Author's Note
Hello! Here, ladies and gentlemen, is chapter 17 in The Blood of Kings. Aren't you shocked at how fast I got this chapter out? Me too! :)
On a more depressing note, I only had ONE review from last chapter (But thank you SO much, Writer-Reader-Comedian-Random!).
Please, please, please review! Just a sentence, is all it takes, to totally make my day and get me writing faster! Please let me know whether you liked it, loved it, or absolutely hated every single word. I'm even open to suggestions for what you want to see happen in this story. It would be so helpful! Thank you!
Alright, I'm done begging now! Here's chapter 17!
Read, enjoy, review! :)
17. Fate
After sleeping on the common room couch for another few hours, Sirius and I awoke to the wide-eyed stares of about half the Gryffindor house.
"Oi!" he said, sitting up, his right arm still around my shoulders, and using the other arm to shoo them away. "Nothing to see here!"
They scattered, eventually, until only Lily and James remained, each frowning comically, their arms crossed, the very picture of disapproval. "Well?" said Lily, her eyes narrowed accusingly at Sirius, then me. "Care to explain why you two decided to have a sleepover in the common room?"
"Come on Lils," I said, a little sheepishly, smoothing down my hair and disentangling my legs from Sirius', "You sound like McGonagall. I had a bad dream, and Sirius helped me feel better. That's all."
She harrumphed, but eventually quit glaring and grabbed James by the elbow, disappearing through the portrait hole with him in tow.
We watched them go, then stood up off of the couch, smiling shyly at each other.
"Well," said Sirius, running a hand through his dark hair, "That was interesting."
"Sirius," I said, stepping up hesitantly, "I can't even tell you how grateful I am for you. You're always there when I need you, always helping me… Thank you so much."
I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him, smiling slightly when his own arms wrapped around my waist and squeezed back just as hard.
When we pulled apart, I couldn't help but flush scarlet as he kept his hands on my waist and kissed my forehead softly, then smiled warmly down at me.
"I was thinking…" he said, grinning at my blushing face, "That after the night's events… you could do with a bit of fun."
While my first instinct was to decline, as I had initially decided to spend the day studying for NEWTS, I found myself unable to deny myself the opportunity to spend even a little while with Sirius.
"You know…" I said, smiling back at him. "I think you may be right."
Twenty minutes later, I had showered, magically dried and straightened my hair, and was frowning cynically at my closet, cursing the fact that anyone had yet to come up with a spell that could pick out stylish outfits for you.
After a quick internal debate, I finally settled on dark jeans and a simple gray blouse, and hoped sincerely that Sirius wouldn't mind my rather unimaginative fashion choices. As an afterthought, I put on a bit of mascara.
When I descended the stairs, I found him already waiting for me in the common room, standing there somewhat bashfully in jeans and a rather dorky sweater, probably given to him by the wonderfully domestic Mrs. Potter.
"Hey," I said, grinning up at him as I approached.
"Hey yourself," was his reply, and only then did I notice, as he readjusted his grip on the object, that he was carrying a picnic basket—red gingham tablecloth and all—in one hand.
"What's that you've got there?" I asked, as we headed to the portrait hole, him with a rather mischievous smile on his face.
"A picnic basket!" he said brightly, not missing a beat.
"Well, yes," I said, laughing and elbowing him slightly as we waited for the staircase to change, "I suppose a better question is… what are we doing with this picnic basket?"
"You'll see!" he said in a sing-song voice as we now crossed the great hall, earning a few quizzical looks from nearby students as we made our way. I blushed lightly as a few girls from my year narrowed their eyes at me, jealousy written all over their faces.
I tore my gaze away from them, instead glancing over at the tall, handsome boy walking next to me, who was smiling slightly as we walked along. It didn't matter what other people thought, I then realized. It didn't matter at all.
Sirius, I soon became to understand, was a bit of a romantic. We had made our way out of the great hall and onto the school grounds, walking in companionable silence until we reached one of the impressively huge trees that lined the pebbly shore of the lake.
"A picnic by the water," I said, as Sirius, blushing ever so slightly, laid out the tablecloth on the ground under the tree and began unpacking food from the basket. "This is maybe one of the sweetest things any one has ever done for me."
Sirius froze, a bottle of pumpkin juice in each hand, and glanced up at me, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Is it really?"
