Wallflower

Chapter Four: Jealousy

Adelaide was setting patiently in the common room with Peter, who was hanging on to every word she said as if his life depended on it. She found it endearing, and slightly creepy at the same time. It was their first tutoring session, and Adelaide had a feeling that Peter was just coming up with things to ask her questions about (seeing how inconsistent they were and how elementary some of the spells ended up being) but she didn't want to put him on the spot. Besides, she would look rather snippy if it ended up he really did need help with all of these spells.

"Really, the Confundus Charm is relatively simple," Adelaide explained softly to an eagerly-listening Peter, "The hardest part is making sure you have good aim so you don't accidentally hit another person instead of the intended target, and then there's the example of putting too much force and forcing someone backwards."

"I think I get it," he said, mostly to himself. Adelaide glanced around, and then pointed out a second year who was setting in one of the really comfortable armchairs and dozing off.

"Try it on him," she whispered, "I'll cover for you." Peter blanched, before subtly pointing his wand at him underneath the table.

"Confundo," he whispered, and suddenly the student yelped as the chair toppled backwards, causing everyone to look at him. Adelaide blanched.

"What's the cover??" Peter whispered under his breath.

"I don't know, I thought you could do it!" she responded in a whisper. They quickly looked as if they were reading quietly, while the second year looked around with a confused expression.

"What the heck just happened?" He asked loudly.

"Must've been Peeves," a voice offered from behind Adelaide. She turned to see Sirius standing there innocently, though he was eyeing her in amusement.

"Damn poltergeist," the second year murmured, before righting the chair and stomping off to his dormitory. When he left, Sirius plopped down in the empty chair beside Adelaide and watched as the two blushed in shame.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say that was your fault," he said, cutting straight to the chase.

"It was an accident," Peter murmured.

"He was practicing a Confundus Charm," Adelaide explained. Sirius quirked an eyebrow;

"Didn't you master that in fourth year?" he asked, and Peter looked horrified, but he quickly replaced it with a sheepish smile.

"I-I guess I'm a bit rusty," he said quickly. Adelaide shrugged and closed the book, but Sirius kept watching Peter with a confused expression. Adelaide sighed loudly and stood, before popping her back.

"I think I'm gonna end it there," she said, "You just keep practicing, I'm sure you'll get it eventually."

"R-Right, thanks," Peter murmured, before clumsily gathering his things together. Adelaide watched him leave with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"He's a confusing kid," she said suddenly. Sirius laughed.

"Kid? He's as old as we are," he said, and she shrugged.

"I know, but he doesn't really seem like it," she replied, "There's something about him that makes him seem like a fifth year, though I'm not sure what it is. He's really innocent." Sirius shrugged, and Adelaide began putting her stuff in her bag. Sirius just watched with a bored expression. Adelaide banished her bag to her room and looked over at him, "I'm going head down to lunch; do you wanna come?" As if hearing her question, his stomach gurgled loudly. Adelaide giggled, "I'll take that as a yes."

"Yeah," he responded with a grin, before standing and pushing in his chair. They ignored the glances sent their way as they headed out of the common room, the portrait swinging closed behind them.

"I wonder why I didn't think of using Peeves as an excuse," Adelaide mused aloud, "I guess I was panicked and couldn't think straight." Sirius just grinned.

"The kid probably thinks I did it on purpose any way," he said with a shrug, "I've been known to play a trick or true." Adelaide snorted,

"Even I knew that," she said, "You're Sirius Black. A Marauder. You've been known to play pranks on unsuspecting victims." Sirius grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah, well, what can I say?" he asked with a shrug.

"A sorry can do wonders," Adelaide countered with a grin. Sirius sighed.

"That was a rhetorical question," he explained. Adelaide kept grinning,

"I know,"

They entered the great hall with grins on their faces and took a seat at the end of the table, in the same places they had at the beginning of the year. They both wasted no time in piling food onto their plates. Sirius glanced up at her, before speaking;

"Do you know if people are getting dates for that Trick-or-Treat thing?" he asked casually. She glanced up at him and swallowed her food.

"I think some people are," she replied truthfully, "Why do you ask?" He shrugged.

