A/N: A lot of reviews this past chapter! Thank you all.
But to "Mystery" and that "Guess Who". Those were such negative reviews. I can't say that I am sorry, because I honestly am proud of the work that I have done. I would have thought it a little premature and presumptuous to say something like that about a story that's not even completed yet, but I guess you just didn't like. Well, you're entitled to your own opinion and I can't please everyone.
And yes I know this story is a little silly and unoriginal, with the daughter of Voldemort and her being emo, but if you had bothered to read the previous story and that had happened to you…well, um, no shit, you wouldn't remember your past and of course you would be slightly emo…you know, maybe just a little bit. So, I'm sorry you don't like my characterization; I tried to make them real. Obviously you just can't deal with stories that aren't created from sheer genius like "Wuthering Heights", but if you were interested in that type of stuff, maybe isn't the place for you. There are tons of inexperienced writers who are can still write well, but are just looking for an outlet in a friendly environment to create fun and entertaining stories. I'm disappointed that is not the site that I thought it was if people like you just send in cruel reviews without any sort of helpful criticism. Obviously Harry Potter will only and always be Harry Potter with no other substitutes, but honestly, is it such a crime for other people to voice their ideas, as juvenile and silly as they might be? It might be a novelty to some people, but life doesn't always have to be serious, perfect, and original.
To all other reviewers; if you don't like the story and can only find negative and hurtful things to say, just don't read the story, because those types of reviews really serve no purpose other than the make the author embarrassed and disappointed.
But to those who have sent in really sweet things – you guys are dolls and I re-read your comments to try and drown out those negative ones. Thanks for being so supportive.
Sorry. I had to get that out. Anyways, on to the story… and btw, it's a really, really long chapter...
Chapter 9 – Surrender
Adara was awoken by the sound of arguing voices.
"Do you think we should wake her?" Came Jasmine's voice.
"I don't know…." Came Evelyn's.
"She hasn't been eating a lot," Jasmine said.
"She's never eaten a lot," Evelyn remarked.
"Well….I don't know. She normally eats dinner," Jasmine said.
"Then wake her up! I don't really care," Evelyn said. Adara still kept her eyes closed and listened as a pair of footsteps left the room. She felt a presence watching her and it wasn't long before she was being tapped gently.
"Adara?" Jasmine asked softly.
Adara managed a groan.
"We're going down to dinner in a few moments, if you wanted to come," Jasmine said. Adara forced her eyes to open, blinking against the harsh light of candles.
"I guess I should be getting up…" Adara muttered as she attempted to stifle a yawn. Jasmine sat down on her bed.
"You haven't been eating a lot lately, I mean, like more so than usual. You're ok, right?" Jasmine asked quietly. Adara blinked. It was unusual for Jasmine to say things like that.
"Yeah," Adara said. "I'm fine. I mean, I wasn't, but I am now."
Jasmine smiled softly.
"Good," She said, getting off her bed. "Oh, and you might want to retouch your makeup. You're eye-shadow is smudged pretty badly.
Adara blushed.
"Thanks," She mumbled. Jasmine smiled and walked towards the door, before glancing back.
"I'll save you a seat next to me."
"Oh, you don't have to," Adara forced, not wanting to inconvenience her.
"Please," Jasmine said. "I don't think I can stand another rant from Evelyn about how her hair hasn't been looking blonde enough lately."
Adara smiled.
"Ok, well I'll be down in like five minutes," She said. Jasmine nodded and left, leaving the door ajar.
Adara stumbled out of bed and wandered over to the bathroom to see how horrible her face actually looked.
Not too bad, She thought as she saw her grey shadow had been rubbed down to her cheekbones. Yawning again, she decided she might as well just wash her face and reapply everything.
So, after her face has been cleansed of all its previous makeup, she applied a thin coat of lotion before she started on her makeup.
First she put a little blush on her cheeks, trying to give herself some color. She didn't need foundation or cover-up.
Then she applied her eye-shadow. Dark grey first, and then charcoal overlapping that.
Once she was done with her eye-shadow, she put on her mascara, and finished with her eyeliner.
She put her makeup away and carefully regarded herself in her mirror, sighing.
