No Son Of Mine

[corruptedbartemiscrouch]

g-parkinson​:

“I would hope you’ve never had a wife before.” It was stupid. Most of what she said sounded stupid when she was in front of him. Why was she even like this? There was not one good reason why he should make her nervous. It’s not like she had to impress Barty. They were getting married no matter what. Sure, she wanted him to like her. That was only natural. But she didn’t really have to. Did she? She looked around the hallway once more, pulling him by the arm to an alcove away from some of the onlookers that seemed very interested in what they were saying. “I don’t….” Merlin’s beard what was happening to her? She could feel her mother rolling her eyes from wherever she was now. A deep breath in and her eyes met his. “I want to get to know you. This may not have been our choice to start but it’s our choice what we do with it.” That twist again. Maybe she needed to see a healer. 

“I like your letters. I like knowing what you’re thinking and that you’re okay. I know you and your father aren’t on the best of terms and I worry about it. You’re far from terrible. You’re….well you’re pretty decent compared to some of the other boys I know.” Another tuck behind her ear. A moment too long of silence. It was enough for her to snap just a little. “I have no idea what I’m doing. What we should be doing. I spent years thinking I would completely loathe whoever I was meant to marry and I don’t loathe you at all. Not anywhere close. So this is very confusing and I’m sorry if I’m being too overbearing. I just worry and want you to be okay so I just…write. And make a fool out of myself in the middle of the Ministry apparently.” 

‘Bartemius, take a seat.... decisions have been made for you to marry....’  His fathers words from the week or so previously rung in Barty’s ears as he took a pause. He wasn’t exactly the sort of person to take any amount of time pondering over what things meant, what their subtext was, generally because he just did not care,  but as he looked into Georgie’s eyes during his moment of silence, he found himself wondering what she thought of him.  Was she disappointed that it was him that her father matched her with? and his immediate secondary thought to that was, why did that even matter..  He clearly needed to rest because he his subconscious was never this full of thoughts about another person. 

He had opened his mouth to speak again, though before he could any words out he found himself being dragged somewhere.  His brow furrowing slightly as he wanted to protest, but was annoyingly intrigued as to what she wanted to say.  After Georgie’s minor monologue ended, Barty sighed and found her gaze.He would be lying if she had said that he hadn’t found her mildly annoying just after breaking the news to her, but that wasn’t really saying much, Barty found reason to be annoyed most people, but for some absolutely ridiculous reason he seemed to be warming her.  A smile twitching on his lips, which nearly reached his eyes. “I wouldn’t worry, you are not even close to making a fool of yourself.....”  Trailing off to lower his voice, a knowing glint in his eyes “This is the Ministry.”   Reaching out to take her hand, which was an action he hadn’t even considered before doing so.  “Maybe we should leave here ...”  Perhaps they should visit his mother... “..And you needn’t worry about me, I don’t want you to nor should you need to.” 

[corruptedbartemiscrouch]

g-parkinson​:

He took a step closer and she felt better somehow. What in Merlin’s name was happening? She wasn’t a freaking Hufflepuff second year with a crush. Yet here she was acting just like it. “It’s new to me, too.” She looked up at Barty, once more pushing the feeling down of just how much she liked how tall he was. That was not something she needed to be thinking of. She knew she was tiny and so most people were taller than her. But there was something about this in particular that made that twist come back. 

“I hope I haven’t been bothering you with the letters.” She tucked her hair behind her ears, a nervous habit she never seemed to really be able to shake. “I’ve been told I can be a bit much sometimes. I have a hard time if I don’t know how the people I care about are doing.” She didn’t even realize she had said it. It was the truth but that didn’t mean she should be so obvious this early. “I can stop if you want me to. I’m sure you didn’t think you’d have to deal with my neuroses this early.” 

Barty sighed quite loudly, it was exasperation at himself.  This was so juvenile, he had never had gone after anyone, even when he was at Hogwarts, and he was never short on offers. He’d always just had far more meaningful endeavours on his mind. And anyway, all of those potential relationships would have been pointless, destined to end..this, well this was entirely different and honestly, it had been bothering Barty since his father had set him down to inform him.  It wasn’t that he didn’t want to marry Georgie particularly, it was just that he wasn’t sure how to actually behave as a husband, what she may expect of him as a husband, and he had no idea how to let someone in.... he never had.  Barty could fool the best of people, conceal almost everything, but he wasn’t spending every waking moment with them.  

