Adelaide Snape

by Mia-Marauder-Potter

View note. A few months after the war, Hermione is sent back in time to 1971. With Aberforth's help, she's renamed Adelaide and adopted by Sarah Snape. A year later, an accident brings Draco Malfoy to the past as well and they must navigate the decade until they can get back.

4. Chapter 3

August 21st, 1993

Snape Home

Leon laid on the grass with his arms wide out, staring at the sky. His broom was across the lawn, broken nearly in half after a bad fall. His view of the large clouds was blocked by Adelaide, her black hair curling wildly.

"Stop pouting," she nagged, frowning down at him. "Aren't you the least bit worried?"

"No, because we know the future."

"But it might be our interference that saves them," she argued hotly. "Please, Draco, they haven't sent letters all summer."

"And we've got a few days until school," he told her, sitting up. His back screamed at him in pain and he chose to ignore it in hopes that it would go away. "You've been worried all summer. Can't you wait another week?"

"I'm just… scared. You know Walburga."

He raised an eyebrow. "Actually, I don't. I've never had the misfortune of walking past her portrait because I never went to Grimmauld Place."

"Oh," she blinked. "I… forgot."

"Just relax," he told her. "We'll see them soon enough."

Xx

Severus pulled Adelaide along, holding onto her wrist. "Stop staring, we're going to miss the train."

"But we haven't seen them!" She argued. "We've been here all morning and they haven't showed up."

He pulled her into their compartment, sighing. "I'm sure they're fine."

"James," she turned to look at the boy as he made his way into the compartment. "Have you seen them?"

"Who?"

"Sirius and Regulus!"

He shrugged. "I saw them earlier this week for school shopping. We ran into each other."

She frowned. "They haven't been writing me."

"Oh," the boy nodded, gently pushing her to the side so he could lift his trunk up to the shelf above them. "Sirius said Walburga knows you're not a blood purist. She's demanded they end their friendships with you."

"But… they won't, right?"

He shook his head. "You know them, Addy. They just couldn't write."

"But where are they?"

"Sirius said they'd miss the train for some wedding. Apparently it was supposed to be on the summer solstice but it got pushed back."

Her eyes widened. "Bellatrix."

"What about her?" Leon asked, coming into the room with Lily. She'd begged them to go looking for the boys earlier.

"She's getting married today," she told him. "That's why they're not here."

"I told you," he rolled his eyes, taking a seat next to her. Lily sat next to Severus, her legs crossed. "You worried all summer."

She leaned back against James, her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. "I worried about you just as much over summers."

He paused, frowning at her. "You did?"

She opened her eyes, blinking at him. "Of course I did. Things got really bad, and you were there with your dad and Bellatrix, and I wasn't stupid enough to forget Voldemort was staying with you. Not to mention Harry was in danger constantly, and Remus was doing things for Dumbledore again, and Sirius was stuck in Grimmauld Place… I was worried about everyone. Don't even get me started on Bill, who was under pressure from the Ministry to divulge secrets from Gringott's that he'd taken Vows not to divulge, or Fleur who was facing more Veela restrictions via the Ministry. It was stressful."

He nodded a little. "Huh… I guess that makes sense. I just never figured you worried about me."

She scoffed. "I always worry."

"Where is Remus?" Lily asked with a frown. "He missed the train."

"Uh," Adelaide smiled a little. "He's sick again. He said his mum took him straight to school so Madame Pomfrey could make sure he was alright."

Truthfully, school began the day of the full moon, and he'd gotten there early to get to the Shrieking Shack before students arrived for the safety of the students.

"He gets sick a lot," Lily said, concerned. "Is he… okay?"

"Yes," Addy promised. "He's just got a weak immune system."

"I thought wizards were generally much healthier than muggles?"

"Yes," she nodded along. "But we're not all perfectly healthy. For example, I have chronic migraines. It runs in my family."

"That's so interesting," Lily told her, eyes wide. "There's no magic to help your migraines?"

She shrugged. "I haven't really looked into it, honestly. I've been so busy with everything going on that it slipped my mind."

"What's a migraine?" Leon asked her.

"Like a really bad headache that doesn't go away very easily, but they typically have a bunch of bad side effects" she explained. "They're common enough in muggles. I've never met another witch or wizard that has them, though."

"My dad gets them constantly," Lily told her. "He takes muggle medicine for it."

She nodded. "I'd taken some before I went to Hogwarts but stopped because I couldn't have regular check ups."

"I get them with my period," Lily told her.

"What's a period?"

Both girls looked at James in surprise as Leon shook his head in horror. Severus groaned in his seat, lowering his head.

"What?" James asked.

"James," Adelaide laughed. "When girls reach a certain age, they do something called menstruate. They start bleeding-,"

"What?"

"From their vagina," she finished, laughing at the horror on his face. "Because we've got something called a uterus, which holds a baby when we're pregnant. When we aren't pregnant, the uterus has to shed the lining of blood so that we don't get sick or damage the uterus or our ability to have kids. And the shedding of the lining comes with a bunch of side effects. The most common is cramping, which happens because the uterus is contracting to rid us of that blood. It typically happens once a month for seven days or so after puberty begins and until we hit menopause. I'm not sure when witches hit menopause, but for muggles it's usually around fifty or sixty."

"Merlin," he whispered, horrified. "That sounds terrifying!"

Lily shook her head. "It's just extremely painful. No one taught you about this?"

Leon shrugged. "Wizards don't learn about this. I only know because I saw my mother taking muggle pills when I was younger and asked why. She told me… though not in nearly as much detail."

"Sev?"

The boy sighed. "Mum told me, too. She knows wizards aren't told about those things and she decided it was wrong. She… basically gave me sex education before leaving for Hogwarts in first year."

"What's sex education?" James frowned.

Adelaide blinked, her curious gaze falling on Lily. "Do you think they have STDs in the Wizard World?"

She shrugged. "I'd assume so."

Adelaide laughed, looking at her friends. "So the first thing you need to know is consent. It's the number one most important part of sex… or really any sort of intimacy like kissing, hugging, hand holding, etcetera."

"Consent?" James blinked.

She nodded. "So if you find a witch or wizard and decide you want to have sex - or any of the other things - the first thing you need is consent. There's rules to this. They cannot be drunk or high or otherwise impaired or there is no true consent."

"What happens if there's no consent and it still happens?" The boy looked thoroughly confused, and Adelaide had tensed.

"James," Lily frowned. "If there's no consent and sex happens anyway, that's called rape. It's a really, really bad thing. If it's just like touching or kissing, that's called sexual assault, which is also very bad."

His eyes widened. "My mum told me about that."

Adelaide nodded, tense and visibly anxious. "There's rape and sexual assault, which is when someone is forced to do something they don't want to in terms of sexual acts. It can include a simple kiss, or being touched in places they don't want to be touched or being forced to do something sexual to someone else. There's also sexual harassment, which is like when someone makes sexual comments to someone else that doesn't want those comments."

"That sounds horrible," he whispered.

"Addy, you okay?" Severus asked her quietly, touching her arm. She gave him a tight smile.

"I'm fine. Um… so consent is always the first thing to look for. If it's not given, back off. Always understand that it can be revoked in the middle of acts. If someone gives it and then in the middle of sex, they decide they don't want it anymore, you have to stop."

"That makes sense," James agreed. "Sometimes I decide I want a sandwich and then change my mind."

"Um, that's not quite-,"

Adelaide shook her head at Lily. He understood the concept fine enough. "So after consent is protection. Do you know the spell?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Of course I do," Leon rolled his eyes when she looked at him. "I was eighteen, Granger, do you think I've not had sex before?"

She scrunched up her nose. "Ew!"

"I know it," Severus rolled his eyes at his newly traumatized sister.

"I know the potion," Lily told her with a blush.

"I'll teach you the spell when we get to school," Adelaide promised. "There's one that works for a full year like muggle birth control."

"Oh! Okay."

"Some people have things called STDs," she continued. "Which means Sexually Transmitted Diseases. To protect yourself from them, always use your spells. They wrap your… um, they just ensure the diseases don't get caught."

"How do you know all of this?" James asked her curiously.

"My mum taught me after-," she paused, biting her lip. "She taught me in my third year."

"Why your third year?"

Lily scoffed. "It happened in second year for me."

"What happened?" James asked her, confused.

"Well, that's when boys start looking at us," Lily told them. "Sexually."

"But we're so young," James argued. "There's no way they-,"

"Of course they did," Adelaide told him. "Last year, you didn't see Sirius looking at girls?"

James gaped at them.

"He's not the most observant," Lily sighed to her friend.

"Well consider this sex education lesson over," Adelaide told her friends. "I need a nap."

"I can't imagine why," Severus rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, why didn't you sleep?" Leon asked

"Sirius," she told them. "My third year was so heavily Sirius based and I keep thinking about him and Reg, worrying."

"Take a nap," Lily suggested. "We've got a few hours."

"Thanks," she smiled, leaning over again to rest her head on James's lap, placing her feet in Severus's lap.

Xx

Adelaide laid on the couch in the common room, a book falling slowly out of her hand as she fell asleep. A blanket was wrapped up in her legs, forgotten in the hours of resting in the same spot.

Regulus stopped as she came into view, the only light being that of the fire nearby. With a deep sigh, he moved forward quietly and plucked the book from her hands, marking the page before closing it. As he adjusted the blanket for her, she shifted, humming sleepily.

"Reg?"

"Yeah," he whispered. "What're you doing up here?"

She blinked her eyes open, wincing at the light in the room. "Waiting for you."

"I'm here," he noted. She picked up her legs for him and he sat, chuckling quietly when she placed her legs right back onto his. "You should be sleeping."

"I was," she replied. "My book, did you-,"

"I marked the page," he assured her. "You should go to bed."

She shook her head, sitting up a little. Her hair had gotten curly over the summer, and she looked different to him…. Tenser, maybe. "I'm worried about you."

"We couldn't write to you," he sighed. "We tried. Mother burned the letters and sent us to stay with Uncle Cygnus for a week."

She winced. "Draco says he's awful."

"Leon," Regulus corrected. "And he is. Bellatrix was staying with him before the wedding."

She shifted, moving until she was sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I was so worried."

"I know," he rested his head on hers. He had known she'd be worried - he and Sirius both, but they hadn't been able to do anything about it. "We were worried about you, too, Little Lion."

She made a face. "I hate nicknames. And you remember that I'm older than you, right? And also a Slytherin?"

He laughed. "Technically, I'm older. And you are a Gryffindor, or you were one, and enough of you still is."

She grumbled quietly. "I don't like it."

He grinned at her. "I didn't think you would."

She stuck her tongue out at him like the mature woman she was, making him laugh again. She watched him for a long moment, a smile falling on her lips. "I was so worried."

His laughter died down as he looked back at her. "I know. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she sighed, leaning her head back down onto his shoulder. "It's not your fault."

Silence fell for a moment as they relaxed. He glanced down at her and plucked up a piece of her curly black hair, tugging gently on it. "What happened to your hair?"

She shrugged. "I missed… myself. I asked Aberforth to change it."

"You should get to bed," he suggested softly. She shook her head.

"I'd rather not."

"Addy-,"

"Reg, no," she looked up at him. He'd grown significantly over summer, and she guessed he was already taller than her. "I keep having nightmares. I just… I'm not up for it. I'm lucky I wasn't having one when you woke me up."

"Have you tried Dreamless Sleep?" he asked gently.

"I can't take it every night," she reminded him. "It's highly addictive."

He sighed, offering a smile. "How about Occlumency? That always seems to help."

She shrugged. "You need to sleep, Reg. It's late. You have class tomorrow."

"I wasn't planning on sleeping," he rolled his eyes. "Let me do something productive."

"Okay," she sighed, giving in. "I guess so."

He grinned. "Okay!"

She shifted until she sat in the usual position across from him with her legs crossed. He gently placed his hands on her face, staring into her golden eyes. "Legilimens!"

The pair fell into a memory she'd been thinking of a lot in the recent days, their ghostly selves standing next to each other, watching the scene.

Hermione stood at the bottom of the steps, gripping her arm tightly, breathing quick as she watched Death Eaters being arrested. Her eyes fell on Draco, and she stepped up. "No! You can't, he's not-,"

A hand grabbed her wrist and tugged her away until she stood in a nearby alcove, slapping at the person holding onto her. "Let me go!"

"Granger," Snape hissed. "Stop hitting me!"

She looked up, glaring at him. "Let me go!" He did as she asked, pulling his hand away quickly. "What the hell are you doing? You want your godson to be arrested?"

"Of course not," he snapped. "But he has to be arrested and cleared. You cannot help him."

"What about you?" She asked, grabbing her arm again as she felt the blood dripping down. "You're a Death Eater."

"Dumbledore sent a letter to Kingsley in his will," the man told her reluctantly, eyeing her injury. "Explaining my situation."

"I've got things to do," she said after a long moment. "I need to help rebuild-,"

He stopped her from walking away again by grabbing her injured arm. She wasn't able to stop him in time before he raised his arm and began healing her. She hissed in pain as the skin was rinsed off with a jet of water and then knit back together quickly. She tore her hand away the second he was finished and looked at it.

"You didn't need to do that," she told him cautiously.

He didn't reply and just walked away from her into the castle, leaving her confused.

Adelaide looked at Regulus, confused. "Is everything okay?"

He shook his head slowly. "Severus becomes a Death Eater."

Her breath left her as she realized the issue. "It's complicated… he became a spy for Dumbledore."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know… I've been trying so hard not to think about him and the things he's done."

He raised an eyebrow. "The things he's done?"

She waved silently to her head and, reluctantly, he raised his hands again, entering her mind quietly.

"-he no longer remembers who he is. He'd kill his best friend if he crossed his path. Furthermore, he only responds to the call of his own kind."

Draco interrupted her with a howl, to which Goyle laughed a little too loudly. Adelaide winced at the sight and focused hard on Snape instead.

"Thank you, Mister Malfoy," Snape commented before turning to Hermione. "That is the second time you've spoken out of turn, Miss Granger. Are you incapable of restraining yourself or do you take pride in being an insufferable know it all?"

"He's got a point," Ron whispered loudly to Harry.

"Five points will be taken from Gryffindor," Snape sneered at Hermione, his eyes dark as he turned away.

The pair looked at each other, and Adelaide saw the same confused anger that she felt.

"I don't… understand," he said finally. "Why was he acting like that? A bad day?"

She snorted. "I've got six years worth of memories of that same attitude. No, it wasn't a bad day."

Regulus shook his head. "But Severus loves you. You're a sister to him. I don't get it."

"Neither do I," she threw her hands up. "And it's been bothering me since I got close to him."

Regulus was silent for a long moment, and she let him think. She still had a hard time wrapping her head around it and she'd had years to think about it. "Maybe you should tell him."

She stared at him in shock. "Excuse me?"

"No, I mean it," he nodded. "If he knows, then he has to do it to preserve the future. Maybe it's truly that simple."

"Reg, he didn't just treat me this way," she explained. "He was horrible to my friends, to all of Gryffindor and basically the entire school. He was only lenient with Slytherin."

"You don't get it," he told her. "If he knows all of that, then he has to do it and that's why he does it. All of it."

She bit her lip. "I don't know… it seems like a really bad idea. What if he just becomes so angry and bitter because he already knows it'll happen?"

