Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Kuroko no Basket!

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...

Teppei dragged his feet toward his house, the conversation or more like lecture from Mibuchi was still ringing in his head. When was the last time he had seen Adie smile? Teppei realised with a stab to the heart that he couldn't remember, maybe it was after the Too match but that seemed like borrowed time.

Mibuchi was right, Teppei knew that and it hurt to admit it. After he had left they had all just stood there and thought about what he had said. But, just how was he supposed to just watch her put herself in a position for being hurt? He knew that she had been through a lot in her life, with her so-called-family and school. He never knew any details of what happened to her at school, but he wasn't stupid. Her letters over the years became fewer and more serious, so something clearly had happened. Also, she had to sneak away to visit the summer before her fifth year. He could still remember how…lost and pained she seemed when he went to pick her up from the bus station.

All she said about it was that a friend had been killed, and since he didn't want to pressure her or hurt her worse he had not asked anything more about it. Just been there and held her when she cried and woke up from nightmares.

So, just how was he supposed to just stand back and watch her get involved with someone who would only hurt her? But… would he hurt her? A small voice in his mind whispered. Maybe, they all were wrong and he actually was good for her? The frown on his face deepened.

Jerking to a stop when he realised he was about to walk past his house. He walked up to the door and pushed it open trying to force his worries away so that his grandparents wouldn't notice that something was wrong. He didn't want them to worry.

"Congratulations!" Aiko beamed at him the moment he entered the living room.

He blinked and forced his face into a smile.

"Thank you," Teppei said. "Did Adie tell you?"

"Yes," Aiko nodded. "She and her boyfriend just left with Teddy-chan."

Teppei fisted a hand and nodded.

"Such a polite young man;" Aiko continued. "And Teddy-chan adores him. Did you know he is teaching Teddy-chan to play Shogi? Teddy told us."

"He is?" Teppei asked in a forced calm voice. "Is there any dinner left?"

"Yes," Aiko said, "I'll heat something up for you."

Teppei was about to protest that he could do it, but she was already walking into the kitchen.

"I told Adie to bring him with her one day for dinner," Aiko continued the conversation when she placed a heated plate of food in front of him.

"Why would you do that?" Teppei asked before he could stop himself.

Aiko paused and looked at her grandson, Haru also looked up from his paper and frowned at him.

"Why wouldn't I do that?" Aiko asked.

"He's not good for her," Teppei frowned.

"Teppei!" Aiko scolded. "Do you even know the boy?"

"I know enough," Teppei said. "He uses people and treats them like game pieces. He won't treat her right."

Both Aiko and Haru watched him for a moment.

"Teppei, sometimes people aren't who they seem," Haru said quietly. "Someone might have reasons you don't understand to put up masks and fronts to keep people out. Just like Adie-chan did, and still do sometimes."

Teppei frowned, his shoulders slumping slightly as he stared at his plate.

"Perhaps you should try to forget what you think you know about him and actually try to see what Adie-chan sees in him?" Haru continued. "She must see something you don't. She wouldn't bring him into Teddy-chan's life if she wasn't sure about him."

Teppei didn't answer, but he was thinking about what his grandfather had said. He knew that his grandfather was a man of few words so when he said something it was normally important.

...

Riko was sitting by her desk in her room like usual, her notebook filled with observations of her team and their abilities and strengths open in front of her. Yet, she wasn't writing in it. She tapped the tip of her pen against the pages absentmindedly.

You're the ones hurting her.

The words from Mibuchi spun in her mind and she couldn't push them out no matter what. Were they hurting her? Riko thought back to how Adie had looked and acted lately and she had to admit that she did seem quieter and more serious than she had before. She went home after matches, didn't join them in their talks and only said something if it had something to do with the match.

"Riko?" her father's voice interrupted her thoughts and she glanced over her shoulder to see him standing in the doorway. "You ok?"

"Dad, do you think we're hurting Adie-san?" Riko asked.

Kagetora arched a brow and looked at her for a moment. She shifted a little in her seat waiting for his opinion.

"Is this about that boyfriend of hers?" Kagetora asked.

