard his voice. Turning her head, she gave him a quick kiss. "Are your parents here?" she asked, looking around nervously as she set down the bowl.
"Not yet," Sirius replied smiling at her. "Don't worry, Adhara, I'm sure they'll love you. How could anyone not? Even if they hate you, the worst they'll do is Avada Kedavra. Then I'd just kill myself and we'd be together, so it's all good," he joked. "Besides, I've only known them to hate two types of people, ever. As long as you're not a death-eater or a mudblood, you're fine," he continued, turning her around in his arms to give her a kiss.
Although Sirius' lips were warm with love, Adhara's were frozen with fear. She just stood there, wide-eyed, open-mouthed and petrified, as though someone had just cast a full-body bind on her. Feeling as though he was kissing a wall, Sirius pulled back and inclined his head curiously. "What's wrong?" he asked, voice full of concern, as his warm brown eyes stared intently into her vacant green ones.
She wanted to tell him, she really did, but she just couldn't make herself do it. So she just stood there, staring blankly back into his eyes as her heart raced.
"Tell me, Ad. What is it? What'd I sa- Oh, Merlin." He realized at once what he had said. "You're muggle-born, aren't you?" he asked gently, holding her tightly against him. Her only response was biting her lip as her eyes flooded with tears and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Aw, Ad," Sirius whispered, running a hand through her hair. "It's alright, don't worry. It'll be alright. Remember, Ad? I promised you it'd always be alright."
Adhara tried to hold back her tears, but ended up sobbing into Sirius' shoulder, shaking uncontrollably. His parents hated muggle-borns, and that meant that Sirius almost undoubtedly did also. But if he hated "her kind", then why was he comforting her?
"Adhara, please don't cry," Sirius whispered, running his other hand up and down her back, trying desperately to comfort her. "It's alright, I won't let them touch you. It's alright," he whispered.
In spite of the strong front Sirius put up, he had no idea what to do about his parents. There were two types of people they truly despised: death- eaters and mud-bloods. Personally, he didn't care about blood purity, but his parents held it in very high esteem. If they found out Adhara was muggle-born, he didn't know what they'd do to her. They might just refuse to support their marriage or they might pull out their wands and try to kill her; he was clueless. Tucking her shoulder under his chin, he held her as she cried. He closed his eyes and tried to figure out something he could do.
"Won't let them touch me?" Adhara thought, shaking even harder in fear, "Merlin, what type of people are they?" If Sirius, their own son, thought they were going to hurt her. She didn't even want to think about it. All their owls to Sirius that she had read made them out to be good, friendly, loving people. Hugging Sirius firmly against her, her tear-filled eyes widened in trepidation as she let out a sob.
"Ad, it's alright. I told you, I won't let them hurt you. Look, Ad, I don't know what'll happen, but I love you, okay? Always." Sirius continued stroking her hair as he gently lifted his head up to look at her. "And whatever they try to pull won't ever make me stop loving you," he said, staring straight into her eyes.
Knowing he still loved her, and always would, calmed Adhara quite a bit. She gradually stopped shaking as much and her tears slowed as she looked into his warm, caring eyes. "I love you too. Always," she whispered.
Sirius smiled slightly, kissing her lightly. "Good, that's all that matters," he replied.
Suddenly a voice was heard. "Sirius, darling, wherever are you, my dear?"
Recognizing the voice as his mother's, Sirius quickly ran his wand over Adhara's face, muttering a spell that returned it to how it looked before she had been crying. "What they don't know can't hurt us," he whispered, tilting her chin up towards him. "Follow my lead." Giving her an affectionate kiss, he ran his hand along her face. "Always," he repeated quietly as he turned towards the foyer. "Over here, Mum!" he called.
Returning to reality, Adhara panicked, realizing she hadn't finished the custard. But, as she turned around to where the bowl had been, she was greeted with faultless vanilla custard. Smiling at Sirius' cleverness, she set it out on the table and double-checked the table. Everything was in its place; now all she had to do was get through the meal.
Quickly checking herself in the mirror, she put her hair behind her ears. Just as she turned around, Mr. and Mrs. Black came in, led by a smiling, and winking, Sirius.
"Mom, Dad, I'd like to present to you my beautiful fiancée, Adhara Gris," Sirius said, taking Adhara's hand and pulling her close enough to wrap him arm around her waist. The gesture seemed cute and romantic to his parents, but when he intertwined his fingers with hers, it was clear to Adhara that he was being as protective as he could without being obvious.
"Pleased to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Black," Adhara replied with her warm smile as she extended a hand toward the both of them.
"Charmed," Mr. Black replied, shaking the hand rather cordially.
"Delighted to meet you, dear," Mrs. Black added composedly.
Sirius glanced down worriedly to Adhara. If that had intimidated her, she certainly didn't show it. He was slightly embarrassed at his parents' distantness, but it was just how they were. Sometimes he wondered how they could have ever raised someone as outgoing, energetic and obnoxious as himself. Then again, he had technically raised himself at Hogwarts along with the other Marauders; that explained most of it.
"Will you please sit down?" Adhara asked quite dignifiedly, recoiling from Sirius' embrace, but keeping her hand locked in his, to pull out two chairs for her future in-laws.
Once everyone was seated and eating, the dreaded conversation part of the meal began. Of course, the Blacks wanted to know all about Adhara. Fortunately for her, Sirius did most of the talking. Then again, most of the questions were directed at him. It seemed that his parents followed the old custom of not speaking to women.
"So, where is Adhara from?" Mr. Black asked curiously.
"Santiago, Chile," Sirius replied, glad to be able to speak some truth.
"And why aren't her parents here?" he asked, obviously implying that since he was there, they should be also.
Sirius fought the urge to reply with a witty remark. It wasn't that he didn't love his parents, because he did. And they were nice people. as long as there weren't dark wizards or mud-bloods in their presence. Both his parents had been raised to value pure-bloodedness. As Sirius couldn't care less about lineage, most of the time he found it most difficult to respect their views and actions when it concerned muggle-borns.
"Her father, Eduardo, died last year," he said quietly, smiling sympathetically at Adhara for a moment. "Samantha, her mother, is in Santiago taking care of their livestock," he answered, proud of himself for not having to lie too much, and shot a quick smile at Adhara.
"Well then," Mr. Black replied, clearly unimpressed with the professions of Adhara's mother and not showing any sympathy for Adhara regarding the death of her father.
Seeing this as the perfect time for a random subject change, Sirius jumped in before his father could ask another question. "So, how's the food?" he asked with a grin.
"Alright, I suppose," Mrs. Black answered. "Of course, my wand makes better. But it's not horrible."
Afraid that his mother had just affronted Adhara, Sirius placed a hand on her thigh under the table and smiled nervously at her. Although it probably should have, Mrs. Black's snide comment didn't bother Adhara at all. In fact, it actually made her feel a little bit better. Mrs. Black hadn't seemed to notice the food had been "cooked" and not magically brought in, and that relieved Adhara immensely. So, when Sirius supportively placed his hand on her leg, she merely put hers on top of it and tangled her fingers with his, smiling back reassuringly at him.
The rest of the meal went well. It seemed like the Blacks didn't suspect a thing. Sirius' lies had been convincing and Mr. Black had even complemented Adhara several times. All was well, until the point where the Blacks were walking out the front door to apparate.
"Good-bye, Sirius," Mr. Black said, shaking his son's hand. Sirius smiled back.
"See you, Dad," he replied, waving him off, glad to be rid of his parents.
Mrs. Black had finally warmed up to Adhara. In fact, it was quite obvious she approved of her son's choice as a wife. "It was lovely to meet you, dear," she told Adhara, giving her a light hug. "You simply must keep in touch with us, all right?"
Whether it was out of habit or not, Adhara nodded eagerly as she proclaimed the words that had the power to shatter the evening. "Of course, I'm sure Sirius has your number. I'll call you sometime."
"Call?" Mrs. Black replied, confused. "Number? Whatever are you talking about, dear?"
Fortunately, Mrs. Black hadn't taken Muggle Studies at Hogwarts and didn't realize Adhara was referring to a telephone. And, not knowing where Chile was, she just assumed that "calling" was how Adhara's family referred to owls. However, Mr. Black was completely aware of what Adhara had just made reference to.
He wasn't a violent man, and had never been a violent man. Yet, despite his upstanding nature, he was a man of principles, and one of his founding principles was that no mud-bloods would be allowed in his family. Sharply turning around, he punched Sirius across the face as hard as possible. "What is wrong with you? She's a Mud-blood!"
Momentarily ignoring the throbbing pain of his bruising jawbone and broken nose, Sirius struggled to get to Adhara before his father. This would not end well. Unfortunately, he tripped over his father's foot and fell to the ground, hard.
Adhara had watched Mr. Black hit Sirius and tried to run, but found herself incapable of moving. Instead, she just stood there trembling in fear.
"And you!" Mr. Black yelled, grabbing Adhara by the shoulders and lifting her into the air to shake her. "Destroying the honor and purity of the Black family name! What impudence!" He raised his fist and pulled it back, ready to knock it against her face, hard.
Although Mrs. Black didn't condone this type of violence, she fully supported her husband's efforts to keep the family line pureblooded. However, she herself wouldn't do anything. Instead, she watched Adhara's terrified face and glared at her, hoping that they would scare her out of marrying Sirius.
Seeing his father's ready fist, Sirius pulled his wand out. "Accio Adhara," he mumbled, focusing all his energy on freeing Adhara from his father's grasp.
Almost immediately, Adhara's quivering body flew down to him as Sirius stood up. Guiding her behind him, he wrapped her arms around him and placed his hands on top of hers. "Don't you touch her," he said boldly, glaring at his parents.
"We're only trying to stop you from making a mistake, son," Mr. Black replied, fully believing that what he had been doing was justified. Mrs. Black nodded in agreement.
Sirius shook his head disgustedly as he pulled Adhara closer to him. "I don't need you to tell me I'm making a mistake, 'cause I'm not. I love Adhara; I'm marrying Adhara. Done and done."