As their eyes locked, Barty felt a completely foreign twang in his gut. “You didn’t bother me.”  He said entirely without thinking, although it was true. “I’ve never had a meaningful relationship, let alone a wife...”  As he trailed off a smirk pulled at his lips, it was just so ridiculous, even Barty who often lacked a sense of humour, had to smile at the ordeal.  So ridiculous to think that he could actually ever be entirely open, that was a joke on its own.  Although, for some reason the words that left his lips did not echo what his inner monologue was telling him, which was mostly that this was insane, and he should probably just tell her to leave him be.  Yes, thats what he wanted.... right?   “...You don’t have to stop, I suppose we ought to know eachother better anyway.”     Why did you just say that? How preposterous, why don’t you just show her your mark right here in the middle of the street, and tell her all your secrets while your at it.  How ridiculous.

[corruptedbartemiscrouch]

g-parkinson​:

It wasn’t an unwelcome greeting. Or completely cold. Georgie had been hoping for…what exactly? He didn’t owe her anything. They were being forced together. Yes, they had agreed on friendship. Friendship. Not anything else. So that twist she felt towards him needed to be pushed down. Far. She kept the small smile on her face as she moved out of the way of the others trying to reach the elevator. The Ministry was busy no matter what time it was. Was it too much? Should she have just let him walk by? 

“I’m doing well. How are you?” It sounded silly to her. Or at least not enough. Or was it too much? How did one act around a betrothed that she didn’t loathe entirely? 

Things like how to correctly interact in a social setting had always eluded Barty.  He knew that during formal dinners and events to have light conversation for afew minutes with most people in the room, and offer to buy at least one person a drink. He knew that if he and Georgie were out together formally, to pull the seat out for her at a dining table, and that he would offer to pay, and see her home.  But running into her unexpectedly had taken him completely off guard, and he genuinely didn’t know what the right answer was.  It was hardly as if Barty was the sort of man to give out hugs, and even he knew that a hand shake with your betrothed was too formal.  But he felt so out of his depth, because he see in her eyes that she had expected something from him....but what? He was trying not to appear to be too distant from the entire situation, whilst also somewhat loathing the idea of allowing another person to have any kind of hold over him. 

Tilting his head to one side, he eyed Georgie for a moment and wondered if she was at a loss too. He cleared his throat and took a small step towards her, closing the gap between them so he could lower his voice.  “I don’t ....” He sighed as if defeated, brow beginning to furrow. “...this is new to me.”   Maybe he was being too dismissive of everything..was he?   No, that wasn’t it... this was all so stupid, why was he all of a sudden getting so mixed up about everything in his own mind.  It wasn’t that possibly he did feel something deep down in his gut....no it absolutely wasn’t that.

[g-parkinson]

It wasn’t that she was trying to run into Barty. Far from it. She was planning to go see her brother. While they had always been close, the betrothal had pushed them closer. It helped that both him and Rafael were making sure the match was good to her. While her father was not on her side, the two of them were. She was waiting for the elevator when she heard the ding to signal it’s arrival. She looked up and well….there he was. It wasn’t like they hadn’t spoken. There had been regular owls back and forth between the two. Mostly initiated by her but she didn’t care much. It was her way on making sure he was okay. That was important. He was important now.  “Hi,” she said after a moment.

@corruptedbartemiscrouch​

[corruptedbartemiscrouch]

Barty was glad that they had taken some time after their first meeting, he’d had a feeling that it would all be too much too fast, at least for him, if he had stayed and moved in right away.  Though, what he had come to find in the past few days was that he had come to not only appreciate frequent owls from Georgie, but wanted to receive them.  There was something about that which irked him slightly, because he didn’t like the idea of being dependant on another person. Was that part of a union? He wasn’t sure.  It just went against what came naturally to him, which was to look after himself, and to always put himself first. 

Once their eyes had met, he felt... oh, what was that? Something almost seemed to be pulling him towards her. No, that was preposterous, it wasn’t that.  He didn’t need anyone, he was just having to deal with the situation.  “Good evening...”  He said attempting to sound somewhat nonchalant, but failing slightly.  “How are you?”

