Chapter 16: The Fight
Remus Lupin sat in the darkened hospital wing, staring down at the unmoving body of Adele
Fleur. He glanced at the clock on the wall: 4:15 AM. Sighing, he looked outside into the darkness;
dawn had not yet come. He had not slept all night, instead choosing to be near Adele. Smiling
softly to himself, he moved closer to her and ran his fingers through her silky brown hair.
Lowering his face closer to hers, he inhaled her scent. It was just how he remembered it, and
memories immediately came rushing back to him. The day he had proposed. Their graduation from
Hogwarts. Laughing as they ran through the rain and mud in Hogsmeade. All of their friends
together, laughing and telling jokes. Adele in his arms, crying. The fight...

The very last time I talked to her, he thought mournfully, staring into her now-serene
face. After all these years... Well, she must have forgiven him. He hoped so, after 15
years... who could hold a grudge that long? She could, he reminded himself, remembering
her fiery temper and how angry she got at him sometimes. Sighing again, he placed his hand
softly on her cheek, running his fingers down to her chin. 

"Adele, please wake up. I still love you," he whispered.

***************************

Harry Potter was in a bad mood once again. The grade on his latest Potions exam was well below
what he thought it should be, as he had noticed that Draco Malfoy had also had very similar results
and his grade was much higher. "Snape... so bloody prejudiced... Slytherins..." he muttered as 
he stomped down the hall. "Quiet!" he snapped at a giggling group of Hufflepuffs, who looked quite
offended as they scurried away quickly.

"Potter, what are you doing yelling at my Hufflepuff girls just for talking in the hallway?" Said an
indignant sounding voice behind him. He turned quickly and found himself face-to-face with Rachel, a
sarcastic smile on her face and a mischevious twinkle in her eye. He glared at her before spinning
around and continuing down the hallway. "Wait up!" she yelled after him. 

"What do you want," he mumbled through gritted teeth. She stared at him, worry creasing her brow.

"Well, um, actually I was just gonna ask if you wanted to walk to Care of Magical Creatures together,
but nevermind I guess..." she trailed off, looking confused at Harry's anger. "I didn't know people
laughing made you this mad." She walked off.

Am I good at getting girls pissed off at me or what, he thought angrily to himself as he stalked
down the hallway and out the door towards Hagrid's hut. Cho was one thing, she was never happy to
begin with, but Rachel is constantly happy and I STILL am able make her mad! He kicked a small
rock in front of him angrily, but instead of moving, it stayed stuck in the ground, causing him to trip.
Fuming, he stood up quickly, red in the face and with intense pain in his foot. Looking around, he
hoped that no one had seen him, but realized with a sinking heart that there was a large group behind 
him. The Slytherins. Most of his N.E.W.T. level classes had students from all houses, as they were so
small, and he had forgotten that the Slytherins would be here today.... He could hear Pansy Parkinson's
annoying laughter all the way from across the lawn. 

"What's wrong, Potter? Out of school so long you forgot how to walk?" Draco's voice called.
Looking straight ahead, Harry continued walking and tried to ignore the Slytherin's comments.
"Scarface is attacking rocks now! Oooh, Potter, watch out, there's another one!" Harry flinched as a 
small pebble hit him in the back of the head. He had had enough. Snape, Rachel, and now Malfoy...
Clenching his fists, he turned around.

"Leave me alone," he muttered. The crowd of Slytherins laughed.

"What was that, Potter?" Draco asked, a sinister grin on his face, his blonde hair gleaming in the
sunlight. "Did you want to try to attack us? There's oh," he paused, counting the people behind him,
"eight of us... and only one of you!" He laughed again, as did most of the group. Slimy little git,
Harry thought to himself angrily. He was beyond common sense at this point.

"I'm not afraid of you, Malfoy. I'm not afraid of any of you," he whispered dangerously, recklessly.
He felt like he had never had this much power in his life, and the prospect of using it against Malfoy
was very tempting. Too tempting. 

Draco stumbled backward, shocked at the evil glint in Harry's eye. He was quickly realizing that this
was a bad situation.

"Come on, guys," he mumbled, walking off towards Hagrid's hut. The Slytherins followed, disappointed.