Appalled at their son's outright defiance, the Blacks exchanged an astounded glance before Mr. Black turned and stared threateningly at the couple. "Don't do it, Sirius."
Without so much as a moment's hesitation, Sirius turned around and picked Adhara up in his arms. "Good-bye, Mr. and Mrs. Black," he called mockingly as he walked down the stairway, carrying Adhara, who was still quavering, away.
Once they were far enough, Sirius set Adhara down gently in the snow before letting his body fall limply to the ground. Merlin, what had just happened? He had disowned his parents. Burying his head in his hands he swore under his breath as he tried desperately to figure out how to survive without them.
Adhara knew Sirius well enough to know when to talk and when not to; this was definitely a time not to talk. Instead, she crawled over to him and wrapped her arms around him, finally feeling safe. Laying her head on his shoulder as she cast her eyes upward towards his, oblivious to the cold.
Feeling those familiar arms around him, Sirius lifted his head up and smiled weakly at that beautiful, loving face that stared devotedly at him. "It's not your fault, Ad," he replied softly as the pain of his injuries finally began affecting him.
Adhara smiled in response, telling him he didn't have to keep being so strong. Another pain shot up his face, through his broken nose, causing him to grimace in pain. Seeing this, Adhara pulled out her wand and healed is jawbone and nose as best she could, mending them both to mere bruises. "We gotta get you out of the cold," she said quietly and she stood up and tried her best to help him up.
"No," Sirius replied quietly, gently tugging her back down next to him. "We can just transform; dogs'll be able to hack this weather. Besides, we'll be safer that way."
Adhara nodded. "You sure you're up to it?" she asked concernedly.
"I'll be alright," he replied as he closed his eyes and started shifting. Adhara did the same, and in a few moments, one black and one gray dog stood where they had been. Together, the pair began walking away into the sunset, towards a new life.
*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*
Fortunately, try as they might, Sirius' parents couldn't eliminate his rather full bank account at Gringotts, leaving him and Adhara plenty of money to live off. Leaving their Ministry-related jobs behind as to not clue his parents in to where they were, Adhara and Sirius moved to a small town in southern England where Adhara's cousin, Kirstalia Byrant, lived. Within three days of their arrival, they eloped with Kirstalia as the lone witness.
Shortly after that, in May of 1978, Lily and James were married. Sirius, obviously, was the best man, and Adhara was the maid of honor. Despite the fact that they had been considered an "item", no one thought too much of Sirius and Adhara's relationship. Perhaps it was because they all knew Sirius, or maybe the couple just knew how to act blasé in public about it, or, probably, it was because the couple lived so far from their friends where hardly anyone saw them too frequently to notice.
Adhara had wanted to tell Lily of her and Sirius' marriage, but Sirius persuaded her otherwise. If she told Lily, Lily would tell James, James would tell his parents, James' parents would inform Sirius' parents and then Sirius' parents would come looking for him and Adhara in an attempt to rectify his "mistake". Knowing he was right, Adhara continued to feign she was only his girlfriend, and that their relationship was nothing more than causal flirting; they couldn't take the chance.
A little over a year later, another owl arrived from James and Lily; this one informing them that Lily was pregnant and Sirius and Adhara were being asked to be the child's godparents. They accepted, and that July, Harry Potter was born.
In the midst of the happy Halloween festivities that year, James notified Sirius of his and Lily's decision to perform the Secret-Keeper ritual, to protect them from Voldemort's growing rage, and asked if he would be their keeper. Humbly accepting, Sirius agreed and they decided to perform the spell as soon as Lily was able to, about another week. However, within that week, Sirius had gotten to thinking about it. If he was Voldemort, it would be obvious to him that he, Sirius Black, was the Potters' secret-keeper. Clearly, Voldemort would come after him and Adhara, who had recently become pregnant. He couldn't care less if Voldemort attacked him, but the possibility of leading him straight to Adhara was unbearable. Thus, despite his desire to help his friends, he eventually decided it would be safer, for the Potters as well as himself and Adhara, if Peter Pettigrew were to be the keeper; no one would ever suspect him. Thus, after much convincing on Sirius' part, it was done; at the last minute, "Wormtail" was brought in as the Potters' secret keeper.
Unfortunately, due to Sirius' valiant effort to keep everyone safe, everyone suffered, creating the most memorable story ever known to the wizarding community. Shortly after Harry Potter was born, Peter Pettigrew, a loyal death-eater, happily informed Lord Voldemort of the Potters' hiding place in Godric's Hollow.
Late at night on October 31, 1980, Voldemort apparated into the Potters' home, killing James first, then Lily. He attempted to kill Harry, but instead ended up immobilizing himself. Everyone knows that part of the story. But what ever happened to Adhara Black?
November 1, 1980
Sirius sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at the sleeping beauty that lay before him with awe. A tear rolled down his cheek as he realized he was going to leave her in a few moments, probably never to return again. He had left a note for her on the nightstand, scrawled quickly in his classic horribly illegible handwriting, and planned to leave without waking her. It would be easier that way, for both of them. If he had to look into those loving green eyes of hers, he didn't know if he'd be able to walk away.
After just watching her for a few minutes more, he forced himself to say good-bye to her. Gently running a hand down her face one last time, he let it linger a little before removing it and blinking back the tears forming in his eyes. He leaned down and ran his fingers through her dark blonde hair one last time before softly kissing her forehead. "I love you, Adhara. Always," he whispered before slowly standing up and turning to leave. As he approached the door, he couldn't help but turn around to look back at her.
Adhara opened her eyes groggily and saw Sirius standing there in the doorway, wearing the same gray shirt and blue jeans he had worn the day before, looking extremely upset and distraught. "What's wrong?" she asked worriedly, sitting up in bed.
Although he hadn't wanted to wake her, a part of him was glad she had woken up; at least he could say good-bye to her that way. Looking back at her, tearful eyes filled with panic and fear, face unshaven and apprehensive, Sirius bit his lip for a moment, not wanting to tell her. "James and Lily." he whispered, choking on his words. "They're dead."
"No," Adhara gasped, flinging herself out of bed and into Sirius' quivering arms as tears flooded her eyes. "And. and Harry?" she asked, still hopeful that their son had somehow survived Voldemort's wrath.
"Harry's alive. Last night I lent Hagrid my flying cycle and he and Dumbledore took him to Lily's sister's place." Sirius tightened his arms around Adhara for a moment before gently sliding away and retrieving his wand and turning back towards her with a distressed expression.
"Wh-where are you going?" Adhara eyes filled with worry and uncertainty. The look on Sirius' face was agonizing; it was so painful for Adhara to see him like that and not be able to do a thing to help him.
His voice was cold and hard. "To find Peter," he replied, biting his lip angrily. "He did this to them."
Suddenly the whole situation became ten times worse as Adhara realized its severity. No one knew that Peter had been the Potters' secret- keeper except for James, Lily, Sirius and herself; Sirius would be charged with their murder. Her green eyes widened in fear as she wrapped her arms around him and held him protectively. "Don't leave me," she whispered, looking up into his eyes, pleading with him to stay. If he left, she might never see him again.
"I have to, Ad," he said quietly, holding her securely against him. "If I don't, Peter'll get away with killing James and Lil.. And all this time I though it was Remus- how could I be so stupid? You know I can't let this slide, Ad."
That was true; Adhara did know that Sirius wouldn't just let it slide; he couldn't. If the truth wasn't made known, he would be charged with the murder of their best friends. Still, she couldn't bear the thought of possibly never seeing him again. "But," she began, holding back her sobs, "he'll kill you." As the vision of Peter killing Sirius crept into her mind, her cries couldn't be contained any longer. "Don't. Don't leave me alone. What about our baby?" she asked, running a hand over her stomach.
Glancing away from Adhara's pleading face, Sirius let a tear roll down his cheek before wiping his eyes. This was exactly why he had wanted to leave before she woke up; she was making it so hard for him to do what he had to. Averting her gaze, he turned back and kissed her passionately, knowing very well it might be the last time he ever did so. Taking her face gently in his hand, he looked deep into her eyes, trying to ignore their desperation. "I love you, Adhara," he whispered.
Trying to swallow the lump in her throat, Adhara looked back into his eyes, knowing that he had to go. "I love you too, Sirius," she replied just as quietly, pressing herself against him, completely aware that she might never see his face again. "Always."
After letting his hand remain on her face for a minute, Sirius slowly ran it down her neck, across her shoulder and along her arm, eventually taking her hand in his. Giving it a tender squeeze, he turned around and reluctantly untangled his fingers from hers one-by-one as he walked through the door without another word, quietly shutting it behind him.
As soon as the door was shut, Adhara felt hopelessness beyond anything she had ever imagined. She looked down at her hand and gave it a belated squeeze. Sirius was gone. Walking absentmindedly back to the bed, she sat down on it. Her vacant, glazed-over eyes glanced abstractedly around the room, eventually seeing the note Sirius had left for her.
November 1, 1980 My dear Adhara,
I love you- always and forever. Never ever forget that, ok? I'm sorry I left without saying goodbye, but if I had to woken you up, I don't think I could've made myself leave. I don't know how to tell you this, Ad. James and Lily are dead. When I got to Peter's yesterday, he wasn't there. I flew my bike over to James' and found their bodies. Avada Kedavra. Obviously Voldemort's doing. That dirty rat was in with him all along. Harry's alright though; Hagrid and Dumbledore've got him. I can't believe Peter did it. I mean, I've been one of his best friends since first year and I doubted Remus over him. Damnit, Ad. Remus was the nicest of us all; he wouldn't have hurt Lily or James if you'd threatened him with death. To think I doubted him just because he was a werewolf. If I had just been their secret-keeper like James wanted me to none of this would've happened. Now James and Lily are dead and it's all my fault. I've gotta do something. Please understand that, Adhara. By the time your beautiful green eyes are reading this, I'll have already apparated to London in search of the filthy traitor himself. I don't know what I'm gonna do, but I have to get him to confess. You, me and him are the only ones left alive who know the truth and if he won't confess, I'll be taking the fall for it. If that happens, don't get involved, Adhara. Voldemort'll only come after you and our baby. I can't deal with that type of guilt, so just change your name and run away somewhere. Take all the money and just leave; otherwise he'll find you. Please Adhara, don't try to save me. I'm smart enough to know how not to get myself killed. I'll return to you as soon as I can. I'm so sorry, Addy. It wasn't supposed to end up this way- it wasn't supposed to be like this. But Ill fix it, Ad.