"Either way, it happens," he reasoned. "You can't change it."

"I'll… consider it."

"Let's keep going," he requested. "We've got a lot to work on."

She agreed quietly, and the pair moved back into position. After that, they rarely stopped to talk in favor of just moving quickly through the memories. Instead of leaving to talk, Regulus asked her questions or commented on memories while they were in her mind so as not to waste time.

They kept working until near dawn when a hand fell on Adelaide's shoulder, startling her into falling against Regulus and forcing them to break contact in possibly the most painful way. She gripped her head and let out a moan, and he pressed a hand to her back, his eyes cutting up to the person who had touched her.

"What do you want, Avery?" He snapped. He'd felt her mind retract as he was forced out and was certain she'd be in a lot of pain, likely for the rest of the day.

"I saw her down here at almost one," the boy defended. "People are going to start getting up soon, I wanted to make sure she got to bed."

"I'll make sure of it," he said stiffly. Avery nodded slowly, looking down at Adelaide, who was still gripping her head.

"Is she okay?"

"No, because you broke our fucking contact," Regulus spat.

Avery winced. He was a pureblood and all purebloods were taught Occlumency at a young age. "I'm sorry."

"Leave us alone," Reg snapped. The other boy nodded and rushed down the stairs across the room, leaving them alone again. Once he was gone, Regulus leaned down, rubbing her back gently. "You need to get to bed. Sleep the pain off."

She leaned forward until her head rested against his arm, and he wrapped his other arm around her back. "That fucking hurts."

"I've never left your mind without being careful," he explained quietly. "This time, you threw me out because Avery tapped you."

She shook her head. "The common room isn't a good place for this."

"But where else can we go?"

"The Room Of Requirement," she suggested. She sat up again, rubbing her temples. "I'll show you tomorrow. I'm gonna… go sleep for an entire day."

He let out a short laugh. "I'd help you to your dorm, but…"

She rolled her eyes. "Yep. I'm fine. I'll find you when I'm awake."

He nodded and watched her slowly stumble to the stairs down to her dorm, wincing as she grabbed the wall. He didn't hear any crashes and just hoped that meant she was fine.

Xx

Sirius tapped his foot impatiently, looking around the great hall. James nudged him as they approached the table where Regulus sat with Severus and Leon.

"What's wrong with you? She's here somewhere."

"But she wasn't in class!"

James stared at him. "And that's unusual?"

"What's wrong?" Leon asked as the pair sat. "He looks like he's going to have a heart attack."

"We haven't seen Addy all morning," James told them. "He's worried."

"Oh," Regulus frowned. "Yeah, something happened this morning, and-,"

"Why didn't you tell us?" Sirius gasped. "Where is she? Is she okay?"

Regulus narrowed his eyes at his brother. "Are you done?"

Sirius paused. "Yeah."

"We stayed up last night doing Occlumency, and this morning, Avery interrupted us."

"Interrupted?"

"He startled Addy and she shoved me out of her mind," he explained. "She's in a lot of pain so I told her to get some sleep."

Leon frowned. "Avery… I know that name. Who is he?"

Severus raised an eyebrow. "He's a pureblood. An only child, and his parents died before he got to Hogwarts. He was taken in by the Dolohov family but it's clear he hates them all."

"How so?" James wondered.

"There's something about Dolohov that repulses him," Severus shrugged. "And I'm fairly certain the parents are… unkind."

"Huh."

"Why did he interrupt?" Sirius asked, his mind still on Adelaide.

"Apparently, he saw her up in the middle of the night and wanted to make sure she got to bed before people caught us down there," Regulus rolled his eyes.

Leon snorted. "Or he was going to flirt with her."

Sirius and Regulus both glared at him.

"Wow, you guys are sensitive," he chuckled. "Why's that?"

"We care about her," Sirius defended. "She's like a sister."

Leon raised an eyebrow at Regulus.

"If you've been in her mind as much as I have, I think you'd be a bit sensitive, too."

"Sure."

Xx

For the first two months of Adelaide's third year, she stuck by Sirius's side firmly. When he questioned her about it, she just shook her head and mumbled about memories, which was enough for him to back off.

Eventually, though, everyone grew more and more concerned, and Leon and Regulus both pulled her aside one Saturday morning on their way to breakfast.

"Adelaide, what's going on?" Regulus asked gently. She blinked at him.

"What do you mean?"

"He means that you're obsessively staying around Sirius," Leon commented. "What's happening?"

She breathed out in defeat. So far, she'd avoided all attempts to discuss the matter, but being cornered by the two people that knew about the situation, she was stuck.

"Every year is just… it's hard not to get lost in memories of my first time doing this, and-,"

"And your third year, you punched me and were forced to save Sirius," Leon surmised. "So you're worried he's in danger?"

She shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. It's nothing… logical. But James is here and he's so familiar, so close to Harry but so different, and then there's Sirius and I keep thinking about everything he's going to go through… that we're going to go through, and I just don't want to leave his side because I know so much."

"But he's going to get suspicious and demand to know why you won't leave his side," Leon pointed out. "You'll have to tell him something then."

She sighed. "I know, it's just… hard. I know everything he's going to go through in the next few years and then in the future… I know more about him than anyone else here, honestly, and it's hard to ignore. I don't want to… just let these things happen."

"But you have to," Regulus reminded her. "Nothing you do can change it, that's not how time works."

"I know," she sagged tiredly. "I'm so worried."

"So," Leon began slowly. "Make him a way out if things get too bad. You're extremely powerful, you could probably make some sort of permanent portkey that works through wards."

She paused to stare at him in surprise. "I… might be able to. I've never made a portkey before, though."

"I'll help you," Leon told her. "I made some for myself during the war, just in case."

She nodded, looking relieved. "Okay. Thank you."

"And you'll stop obsessively following Sirius?" Regulus asked, eyebrow raised. She blushed lightly and nodded.

Xx

The moment Adelaide was given a detention for being wrapped up in her friends' pranks, she knew it was over. She stood in front of Professor McGonagall with her hands crossed behind her, her gut churning.

"And who are you?"

That was the end of it, and she resigned herself to going to her classes regularly again. Or, at least, sticking to the schedule Severus had made her the year before so that she appeared in enough classes that the teachers at least knew who she was.

And that was how she was stood in the DADA classroom next to Leon, gripping his hand tightly as they stared at the shaking wardrobe in front of them and the professor next to it.

Their DADA professor for the year was a woman named Elise Penbrook who, apparently, was an American lawmaker that quit her job to move to Scotland, where she met Dumbledore and took the job.

"Form a line!" Penbrook called, waving her wand at the record player nearby. To Adelaide's surprise, the music that played was the same music Remus had played in his lesson, twenty years in the future.

Adelaide was shoved back and forth until the line finally settled down, and she found herself, luckily, near the back. The only people behind her was Leon, Severus, James, and Sirius. She counted herself lucky that Peter had gotten Dragon Pox and been transferred to St. Mungo's.

She watched the horrible line shorten and kids be dismissed after they successfully cast the spell. She watched a series of holes melt down into melted chocolate on the floor. She watched a clown dance around, half naked, holding onto his body to cover himself. She watched as a woman came out of the wardrobe, and the boy was sent away with instructions to come back after class was over. She watched as the boy in front of her stepped up and turned his niffler into an otter.

And then it was her turn.

Her gut twisted painfully as she was finally at the front, standing in front of the wardrobe.

She had a feeling her boggart wasn't McGonagall telling her she'd failed her O.W.L.s.

The boggart twisted and danced in a blur in the air, struggling to find a shape. She could feel Leon's hand on her arm, and she shook it off, holding her breath as the boggart tried to find her worst fear.

Finally, she could begin to make out a shape… and she saw Sirius with blood dripping from his mouth, lying on the ground.

It shifted again into Harry, his mop of hair pushed back to show his scar. He was lying in Hagrid's arms, limp, and she felt a sob break from her mouth. Leon shifted behind her at the familiar image but didn't try touching her again.

After that, a vision of Bellatrix standing over her with her wand out, torturing her appeared, and she stiffened, feeling phantom pains all over. Luckily for her, Leon moved, stepping in front of Sirius so he couldn't see. He knew she didn't want him to know, not yet.

And then, finally, it settled on the image of Crabbe and Goyle.

She was frozen in place, unable to lift her arm to banish the sight. She shook slightly, and she didn't miss Leon going still behind her. Her breath hitched in her chest as Penbrook moved in front of her and rid her of the boggart. She turned on her heel, pressing her head into Leon's chest with a gasp. Without hesitating, he held her to him, his eyes open and on the newly locked wardrobe in front of him.

"Mister Snape," Penbrook said quietly, moving over to Severus. "Do you know why your sister saw these people?"

"She's had a hard life," Severus answered slowly, confused by the images. "It's not my place to talk about."

"But is she safe?" The woman whispered.

"She is," he told her nervously.

Penbrook looked at the friends and sighed, waving her hand. "Take her to Madame Pomfrey for some calming draught. Class is dismissed."

With those words, Adelaide pulled away and sped from the room, stopping only when they caught up with her on the stairs.

"Adelaide," Leon called. She ignored him, still moving. "Fuck- Granger, stop!"

She spun to look at him, trying to hold back the tears. "What? What do you want?"

"What the hell was that?" he questioned as the boys caught up with her. "Crabbe and Goyle are your greatest fear?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she snapped.

"Addy," James frowned. "That boy… who was he?"

"Not now, James," she muttered, shaking her head.

"But he looked like me… was he dead?"

"No!" She snapped. "Yes… it's complicated."

"Who was he?"

"Your son," she replied as vaguely as possible. "He's fine, he's alive and he's with family."

"My son…" James frowned. "And that's your worst fear? Seeing him dead?"

"Yes, one of them," she shook her head. "I shouldn't have come to class."

Sirius grabbed her in a hug from the side, though he had a frown on his face. He didn't speak, rather stood there to comfort her silently.

"Why was he dead?"

Adelaide looked at him tiredly. "He had this thing inside of him that could only go away if he died. He was killed and came back. He was only pretending to be dead, but at that moment, I truly thought my best friend had died, just like-," she cut off with a short gasp, but James nodded.

"Like Ron," he said. "You said you were close with him before he died."

She nodded shortly.

"Granger," Leon interrupted. "Why are you afraid of Crabbe and Goyle?"

She tensed again, shoving her head into Sirius's chest. "Stop, please. Just let it go."

"Did they… hurt you?" he frowned. "I know they were bad, too, but I'm not one of your worst fears-,"

"Yes, they hurt me, very badly, and I'm terrified of them," she snapped, looking up at him. "I'm terrified of them and I have been since fifth year. Now drop it."

She watched as some suspicion grew in his mind.

"Addy," Severus muttered. "Let's get you that calming draught."

"I have some in my dorm," she told him, pulling away from Sirius. "Just leave me alone," she said, addressing all of her friends. They watched helplessly as she ran down the stairs to the dungeons, leaving them behind.

Xx

Remus blinked his eyes open. The air smelled like peppermint and old books, a smell he knew belonged to Adelaide. He winced at the bright light and paused to let his eyes adjust before offering her a small smile. She'd fallen asleep next to him again, and he wasn't surprised. She'd been exhausted with trying to brew Wolfsbane every month for him. He'd begged her for the instructions but she'd just scoffed and changed the subject. Which, he thought, was probably a good idea. His wolffish nose made him terrible at potions in general, much to his frustration, and he was very likely to only kill himself by messing it up.

He plucked the pain potion from the bedside table, drinking it down quickly and freezing only when he heard a noise.

"Shit, you stepped on my foot!"

"You were in the way," Sirius hissed back. "Think he's behind this one?"

"Probably," Peter muttered.

And then, to his horror, they opened the curtain hiding him and Adelaide from the rest of the infirmary.

The four boys stared at one another for a long moment, though Sirius's eyes slipped to Adelaide curled up next to him.

"What the fuck?" Sirius said loudly.

Remus scowled as Adelaide shifted in her sleep and put his hand up. "She's sleeping! Be quiet."

"What the hell happened to you?" James gasped. He looked down at the bloody bandages on his chest that came from accidentally throwing himself at a broken door while play fighting with Adelaide's fox form.

"It's just a scratch," he told him.

"Why is Adelaide sleeping in your bed?" Peter asked timidly.

"It's a long story," Remus told them.

"Then tell it," Sirius demanded.

"Not right now!" Remus snapped back. Adelaide shifted again, humming quietly as she looked up. The dim light in the room hid their friends as her eyes took in his injuries.

"Remus," she gasped. "Fuck, I knew we shouldn't have been playing like that. Not with how much worse the transformations have been-,"

She let out a squeal as Remus slapped his hand over her mouth, his other hand pointing beyond the bed. She followed his sight and froze nervously upon seeing their friends… and Peter.

"Transformations?" James narrowed his eyes. "Remus, what's going on?"

Remus looked nervously between Adelaide and his friends, practically vibrating in his seat. "Um…"

Adelaide frowned but placed a hand on his chest. "They're your friends. They won't leave."

He looked at her for a long, silent moment. Just when she was sure he'd lie, he fixed his friends with a blank face and nodded. "I'm a werewolf. Adelaide is an animagus and helps me every month."

"A…. werewolf," Peter stuttered, looking at his friend nervously.

"Yes, Pete, that's what he said," Adelaide snapped. "You have a problem?"

"I just don't… understand. Why would Hogwarts let a-,"

"A wizard that needs to learn?" She glared. "Or did you mean something else?"

"N-no."

"That's cool!" Sirius laughed. "You can have a pack!"

"It's not- um, it's not cool," Remus muttered, confused. "And I only have one person in my pack - Addy."

"Why not us?" James pouted.

"You have to be an animal, stupid," Adelaide rolled her eyes. "He loves you but he can't have a pack bond with you."

"I have an idea!" Sirius grinned. "Let's become animagus, too!"

Adelaide felt her heart do a flip. It was starting - their journey to the end.

"Yeah!" James grinned. "I hope I'm a dog… Addy, what are you?"

"I'm not telling-,"

"She's a-," Remus began. Adelaide slapped her hand over his mouth to cut him off, pinning him with a glare.

"This is so cool," Sirius looked between his two tired friends. "We can all go out there with you!"

"It's dangerous," Remus disagreed. Adelaide rolled her eyes at him.

"Not if you take your potion," she reminded him. "And even if you don't, we can get hurt but not turned into a werewolf. We're safe. We've had this conversation a million times."

"But they're… not as responsible."

"Hey! I resent that!" James stated, looking not at all offended.

"Fine!" Remus sighed in exasperation. "Fine, I don't care. Just… let us sleep. It's been a long night."

"Rough play?" Sirius grinned, his tone suggestive. Adelaide made a face.

"That's disgusting, Sirius," she replied. Remus turned to her, looking somewhat hurt, and she rubbed her forehead. Whispering to avoid Peter listening in, she replied slowly. "I'm too tired for this. I'm not disgusted by you, but I'm from the future and I happen to know a lot about your future, you dummy."

"What does that mean?" he demanded.

Her eyes slid to Sirius. Tonks was his cousin, and she didn't want to risk telling him anything he didn't need to know. "I'll just say that you have a mate, and she's a good friend… not that I don't love you, but the thought of dating you makes me a little… uncomfortable."