[corruptedbartemiscrouch]

g-parkinson​:

It was clear her offer made him uncomfortable. It wasn’t her intention. She didn’t want that at all. “You wouldn’t be in my way. Honestly. I’ve gotten used to having people stay here. It makes it a lot less lonely when Cissa is gone.” She didn’t want him to feel pressure but she did want him to know the offer was genuine. “It’s a standing offer. Yours if you ever need it.” Though truthfully, it would be easier for her to make sure he’s okay if he was here with her. Hopefully he would feel comfortable with time. 

“Aren’t most pureblood wives too good for their husbands?” Her tone was light, a smirk clear on her face. She meant it all in good fun. “That was the case for my mother, too. She did what she could to protect me. I was just ignored by Father most of the time but Maman was always there for me.” She could feel the tears threatening to spring up. Normally she was an expert at keeping them away until she could cry in private. The circumstances had taken away her control. There wasn’t much she could do about it other than change the subject. 

“She does seem nice.” She grabbed the letter once more, looking it over again. “She doesn’t threaten to kill me or do me great bodily harm. So that’s already a good sign. And she was a Slytherin? Another positive attribute.” She winked at Barty before looking back down. It was clear their houses would be a point of friction between them, though far from a malicious one. “It makes sense she was. We protect those we care about. We’ll burn the world down if it means someone we love will be kept safe.” It was practically her personal motto. Maybe that is why she had agreed to this. She knew what went into be a Slytherin woman from a good family. 

Something fluttered in her stomach as he scrunched his nose. Oh Merlin, she thought he was cute. Sure, she had before but this was different. It meant something now. Something that required her to immediately push that feeling down. “I only like some shades. Others wash me out. Which is a tragedy really.” She smiled at him before putting her hand back on his. “Are you alright? With all this? Or as alright as you can be?” 

Yes, that twang in his gut had definitely been guilt.  But why?  The sensation was so foreign to Barty, and he didn’t even fully understand why it was there in the first place. Maybe it was because he truly did not want to fail at a marriage, but he was also absolutely clueless about how to succeed in one. Is that what he was supposed to do now? Move in so soon?  It was hardly as if he had a decent example to go by.  Barty searched Georgie’s eyes for a moment, none of this was exactly natural so maybe there wasn’t a correct answer.  Thanks to their fathers, they were skipping past anything remotely normal.  “Maybe I could try a night, once this has settled in more...”  He didn’t say it aloud, but he worried that moving in so soon may prove to be suffocating for them both, the idea was only hours old to him, and minutes to her. 

Barty couldn’t help but snort, it was something he had found to be true in most, if not all pureblood marriages.  The husband usually won out whereas the wife settled... He hoped that wasn’t going to be the case for them.  Perhaps they would only ever be compatible as friends, who knew... but it was somewhere to start.  Barty tilted his head as he thought he saw a tear threaten to roll down her cheek and that didn’t bode well to him.  Maybe she was starting to sense how awful he would be as a husband.  Maybe she sensed he wasn’t capable of love.

His eyes followed her as she went to reach for the letter once again, and it occurred to him that perhaps she and his mother would get along. Why did he even think that? He scalded himself internally because that seemed terribly close to accepting the entire idea. But he couldn’t help but notice how her eyes suddenly sparkled after winking. Oh, what was that feeling now?  Forcing his eyes closed for a moment to shake away those thoughts.

Taking a deep inhale of air, he managed to reopen his eyes and push past those thoughts.  A half smile formed on his eyes, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes.  “I have to admit that it could be alot worse....” He trailed off shuddering at the thought of other possible matches his idiotic father could have come up with, “Honestly, i’m impressed my father managed to get your father to agree.”

[cissablvcks]

@corruptedbartemiscrouch​

“i don’t trust you,” they say upon meeting barty, “let’s make that very clear,” cissa was the youngest and the least one with power unlike her siblings and in laws but she was still somewhat regarded as someone to be respected which she hoped would reach within this meeting with barty. “but if georgie trust you that just means i have my eyes on you more.” she gives him a sweet smile before picking up her mug of tea.