Not terrible… She thought, as she played with a piece of her straight black hair.
She bit her lip and frowned as she looked back into the mirror.
She hated her hair. It was always just so straight and boring. And long. And black. She'd never been able to do anything with it either. Not that she had really given it a hard try, but it just didn't seem like anything would stay.
She rolled her eyes and dropped the piece of hair she had been playing with.
It doesn't matter anyways.
She grabbed her makeup bag and left the bathroom, tired of looking at her reflection. There were just too many things that she was unsatisfied with.
Dropping by her room first, so she could drop off her makeup, she continued out of the room and made her way towards the Great Hall where the last people were arriving, just on time for dinner.
Adara followed the throng of people inside and made her way quietly over to the Slytherin table. Jasmine, true to her word and had saved her a seat, which she gratefully took.
Jasmine smiled at her.
"I'm glad to see you didn't abandon me," Jasmine said.
"Sorry, I took longer than expected," She said.
"Its fine," Jasmine said, just as the food appeared. Adara's stomach rumbled at the smell of roast chicken and baked rolls. Jasmine couldn't help smirking as she glanced over towards her.
"Skipping lunch is catching up with you, huh?" She asked. Adara ignored her as she helped herself to a healthy portion of the meat and then some rolls and vegetables.
"Adara!" Evelyn cried from across the table. "It's good to see you eating again. You know, everyone had thought you had gone completely ana or something."
Adara felt herself blush crimson as at least five other people turned to look at her. Her mouth dropped open as her fork stayed frozen in the air from its path towards her mouth.
It had been such a long time away from all the catty remarks; she had almost forgotten how to deal with them.
"Oh shut up Evelyn," Jasmine said, before Adara could think of something. "You're just jealous that she's skinnier than you. And that it isn't hard for her to be that skinny. I know it takes a lot of effort for you to starve yourself."
This time Evelyn blushed, and her mouth dropped as the people turned to look at her.
"Excuse me?!" She cried, standing up. Jasmine just looked at her.
"You heard what I said," Jasmine said.
"I can not believe you!" She cried, shaking her head. "This is intolerable." And without another word, she left the Great Hall.
"Thanks," Adara mumbled, as the other people turned back to their original conversations.
"No problem," Jasmine said. "I've been itching to say something to that little slut."
Adara snorted in agreement as she helped herself to another roll.
"I mean, I am sorry but I just can't stand her anymore," Jasmine said. "She's always prancing about, pretending her pedigree is better than everyone else's and ever since you've stopped going to lunch she's been throwing herself at Avery."
"She can have him," Adara said.
"Well yes, but he's obviously still into you, which just gives Evelyn another reason to hate you."
"I didn't realize she felt so strongly against me," Adara said, pouring herself some water.
"I think she's just jealous," Jasmine said, as she helped herself to more potatoes.
Adara frowned.
"Why would she be jealous of me?" Adara asked. Jasmine shrugged.
"Because you're prettier than her, more guys want you, and yet you don't do anything out of the ordinary to show that you are interested in them," Jasmine said.
"But, that not –"Adara started to argue. Jasmine turned to her.
"I know you probably don't agree with it, but it's true. And just don't let it bother you, you know? She's just a spoiled brat," Jasmine said. Adara said nothing, but nodded.
"Anyways," Jasmine started, as the deserts appeared. Adara's eyes widened when she saw a pumpkin pie sitting in the center amongst other treats.
Immediately she helped herself to a big slice.
"I think Avery has started to miss you," Jasmine said. Adara rolled her eyes as she took her first bite.
"He can go to hell for all I care," She said, turning to Jasmine. Jasmine smirked, and glanced over Adara's head.
"That's not how she really feels" Avery said, taking a seat next to Adara. Adara jumped.
"Actually, it is," She said.
"She's just trying to suppress her true feelings," Avery said to Jasmine. Jasmine snorted.
"Now come on Adara," Avery said. "I really have missed you."
"I haven't missed you," She said. He smirked.
"I'm sure," He said, pouring himself a glass of pumpkin juice.
Presently the Headmaster Dumbledore rose and prepared to make a speech.
"Good evening students," He said. "As you all know, Christmas is 4 weeks away."
