Two Old Friends

Chapter 3

"My sister was insane," Adriana says, shaking her head.

"Yes, I've heard," I agree. "And witnessed once or twice, I believe."

"But she wasn't too much older than me, so her patience, or lack thereof, could be blamed on that. She was nineteen when she came up, wasn't she? And I was thirteen. Six years, that's right."

"Speaking of whom," I interject, "is she wandering around here, also. Looking for your hide to wear as her new coat?" Adriana shrugs, but then gives a small laugh.

"It's ridiculous how obsessed she was over fur. 'Oh my God! Look! A dead animal pelt! I must have it! Lord knows I don't have enough of my own hair or my own clothes!'" she mocks. I smirk.

"To recap, we're fucked up because we know each other too well and never talk," I say as I list things on my fingers.

"And had no control over ourselves but too much over each other and moved too fast at the wrong times and too slow at the wrong times," she adds. I repeat them, extending two more fingers.

"Screw couple's therapy, just find the other in an empty café and you've got all your problems listed within an hour!" I exclaim sarcastically. Adriana gives a small chuckle.

"You know, we had a lot of good things, too."

"I know."

"I mean, when I ran away you didn't rat me out and you didn't lecture." I shrug brazenly.

"I can keep secrets," I say easily. She smiles again and waves her wand, making her coffee cup re-fill.

~*~

About one and a half to two years later, Adriana was very sombre most of the time, very curt with people she didn't know and authority figures. However, after her parents dying and getting a life sentence in Azkaban her and I seemed to have gotten on a friendly basis. Though she had a very superior and regal air about her while with them, she also tolerated my Slytherin dorm mates. Not to say that she was constantly surrounded by snotty little hormonal boys as puberty treated her beautifully, she did have her own girl friends. Bellatrix Black was her closest girlfriend, as mentioned before. Her and I were probably the only two people she'd tell anything to. No means to flatter myself, but I do believe she would have told me anything and everything first. Bella was, and is, last time I checked, a tad on the judgemental side. Apparently it's harder to accept from girls, I don't know. Merlin knows I was judgemental.

It was summer before our fifth year and Adriana and Lupe were not getting along. At all. Simply saying that would do it extreme justice. Mother often complained about hearing the screaming at night. Why she didn't just cast a silencing charm, I've no idea. I think she just enjoyed complaining about the neighbours.

One day, Lupe or Adriana went too far with something. I am still partially oblivious to what this little spat was about, but that's beside the point. I was outside sitting on my porch reading a book one day, and suddenly I heard something break next door and a large amount of yelling. It was mostly in Spanish, hence my lack of knowledge what it was about, but some bits of English were thrown in. Such as 'fuck' a few times. She was almost sixteen, what do you expect?

"¡Tienes muchas problemas, Lupe! ¡No sé lo que están, pero tienes las! No quiero lo! I'm leaving! ¡ESTOY SALIENDO!" she shouted.

"¡Adriana Usua Rodriguez y Galena! Get back in here! ¡Viene aquí!" Lupe screeched. I watched the exchange with cruel interest. Adriana shouted a few things that made Lupe gasp. "¡CHICA! GET BACK OVER HERE SO I CAN WASH YOUR MOUTH OUT WITH SOAP!"

"¡NO ESTÁS MI MADRE!"

"¡NO ME LLAMAS TÚ!"

"¡TÚ ESTÁS MI HERMANA! ¡TE LLAMARÁ LO QUE QUIERO!" And at that Adriana took off. Lupe screeched a few things, told her to come back, but Adriana didn't. And she didn't all that night. Lupe had her husband fly around on his broom in search for her, but he couldn't find her. Lupe came to my house even and asked if I knew where Adriana was. My mother looked over at me as I ate my dinner (a sandwich and crackers) and demanded if I knew where Adriana was. I answered no, and Lupe whined for a while about not knowing where Adriana was and how she was only trying to be the best she could and whatnot. Mother consoled her and gave her tea.

