Author's Note: Hello lovely readers and writers! My apologies for taking so long to update! I'd hit a little writer's block and it took longer than I thought it would. Any new readers to the story may want to start out with 'The Infamous Adrianna Fawley - 5th Year at Hogwarts' for general background information. I hope everyone enjoys!
Best,
Dragonwing
Ch. 3 – Some Things Change
It was a tense week that followed Severus's discovery of Remus's "furry little problem", none of the other Gryffindor boys were entirely sure that the Slytherin would keep his word to Dumbledore and not say anything. Adrianna made it a point to check in with the pale boy every day that week, more than anything else to make sure that he was recovering well from the whole experience. Severus Snape had come dangerously close to being Moony's midnight snack, or worse, possibly turned into a werewolf himself.
By Friday afternoon, all of the students were in need of a rest, especially since the Gryffindor vs Slytherin Quidditch match was coming up in a couple of weeks. Lily and Adrianna joined James, Remus, and Peter out beneath the big tree by the lake. The weather still held the last traces of warmth they were going to see before winter started creeping in.
"Where's Sirius?" Lily asked, shaking out her long red hair from its ponytail.
"Professor McGonagall held him back to talk about his Transfiguration essay." Remus sighed. "I told him it needed to be longer."
"Exactly," She nodded. "I know my essay was –"
"So, I've been meaning to ask you, Adrianna," James interrupted. "What new succubus skills did you learn over last summer?" He grinned cheekily.
"James!" Remus admonished. "You shouldn't ask things like that."
"Oh, she knows what I meant!" The Seeker shrugged.
Adrianna giggled. "Well, I did learn how to guise myself."
"Guise yourself?" Peter blinked. "That doesn't sound pleasant."
"You mean like disguise?" Lily tilted her head curiously.
"Right," The half-witch nodded.
"Let's see!" James kicked his legs out and leaned back against the tree.
"James…" Remus sighed.
"It's alright, really." Adrianna tossed a couple of leaves from the ground at the Seeker before moving a little ways from the group. "Watch this." She sat cross-legged and concentrated for a few seconds. The familiar silver light gathered in her upturned palms, steadily becoming denser. Then, she brought her hands up and, pressing them into her hairline, began to slowly sweep them back over her hair. As her hands went down, the obsidian color began to bleed out of her hair, taking the curl along with it. When Adrianna reached the very ends of her long locks, she gave her head a good shake, leaving perfectly straight, honey blonde hair where her dark curls had been.
"Bloody hell!" James flopped forward to get a better look. "So you can change anything you want?"
"And without a glamour charm or a potion." Remus noted.
Adrianna wasn't finished though, she closed her eyes and pressed a thumb and forefinger onto her eyelids. When she pulled her hand away, bright blue eyes had replaced stormy grey.
"Wow!" Lily ran an exploratory hand through the blonde locks. "I'm jealous, Adrianna."
"Don't be," Her friend chuckled. "Changing hair and eye color is easy enough, but it takes a lot of energy to try and change any facial or body features. I've only been able to do it once."
"Oi!" Sirius called as he came down the hill to join them. "What's going on?"
Adrianna turned to look up at him, and the dark haired Gryffindor stopped dead in his tracks. His mouth opened and closed several times before he managed to say anything else.
"Bloody hell…" Sirius gulped.
"Hello Sirius," Adrianna smiled.
"Like her new trick?" James smirked and tugged his friend down onto the grass.
"I…er…that is…yeah." He stuttered before clamping his mouth shut.
Lily giggled and continued to play with her friend's temporarily blonde hair. "Adrianna picked up a new succubus ability over the summer."
"Apparently so." Sirius laughed nervously, running a hand through his own dark hair. "How long will it last?"
Adrianna thought for a minute. "It depends on how much energy it took to do it in the first place. Something like this I could probably hold for several hours. But," She raked her fingers through her hair, returning it to its former glory, and blinked a few times to bring her eyes back to normal. "I'm still working on it."
"Aw," The redhead gently tugged on the returned black curls. "I liked the blonde too."
