Wallflower

Chapter Twenty-Two: Birthday Surprise

The first meeting of the Order that Sirius and Adelaide attended was five days later, and they were surprised to see not only James and Lily, but Remus and Peter as well. Remus had apparently been the first of the friends to be recruited, and he later recommended that his friends join, certain not only that they were trust worthy, but that they wanted to aid in the defeat in the Dark Lord.

The order held meetings at different locations on the thirtieth of every month, and the pattern continued until May without a hitch in their daily lives. Throughout this time, Adelaide attended school every weekday, while on Saturdays she and Sirius would go out on a date, and Sundays they would lounge around in the house entertaining themselves in some way or another (there favorite involved sending Nobbie on a wild goose chase so that they could have alone time without Nobbie checking in on them suddenly). Either that or they would visit with their friends.

The oddest part about this routine was that Annalisa would randomly pay visits to her and they would converse, and Adelaide was almost positive she had made a friend, or at least an acquaintance. Annalisa would leave after only ten minutes, and would return for another random visit the next week. Adelaide was worried now, for the past three weeks Annalisa seemed to have mysteriously disappeared.

"Where are we going?" Adelaide asked as she locked the front door and tightened her jacket around her, "It's Wednesday!"

"It's a surprise birthday party," Sirius said bladly, and she laughed.

"Right, of course it is," she murmured, before gripping his arm, "So, what's going on?"

"I told you already," Sirius said with a shrug before apparating. Adelaide opened her mouth after the odd feeling disappeared to retort and began shrugging her jacket off.

"Happy Birthday, Adelaide!"

Adelaide gasped in surprise as she froze midway with her jacket off, and Sirius grinned from his spot behind her. She realized then that they were at James and Lily's house.

"I told you they were planning a surprise party," he said cockily. She gaped for a moment, before hitting him in the chest with a smile.

"Git," she said playfully, before she hurried foreword to hug James and Lily tightly, "Thank you!"

"How's living with Sirius been?" Lily asked playfully, "Feel like ripping your hair out yet?" Adelaide laughed.

"I could ask you the same thing," she said, causing Lily to laugh and hug her again.

"I fixed all your favorite foods," she said proudly, "and I only messed up once!" Adelaide laughed, before hurrying over to Remus and hugging him tightly.

"Thank you!" she said again, and he laughed. Now that everyone had been hugged she stepped back with a large smile, "So, where are my presents?" she asked playfully.

"You don't get any," Lily said sarcastically with a roll of her eyes, "They're all hidden. We aren't giving them to you until we feel like it." Adelaide raised an eyebrow.

"You're being serious, aren't you?"

"Nope, I'M being Sirius," Sirius quipped, avoiding her hand as she lazily swung her fist back in his general direction. He laughed before finally pulling off his jacket and hanging it on the coat rack

"You knew about this?" she asked, turning to him with a grin stuck to her face. He nodded.

"I even told you about it, but you didn't believe me," he said nonchalantly, causing her to laugh and hug him again. He shrugged and hugged her back, and she turned towards Lily with a grin.

"So, you said you cooked my favorites?" she asked eagerly. Lily smiled and nodded proudly.

"James said it was better then when you cooked it," she gloated, and Adelaide's smile widened.

"And now you're required to pass the recopies on to your children until you're old and laying on your deathbed," she continued, "and that's an order!" Lily smiled and nodded, saluting her mockingly.

"Aye, aye, cap'n!" she said, and Adelaide laughed again. Lily kept smiling as she waved her wand, and a large cake floated in from the kitchen. It was a simple vanilla cake with buttercream frosting decorated with chocolate covered strawberries. Adelaide grinned and snatched off a strawberry, sticking it into her mouth with slight difficulties. Juice dripped down her fingers as she bit around the leaves and landed on the floor. She giggled and pulled away, chewing at the hardened chocolate.

"That's a juicy strawberry," she murmured around the fruit. Lily pouted and gently pushed her in the shoulder.