"That Spanish girl? Lupa is her name?" Father asked gruffly after Mother showed her out.

"Lupe," Mother corrected. Father backhanded her. Father did not enjoy being corrected.

"What's her problem?" he asked, as if nothing had happened.

"You know that little girl that lived there? She ran away," Mother answered, her eyes on the floor. Her cheek was bright red. Father shook his head.

"Girls these days. Their bloody heads making them think that they can get away with crap. That Christopher bloke ought to smack her around to make sure she knows her place," he said disgruntled. "As a matter of fact, I'll tell him that tomorrow." I almost dared to roll my eyes. Almost. Father was eyeing me suspiciously as I thought of doing so.

"I'm going to go to bed, now," I said, finishing my last cracker and going downstairs.

The next morning I woke up, slightly colder than usually. The window was open. I looked up to it curiously. Why the Hell was that thing open? Unless someone got in or out through the basement, it shouldn't have been open.

"Sorry, cold?" I heard a voice. I nearly jumped out of bed until I recognized the voice. I'm surprised I hadn't realized that Adriana would spend the night in some bushes and then come to my room to either cool off or get Lupe paranoid enough to nearly have a nervy b, she probably had both intentions on mind.

"What the bloody hell are you doing in here?" I demanded in a hushed voice.

"You expect me to live in bushes? What goodies are you brewing down here? It smells like dead cats," she commented, wrinkling her nose at a small cauldron simmering in the corner.

"Oh, that. Ignore it. It's nothing." Actually, Lucius Malfoy had me brewing illegal potions for him at a large price. I had no wish to expose it or my customer. She opened the cupboard I used for my potions ingredients, emptied it, and then removed the back of it and took out the small vials of my stash of illegal stuff. There were the How-To books for Unforgivable Curses (I knew that it was a testy subject for her, so I never asked and she never offered to teach me), the Potions Books with poison recipes or drugs of sorts, ingredients for said Potions. Such to that effect.

"Nothing?" she asked, pulling out the ingredient stash. She arched a slim eyebrow at me. She opened a vial and sniffed it.

"This is the dead cat stench - ugh, it's dreadful," she said in disgust. "What's this stuff for?"

"Well, that is dried lining to mooncalf stomach," I said. She quickly fastened the vial and put it away. "That vial right there with the fishy looking plants are Mandrake roots -"

"Why are those in here? They're not illegal," she interrupted.

"They were easier to put there with everything else that is," I shrugged, sitting up. "So, why did you leave, again?"

"Lupe's being a bitch," she said simply. I nodded. That was what I usually got for Adriana's reasons for being mad at Lupe. Adriana put the potion stuff back, making sure the secret compartment was secure, and sat on my bed as I went into my bathroom to change.

"So, is Bella and your little gang of fellow idiots coming or are we going to them?" she asked. I rolled my eyes in the lavatory, pulling my shirt over my head.

"They're coming here. Mum has to go somewhere, evidently it's extremely important, and my dad's at work."

"The simple pleasures a summer will bring," Adriana said, stretching out her legs.

"So, what about you? Have you already snuck in your house to get some clothes or are you going to go back?"

"Hell no, I'm not going back. I'm probably going to go back to Bella's for the rest of the summer. I'll talk her parents into letting me stay at her house next summer, too, and after 7^th year I'll be out and about to make my fortune as a legally grown woman," she said pleasantly. "But, yes, I do need to go back to get my things."

"It's eleven, do you reckon they're at work yet?" I said, looking at my clock.

"Are yours?" I shrugged and took the broom and knocked three times on the ceiling. There were no obscenities following the knocks.

"Nope," I replied, throwing the broom to the side. Adriana nodded and without another word she climbed back out the basement window and went to her house. A while later she returned with all the clothes, shoes, make up, etc she could stuff in her already magically expanded trunk. About two seconds after she came back, I heard a few thuds, curses, and voices as my Slytherin friends, in lack of a better word, landed in the fireplace.

