It had been a few weeks since she had last seen Sirius. It was the longest she had gone without him since they started whatever it was that they were.

Her heart was racing anxiously at the thought of seeing him. She had missed him terribly.

"Adelia!" Her hopes fell as Regulus embraced her in his arms. "Come, dinner is about to start." The younger Black took her hand and led her from the living room into the dinning room.

Regulus pulled out her chair for her to sit in and was about to take the seat next to her when Sirius slid into the chair leaving Regulus to sat the seat across from Adelia. She had to bit her lip to hold back her smile.

"Snape." he muttered quietly.

"Black." she returned. As Kreacher brought in their dinner, Sirius' hand found hers under the table. Every time his mother made a comment about Adelia, she squeezed his hand firmly to stop him from saying something he would later regret.

Unfortunately, the fifth time his mother called her 'Amy' got to him.

He finally snapped, "Her name is Adelia! How many times do you have to be told that before you understand? And you!" he shouted turning to Regulus, "How many times does she have to insult Adelia before you grow a god damn backbone and fucking stand up for her?"

"Sirius!—" her mother began to harshly reprimand.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I'm going to my room." he scoffed as he pushed his chair away from the table forcefully and stormed from the room.

As soon as dinner was over, Regulus brought Adelia up to his room while his mother went into Sirius' room to punish her son.

Adelia knew what was going to happen to Sirius and she felt guilty for it. She could barely focus on what Regulus was saying to her as she fidgeted anxiously.

"Adelia? Adelia?"

"What?" she asked, snapping out of her daze.

"I just…I want to make sure that you don't think I agree with them. I mean…she is my mother…I can't seem to stand up to her like Sirius can. Just…just know that I don't care about what they say about you because I…" Regulus trailed off as he leaned in closer to the girl.

She didn't know what was happening until Regulus pressed his lips across hers. It was different than it was with Sirius—she realized that in the singular moment she allowed the kiss to linger for.

Adelia pulled away quickly and moved from him.

"Adelia…I'm sorry. I didn't—"

"It's…it's fine. I just…I have to use the bathroom." she murmured as she left his room. Adelia did not have to use the bathroom; instead, she went right to Sirius' room.

She found him sitting disheveled on the ground as he buttoned up his shirt.

He looked up at her as she entered—his grey eyes piercing her. Adelia sat down next to him and placed her hands on his—stilling their movement.

"What's wrong?" he asked instantly as his eyes ran over her face.

"Nothing." she lied and toyed with his fingers. She ducked her head and allowed her hair to fall into her face.

"Something's wrong. Did my mother say something—"

"No…no, she didn't. It's nothing. Nothing to worry about—" she insisted, shaking her head.

"I don't care if I'm supposed to worry about it. What happened?" he asked as he moved to cup her face in his hands. 'Don't you trust me?"

"I do but—"

"Then what happened?" he demanded.

"Regulus kissed me." she whispered. He pulled his hands away from her face and scrambled to get up. He hissed in pain as he did so—giving her enough time to stand in front of the door.

"Sirius—"

"He kissed you, Adelia! He kissed you!"

"I know but…but it's not a big deal."

"How can it not be a big deal? How?"

"Because he doesn't know about us. It's not like he purposely kissed me to spite you. He doesn't know. If he did, he wouldn't have kissed me."

"That doesn't matter! The fact is that he kissed you! That means he has feelings for you and by me not punching him, I'm giving him a green light to keep kissing you."

"You're being ridiculous." she murmured as she placed her hands on his chest to stop him; he couldn't stop himself from wincing.

She saw the movement and looked at him questioningly.

"It's nothing." he shrugged but she no longer believed him. Her hands went to unbutton his shirt.

"Adelia—" he protested, but she did not listen. She slid the shirt from his chest and let it fall to the ground. She cringed at the bruises and cuts.

"Your shirt wasn't ripped." she muttered.

"I took it off before-hand. Didn't want to ruin another shirt." he muttered as she reached out to touch a bruise.

"Don't." he said as he caught her wrist. She looked up to meet his eyes trembling. He was surprised to find there were tears in her eyes.

"You have to get out of here." she said.

"I will when you get out of your house." he said.

"I have no where to go."

"Neither do I."

"Go to the Potters."

"If you go to Evans'."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I can't abandon—."

"He hits you!" he hissed. "That's not right!"