[corruptedbartemiscrouch]

Barty probably wasn’t fully prepared to deal with Georgie’s entourage of friends. To be honest, he hadn’t given it much thought because he had been too busy trying to process the first part, which was that he was no longer completely free of responsibility.  It did grate on his nerves slightly, that out of literally everyone a Black had to be Georgie’s best friend.  “That’s fine.”  He said coldly. “I don’t trust you either.”   Eyeing them for a moment, Barty tilted his head wondering if that was meant to be a general warning or if the Blacks were just as bad at communicating as they were at maintaining a half decent image. “Is that all you wanted to say?”

[corruptedbartemiscrouch]

g-parkinson​:

“You won’t be free right now. But it will be soon.” If there was one thing she prided herself on, it was her ability to keep the people around her safe. Or at least as safe as she could. “I…well admittedly I don’t know your living situation but if it’s with your father you’re welcome to come here. There are two empty guest rooms and you’re welcome to one.” She’d need to talk to Cissa if he took her up on the offer. But if her husband to be needed somewhere to stay, she’d offer what she could. 

At his words about her father, she couldn’t help but scoff. “It bothers him so much. At least according to my brother. I haven’t spoken to him in about a year but it seems he was still keeping tabs on me. Hates my chosen profession, too. I have a feeling he hopes that will end now.” It wouldn’t. At least if Barty stayed true to his word. “I think our fathers might be extremely similar.” She had expected it from her father. A pureblood daughter was only good for one thing. As terrible as it was, it made sense to her that she wasn’t his favorite. She couldn’t understand why Barty Senior was so rude to his son. Wasn’t that the ideal for most men? A son to carry on the legacy? Clearly there was something there. But she wasn’t going to push. That information would come with time. 

“All I ask is that you try.” It seemed so simple and yet was the most complicated thing in the world. They barely knew each other. Maybe spent all of two hours together. Now they were looking at the next hundred years with the other. At least legally. “We’ll have time.” It would work. There was no real reason for her to think so other than the idea of being stuck together. But there was something there. A spark of hope that this might not be the end for her. It might even be the beginning of something. Well, it was the beginning. They were to be married. It was something different than that. A feeling she couldn’t really explain. But she liked it. 

Her smile grew wider as he spoke. “As long as it’s not pink, I’ll be just fine.” She looked down at her hands, realizing soon they would look different. “Your mother seems nice. At least in her writing.” Her eyes went to the portrait of her mother on the wall. Gods did she miss her. Every day she felt the pain of loosing her. She thought it would have gone away over time but it hadn’t been the case. “I’m sure whatever the two of you pick out will be lovely.” 

For a moment Barty considered the idea of leaving the Crouch manor, he did also on occasion stay in an apartment owned by his mother, just outside of London. Though, he still had to sleep under the same roof as his father during busy work periods, which he completely resented.  Then again, living with his parents was one thing, living with his betrothed would be another thing entirely and he wasn’t sure that he would be capable of the intimacy Georgie might start to expect over time if they lived together so early.  It would just be the start of a downward spiral. “I wouldn’t want to be in your way.”  He said, not quite managing to raise his eyes back to her face.  What was that feeling he had suddenly in his gut?  Guilt?  

Her comment about her father managed to evoke a snort from Barty, he was an only child and although he had wanted a sibling when he was very young, he shuddered to think how his father may have treated a daughter.  Mind you, that may have been the final straw for Victoria. Always protective of her son, though even Barty knew that a mothers love for a daughter was unmatched. At least, thats what he had gleaned for the few years he had known his maternal grandmother. Oh if she still walked the earth, Barty was certain his father most likely would not.

“Nice?...”  Barty’s brow furrowed somewhat and he lifted his gaze to Georgie’s face, a small almost smile twitching in the corner of his mouth.  “...I don’t think I’ve ever heard her called that.  She is protective....maternal....too good for her husband, though I’m sure you probably figured that last part out by now.”  Victoria was definitely the reason that Barty was able to socialise with other people, if he had been left with Barty Crouch Sr, he would be only a shadow of the person he became. Things like empathy, sincerity and kindness for the most part evaded him, at least for now, but he was at least able to recognise them, which came from his mother.  Not to say that she was a soft mother, but she did everything she could to keep her son from harm. Not always succeeding, though Barty did not blame her.  Though, she was also someone not to be trifled with.  “She was a Slytherin you know. Father was a Raven, but i still like to think I’m more alike with my mother...”

