Author's Note

Hey everybody! So after like a million band competitions, midterms, and insane writer's block, I'm back! I sincerely apologize for the long wait, but hopefully I'll be able to get back into the habit of updating more often. I have not given up on this story, and am completely set on seeing it through. Sometimes real life just gets in the way, huh?

Anyway, here is chapter 16! It's long, for one thing. It's also kind of creepy, but, well, this story is not exactly all rainbows and butterflies either, so I guess it shouldn't come as too much of a shock.

Reviews are GREATLY, massively appreciated, as usual. They mean a lot to me :) Please review! :)

Read, enjoy, review :)

Disclaimer: I do not own HP!

16. Shaken

It had been a week since my date with Sirius, and although the flirting, stolen glances, and overwhelming sexual tension were still going full-force, school, quidditch, and—in my case—lessons with Dumbledore, had kept us busy.

I hadn't forgotten, unfortunately, the warning of my mother's note, nor could I shake the feeling of constant danger. I hated feeling like a coward, but the prospect of being hunted down by blood-thirsty death eaters was terrifying to me.

There was nothing I could do, though, I reflected as I got ready for bed the following Friday after the Hogsmeade trip, brushing out my hair and changing into my pajamas. Except for continuing with my private defense against the dark arts lessons and learning all I could at Hogwarts, the most I could do was hope that it would be a long time before Voldemort deciding to track me down.

It didn't stop a shiver from traveling down my spine, though, as I turned off the bathroom light and slipped back into Lily and I's bedroom, where she was already fast asleep, tired out from all the studying she had been doing lately.

I dove under my own covers, stifling a yawn and trying to steer my thoughts away from my family and the Dark Lord and towards pleasanter things. Like the way Sirius had looked when he and James had returned from Quidditch earlier in the evening both soaked to the bone and covered in mud after a hard practice in the pouring rain.

Said rain was still falling heavily as I smiled to myself in the dark, the image of Sirius, coated head to toe in muck and looking absolutely exhausted, appeared in my head like a light bulb. As the boys had entered the common room where Lily and I sat in front of the fire, working on our Potions homework, he hadn't failed to send a brilliant smile and flirtatious wink in my direction before heading up the stairs to the boys' dormitory.

Having retired shortly after that, I hadn't seen him afterwards, and now sincerely regretted it. I hadn't had a decent conversation with Sirius—just the two of us—since Hogsmeade. And while neither of us had said so (at least not in so many words), there was little doubt in my mind now that what was in store for the two of us was not merely a long-lasting friendship. Some way or another, Sirius Black and I had stepped far past that boundary of "friends" and on to something much more romantic, exciting, and, at least to me—bloody terrifying.

I sighed to myself in the darkness, squeezing my eyes shut. I was exhausted, and although my mind protested, I did my best to banish the thought of Sirius from my head as well, and instead settled on focusing my attention on the steady, almost hypnotic pitter-patter of rain outside the window. Before long, I was dreaming.

I had awoken in a bed in a dark room that I didn't recognize, though at the same time it seemed oddly familiar. Pushing my thick hair back from my face, I sat up, peering around. The room, though it was hard to make much out with such little light, was ornately furnished, reminding me distinctly of my own room at the Villori Manor.

I got out of bed, yawning, and proceeded across the room and into a side door that I instinctively knew to be the bathroom.

I switched on the light, and sure enough, the sight of a beautiful bathroom, as immaculately cleaned and decorated as the bedroom, greeted me. I stepped up to the gorgeous porcelain sink, turning on the faucet and looking at my reflection in the spotless and expensive-looking mirror in front of me. I frowned as I noticed my paler-than-usual complexion and the dark, deep circles under my eyes. I looked older, I realized with a start. I was older.

Above my right eyebrow, shining bone-white under the light of the crystal chandalier above me, was a scar. It was jagged, and interrupted the smooth skin of my forehead like a mountain-range interrupted a flat plain.

The sight of it was distinctly disturbing, and it sent a shiver up my spine as I raised my left hand, meaning to touch the long-healed wound with my fingertips.

I didn't get that far. Horror clenched my insides as I gazed in front of me at my raised hand, and more precisely, at the soft flesh of my inner forearm.

The dark mark stared back at me. I felt frozen and watched in terror as the snake, protruding out of the skull's mouth, sprung to life, rising out of its two-dimensional place on my arm and becoming a real, inky-black being, growing larger by the second as it coiled itself around me, wrapping around my arms, my abdomen, my neck.

At this point I screamed, struggling pointlessly against the black beast as it continued to tighten its grip on my body. Flailing around, I caught sight of my reflection once again, and saw my own eyes bright green and wide with terror.

Tears ran down my face as I fought desperately for air, and I could feel the muscles of the snake's body bunch as it held me ever tighter. Glancing down, I screamed again when I saw that the faucet was still running, not with water, but a brightly-colored, scarlet liquid.

