Wallflower
Chapter Seven: Betrayal
It had been a little over two weeks since Sirius and Adelaide had been locked in a closet, and accidentally kissed. For two weeks, Adelaide had to deal with the fact that she had a crush on one of her first, true friends. It was the same for Sirius, because he fancied the girl that one of his best mates had a crush on.
Now Sirius sat on his bed, the dormitory completely void of life save for himself. He just stared at the wall in front of him, wondering what it was that possessed him to even think of asking Adelaide to accompany him to the next Hogsmeade visit on December Eleventh. He had no idea why he even thought of it in the first place, seeing as it was a month away.
Peter and Adelaide had kept up the tutoring sessions, but they barely saw each other in the hallway; Sirius knew she was avoiding him, that she didn't like him more then a friend, and even then she had admitted to not likeing him more then an acquaintance. While this relieved Sirius, he couldn't help but wonder how Peter would react. He still fancied her, and thought nothing of the fact that whenever he was heading in her direction she would suddenly turn around as if she had forgotten something. While that was harder to do during classes, she always managed to zoom out of the room, not waiting for any one.
"Moping isn't going to help,"
Sirius' head jerked to the side and he saw James leaning against the doorframe, watching him intently. Another occurrence that had shocked many, was that Lily and James were now officially dating; the news spread like a wild fire. Unfortunately, this just seemed to aggravate Sirius even more, though he really was happy for his friend, he wished he had been brave enough to ask Adelaide to Hogsmeade. Now Peter was planning on asking her, and he had a distinct feeling that Adelaide wouldn't be able to turn him down.
"Yeah, but it makes me feel better," Sirius retorted childishly. James raised an eyebrow.
"Peter asked Adelaide to Hogsmeade today," he said, and Sirius felt his gut contract painfully as he awaited the words he knew would follow, "She turned him down."
"What?" Sirius asked in amazement, and relief flooded through his system. James nodded.
"She was really polite about it, but Peter looked completely crushed," he said casually, and Sirius felt his relief be replaced with guilt –what the hell kind of friend was he? James seemed to notice this, but opted to not say anything, "Her exact phrasing was that she was waiting for someone else to ask her." Sirius' hopes crashed –so she didn't like him. James continued to talk.
"Lily cornered me afterwards," he said, and he looked rather amused, "She said that I need to, and I quote, 'get my ass up here and make you ask Adelaide to Hogsmeade' before she forces the two of you into another broom closet."
"Why does she want me to ask her?" Sirius asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. James looked at him like he was completely daft.
"It means Adelaide fancies you," he said slowly, "who else would Adelaide tell who she liked? Lily is one of her best friends. And according to Lily, Adelaide hasn't been completely up to par recently, especially when she didn't see you in Transfiguration or Herbology. She wasn't able to concentrate, almost got strangled by some Devils Snare." Sirius felt his lip twitch upward slightly, but he fell back onto his bed.
"But what about Peter?" he asked grimly, "I'd feel as if I were betraying him; he really likes her."
"And she really likes you," James said as if it were simple, "She turned him down for you; that has to stand for something. You know Adelaide, and she hates to be the bearer of bad news. I think she really fancies you." Sirius groaned and dug his palms into his eyes before dragging his hands down his face.
"This sucks," he said simply, and James laughed, but shook his head.
"You know, I hear that Mulciber has taken a liking to her," he said off handedly, "I hear he's planning on asking her to Hogsmeade during Charms." Sirius almost leaped out of bed as he glared at James.
"Mulciber?" he said though clenched teeth, "That good for nothing wanker? What the hell would he like Adelaide-" he cut himself off as he realized why, and he felt anger bubble up in him, "That no good, lousy son of a-"
"Whoa, calm down," James said warily, "The answer is simple: just ask her to Hogsmeade as soon as you get the chance. I think she's in the Library-" as soon as he'd gotten to the 'b' Sirius had jumped out of his bed and began running down the stairs, not caring that he could very well get a detention for wearing a pair of muggle jeans and a black tee-shirt instead of his uniform. James raised an eyebrow at the suddenly empty room, before chuckling and making his way down stairs. He was met with Lily, and was waiting with her hands on her hips.
