Wallflower

Chapter Five: Getting The Costumes

"Wake up!"

"Go away," Sirius murmured into his (comfortable) pillow. He grunted as James poked him angrily in the side.

"We're going to Hogsmeade today! The first Hogsmeade trip of the year!!" he continued, poking Sirius even harder.

"Fine!" Sirius snarled angrily, before pushing James out of his way and stalking off to the bathroom. James watched with raised eyebrows, before he seemed to piece something together in his mind.

"Oh, I get it," he said with a grin, at this moment glad Peter had left for breakfast already. He stood outside the door, which had slammed shut in his face, "You're jealous!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sirius asked, yanking the door open to glare at him. James was grinning like a madman.

"You're jealous that Peter is taking Adelaide to the Halloween thing!" he said, crossing his arms proudly at his deduction skills. Sirius snorted, closing the door again and hiding a blush.

"No I'm not," he retorted, "Now leave me the hell alone so I can take a shower!"

"He's pissed," James said with a nod, "He never takes a shower at seven in the morning on weekends." Remus glanced up from his book with a slight smile.

"It's very odd how you know these things about him," he said and James mock glared, before digging in his trunk for some clothes. When Sirius reemerged from the bathroom, steam poured out from behind him; he was still glaring.

"Cheer up, mate! You've been like this since Wednesday!" James said from his new spot on his bed, "And besides, you get to see Adelaide today before it's too late!! She isn't Pete's, yet, Padfoot old pal!"

"Shut up," Sirius grumbled before drying his hair with his towel, "I do not have a crush on Adelaide." Remus sighed softly before putting away his book and heading to the common room.

"I'm going to go to breakfast," he said, "When you two grow up come and join me." He kept walking, and James watched as Sirius kicked his bag out of the way.

"I'm going with Remus," he said after a second, "Join us when you feel better, alright?" He didn't wait for a response as he jogged down the stairs and into the common room. Sirius sat up there for a few minutes, before sighing and heading slowly down stairs. He glanced up and was surprised to see that Adelaide had come down stairs at the same time. She smiled at him and walked over, while he stood with his hands deep in his pockets.

"Hey!" she said happily, "You heading down to breakfast too?" He shrugged.

"I was thinking about it," He replied, "It's either that of the kitchens, but the elves are probably all busy." Adelaide nodded.

"Then I'll just walk with you to the Hall," she said. He said nothing as he started walking, Adelaide easily keeping pace. The walk was mostly silent, and when they reached the great hall he frowned when he saw Peter setting with James and Remus, smiling like a madman.

"I'm going to set with Lily today," Adelaide said, glancing in the same direction. Sirius noticed.

"You don't want to go with him, do you?" he asked, his voice slightly hopeful; luckily, Adelaide missed it. She shook her head.

"No, he's really not my type," she said softly, surreptitiously glancing at him as she said that, "but I didn't want to hurt his feelings." Sirius grunted, and they grew closer to the table; their pace had slowed considerably.

"You might hurt him more, though, if you lead him on like this," Sirius said without thinking. She whipped his head over and looked at him with wide eyes.

"I'm not leading him on!" she whispered harshly, "It's just one date; it's not like I agreed to marry him!" Sirius shrugged but picked up the pace and sat beside James, and as far away from Peter as possible. Adelaide glared at his back before huffing over to sit with Lily, Caryn, and Elise.

"What's up with you?" Caryn asked, before taking a bite of eggs.

"Men are idiots," she murmured in response as she piled food onto her plate, "All of them." Caryn lifted her drink slightly.

"Here, here." She responded, before taking a large drink.

"Did I tell you I can't go to Hogsmeade today?" Elise asked. Adelaide shook her head, and she continued, "Oh. Well, I hexed Parker in the hallway for trying to grope me. They caught me and not him," she grinned, "He's in the hospital wing now, covered in painful boils." Adelaide shook her head.

"I need to learn to hex people without regret," she murmured, "I'm sure it'd help with all my anger." The girls laughed.

