One month.

That was how long it had been since Severus had last said a civil word.

At first, it had been nothing serious- Adeline had fought with the man before, and both were stubborn- she was willing to wait.

But this, this was unheard of.

He said nothing, left early and came to bed late, ignored her at any meetings or in passing, and refused to meet her eyes.

Ever.

The two were at an impasse, and Adeline did not know what to do. It was affecting her teaching- yesterday, Ronald Weasley [by far her best student] had pointed out a broken rune when she was teaching them spell wards, a simple enough mistake, although she hadn't made it in years; and she had just sat there because she had completely forgotten how to fix it, the only thing running through her mind being Severus' brush past her at breakfast without so much as a snide apology.

Adeline was at her wit's end.

"Stupid man, stupid rules... stupid me." She tossed a rock into the lake, angry.

"Mind if I sit, Professor?" A pleasant voice from behind jarred her, and she whipped her head around.

"Monsieur Longbottom. Please, feel free- although I must tell you I'm terrible company."

"Thanks Professor." The young boy sat a few feet next to her, and she sighed.

"What brings you out here to the abyss, my good man?" she asked him-Neville shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Thinking about my parents."

"Ah." He gave her a shrewd look, and she shrugged.

"As young as I was, Longbottom, I remember the war. Explicitly."

They were both quiet for a moment before Neville replied.

"What about you?" Adeline smiled ruefully.

"Nothing, really," she said- the boy laughed, shaking his head.

"No offense Professor, but you really aren't a very good liar."

She glared at him half-heartedly, pursing her lips.

"I really am quite fine. Not that I need to explain anything to you, anyway."

She didn't know why she was talking. She shouldn't be- Neville was a student, and pouring out her problems to him just seemed like a badly written drama. Adeline was met with silence; she felt the urge to continue.

"I just need to reconcile myself to a possibly ruined relationship."

"You could always just tell Professor Snape you were sorry."

She glared sharply, and he got up, his affable smile widening.

"Just a thought, Ma'am. Good day!"

He walked away before she could say anything; she smiled, in spite of herself.

She didn't like the idea, but she really could, really could just go up to Severus and say she was sorry for being stubborn and stupid and everything she said she was in the argument that got her here in the first place.

She would.


Harry-

I was looking through a drawer the other day and found these. Thought you might want to have them, they're interesting. Stay safe and we'll see you at Christmas.

-Remus

Harry was angry.

Very angry.

The letter had come with the morning post, along with a clear unmarked parcel. He was excited- they were Sirius'- it was filled with pictures, knicknacks, things Sirius would have lying around; and most precious, an old notebook full of things Sirius and his father had written together.

But the notebook, now, was forgotten, saved only by Hermione's watchful eye and clucking tongue when he pulled out the last item. He couldn't believe his eyes, still couldn't believe them. He had to find proof.

"What the hell is this?"

Adeline barely looked up at the infuriated black-haired boy; her eyes searched his furious face before closing her gradebook and looking up at him.

"Is there something you need, Potter? I know I told you to come to me for help, but I'm absolutely swamped, can we do this another ti-"

He slammed the letter down on the desk. "What. Is. This?"

She stared at it questioningly, and he grew aggravated. "Open it! Don't you want to see what it says?"

She turned over the envelope- apparently she recognized it, for she grew silent as she ran her finger over the seal, the already broken red wax crumbling in her ink-stained fingers.

"Well?"

She said nothing for a moment; when she finally did speak, it was slow, deliberate- a great contrast to her normal, offhand manner.

"Where did you get this, Potter?"

"It was in a box of Sirius' old stuff. I'm his godson, you know."

"I do know. He was very happy about it, felt proud of you from the moment you greeted the world."

Harry felt a familiar pang rising, tumultous. He shook his head... answers were more important now.

"I repeat, Adeline, what is this letter?"

"Well, see, I can't really-"

"TELL ME WHY YOU WROTE THIS LETTER!"

"What the devil is going on here?" Professor Snape whipped his bedroom door open. Harry was surprised- he had forgotten that the man lived here.

