Chapter 4
Ada cried herself to sleep after probably an hour, going limp from exhaustion. Her eyes were still red rimmed and puffy and tear tracks clearly stained her cheeks when the Ravenclaws came in four hours after they initially left. They almost felt sorry for waking her up. Almost.
“Adaaaa,” Isobel said and leaned over to tap a finger against the pacifier. “Wake up baby, nap time is over. It's time to go back to the dorms. We’ve got a meeting to attend.”
Ada’s eyes slowly fluttered open and she looked around confused for a moment before her eyes narrowed and snapped to Isobel’s face. She still couldn’t say anything with the pacifier in her mouth but she communicated all of her anger through her gaze.
“Not nice baby,” Isobel said and flicked her cheek before stepping aside to let Michael pick the girl up.
“Here’s what's going to happen. We’re nice enough to let you have big girl clothes back but at a price. If you don’t want to go out looking like the baby you are, two things are going to happen. First, tonight for dinner, you're going to sit with us and eat what we give you at the table. Two, after dinner you’re going to come with us and we’ll feed you another bottle and help you get all cozy and ready for bed.”
The older Ravenclaw’s words really didn’t leave any room for argument and so with only slight hesitation, Ada nodded. Isobel smiled and cast the counter charm for Ada’s blanket and then retransfigured her sleeper back into her school robes. Michael set the girl down on her feet and she straightened her uniform. With a glare Ada pointed to her pacifier and waited for someone to take away the sticking charm. Isobel did and summoned it before Ada could spit the thing derisively on the floor.
“Rude baby, just for that you get to hold Michael’s hand until we get back to our dorm. Now march.” Terri said and pointed to the door as Michael grabbed her small hand. Isobel smacked her lightly on the bum as she passed by and Ada jumped, nearly jerking out of Michael’s grip. She was flanked on one side by Michael and on the other by Terri with Isobel leading the way. Ada imagined it was like being surrounded by sharks.
When Michael finally let go of Ada’s hand she nearly sighed in relief. They entered the common room and it was buzzing with conversation, a rare occurrence for the house. Ada started to head off to a corner but Isobel caught her elbow.
“Don’t forget what your punishment is.” she said and Ada’s face fell as she remembered she’d have to stay with the group.
When they sat down Ada was once again trapped between the boys and Isobel sat directly behind her. The room fell quiet as Flitwick stood on a chair and waved to get their attention.
“Are all, seventh, and eighth years here?” he asked as he did a quick head count.
Satisfied that they were all in fact present he started.
“As some of you may know, we have decided to do something a little bit different this year with rooming. It has taken some time to put together but now we are ready. We decided we would ease into it so my lovely Ravenclaw’s, you are with the Slytherins. Your new quarters will be in the west tower on the seventh and eighth floors. You’ve been split into two groups. Look at this to find your groups as well as your rooms.”
Flitwick distributed a pile of papers out to his students and waited as they quietly read them. Ada was almost too afraid to look at who her group would be. She scanned it quickly and was relieved to see that Terry wasn't in her group. Michael and Isobela were, however, as was Anthony Goldstein. The Slytherins in her group were Draco, Blaise Zabini, Tracey Davis, Theoadore Nott, Pansy Parkinson, and Daphne Greengrass. She groaned inwardly and closed her eyes for a moment before reading the rest.
They were on the eighth floor. Their floor had a common room and off of that shot five rooms, two students to a room. They’d find out their pairings when they got to their new house. The schedule for the next two days was also outlined. There would be different small group times to get to know one another better and all meals would be taken together in the common room “to promote and encourage new friendships and alliances being created.” Ada thought it was all rubbish but like a lot of things in her life now, there was nothing to be done but survive it. As everyone started to talk again Flitwick asked for their attention once more.
“Now that you have figured out where you will be, I suggest you start packing. You will eat dinner tonight with your new housemates.”
Everyone started to get up and head up to their rooms, discussing arrangements with their friends. Ada stood up as well, once Michael and Terry had. She looked at them uncertainly, wondering if as part of her ‘punishment’ she would be allowed to go pack up on her own. She turned around and looked at Isobel who gave her a little showing motion and Ada sighed in relief before heading up the stairs to her room.