"And you think this is right?" she said, gesturing to his bruises. "You think this is okay? It's not. It's not. It's not!" she said, as the tears flowed down her cheeks.

"I know." he murmured as he pulled her close. "Shhh….I know." he murmured softly into her hair as he held her tightly.

She giggled softly as his lips pressed lightly against her neck in a more neglected part of the library. Adelia was fourteen and positively entranced by Sirius Black.

"We're going to be found." she whispered.

"So?" he mumbled mischievously. "Who cares?"

Her stomach tightened uncomfortably.

"You do." she muttered as she shrugged out of his grasp. It was March of her fourth year. Adelia and Sirius had been meeting for more than a year and she still didn't know what they were doing or how he felt for her.

Sighing, Sirius followed her as she meandered her way through the dusty shelves.

"Hey." he said, grabbing her arm to make her face him. "Don't act like you—"

"I'm not—!" she checked herself and glanced around them before dragged them deeper among the shelves. "I'm not saying that I want to be found out either but it's a little different for—"

"It's exactly the same thing, Adelia. It's the same and you know it!"

"No, its not!" she said, stomping her foot and feeling childish for it.

"How is it not?"

"Your friends hate me because of my brother. Your friends would be disappointed, maybe just confused, about..." she gestured between them to intimate what she could not express "about this but my brother...my brother would be furious! All you've ever done is torment him. If he found out about...us...he...he would never speak to me again!"

"Well, if you're risking so much then why are we still doing this?"

"Because I'm falling for you and I can't god damn help it!" she hissed loudly before turning on her heel and stomping away.

Sirius watched her go for a moment as a silly sort of grin slid onto his face. Adelia was falling for him. She had admitted it. Now Sirius, of course, wouldn't admit to the light, happy feeling that fact gave him in his gut.

Smiling, he followed after her—his long legs catching up with the fleeing girl quickly. He caught her arm and turned her—yet again—to face him. Cupping her face tenderly, he leaned down to press his lips against hers.

Pulling away, he smiled the grin that sent her heart fluttering. "So." he drawled. "You're falling for me, huh?"

Adelia was falling for him. They met every chance they got. They had hidden their relationship for so long that it was second nature to lie to her brother and her friends.

Sirius hardly bothered her publicly anymore; he couldn't bring himself to be mean to her. Her brother was a different story. Sirius cared for Adelia but he couldn't stop himself from tormenting Snivellus.

Adelia and Sirius had something good going on for far too long. It was only a matter of time before it was destroyed.

Just after the last exam for fifth years, she came outside too late; immediately, her eyes were drawn to the crowd that was gathered just a little away from her.

The next thing her eyes landed on was her brother hanging upside down.

Taking off at a run, she felt she couldn't get there fast enough. It was her brother; she was the younger sister, true, but she knew she had to protect him. She got there just in time to hear Sev call Lily a mudblood.

Adelia blocked out the voices around her as she shoved her way through the crowd of students. Wand drawn, she finally burst into the center of the circle; she didn't bother to appraise the situation as she noticed two figures out of the corner of her eye standing with their wands pointed at her brother.

Waving her wand, she sent the two figures flying back into the tree behind him. She was shaking with anger. She heard a thump behind her, probably caused by Sev hitting the ground. Glancing around, she noted that Lily was gone; she must've left the circle as Adelia was going in.

She turned back to face Sev, but he was already on his feet. She met his gaze; he shook his head slightly, telling her not to say anything. She knew he was annoyed she'd helped, but she wasn't going to just let two jerks—

She turned her head toward the two people who had been harassing her brother; her stomach turned as she saw Sirius and Potter getting to their feet. She wished she was surprised, but she wasn't. Adelia wished she didn't expect this.

If looks could kill, Sirius Black would be way more than six feet under. He knew Adelia was beyond angry. Bloody hell, she was shaking; he didn't like how uneasy her glare made him.

Adelia wanted to curse them. She wanted to punch them. She wanted to hurt him so much; she would've, but Sev knew she was going to do and he stopped her. Grabbing her arm, he pulled her through the crowd and away from their tormentors. Adelia didn't understand how she could've ever thought she loved someone like Sirius Black.

"Sev—"

"I have to go find Lily. I have to explain—"

Adelia couldn't believe what she was hearing. "No, you don't."