"You ruined the cake!" she chastised. Adelaide shrugged and smiled again.

"I guess I'll just have to eat it then!" she reasoned. She moved for another strawberry, but was beaten by Sirius, who grinned before eating the fruit in victory.

"Haha," he mocked with a mouth full of strawberry. Adelaide pouted before tugging on a piece of his hair.

"Git," she said simply, before turning back around. She glanced to her right and saw presents stacked up, and smiled, "Are those my birthday presents??"

"No, we just found random boxes and decided to wrap them up," James said with a roll of his eyes, "yes, those are your presents." Adelaide stuck out her tongue at him, but kept smiling.

"How long have you been planning this?"

"Since last month," Remus said with a shrug, "Wasn't that hard to plan if you want me to be honest."

With the original shock finally passed, they moved to the Kitchen where Lily proudly displayed her cooking abilities, and gained many complements on the food (mainly from Adelaide, who looked as if she were going to die and go to heaven). Adelaide was laughing at something Remus had said, before she sighed and stood up.

"I'll be right back," she said with a smile. She walked quickly upstairs, and quickly went to the restroom. She hummed as she washed her hands, before reopening the door and closing it softly behind her.

"Happy birthday, Adelaide,"

Adelaide jumped in surprise and turned to see Annalisa leaning against the hallway wall, watching her passively and gently tapping the wand on her chin. Adelaide smiled, but felt apprehension fill her; how did she get here?

"Hello, Annalisa," she said with a smile, "What are you doing here?" Annalisa smiled and began to twirl her wand idly between her fingers, causing Adelaide to stiffen and watch her with narrowed eyes.

"Do you have any idea how jealous I am of you?" she asked softly, causing Adelaide to freeze and watch the Italian in confusion.

"Why would you be jealous of me?" Adelaide asked, and Annalisa seemed to catch on to her train of thought and tutted.

"No, not of your appearance or of your money; I know that I am pretty, and I am very rich. I'm jealous of you because of how many friends you have." Adelaide relaxed slightly, and continued to watch her as she toyed with her wand. Annalisa smiled bitterly.

"You are so incredibly lucky, you're life is just playing out like a fairytale. You go through heartache, but you have your knight in shining armor to pick you up, to coddle you and to treat you s if you were the only thing that mattered. It's so sickening it's unbearable for me to stand here and look at you, knowing that if I had made a different choice I could be one of those people-!" she cut herself off, her voice having gotten louder as she continued, and took several deep breaths, "I could have been one of those people you would call a friend, and I could possibly have my fairytale ending. I could have had a different life."

"You can change," Adelaide said softly, and hand gripping her wand as a chill went down her spine, "You can be one of those people-!"

"It's too late for me!" Annalisa cried, stalking foreword and cornering Adelaide against the wall with a feral look in her eyes, "I made a choice long ago, and I can't change it. I've made my decision, and I have to live with it!" She yanked herself away and paced slightly for a moment, before turning on her heel and facing her again.

"I'm going to tell you a little story," she explained, watching Adelaide with surprisingly cold eyes, "and you're going to be a good girl and listen to every word that comes out of my mouth." Adelaide quickly gripped her wand in her pocket, and Annalisa just smiled.

"I'm not going to actually attempt to harm you," She cooed, "I just want you to understand the reasoning behind all my choices, about why I am a death eater."

"Expelliarmus!"

"Protego!"

The spell backfired and Adelaide barely ducked out of the way in the narrow hall. Adelaide kept her wand pointed at her, and Annalisa frowned.

"You know, I don't want to hurt you," she said calmly, "I actually am rather fond of you. So, as a favor, please listen to what I have to say so you can understand me, and not hate me as you no doubt would if I chose to stay silent."

"You have five minutes," Adelaide said calmly, "before I curse you to oblivion." Annalisa smiled grimly.

