Wallflower

Chapter Fifteen: Valentines Day

'Dear Daddy;

I hope you're doing ok. I know it must be hard knowing that Maddie's gone, but for her sake I hope you're holding up. It's been rough for me too, but I still worry about you every day. I have my friends to keep me occupied, and you have to stay at home all day with only Nurse Witte to keep you company (not that I would be complaining).

Sirius is treating me well, I'll have you know, and has been there for me through thick and thin. While one of my friends recently…how do I put this…blew up? I guess that works. But while one of my friends and I had an argument, Sirius has done a rather good job at remaining friends with the both of us, though he had some issues at first.

Lily, James, and Remus are doing fine as well, and they send their love. Don't bother writing back if you don't feel up to it, I completely understand. Just hang in there and I'll see you for Easter hols.

Love,

Adelaide'

Adelaide smiled as she finished her letter and quickly sealed it, before attaching it to one of the school owls legs. She smiled as she watched it fly off into the horizon, before deciding that the smell of the owlery was a bit to strong, and began her descent down stairs with a small smile. Today was the thirteenth and a Hogsmeade trip, even though it was a Sunday. She and Sirius had made plans to hang out in the Three Broomsticks (since they had both refused to step foot into Madam Puddifoot's).

She made it back to the common room with no trouble, and when she stepped into the room it was abuzz with chatter and several girls squealing as they thought of their day (most likely planning on going to afore mentioned store). She made her way up to her dormitory, which by now was empty, and was greeted by complete silence. She smiled in relief before making her way to the showers; smelling like owl droppings wasn't the best way to start off a Valentines Day (even if it wasn't really Valentines Day).

When she returned downstairs, dressed in casual clothes, she was greeted by the sight of all of the Marauders joking heartily with each other, as if the past few months hadn't happened. As much as Peter angered her, she was happy that they all got back on with their friendships (though it took more then a subtle push to get Sirius to stop acting like a prat). Lily was chatting with Elise and Caryn, and Adelaide walked over to hear Caryn trying to decide who she should spend her day with.

"-Stevens asked, and he's a really good snog, but the things Parker can do with his fingers-"

Adelaide managed to keep down a grimace, but otherwise joined in the conversation effortlessly (mainly by staying silent and blocking out the images that came to mind) and felt like jumping Sirius when he walked over and managed to save her from the torture that was Caryn talking about who was a better shag, and going into details that Adelaide wished she could forget.

"As interesting as this sounds," Sirius said with a grin, "I'm going to have to steal Addy here away so I can shower her with affection." With a smile to her friends, Adelaide quickly latched onto Sirius' arm and walked with him out of the common room.

"You have no idea how grateful I am," she said as the portrait swung shut behind them, "That was the single most horrific conversation I've ever had to take part in; I hope James takes a leaf out of your book and saves Lily." Sirius laughed and laced their fingers together.

"I was actually going to head down to Hogsmeade now," he explained, "Would you care to join me?" she snorted.

"For some reason, you being gentlemanly is kind of odd," she said with a smile, "But sure, I would love to join you on this fine evening." Sirius just grinned, and they made their way through the castle and onto the grounds in relative silence, though they did have a run in with Peeves who tried to throw water balloons at them. Fortunately for them, they ducked in time and they collided with some first years. Unfortunately for the first years, they had to go back and get new clothes.

The Three Broomsticks was unusually empty, and the owner, Madam Jasmine, looked less then pleased. When she spotted them, though, she beamed.

"Thank goodness there are some students who don't care for that pink excuse for a coffee shop," she said happily, "What would you two like? Butterbeer, I suppose."

"That would be lovely," Adelaide said with a smile. Madam Jasmine hurried off and returned in seconds with two glasses of butterbeer. They thanked her before making their way to one of the booths in the back, and the air was a nice contrast from the bitter cold outside.

