Chapter 9: Different
Harry approached Adrienne as she sat by the bank of the lake, staring at the sparkling water, her gray eyes never wavering. In her hands were a notebook and a pencil.
"Hey," Harry said as he sat down next to her. She jumped and, upon seeing him, hastily closed her notebook. "Are you all right?" he asked. "You seem a little… uneasy. And a little depressed lately."
"I'm fine," she snapped and looked down at her closed book.
"What are you writing?" Harry asked, trying to ease the tension between them.
"Nothing," Adrienne said, pulling the notebook closer to her chest and clinging to it. Harry took the hint and backed off. Neither of the two said anything for a few minutes.
"Well," Adrienne said, "I had better get going." As she jumped up to leave, she lost her grip on her pencil. It flew out of her fingers and landed in the lake.
"No!" Adrienne cried. "That was my last charcoal pencil…" She turned her back to Harry, but he could see her shoulders shaking as she sobbed. He stood up and tapped her awkwardly on her shoulder, causing her to spin around. He noted how on-edge she was.
"This isn't just about the pencil, is it," he said, his statement not a question. She shook her head and cried into his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and patted her back lightly, unsure of what to do.
"I'm just… everything's going wrong lately," she sobbed and sniffed. "I just… can't…"
"Its okay, Addy," Harry said. At this, she looked up.
"No one's ever called me anything but Adrienne or Harper before," she said, and smiled slightly.
"Adrienne," Harry said slowly. "Um… I… well, I'm going to Hogsmeade tomorrow, and… do you want to come?"
"Like a date?"
"Well… it doesn't have to be."
She smiled again. "I'd like that."
"Sirius, do you remember Adrienne?" Sirius said nothing, only looked at Harry with a puzzled expression. "She reminded you of that girl, you swore you'd seen her before…" Harry began to worry about Sirius' memory.
"Oh, right," Sirius said. "I was never that great at putting names to faces. What about her?"
"Well, I asked her out. Kind of."
"When?"
"Today."
"No, I mean for when."
"Oh. Tomorrow."
Sirius nodded. "Well, have fun."
Harry sat quietly, flipping through a book idly as Sirius did the same.
"I miss the way we used to talk," Harry confided in his two best friends at dinner that night. "He doesn't know me anymore. We run out of things to talk about. There are awkward silences. I hate it."
Ron and Hermione nodded sympathetically. "Well, mate, you just gotta keep trying."
"Yeah, Harry, we're here for you," Hermione added.
Harry nodded. "I know," he said. "I know."
The next day, Harry waited by the witch's hump where he had promised to meet Adrienne. He had his Invisibility Cloak with him.
"Hey," a voice said in his ear. He spun around to see Adrienne. She did not wear makeup—she had only once—but her skin still wasn't sallow like it was when he had first met her, and she had a natural glow to her.
"I like the purple," Harry commented on the color of the streaks in her hair.
"Just for you," she said, smiling.
"You seem a lot cheerier today," Harry observed.
"Yeah. I made a deal with the devil, and he agreed to let me have my soul back," she joked.
"I'm glad," Harry said, and they descended into Honeydukes and into Hogsmeade.
"Ooh, I love this place," Adrienne said as they passed a run-down looking building with the words Myrtle's Magic Shoppe printed on a large plank on the front of it. The name made Harry want to vomit. "Oh, I know the name's a little… well, you know," Adrienne said at the look on Harry's face. "It's not really that sissy… the guy who owns it kept his mother's name for the store. But it's really great," she insisted as she dragged him in.
The store was filled with all sorts of weird, odd magical objects. Adrienne browsed around for a moment, then said "Hello, Chuck," quietly as Harry saw her awkwardly shake hands with someone he had never seen. He was tall, had a few pierced areas along his ears and an eyebrow, and wore tattoos.
"Ready to get that belly-button ring?" Chuck asked, grinning.
"Yeah, right," Adrienne said. "My father would go berserk. Oh, um… this is Harry," Adrienne said awkwardly. Harry and Chuck shook hands. "We'll just look around," Adrienne excused herself. Harry followed.
"You want to get something to eat?" Harry asked as they left Chuck's store.
"Sure."
"So, how do you know Chuck?" Harry asked as they waited for their food.
"We met when I was a little girl," Adrienne said. "We could have been really good friends, but after he found out… anyway, he never talked to me again and eventually his family moved away."
"Why?" Harry asked, knowing he was treading on dangerous ground.
"I'd rather not talk about it," Adrienne said immediately. Then after a moment, she said, "Actually, yes I would. My dad has a tendency to scare people off. That's… why I never had any friends."
"I'm… really sorry," Harry said. "I kind of know what that's like. My aunt and uncle locked me up and kept me away from civilization… until I found Hogwarts."
"Yeah, it's kind of like a place of refuge, isn't it? A new place, meeting new people… a safe place."
"Yeah, it is."
"So I finished the potion," Adrienne said, quickly changing the subject. "We just have to let it brew for a while. No more work."
"Sounds good," Harry said.
"Want to go for dessert at Honeydukes?" Harry asked.
"Can't. My father doesn't allow me to have sugar."
"He doesn't have to know. When are you going to stop letting him control you like this, Addy?"
Adrienne thought a moment. "You're right," she decided firmly. "Come on!" Pulling his hand, Adrienne raced back to Chuck's store. "Chuck!" she called out when she entered. "Ears. Two in the right, one in the left."
Chuck stood in shock. "A-are you serious?"
"As serious as I'll ever be," she decided.
When Adrienne was finished, she only looked a little different, and that was only if her hair was pulled back away from her ears. "Well?" she asked Harry. "How does it look?"
He smiled. "Great. You know," he began as they started walking back to the castle, "you're really fun to hang out with."
"Right back at you. Maybe we should do this again sometime. You know, just as friends."
"Of course. I'll see you in class tomorrow," Harry said. He expected Adrienne to make her way back to the Slytherin Common Room, but she just stood there in the Entrance Hall, staring at him. "Well… goodnight, then," he said. Adrienne leaned forward, then jerked back quickly and ran toward the dungeons.
A/N: Cheese city! I have no idea what's wrong with me. Better chapter next time, I promise.
butterfly-angel123- Thanks! A little more feedback and constructive criticism (although I do appreciate the praise, very much!) this time, please?
IamSiriusgrl- Thanks but again a little more feedback?
potts- Thanks for all the questions; they tell me you're looking in depth and really make my day!
lollipop- Thanks for the compliment! It means a lot to know at least someone thinks I am.
code112358132134- Ha ha you're so funny! And awesome… keep it coming!
roxygurl25- Thanks for the heads-up… I'll try to have them unfold at different times… not sure which one I'll slow down though.