It'll be alright, I promise.
Always,
Sirius
As she read it, her hand began to tremble. By the time she had reached the end, the paper was shaking so badly she could barely read it. Placing her other hand on it, she brought the note close to her chest and began crying uncontrollably as reality set in, like a knife being plunged straight through her heart. Sirius was gone, James and Lily were dead, and she was still there. A feeling of unparalleled loneliness came over her as she become conscious of the fact that she was all alone now.
She wanted so badly to go help him, but something about those last few words convinced her otherwise. Deep down, she knew he was right. If she tried to help, Voldemort would find her and kill her and their precious child. All she could do was sit and wait, all the while hoping that Sirius would apparate back to her any moment then.
Adhara sat there, waiting for something- anything to tell her what had become of her beloved. She sat in silence, letting a torrent of tears incessantly flow down her face until the next morning when a Sirius' owl, Hermes, appeared at the window.
Optimistic that somehow Sirius had survived, Adhara hurriedly went over to it. Seeing what was enclosed in its talons, her heart sank; it was The Daily Prophet. The headline said all she needed to know: Sirius Black sent to Azkaban for Potters' murder
Seconds later, as though it had been waiting for this moment, another, smaller extremely tired-looking owl entered. Hearing it fly through the window, Adhara glanced up. As she saw what it carried in its talons, her mouth opened wide with hope. It was a piece of the gray shirt Sirius had been wearing earlier.
Shakily, she removed the cloth from the owl's talons and slowly unfolded it. Scribbled in deep red blood were the words "It'll be alright. I promise."
*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*
Several days after the trial-less sentencing of Sirius Black to a lifetime in Azkaban, the woman known to the world as Adhara Soledad Gris, disappeared off the face of the earth without a trace. Her disappearance was discovered when interviewers from The Daily Prophet arrived to find her missing. The only thing noted as absent from her and Sirius' former home was the small rosewood box, which Kirstalia informed the papers Adhara had kept all her most prized possessions in, giving even more mystery to her vanishing. It now seemed that Adhara had run away from something.
In truth, Adhara had run away from something, or rather someone- Lord Voldemort. As she was the sole witch alive who knew the truth about Pettigrew's betrayal, her death would bring about a sense of security to Voldemort that Sirius Black would never be released from Azkaban and that would ensure no one could defeat the dark wizard.
Of course, Voldemort wasn't stupid, he still had plenty of followers who informed him that Adhara Gris had run away. Confident that, one day, she would return, he placed a well-designed Portkey at the home, which, upon being touched, would transport her to his dungeon where he could kill her at last.
In addition to Voldemort and the dark wizards, the entire good wizarding community also kept a lookout for "Sirius Black's girlfriend", offering rewards for her capture. The society as a whole believed what they had read in the papers: Adhara Gris was working closely with Voldemort and had conspired Sirius to murder James and Lily Potter.
After several months passed by with no sign of Adhara Gris, the name was soon pushed out of the limelight. However, everyone still kept one eye open for her, as she "was" a known death-eater to them.
*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*
July 17, 1992
Small town on England's east coast
"Mum, look! I got a letter!" The young eleven-year-old boy's voice rang out over the hills as he ran, eager to show his mother the letter that had come for him.
From her spot on the porch, his mother, called Lamaldicha[1], watched as her son sprinted towards her, knowing exactly what the flailing letter in his hands meant; her son had been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. "Bring it here, Anthony," she called out to him. "Your father would be so proud." she thought to herself, stroking the wedding ring on her finger as a single tear crept down her face. Brushing it aside, she put on a happy facade as Anthony bounded up the steps, letter in hand.
Enthusiastic hands ripped open the envelope as Anthony's eyes, the same color green as his mother's, widened in anticipation. As his eyes scanned over the parchment, his smile grew wide; he was a wizard. Growing up with a witch for a mother, and told that his father had been one of the best wizards of all time, he had known that, if he was one, he'd find out on his eleventh birthday. "I'm going to Hogwarts!" he exclaimed with pride.
*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*
February 15, 1993-Day the Dementor's kiss was made legal for Sirius Black
As she sat on the grass and looked up at the stars, Adhara Black felt Sirius' familiar strong arms wrap themselves comfortingly around her waist as he sat down behind her. She placed her hands atop his and leaned back, looking up into his warm, dark eyes with a smile that hadn't been used in twelve years.
Sirius smiled back, gazing into her sparkling green eyes. "I love you, Ad. I always will," he said quietly, planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I've missed you so much."
"I love you too," she replied softly, removing a hand from his and running down the side of his face. "You have no idea how much I love you." she whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek.
With one arm still around Adhara, Sirius wiped her tear away and ran a hand through her copper-blond locks, entangling them in his fingers before his warm eyes glazed over and became cold as they glared spitefully into hers. "No you don't," he sneered contemptuously. He bent his head, so that his mouth was very close to her ear, his lips almost touching it as he whispered.
"If you loved me you wouldn't have let me rot away in Azkaban for twelve years while you ran away with our baby and lived happily ever after. I didn't think you would be like that. I didn't think anybody could be like that! But it just goes to show, I put too much faith in the goodness of people. I'm done doing that, Adhara. And I'm done with you. Always means forever, not until I'm gone."
Adhara's eyes filled with tears as she opened her mouth in protest. "Sirius, you told me t-"
She was halted by one of Sirius' fingers pressing tersely on her lips. "Just don't, Adhara. I don't want to hear it." He shook his head in dismay. "I don't even know who you are.Lamaldicha." His last word lingered eerily on his tongue as he unwrapped his arm from her and walked towards a gray- colored throng on the hill in the distance, leaving Adhara all alone once again.
Remaining there, she watched in horror as the dementors encircled him and sucked out his soul.
"Sirius, no!" Lamaldicha Black screamed as she opened her eyes to find herself sweaty and trembling, lying awake in her bed. "Damnit," she said aloud. With Anthony off at Hogwarts during the school year, and now at his friend's home for the summer, there had been nothing to distract her idle mind from constantly wandering back to Sirius. These delusions had started in September, but never like that. Never before had Sirius scorned her as such.
At first she had just dismissed the dreams as the result of losing Sirius, but now they were beginning to get to her. especially that last one. Brushing her copper tresses away from her eyes, she got up and walked to the bathroom. Slowly, she splashed her face with cold water, trying desperately to eliminate the image of Sirius' cold stoic eyes from her mind. Finding that impossible, she let herself slip into a trance-like state, replaying that last dream over and over in her mind.
After remaining in her rapt state for several hours, she finally snapped out of it when Sirius' owl dropped a copy of The Daily Prophet onto the counter beside her. Staring curiously at it for a moment, her vacant expressionless face shifted itself into one reflecting the epiphany she just had. Her ambiguous eyes glowed dissonantly and her impassive lips curled in a slight smile as she planned her next actions meticulously.
Returning to the bedroom, her hands picked up the small rosewood box which lay beside her bed. She opened the lock, and tear ran down her face as a stream of memories filled her mind upon seeing what she had placed there twelve long, lonely years before. Gently taking the gray cloth in her hands, she held it against her face for a moment, indulging in its comforting smell. Returning it to the box, she exchanged it for the other content; a rather antiquated letter which her eyes scanned through quickly.
"I'm so sorry, Sirius," she whispered into the empty silence, placing the letter back in the box and closing the lid. Kissing its top gently, she replaced it on the nightstand before she turned and walked out of the room automatically. The Sirius in her dream was beginning to seem more and more real to her. If she loved him, she couldn't just let him rot away in Azkaban.
*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*
Of course, the resurfacing of Adhara Gris was just what the wizarding community had been waiting for. That was why, all those years ago, Sirius had begged her to remain hidden; he had known that, if she was to let her name slip even once, that Voldemort or one of his death-eaters would find her within the blink of an eye and offhandedly murder her.
Yet, those endless nightmares had warped her mind beyond having the ability to know what would become inevitable should she reveal herself: death. Still, she was cognizant enough to know that if she went to the papers, she would be taken to Azkaban immediately. She couldn't apparate, for it was obvious that the Ministry of Magic would catch her. Thus, she began walking, letting her mind wander unconsciously and lead her wherever it thought best..
*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*
June 6, 1994- day Sirius Black escaped from Hogwarts
James and Lily Potter's House, Godric's Hollow
Slowly and silently, Adhara Black crept through the twelve-year-old wreckage of the Potters' old home, desperately searching for something. The warm look in her eyes had been replaced with icy glass stare of concentration as she studied the scene. Slinking through the swells of rubble, her tired hands, energized by subconscious need, rapidly dug through the debris as she desperately searched for the erstwhile staircase.
Finding it, she warily trudged up the stairs, careful not to step on any false steps. As she crested the top, she was greeted with a view of what she had been looking for: the library.
Hastily, she made her way to it and began hurriedly rummaging around for one book in particular. Finding it, her mouth's stoic expression turned into a frightening grin of near insanity. Clutching the book tightly against her, she apparated once more, this time to the small house she and Sirius had shared in southern England.
*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*
With the spell book she had taken from the Potters' house in one hand, Adhara Black slowly opened the door to her and Sirius' former home, unleashing a powerful wave of forgotten memories and feelings over her. Holding on to the doorframe, she took a deep breath, letting the familiar smell of the place infiltrate her.
Gradually entering a little further, she walked captivated into the bedroom and stopped several feet through the door, at the exact spot where she had last touched Sirius, twelve years ago. As she closed her eyes, she could still feel his hand as he placed it on her face, ran it down her neck, across her shoulder and along her arm, eventually taking her hand in his.