She didn’t have much to pack since she always kept her clothes in her chest anyways but she slowly went around and collected all the little things. Her books were all neatly piled next to the chest and she was starting to empty her desk when she heard a knock on her door.
“Who is it?” she asked warily.
“It’s Michael. I’m coming in.” He replied as he pushed open her door.
“What is it that you want?”
“I’m done packing so I came to help you. The sooner we get moved in the better.”
“Why? So you can go back to humiliating and tormenting you?” Ada asked sarcastically, turning her back on him to finish cleaning out her desk.
“Watch your tone with me. What do you have left?”
Ada rolled her eyes, feeling a lot more brave now that she was in her own room, her own territory. She didn’t want to push it however so she just gestured to her nightstand.
“I’ve got my desk but you can put everything on top of that in the chest. If you really want you can put the books in too.”
She went back to gathering all the loose parchment from her desk and organizing it into stacks and Michael started on the nightstand. More Parchment and books covered it but two pieces of parchment caught his eye. He picked up the heavy blue paper and scanned the first few lines before looking at Ada in shock. He quickly read the rest of the letter from Ada’s parents before pocketing it. With a quick Wingardium Leviosa everything on the nightstand was in the chest. He did it again and the books fell in too.
Ada finished with her desk and walked over with neat stacks of parchment which she put on top before closing the trunk with a sigh. She quickly scanned the room and didn’t see anything else so she faced Michael with a sigh.
“I suppose that's all then?”
“Yeah, The houselves will send it over as we walk to the tower. Isobel said to meet her by the bottom of the stairs.”
Ada followed Michael out of her room and looked back with longing. Things were about to become a whole lot more difficult for her. Now she didn't even get the blissful solitude of her room. She really hoped she didn’t end up rooming with Isobel.
The aforementioned girl was already waiting for them impatiently when they got down the stairs. Without saying anything she led the way out of the Ravenclaw house and to their new house for the rest of the year. Michael and Isobel flanked Ada and to any onlooker it would have looked as if they were merely protective of the smaller girl. Ada, though, felt the opposite of protected. Her guard was up and she warily looked between the two. No one said anything the entire way up to the west tower. When they got to the eighth floor, Headmistress McGonagal was waiting to greet them.
“Welcome students, this will be your new home. The password for now is Home but tomorrow you all will decide on a new one. Go in, and get yourselves settled. Dinner will be at 6:30 so you have free time until then!”
They approached the wall she was standing in front of and watched as she put her hand on it and said the password. A section of it swung open and they all stepped through into their new common room.
It was decorated in soft shades of blue and green that Ada immediately liked. A couple of couches and plush armchairs were scattered about the room and cushions and blankets were everywhere. She went to find which room was hers and was relieved to see that she was not rooming with Isobel but Pansy Parkinson. She couldn’t be any worse than Isobel. She knocked tentatively on the door and was surprised when it opened to reveal Draco. Ada stepped back surprised but Draco just pulled her into the room. Blaise was stretched out along one bed and Pansy was busy putting her clothes into one of the two wardrobes in the room. She looked up as Ada came in and smiled slightly.
“Hi Ada, your trunk is already at the end of the bed Blasie is on. I hope that you’re okay that I chose this one.”
“Yeah, it's fine.” Ada said quietly.
Blaise got up and moved to Pansy’s bed. Draco sat down with him and Ada tried not to be unnerved as they watched her unpack. She was grateful there was a desk for her and she busied herself with reorganizing the parchment the way it had been on her other desk. Then she stacked her books along the bottom of her wardrobe and hung her school robes on the top. That reminded her that she was still wearing yesterday’s clothes and she flushed as she looked down at her rumpled robes.
Draco picked up on this and with a wave of his wand, he summoned a pair of jeans and a t-shirt from her trunk and put them on her bed. She shot him a look of pure annoyance and he shrugged. Blaise who had watched all of this smirked at Draco when Ada turned her back. When she finished unpacking, it really didn’t take long at all, she sat on her bed unsure of what to do next. She did need to change but Blaise and Draco were still there. Pansy was almost done but still engrossed in organizing her clothes so Ada summoned one of her favorite books and tucked herself up on her bed and started to read.
The room was silent for a while until Pansy finished unpacking and organizing. Then she looked at the two boys lounging on her bed and cracked Draco over the head with a roll of parchment.