"Watch out, or I'll start changing my hair to look like yours." Adrianna warned playfully. "Then you won't be the only exotic redhead in Hogwarts."
The boys laughed, while Lily stuck her tongue out at her friend.
"Don't worry Evans," James hooked an arm through Lily's. "You'll always be the number one redhead in my life."
"Ugh, that makes me feel so much better."
OOOOOOOOOO
The day of the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin Quidditch match dawned cold and grey, with rain threatening eminently on the horizon. This didn't completely dull the students' spirits, however, and the Great Hall was buzzing with activity as they prepared for the day ahead.
Adrianna heaved the bag containing her record player onto the Gryffindor House table, with Lily following close behind with the bag of records. Today's music selection had to be especially good considering how awful the weather promised to be. James and Sirius had already gone to meet with the rest of the team and change into their uniforms, while Remus and Peter had been waiting for the girls to join them at breakfast.
"What do you think our odds are today?" Adrianna asked as the werewolf finished up his bowl of porridge. "I haven't heard anything about how Slytherin's team is this year."
"They didn't really lose anyone important to graduation, and neither did we." Remus said thoughtfully. "So really we're about as evenly matched this year as we were last year."
"Should be a good match then." Lily grinned before casting a spell on the record player that would protect it from any rainfall.
Soon it was time to make their way out to the Quidditch pitch. Peter and Remus volunteered to carry the records and player down to the field and they all blended into the crowd of students making their way outside. Adrianna was trying to re-wrap her red and gold scarf when it slipped out of her hand and onto the floor. Just as she would have bent to pick it up, Severus appeared out of the masses and grabbed it for her.
"Thank you," Adrianna smiled and accepted the scarf back. "How are you?" She asked as they were once again swept up into the flow of students.
"Fine." He nodded quietly and scanned the iron grey sky. "I have a bad feeling about today."
"Because of the weather?" Adrianna asked curiously.
"No…" Severus glanced around quickly. "It's just…some of the Slytherin players have been a little too calm about the match today." He sighed. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid."
A single, arched brow rose higher on her forehead. Adrianna couldn't remember the shy Slytherin ever engaging in so much conversation without her prodding him. Maybe he was truly becoming comfortable around her now?
"Hurry up, Adrianna!" Remus' voice drifted over to them as they reached the entrance to the stadium. "We've got to get the player set up."
"Be right there!" She called before turning back to the young man on her right. "Hope you enjoy the match, Severus." Adrianna gave his green scarf a playful tug before breaking off and going to join Remus.
Severus shook his head as he trudged up into the stands on the Slytherin side of the pitch. He didn't really know what had possessed him to share his apprehensions with the half-witch, but was done was done. Things had just been a little too quiet around the Slytherin common room lately, and it made him uneasy.
Rain began to splatter down from the sky in fat, cold drops just as the match was getting underway. Of course the stadium itself had charms to protect the spectators from getting too wet, but the players were soaked within minutes. James shoved his dripping hair out of his eyes for the hundredth time and scanned the air for the snitch as best he could. This match was turning into a bloody mess. He ducked his head down and narrowly missed being wacked in the skull by the tail-end of Sirius's broom.
"Oi!" The Seeker shouted, but there wasn't much point. Even Adrianna's sonorous enhanced record player was having trouble being heard of the sound of the rain. At least the half-witch was doing her best to bolster the Gryffindors' spirits. He sailed around again, keeping one eye on the progress of the match, and the other on the lookout for a certain flying golden ball.
Glancing down, James noticed something that made him pause. The Slytherin Beaters seemed to be corralling one of the bludgers, not even really paying attention to the other one that Sirius was trying to keep from one of the Gryffindor Chasers. What were those snakes up to? James flew on around, now keeping his attention split between the Slytherin beaters and looking for the Snitch. He didn't like this one bit.