"When I was sorted, I was given a choice," she said without preamble, "I could either be placed in Slytherin, or Gryffindor. I believe I had the longest sorting of the bunch, yes?" she kept going without waiting for a response, "I made my choice based on infatuation. On the train I had sat with one Austin Mulciber, and fancied his cute appearance and his personality, which at the time was rather polite and charming.

"He mentioned to me how only the most powerful witches and wizards were sorted into Slytherin, and that he wanted to be a Slytherin," Annalisa smiled slightly, and looked incredibly bitter for a moment, "So, I decided that to make him and my parents proud, I would be placed in Slytherin. I had a choice, and I chose my family and my crush over what the hat said would have been a long and healthy life with a husband who dotes on me. With Slytherin, I was doomed to die. I chose Slytherin."

"Why?" Adelaide asked incredulously, eyes narrowed, "Who would willingly choose death?" Annalisa's smiled faded and she watched Adelaide carefully.

"Would you die for Sirius?" she asked softly, and Adelaide nodded. Annalisa smiled, "Then you see my point." There was silence, before Annalisa spoke again: "If you choose Gryffindor you will live a long prosperous life with a husband who dotes on you and worships you, but there is no true love…if you choose Slytherin, you will most definitely find a love with more passion then you could imagine. You will die in attempt to protect him and your family. Which do you choose? That was what the hat said to me. I was given a chance to be a living Juliet, with my own personal Romeo. In my mind, it was the perfect fairytale ending."

There was more silence, and Adelaide didn't lower her wand. Annalisa sighed, "You and I…we are more alike then I would like to admit."

"We are nothing alike," Adelaide said softly, her grip tightening, "no matter what you say." Annalisa watched with sick amusement, and sighed again.

"We both lost a parent at a young age," she said solemnly, "and were raised by a single parent, but you were lucky. You're parents always loved you. My mother was an alcoholic, my father was abusive, and my little brother was beaten to death by my mother in a drunken rage after my father passed away. I watched my little brother die when I was only ten years old. I arrived at Hogwarts, was sorted into Slytherin of my own choice, and then I saw you. You remember your sorting, correct?"

"Yes," Adelaide bit off.

"Everyone knew your name. Everyone was aware that the last descendant of Morgan le Fay, the greatest sorceress in the world, had married Jean Vicknair, the heir to the Vicknair fortune, and had two children. You were one of those children. Based on your mothers past, I expected you to be sorted into Slytherin with me, and I longed to be your friend. You were endearing, the way you blushed and stuttered and how you tripped slightly on the last step."

"What do you know of my mothers past!?" Adelaide asked angrily, "My mother was a great woman, even if she was sorted into Slytherin!" Annalisa frowned.

"You don't know?" she asked innocently. Adelaide tightened her grip, and Annalisa sighed, "Your mother was a pureblood fanatic. She was the lioness, and muggles were Gazelle. She enjoyed torturing them."

"You're a liar!" Adelaide spat.

"Your mother went to school with the first death eaters," she said, pulling a picture from her pocket, "and was a death eater all her life. She was completely enthralled with the Dark Lord and was one of his most loyal followers." She showed her the picture, and Adelaide's heart stopped. It was a picture from her mothers life before she met Jean, and she was hanging out with several people and showing off their arms, where a skull and snake rested eerily.

"She hid it from you, because she knew what life would be like for you if you were raised with these sort of people, her sort of people," she said softly, sticking the picture back in her pocket and watching Adelaide's expression, "she didn't die of sickness: your father killed her during a raid in Diagon Alley. You and your sisters memories were altered with a strong memory charm."

"Shut up…" Adelaide whispered. Annalisa continued:

"She begged with him to change your memories so that they wouldn't think less of them. He did so because his love for her was so strong, and he wanted her memory to be a good one."

"You're lying!!" Adelaide cried, and Annalisa sighed. There was a large crash from downstairs, and Annalisa smiled grimly.

"Looks like my friends are here," she said simply, "I really wish we could have been friends."

"Don't lie to me!" Adelaide said angrily, "My mothers best friend in Hogwarts was a muggle born!"

