Am I really uploading a new story whilst I have decided to dedicate my spare time to re-writing my Narnian fanfic? Yes. Do I have an obsession with setting obscenely difficult to reach bars for myself? Yes. Do I have the time necessary to dedicate to a story such as this? No. Will I do it anyway...? Probably.

I will only say this once, I do not own anything from the realm of Harry Potter. The characters, world and story belong to the Author and respective copyright holders. This is purely for fun and will be my personal interpretation of the Marauders time at school. The only content of my own original creation is Adeline Pevrette and the respective elements of this story that are non-native to the world of Harry Potter.

I invite you to read and review to your heart's content, I hope you enjoy. This might not be the longest opening chapter, but I do promise that I intend to make future chapters longer.

The best of Hogwarts would describe Adeline Pevrette as a nice girl who was one of few who found true love at an unreasonably young age. It was unfair, most would say. Unfair, but nonetheless they would smile and shrug. Lucky her.

Yes, indeed there was not a pair more suited to each other than Bertram Aubrey and Adeline Pevrette. Not many really cared, as the pair were the complete opposite of dramatic, therefore never really drew much attention or admiration. Anyone who was bored enough to look twice would believe they were bound to marry straight out of School, likely pop out a few kids and have successful careers. They were no doubt going to have a blessed life.

The most interesting thing about the couple, was perhaps that they were the only students in Hogwarts to have a relationship that lasted more than four years. Though really, the two hadn't started properly addressing one another as boyfriend and girlfriend until near the end of the second year.

To Adeline, the beginning of her relationship with Bertram was as strange as most others found it when they bothered to ask. The two had met on the train, but barely exchanged more than a few words until they returned to Hogwarts after the Christmas break. First year had been an all-round dreadful experience, but the second term was by far the worst for Adeline.

The passing of her father left the young girl in a constant state of misery for well over half of the term. What helped her stay strong, was the last Christmas gift he'd given to her- a wooden music box that he'd hand-made himself.

Though, she was a very private girl at heart. She never let anyone touch it, or hear it for that matter- no matter how many people were curious about why she always carried it with her.

It was her over-protectiveness of this strange unknown box that spawned the first and only set of rumours to ever solely focus on the Pevrette.

It didn't help that it neither looked like a music box, nor anything that might open. It was seamless and smooth, with no pattern except that of the intricate wood it was made of. The only thing that hinted that it was more than just a block of wood, was the intricate golden keyhole.

"I think she's hiding something…" A Hufflepuff first year had whispered.

"Maybe it's a stash of dungbombs?" A second girl added.

"No, it has to be something worse if she's so protective of it. Did you see how she screamed at Milly Caulfield the other day in Potions? She bumped into it by accident, and Pevrette went off like a mad banshee!"

The whispers had been so relentless, that she'd even been approached by her professors out of concern. It wasn't until she gave in and showed Professor McGonagall, that the teachers finally let the poor girl be. Once the staff had been made aware of the emotional significance of the object, they all finally yielded and allowed her to keep it on her desk during class.

In hindsight, whilst she had been glad she'd been allowed to keep it with her, perhaps she should have just kept it in her satchel. The teacher's special consideration of her possession seemed to only draw more attention and thus led the rumours to grow nastier by the day.

"I'd bet five galleons it's filled with blood."

"Wait, didn't her dad die last summer? What if it's his ashes?"

"Why the bloody hell would she carry her father's ashes to class? That's mental!"

"And gross!"

She'd spent a lot of time crying alone. Sometimes she'd skip meals altogether, in favour of sitting in her own little corner of the library, where she'd build fortresses of books to keep others out.

Madam Pince had been quite furious the first time she'd been caught doing it. She had promised her a week of detention if she couldn't remember the exact order in which to put them back.

But to the woman's sheer disbelief, Adeline had been able to remember the exact order in which the books had once sat in- despite the fact she'd taken almost a hundred and fifty off the shelf at once. Truth be told, the girl couldn't tell if Pince was angry or impressed that she had done exactly as asked, and without a single fault.

She came to conclude that it was more than likely the latter. The next time Madam Pince found the girl building her fortress, she merely barked that she would later be checking each book for damage and that she expected them to be put away in proper order within the hour, before walking away with a tisk.

It had never been heard of. Madam Pince allowed a first year student to use her precious books for something other than reading. Why she had been allowed this privilege, the girl at first couldn't be sure- but upon being granted this, she grew quite curious about the strict woman.

And it was due to this privilege that the Hogwarts Library soon came to be her favourite place to be in the castle. This was also inevitably, one of the core reasons that led Bertram Aubrey on that fateful day to seek her assistance in finding books on the effects of Moondew and biographies on Cliodna the Druidess.

