Chapter 8: New Friends, Old Enemies
Snape led Adelaide through the hallways. They were each lost in their own thoughts, and so it was a quiet, contemplative walk.
When they reached the old Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, with its office in the back, Snape told Adelaide the unlocking charm for the door. He reflexively took a step back as she whipped out her wand to unlock it, and Addy had to suppress a smile.
The condition of the classroom quickly brought her down to earth. The old grindylow tank stood in a corner, empty except for the wild, possibly carnivorous strain of mildew it seemed to be cultivating. Against the back wall leaned a run-down Bogart Closet, protected by many locking charms. Addy also noticed a large, broken, empty cage piled in a corner—it looked as though one of her predecessors had introduced the class to a horde of pixies.
'Hmmmph,' she thought to herself, 'These kids will have to know about a lot more than bogarts, grindyli and pixies if they're to help in the fight against Voldemort.' And so she set to work getting her classroom in order. She would need to clear out the inordinate amount of dust and the weird smell that had settled in over the summer, and make inventory lists of what was in supply and what she thought might be needed.
Snape was standing awkwardly in the doorway, surveying the room. He once again had that conflicted look Adelaide had seen in his eyes before, as though he was arguing with himself about something. She had never realized how vulnerable he could look, standing there bathed in sunlight on the threshold, as though a part of him really did want to come in. She realized, for the first time, that her presence at Hogwarts might serve as a rather painful reminder of his first days here, and even of his earlier days as a Death Eater. Suddenly, she very much wanted him to stay, so they could get to know one another. She truly regretted the inauspicious way they had first met, and wanted to prove to him that she could be not only a competent colleague and master strategist, but a loyal and trustworthy friend as well.
"Um, I could make some tea, if you'd like to stay. You'll have to make yourself useful, though," she said to him, with a hopeful, bashful smile.
The sound of her voice snapped him out of his reverie. "I have work to do," he said brusquely. Pausing at the doorway another moment, he looked at her strangely, then turned abruptly and walked out into the corridor, leaving the door open behind him.
Addy shook her head as she listened to his footsteps recede down the hallway. She couldn't shake the feeling that perhaps the argument he was having with himself had something to do with her, and that it was making him profoundly sad.
'Get over yourself, Adelaide. He probably has trouble remembering your name,' she said to herself.
Addy worked all morning on getting her classroom and office just the way she wanted it. She'd never had an office of her own like this, and she must have rearranged the furniture and classroom configuration at least five times. It was a hot day and the sun was blazing through the classrooms many windows. As it reached high noon it had grown so warm that, since no one was around, she'd taken off her shoes and outer robes and now stood barefoot in loose black linen pants tied low with a drawstring at her hips, and a black tank top. Despite her stripped-down attire, she was glistening with sweat. She piled her hair on top of her head, twisting it and securing it with her wand, to help cool off her neck and back. Deciding that she was finally satisfied with her work, Addy surveyed the room while she massaged her aching wand arm.
Just then, she heard a light knock on the door, which had been left open to get some air in the room. Assuming it was her mentor come to check up on her, Addy said, "What do you think, Snape? Like it?" as she spun around to see two unfamiliar faces.
"Well, I'm not Snape, thankfully, but I like what I see very much. Need some help with that sore wand-arm?" said a tall lean wizard with short, thick, choppy black hair. He had a roguish, just-got-out-of-bed look to him, and was staring appreciatively at Adelaide.
"Sirius," said the other wizard to his companion, "Dumbledore sends us down here to say hello to Adelaide and that's how you greet her? Very smooth, old friend."
"Sirius?" said Addy, edging a little closer. "You wouldn't happen to be Sirius Black?"
"Actually, I would happen to be exactly Sirius Black, and I know just the trick to make that arm feel better. This is Remus Lupin, the lucky wizard who gets to work with you on your new course," he added, gesturing to his companion, without taking his eyes off her.
Addy broke into a game smile, and said to Remus, "He's a shy one, isn't he?" He was a handsome wizard with a rugged face and a sweet-sad demeanor. His expression crinkled with delight as he turned to Sirius and said, "Looks like she's got your number."
"Thank you so much for coming here to help me, Remus" continued Adelaide, beaming warmly as she approached the wizard, her hand outstretched. "I've only just now finished getting the room in order. I don't know how I could ever be ready for the start of the term without you."
Remus shook her hand, smiled back, and said, "It's my pleasure, really. I loved teaching this course." He paused, looking around the room thoughtfully, then continued, "Dumbledore has informed us of your rather…uh…unique background. We understand you'll be joining the Order of the Phoenix. Welcome—we can use all the help we can get."
They were still gripping one another's hands and seemed to be mentally taking stock of each other, when Sirius let out a most obvious cough. "Don't I get to say hello, too?"
Addy tried to appear nonchalant, but in reality Sirius Black had been as much of a legend among dark circles as he had everywhere else. Of course, once Peter Pettigrew had returned to Voldemort, boasting to anyone who would listen about how he had framed Sirius, Adelaide had understood the true story of Black's innocence: Pettigrew had been the one who had betrayed the Potters and murdered a street full of muggles, while Sirius rotted in Azkaban for it.
She studied him very seriously with her hands on her hips for a moment, trying to figure out how to flank his armor of charisma.
"You served 12 years in Azkaban for Peter Pettigrew's crimes, didn't you?"
The sudden question and her shift into interrogation mode startled him. "Yes," he replied, slowly, cocking his head and narrowing his eyes.
