House of Black

Chapter 5
He watched her expression change in the light of the lamp above the table. The nervousness left her silvery blue eyes to be replaced with a more guarded appearance. She was silent, watching him as he took another step closer to her. He wanted to stay in his spot but he found somehow compelled towards her.

Her fingers traced the top of the glass of water on the table without her knowledge it seemed.

He brought his gaze back up to her face.

By her reaction he knew he had hit something correctly.

She looked like a Black. With her midnight silky hair and perfectly chiselled face. She had the same eyes as he remembered Sirius to have from Snape\'s memory all those years ago. Before Azkaban changed him. Her hair falling messy, but in a way that made it seem like it was suppose to be like that... perfect looking... but slightly coldly so.

However, unlike the other Black women, Adhara held something that made her seem easy to open up to. Easy to talk to and get along with. Perhaps she was a trickster like Sirius. Whatever it was, her cold looks were ruled out by it.

She suddenly took a deep breath and spoke for the first time in what seemed like hours. \"Sirius Black is... was my father.\" She seemed to be studying him now and he suddenly felt slightly exposed.

He didn\'t move from his spot, already suddenly very aware of how close he was to her. \"He never told me he had a daughter. Nobody did.\"

She was silent again, than looked down at her hand, still tracing the rim of her glass. \"Because he didn\'t know I existed.\"

He suddenly felt an urge to reach out and touch her.

And he was doing it before he knew what was happening.

His hand met with her silky tresses, brushing past her temple gently, her hair flowing through and across his fingers like water. He watched himself doing it, entranced. He was barely registering the fact she was staring at him, her beautiful eyes wide and surprised, her mouth slightly open. She was standing rigidly still.
He felt like he was drunk... or dreaming. One or the other.

He willed himself to leave the situation.

\"Goodnight.\" His voice came out without him asking it to and he moved smoothly past her, letting her hair fall back against her slender shoulders.

Without looking back he pushed the kitchen door open and headed upstairs to an early sleep. He didn\'t want to spend the night there... but Mrs. Weasley seemed so happy to have him there. He didn\'t want to upset anyone.

And he felt himself looking forward to seeing her in the morning.
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Hermione was looking at Adhara\'s face over the other girls shoulder in the mirror. Mrs. Weasley had set them up in Ginny\'s old room, and everything seemed the exact same as when Hermione stayed over for summer all those years ago.

Adhara was frowning at her reflection well Hermione patiently pulled the girl\'s hair off her shoulders, bunching the silky strands in her hand before separating them into three sections. The curly haired women insisted on braiding the other women\'s fine dark hair. \"I\'m not surprised he noticed the resemblance. Harry\'s become more and more perceptive of things around him since school.\" She pursed her lips and moved some fly away hairs into position. \"You have such nice hair...\" She added offhandedly.

Adhara sighed. \"I have to admit I was hoping he would guess.\"

Hermione grinned. \"Well... since you\'ve met the great Harry Potter finally, what\'s your opinion of him?\"

She continued to frown, but a small blush was rising to her cheeks. \"He\'s... slightly different than I thought he\'d be.\"

\"Oh?\" Hermione groped around on the bed for the hair elastic she put down. \"How so?\"

\"He\'s... a lot darker.\" She admitted uncertainly. \"Not that I mind that.\"

Hermione tied the girls hair into it\'s finished work and sat back, letting Adhara turn to face her. \"Harry has been through a lot. More than someone his age should have.\"

Adhara nodded. \"There was something else that happened in the kitchen.\" Hermione\'s expression changed from sadness to one of curiosity. \"He... ran his hand through my hair.\" She mimicked the same action unconsciously, her eyebrows furrowed in thought.

Hermione\'s eyebrows almost reached her hairline. \"He touched you?\" Her voice was almost thrill, mixed with excitement and surprise. \"Friendly-like, or...\"

\"I think the alternative.\" She felt herself blushing again. \"I\'m not sure if he even knew what he was doing.\"

Hermione pursed her lips together. \"That\'s not like Harry. He\'s normally really shy.\"

\"It\'s not like he kissed me or anything.\"

Hermione smiled. \"No... I suppose not. And I should be happy, not surprised. We\'ve been trying to get him together with someone for a while now.\"

Adhara fell silent, not sure what to say to that. She felt a bit odd and uncomfortable sitting in this room talking about Harry possibly liking her. This was his last girlfriend... and possibly love of his life\'s room. She shifted on the bed and pulled the nighty Hermione lent her down around her knees more.