"Yes," Riko nodded. "I mean, he's….he's so… different from her! I've heard how he treats opponents and even his own team sometimes. I don't want to see him hurt Adie-san! She's the first true friend I have that's a girl."

Riko had always been a tomboy and more comfortable with the boys and their sports than with the girls and their shopping trips. It probably had something to do with growing up with a single father who had brought her with him to the gym.

Kagetora stepped further into the room and leaned against the bookshelf as he watched her.

"I know you don't," he said, "but you can't always protect your friends from getting hurt, you may only risk hurting them worse if you do. All you can do is be there and help her if she gets hurt. She obviously likes this guy, and must trust him."

"Trust him?" Riko asked.

"She brought him to meet her son, Riko," Kagetora said, "and Teddy-chan adores him. Think about that. She's very protective of her son and puts him first. Always. So he must clearly be important to her if she brings him to meet him."

Riko frowned and thought about it, she knew her dad had a point. He had rarely brought home anyone he had dated after her mum died. For Adie, who clearly put her son above everything else, to trust Akashi with her son… she must really care for him and maybe…just maybe he was different from what they believed.

...

Hyuga scowled as he stared at the basketball laying on the court but he didn't move to pick it up like he normally did. What was happening to their team? He was the Captain and was supposed to look out for the others. Ok, so normally that wouldn't stretch out to the dating life of the team, but there was something about Adie that had everyone wanting to protect her.

"You're thinking hard," Izuki said dumping down on the bench next to him with ease.

"Shut up," Hyuga grumbled.

"Bet I know what you're thinking about," Izuki said ignoring his sour tone like he always did. "Adie-san and what Mibuchi said."

"I'm the Captain of the team, I'm supposed to keep it together," Hyuga said, "but we're falling apart."

Izuki hummed in thought and nodded sadly.

"Yet, we can still make it right," Izuki said. "I believe that if we apologize for how we acted Adie-san will forgive us. Even if she doesn't….we owe her an apology. Mibuchi-san is right, we don't have a right to tell her who she can date or not."

Hyuga frowned but nodded.

...

Adie smiled as she watched Akashi and Teddy leave the room together and she could hear Teddy talking excitedly about their plans to have a boy's only day. Akashi was going to take him to his apartment and play shogi and then out to play some basketball, just so that she could relax and get some much-needed rest.

Burrowing into the warm pillows at the comfortable sofa she allowed her eyes to drop close and lull her into sleep. Just as she felt herself letting go there was a knock on the door and she jerked upright with a hand over her chest breathing harder than normal.

"Why?" she whined to herself as she glared in the general direction of the door. There was a second knock, this time louder. She considered just ignoring it, but a third knock had her up and dragging her feet toward the door, only throwing a blanket over her shoulders since she was wearing a pair of short shorts and a green singlet. "This better be important…"

Reaching the door she unlocked it and opened it so she could look into the long corridor outside her apartment. She stilled when she saw her entire team standing there looking slightly uncomfortable and nervous.

"Adie," Teppei spoke up when she didn't say anything out of surprise and trying to guess what they were doing there. "Can we talk?"

There goes that opportunity to sleep, Adie sighed as she opened the door to let them inside still without saying anything. She wasn't sure she would get anything out if she tried. She didn't care that she was being rude, she turned and walked back to her sofa and sat down. A few seconds later she heard the others coming inside and filter into the room.

"What do you want?" she finally asked quietly.

"Are you ok?" Riko asked concerned her brown eyes scanning over the other girl and for the first time really saw what Mibuchi was talking about. Adie looked like she was about to fall apart, her skin was paler than normal and she had dark shadows under her eyes that seemed hollower than normal. It also looked like she had lost weight.

"You care?" Adie challenged with a raised brow.

She saw several wince and look away shamefully. She glanced at Teppei who was watching her with his wide puppy dog eyes looking like someone had just kicked him. She hated to see her little brother like that, but the hurt and anger held her back.

