Author's Note:
I won't try to make any excuses for why it's been so long since I've updated this story. Sufficient to say, the last year has been tough in my professional life (those pesky day jobs), but a lot of changes were made. Now I'm in a much happier place and I really feel like writing again.
So, I hope you enjoy the continuation of Adrianna Fawley's story! I'm keeping the rating as T for now, mostly for language. But we'll see if that changes as things progress.
Best,
Dragonwing
Ch. 13 – The Lake Trip (Part I):
The portkey trip to the New York City station was only mildly terrifying.
As they all placed a hand on the old, cracked work boot waiting for them – "Why is it always a bloody boot?" Sirius had grumbled – they each felt the tugging pull in their navels that signaled the start of the trip.
Adrianna clutched her bag for all she was worth and squeezed her eyes shut. The last thing she needed after her encounter with Severus was to arrive in the States with a body part missing.
They reached their landing point, a small room with a door leading out to the main lobby, with nary a hair out of place.
"What a rush!" James laughed. "Who wants to go again?"
"Not me." Peter did look a little green around the gills.
"Everyone ready?" Adrianna led the way out into the station. It was a perfect copy of the Muggle Penn station.
The building was bustling with witches and wizards, coming and going from all over the world. Lily was forced to grab onto the back of Adrianna's shirt to keep from being separated.
They turned down a new corridor, and came to a long row of fireplaces set into one wall. A line of people waited for their turn to use the next available Floo.
"Brilliant!" James grinned. "It's like a Floo Network station."
"Exactly." Adrianna took a number from a dispenser set into the wall. "We'll probably need to go in two separate groups. I'm not sure how big the Floo is on the other end in Rochester. That's the closest point we can get to. Then we can either apparate or rent a car. It's only an hour and a half drive."
"A car!" Peter perked up. "I've never been in a car before."
"Then, let's rent a car." Sirius hooked an arm around the smaller boy's neck.
Their number was called soon, and they split up into two groups to Floo to Rochester, New York. Adrianna stepped through the flames last and reappeared out the other end to find her friends dusting off a cloud of soot and Floo powder.
"They're still working a few things out." Adrianna coughed. "Having so many Floo entrances next to each other creates more dust in the air."
"Just a bit." James wiped his fingers across his glasses, leaving dark smudges on the lenses.
The check-in process went smoothly, the American witches and wizards who worked in the station were surprisingly efficient. They carried their belongings to a new counter near the exit of the building, where Adrianna rented them a car. When Adrianna pulled out her American charge card for the witch at the counter to slide through a bulky metal contraption with carbon paper attached on one side, she could hear the boys murmuring in confusion behind her. She'd explain the concept of Muggle plastic credit later.
OOOOOOOOOO
As it turned out, two of the Marauders were unexpectedly susceptible to car-sickness.
"This is actually quite ironic if you think about it." Remus peered into the very back of the rented '75 Volvo station wagon, where Sirius and James had been banished the minute they started turning green. Lily had kindly transfigured each of them a sick bucket, just in case.
"Shut up, Moony." James groaned.
"How is it ironic?" Peter, who was feeling just fine now, couldn't stop swiveling his head back and forth. Trying to take in as much of the scenery as possible as it sailed by.
Lily giggled from the front passenger seat. "Because, Wormy, the two big, bad Quidditch athletes have been incapacitated by a Muggle automobile."
"Ugh…" Sirius kept his head pressed between his knees. How was it possible that he could ride trains and carriages and a fucking broomstick, but this made him heave? If he never rode in another car again, it would be too soon.
"Don't worry guys, we'll be there before you know it." Adrianna glanced back at them in the rearview mirror. She adjusted her sunglasses and cracked her window to give them a little breeze.
"Oh, sweet Merlin's tits." James pressed his cheek against the cool glass of the window next to him, feeling the wind coming in from the front. Peter giggled and James flipped him the two-finger salute.
Sirius and James practically fell out of the station wagon as Adrianna came to a stop in the lake cabin's gravel driveway. The waterfront home was simple, while at the same time boasting four complete levels each with its own balcony overlooking the water. A speedboat whizzed by, leaving a trail of wake behind it, and Peter's eyes bugged out of their sockets.
