Wallflower
Chapter Twelve: The Saddest Day
Adelaide stared blankly at the letter, unaware of the tears that had began to roll down her face and blot along the paper. It was as if time had stopped, as if the world had suddenly crashed down upon her. The letter dropped out of her hand and into her food, immediately catching everyone's attention. She stared blankly for a moment as her hand hovered in mid air.
"Adelaide?" Sirius asked softly, "What's wrong?"
That was all it took for her to break down completely. She clutched onto Sirius, to his surprise, and sobbed heavily into his shoulder, her cries catching almost everyone's attention. Sirius felt anticipation wind up inside of him and he grabbed the letter. He read through it quickly, before his grip tightened.
"What happened?" Lily asked in confusion, grasping James' arm tightly. Sirius didn't answer the as he wrapped Adelaide tightly in his arms and gently whispered soothing words into her ear. Professor McGonagall, who had also gotten a letter, it appeared, hurried from her seat and stopped behind the pair.
"Mr. Black, I think you might want to escort Ms. Vicknair from the Hall," McGonagall said briskly, her eyes soft, "I will arrange for a portkey to leave tomorrow morning,"
He quickly stood, supporting Adelaide as best as he could. She could barely see, making it near impossible to walk, but she managed. With Sirius acting as a crutch, she walked quickly out of the great hall, eager to get away from prying eyes.
When they reached the common room, her tears hadn't stopped and if anything, she'd cried even harder. The Fat Lady looked worried, but asked no questions and immediately opened up once Sirius gave her the password. No one was in the common room anymore, but he didn't want to risk it and lead Adelaide up to the Boys Dormitories, which he knew was empty. He quickly took a seat on his bed, and drew Adelaide into his lap, his arms holding her tightly as she sobbed. He placed the letter on his night stand, wanting to get it out of his sight,
"Shh," he whispered, "It's going to be ok," She whimpered.
"Sh-she was just a buh-baby!" she sobbed, "Sh-She nuh-never did ah-anything to duh-deserve th-this!"
"I know," Sirius murmured into her hair. "She was a good kid who lived her life to the best of her abilities. She had a good life."
"A-A good luh-life!?" Adelaide asked angrily, pulling away to look at him incredulously, "Sh-She was in the hoh-hospital most of her life! How is that guh-good?"
"It was for her well being," Sirius said softly, brushing her hair out of her face, "But you made sure that she experienced as much to life as she could; you took her out of the hospital even when it wasn't the wisest thing so she could, at least for a moment, be a kid. She had a sister who loved her more then anything in the world, and she loved you for everything you ever did for her."
"I-I cuh-could have tried huh-harder!" she whimpered, burying her face back into his shoulder, "I could have duh-done something more!"
"You did all you could have done," he whispered into her hair, gently rubbing her back, "You couldn't have stopped this from happening." That just caused her to moan pathetically, and another wave of tears to hit her.
Sirius didn't know how long they sat there, Adelaide latching onto him, crying on and off, but he never left her side. He kept holding her, and sometimes she would drift off into a light sleep, but wake up and start crying again. Soon, she had seemed to run out of tears and was left whimpering into his shirt, which was sticking to his skin from the moisture. Slowly, she pulled away, here eyes red and puffy, and stared down at her lap with a tortured expression.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, laughing dryly, "I got snot all over your shirt."
"It's okay," Sirius said with a slight smile, "I've got plenty of shirts."
She sat there for a moment, before slowly laying down on his bed beside him, not really looking at him. He stayed propped up against his headboard, but gently ran his fingers through her hair. Her breathing evened out, and for a moment he thought that she had fallen asleep.
"I feel like I'm in a dream," she whispered after a second, "I knew it was coming, but I never really prepared myself. I thought that I would get a letter saying her health was failing, and that I would be able to go to St. Mungos and be by her side. I-I didn't want her to die alone."
"She didn't die alone," Sirius said softly, his hand stopping its menstruations, "she knew you cared, that her dad cared, and that was enough for her. She can be with her mom now."
She whimpered and curled closer to him. She didn't say anything for a while, and she just stared at his thigh blankly allowing herself to be consumed in her thoughts. A while soon turned into an hour, and then into two, and before either of them realized it classes were over for the day, and James and Peter walked up stairs, James with a worried frown. He saw Adelaide's state (though she was quiet, she still appeared quite distraught) and bit his bottom lip before asking,
"What was in the letter?"
