Adelaide stepped back from the now pristine living-room and let out a shaky breath, her hands fiddling nervously together, she had already cleaned the room three times, she wanted to distract herself from the impending evening, the night she would finally meet him, after all the waiting it was finally time for Harry to come to Grimmauld and although she was excited she was still incredibly nervous, hoping to make a good impression on the boy. It was getting late and Sirius was already in the meeting room with the Order, his voice heard arguing over the many members that sat inside the closed off room, the time slowly passed and Adelaide found herself getting more and more nervous, the tired ache in her eyes from earlier had completely gone thanks to the rush of adrenaline that kept her on her feet.
The muttering from the room beside her suggested that the meeting was heating up a little more, she winced slightly as she could hear Sirius's voice raising, trying to get his point across as well as attempt to get a straight answer from the other Order member, he was arguing a lot with them recently, mostly about Pettigrew and Harry. The clock on the wall suddenly chimed loudly, signalling the new hour and as if on que the front door burst open, followed by a clatter of footsteps as they stomped down the hall, heading toward the meeting room.
Adelaide quickly left the living room and went out to greet Harry, as she walked she noticed Molly already there, trying to deter him from becoming to curious about the meeting that went on behind her, quickly straightening her dress Adelaide smiled warmly to the boy who looked to her after being greeted by the Weasley mother.
"Harry! Its lovely to finally meet you!" Adelaide smiled, noticing Molly vanish back into the meeting room, leaving the two alone.
Harry smiled. "Adelaide right? Nice to meet you too, Sirius told me a lot about you."
"All good things I hope." The woman chuckled before nodding her head to the meeting room. "Sorry about them, things are getting rather disagreeable in there...It's best if we stay away for a little."
Harry nodded, frowning a little, it was clear he really wanted to see his godfather. "When will they be finished?" He asked looking to the room.
"I'll give it an hour or so, dinner will be all ready for you when they finally decide to stop, I'll give you a call when they're done" She grinned. "Now why don't you go up and get settled? We can talk a little more later."
The boy nodded and went to go up the stairs. "Thanks, for helping Sirius by the way"
Adelaide held up her hands. "No thanks needed dear."
Once the boy vanished upstairs Adelaide turned to head into the kitchen, it wasn't one of her best greetings but she felt surprisingly better having got that first awkward interaction out of the way, she smiled to herself and headed into the kitchen, checking on the food that was cooking in the oven an left on the side, ready to serve. After all that worrying it turned out to be perfectly fine, why was she even panicking in the first place?! The woman sigh and shook her head, flopping down into the chair at the end of the table, she had no reason at all to worry...
She felt stupid.
Adelaide chuckled a little at her foolish behaviour and sat back in her seat, tapping her fingers against the table softly as she heard Sirius's voice raise again from next door, she chewed her lip, whatever was happening was not good, this couldn't be a good sign at all. Sirius was stressed, she could feel it but he hid it from her as he always did, he told her what was going on but never what was bothering him..Not that she needed to know. It was pretty clear.
Harry, Pettigrew, Battle, Death Eaters.
The man had made a full turn around but yet she could feel another breakdown about to happen, another let go, another tantrum...Adelaide shuddered and looked down to the table silently, he never laid a hand on her, he never yelled at her but it still disturbed her to see him become so far away from the man she knew. He became a shell. Like Sirius was not there and was instead replaced by a ghost, mindlessly pacing around, ignoring his food, ignoring advice...
"It's almost over now dear." Molly smiled as she entered the room. "Sirius might need to see you before he goes to Harry."
"Is he alright?" Adelaide asked looking to the woman, worry in her eyes as she heard the mothers voice take on a more serious tone.
The Weasley mother quickly nodded. "Just a little disgruntled dear, I don't think he wants Harry to see him like that."
"I'll talk to him." The woman mumbled, with a slight smile toward Molly.
The Weasley mother wandered over and sat down in the seat beside her. "So, how did it go with Harry?" She asked.
"Perfectly fine!" Adelaide chuckled. "He is very eager to see Sirius, of course."
"Understandably." The Weasley woman grinned.
Footsteps were heard once more and Remus entered the room followed by the remaining order members, he looked to Adelaide softly, his eyes had a more darker look to them, his face had paled slightly and the creases in his forehead suggested that the stress levels within him were high, he walked over too her, just as everyone had began to fill the seats, chattering quietly to each other.
"You better go see him, he's not in a good mood" Remus muttered into Adelaide's ear, the look in his eyes told her everything.
Wasting no time, Adelaide quickly rose from her seat and rushed out, heading straight into the meeting room, where Sirius sat alone, his head in his hands gripping his brown curls, she frowned softly and shut the door behind her before walking over to his side and kneeling down, her eyes looking up to his covered face, she slipped a hand to his lap gently, rubbing soothing circles onto his knee.
Pressing a free palm to his shoulder, she swallowed. "What's wrong love?" The woman lowly asked.
Sirius pulled his hands away from his face, his brows furrowed. "We are no closer to getting me free than we were before! we can't fight! we can't do anything!" He barked.
Adelaide nodded slowly. "I'm sorry love." She took his hand in hers. "I'm sorry you have to go through this but Harry is eager to see you, he needs you to be strong, just for a little longer."
"Where is he?" The animagus asked softly.
"Upstairs with his friends love." The woman replied softly. "He will be down soon, he is very eager to see you again."
Sirius nodded and slowly got up from his seat, Adelaide rose with him and rubbed his arm softly as he composed himself and headed out silently, she watched and let out a small sigh, pinching her nose as he finally turned the corner to go and greet his godson. He didn't need this stress. Not now...