"What the heck did you say that caused him to run out of here so fast?" she asked, and James grinned before wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
"I just stretched the truth a little," he said simply, "I told him Mulciber had taken an interest Adelaide; which by all means is true, I just added on that he was planning on asking her to Hogsmeade in Charms." Lily laughed and shook her head as they made their way to the Charms classroom slowly; lunch break wasn't over for another ten minutes, they had time.
When Sirius reached the library, he managed to slow down before entering the room at an acceptable pace. He scanned the room and easily picked out her curly hair as she sat near one of the windows, flipping through a book idly with a vacant expression on her face. Sirius swallowed, before walking over and taking a seat at the end of the table. Adelaide looked up, and a blush coated her cheeks before she smiled softly.
"H-Hey," she said quietly as she stopped flipping through the book, "what's up?" Sirius felt his nerves beginning to act up, and he stubbornly pushed them to the side.
"Are you going with anyone to Hogsmeade?" he asked bluntly, and her eyes widened, before she slowly shook her head.
"N-No," she responded slowly. Sirius threaded his fingers through his hair and glanced over to the side, before sighing in exasperation.
"Look," he began, licking his lips, "I heard that you're waiting for someone else to ask you, but I like you; a lot. I was wondering I you could just give me a chance, and go to Hogsmeade with me?" He watched her, and her blush deepened and her lips twitched up in a shy smile before she leaned foreword and gently kissed his cheek.
"I was waiting for you to ask me," She murmured softly, "I'd love to go with you." Sirius grinned brightly, before pulling her close to him and wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug. She squeaked before giggling softly, her cheeks heating up.
Peter watched with a sad expression from behind a book shelf, his fingers clenching his book tightly. Anger and betrayal roared up inside of him and began to eat away at his insides. It was like an infection that just grew until it took him over completely, and he clenched his eyes shut.
"It's not fair," a soft voice said, and Peter turned quickly to see Annalisa lounging sideways in an armchair, watching him sympathetically. She was one of the prettiest girls in the school, with skin like porcelain, and very elegant Italian features, with plump lips. She had black hair that hung in waves and dark chocolate colored eyes. She watched him as he eyed her cautiously; she was a Slytherin for a reason. She twisted in the chair before standing and walking slowly towards him. He turned his back to her and watched angrily as Sirius and Adelaide smiled at each other and spoke under their breaths.
"He always gets whatever he wants," Peter said under his breath, but he stiffened as Annalisa placed a hand on his back.
"You had you're eye on her since day one," she said softly, a coy smile playing on her lips, "You deserve her; Black will probably toy with her for a while before dumping her, leaving her broken. You know what happened to all those other girls." Peter shook his head.
"He's only seriously dated three girls," he said, though he wondered why he was defending him, "They either got obsessive, or they found someone else. Everything else is rumors." Annalisa frowned slightly, but he couldn't see.
"It's still not fair," she cooed, leaning down to his ear, her eyes focusing on the two, "you asked her out even, that should mean she is off limits. In a way, he betrayed you. He stole the girl you loved right from under your nose." She idly began to toy wit his hair, and switched her sights to Peter, who looked angry, which was rare in itself; he was almost never angry. She smiled, but continued, "Do you really want to be walked on? You told me yourself that you hated being the under dog."
"I wouldn't betray James and Remus," Peter said, watching her carefully. She patted his back and removed the grin from her face, instead looking sympathetic.
"I know, you've said how nice they are to you," she cooed, "I listened to you; I've always listened to you. You're really quite an interesting person; I don't see why they don't appreciate you more."
"They appreciate me plenty," Peter said harshly, shrugging her hand off of him. She frowned, but didn't allow her anger to show in her voice.
"I've seen how you are treated, Peter," she said slowly, "You may not see it, but you're the outsider; you're the one they walk on to raise themselves up a notch. To them, even you good friend Remus, you're just a stepping block."
"You're wrong," he said angrily, though doubt was curling up in his stomach, coiling inside of him like a snake around a field mouse. Annalisa smiled as she noticed the doubt begin to form. She shrugged her shoulders, her face void of emotion, and let her hand drop from his back.
"When you see that I am right," she said nonchalantly, "you can come visit me; I won't push you aside." And she walked away, leaving the Library with a triumphant grin. She had done her job and planted the doubt inside of him, she even gave it water to start its growth towards the sunlight.
