Wallflower

Chapter Eighteen: The Final Stop

Adelaide awoke around five in the morning, and everyone else was still asleep in their beds. She sighed, knowing that she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, and rolled out of her bed before going and taking a seat on the window sill. She pressed her forehead against the cool glass and watched as the sun rose above the horizon, her breath fogging up the glass.

"I can't believe it,"

Adelaide turned and saw Lily awake, staring at the ceiling with wide eyes. Adelaide smiled and walked over before sitting down on the edge of her bed.

"Can't believe what?" she asked, "That you're engaged?" Lily smiled and shook her head.

"It completely took me by surprise," she said truthfully, "I never thought that I would leave Hogwarts engaged to James Potter." She looked over at Adelaide, "Do you think we're moving to soon?" Adelaide shook her head.

"You've been dating for almost a whole year," she reasoned, "And he's adored you for almost six years. You both love each other, and you make a wonderful couple." She smirked, "Besides, Lily Potter has a nice ring to it." Lily blushed, but she got a dreamy look on her face. Then, she jumped up.

"Do you know what this means!?" she asked with a large smile. Adelaide blinked but shook her head. Lily's smile widened, "You're paying for my wedding!" Adelaide laughed, and shook her head.

"I think that may be the only reason you agreed to marry him," Adelaide joked, but she smiled, "Of course I'll pay for your wedding; that's why I said that. I was hoping you two would get together from the beginning." Lily sighed.

"Of course you were," she murmured, but she yawned before getting out of bed, "Well, we better start getting our things together for the train ride." Adelaide let out a breath.

"This is the last time we're boarding the Hogwarts Express," she whispered, "this is so…weird."

Her mind ran through the year and she felt as if she had accomplished something major. She had passed all her N.E.W.T.s with straight O's, she had gotten an amazing boyfriend, and found some of the best friends of her life. She smiled, before she began to finish packing her things.

In the boys dormitory, Sirius was still passed out and snoring slightly. He had put all his things into his trunk the night before (to everyone's surprise) just so he could sleep in the next morning. He was fully planning on sleeping in, if it weren't for James and his incessant chatter in his ear in an attempt to wake him up.

"Wake up, Sirius!" He hassled, "I'm bored, and you can help me pack."

"Bugger off," Sirius murmured into his pillow. James just tore off his covers and wadded them up in a ball; it didn't faze Sirius in the least. He continued to lie on his bed with his face buried in his pillow. Then James began to throw shoes at him. With a groan Sirius turned his head to glare at him, "Just because you decided to procrastinate and not pack you bags doesn't mean I have to get up early."

"You're the only one who got your stuff together last night," Remus said as he put away his last book and shut his trunk and locked it, "I think Adelaide's been rubbing off on you."

"You didn't even want to do a prank to see us off," Peter said as he searched under his bed, "and you went to sleep early last night. You shouldn't be tired anyway."

"I couldn't sleep," Sirius murmured, "what time is it anyway?"

"Seven thirty," Remus said as he took a seat on his bed, "Train leaves in an hour." Sirius groaned, but pushed himself up and headed into the bathroom where he used the restroom and brushed his teeth. When he came out, James was trying to pull Peter out from under the bed.

"What happened?" he asked Remus casually, amused.

"The bed collapsed on top of him," he explained, "And the beds are heavy. Should we help them?" Sirius paused, before sighing.

"I guess," he murmured, walking over and lifting the bed a bit, causing James to pull Peter from under the frame. Sirius let it drop with a loud 'thunk' and grinned at his friends, "Good thing you woke me up, huh?" he said, before grabbing his clothes and walking back into the bathroom, "I'm taking a shower."

-

The train whistle blew as they Express left Hogsmeade station, smoke billowing out behind them. They watched the village fade away with heavy hearts, and Adelaide sighed heavily.

"I can't believe it," she murmured, propping her head up on her hand, "We're actually leaving."

"We've said that a lot recently," Sirius mused from beside her, "It's making it rather easy to believe." Adelaide laughed before leaning back in her seat and closing her eyes, her heart thudding in her chest and tears coming to her eyes.

"I'm gonna miss it," she murmured, "It's likely I'll never see Hogwarts again; do you know how depressing that is?" she turned and looked at them, and Lily seemed to be the only other who was close to tears. Sirius just nodded before entwining their fingers. He opened his mouth to speak when there was a knock on the compartment and it slid open, to reveal Annalisa, who looked pale and close to tears, though she hid it well.

"Can I see Peter for a moment?" she asked softly. Peter stood quickly, worried, and glanced back at his friends.

"I'll be back in a minute," he said, before following her out, the door closing softly behind him. The others stared at the door for a moment with wide eyes.

"…was Bertucci crying?" James asked after a second, "and what did she want with Wormtail?"

"I guess that's why we saw her with him that one time at Hogsmeade," Adelaide murmured, "But isn't she seeing someone else?" Lily looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"This is Annalisa Bertucci we're talking about," she said slowly, "She's been with about every single Slytherin guy at least once, and she's even been seen with a girl every now and then." Adelaide furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head slightly.

"She doesn't seem like she would do that," she said, "I've talked to her once, and she seemed pretty hung up on Mulciber."

"Bertucci isn't the type to get attached to anyone," Remus said with a frown, "I hope Peter knows what he's doing."

"I heard that she was a death eater," Lily said with a frown, "she hangs out with Avery, Mulciber, and Snape almost all the time."

"Peter will be fine," Adelaide said, shaking her head. The others looked at her in surprise, and she sighed, "I may not be too fond of him, but he thinks of you all as brothers. He's not an idiot."

"We never said he was," James intoned, "but he's not always very observant." Adelaide shrugged, and propped her feet up on the open space across from her before leaning into Sirius with a sigh.