"I… have a mate?" he asked.

"You do," she nodded. "You guys make each other extremely happy."

Sirius narrowed his eyes at her. "Who is she?"

"I'm not telling you," she replied firmly. "So don't even try."

"Come on," he pouted. "It's someone we know, isn't it? Is it Marlene?"

She forced herself not to react as she thought of the way her friend would die someday. "No, of course it isn't."

"Why not?" Remus blinked.

"Yeah, why not?" Sirius laughed as she turned her dark glare on him. "Is he not good enough for her?"

"Shut up!" She snapped. "They just don't fit together."

"Oh… so it's me then," Sirius decided. She threw her hands up in frustration, slipping off of the bed.

"Adelaide," James called. She shook her head.

"I'm going to my dorm to get some actual sleep. If anyone bugs me at all, I'll put you in a full body bind for the full eight hours I plan on sleeping."

Xx

"So," Lily bumped her shoulder gently. "You're adopted."

Adelaide chuckled, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah, I think I might be."

"I just mean… well, what was your family like before? At home."

She considered the question and if she really wanted to answer it. Eventually, she just shrugged. "My parents did their best. There was just this large disconnect that formed when I came to Hogwarts, and it only grew over the years as things got bad. In my second year, um… well, I got petrified. For months, I didn't communicate with them and apparently they thought I had been killed or something. They only figured it out because they wrote Professor McGonagall and demanded to know if I was okay. And even then, they weren't allowed to visit because they were muggles."

"That's awful," Lily gasped. "So if I got hurt-,"

"Sev or I would write your parents," she assured her friend. "We'd keep them updated, I promise. Probably get you transferred to St. Mungo's so they can visit you."

"Oh… thank you," she smiled sincerely.

"But after second year, things were different. They were upset and I insisted on going back, which only upset them more. Things were tense. I stayed with my friends over Christmas most times. In my third year, I got… attacked by some fifth year Slytherins. I only told my mum because I was so scared. She taught me some things about protecting myself and then argued with me again about coming home. I refused, but…"

"What?"

"Something really bad happened in my fourth year," she sighed. "This man, the terrorist, he came back in an awful way. I had to tell them because my friend warned me that Hogwarts was sending letters to all the parents about it. We fought all summer. They barely let me go back. Fifth year was terrible, and that was… um, that was when my friend died, Ron. Sirius almost died, too. I got hurt multiple times, but... The man that was holding me back from the fight broke my arm and cursed me. And… I only told my parents that Ron died, and only when they forced me to tell them. It was a really dark time."

"What about your sixth and seventh year?"

"Well, sixth year was less eventful. Leon was in a really bad place. I tried to help, but he pushed me away. Actually, he ended our friendship."

"He did?" Lily's eyes widened in surprise. "What happened?"

"Well, the terrorist was living in his house. His father had failed this man and was in Azkaban for it. The terrorist wanted to take it out on Leon, so he set him with an impossible task."

"What was it?"

Adelaide hesitated. "Killing Dumbledore."

Lily waited a beat before she realized Adelaide was serious. "Oh my god… did he?"

"No," she shook her head. "But someone else did… it wasn't what we thought at the time. Dumbledore was already dying, almost dead, and he made this person, Leon's godfather, promise to help Leon and kill him if it came down to it."

"That's terrible," Lily whispered. "I can't imagine the wizarding world without Dumbledore."

"Neither could we," she admitted. "But that's the world we live in. And now that the war is over… it's not as bad as expected."

"But you said Leon ended your friendship," Lily said, taking them back to the point. "Why?"

She sighed, running her fingers through her hair and tugging the blanket tighter around her. It was a chilly day and she'd taken a throw blanket outside to sit with her friends, but the Marauders hadn't shown, leaving her alone with Lily as everyone else was busy.

"Honestly, he never told me. I can guess, and I'm almost certain I'm right, but he's never explained it."

"Why then?"

"Because I'm the most famous muggle born witch in the wizarding world," she rolled her eyes. "Because my best friend is incredibly famous."

"Harry."

"Yeah. And that made me a large target. And being friends already put us both in danger, but knowing what he knew and living with Voldemort… I think he just snapped. I think he was trying to protect me."

"But how did he do it?" Lily wondered curiously. "What happened?"

"Um," she frowned. "Well, he was extremely distant that entire year, but there was an accident. Harry was a complete idiot and he got into a fight with Leon. They were throwing curses, hexes, whatever they thought of. But Harry had this book, um… you remember the spell we mentioned last year? Sectumsempra?"

"The one Sev is supposed to create?" Lily nodded.

"Yeah, well, Harry found it in a book, in Severus's old potions book. He used it without knowing what it was, and he almost killed Leon."

"How did he survive?" Lily gasped. "Didn't you say it could only be healed with the counter curse?"

"Yeah, well, Severus… was our potions Professor."

"Oh my god!" Lily laughed. "That's great!"

Adelaide winced. "Anyway, he found them and managed to heal Leon. After that, the next time I tried to see him, he did everything he could to push me away."

"What does that mean?"

"It means he resorted back to the nasty name calling he used when we were younger, but this time it hurt more because he was a friend. He called me a mudblood and told me to stay away from him. After that, I did."

"But you guys are friends now," the other girl pointed out. "What happened?"

"The war," Adelaide shrugged. "I knew he was a good man. We both have issues and Malfoy Manor was one of both of our darkest days. After the war was over, he was arrested and cleared when I testified in his defense. We started talking again, but it was only a few weeks later when I was sent to the past, and then he was."

"Wow," Lily breathed. "So you guys must be pretty close."

"We talk a lot," Adelaide shrugged. "It's… healing. He was on the opposite side of the war and talking that out with him helps a lot. It helps him, too. And he helps to heal my long term issues."

"Long term issues?"

She looked at Lily in surprise. "The Cruciatus has severe long term effects. I only manage them with a slew of heavy potions and three sessions of healing per week with Leon."

"What? What long term effects?" Her friend looked panicked as she looked her over, and she just shrugged.

"I constantly shake, there's intense pain, it generally hurts to be touched, not to mention the mental side of things."

Her friend looked horribly startled. "I didn't realize you were… in so much pain."

She couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Lils, I went through a war. I've been in pain for a long time. I'm fine."

"Oh, Addy, that's so sad," Lily frowned, leaning over to pull her into a hug. "I guess… I guess I'm just glad you've got Leon."

She hugged her friend back, nodding a little. "Yeah, me too."

Xx

Adelaide sat in the window seat, staring out at the fish swimming by. It was the middle of the night and nearly everyone had trickled down to bed already. She was left in the common room alone with someone she didn't recognize and Avery, who was heading out into the dungeons carefully, apparently confident in his ability to dodge prefects.

Her mind had drifted back to Severus again. She'd met with Regulus earlier that day for more Occlumency, this time in the Room of Requirement. He'd been shown a memory of Snape, in her fourth year, staring at her horribly enlarged teeth and telling her he didn't see a difference. She'd cried in the memory, and they'd left when she felt a pang of hurt at the memory. He'd suggested once more that she tell him what would need to happen, but she was still unsure.

She knew that the future, the next few years, were going to be troubling. Sirius being disowned would be troublesome enough, but add to that whatever would end the friendship between Severus and the Marauders, and then the disastrous mistake in the Shrieking Shack, and she had enough to deal with, not to mention Regulus and Severus - and Peter - becoming Death Eaters.

She ran her fingers through her hair and rested her head back against the wall, her eyes following a rather large fish swimming in circles nearby. She was tired of stressing over the past and the future at the same time. She had to preserve the past and it was exhausting her.

"Are you alright, Snape?"

She looked up at the unfamiliar voice, frowning. "I'm fine, thanks."

"You don't look fine," the boy replied. He was somewhat in the shadows, as he had been the entire night, and she tensed up at the potential threat, considering Slytherin house wasn't the safest place at the current moment.

"I am," she told him stiffly. "Just want some time alone."

He stepped forward into the lights, moving uncomfortably close to her, and unfortunately, blocking her from moving away. "Tell me what's on your mind."

"The transfiguration quiz," she lied, her voice sharp. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going down to my dorm."

She stood, trying to duck to the side to escape, but was stopped as he grabbed her hip in a tight grip, making her wince at the pain that began radiating through her entire side. Regardless, her hand flew up and she punched him straight in the face, running past him when he staggered back. She was nearly to the stairs when she felt a hex hit her back. She dropped to the floor, frozen in place, her heart racing with fear. She still hadn't really seen his face in favor of trying to escape, but as he stalked over to her, standing above her, the light cast shadows over his familiar pureblood features.

Dolohov.

He was young, maybe a year older than her, and she felt her gut twist anxiously as he got to his knees, straddling her. "I just wanted to talk, Snape. You didn't have to hurt me… now I have to hurt you."

She looked around frantically, hoping desperately for someone to come down and find her there, but she had no such luck. He was leaning hard on both of her wrists to hold her down, and she felt twinges of pain through both of her arms. To her surprise, he pointed his wand down at her chest and sent an unfamiliar slicing hex at it, cutting away the fabric of her robes and deep into her chest. A horrible realization of what was happening settled in, and she desperately longed for one of her friends to find her.

"What are these scars?" he whispered, trailing his fingers over the scars from the time turner glass that had broken into her chest. "How… far down do they go?"

She whimpered quietly when he pulled away the rest of her shirt, leaving her in her bra alone. "Stop."

"Oh, I don't think so," he snarled. "You deserve this."

"Get off of me!" She yelled loudly, hoping to attract attention.

He pointed his wand at her throat and silenced her, much to her terror. When he was done with that, he waved it at her skirt, vanishing it completely. She closed her eyes tightly, wishing him away from her.

But just as soon as his hands touched her thighs, squeezing them painfully, he fell off of her… mostly. She opened her eyes again fearfully, confused when she saw him lying partly on top of her and partly on the ground with blood dripping from his head. She looked around but from where she was, she was unable to see anyone. Her eyes shut again, and she felt tears slipping from them. She was frozen and unable to speak.

A hand fell on her arm, and her eyes shot open again, frantically looking around until she found… Avery. She blinked in confusion for a moment until she remembered that he'd left the common room to do something earlier that night. Relief flushed through her as he frowned down at the cut on her chest, healing it quietly, though not as successfully as he obviously wished.

"Adelaide, are you okay?" he whispered. She couldn't reply, however, and just stared up at him desperately. "Are you… did he silence you?" She looked up and down to simulate a nod with her eyes, and he breathed out tensely, pointing his wand at her. "Finite Incantatum!"

A sob slipped from her lips the second she was free, and she wiped aggressively at the tears slipping down her cheeks. "Thank you."

He waved his wand in the air, summoning a blanket for her. She let him wrap it around her carefully, watching him moving back toward Dolohov to stare down at him. "What… happened?"

She shrugged, looking down at her hands. "I was just sitting there and he came up to me. He made sure I couldn't get away and he grabbed me, so I hit him and ran, and then…"

"He stopped you," Avery winced, though he seemed unsurprised. "He's… are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," she lied, holding the blanket tightly around herself. "Can you just… can you not say anything to anyone? Including my friends."

"Why?" he stared at her in shock. "He's just going to come after you again, you know that, right?"

"I can handle him if I'm expecting it," she waved him off. "I just… I can't deal with them worrying."

"But you're in danger," he argued. "You know what he was going to do, right?"

"Of course I fucking know," she snapped shakily. "He's not the first asshole to attack me, Avery. I'll be fine."

The boy hesitated, looking at her nervously. "I'll keep an eye on you. I won't say anything."

"You don't have to-,"

"For my own peace of mind," he promised. "Just say okay."

She sighed. "Okay."

He nodded firmly. "Okay. Um… I tried to heal this, but it won't close. You'll need to see Madame Pomfrey."

"No, actually… you're in the same dorm as Leon, right? Can you get him for me?"

"Sure, but I doubt he'll be able to do anything," Avery shrugged. His eyes fell back on Dolohov. "I'll put him in his bed."

She nodded quietly as he levitated the other boy away from them. Just as he was about to go down the stairs, she took in a breath. "Avery?"

He looked back at her. "Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it," he smiled, disappearing down the steps.

She was in the process of summoning robes from her room when Draco ran up the steps, actually getting hit with her robes in the process. He was thrown to the floor as they sped past him into her arms. "Fuck! What the hell?"

Adelaide felt horror rush through her. She'd thought she'd have more time to change before he got up there, but apparently, Avery had gone to him before putting Dolohov in bed. "Fuck… Draco."

He pulled himself to his feet, taking her in. "What the fuck, Granger? What… why are you… Merlin, why are you naked?"

She winced, pulling the blanket tighter around herself. "Will you keep it down? Come here."

He narrowed his eyes at her as he moved over, inspecting her. "What happened?"

She considered whether or not to tell him. She knew he could keep secrets, but she was unsure if he could handle it or not, the entire reason she'd refused to explain why she'd seen his old friends in her Boggart. "Dolohov attacked me."

"Attacked?" he scoffed. "You're naked! What sort of-," he cut off, the color draining from his face. She shifted uncomfortably as his eyes flicked over her body, finally settling on her wrists. He reached out and grabbed them gently, and she let him pull them closer to look at. "Oh… Merlin…" she winced as he touched the bruises that had already formed on her wrists, letting out a soft gasp. "Fuck. Did he-,"

"No," she shook her head. "Well, kinda. He was going to, but Avery stopped him."

"That's what he said," Draco muttered. "It sounded like gibberish. All I heard was your name and upstairs."

"I wouldn't have asked him to get you," she bit her lip. "But he cut my chest, and Avery couldn't heal it. And… um, he grabbed me pretty hard, and-,"

"You're in pain," he summarized. "Show me the cut."

She hesitated slightly before shoving away the blanket, wrapping it around her waist now. He didn't even blush at the sight of her bra, much to her surprise, but rather moved closer to look at the cut.

"This is deep," he murmured. "And it's dark magic. That's why he couldn't heal it."

Her mind drifted back to the cut he'd given her on her hip in the future and felt her gut churn. "Is it like-,"

"No," he promised. "Whatever he hit you with in the future was a curse of his own making. He hasn't made it yet. I recognize this one. It's- it's actually meant for… what it did. I assume it cut off your shirt?"

She did her best not to wince at the words. "Yes, it did, but it also cut me."

Draco was unable to look her in the eyes as he spoke. "This… this particular spell is meant for… what he was going to do. It's old and dark and twisted. It's supposed to keep you… um, incapacitated… while he… shit," he whispered, looking sick. "I only know it because Father wanted me to… get a full education."

She didn't reply, feeling disgust fill her chest. He took that as a cue to get started, understanding her need for silence. He twisted the magic slowly out of the wound, working carefully so that she wouldn't lose more blood than she already had.

It took him nearly an hour to pull the dark magic out of the wound, and by that point, dittany wouldn't work. She waved off his apology for the scar she'd have, glad only that it was closed. After that, he moved onto her wrists, gently working his healing magic into her irritated injuries from the Cruciatus. Once he was done with that, he looked at her.

"Anywhere else?"

She hesitated. "No."

"Granger."

"My hip," she admitted. To her surprise, he just nodded and waved for her to let him work. She moved the blanket away, revealing the light bruising on her hip. He winced at the sight but began working on it.

