Author's Note

Hello everyone! Chapter 15 is here! I was pretty quick with this one, mostly because it's the weekend (thank goodness), and also because there's been some stuff going on in my own life that has given me some wonderful inspiration :)

On a more depressing note, I didn't get a single review for the last chapter :( It made me soooo sad! I know it wasn't the best but please, please, please, REVIEW! It would mean the world to me.

Alright, so, anyway, here's Chapter 15! Adeline is a little emotional, but hey, she has a lot on her plate!

Read, enjoy, review! Thanks!

Disclaimer: I don't own HP!

15. Smile

"It's time," said Sirius in a low voice, his gaze solemn. "to put this plan into action."

I rolled my eyes at him and glanced around, pinpointing Lily and James's location in the candy store. We had only been here ten minutes, and already Sirius was acting like he was on some top-secret mission. "A few more minutes." I told my partner-in-crime, "I don't want to leave here yet."

"We can come back later," he told me, peeking over his shoulder at Lily and James, who were by the large display of chocolate frogs. I found myself smiling slightly as I followed his gaze and looked at our two friends: they were standing side by side, Lily giggling at something James had just said while his arm hovered, unbeknownst to her, behind her shoulders. She turned to look at him and he dropped it quickly, blushing slightly as he answered her question.

"Fine," I said, tearing my gaze away from them and back to Sirius, who was still watching, a curious expression on his face. It looked a little bit like envy. "But we are coming back later."

Sirius grinned at me, then nodded. "Work you're magic." He whispered in my ear as I walked past him and towards our two friends, his slightly long hair tickling my neck.

Lily was walking in my direction as well, and I could see James watching us surreptitiously from the spot they had been standing a few seconds ago. Lily's expression had gone from happy to oddly troubled in an instant.

"Oh, Adeline." said Lily as she reached me, clutching her stomach. "I'm not feeling well. I think I may have come down with something. James is going to walk me to the castle and—"

"You seemed fine two minutes ago," I said, a little panicky, glancing back at Sirius, who was trying to watch us sneakily from behind a chocolate fountain.

"Well, I, uh…" said Lily, her eyes darting to the side, her face red. "It came on very suddenly, and uh…" she suddenly seemed to find her nail beds very interesting.

I looked at her critically for a few seconds, seeing the tell-tale signs of lying written all over her face. Lily Evans had beaten me to the punch.

I pulled Lily to the side, behind a licorice wand display, and out of the boys' sights. Then I burst out laughing, unable to contain myself.

"For god's sake, what's so funny?" asked Lily, exasperatedly. "I'm telling you I feel ill and you're acting like a madwoman."

"Oh, Lily Evans, you are a riot." I wheezed in between giggles, trying to catch my breath. "Now what is the real reason you're lying to me?"

Lily pouted, but after a few more seconds of laughter, a smile broke out across her own face. "Well, Adeline Villori, I was trying to do you a favor, but you seem dead set on making things difficult."

"What kind of favor?" I choked out.

"James and I were going to give you and Sirius some time alone. Your very own Hogsmeade date." She told me, matter-of-factly, her hands on her hips.

This only caused me to laugh harder. Finally, I composed myself enough to gasp: "I was about to do the exact same thing for you!" before submitting to my laughter once again.

It took her a moment to process this, but then she began to giggle herself. "You're joking?" she asked, hand covering her mouth. When I shook my head, she burst into uproarious laughter.

At last, after receiving some odd looks from a few other Hogwarts students milling around the big store, Lily and I were able to contain ourselves. "Well…" I finally said, grinning. "I suppose we part ways. You go with your boy, I go with mine, and we just make sure we don't cross paths."

"Deal." said Lily, winking at me. "I wish you luck, dearest friend. Not that you need it. You look gorgeous. Our Sirius hasn't been able to take his eyes off you all day. Including now." She added, nodding over my shoulder. I turned, and saw that Sirius and James were standing on the other side of the store, their eyes trained on me and Lily.

"Brilliant." I said, smoothing down my hair. "See you back at the castle?"

"We'll be there." she told me, nodding at James and departing the store alongside him, while I headed towards Sirius, a skip in my step. Today, I hoped, would be a good day.

Sirius and I were walking along, our plan having not worked out exactly the way I had pictured it, but our main goal still accomplished. Sirius, having been to Hogsmeade many times before, navigated down the tiny cobblestone streets of the village with ease. We ended up in front of the Three Broomsticks, and sat down at a secluded booth inside.

After a moment of silence, Sirius spoke. "Okay, I've been dying to ask you all day. How was your meeting with Dumbledore last night?"

I smiled inwardly, for some reason really touched that he had remembered about my meeting with the headmaster, and cared enough to ask me about it. I resisted the urge to reach out and grab his hand from across the table as I answered his question. "Well," I said, "after he apologized profusely for putting me in such a dangerous situation over winter holiday—"

"—as he should have," muttered Sirius, jaw clenched.