The woman slowly made her way out, closing the door behind her, she wandered into the kitchen smiling as she saw Harry and Sirius already talking eagerly together, she smiled warmly and walked over to Molly who was adding the finishing touches to the meal they prepared together.
"How was he?" She asked quietly.
"Stressed." The woman replied. "But we will talk about it later, after he has spent time with Harry."
Molly nodded and flicked her wand to the now finished food, sending the plates flying to the table, she smiled a little to the woman beside her and rubbed her back reassuringly, she turned and went to sit next to her daughter, who was chatting eagerly amongst the others. Adelaide turned and took a seat next to Remus, she smiled widely to Harry who was intently discussing his school year with Sirius, at least he looked a little more cheerier, thanks to Harry.
"He's certainly brightened up." Remus mumbled from beside her, nudging her arm softly as he nodded to the two.
Adelaide chuckled softly. "Harry's here, he has a right to be cheery, I doubt he would want to look miserable in front of the boy."
The wolf nodded and smiled a little. "Have you heard anything back from Thomas yet?" He asked.
"Shhh!" The woman quickly hushed. "Sirius doesn't know yet!" She whispered, her eyes slightly wide.
"You haven't told him!" Mooney quickly gasped. "Adelaide, I thought you both shared everything."
Adelaide looked to her plate slightly ashamed. "He has a lot on his plate Remus, I don't want him getting upset on my account." She replied softly.
The man sigh. "You better tell him at some point." He mumbled. "Have you heard anything back?"
"No, I haven't yet, i've sent letters to Marie but she hasn't replied."
"Keep trying, im sure something will turn up."
The woman looked to her friend softly. "Did you do what we spoke about?" She asked noting his rather somber look.
"Well..Kinda.." Remus muttered "I just don't know If I really want to burden someone else with my problems."
Adelaide smirked "Now your sounding like me."
The wolf moved his gaze down to the table. "I'm not in the mood for humor Adelaide...Sorry"
Frowning the woman just rubbed his back. "Just, please try to help yourself a little, I am here for you Remus, you know that."
"I know." Remus mumbled. "I'm sorry, my change is due again and...I dont think I can take it anymore..."
Adelaide rubbed his back softly "I'll be there for you and I'll get Sirius to come to." Her mouth turned upward slightly "I'll make sure to bring some potion to help with the pain."
"Alright, just don't put yourself in danger Adelaide." The wolf replied. "You know how dangerous it can get."
The woman raised a brow. "I don't care how dangerous it is, i'm still coming Remus." She retorted more sternly.
A smile suddenly perked at the mans lips as he heard the stubbornness emanate from his friends words, he nodded slowly "Only if you stay at a safe distance." He replied more softly.
"Very well."
Dinner soon took over the mind of the people sitting at the table, everyone dug in enjoying the meal that was prepared by Adelaide and Molly, smiles planted on everyone's lips as they all ate their platefuls. Soon enough a good few hours passed and the kitchen soon cleared out, some order members went home, others went to their respective temporary rooms, the kitchen was empty and dark with only a few candles remaining behind.
Adelaide was the only one sat at the table, her eyes focused down on a book before her, the candle on the table illuminated the pages enough for her to read, she rest her head on her hand and chewed her lip slightly as she turned the page. The house was silent with only few silent mutters heard, no doubt everyone would be sleeping, it had been a rather eventful day with a lot going on, many had passed out straight after dinner and others settled shortly after talking with their friends.
"Love?"
The woman looked up to see a tired Sirius standing at the doorway, a robe adorned his features, his tattooed chest peaking out from the collar slightly, he padded over and took a seat beside her his face soft, he looked much more relaxed and content, after spending the evening talking to Harry it was clear that the stress of what happened in the meeting had completely melted away. Adelaide smiled wearily to him, her eyes slightly dark from the hours of reading she had done, she rest her hand on the table and leaned back slightly as she began to speak, her voice cracking slightly as she spoke to her lover who slipped into the seat beside her.
"Hey, how are you feeling?"
Sirius took her hand in his. "Better, I'm sorry about earlier." He mumbled kissing her knuckle. "I can't stand those meetings sometimes."
Adelaide shook her head. "No need to apologise love, I understand." She smiled "How is Harry?"
"Happy that he is here." The animagus grinned. "He told me he was very happy to meet you."
The woman couldn't help but grin. "Really?"
"Really. Now you can stop worrying about it and relax." Padfoot smiled slipping his free arm around her waist. "Please come to bed love, it's late and I haven't been able to sleep a wink."
Adelaide smirked. "Hmm, Ill just have to finish my book first, there is only a hundred or so chapters left." She softly replied, turning her attention back to her book hiding the grin that threatened to rise.
A low almost animal like growl escaped the animagus's lips, he leaned in and began to kiss her neck, moving down toward the small crook in between her shoulder and collarbone, the one place he knew that drove her crazy. Adelaide bit down on her lip as his teeth suddenly scraped that spot, a small and unstoppable groan escaped her lips, her cheeks quickly rose up into a deep red blush.
Sirius pulled back grinning at her response. "Gotcha!"
"Tease." The woman retorted, smiling a little.
The animagus stood up. "Come on, it's late and you need to sleep." He mumbled holding out his hand.
Adelaide got up and blew out the candle then took his hand. "What did I ever do to deserve you?" She grinned moving close as she followed him out of the kitchen.
Sirius chuckled and pressed a kiss to her temple "I should say the same thing sweetheart."
