"We're going to need all the help we can get."
Remus stood tall at the head of the dusty table stationed in the dimly-lit room of 12 Grimmauld Place. His fingers tightly latched onto the back of the chair he was standing behind.
"And where do you ex...
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After reliving the events of the prior night with as much detail as possible per Tonks request, Adelaide stared up at her friend. For someone who was always rather mouthy, Tonks was uncharacteristically quiet. It made Adelaide feel slightly unnerved.
"Well?" Adelaide breathed out, "What are you thinking? Am I a horrible person? Merlin, that's it. You think I'm a horrible person."
Tonks shook her head and reached forward to grab onto Adelaide's hands. "No. Relax. You're not a horrible person, Adelaide. You're human. I'm not mad at you, I don't think any less of you. I promise."
Remus stood off to the side of the table, putting together a tray of tea and biscuits – which was really all he had left in his kitchen for the time being. Without speaking, Remus set the tray down before the two women before he slipped from the room.
"I feel like I've betrayed Sirius, though. Is that normal? I mean," Adelaide smiled up at Remus as a silent thank you before she prepared her tea the way she liked it. "Honestly, I guess I really don't know what to think or feel. I just know that I messed up. Like royally messed up."
"Are you just saying that because it was with Charlie?" Tonks questioned, shoving a biscuit into her mouth, and began to chew loudly before washing it down with the tea.
Adelaide sat back and took a moment to think about the question Tonks had posed. Was it just because it was Charlie? Would she have felt this way if she went out and slept with someone she didn't know? Maybe... Maybe not. She wasn't sure.
"Tonks, I don't think it's that's simple." Adelaide chewed on her bottom lip, "But maybe you're right. Maybe I feel this way because it was Charlie. I mean, bloody hell, Remus told me Sirius didn't trust him all that much and what the hell do I do the moment Sirius is dead? I fuck my best friend."
"I thought I was your best friend?"
Glaring, albeit playfully, at her friend, Adelaide let out a soft laugh. "Stop!" she nudged her for a moment before she took another sip of her tea.
"Well, I've got another question for you. And it's not an easy one." Tonks licked her lips and shifted back to look at Adelaide. "Do you still have feelings for Charlie?"
"Yes." Adelaide replied bluntly. She was mentally hitting herself now as she leaned forward and let her forehead hit the kitchen table. "I mean no." She stuttered just a bit, "I mean, I don't know." Her eyes were filling up with tears again and she leaned back and covered her face with both hands. "I'm a horrible person. I used him, Tonks. My feelings for Charlie aside, if I was in my right mind, I would not have acted on them. Last night, I was strictly acting under the pressure of wanting to feel anything but this intense weight of grief. This grief follows me wherever I go. Every time I close my eyes, I see Sirius slipping away from me."
