Disclaimer: All of the characters that you do not know are mine. Everything else is JKR's.
The New Girl In Town
Adara Foley rested her head lazily on the arm rest of her parents' SUV as she looked out the window. The sun shone through the window, the rays making her dark brown hair shimmer and her hazel eyes sparkle. This type of weather was uncommon for the area. The sun was out and shining beautifully. No rain cloud in the sky. It was a grand day to play Quidditch, if that was something you fancied. Another beautiful day, wasted with a drive. Adara continued to gaze out of the window out onto the new town. This day was one she had dreaded for a while. Moving day. Adara's mother, Andrea, was driving the family SUV while her father, Darren, was driving the moving van. Although a wizarding family, they all preferred to drive then to apparate, as it was difficult to move all of their furniture and luggage through apparition. The Foley's also enjoyed the different views that they got to see that they would miss out on had they simply apparated everything.
You see, this was not their first time moving. In fact, it was not their first time moving this year. In the last year, the Foley's had moved 3 times. This was due to the fact of job relocationing. Andrea and Darren were both librarians and were constantly moving, after getting better job offers in different parts of the country. Adara had attended Beauxbatons, Starcraft Academy, this one school that separated all the purebloods, halfbloods, and muggleborns into different houses, and many others. She would not even try to make friends, because she knew that a move was in her future, as always. She had gotten used to things being this way. It had helped her school-wise. She never had to worry about missing an assignment or letting things fall between the cracks, as she had nothing to occupy her time otherwise. As her parents were librarians, she regularly kept books on the ready for free-time reading. Ink was practically in her DNA, she was sure of it.
Adara had apparently dozed off in the warmth of the sun, because the next thing she knew, her mother was pulling in behind her father in what appeared to be their new drive way. Adara had to hand it to her parents; this place was not as bad as the last house that they had briefly occupied. The home had a very nice cozy look to it. It was a two-story brick house with black shutters on each window. The house was not far from London, her mother had mentioned, but you would never know it because the house was so secluded from the world it seemed. Adara could already see herself lazing up beside the tree out back and reading one of her many worn, torn, and cherished books. As fast as those thoughts came into her head, reality set in that much faster. She was aware of the way things happened with her family, always moving. It was nice to see different parts of the country but she never had a place to call "home" per say. As Andrea's delighted face came into view in their living room where Adara was standing, she immediately noticed her daughter's sadness.
"What's wrong, sweetheart? Don't you think that the house is beautiful? When we had previewed the house, all I could think of was how much this place reminds me of you." Andrea smiled at her only daughter.
Adara looked up at her mother. After seeing the delight on her face and after what she said, she knew she didn't want to hurt her mother's feelings. "It's nothing, mum. It's just that, uh, this shade of green in the living room will clash with our couches. And, I know that we can't change things like that in the houses, because..." Adara had begun to truthfully say 'because buying paint is a waste when we will not even be here long enough for it to dry' but instead, she finished with an alternate statement which was also true, "…because we shouldn't waste the expenses on paint on something that isn't ours."
Andrea smiled, much to the surprise of her daughter. She walked closer to the hunter green walls that were spotted where the old owner's pictures had hung. "You know, Adara. You're right. This green would look dreadful with our furniture. What about maybe a mint green instead? Or even a beige to match the throw pillows. Yes, I could definitely image a beige room."
Adara rolled her eyes. Her mother obviously had ignored or not heard her last statement about wasting money to paint a room that isn't even theirs. "Mother, were you listening to me 4 seconds ago? I know that we will be moving in the next few months and landlords will not usually let us change things if we are only renting the house for a short time." Her mother's smile widened. Adara was starting to get aggravated. Something was up and she had no idea what it was.
Darren had walked in with a large box from the van listed as ADARA'S SCHOOL ITEMS and set the box down in the living room near where his wife was standing to join into the conversation.
"Addie, your mother and I have been waiting to surprise you. We have noticed that you never mention anyone from school, and realized that it has been like that for a long time, practically since you started going to school in the first place. After some thought, we realized why that was and how much our moving around with these jobs has affected you. We have talked about it and decided that this is the last move. We want to do right by you, and although that's what we are doing with our jobs, we know that for you to be a well-rounded young lady, you must have a regular group of friends and the only way you can have a regular group of friends is if you actually have a chance to make and keep them. We just hope that you enjoy it here, because we will be here for a long time!" Darren had pulled his wife into his side gently while giving his daughter the news. Adara's smile matched his almost perfectly.