After drinking several more glasses of butterbeer they made their way over to Honeydukes, and Adelaide ended up buying about fifty Sugar Quills and several Chocolate Frogs.

"It's one of those days," she said with a dramatic sigh, "It seems I can never get enough chocolate on the holidays.

"But Sugar Quills aren't chocolate," Sirius reminded her. She shrugged.

"So?"

They were passing by The Three Broomsticks near the end of the day, and to their surprise they spotted Peter chatting with Annalisa Bertucci.

"Isn't she a Slytherin?" Sirius asked after a moment. Adelaide nodded as she took a bite of her chocolate frog.

"Yeah, she's his partner in Transfiguration. It's nice to see them getting along," Adelaide mused her arm linked with his, "Though I can't say it isn't surprising; She usually goes with one of her recent flings to Hogsmeade. Last time she went with Parker, and Caryn spotted them and returned to the room to have a fit about how flakey men were." Sirius laughed, shaking his head before pulling her back towards the castle where they planned on lounging around in the common room and eating so much chocolate it made them sick. Of course, they didn't mind if the 'getting sick' part never happened.

-

"So, Adelaide," Lily said slyly, glancing over at Adelaide as they took their seat in their first class of the day: Potions.

"Yes?" Adelaide asked slowly, having a faint idea where this was heading.

"How was your day in Hogsmeade yesterday?"

"It was nice," she responded with shrug, "we went to the Three Broomsticks-"

"Not Madam Puddifoots?"

"-I would kill myself if I was ever made to step foot in that pink shop of horrors. Then we went to Honeydukes and I stocked up on Sugar Quills and Chocolate Frogs."

"Is that it?" Lily asked with a frown. Adelaide shrugged.

"We weren't back to the common room and just relaxed the rest of the day," she concluded, "Valentine's Day is not like Christmas, and I hate it anyways. It was nice to have a boyfriend who didn't expect you to cling to him like a baby and beg for all these different things. It's just an average day spent together doing overall average things."

"Uh-huh," Lily said, "Well, as interesting as that may be," She was cut off as Professor Slughorn entered the room dressed in purple and pink robes that made Adelaide gag and a smile that didn't bode well with several of the classes less-girly students.

"Good Morning!" he said happily, "Seeing as how today is such a joyful day, I've decided we are going to work on an advanced potion-"

"Oh Dear Merlin," Adelaide whispered.

"-that you may find quite familiar: Amortentia!"

Several girls squealed in excitement, several others just smiled, and several others groaned and felt like stabbing themselves with their quill (Adelaide being one of them). Professor Slughorn smiled and kept talking in his jovial manner.

"Now, since Amortentia is banned at Hogwarts," there were several girly sighs of regret, "You will not be allowed to take any potion from this room, and I will make sure of that. I have placed several charms on every exit that I created specifically for the job of detecting any potion that is to leave the room." Queue even more regretful sighs. Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"Miss Vicknair!"

"Shit," she whispered.

"Since you seem so keen on the subject," Slughorn said with a smile, "And have such refined potioning abilities,"

"Lily's much better," she protested half-heartedly.

"Then you can delve into the characteristics of Amortentia!" Adelaide almost smiled in relief; she had gotten scared for a moment.

"Amortentia," she almost gagged just by saying the name, "is characterized by its mother-of-pearl sheen, the way the steam spirals upwards, and the varying scent." Slughorn smiled.

"Good, Good! Five points for Gryffindor!" he said, "Now, Miss Vicknair, if you could just step up here for a moment…"

"What? Why?" she asked quickly, but she dutifully made her way up to the front of the class where there was the pre-arranged cauldron full of the silvery liquid, though the scent hadn't yet reached the classes seats, a shield of sorts keeping the scent back.

"Now, if you could take a whiff of the potion," Slughorn said jovially, "Then you could tell us what it smells like to you." Adelaide sighed and felt the urge to beat the Professor over the head with a broomstick.