"Anyway," Lily said, "What about you Caryn?" She shook her head.

"I've also got a detention for 'disturbing the peace'." She said in a mocking tone.

"What did you do?" Elise asked.

"I was snogging Parkers in the Charms classroom," she said nonchalantly, "They caught him with his hand up my shirt." Adelaide glanced down at her food, unable to look her in the face.

"Parkers a slut," Elise said angrily, now stabbing at her food.

"So, I guess it's just you and me, then," Lily said. Adelaide nodded,

"I guess it is. At least we have ideas as to who we're going as though." Lily smiled and nodded.

"that's going to make it much easier," she glanced at the two, "Do you want us to get your costumes for you?"

"If it isn't too much trouble," Elise responded, "You know our sizes, right?" Lily nodded and drank from her goblet,

"I can't wait," she said with a smile, "This is going to be so much fun."

"If you get a good date, that is," Caryn quipped, glancing at Adelaide pointedly. She just ignored her and continued pushing food around on her plate.

"Do you think I'm leading him on by agreeing to be his date?" She asked the girls softly.

"No." Elise and Lily said, while Caryn said, "Yes." Caryn took the chance to elaborate.

"By agreeing to go out with him once, he'll think you'll want to go out with him again. When he does ask you out again, he'll expect you to say yes. And knowing you farley well, that means you will say yes even though you have no feelings for him other then friendship." Adelaide groaned when she realized that Caryn had a point.

"What do I do?" she asked, propping her head up with her hands. Caryn shrugged.

"That's on you." She responded, before standing, "Well, I have a date in a broom closet with Stevens. I'll see you girls later." Lily was quiet until she was out of hearing range.

"You aren't going to listen to Caryn, are you?" she asked, and Adelaide shrugged, but otherwise kept quiet. Lily sighed, but struck up a conversation with Elise instead of pressuring her. Adelaide frowned, and glanced down the table to where the boys were setting. Sirius was watching her, while the others chatted obliviously. Adelaide jerked her head towards the doors, and he raised an eyebrow. She nodded, and he seemed to get the message. Adelaide stood, and after telling Lily she had left her money in the common room, left the great hall. She waited for a moment before Sirius walked through the doors and they both began to head slowly towards the common room.

"What's up?" he asked casually, watching her from the corner of his eyes.

"I am leading Peter on," she said sadly, twisting her hands in front of her, "What do I do? How do I let him down gently?" Sirius raised both his eyebrows.

"Why ask me?" he asked curiously.

"Because you're his friend, you know him inside out," she offered, "and you were the one who made me realize that I was leading him on." He shrugged.

"Just say you don't think of him like that," he said casually, "Go with him any way, but afterwards say that you had a good time as friends. Compliment him, it might soften the blow." She groaned, and cradled her head in her hands, pressing her palms into her eyes.

"Is there any way to do it without him getting hurt?" she asked desperately. Sirius was silent for a second before shaking his head.

"No, I don't think so," he said truthfully, "He's never gotten the nerve to ask someone out before." Adelaide groaned again, dropping her hands and looking at him with a pathetic expression,

"Are you serious?" she asked, and his lip twitched slightly.

"I'm always Sirius," he said before getting serious (excuse the pun) again, "But yeah, he hasn't asked a girl out before."

"Oh god," she groaned, "Kill me now."

-

"Do they have anything here?" Lily asked as she pressed her face against the window of a store. Adelaide came up beside her and did the same, before shaking her head.

"No, they don't," she said with a frown, "It's easy to find a devil and an angel costume, but try and find some based on Greek mythology and you're screwed." Lilly nodded and they both sighed as they stepped away from the glass in defeat.

"Maybe we should change our costume ideas," Lily said sadly, switching one of their bags to the other hand, "We should go back to that one shop and get our costumes there; we could be fairies." They both grimaced as they remembered how gaudy the costumes were.

"No, theres a few more stores up…ahead…wait a second, we're witches!" Adelaide said with wide eyes. Lily looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Did you just realize that?" she asked, but Adelaide shushed her.