"James said he was hoping that Lily would agree to go with him," he said truthfully, "I thought I'd ask and see if many people were getting dates." Adelaide shrugged,

"I think people are mostly hanging out with their friends, and if they already are dating someone then they go with them," she continued, "I think people just want to hang out with people they know they're going to have a good time with. I have to say that I agree," she ended in a humorous tone. He grinned, and they changed the subject to transfiguration. They joked around for a few minutes, mostly about the confounding incident, when James and Remus entered the Hall. Remus pointed the two out to James, who grinned, and then they headed over.

"What's up?" James asked as he took a seat beside Sirius, Remus (who looked rather pale) setting beside Adelaide and across from James.

"Not much," Adelaide responded with a shrug before taking a drink. James grinned.

"So, I hear that a second year was attacked by Peeves in the common room not too long ago," he said casually, and Adelaide began to choke on her juice. Remus patted her on the back with a worried expression, while Sirius was fighting back a grin. Adelaide waved her hand, her other clutching the base of her throat.

"I'm fine," she rasped, coughing a bit more, "I'm fine."

"I'm going to take a guess and say that you had something to do with that," Remus said with a raised eyebrow. She blushed.

"I was tutoring Peter, and he tried to confound him," she murmured, "Sirius came up with a cover for what happened." James quirked an eyebrow,

"I thought Pete mastered that in fourth year," he said, Remus silently agreeing.

"He said he was a bit rusty," Adelaide defended, "I don't think that Peter needs to confund someone on a daily basis." The others agreed, but Remus and James shared looks that the other two didn't notice.

"Do you think that maybe Peter's just trying to get close to you?" James asked her bluntly. Adelaide (and Sirius) jerked her head up and stared at James as if he'd drown a third arm.

"What?" she asked, Sirius thinking the same thing, "Why would he do that? I barely know him." Sirius, on the other hand, was pondering over his friends recent actions (recent meaning from the train ride till now) and piecing it all together in his head.

"You don't have to know someone to have a crush on them," Remus said, but that was the last thing Sirius really heard.

Peter, have a crush on Adelaide? For some reason that didn't sit well with him, and made him feel as if someone had dumped ice water on him (and it wasn't because of a ghost). He felt as if something was trying to fight his way out of his chest, but he had no idea what it was. He pushed it to the side and focused back in on the conversation.

"-no way that he fancies me," Adelaide was saying, "I barely know him, and I've only had three conversations with him."

"The heart is a mysterious thing," Remus said, though he was only kidding, "I mean, James hasn't had one full, civilized conversation with Lily, and he absolutely adores her." James nodded in agreement. Adelaide just stared between the two of them, her mind not quite able to wrap around the idea of Peter, Peter Pettigrew, fancying her.

"I just can't picture it," she said after a moment, "Peter…and me? I can't imagine me dating him, let alone fancying him. He's so shy half of the time-"

"Peter? Shy?" James asked, before laughing, "That settles it then, he fancies the pants off of you." Adelaide just stared blankly, her mouth hanging open. She shook her head.

"No way,' she murmured. James grinned.

"A galleon says he asks her to be his date for Halloween," he said to Remus and Sirius. Sirius shook his head.

"I'm not going in on this one," he said, "It's a fifty-fifty chance." Remus returned his gaze to James.

"He's to shy," he said, before shaking James outstretched hand, "You got a deal." Adelaide looked at the two incredulously and made a sound in the back of her throat.

"You're taking a bet?" she asked, her voice a bit higher then normal, "What is wrong with you two?"

"Would you turn him down?" James asked seriously. Adelaide's mouth opened and closed for a second, before she sighed and slumped in defeat.

"No," she said softly, "I wouldn't want to hurt his feelings. I mean, he just seems to self-conscious and shy; it'd be like kicking a puppy."

"Oi, Sirius, you're awfully quiet," Remus said, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine," he said before he began eating again.

He didn't like the idea of Adelaide going out with Peter. There was just something wrong in that mental image –they were polar opposites. He was short and chubby, not to terribly attractive, and Adelaide was taller and thinner; not Caryn thin, but healthy thin. He was just the opposite of Adelaide in every way he could imagine, even personality wise. Peter was gullible over eighty percent of the time, while Adelaide was always doubting everything (though on occasions she could be rather gullible). It didn't fit together.

