Wallflower

Chapter Twenty-Six: Splattered

Adelaide first took Aludra out when she was three months old, when she and Lily decided to go down to Diagon Alley to have girl time. Sirius wanted them to stay home, or at least allow him to come, but his answer was a bedroom door slamming in his face.

"He's so obsessive," Adelaide murmured to Aludra, who giggled happily and waved her hand in front of her face. Adelaide giggled and made a face, causing Aludra to laugh again, when there was a knock on the door. Adelaide easily supported Aludra with one arm to open the door and smiled at Lily, who was beaming happily. The hugged quickly, before Lily began to coo at Aludra, much like she had done while Adelaide was pregnant.

"Hey pretty baby," she cooed, "It's your Auntie Lily!"

"Gah!" was Aludra's response as she reached out and tugged on a strand of Lily's hair. Lily didn't seem to mind, though, and she cooed, her eyes gleaming happily.

"How are we going to get to Diagon Alley?" Adelaide asked, regaining her friends attention. Lily quickly untangled her hair, to Aludra's annoyance, and shrugged.

"I think we might need to take the muggle way," she said, "I don't know how Aludra will react to floo or apparition." Adelaide tilted her head.

"What's the muggle way?" she asked. Lily smiled.

"Well, there's the buses, we can take one down to the Leaky Cauldron, and we can get to Diagon Alley from there," Lily explained. Adelaide raised her eyebrows, and took in Lily's appearance. She was smiling, and she looked like she was hiding something.

"You're pregnant," she said blandly, and Lily chocked slightly, blushing.

"How did you know!?" she asked. Adelaide smiled.

"I looked like you when I found out," she said simply, "how far along are you?" Lily blushed, and her smile grew.

"Seven weeks; I was planning on surprising James today." Adelaide laughed and shook her head in amusement.

"He's going to have a heart attack," she murmured, before smiling at Lily again, "So, how do we get to the bus?"

The trip down to Diagon Alley was interesting to say the least. Adelaide was forced to sit near the back of the bus with a woman who looked like she hadn't taken a bath in weeks, and kept cooing at Aludra, who watched everything with wide eyes. When they finally made it to the Leaky Cauldron, Lily and Adelaide were both relieved and made quick work of getting through the archway. It took barely a moment before Lily found a small Christmas ornament that said 'Baby's First Christmas'. All their Christmas decorations were on sale now that Christmas was in the past, and Lily bought it without a second glance.

"Well, that's a way to tell James," Adelaide said with a roll of her eyes as she adjusted Aludra slightly, "Are you going to find out the sex of the baby, or let it be a surprise?"

"I don't really know," Lily said truthfully, "I hated waiting to find out what Aludra was going to be, so I odn't think I want anyone to have to go through that again," Lily eyed Adelaide in a playful glare, and Adelaide laughed loudly.

"True, very true," Adelaide said with a nod of her head, "I know for a fact that the next kid I have, I'm going to find out as soon as I can; I already got to bug you all about it once." Lily laughed before turning and entering Magical Menagerie where the scent of animals assaulted their noses. A small kitten (most likely a Kneazle) looked up upon their arrival, meowed, before lowering it's head in boredom.

"I want to get a pet, but I don't know if I should," Lily said idly, looking over all the different animals, "maybe a dog."

"Well, I can tell you what's cheaper," Adelaide said with a smile, "Get Padfoot to come over; I'll let you borrow him." Lily snorted and shook her head in amusement.

"You have a point," she said, "But I think that Padfoot should stick to entertaining Ally." It took only that to get Lily to turn and begin cooing happily at Aludra, who giggled and reached out to tug on Lily's hair. Adelaide rolled her eyes before nodding towards the door.

"Come on, if you decide that getting a pet is imperative, then we can come back and pick one out, that way we don't lug it all around Diagon Alley," Adelaide offered. Lily nodde,d and they left the store, both enjoying the fresh air as opposed to the scent of poisonous toads.

"I think I want some Ice Cream," Adelaide said suddenly, smiling over at Lily, "How about you?"