"We can use magic!" she said with a wide smile, "That means as long as we get something similar to what we had in mind, then we can transfigure them to be what we want! Why didn't we see it before?" Lily's eyes widened and she smacked herself with the palm of her hand.

"We're idiots, aren't we?" she asked and Adelaide nodded.

"But it's ok!" she said quickly, "C'mon, lets go," and before lily could say another word, Adelaide had grabbed her hand and drug her off to the more expensive section of tow, which was rather desolate.

"Why are we here?" Lily asked softly, as if scarred to disturb the peace.

"Because we're going as goddesses," Adelaide informed in an equally soft voice, "If we can get basics we're good." She then steered them into an older looking shop, which was revealed to be home to hundreds of elegant dresses. The clerk, a rather small elderly woman, appeared in front of them immediately.

"Welcome!" She said happily, "How may I help you young ladies?" Adelaide smiled and pulled out a brief sketch from her back pocket and handed it to the woman.

"Well, this is what I'm going to be for the Halloween celebration in Hogwarts," she said, "And I can handle the minor details like the flowers and the headdress, but I need a dress." The clerk analyzed the picture carefully before nodding.

"Yes, I think I have just the thing," she said, "Hold on a moment." The woman disappeared again, and Adelaide smiled at Lily.

"I told you," she said happily, "We we're just looking in all the wrong places." Lily hummed in agreement before pulling out a sketch from her back pocket, eyeing it closely.

"You're pretty good at drawing," she commented, and Adelaide blushed.

"When I was little I wanted to be a designer," she said sheepishly, "I just kept practicing."

"Here we are," the clerk said, reappearing as suddenly as she had left. In her arms was an elegant green dress that around their ankles, and looked like it would cling to her body easily. It had a slit up the right side that reached mid thigh. The body of the dress was a corset with black lacing up the back. Adelaide looked at it carefully, before nodding.

"This is wonderful," she said with a smile, "How much is it?"

"Twenty galleons," she said, and while Adelaide's smile tightened, she nodded before grabbing the other image from Lily, who looked like she was about to protest.

"I also need something along these lines," she said, handing her the paper. The woman took it, looking at it closely over her glasses, before she nodded.

"I'll be right back," and she disappeared.

"That's fairly expensive," Lily said softly, eyeing her friend nervously. She just shrugged in response.

"I'll wear it again," she said nonchalantly, "I have enough money." Lily bit her lip, but when she opened her mouth to complain the woman appeared again, this time with a red strapless dress. The body was clingy, while the length of the dress overlapped itself and was hiked up in some places. It too reached about their ankles, and around the top of the dress was a silver chain that they assumed was supposed to go around the neck.

"It's perfect," Adelaide said in awe, "How much is this?"

"Twenty-five galleons," the woman said. Lily shook her head.

"I can't ask you to pay for both of them!" she said to Adelaide, who just shook her head.

"I've got enough," she said again before facing the woman, "I'm going to assume you went ahead and got the right sizes?" the woman smiled bashfully.

"Yes, Miss Vicknair," she replied, "You're both the same size, and I've fitted you enough over the years to know what size you are." Lily glanced between the two, surprise barely concealed. Adelaide just kept smiling.

"That'll be all to day, Mrs. Jane," she said, and the woman nodded before making her way to the counter where she carefully bagged the dresses. Adelaide handed over her money, and then the two left the store quickly.

"How does she know you by name?" Lily asked curiously. Adelaide sighed softly.

"Let's stop by the Three Broomsticks, hm?" she offered, "I'll explain there." Lily pursed her lips but nodded all the same, and it didn't take long for them to reach the crowded building. Lily looked around warily as they took a seat in a booth near the back.

"Isn't it a bit crowded?" Lily asked, "Someone might over hear," Adelaide waved her off.

"The louder it is, the harder it is to spy," she said simply, "Now, I'll got get us something to drink, you wait here." She stood before Lily could protest and reached the bar. She didn't wait long when a young waiter came up; apparently Madame Rosemerta needed some extra hands today.