She could not believe this! Her very first actual home! They could put a swing in the oak tree in the yard and she could plant a garden and watch it grow! The little things in life that she had missed out on, she could finally do. Adara was ecstatic.
Adara hugged her parents, with tears in her eyes. "You mean it? We can stay?!" They nodded and laughed at her obvious excitement. "I get to finish my studies at the same school? And make friends with my classmates? Mum! Dad! Can I bring home friends to stay over sometimes? We have plenty of space! This living room – OUR living room – is incredible! The paint just has to go! Can I go and get the paint at the store so we can paint before we get everything all put away? Please! I've never gotten to paint a room before!" Adara was absolutely giddy with excitement. Remember when I said "this was one day that she dreaded?" This day has taken a turn in a whole new direction.
Her parents agreed to let her get the paint and supplies. She ran back out to the front seat of the van and grabbed Aurora and her cage to show her tawny owl their new permanent home. Aurora was her very best friend. She had had her for 5 years, because her grandmother had given baby Aurora to her as a gift for her 9th birthday so that no matter where either one of them were at, Adara could always reach her. Sadly, about 7 months later, Gammy had suffered from a massive stroke while alone in her home. They found out when Aurora had returned with the same letter that Adara had written to her Gammy and no reply. Remembering how they found Gammy in the kitchen the way that she was always made Adara very upset. Aurora became a very close member of the Foley family after that, as she was the gift that Gammy gave Adara and the owl that had alerted them to Gammy's situation. After showing Aurora the house, she let her out to spread her wings as she did every night. Her mother volunteered to apparate Adara to town so that she could get dinner while Adara got the paint.
Adara and Andrea arrived just around the block from the strip mall that they had passed on their way through town. The strip mall had a paint supply store, an arcade, a laundromat, a bookstore, and a coffee show all right there together. Andrea told Adara to go get the paint and that she would meet back with her outside of the bookstore in an hour or so, as she had to walk to the diner and then wait for the food. They separated ways as Adara walked into the paint store. She asked the little old man working behind the counter to mix her 2 gallons of beige semi-gloss paint. When she paid for the paint and supplies, she looked at the time and knew her mother would not be back right way so she asked the nice man if he would hold it there for her until her mother returned for her. He agreed.
She could not resist herself. She loved books and with a bookstore that close, she had to scope it out. As the bell chimed behind her, she instantly smelled the undeniably familiar smell of aged books. This was always her favorite type of bookstore. Used books told her which books were worth reading because of their wear. As she picked up a dusty old paperback that she knew to have been read more than a few times, she noticed another customer in the store around her age she assumed. He looked her age, but his face showed signs that he had been through a lot in his young years. When she turned her head to look at him more closely, he noticed the movement and did the same. They both shyly smiled and turned back to their books. She noticed him in the corner of her eye looking over at her again. Knowing that it was a bold move for her, she gathered up herself and walked the few steps over to him to get a head start on making friends.
"See anything you like?" Adara said. As soon as she asked, she turned bloodshot red. Adara! Now you look like you're trying to come onto him! Fix it, fix it! "I-I-I mean, the books, of course." She saw him smile, although her original question had obviously unsettled him which was clear due to the blush he wore.
"Yes, I have, actually. I found a copy of Withering Heights. My copy doesn't even have all the pages anymore, due to the use of it. It's one of my favorites, and with school starting back up soon, I was hoping to find a copy to read on the train ride. What about you?"
The boys brown hair fell into his eyes, brushing over his dark brown and amber-colored orbs. As she went to answer him, she realized how much she had to look up to speak to him. He was a good foot taller than her at least. She stood a whole 5'4, which had to make him at the shortest 6' tall. His clothes looked very clean, but showed a lot of use was gotten out of them. She wondered if that was his style or if he could not afford to buy more clothes. She mentally kicked herself for thinking like that. You don't judge people's appearances, Adara. He could be waiting on his new clothes to dry. He might have worked all day! His lightly tanned hand moved in front of her face. Oh, he had asked her a question!
"S-sorry! Yeah, I um I found a new, well old, book to try. I've never heard of it before, but it looks interesting. Someone has gotten good use out of it, so I feel obliged to give it a try." She smiled at him.
"You mean you just grab the most worn books and try them?"
"Well, yeah,basically… If someone has loved a book enough to read the poor thing until it is practically in pieces, then it usually means that it is a decent book, at worst. That is the best and quickest way to find a good book."