"Of course we care!" Riko said looking horrified at the idea of her believing they didn't care. "We're just…"

"We went too far," Hyuga spoke up and she glanced over at him. He had a serious frown on his face and she noticed that he stood rather close to Riko who was biting her lower lip staring at her. "We…I thought we were protecting you and taking care of our own as we should. We lost sight of the fact that we were the ones hurting you."

"We never wanted that, Adie-san!" Izuki said. "You have to believe us!"

"We're sorry;" Kagami said awkwardly shifting on his feet.

Adie arched a brow as she looked over them, she could not pick up any sign of lie or deceit from them and her heart really wanted to believe them.

"Adie," Teppei spoke up and she looked over at him. "I'm sorry. I've been a very bad brother for you, I shouldn't have let my reservations against Akashi come between me and you. You are more important to me than anything else! I just didn't want… I didn't want to see you hurt again. I know I don't know everything you went through over in England, but I know enough to know that it hurt you really bad and I didn't want to see you go through anything that could hurt you again."

Adie didn't say anything for a long while as she looked at them. She could tell they were sincere and was sorry for hurting her, but could she forgive them? It had hurt more than she wanted to admit, but at the same time, she knew deep in her heart that they never meant for her to get hurt. She let out a long sigh and closed her eyes briefly.

"I know," she said quietly, "I know you didn't mean to hurt me. But that doesn't mean that it didn't hurt when my own friends couldn't even try to be supportive of me and my relationship."

They looked down again and she sighed again.

"I'm not telling you that you have to like Seijuro or be thrilled about my relationship with him," Adie said, "I never expected you to in the first place. I knew it would be hard for you to understand. You have a right to your own opinion."

They looked up at her and she ran a hand over her face as she considered what to say next.

"I have heard what you have to say and your concerns, but I like him and won't change my mind about this," Adie said, "I know how rare it is to find someone who makes you feel like I do for Seijuro. I am not blind to his faults, despite what you think, I know he can be cold and manipulative. I know he treats others like chess pieces sometimes, but I also know that he has another side. A side he allows very few to see."

"Ok," Teppei said. "I know we failed, that I failed… I'm asking you for a second chance, Adie. Please let me continue to be your brother."

Adie frowned at the lost look on his face and how small he suddenly looked. She got up and moved toward him. When she stopped in front of him she reached out and pulled him into her arms. She hugged him tightly and wondered absently when the last time she had hugged him was?

"Idiot little brother," Adie murmured. "You'll never stop being my little brother, Teppei."

He tightened his hold of her and she smiled into his shoulder. She had missed him.

Stepping back she turned to the rest of the team who was looking hopeful yet wary as they looked at her.

"I know you're worried and I won't tell you just to stop," she said, "it's not how it works, I know that. I am asking you to trust me, though. I'm a grown woman and I can take care of myself. If I need your help, I will ask for it. You're my friends, and I care about you all. Please, just… let me make my own choices."

"Ok," Riko agreed. "I'm sorry, Adie-san."

"We're all sorry," Koganei said and Mitobe nodded next to him.

Adie smiled a little and nodded, she knew they would still have a lot to work through to get back to what they had, but they could do it. She felt lighter as she went back to the sofa and relaxed against the pillows.

"Where's Teddy-chan?" Izuki asked looking around like he expected the little boy to pop up out of nowhere.

Adie gave him a considering look before she answered.

"He's with Seijuro," Adie said eying them closely, but they didn't say anything. "They'll be back in a couple of hours."

...

Adie was shaken awake by a little hand and she blinked to find Teddy leaning over her with a wide grin on his face.

"I'm back, mum!" Teddy beamed.

"Hi cub," Adie said through a yawn. "Did you have fun?"

"Yes! Sei-nii said I was good," Teddy said looking excited. "We played shogi and then basketball."

"Good," Adie said pushing herself up in sitting position and looked over Teddy to see Akashi standing close to the sofa and watching her closely. "Did he behave for you?"

"He did," Akashi said at the same time as Teddy exclaimed: "Of course I did!"

Adie ruffled his hair fondly as she smiled.

"Did you get to relax?" Akashi asked when Teddy ran out of the room and up the stairs to his room.