"I would say so," I said, smiling too and plucking one of the bottles from his hand as I sat down and took a small sip. "It's certainly the most romantic."
"Excellent," he breathed in response, looking away from me, now most definitely blushing. I don't think he had actually wanted me to hear that, and with a rather mischievous smile, I decided to change the subject.
"And wherever do you think Lily and James ran off to?" I asked, picking up some potato salad and feeling incredibly grateful that the house elves had taken such a tremendous liking towards the Marauders. "Think they're off snogging in some remote corner of the castle?"
"Wouldn't surprise me one bit," he said, taking a sip of his own pumpkin juice, shaking his head disapprovingly. "The looks those two give each other when they think we aren't watching…"
We talked about a great number of things as Sirius and I enjoyed our picnic, both of us eating far too much and in the end collapsing onto our backs side-by-side in food-induced fatigue.
"Nice sweater," I remarked lazily, happily enjoying my full belly, the beautiful weather, and some time alone with Sirius.
"Hey, I like this sweater." He said a little defensively, though I could tell without even having to glance over at him that he was grinning cheekily. "Mrs. Potter made it for me this past Christmas."
"You like them a lot, don't you?" I said, turning my head now to stare at his perfect profile. "The Potters?"
"Absolutely." he said, his eyes on the tree branches above us. "They're the kind of family I never had. Loving, normal, not obsessed with blood and money…" he trailed off, then seemed to stiffen, glancing over at me. "Oh." he said, looking guilty. "Addy, I—"
"It's alright," I said, smiling lightly at him. "We both come from pretty messed up backgrounds. It doesn't bother me. I'm glad you have the Potters."
His eyes searched mine for a second more before he faced upwards again, returning his gaze to the boughs overhead. "I am too. James says I can stay with them over the summer, so I'll never have to go back to that damned house again. I must say I'm incredibly relieved."
"So am I." I told him, still watching his profile. "It doesn't seem like a very nice place."
"It wasn't." he told me, brows furrowed. "Too much hate, too much pure-blood obsession. I couldn't stand it." he shook his head. "I knew, ever since I was little, that I was nothing like my family, nor could I ever fit into that mold they had tried to push me into for so long."
"I wish I'd known like you." I said, frowning slightly. He turned to look at me now, and our eyes met, though neither of us looked away as I continued to speak. "I wish I'd been strong enough to defy my parents like you did, right from the start. Instead, all I'd ever tried to do was fit into that mold, and it was only once I came here and met you and Lily and the others that I realized that I never could, and didn't want to." I shivered, remembering the turmoil I had experienced those first few months, and then again, at the manor over Christmas, when I had struggled with my past and my family's convictions. "Sometimes I wonder…" I said, looking into Sirius's blue eyes, framed by those impossibly long black lashes. "What would I have done, if I hadn't come here? Hadn't met you, and realized how backwards my entire life was? Would I have become that person in my dream, with the pale skin and the scars and the dark mark?" I shuddered, remembering the woman I had seen staring back at me in the mirror during that horrible nightmare. I was almost convinced that that was the Adeline Villori I would have become, had my life taken the path my family had laid out for me.
"I don't think so," said Sirius, gazing at me with solemnity. "You would have realized on your own, eventually, who you really were. What you really stood for." he smiled, a little shyly, and his hand reached forward, resting ever so softly on top of my pale one. "And I think that, in time, we would have found our way to each other, even if your life had taken a different course."
I felt my heartbeat begin to pick up, his words and his touch sending tiny shockwaves up and down my body. "What if I'd been branded with the dark mark? What if I was a sworn death-eater, when we finally met? Would you want anything to do with me?" I didn't know what compelled me to ask this, but the words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. I had some strong desire to know if Sirius would still want me, had fate brought us together in a different time, in a darker turn of events.
"Absolutely." He whispered, threading his fingers through mine, and lifting my hand to his lips, where he brushed them against the soft, unmarked skin of my left forearm, never breaking my gaze.
I squeezed his fingers slightly, blushing, but having never felt before such a feeling of exhilaration and unbelievable love towards the boy lying beside me.
"Adeline," he breathed now, watching me with an expression that I knew without a doubt was written all over my own face as well. His voice was almost hoarse with emotion, and as I stared into his eyes, there was suddenly no doubt in my mind that Sirius cared for me just as much as I did for him.
"I know," I said, never breaking his gaze.