"Florean really does have some of the best," Lily said with a nod. Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor was near by and they were greeted with large smiles from Florean. Lily ended up getting a chocolate peanut butter mix, while Adelaide got a birthday cake flavored ice cream. Aludra made several grabs for it, and Adelaide finally consented and placed some ice cream on her finger and sticking it in Aldura's mouth.

After that, Aludra kept grabbing for the cone, and Adelaide kept moving it away. Lily snorted.

"Looks like she got Sirius' appetite," Lily said with a smile. Adelaide sighed.

"Lets hope she gets his metabolism as well," she agreed, "I swear, that man goes through more food then me and you combined!" Lily laughed, shaking her head, before glancing across the street.

"Do you think we need new robes?" she asked, "We haven't gotten any in a while."

"I'm the same size I've always been," Adelaide said with a shrug, "Just a bit bigger now, but nothing too noticeable. Besides, I always bought my clothes a size big." Lily rolled her eyes.

"You're so money conscious," Lily said with a playful sigh, "You've got more then enough to feed all of the UK!"

"Now that's a lie," Adelaide said with a chuckle, "Only enough to feed London." Lily started laughing at her, before finishing off her cone.

"Well, do you want to wonder around and see if anything catches our eyes, or do you have a specific destination in mind?" Adelaide shrugged slightly, watching Aludra with a small smile as she began to doze off.

"We can wonder," she said softly. Lily smiled before scooting her chair back, Adelaide following her example, and they left the parlor, "how about we stop by Flourish and Blotts? I hear they got a new book in recently…"

Lilt ended up leading Adelaide through the streets, occasionally stopping in a store and simply wandering. Mostly they walked and talked, catching up on the things that they missed, and simply enjoying each others company.

Adelaide returned home with only a small bag, and was greeted with a firm kiss on her mouth that sent chills down her spine. She sighed, and a soft cry alerted her that Aludra was still in her arms. They pulled away from each other and Adelaide smiled happily at him.

"I missed you too," she said playfully. Sirius laughed and kissed her forehead, before taking Aludra out of Adelaide's arm with a smile.

"Hey, Ally!" He cooed happily. Aludra giggled, droll slipping down her chin, and reached for his hair. He grinned before walking off to the kitchen to give her a bottle. Adelaide rolled her eyes before going up stairs to put away her purchases.

"…has him wrapped around her finger," she murmured.

-

Adelaide was having a really wonderful dream. She couldn't really give it any pictures, or description, but a sense of complete joy continued to fill her even though she had no idea what was going on. She began to fade from her dream as soft fingers moved across her skin and sent shivers down her spine. She sighed, but kept her eyes closed in an attempt to keep that perfect bliss.

"Adelaide, you need to wake up," Sirius' voice floated into her mind. She pouted and shook her head. She heard him sigh, slightly impatiently, "Adelaide, seriously, James just flooed. Lily's gone in to labor."

And all traces of her dream disappeared as she shot up in her bed with wide eyes.

"What?" she asked. Sirius raised his eyebrows.

"I said-."

"No, no, I heard you," Adelaide said quickly, waving him off, "It was more of an 'oh Merlin, are you serious?' what then a 'can you repeat that?' what," She explained, before rolling out of bed, "I'm going to get dress, and we'll leave immediately." Sirius raised his eyebrows as she darted to the wardrobe, before shaking his head.

"I'll go get Aludra," he said. She only murmured a reply as she pulled on her shirt. He sighed and entered the pink bedroom that Adelaide had denied when she first moved in, and gently picked her up. She whined slightly, but remained asleep. She had grown a lot in seven months, and she was starting to speak. Just two weeks ago she had said 'dada' when he got home from auror training.

"Are you ready?" Adelaide asked anxiously, and Sirius turned to see her dressed in one of his tee shirts and a loose pair of jeans. Sirius raised his eyebrows.

"Are you sure that's what you want to wear?" he asked. Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"Do I really care what I'm wearing?" she asked, "I just want to get to St. Mungos!" Sirius rolled his eyes, and before he could say anything she had apparated. He sighed.

"Guess that means Ally's going to experience apparating," he murmured, bracing himself before turning. The tube like sensation was very brief, and he saw Adelaide talking to the nurse, who seemed to know her. He quickly comforted a whimpering Aludra, when Adelaide noticed him.

