AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, would you look at that, a chapter! XD
~Dragonwing
Chapter 8 – Seventh Year:
Adrianna sat in the spindly-legged chair across from Albus Dumbledore's desk. The many portraits of former headmasters stared down at her in solemn curiosity as she finished telling Hogwarts' current headmaster the events that had occurred over the summer. Particularly she was informing him, on behalf of Lilith, of the darkness that the succubi had picked up on, the imbalance in the natural levels of magic.
Dumbledore listened, his blue eyes betraying none of his thoughts as they gazed at her over the half-moon spectacles perched on the bridge of his nose. Adrianna waited, having reported everything she had to say, as the silence stretched on. The only discernable sounds in the office were coming from the adolescent phoenix nesting in the corner. Twisting her fingers together, Adrianna willed herself to be patient until the headmaster spoke.
Dumbledore leaned back into his chair, opened a drawer in his desk, and withdrew a paper bag full of candied almonds. "I thank you for coming to me with this information, Miss Fawley. I trust you are not feeling any residual effects from your brush with this…dark current?" He offered her the bag, she withdrew exactly two almonds and held them in her fist.
"That's right. Lilith made sure I was fine before sending me back to school."
The headmaster hummed approvingly before popping a few of the almonds into his mouth and chewing thoughtfully. If he noticed that Adrianna was still holding her share of the candy, he didn't mention it.
"I would appreciate it if you kept these events to yourself for the time being, Adrianna. Until the nature of this magical imbalance becomes clear, I think it would be best not to cause panic within the school."
"Of course." Adrianna nodded, a little grateful that she had an excuse not to discuss any of this with anyone just yet. The last thing she needed was another reason to draw attention to herself. She'd already decided she would tell Moony though. The lycanthrope wouldn't say anything, and for some reason she couldn't name, Adrianna felt Remus had a right to know.
"I will send an owl to your Aunt Lilith if I have any additional questions, no need to make you an unnecessary go-between."
"Thank you, professor." The candied almonds were beginning to become sticky in her palm, she squeezed her fist a little tighter to keep the sugary morsels from slipping. Adrianna stood as Dumbledore rose to his feet. He escorted her through the office, back to the door that would lead her down the spiral steps and out into the castle.
"Ah, before I forget." Dumbledore stroked his long beard in thought for a second. "If any of your friends or professors should ask why you arrived at school a day early, perhaps we'll tell them it was so you could confer with Madam Pomfrey on her available stock of lovesick remedies."
"Yes sir," Adrianna sighed with relief when the office door closed behind her. She waited until the gargoyle statue had let her out into the corridor before using a touch of succubus magic to vanish the almonds.
Why did people keep offering her things she couldn't eat?
OOOOOOOOOO
Being the first student in the Great Hall prior to the Welcome Feast was an odd thing indeed.
Adrianna realized that she'd never really been in the cavernous room when it wasn't bustling with students, teachers, and the occasional ghost. As she sat down at the end of the Gryffindor table traditionally occupied by seventh years, Adrianna soaked in the realization, this was her last year at Hogwarts. She'd been so wrapped up with her summer training and the threat this dark current might pose…there were so many memories she'd treasure from her short time at Hogwarts. For the good times had far outweighed the bad, despite how incredibly bad a few of those times had been.
Smiling to herself, Adrianna leaned against the worn wood of the table, listening as the sounds of the other students arriving drifted in in from the front entrance. She took the opportunity to watch them file in, second years through seventh, picking out faces she recognized and committing as many as possible to memory.
It wasn't long before she heard a familiar "Oi, Adrianna!" shouted over the din.
James Potter elbowed his way through the throng of students, with Sirius, Peter, and Remus close behind him. The boys all greeted her with much enthusiasm.
"How is it you all look so much older after only three months?" She laughed, hugged each of them, and was about to ask after Lily when the redhead suddenly appeared.
"Adrianna!" Lily gasped, her face so flushed with excitement that it nearly matched her hair. "You won't believe it, I've been made Head Girl!"
"Oh, I believe it." Adrianna embraced her friend. "Congratulations, Lily!"
"Well done, Evans!" James grinned from across the table.
"Thanks…" If it was possible, Lily managed to blush even more. In the past, she would have simply ignored James' compliment or made a sarcastic reply.
Adrianna made a mental note to talk to Lily later about this new development.