Still reliving the memory, she opened her eyes and reached out into the emptiness, once again looked down at her hand and gave it a belated squeeze. Sirius was gone. She let her legs collapse beneath her as she tumbled to the floor in despair, once more awakened rather rudely and sent back to reality where those annoying emotions ran rampant, distracting Adhara from what she had come there to do.
Shaking her head, as though she was trying to shake a thought out, her eyes came across a small piece of parchment lying on the nightstand. Looking curiously at it, she slowly stood up and walked over to it, entranced. Her eyes fell upon the familiar scrawled writing and scanned its contents quickly. As they reached the end, she allowed them to linger over the last part, which was scribbled quickly and quite messily.
"I don't even know who you are."
Grasping the paper tightly in her hands, she felt herself starting to collapse. Hugging the bed frame in hopes of stopping the falling sensation she was feeling, she stared vacantly down to the floor as she felt herself being transported to a desolate place of anguish.
*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*
After seeing Pettigrew in his rat form on the cover of The Daily Prophet and escaping from Azkaban, Sirius Black bided his time watching over Harry Potter. Despite his overwhelming to find Adhara, or at least to owl her, he knew that all he would do was endanger her and leave Harry unprotected from Peter.
Thus, he remained close to Harry until the danger had passed. Although it nearly earned him the Dementors' Kiss of Death, he managed to escape death once more. Harry and his good friend, Hermione Granger, did a bit of time traveling and were able to give Sirius a hippogriff, known as Buckbeak, to use as a getaway car.
Under the cover of that night's darkness, Sirius went back to his and Adhara's old home in southern England, hoping she had left him some type of clue to find where she had gone with their baby.
*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*
Eh. I don't know. After the end of book three. 1994-ish?
Southern England
Glancing up at the moonless sky, Sirius basked in his newfound freedom as he walked up to his old door. A smile crept its way onto his face as he realized that in a few moments he'd finally see his darling Adhara again. After twelve years in a miserable prison where any thoughts of happiness were sucked out of him, he grinned defiantly as he recalled that warm feeling her presence always gave him.
Pressing the door open, he glanced around warily, checking for dementors above all, but other dangers as well. Seeing none, he began scanning for one of Adhara's clever hints as to where she had gone.
After searching the living room as well as the kitchen and finding nothing, he began to despair slightly. What if she had never believed that he'd come back and had just up and vanished? No, surely Adhara would've felt the same pain that he had felt and lived off the dream that he'd return to her one day.
Moving into the bedroom, he found it rather dark in comparison to the other rooms. "Lumos," he muttered, pulling out his wand. Apprehensively, he held the light in front of him as he crept through the familiar room. Seeing a lock of copper hair near the window, he slowly walked towards it.
As he approached it and Adhara's full body came into view, Sirius smiled with delight. She sat on the bed, feet dangling off the side, head cradling in an arm that rested on the headboard with her copper-blonde hair covering her face, hiding her vacant, downward stare.
He walked over in front of her and knelt on the ground quietly, not wanting to alert her of his presence quite yet. Closing his eyes, he tenderly reached a hand up and brushed her hair behind her ear, reminiscing of what they had had before. Running his hand down to her face, he lifted her face up and wrapped his other arm around her waist in one swift movement. "See, Addy, it's alright now. Just like I promised," he whispered before beginning to kiss her passionately, happy that, after twelve horrible years, everything was finally how it should be.
Yet when her lips failed to respond to his, he suddenly became aware of how cold her face was. Shakily pulling away, he turned her head towards him, hoping to be greeted with Adhara's sparkling eyes and to hear her endearing voice proclaim "I gotcha!" Yet his hopeful gaze was returned only by a vacant stare from glazed-over ambiguous green eyes.
Immediately, Sirius felt an unswallowable lump in his throat as his eyes filled with tears. There was neither blood nor any signs of struggle; he knew exactly what had happened: Avada Kedavra. Biting his lip to keep from crying, he ran his fingers softly across her lips and shook his head in disbelief. "No." he whispered almost inaudibly as his tears began flowing freely down his face.
With the delicate balance broken, her inert body tumbled into his arms. Clutching her closer to him, he wrapped his other arm around her and sat there for a moment, crying into her lifeless shoulder.
Taking the limp body in his arms, he gently laid her out on the bed. Tears continued to stream down his face, but he had regained enough self-control to stop himself from sobbing too loudly. Sitting next to her, his eyes wandered along her once vibrant body with despair and, more than anything, guilt.
Letting his eyes scan over her, he noticed an unfamiliar marking on her arm. Tilting his head, he realized that she had scraped something into the skin with her nails. Absentmindedly his finger followed the line that she had scrawled into herself mere seconds before she died:
Always
He turned himself around to look at her face one last time. Softly, he placed two fingers on her eyelids and let his eyes look into them for the last time before shutting them gently. Taking her head in his hand, his kissed her forehead delicately. "Always." ----------------------- [1] Lamaldicha can be translated as "The Cursed One"
June 1977- a day before the Marauders' graduation from Hogwarts
Hearing the portrait creak open, Adhara Gris' eyes darted from her parchment to the incoming figure. She immediately recognized the silhouette as none other than the boy she loved to hate, Sirius Black. She didn't really loathe him; it was just widely believed that they despised each other due to their incessant competition in all their classes, as beaters for the house quidditch team and in everything else as well. As he walked further into the common room, she got a mischievous grin on her face.
"Tarantallegra!" she shouted, pointing her wand at him as she tossed her copper-blond hair over her shoulder. Crossing her legs, she let her deep green eyes stare intently into his as she reclined on a couch. "Take that," the adroit eighteen-year-old thought with a smirk.
As he felt him self begin dancing involuntarily, and quite ridiculously, Sirius gaped at Adhara. "That the best you can do?" he shot back, slowly regaining control of himself and turning his wild and erratic dance steps into impressive intricate footwork. Grinning, he pulled out his wand, anxious to start another mini-duel with her. "Rictusempra!' he called out, directing the tip of his wand at Adhara as he continued dancing.
Dropping her wand, Adhara's hands flew over her body in an attempt to rid herself of the uncontrollable tingling. "Sirius Black," she began, struggling to speak through her giggles.
"Yes, Adhara Gris?" He danced his way over towards her, obviously getting a kick out of the erratic yet futile movements she was making in an effort to stop the tickling.
"Reverse the spell!"
"Why? You look like you're having such a good time!" Sirius grinned.
"Do it!" Adhara's eyes stared into his with pseudo-rage. Although she loved the little "duels" that Sirius and her had, she was beginning to get a cramp in her stomach from laughing so much.
" Eh, you're no fun." Smiling, Sirius pulled out his wand and pointed it at the giggling girl sprawled on the couch. "Prior incanto."
As the tickling disappeared, Adhara lay back across the couch with a sigh of relief. "Uggh," she groaned, putting a hand on her aching stomach.
"Hey," Sirius said, putting his hands on his hips as he continued dancing, "You gotta do me too, Addy."
Adhara raised her head up to meet Sirius' gaze. "Do I have to do you right now?" she asked jokingly. "You look like a dancing Irishman with your arms like that, and you know my feelings about men who wear skirts..." Sirius shot her a look, and she plucked her wand off the ground. "Aw, all right. Prior incanto."
Walking over to the couch, he lifted Adhara's back up a little and sat down, gently letting her fall back down so she was lying across his legs with her head on the opposite end of the couch. "That was fun," he said with a smile, looking down at her as he entwined his fingers with hers.
"You think so?" Adhara replied, returning the smile. "I don't know. I think I know something that might be a little more fun." Her warm smile changed into a mischievous grin.
Sirius raised his eyebrows. "Oh, really? And what might that be?" he asked feigning puzzlement.
Rolling her eyes at him, she reached her arm up and gently pulled his head down towards hers. "Well."
Sirius grinned, then closed his eyes and bent his head down to kiss her.
"Great Merlin!" came a voice as the portrait creaked open.
Adhara snapped her head towards the voice, causing Sirius' lips to land on her neck, making the situation look even worse than it already did.
Realizing this, Sirius also looked up towards the opening in the portrait. "Professor McGonagall, we were just, um."
Adhara's terrified expression changed to one of relief as she realized the voice belonged to none other than her best friend, Lily Evans. "Oh, hey! How've you been, Lily?"
"What is it, Lil?" came a voice from the behind her. Lily just stood there and gaped as she gently pulled her other arm through the portal, dragging James Potter into the room.
James shrugged, used to seeing Sirius making out in the common room with his girlfriend. "What?" he asked, oblivious to Lily's shock.
"Look!" she exclaimed, pointing at them with a look of both shock and happiness on her face.
Putting his arm around her waist, James smiled. Lily was so adorably innocent. "It's alright, Lily. They're not doing anything too extreme." His eyes flitted over and met Sirius in nonverbal congratulation. "Right?" he asked Sirius with a slight grin.
"Course not, Prongs," Sirius replied nonchalantly, stealing a glance at Adhara. As she seemed perfectly content lying on him, he decided against moving and instead ran a hand along her face. She was so beautiful. Her long copper blond tresses surrounded her face, and her green eyes sparkled as they stared into his.
Smiling warmly up at him, Adhara pressed her face against his hand and closed her eyes, indulging herself with his touch. What had been just a clichéd competitive friendship a little less than a week ago had blossomed into a wild desire for one another.
Seeing Sirius and Adhara lying there, James almost smiled. Lily had told him that Adhara had liked Sirius forever, and he was happy that Sirius had finally noticed the girl. Still, he was a little upset that Adhara would soon have her poor heart broken by his best friend. Then again, there wasn't really anything James could do; it was just how Sirius was. Every week, he'd have a new girlfriend. It had been like that forever. Maybe that's why he was so popular; everyone wants what they can't have, and Sirius was certainly unattainable to anyone.