"Are we going to go on a Muggle boat?" Peter asked.
"Sure!" Adrianna grinned as she, Lily, and Remus began unloading their luggage from the trunk. "We can rent one for the day at the public dock up the road."
"No more Muggle vehicles!" James groaned from his spot on the ground. He didn't even care that there was a particularly sharp piece of gravel lodged in his spine. It felt too good being on solid ground for the small hurts to matter.
"You've been in a rowboat on the Black Lake." Lily reminded him. "I'm sure it will be quite similar."
"Doubtful." Sirius mumbled. He, at least, was sitting up with his back against one of the rear tires of the car.
"Didn't you say you wanted to try a motorcycle, Pads?" Remus chuckled. "Maybe that's not such a good idea."
"Don't kill my dreams, Moony." Sirius took a gulp of air and stood up. When he didn't immediately feel the need to vomit, he took that as a good sign.
"Let's get everything inside, and then a few of us can drive down to the market for some groceries." Adrianna fished the key to the house out of her purse, and led the way inside.
Remus shoved one bag into Sirius' arms and dropped another next to James on the ground. "Come on, let's see if I packed any potions that might help with nausea."
"Why didn't you think of that sooner?" James wailed.
OOOOOOOOOO
The first few of days at the cabin were mostly spent unpacking and adjusting to the time difference, but soon the group of friends fell into an easy rhythm. Adrianna and Lily took over the breakfast duties, as that seemed to be the only meal the boys were useless at making. It was also one of the only times the half-succubus felt hungry that week, so being where the action was turned out to be useful. Lunch was a sporadic grabbing of food in between swimming in the lake or hiking along one of the wooded trails by the cabin. As it turned out, neither of the girls brought bikinis with them, so Sirius was free from James' earlier prediction. Dinners were more elaborate affairs with almost everyone pitching in, Peter was more of a taste-tester than a cook. The evenings were spent by a small fire pit near the shore, or playing Wizard Chess and Exploding Snap on one of the higher balconies where they wouldn't be easily seen by any Muggles.
Of course, they all knew that a few of Adrianna's American friends would be arriving mid-week. The appointed morning arrived, warm and sunny, and the girls sat at the kitchen table with cups of tea while that morning's breakfast waited buffet-style on the kitchen table.
"I'm sure you're excited to see your American friends." Lily added a splash of milk to her cup before pouring the tea over it. "When was the last time you were all together?"
"It's been at least two years, now." Adrianna took a sip of her own tea. "I've been so busy training with my aunts during our school breaks, I haven't had time for much else."
"G'morning." Remus stumbled into the kitchen, his hair rumpled and mouth open in a wide yawn. Adrianna had taken care to ensure that Lupin's "furry little problem" wouldn't be an issue while they were travelling. In fact, he'd transformed just a couple of days before they left, so he was looking fairly healthy at the moment.
"Morning, Moony." Lily smiled and poured a cup of tea for him. Remus took it with thanks and bit into a chocolate scone.
The other three boys soon wandered into the kitchen, drawn by the smell of food.
Everyone had filled a plate and gathered around the kitchen table when they all jumped at the sound of a blaring stereo and car tires sliding through gravel. The car's engine and the music both turned off.
"Hey, Ri!" A young man's American-accented voice called from the driveway. "Get your gorgeous ass down here!"
"Ri?" Sirius' head cocked to the side like a dog that had heard an odd sound.
Adrianna grinned and was out the door in a flash. The others followed curiously and gathered on the front porch to see who had arrived.
In the driveway sat a bright red convertible with the top down. Climbing out of the car were Adrianna's three American friends. A boy and girl who appeared to be siblings, both with light brown hair and hazel eyes, hugged the half-witch with great enthusiasm. Out of the driver's seat came another boy who looked as if he'd stepped out of a clothing advert, complete with tanned skin and blinding white teeth. Messy blonde hair flopped into blue eyes as he grinned and picked Adrianna up by the waist to spin her around. She laughed and planting a kiss on his cheek before he put her down.