Soon, Professor Dumbledore was making his annual welcome speech and a new crop of first years were sorted into their houses. Adrianna basked in the whirl of familiar activity, briefly allowing herself to be just a student, just a teenager enjoying the start of her last year of school.
"Say, how did you get into the Great Hall before everyone else?" Peter asked as food began to appear along the tables.
"Yeah, how about that?" Sirius perked up. "We looked for you on the train."
Adrianna shrugged, secretly grateful she had a ready-made reply. "Madam Pomfrey wanted to talk to me about the lovesick remedies she'll be keeping on hand this year. I guess she was thinking of trying something different."
"Makes sense," Lily murmured distractedly. She was still glowing from the announcement of her Head Girl status and hadn't even touched her dinner yet. Adrianna giggled, sliding a hot meat and veggie pie onto the other girl's plate.
"You'd better eat up, Lily, you'll need your strength to perform your Head Girl duties."
The others snickered and Lily flicked her napkin at the half-witch. Adrianna grinned, nibbling a perfunctory bite of fruit to at least look like she was participating in the feast. She was about to take another, when a large, messily assembled bouquet of wildflowers, complete with clods of dirt still attached to the stems, suddenly dropped out of the air and onto her plate.
Peter squeaked and tossed his plate above his head like a shield, sending the remains of his dinner flying at the nearest sixth year Gryffindors.
Lily screamed, knocking a full cup of pumpkin juice into her lap.
"Bloody hell!" James pushed back from the table, and would have fallen backwards if it weren't for Sirius and Remus each catching one of his arms.
"What on earth…?" Adrianna looked up to find Peeves the Poltergeist hovering above the Gryffindor table.
"Oh, joy of joys! The Pretty Lady has come back to brighten the halls of dreary old Hogwarts!" The little man floated down to Adrianna's eye level. The half-witch stared in shock as the spectre took her hand and smacked a kiss on top of it before sweeping into a bow. "Old Peevsie is so glad to see the Pretty Lady, he is! Does the Lady like her flowers? Peevsie picked them himself."
Adrianna quickly recovered and inspected the bouquet more closely. She had a bad feeling many of the mangled flowers had come from Professor Sprout's garden. No telling what they all were. "They are quite lovely, Peeves. You really didn't have to…"
"But Peevsie did!" He wrung his odd hat between his hands. "This will be the last year Peevsie can share the castle with the Pretty Lady. Oh, what will he do when she leaves?" The poltergeist drew a large, spotted handkerchief out of one pocket and the ensuing nose-blow sounded remarkably like an off key trumpet.
Adrianna was keenly aware of the spectacle Peeves was currently making of her, and struggled for the right words to appease the poltergeist.
"Don't worry, Peeves darling." She gathered a few flowers that looked the least likely to be poisonous and held them against her heart. "I promise I will come to visit as often as I can after this year is over. How could I not after such a…unique gesture."
Peeves' sullen mood made a miraculous turnaround. He whooped and flipped through the air before grabbing a basket full of dinner rolls to throw at the nearest gawking students. Mr. Filch came barreling through the Great Hall doors, shouting profanities at the spectre and taking a hunk of bread in the face for his trouble.
Adrianna rubbed her temples, muttering to herself about love-struck poltergeists and how that particular problem never seemed to be one of the lessons her aunts had on hand.
When she looked back up, things were starting to get themselves back under control. Lily had performed a cleaning charm on her new Head Girl robes, Peter was sheepishly putting his shield-plate back onto the table, and James was rubbing his shoulder, bruised where his friends had jerked him back into his seat.
Filch was still trying to herd Peeves out of the hall, but that didn't seem to be bothering Professor Dumbledore at all. The headmaster was too busy digging into a heaping portion of strawberry trifle.
Across the room, Adrianna caught the eye of a lanky seventh year Slytherin sitting at the end of his house table. He smirked and raised a questioning brow at the scene the entire school had just witnessed.
Red lips twisting into a wry smile, Adrianna shrugged and waved a slender hand at the bundle of flowers still covering her plate, as if that explained everything.
Severus Snape chuckled to himself, then promptly ducked to avoid being hit in the head by whatever projectile Peeves had managed to get his hands on now.
'Seventh year,' Adrianna sighed to herself. 'What else could possibly happen now?'