Annalisa turned to Peter as soon as they were three compartments away from the others, and her eyes were cold. Peter decided against commenting on the fact that she looked terrible, and it seemed to be a wise move.

"Look, we can't be seen together ever again," she said quickly, "I don't like you, I'm a liar and I never found you attractive. I was just doing my job." Peter blinked, but sighed; he knew something was up. Annalisa could get any guy she wanted, and her genuinely interested in him? He almost laughed at the thought. It didn't stop him from being hurt, though.

"So why did you pull me out?" he asked.

"Because: we made a deal, and you're going to fulfill it," she said stoically, crossing her arms and glaring down at him, "I have some friends who came to graduation and decided on taking the train back today; you need to inform them of everything you know about the Marauders plans now that they're out of Hogwarts." Peter's eyes narrowed.

"You said you would leave Remus and James out of it," he demanded, and she tutted, shaking her head as a sadistic smile spread across her face.

"I'm a Slytherin, Peter!" she stated, "Since when am I truthful? But listen clearly when I say this: James and Remus are only using you." Peter snorted.

"Like you did?" he asked, and she sighed before leaning against the wall.

"No; why would they want to snog you?" she asked, looking him over for added effect, "Listen, and listen good: they don't trust you like they do each other. You've always been the one who lagged behind. You're relationship with them is hanging on by bare threads because of how you treated, and continue to treat, Vicknair. Sirius thinks you're an idiot who can't do anything right, James thinks you're good for nothing but pulling pranks, and Remus simply pities you. They only keep you around because you know everything about them, and they are smart enough to know that if you leave them then all their dirty little secretes will get out."

Peter was silent, and she smirked in success. "Now, you're going to come with me, go to my compartment, and do as you're told." She laughed bitterly, and grabbed his left arm, yanking down the sleeve, "Remember that you belong to us now. You can't turn your back on us, or we'll kill you."

-

"Peter's been gone a while," James murmured as he stuck his head out of the compartment, "Think Annalisa's killed him?" Adelaide snorted.

"You're being overly dramatic," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand, "Peter's not helpless." James shrugged and slid the door close before taking a seat.

"What are your animagus forms?" Lily asked suddenly, glancing once at everyone, "We never got around to it because Adelaide," she shot her a glare, "decided to start a chocolate war." Adelaide smiled and shrugged.

"Well, I'm a stag," James said, "Peter's a rat, and Sirius is a big black dog."

"That explains your ridiculous nicknames," Adelaide said, "Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs."

"They're not ridiculous," Sirius huffed, and Adelaide laughed at him. She opened her mouth to comment, when the door slid open and Peter walked in, taking his seat silently as if nothing had happened.

"What did Bertucci want?" Remus asked, and Peter shrugged.

"She dumped me," he responded, and silence filled the room.

"You two were dating?" Sirius asked incredulously, "Since when?"

"Christmas," he said vaguely, "She left me for Mulciber." James and Sirius wrinkled their noses.

"Austin Mulciber?" James asked, "That Slytherin slime ball?" Adelaide kept her gaze glued outside, but really she couldn't blame Annalisa. Mulciber may have had a terrible attitude eighty percent of the time, but he was attractive and not to mention taller then her, pretty much the opposite of Peter. She quickly chastised herself, though, knowing that she shouldn't be so mean to him (even if she did hold quite a bit of animosity towards him).

The ride was peaceful for the most part and they all managed to get along and not tear each others heads off (you never knew when Peter and Adelaide would get in another fight; it hadn't happened yet, but you never know). They each got some candies from the trolley (Adelaide sticking with Pumpkin Pastries) and before they knew it the train was pulling into the station. They quickly grabbed their luggage and got off the train.

"This is so weird," James said for what felt like the fiftieth time, "it feels the same as always, but it's different, you know?"

They all stuck together as their parents came and got them, Peter leaving first with his mother, followed by Lily and her parents, her Sister absent as usual, and then James left with his father. Adelaide glanced over at Sirius as Remus waved his goodbyes, walking off the platform with his sickly looking father.

"I don't want to go home," she said suddenly, "I can't stand it there, I don't want to be alone in such a big space." Sirius wrapped his arm around her shoulder in a comforting manner.

"You can stay with me," he said with a grin, "I've got plenty of room." She looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you sure?" she asked, "I don't want to be a burden." Sirius laughed.

"You're not a burden," he reassured, "If anything, with the way you cook you'll be a blessing." She blushed, and shook her head.

"Thanks," she murmured. She grabbed his hand with a smile, and began tugging him to the exit, "Let's go!" Sirius laughed.

"I have no idea what got you so happy all the sudden," he murmured, and she just laughed as they walked through the barrier. They moved quickly through the station, before she turned to him with a curious expression, and she crossed her arms over her chest. Sirius stopped, and watched her in confusion, "what?"

Her expression turned serious and determined.

"I want you to teach me how to be an animagus."

-

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'm really tempted to write a story about Annalisa. Really, really tempted. But I know, for a FACT, that her story would be rated M and very depressing. But I think I'll write it. After, you know, I finish this and get at least halfway through the sequel. O_O And Austin's a sexy name.

And I hate this chapter. The best part of it is with Annalisa. I just…blech. And I wanted Adelaide to be an animagus for later chapters, but I didn't want it to be cliche, so I went about it in a way I've not seen yet.

Anyway, I want you to know that the sequel will be posted after I get ahead so I can continue updating so quickly. So most likely after this story finishes, there will be a week or two wait before I post the sequel, and then i'll have to decide if I want to split it into two stories or not. There will be fluff next chapter, so yay!!

Yours truly,
B.E.N.