A/N I know It's been a while since I updated, just a bit busy with the final tests of the year. (insert sigh)

Adell woke that morning with hope in her eyes. She glanced around to see that everyone had already gone to breakfast. She had a strange feeling that today was special. A warm, happy, glowy feeling ran through her veins. She hopped out of bed and to her disbeleif started to hum. She was wearing a white cotton nightgown, and her hair gently brushed her shoulders. She felt her bare feet touch the cold ground of the Slytherin fourth year girls room, and she twirled and skipped her way to her trunk.

You can tell an awful lot about a person by the contents of their trunk. Some people kept their trunks neat and pristine, while others (most boys for example) had varying layers of debris piled up. Some had pictures and prophet clippings put up on the inside of their trunk, but Adell, well Adell felt sad when she opened her trunk.

Her parents liked everything neat and pristine. She loved her parents, but sometimes she felt like they were weighing all their expectations down on her. She was expected to be well behaved, make good grades, be organized, and find someone nice to marry. It wasn't as bad as some other pureblood families, but she had to carry out the bloodline. It wasn't a matter of muggle and muggle-born prejudice, it was a matter of carrying out the family name and staying respectful. She was her parents only daughter, and she had succumb to their needs.

Her truck reflected that. It had her clothing neatly folded, looking as drab as always, and each sock firmly wound together with it's mate. It was...empty. Just like she had been for the last four years. She had done nothing but observe and preserve the life around her. It was time that she cast of her drab colours and lived.

'Ahhh. That's why today is so special' she thought. I'm to be free today. There was only one problem. She had been wearing a mask for so long, she couldn't remember what she was like underneath. 'Most might not notice the difference.' she thought. 'Mostly because no one notices me at all. But I'm not going to be afraid. Afraid to make friends, to be hated, anything.' Of course she still planned to follow her family's golden rule "Don't meddle in things that don't concern you", but she wanted to change.

She dug into her trunk until she found something that looked slightly happy, or wasn't the colour of lint. She wore a light blue sundress that made her feel pretty self conscious. She found a similar coloured barrette she found under her bed with a few dust bunnies. She decided not to have her hair hanging in her face today. She grabbed her notebook and headed outside of the dorm.

"Oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god." She thought frantically. This was a mistake. A really big mistake. But no one in the hallway seemed to stare at her drastic change. In fact, it was only drastic in her head. She was making a large mental change. A change just outside her comfort zone. Which wasn't saying much seeing how her comfort zone was a only a tight shell around her. But she felt, that while no one really noticed her, she wasn't being looked through. No longer just a piece of scenery, she was a little more than that. A little more corporeal, tangible, maybe.

She walked down Hogwarts twisting corridors both happy and afraid. It felt good. All of a sudden A girl stepped in front of her.

"Um...Adell...right?" asked a tentative voice. It was Lily Evens. A girl with thick auburn hair and stunning emerald green eyes. Very smart, Gryffindor? Yes, she thought so, and a year above her. Very pretty and...Popular? Why in Merlin's name was she talking to Adell?

Adell, suspicious, answered slowly. "Um, yes? Your, um, Lily Evens...right?" Oh great gillywigs Adell! You sound like your slow! Luckily, Lily seemed just as uncomfortable with the situation.

"yeah, I just wanted to say that I heard what you did yesterday, and, well, I'm thankful." said lily. Adell was flabbergasted.

"Thankful?"

Lily shifted her books uncomfortably in her arms. Why on earth did she have books on a Sunday?

"Yeah, you know... for helping Sev." She finished awkwardly. That's right! Pretty, smart, and charitable to Slytherins. One in particular, until friday anyway.

"Oh! I, just, um," Adell didn't know what to say, and her cheeks flushed.

"Yeah, I'm just, just, even though we," Lily closed her eyes and took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm just happy he made a friend." She finished. Adell's eyes snapped wide. Friend? That was more than she could ask for."

"Oh, well, we aren't, I mean I wish-" Adell was cut of by a sharp, yet familiar bark.

"Evens! Well what do you know? She hops from one piece of Slytherin slime to another. Lily turned angrily to face the disrupting Marauders. Potter and Black, how charming.

"Oh, stuff it Potter, if you took you head out of your arse long enough, you might see how unattractive that smirk is." She snapped at him. James, Sirius, and Adell all wore identical expressions of shock. Sirius was the first to recover.

"tisk, tisk Evens. Such Profanity."

"Like your as pure as the driven snow, Black." As the argument wore on, Adell was taking careful steps backwards.

"I just don't like you acting all chummy with Sanctamonia, that's all." said James, switching to the defensive.

"I'll be chummy with whoever I well please Potter!" Lily nearly screamed.

"Not so fast, moron." said Sirius, catching a glimpse of the escaping Slytherin. Adell gulped. Se needed to speak out. She new that she should defend herself. James laughed.

"This the kind of people your mates with? The cowering, pitiful, stupid kind? She'd sell you out as soon as look at you! Do yourself a favor and be done with her."

A/N little did he know, James potter just said something completely ironic. What kind of friends does he have that apply to the above traits. Maybe Harry wouldn't have been an orphan if he took his own advise.

Sirius grabbed Adell's arm so that she couldn't run away. "Trying to escape now. Your just a worthless little, little... Transfigureidiot!" He laughed at his new nick-name.

"Transfigueidiot... Yeah, it really rolls of the tongue. Nice one Padfoot!" Said an approving James. Adell felt the back of her neck getting hot. Lily opened her mouth to say something but Adell spoke first. She barely raised her voice and she didn't make eye contact with anyone, just stared at the floor.

"Evens, you're not friends with Severus anymore, I can't help that. I don't want to cause trouble for you, I'll just be on my way." still not making eye contact with anyone, she sidestepped Sirius and scurried to the great hall.

Lily was a little peeved, and felt a little embarrassed. She didn't really care about Adell. She was just using her as an excuse to get at Potter and Black. Lily went her own way.

Sirius and James were ticked off. James shattered the brooding session.

"What's the fun of annoying her if A) she's not annoyed and B)she won't fight back?" he asked, his voice getting more and more high pitched. Sirius sighed.

"Dunno' mate, maybe she's just a nut that'll be a bit harder to crack than we reckoned." They both contemplated this sentiment. Sirius turned to his best friend.

"I'm hungry, wanna go to breakfast?" James gave Sirius a half smile.

"sure. I hope there's eggs."

And the two best friends walked to the Great hall, sharing their vendetta and friendship without words. What are best mates for?