"Oh, Ms. Fennic, this is my husband Sirius," Adelaide introduced briefly. The nurse smiled; she appeared to be in her late forties.

"I've heard a lot about you," she said politely, before returning her attention to Adelaide, "I'll take you to Ms. Potters room."

"Thank you so much!" Adelaide said breathlessly. They began walking in the opposite direction swiftly, slightly surprising Sirius, who quickly caught up with them while managing not to jostle Aludra too much. The room came up quickly, and Remus was setting near the door with a nervous looking Peter at his side. Remus smiled as they appeared, and Sirius returned it before Adelaide began talking quickly.

"Can I see her?" Adelaide asked quickly. Remus nodded, but couldn't get a word in as Adelaide burst into the room, leaving the three men to raise their eyebrows and share glances. Suddenly James came out, his hair array and still in his pajamas, and looked at them with a panicked expression.

"Lily kicked me out," he said, "Said I was making her nervous." Sirius smirked.

"You were pacing, weren't you?" he asked simply. James blushed and glanced away.

"Maybe," he murmured. Remus laughed quietly.

"It's so odd seeing you look so frazzled," he said with a wry smile, "Everything is going to be okay." James grunted before taking a seat beside Remus and staring intently at the door. Sirius raised an eyebrow and decided to take a seat, and Peter, after noticing he was the only one standing, took a seat quickly and clumsily.

"I haven't seen you around lately," Sirius said, "what've you been doing?"

"Oh…stuff," Peter said lamely with a shrug. Sirius raised an eyebrow, but didn't question him further. Remus and James shared a look, but otherwise continued to watch the door. Ten minutes later, Adelaide stuck her head out of the room.

"You might want to get in here, James," she said, "Lily's about to kill me."

"Well, that's comforting," James murmured. Adelaide smiled apologetically and stepped out of the room, moving to take James' seat. Peter stood quickly.

"I'm going to go get some fruit, do you guys want some fruit?" he said quickly. They all shook their heads and watched him leave with confused expressions.

"What's up with Wormtail?" Remus asked with worry, "I've never seen him so jumpy."

The note flashed through Adelaide's head, and she bit down on her lip before pushing it away: now was not the time.

They waited for what had to be two hours before James finally left the room with the largest smile on his face. Adelaide felt relief flow through her and she returned the smile. James looked around and his eyebrows furrowed.

"Where's Peter?"

It was then everyone realized that Peter had never returned from his quest for fruit. Adelaide furrowed her eyebrows slightly in confusion, and James face fell as he realized that his friend had left without a word. Sirius frowned, and glanced down at Aludra who was looking at him with wide eyes, and gurgling nonsensically. James sighed, but the smile returned quickly.

"It's a boy," he said with a breath of relief, "We named him Harry James Potter." Adelaide 'aw'ed softly, while Sirius stood and gave James a pat on the back, followed by Remus who congratulated him with a large smile.

"Can we see him?" Remus asked. James nodded.

"Of course!" he said happily, still smiling. Sirius shook his head, but knew exactly what it was like. They made their way into the room, and Lily smiled tiredly at them with a small blue bundle in her arms.

"You must be so tired," Adelaide said as she hurried over and gave Lily a one armed hug. Lily just nodded with a yawn, but her face was glowing. James and Lily shared a look, before looking at Sirius.

"We thought it over-" James began, before being cut off by Lily.

"We want you to be his godfather," Lily finished. Sirius' eyes widened, before he nodded.

"O-of course!" he said, stumbling slightly. Adelaide took Aludra from him and Sirius hugged James with a slightly dazed expression. James laughed while Remus smiled at both of them. Lily glanced over at the two of them and winked, before returning her attention back to Harry. He had wisps of black hair, and his eyes were a brilliant green, the exact color and shape of his mothers. Lily smiled softly and brushed some of his hair away, and cooed softly to him. Adelaide felt her heart clench slightly, before she glanced over at Sirius, who was watching her intently. He grinned and winked at her. Adelaide blushed and returned her attention to Aludra, who was looking at Harry intently. Then, she stuck her tongue out at him, before turning to Adelaide and whining in attempt to regain her attention. Adelaide giggled before kissing Aludra on the cheek, to her satisfaction.

