Light in the Darkness

Chapter 12

Adelaide woke up the next morning, dreading having to go to class. The news of her brother being sent to Azkaban flew across the school, it was practically the only thing people talked about. Adelaide especially was fearful of running into any of the Weasleys or Gryffindors. 

She fixed her hair, giving it a slight wave at the bottom. She swiped on mascara and performed a spell to reverse the dark circles under her eyes. She had hardly gotten any sleep last night. Her mind twirled piecing together the events that had happened the night before. She scolded herself for forgetting some details. The memory was so faint, it was like she was recalling a picture she had seen ages ago. Adelaide gave up on her memory and pulled up her stockings and slipped on her shoes. 

Viola sat at the foot of Adelaide's bed, giving quiet support to her friend. She had talked to Adelaide the night before, making sure she was alright. Of course, she wasn't, her brother was just sent to Azkaban. This is what Viola was trying to warn Adelaide of when she tried to defend the Weasleys at the beginning of the year. Her brothers were ruthless and blood thirsty, but Adelaide would never see this side of them because more times than not, they were acting out to protect her. She knew it was only a matter of time that Adelaide's sweet self tried to be friends with a blood traitor or muggle-born and one of her brothers would go too far.

"You ready?" Viola asked, giving Adelaide a concerned smile. Adelaide nodded and the two walked out of the girl's dormitory. Waiting in the common room was Flint and Draco. The four walked together to class, the three secretly trying to hide Adelaide from the stares she was getting. They couldn't protect her from the pointing, whispering, and awful gossip that was buzzing around Hogwarts, but they tried to make her feel less alone. When a Ravenclaw student exclaimed, "Is that Philip Burke's sister?" everyone's head turned to focus their attention on her. Draco tucked Adelaide's arm into his and pulled her close to hopefully shield her from anyone who wanted to approach her.

They finally made it to class after what seemed like a century to get to. The three were surprised that Adelaide had kept herself together, even they were stressed after that experience. 

Little did they know, Adelaide was shaking in anger on the inside. She was focusing all her might on not exploding. The people who openly gawked at the news of her brother knew nothing of their family, their ideals, their upbringing. They only saw her brother's suffering and arrest as a source of entertainment and amusement. She forced down the tears that threatened to prickle at her eyes. 

They sat down at their lab bench in Potions, waiting for class to start. Adelaide's heart momentarily stopped as she saw the Golden Trio walk into the room, particularly the Weasley brother named Ron. Making eye contact with Ron, his eyes grew large and his face turned ghastly pale. He leaned over and whispered something in Harry's ear, then took a seat. 

"What did you just say?" Adelaide questioned, standing up aggressively. Her voice carried an anger she had never used before.

Ron's face turned red. He babbled, trying to fumble for words, but soon shrunk at the girl who was now looming over him, sending a feeling of imminent death down his spine. His nose began to bleed out of nowhere, causing him to cup his face frantically. Draco knew about the Burke family's beliefs on teaching their children dark magic at a young age and he knew (by growing up with Adelaide) that certain things like this would happen when she experienced extreme emotions. 

Draco quickly grabbed her wrist, making sure no one saw. As soon as she broke her eye contact, his nose finally stopped bleeding. He soon shot the Trio a deadly look. He was going to back her no matter what, but he didn't want her to get in trouble for accidentally using dark magic.

The mudblood Granger gave the girl a curious look, of course she would be the one to find the sudden incident suspicious. She was a nosy pest that didn't know when to shut her mouth and mind her own business. Draco knew he had to keep tabs on her, to ensure Adelaide didn't get ratted out like her brother.

"Doesn't matter. I hope your darling blood traitor older brother is happy now." she turned her head and sat down next to Draco. "They're a disgrace to the Wizarding World. All of them." Draco spat, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. He had never heard Adelaide call someone a blood traitor, she never seemed to take any interest in scolding the inferior rats that embarrassingly called themselves wizards. He wasn't complaining either, he was actually impressed that she finally voiced her opposition of the group. During a time like this, it was important for the pureblood families, especially those in Slytherin, to stick together and defend their traditions. 

After the grueling class, the group made their way to the Great Hall. Adelaide tucked her arm into Draco's, making him look down at her hand and smirk in surprise. He was hoping her comment about her only seeing him as a brother was her defense mechanism of being put on the spot by her brothers. He was admittedly crushed when she said that, he was planning on asking her to talk with him in the Common Room that night about their relationship. He fell in love with her growing up, but was too scared to admit it. Whether it was fear of being rejected or the fear of her brothers, he didn't have the courage to talk to her about his feelings. Her sudden initiative to stay close to him made his heart flutter a bit, but he stayed cool and didn't let on just how thrilled he was.

They walked over to the Slytherin table and the group saw the Weasley twins sitting over at the Gryffindor table. The tension was thick. Everyone at the Slytherin table was brimming with anger, glaring at the two who realized the position they were in and were quite ready to make a quick exit stage right. George looked for Adelaide, she disappeared when they were walking back from Hogsmeade the other day and since then he hadn't seen or talked to her. He finally found her and to his surprise her arm was wrapped in Draco's and he saw a glimpse of anger in her eyes. George didn't know what was happening, but he gave his brother a look that pleaded we need to go now.

To make matters worse, Perseus walked into the Great Hall and stopped dead in his tracks as he made eye contact with the Weasley twins. The room silenced, everyone held their breath, anticipating what was to happen next. Suddenly a blast of black smoke appeared, causing everyone's vision to be blocked. After everyone had finished coughing and the black smoke disappeared, the twins were long gone.