He thought about pulling Sirius aside and talking to him, but decided against it; it was better just to let things run their course. Sirius would flirt relentlessly, Adhara'd fall in love, Sirus would fear commitment and they'd break up. Of course, Sirius would just take the next girl in line and move on. But Adhara. James didn't know her well enough to predict how she'd take it.
Sighing, he glanced at Lily. "So. we should probably get started on that project for our transfiguration final," he whispered, gently leading her back out the door. "Not that transfiguring a few pillows into useful items will take a pair of animagi all that long," he added with a wink. "But I'm sure we can find a way to entertain ourselves until dinner, don't you Lily?" James' voice reflected a hint of mischievousness as he raised his eyebrows at Lily.
Lily smiled as she shook her head in mock disapproval. "The prefects' lounge is normally empty around now," she stated with the slightest resemblance of a sly grin. James scooped a hand around her waist and off they went, leaving Sirius and Adhara alone.
After just watching the girl with veneration for a moment, Sirius broke out of the breathtaking reverie with a start. What was wrong with him? Staring into a girl's eyes, leading her on like that? It was sick and it was wrong. Sirius Black had never been big on commitment, but he had never purposely led someone on like that before. He may have been blasé, but he wasn't cruel. All his relationships consisted of was flirting and making out, none of that dedication or love stuff. Once any obligations entered the picture, he made a quick getaway. Now, with only a day of classes left, why was he deliberately making things complicated for himself? No, it was just a lack of sleep. Dismissing it as that, Sirius shook his head wondered why he was having such a hard time looking away from her.
Hearing James and Lily make their getaway, Adhara opened her eyes and stared into Sirius' for a moment. Letting go of his hand, she replaced her hand along the back of his neck and slowly pulled him closer to her, never taking her eyes off his, almost as though she was in a trance. Finally closing them, she kissed him warmly for a minute then relinquished his head and gazed up into his eyes once again. "I think I love you, Sirius," she whispered, toying with his unruly black hair.
Every alarm in his brain was going off at full volume. "Merlin," he thought, averting her amorous gaze, "what did I get myself into?" He turned his head away, causing Adhara's caressing fingertips to recoil. A girl had just told him she loved him! This wasn't supposed to happen. They were only supposed to flirt, and kiss a bit. Then he'd tell her that she was cool, but that he wasn't a committed type of boyfriend and that'd be the end of it. That was all he'd ever known; now this had happened. What was he supposed to do now?
He sighed; all he could do was get up and leave, maybe pretend it never happened. Despite his full intention of doing that, his head involuntarily reverted back to Adhara's and his eyes looked into hers again. Wrapping an arm around her, he leaned down and gave her a loving kiss. "I think I love you too, Adhara," he replied quietly as he ran his hand through her long blonde locks.
Although Adhara was relieved, this new vow created an unwanted obligation to Sirius for her, not to mention an awkward feeling in her stomach. Looking away, she tried to clear her mind enough to think things through. "What the hell just happened here?" she asked shaking her head as she crossed her arms over her chest and sat up.
Regardless of that incommodious feeling in the pit of his stomach, Sirius couldn't help wanting to comfort Adhara. "Hey," he said softly. Gently turning her head back towards him, he gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "I don't know what just happened, but it'll be alright; I promise. Okay?"
Adhara tilted her head and looked up inquisitively at him. He wasn't the nonchalant, outgoing Sirius she had always known; he was so considerate and so understanding it almost scared her. If she hadn't been there when to see it, she wouldn't ever believe that Sirius Black could have possibly changed so much so quickly. Or maybe he had always been that way deep down and had just never shown that side of him to the world. It made sense. "Okay," she whispered, taking his hand in hers again. Somehow, things would work themselves out.
*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*
Things did eventually work themselves out, but not for awhile. The summer after graduation, Sirius and Adhara became engaged and moved to London, where Sirius had grown up. Adhara worked as an Auror and Sirius was an investigative spy for the Ministry, and at the end of the long day, they retired to the flat that they shared. It wasn't much, but both of them were happy. at least until Sirius' parents met Adhara on Christmas Day, 1977.
December 1977- Christmas after the Marauders' graduation from Hogwarts
Being Muggle-born, Adhara hand-cooked the entire Christmas feast, which, needless to say, Sirius found impressive. She had begun at a little past nine that morning and, around eleven Sirius apparated out to help his parents find the way to his and Adhara's apartment. They knew he was engaged, but hadn't heard anything about Adhara other than the fact that she was "absolutely gorgeous" as Sirius had said.
Thus, Adhara was alone in the flat, still cooking dinner. She stood at the counter, cracking several eggs into a bowl, preparing a small custard for dessert as she hummed merrily. Seeing this pleasant scene, Sirius, who had returned from his excursion, crept up from behind and wrapped his arms around her, resting his head on her shoulder. "Boo!" he whispered into her ear.
Feeling strong arms wrap around her waist, Adhara jumped. Had she not been accustomed to Sirius' frequent entrances like that, she would have most certainly spilt the custard. "Sirius!" she exclaimed happily when she heard his voice. Turning her head, she gave him a quick kiss. "Are your parents here?" she asked, looking around nervously as she set down the bowl.
"Not yet," Sirius replied smiling at her. "Don't worry, Adhara, I'm sure they'll love you. How could anyone not? Even if they hate you, the worst they'll do is Avada Kedavra. Then I'd just kill myself and we'd be together, so it's all good," he joked. "Besides, I've only known them to hate two types of people, ever. As long as you're not a death-eater or a mudblood, you're fine," he continued, turning her around in his arms to give her a kiss.
Although Sirius' lips were warm with love, Adhara's were frozen with fear. She just stood there, wide-eyed, open-mouthed and petrified, as though someone had just cast a full-body bind on her. Feeling as though he was kissing a wall, Sirius pulled back and inclined his head curiously. "What's wrong?" he asked, voice full of concern, as his warm brown eyes stared intently into her vacant green ones.
She wanted to tell him, she really did, but she just couldn't make herself do it. So she just stood there, staring blankly back into his eyes as her heart raced.
"Tell me, Ad. What is it? What'd I sa- Oh, Merlin." He realized at once what he had said. "You're muggle-born, aren't you?" he asked gently, holding her tightly against him. Her only response was biting her lip as her eyes flooded with tears and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Aw, Ad," Sirius whispered, running a hand through her hair. "It's alright, don't worry. It'll be alright. Remember, Ad? I promised you it'd always be alright."
Adhara tried to hold back her tears, but ended up sobbing into Sirius' shoulder, shaking uncontrollably. His parents hated muggle-borns, and that meant that Sirius almost undoubtedly did also. But if he hated "her kind", then why was he comforting her?
"Adhara, please don't cry," Sirius whispered, running his other hand up and down her back, trying desperately to comfort her. "It's alright, I won't let them touch you. It's alright," he whispered.
In spite of the strong front Sirius put up, he had no idea what to do about his parents. There were two types of people they truly despised: death- eaters and mud-bloods. Personally, he didn't care about blood purity, but his parents held it in very high esteem. If they found out Adhara was muggle-born, he didn't know what they'd do to her. They might just refuse to support their marriage or they might pull out their wands and try to kill her; he was clueless. Tucking her shoulder under his chin, he held her as she cried. He closed his eyes and tried to figure out something he could do.
"Won't let them touch me?" Adhara thought, shaking even harder in fear, "Merlin, what type of people are they?" If Sirius, their own son, thought they were going to hurt her. She didn't even want to think about it. All their owls to Sirius that she had read made them out to be good, friendly, loving people. Hugging Sirius firmly against her, her tear-filled eyes widened in trepidation as she let out a sob.
"Ad, it's alright. I told you, I won't let them hurt you. Look, Ad, I don't know what'll happen, but I love you, okay? Always." Sirius continued stroking her hair as he gently lifted his head up to look at her. "And whatever they try to pull won't ever make me stop loving you," he said, staring straight into her eyes.
Knowing he still loved her, and always would, calmed Adhara quite a bit. She gradually stopped shaking as much and her tears slowed as she looked into his warm, caring eyes. "I love you too. Always," she whispered.
Sirius smiled slightly, kissing her lightly. "Good, that's all that matters," he replied.
Suddenly a voice was heard. "Sirius, darling, wherever are you, my dear?"
Recognizing the voice as his mother's, Sirius quickly ran his wand over Adhara's face, muttering a spell that returned it to how it looked before she had been crying. "What they don't know can't hurt us," he whispered, tilting her chin up towards him. "Follow my lead." Giving her an affectionate kiss, he ran his hand along her face. "Always," he repeated quietly as he turned towards the foyer. "Over here, Mum!" he called.
Returning to reality, Adhara panicked, realizing she hadn't finished the custard. But, as she turned around to where the bowl had been, she was greeted with faultless vanilla custard. Smiling at Sirius' cleverness, she set it out on the table and double-checked the table. Everything was in its place; now all she had to do was get through the meal.
Quickly checking herself in the mirror, she put her hair behind her ears. Just as she turned around, Mr. and Mrs. Black came in, led by a smiling, and winking, Sirius.
"Mom, Dad, I'd like to present to you my beautiful fiancée, Adhara Gris," Sirius said, taking Adhara's hand and pulling her close enough to wrap him arm around her waist. The gesture seemed cute and romantic to his parents, but when he intertwined his fingers with hers, it was clear to Adhara that he was being as protective as he could without being obvious.
"Pleased to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Black," Adhara replied with her warm smile as she extended a hand toward the both of them.
"Charmed," Mr. Black replied, shaking the hand rather cordially.
"Delighted to meet you, dear," Mrs. Black added composedly.
Sirius glanced down worriedly to Adhara. If that had intimidated her, she certainly didn't show it. He was slightly embarrassed at his parents' distantness, but it was just how they were. Sometimes he wondered how they could have ever raised someone as outgoing, energetic and obnoxious as himself. Then again, he had technically raised himself at Hogwarts along with the other Marauders; that explained most of it.