Adrianna was quite busy herself, sorting through the records in the bag that Remus was currently holding for her. There had to be something in here that would help get everyone in a better mood. Granted, they weren't exactly losing, but neither team had scored so much as a point during the entire match. Even the announcing student, Frank Longbottom, was having trouble giving the match his usually vigorous commentating. Finally, she decided to put on the first record she'd ever played for a Gryffindor match, Aerosmith's 'Sweet Emotion'. She put the record on the player and placed the needle on the vinyl surface. The swell of the music filled the air, and most of the Gryffindors recognized it immediately. A renewed cheer went up through the crowd of red and gold clad fans, urging their team on to beat Slytherin and get them the hell out of this rain.
The support really did seem to help, as Gryffindor finally scored their first goal of the game. A roar of approval rose up even above the sound of the rain and James did a quick, celebratory loop in the air. When he straitened back out, the Seeker scanned the field to get a handle on where the match was, and looked down just in time to see one of the Slytherin beaters strike a bludger at one of his own teammates. James' mouth opened instinctively to warn the player, but his words caught in his throat when he saw Evan Rosier grin maniacally at the incoming ball and shoot right towards the side of the Gryffindor stands. The Slytherin got right up against the bottom of the structure, before rocketing straight up, the bludger in hot pursuit.
It all happened so quickly. One minute Lily, Peter, Remus, and Adrianna were enjoying themselves, cheering their team on with the rest of their house, and the next minute a Slytherin player suddenly shot up into the air right in front of their noses. The green blur was quickly followed by a speeding bludger, the cannonball-like orb clipped the edge of Adrianna's record player, smashing it on one side and sending both it and the bag of records tumbling hundreds of feet to the ground.
The silence that fell over the Quidditch stadium was deafening, the rain might as well have been a whisper.
"Bloody hell…" Frank completely forgot that his voice was under a sonorous spell. "Oi! The slimy bastard did that on purpose!" A chorus of jeers and boos erupted from the Gryffindor side of the field as Rosier swung his broom down to hover a few feet above the ground, grinning smugly at the completely destroyed record player. Without warning, the Slytherin was knocked off of his broom by a furious James Potter. The Seeker hopped off of his own broom and punched the larger boy square on the jaw. Before any of the faculty could react, a full on fist fight broke out on the field between most of the Gryffindor and Slytherin players. Brooms, mud, and Quidditch gear went flying through the air. One of the Slytherin beaters hauled his bat back to whack James in the back of the head, when suddenly all of the brawling players were hauled up into the air by a spell from Madam Hooch. She blew her whistle shrilly and began barking orders at the players who had stayed out of the fray.
Adrianna stood with her hands gripping the railing where the record player had previously sat. She hadn't uttered a word since the bludger had plowed through, and was terrified that if she spoke she'd lose control and slip into her succubus form. It was bad enough that that had happened when Moony had nearly attached Severus, but this…this had been directed solely at her. She grit her teeth so hard that she was sure one of them was going to crack, and her friends were at a complete loss for what to do.
"Attention students." Professor McGonagall's stern voice echoed through the stadium. "In light of this absolutely disgraceful and inappropriate behavior, today's Quidditch match is now cancelled. There will be no winner declared, and all participants in this sordid mess will each be deducted fifty house points."
A collective gasp swept through the students as Madam Hooch finally let the suspended players down. Sirius immediately grabbed his broom and floated up to his friends in the stands. He hovered in front of them silently for a moment, covered in mud and sporting both a busted lip and the beginnings of an impressive black eye.
"Adrianna," Sirius spoke softly. The half-witch seemed to come out of her daze somewhat as her grey eyes met his. "I am so sorry…I should have kept a better eye on what they were doing."
"It's not your fault," Adrianna replied hoarsely. She finally released the railing and flexed her hands. Burned into the wood, were two perfect imprints of her hands, the only evidence that she'd almost lost control. "Take me down there, please."
The dark haired boy nodded immediately and helped her climb onto the back of his broom, much like he'd done at their first Quidditch match together. Only this time, he wasn't smiling as they drifted carefully down to the ground. The rain had lessened slightly, and Adrianna was able to see exactly how much damage had been done to her precious record player. It was broken beyond repair, even magical repair at that. There was no way all of the parts would be found.
Kneeling down, she picked up a shard of a record in her pale hands and held it up. It was a Creedance Clearwater Revival record, one of her favorites. Tears began to slowly leak out of her eyes as she let the ruined piece of album drop back into the mud.
