The Pureblood Princess | Sirius Black

|78| The Pancake Murderer

"Just make the damn pancakes, Middleton." she ordered.

Jack's eyes widened and he got started without another word.

When Sirius told her how happy it would make him if she learned how to make pancakes, she knew she had to ask Jack for help since cooking was one of his hobbies. She naively thought that she'd be able to pick it up in no time. After all, how difficult could it be, really?

Very difficult, apparently.

Ten minutes ticked by and Adelaide was still sulking at the table when she heard someone walk in. Catching a fleeting glimpse of curly black locks through the curtain of white-blonde hair masking her face, she groaned internally. Of course Sirius would follow her, she thought to herself. She knew Sirius better than anyone, and knew he'd be jealous that she was spending the evening with Jack for some unknown reason. But she also knew he would be thrilled once he knew the real reason.

"Go away, Siri." she grumbled.

"Um... Addy?" said a voice that was a little too high to be Sirius's.

Adelaide felt her heart sink into her stomach as she realized who it really was. Slowly, she lifted her head and brushed the hair away from her face. "Reggie." she said softly.

Regulus's mouth opened and closed several times as he tried to find the right words to say. "Uh... what are— what are you doing down here?"

Jack suddenly turned around, clad in a red checkered apron, wielding a spatula. "I was teaching her to make pancakes—"

"Trying to teach me how to make pancakes... it didn't end well..." she mumbled. "Why are you here?"

"Uh... Merlin has a cold... I was going to make him some soup..." Regulus said, scratching the back of his neck.

This was the first time Adelaide had got a proper look at the tall Slytherin in days. Her heart ached as she noticed the dark purplish circles under his stormy grey eyes, his swallow skin, and his hair looking way too untidy.

"Um... Fwoopers drink soup?" Adelaide asked in slight amusement.

"Yeah, um... I read about it in that book you gave me..."

"Weird..." Adelaide chuckled awkwardly. "Um..." she started, not knowing exactly what to say, but not wanting the conversation to end. "Um... I heard you apologized to Lily." she blurted out.

Regulus's shoulders rolled forward slightly. "Yeah... I-I did."

"She said that you thought I hated you..." Adelaide said, heart beating a little faster, watching Regulus's carefully constructed mask of emotionlessness falter. "I don't." she said firmly.

"You should." he said quietly.

"But I don't..."

"Pancakes are ready!" Jack said happily, turning to face the two and quickly realizing he was interrupting something. "Um... you know what... it's late... maybe I should just go..." he said awkwardly, saying his last goodbyes to Adelaide before sneaking back to Gryffindor tower alone.

The air of the vacant kitchens smelled of burnt food mixed with fresh pancakes and maple syrup. The hiss of the dying fire and the slow echoing drip of a faucet were the only sounds to pierce the tension between the two teens.