"Will you please sit down?" Adhara asked quite dignifiedly, recoiling from Sirius' embrace, but keeping her hand locked in his, to pull out two chairs for her future in-laws.
Once everyone was seated and eating, the dreaded conversation part of the meal began. Of course, the Blacks wanted to know all about Adhara. Fortunately for her, Sirius did most of the talking. Then again, most of the questions were directed at him. It seemed that his parents followed the old custom of not speaking to women.
"So, where is Adhara from?" Mr. Black asked curiously.
"Santiago, Chile," Sirius replied, glad to be able to speak some truth.
"And why aren't her parents here?" he asked, obviously implying that since he was there, they should be also.
Sirius fought the urge to reply with a witty remark. It wasn't that he didn't love his parents, because he did. And they were nice people. as long as there weren't dark wizards or mud-bloods in their presence. Both his parents had been raised to value pure-bloodedness. As Sirius couldn't care less about lineage, most of the time he found it most difficult to respect their views and actions when it concerned muggle-borns.
"Her father, Eduardo, died last year," he said quietly, smiling sympathetically at Adhara for a moment. "Samantha, her mother, is in Santiago taking care of their livestock," he answered, proud of himself for not having to lie too much, and shot a quick smile at Adhara.
"Well then," Mr. Black replied, clearly unimpressed with the professions of Adhara's mother and not showing any sympathy for Adhara regarding the death of her father.
Seeing this as the perfect time for a random subject change, Sirius jumped in before his father could ask another question. "So, how's the food?" he asked with a grin.
"Alright, I suppose," Mrs. Black answered. "Of course, my wand makes better. But it's not horrible."
Afraid that his mother had just affronted Adhara, Sirius placed a hand on her thigh under the table and smiled nervously at her. Although it probably should have, Mrs. Black's snide comment didn't bother Adhara at all. In fact, it actually made her feel a little bit better. Mrs. Black hadn't seemed to notice the food had been "cooked" and not magically brought in, and that relieved Adhara immensely. So, when Sirius supportively placed his hand on her leg, she merely put hers on top of it and tangled her fingers with his, smiling back reassuringly at him.
The rest of the meal went well. It seemed like the Blacks didn't suspect a thing. Sirius' lies had been convincing and Mr. Black had even complemented Adhara several times. All was well, until the point where the Blacks were walking out the front door to apparate.
"Good-bye, Sirius," Mr. Black said, shaking his son's hand. Sirius smiled back.
"See you, Dad," he replied, waving him off, glad to be rid of his parents.
Mrs. Black had finally warmed up to Adhara. In fact, it was quite obvious she approved of her son's choice as a wife. "It was lovely to meet you, dear," she told Adhara, giving her a light hug. "You simply must keep in touch with us, all right?"
Whether it was out of habit or not, Adhara nodded eagerly as she proclaimed the words that had the power to shatter the evening. "Of course, I'm sure Sirius has your number. I'll call you sometime."
"Call?" Mrs. Black replied, confused. "Number? Whatever are you talking about, dear?"
Fortunately, Mrs. Black hadn't taken Muggle Studies at Hogwarts and didn't realize Adhara was referring to a telephone. And, not knowing where Chile was, she just assumed that "calling" was how Adhara's family referred to owls. However, Mr. Black was completely aware of what Adhara had just made reference to.
He wasn't a violent man, and had never been a violent man. Yet, despite his upstanding nature, he was a man of principles, and one of his founding principles was that no mud-bloods would be allowed in his family. Sharply turning around, he punched Sirius across the face as hard as possible. "What is wrong with you? She's a Mud-blood!"
Momentarily ignoring the throbbing pain of his bruising jawbone and broken nose, Sirius struggled to get to Adhara before his father. This would not end well. Unfortunately, he tripped over his father's foot and fell to the ground, hard.
Adhara had watched Mr. Black hit Sirius and tried to run, but found herself incapable of moving. Instead, she just stood there trembling in fear.
"And you!" Mr. Black yelled, grabbing Adhara by the shoulders and lifting her into the air to shake her. "Destroying the honor and purity of the Black family name! What impudence!" He raised his fist and pulled it back, ready to knock it against her face, hard.
Although Mrs. Black didn't condone this type of violence, she fully supported her husband's efforts to keep the family line pureblooded. However, she herself wouldn't do anything. Instead, she watched Adhara's terrified face and glared at her, hoping that they would scare her out of marrying Sirius.
Seeing his father's ready fist, Sirius pulled his wand out. "Accio Adhara," he mumbled, focusing all his energy on freeing Adhara from his father's grasp.
Almost immediately, Adhara's quivering body flew down to him as Sirius stood up. Guiding her behind him, he wrapped her arms around him and placed his hands on top of hers. "Don't you touch her," he said boldly, glaring at his parents.
"We're only trying to stop you from making a mistake, son," Mr. Black replied, fully believing that what he had been doing was justified. Mrs. Black nodded in agreement.
Sirius shook his head disgustedly as he pulled Adhara closer to him. "I don't need you to tell me I'm making a mistake, 'cause I'm not. I love Adhara; I'm marrying Adhara. Done and done."
Appalled at their son's outright defiance, the Blacks exchanged an astounded glance before Mr. Black turned and stared threateningly at the couple. "Don't do it, Sirius."
Without so much as a moment's hesitation, Sirius turned around and picked Adhara up in his arms. "Good-bye, Mr. and Mrs. Black," he called mockingly as he walked down the stairway, carrying Adhara, who was still quavering, away.
Once they were far enough, Sirius set Adhara down gently in the snow before letting his body fall limply to the ground. Merlin, what had just happened? He had disowned his parents. Burying his head in his hands he swore under his breath as he tried desperately to figure out how to survive without them.
Adhara knew Sirius well enough to know when to talk and when not to; this was definitely a time not to talk. Instead, she crawled over to him and wrapped her arms around him, finally feeling safe. Laying her head on his shoulder as she cast her eyes upward towards his, oblivious to the cold.
Feeling those familiar arms around him, Sirius lifted his head up and smiled weakly at that beautiful, loving face that stared devotedly at him. "It's not your fault, Ad," he replied softly as the pain of his injuries finally began affecting him.
Adhara smiled in response, telling him he didn't have to keep being so strong. Another pain shot up his face, through his broken nose, causing him to grimace in pain. Seeing this, Adhara pulled out her wand and healed is jawbone and nose as best she could, mending them both to mere bruises. "We gotta get you out of the cold," she said quietly and she stood up and tried her best to help him up.
"No," Sirius replied quietly, gently tugging her back down next to him. "We can just transform; dogs'll be able to hack this weather. Besides, we'll be safer that way."
Adhara nodded. "You sure you're up to it?" she asked concernedly.
"I'll be alright," he replied as he closed his eyes and started shifting. Adhara did the same, and in a few moments, one black and one gray dog stood where they had been. Together, the pair began walking away into the sunset, towards a new life.
*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*
Fortunately, try as they might, Sirius' parents couldn't eliminate his rather full bank account at Gringotts, leaving him and Adhara plenty of money to live off. Leaving their Ministry-related jobs behind as to not clue his parents in to where they were, Adhara and Sirius moved to a small town in southern England where Adhara's cousin, Kirstalia Byrant, lived. Within three days of their arrival, they eloped with Kirstalia as the lone witness.
Shortly after that, in May of 1978, Lily and James were married. Sirius, obviously, was the best man, and Adhara was the maid of honor. Despite the fact that they had been considered an "item", no one thought too much of Sirius and Adhara's relationship. Perhaps it was because they all knew Sirius, or maybe the couple just knew how to act blasé in public about it, or, probably, it was because the couple lived so far from their friends where hardly anyone saw them too frequently to notice.
Adhara had wanted to tell Lily of her and Sirius' marriage, but Sirius persuaded her otherwise. If she told Lily, Lily would tell James, James would tell his parents, James' parents would inform Sirius' parents and then Sirius' parents would come looking for him and Adhara in an attempt to rectify his "mistake". Knowing he was right, Adhara continued to feign she was only his girlfriend, and that their relationship was nothing more than causal flirting; they couldn't take the chance.
A little over a year later, another owl arrived from James and Lily; this one informing them that Lily was pregnant and Sirius and Adhara were being asked to be the child's godparents. They accepted, and that July, Harry Potter was born.
In the midst of the happy Halloween festivities that year, James notified Sirius of his and Lily's decision to perform the Secret-Keeper ritual, to protect them from Voldemort's growing rage, and asked if he would be their keeper. Humbly accepting, Sirius agreed and they decided to perform the spell as soon as Lily was able to, about another week. However, within that week, Sirius had gotten to thinking about it. If he was Voldemort, it would be obvious to him that he, Sirius Black, was the Potters' secret-keeper. Clearly, Voldemort would come after him and Adhara, who had recently become pregnant. He couldn't care less if Voldemort attacked him, but the possibility of leading him straight to Adhara was unbearable. Thus, despite his desire to help his friends, he eventually decided it would be safer, for the Potters as well as himself and Adhara, if Peter Pettigrew were to be the keeper; no one would ever suspect him. Thus, after much convincing on Sirius' part, it was done; at the last minute, "Wormtail" was brought in as the Potters' secret keeper.
Unfortunately, due to Sirius' valiant effort to keep everyone safe, everyone suffered, creating the most memorable story ever known to the wizarding community. Shortly after Harry Potter was born, Peter Pettigrew, a loyal death-eater, happily informed Lord Voldemort of the Potters' hiding place in Godric's Hollow.
Late at night on October 31, 1980, Voldemort apparated into the Potters' home, killing James first, then Lily. He attempted to kill Harry, but instead ended up immobilizing himself. Everyone knows that part of the story. But what ever happened to Adhara Black?
November 1, 1980
Sirius sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at the sleeping beauty that lay before him with awe. A tear rolled down his cheek as he realized he was going to leave her in a few moments, probably never to return again. He had left a note for her on the nightstand, scrawled quickly in his classic horribly illegible handwriting, and planned to leave without waking her. It would be easier that way, for both of them. If he had to look into those loving green eyes of hers, he didn't know if he'd be able to walk away.
