Loquacious\\ Harry Potter Marauders

Twenty\\ Regret

"Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are "it might have been.""
- Kurt Vonnegut

Adelaide woke with a start. Her hand flew to her head and she coughed twice. Then she blinked. Then she frowned. Looking around, she took in the cold light streaming across the room and realised she was sleeping in a large, incredibly comfortable bed. She had had what was probably one of the best sleeps of her life. It was November first, the day after the Halloween party, at which she had had got incredibly drunk and kissed Sirius. Now she woke up alone, in a strange room, in bed, still wearing her dress.

Shit. Shit shit shit shit-
"Morning," an amused voice drawled. Adelaide jumped and looked up- Sirius was walking towards her, a steaming cup of coffee in his left hand, another in his right. Adelaide could feel her cheeks heat up as he smiled awkwardly at her and handed her the cup. It was scolding hot, so she rested it on the bedside table immediately.

"Oh eh.. Ugh, good morning," Adelaide groaned, smiling to herself. Sirius looked at her blankly.
"How are you feeling?"

"Surprisingly okay!"
Adelaide sipped her coffee delicately, but it was far too hot to drink, "you?"

"At this stage I don't even feel the hangover," Sirius laughed, perching on the edge of the bed. Adelaide smiled up at him, attempting to mask the obvious awkwardness. Not that either of them would admit it, but it was clear they were in a difficult situation.

"So.. Did you enjoy the party?"
Adelaide asked desperately. Sirius couldn't meet her eyes.

"Yeah, sure. Eh-" he cleared his throat, "one of the best."
Adelaide smiled.
"Good. Good."

"You?"
Sirius asked, glancing up from his coffee. Adelaide slid her fingers delicately over the soft duvet. She ignored the coffee. Sirius liked his very strong.

"It was good. Em.. What is this place?"
Her voice was uncertain. Although the room was cosy, with the large bed and lots of cushions, the air was cold and heavy. Questions pressed against Adelaide's mind, and the words scratched at her throat. She struggled to move with how short and tight her dress was, and she noticed her heels discarded on the floor.

"The Room of Requirement," said Sirius. "Haven't you heard of it?"

Adelaide frowned carefully, shaking her head. "For all I know this is the Gryffindor boys room, Sirius."

Sirius let out a quick, awkward chuckle before his smile dropped and he looked around. He was wearing a large t-shirt and baggy trousers, with socks on but no shoes.

"No, this is.. It's the Room of Requirement. James and I discovered it in second year, with Peter and Remus. It's huge and it fills with whatever you need as soon as you step inside."
Sirius' voice was getting more and more excited as he spoke.
"Once you discover the secret door, you can come in whenever. James and I play Quidditch and once in September I came here with Hannah Richardson and we-"

Sirius stopped. Immediately. His eyes moved from where they had been and hit the ground hard. Adelaide's heart dropped. The room that had seemed cosy now seemed stuffy and claustrophobic, despite the size of it.

Adelaide looked up, her green emerald gaze piercing Sirius. He cringed, quite obviously. Adelaide no longer felt awkward- anger swelled up inside her like a fire and she let out a tight breath. It was clear that Sirius knew he had messed up. His face had fallen and he had stopped talking. Pushing her hair back from her face, Adelaide stood up from the bed in as dignified a manner as she could, pulling her tight dress down over her legs. She picked up the mug of coffee and began to walk away. Sirius stood up immediately and made a move to start speaking.

"Adelaide I didn't mean-"
"Just.. Forget it, Sirius. It's not a big deal."

Sirius' face held an expression as though his house was burning down before his eyes. His grey eyes were wide and he blinked blindly, scrambling to his feet.
"Wait, Adelaide-"

"What, Sirius?"

"You're being unreasonable, just- just listen.."
She rounded angrily on him with flashing eyes and Sirius was dumbstruck. The ability to speak seemed to leave him and he stood gaping, his mouth moving uselessly. Adelaide let out a groan of frustration and set down her coffee mug, spelling it in the process. Scolding hot liquid seared over her skin, burning her hand, but she didn't notice- it was nothing compared to her mood.

Sirius made one last desperate attempt to reason with her as she walked away, livid.
"Adelaide, that was weeks ago, it didn't mean anything, I swear."

But she didn't reply. Until finally, she reached the wall, and as the great iron door appeared slowly, she spoke without looking at him.
"Leave me alone Sirius. Just.. Please. I don't need you to make me feel any worse than last night did."

And she pulled on the heavy door handle, stepped out into the dimly lit hallway, and was gone.

Sirius stopped for a minute to watch her disappear before voicing a scream of anger and frustration. His hands flew to his hair and he yanked at the silky strands, kicking at every nearest object and yelling obscenities for as long as he could.

Finally he collapsed on the unmade bed and sighed heavily. Shit. Now what? Now the hangover set in. No matter what he said to Adelaide, Sirius was the worst out of the Marauders for hangovers, aside from Remus, who awoke every morning after a party to throw up for hours, and sip water.

Finally Sirius let his eyes close and his headache take over, and his body, drowning with fatigue, drifted into sleep.

Adelaide stormed down the hallway, her face a mask of fury and anger. Her bare feet barely made noise on the stone floor but her presence was felt by anyone unfortunate enough to get in er way. One such person was a sixth year Slytherin who Adelaide knew through her family. He sneered when he saw her, raw eyed and messy, her hair in need of a brush and her party dress still clinging to her.

"Walk of shame, Tanner? Mummy wouldn't be impressed."

Adelaide didn't look at him. She didn't look at anyone, simply kept her eyes straight ahead and pulled her wand out of her hand, voicelessly sending a blast of anger towards the boy. The bench next to him exploded into thin air and he jumped with wide eyes, before turning and muttering to his friends about how crazy she was.

Adelaide didn't care. She kept walking, down every flight of stairs, around an abundance of corners, through the Entrance Hall, which, luckily, was empty enough, and down more stairs to the dungeons. Finally, she hurried into the Slytherin common room and past her friends into her dorm, where she collapsed on her bed and threw her wand across the room.

Hot tears rushed to her eyes and she couldn't escape the feeling of shame that continually washed over her. She felt so incredibly cheap and used, although what did she expect? It was Sirius Black for God's sake- he had spent the night with one of the most arrogant people in Hogwarts.

It wasn't that Sirius was a player, or a heartbreaker- but he was incredibly charming and knew he could get any girl he wanted. Adelaide was sick that she had been one of those girls.

She lay on her bed for hours, drifting in and out of sleep, deciding to skip dinner, and attempting to ignore the voice in her head that told her she was overreacting.