"Come on," Sirius wrapped one arm around her shoulders and helped the girl stand. "Let's get out of this rain, yeah? We'll come back for all of this after it stops."
Adrianna nodded mutely and allowed Sirius to guide her back towards the castle. All of the students who had been so excited about the match only a few hours prior, trudged solemnly back to the school, not even daring to gossip about the blatant attack Evan Rosier had made on Adrianna Fawley until they were safely in their common rooms.
OOOOOOOOOO
Evan Rosier received a month's worth of detention, and was banned from playing Quidditch for the remainder of his sixth year at school. Of course this decision was met with opposition from many of the Slytherins, but none dared to voice it out loud in order to avoid having their own jaws broken by James Potter. Many of the Gryffindors found some grim satisfaction in Rosier's punishment, but Adrianna still withdrew very much into herself. For two days she only spoke to Lily or Remus, and spent her nights sitting in the common room staring at the fireplace until the last of the flames died away. It was obvious that the half-succubus was deeply troubled by the effort that the boy had gone to in order to damage her one contribution to her House. Not to mention the implications of what might have happened if the bludger had also plowed into one of the students in the stands or even Adrianna herself.
For his own part, Severus Snape was furious with his housemate. He had just known that Rosier would probably try to lash out at the half-witch in some way, but he doubted that even Evan realized just how much he'd hurt the girl. Cursing under his breath, Severus closed the thick potions tomb that he'd been reading in the library. Madam Pince had already come by once to let him know that curfew was approaching, and he could hear her shuffling feet approaching again. He hefted his bag onto his shoulder and began the long dissent down into the dungeons. He decided to go down a little used back way, if nothing else it might at least help him avoid Rosier or any of his wanker cronies.
Just as he was coming down the last of the dungeon steps, Severus was nearly given a heart attack by a ghost floating into his face.
"Oh! Thank goodness!" Nearly-Headless Nick gasped. "I was afraid no one would come down this way, and I didn't want to go too far!"
"What are you talking about?" Severus snapped at the Gryffindor ghost.
The transparent knight beckoned him down the corridor. "Come quickly! There's a student, a girl, in the bathroom down here, she's very ill!" He turned back to make sure the Slytherin was still following him. "I would have gone to Gryffindor tower to fetch someone, but I was afraid to leave her alone."
"Wait," Severus stopped. "A Gryffindor? Down here? What are you playing at?" He glared at the specter. There was no way a Gryffindor would be down in the dungeons this time of night…this had to be some kind of prank set up by Potter or one of his friends.
"Oh, in the name of Merlin's shaggy beard, boy!" Nick bellowed at him. "This is no time for levity! I am quite serious! The young lady was barely conscious when I was passing through on my way to find the Bloody Baron. I'm afraid she's eaten or drank something she shouldn't have. She looks quite sick." He gestured towards the now visible girls' bathroom door. "Now will you please come help her? I would take her out of here myself but, as you see, I can't!"
Severus took a deep breath and, feeling a knot of dread form in his stomach, followed the ghost the rest of the way down the hall. "Do you know who it is?" He asked as they reached the door.
"Yes," Nick began to melt through the wood of the door. "It's that lovely Fawley girl. I'm quite concerned about her…"
"Adrianna?" He yelped and quickly pushed the door open. In his haste to get inside the bathroom he ran right through Nearly-Headless Nick, earning himself a chill that went right down to his bones. When the sensation passed, he looked to where the ghost was anxiously hovering. There, slumped down in the far corner of the stone bathroom, was Adrianna. He ran over to her and his knees hit the hard stone floor with a crack. Wincing at the pain, Severus swiftly checked her symptoms.
Her grey eyes were barely open and unfocused, the pupils dilated severely. The obsidian shine had gone out of her hair and her usually bright red lips were the dull color of old, dried blood. Adrianna looked horribly pale, and her breath was coming in short, erratic gasps. Looking down, Severus suddenly noticed an empty bottle clutched in her hand. He gently extracted the purple glass vial from her grip, holding it up into the scant light of the bathroom to read the label. It was a potion used to make her non-human traits less noticeable so that she could be around Muggles…and the recommended dose was only a few drops every twenty-four hours!