"Adelia—"

"She's not worth it! You don't need her—"

"She is my best friend—"

"Look, just don't go after her today. Let her have time to cool off." Sev merely turned from her and disappeared down the empty corridor.

Fuming, Adelia stormed down the corridor in the opposite direction and went off in search of the girl who'd broken her brother's heart. Finally, she caught sight of the horrible red-head.

"Evans!" she yelled angrily. Lily turned around and had the nerve to look surprised that Adelia was storming toward her.

"Adelia—" The younger girl was furious. She had trusted Lily. She had looked up at her as a sister. Adelia knew how much her brother cared for the inconsiderate girl before her. She had her wand out and pointed it threateningly toward Lily.

"How could you do that?"

"Look—"

"No! He is your best friend Li—Evans!"

"What he said—"

"I don't care! He was embarrassed! Your little boyfriend and his Gryffindork friends—"

"—Potter is not my—"

"Had just harassed him in front of an entire crowd of kids! He didn't know what he was saying. He's a guy! He needed to handle the situation, which why I probably shouldn't have gotten involved. But! This is why the houses aren't supposed to mix! Gryffindors are only loyal to their own house—"

A hand reached over her shoulder and pulled her wand out of her grasp.

"Why don't you go up to the tower, Evans? James is looking for you; he'll be coming soon. You'll probably want to get out of here to avoid him." he suggested as she turned to face him angrily.

"Black—" Lily tried to protest, but Sirius' gaze never left Adelia's face.

"Go."

Her retreating footsteps were only accompanied by the sound of their breathing.

"What are you doing, Adelia—" he began, reaching out toward her with her wand still in his other hand.

"Don't touch me." she snapped, stepping out of his reach.

"You were going to curse Evans. She is your fri—"

"She's not my friend."

"So just like that, you're going to turn your back on her?"

"She turned her back on Sev."

"Well Snivellus isn't exactly worth any—"

"Shut up!" she screamed, her voice bouncing off of the stone walls. "You wouldn't understand. She hurt my brother. You hurt my brother. He's my family. Family sticks together, but I guess you wouldn't understand that, Black"

"Yes, because your family is so amazing, Snape. What with your dead mother and your ass of a father, I can't comprehend why you wouldn't want go home for the holidays."

"At least I have someone who cares about me, Black. My brother cares. Yours hates you. Yours sees you for what you are!"

"I think your problem is that you don't see Snivellus for what he is. A Dark Arts-loving, cowardly—"

"I'm done." she hissed as her rage was fueled by her hate of everything that had gone wrong in her life.

"Done with what?" he yelled.

"Done with whatever this is! You say he's a coward but you hide our…meetings from your friends—"

"As if you didn't hide them from your brother—"

"I'm done. I hate you!"

"Please, Adelia. I don't even care enough about you to hate you. You're nothing!"

Adelia knocked on the door to his dormitory with a shaking hand.

The door opened to his surprised face. "Adelia?" he asked as he took in the look on her face.

"Regulus…" she whimpered as she furiously tried to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"Come on." he said, taking the shaking girl into his arms and leading her into his room that was luckily devoid of his roommates.

"What's going on?" he asked as he sat her down on his bed and took his place crouching before her.

She said nothing, but the tears continued to spill from her eyes.

"Hey…" he muttered softly as he held her face in his hands; gently he wiped away a tear with his thumb.

She stared into his grey eyes and knew they were different.

Regulus was her best friend; and he cared about her. His affiliations may be as Sirius said but at least he cared.

To the other brother, she was nothing. She didn't matter.

But as she was held by the boy before her, she could pretend that he was the one she cared for. She could close her eyes and see his black hair and his startling grey eyes that were somehow so different from his older brother's.

It was without a thought in her head that she closed the distance between them and pressed her lips against those of the younger Black.

It was without a thought that she pulled him closer. And as the kiss lengthened and became more passionate, she didn't think about the consequences. She wanted to feel loved for once.

They were fortunate that none of Regulus' roommates returned to their room. They were fortunate in only that respect. Adelia's cheeks burned red as she scrambled around the room to pick up her clothes.

She'd gone too far and she couldn't take back what they'd done. All she could do was hope that this wouldn't ruin their friendship.

For the last few days of the school year, she spent her time with Regulus in awkward silence. She didn't see Sirius; mainly because she was avoiding him. She didn't see him on the train home, also because she was avoiding him. But she knew he wasn't looking for her anyway, so what did it matter?