Author's Note: Greetings lovely readers and writers! Once again, I am sorry for the delay in updates! I managed to revive my computer, but it is truly on its last leg, so hopefully I will have a new one soon. Also, I have made the decision (once this installment of the Infamous Adrianna Fawley series is finished) to no longer post until I have at least 75% of whatever story I'm working on completed. I think it will take some stress off of myself and also cut down on long periods between postings. But for now, enjoy!
Once again, I do not own Harry Potter (sadly), nor do I own any of the songs featured in the story. I do, however, own my own characters and ask that they not be used without permission :) Thanks!
Best,
Dragonwing
Ch. 10 – Adrianna Steps In
The two weeks leading up to the final Hogwarts Quidditch match were tense, to say the least. Between the Slytherin and Gryffindor houses the amount of animosity quickly built up. Hexes were thrown across the corridors between classes, homework assignments and textbooks were cunningly vandalized, and talk at the Great Hall tables rarely strayed from the upcoming match for the cup. Members of both Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were also quickly taking sides and making predictions about who would win, although at this point Gryffindor seemed to have the higher opinion.
As the day of the match arrived, there was almost an audible sigh from the castle itself that this pressure between the houses would finally be released. Adrianna had been thinking long and hard about what musical support the Lions would need that day, and she felt that she'd come up with something particularly clever. Lily, Remus, Adrianna, and Peter arrived in the stands early to get good seats and set up her record player for its final performance of the year. She'd been very secretive about what songs she'd chosen for the day, and her friends were anxious to see what the half-witch had decided on.
Before too long the stands were a veritable sea of red-clad supporters on one side, and green on the other. Cheers roared through the stadium as Madam Hooch and the two teams made their way out onto the dewy grass. The hawk-eyed woman raised both hands for silence before going over the pre-game rules with the captains and urged them to shake hands. James and Crawlson exchanged the quickest handshake in the history of Quidditch before mounting their brooms and getting into position. With a loud shriek of the whistle, all four balls were released and the match began!
"Alright!" Frank Longbottom's voice boomed over the pitch. "The final match of the year has begun! I've got a feeling we're in for some excellent Quidditch today, folks!"
Both teams were on top of their games as they sped through the air, the quaffle and bludgers were small blurs compared to the larger streaks of movement the players created. Half an hour into the match, Sirius hit an excellent shot, knocking the red ball out of Crawlson's hands so that Johnson could snatch it up and make the first score of the game.
"Gryffindor scores!" Frank bellowed. "Nice teamwork there! Show those Slytherins!" A distinct thwack was heard through the sonorous charm. "Sorry, Professor McGonagall! I meant to say, both teams are doing a smashing job."
Lily and Adrianna giggled at their year mate's commentary before putting on the first record of the day. As the first swells of Aerosmith's 'Sweet Emotion' filled the stands, the Gryffindors and their supporters cheered even louder at the first song Adrianna had ever played to support them. She grinned when Sirius saluted her with his Beater club before knocking a bludger right into the back of one of the Slytherin Chaser's brooms.
It was the closest Quidditch match the school had seen all year, and also one of the longest. Both teams were out for blood, the Quittitch Cup and bragging rights for the next year were on the line. James glimpsed the golden Snitch twice, but each time it eluded both him and the Slytherin Seeker. Adrianna and Remus had played over half of the records they'd brought with them before a time-out was finally called by Madam Hooch so both teams could regroup for a moment. The score was tied 80 to 80.
"I think it's time for our secret weapon." Adrianna whispered to Remus as she dug into the bag.
"Which is?" The werewolf's cheeks were pink from excitement and the exertion of keeping the record player going on cue.
"This." She beamed and held up a record with nothing but the word 'Queen' written across the front. Remus was utterly confused, but trusted that Adrianna knew what she was doing. They put the record in place and waited with baited breath for the match to resume. There were grumbles and cat-calls coming from the Slytherin side of the stands, and Professor McGonagall had to reprimand Frank more than once for retaliating from the commentator stand. Finally, Madam Hooch allowed the teams back onto the pitch, and the entire crowd grew silent as they watched. The whistle shrilled again and both teams were back into the air again.
"Shall we play it now?" Lily asked without taking her eyes off of the red and green blurs.
"Wait for it…" Adrianna murmured. She was looking for the perfect moment to begin the song. It had to be just the right timing to really make an impact.
"Adrianna?" Peter fidgeted as the quaffle was forcefully thrown back and forth between players.
"Just wait." She insisted. The crowd around them was growing tense as no more scores were made on either side. Then, the moment Adrianna was waiting for came. Johnson lobbed the red ball to another Gryffindor Chaser, who practically corkscrewed on her broom as she threw it through one of the Slytherin goals.
"Points for Gryffindor!" Frank yelled as the red-clad fans cheered.