“Do you not like the colour?”  He asked after a moment or two of silence. “I won’t pretend to know much about rings, though I do know coloured bands are tacky...”  He trailed off scrunching his nose slightly. “It won’t be pink.”

[marauderssmap]

David Tennant as Barty Crouch Jr. ↳Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

[corruptedbartemiscrouch]

g-parkinson​:

She couldn’t help but scoff at his words. “Maybe some of the ones dumb enough to show their hand.” She knew he was most likely dealing with the boys. The girls were much more cunning. “Though I’m starting to think the two of us might be quite the duo.” It was true. Even though he wasn’t a Slytherin, he clearly had some of their tendencies. And Ravenclaws could be just as cutthroat as any Slytherin. Any good one, anyway. 

It should have alarmed her how quickly she felt herself wanting to protect Barty. Maybe it was the rush of emotions. The fact they both were being forced into this. The fact that he seemed to actually respect her. The fact he didn’t want to force her into a hopeless union. It was much more than she would have thought in her dorm bed years ago. Protecting him was protecting herself now. “You will free yourself.” Her own voice was low, her other hand grabbing his free one. “Trust me on that.” It was now her mission, too. “We’re too close to be objective for our own fathers. But the other? That we can work with.” It was smart. An easy way for them to get close to the other. Nobody would question a new in-law making good with their new family. She looked around the room they were in, a small smile on her face. “This is my house. Not my fathers. Mine. I have the deed and everything. We can start here. If you’re not under his roof, that’s step one.” 

Her father may have disliked Georgie but she knew he did care about her mother. At least it seemed that way. “You aren’t your father. I know that. You won’t be him.” She leaned forward, hands still in his. “We won’t be our parents. We may not have a choice in the marriage but we have a choice in what we do once the ceremony is over.” She felt something shift. The emotions were still there. She was still furious. But it didn’t feel as all consuming anymore. “Not to mention, I think it’ll infuriate both of them if we have some sort of happiness.” 

She squeezed his hands before letting them go. “I know you said to trust you but I hope you can trust me, too. I don’t want to wake up every morning hating my life. I may not be all sunshine all the time but I don’t want you miserable either. I’m not asking for the kind of love they write epic poems about but I hope we could at least be friends. I think that’s possible.” She kept the smile on her face, hoping it wasn’t asking too much. “And I will expect quite the engagement ring. The bigger the better, really.” 

Barty had avoided most of the Slytherins during his time at Hogwarts purely because he couldn’t line up with their way of thinking. Which usually seemed to be something along the lines of dishing out revenge even to those who didn’t deserve it.  He always thought it was just a waste time, though for the most part the Slytherins he had dealt with had been little boys living off their daddy’s money, so getting into bother never even entered into their tiny minds. Whereas Barty made purposely sure he had stayed well off the radar since his childhood.  He admittedly didn’t know much about Slytherin girls, only that one of the boys he shared a dorm with had the misfortune of breaking a snakes heart and had woken up with no hair left on his head. Which as he thought about it, was ironic because he had made a mental note at the time to never date a Slytherin, never mind marry one. 

His mind went blank for a moment, as Georgie taking his other hand startled him slightly. Maybe he should have pondered more on why he was suddenly so comfortable with this woman, who he barely knew. He probably would once he had more time to really think all this over by himself. Barty wasn’t even sure he knew how to connect with another person, let alone be a husband.  He only knew what not to do, courtesy of his father. He took a slow inhale of breath and locked his eyes with hers once again. “It won’t be soon enough for me.”  Barty said lowly.  A part of him was wondering if she would think any less of him if she knew about the curses, if she would think that he had been weak when he was younger, and therefore how could he manage to protect her.  He wasn’t quite ready to get into all that now. 

He had paused for a moment, realising that he didn’t really know much about her father, other than word of mouth.  Though, it was becoming clear to Barty that Georgie certainly had the heart of a Slytherin, which he hadn’t found to be the case of most ex snakes. Salazar Slytherin himself, would probably turn in his grave if he clapped eyes on half of the people who came from his name sake house.  “Does it bother your father that you don’t need him?”  Barty asked as his gaze left her face and scanned the room.  A small smirk twitched in the corner of his mouth and a laugh left his lips, although there was no humour behind it. “My father’s office would be the first room I would ruin....” Trailing off as his gaze returned to Georgie. “...They sound similar... other fathers.”

