The Pureblood Princess | Sirius Black

|41| Can't or won't?

Adelaide sat in the cold, rarely used sitting room on the east side of the manor. The air was still and stale from laying in disuse for so long, despite the thorough dusting it regularly received. Adelaide never did understand why they didn't use the room more often. It was quite pretty, and much more cheerful than some of the other rooms in the great building, with large windows that framed the outward facing walls flooding the room with light, reflecting off of the bright white of the walls and furniture.

The small girl twiddled her thumbs and charmed the two quills upon the table to tango with each other as a means to pass the time before her first lesson.

Honestly, she didn't even really see the need in a lesson like this from that creepy crazy man, but knew better than to go against her mother and father's wishes.

The week since the tense dinner with Riddle and the arrival of her best friend had been some of the best days she'd ever spent at her home. The two Gryffindors were practically attached at the hip. She suffered through him droning on about Quidditch, while he risked being bored to death as Adelaide went on and on about whatever book she had read recently. That isn't to say they didn't do things that they both enjoyed. During the day they would escape to the garden, planning pranks, practicing their flying, and chatting to their hearts content, then at night they often would sneak into the others room just to talk about whatever random musings that were on their minds.

Adelaide felt like it was almost too good to be true, and of course... it was.

Mr. Riddle entered the bright room looking rather out of place in his simple black suit. Adelaide hadn't noticed before, but his face was pale, much paler than her own, and his skin was waxy... almost reptilian.

"Good morning! Lovely to see you again so soon... you've had a good week I trust?" He said genially as he slithered into the room.

Adelaide forced a polite smile. "Yes, a very pleasant week, sir." She said, masking her near hatred for the man, both in her face and in her mind.

"Yes, your father tells me that you have been thoroughly enjoying your time with your new house guest. I am happy to hear you and Sirius have been getting on well... your mother tried to argue against it, but I thought you may enjoy having him around."

Adelaide felt her heart thumping a bit quicker, and with a bit more ferocity within her chest. "Excuse me?"

A wide reptilian smile stretched across Riddle's waxy face. "Ah, you see it was by my suggestion that Sirius come to visit with you." He informed her, taking amusement in her disgust. "I seem to remember you wanting to see him at the Gala earlier this summer..." he said casually, sitting in the bright white armchair across from her, blood red eyes challenging her.

Adelaide didn't care who he was, she was sick of him and she was sick of his games and refused to play along anymore.

"You mean when you poked around in my head without permission." She spat, forest green eyes matching his intensity.

Riddle's face turned cold and dangerous for a moment as he leaned forward, gripping the arm of the chair in which he was sitting tightly, clenching his jaw. He bowed his head, closing his eyes for a moment to take a deep steadying breath, then looked up again with a twisted smile full of malice. "I suppose we both have some issues with minding our manners." He said tightly, giving her a pointed look.

"Why are you really here? What is it that you want?" She asked emotionlessly, picture perfect posture, face never reflecting the almost electric sense of fear rushing through her veins, nor the aura of unease she felt by just being near the man.

"Adelaide. You are a perceptive girl. I will not insult your intelligence by lying to you." He said leaning back in the armchair. "You possess a great many gifts. Gifts that I believe would be best served for purposes greater than yourself."