There was a moment of loud cheering before his hands silence the crowd.
"Yes, it is exciting," Dumbledore said. "We have decided to throw a dance, to add to the celebration –"
There were many high-pitched squeals and clapping. Dumbledore nodded.
"Yes, yes. It will be a Christmas dance, held a week before Christmas so that the students leaving will still be able to partake. That is all for tonight. And with that, I leave you all. Have a wonderful night and a great weekend."
Jasmine smiled.
"I think it'll be fun," She said to Adara, who shrugged before she found Avery's arm around her.
"Come on," Avery said. "I know you'll go with me." Adara frowned and pushed his arm off of her.
"Apparently you like getting your hopes up," She said, scooting closer to Jasmine. Avery laughed. Although; it was more of a snigger than a laugh.
"We'll see," He said before he got up and left the table.
"Have fun with him," Jasmine said dryly. Adara just rolled her eyes as students began exiting the dining hall.
And then she remembered she had detention.
"So, did you want to go get a smoke with me?" Jasmine asked.
"Shit, I forgot! I can't," Adara said.
"Why not?" Jasmine asked.
"I have detention," She said.
"What'd you do?" Jasmine asked.
"Nothing!" Adara said shaking her head.
"Well, I guess I'll see you later then," Jasmine said, quickly standing up. "I'm sorry but I really need a cigarette."
"It's ok," Adara mumbled, standing up as well. Jasmine had already disappeared by the time she had started making her way towards the doors.
She waited for the sea of students to go through first, before she followed them out of the Great Hall.
Her heart started beating.
Would they wait for her like he said?
She walked out and scanned the hallway in front of her.
Her heart dropped as she didn't see them.
"Adara!" She suddenly heard. She glanced over to where her name had been called and saw Sirius and James waiting by the entrance to the dungeons.
She couldn't help smiling as she made her way over to them.
"Sorry," He said. "We thought you might have forgotten."
"But Sirius would have braced the mean, snotty Slytherins and gotten you even if you had. He had been looking forward to this way too much," James said, causing Adara to blush and look awkwardly at the ground as Sirius gave him a death-glare.
An awkward silence passed between them until Sirius cleared his throat.
"Look, here come Remus and Peter," He said.
"Great, now we can get going," James said, walking towards the other two boys. Sirius looked at Adara and she smiled shyly at him before following the James.
"Sirius," Remus said, as they all caught up to each other.
"Yes?" Sirius asked.
"In case we get split up….you have it, right?" Remus asked.
"Have what?" Adara couldn't help asking. All the boys smiled.
"Yeah, I do," Sirius said.
"Have what?" Adara asked again.
"Sirius will show you later," James said.
"Guys," Peter said in a whinny voice. "We should go. We'll be late otherwise."
The boys nodded in agreement and left, heading up the stairs towards Professor McGonagall's room.
Once they reached her office, they knocked on the door hesitantly.
"Come in," Was the reply.
So they entered: James and Remus, followed by Peter and then Sirius, and lastly Adara.
"I shouldn't be surprised that you are late," Professor McGonagall said. "You always are."
"And we are most sorry for our grievous manners," James said bowing extravagantly.
"Mr. Potter I do not appreciate your mockery, which you seem to dole out much too freely," McGonagall said sharply.
"My apologies Professor," Remus said, stepping in for his friend.
"He just doesn't know what's respectful," Sirius said, causing a smirk from Remus and a glare from James.
"Boys just shut up!" McGonagall finally cried exasperated. "All the time!"
She turned to Adara.
"I hope they give you at least more respect than they do me," She said. Adara blushed and forced herself to nod.
"Oh Professor you know we only joke with you because we respect you so much," James said. Professor McGonagall just shook her head.
"What am I going to do with you four?" She said.
"Five, actually," Remus corrected her. She sighed, ignoring that last comment.
"What will it be tonight?" She asked them.
"We could go help the house elves in the kitchen," James suggested.
"Yes, and I'm sure you will end up drinking tea and eating sweets instead of working," McGonagall said. "What about the trophy hall?"
"Or we could go to help Professor Flora in the greenhouses," Remus suggested.
Professor McGonagall shook her head.