\"Unless...\" Hermione stood and went to the mirror, seeming to begin a round of pacing. She looked to the door uncertainly before continuing. \"He could be seeing you as a connection to Sirius.\"

\"He could be.\" Adhara sighed, knowing it to be true.

\"Harry\'s been missing Sirius badly lately... he might look to you for that comfort. You are now the closest thing he has to Sirius. Besides Remus.\"

To tell the truth, she wasn\'t sure what to think about that. On the good hand, Harry would be talking to her more... maybe getting to know her and she could hear more about her father and himself in turn. On the other hand... he might not like her for herself. She wasn\'t sure whether to feel slightly used or happy.

But remembering back to his light touch... how her temple seemed to burn from his fingertips and the dizzy, light-headed feeling she took on; the look he had on his face... She realized she could careless if he was just using her for that purpose.

She suddenly felt highly motivated in having him for herself.

It had been a few years now since Ginny was killed right? They were young... and it really wasn\'t his fault it happened.

Perhaps he was just waiting for the right person to come along?

After all... she had seen a flicker of lust behind his fascination in the kitchen. She had seen it in others before, and like always, it excited her.
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\"Hold on, I have to stop by the post for a second. Pig hasn\'t got back from sending that letter yet and \'Mione wants this to her parents right away.\" Ron produced a letter from his cloak and held it up for Harry to see.

However, the bespectacled man didn\'t much care what he was being shown at the moment. A very cold winter chill was rushing through Diagon Alley, and he turned the collar of his black coat against the whipping snow.
\"All right. I\'m freezing my ass off though.\" He pointed down the street towards the brightly decorated window display of \"Weasley\'s Wizarding Wheezes.\" \"I\'ll meet you at the shop.\"

Ron nodded and, pulling his collar up a little harder and clutching the roll of parchment for dear life, strode into the post office.

Harry felt a certain amount of relief, as well as warmth as he stepped into the vibrant shop of Fred and George. It was crowded with early Christmas shoppers, but Harry was unable to see the twins in the crowd.

Figuring they must be around back, he wedged himself around a fat, balding man and a skinny women, trying to get behind the front counter. However, his path was blocked by a young women who was speaking to a middle aged man who was practically drooling all over himself.

\"So, will this be all for you?\" The young women\'s voice was cheerful, almost manipulative however in tone, and... slightly familiar.

He blinked and stepped out of the man\'s way as he blundered over to the counter, depositing a large number of Fred and George\'s creations onto the desk, and watched as Adhara Black pressed the buttons on the old cash register, reciting the price owed with obvious pleasure.

When the man stumbled away, carrying his purchases in a magenta fabric bag, he stepped around the counter and next to her.

She spoke without looking up at him, her nearly mystical silvery blue eyes sweeping around the shop, obviously looking for the next poor male to fall under her trap. \"Fred and George are out, but Hermione\'s in the back.\"
\"Erm... right.\" He moved away from her, twitching the curtain aside that led to the back storage room and strolled in behind her.

Hermione was perched on a stool on one side of the shop, scratching something down on parchment well consulting something on the small table in front of her. She looked up when he entered.
\"Where\'s Ron?\"

\"Mailing that letter you asked him to.\" He walked further into the room, still feeling slightly disorientated by what happened in the front of the shop.

\"It\'s about time. I asked him to mail that at the beginning of the week. He was insisted that Pig deliver it. Says it boosts his confidence.\" She scratched something out on her parchment. \"My parents love Pig actually. But I suppose he gave in to the post owls?\"

Harry nodded. \"Erm...\" He jerked his thumb up over his shoulder, mentioning to the room behind the curtain as she looked up, a look of confusion on his face, \"Since when does Adhara work for Fred and George?\"

Hermione grinned secretly. \"She officially started two days ago. Fred and George talked to her about it at dinner last week before you arrived.\" She scratched something out again on her parchment, than looked back up at him. \"She\'s really good... our sales went up quite a lot over the past few days.\"

He felt the urge to say that the reason for that was because the beautiful women pried on unsuspecting males... but than again they probably knew that. It was probably the reason they hired her.
He sighed and sat down on a box next to her.