"I can't get rid of these bruises," he told her quietly. "It's been too long. Bruises are really hard to get rid of, anyway. They'll probably go away within a week. This is the last of it though, right?"

She considered lying again but knew it was a lost cause. "I- no, it… no."

He looked up to meet her nervous gaze. His eyes were gentler than she thought she'd ever seen before as he spoke. "Take a deep breath. It's okay. Where else?"

She did as he told her and pointed to the inside of her thighs rather than speaking, taking in the sick look on his face.

"Adelaide-,"

"Please," she stared him in the eyes, her voice shaking as she spoke. "I- I can't."

He nodded shortly and hesitated for only a moment before moving directly in front of her so she could see what he was doing. At his wave of request, she forced her legs open to reveal the bruises and slightly cut skin from his nails digging into her. It was worse than her wrists or her hip, and she felt sick looking at it.

"Draco?" She whispered.

"Hm."

"Don't tell anyone."

His head shot up, and he met her eyes. "Hermione-,"

"Please."

He cut off, looking at the complete vulnerability in her. "Will you tell me something?"

"What?"

"You're so… Is this-," he paused with a frustrated sigh. "Has this…"

"Yes, it's happened before," she whispered. To her surprise, he closed his eyes tightly, looking crushed.

"Your Boggart."

"Draco, there's no point," she told him uncomfortably. "We're twenty years away from anyone we know. What's the point of this?"

"I just… need to know."

Rolling her head back against the wall behind her, she nodded quietly. "Yes, my Boggart."

He looked sick as he stared at her thighs, healing them. "When?"

"Fifth year."

He paused, his eyes shooting up to hers. "What? Why didn't you tell me? I could've- I don't know. We were friends!"

She closed her eyes, panic rising in her chest. "Please, be quiet. I didn't tell you because there was no point. It happened. It was done. You couldn't change that no matter how you felt about me."

"I wouldn't have stayed friends with them," he told her quietly, sounding defeated.

"You had to," she reminded him. "It wasn't your choice at that point and you know it."

He deflated, working in silence as she tried to calm herself down.

"It's not fair," he told her after nearly ten minutes.

"What?"

"That… it's happened," he tried to explain. "Not to mention more than once."

She laughed humorlessly. "That's common, Draco. I'm not the only girl that's been through this. You know Astoria Greengrass?"

He nodded slowly. "We were close."

She paused. "Oh."

His frown deepened. "You're not saying she-,"

"It's not important," she told him. "I'm just saying that we are raised to protect ourselves from men, and it still doesn't work."

"You are?"

She raised an eyebrow and nodded. "My dad gave me a knife before sending me to school. He did his best to keep me safe. It didn't work."

He leaned back, setting his wand in his lap. He looked completely lost and confused, not to mention worried. She let him process, unsure what to do or say. She'd not told anyone but Ginny about Crabbe and Goyle, and it felt odd that of all people, Draco had figured it out.

"I won't tell anyone," he promised gently. "But if he comes near you-,"

"Feel free to hex his head off," she shrugged. "I don't care."

He nodded firmly. "Okay."

"You should get to sleep," she suggested.

"What are you gonna do?"

She considered the question and decided lying would be best. "I'm going to change and then probably read in bed."

He nodded, obviously relieved. "Alright. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Night, Draco."

He offered her a small smile and walked down the steps to his dorm. Once he was gone, she slipped into her robes and out of the common room, rushing through the castle and casting her Patronus along the way. It swam off faster than she was moving. Much to her relief, the portrait hole was open when she got there, and she moved into the familiar room, relaxing immediately at a sight she hadn't seen in years.

"Addy, what happened?" Sirius asked, guiding her to the couch in front of the fireplace. She sat down with her legs crossed, breathing in the odd smell of the room that reminded her of times sitting with Harry and Ron, joking around.

"Nothing, I'm- it's-," she stopped, taking in a breath. "Bad… really bad night."

He nodded, leaning over to hug her. His arms wrapped around her, and she felt herself flinch aggressively, curling in on herself.

"Addy?"

She felt her chest tighten, tears dripping from her eyes as she squeezed them tightly shut, gasping for breath. "I'm… sorry."

"Shit," he whispered. "Can I- I'm gonna hug you, okay?"

She nodded a little, and this time leaned into the hug, prepared for it. He held her tightly to him, shushing her as he stroked her hair, letting her cry softly into his chest. He smelled like he always did, and for a moment she could pretend that he was the same man that held her as she broke down during the war and held onto secrets of her darkest time, her darkest thoughts that she refused to share with anyone else.

They stayed like that for over an hour until she slowly quieted, sniffling and wiping away her tears roughly. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," he promised gently, pulling back to look at her but still holding her gently. "What happened, kitten?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she told him. "Can I stay here tonight?"

"Of course," he agreed. "I'd take you upstairs, but Pete sometimes walks to the bathroom naked, and-,"

"Yeah, no thanks."

"I'll stay down here with you," he promised, kissing her forehead. "You're okay."

His words hit her heart, and she felt a calmness settle inside of her. It wouldn't last, she knew, but still she felt safe with Sirius as she always had. The pair rearranged until they laid on the couch together, resting against one another. She slipped her hand into his and closed her eyes, wishing for a dreamless sleep.

Xx

Remus stopped short at the bottom of the stairs, eyes wide. Barely a moment later, James barrelled into him, sending them both to the floor.

"Ow!" James cried out. "Damn it, Moony, that hurt!"

"Shut up," Remus hissed. "Look!"

"What, at my broken arm?" James complained, rubbing at his wrist. Remus grabbed him and pointed at the couch. He stood, glancing over, only to stop in his tracks. "Oh."

Remus frowned, sniffing the air.

"That's weird, stop," his friend muttered quietly.

"She's been hurt," he hissed back. "I wonder what happened."

"Hurt? How?"

"I don't know," Remus rolled his eyes. "I just smell blood. Plus, she's shaking."

"She is?" James stepped closer to take a look. "Oh, shit."

Sirius shifted, his eyes blinking open at the noise and falling on his friends. "Shut up," he whispered, looking back at Adelaide, rubbing her arm gently. "Go back upstairs."

"What happened, Padfoot?" Remus asked with a frown. "What happened to her?"

"I don't know," Sirius admitted. "She sent me a Patronus begging me to let her in and just broke down. We fell asleep down here. She didn't want to go back to her dorm."

"Do you think someone hurt her?" James wondered quietly. Sirius sighed, nodding a little.

"Something happened. Let's ask Leon later, see if he knows."

"Sirius?"

He glanced back down at her and smiled. "Hey there, kitten. How're you feeling?"

She pressed her head into his chest. "I just… don't want to leave."

He wrapped an arm around her, ignoring his friends, who hadn't left. "You can stay in here today while we're in class."

She nodded but didn't lift her head. "Thank you."

"Addy," he muttered quietly. "I won't push, but… what happened?"

"Don't wanna talk about it," she said again.

"Okay," he sighed, waving at his friends to go away. Reluctantly, Remus pulled James back up the stairs. "Is everything okay with Leon and Reg and Severus?"

She nodded. "Yeah, um… if Avery comes looking for me, just tell him I'm okay, please."

"Why would Avery-,"

"Please."

He breathed out slowly. "Yeah. I'll tell him. Just… tell me. Are you okay?"

"No."

Her blunt answer startled him, but he bit his lip and just pulled her tighter in a hug. "I'm worried, kitten."

"I am, too."

He looked down at her in concern, tapping his hand on his side. "I'm gonna skip classes today and stay with you."

"No, I'll be fine," she denied immediately. "I just need a break from… everything."

"I'm staying," he told her firmly.

"Sirius-,"

"Addy, please," he looked at her, trying to show her his desperation. "I'm just going to be worrying all day, otherwise."

Hesitantly, she nodded. "Okay."

"Good," he smiled. "Are you up for breakfast?"

"No!" She replied sharply. She blushed, taking in a deep breath. "Can we just eat up here?"

Much to her relief, he just nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'll sneak into the kitchen as soon as the guys leave."

"Oh," her eyes widened. "Maybe I should go until they leave."

"Um," he laughed nervously. "They already came down and went back up."

She rolled her head back and closed her eyes, embarrassed. "Of course they did."

Xx

"Hey! Leon!"

He turned around in relief, his eyes falling on James and Remus. "Thank Merlin. Have you guys seen Addy?"

They exchanged a look before nodding. "She slept in Gryffindor common room with Sirius. He said she came in and sorta… broke down? And she was hurt?"

It took all of his energy to keep his emotions off of his face. "She's fine."

"Did something happen to Addy?" Regulus asked, frowning. Leon shot a glare at the boy - he knew he could fool the Gryffindors, but Regulus was too smart to believe him.

"Even if it did," he said slowly, looking at all of them. Severus was silent next to him, having heard both him and Avery get into bed late, he'd gotten it out of Leon that morning that she'd been hurt, but not how. "Do you really think she'd want to talk about it? Or tell everyone and have them worry?"

"No, but-,"

"Then respect that," he ordered. "She has trouble being worried over. She's already got me and Avery and now Sirius, you guys need to back off."

"Yeah, what's up with the Avery thing?" James wondered. "She asked us to tell him she's okay."

He waved off the question. "Avery took care of her until he got me."

"I thought he was evil, like Dolohov. They're like brothers, aren't they?"

Leon bit his lip hard. "They are?"

"Yeah," Severus confirmed. "Remember? We told you this. Avery's parents died, so he lives with Dolohov. He has since they were little."

Avery's anger made a little more sense, along with the way he clearly hated the other boy.

"I see." He waved his hand. "Regardless, he's definitely not evil like... Dolohov."

"Dolohov was the guy that held Addy back when her friend died," Remus added in thoughtfully. Leon turned away to hide his face and the way he felt his air leave him.

He'd targeted her in the future. He hurt her in the future. They'd spoken about it the night before but it hadn't settled in until just then. He knew her.

"Leon!"

He rubbed at his temples, a headache coming on. "Avery."

The brown haired boy walked over, glancing at everyone nearby. "Can I speak with you for a moment?"

"Addy's fine," James told him. "She's with Sirius in our dorm."

"Oh," Avery nodded. "Alright. She told you?"

"Yes," James lied.

"No," Remus hissed, slapping his friend's chest. "She just slept there and told us to let you know she's alright."

His eyes fell on Leon. "She told you?"

"She did."

"Can we…?"

He nodded, standing from the table to follow Avery from the large room. Once in the hall, Avery put up a privacy ward before speaking.

"He's pretty angry," he told him. "He came up the stairs screaming that he was going to kill her. He thinks she somehow got away. He doesn't know I stopped him."

Leon paled. "Fuck! Shit, she- Merlin's sake…"

"Look, he's dangerous-,"

"Oh, really?" Leon snapped. "Because last night didn't show me that!"

"I don't know what to do. I think we should tell Slughorn."

"No," he shook his head slowly. "I'll find her and tell her. We can protect her, and she's pretty strong when she's not taken by surprise."

"That's not a good idea," Avery argued. "You know what he tried."

"There's no other option," he replied tiredly. "I'll go find her. Just… let me know if it gets worse."

Avery sighed, shaking his head. "Yeah, I will."

Xx

The next few weeks were spent not in classes but rather going to extreme lengths to keep Adelaide away from Dolohov. Her friends noticed, of course, that something was up, but anytime they mentioned it, she snapped at them. For their own safety, they backed off.

She had a firm guard rotation of Avery, Leon, and Sirius - though he still didn't know what had happened. Her only escape from the constant reminder of that night was her Occlumency lessons, when she demanded they leave her and Regulus alone in the Room of Requirement.

She paced in front of him, her hands on her hips, frustration radiating off of her. "Avery I get! You know, he doesn't know me or- he just doesn't know! And Sirius is excusable, sort of, but Draco-,"

"Leon-,"

"He's known me for years! He saw me in the war, fought next to me in the final battle! He knows I'm more than capable, and he still does this? I can't bloody well go to the bathroom without one of them losing their minds!" She threw her hands up. "I just don't get it. I'm strong!"

"Adelaide," Regulus interrupted sharply. "I don't know what happened. I don't know why they're following you aside from they obviously think you're in danger. Think of it this way - if Leon knows how powerful you are and he's still worried, don't you think that maybe he's scared that you've run into something you can't beat?"

She paused, considering his suggestion, surprised. "I… suppose."

"You know Leon is extremely logical," Regulus reminded her gently. "He doesn't get emotional before considering the facts, and if he did, then there's obviously cause for genuine worry."

She let out a slow breath, settling into the couch next to him, where'd he'd been sitting patiently while she ranted. "You're right."

"I won't ask what happened," he promised her. "Just promise me you'll stay safe."

"I'll do my best," she offered.

"Are we actually doing Occlumency or were you just trying to get away?" he asked, laughing softly at her pout.

"I did want to!" she huffed, crossing her arms again. "You're so annoying."

He laughed louder, rolling his eyes. "You've moved to petty insults, Addy."

She scrunched up her nose at him. "Yeah… sorry."

"Let's get working."

Xx

Adelaide shoved him out of her mind, doubling over from the pain it caused, her breath sucked from her lungs.

"Adelaide!" he breathed, touching her arm. "What the hell?"

"That wasn't-," she cut off, gripping her head. "Wrong memory."

"It was just that demented teacher of yours," he shook his head in confusion. "Are you okay? That was really hard, even I have a bit of a headache."

"I just- not that one."

"Why?"

She whimpered quietly as the pain intensified from the broken bond, shields that had just barely begun falling painfully until the memory was, once again, free of protection. "I don't want to see it."

"You know you'll have to," he told her slowly. "We should do it now rather than later."

She looked at him, blinking at the light. "Can't we just… ignore all of my memories? Forget this and hide forever?"

He rolled his eyes at her. "Of course we could. But we aren't going to because you know what would happen."

She rolled her head forward until it settled against his chest, leaning over as she sat in front of him to reach it. "I don't wanna show you… all the dark stuff. I just want to get rid of it."

"It has to come sometime," he told her carefully. "You know I'll be okay."

"No, it's just… it's something that's been on my mind and it's- it's really bad, Reg."

"It has to happen."

"I don't want it to!" She snapped. He stared at her in surprise and she let out a sigh. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, it's just… it's bad."

"You're really scared of this one," he muttered, looking in her eyes.

"...yeah."

"I'll be right here," he told her slowly. "And whatever it is, it's over. You're safe."

Her mind slid back to Dolohov, but she didn't say anything.

She sighed in defeat and looked at him, waving her hand in the air for him to continue. He reached up and she felt the soothing feeling of his mind sliding against hers as he fell into the dreaded memory.

"Miss Granger," Umbridge smiled sweetly at her. "It's so disappointing that your perfect record is… slipping. All because you won't cooperate."

"Just say it like it is," Hermione snapped. "You're just torturing us all for information we won't give you."

The woman sighed, walking around her desk to the seat Hermione had been tied to by Crabbe before he'd been dismissed from the room. "You're right. I'm being too… gentle. I didn't want to do this but you've forced my hand."

"What?" Hermione glared at her. "What could possibly-,"

"The Cruciatus," Umbridge smiled, flipping the picture of Fudge down. "Ought to loosen your tongue, don't you think?"