"I hope they get along," Lily said with a small smile. Adelaide returned the gesture.

"I don't see why they wouldn't,"

-

Two months later was Aludra's first birthday party. It was a very small event, with only Remus, James, Lily, and Harry being invited. Adelaide had extended the invite to Peter out of courtesy (he was Sirius' friend, after all), but she was turned down rather harshly, causing a whole new rift to forge between Sirius and Peter. Peter had insulted Aludra, and unfortunately, Sirius had walked in at the wrong time and personally threatened Peter.

"You want the doggy?" Adelaide asked Aludra, who was reaching for a small stuffed black dog from her spot in Adelaide's lap. The dog was from Remus as an early birthday present two weeks previous. Aludra gave Adelaide a 'no duh' look, and Adelaide sighed.

For only one year old, Aludra had a lot of spunk. Adelaide frequently blamed Sirius for that, though he often claimed that he 'had no idea what she was talking about'. Adelaide raised an eyebrow at Aludra, who whimpered and continued reaching for the dog.

"Pease?" she whimpered. It was barely understandable, but it was one of the few words that she knew how to say. The list currently included, 'Please (Pease), Mum (mama), Dad (dada), Thank You ('ank ooh), No (oh), Remus (Rem), Harry ('Arry), James ('Ames), Lily (Lee) and to Adelaide's chagrin, Idiot (eedut). Again, she blamed Sirius.

Adelaide smiled at Aludra and handed her the dog. Aludra thanked her half heartedly, and proceeded to beat the dog against the floor. Sirius winced from the couch.

"I can feel the love," he murmured, shaking his head. Adelaide giggled, when there was a loud pop (that caused Aludra to jump) and Remus appeared with a smile and two wrapped presents under his arms.

"I'm a bit early," he said bashfully, "but I got impatient." He was noticeably haggard. Adelaide frowned.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked in a maternal fashion. Remus smiled and nodded.

"I have two days," he said, "I think I can handle a birthday party." Adelaide bit her lip but nodded, before Remus placed the presents on the couch and leaned down to see Aludra better. Her face lit up.

"Rem!" she squealed, before showing him her dog with a proud smile, "Grr!" He smiled, and then he growled playfully at her. She shrieked out a giggle, before hitting him with the dog. Adelaide caught her wrist with a reprimanding frown, but Remus just laughed.

"It's okay," he said with a smile. He straightened before taking a seat on the couch beside Sirius, who was watching in amusement.

"You may not mind, but I don't think she should get into the habbit of hitting people with stuffed animals," Adelaide said, shooting a look towards Sirius. He just laughed.

"That's just her way of getting revenge for when Remus fed her a lemon," he said with a shrug. Adelaide bristled slightly.

"I don't want her to hit people!" she reasoned, but relaxed with a smile, "It was really funny, though."

"What was funny?" James asked as he stepped through the door with Harry balanced on his hip while Lily followed with three presents under her arms.

"Ally hit Remus with the stuffed dog he gave her," Sirius explained with a grin. James laughed, catching Aludra's attention.

"Amy!" she called excitedly, clapping her hands together. Unfortunately, she had heard Sirius jokingly call James Jamie, and since she couldn't actually get out 'James', she had started calling him 'Amy'. Then she spotted Harry, and her smile fell and she narrowed her eyes. He didn't notice, though, and continued to look around with wide eyes. Adelaide and Sirius both glanced at each other, and watched Aludra carefully.

Aludra had a record of not liking Harry too much; just last month, she had tried to bite him. It had started innocently, with Aludra walking around on wobbly legs and heading towards Harry. Adelaide started cooing when Harry reached out to her, but the moment was ruined when Aludra chomped down on his finger, sending Harry into a torrent of tears.

"Hey, Ally!" Lily said with a large smile. Aludra snapped her attention over to Lily, and smiled again.

"Lee!" Aludra squealed happily. She attempted to stand, but couldn't seem to pull herself up. Adelaide chuckled before giving her a hand and standing her up. Aludra wobbled for a bit, before waddling over to Lily with a bright smile. Lily smiled, sat the presents down on the floor, before scooping Aludra up into her arms.

"Happy birthday, Ally!" she cooed. Aludra giggled and Lily kissed her nose, causing Aludra to duck her head and burry it in to her shoulder.