"Or, how about –" Sirius started.
"I think," McGonagall interposed, cutting Sirius off, "That you five will be separated into two groups and each group with have to help Professor Filch clean the trophy room or the portrait room."
"What's there to do in either room?" James asked, not being able to stop himself.
McGonagall turned sharply, giving him a reprimanding look causing him to look down and mumble an apology.
"There is much dusting and polishing to be," McGonagall continued. "And it should definitely make your arms tired. Now, because I know that you are such a close group of friends and it wouldn't make any difference if I chose for you, you can divide yourselves into two groups."
Before a minute had passed, the other three boys had stepped away from Adara, leaving her alone with Sirius on the other side of the room. Sirius frowned at them and Adara blushed. Remus, James and Peter just smirked back.
"So, now that is done," McGonagall said, standing "I will call on Mr. Filch while you wait here."
She left the room quickly, leaving the boys and Adara alone for about a minute.
"Sirius," Remus said. "Remember to turn it on." Sirius nodded.
"Don't worry," He said as McGonagall reentered the room with Mr. Filch in tow.
"Boys, you will be going with Mr. Filch. I will escort the other two," She said.
There was an audible sigh and the boys took off with Filch, and as they left the room, Sirius and Adara quietly followed Professor McGonagall out of the room.
She led them a little ways down the hall before they turned a few corners and went down a few stairs.
It was about a ten minute walk before they found themselves in the "portrait" room.
Adara gazed in wonder as they entered the large room, with thousands of portraits and pictures hanging on the stone walls.
"Who are they?" Sirius asked.
"Mostly students," McGonagall said. "We have a separate room for teachers. Sirius nodded.
"I will leave you two now. I hope I can trust you two will at least stay here?" The Professor asked.
"Yes, we will," Sirius answered for them. Adara managed a nod, but felt herself oddly intrigued by the paintings. She was dying to get a closer look at all of them.
"I expect at least the first two walls to be completely dusted off," She said as she left the room.
She shut the door behind her, leaving Sirius and Adara alone in the candle-lit room.
The moment she left, Sirius dug into his pocket and pulled out a small mirror.
"Prongs, Padfoot, Moony, and Wormtail," Sirius said to the mirror. Adara frowned, coming over to take a closer look. Suddenly, the mirror's face shimmered and rippled as if a wave.
"What the?" Adara asked, glancing quickly to Sirius. He just nodded towards the mirror.
Suddenly, in place of the their reflection, there was the picture of….the trophy hall?
"Sirius?" Adara asked, when all of a sudden Remus' face was in the mirror.
"Hola," He said, smiling at them.
"Can he see us?" Adara asked. Sirius nodded, smiling.
"How goes things over there?" Sirius asked Remus.
"Oh you know…the same boring things," Remus said. "We have to polish a lot of trophies."
"Yeah, we have to do the portraits," Sirius said.
"But that's at least interesting," Remus said.
"Hey!" Came James' voice. "I want the mirror.
Then James' face was in front of them.
"We're going to turn off the mirror now, so you two can have some fun," He said, winking at them.
Adara felt her cheeks burn scarlet.
"James!" Sirius cried as the mirror was rippling again, quickly turning back into a normal mirror.
"I'm sorry," He said, turning towards her.
"Its fine," She said, shaking it off.
"They don't realize when to be quiet," He said.
"It's fine, don't worry about it," She said, picking up one of the rags that had been left for them by the door.
"Here," She said, tossing Sirius the other one.
"Thanks," He said smiling.
"Now, if you want to start on that wall," She said. "I'll get started on this wall."
"Sure," He said, as they both moved to their respective walls. She ambled over to the wall she had agreed to work on and regarded her work.
She took a moment and put the rag on the floor so that she could tie up her hair. She didn't like to put her hair up, but she definitely wasn't going to be working with it down. Once she had created a somewhat decent half-bun-half-pony-tail, she picked up her rag and glanced over at Sirius.
He turned and met her gaze, offering her a smile. She smiled back and returned her gaze to the paintings.
Dust scattered into the air as she rubbed her rag gently over the surface of the first picture. The gold of the frame became slowly visible, as did the picture of the people in it. It turned out it was a class picture, with a golden, inscribed plaque underneath it.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Graduating Class of 1921
From the Left: Cassandra Gloris; Steven White; Harriet Bloomsdale…..