It was strange to see Adhara again. The last time he had seen her was the morning after their... encounter... in the kitchen. He watched her across the table as Mrs. Weasley fussed over them all eating a proper breakfast before heading out. But when she turned to meet his gaze he had refused to give it. But he knew that both Hermione and Ron had been talking with her since than, and \'Mione even went out for coffee one time with the other women. He had been invited on that occasion, but desperately thought of an excuse to get out of it. In the end he had just gone to the office to pass the time.

He was finding it very difficult to resist her when in her presence.

Maybe all of his best friend\'s pressure to find a girlfriend was starting to finally get to him?

He heard laughing coming from the front, and he realized that the twins must be back, he eased himself up from the box expecting one of them to stroll out any second, but, to his surprise and embarrassment it was Adhara who pushed the curtain aside and strolled back.

He noticed what she was wearing for the first time. Unlike the other female employees of Fred and George in the past, she didn\'t seem to have to wear a uniform. She was dressed in a knee length black business like skirt with white long sleeved top that showed quite a bit of cleavage.

She smiled sweetly when she saw Harry and he looked away, realizing he was probably staring at her for far longer than necessary.

However, looking away meant meeting Hermione\'s eye and... she was looking quite pleased with herself.
\"How\'s it going out there?\" Hermione asked, turning her gaze away from Harry\'s.

Adhara shrugged and walked over to the small table. By the angle Harry was looking he was able to see her fine legs move her gracefully across the floor, her heels tapping against the stone. She stopped in front of Harry, smiled at him again than bent to pick up the paper Hermione was consulting. \"Wedding stuff?\"

Hermione shook her head. \"Not this time. This is study things.\"

After much thought, Hermione finally decided that she wanted to be an auror. She had already been asked to take the open teaching job as DADA, but she had turned it down, mainly for the only reason that she wanted to experience things first. Perhaps some day she would take the job, but not when she had a wedding and family to plan. An auror wasn\'t her second choice, but she figured, since she\'s been through just as much as Harry and Ron that she\'d give it a shot.

Adhara placed the parchment back on the table and turned to Harry. \"What brings you here?\" His voice was breezy, much different from the tone she had just used with Hermione and it caught him off guard.

\"Ron needed to talk to Hermione and I trailed along.\"

She smiled again, and for some reason he felt suddenly very wary. His heart felt like it was doing weird things and he was suddenly very conscious to how he was standing. He sat down again, feeling extremely stiff.

But she seemed to be able to feel his tension, for she did not look away, only let her smile increase, her eyes flickering with something. He wasn\'t sure if he wanted to know what was going through her head. But something about that grin reminded him of Sirius.

He felt himself speaking. \"Do you like working here?\"

She nodded, \"It\'s a lot funnier than my last job at a deli. Plus I need the money.\"

He nodded, feeling quite stupid.

\"Adhara is looking for a flat to stay in.\" He didn\'t need to look at Hermione to tell she was smirking. The satisfaction was in her voice. \"You have an extra room Harry.\"

Now he did look at her. Or rather, glared at her. She simply shrugged her shoulders innocently and went back to writing whatever it was she was doing.

\"Oh no, I wouldn\'t want to invade Harry\'s space either.\"

He had to actually fight himself not to tell her it was fine with him.

If he was acting this badly around her now, how would he act if she lived with him?

But saying nothing at all was rude.

\"If you don\'t find anything you could stay in my extra room.\"

Damn. He felt caught now. She was smiling at him again.

\"Thank you.\"

He nodded, once again feeling extremely stupid doing so.

What the hell was taking Ron so long?
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AN: I realized how long this chapter was getting so I had to stop ^^;
Next chapter will be up soon.
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