"Lee!" she whined bashfully. Lily gently sat her back onto the floor and picked up the presents again.

"Where do we sit the presents?" She asked. Adelaide shrugged.

"Just set them on the couch," she ordered, "I know this is called a party, but we're the only ones here, so it's not all planned out." Lily shrugged and placed the presents on the couch with Remus' while Sirius sighed and stood.

"Might as well get her presents and put them on the couch," he said with a grin. He moved into the kitchen and grabbed their two presents off of the kitchen table and placed them on the couch, before taking a seat on the floor beside Adelaide. Aludra saw the new lap, and hurried over, stumbling midway, before collapsing into his lap with a grin.

"Hi da!" she said happily.

"Hey, baby girl!" he returned. She giggled before yanking on his hair and hugging him around his neck tightly. Adelaide smiled widely, before turning and looking at Lily.

"Do I have to get up to see Harry?" she asked with a playful smile. Lily just smiled, and James handed Adelaide Harry, who looked at Adelaide with wide eyes, and a somewhat surprised expression that said 'whoa, you're not my dad!' Adelaide wiggled her eyebrows, and Harry laughed, reaching out a hand to pat her forehead. Lily smiled.

"So, do we get to enjoy the cake, or do we have to fend for ourselves?" James asked suddenly, "Because your cake sounds really good about now."

"It's in the fridge," Adelaide said, pushing herself up and handing Harry to Remus, who smiled at him and again caused Harry to give him the 'you're not my dad either!' expression. She brushed imaginary dirt off of her skirt before moving into the kitchen and waving her wand. She watched as the door opened and a simple vanilla cake with chocolate frosting floated out on a white platter. There were slices of strawberry on top and a single candle, but otherwise it was nothing special. She placed it on the table, and smiled proudly.

"That was relatively painless," she said with pride, before turning and looking at them with an arched eyebrow, "I don't know, should we open presents first, or eat cake. I didn't bother with any actual food."

"I think cake counts as actual food," James said with a grin. Lily rolled her eyes.

"That's because you're a pig," she said in a faux-kind voice. James rolled his eyes and ignored the jab.

"Personally I think we should have cake first," he said. Adelaide frowned as she realized something.

"But I don't want her to get cake all over her outfit before we take pictures," Adelaide realized with a soft hum of contemplation. She waved her hand suddenly, "Never mind, forget I asked, we're opening presents first." James sighed and took a seat with Lily on the love seat, and Remus took on the role of handing Aludra her presents.

"I think she should open mine first," he said with a grin, "seeing as how I'm in charge of the presents." Adelaide rolled her eyes but motioned with her hand to get on with it. Remus chuckled before pulling his present out of the pile and scooting it over to Sirius, who got Aludra's attention. She turned with wide eyes, before spotting the present and grinning madly.

"Pesent!" she cooed, reaching foreword and tugging the gift towards her. She struggled with the paper, and looked at Sirius with a pitiful expression. He chuckled and tore open one of the sides, and she pushed his hand away as soon as she thought she could do the rest, with a large smile.

Aludra was very satisfied with all her gifts, but was disappointed when she opened the last one and was close to tears, until Adelaide reminded her of the cake. Remus had gotten her a toy broomstick (to Sirius' joy and Adelaide's horror) and Quidditch Through the Ages, a simplified version of course, that Aludra seemed slightly confused about and ended up setting aside. James, Lily, and Harry got her a set of gobstones (Harry had been mesmerized by them in the store), a large stuffed deer, and a small unicorn figurine that moved around, and Aludra was completely enthralled with the model. Sirius and Adelaide had gotten her a tea set that served itself and a hippogriff figurine much like the unicorn. The funny thing was, was that the two figurines took a liking to each other and mostly just sat beside each other and watched what was going on.

"Can we have cake now?" James asked eagerly, and Adelaide laughed before nodding. James cheered softly and stood to run off into the kitchen.

"I swear, he still acts like a little kid," Lily said with a shake of her head as she took Harry from Remus, balancing him on her hip. Adelaide laughed before hooking her hands under Aludra's arms and standing, bringing Aludra close to her. They migrated to the kitchen, and James was practically vibrated from excitement. Adelaide snorted and shook her head.