"Aw, come on Draco..." he heard Goyle whine.

"Shut up," Draco hissed, walking away rapidly.

Harry couldn't decide if he was happy or upset. True, he had won the standoff with Malfoy, but just by
looking at him? He wished he would have stayed, so he could have cursed him into oblivion. Sighing to
himself, he followed the Slytherins, at a considerable distance, to Hagrid's. When he got there he 
found Ron and Hermione and stood by them. Hermione gave him a sharp glance.

"What took you so long?" she whispered. "Class is about to start!" Harry just shrugged, attempting to
clear his mind of his anger long enough to listen to Hagrid explain what exactly the rainbow-colored 
slimy worm-like creatures were in front of him.

*****************************

Adele Fleur opened her eyes. She gasped as she looked around her, amazed at her surroundings: the cool
air, the clean white sheets, the blankness of the white walls. This place was so familiar, she thought.
Where am I? Then suddenly, it hit her: the cold dark cell, the fight, the bodies... She didn't remember
much after that. Turning to her right, she was surprised to see Remus asleep on a chair. He had huge
dark circles under his eyes, she wasn't sure if she should wake him or not. Just the the door creaked
open and Madam Pomfrey entered, carrying some medical supplies which she stored in a cupboard. Adele
lay back against her pillow, closing her eyes and pretending to sleep. She had to fight to keep a 
smile off her face: she remembered doing this when she had been in the hospital wing during her fourth
year with the flu, in order to listen in on teachers' conversations. She heard the door shut again
and opened her eyes; Madam Pomfrey had left. Turning onto her side, she placed her hand on Remus'
forehead. He didn't move.

"Rem... are you okay?" she whispered, pushing her hand through his tousled hair. He stirred a bit and
opened his eyes, looking blearily up at her. He inhaled sharply.

"Adele!" he said, amazed. "Well, hello!"

"Hi," she said a bit timidly, smiling at him. 

"How are you feeling?" he asked immediately, looking worried.

"I'm okay... a little sore, but I'm fine. Was anyone hurt?" She looked around the room but found it
empty except for herself.

"Yes... Tonks, Bill Weasley and Hestia Jones. They're at St. Mungo's. You're just here because 
Dumbledore wanted to keep an eye on you." She frowned. All those people hurt, just to save her!

"You didn't have to..." she mumbled. She looked up into Remus' hauntingly dark brown eyes.

"Adele," he began. "I'm sorry about the fight..." She laughed.

"The fight? Remus, that was fifteen years ago!" He smiled a tiny bit.

"I know, but.... it was the last time I talked to you..." He looked down. 

"Sorry," she whispered. "I would have thought you would have been over that by now... Sirius told me
you two were getting along well again!" she said brightly. He looked at her sharply.

"Sirius? So you've been talking to him?" he asked, his expression unreadable.

"Well, what else was I supposed to do? Remus, I was trapped in that room for God knows how long!"
she answered, exasperated. 

"You could have talked to Lily... or Marlene..."

"I did!" she exclaimed, now clearly becoming angry. "I wanted to know what was going on in your world!
Lily and Marlene have been on the other side for so long, they didn't know! I had to ask Sirius!"
Remus leaned back into his chair grumpily, crossing his arms. She glared at him.
"Grow up, Remus. Stop acting like this." He opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by Madam
Pomfrey entering the room again. She hurried over to Adele with some medicine.

"Oh good, dear, you're awake... take some of this..." After forcing some foul tasting potion down Adele's
throat, she turned to Remus.

"No visitors now, she needs rest! Come back this afternoon..." Grumpily Remus rose and retreated from
the room. After Madam Pomfrey left, Adele lay in bed, still awake, unable to sleep. 

"Sirius," she called.

"Yes," came the answer.

"What's wrong with him? I thought you two were over this?" Sirius gave a bark-like laugh.

"I thought so too. Apparently not. He still seems jealous... Doesn't he realize I'm dead?" he asked, 
jokingly.

"Sirius!" Adele said warningly. "I'm not kidding! He's too overprotective... just like he always was..."

"He had reason to be," Sirius answered quietly. "Did you ever tell him exactly what happened... you know,
between us?"

"No," she whispered, closing her eyes tightly. "That would just make it worse."

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