“Get out you two, let us change for heaven's sake!”
Draco and Blaise lazily sauntered out and Draco threw a wink at Ada before closing the door behind them.
“Bloody idiots.” Pansy said affectionately.
Ada threw her a dubious look but was glad for the opportunity to change. She quickly shed her robes and climbed into the clothes Draco had picked. She had to admit that he knew her somewhat well for it was her favorite t-shirt and pair of jeans, both soft with wear.
“Are you excited for Christmas break?” Pansy asked, startling Ada from her thoughts.
Ada just shrugged. She’d be spending it at Hogwarts but wasn't particularly looking forward to anything. Except maybe getting all her belongings. It would be nice to have some books from home again. She started as someone knocked sharply on the door and Pansy gave her an odd look before opening the door. Blaise was lounging against the door and came in without asking for permission before flopping down on Pansy’s bed again.
“Move over you big oaf,” Pansy said as she pushed his legs off the side of the bed. “I need a place to sit too.”
Blaise grudgingly moved his legs so Pansy could get situated before putting them back on top of her. Ada had moved back to her own bed and had once more squeezed herself into the corner of her bed and was reading, trying to escape her world somewhat.
“Where’s Draco?” Pansy asked Blaise after a while, keeping an eye on the Ravenclaw across from her to gauge if she was really listening or not.
“He said he needed to take care of something. He should be back in less than an hour.”
Ada was very clearly engrossed in her book and Pansy relaxed.
“It's strange that they had us move in a week from Christmas break. Thought they would have waited until after the break.” Pansy observed.
“Probably wanted us to get used to it now rather than taking time out of the new semester. Do you have a tea kettle?”
“Do I look like I would?” Pansy responded derisively.
Blasie gave her a pointed look and she sighed.
“Give me a second,” she sighed. “Ada, would you like tea as well?”
“Hmm?” Ada looked up confused.
“Do you want tea?” Blaise asked before Pansy could.
“Um sure.” she said before going back to her book.
Blaise watched her for a second, using the moment to catalogue her body language and facial expression. She looked tense but not in an anxious way. More in an anticipatory kinda way. It must have been a good book.
Pansy activated the charm on the kettle to boil the water and summoned three mugs from her trunk. She sat back down on the edge of her bed to wait for it to boil and sighed. It seemed her new roommate was a total introvert and recluse. Oh well, it could have been worse she supposed. She could have ended up with Daphne again. That girl annoyed her beyond belief. After about ten minutes the kettle started to whistle and she jumped up. She poured her own water and then gestured to the other two. She never presumed enough to make someone elses tea, she herself was very particular so she wanted to give others a chance to prepare theirs as they liked.
Blaise stood up and quickly poured his mug as Ada came over, still reading her book. She did put it down long enough to take the kettle and start pouring her own mug. She slowly and carefully poured it out, it was still boiling slightly and she didn’t want to spill. She was about finished when Draco flung the door open startling her into dropping the kettle. She reflexively reached out to catch it, and catch it she did. She managed to grab the side and yelped as it burned her hand. She dropped it again and the boiling water spilled over both her hands as she jumped back. Blaise and Pansy had both jumped to their feet but were unable to do anything but watch the train wreck in front of them and Draco stood stupidly in the doorway.
Ada bit back a near scream at the pain of her hands and sank down, clutching them to her chest. She felt tears start to slide down her face and she desperately tried not to sob. Blaise was oddly enough the first one to react. He knelt down beside her and grabbed her arms to pull her hands away from her chest. They were red and angry, already starting to blister.
“Draco, find me a wet cold towel.” he instructed before turning back to Ada. “I’m going to take you to the hospital wing as soon as he’s back, okay?”
Ada shook her hard vehemently despite almost hyperventilating as she tried not to cry.
“You don’t want to go to the hospital wing?” Blaise asked incredulously.
She shook her head again and Blaise frowned.
“Do you want me to have Madame Pomfrey come here?”
“No, I’ll be fine.” she choked out and Blaise raised an eyebrow.
Draco came back with a wet hand towel that he’d cast a slight freezing spell on and handed it to Blaise. He put it on Ada’s hands and then turned to ask Pansy for a pain killing potion. She already had it out and handed it to him. Ada let him pour it into her mouth and she swallowed it without even a grimace. Tears were still flowing down her cheeks and she was hunched over her hands.