After just watching her for a few minutes more, he forced himself to say good-bye to her. Gently running a hand down her face one last time, he let it linger a little before removing it and blinking back the tears forming in his eyes. He leaned down and ran his fingers through her dark blonde hair one last time before softly kissing her forehead. "I love you, Adhara. Always," he whispered before slowly standing up and turning to leave. As he approached the door, he couldn't help but turn around to look back at her.
Adhara opened her eyes groggily and saw Sirius standing there in the doorway, wearing the same gray shirt and blue jeans he had worn the day before, looking extremely upset and distraught. "What's wrong?" she asked worriedly, sitting up in bed.
Although he hadn't wanted to wake her, a part of him was glad she had woken up; at least he could say good-bye to her that way. Looking back at her, tearful eyes filled with panic and fear, face unshaven and apprehensive, Sirius bit his lip for a moment, not wanting to tell her. "James and Lily." he whispered, choking on his words. "They're dead."
"No," Adhara gasped, flinging herself out of bed and into Sirius' quivering arms as tears flooded her eyes. "And. and Harry?" she asked, still hopeful that their son had somehow survived Voldemort's wrath.
"Harry's alive. Last night I lent Hagrid my flying cycle and he and Dumbledore took him to Lily's sister's place." Sirius tightened his arms around Adhara for a moment before gently sliding away and retrieving his wand and turning back towards her with a distressed expression.
"Wh-where are you going?" Adhara eyes filled with worry and uncertainty. The look on Sirius' face was agonizing; it was so painful for Adhara to see him like that and not be able to do a thing to help him.
His voice was cold and hard. "To find Peter," he replied, biting his lip angrily. "He did this to them."
Suddenly the whole situation became ten times worse as Adhara realized its severity. No one knew that Peter had been the Potters' secret- keeper except for James, Lily, Sirius and herself; Sirius would be charged with their murder. Her green eyes widened in fear as she wrapped her arms around him and held him protectively. "Don't leave me," she whispered, looking up into his eyes, pleading with him to stay. If he left, she might never see him again.
"I have to, Ad," he said quietly, holding her securely against him. "If I don't, Peter'll get away with killing James and Lil.. And all this time I though it was Remus- how could I be so stupid? You know I can't let this slide, Ad."
That was true; Adhara did know that Sirius wouldn't just let it slide; he couldn't. If the truth wasn't made known, he would be charged with the murder of their best friends. Still, she couldn't bear the thought of possibly never seeing him again. "But," she began, holding back her sobs, "he'll kill you." As the vision of Peter killing Sirius crept into her mind, her cries couldn't be contained any longer. "Don't. Don't leave me alone. What about our baby?" she asked, running a hand over her stomach.
Glancing away from Adhara's pleading face, Sirius let a tear roll down his cheek before wiping his eyes. This was exactly why he had wanted to leave before she woke up; she was making it so hard for him to do what he had to. Averting her gaze, he turned back and kissed her passionately, knowing very well it might be the last time he ever did so. Taking her face gently in his hand, he looked deep into her eyes, trying to ignore their desperation. "I love you, Adhara," he whispered.
Trying to swallow the lump in her throat, Adhara looked back into his eyes, knowing that he had to go. "I love you too, Sirius," she replied just as quietly, pressing herself against him, completely aware that she might never see his face again. "Always."
After letting his hand remain on her face for a minute, Sirius slowly ran it down her neck, across her shoulder and along her arm, eventually taking her hand in his. Giving it a tender squeeze, he turned around and reluctantly untangled his fingers from hers one-by-one as he walked through the door without another word, quietly shutting it behind him.
As soon as the door was shut, Adhara felt hopelessness beyond anything she had ever imagined. She looked down at her hand and gave it a belated squeeze. Sirius was gone. Walking absentmindedly back to the bed, she sat down on it. Her vacant, glazed-over eyes glanced abstractedly around the room, eventually seeing the note Sirius had left for her.
November 1, 1980 My dear Adhara,
I love you- always and forever. Never ever forget that, ok? I'm sorry I left without saying goodbye, but if I had to woken you up, I don't think I could've made myself leave. I don't know how to tell you this, Ad. James and Lily are dead. When I got to Peter's yesterday, he wasn't there. I flew my bike over to James' and found their bodies. Avada Kedavra. Obviously Voldemort's doing. That dirty rat was in with him all along. Harry's alright though; Hagrid and Dumbledore've got him. I can't believe Peter did it. I mean, I've been one of his best friends since first year and I doubted Remus over him. Damnit, Ad. Remus was the nicest of us all; he wouldn't have hurt Lily or James if you'd threatened him with death. To think I doubted him just because he was a werewolf. If I had just been their secret-keeper like James wanted me to none of this would've happened. Now James and Lily are dead and it's all my fault. I've gotta do something. Please understand that, Adhara. By the time your beautiful green eyes are reading this, I'll have already apparated to London in search of the filthy traitor himself. I don't know what I'm gonna do, but I have to get him to confess. You, me and him are the only ones left alive who know the truth and if he won't confess, I'll be taking the fall for it. If that happens, don't get involved, Adhara. Voldemort'll only come after you and our baby. I can't deal with that type of guilt, so just change your name and run away somewhere. Take all the money and just leave; otherwise he'll find you. Please Adhara, don't try to save me. I'm smart enough to know how not to get myself killed. I'll return to you as soon as I can. I'm so sorry, Addy. It wasn't supposed to end up this way- it wasn't supposed to be like this. But Ill fix it, Ad.
It'll be alright, I promise.
Always,
Sirius
As she read it, her hand began to tremble. By the time she had reached the end, the paper was shaking so badly she could barely read it. Placing her other hand on it, she brought the note close to her chest and began crying uncontrollably as reality set in, like a knife being plunged straight through her heart. Sirius was gone, James and Lily were dead, and she was still there. A feeling of unparalleled loneliness came over her as she become conscious of the fact that she was all alone now.
She wanted so badly to go help him, but something about those last few words convinced her otherwise. Deep down, she knew he was right. If she tried to help, Voldemort would find her and kill her and their precious child. All she could do was sit and wait, all the while hoping that Sirius would apparate back to her any moment then.
Adhara sat there, waiting for something- anything to tell her what had become of her beloved. She sat in silence, letting a torrent of tears incessantly flow down her face until the next morning when a Sirius' owl, Hermes, appeared at the window.
Optimistic that somehow Sirius had survived, Adhara hurriedly went over to it. Seeing what was enclosed in its talons, her heart sank; it was The Daily Prophet. The headline said all she needed to know: Sirius Black sent to Azkaban for Potters' murder
Seconds later, as though it had been waiting for this moment, another, smaller extremely tired-looking owl entered. Hearing it fly through the window, Adhara glanced up. As she saw what it carried in its talons, her mouth opened wide with hope. It was a piece of the gray shirt Sirius had been wearing earlier.
Shakily, she removed the cloth from the owl's talons and slowly unfolded it. Scribbled in deep red blood were the words "It'll be alright. I promise."
*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*
Several days after the trial-less sentencing of Sirius Black to a lifetime in Azkaban, the woman known to the world as Adhara Soledad Gris, disappeared off the face of the earth without a trace. Her disappearance was discovered when interviewers from The Daily Prophet arrived to find her missing. The only thing noted as absent from her and Sirius' former home was the small rosewood box, which Kirstalia informed the papers Adhara had kept all her most prized possessions in, giving even more mystery to her vanishing. It now seemed that Adhara had run away from something.
In truth, Adhara had run away from something, or rather someone- Lord Voldemort. As she was the sole witch alive who knew the truth about Pettigrew's betrayal, her death would bring about a sense of security to Voldemort that Sirius Black would never be released from Azkaban and that would ensure no one could defeat the dark wizard.
Of course, Voldemort wasn't stupid, he still had plenty of followers who informed him that Adhara Gris had run away. Confident that, one day, she would return, he placed a well-designed Portkey at the home, which, upon being touched, would transport her to his dungeon where he could kill her at last.
In addition to Voldemort and the dark wizards, the entire good wizarding community also kept a lookout for "Sirius Black's girlfriend", offering rewards for her capture. The society as a whole believed what they had read in the papers: Adhara Gris was working closely with Voldemort and had conspired Sirius to murder James and Lily Potter.
After several months passed by with no sign of Adhara Gris, the name was soon pushed out of the limelight. However, everyone still kept one eye open for her, as she "was" a known death-eater to them.
*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*
July 17, 1992
Small town on England's east coast
"Mum, look! I got a letter!" The young eleven-year-old boy's voice rang out over the hills as he ran, eager to show his mother the letter that had come for him.
From her spot on the porch, his mother, called Lamaldicha[1], watched as her son sprinted towards her, knowing exactly what the flailing letter in his hands meant; her son had been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. "Bring it here, Anthony," she called out to him. "Your father would be so proud." she thought to herself, stroking the wedding ring on her finger as a single tear crept down her face. Brushing it aside, she put on a happy facade as Anthony bounded up the steps, letter in hand.
Enthusiastic hands ripped open the envelope as Anthony's eyes, the same color green as his mother's, widened in anticipation. As his eyes scanned over the parchment, his smile grew wide; he was a wizard. Growing up with a witch for a mother, and told that his father had been one of the best wizards of all time, he had known that, if he was one, he'd find out on his eleventh birthday. "I'm going to Hogwarts!" he exclaimed with pride.
*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*
February 15, 1993-Day the Dementor's kiss was made legal for Sirius Black
As she sat on the grass and looked up at the stars, Adhara Black felt Sirius' familiar strong arms wrap themselves comfortingly around her waist as he sat down behind her. She placed her hands atop his and leaned back, looking up into his warm, dark eyes with a smile that hadn't been used in twelve years.
Sirius smiled back, gazing into her sparkling green eyes. "I love you, Ad. I always will," he said quietly, planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I've missed you so much."
"I love you too," she replied softly, removing a hand from his and running down the side of his face. "You have no idea how much I love you." she whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek.