Addy nodded her head slowly, still staring him down. Then she said, "So…let's get the rat-faced bastard." Her face broke out in a grin.
Sirius grinned back and offered his hand, saying "I like the way you think, kid. Just remember…when the time comes, he's all mine."
Adelaide shook his hand and invited them in, saying, "I was just about to break for some tea. Please join me, and then, Remus, I'd like to get down to work if that's okay with you."
They gathered around the desk in her office and chatted amiably while they replenished their energy. Adelaide couldn't help but notice that Remus kept gazing around the room wistfully, and seemed to get lost in memories from time to time. Finally, she asked, "Remus, I hope I'm not prying, but it seems as if you were rather fond of teaching here. Why did you stop?"
Remus took a moment to size her up and said, "I was asked to leave."
What followed was an awkward silence, in which Addy decided not to pry any further. She of all people knew how and when to respect matters that someone wished to keep private.
Perhaps it was because she didn't press the matter that Remus decided to trust her. He continued, speaking slowly and chose his words very carefully.
"That's not exactly true. I left voluntarily, because I didn't want to put Albus in a difficult position…when it got out…that I'm a werewolf. Lucius Malfoy led the charge for my dismissal, but I don't imagine the other parents required too much convincing. Can't say that I would if I were them, and it was my son or daughter…" he said sadly, watching for her reaction. Addy's eyebrows went up—how could this sweet man, this gentle-seeming soul, be a werewolf?
"But…then…how was it possible for you to teach here at all? I mean, beyond the first month, without anyone finding out?" she asked.
"Well, Dumbledore knew all along, as well as a few other friends and acquaintances from my student days here." He glanced at Sirius. "I used the same old retreat that Dumbledore had arranged for me years ago—the Shrieking Shack on the edge of Hogsmeade—and Professor Snape created a tonic that helped me get through the full moon with a minimum of trauma. He's quite a genius with potions, you know...a phenomenon actually. I couldn't have done it without him."
Adelaide took it all in, and they sat in thoughtful silence for a few minutes. Finally, she started to chuckle. Although she tried to stop, her giggles became more and more irrepressible.
"What's so funny?" said Sirius.
Laughing harder, she said looked at each of them and said, "Don't we make a fine bunch: A werewolf, a Death Eater, and a convicted mass murderer." Then, laughing so hard she could barely get the words out, she added, "And we're suh…suh…supposed to b…be the g…g..good guys!"
Remus looked at her in shocked uncertainty for a moment, as Addy laughed so hard that she snorted through her nose and nearly fell off her chair. Sirius, on the other hand, lost his composure immediately, thumped the table and threw back his head as he let out a thunderous whoop of mirth that filled the room. This seemed to impel Addy to even greater heights of hysteria. Finally, Remus could no longer resist the infectious laughter, and he felt a smile creep across his face against his will. The smile soon grew to a chuckle, and then to a full-blown roar of a laugh. The three of them sat like that for the next several minutes, trying in vain to collect themselves. Every time one or two would start to get a grip, another one would get them all going again.
Tears were streaming down Adelaide's cheeks, and her face and gut ached from laughing. Yet she couldn't remember when she'd ever felt so happy, or so relaxed! The laughter was cathartic, not only for her but, she suspected, for her new friends as well. Not one of them had had an easy go of things, and the real work was just about to begin. The plain fact was that they all desperately needed a good laugh.
Just then, as the three new comrades sat in various states of disarray, wiping tears off their cheeks and trying to pull themselves together, Adelaide's mentor actually did decide to stop in to see how she was doing.
The door to the classroom was ajar and he heard noises coming from inside her office, whose door was also open. Looking inside, he saw her sitting around the desk with two of his least favorite people in the world. The three of them already looked like old friends, slapping each other and whooping it up over some private, inside joke.
An age-old bitterness, born of loneliness, shyness, and insecurity, started to course through Severus' veins. Once again, he was odd man out. Once again, he had missed out on the merriment. His head started to swim with visions of history repeating itself. A voice in his head said, 'And to think that you had harbored hopes…'
Addy was facing the doorway and so was the first to see him. She looked up at him with a warm, honest, dazzling smile. Remus' tribute to Snape had not been lost on her—she had always found genius compelling.
Severus couldn't help but notice how stunning she looked. Her curls were still held up by her wand so that they framed her face and exposed her long, slender neck. Her cheeks were flushed and she was aglow—was that perspiration, relaxation, or something else?
Her loveliness only made him more sad, as he stood there convincing himself that he had lost yet another companion—perhaps his last hope for someone who could truly understand him--to Black and Lupin. A poisonous, familiar, slithering voice in his head advised him that they were, indeed, laughing at him. And that got Snape furious. He clenched his fists and closed his eyes, trying to come up with the words that would bite, sting, wound. In short order, he found them.
In a low, slow voice he said, "How nice that you three have found time for a little tea party, while Voldemort and his followers continue to grow stronger by the minute." The barely repressed rage and bitterness in Snape's voice froze the laughter like a chill wind.
He continued, his eyes piercing Adelaide like daggers. "I had thought you understood the severity of the situation, Adelaide, but now, sadly, I think I may have overestimated your sense of commitment. Or, perhaps your true intentions are becoming more clear now, Miss Jones."
At the sound of that name—her father's name—Addy's blood first ran cold, and then began to boil. Every muscle in her body tensed up, as she slowly scraped her chair along the floor and stood up.
To be continued…