The unmistakable, metallic smell of blood reached my nostrils, and I could neither scream nor move as the snake wrapped itself around me a final time, then lifted its head to stare straight into my face. With a final, haunting hiss, it opened its mouth, baring two long, deadly fangs.

In the blink of an eye, it sprung forward.

I awoke, gasping for air, in a cold sweat.

Frenzied, I sat up, glancing frantically around me, my hair sticking to my face, and my arms and legs twisted up impossibly in the sheets of my bed.

Still breathing hard and shaking badly, I freed myself hurriedly from the binding linen and stumbled into the bathroom, slamming down the light switch and grasping each side of the cold porcelain sink with both hands.

After a few deep breaths, I steeled myself and shakily lifted my left wrist, gasping when I saw that the soft white skin of my arm was unmarked.

I quickly brought my hand to my face, trembling, and bit my knuckle to keep from screaming. After a few more steadying breaths I quickly turned the tap on the sink and could have wept with relief when I saw that the water running out of the faucet was crystal clear.

I finally brought myself to glance up at the mirror.

I stared back at myself, taking in first the un-maimed skin above my eyebrow, but also noticing my pale white skin and the dark circles under my eyes, though they were significantly less than had been in my dream.

I felt myself shiver as I realized then that it was a dream. Or a nightmare. Neither, though, seemed to suitably describe the unsettling experience I had just gone through.

I pushed my hair away from my face and neck where it was still stuck there, and grimaced when the black locks reminded me of the snake. Trying to compose myself, I splashed a bit of ice-cold water on my face, and came up spluttering but feeling relatively composed.

I leaned against the wall opposite the sink, contemplating. After a short time, I shut off the bathroom light, grabbed my wand off of my bedside table and quickly casted lumos in a hushed whisper. I noticed two things as I crossed the room and headed for the stairs to the common room and the warm fire that awaited me there. Firstly, that Lily was still sound asleep, thankfully unaware of the ordeal I had just experienced. I also noticed that my hand, and by extension the bright light at the end of my wand, was shaking violently.

I was barely surprised when I saw that, despite it being the middle of the night, the common room was not deserted.

The creaking of the stairs that connected the girl's dormitories to the Gryffindor common room alerted Sirius to my presence, and he turned to face me from where he sat at the couch in front of the fire.

The half-smile on his face quickly turned to a look of alarm and worry when his eyes met mine.

He was at my side in an instant, wrapping his arms comfortingly around me and pulling me close to him.

"Adeline?" he said in a whispered tone as he stroked my hair and I buried my face in his shoulder. "Addy? What's wrong? What's happened? You're shaking."

"Nightmare," was all I could choke out, unable to say anything more and instead holding on tighter to him, letting the terror from my dream wash over me again, this time with renewed clarity.

So quickly I hardly even noticed, Sirius moved us to the couch, setting me down on it, then grabbed some blankets from seemingly nowhere and spreading them on top of me.

He stood there, hesitating, until I made a rather pitiful sound. Then, thankfully, he laid down beside me on the large couch that easily fit us both, wrapping his arms reassuringly around me once more. I felt warm, enclosed, and utterly safe as I laid there, Sirius behind me whispering comfortingly in my ear.

"Shh…" he said, stroking my hair as I cried softly, the images of my nightmare replaying over and over again. "It's all okay. I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you. Just sleep."

I did. I then woke, a while later, to find myself still in Sirius's strong, safe arms.

I felt better, and I noticed that the shaking had ebbed considerably as I turned from my sideways position to face Sirius and found myself staring into a pair of insanely worried blue eyes.

"Hello," I whispered, my eyes searching his, and only then did I truly notice our rather interesting position, his arms still securely around me, my hands on his chest, our lips only inches apart.

"Hey," he whispered back, his forehead creased with worry. "You okay?"

I sat up then, smoothing down my hair. He did too, though he still kept one arm around my shoulders as we moved to lean against the back of the couch. "Yeah," I said as he stretched the blanket over us, our legs still tangled together. "Just a little shaken up."

He squeezed my shoulder slightly, looking over at me. When he spoke, his voice was laced with concern. "Want to tell me what happened?"

I did, leaving nothing out. It seemed unthinkable to keep this from Sirius, as much as I hated to worry him. But he deserved to know—even if it was just a dream—especially after the way he had just taken care of me.

And really, the way he had always taken care of me.

He listened mostly in silence, stroking my shoulder soothingly when I described the snake, and the way it had coiled around me, trying to squeeze me to death.

"I had a feeling that you would be down here," I said, shrugging, my story coming to a close. "And so I came to see."

"It's weird," he said, his breath warm on my neck and shoulder as he turned to look at me again. "I had a feeling that you would need me tonight."

"I did." I said simply, and we descended into silence. I stared forward, at the fire that still crackled comfortingly a few yards away. After a while, he turned his gaze away from my face and we sat watching the embers together. I felt safer than I had in years.