When Lemon Meets Smoke

blonde importance

October 27th, 1976

-Sirius-

James and Sirius, with Remus draped around their shoulders, busted through the doors of the hospital wing to see Madam Pomfrey fluffing the pillows of the bed she had prepared for Remus. 

"Come on now, bring him here. Got himself pretty good didn't he?" Madam Pomfrey said quietly to the boys as they placed their bloodied friend on the bed. "Nothing I can't fix doesn't look too deep, might not even scar," the woman said almost to herself as she inspected the boy. 

"Where are the other-" Pomfrey's unfinished question was answered when a very out of breath boy struggled into the room, trying to gently drag a now unresponsive Adelaide with him. 

By the time the healer blinked, Sirius was already across the room, scooping the petite girl into his arms while James tried to block Remus's view. 

Pomfrey had the boy gently place the blonde on her respected bed, just left of Lupin. He could barely focus on anything the healer was saying. 

Lost so much blood. So pale. Is she even breathing? Merlin, is she dying? She can't die. Blood. All that blood. Blood all over me. Not breathing. Pale. 

Sirius was jolted out of his thoughts when James placed his hand on his shoulder and moved him away from the bed. Madam Pomfrey closed the curtains causing Sirius to realize she must have told him to move so she would begin working on Adelaide. After a muffliato charm was cast by the healer, the boys were left alone with their worst thoughts. 

A strangled sob came from behind him. "Ads..." 

James and Sirius turned to see a horrified-looking Remus Lupin. 

"Moony..." James started only to be cut off by the very distraught boy. 

"I did that to her... I hurt her... I caused this... Merlin, she's going to hate me. Adie is going to hate me... What if she doesn't make it? You're all going to hate me. Hell, you should hate me! I hate me!" Remus said between panicked breaths. 

"Mate we could never hate you."

"Adie will be okay." 

"That girl is incapable of hating you."

Sirius, Peter, and James all replied at the same time. 

"Look me in the eyes and tell me that if she doesn't make it you would still be able to look at me knowing I'm the reason we'd be forced to live without her?" Remus spat back as he stared into Sirius's eyes, already knowing the answer.

"I wouldn't-" Sirius began only to be cut off.

"Yes you would, you're in love with her, and losing her would not only break you but it would break all of us, everything we have created."  Remus retaliated with his voice laced with sorrow. 

"We don't have to even think about this. Adie is going to be fine." James snapped at the boys.

Sirius felt his heart fall to his stomach as he looked at his friends realizing just how much significance she had on all their lives. 

Moony was falling apart at the seams. Sirius knew Adelaide was the human embodiment of comfort for the boy, she meant the world to him. Remus adored everything about the girl. He knew his friend loved all of them but his attachment to the smaller blonde was different. She had been the first to figure out his secret, only a mere three months into their first year. Remus had said he was terrified that she would tell him she no longer wanted to be his friend. Adelaide had surprised him when she simply asked that if she painted his nails blue, would his werewolf claws be blue as well. Ever since then Remus had taken refuge in her and valued the girl's opinion over all others.

Prongs was trying to be strong. The blonde was his sister in every sense of the term. Sirius remembered her face when she received her last letter from her parents back in their third year. They had disowned her, written her out of their lives, and didn't even have the guts to say it to her face. The way the tears slowly ran down her cheeks as her worst fear was confirmed, her parents really didn't love her. He remembered the way James instantly pulled out a piece of parchment and wrote to his parents asking if they could take Adelaide in without a second thought. The way James would cut the girl off every time she spiraled into one of her "I'm a burden and unloveable" rants with a calm "No, you are loved and wanted. Don't talk about my sister like that." Sirius knew James would do anything for her so he knew being so helpless at this moment was killing him. 

Wormtail was itching to tell her she'll be okay. Adelaide was the person he went to when he was feeling down. She was always so maternal with Peter, soothing his anxieties and reminding him how important he is. Sirius knew that he, just like the rest of the boys, often took Peter for granted, while Adelaide was the first to tell him how proud she was of him. He thought of that little white owl plushie she had gifted him for Christmas back in their first year. He was having horrible nightmares due to his adjustment to being away from home not going too well and she would spend many nights in their dorm stroking Peter's hair softly as he drifted off to sleep. She got him that peculiar-looking plushie to sleep with whenever he felt scared as it was a token of her love and as she said "would scare away even the meanest of nightmares." Peter, now at sixteen, still never slept without it. 

Padfoot was feeling a combination of many things. The thought of losing her was taking over his mind and causing his throat to close up. Adelaide Tanelter was his other half. They completed one another, they always have. They were a sarcastic pairing, always competing yet celebrating one another victories as their own. They also complimented one another, while Sirius was oftentimes rushed and impulsive, she was always collected and planning their next fifty moves. Sirius had never been the best at handling emotions, others or his own but he could always comfort her. It was second nature to take care of her, to protect her. Adelaide was a light in his life, all his friends were but she was his sun. Simply being in her vicinity cast out the darkness in his life. Sirius Black was in love with her and has been since the day he first saw her, before he even knew her name. He was drawn to her light and wanted to bask in her warmth for the rest of his life. He couldn't imagine being him without her and hoped he'll never have to find out. 

Sirius was pulled back to reality when Madam Pomfrey stepped out behind the curtain. The woman turned to the four boys and gave them a soft smile.

"She's going to be alright, she's asleep now but I'll let you see her."  With that, the woman stepped away revealing a now cleaned and stitched up blonde breathing lightly. 

The male marauders let out a sigh of relief as Remus laid back down, covering his face with his hands and mumbling prayers.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you so fucking much."

James let the tears he had been holding in silently slip down his face and Peter placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Sirius felt a weight lift off of him and in one quick motion was in the chair by her side. He reached down and held her hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb.

She's going to be alright.

I was listening to

music while writing

and realized the song 

Twin Sized Mattress 

by The Front Bottoms

is a Sirius Black/marauder song.

Give it a listen.