She didn't bother mentioning the illegality of the curse for the simple fact that the woman hadn't cared so far when sending cutting hexes at her. She was always handed off to the Inquisitorial Squad for healing before she was escorted back to her dorm. Typically that meant Daphne Greengrass as the cuts sometimes hit her legs or her chest. The girl was always kind and very worried, and she always hoped it would be Daphne that came for her. She understood then why Crabbe and Goyle had brought her there - they wouldn't have to heal anything deemed inappropriate.

"Or," she smiled. "You could tell me now and we won't have to get into this nastiness."

"No."

"Shame," Umbridge shook her head slowly, as if she actually cared. "Oh well… Crucio!"

Hermione tensed against the ropes holding her to the chair, letting out a shrill scream into the soundproofed room. The ropes tightened magically in resistance and she threw her head back, the pain lacing through her. The spell held for what was realistically probably five minutes, though it felt like an hour.

"Are you ready, Miss Granger? You don't have to go through that again."

"I'm not going to tell you anything," she grit out.

Umbridge shook her head sadly and pointed her wand at her again. "Crucio!"

The pain began again and before long, she'd screamed herself raw, her throat dry and sore. Every time she thrashed against the ropes, they pulled tighter, eventually digging into her skin and giving her bruises. She was panting, tears falling down her face and into her mouth by the time the horrible woman stopped again.

"Terrible things can happen if you're under the Cruciatus for too long," Umbridge told her sweetly. "Insanity. Death. It's really very sad. We wouldn't want that to happen to you-,"

"Headmistress," Snape knocked on the door, though he'd obviously been standing there since before the curse had been lifted from the stiff posture he held. "You are needed in the DADA hall… a swamp has appeared."

She scowled, setting her wand on her desk. "Fine. Find Crabbe and Goyle to escort Miss Granger to her dorm."

Snape nodded shortly and watched her leave. Hermione looked at him anxiously.

"Please, sir, I know Dumbledore trusts you. She's torturing me."

His face flashed with something she didn't recognize before his usual emotionless mask fell again. "I will find Misters Crabbe and Goyle."

He closed the door behind him and she let out a desperate sob. The ropes were still so tight she was unable to move even a little bit and painful against her new wounds.

"Is this it?" Regulus asked with a frown. "I don't understand."

"No, the… bad part hasn't even begun."

He sucked in a breath and nodded shortly, turning his attention to the slowly opening door.

She looked up as two large bodies entered the room, and immediately she knew something was off. The looks on their faces were much cockier than usual and they stood tall, staring like she was their dinner. The feeling in her gut, she knew, was one her mother had warned her of - a feeling that a man was about to hurt her. All women have it, her mother had said. And they needed to listen to it.

Except she couldn't.

"Granger's all tied up, isn't she, Greg?" Crabbe chuckled, running a finger over her shoulders, pushing down the ropes just a little.

"Yeah," Goyle grinned, staring at her. "What should we do? Take her back?"

"No," Crabbe scoffed. "She's hurt! She probably can't even walk."

"Yeah, we don't want her to get more hurt."

She watched as, to her horror, Goyle's hand slid from his side to over his pants, rubbing. She felt sick looking between them with clear knowledge of what they wanted.

"These ropes look like they hurt," Crabbe told her. She didn't reply, but he tugged at them, and she let out a painful whimper as they tightened again, a noise that only made him grin and laugh softly. "I like seeing her hurt…hearing her pain."

"I have an idea," Goyle muttered. He picked his wand out of his pocket with his free hand and pointed it at her chest. She barely heard the spell he cast but felt it immediately as her muggle shirt vanished from her chest.

"Stop!" She managed, coughing a little from the sore throat. "Let me go!"

"Oh, she wants to leave," he laughed. He stepped closer until his chest was in her face. She felt him rub up against her and felt sick. "I don't think I want her to go yet. We have more fun to have."

"Mm," Crabbe hummed. She heard the sound of a zipper and gagged, terrified.

"Stop it! Let me go!"

"Screaming doesn't help," Crabbe muttered, running a finger over her cheek. "This room's got silencing wards."

She was unable to move as Goyle backed up and took his pants off as well. Tears prickled at her eyes again and she wondered if she was going to throw up. Goyle stepped forward and grabbed her throat, pulling her forward until-

She barely felt it as they aggressively fell out of her mind. For her, the memory was still playing in her head as it had been for a week. She held onto her stomach as her entire body shook, hot tears dripping from her eyes. The memory of that night was one she'd tried to repress ever since it happened, and she let out a loud sob as she leaned forward, holding onto herself. A hand fell onto her back, and she shot up, eyes wide and panicked, to stare at Regulus - a Regulus that didn't look quite right, blurred by the memory behind her eyes.

"Adelaide!" He called, panic coursing through his body. "Adelaide, it's okay! Fuck, Hermione!"

The name, never having come from his lips before, shocked her into stilling to look at him. "R-Reg, I-I can't- I can't-,"

"It's okay," he told her gently, shoving his own panic to the side in favor of trying to help her. "You're okay. I'm here. They're not. You're okay."

She broke down into hot, messy tears, leaning against Regulus as she cried. As soon as she began hyperventilating, he set a hand on her arm and reached over her to grab her beaded bag. She let him, barely aware he'd even done it. He muttered something and then a moment later, tapped her gently. She forced herself to look up and found a bottle in his hand being shoved toward her. Without questioning him, she picked it up and drank down the potion.

Ever so slowly, she calm down. Her breathing returned to normal and then finally, the crying stopped. The memory was still there, though for the moment, it didn't scare her.

"Are you… okay?" He asked her, wincing at the question.

"I'm… sorry," she whispered. "I tried to tell you. I just- I couldn't bring myself to say the words."

"Don't be sorry," he insisted. "I pushed, I asked to see it. It's my own fault. I just didn't… I wasn't expecting… that."

She shrugged lamely in response.

"Were you going to… let it all play?" He asked her quietly.

"It's all I can think about lately," she replied slowly, her voice soft. "So I didn't really notice the difference even when you stopped. I can still- it's like I can still see it right now. It's just… that's what trauma is sometimes. Flashbacks, sorta."

He hesitated, considering his question for a long moment before he asked. "Does anyone- did you tell someone?"

She nodded slowly. "My friend, Ginny. They took me back to my dorm after- when it was over, and she was waiting for me in my bed. I was shaking and crying and had bruises everywhere. She knew when she saw me."

Everywhere. The word hit him hard considering the fact that the only ropes holding her to the chair had been across her chest.

"So did they-,"

"No. Nothing happened to them. Um… not long after that memory, like a couple days later, we went to the DOM and Umbridge was gone and Dumbledore was back, so… the Inquisitorial Squad was gone and they didn't have- they had no authority over me. And then everything with Draco-,"

"What with Draco- er, Leon?"

"Just… things were rough that year and being friends was rough. He had a lot on his mind and we didn't talk as often. So I didn't tell him-,"

"Why not?" He stared at her in horror. "He was friends with them! I've seen it in your other memories."

"And he didn't know! He had to be friends because Voldemort was already in play. I know he would've told them to go to hell - or even tried to send them there - but that would've raised questions of why he was protecting a mudblood he's supposed to hate."

"Don't say that," Regulus winced. She only shrugged back. "I'm just- I don't know. Seeing that, your thoughts and feelings in the moment was- it's terrifying."

"Yeah."

"How come you've been thinking about it a lot?"

She paused. "Um, there's something called PTSD, and-,"

"But you said specifically lately-,"

"Please stop," she asked him tiredly. "I'm so- I'm just so tired. And… scared."

"Can I ask a question that you don't have to answer?"

"...yes."

He asked before he could change his mind, his desperate need to know outweighing the part of him that would rather never know. "How… bad did it get?"

She laughed humorlessly, her eyes still glowing gold but emptier than he'd ever seen them. "Really fucking bad, Regulus. Stop thinking about it."

"But when you go back," he frowned. "They're still…?"

"No," she sighed. "Goyle died in Fiendfyre and Crabbe was arrested after the war. Tried as a terrorist. He's never leaving Azkaban."

"We didn't put walls over the entire memory," he told her slowly. "Do you want to…. finish?"

"No!" She shook her head. "No, definitely not."

"What are you gonna do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you're not going back to your dorm, are you?"

She shrugged lightly. "I don't know. Wander, maybe. Or stay here all night and read."

"I can stay with you."

"No," she scoffed. "I can skip class. You can't."

"Of course I can," he denied. "And I won't. I'll stay with you tonight and go to class tomorrow."

"Reg-,"

"For my own peace of mind," he told her, hesitating as he caught her eyes. "That really scared me, Addy. Let me stay and remind myself that you're okay."

She hesitated. "Okay."

"Thank you," he breathed out in relief. "Thank you."

"Yeah…"

Xx

"Hey! You're gonna hit me!" James yelled, ducking away from Peter. "Put that down, let Sirius do it."

"I can handle it," Peter scowled. "I didn't almost hit you."

"If you don't pour it in just right, it's not gonna work," Sirius reminded him. "Be careful!"

Peter turned to glare at him before promptly throwing the open vile at Sirius, spilling it all over his clothes.

"Wormtail!" James yelled, eyes wide as he watched Sirius shrink down into a pig. "That was the entire potion!"

"He was nagging me!" Peter snapped back. "I'm going back to bed."

"Take Sirius to the infirmary first," Remus suggested tiredly. "Or he's gonna be like that all day."

Peter didn't reply, though he did wave for Sirius to follow him. The transfigured boy staggered along behind him out of the kitchens. James looked at Remus with a pout.

"Our prank."

"Because turning the entire school into pigs was a good idea in the first place," Remus rolled his eyes. "Let's just get to breakfast."

Two flights of stairs and a little more complaining later and they found Adelaide sitting with only Avery at their usual spot.

"Where is everyone?" James wondered, sitting next to her. Remus took a place on her other side, grabbing a cup of tea.

"There's a meeting in Slytherin," she sighed. "I snuck out and Avery followed me."

"Ah," Remus nodded. "Breakfast meetings. What's it about?"

"Brutality against… uh, everyone," she shrugged. "Slughorn wants to know why the entirety of upper class Slytherins are becoming crueler. Apparently a first year hufflepuff got badly hexed by a fourth year. She's been transferred to St. Mungo's for extensive spell damage."

"Speaking of spell damage," James grinned. "Looks like Sirius made it."

Adelaide looked over Avery's head. "Spell damage?"

"Someone got hit with a special potion that turned him into a pig," Remus told her as Sirius stalked over. "At least it got reversed quickly."

Sirius sat down next to Avery, frowning heavily. "I'm gonna kill him."

"Who?" She asked, amused.

"Wormtail," he huffed.

She felt her mind drift back to her original third year. Sirius in a tattered prison uniform, his hair matted and his eyes crazy as he looked around the Shrieking Shack. The way he'd demanded to kill Pettigrew and explained what had happened with Remus.

"Addy," James touched her arm. "You in there?"

"Huh?" She blinked at him, shoving the memory deep down again. "Yeah, sorry."

"Where'd you go?" He asked her, bumping shoulders. She rested her head against him, taking a deep breath.

"The future. The past."

He wrapped an arm around her and placed a kiss on top of her head. "Well, you're stuck in the present, so eat your toast."

She chuckled quietly and nodded, leaning up again to do what he said.

"Yaxley!" Avery snapped suddenly, speaking for the first time since he'd sat down. He wasn't very sociable in the mornings especially, something that had given Adelaide a wonderful moment of peace and quiet before most of the Marauders had arrived. "What the hell did you just say?"

Yaxley, a fifth year, raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Why do you care, Avery?"

"What did you say?" Avery repeated, clenching his teeth.

"I just said your friend there is a little young to be such a slut."

Adelaide tensed, and she felt her friends do the same, though Sirius was already on his feet, furious. "What the hell? She is not- don't call her that!"

"Leave it, Sirius," she told him, grabbing for his arm.

"Oh, is this a sore spot?" The older boy taunted. "I'm just saying, with the way she hangs all over each of you it's obvious she's sleeping with you."

She froze, her eyes sliding over to the table by the wall where Dolohov sat, laughing with his friends. Avery followed her gaze and saw how she was tense, her eyes wide with the memory in her mind. He stood and before Yaxley even knew what was happening, stunned him.

"Avery!" She gasped. "What the hell?"

He ignored her, stepping away from the table as Penbrook rushed over. She watched them speak quietly for a moment before he was escorted from the Great Hall, likely to detention, as it was a Saturday.

She sat in shock, staring at the place where her friend had just been sitting.

"That was… dramatic," Remus commented, pulling at Sirius to make him sit. "Why'd he do that?"

She glanced at him and shook her head. "No idea," she lied.

Xx

"Wait, where are we going?" Lily asked, running to catch up with Adelaide and Sirius.

"Aberforth owns the Hog's Head," Adelaide explained. "He requested a meeting with me. Sirius won't leave me alone, so…"

"Only because Leon got detention," Sirius cut in.

Adelaide rolled her eyes. "Yes, he got detention. Are you going to get over that?"

"No. He punched Goyle! Everyone's attacking people now." Sirius sighed. "And you won't tell us why, just like with Avery. He made sense. He stunned someone that insulted you. What's up with Leon?"

She ignored his question again, glancing at Lily. "You don't have to come with. I know James and Remus were heading up later, and I think Marlene left early this morning."

Her friend nodded. "I'll go find Marlene and catch up with you both later."

Adelaide nodded and moved ahead, holding onto Sirius's arm.

"Why do you think he wants to see you?" Sirius wondered. "I thought he said minimal contact."

"He did," she rolled her eyes. "I'm not sure. He just said to be here after breakfast. And alone, but-,"

"Not happening," Sirius finished firmly. "You won't tell us why, but they're guarding you from… something. And if they can't, then I'll stay with you and make sure you're okay."

She just hummed back, only vaguely annoyed. Regulus had been right when he said they were only worried, and it eased her irritation greatly. Still, not being left alone was getting on her nerves.

The pair entered the dark bar and Adelaide led them over to the bar, where Aberforth stood, pouring a drink in a cloudy glass. "Adelaide! You… brought Sirius."

He stepped up, nodding at the man. "Wherever she goes, I go!"

Aberforth narrowed his eyes. "And why is that?"

"It's nothing-," Addy tried. Sirius shot her a glare before he answered Abe.

"They won't tell us what happened, but Addy got hurt. Leon and Avery have been guarding her, and Leon is in detention for punching Goyle, and Avery stunned Yaxley, so, I'm here."

Aberforth frowned at Adelaide. "Can I speak with you alone for a moment?"

"No!" Sirius denied. Adelaide rolled her eyes and nodded.

"Sirius, your Uncle is sitting in the back. You can sit with him."

Sirius and Adelaide both looked to the dark corner booth in the back to find Alphard nursing a firewhisky.

"No," Sirius hissed. "We're leaving."

"Sirius," she shook her head. "It doesn't matter, I keep telling you. If what you said is right, he already knows everything."

"Who?" Aberforth frowned nervously.

"But he betrayed you! I'm mad at him, too!"

"Adelaide," Abe hissed. "What happened?"

She looked between them and waved at Sirius. "Go over there and don't yell. I'll be over in a minute."

He narrowed his eyes. "Fine, but I'll be watching you."

"Sure."

They watched Sirius stalk over for a moment before she erected a privacy ward and sat on a stool.