The feeling reemerged in his chest at the mental image of Adelaide and Peter. It almost made him sick to his stomach. He still couldn't place it, but he decided that for his own sake he would stop thinking about it. So, he put on a grin and rejoined the conversation, which had switched over to how James could ask Lily out for Halloween. Even as he tried to help, though, his mid would occasionally stray to the image of Peter and Adelaide. It was as if it had been burned into the back on his eyelids.

-

"I'm going Trick-or-Treating with James Potter,"

Adelaide glanced up from her book and stared at Lily as she entered their dormitory. They were the only ones there, thank god, and Adelaide had just finished up her Transfiguration homework (she loved free periods). It had been almost two weeks since she had her first tutoring session with Peter, and last Saturday she had excused herself, claiming that she was getting behind on her own homework. This weekend was the Hogsmeade trip as well, when the girls would have to scurry to get the things for their costumes.

"You agreed?" Adelaide asked, closing her book and mentally congratulating James. Lily nodded, in a trance of sorts, and took a seat at the end of Adelaide's bed, "What made you agree?"

"Well, as you know he hasn't asked me out since the first of the month," she said, "And today, after I left the Hall for lunch, he followed me. He looked really sincere and wasn't at all arrogant when he asked me. If I said no, it'd be like kicking a puppy." Adelaide felt her lips quirk up: that was what she had said about Peter.

"But you've turned him down before," She continued. Lily sighed.

"I know, but I remembered what you said about him," she explained, "You said he was a really nice guy, and so…I thought that maybe I should give him a chance. If it doesn't work out then oh well, and if it does," she shrugged, "Then I guess I have a boyfriend." Adelaide smiled.

"I don't think you'll regret it," she said honestly, "He'll treat you like a queen." Lily smiled slightly, before mock glaring at her.

"HE better, or else I'm taking it out on you," she threatened, and the two laughed. Lily sighed and leaned back on her hands.

"Why didn't you come immediately back to the common room?" Adelaide asked, "Lunch was over a while ago, and now free period is almost over." Lily shrugged.

"I took a walk," she admitted, "I was trying to sort out my thoughts; I hung out by the lake for a while." Adelaide nodded, before grinning.

"Well, if you had come up I would have helped you with our transfiguration essay; I finished it ten minutes ago." Lily looked at her incredulously.

"Seriously?" she asked, "Wow. I need to hang out with you more often. Now I'm going to be spending tonight finishing it while you get to go hang out with friends." Lily grimaced and Adelaide smiled sympathetically.

"I could stay up here and help you," she offered, before glancing at her watch, "Come on, we can start heading down to Defense now." The two stood and grabbed their bags, Lily grumbling half-heartedly about how she had just dropped it, and made their way out of the dorm and into the common room, where people were working on their own homework, some more rushed then others.

When they reached the classroom, Professor Sicily had just finished setting up the portable dueling stage. Adelaide groaned, gaining her professors attention.

"Ms. Vicknair, Ms Evans!" she said with a grin, her dark blue hair bouncing as she stepped towards them, "You two are early today."

"Yeah," Lily responded with a smile, "We decided to go ahead and head down since we had nothing better to do." Sicily nodded, and grinned, her teeth rather sharp and dangerous looking.

"Well, then I guess you already know what we're doing today," she responded.

"Dueling," Adelaide answered, and Professor Sicily winked.

"Right-o," she responded, "You'll each be dueling your partners." Lily and Adelaide both groaned for very good reasons. Lily had been paired up with James, and Adelaide had been paired up with Sirius. They shared looks, before moving to their seats; Adelaide to the middle desk in the fourth row, and Lily to the last desk in the third row. It was barely five minutes later when the bell rang and students began entering the classroom. When Sirius came in, he spotted the stage and then took his seat beside Adelaide.

"I'm guessing we're dueling?" he said easily. Adelaide nodded.

"We're dueling our partners," she said, glancing at him with a confidant smirk, "You better not go easy on me."

"I wouldn't dream of it," he retorted smoothly. The final bell rang, and Sicily easily gained everyone's attentions.