What the boy hadn't expected was to find the girl dead asleep, her head resting on a charms textbook, with that little strange box wide open beside her head. What set it apart from other musical boxes, was that while it did play music, one could also hear the sounds of the ocean. Enchanted to sound like the waves, lapping at the sand, a steady breeze flowing gently.

It added that little bit of ambience to the little chiming of the lullaby. A tune so quiet he'd almost been unable to hear it, but beautiful and serene. It was one that he'd never heard before, and now with the last piece, Bertram Aubrey became the only boy to solve the puzzle of that curious box.

Adeline, horrified upon awakening, had yelled at him in such high notes that he was sure most sopranos would be jealous. The Ravenclaw boy, however, had only watched as she burst into tears through her screeching. For a first year, he'd been able to remain oddly calm and quiet as she let out her anger on him. Eventually, her uncontrollable crying had taken away any breath she had left to speak.

With room to talk, Bertram quelled the girl's fears that he might not keep her secret and sat with her through her emotional breakdown. There was not much to say between them at first, but in the days that followed, Bertram glued himself to her. He walked her to her classes, told the gossipers to shut up whenever he heard her name, and overall, whether out of kindness or pity, did his best to ensure she didn't spend her days crying alone in the hidden corners of Hogwarts.

The pair had a lot in common they found- particularly their love of literature and Herbology. Between the library and the great hall, the courtyard and the greenhouses were also some of the places they visited most.

The rumours they were dating were mostly spread by the female population of Hogwarts. Not many of the boys in their year particularly cared, unless they were unwillingly dragged into the conversation, but there was a certain buzz among Adeline's roommates when it came to questions about Aubrey. It was their suspicion that the friendship would eventually blossom into something greater. The curiosity lasted for only a few months until the girls grew bored at the lack of action, but no sooner than by the end of the second, it was official.

It was by no means, a dramatic union. There was no outward declaration of affections, no public displays of confessions, and neither of them really minded, despite the fact that Adeline's friends were thoroughly disappointed in the lack of dramatics.

It could have been so much more romantic! They would cry. It seemed to them, a missed opportunity.

Adeline would often huff, proclaiming she didn't need nor want any dramatics. What was the point? She wasn't an attention seeker, she didn't want a spotlight upon her relationships.

She adored Bertram and his subtleties. As a Ravenclaw, his talents lay in the art of hidden messages and meanings. As they both grew, Adeline became fond of him and his gestures. Small gifts, light touches, and breezy kisses. It was all so dreamy, and though they were never the type to snog in public, it couldn't be denied that they looked cute during the few times they did openly show affection to one another.

She was even happier that her mother adored Bertram from the moment she had met him. Indeed there was something about the boy that seemed so outwardly gentle and sweet, that really, it was difficult not to think of him as a fine young gentleman.

It did help that puberty had seemingly hand-picked Bertram for a duck to swan transformation. Though not quite as handsome as James Potter or Sirius Black turned out to be, Bertram grew out of his lanky legs and buzz cut by fourth year. By that time, he was the sort of boy that most girls would look twice at (once they'd decided to give up hope of snagging a Marauder)- the neat blonde hair and dazzling blue eyes would make anyone blush. But unfortunately, it was undoubtedly clear by then that he was very much so off-limits.

Much the same went for Adeline herself. She was pretty, though not the level of pretty that out-shone Lilly Evans or Marlene Mckinnon. Granted, Adeline rarely thought to compare herself to others, and she contributed this mostly to the fact that she'd been blessed with a loving boyfriend in Bertram. He never made her feel as though she was competing, and that itself afforded her enough confidence to never really mind the ups and downs of puberty like other girls.

In truth, with each year Adeline grew in the certainty that one day she would marry that boy. She was so sure of it, she'd subscribed to a popular wedding planning magazine over the fifth year Christmas holidays, To Have and Hold.

It wasn't as though she were actually planning it, she reasoned. She wasn't that crazy… she just liked to circle the things she loved the most. It was no different to her than circling the toys she wanted for Christmas in the newspaper ads as a child.

Life was brilliant. She had a loving mother, a wonderful boyfriend, the best friends she could ever ask for and attended the greatest Wizarding school in the world.

The only thing she was truly missing, was her father.

Though she'd grown out of the hysterical crying fits she was prone to in first and second year, there would be no end to the amount of pain she felt when she thought of him. As a general, she avoided the topic of her father with everyone she knew. She didn't want to be reduced to that mess of tears and snot she had been in her younger years- but she'd never deny that on occasion she did falter. Particularly around the anniversary.

Bertram always made sure to keep her busy at that time of year, and she was grateful for it. But it never got easier for the girl. She doubted it'd ever be any less painful.

For what it was worth, she had to be grateful. Adeline didn't have all the riches and wealth that some pureblood families might have, but she had love- and plenty of it.

At least, that was what she had believed.

She'd never been one to seek revenge, but that had changed the moment she'd read that fateful letter from one Marlene Mckinnon.