"What the hell is going on?" He asked sharply.

"Arcturus took all my present and future memories," she explained quickly, not bothering to ease him into the situation. "I made the mistake last year of letting him look in my mind. Apparently, Alphard fed him information even before he or Orion approached me."

"You don't trust them," Abe nodded. "I see."

"It's hard to," she shrugged.

"And why is Leon punching kids?"

She looked away, glancing at Sirius, who was whispering furiously at his uncle. Alphard has his hands out in front of him defensively, trying to talk him down. It wasn't working. "It's a long story."

"Adelaide-,"

"It's very personal."

Aberforth sighed. "I understand that, but if we're to protect you, I need to know."

She stared at him, frustrated. "His son hurt me very badly. So did Crabbe's son. Leon was friends with them in school and just recently found out about it. He's angry."

The man, thankfully, did not ask for further details. "And Avery? You're close with him now?"

She knew there was very little of a way to avoid this one, so she leaned against the bar and avoided eye contact. "A while ago, I was in the common room. It was late. Avery left to do something and I was left with Dolohov. He attacked me. He almost hurt me very badly, but Avery managed to come in and help me. Dolohov is holding a pretty bad grudge about it and wants to… Avery said he said something about killing me, I guess."

Aberforth fixed her with a dark look. "You're not supposed to be making enemies."

Her gut twisted. "So you would rather I just let him-," she stopped short, sucking in a breath. "Just let him hurt me?"

Aberforth caught the pause and frowned at her. "What exactly did he do?"

She shot him a glare. "That's not important. Is there anything else you need?"

"Avery, you trust him?"

She paused to think about the question. "I think so. I've spoken to him on and off since first year and he's an interesting person. He's protective of me for no reason other than I'm in danger and he likes me."

"You think he needs to know," Aberforth guessed. She blushed.

"I do. He's been around my friends a lot lately and they're not great at keeping secrets when speaking in groups. It's a wonder Pettigrew doesn't know. I think he's really just that dumb, to be honest. Avery has caught a few things here and there. He's suspicious."

"He stunned Yaxley."

She threw her hands up. "He said something that upset me pretty badly. Avery stunned him and received three detentions for it, which was ridiculous, really."

Aberforth sighed. "You should tell him, but no one else. Too many know already, and you've only been here for three years."

"I know," she sighed.

"Go see Alphard," Aberforth waved away her wards. "Looks like Sirius is done with him."

She chuckled quietly and nodded, walking quickly back to the booth. She slid in beside Sirius and stared at Alphard.

"Adelaide," he greeted with a cautious smile.

"Alphard," she replied, eyebrow raised. They stared at each other for a long moment, just waiting to see who would break first. In the end, it was Sirius.

"Just yell at him!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands up in frustration. "Aren't you mad?"

"I'm only unsure of how much I should trust him," she replied to her friend. "I always assumed any information I gave only went to him, but…"

"Arcturus is my patriarch," Alphard told her gently. "And despite his questionable ways, he's generally a good man. He is no threat to you."

"He invaded my mind!" She snapped. "Last time someone did that, they tortured me for hours! And she's a part of your house!"

Sirius looked at her in shock. "What?"

She faltered, looking at her friend. She'd forgotten she hadn't told him. "Sirius-,"

"You said you couldn't say," he frowned. "I didn't push because it's obviously a sore spot, but… my own house?"

"She can't hurt me," she tried. "She's dead in the future."

"Who is it though?"

Adelaide exchanged a dark look with Alphard, who shrugged. She knew he wouldn't say anything, but Sirius leaving the subject alone was unlikely. "Bellatrix."

Sirius let out a loud string of curses as he threw his head back against the booth. "What the fuck? She's dangerous! How did you even get near her?"

She fixed him with a glare. "I told you. We got captured. For god's sake, Sirius, we didn't have a choice! We were taken there and it would've been fine but I had something in my bag that she thought was in her vaults, and there was something else valuable in her vaults that helped us end the war. So she tortured me for that information, assuming we'd been in there. We literally could not have ended the war if it hadn't happened so it's fine."

He sighed in frustration. She agreed.

"Adelaide, I just wanted to check on your core," Alphard explained, breaking the stiff moment. "I need to make sure it's not still growing."

She blinked. "You think that's possible?"

"We have to be safe."

She sighed and looked over at Aberforth. He waved toward the stairs, and soon the entire group was in a small, dirty room with Addy lying on the bed while Alphard cast the spell to check her core. She did her best not to shift impatiently while he worked, but it was taking longer than usual and making her nervous.

Finally, after nearly five minutes, he lowered his wand. "Okay… first off, your core is the same size and presumably the same strength."

"But?"

"That time magic inside of you? The magic that let you go through the Veil?"

"What?"

He ran his fingers through his hair and shrugged. "It's separated from your magic. It's sort of… floating on top. All of that extra magic that expanded to fill your body and grow your core is now organic. It's being produced by you now. The stuff that isn't is sitting atop you, sort of… bonding with your body."

"But what does that mean?"

He considered the question. "It's like your eyes. They absorbed that energy, that magic, and it shows in your eyes. Now, I'm not saying your body is going to start glowing, but… I am saying that you're more powerful than expected. I suggest we track this over the years, possibly for the rest of your life."

"I don't feel different," she frowned.

"But the magic is available. It's not pushing it out like it did last year, it's only available if you need it. You could probably hold a shield for… a very long time without even getting tired. You can do wandless magic, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Good. That'll help protect you. Just be careful, there are ways to prevent one from using wandless magic. Certain spells, some of them are common, like Stupefy or anything else that revokes movement."

She nodded, standing from the bed. "Okay, I'll keep that in mind."

"Can we go?" Sirius asked, tugging his uncle's sleeve. Apparently, he'd forgiven the man in the time it took them to come upstairs.

"Sure," Alphard laughed. "Both of you keep in touch, okay?"

The pair nodded their agreement and ran out of the room, hopeful to enjoy the rest of the Hogsmeade weekend.

Xx

Adelaide turned in circles around the room, her hands clenched into fists as she stared at the impossible sight.

Before her was a frozen vision of the Final Battle. Harry lay waiting in Hagrid's arms. Bellatrix walked just behind Voldemort, who strode confidently forward, and Lucius stood to the side with Narcissa, staring at their son.

Across from them was Hermione. She stood next to Sirius, clutching his side. He gripped her to his chest tightly, and she blinked at the sight in front of her. Next to them were the Weasley's - all of them sobbing but no one harder than Ginny, who was being held back by Arthur. To her other side was Neville, standing with McGonagall in horror. Off to the side, somewhat alone, stood Draco, his hands limply by his side as his heart broke.

A hand fell on her shoulder and she jumped slightly.

"Stop that," Regulus muttered. "I told you this is a bad idea."

"It's the best way," she argued again, kicking a piece of rubble. She felt her hands shaking and was unsure of whether it came from the torture she'd endured or if it was from the horribly vivid memory, and the upcoming conversations. "This is possibly the most telling thing I saw during the war to prove it. Everyone… here, light and dark."

A soft knock landed on the door and Regulus moved swiftly over, raising a hand to ensure she didn't move. She nodded and let him handle it, glancing around the room. She took a few steps forward until she stood in front of Hagrid. Unable to stop herself, she reached out for Harry's hand dangling freely. Before she could touch it, she was interrupted.

"Adelaide."

She turned quickly to spot Regulus standing behind Avery. The older boy glanced at the sight around them in confusion. "What is this?"

She sucked in a breath and plastered a smile over her heartbreak. "This is, um, a memory. Of mine. This room can recreate anything. There's… some things I'd like to show you."

He blinked, glancing around. "Is this Hogwarts?"

She nodded at him, striding over to where he stood. He was looking mainly at the castle, which was fine for the moment. "Yes, it is. What else do you see?"

He frowned at her question and moved forward to look at the people now. "I recognize… is that Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy?"

She nodded. It made sense he knew them first. "Yes, it is."

Clearly understanding she wanted him to continue, he turned on his heel to look at the other side. "Merlin!"

She followed his gaze.

"Is that Sirius?"

"Yeah."

"Who.. I can't see her face too well, who is he holding?"

She nodded. "Right, um… Hold on." She closed her eyes and silently communicated with the Room, asking it to move the memory ahead to when she'd moved away from Sirius and toward Neville.

"Shit," he whispered. "What is this?"

"Who is it, Avery?"

He glanced between her and the older version of herself a few times before making eye contact. "That's you. How?"

"Sirius is old," she pointed out. "He's thirty-seven."

"I don't understand," he frowned. "What you're implying is impossible, Adelaide."

"I promise it isn't," Regulus cut in. "Go look at the boy Hagrid was holding - he's on the ground now."

Avery did as he said and kneeled down. Soon, his head shot around to look at them. "This looks like… James. But he's younger than Sirius?"

"Because that's his son," Adelaide told him.

Avery stood and moved over. The same calm look fell over his face, and Adelaide was glad to know he could hold that in any situation. "Explain."

"I'm from the future," she shrugged. "It's pretty simple."

"Then what's going on here?" He asked. "I see Sirius but no Remus or James or Peter."

She did her best not to scowl. "Remus and his wife were injured in battle. James wasn't there and Peter was dead. Died a few weeks prior to the final battle."

"And what is it? What's happening?"

"It's a war, Avery," she said plainly. "There's a man that's going to show up very soon and his war will last over two decades with a fourteen year break. We finished it, though. He's dead and most of his followers have been arrested."

"How old are you?" He asked, waving his hand through her face. She shimmered slightly before solidifying again.

"In this image, I'm nineteen. Right now, I'm… twenty two? It doesn't matter. The potion I took makes me officially the age I'm pretending to be, which is thirteen."

"But if you're from the future, why are you here? Are you changing something?"

She scoffed. "No. We can't change anything, ever. It would create a paradox and we cannot create paradoxes unless we want to destroy the universe."

"So?"

"Oh," she nodded. Closing her eyes, she requested a memory to be played- or at least, part of one. The battlefield changed to a vision of Hermione running up the stairs with three familiar men behind her. She opened a door and was promptly hit with a prank box. The memory skipped to her landing in the Hog's Head. They finished the memory when she was de-aged and given to Sarah Snape, and she turned to look at her friend.

"You're from the future," he blinked. "Okay."

"Okay?" She stared at him in shock. "That's all?"

He looked between her and Regulus. "You having gone through war explains why you don't care as much about…"

She bit her lip and tried not to show her shock. It was a great cover but also completely wrong. "Right. So… I'm telling you this because my friends accidentally found out and they're terrible secret keepers. The fact that Pettigrew doesn't know is a miracle. Aberforth gave me the go ahead to tell you."

"Change the room, Little Lion," Regulus suggested, waving at a vision of Sarah Snape looking ridiculous with her mouth open and one eye closed as she blinked.

Adelaide narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you ever going to stop?"

He smiled at her. "Calling you that? Absolutely never."

Scowling, she changed the room back to the comfortable one she always used - a replica of Gryffindor common rooms.

"So, I've got a question," Avery told her as they sat down by the fire. She threw her legs over Regulus's lap and leaned back against the arm of the couch.

"I imagine you've got a few. What's up?"

"How many of us do you know in the future?"

She hummed. "Severus, Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore and Aberforth, um… I know a few people's kids? There's more that I just know in passing or know about."

"Of the Slytherin's," he told her. "Anyone aside from Severus?"

She furrowed her brow, staring down at her arm. "Not closely and not fondly."

"Who?"

"That's enough," Regulus cut in.

"No, it's okay," she shrugged. "Maybe it's good if he knows."

"Why?"

She looked between them before her gaze settled on Avery. "In my fifth year, there was a fight in the Department of Mysteries. Lots of my friends and lots of adults in a secret Order were there, as well as these terrorists - Death Eaters. Except I was being held back, the only one of everyone. Dolohov held onto me and cursed me before he left and I was rescued. He made me watch my best friend be killed."

Avery was frozen in place, his eyes boring into her head.

"Addy?" Regulus tapped her leg. She tore her gaze away from Avery and looked at him.

"That thing that I won't tell anyone about? Dolohov attacked me," she explained slowly. "Avery saved me."

A dark understanding passed over him. "Leon knows too?"

"He… healed me," she winced at the sharp anger in Regulus's eyes. "It wasn't a big deal, just some bruises and the- the other thing."

Regulus nodded quickly.

"Other thing?" Avery looked between them.

"It's nothing," she muttered. "Other questions?"

"Yeah, what's this other thing?"

She scowled. "It's just an old injury. He irritated it."

"What happened?"

She let out a slow breath. "I was tortured. For hours by Bellatrix. I've got long term effects that were recently worsened because I made a dumb decision that essentially put me through it again but in a child's body."

"Very dumb," Regulus added in.

"Merlin," Avery breathed. "He grabbed you pretty tight, your wrists alone were-,"

"He grabbed you?" Regulus frowned. She shifted uncomfortably under his stare.

"Avery, you had another question?"

The look she gave him held not a request but a demand, and he didn't mind helping her. "What are you doing here then?"

She nodded. "Waiting. Aberforth is working on finding me and Leon a way back, and-,"

"Leon?"

"Oh," she blinked. "Yeah, he's from the future, too."

"Sure, why not?" Avery rolled his eyes. "But you've heard of some people in passing. Who?"

She hummed as she thought about it. "Like Marlene. Sirius told me about her one night, and he told Harry, too. I met Alice and Frank once. Regulus's mum has a portrait in her home that won't come off the wall, so she's called me a few select names over the years. Uh… then there's Yaxley and… er, you, I think."

He blinked in surprise. "Me?"

She shrugged. "I did a lot of research into the people involved in the first war. Your name popped up with Sev and Regulus's."

"What do you know?" Avery asked her, curious about his life.

Regulus looked at Adelaide. "She knew a little too much about me. I figured it out and I wish I hadn't. Maybe it's better not to ask."

She shook her head. "No, actually, I don't know much. Only an estimated date of death because you were missing but it's definitely not certain, just a guess. Aside from that, I know that you were pulled into the wrong side of the war, and I can only assume that was Dolohov's doing, now."

Avery hummed. "My family has a long history of an affinity for dark magic. We often created our own curses when none fit our needs. If there really is a war coming, this terrorist likely knows that. I'd assume it won't be Dolohov but rather someone else that has that information… Dolohov hates me."

"A few of my friends are going to be drawn in," she admitted. "Including both of you. I'm just hoping it's for good reasons."

"Aren't you worried about telling us this much?" Avery asked her, glancing at Regulus.

She tilted her head as she found her words. "Only a little. I trust you both to be logical in your decisions. There's only one thing I'd have kept from Regulus but… well, he knows now. Everyone else has a lot of trauma ahead of them. I'd rather let them enjoy their lives right now."

Regulus tapped her knee gently. "Mother is already close with Riddle. She has already offered both of us."

"Great," she muttered. "I'd hoped there was at least another year."

"You know a lot about what's going to happen, don't you?" Avery asked her. She shifted until she leaned against Regulus with her legs curled under her.

"I do. I know some important things about the next few years, and I did a lot of research about the first war in general, plus my best friend in the future, Harry, has a large connection to both wars."

"Anything you can share?"

"Not exactly," she sighed. "I wish I could, but too much in the next few years has the potential to be changed if someone knows."