"Yes, eventually," Adie said leaning into him as he placed an arm around her shoulder. "I had some visitors first."

"Visitors?" Akashi asked.

"My team," Adie said and she felt him tense so she hurriedly told him about it. He was silent as he listened and when she finished. "Seijuro?"

"I don't like how they hurt you," he said with a scowl.

"I know," she said, "but I don't want to stay mad at them, Seijuro. It's my team and they apologised. I want to give them another chance."

She really did, even if she felt a little wary and still hurt about their action. She also realised that she couldn't blame everything on them. She had pulled away and let the situation get so out of hand. She could have told them right away what she thought and then maybe they would have sorted it out earlier.

"You're more forgiving than I am," Akashi said with a sigh. She knew he would still be angry at them, but she also knew he was pleased they had at least apologised. She smiled before turning so she was fully facing him on the sofa, his eyes darkening slightly as he stared at her. Seconds later she was pulled closer and his lips were on hers.

...

"Teppei-nii-san!" Teddy ran to the tall centre and he picked him up. "I haven't seen you in forever!"

Teppei smiled, but Adie could see the sadness in his eyes as he looked at Teddy.

"I know," Teppei said. "I've missed you, little man."

"Are you staying for dinner today?" Teddy asked looking excited.

"The whole team will come for dinner today," Adie said. "We're going to prepare for our game tomorrow."

"You're playing Muro-nii-san tomorrow?" Teddy asked.

"Yes," Adie smiled and Teddy nodded.

Just then the doorbell sounded and Adie left the two boys and went to open and let the rest of the team inside. She smiled a little as she greeted them and could see the traces of nervousness in their faces still.

...

It didn't take too long before they were back to normal and the laughter was back, Adie smiled and laughed as Koganei told a story about the early days of Seirin basketball team. She was pleased to feel more at ease with them now.

After dinner, they gathered in her living room and gathered around her television ready to watch the latest match from Yosen. Teddy was seated on Teppei's lap and looked important.

Stunned and slightly scared silence followed at the end of the recorded match Yosen had just won 81-0, they were all staring wide-eyed at the screen trying to find words to describe what they just had seen.

"That was crazy!" Izuki said still staring intently at the frozen screen of the Yosen team.

"That was a basketball game, right?" Koganei wondered.

"In a local tournament that score wouldn't be unreasonable in a game between a strong school and a weak one, but this has happened two games in a row at a national tournament!" Hyuga said disbelievingly.

"It's the complete opposite of Too's super aggressive style," Teppei pointed out. "They haven't given up a single point two games in a row."

"I know it seems hard and disbelieving," Adie said calmly, "but we already knew they would be a tough opponent. Most of their team are tall and muscular, meaning they also have their strength on their side. Teppei and Kagami are the only ones in our team that can match them this way… but they do not have the speed and flexibility that we do, we need to find a way to use that against them."

The others looked at Adie before they smiled and nodded, a determined look entered their eyes. Adie felt her phone buzz and she pulled it open to see a text from Akashi. She rolled her eyes but smiled slightly. She quickly responded and put the phone away looking up to see the others looking at her, but they didn't say anything or glare at the phone so she took that as progress.

...

Adie felt the tense anticipation in the locker room before the match and she inhaled deeply as she focused on what she had to do. She sat next to Teppei and glanced around to see the focused looks on the teams' faces, Riko looked considering as she watched them clearly trying to decide if she should say anything or not.

"Ok," Adie said speaking up. "We know they are good, but so are we! We're strong and we never give up! No matter what happens out there we will continue fighting!"

"Yes!" the others yelled determinedly.

Teppei nudged her shoulder, "it's good to have you back."

Adie smiled and nodded if felt good to be back.

...

Akashi walked into the stands with Teddy holding his hand, Mibuchi, Hayama and Nebuya following behind them looking curiously down at the court where Seirin was warming up. He immediately spotted Adie who was laughing at something Teppei said.

"She looks better," Hayama commented.

Akashi just made a sound of agreement but didn't say anything else. He was still not too happy about the so-called teammates of Adie's.