This jerked Adelaide out of her musings, which by that time had gone into a complete circle about five times, and she looked at him in surprise, before realizing that they knew nothing. She swallowed, feeling her eyes tear up, but she pushed it away in an attempt to keep composed.
"She died last night," she said softly, "Maddie's gone."
While Peter seemed nothing short of confused, James' mouth fell open in surprise, and he blinked several times. He glanced at Sirius, who nodded grimly to show it was not their form of a sick and twisted joke.
"When…when is the funeral?" James asked slowly. By now, Peter felt as if he were an outsider, something he was not used to when it came to James. Adelaide swallowed, her mouth feeling as if she had cotton balls stuffed in it.
"On the eighth," she said slowly, and her fists tightened onto the blankets as she bit back tears.
"We're going," James said with determination, "Lily, Remus and I. And Sirius. And Peter-"
"I can't make it," Peter said suddenly, causing everyone to look at him, "I have…er…a prior engagement."
"Prior engagement!?" Sirius yelled, anger flooding through him, "Her sister just died! I think that's more important than some little prior engagement!!"
"I didn't even know the girl," Peter said in his own defense. Sirius growled in the back of his throat while Adelaide's fists tightened onto the blankets, and tears finally began to leave their sanctum.
"SO?" Sirius yelled angrily, wanting nothing more then to punch him in the face, "Even if I didn't now her I still would have gone to support Adelaide!"
"She'll have you, Remus, James, and Lily," Peter reasoned in a slightly shaky voice, "What's it gonna hurt if I'm not there?
"YOUR FRIENDSHIP!" Sirius roared, leaving his place on the bed and stalking towards Peter, before taking his shirt into his hands and shaking him angrily, "A NINE-YEAR-OLD GIRL JUST DIED!! SHOW AT LEAST SOME COMPASSION!!"
"Stop fighting," Adelaide said in a weak voice, setting up in bed with her hands gripping her head as she looked at the comforter, "Please stop fighting; it's ok if he doesn't want to go. I don't care." Sirius looked at her, knowing that she really did care, before letting go of Peter and moving back to his bed to sit beside her. She leaned against him and held him tightly to stop him in case he wanted to attack Peter. Peter grimaced, before turning around.
"I'll be in the common room," he said to James, "Get me when it's time to go." And he shut the door behind him. James grimaced: that had definitely not gone smoothly.
"Well," James said after a moment, "Sirius, you stay with Adelaide tonight: I'll be with Remus." Sirius looked at him for a moment, before realizing that today was a full moon.
"No," Adelaide protested softly, "If you want to go with them it's fine, I'll be fine." Sirius looked at her, before looking back at James.
"Even if I did go, I wouldn't be able to concentrate," he said honestly, and James smiled slightly, though it didn't quite reach his eyes.
"I know," he responded, before making his way back to the stairs, "I have to go tell Lily what happened. I'll see you guys later, OK?"
Then, it was just the two of them again, and Adelaide felt more miserable then ever. Sirius noticed, but said nothing and opted to just stay there, if anything to show her that he wouldn't abandon her like Peter had.
They spent the rest of the day there, and Adelaide got Lobby, the house elf, to bring up some stew when they were hungry so she wouldn't have to go downstairs. They ate mostly in silence, and Adelaide's eyes were glazed over as she ate. She ended up falling asleep curled up beside Sirius long after dark had fallen. She was completely exhausted, and was knocked out as soon as her head hit the pillow. Sirius watched her sleep for a moment, before relaxing and falling asleep beside her.
-
Adelaide awoke to soft voices above her, and she noticed immediately one was Sirius. At first, she wondered why she heard him: boy's weren't allowed in the girls dormitories. Then everything that happened yesterday slammed into her, causing her eyes to tear up as she realized this wasn't a dream, and that Madeline really was gone. Forever.
She slowly sat up, and she felt Sirius gently run his fingers through her hair.
"How are you feeling?" he asked. She grinned slightly, and offered a humorless chuckle.
"Like shit," she said bluntly, and Sirius and the other voice chuckled. She blinked a few times, and noticed that the other person was James, who was setting on the edge of his bed. She wasn't that surprised.
"It's eight o'clock," James said helpfully, "McGonagall came by and said that she has a portkey set for nine. We were just about to wake you up."
"You guys are coming with me, right?" she asked, her voice slightly panicky, "and what about Remus? Wasn't he sick? He didn't come to bed last night."