“I’ll be right back with stuff for that.” Blaise quickly strode out of the room.
Draco knelt down next to Ada and hugged her before pulling her onto his lap. Her head was tucked under his chin and he smoothed her hair as she cried.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you and I definitely didn’t mean to hurt you. Please, will you forgive me?” He asked gently, rocking her slightly.
She nodded but didn’t speak. She was still silently crying and Draco felt uncharacteristically guilty. He was surprised though, that she had let him pull her onto his lap like this. By the time Blaise came back, Ada’s tears had slowed somewhat, though they still ran down her cheeks. He didn’t bat an eye at her on Draco’s lap, he just sat down across from her. He had a couple rolls of gauze as well as ointment for the burns. He’d also brought her a glass of water that he helped her drink before they did anything else.
Using a little square of gauze he’d cut off, Blaise dipped it into the ointment and then held one of Ada's wrists so he could see her hand. He felt her tense in preparation as he started to apply the ointment to the burned flesh. She reflexively jerked her hand back but Blaise had a firm grip and she didn’t go anywhere. She winced with every touch but was pretty tough, all things considered. As Blasie gently wrapped the one hand in gauze she tiredly leaned back into Draco. Blaise did raise an eyebrow at this but said nothing.
Blaise knew that Draco had sort of adopted the girl already but had been very dubious as to if things would actually work the way Draco thought they would. She was very feisty and independent. After this, however, things may actually end up the way he said. If she was subconsciously latching onto Draco then chances were she may consciously do so as well.
He let her take the one hand back and gently took the other one. This one was much worse than the other, it was probably the one she had used to catch the kettle before dropping it again. He used significantly more of the ointment with this one than with the other and made sure to pad it a bit more with gauze too.She still had her fingers free, thankfully, since the worst of the burns were on her palms.
“You’re sure you don’t want to see Madame Pomfrey?” Blaise asked again.
Ada nodded tiredly and closed her eyes. They all sat like that for a moment before Pansy cleared her throat.
“So Draco, how come you came bursting in here like that anyways?” she asked.
“Oh yeah, I convinced Professor McGonagal to let us off early for Christmas. Basically we don’t have to go to classes if we’re here, and if we have parental permission, we get to ride home on Monday instead of Friday.”
“How’d you manage that?” Blaise asked incredulously.
“I can’t reveal all my secrets now, can I? Anyways, I wanted to invite you over for the break, Blaise. I also got permission from McGonagall to bring Ada since there are some… interesting circumstances surrounding her.”
“What do you mean ‘interesting circumstances’?” Ada asked, her voice laced with something they couldn’t quite figure out. She sat up and pushed away from Draco, wincing slightly. He let her move away and pulled a pair of folded papers from his pocket. Blaise and Pansy watched her face blanch before it clouded with anger.
“
Where did you get those?” her voice was low and threatening, taking all present by surprise.
“Michael gave them to me, said he found them on your nightstand.” Draco said, watching her carefully.
She cursed and stood up. She was pissed and the three Slytherins didn’t want to get in her way. After the physical pain she had just endured they knew she was on a short fuse about to blow.
Draco got up and followed a safe distance behind her as she carefully picked up her book from where she had dropped it earlier then marched out the door and straight over to the open door to Michael’s room. Without preamble she chucked the book at Michael who was on his bed (thankfully it was a paperback and not one of her hardcover textbooks) and stood there almost shaking in anger.
“Don’t you ever go through and take my personal things again! I’m not just some poor, meek, little child for you to mess with for your own pleasure and amusement. I am a human being with human feelings and I swear if you ever do that again I’m going to hex you into next week!” She yelled, unaware or maybe uncaring of the small crowd gathering.
She stooped down and picked up her book before using it to slap him across the face. Draco saw her wince but he doubted anyone else would notice. Then she marched back out, elbowing Draco rather hard in the ribs as she passed him and went back into her room. She slammed the door in front of an alarmed Pansy and Blaise.
Everyone just stood there in shock for a moment. Michael especially didn’t know what to do. He was touching his face where she’d slapped him and looking at Draco very confused and maybe in a bit of awe. Draco got the feeling that if her hands hadn’t been burned Michael would have a handprint on his cheek right now.