"Did she drink all of this at once?" He asked the ghost sharply.
"I think so," Nick said worriedly. "When I saw her and asked if she was alright, all she said was something about how she hadn't slept in days and she just wanted to go to sleep like a normal person…"
"Sleep…" Severus echoed. "Sleep…Oh, fuck!" He pocketed the empty bottle, pulled one of Adrianna's arms across his thin shoulders, and heaved her up. She was shockingly easy to lift, and didn't seem to be able to keep her feet planted on the floor. He practically dragged her out of the bathroom and into the dungeon corridor.
Nick was hovering along beside him anxiously. "What are you going to do? Shall I go fetch Madam Pomfry while you stay with her? Or…"
"Shut it!" He snapped, trying to find the door he wanted. "There's no time to get her!" Reaching the door he was looking for, Severus whipped out his wand and Alohamora'd the lock. The door swung open, revealing an unused classroom where Severus knew Professor Slughorn kept extra supplies and some pre-brewed emergency potions. A couch that had previously sat in the Slytherin common room was against one wall. He lifted her up and onto the faded, cracked leather. "You keep an eye out in the corridor, let me know if you see anyone coming." He said without looking at the ghost. Nick hesitated briefly before he nodded and floated back out the door. After checking her breathing one more time, Severus rushed over to the supply cabinets and searched rapidly for what he wanted. He briefly considered feeding her a bezoar, but was unsure of how her succubus blood would react to it. Instead, he grabbed a large container of Slughorn's personal "cure-all". Supposedly it took him nearly a year to make and was rumored to counteract most poisons. The old potions master didn't even realize Severus knew where he kept it. Filing a small vile full of the strong smelling, green liquid, he dashed back over to the couch.
Adrianna's breathing was worse than it had been in the bathroom and she had broken out in a cold sweat. Gently, Severus gripped the back of her head and lifted it up, tipping the potion over her cracked lips. She choked on the liquid, coughed and nearly spat it back out, but he held his free hand over her mouth and encouraged her to swallow the remedy.
"Adrianna, listen to me!" He hissed. "You need to drink this. I'm not even sure if it will help right now, but you need to try." When he was sure the first dose had gone down, he refilled the vial a second time and returned to her. This time the potion went down easier, and her grey eyes seemed to focus on him for a second before they slid closed and she passed out. Severus waited for several tense minutes, watching for any change in the unconscious girl. Slowly, her breathing began to improve and some of the color returned to her face. Heaving a sigh of relief, he strode to the door and barely cracked it open to see if Nick was still hovering outside. He cleared his throat to get the ghost's attention.
"I think she's going to be alright…" Severus said awkwardly. "If you want to go…I can stay with her until she's well enough to make it upstairs."
Nick gave him a look filled with gratitude. "Thank you so much for your help, my boy! I feel much relieved, I'm so glad I ran into you." He swept into a bow, his nearly severed head wobbling on his shoulders.
Severus made a noncommittal grunt and nodded at the ghost before quietly shutting the door. He turned and leaned on the solid wood for several moments, allowing his brain to catch up with all that had happened in such a short span of time. Looking up, he saw that Adrianna still slept, her chest rising and falling steadily. Her hair no longer looked dull, and though they were still split in a few places, her lips had returned to their original color as well. Severus slowly lowered himself onto the floor by the couch, keeping a third vial of the antidote nearby. Putting his face into his hands, he allowed himself the luxury of closing his black eyes and listening to the girl's steady breathing. How long he stayed like that he wasn't sure, it seemed like no sooner had he closed his eyes than he heard her beginning to stir.
Arched brows knit together in a frown as she struggled to wake up. He watched closely to see if she was going to relapse, but her breathing and color still seemed normal. Her eyes finally opened, sluggish and unfocused at first, but then her pupils slowly adjusted to the dim light in the room. Moving her head slightly, Adrianna took in the stone ceiling above her and the back of the old couch on her left, before finally turning to where Severus was kneeling on her right.
