LOVE'S GAME, Marauder's Era

001. disenchantment

disenchantment, a feeling of disappointment about someone you previously admired/respected
september 1st, 1976

The drizzling raindrops landed on the hairs of students as they stepped off the bright red Hogwarts Express. The familiar, beautiful castle of Hogwarts came into view, and Adela's excitement, along with her nerves seemed so much more real. Though she smiled brightly, she was awfully anxious for what was now her fifth year at Hogwarts, she'd heard dreadful tales of peers drowning in tears, trapped in a flood of endless parchment and books, and she'd seen some of her friends lose their cool step by step as the pressure began to build.

"Hey, you." came a slightly hoarse, but still familiar voice.

Barty Crouch Junior was exceptionally good at sneaking up on people, something Adela was still not quite used to, a fact evident at his chuckle when her shoulders tensed.

"Damnit, Barty, you should stop doing that." She sighed, opening her eyes, "You look terrible, you know."

The boy rolled his eyes, running his hand through his uncombed hair. His eyes were slightly hollow, and he quite frankly, looked absolutely exhausted, as though he had just run a marathon, or spent hours screaming at someone. Adela decided the latter of the two was far more likely.

"Can't say the same for you, though. I didn't see you on the train though, how was your summer?" Barty's lips quirked up faintly as she tucked a loose strand of her lighter brown hair behind her ear.

"It was quite nice, actually. I went to Dresden with some of my childhood friends. They're muggles, you know and they go every year and this year's the first year I got to go too, and it's a beautiful city, though a little smaller than where I live. I wouldn't have it any other way though, it took my mind off of O.W.L year for a few weeks." Adela described, smiling rather fondly at the memories.

"That sounds nice. You live in Stuttgart, correct?" Barty asked, while thinking about how in comparison, he had barely done anything enjoyable or productive that summer. His O.W.L results had come back though, he remembered how he had been grinning like an absolute idiot for the whole day at his twelve outstandings as he watched the clock tick until his father came home. He had sat by the front door on the stairs, the envelope that held his results clutched in his hands. It had been past one in the morning, but he couldn't sleep. His father never paid too much attention to him as a kid, never spending enough time at home. When Barty was younger, he didn't mind, in fact he had admired his father's work ethic, vowing to be just like him. Working hard, getting a high ranking job in the Ministry of Magic, finding a woman who was just as loving and kind as his mother, and raising a family as successful and wealthy as his own.

"Barty? Have you heard a thing I just said?" Adela waved her hand gently in front of the boy. He looked up briefly, his wide eyes looked tired and as though he hadn't allowed them to rest in awhile. She had often heard the common thought that blue eyes were always calm and peaceful, but even under normal circumstances, she always found Barty's own blue eyes to be unlike those of prince charming's in muggle fairytales, but rather had the look of ice that one wished would just melt away.

"Yeah, yeah, of course. You were talking about..." Adela's eyes narrowed slightly and looked over her shoulder at the people around them before dropping her voice an octave.

"You okay?"

Barty stared back into her lighter brown eyes that closely resembled the addictive creamy coffee he found her drinking from a goblet on the daily. Those damned eyes. He felt as though they provided a safe haven for him to pour all of his burdens into, and this wouldn't be the first time he had to resist the temptation to do so. It was not her job to listen to his problems, not when she was about to start dealing with the hardest school year of her life.