Or maybe, she thought idly as she made her way into the dungeons, its growth towards the darkness. She smiled, before swinging into the Slytherin common room. It was empty, and she kneeled in front of the fire place. A face immediately appeared, with a strong jaw and heavy eyelids.
"I planted the seed," she said softly, "All we need now is to wait; as I said, if anyone was to join the Order, it would be the Marauders. We'll have a spy," she smiled while the face laughed triumphantly.
"Brilliant," she said gleefully, her eyes flashing, "Keep me posted, Lisa. I'll be in touch."
"Good bye, Bellatrix."
-
When Sirius and Adelaide reached charms (after Sirius made a quick stop to the dorm to change into his uniform) Sirius immediately spotted Mulciber watching Adelaide as if she were a piece of meat. So, he tossed his arm around her shoulder and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"I'll see you after charms," he murmured into her ear, "and watch out for Mulciber; I don't like how he's looking at you," she nodded, if only to sooth his worries, before moving to her seat in front of the Slytherin in question, while Sirius moved across the room to his seat in beside Remus, closest to Flitwick's desk. He could see Adelaide, and openly watched her. She noticed easily and began blushing, looking down at her desk. Lily and James came in about a minute later, and they both noticed the change. James hurried to his seat beside Sirius;
"Did you ask her?" he asked, and Sirius nodded with a grin.
"She said yes," he replied happily. From what he could tell, Lily had asked Adelaide the same question. Mulciber looked less then pleased, and Sirius felt smug that he not only was going on a date with Adelaide, but he managed to annoy Mulciber.
When Peter came in, he looked pale and silently took his seat on James' other side. Sirius noticed.
"Hey, what's wrong, Wormtail?" he asked, and to his surprise Peter glared at him; a small glare, but a glare none the less.
"You would know," he murmured, before staring at his desk. Sirius blinked, and looked between the other two.
"What'd I do?" he asked, just garnering a shrug in response, from both of them. He opened his mouth, but Flitwick's tiny voice squeaked over the noise, and everyone paid attention.
"Today we're going to be working on a Delirium Charm," he announced, "you are going to practice them on your partners, but be extremely careful!" Sirius turned to Remus with a wolfish grin.
"This might be the best day ever," he said, earning a laugh from Remus in response. They listened to the instructions, and it wasn't long until Sirius was seeing floating hamsters around the room. Remus was watching, amused as Sirius unconsciously flinched each time a hamster would shoot towards his face.
"This is so weird," Sirius said after a minute, "and why hamsters? What good are they for?" He jumped as a hamster snarled at him. A snarling hamster, "Remus, you have issues." Remus laughed and lifted the spell, before Sirius began to practice as well. It was only a few minutes before Remus had to face the wrath of angry wolves.
"You had hamsters!" Remus said angrily, flinching as a wolf lunged at him, even though it passed right through him, "How do you get wolves from hamsters?"
"It snarled at me," Sirius explained innocently, and this time Remus looked at him as if he were insane.
"A Hamster…snarled at you?" he asked slowly, still flinching on occasion. Sirius removed the charm, causing Remus to sigh in relief. Before jumping, "I didn't know hamsters could snarl!" he was under another charm, but this one with a snarling hamster. Sirius removed the charm for real this time and nodded.
"That is incredibly creepy," Remus said slowly, staring at the spot where the hamster had been. Sirius grinned, before looking over to Adelaide where she was watching the room with a raised eyebrow.
"Lily," she said softly, "why did you make everyone stand up, dress as French maids, and do the can-can?" Lily grinned cheekily.
"Because I can-can," she said, and Adelaide sighed in disappointment.
"You lack originality," she said blandly, and Lily pouted before removing the charm. Adelaide acted quickly, and Lily about fell out of her seat.
"What the hell, Adelaide?" she hissed under her breath. Adelaide grinned.
"I see men in French maid outfits, you see James in a leotard," she reasoned with a shrug, "It seems like a fair trade."
"I hate you."
-
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: ((Gasp)) Annalisa's a Death Eater (go figure)!! THE PLOT THICKENS!!!! AND WHAT ABOUT SNARLING HAMSTERS!?!?
((cough)) anyway, this is going to be one of the shortest chapters you get. I promise. Besides, you got the longest chapter last time. ((smiles)) It seems like a fair trade.
Yours
truly,
B.E.N.
