0Author's note: This series follows the books but will include details from the movie series for drama. Please note that the major events of the story remain true to the series and will be summarized into small sections to help progress to the story's love interest. I do not want to be claimed for plagiarizing but the original story line is needed to explain the changes in character development.

M rating for sexual content anticipated to start in year 4.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Harry Potter series. Thank you to J.K. Rowling for bringing us the wonderful Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

The Doting Rival

Chapter 13

Hogwarts was once again being searched. Professor McGonagall instructed Percy to escort the Gryffindors to the Great Hall. It wasn't long before Headmaster Dumbledore had the kitchen house elves setting up sleeping arrangements again and the other houses started trickling in.

For the first time in Adelyn's life, people were paying more attention to someone else than her – Ron. He had become an instant celebrity with all the details that couldn't be found elsewhere. It was obvious he was shaken up by the events, but he was happy to tell anyone who asked what had happened.

Adelyn preferred it this way. It left her time to her own thoughts. She couldn't comprehend why Sirius Black left without hurting anyone. He had been locked in Azkaban for taking innocent lives. Why not just kill Ron since he was already there? Why WAS he there?

Most students had converged in the middle of the hall to get the details. Others cowered in pairs or trios in various corners. They were either anxious or too curious to go to sleep. Percy and Head Girl made futile attempts to get everyone to bed. It was bound to be a long night.

Adelyn sat on a cot alone on the left side of the hall. She was holding her knees to her chest peering out the window. She didn't notice Draco approach her.

"Adelyn?" He spoke softly to avoid startling her.

She turned slowly to look at him. She seemed distracted.

"Are you alright?"

"You've heard, I'm sure?" She gave a quick half smirk.

"Yea. . ." Draco sat on the cot, head bent down, looking sideways at her. It allowed him to be more at her level, less imposing. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"You're the only one to ask me that. . ." She repositioned herself to the edge of the cot to sit alongside him. Looking down at her feet, she sighed heavily.

Draco didn't know how to respond. She didn't exactly answer the question. And history showed she kept things to herself mostly. He lifted his hand to touch her arm, but thought against it, returning it to his lap. A pair of Ravenclaw fourth years approached just then.

"Adelyn, is it true? Did Sirius Black attack you in your Common Room?" one of the boys asked.

Adelyn turned her face to the side, as if they would just go away if she couldn't see them.

"Oy! Piss off!" Draco cursed at them. He waved his hand away at them.

"Geez! It was only a question," the other student muttered as they left quickly.

Draco looked back to find Adelyn sliding back on the cot to lean against the wall. He did the same.

"For once, I actually appreciate your curt demeaner," Adelyn remarked.

Draco chuckled and shrugged up one of his shoulders. "Not sure if I should take that as a compliment. . ."

"Oh! I'm sorry!" She quickly grabbed his arm and looked him square in the face with seriousness. "It WAS meant to be."

He placed his hand on top of hers and smirked. "I was just teasing."

"Oh! Ha ha ha ha." Adelyn broke into laughter. She ended after a few moments with a sigh. "I needed that." She yawned and leaned her head against the wall.

"Glad I could help." Draco mimicked her and leaned his head back as well.

They sat together in comfortable silence. Draco dared not move for fear she may take her hand back. He enjoyed this closeness, absorbing her fragrance he had grown to readily recognize. He wanted so badly to caress her soft skin.

"Draco?" Adelyn pulled him from his thoughts. "What do you think he wants?"

Draco turned in her direction. She stared out into the room, lost in thought. "Black? Hard to say exactly." Draco recalled his father warning him about Black when he escaped Azkaban. He was the undoing of Adelyn's parents. Does she know?

"Everyone says he means to kill me. But why would he go after Ron? It makes no sense. . ."

"I'm not sure anyone can understand the mind of a madman."

"I suppose not." She sighed again and closed her eyes.

Soon, Draco heard soft rhythmic breathing. "Adelyn?" he whispered.

Adelyn had fallen asleep. Her long eyelashes touched the tops of her cheeks and her chest slowly raised and fell with each subtle breath. She looked so peaceful for once. Draco took the blanket at the foot of the cot and draped it over her.

