Love Gone Mad

Narcissa, Draco, and Adara apparated inside the Leaky Cauldron. The thick stench of alcohol filled Adara's senses and gifted her with the feeling of nausea in the pit of her stomach. The trio quickly disappeared through the back door and were greeted with the sight of witches and wizards zooming by, all with hopes of fulfilling their day's agenda with haste.

"Draco," Narcissa spoke, breaking the silence between them. "Where must we go first?" she questioned while watching her son pull a crumbled piece of parchment from his jean pocket.

"Flourish and Blotts," Draco responded while scanning over the list, "And Madam Malkins," he continued and stuffed the parchment back in his pocket.

Narcissa nodded, turned on heels, and headed in the direction of their first destination.

Adara walked by Draco’s side, listening to his complaints about the wretched witches and wizards crowding the streets. Adara smirked at Draco's remark and began to daze off into thoughts of what her sixth year at Hogwarts would have in store. Due to her lack of observance, Adara ran into someone passing by on the street.

"Watch where you are going, you bloody filth" Adara spat, her anger boiling over every word she spoke.

"Who do you think yo--" Draco began to affront before he was cut off by the sound of ear splitting squeals of delight.

"Oh, Rachelle, I did not know it was you," Adara expressed, and then pulled her dear friend into a hug.

"Please, forgive me" she requested while hugging Rachelle tighter.

"Adara," Rachelle giggled, "I am losing the feeling in my limbs." Rachelle felt Adara's grip loosen and she backed away smiling.

"It is not your fault; I should have known not to walk backwards on a busy street." Rachelle continued while laughing at herself.

"Rachelle," Draco smirked as he approached the starry-eyed lady, "It's been too long," he continued with a wink. Rachelle blushed and agreed with his comment.

"Would you like to join us today, Rachelle? We are shopping for Hogwarts," Adara interrupted, desperately wanting to end the scene in front of her.

"Yes," Rachelle answered quickly, averting her gaze from Draco. Draco smirked again and stuck his hands in his pockets. Adara smiled brightly and locked arms with her friend.

The group headed into the musky bookstore, soon to be approached by a peculiar, elderly women.

"Hello. My name is Moira,what can I help you with today?" the old women asked, revealing her Irish accent as she spoke.

Narcissa smiled awkwardly at the Moira, the woman's crooked smile and dull, ratted hair repulsed her.

"Draco," Narcissa hissed, nudging him in the side, as a signal to hand Moira their list of required supplies.

Moira skimmed over the list and slowly hobbled over to a towering bookshelf labeled, Potions.

Adara paid no attention to the books being handed her, she was too caught up in the stories Rachelle was telling her and Draco.

"But the highlight of my summer was when my nephew, Hanson, released pack of garden gnomes in grandmother's garden," Rachelle chirped and smiled to herself, replaying the scene in her head. "And you know how pesky those are," Rachelle said with a laugh.

"Grandmother had a fit and forced us to catch the gnomes," Rachelle rolled her blue-gray eyes and shrugged. "However," she continued, "It was worth it. I love seeing that old hag angry. It warms me ole heart," Rachelle spoke proudly while pressing her hand against her heart. Draco and Adara laughed at their quirky friend.

"I do believe that is the all of them, Mrs. Malfoy" Moira breathed, while placing the last of the school books atop of the pile.

Narcissa paid for the workbooks and they headed next door to Madame Malkin's in search of new dress robes. An hour later, Adara, Draco, and Rachelle exited the store with shopping bags at hand; Narcissa followed close behind.

"Well, well, look who it is," Draco said coldly. He approached a group of redheads, watching them turn their heads toward the sound of his voice.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" one of the fiery haired boys asked.

Adara could sense his frustration as she glared at their familiar faces.

"You should watch your tone, Ronald," Draco sneered while narrowing his eyes and stepping closer, "and show some respect." he threatened. Adara and Rachelle both snickered.

“Respect? You must be bloody joking,” Ron Weasley continued and his siblings nodded in agreement.

After hearing his words, Draco grabbed Ron by the collar; before Draco would speak he was pushed off by one of Ron’s brothers.

“Back off, Draco, we don’t want any trouble,” Fred Weasley said calmly and stepping in front of Ron. His twin brother, George, doing the same.

Adara could feel their piercing glares at her as well.

“Come, Draco,” Narcissa beckoned, raising an eyebrow at her son as he turned and faced her.

“We’ll continue this later,” Draco muttered under his breath and walked over toward his mother.

“Filthy muggle lovers,” Adara growled before following the lead of her cousin.

“Rachelle,” Narcissa said smoothly, “Would you like to stay for the next two weeks? I am sure Adara and Draco would love the company.”

