I do not own Harry Potter

Chapter Thirteen

"Adie?" Bella asked, shaking her head roughly, as if trying to dislodge her thoughts. "What? What happened?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Adeline asked, kneeling in front of Bella and placing her hand on Bella's knee.

"Everything's so blurry," she whispered out. "Your engagement to Sirius was announced and a few weeks later we were defending Shafiq manor from intruders. After that… I don't know. You were pregnant at some point?"

"Nothing in between any of that?" Adeline clarified.

"No," Bella shook her head, looking a bit panicked. "Adie. You look older. What happened? Why don't I remember anything?"

Sissy and Andy kneeled on either side of Bella, each taking one of her hands as Adeline took a deep breath before she began explaining.

"I used to receive private lessons from Tom Riddle. I helped him develop a potion that worked as an imperio but there were side effects that I couldn't figure out. Infatuation and madness. He's been using the potion on you ever since. You were gone for a while and we were told that you weren't feeling well, but you must have been fighting the effects of the potion. When you returned, the madness had set in. I figured out a cure, though," Adeline explained.

"How long?" Bella asked, tears streaming down her face as she looked over Adeline and her two younger sisters. "How long have I been under the influence of the potion?"

"Eighteen years or so," Adeline breathed out.

Bella began sobbing. Andy pulled Bella to her without thought, both witches clinging to one another on the floor as Sissy and Adeline leaned into them, both of them wrapping their arms around the two. Adeline felt her own tears escaping before anger coursed through her.

"I'll be back," she growled out before standing.

"Adie!" Sissy and Lucius called after her, but Adeline was already out of the basement and heading towards the floo.

She stepped into Hathor cottage before going through the back door and apparating away. She landed in front of Lestrange Manor, glaring up at the building. She walked through the wards as if they weren't even there before blasting the front door to pieces. Bella's husband and brother-in-law were dead before they hit the ground, green lights flashing as Adeline held her wand up, ready for a fight. Adeline killed four more Death Eaters before she made it to the drawing room, not a scratch on her as she stared into Voldemort's eyes.

"Adeline," he hissed out, glaring at her. "Come for the cure?"

"I made one myself," she hissed back. "You never even had one and we both know it. You couldn't even make the original potion without my assistance."

"Why are you here?" he questioned, moving so they were chest to chest.

"Do you remember when you taught me to fly?" she asked. "We raced to the house and I won. You still owe me something for winning."

"Do you want your life? The life of the boy you adopted or the life of the one you birthed? I'll let you choose which one I let live if you like," his smirk was full of anger as he pressed forward, backing her into a wall by the door.

"I'm here for a book," she told him, brow raised challengingly. "It was a child's race, Tom. I wouldn't demand something as serious as sparing a life for something so small."

Voldemort seemed at a loss for words, confusion clear on his face.

"You risked your life coming here for a book?" he questioned.

"Tom, I think you and I both know that you wouldn't kill me yourself. You'd send others to do it for you so that you wouldn't have to watch the light leave my eyes. So, yes, I'm here for a book. A book that you once kept in your manor. You had most of those books moved here, to this very room. I'm here to collect my prize."

"What of my prize?" he questioned.

"Prize for what?"

"I'm losing you. What do I get in return?"

"What do you want and we'll negotiate," Adeline hated being between his body and the wall, unable to move her wand from where it was pinned between the two of them.

"You won't return Avery or Bella?" he didn't wait for an answer when he continued. "You also killed a few of mine on your way to me, I'm sure."

"Mostly low ranks," Adeline shrugged, smirking when Tom ignored her and continued speaking.

"You've been lying to me and the others for years. For all I know, you were never mine," his voice lowered, some emotion passing over his eyes that Adeline didn't recognize. "You said something at the ministry. I want to know what it meant."

"What did I say?" Adeline sighed out the question, leaning back into the wall slightly to seem a bit more comfortable.

"Who is Hathor?"

"Caught that, did you?"

"I always listen when you speak."

Adeline stared at him for a moment, almost able to see the man he once was as she stared at him.

"You may just kill me yourself," she sighed.

"I won't," he said, leaning closer to her, his lips brushing hers as he did so.

"Hathor is my real name. I was blood adopted by the Shafiq's so that they wouldn't lose their magic when the real Adeline died," she told him, holding in a shiver as she felt her lips brush his own as she spoke, their breathes mingling together as if they needed one another to breath.

His eyes widened in shock but he remained unmoving, telling her she wanted the full story.

"I was an orphan in Georgia. My parents were dead and I was in a muggle orphanage. The other children stayed away from me due to a few… incidents. The Shafiq's found me, burned the orphanage down with everyone in it, and I was trained to be the future Lady Shafiq and Black."

"What incidents?" he whispered the question, his body leaning into hers as his fingers brushed against her arms so lightly it tickled her skin.

"A few older boys tried pushing me around. Two of them ended up flying across the room and hitting their heads against the wall. The other one ended up with a broken hand when he hit my face. Another time a girl stole my book and it caught on fire while she was holding it, causing second-degree burns on her skin. The rest of the children stayed away from me as often as possible after that. The adults stayed away after one of the caretakers tried to toss me into a closet as punishment for refusing to play a game. I was in the closet one moment, and the next I was standing outside of it as I listened to him screaming from inside of it. They had to remove the door to get him out, the keys had vanished."

"A muggle orphanage," Tom breathed. "We're even more alike than I ever realized."

Tom's hand wrapped around her throat as he kissed her roughly. Adeline didn't kiss him back, refusing to until she felt his hand tighten. She kissed back, trying not to snarl in displeasure. He separated from her, just staring at her before removing his hand.

"Find the book," he commanded her.

Adeline moved to the book shelves, Tom directly behind her the whole time, his hands brushing against her body at random. She found the black book hidden amongst the shelves, the whole searching process taking twenty minutes or so. She looked through it briefly, her face giving nothing away before she snapped the book closed and slid it into her pocket.

"This is goodbye," he whispered into her ear.

"It is," she nodded.

"Will you miss me?" his voice was curious

"I'll miss the man you once were. The man you could have been," she admitted.

"Who did you want me to be?" he questioned, lips kissing along her neck with his hands on her hips.

"Someone powerful and vengeful, but not homicidal. You've gone mad with your power, Tom. You killed many that I cared for without blinking and orchestrated attacks on both of our manors to keep me from becoming pregnant. I would have lost my magic had you succeeded. Then you went after my son the moment he was born. I have told people on multiple occasions not to touch what is mine. Once upon a time, you were on that list. You lost that privilege long ago."

"And if I wanted to change?"

"Could you?"

"No. No, I don't think so," he admitted.

"Well, there's your answer. If you'll excuse me?"

"You were right. I won't kill you myself. Greyback and his pack are outside, waiting for you. Take the back door and go to the forest. They'll chase you down and tear you apart. Your elves can't apparate in or out, and neither can you. I do hope you make it out before the moon rises."

Adeline turned in Tom's arms, her hand caressing his face gently. He kissed her again and Adeline kissed him back, both of their eyes remaining open this time. Tom pulled away, hands lingering on her for another moment before she headed for the back door. She sent off three patronuses, telling Severus, Remus, and Albus what to do for Sirius from the book she'd found and warning them she may not return. She pressed against her bracelet that connected to Harry's for a moment before whispering into it that she loved him, Aster, and Carolyn, his bracelet now holding the message forever, letting him replay it as often as he wanted.

Adeline stepped out the back door.