De Die In Diem: From Day To Day

An Afternoon At Hogwarts

Two weeks passed painfully for Lucius while he recovered from the burns he had received during the fateful dinner party. His anger at Adriana smoldered during this time, yet he found he couldn't stop thinking about her. The amount of pleasure she had given him before he had burned himself filled his mind. If only they'd been alone, he could have enjoyed it without worrying about appearances. At times, he felt slight confusion, for Adriana managed to anger him more than anybody else he knew, yet he'd never felt more attracted to her at the same time. Lucius was no stranger to anger, it was the most common emotion he felt. Yet this seemed different somehow, and he couldn't put his finger on it. He had to find her, if it was the last thing he ever did, he would hunt her down and find her.

But how? He had found out her first name, but without a last name, it wasn't much help. There was no telling where Adriana lived. The only person who would know that was Albus Dumbledore, and they weren't exactly what one might call "friends". Had he grown desperate enough that he would beg Dumbledore for information? What was he thinking? Malfoys do not beg, they demand. Lucius decided to make his way over to Hogwarts the next morning and get what information he could from Dumbledore.

The next morning dawned a cold, snowy mid-February day. Lucius woke and threw the black satin sheets off of his body and rose to dress for the trip to Hogwarts. He looked at himself in the mirror and it pronounced him properly formidable. After his breakfast- he used three spoonfuls of sugar this time, just to show Adriana she didn't know everything about him, Lucius was ready to set off for the school, when his work interrupted him. It took several hours of paperwork to straighten out all of his business, and by the time he finally left for Hogwarts, he was frustrated by the set back.

Classes were in session when he arrived, so the hallways of the school were empty, save for the occasional ghost passing through. Lucius was walking towards the gargoyle that opened to lead to Dumbledore's office when he felt something hit the back of his head. Stopping in mid-step, he turned around while running a hand over his hair. On the ground was a severed rooster head. "What the...?" Lucius said, when a second head whizzed through the air and hit his cheek before rolling to the ground. He heard a cackle of laughter above him and looked up to see an obnoxious-looking poltergeist with a basketful of rooster heads. The poltergeist picked up another head and threw it at Lucius, but missed as he ducked out of the way. "Peeves, damn you! What the hell it wrong with you?" Lucius yelled at him.

Ickle Lucy likes chickens right? Ickle Lucy come to see Dummydore?" Peeves chucked another rooster head at Lucius and managed to hit his hand. The shouts between Peeves and Lucius grew louder and louder as more heads showered down upon Lucius. He didn't notice a gargoyle revolve open and emit Dumbledore, coming down from his office.

"Peeves, go make mischief somewhere else. I think Mrs. Norris is on the fifth floor, go throw those heads at her." Dumbledore spoke to Peeves, startling both the poltergeist and Lucius. Peeves took his basket and vanished through the ceiling to find Mrs. Norris. Lucius fumed as he pulled a handkerchief out of his coat pocket and tried to wipe away the blood from the rooster heads on his face and hand.

"Dumbledore, it's reassuring to know you're keeping such good control over this school, as usual," Lucius growled.

"Good afternoon, Lucius," began Dumbledore, ignoring the comments. "What brings you to Hogwarts so unexpectedly?"

"I've come to check on the progress of my son." For the first time that he could recall, Lucius was actually glad that Draco attended Hogwarts.

"Draco is doing well in all of his studies. He seems to thrive under Professor Snape's tutelage. You have no need to worry about him, he makes fine marks." Dumbledore explained to Lucius.

"Well that is good to hear," Lucius didn't know how to approach the subject of Adriana without seeming too obvious or desperate. "Listen, since I'm here, you might be able to help me. That girl you brought to the dinner party a couple of weeks ago... Adriana... Now what was her last name? I seem to have forgotten it."

Dumbledore smiled at Lucius and said, "Yes, I remember Adriana. What about her?" Lucius grew antry as he realized Dumbledore wasn't going to make this easy for him.

"Well, we had the most fascinating conversation out on the veranda. And we were debating something and I have only just remembered a very important point I wanted her to hear. You wouldn't know how to get in contact with her would you?"

"In fact I do. Why don't you give me the message and I can pass it on to her for you?" Dumbledore responded with a smile on his face that Lucius found horribly condescending.

Little did Lucius know that the person he was searching for was actually quite closer than he would have expected. Dumbledore was glad that he'd let Hagrid show Adriana around the school grounds when she'd come over to visit for the day. He only hoped Lucius would be gone by the time she returned. He was wrong.

One floor below him, Adriana had returned from her stroll outside with Hagrid. The first few students had begun to trickle into the Great Hall for lunch. Some of the boys stopped and stared at her as she brushed the snow off her clothes and took her scarf off. She wore a sleeveless, skintight bodice with a white, wide-collared lapel that managed to show a good amount of cleavage without really trying to. The matching skirt, white with a red floral design, flared and ended at her calves. A matching handbag, white gloves and sunglasses, along with white high-heeled shoes finished the ensemble. It didn't seem quite appropriate for a snowy February day, but somehow, Adriana pulled it off.

