June 1979
Adela walked out of Flourish and Blotts carrying a sack of newly purchased spellbooks: one on defensive spells, one on charms, and one on transfiguration. She headed in the direction of Gringotts, where she had made plans to meet Sirius, James, and Lily to go to a fitting for the wedding at Madame Malkin's shop. Adela wasn't actually part of the wedding party, but she was roughly the same size as Alice Longbottom, the maid of honor, who couldn't make it to the fitting, so Lily had insisted on Adela substituting. Adela felt strangely nervous as she walked down Diagon Alley, as though someone was watching her. She glanced over her shoulder for the hundredth time that day and finally spotted the source of her uneasiness. About ten meters behind her, Lucius Malfoy appeared to be following Adela. Adela picked up the pace, now even more frightened than earlier, before breaking into a full out run. As brother-in-laws, Lucius Malfoy and Rodolphus LeStrange were particularly close friends. If Lucius was following Adela, she knew it most likely meant that Rodolphus was nearby as well. Adela knew she had to reach Gringotts before Rodolphus found her if she wanted to escape. She was only a few meters away from safety when she felt a rough grip on her upper arm pull her to a stop. Adela looked up quickly. Standing to her right was Rodolphus, and Adela sensed Lucius standing behind her. Rodolphus smirked at his baby sister. "Well done, Malfoy. You drove this stupid little girl right into my arms."
Adela glanced around quickly, panicking, looking for any familiar faces in the crowd who might help her. She glimpsed Sirius climbing the steps of Gringotts and screamed his name at the top of her lungs. Lucius slapped Adela across the mouth as Sirius turned, his eyes quickly landing on Adela and the two Death Eaters. Sirius shouted her name and pulled out his wand, rushing over to where she stood as fast as he could. By the time Sirius reached the spot where they had been standing, Rodolphus and Lucius had disapparated, taking Adela with them.
Adela soon found herself locked in one of the guest bedrooms of 12 Grimmauld Place without a wand, pacing the room anxiously. She had managed to hit Lucius with an especially nasty Stinging Hex before they had taken her wand, but it hadn't done her any good. The room was monochromatic in shades of gray and black, with the exception of the hardwood floors, the color scheme creating the perfect environment for her anxiousness to grow.
After spending several hours alone in this manner, Adela's solitude was disrupted by her two brothers and her ex-fiancé. Rabastan said roughly, "I'm sure you remember, dear sister, that you are to be married tomorrow."
As Rabastan finished speaking, Rodolphus placed Adela under the Cruciatus Curse. Her blood-curdling shriek echoed throughout the Black family home. When the oldest LeStrange sibling released her from her torment, Adela glared at the three men towering over her. "I'll never marry a Death Eater," Adela declared defiantly.
Regulus hit Adela hard with a blow to the head, knocking her back down to the floor, as Bellatrix LeStrange entered the room. "Aunt Walburga requests we do our best to keep her blood off the more expensive furniture," Bellatrix said, a sickeningly cheerful lilt to her voice.
Adela groaned softly at the pain now throbbing inside her head. Rabastan kneeled beside Adela as she slowly pushed her upper body off the floor. "Adela," Rabastan began. "You are going to be tortured like a worthless Muggle. Then we will fix you up like a proper pureblood again. We will put you under the Imperius Curse. You're rather familiar with how that feels these days, aren't you?" The Death Eaters laughed coldly when saw Adela start trembling with fear. Rabastan continued, "Tomorrow, you will marry Regulus Black. In time, you'll earn the Dark Lord's trust again, and you'll see the error of your ways. Once that happens, you'll be given the honor of the Dark Mark and freed from the Imperius Curse. And then, you'll more than gladly kill every single last blood traitor you now consider your 'friends.' Regulus, how would you like to deal with this traitorous witch of yours?"
Adela made a daring attempt to run for the door, but barely made it a step before Regulus dropped her to her hands and knees with the Cruciatus Curse. Liberating her from the spell, Regulus cried, "Sectumsempra." Adela screamed as the flesh of her left side and back were violently ripped open, her rich purple robes tearing and turning nearly black as her blood stained the fabric. Regulus crouched down beside her and grabbed her roughly, continuing to carve into her skin with his wand. The other three Death Eaters cackled pitilessly as tears streamed down Adela's face. Adela stared into Regulus's cold gray eyes, silently pleading for him to stop. At long last, Regulus stopped slicing into her, opting instead to use the Cruciatus Curse again. After what felt like hours of abuse, Regulus stopped and muttered, "Imperio."
As the curse took over Adela's mind, Adela stopped crying. Regulus healed her still bleeding wounds. Adela sat quietly in the floor motionless as Rabastan said, "Your wedding dress is hanging in the closet. Put it on first thing in the morning. Narcissa Malfoy will be by to help you get ready."
Rodolphus handed the now compliant Adela her wand. "Welcome back to the family, sister dear," Rodolphus said with a wicked smirk.