"So, they actually did something and talked to her?" Mibuchi said and Akashi narrowed his eyes at his vice-captain in suspicion.

"Sei-nii!" Teddy whined pulling at his hand. "Let's find seats!"

"Ok," Akashi said and followed the little boy to a row of empty seats. He sat down and ignored the flash of surprise he felt when Teddy chose to climb up onto his lap instead of on the free seat next to him.

"Do you think mum can win?" Teddy asked.

"Perhaps," Akashi said.

...

Adie cursed as she looked at the scoreboard at the end of first quarter. She had never believed that they would not even have scored a point at all during the first 10 minutes. Being under 18 – 0 was not good. Wiping the sweat away from her forehead she followed her team into the locker room and sat down to listen to Riko give her speech. She looked at the schematics that showed how Yosen played with Murasakibara placed directly under the basket, and the other four was left to defend the line giving no obvious hole in their defence. She could easily see how they had beaten their former opponents as they had.

Adie frowned in thought as she stared at the board if they wanted to avoid ending up like the others they had to do something.

"In order to win we have to score from the inside," Teppei said and Adie looked at him pensively before looking over at Kuroko.

"Tetsuya should do it," Adie said making the others look at her shocked.

"Kuroko don't score," Izuki pointed out, "no offence."

"Let me do it," Kuroko said after meeting Adie's eyes and got a determined look in his light blue eyes.

"Eh?"

"Have you forgotten that he has been practising with Aomine?" Adie asked them, before turning back to Kuroko. "I'll get you the ball, Tetsuya."

...

Adie looked over at Murasakibara who was looking bored and lazy as he stepped back onto the court. She was not surprised when Yosen met them with heavier pressure as the second quarter began, she knew they wanted to end their hopes of a comeback.

Adie smirked at the Yosen Captain Okamura Kenichi who blinked at her and blushed slightly as he stared at her. Adie caught the ball from Hyuga and as soon as Okamura stepped forward to press her back, she ducked and used her speed and agility to get past him, bouncing the ball between his legs before catching it at the other side. She could hear the curse slip from his lips as she made her way forward before passing the ball to Kuroko who had gotten free from his mark. She knew that if he didn't score now, then they would be finished.

The Yosen players froze when they saw Kuroko standing free in front of the basket. The silence and tension in the air were thick as he prepared to shoot. Murasakibara was quickly out of his mild surprise and took his towering position in front of Kuroko who never hesitated and shot the ball.

Adie almost held her breath as she watched the ball almost disappear in the air and suddenly pass Murasakibara's large hand and then was in the net. The buzzer went off, sounding extra high in the stunned silence in the hall, signalling the first two points to Seirin in the match.

"Yosh!" Hyuga and the others cheered.

Adie smirked and clapped Kuroko on the back as she made her way back. She noticed that Murasakibara stared at Kuroko shocked and like he hadn't seen him before, while the rest of his team looked stunned.

...

Midorima gaped shocked as he stared down at the court, his lucky item momentarily forgotten as he couldn't believe what he had just witnessed.

"Woah, I didn't know Kuroko could score," Takao said from beside him,

"He never did before," Midorima said slowly getting over the shock. "He must have learned recently."

At another place in the stands, Akashi was narrowing his eyes as he stared at Kuroko. This was something he would have avoided and he felt a stab of annoyance at the development.

"They scored," Hayama said leaning forward as he stared at the player he had trouble keeping an eye on.

"Now they have a chance, at least," Nebuya said.

Akashi frowned but didn't say anything.

...

By the time the second quarter was over they had caught up a lot, but they were still behind with 29-17. It was mostly because of Kuroko they were able to attack, and Adie had a nice skill in getting passed the large players.

"The next quarter will be up to Kagami and Teppei," Riko said in the locker room. The team sat on the benches with towels around their necks and water bottles in their hands as they listened to her. "We can't rely on Kuroko's misdirection right now."

Adie nodded and knew she was right.

"Well, I haven't shown everything I can do either," Adie spoke up making them look at her curiously, she smirked. "I think it's time to show them all what Seirin is made off!"

...

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AN: Thank you for reading! XD