"I've got a question."

She rolled her eyes. "I'd be surprised if you didn't have more."

"You said you did something stupid," he reminded her. "What happened?"

She didn't reply, but Regulus did, all too ready to complain about her.

"She drank a potion that, when I'm eighteen, I'll drink. It put her through the torture she endured before. The potion and torture combined almost killed her."

"Why?"

"Because now that I know what it is, I can save him," she snapped, glaring at Regulus. "It might not have been well thought out but I don't regret it."

"If Leon hadn't been there, you'd be dead!"

She shook her head in denial. "Dorea made sure her elf would come when I called!"

Regulus snorted. "Addy, you were passed out. You couldn't have called her."

She waved him off. "I was fine."

"You almost died," he said again.

"My biggest worries are Dolohov and your father and grandfather… and Voldemort, I guess. And Pettigrew."

"Pettigrew?" Avery cut in.

"He's an evil bastard."

"Technically, he's not a bastard," Regulus told her. "And we don't know that he's evil yet. If Riddle is recruiting school kids, he's starting with the Black family - with Sirius and I."

"He's got Bellatrix, he'll have Lucius and then Narcissa unofficially. I've already told you Andromeda won't join-,"

"Which makes sense after she ran away last year," Regulus added in.

"So yes, he's going after you two first. I think I know how this'll go. The other pureblood children will be recruited and Severus will be surrounded by them and fifth year-,"

"Fifth year?" Avery spoke up.

She waved him off. "Something happens, Harry didn't tell me much aside from he called Lily a mudblood and she ended that friendship when he refused to apologize."

"Merlin's sake," Avery breathed. "They're best friends. What could happen that he does that?"

Adelaide shared a hesitant look with Regulus. "We're not sure."

"So, who all is expected to join this man? If I am, I'd like to create friendly relationships with them," Avery explained. She smiled at him and his willingness to fall into his role.

"Regulus, Severus, Yaxley, Dolohov, the Carrow twins, Mulciber, Nott, the Lestrange brothers, obviously Bellatrix, Rosier, Rowle, Selwyn, and… um, Macnair, I think. That's all I can remember. I think they're mostly all in school right now but I'm not sure. He gained a lot of followers before the second war so I'm not certain who had just joined. Most from the first war went unnamed so those are the best I've got."

"Mulciber graduated last year and Nott is in his forties," Avery told her slowly. "Obviously Bellatrix and Rodolphus aren't in school but Rabastan is in our year."

She frowned, looking away from Regulus. "Also… uh, Crabbe and Goyle."

Regulus tensed beside her and she noted vaguely that he needed to learn to cover up that gut reaction if only for her sake.

Avery was smart and knew something was up, though he obviously saw her guarded look and didn't ask. "Right. Leon punched Goyle so I'm going to go ahead and stay away from them. I've heard nasty things about them, anyway."

Tiredly, she nodded. "Any more questions? I figured we can stay and answer as much as possible tonight and get it out of the way now."

He blinked at her as his long list of questions came to mind again. "This is going to be a long night."

Xx

Christmas was spent at Potter Manor. Sarah Snape had been invited, along with Lyall and Hope Lupin so that Remus could stay. James's birthday was December 23rd, and his parents allowed him to keep all of his friends over for the entire break as a present to him, though he'd told them that he suspected they just loved them too much anyways. So, with that being the case, everyone - Adelaide, Leon, Severus, Remus, and Peter - stayed for the entire break. Lily had promised to come for the ball but wanted to see her family as her mother was having some health issues.

There was a notable absence that set Adelaide's nerves on edge - Sirius and Regulus had been taken home by Walburga and had declined their invitations to the New Year's Ball. Her gut churned every time she thought about them, which, it seemed, was a lot.

Their third night there, she finally managed to slip away and get some alone time. She sat in her large, comfortable room - the same one as last year - and leaned back on the bed, her mind drifting to the issue that had been bothering her more and more.

Severus.

He had been so cruel. He'd become Neville's biggest fear before the war. He had flat out ignored the danger she'd been in multiple times, even just by other students, and when he'd seen her teeth overgrown by Draco, he'd scoffed and told her she looked the same. He might've been good in the end, and she had begun to repair her relationship with the older man, but… he still caused her a great deal of hurt. And she still didn't know why.

"Adelaide?"

Her breath caught at the sudden noise and she rolled on her side to look at the door. "H-hey."

"You okay?"

"I have a lot on my mind," she told him. "I'll be fine."

"Tell me," Severus requested, shutting the door behind him as he made his way over to sit on the bed.

She pursed her lips. "I don't think I can."

"You tell me things sometimes," he pointed out. "This is different?"

"This is you," she nodded. "I told Regulus his future. He didn't appreciate it."

"I'm not him," Severus told her simply. "What is it?"

"He keeps telling me to tell you," she muttered. "He thinks you only did these things because you knew you had to because I told you, but…" she shook her head slowly and lowered it back into her pillow. "He could be wrong?"

Severus put a gentle hand on her back. "Tell me."

Without lifting her face from the pillow, she did as he asked, ignoring everything inside of her that told her not to. "In the future, you're my potions professor… or you were. You were also a part of the terrorist's group. You worked with him. But when you were working with Dumbledore…" she sighed. "There's just a lot that happened that I've been struggling with."

He looked at her hesitantly. "What happened?"

"You know Legilimency right?"

He blinked. "Yeah, of course."

"I'll show you," she offered, sitting up onto her knees to look at him. "I can't- I'll just show you."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" he frowned at her. "You and Regulus haven't finished building the walls in your mind, have you?"

She shook her head. "No, but you won't hurt me or invade my mind."

"Yes, but-,"

"If you want to know," she told him. "I can only show you. I don't really think you'll believe me otherwise."

"Fine," he shook his head reluctantly. She scooted forward and stared him in the eyes, waiting. He frowned in concentration and cast the spell quietly.

They fell into a memory she'd shown Regulus - the one she'd been thinking about earlier. She watched him as he watched his older self tell Hermione she looked perfectly normal, and she saw the horror on his younger self as she ran off crying.

The pair slipped into a different memory, one of him forcing Neville's toad, Trevor, to drink his potion. Luckily, Hermione had hurriedly helped him fix the potion and so the toad was only a little bit sick. She helped him by cleaning up his work area so he could take Trevor to Madame Pomfrey.

After that was a horrible moment during the final battle. She'd been separated from Harry and even Sirius and was fighting a masked Death Eater. He managed to throw a curse at her that she couldn't block and it hit her wrist, which only made her drop her wand. The man was hit by Parvati with an unknown hex that flew the mask off his face, revealing Dolohov's sharp pureblood face and messy black hair. Dolohov turned to hit her but she was already engaging with another Death Eater. He turned back to find Hermione searching for her wand and tossed ropes at her, sending her back to the ground. He slowly made his way over to her and leaned over, kneeling on top of her. She let out a scream for help that was ignored by everyone, and he touched her cheek gently.

"I love seeing that fear in you… it's intoxicating. I've dreamt of it for years."

She let out another scream for help, this time attracting the attention of Snape, who was passing by. He stopped short at her scream and looked down at the scene with an unreadable face.

"Please, Professor, help me!"

He looked in her brown eyes for a long moment before he rushed off without saying a word, leaving her to Dolohov.

Luckily for Hermione, a hand flew into Dolohov's face and knocked the man off of her. She looked up in wonder as Sirius removed the ropes from around her and helped her up into a tight hug, holding her face as he looked her over. He looked manic himself and absolutely terrified for her, though extremely relieved to have found her.

Severus pulled gently from her mind when she tapped his arm and stared at her with wide, confused eyes. "I don't understand."

"I've been so conflicted," she told him quietly. "I don't get it. I don't understand why you'd treat me like that for so long with such clear hatred. I didn't even understand it then. From the beginning you hated me and I hadn't done anything except maybe be a little over enthusiastic. I sort of assumed you hated me for being muggleborn but even then…" She shook her head, confused. She knew this younger version of him wouldn't know either, but the hurt was just too much to stay quiet.

He looked confused and pained as he stared at her. His mind raced as he tried to process the things he'd seen in her memories. "I- I don't get it."

"Regulus thinks you did it because I told you what you did… like I am now. And it's the only thing that makes sense, except…"

"What?"

"I know a lot about the future," she told him. "You're gonna hurt, Sev. And I know how. And I can't stop it, and so… maybe you just come to hate me for it. Because I can't do anything. And even if you did do it because I told you, then at some point some of that hatred… it had to become real, didn't it?"

"Addy-,"

"No, but you saw that," she told him, trying and failing not to cry. "You didn't care. If he'd killed me or… he could've, and you walked away, and-,"

"Addy, stop," he told her, grabbing her arm gently to pull her over to him. She collapsed into his lap and let him hug her. "I'm so sorry."

"I wanna- I just wanna fix it so when I go back, you don't hate me," she told him, swiping away tears. "I don't know how to fix it, Sev."

"Adelaide," he whispered, touching her cheek. "I promise I won't hate you."

"You can't," she denied immediately. "You don't know what happens."

"No matter what," he said seriously. "No matter how I get hurt, who dies in this war, I won't hate you because it's not your fault. You might know about it but I know you can't do anything. Whatever that was - whatever reason I did those things… it's not because I hate you or because I don't love you and I promise that when you go back to the future, I'll love you just as much as I do now."

She let out a sob and burrowed her head into his chest, crying. "It didn't hurt as much when I didn't know about this… when you were just my professor and not my best friend, my brother."

"Adelaide," he muttered, grabbing her face gently. "I promised to protect you and I won't break that. I will take care of you whenever I possibly can. I know I won't be able to do that in the future but while you're here with me, I will. And when you go back, I will."

She sniffled, nodding at him. "I wish I could do something to- to stop you from hurting."

"Just forgive me," he requested. Her eyes widened in confusion but he put a hand up to stop her from talking. "For hurting you like that, Addy. I doubt what you've shown me is all of it or even the worst of it. I hurt you, emotionally abused you for years."

She winced at the words. "Stop it."

"Addy," he sighed. "Only you - and probably Regulus - know what I've done. All I can do is apologize for it."

"Apologize when you're older," she told him. "When you know what's happened and know if you're really sorry or if you… hate me."

He stared at her sadly but nodded. "I will."

"Thank you."

Xx

The ball was a long affair and Adelaide used the time to talk with Fabian and Gideon again. The twins snuck her outside and cast warming charms every five minutes so they could have some privacy.

"I saw Arcturus earlier," Fabian nudged her. "No Sirius or Regulus or their parents."

She scowled. "Yeah. Walburga hates me and she refused to let them come or see us. I've been avoiding Arcturus to the best of my ability with James's help."

"I still don't like this situation, Pip," Gideon told her. "You seem capable but against Arcturus if he ever attacked you…"

She waved off his concern. "I'm more than capable. You'd be surprised."

"I have an idea," Fabian winked at her. "Let's duel. We can teach you what we know and you can show us what you know."

Her eyes lit up in excitement. "I'd love to!" She hadn't dueled since the war. No one had felt like it and assumed she hadn't, either. Truthfully, she felt like she was letting her talents go to waste. Sirius had really helped her catch up to Harry's skill level when they were on the run, and she'd mixed spells and combined them until they were nigh unrecognizable.

"Sounds good. We'll stop by tomorrow and then see you again when school lets out," Gideon suggested. "You look much too excited for this."

She laughed, throwing her head back. "You'll be surprised by how good I am. I'm… much ahead of my year."

The pair eyed her suspiciously as she moved back inside to find a hot chocolate, leaving them to consider her words.

Xx

The following day found her, Leon, Severus, and James in the heated grounds with the Prewett twins. There was no snow on the ground, a large warming ward having been cast over the area for the meeting.

"Okay! Since she's so eager to show off, we'll have Fabian and Adelaide duel first," Gideon called out. James chuckled to himself and leaned back. Leon, however, merely rolled his eyes at his friend. Severus was pulling his jacket off and setting it down while the pair situated themselves on the makeshift stage they'd transfigured. "Meet in the middle and raise your wands!"

The pair did as asked, Fabian raising an eyebrow at her at the same time. Gideon counted from five to one and, barely a second after he called the match, Adelaide had her hand out in front of her holding a large shield while her wand still pointed at Fabian, throwing out a harmless Expelliarmus that was deflected easily.

"Woah," Fabian breathed, taking in the all encompassing shield she held. "Merlin's beard, she's powerful!"

"Focus, you dimwit," Gideon called out. Fabian nodded and went back to strategizing.

Adelaide, however, already had a plan. It was one that worked for most everyone as no one ever expected it save for Harry who had taught it to her. She silently cast the spell and sent the otter into Fabian's face. It flew into him as she threw off rectumsempra and a stunner at the same time, dropping him to the ground as the other spell tickled him, forcing him to drop his wand. She dropped her shield and moved over to pluck the wand off the ground and lift her spells.

Fabian scrambled to his feet and stared at her while Gideon rushed back over. "How?"

"I told you," she shrugged.

Gideon looked at her friends. "You three don't seem surprised."

"She tried to tell you," James laughed.

"She likes to show off," Leon muttered.

Gideon looked at Severus and the boy just rolled his eyes. "No one takes her seriously. She uses that to her advantage."

"But how?" Fabian asked again.

"Well, Aberforth did suggest I tell you…"

"Merlin's sake, Granger," Leon groaned. "How many?"

Xx

The explanations took awhile as she explained simply that she was actually an adult that knew how to end the upcoming war - though she ensured they knew she couldn't. Her proof came in the form of Dorea Potter, who brought hot chocolate out to them in the middle of the conversation and casually explained that Adelaide was from the future… which promptly led to another long conversation.

The day after that, the group was taken back to King's Cross and loaded onto the train with a smile and a hug before they were sent off.

Without Sirius and Regulus.

"Again!" She huffed. "I hate this. I hate this so much. Where are they?"

"They'll be at school, I'm sure," Avery soothed her as they made their way to the trolly of treats. She grabbed a sugar quill and pumpkin juice and leaned as he paid for both of their things and the woman walked off.

"I'm so scared for them," she told him. "What if something bad happened and the only way to stop it is if I went to see them and I didn't and they're dead, and-,"

"Adelaide," he interrupted firmly. "Take a breath."

She did as he said and breathed out slowly, turning to walk with him back to their compartment.

The rest of the train ride was filled with anxiety and fear and calming words from her friends. The train arrived at the station an agonizing eight hours later, and she rushed off of it, finding her seat on the carriages.

Her eyes slid over to the dark creatures that carried them toward the castle, her mouth opening slightly as her chest tightened at the sight.

A hand fell on her own and she gave Leon a small smile as he leaned over. "Stop looking at them."

"I can't," she replied quietly. "Did you know how we got to the Department of Mysteries?"

He shook his head, confused.

"We flew. Brooms, hippogriffs, and thestrals. And then Ron…" she shook herself, looking away from the boney animal. "We were taken out of the ministry while Dumbledore and Harry dealt with the press. We stood out there, just waiting for them so we could use the floo. I just… I saw them and I broke down. Sirius held me until I calmed down and demanded I come home with him to avoid the crowd."

"That's where you went," he realized. "I asked as much as I could but I couldn't really say anything without-,"

"Without everyone knowing we were friends," she nodded. "Yeah. Sirius took care of me a lot. He wrote me right away when I helped him escape and we kept writing throughout fourth and fifth year. After that, I saw him a lot."