"Can I have two butterbeers?" she asked politely. The boy nodded and moved quickly, when she heard a chuckle from beside her.

"Shopping for costumes must be hard work," Sirius said, and Adelaide was amazed she hadn't recognized him immediately.

"Nah, one of these are for Lily," she said, and James perked up from Sirius' other side. Adelaide was relieved to see that Peter wasn't around.

"Lily's here?" he asked eagerly, and Adelaide sighed.

"Yes, but we were getting ready to have a conversation," she said, before the boy handed her two glasses, filled to the rim, "Thanks," she murmured, before grabbing them and heading to the table, quite aware that the two were following her. Lily opened her mouth when she saw her, before snapping it closed when she saw her present company.

"What're you two doing here?" she asked, and Adelaide sat down the drinks.

"It's fine, Lily," she said dismissively, "I don't particularly care if they know, it's people I don't trust who I don't want finding out." Lily pursed her lips again, but nodded. James took this as a good sign and slid in beside her, while Sirius sat beside Adelaide.

"So, how do have that much money, and how did that lady know you?" Lily asked, cutting to the chase. Adelaide put down her drink, though she didn't let go of it.

"My father, when he was healthy, was an auror. A damn good one, if I do say so my self. He made quite a bit of money, and not only that, but he inherited a small fortune from his parents (he was an only child). My mother came from a very wealthy family, and when her parents passed all of their money went to her. In muggle terms, that made her a billionaire. So, for holidays and birthdays my mother would take me down to Mrs. Janes dress shop for the parties she would throw every holiday, and sometimes for no reason at all. After she died, her money (which had doubled since she got it) went to me and my little sister.

"My fathers money is now mine as well, and it's my mothers old money that is paying for all the hospital bills and school supplies." She finished, "If word got around that I had enough money to by an entire city, well, I'd be pretty popular." She smiled, "I rather like being under the radar."

"Wow," Lily said with wide eyes, "Does this mean you'll pay for my wedding?" Adelaide laughed merrily, and winked.

"Maybe I will, maybe I won't," she teased, "How about we make a deal; you marry James, and I pay for your wedding." Lily and James began sputtering, causing Adelaide and Sirius to laugh.

"I'll take that as a yes," she said with a grin, before downing the rest of her butterbeer, "Is Peter here with you guys?" James shook his head.

"No, he decided to stay behind so he can catch up on his homework," he explained, and Adelaide smiled brightly.

"Then how about you guys hang out with us?" she asked. Sirius shrugged while James grinned and agreed eagerly.

The rest of the trip they spent going to different stores and buying different things, from pranks to sweets. The girls even managed to persuade Sirius and James to wait on them while they went into a fabric store really quick. They came out with some green fabric that matched Adelaide's dress and some golden sheer material to go with Lily's dress. While they managed to keep their costumes a secret from the boys, they did bug them incessantly for the better part of an hour.

When they go back to Hogwarts, they were all dead on their feet but laughing all the same. Lily and James ended up collapsing beside each other on the coach, and when Adelaide saw Peter she dashed upstairs with a barely uttered goodbye. Sirius grimaced at his approach, and decided to go upstairs as well; he didn't want to have to listen to Peter go on about how much he adored Adelaide.

"Hey," Remus greeted as Sirius entered the room, and he just offered a half-dead grunt in response before collapsing on his bed, face down into his pillow. Remus chuckled before closing his book and heading downstairs to allow him some alone time. Sirius didn't move from his spot as he turned his head to face the wall with half-lidded eyes.

"Stupid Peter," he murmured, before falling into a restless sleep.

-

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: And there is chapter Five! Kudos to anyone who can guess correctly at who Lily and Adelaide are going as. Oh, and 20 galleons is equivalent to 147 USD or 100 pounds while 25 galleons is equivalent to 183.75 USD or 125 pounds; I know, I used the internet ((grin)).

Yours truly,
B.E.N.