"Yes, well, anyway, after that, he offered to give me private defense against the dark arts lessons. So that, when the dark lord does decide to track me down, I might have a chance of surviving." I said this matter-of-factly, trying to not let any trace of fear or worry into my voice. I didn't want Sirius blaming himself again, and I didn't want him to think I was weak.

Sirius's face darkened immediately. "Addy…" he said, as I stared adamantly at my mug of butterbeer, trying to seem un-phased. "You don't have to be strong all the time."

I looked at Sirius, meeting his gaze. He was looking at me with such an earnest, caring expression that I felt my walls beginning to crumble as if on a cue from some higher power. In the blink of an eye he'd moved so that he was sitting beside me, putting an arm around my shoulder. It wasn't romantic. He was just trying to comfort me.

It was sweet.

"Sirius," I said, overcome, my throat starting to close up as tears welled in my eyes. "I wasn't scared earlier. But, now… I am. I'm afraid that they'll come after me, and kill me, and the people I love. If something happened to Lily or James or Remus or you because of me… I couldn't handle it, I—"

"Adeline." He said my name almost lovingly, like a lullaby. "I would gladly die trying to protect you. And there's nothing you can do to stop me."

"No." I tried to object, the tears coming in earnest now, my head buried in Sirius's shoulder as he stroked my hair. "Don't you dare die for me. I'm not worth—"

"Adeline Randall Villori," he stopped me, his voice solemn, "You are worth everything. And nothing is going to happen to you. I will not let anything happen to you."

I found myself unable to say anything for a few moments, instead letting Sirius's strong arms keep me anchored, if only for a second. I felt so safe. So encompassed in warmth and protection that I never wanted to leave this moment.

Finally I sat up a little straighter, more or less composed. Sirius offered me a handkerchief which I accepted gratefully. "I'm a mess," I said with a watery smile, chancing a glance over at Sirius, who still had his arm wrapped around me. He didn't seem disgusted or annoyed by my display of emotions, although I was sure any other teenage guy would be. He just seem concerned. When I smiled, though, he did too.

"You're a wonderful mess." He told me, reaching out and wiping away a tear that I had missed. "And I invite you to seek me out whenever you need a shoulder to cry on. I do very much like being your knight in shining armor."

I smiled at this, smoothing down my hair as Sirius removed his arm from around my shoulders, leaving me feeling almost empty. I tried to ignore the loss, instead glancing around us. More than a few other Hogwarts students, I noticed, were staring dead at me and Sirius, no doubt puzzled by my little emotional outburst and his reaction to it.

"Brilliant." I said, recovered, and taking a sip of my butterbeer. "I forgot we were in a public place. Seems we have a bit of an audience."

Sirius seemed less than troubled by this, instead following my gaze with a smirk and then shrugging nonchalantly. "Let them stare. I'm at Hogsmeade with the greatest girl at Hogwarts. They're just jealous."

Sirius and I left the Three Broomsticks a half hour later, the butterflies in my stomach going full force.

"You know," I said as we walked along, a cool winter breeze sending my hair flying around my face as we walked along the main street of Hogsmeade. "I wonder how Lily and James are doing. Think Lily's stormed off yet?"

"Nah, they're probably off in some corner, snogging each other senseless." Sirius mused, a smirk gracing his handsome features. "We are exceptional match-makers."

I laughed, "you might just be right." I told him, almost adding "I can't believe they were trying to do the same for us." before I caught myself. I hadn't exactly told Sirius about Lily and James's own plan.

"So I'm assuming Lily told you that they were trying to do the same thing for us?" he asked, a devilish grin on his face.

"I—" I said, my cheeks reddening, and not from the harsh winter wind. "She might have said something while we were at Honeydukes." I admitted, not meeting his gaze.

"Is it okay with you?" he asked, sounding worried. "I mean," he clarified, "do you want this to be a date?". I had to bite back my laughter at the sheer irony of his question. Was I okay with going on a date with Sirius Black?

I stopped, turning to look at him. My hand found my necklace subconsciously, as I addressed him with a shy smile. "Do you want this to be a date?"

He looked at me for a moment, his gaze traveling quickly between my eyes and my lips. "I…" he said, running a hand through his hair. "Yes, I would really like that."

I felt like my heart would burst, I was so happy. I grinned up at him, noticing for the second time in a week that he seemed about to kiss me.

"Well, then it is." I said quickly, feeling a little flustered, and somehow not ready to kiss him. I wanted to, of course, but this didn't seem like the right moment, standing in the middle of street, surrounded by other people. Instead I stepped back slightly, still smiling. He seemed to emerge out of a fog, blinking a few times and tearing his eyes away from my lips. "You owe me a visit to Honeydukes." I told him teasingly, "Come on."