"Of course, Professor," she said with a smile, and it seemed everyone but Slughorn realized how peeved she was. So, she quickly smelled the potion (ignoring Lily's grin) and allowed her mind to classify each scent.

"Well, Miss Vicknair?"

"It smells like…Leather," several people giggled, but Adelaide ignored them and tried to name the other scents; she had smelled it recently, that she knew...she wanted to exclaim when she remembered, but instead settled for saying "Christmas trees, and…something else…" she paused, but in reality she knew exactly what it was and wished for the first time that Sirius told her what shampoo he used. Her face turned red, and she sighed before murmuring, "Sirius' hair."

"What was that?" Slughorn asked, having zoned out for a second while she tried to remember the third scents name. Adelaide blushed again.

"Sirius' hair," she said with a sigh. Slughorn smiled happily, oblivious to the chuckling that went around the room.

"Of course, of course!" he said, "I knew it would have something to do with Mr. Black-"

"Of course you did,"

"-seeing as how you've been dating for about four months now," He clapped his hands together, "Five points for Gryffindor for being a good sport. You can sit down now," she did so quickly, and slumped down beside Lily who was smiling.

"I don't see why this bothers you so much," she said with a wave of her hand, "Everyone knows you're dating."

"But what I like only concerns me," she murmured, "You know how much I like privacy."

Lily made no comment, and soon they began to work on the potion in silence. Adelaide was still blushing, when a note flipped onto her desk. She raised an eyebrow and opened it, to see Sirius' easily recognizable handwriting.

'Don't worry; I like how my hair smells, too. : D'

Adelaide couldn't help but smile, but without looking at him she quickly jotted back, 'you egotistical bastard' and tossed it back as Slughorn went to his office. She heard him laugh, and she turned a bit to see him wink at her. She smiled, but turned back around only to feel a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Mulciber smiling, and a chill went down her spine.

"Yes?" she asked politely.

"I was wondering if your Amortentia smells only like the guys you've shagged," From beside him, Avery snickered, and Snape turned his head to look at Mulciber with disgust, while Adelaide clenched her fist. Mulciber turned back around to smirk at her when her fist connected with his face, sending him flying back into Avery, who caught him with a grunt. Snape snickered softly to himself, while the others watched on in confusion, Lily gaping like a fish. Adelaide grabbed Mulciber by his shirt and pointed her wand at his throat.

"You might want to think before you speak," she said angrily. She let him go, pushing him back into Avery, before erecting a shield between the two of them. He tried to move foreword, but was forced back into Avery for a third time. Adelaide eyes him curiously.

"Do you and Avery need some privacy?" she asked in an innocent voice. Mulciber glared, but returned to his potions. Adelaide kept up the smile before she turned back to her potion, chopping up her ingredients with a bit more anger then was considered necessary.

"You shouldn't have done that," Lily whispered as she worked on her potion, "You know that they're all Death Eaters."

"I'd like to see them try and harm me," Adelaide said in a false cheerful voice, "You've seen me duel, and you know that I'm one tough cookie." Lily sighed.

"Yes, but they have to be at least somewhat competent if they managed to become Death Eaters," she whispered, "You should be more careful; You're lucky I'm your friend, or I would have given you a detention for that!" Adelaide laughed.

"You enjoyed seeing me punch him as much as I did," Adelaide whispered, glancing over and seeing Avery attempting to get Mulciber to let him reset his nose, which was bleeding heavily, "Think Slughorn will believe them if they said it was me?" Lily laughed.

"Never; he loves you almost as much as he loves me," Lily murmured. Adelaide smiled, and patted her hands back in reassurance.

"I'll be fine," she responded, "Besides; I really think red is his color."

-

"She fucking punched me in the nose!" Mulciber exclaimed angrily to an only half-interested Annalisa. She sighed and gently massaged his shoulders. They were setting in the Slytherin common room, and Annalisa was setting on a couch with Mulciber leaning against her legs on the floor in front of her.