Rachelle flashed a smile, unveiling her perfect while teeth, “I’d love to Mrs. Malfoy, thank you.”

Adara beamed with joy and she hugged her aunt, thanking her. Draco looked pleased as well.

"Splendid, I will send an owl to your parents and one of our servants to bring your bags." Narcissa said as she smiled. "Now, we must be heading home, Lucius is waiting for us there, dinner is to be served soon"

The group apparated home and Narcissa made the arrangements for Rachelle's stay.

"I haven't visited here in ages," Rachelle sighed as she took in the familiar sight of Malfoy manor.

"This place hasn't changed a bit," she continued, placing her hands on her hips.

"Let's get changed and see if dinner is ready, do you remember where your room is?" Adara asked while taking off her ankle boots.

"I sure do," Rachelle replied and headed out the door.

"And wear something nice," Adara called out while poking her head out the frame of her door.

Adara chose an outfit from her closet and headed into her bathroom. She fixed her hair, pulling it into a curly side pony tail, and reapplied her makeup.

Adara walked from the bathroom and exited her room heading down the hall to see if Rachelle was ready. She knocked on the door and Rachelle opened it, revealing herself with a twirl.

"I love your dress," Adara gasped, taking in her friend's natural beauty.

Rachelle left her hair down, her hair's natural wave framing her face perfectly. On top of her head was her signature braided head band. Adara hardly saw her friend without it.

"Oh, shucks," Rachelle giggled playfully. "Enough about me look at you!" she continued having Adara do a twirl as well. "You're adorable."

Before the girls could make their way to the dining hall, two figures stepped out of the door in front of them. Lucius appeared from the shadow of the doorway with his son, Draco.

"My, my," Lucius said, while clasping his hands together and admiring the ladies before him.

"Rachelle, you are growing into a very beautiful lady, it has been long since I've seen you." Lucius said smiling at the blushing blond in front of him.

Adara looked at her uncle and Draco questioningly; she knew that it was rare for Lucius and Draco to talk privately. They only did so when it involved matters regarding the Dark Lord. Adara quickly removed any sign of curiosity from her face when she heard her uncle speak her name.

"Adara, my dear, my I escort you to dinner?" Lucius asked while holding out his arm from her to take. Adara nodded and took her uncle's arm. Lucius glanced over to Draco, silently bidding him to ask Rachelle the same.

Rachelle graciously took Draco's arm after he politely asked if he could escort her to dinner too. Lucius and Draco both seated Adara and Rachelle in the dining room. Lucius took his usual seat next to his wife and Draco sat across from Adara and Rachelle.

Dinner consisted of roast beef, steamed garlic potatoes and carrots. The conversation at the table was moderate. Lucius and Narcissa spent their dinner-time whispering over private matters. Draco hardly spoke. Adara noticed he was deep in thought and knew she shouldn't interrupt whatever he was contemplating in his head.

After dinner, Adara and Rachelle excused them selves from the table and headed upstairs into Adara's room.

They changed out of their dinner attire and into more comfortable lounging clothes. As Adara made her way over to her bed, something caught her eye, and her heart skipped a beat. Rachelle didn't notice her friend's sudden change in mood; she was busy sitting on the floor painting her toe nails.

Adara scrambling on top of her bed, reaching for the letter. She held her breath and looked at the front of the envelope. It was from him. Adara would know that sloppy, black inked handwriting anywhere. She tore open the letter, causing Rachelle to jump at the noise.

"What's that?" Rachelle asked nonchalantly. Adara didn't answer; she was too busy taking in the words written on the page.



Adara smiled as she finished reading the letter. She hadn't heard from her mysterious friend in a month. She glanced back into the envelope to find her licorice wand and savored each bite.

"Adara," Rachelle spoke. Adara looked up at her wide-eyed friend, who was now sitting in front of her. "Is that from him?" she asked, eying the letter with eagerness.

Adara answered her with a nod and continued to smile. She loved hearing from him.

"Ah, let me see! Let me see!" Rachelle pleaded.

Adara knew Rachelle would eventually pry the letter from her hands if she denied her request so she saved herself the trouble and let her read the note.

"Aw," Rachelle sighed as she skimmed over parchment, "Adara's secret lover," she continued to tease. "You need to officially meet him this year," Rachelle spoke, crossing her legs on the bed.

"I don't know," Adara answered, her sapphire eyes flashed with uncertainty.

"Oh, come on, you've been writing to each other a since your first year," Rachelle reminded her. "And this is his last year; you might not get a chance to meet him afterward." she continued, finishing the statement with the raise of her eyebrow.

Adara tried to muster up a response, but she began to grow nervous. Before Rachelle spoke again, there was a knock on the door.