After lighting the candle and singing happy birthday, and cut her a piece of cake. Adelaide had the camera ready, and Aludra looked at her fork with furrowed eyebrows. Adelaide snapped a picture as Aludra tossed it aside and simply grabbed a piece with her fingers and smeared it on her face in an attempt to get it into her mouth. Adelaide sighed.

"Of course," she murmured, "I was smart to open presents first." Then she snapped a picture, and Aludra smiled widely at her. Adelaide cooed while Lily began serving the cake, and she was the only one watching Aludra without faltering. It paid off.

As Sirius turned his back to get a napkin, Aludra got a devious expression. Adelaide moved to take another picture, and just as she pressed the button, Aludra launched a piece of cake at the back of his head. It landed with a splat, and the only sound was Aludra giggled as the cake slowly fell and splattered against the floor. Sirius turned slowly with wide eyes, and Adelaide snapped another picture while she grinned, attempting to keep in her smile.

James was the first to break, and he doubled with laughter, his face turning pink. That seemed to set off a chain reaction, and Remus was soon gripping the back of the chair to steady himself and Lily was covering her mouth as she laughed. Adelaide hurried foreword and began to pick the cake from his hair, unsuccessfully keeping in her laughter.

"I-I'm so sorry!" she said, though she didn't sound sorry at all, "Y-You're going…going to have to…to take a-a show-shower!" Sirius was still in shock, but slowly began to chuckle in embarrassment as he began to run his fingers through his hair, flecks of cake splattering against the floor.

"I think she's a marauder in the making!" Remus said, as he was the first to regain his composure, but was still smiling. Adelaide shook her head.

"I swear, she's just a female version of you," she said to Sirius, who kept chuckling. James straightened himself up with a sigh as he whipped at his eyes.

"You know that you're going to laugh about this later," he said, and Sirius sighed with a wry smile.

"I know, I know," he murmured, "I just wish that it had been Remus instead." Remus laughed, and patted Sirius on the back.

"I won't take that too personally," he said with a smile. Sirius laughed, and Lily finally got her laughter under control.

"That was awesome," she sighed, shifting Harry to her other hip. She moved around to Aludra and picked the fork off of the floor. Harry reached out towards Aludra's piece of cake in curiosity, and Aludra's eyes gleaming was the only warning as she leaned foreword and bit down on his finger.

Lily cursed under her breath as Harry began to wail in agony, and Adelaide groaned.

"Again?" she asked, and Lily nodded as she inspected Harry's finger with a frown. Adelaide turned to Aludra and gently smacked her hand, enough to make Aludra's eyes water.

"You do not bite," she scolded firmly. Aludra looked at her with large, doe eyes, and pouted. Adelaide just raised an eyebrow, causing Aludra to deflate and look down at her plate. Adelaide straightened, and looked at everyone with a sigh.

"And here I hoped that they would get along," she said with a frown. Lily shook her head, and Harry finally quieted, though he buried his face into Lily's neck and whimpered.

"They're still young, I'm sure they'll get along better when they're older,"

-

A/N: Oh yeah, I'm G. Fo Shizzle.

…if I ever do that again, feel free to shoot me.

BUT YOU KNOW WHAT PISSED ME OFF???? On HP wikia, they say Sirius was born around 1959, and don't give you his exact birthday. So I based my plotline on them all being born in 1959. BS. They actually are born in 1960. I'M A YEAR OFF ON EVERYTHING!! GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!! I was so METICULOUS on EVERYTHING so I would get all the times right, and then this happens!!!!!

I am so pissed right now. Seriously. Again, this was going to be longer, but it was getting too long compared to the other chapters. So, two chapters left, followed by an epilogue that is probably too long to call an epilogue. /this is the longest chapter (as it stands right now) at just over five thousand words. Yay!!

On a funny note, on my cruise our maid guy was named Hary. With one r. It was awesome. :D

AND, I wanted to (if they have a son) name him Jacob, but Twilight had to go and ruin it for me!! GODDAMMIT!!!

Yours truly,
B.E.N.

P.S. Remember that there will be canon pairings!! Aludra and Harry WILL NOT be getting together! Just though I would clear that up.