Light in the Darkness

Chapter 3

Adelaide's eyes grew heavy. The eventful train ride took a lot out of her and she was ready to curl up in the Slytherin Common Room and read a Book. She forced herself to look awake and confident as she entered the Great Hall with her Friends.

Her eyes glittered as she gazed at the floating candles and the warm, chatty Hall. She especially adored the vibrance of the place and she immediately settled in, feeling at home. 

Sandwiched in between her two brothers, she received an occasional stare, but thankfully most of the attention was diverted towards Draco who was featured a few times in the Daily Prophet over the summer for being in one of the richest Wizarding families in the world. 

Her eyes scanned over the room. The Ravenclaw table consisted of students who were mostly reserved, if they weren't buried in a book, they were talking about their upcoming classes. The Hufflepuff table was cheerful and alive like always, many of them soaking up the atmosphere around them and enjoying the company of their friends who they had yet to see since last school year. She dared to look at the Gryffindor Table, hoping her brothers didn't notice. They were a boisterous group, making up most of the noise in the Hall, but this didn't bother Adelaide. She smiled at how joyful and confident they were. With her staring, she was bound to make unwanted eye contact with someone and that someone was a tall, skinny Weasley who had a mirror image sitting next to him. Adelaide quickly looked away, blushing at being caught. 

She made her way over finally to the Slytherin table, guiding her brothers purposefully towards a part of the table that would allow the Gryffindor twin to see her. She wasn't completely non-Slytherin in nature, she was extremely cunning and able to get what she wanted. 

The chatting died down as Albus Dumbledore began speaking. My brothers rolled their eyes at the wizard who was deeply despised by the Burke Family. There was something about him that didn't sit well with Adelaide, but she wasn't sure if her reservation towards the man was due to her upbringing. 

Draco, ignoring the old wizard's long winded speech, turned around and hissed over towards the Gryffindor table. "Psst..Potter!"  The Golden Trio turned around, their faces dropping at the sight of their favorite Slytherin. "Is it true you fainted? Like, actually fainted?" the Slytherins who listened in on the conversation sniggered as Potter's face turned bright red. The bushy haired girl, who Adelaide knew to be a muggle-born, grabbed Harry's shoulder and whipped him around. The Gryffindors whispered consolations and patted Harry on the shoulder. Adelaide couldn't help but feel sorry for him. It wasn't his fault the dementors attacked him, as close as she was to Draco, her stomach twisted in anger for him using her information to bully Potter. 

Once Dumbledore finished his little speech, the food appeared on the table and the life flowed back into the Great Hall. She was grateful that her brothers used proper table manners in public and didn't eat the way they did at home. She scooped some mashed potatoes onto her plate and sheepishly began eating them. 

Her friends chatted about their classes they all shared and Adelaide slowly withdrew herself, her mind wandering elsewhere. She peaked into the corner of her eye to catch a glimpse of the tall ginger boy she made eye contact with earlier. She also secretly envied the family. They didn't care about blood purity and for the most part got along with everyone, excluding the Slytherins who despised the poor ginger family. There was nothing she wanted more than to be their friends, but she knew if she tried her family wouldn't approve and worse, her brother might release his rage on them. 

She snapped back into reality and glumly ate her food, trying to look as happy as possible. 

"Addie, you're awfully quiet. Is something the matter?" her brother Perseus whispered into her ear, careful not to draw attention. Perseus would go out of his way at times to embarrass her, but would also go out of his way to protect her from unwanted attention. She looked up at her brother who had a genuine worried look on his face, "Yeah, I think I'm just tired. The train ride was quite stressful." satisfied with her response he brought his voice to full volume to continue their conversation, "It was insane! I can't believe these babbling idiots in the Ministry use Dementors when they can't even control them! Someone could've died!" At that, Perseus aggressively stabbed his chicken, shoving it in his mouth. Speaking with his mouth half-stuffed, he managed to say "I'm definitely owling Mum about it, she'll give 'em hell." 

The thought of her mother being informed that Dementors were guarding Hogwarts to protect them from Sirius Black made her skin crawl. This was another subject matter that troubled Adelaide greatly. They never spoke much about their uncle and now that he escaped Azkaban, the Burkes were nervous as to what his intentions were.

 Adelaide nervously looked around to make sure no one was listening in, she tugged on Philip's robe getting his attention. He looked down at her and waited for her to say something. She nervously leaned closer and asked, "Do you think Uncle will try to find us?" Philip's expression turned grim and he clenched his jaw looking around the room. "I honestly don't know Addie. I wouldn't worry yourself over it too much, while there may be idiots running the place, Hogwarts is about as safe as it can get." He turned his head and continued eating, listening in on the conversation his friends were having. 

Adelaide sighed. This response didn't calm her nerves. However, she perked up when the table changed to the dessert display. She helped herself to large portions of mint chocolate ice cream and slowly forgot the fears that rested in the back of her mind. Draco wrinkled his nose, "You and that mint ice cream I will never understand." She laughed, shoving him in the shoulder and taking another spoonful. 

All the while, the Weasley twin was gazing at the beautiful girl who had previously caught his eye.