The half-succubus laughed aloud and nodded for Remus to start the record. A persistent, thumping beat began to boom its way out of the speaker, and momentarily caused most of the spectators to pause. Quickly, the Muggleborns started to take up the beat, two stomps followed by a clap, and were soon joined by the rest of the Gryffindor supporters. The noise swelled and overwhelmed all other sounds in the arena as the first words of the song came out of the speaker:
"Buddy, you're a boy, make a big noise
Playin' in the street,
Gonna be a big man some day.
You got mud on your face,
You big disgrace,
Kickin' your can all over the place.
Singing: We will, we will rock you!
We will, we will rock you!"
The chorus of the song was swiftly taken up by the Gryffindors, and Adrianna had charmed the record to double back and repeat it over and over. "We will, we will rock you! We will, we will rock you!"
Frank Longbottom took up the chant and not even Minerva could stop him at that point. As the music swelled, the beat continued in the stands causing the wooden structure to shudder under the force. All of the Slytherins stared dumbly as Gryffindor quickly scored twice more, with the opposite side of the stands crying out in support the whole time.
At long last, James caught sight of the Snitch again, and took off as fast as his broom could take him. The Slytherin Seeker saw him dive and started after the golden ball as well, but he was no match for James' agility in the air. As the last crescendo of "We Will Rock You" faded into the air, his fingers curled around the fluttering Snitch and he held it up in triumph. The noise from the Gryffindors and their supporters was deafening.
"GRYFFINDOR WINS! GRYFFINDOR WINS!" Frank was jumping up and down in his post, and Professor McGonagall didn't even care. "Gryffindor wins the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup! Excellent play, all you Lions! Couldn't have been better! And a special thank you to the ever lovely Adrianna Fawley for keeping our spirits up!"
Adrianna blushed as she was hugged by those close to her, and kept a tight grip on Lily's arm as the Gryffindor players spiraled through the air, celebrating their long awaited victory over Slytherin.
What she didn't seen, however, were the dark looks being shot her way by Crawlson and Evan Rosier. Severus Snape saw them, though, and he didn't like the implication one bit.
OOOOOOOOOO
Celebrations for the Quidditch Cup victory lasted for well over a week, but for the fifth years the glory was soon short lived as the O.W.L.s loomed ever closer. Finally the week of the dreaded exams had arrived, and the students prayed that they would be over as quickly as they had arrived.
Adrianna was extremely grateful to Dumbledore for giving her a few extra days of study time for the O.W.L.s, since she'd joined Hogwarts late into the first term of the year. She sighed and stretched to give her eyes a chance to focus on something other than her Transfiguration notes. Looking out of the window in the unused second floor classroom that she'd commandeered, she saw that the Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. must have just finished. Fifth year students were streaming out of the front entrance to go enjoy the beautiful day outside by the lake. Adrianna spotted Remus and the other boys making their way to the large tree by the water, talking and laughing. James was still playing with that damned snitch he'd stolen from the Quidditch locker rooms.
'No wonder Lily keeps turning him down,' The grey-eyed girl mused to herself. 'If he keeps pulling cocky stunts like that she'll never go out with him.' Adrianna knew there was some kind of connection between her redheaded friend and the bespectacled Quidditch player, she could feel it somehow with her succubus side. But that didn't mean Lily would have to accept James under any circumstances, it would be up to him to convince her that he wasn't a total moron.
Adrianna forced herself to focus on her notes for a little while longer, telling herself she could go join her friends after she'd finished preparing for the start of her own O.W.L.s the next day. It wasn't long, however, before she suddenly had a very bad feeling nudge at the edge of her mind. She tried to push it away and concentrate on the principles behind turning animals into inanimate objects, but the sense that something wasn't quite right just wouldn't leave her. Adrianna looked back out the window just in time to see Lily yelling at James, Sirius, and Peter. Remus was still sitting under the tree, trying to block out whatever his friends were doing. She craned her head further to see what James had his wand pointed at and gasped aloud. "Severus!" Adrianna shot to her feet and watched apprehensively as James finally let the Slytherin down. She couldn't hear what was going on, but Lily was obviously standing up for her childhood friend. It was then, however, that she saw Severus mouth the one word that Lily refused to tolerate: "Mudblood."
"Oh, no…" Adrianna saw the look on Lily's face as she turned her back on both Severus and the Marauders and stalked away. James looked furious, he turned back to Severus and before she knew it he'd hauled the boy upside down into the air again!
"Shit!" Adrianna made a split-second decision and sped out of the classroom. Anyone who might have been able to see her leave would have thought she'd Disapparated in a puff of silver smoke, but really she was calling on a Succubus trait that she really hadn't wanted anyone to know about. Only Remus knew of her ability to move faster than the average person could see, and she'd only told the werewolf to assure him that he wouldn't be able to hurt her if she ever assisted him during the full moon. In less than a minute she'd made her way through the corridor, down the stairs, and out the front entrance of the school with no one the wiser.