"That was before she knew," Annalisa said softly, "When she found out she left her to die, which she did five years later in a raid. You mother was the one to kill her."

"SHUT UP!"

She waved her wand and Annalisa ducked out of the way as a bright green light attempted to hit her. She quickly threw a curse towards her and darted downstairs. Adelaide followed and saw Sirius and James facing off against Lucius Malfoy and Remus and Lily fighting a laughing Bellatrix Lestrange. Annalisa turned and began to throw hexes towards Adelaide, who simply erected a shield and got closer to her, throwing curses and hexes at her.

"You don't want to kill me," Annalisa called over the sounds of cursing from Sirius as he narrowly avoided a Cruciatus curse, "You don't want to kill someone who knows so much about the mother you lost-!"

"You don't know anything!" Adelaide screamed, "Crucio!!"

The spell connected with Annalisa's chest, causing her to crumple to the floor and scream, thrashing about wildly as pain wracked through her body. Adelaide was breathing heavily before lifting the spell and leaning down beside Annalisa, who was pale and sweaty.

"Don't preach to me," she whispered harshly, "because you need it more then I do." Annalisa giggled dryly.

"That's a strong Crucio for someone who's never used it before," she commented, "are you sure you haven't done it before? It would make sense, seeing as you are related to a former Death Eater."

"Don't you dare talk about my mother! Crucio!"

Annalisa began to scream again, and Adelaide lost her concentration as she was jerked backwards by Remus, and Annalisa gasped for breath.

"Calm down," Remus murmured into her ear, "you're over reacting." Adelaide clenched her fist around her wand and glared at Annalisa, who was slowly regaining her breath.

"I'll make sure to not bug you about her again," she coughed. The Italian stumbled up, looking as if she went through hell and back, and grinned slightly: "and on another note, I'll have you know that if my child dies it will be all your fault."

Annalisa apparated and Adelaide stared open mouthed at the spot, that was empty save for a small piece of paper. There was silence around her, and Remus moved only for Sirius to gently place a hand on her shoulder.

"Adelaide?" he asked softly. She gently jerked her shoulder from under him and moved foreword before picking up the paper.

'Happy Birthday, Adelaide. Sorry for ruining it. To make up for everything, here's a little present for you. These three passages hold a message that is the same, but found in different ways. Scramble the words, rearrange the letters, anything you can think of to discover what they all have in common; it may just save you and your friends lives one day.

1) "Don't you know that
trust is a fickle thing and that
Peter is the name of a saint?"

2) "Did one notice that
Thorough relationships used so truthfully
Puts everyone to ease respectively?"

3) "Don't you learn from my lesson
that trust is hard to find
and that Peter the Great reformed Russia, but at great human loss?"

Have fun figuring it out, if you can.

Annalisa'

Adelaide stared at the note, not really reading what was written, before dropping to her knees, burying her face into her knees, and crying.

-

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: So, they know Annalisa's a death eater and Annalisa's showing her true colors by warning Adelaide. OMG WHAT NEXT!?! So, if you can figure those little things out, say so and give your answer/ I thik it's kind of easy, but of course I made it, so…have fun!!!

So…Annalisa was with child…Adelaide snapped…we learned that Adelaide's mother wasn't as innocent as she thought…Annalisa's sneaky…Annalisa is jealous of Adelaide….a rather enlightening chapter, dontcha think? I also found out I work better if I procrastinate, like I did with this. WHOOT! And you wanna know why I procrastinated? Sims 2 for PC. I made the Black house and created Sirius and Adelaide. (O_O)

I also made Annalisa, but it's not her, per se, but someone who is similar to her. And I made Caryn, but prettier...cuz I don't like unattractive sims (AKA stick thin like Caryn...not that it's always unnatractive, but in her case...), which is why I end up making fifty families and only playing with 2: so the ones I play with can have pretty friends. I kill of my neighbors I dislike by trapping them in fences whenever they come to visit. Tis all in good fun.

Yours truly,
B.E.N.