The list of names went on, and as Adara wiped the portrait, the students began smiling and moving and chatting to each other. Adara couldn't help but smile as they waved at her.
She offered a small "wave" back to them before she continued on, cleaning up the pictures above. After the class picture, there were generally a couple pictures of a few students of that class, before she reached another class picture. Before long, she had gone through 10 years of pictures, and sighing, she stepped back to take a break.
Feeling a presence near her, she turned to look to see if Sirius had snuck up on her.
She screamed as she turned to see a cloud of dust in the shape of a person hovering a mere two inches away from her.
Her scream however, caused the dust-apparition to fall apart and spray everywhere, including on her.
When she had recovered and was busy trying to wipe the dust off of her, she looked up to see Sirius laughing at her.
"That wasn't very funny," She said, although she actually was surprised she wasn't that upset.
"Yes, it really was," He said, holding his sides. Offended, she placed her hands on her hips.
"It was not! You scared me," She cried.
"Yeah, and you screamed!" He said.
"Merlin! I can't believe how young you are acting," She said, shaking her head.
"Hey, at least I know how to have fun," He said, smirking at her. She opened her mouth, insulted.
"I know how to have fun," She cried.
"I find that hard to believe," He said.
"We'll see…" She said as she slipped her wand out of her pocket. Within a second, a cloud of dust, twice as thick as the one Sirius had conjured upon her, was circling around him, obscuring his vision.
She smiled proudly as he finally waved his hands, causing the dust particles to separate and float away.
Shaking his dark hair out of his face, he flashed her a mischievous smile.
"So, you do want to play," He said, stalking towards her. She dropped her mouth, and started backing up.
"I'm coming Adara," He said, his wand flashing in the candle light. And then, without even knowing how it had started, Adara had turned around and was running around the room, screaming slightly and giggling. If she had time to stop and think about it, she would wonder where those sounds had come from, because they were not hers, but as it turned out, she didn't.
A spell flashed by her and she ducked out of the way, taking shelter on the other side of the table. Sirius reached her, and stopped across from her. She started to move around one side, but he moved as well, blocking off her escape.
She bit her lip, trying not to smile as she planned which way to go. But Sirius moved first, and she was forced to run away from him.
Shit! She couldn't help thinking as he gained up on her.
She reached the door, which was shut and most likely to hard to open quickly, but as she stopped, Sirius took advantage of his moment and ran into her, both of them falling to the ground, Sirius on top of Adara.
She couldn't help screaming again, before both of them were overtaken with laughter.
He looked down at her, as they caught their breath. Her cloudy blue eyes seemed full of laughter and they sparkled as they fluttered upwards to meet his. They both stood, gazing at each other for a moment. It was then that Sirius realized their positions, realized how close she was to him. He could feel her body and he couldn't help enjoying the feeling of her beneath him. Before he could help himself, he was leaning down to her and she couldn't help leaning in as well. She closed her eyes as she felt his lips upon hers. Instinctively, her mouth opened, and he slipped his tongue inside.
She wasn't thinking: she couldn't. All of her body was on fire. Her senses couldn't even function. All she could do was kiss back, her mind reeling.
And then, she started hearing "oooohs" and "awwws" coming from behind them. She couldn't help frowning, but she felt Sirius do the same. They pulled back for a moment and looked around to see the people in the portraits making the noises and clapping.
One cheeky person yelled out "Good job mate! She's a cutie."
Sirius' mouth dropped and Adara blushed. He turned back to her, his grey eyes dark, and he grinned. She smiled back, and couldn't help shaking her head. He pushed off of her and rose before offering her a hand up.
"Thanks," She murmured as she dusted off her hands.
"No problem," He said, sighing as he perused the room.
"Well…" Adara finally said. "I guess we should go back to work."
"Yeah, I suppose so," He said.
She picked up her rag from the ground and made her way over to the portraits where she had left off.
It wasn't long before she had completed another 10 years and was finishing up on her wall.
Finally, she started cleaning the last group of pictures on her wall.