"Potter, please explain what on earth you are doing in teacher's quarters less than five minutes to curfew and making enough noise to make Sir Nicholas cover his ears?"

"I want to know what this letter is all about. And since it's from, you know, her, I figured she could probably help me out with some of the details. Sir."

He couldn't help being a little snarky- Adeline was cracking.

"It's quite all right, Severus, I'll give him a pass if necessary."

"That's not-"

"Harry, this letter was sent to Sirius only a few days after he entered Azkaban. It was my last letter ever to him. I told him, in essence, that I had to cut off all contact, for safety reasons. He understood."

"Why'd you send it to him?"

Adeline glared. "Because it didn't seem fair to keep the engagement ring."

"Engagement... what?"

"Yes. Sirius and I were in a very serious relationship. I did not know your parents as well as I could have, sadly. We had barely been engaged for four months when your parents died."

"You... Sirius... what?" Harry could only stutter out, and she shrugged. Snape narrowed his eyebrows.

"Fat lot of good the man did-"

Adeline had stopped him with a quick glare, and she turned to Harry, eyes softened.

"I've made many mistakes, but your godfather was not one of them, Harry. Sirius tried, Merlin, he tried, and at another time we would have been so happy. Quiet Severus, I know you're mad, but you know he meant well, that we tried to make it work, for Av, but-"

"She was in the letter too. Who's Av?"

Adeline suddenly went white, her gold skin turning pale, and Snape whipped his head towards Harry, eyes blazing.

"Get out."

"What?"

"Insolent, arrogant, stupid boy, GET OUT! Get out before Merlin help me, I make you!"

Harry rushed out the door, and it slammed behind him, the last thing he saw the Professor bending over, robes covering Adeline's pale face.


"Harry! There you are, where have you been, Ron and I've been looking all- what happened?"

Harry glanced up, troubled, as he turned the page of the dark-covered book. Hermione sat down, followed barely a minute after by her red-haired counterpart.

"Oi, Harry, Where you been, mate, we've been looking everywhere fo- what're you like?"

Harry sighed.

"Do either of you know what year Adeline graduated from Hogwarts?"

"No, what? Why-"

"Blimey, who cares-"

"Because she and Sirius were together."

There was a small silence after this declaration.

"I don't understand."

"The letter that came in the package this morning, that was from Adeline to Sirius. They were together from seventh year until only a few months after my parents died-they were engaged. That letter was the last that Adeline wrote to him; she had it smuggled into Azkaban."

"Woah."

"Yeah."

"But wait, Harry..."

"Hmm?"

"That can't be possible. If your parents were still alive, they would be in their late thirties, perhaps even fourty- Adeline can't be older than her twenties, maybe early thirties at the most."

"Exactly."

"Exactly wot?"

"So what year did she graduate? How could she possibly be her age and still have been with Sirius?"

"Well, I-"

"That's why I've been checking all of these books. For records of the students at Hogwarts within seven years of my father."

"And?"

"Nothing. There is no record of her ever having been here."

"That's impossible."

"Don't you think I know that?" Harry asked testily, and Hermione, sat back, subdued. "I've looked through every record of students seven years behind and in front of my father. Nothing."

"Well what about after that?"

"I have no idea. There doesn't seem to be anything... Hermione? Hermione?"

"I have to-"

"We're already in the library, Mione."

"Right. Do any of those books have records of any faculty? Like in a yearbook?"

Harry vaguely remembered the concept of a yearbook- one year Dudley had one with a metal inlay that all of his friends from Smeltings had come over to sign and then proceeded to chase him around the house with. He could not fathom the relevance of that thick book in comparison.

"Yeah, they do. Remember back in first year when we were looking for Flamel? There was a list of all the teachers and stuff," Ron said, pointing towards the back of the book. Hermione yanked the bound parchment from Harry's hands and flipped to the back, running her finger down the page as she scanned it.

She stepped back.

"Harry."

Harry Potter looked at Hermione Granger's arched eyebrows and pale face and saw something unusual.

He turned to look at the page she lay in front of him, and instantly understood what she saw.

Because there, smiling and waving up at him with an angular, cheeky grin, was Adeline Marks, with the words 'Student Teacher' right below them.