Remus saw Sirius digging his fingernails into the wooden porch railing. He reached over and gently dislodged the taller boy's hand.
"Take it easy, Padfoot." Remus whispered. "They're her friends."
Adrianna led the little group up the porch stairs, grinning broadly. She introduced the three Americans to her Hogwarts friends. "Everyone, this is Zach and Laura Houser." The siblings both smiled. "And this is Gil Brady." The blonde boy waved from behind her shoulder.
Sirius stood eye to eye with Gil and shook the other boy's hand. "Alright?"
"Nice to meet all of you." Gil's white teeth flashed at them. "We've heard so much about Adrianna's school friends in her letters."
"Funny, hadn't heard anything about you." Sirius snorted.
"Sirius!" Lily shoved her way in between them to shake the handsome American's hand. "Of course, we've heard about them!" She smiled prettily.
"Man, I just love your accent." Gil grinned again. "I be you could read the phone book and sound amazing."
James glowered from his position on the other side of the porch. Sirius moved to stand beside him and leaned in to whisper. "That bloke might be trouble, Prongs."
"We'll see." said James.
"How does it feel to be done with school?" Laura was asking them.
"Great!" Remus said. "I'm sure you must be glad too."
"Definitely." said Laura. "Although now we've got college to look forward to."
"Yeah, so looking forward to it." Zach shook his head. "Can we not talk about school right now? We're supposed to be on vacation!"
"So…" Peter looked at all three of them curiously. "Which of you are the Muggles?"
"Peter!" Lily admonished. "Don't be rude!"
"What?" The smaller boy yelped. "I've never met a Muggle before."
"And what were you expecting?" James asked. "For him to have two heads?"
Adrianna rubbed her temple and sighed. "Gill is a…non-magical person, Laura is a witch, and Zach is…"
"Magically challenged." Zach saved her from having to explain. "I went to Muggle schools for the most part."
"You mean you're a…" Lily searched for a polite term.
"Squib?" Peter supplied. Lily huffed and threw her hands into the air.
"It's alright." Zach brushed the awkward moment off. "I can do a little magic, just not much."
Adrianna decided to take charge. "Let's get your bags out of the car, shall we?" She led the three newcomers back down to get their luggage.
OOOOOOOOOO
Later that night, they were all gathered around the fire pit, while Laura and Zach attempted to teach the Marauders how to make s'mores.
"But how do you get the marshmallow into the sandwich bit?" Peter sat enthralled while Zach roasted a puffy white marshmallow on the end of a stick.
Zach chuckled. "You use the crackers and chocolate to pull it off the stick once it's cooked."
Lily shook her head and turned to where Gil sat on her left. "I'm curious, how did you become friends with Adrianna, Zach, and Laura if you didn't go to Salem Academy?"
"I grew up in the same town as Zach and Laura." Gil turned his own marshmallow over the fire. "They let me in on the whole witch and wizard thing when Laura went away to school and Zach stayed behind. Then, I met Adrianna through Laura. She came home with her one Christmas break to visit. The rest is history." He grinned and swiftly put together a s'more to offer to Lily. "For the lady?"
"Why, thank you sir." Lily giggled.
"No problem. You want one, Ri?" Gill asked Adrianna where she sat on Lily's other side.
"If you please." Adrianna tossed him a bag of marshmallows. "I can never cook these without catching them on fire."
As if off queue, Peter yelped when the ball of sugar on the end of his own stick was suddenly engulfed in flames. Gil and Zach hurried to help him out before he lobbed the flaming projectile into the air.
"Why does he bloody call her that?" Sirius grumbled to James.
"Beats me." James stuffed the last of a s'more into his mouth and began prepping for another one. He'd become a bit obsessed.
"He gets so close to her, and touches her, and she doesn't do a thing to stop him!"
"They have known each other for a long time."
Sirius snorted. "He's also feeding your girlfriend sweets, Prongs."
James looked up in time to see Gil handing both Adrianna and Lily each another s'more. "Good point. The prat must be stopped."
OOOOOOOOOO