A couple of boys heading towards the Great Hall, walked over to her. Adriana looked up while bending over to straighten the ribbons on her shoes. Smiling at them, Adriana stood up to her full height, which was not too much taller than they were. "Hello, gentlemen. You haven't seen Albus Dumbledore lately have you?"

The boys, one tall, red-headed, with his mouth hanging open, shook his head. The other, dark-haired, with glasses and an odd-shaped scar on his forehead, who must have been Harry Potter, the boy Albus had told her about, spoke. "No, but he's probably in his office, the door's just up on the next floor. We can take you if you like," The boy said, hopefully.

"Oh, thank you, I think I can find it on my own. You go eat lunch, before it gets too crowded in there," Adriana replied, smiling at the boys. "So, just up those stairs?" She pointed to the staircase. The red-headed boy nodded his head silently. "Well, thank you very much." Adriana turned and walked to the stairs and made her ascent, leaving the two awestruck boys behind.

Lucius was in the middle of negotiating with Dumbledore for information on Adriana when he saw her walking up the stairs. Scowling at Dumbledore, Lucius turned his back on him and walked to the top of the stairs to meet her. Adriana looked at Lucius, then at Dumbledore, then back at Lucius again. "What are you doing here?" She asked him, the look on her face showing her shock momentarily, before being replaced with annoyance.

"I could ask the same of you," Lucius replied, looking equally annoyed.

"Well, I'm visiting Albus today, I don't know why you're here..." Adriana replied, looking coyly at Lucius.

"Actually, I was trying to find out something about you. After the 'wonderful' dinner party, I couldn't help but wonder what your last name was." Lucius was hoping for a proper answer from her.

Looking at him thoughtfully, Adriana's eye twinkled mirthfully. Finally, she opened her mouth and spoke, "Well, why didn't you just ask me that night? It's Orendes. My goodness, you'd think it was such a big deal or something. And you came to Albus? You must have been desperate."

Lucius turned a whiter shade of pale as his anger grew greater. It was a difficult job trying to maintain his composure after being given one of the greatest pieces of information in his life, while simultaneously being humiliated.

"Oh, by the way, you will want to make sure you stay for lunch, they're serving a most delicious soup, or so I've heard. You'd probably like it, although you might want to actually eat it this time." Adriana purred at Lucius. "And that reminds me, I never had a chance to ask you how Albert liked the soup at the party. Did he enjoy it?"

Lucius's eyes grew wide and he tried to speak, but was dumbfounded. He was already standing close to Adriana, but grabbed her arm and pulled her to his side. "How did you know about that?" He whispered.

Adriana smiled at Lucius and chuckled. "Well, I must say I was shocked that I didn't find out through all my research, but at the dinner table, well how can I put this delicately? Let's just say it was much too hard to miss." Lucius paled even more and let go of her arm.

Dumbledore was standing outside his door, out of hearing range of Adriana and Lucius. He'd done his best to prevent Lucius from finding out too much about Adriana, but it seemed out of his control at this point. He was distracted by Professor Severus Snape who had brought papers for him to look at. Dumbledore looked at Snape for a second then made a quick decision. "Adriana," He called out to her. "There's somebody I'd like you to meet." Adriana looked at Dumbledore, walked away from Lucius, and made her way to Snape. "Adriana, this is Professor Severus Snape. Severus this is an old friend, Adriana Orendes."

Adriana held out her hand for Snape to shake. "Pleased to meet you Professor Snape. What do you teach?"

Snape took her hand tentatively and shook it. "I'm the Potions master," He replied.

Adriana raised her eyebrows. "Potions master! Well, you must show me your classroom, it's been a while since I saw it last." With that, she put her arm through Snape's and looked expectantly at the staircase. Snape cleared his throat nervously and began to walk beside her, down the stairs, together making their way to the dungeon.

Lucius watched as the two walked down the stairs, eyes narrowed, fuming. As he walked over to Dumbledore, he asked, "Where are they going?"

"She's going down with Severus," Dumbledore replied.

The look on Lucius' face was a mixture of anger and shock. "Excuse me?"

"She's going to the dungeons with Severus. He's going to show her his room," Dumbledore explained more thoroughly. Dumbledore wished Lucius would leave soon, he was a most unpleasant man to be around and he didn't understand why Adriana didn't mind him. But Lucius kept coming up with things to talk about, questions to ask.

In the dungeon of the school, Snape showed Adriana around the classroom. Adriana seemed fascinated at all the specimens he kept in jars on shelves. Snape was not used to having an extremely attractive woman interested in what he liked. Adriana walked around the room, speaking in a whisper, to herself, "It's been far too long since I was here last. It hasn't changed that much though, after all these years..."

Snape walked up behind Adriana silently. "It can't have been a very long time since you attended Hogwarts?" He asked, startling her. Snape cringed as he saw that he'd startled her.