Adela barely slept that night, and what little she did sleep was not restful. She spent most the night trying her hardest to break the Imperius Curse on her. While she could tell that once again, Regulus was not as skilled at Unforgiveable Curses as her brothers, the illegal spell still had too much power over her. It wasn't until she finally got up and put on the wedding dress in the closet around 6:00a.m. that Adela finally managed to free her mind. Adela had to admit, the dress was rather beautiful, even if not quite her taste. It was a poofy ball gown covered in jewels and sparkles and beads. When she looked at herself in the dress in the mirror, it had sparked the desire in her mind to be walking down the aisle to meet Sirius Black in that dress rather than Regulus Black. That desire had been the explosive that she had needed to deliver herself from the Imperius Curse. Now that she had hold of her wand again and was thinking clearly, the escape was easy. She simply disapparated to Sirius and James's flat.
Adela landed on the doorstep of the flat and unlocked the door with her wand before rushing inside. She was disappointed and nervous when she found the place completely deserted. Grabbing some floo powder, Adela stepped into the fireplace and used the Floo Network to travel to Dumbledore's office. Stepping into the room, she found half the Order gathered there, including Sirius. Adela ran over to him as fast as she could and jumped on him, planting a passionate kiss on his lips and tangling her fingers in his hair. Sirius kissed her back with equal fervor, and for a moment the rest of the world seemed to melt away. Adela was vaguely aware of the cheering and whistles and catcalls echoing around her, but they barely registered in her mind. All that mattered in that moment was the feeling of Sirius's arms around her and the sensation of his lips on hers. Finally breaking the kiss, Sirius asked all in a rush, a big, goofy grin on his face, "What happened to you yesterday? Where have you been? Are you ok? Did they hurt you? How did you get away?"
James jumped in with, "And what the hell are you wearing?"
Laughter broke out in the room. Adela couldn't stop staring into Sirius's eyes and smiling ecstatically at him. "I'm ok," she answered. "My brothers kidnapped me and took me to Regulus's house. They put me under the Imperius Curse and were going to force me to marry Regulus today, but I broke the curse. While they'd had me under the Imperious Curse, they gave me back my wand. I guess they didn't expect me to break free if I was under the Imperious Curse, so when I did, it was easy, I just had to apparate home while I was still alone."
Sirius squeezed her as tightly as he could, causing the bruises on the sides to ache, but Adela didn't mention it, not wanting to ruin the moment. He brushed a kiss on top of her head and exclaimed proudly, "That's my girl! My free little hummingbird, no one can make you do anything you don't want to do."
Lily pulled Adela gently from Sirius's arms, a smile on the redhead's face. "Why don't we have a party to celebrate the safe return of one of our own?" Lily suggested. Adela looked at Lily, surprised at being referred to so affectionately by the Muggle-born witch. Delight replaced the surprise in a matter of seconds, however, as members of the Order began calling out to each other assigning party duties. Lily squeezed Adela's shoulders and whispered to her, "I'm so glad you're back."
The party took place at Sirius and James's flat. It was a little cramped in the small space, but no one seemed to mind. Sirius had followed Adela into the bedroom when they had arrived at the flat as she went to change clothes, not willing to leave her alone for a single moment for fear she might be stolen away from him again. Not ready for Sirius to see the physical scars the past twelve hours had left on her, Adela threw on one of Sirius's Muggle shirts before removing the wedding dress and pulling on a pair of her Muggle blue jeans. Sirius furrowed his brow as she did this, knowing it was an odd thing for her to do, but said nothing. The pair returned to the sitting room, which had filled up with all of their closest friends and far too much food and firewhiskey.
Adela was passed around the room, chatting the day away with her friends and proudly displaying her now corporeal hummingbird patronus to her fellow Order members for the first time since she had first managed the spell. As night began to approach, the drinking began, and, one by one, the Order trickled out the door. Before long, the only ones left in the room were Sirius, Adela, James, Lily, Remus, and Peter. They were playing a Muggle drinking game that Lily had suggested called 'Never Have I Ever,' and getting quite smashed doing so. Sirius nudged the brown-haired girl sitting on his lap and whispered in her ear, "Your turn, love."
Adela giggled at the sensation of his breath on her ear. She thought for a moment, then said, "Oh, ok! I've got this. Never have I ever been sorted into Gryffindor."
Uproarious laughter broke out among the group as everyone except Adela took a shot of firewhiskey. Lily pointed her finger and said between laughs, "That was a dirty trick, LeStrange."
Sirius, surprisingly the least drunk of the group, waved his wand and banished the bottles of firewhiskey back to the cabinet and sent everyone's shot glasses to the kitchen sink. "All right, I thin we've all had more than enough to drink," Sirius said decidedly. He stood up, picking up Adela in his arms as he did so. "I think it's time Adela and I went to bed."
James and Remus whistled suggestively at Sirius. Lily rolled her eyes at her fiancé's behavior, then stood and tugged at James's arm. "Come on. You're staying over with me tonight," Lily announced.
James raised his eyebrows in pleasant surprise. "Oh, I am? Oh this should be fun!" It didn't take long for the Peter and Remus to follow James and Lily out the front door.