"Alright, everybody!" she barked, "Today we're dueling out partners. We're starting in the back and working out way up! Parker, Stevens, you're up!" Adelaide barely stopped herself from groaning aloud; she was next.

Unfortunately, the match didn't last long with Parker disarming Stevens first thing. Sicily sighed softly, obviously wanting to see something more 'entertaining' before nodding and allowing them to leave.

"Alright!" She barked, hefting herself up onto her desk, "Black, Vicknair, get moving!" Adelaide groaned a bit, and Sirius grinned.

"Want me to go easy on you?" he asked, and Adelaide smirked.

"If you wanna loose," she responded. They made their way to the stage, and bowed, "Good luck," she whispered, before they snapped around and walked five spaces towards the opposite ends of the stage. Adelaide took a deep breath, and whirled around quickly.

"Everte Statum!" she called, and Sirius was blown backwards and landed on his side painfully with a grunt. He quickly got back up and before she even opened her mouth, he had sent a spell hurtling towards her.

"Impedimentia!" Adelaide was forced backwards, but she managed to keep her footing. She glared determinedly and soon, spells were being hurtled at alarming rates between the two, each time with the other countering them in some way, either by dodging or use of a shield charm. It was pushing five minutes in, and everyone was watching with awe.

"Getting tired yet?" Adelaide mocked from her position, before hurtling another curse towards him, which he sidestepped at the last moment.

"You wish," he returned, but as he moved to send another spell her way, she moved quickly and silently, pointing at him. Misinterpreting her movement for a shield, he was surprised as his wand flew out of his hands and Adelaide caught it with a smirk.

"Excellent job!" Professor Sicily said with a slightly crazed grin, "That's more like it!! Twenty points for Gryffindor!" Adelaide grinned cheekily before handing him back his wand.

"You did well," she said as they headed to their seats. Sirius grinned.

"I guess I could say the same thing for you," he returned.

By the end of class, James had gotten totaled by Lily (Adelaide claiming she was getting out her excess stress), Remus had politely beaten Vanessa Wolfe, and Peter had gotten his ass handed to him by Annalisa Bertucci, gaining ten points for Slytherin. When the bell rang, Professor Sicily had assigned a six foot essay on the importance of nonverbal spells. Adelaide and Sirius, though, were exempt for their use of multiple nonverbal spells.

"A-Adelaide?" Peter asked as she passed his desk. He was blushing and sweating a bit, and Adelaide stopped to turn and look at him.

"Yeah?" she asked politely. He gulped,

"W-Well, I was wondering if you maybe wanted to be my date for Halloween," he said quietly. Adelaide started in surprised; Peter had asked her out. She went into a mental panic, before smiling politely (if a bit warily) and giving a short nod of her head.

"Ok," she consented, mentally wondering why she had to be so nice. Peter relaxed and smiled like a child on Christmas.

"I-I'll meet you in the common room at five-thirty, okay?" he asked. Adelaide just kept smiling and nodded, and Peter practically skipped off.

While this was going on, the monster in Sirius' chest had reared his ugly head and began to tear at his throat and gut like a raging manticore. He clenched his fists, his nails digging into his skin, and from the corner of his eye he saw Remus hand James a gallon with an amazed look on his face. Sirius frowned before walking off, leaving them behind; if he stood there for one more moment, he was sure he would lash out at someone.

"Where are you going?" Adelaide asked in surprise. He didn't glance over his shoulder and simply called out, "Library," and kept walking. When he turned around the corner, he took off at a sprint. It took ten minutes for him to reach the ground, and when he was in the shadow of the castle, he transformed into a large black dog and began to run through the grounds as he tried to sort out his thoughts. He barely recognized the emotion that was still coursing through his veins.

Sirius Black was jealous of Peter Pettigrew.

-

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all things concerning belong to J.K. Rowling. I own Adelaide Vicknair, Vanessa Wolfe, Caryn Gree, Elise Barnes, Madeline Vicknair, Annalisa Bertucci, Professor Sicily and Jean Vicknair.

A/N: I made up the Confunding stuff; I have no idea what happens if you do it incorrectly, I just thought it would be funny. And Good news is that my vacation was great, bad news is my luggage is still in San Juan. Greeeeaaaat.

Yours truly,
B.E.N.