"Honestly, Lestrange, couldn't you be a little more graceful when you decide to jump on me in the fireplace?" Macnair said furiously, dusting himself off as he entered my lair.

"It's not my fault that you were too slow to get out of it!" Rodulphus declared, dusting himself off, as well.

"Lestrange confuse you for Bellatrix again, Macnair?" I asked sardonically. I only received sneers.

"Speaking of Bella, when is she coming?" Adriana asked. Macnair and Lestrange shrugged. As if on cue, Bella's raunchy vocals came along.

"Oy, where is everyone?" she demanded, her feet thundering down into my room. "Aye, there you lot are. No welcoming party or anything? Why am I not surprised?"

"Bella, my great, dear, wonderful, apple of my eye friend," Adriana said, her tone not matching the words of course, as she examined her fingernails.

"What do you want?" Bella asked.

"To go home with you. I'm tired of Lupe and I've decided to run away. I've got my things," she said needlessly, waving a careless hand to her luggage. Bellatrix nodded.

"I see. What's in it for me?"

"Uhm... your limbs you would otherwise not have if you say no," Adriana replied cheerily.

"Fair enough. I don't see why not."

That's pretty much what the day consisted of. Insults, sarcasm, small tiffs of arguments that were quickly subsided, and my earning of profits as my dear friends bought illegal narcotics off of me. I believe that Macnair may have actually used some of it when I went upstairs to fetch myself something to drink - the room smelled awfully suspicious. A twenty-year-old Lucius Malfoy even stopped by to pick up his goods.

"Severus, I'm here and I've got money," he said when he Apparated in my basement.

"I can tell," I said, acknowledging his presence on the once empty spot of floor. I stood up and rummaged through my stash and found the vial Lucius kept in demand. He handed me my gold, I handed him the vial.

"So, what are you and your little friends up to?" he inquired silkily.

"Absolutely nothing, as far as I can tell," I answered.

"Well, well, well," Lucius said, taking steps closer to Adriana and Bella. "My, have you grown." Bella smiled self-flatteringly. "And Bellatrix Black, good to see you." Her smile dropped. Adriana gave Lucius the same smug grin he was giving her. I rolled my eyes. Adriana confessed to me ages and ages ago that she had a small crush on Lucius. Of course, half of the school population did as well.

"It's wonderful to see you, Lucius, as always," Adriana said. Lucius flashed her a charismatic smile and brought her hand to his lips.

"I hope to get to know you much better as time progresses," he said. Adriana smiled.

"Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if time progressed a little quicker. I'm going to stay at Bella's for a while and if I remember correctly, you live near there."

"I eagerly await our visits, then." And at that, he Disapparated. Adriana gave a ridiculous little lovesick sigh and sunk to the floor.

"I'll never wash my hand again..." she said, holding it close to her face. Bella rolled her eyes furiously. As much as she would deny it, Bella too had a thing for Lucius.

Later that night, when everyone was gone and my parents were back, I was sitting in my room reading a book. I heard voices upstairs and decided to listen in. Someone had come over and my parents did not sound happy. Suddenly, Father came thundering downstairs and kicked my door open. I shot up to demand what the bloody hell he was doing.

"Where are they?!" he demanded.

"What?"

"WHERE ARE THEY?! The drugs, boy! I know you're dealing drugs!" I blinked. How did he find this out?

"What - I'm not dealing any drugs," I said stupidly.

"Don't lie to me! Crucio!" I felt seering pain all over me and after what felt like an era it was lifted. I panted and my palms were sweating.

"Where are the drugs?" he hissed. I looked up at him, furious loathing burning in my eyes.

"I am not hiding any drugs," I lied, every word quivering dangerously. I was very close to returning the curse.

"Imperio!" I suddenly lost a feeling of myself. A cruel voice in the back of my mind was telling me to show him the drugs. I hesitantly stepped forward. Eventually I showed him the stash. I have very little memory of what else happened that night. I now have a scar along my hairline where my head collided with something to remind me, though.