Hermione was a bit frantic trying to find Adelyn. With the frenzy of students over the situation, no one had noticed where she had gone. She overheard a pair of Ravenclaw boys talking about Draco.

"You'd think Draco wouldn't care, honestly. I mean, it's Adelyn," one said in annoyance.

"It's not like no one else is talking about it. . ." the other replied in agreement.

"Hey." Hermione approached. "You've seen Adelyn?"

"Yea. She's over there." The taller of the pair pointed to the far wall beyond a group of students. "But Draco might bite of your head if you try talking to her." He rolled his eyes.

"Thanks." Hermione headed towards the direction he pointed. She found Adelyn on a cot against the wall with Draco. He was covering her with a blanket.

Draco saw her approaching. He suddenly felt a bit embarrassed to be seen by one of Adelyn's friends. Couldn't do much about it now.

As Hermione got closer, he placed his pointer finger against his lips to shush her. He mouthed, "She's sleeping."

Hermione nodded her head in understanding. She whispered, "How is she?"

"Tired."

"I can take over, if you'd like," she offered.

"If I move, she may wake. I can stay." That probably wasn't true. But he wanted any excuse to stay.

"Alright. I'll check back periodically." She smiled in thanks and made her way back towards Ron.

Draco remained at Adelyn's side until dawn when the Headmaster came back to tell them the castle was clear. Adelyn stirred awake with his announcement.

Her eyes fluttered and she took a deep breath in. She looked around slowly and noticed Draco was still next to her. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep." She stretched out her arms and back. A stone wall was not the most comfortable place to sleep.

"Don't be. You were tired."

"Did - did you stay here the entire time?"

Draco became bashful, lowering his head a bit and leaning away. "Well, I didn't want anyone to bother you. . ."

"Adelyn." Hermione had returned again, a bit flustered. "I need assistance with Ronald. This whole night has gone to his head. I mean, honestly! How can they all be so excited about an escaped convict breaking into the castle?!"

"Alright, Hermione. Calm down." Adelyn got up hastily to relieve her anxiety. "I'll help you."

Hermione sighed in relief. "Oh, thank you." She turned to lead Adelyn to the center of the Hall.

Adelyn looked back over her shoulder and smiled a small thank you to Draco as she followed Hermione.

Security around the castle had tightened. Professor Flitwick was teaching the front doors to recognize a photo of Sirius Black. Filch was boarding up any small crack in the walls. Sir Cadogan had been replaced with a fully restored Fat Lady, upon the condition she was given extra protection. Now, each time anyone entered Gryffindor tower, they had to get through menacing trolls pacing the corridor.

Visiting Hagrid was even impossible. Adelyn, Hermione, and Ron exchanged letters with him during their Care for Magical Creatures classes. Buckbeak's trial was the last Saturday of the month and they were spending as much free time as available working on his defense.

Many students were surprised to hear the Hogsmeade trip at the end of the month was still occurring. Hermione threatened to report Adelyn to Professor McGonagall if she went again. But Ron made her feel guilty for potentially causing Adelyn's expulsion, so she eventually gave in.

Adelyn was excited the morning of the trip. She had yet to see everything and was eager for a reprieve from the castle. She donned the Invisibility Cloak and made her way through the passage behind the one-eyed witch statue to Honeydukes cellar. She met with Ron just outside.

"Took you long enough," Ron said annoyingly.

"Sorry. I had to avoid Neville."

"Where to?"

They went to the post office first. Adelyn was eager to see it in person since Hermione's description a few months ago. Ron pretended to need prices for an owl to Bill in Egypt while she looked around. There must have been almost three hundred owls of all shapes and sizes. The local delivery owls, Scops, were so small they could fit in the palm of her hand.

Next, they stopped by Zonko's. It was one of the most popular shops for the Hogwarts students. Adelyn had to tread carefully to avoid running into anyone. She was having a hard time sticking with Ron. As she was invisible, people kept mistaking her as an empty spot to slip through. One young Hufflepuff forced her to squeeze up against a shelf of Dungbombs, causing the products to jostle.

"What was that?" Pansy Parkinson turned her head to the right. She had been standing with Draco and Goyle.

Draco looked to his left to try and make out what she was referring to. "What was what?" He peered his head over the crowd, unknowingly bringing his face closer to Adelyn.

