Loquacious\\ Harry Potter Marauders

Twenty One\\ Dramatic Silence

"Don't waste your words on people who deserve your silence."
- Mandy Hale

"You did what?"
Melissa shrieked when Adelaide approached her after the night of the party. Adelaide sushed her immediately, pleading with her to be quiet.

"Adelaide! What happened? Tell me everything."
Melissa had always had a big sister kind of instinct, which kicked in when Adelaide, who was younger than her, found herself in situations such as this one. She pulled Adelaide to a secluded corner of the library and crossed her arms expectantly.

"Now. Tell me what happened."

Adelaide rolled her eyes at her friend.
"Mel, I don't know what happened, that's the problem! A lot of things happened.."

"Mh hm, like what?"
Melissa questioned sharply. It wasn't that she was cross or annoyed- she had no grounds to be, but she worried for her friend, as any good friend would.
So Adelaide told her. Everything, about their kiss, and how drunk they both were and the way they had talked for hours. Finally she concluded with how Sirius had had the nerve to tell her about some other girl he had shagged in the same place not two months ago.

Taking a deep breath, Adelaide found her head spinning as she finished the story, and she leaned back on the couch beside Melissa, who was staring at her expectantly.
"So? Then what did he do?"

"Nothing. I left. He wanted to explain but I wasn't listening to his bullshit. If he wants to treat me like some cheap prostitute he can, but I'm not going along with it. So I left him there. I don't know where he is now, and I really don't care."

There was a long silence. Adelaide looked at Melissa, at the ground, at Melissa, and down again. She waited for an answer, breathing quietly. Finally Melissa spoke, running a hand along her thighs and facing her friend with a long awaited sigh.
"Adelaide.."

"I just-"
"Okay shh, Addy."

Adelaide cringed at the horrific nickname.
"You got to talk already, now you came looking for my opinion, so do you want to hear it? Or will you get all defensive?"

"No. I won't get defensive. I want to hear what you have to say.."
Adelaide said, although she was nervous about the answer.

Melissa smiled at her. It was a warm smile, comforting, and although Adelaide knew some, or most of what her friend was going to say, she felt immediately reassured.

"You're overreacting."
Melissa said simply. Adelaide sighed and her body went limp as she fell back against the couch, sighing heavily.

"I mean it, Adelaide. Sirius didn't use you the way you might think he did. You said it yourself, you can't even remember how far you went! You were so drunk, Ad, you never know! He might have just put you in the bed and let you fall asleep. Just because other guys have been creeps over the years doesn't mean they're all like that."

It was true- Adelaide had had a series of bad relationships over the years, which sort of out her off them now. Sure she enjoyed the occasional snog or meaningless hook up with an attractive stranger, but when she thought back on fourth year and how she was then it made her cringe with how soppy she was.

Adelaide first boyfriend was a goofy muggle boy that lived near first home in London, but it had been a childish fling, considering they were eleven. Adelaide didn't consider it a proper relationship, and had no more involvement with boys until fourth year, when she had dated a boy from fifth year for eight steady months until she found he head cheating on her with a girl from his own year.

After that, Adelaide had found herself snogging a master list of different boys, many of them much older, and had had her heart broken one too many times. That was until finally, mid way through sixth year, Adelaide had simply accepted, with surprising ease, that she was just not cut out for relationships. She didn't want her heart broken; so she broke boys hearts instead.