"Remus said that there was no way he would miss it," Sirius soothed, his hand stopping on her head, "He's just getting some pepper-up-potion from Madame Pomfery. Lily is getting things together for the funeral. She sent me to ask what you want."
"Oh! Um…" Adelaide hesitated, not really sure, "I'll have to look." She stood, stumbling a bit as she attempted to use her legs after twenty five hours of lounging in Sirius' bed. She offered a slight smile to the other two, before briskly walking out of the room. The two shared looks, but said nothing.
Adelaide spent the next forty five minutes in her room searching through her trunk for things she might need. She ended up instructing Lily not to pack any clothes, that she would let her borrow things for the funeral. In the end, she just had a photo album with images of her sister from the day she was born to her death. Adelaide held her head up high, and clutching it close to her chest she made her way downstairs to where James, Sirius, and a sickly looking Remus were standing in wait for them. James had a knapsack tossed over his shoulder, and at her inquisitive stare, he grinned slightly.
"Clothes for our stay," he said, "used an expansion and a featherweight charm on it so it can hold all of our stuff. What about you guys?" he eyed them, and Adelaide smiled grimly.
"I'm letting Lily borrow some of my clothes," she said truthfully, "so we don't have to pack anything."
"What's that," Sirius asked, motioning to her album. Adelaide smiled grimly.
"A photo album," she said softly, "Of Maddie." There was a tense silence for a moment, before Adelaide straightened and seemed to strengthen, if at least for a moment, "We need to get to Dumbledore's office; I have a lot of planning to do." She turned on the spot and walked briskly out of the common room, and the three shared brief looks before easily catching up with her. As expected, Professor McGonagall was waiting outside of the Gargoyle with a grim expression. She raised an eyebrow at Adelaide's stony expression, but opened the door without mentioning it.
When they entered the room, Dumbledore was standing in front of his fireplace with a pensive look. He turned with a friendly smile and held out his arms slightly.
"Ah, Miss. Vicknair," he greeted, "It is nice to see you, though of course I would have wish this had been on better terms." He moved from his spot and opened a desk drawer, where he pulled out a broken muggle pocket watch. He nodded and strolled over to the group, placing the pocket watch in Adelaide's trembling hand. "This, of course, is set to leave in a minute exactly," he explained, "If you could all touch it, it will transport you to Vicknair Manner in a matter of seconds." They all quickly did as instructed, each having a firm grip on the watch somewhere, with Adelaide gripping the chain.
"Thank you all for coming," Adelaide whispered, and she was shaking slightly as she attempted to keep back her tears, "I-I don't think I'd be able to go in the house otherwise." Lily offered her friend a comforting smile, and opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by a pull from behind there belly buttons, and their feet suddenly leaving the ground. They all stumbled a bit when they landed in the Vicknair's kitchen, and Lily almost fell over, not used to travel by portkey. Adelaide immediately dropped the chain and was greeted by Jessica Witte, who placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"I see your friends came with you," she said gravely, and her red eyes showed that she had been crying, "If you will just leave any of your things here, a house elf will get it momentarily. I'm afraid that we need to get to work quickly if we want to get things done in time."
"How is daddy?" Adelaide asked immediately, and the Nurses' smile faltered.
"He…is holding up," she said slowly, "He has been going in and out of fits recently. I've kept him sedated, but still."
"I understand," Adelaide whispered, never letting go of her photo album, "Where is our first stop?"
"To the funeral home," Jessica said firmly, "We need to pick out a casket, and settle everything over. They want pictures of her, so they can make a slide show of her for you." Adelaide smiled gratefully, before turning to the others. Her eyes were watering, but she didn't cry.
"We should get going," she whispered softly. Sirius immediately walked up and stood next to her, placing a hand on her back. She smiled at him, and it didn't quite reach her eyes. She looked at Jessica with determination, and nodded her head to show they were ready. The nurse pursed her lips, before heading towards the door.
"We have a lot of work to do,"
-
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: This was hard for me to write, because I used a lot of personal experience in writing this, including things from my grandfathers death and how I reacted. Adelaide is acting strong, because she feels that it is her duty too. That's how I reacted, because my mom was a blubbering mess, and I hated seeing her like that. Adelaide is trying to be strong for herself, though, because she doesn't want to be seen as weak, and she doesn't want to cry any more.
Yours truly,
B.E.N.