Looking at Snape with large eyes, Adriana, said, "Well, sometimes it seems like a very long time ago, but you know what time does to you after awhile, years go by like days..."

"I understand completely," Snape replied. "Sometimes I can't believe I've been teaching here for 12 years. Some days it feels like it's all gone by in a flash, others days, it feels like an eternity."

Continuing to look around the room, Adriana mentioned how Potions had been her favourite subject while at Hogwarts. The two engaged in a lively conversation about the subject.

Upstairs, outside Dumbledore's office, Lucius was futilely explaining to Dumbledore why it was a very bad idea to leave Adriana and Snape down in the dungeon together for such a long time. It was in the middle of this argument that Lucius was treated to images sent to him courtesy of Adriana.

Adriana was making Snape feel quite important with all her inquiries. "A three-headed cow fetus! However did you get that?" She asked, amazedly, looking at all the disturbing creatures he had in jars in his room. "You must have to know a lot of important things to create so many potions. I've never really tried to make any before. What is your very favourite kind of potion to make?" She kept a conversation going for some time, Severus for once, being a pleasant man to be around.

With every question, Adriana edged ever closer to Snape, until her shoulder brushed against his arm and he had a clear view of her ample cleavage. She kept asking questions and laughing at his feeble attempts to make jokes. Adriana knew she had Snape right where she wanted him and took the opportunity to take it to the next level. She placed her hand on his and pressed it while leaning in closer to him and purred at him seductively.

The next move was Snape's and he didn't take a long time to make it. Starving for affection and not wanting to lose his chance, he leaned down and kissed her upturned lips. He moved his mouth down to her chin and then to her neck. He seemed quite content with her neck, which he nibbled fiercely. Snape's hands were all over her body and Adriana was crying out "Oh, Snape, you brute!".

Lucius paused in midsentence and tried to shut the vision out of his mind with no luck. He broke off his conversation with Albus and turned to run down to Snape's office.

Adriana sat on Snape's desk, while he stood in front of her. She and Snape were enjoying one another's company, and were laughing over a joke Adriana had made when the sound of loud footsteps interrupted them. Lucius burst in upon them, looking wildly between the two. Marching up to Adriana, ignoring Snape, he spoke. "Adriana, you are not to see that man again!" Lucius snarled angrily.

"Excuse me? I intend to do much more than just see him Mr. Malfoy!" With that, Adriana stood up next to Snape, reached her arms around his broad shoulders, pulled herself up to his face, and pressed her lips to his. Snape was taken aback momentarily, but after a couple of seconds, decided to play along with her.

Lucius watched with horror and anger, as Snape wrapped his arms around Adriana, running his hands up and down her back. When he reached her backside, he grabbed a hold tightly onto her, taking the time to make eye contact with Lucius, raising his eyebrows at him as he did so.

Deciding to show Lucius she wasn't kidding around, Adriana showed that she quite enjoyed what Snape was doing. "Oh, Severus!" Adriana moaned loudly. After a few more seconds of kissing Snape, she pulled away from him and turned back to Lucius. "Don't you ever tell me what to do, do you understand me? Who do you think you are anyway? If I want to see Severus, you'd hardly be able to stop me." Adriana whispered fiercely at him.

At this moment, Snape discovered a piece of gum in his mouth, left by Adriana. He tapped her shoulder and handed it back to Adriana who turned around, and proceeded to put it back in her mouth. Snape grinned evilly at Lucius and wiped his mouth off before turning his back on him and walking around the desk to his chair.

Overwhelmed with jealousy and anger, Lucius' only thought was to make Snape suffer. Pulling his wand apart from his walking stick, Lucius began to speak, "Cru---", but stopped in the middle of the word, unable to continue.

"What was that?" Adriana asked. "I'm afraid I can't hear you." Lucius tried to speak, but only silence emerged from his mouth. "You need to learn to control your temper. Maybe silence will help you. You can just stay this way until you learn to control yourself."

Taking a feather quill and a piece of parchment from Snape's desk, Adriana wrote something down and handed it to Snape. "Severus, here's my address, do send me an owl, I'd love to stay in touch." Smiling at Snape, she turned to leave, carefully avoiding looking at Lucius.

Lucius followed her up the stairs from the dungeon. He saw a piece of cloth flutter down and settle on the step that he was about to put his foot on. Stooping down to pick it up, he saw it was the scarf that Adriana had worn. He put it in his pocket and continued up the stairs. Adriana had left the school by the time Lucius was ready to depart. It was dark by the time he set off for Malfoy Manor.

His anger had reached a new pinnacle by the time he reached his home. Unable to vocalize his anger towards Adriana, he did the only thing he could think of to feel better. He went to Narcissa that night. It had been a while since he'd last done so. The scent of vanilla from Adriana's scarf filled his mind and it was her face that looked up at him as he "visited" with Narcissa. It was Adriana's cries of pain he heard in his mind and her look of fear, her eyes that seared into his brain. He fell asleep that night feeling better than he had in a very long time.