She started on the plaque first.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Graduating Class of 1945
From the Left: Renee Andres; Walburga Black; Alexander Bresgur; Rebecca Drexel; Eve Finderson; Gregory Earch; Hattie Goldman; Serena Haesley; Kevin Iruski; Lauren Jetters; Brittany Lortman; Abraxas Malfoy; Elizabeth Nightingale; Heather Prise; Thomas Riddle; Henry Ross: Jennifer Wiht.
Adara froze as she skimmed the names. A shiver climbed up her back as she re-read the names.
She knew Serena Haesley was her mother. And she held the same last name as the Thomas Riddle person.
Her hand trembled as she gently wiped down the picture. Slowly, the faces became visible as the dust was cleared away, and she counted them. She would be the eighth person in.
Adara's breath caught.
She was beautiful. She had brown hair which tumbled over her shoulder.
Adara stared at her. Chocolate eyes danced laughingly in the portrait and the woman smiled at Adara.
Adara quickly cleaned up the rest of the portrait and tried to find the man with her last name. He was third to the last.
She shivered again.
He was tall and pale, with black hair just like hers. He wasn't smiling, but instead he seemed to smirk once he caught her eye.
She started trembling and Sirius noticed, coming over to her.
"Are you ok?" He asked, rubbing her back softly.
"I…I think my parents are in this picture," She whispered. He stopped and looked up at it.
"Where?" He asked her.
"There," She said, pointing at the woman. "And there." She said, pointing at the man.
"Your mother's beautiful," He said softly.
"She was, wasn't she?" She mumbled softly.
"You look a lot like her," Sirius said. Adara didn't say anything.
"You're dad doesn't look too bad either," He said, glancing towards the man on the right.
"I guess he's handsome, in a dark sort of way," She managed. Sirius didn't say anything, but couldn't help looking over to Adara, noting the similarities.
"I'm sorry," She finally said. "It's just strange…"
"I understand," He said, putting his arm around her waist. She leaned in against him, resting her head on his shoulder and her eyes on the portrait.
"Look!" He said suddenly, pointing at the picture. "That's my mom there, the second one in."
"Really?" Adara asked, looking at the woman with pale skin and black hair. She wasn't frowning, but she wasn't smiling either. She looked instead as if she was trying hard not to raise her nose in distaste.
"She doesn't look very nice," Adara said slowly. Sirius snorted.
"She's not," He said.
"I'm sorry!" Adara cried. "I didn't mean to offend you or anything."
"No, you didn't," He said. "It's true. I don't really get on well with my family."
Adara nodded slowly, flicking her eyes back to her mother. She couldn't help staring at it.
There was a loud creaking sound as the door opened. Adara didn't move, and so Sirius remained where he was, with his arm around her.
"Mr. Black! What are you two doing?" Professor McGonagall cried as she came over to them.
"I'm sorry Professor," Adara said, forcing her eyes away. As McGonagall reached them, her eyes flew to the portrait where the lingered for just a moment. Then, as she realized who they were looking at, her countenance softened and she smiled sadly.
"It's late," She started. "And I just came to release you two from your detention."
"Thank you," Sirius said for Adara, who was looking at the ground. "We'll be right out."
Professor McGonagall nodded and left them, leaving the door open behind her.
Sirius stood with her a moment longer as she took one last look at the painting.
"We can come back," He said, his mouth a few centimeters from her ear. Adara forced herself to nod.
"Come on," He said. "I'll take you back." She nodded and let him lead her out of the room and into the dark, moonlit hallway.
She wasn't paying attention to where they were going; she simply allowed Sirius to lead her back. Her mind couldn't think. All she could do was think about the picture.
Finally she was in front of the door to the Slytherin common room.
"We're here," He said. She nodded and said the password mechanically, stopping to turn and look at Sirius.
"Are you sure you're ok?" He asked. She nodded.
"Yeah…" She said slowly. "I just….It was just weird….I just…"
Sirius leaned down and kissed her softly on the edge of her cheek.
"I'll meet you here before breakfast," He said. She nodded slowly.
"Good night Adara," He said.
"Good night Sirius," She said softly, before she turned and said the password before she slipped inside and wandered up to her room.