With one arm still around Adhara, Sirius wiped her tear away and ran a hand through her copper-blond locks, entangling them in his fingers before his warm eyes glazed over and became cold as they glared spitefully into hers. "No you don't," he sneered contemptuously. He bent his head, so that his mouth was very close to her ear, his lips almost touching it as he whispered.
"If you loved me you wouldn't have let me rot away in Azkaban for twelve years while you ran away with our baby and lived happily ever after. I didn't think you would be like that. I didn't think anybody could be like that! But it just goes to show, I put too much faith in the goodness of people. I'm done doing that, Adhara. And I'm done with you. Always means forever, not until I'm gone."
Adhara's eyes filled with tears as she opened her mouth in protest. "Sirius, you told me t-"
She was halted by one of Sirius' fingers pressing tersely on her lips. "Just don't, Adhara. I don't want to hear it." He shook his head in dismay. "I don't even know who you are.Lamaldicha." His last word lingered eerily on his tongue as he unwrapped his arm from her and walked towards a gray- colored throng on the hill in the distance, leaving Adhara all alone once again.
Remaining there, she watched in horror as the dementors encircled him and sucked out his soul.
"Sirius, no!" Lamaldicha Black screamed as she opened her eyes to find herself sweaty and trembling, lying awake in her bed. "Damnit," she said aloud. With Anthony off at Hogwarts during the school year, and now at his friend's home for the summer, there had been nothing to distract her idle mind from constantly wandering back to Sirius. These delusions had started in September, but never like that. Never before had Sirius scorned her as such.
At first she had just dismissed the dreams as the result of losing Sirius, but now they were beginning to get to her. especially that last one. Brushing her copper tresses away from her eyes, she got up and walked to the bathroom. Slowly, she splashed her face with cold water, trying desperately to eliminate the image of Sirius' cold stoic eyes from her mind. Finding that impossible, she let herself slip into a trance-like state, replaying that last dream over and over in her mind.
After remaining in her rapt state for several hours, she finally snapped out of it when Sirius' owl dropped a copy of The Daily Prophet onto the counter beside her. Staring curiously at it for a moment, her vacant expressionless face shifted itself into one reflecting the epiphany she just had. Her ambiguous eyes glowed dissonantly and her impassive lips curled in a slight smile as she planned her next actions meticulously.
Returning to the bedroom, her hands picked up the small rosewood box which lay beside her bed. She opened the lock, and tear ran down her face as a stream of memories filled her mind upon seeing what she had placed there twelve long, lonely years before. Gently taking the gray cloth in her hands, she held it against her face for a moment, indulging in its comforting smell. Returning it to the box, she exchanged it for the other content; a rather antiquated letter which her eyes scanned through quickly.
"I'm so sorry, Sirius," she whispered into the empty silence, placing the letter back in the box and closing the lid. Kissing its top gently, she replaced it on the nightstand before she turned and walked out of the room automatically. The Sirius in her dream was beginning to seem more and more real to her. If she loved him, she couldn't just let him rot away in Azkaban.
*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*
Of course, the resurfacing of Adhara Gris was just what the wizarding community had been waiting for. That was why, all those years ago, Sirius had begged her to remain hidden; he had known that, if she was to let her name slip even once, that Voldemort or one of his death-eaters would find her within the blink of an eye and offhandedly murder her.
Yet, those endless nightmares had warped her mind beyond having the ability to know what would become inevitable should she reveal herself: death. Still, she was cognizant enough to know that if she went to the papers, she would be taken to Azkaban immediately. She couldn't apparate, for it was obvious that the Ministry of Magic would catch her. Thus, she began walking, letting her mind wander unconsciously and lead her wherever it thought best..
*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*
June 6, 1994- day Sirius Black escaped from Hogwarts
James and Lily Potter's House, Godric's Hollow
Slowly and silently, Adhara Black crept through the twelve-year-old wreckage of the Potters' old home, desperately searching for something. The warm look in her eyes had been replaced with icy glass stare of concentration as she studied the scene. Slinking through the swells of rubble, her tired hands, energized by subconscious need, rapidly dug through the debris as she desperately searched for the erstwhile staircase.
Finding it, she warily trudged up the stairs, careful not to step on any false steps. As she crested the top, she was greeted with a view of what she had been looking for: the library.
Hastily, she made her way to it and began hurriedly rummaging around for one book in particular. Finding it, her mouth's stoic expression turned into a frightening grin of near insanity. Clutching the book tightly against her, she apparated once more, this time to the small house she and Sirius had shared in southern England.
*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*
With the spell book she had taken from the Potters' house in one hand, Adhara Black slowly opened the door to her and Sirius' former home, unleashing a powerful wave of forgotten memories and feelings over her. Holding on to the doorframe, she took a deep breath, letting the familiar smell of the place infiltrate her.
Gradually entering a little further, she walked captivated into the bedroom and stopped several feet through the door, at the exact spot where she had last touched Sirius, twelve years ago. As she closed her eyes, she could still feel his hand as he placed it on her face, ran it down her neck, across her shoulder and along her arm, eventually taking her hand in his.
Still reliving the memory, she opened her eyes and reached out into the emptiness, once again looked down at her hand and gave it a belated squeeze. Sirius was gone. She let her legs collapse beneath her as she tumbled to the floor in despair, once more awakened rather rudely and sent back to reality where those annoying emotions ran rampant, distracting Adhara from what she had come there to do.
Shaking her head, as though she was trying to shake a thought out, her eyes came across a small piece of parchment lying on the nightstand. Looking curiously at it, she slowly stood up and walked over to it, entranced. Her eyes fell upon the familiar scrawled writing and scanned its contents quickly. As they reached the end, she allowed them to linger over the last part, which was scribbled quickly and quite messily.
"I don't even know who you are."
Grasping the paper tightly in her hands, she felt herself starting to collapse. Hugging the bed frame in hopes of stopping the falling sensation she was feeling, she stared vacantly down to the floor as she felt herself being transported to a desolate place of anguish.
*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*
After seeing Pettigrew in his rat form on the cover of The Daily Prophet and escaping from Azkaban, Sirius Black bided his time watching over Harry Potter. Despite his overwhelming to find Adhara, or at least to owl her, he knew that all he would do was endanger her and leave Harry unprotected from Peter.
Thus, he remained close to Harry until the danger had passed. Although it nearly earned him the Dementors' Kiss of Death, he managed to escape death once more. Harry and his good friend, Hermione Granger, did a bit of time traveling and were able to give Sirius a hippogriff, known as Buckbeak, to use as a getaway car.
Under the cover of that night's darkness, Sirius went back to his and Adhara's old home in southern England, hoping she had left him some type of clue to find where she had gone with their baby.
*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*
Eh. I don't know. After the end of book three. 1994-ish?
Southern England
Glancing up at the moonless sky, Sirius basked in his newfound freedom as he walked up to his old door. A smile crept its way onto his face as he realized that in a few moments he'd finally see his darling Adhara again. After twelve years in a miserable prison where any thoughts of happiness were sucked out of him, he grinned defiantly as he recalled that warm feeling her presence always gave him.
Pressing the door open, he glanced around warily, checking for dementors above all, but other dangers as well. Seeing none, he began scanning for one of Adhara's clever hints as to where she had gone.
After searching the living room as well as the kitchen and finding nothing, he began to despair slightly. What if she had never believed that he'd come back and had just up and vanished? No, surely Adhara would've felt the same pain that he had felt and lived off the dream that he'd return to her one day.
Moving into the bedroom, he found it rather dark in comparison to the other rooms. "Lumos," he muttered, pulling out his wand. Apprehensively, he held the light in front of him as he crept through the familiar room. Seeing a lock of copper hair near the window, he slowly walked towards it.
As he approached it and Adhara's full body came into view, Sirius smiled with delight. She sat on the bed, feet dangling off the side, head cradling in an arm that rested on the headboard with her copper-blonde hair covering her face, hiding her vacant, downward stare.
He walked over in front of her and knelt on the ground quietly, not wanting to alert her of his presence quite yet. Closing his eyes, he tenderly reached a hand up and brushed her hair behind her ear, reminiscing of what they had had before. Running his hand down to her face, he lifted her face up and wrapped his other arm around her waist in one swift movement. "See, Addy, it's alright now. Just like I promised," he whispered before beginning to kiss her passionately, happy that, after twelve horrible years, everything was finally how it should be.
Yet when her lips failed to respond to his, he suddenly became aware of how cold her face was. Shakily pulling away, he turned her head towards him, hoping to be greeted with Adhara's sparkling eyes and to hear her endearing voice proclaim "I gotcha!" Yet his hopeful gaze was returned only by a vacant stare from glazed-over ambiguous green eyes.
Immediately, Sirius felt an unswallowable lump in his throat as his eyes filled with tears. There was neither blood nor any signs of struggle; he knew exactly what had happened: Avada Kedavra. Biting his lip to keep from crying, he ran his fingers softly across her lips and shook his head in disbelief. "No." he whispered almost inaudibly as his tears began flowing freely down his face.
With the delicate balance broken, her inert body tumbled into his arms. Clutching her closer to him, he wrapped his other arm around her and sat there for a moment, crying into her lifeless shoulder.
Taking the limp body in his arms, he gently laid her out on the bed. Tears continued to stream down his face, but he had regained enough self-control to stop himself from sobbing too loudly. Sitting next to her, his eyes wandered along her once vibrant body with despair and, more than anything, guilt.
Letting his eyes scan over her, he noticed an unfamiliar marking on her arm. Tilting his head, he realized that she had scraped something into the skin with her nails. Absentmindedly his finger followed the line that she had scrawled into herself mere seconds before she died:
Always
He turned himself around to look at her face one last time. Softly, he placed two fingers on her eyelids and let his eyes look into them for the last time before shutting them gently. Taking her head in his hand, his kissed her forehead delicately. "Always." ----------------------- [1] Lamaldicha can be translated as "The Cursed One"