"That's a very good idea. As much as I come here, I have never thought about it that way. I mean, I've never been one to turn a good book away, but I've never even entertained the thought of used books to show which ones are worth reading. Very impressive."
"You're very sweet. Thank you…" Adara shyly smiled again, face having a pink tint as he gave her the compliment. She was fishing for his name. The boy was very nice (and rather cute) and it appeared that he liked to talk to her too!
"Remus Lupin. " He quickly replied. She smiled at his name, which sounded like his name was 'Remuslupin'. When she had thanked him, it had made him a little unnerved.
"Well, thank you, Remuslupin." At the use of his last name and his first, he began to ramble.
"Well, it's just Remus. I mean, you can call me by my last name too, if you want to. I'm not sure why I said it like that. Then again, I don't do very much talking without my friends from school. I hope you didn't think that I was spying on you or anything while you were looking at your book. I noticed how your eyes lit up at all the used books and the way you smiled was very nice. I wish that more people treated books the way you seem too. You can tell by how your face lights up that you know your books and how to truly enjoy them. I wish my friends could meet you and you could show them that I'm not the only one like that in the world…" He shut his eyes embarrassedly when he realized that he was rambling like an oaf and seemingly making himself out as a fool. He then quietly muttered under his breath, "Oh, Merlin, Remus, just shut it already…"
Adara giggled at his embarrassed expression. She extended her free hand out to him as she introduced herself. "It's fine, Remus. I'm Adara Foley. Just moved into town today, just outside of town actually. Do you live around here?"
Remus nodded. "I probably live around your area, because I thought I saw a moving van come in and park at one of the houses near my home. Do your parents drive a champagne colored SUV?" Adara nodded. "It must have been you then! Ha, small world."
They both looked at each other and back at the books awkwardly after that. Neither one of them knew anything to talk about without the conversation ending up weird. If they talked about age, they would talk about school and neither thought that conversation was a good one to have with a stranger. Adara looked at the clock and noticed the time. She only had about 15 minutes before her mum was to be back. She cleared her throat.
"Well, Remus. I must go and gather my things from next door. It was nice to meet you. I hope I see you around sometime. I'd be nice to exchange books with someone who enjoys books like I do." Adara smiled at him.
As Adara paid for her book and started towards the door, Remus caught up with her. His face was turning a shade of red as his hand rubbed the back of his neck. He obviously was not used to making friends with girls very often.
"Uh, Adara. Do you think that maybe I could write to you? I go back to school soon, but I would like to know...more about you." A thought must have frantically crossed his mind, because then he said, "I-I mean, I understand if you don't want to write to a complete stranger though. For all you know, I could be some super possessive psycho freak…I-I'm not, though!" Remus shook his head and inwardly rolled his eyes at himself. Remus, you are totally blowing this. No wonder Sirius is always bugging you about talking to girls more. Now you finally find a nice girl who has similar interests, and you are making a bugger out of yourself. Get it together. It's not like you are asking the girl out or something.
Adara giggled at his face. She could tell he was embarrassed, so she spoke. "Sure. You're not a complete stranger, Remus. I would like that. I don't really have many friends. " None, actually. "I'll give you my home number too. Maybe if you get a wild hair, you can call me." She smiled, showing him her pearly white teeth. She took out a pen from her bag and wrote her new number on the inside of his palm. She already had it memorized so that if there was a problem while they were out, she could give her dad a call and let him know.
He told her that he would contact her soon, before he went back to school. They waved good-bye to each other as she left the bookstore and met up with her mom. They picked up the paint, went down the block, and once out of sight, they side-apparated.
Once back home, they noticed that the moving van was practically empty. Darren had moved all the furniture into the house, except the living room furniture. They all ate their dinner that Andrea brought home, before starting on the painting. The paint was covering the green very well. After finishing the room, they left it to dry. Adara was so excited about the day. She had a new home, a new school she could stay at, a new bookstore not far from her home, and she had met a very nice, and handsome, guy at that bookstore. Things were already looking up! As she crawled into her bed in her new room, she told Aurora all about her day and about the new boy.
She could not stand it any longer. Her eyes had begun to feel heavy, so she gave into them. She hoped that she would be getting her supply list from Hogwarts tomorrow, so that she could get prepared for school. She had always imagined having a normal life. And now, everything seemed to be working out for them. Adara smiled as she dozed off to sleep, with the thought of those dark brown amber eyes on her mind.