Sirius made certain the door was locked behind them, then carried Adela into the bedroom and gently deposited her onto the bed. Sirius jumped onto the bed beside her and pulled her to his chest, where she snuggled up happily. Sirius buried his face in her hair and took a deep breath, the scent of her comforting him. "I was so worried about you," he said softly. "It was such a relief when you showed up this morning. We were trying to figure out a way to get you back, but we didn't know where you were or even if you were still alive." He hugged her close. "I'm never leaving you alone again," he asserted.
Adela replied quietly, "Good, because I don't think I could stand to ever be alone again."
Sirius pulled away from her slightly so that he could look her in the eyes. "What really happened while you were gone?" he asked, his voice tight. "I've seen what those brothers of yours have done to you in the past. I doubt they would have only placed you under the Imperius Curse and then left you alone for the rest of the night. Tell me what else happened."
Pain crossed Adela's face for a brief moment, then was hidden away again. The violent shiver that ran down her spine, though, she couldn't hide from Sirius. He kissed her forehead with as much love as he could put in to the simple action, then pulled her closer. Adela wiped away the tears that were beginning to well up in her eyes. "Just a lot of the Cruciatus Curse," she whispered. Babette, the cat, jumped up on the foot of the bed to join her two masters and meowed before settling down. Adela suddenly pulled away and got off the bed. She walked over to the dresser and pulled another of Sirius's shirts out of the drawer, this one having some Muggle band called Judas Priest featured on the front of the shirt. "I think I'm going to take a shower," she mumbled.
Adela paused to scratch the cat's head, making the animal purr. Sirius watched her carefully, concerned. "Sure, go ahead. Are you ok, sweetheart?"
Adela nodded, then quickly turned and exited the room. She stripped and got into the shower as the steam from the hot water filled the room. Tears ran down her face, blending with the shower water as she looked at the scars that Regulus had left on her side for the first time. She stayed in the too-hot shower for a good twenty minutes, letting the water burn her and turn her skin a deep pink. Suddenly, an overwhelming feeling of nausea took over Adela and her entire body began visibly shaking. It almost felt as though she couldn't breathe. Panic flooded Adela's mind as she tried to figure out what was happening to her. Darkness began to fill her vision, and Adela screamed, "Sirius!"
She lowered herself slowly to sit on the bottom of the tub as she heard Sirius running from the bedroom to the bathroom. He threw open the door, then quickly turned off the water. Adela was only half-conscious and mumbled something to him about not being able to see anything. Sirius lifted her out of the tub and laid her out on the floor, then whipped out his wand. "Rennervate," Sirius whispered.
Adela covered her eyes with her hands, blinded by the sudden amount of bright light filling her vision. Adela slowly uncovered her eyes and met Sirius's gaze, a look of terror in his eyes. Adela said apologetically, "I don't know what happened. One minute I just felt so sick and weak and then everything was dark and I couldn't see…"
Sirius cradled her head and smoothed her wet hair. "Shh, shh, it's ok; it's ok," he crooned. "Everything's all right. It probably just got too hot in here and got to your head. You were just fainting. It's ok; you're safe." Sirius abruptly went silent as he spotted the fresh scars running up from Adela's left hip over her ribcage. He tenderly brushed his fingers over the markings. Fury flashed in Sirius's eyes. "What the bloody hell did that come from?" he demanded to know. Noticing the scarring continued onto her back, he gently twisted Adela's body so that he could see the rest of the scarring. He gasped when he finally realized what he was looking at. Some, though not all, of the scars clearly spelled out the words 'blood traitor.' Sirius raged, "Who did that to you? How dare they do this to you? You're their bloody sister! How could they cut you up like that?"
Adela shook her head quickly, his temper making her fearful. She quickly grabbed her towel off the hook on the wall where it hung and covered herself up with it. Adela scooted back towards the tub as Sirius ranted, trying to put distance between herself and the infamous Black temper. "Sirius, it wasn't my brothers," Adela said, stopping his angry threats against the LeStrange men short.
Sirius scowled. "Well, who the bloody hell was it then?"
Adela hesitated, then said in a barely audible voice, "Your brother, Regulus."
Sirius stared at her, dumbstruck. "Regulus… Regulus did that?" he stammered.
Adela nodded. "I'm sorry, Sirius," the words flew from her mouth faster than she could stop them. "I know you were hoping still that even though he was a Death Eater that he didn't have the stomach for this kind of violence, but he does. He's clearly getting a lot better at it, so he's probably taking lessons from Bellatrix the way Rodolphus used to teach me. I'm sorry."
Sirius shook his head, his temper slowly deflating, and pulled the petite girl over to where he could hold her properly. "Don't apologize, you silly little bird," he said soothingly. "It's not your fault; none of this is so fault. I'm sorry I let my temper get the better of me. I'm sorry if my temper frightened you."
Adela curled up in his arms and laid her head on his shoulder. "It's ok," she mumbled sleepily. She yawned.
Sirius helped her stand up and dry off. She threw on his shirt and some underwear, and pulled her hair up in a simple, out-of-the-way topknot. Sirius led her back to the bedroom and tugged her into bed with him. The two started snogging passionately, before Adela was finally too exhausted from lack of sleep and fell into a deep sleep.