Adelyn pressed herself further against the shelf and held her breath. Draco's chiseled jawline stretched only inches from her face. It was the first time she took note of his features up close. Wow. He's really attractive. His face was perfectly proportioned and looked as smooth as porcelain. His ivory skin complimented his bold, grey eyes. His platinum blonde hair swept softly across his forehead.

"Never mind. It must have been of these annoying first years running into things again." Pansy rolled her eyes. "Come on. I'm tired of this place." She turned to lead the group out of the shop.

Draco began to turn towards them, but double took back. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Roses.

Adelyn watched quietly as Draco sighed. She saw his shoulders drop slightly with relaxation. He started inhaling the air, following his nose. Adelyn took a couple shuffled steps away as he got closer. He was about to step into her when he was interrupted.

"Draco. You comin'?" Goyle was leaning around the corner.

"Uh, yea. Yea, I'm coming." Draco stared a moment at the shelves before leaving.

Adelyn's heart was racing. Had it not been for her Invisibility Cloak, Draco would have been staring directly at her. She let out the breath she had been holding in.

Finally, Ron had rounded a barrel. He was pretending to look through them, but his eyes were scanning the room in search for her. She grabbed onto his cloak to indicate he had found her. They continued through the shop this way to avoid another mishap. Adelyn gave order requests and passed him some gold for her share. They left the shop with considerably lighter money bags.

After visiting the Shrieking Shack and the Three Broomsticks, Adelyn made her way back through the tunnel. She had to return prior to the other students to avoid any suspicion. Just barely after she had made her exit from behind the one-eyed witch statue, she heard footsteps approach.

Professor Snape was upon her quickly. It was if he knew she would be here. "You have a habit of turning up in unexpected places, Potter. And rarely there for good reason. . ."

"Oh. I, uh, was just heading back to the Gryffindor Common room." Adelyn wasn't prepared for a response.

"From where?" Snape gave her a suspicious glance.

"The library." Adelyn replied quickly. "I've been working on my essay for Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Yet you have no parchment or books with you. . ." He looked down his nose at her with an air of arrogance.

"Yes, I, uh -"

"Turn out your pockets, Potter!" he interrupted.

Adelyn swallowed nervously and slowly pulled out the bag of Zonko's tricks and the Marauder's Map. Snape snatched them from her hands.

"Ron gave them to me," she explained.

"And you've carried them around all this time? Interesting. . . and what is this?" He held up the map.

"Just a bit of parchment."

"Quite an old piece of parchment, wouldn't you say? Surely you don't need it. Why don't I just. . . throw it away?"

"No!" Adelyn quickly replied.

"Ah! Another gift from Mr. Weasley? Or something else, perhaps?" Snape took out his wand and touched the map. "Reveal your secrets."

Words slowly appeared across the surface.

Mr. Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business.

Snape froze dumbstruck with the message. Just as this occurred, Professor Lupin walked up.

"Ah. Professor Snape. Adelyn. How are you?"

"Impeccable timing, Lupin. Perhaps you could assist me." Snape held out the map. "This parchment is clearly full of Dark Magic. Your area of expertise. Where do you think Potter got such a thing?"

Lupin took the parchment, looking it over carefully. "It looks merely a piece of parchment meant to insult anyone who tries to read it. Childish, but surely not dangerous."

"Are you sure?" Snape made to take it back.

"Just to be sure -" Lupin pocketed the map into his jacket. "- I will take a closer look into it."

"Very well." Snape said coolly.

"That seems cleared up! Severus, if you don't mind, I'd like to have a word with Adelyn about my vampire essay. Excuse us."

Lupin grasped Adelyn around the shoulder and led her away.

"Professor, I -"

"I don't want to hear excuses." Lupin interrupted Adelyn. They had made it well out of ear shot of Snape when her turned toward her to look her straight on.

"I happen to know this map was confiscated by Filch many years ago. I am, however, astounded that you did not turn it in. You may not take Sirius Black seriously. But I would have thought what you heard when dementors drew near you would have had more of an effect on you. A poor way to repay you parents for giving their lives for you."

Adelyn was silent, dumbstruck. She felt far worse than she had with Snape berating her.

"Don't expect me to cover for you again." He walked off, leaving her with her guilt.