"Stupid." Severus spat out. His tone was soft and dangerous.
It took Adrianna a minute to process what he'd said. "What?" She croaked, her voice barely able to rise above a whisper.
"This," He held up the empty purple bottle in front of her face. "Was one of the stupidest things you could have ever done." She blinked slowly up at him, a sheen of sweat still glistening on her forehead, but made no response. Swearing under his breath, Severus grabbed a clean cloth from the supply cabinet and the third dose of the antidote he'd measured for her. After gently mopping the perspiration off of her face, he held the small vile of green liquid to her lips. "Drink this." He commanded. Adrianna instantly complied and swallowed the potion with hardly a grimace at its bitter taste. When her head sagged back onto the couch again, he stood up to refill the vial a fourth time. She glanced tiredly around, her foggy brain realized they must still be somewhere in the dungeons.
Severus was muttering to himself as he filled the vial. "Completely absurd…of all the dim, moronic… ludicrous…" He conjured a glass of water and turned back towards her with an exasperated sigh. Placing the liquids down on the floor, he wrapped his long fingers just above her elbows. "Here, try and sit up if you can…" After a few minutes' work, he managed to get Arianna propped up in the nook where the back of the couch met the armrest. He then tried to get her to hold the glass of water, but her fingers were still too weak to grip it properly. Shaking his head, Severus held the glass up for her and instructed her to drink again. She did so, licking some of the moisture onto her cracked lips after he pulled the glass away.
Adrianna glanced down at the hands folded in her lap and took a long, deep breath. When she looked back up at him her eyes were bright with unshed tears.
"I'm sorry…" She whispered, blinking rapidly and looking down again.
Severus ran a hand over his face as he sat down on the free end of the sofa, feeling much older than just sixteen at the moment. "You don't have to apologize to me, understand? But…what were you thinking?"
She raised a shaky hand and brushed a lock of hair from her face. "I…I was so tired…I just wanted to be able to sleep…And after what happened the other day with Rosier…"
"Rosier is a fucking bastard." Severus growled. "What he did was inexcusable. But that shouldn't have made you want to kill yourself!"
She looked up at him, shock clearly written on her lovely face. "I wasn't…I didn't want to…Oh, no!" Adrianna pressed her face into her hands, the tears she'd been trying to hold back spilled between her fingers.
Severus blinked rapidly and his mouth hung open slightly. He was completely ignorant of how to comfort a crying girl. Tentatively, he reached out and placed an awkward hand on her shoulder.
"I…I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to cry!" Severus wracked his brain for the right words to console her, and floundered. "For Salazar's sake, you just scared the shite out of me is all I meant!"
The next thing he knew, Adrianna proceeded to bury her face into his shoulder and cry even harder. Severus froze, and he quickly felt as if all of his blood had transferred into his face. Cheeks burning, he brought his other hand up and hesitantly patted her back.
"Um…" The boy cleared his throat, mind completely blank. He was a little torn between concern for Adrianna and enjoyment at the fact that he was currently holding her soft form in his arms.
Slowly, she extracted herself from him and sat back up, wiping the tears away. "I'm so sorry, Severus." Adrianna managed a weak smile. "You're right…that was very stupid of me." A look of panic suddenly crossed her features. "Shit! If my Aunt Lilith finds out, she'll really kill me!"
"Do…do you have to tell her?" He asked tentatively, unsure of how the family dynamic worked with succubi.
"No…" She mused, running her hands through her curls. "I suppose I don't…it feels weird not to say anything but…I wasn't trying to hurt myself." Grey eyes caught his black ones. "I hate to ask you this, but, could we please keep this between us? At least for now?"
The pale boy nodded solemnly. "Of course, I won't say anything." His lips twisted into a smirk. "Just promise me you won't try to drink a whole bottle of potion like that again without checking with me first."
Adrianna laughed sardonically and held out a now steady hand. "It's a deal. Agreed?"
Severus wrapped his long fingers around her warm ones, and held her hand for a long time before responding. "Agreed."