"You guys are really close here," Leon pointed out. "That might have something to do with it."

She shrugged. "Maybe. Which only makes me more anxious to see him."

"He'll be fine," he assured her again, patting her arm. She only hummed in disagreement and sat back.

Xx

Sirius followed Regulus quietly down the halls, looking side to side as he moved. They approached the small door and Regulus knocked softly before opening it, moving inside with Sirius on his heels.

He was shocked by the familiar sight in front of him and blinked at the couch and fireplace he'd come to love. "Woah."

"Woah?"

He winced, his eyes moving to find a stoney faced Adelaide standing with her fists clenched at her side. "Addy-,"

"No!" She snapped. "You're hurt!" Her head twisted to the side with a deep glare. "I told you they would be hurt!"

"Take it up with Walburga," Leon rolled his eyes.

"We're fine," Sirius assured her. "We just weren't allowed to do anything- er, I wasn't. Regulus didn't because he tried to be careful."

"I would have been fine if you hadn't tried to sneak out," Regulus shot at him.

Adelaide rushed over to grab Regulus's face first, looking him over. Her hand came up and she cast the diagnostic spell before they could even tell what she was doing.

"You have bruises and a sprained collarbone."

"Sounds about right."

"And you," she glared, moving over to the older brother and casting the same spell. She gasped at the results. "Three broken ribs, a concussion, and some various cuts and bruises. What the hell?"

"It was Voldemort."

Leon got to his feet now and looked at Regulus. "He's really working?"

"He is," Regulus confirmed. "He spent the holidays with us. Sirius was confined to his room for disobeying mother. I was punished because she thought I was helping him sneak out."

"What were you doing?" Adelaide wondered.

"Telling him to get back in his room," he rolled his eyes. "And now he can see why."

"But what happened?" she asked him. "With Riddle."

"Sirius refused to join him, obviously," he sighed as Sirius limped over to the large couch and dropped himself down on it, wincing in pain. "I told him I'd be delighted when I'm a little older and can handle my schoolwork and a… hobby. He gave me the rest of the school year."

"Smart," she hummed. "This is bad. I really thought we'd have at least another year."

"He was leaving to… campaign," Regulus winced. "Amongst the blood purists. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets to Avery sometime soon. Maybe the summer or next year."

"Great," she sighed. "It's all starting."

"Okay, this is great and all," Sirius cut in. "But I'm in a lot of fucking pain."

"Yeah," Adelaide nodded quickly. "Reg, sit down, too. I'll heal both of you."

"I'm so fucking tired of that bastard," Leon muttered as his friends sat.

"Well, get used to him again," Adelaide suggested. "We've got a few more years of this."

"We were done," Leon said in a mutter. No one replied to his pained words and Adelaide began healing her friends silently.

Xx

"Prongs, I don't think this is a good-,"

"That's ridiculous," James waved off the concern, rushing to find Lily. "Hurry up!"

"But Lily seemed really annoyed," Sirius said slowly as he ran with Remus after their friend. "I really don't think we should-,"

"Lily Bear!"

Remus groaned.

Adelaide looked up at the boys as they approached. "Remus?"

"This is going to be a mess," he replied quietly, coming to stand by her side.

"James, I told you to leave me alone!"

"But I just wanted to ask you-,"

"I will hex you!" Lily snapped. "What is wrong with you?"

"But you're so beautiful, I love you so much!"

Adelaide narrowed her eyes. "Lils, he hasn't said any of this before, right?"

"No," she growled. "He's lost his mind."

Adelaide hummed, tuning out James's proclamations of love as she dug through her beaded bag until she found the right vial. With that done, she stunned James and nodded at Remus when the surprised boy caught him and lowered him to the ground.

"Thank god," Lily sighed in relief. "I was getting ready to punch him."

"While I'd love to see that," Addy laughed. "I think James has been given a love potion."

"Why?" Sirius blinked in surprise. "Who would do that?"

She considered the question as she uncapped the vial. "Probably a Slytherin on the Quidditch team. Lily has a bit of a temper and the cure for a love potion can make you a bit loopy for a day or so."

"We have a match tonight!" Sirius gasped. "Oh, I'm gonna kill them!"

"No, you're not," Remus told him firmly.

She tilted James's head up and poured the cure down his throat. She watched as his eyes lit up purple and then faded away into their normal brown. Confident that he was fine, she woke him.

"Wha- what?" He blinked his eyes open. "What happened?"

"Someone gave you a love potion and Lily almost hit you," Sirius filled him in. "I wanted to see her hit you but Addy saved you."

James looked up at Adelaide and then shifted his gaze to Lily, blinking his eyes at her. There was some sort of thought in his mind that he didn't speak aloud, though he very quickly looked back over to Adelaide. "Thanks, couldn't play later if I'm obsessed."

"You can't play anyway," she shook her head. "I made that cure for going on the run so it'll help with the after effects of the love potion but it'll still take near seven hours."

"Why would you need a love potion cure on the run?" Lily asked her curiously. She shrugged.

"Harry was slipped a love potion in our sixth year. Slughorn cured him when our friend Neville begged him for help but then he got poisoned and… it was a long mess. I realized a love potion could be a smart way to fool your enemies and so I brought it just in case. There's a lot of stuff in here. I spent a long time with Sirius trying to figure out what sort of things they might throw at us. Mostly it was just hexes and curses."

"Merlin's sake," Sirius blinked at her. "I helped you with that?"

She hesitated. "Yeah, actually. You helped me with… a lot. A lot of things."

"James Potter!" Lily screamed angrily.

Their heads snapped over to find James down on one knee with his - luckily - empty hands out in front of him.

"Lily Evans, that might've been a love potion but I assure you this isn't! It helped me see how beautiful and kind and fierce you are! Go to Hogsmeade with me?"

"No!" She yelled. They saw it coming before it happened and soon, she slapped him straight across the cheek hard. She stormed off but James just sat there holding his cheek with wide eyes.

"Guys," he whispered. "I'm in love!"

Xx

The rest of the year was spent in Occlumency lessons and with Adelaide helping Lily avoid James and avoid hitting him again. She hadn't gotten in trouble for the first time and while they knew James wouldn't tell, there was a true danger of him getting on her last nerve in the middle of the Great Hall and ruining her perfect record.

Leon had sort of faded into the background and was worrying Adelaide. He was very reluctant to be around other Slytherins and his temper had run short very quickly. The second he yelled at her and stepped close with a dangerous look, she'd dropped it and backed off. She hadn't felt truly threatened by him in years and refused to let it happen again, even if that meant staying away.

So she filled her time with Regulus, Severus, and Avery. The Marauders were busy with pranking and helping restrain James, which left Lily with her other friends or tagging along with Adelaide and her friends.

Which is how the odd group found themselves sitting at a large table in the library in the last week of school, talking with a privacy ward up in fear of Madame Pince.

"What about dragons?" Lily asked with a short, surprised laugh.

"Well I didn't face one," she assured them, shooting a glare at Regulus for his abnormal slip. "But Harry and a friend of his did. Also my ex and a rather nice girl named Fleur."

"Your ex?" Lily stared at her. "You have an ex?"

She blushed, embarrassed by the complete shock. "Believe it or not, yes, in my life someone has found me attractive and interesting."

"That's not what I-,"

"I know," she shook off the apology. "It's a sensitive subject. I met this guy because of the TriWizard Tournament - yes I know it's dangerous, yes I know it was stopped a long time ago because of deaths. But I met him and was the only girl that didn't just stare at him. We had similar interests in books and he was extremely kind. But Ron was jealous and bitter that he didn't ask me to the Yule Ball first so he was an ass about it and ruined my night. That's actually how Leon and I became friends - he saw me crying and we got locked in the same room."

"He was still a dick," Regulus nudged her. She rolled her eyes at him.

"He is still a dick."

"What happened there?" Severus asked her. "You guys haven't talked in a couple weeks."

She frowned as she remembered the incident. "I tricked him into our usual meeting in the Room. He… didn't like that. He looked how he did in the war and he sort of cornered me against the wall and was standing over me and he just…" she shook herself. "Something is wrong with him. If he feels the need to threaten me like that then I'm staying out of it. He hasn't done that since before we were friends and it just reminds me of things I'd rather forget."

"Did he really threaten you?" Avery narrowed his eyes at her, sitting forward now.

She shrugged. "He didn't have his wand out but I know he doesn't really need it. Plus, literally backing me into a wall to stare at me like that isn't really a friendly invitation for a chat."

"I wonder what's going on," Lily sighed. "He's not usually that talkative but he cares for you a lot. It's hard to imagine him threatening you like that."

"Imagine it," Regulus told her. "She showed me in our session last night. He was pretty dark. He didn't even talk, he just… something is going on with him."

Adelaide's mind drifted back to the stark differences between Mad Eye and Crouch Jr and tried her best not to imagine Leon being replaced like that.

"Oh," Avery gasped, sitting up straight. "I forgot. Dolohov has this weird… Mark on his arm."

Adelaide froze, her mind running faster as she realized what that meant. Nausea rose in her stomach.

It was really, genuinely starting.

She had no way to know who had the Mark or when they got it. Her eyes slid to Regulus, her anxiety kicking up a notch as she looked to Severus next and then back to Avery.

"Addy!" Lily said, placing a hand on her arm. "What is it? What's wrong?"

She shook herself, taking in a long breath before she could respond. "That Mark, it means it's beginning. He's branding his soldiers. He's more confident now. Which means…"

"Attacks," Regulus realized. "He's going to start attacking soon."

"If he hasn't already," she agreed. "This might… be a bad summer for you guys."

"I assume I'll receive it this summer," Avery sighed.

"Likely," she agreed. "Regulus… you might. He might request you prove your loyalty."

"Oh my god," Lily breathed. "I know it's real, I've known, but… I still feel too young for this."

Adelaide winced at her words and looked at her friend earnestly. "Lily, the war ended when I was nineteen and began… truly it began when I was fifteen in my fourth year. I can tell you that you never feel old enough."

Her words were met with an oddly accepting nod from her friend.

"Well, then I guess you just have to teach us," she suggested.

"What?"

Regulus laughed at her. "You did it before, Little Lion."

She shook her head quickly. "That was Harry and we had no choice! Our teacher was a toad and Riddle came back so we had to defend ourselves!"

"And he's here now," Avery pointed out. "We don't have a constant teacher and you've lived through a war."

"But I can't teach," she denied weakly. "Harry did that, I just corrected people when I could."

"Then consider it," Lily requested. "But I think you're our best option here, Addy."

She looked at her friends who were firmly ganging up on her. "This is horrible. I'd rather be with James right now."

Lily scowled at her and she laughed loudly, grateful to have annoyed her friend.

Xx

Adelaide looked at Avery nervously before walking down the stairs and entering the mostly empty room, quickly and quietly casting the proper wards as she moved inside. Her eyes fell on her friend who, instead of packing, was lying on the bed with a magazine Sirius had given him earlier that year.

"Draco."

He lowered the magazine stiffly, his dark eyes boring into her. "Get out of here, Granger."

"You have to talk to me!"

He stood and made his way over to he and she tensed at his dark glare. "I don't have to do anything. Now leave!"

"No!" She replied sharply, raising her hand to grab his arm. He snatched it out of the air hard and pressed her back until her head hit the wall hard and her wrist was pressed against it.

"Don't do that," he growled. She stared up at him in shock and wished she wasn't shaking the way she was. The pain that sprouted from her wrist down into her arm made her whimper quietly.

"We're all we have," She grit out, refusing to quiet just because of the pain. "You're the only one that knows everything about me, about the future."

"The way I knew about Crabbe and Goyle?" He shot back nastily. Her breath caught in her throat at the dark reminder and she raised her free arm and smacked his shoulder hard, not caring at all that he grabbed that one too and slammed it up, her hurt and anger blinding her. She barely noticed the way he held her just slightly off the ground, pressing her into the hard stone wall behind her.

"I don't know what's wrong with you but you've never even been this cruel to me!" She snapped, her voice openly shaking. His hand tightened around her wrist causing her to gasp and stare at him in wonder. "Draco, this hurts."

She wondered vaguely if he even heard her with the way he held her still, glaring down at her. She felt a sick pop in her left wrist and let out another, louder whimper. His eyes cleared a little at the sound and moved to where he held her and how she was pressed against the wall. "Fuck-,"

He let her go and she did her best not to fall as her feet hit the ground again, stumbling a little into the bedside table next to her. She reached out to brace herself and realized to late that she used her left hand and cried out when she put pressure on it. He watched her from across the room as she quickly stood tall again to stare at him, her hands at her side.

"What is going on?" She asked quietly, staring at him. "You hurt me. Even when you hated me… what's happening?"

He rolled up his sleeve quietly and she stared at the darkening Mark on his arm, her gut twisting. The black of the Mark was leaking from the mark to the rest of his arm as if someone had spilled some ink. It was a truly sickening sight. "It's like it… it takes over. It brings out my worst thoughts and ideas. It's different, like that magic sat to rot and now it's just a bunch of dark magic brought to life again trying to make me the worst I can be."

Her mind drifted to how they were when wearing the necklace and she winced. "I have to get that off of you."

"It's going to be harder since he's alive," he told her stiffly. His eyes kept falling to her hands, and he eventually looked at her, shame clear on his face. "I think I broke it. You should get to Madame Pomfrey."

She scoffed at him. "I'm going to help you. This summer. Besides, that thing is a safety risk. If you have it and someone sees it and Riddle doesn't know you… it could get bad."

"No one sees it," he hissed. He hesitated before speaking again. "No one but you."

"So I'll see it this summer when I help you," she rolled her eyes. Hesitantly, she stepped forward. He stood stiffly until she was right in front of him. She raised her right hand and gently touched the arm in question, wincing away from it. "The magic is radiating off of it."

He ignored her words and gently grabbed for her broken wrist. She winced at the action slightly but let him grab it, watching as he lifted it up so he could look at it. His other hand came up and waved slightly over it, magic settling in. Carefully, he lowered it back down to her side and let go. "That should help the pain until you get up there."

"I'm fine."

He shook his head at her. "I'm not- I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I've had broken bones before," she told him quietly. "And I don't mind this one if it means I can help you."

"I'm not going to hurt you again," he shook his head. "And I can't control this."

"Luckily, I'm wonderful at magic," she told him. "I'll get it done before the end of summer. It'll be okay."

He didn't reply to her announcement and looked at her head. "You might have a concussion, too."

Rolling her eyes, she nodded and took down her ward - with significant pain - and made her way down the stairs to where Avery sat waiting. He stood and raised an eyebrow.

"So?"

She winced. "So, my wrist is broken and I have a concussion but I think I can help him."

"What?" His eyes slid to the stairs and she moved to stand in front of him before he could move up there.

"Don't! He's not himself. There's rotting dark magic in his arm that's trying to control him."

"That's not a good enough excuse for breaking your wrist. What did he do?"

She stared him down, refusing to move. "He slammed me against the wall and pulled me up by my wrists. Painful but not the end of the world. And it wasn't him."

Avery looked between her and the stairs, letting out a sigh. "Fine. Let's go, she should treat that concussion immediately."

Xx