"You'll pay for calling Evans that!" James snarled at the dangling Severus. Sirius nodded next to him, grimly amused, while Peter had a sickeningly excited look on his pudgy face. In the next instant, Adrianna appeared in a swirl of silver smoke between the Marauders and their captive. Peter yelped and stumbled backwards onto his arse, while James and Sirius gawked openly at the girl. Beneath the large tree, Remus winced at Adrianna's appearance, the werewolf had a feeling he knew what was coming.
If he had been able to, Severus would have covered his face in shame. The worst moment of his life was now complete with Adrianna Fawley showing up. Not only had he just called Lily the cruelest thing he could have possibly thought of, but now his only other friend at Hogwarts was here to witness his humiliation. He wasn't quite prepared for what happened next though.
"James! What in the hell are you doing?" Adrianna's voice cut across the distance between her and the Gryffindor boys.
Peter finally managed to get up off of the ground. "You…you can't Apparate on Hogwarts grounds!" The smaller boy accused, his watery eyes narrowed.
"Well, then it's not Apparation is it, you twit!" The half-succubus spat. Peter shifted behind James and Sirius, who had finally recovered themselves.
"You weren't here! You didn't hear what he called Evans!" James growled, his wand still leveled at the suspended Slytherin.
"Yeah, Adrianna." Sirius said a little more gently. "Snivellus called her a Mudblood!"
Adrianna sighed and shook her head. "That's not his name and you know it." Sirius blinked at her. "I saw that part from the classroom I was studying in, and I agree he shouldn't have done it, but it's not your place to punish him for it James." Grey eyes narrowed at the boys. "Besides, you'd hauled him up into the air before he said anything to Lily! What was that about?"
Severus wasn't really sure, because by now most of his blood had rushed into his head making him feel dizzy, but he could swear that Adrianna was standing up for him…again.
"I…uh…we…" James stuttered, caught off guard by being called out on his actions twice in less than ten minutes.
Adrianna stepped closer to James and spoke softly so that only he could hear her. "Put him down, James. This won't solve anything, and it won't make Lily like you any more if you take your anger out on Severus." Her grey eyes bore into his brown ones while he absorbed what she'd said. "Listen, I've seen that there could be something between you two, but it will never happen unless you can convince her that you're not a completely narcissistic moron."
James gave her a startled look, but her words seemed to finally sink in. "Fine." He growled and flicked his wand, releasing Severus from the Levicorpus spell. He hit the ground none too gently for the second time that afternoon. Adrianna raised a finely arched brow at James before turning and walking towards the Slytherin.
"Adrianna?" Sirius started after her, but James stopped him.
"Just wait a minute, mate." His friend said quietly.
Adrianna stopped to pick up Severus' bag on her way over to him. When she reached him he was just getting to his feet, straightening his school robes so that he could move unhindered.
"Here, Severus." She said gently, watching him flinch when he realized how close she was to him. He took his bag without looking at her, a hippogriff sized lump caught in his throat.
"Severus, look at me please." Her voice was still gentle but he would have been a fool not to miss the command behind her request.
Severus looked straight into her grey eyes, but was unable to read how she was feeling. "What?" The ashamed boy snapped. He didn't want her pity any more than he'd wanted Lily's at this point, but he refused to let himself get carried away and insult her too. She was probably all he'd have left after this…
Adrianna sighed and the look she gave him was a little sad. "I don't understand what's going on between you and those guys, Severus, and I probably never will. But that's no excuse for saying what you did to Lily, not if you care about her as much as I think you do." Her soft words cut through him like a knife, he would have preferred it if the half-succubus had yelled at him. She continued, "So please don't call her that word anymore. It makes me wonder…" Adrianna angled her head slightly closer to his and Severus felt as if his heart was going to beat itself right out of his chest. "If you really dislike people so much for not being full-blooded witches and wizards…what must you think of me not even being fully human?" Her grey eyes held his black ones for a second longer before she shook her head and walked away.
Adrianna breezed right past the still gawking Marauders, paused briefly to give Remus a searching look, and was seemingly gone again in a wisp of smoke. Her lithe form reappeared on the far side of the field, where Lily was still walking off her anger. She silently linked an arm through her friend's and the two girls disappeared around the side of the castle.
"She…she did it again!" Peter squeaked. "If it's not Apparating then what is she doing?"
Remus sighed and finally put his shield of a book down. "She's moving faster than we can see." He said softly.
"How do you know that?" Sirius asked, narrowing his eyes apprehensively at the werewolf.
"She told me." Remus looked defiantly up at his handsome friend.
"Just drop it you lot, alright?" James ran a hand through his already messy hair. "Let's just get out of here." The four boys began trudging back up towards the castle. Sirius looked back once to see if Severus was still where James had dropped him, but the Slytherin was long gone.