"So I've heard," Annalisa purred, watching the top of the head in interest; Mulciber was definitely an attractive man with chiseled features and dark hair that swooped into his eyes in just the right way. She much preferred this to the cowering boy that was Peter, who was nervous around her almost all the time. She sighed at the comparison before lowering her mouth to his ear, her lips brushing against the sensitive flesh.

"How about this," she purred, trailing her well-manicured hands down his chest and wrapping around him, "You take me upstairs to the boys dormitory, kick everyone out, and take all your aggressions out on me?" Her tongue flicked out and brushed against his ear, and she felt a shiver move down his spine.

"I think that may be one of the best ideas you've ever had," he growled, turning suddenly, "But I think I'd much rather take you right here in the middle of the common room." Annalisa giggled, liking the idea of it but knowing better.

"Don't you care that you may scar some poor little first years?" she cooed, lacing her fingers together behind his neck. He got up on his knees and pressed her into the couch, a smirk moving across his face as he enjoyed the empowering feeling he got from this vantage point.

"I think they've seen worse," he murmured, crashing his lips down onto hers for a second before trailing his lips to her neck. Annalisa sighed blissfully and let her head roll back and her eyes to close.

"You're so much better then that boy, Peter," she murmured, "sometimes makes me hate my job; at least I don't have to become that twat Adelaide for him anymore; apparently they had a disagreement, though he managed to repair his relationship with the others." Mulciber hummed and trailed his kisses further down towards her chest while his fingers worked on unbuttoning her blouse. She sighed again.

"Sometimes I hate my job," she murmured, "but then I remember that Peter and I only see each other once a week, which means I have six more days to spend with you."

"Do your little toys know that we're dating?" Mulciber murmured, his hand straying to hers, where an inconspicuous ring glittered innocently in the light. She smiled, for once actually expressing her true emotions, and sighed blissfully.

"No, but I haven't had the urge to see any of them in at least three years," she responded, "but of course, that doesn't mean I haven't been with any of them. I do have my job to do." Mulciber growled and gripped her chin, jerking her face to his and his eyes burning furiously.

"Have they touched you like this?" he asked angrily, his hand trailing down and gripping her thigh tightly, "Have they been with you like I have? Have they tasted you?"

"Never," she said truthfully, her own eyes burning, "Only you can touch me like that. Anyone who tried would find themselves unable to walk for a month." He grinned, and quickly moved his mouth back to her neck.

"Good," he murmured, his hands moving across her body and leaving trails of fire, causing her to gasp, "Because one day you will be mine, and mine alone, and you will never have to touch another puny Gryffindor again."

-

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: Haha, Leather, Christmas, and Sirius' hair. Sounds sexy. BAH HAH!!!! Bad thoughts, bad! And Annalisa's sexy. I would so be one of her boy toys…except, you know…a girl. I think I might just make a side story about Annalisa, mainly surrounding her odd relationships and more importantly how that affects her and Mulciber's relationship. I BET YOU DIDN'T SEE THAT ONE COMING!!!! ANNALISA HAS A HEART!! AND MULCIBER DOESN'T LOOK LIKE A CREEPER!! He's a sexy beast. BAH HAH!!

Mmm, that scene made me wanna bump the rating up. ::wink wink:: But seriously, this might just be my favorite passage from this story, other then the New Years scene in chapter ten. I just love how angry it was. BAH HAH!!

…don't question my laugh.

OK, I have a question…and it's kind of rhetorical, so don't feel obligated to answer…but see I noticed that…(wow this is embarrassing, I mean, I can write a lime/lemon without getting flustered, but when it comes to me….wow)…when I masturbate my leg twitches. When I scratch my dog, his leg twitches. So…does that means that the dog is aroused?

…I can't believe I just asked that. ((bullet to the brain))

Yours truly,
B.E.N.