There was a kind of honesty swimming in Barty’s eyes, which was entirely foreign on his face.  “Trust.... It never came easily to me.”   That had his father written all over it. “But I can promise that I will try.”  He also didn’t really have friends, but Barty knew that not even trying would make their marriage a lost cause before it had even begun. It wasn’t even that he was being deliberately difficult, he just genuinely didn’t know how to let someone in.  It went against everything he had taught himself, which was that people are inherently selfish and you should never trust anyone except yourself.  “I think it’s possible, if you allow me time, and I will do the same.”   He scoffed once more, though this one was more light hearted. “I’ll see what I can do. Mother will likely help.”

[becomeablade]

[corruptedbartemiscrouch]

@g-parkinson​

[corruptedbartemiscrouch]

g-parkinson​:

“You think we’d be silly enough to let you know you were being chased?” Her own smirk crossed her face. Their plan was truly flawless. Seven years in a dormitory together and another five living together gave them plenty of time to iron out all the details. They both would go to the ends of the earth for the other. Do anything to make sure the other was safe. It was one of the few promises she had made in her life with no intention of ever breaking.“That’s the thing about snakes. They’re silent until they don’t want to be anymore. You never know they’re there most of the time. And by the time you do, it’s too late.” Without another word she pulled out the knife she kept attached to the bottom of the table. She held it between them, her smirk only growing larger. The whole action took barely a moment. It had taken a bit of practice to get the wordless spell just right but she refused to be caught unable to defend herself.

After putting the knife back on the table, she looked back at Barty. “That is what I mean by strike. Once we know exactly how to get them, we will take our fathers down. Simple as that.” She spoke as if it was a casual conversation about the weather. It might as well have been. For years, she knew her father would get what was coming to him. The idea of having a partner to help was an added bonus. “You’ll be free of him one day. I promise you that. Even if I have to do it myself.” 

His admissions made it clear to Georgie that she wasn’t the only one with not so great feelings about their family. It was rare to see such feelings from men, at least in her experience. Most likely it was others not wanting to admit just how terrible things were. She let him take her hand, smiling softly. “I do trust you. Like I said, you haven’t given me a reason not to trust you.” Her gaze was sure as she looked at Barty, their hands still clasped together. “You…you don’t seem like the type to lie about something like this.” Something twisted in her chest. She wasn’t sure exactly about what but it was enough to push her to keep going. “I want you to know I will do the same for you. There may be things I ask of you but the final decision will be yours to make.” 

Barty scoffed again, his smirk growing although there was a playfulness shining in his eyes.  “I spent most of my time at Hogwarts evading snakes, beating them at their own game and generally mocking them.”  He said quite matter of factly. At one point in his life, he thought that he would have been better suited to Slytherin rather than where the hat placed him, which was Ravenclaw. However, as time passed and he got to be slightly older, he learnt that although being cunning was in his nature, he was never on the same page as Slytherins.  They always wanted to get their revenge in some way or another, and they’d plot it for hours not so quietly at their dinning table within the great hall.  In Barty’s opinion, their arrogance was always their down fall, it was foolish to assume you would always win, at least in his eyes. 

He eyed her as she pulled out a knife, and he would have been ready to respond if he thought it was necessary, but he knew it wasn’t. Although, he made a mental note that she not only had one hidden, but that she was the sort of woman who did. 

Pausing for a moment, at the mention of his father and the playful glint left his eyes. “I have thought about it many times...” He said in a near growl, it was that low, “...I think I have to do it.  I have to free myself...”  Even if it kills me, he said internally.  Of course he meant literally, because Barty would not lose any sleep over the death of his father.  Though, he would be pretty pissed off if it were not at his own hand. 

Taking a deep breath in and then out, because he really didn’t want to be thinking of that right now, he pulled his gaze from the floor and back to Georgie’s face. Being even this open with someone was somewhat foreign to him, though he found himself squeezing her hand in response before he had even really thought about it. “I never thought I would marry, but I did always know that if I were to do so, I would want it to be equal.....”  He trailed off, momentarily wondering why this was suddenly coming so easily to him.  It wasn’t as if Barty just opened up to anyone, betrothed or not. “...My parent’s marriage was not that.  And I can’t imagine gaining any satisfaction from harming or controlling the person you are sworn to protect, it must only make your life miserable.”

[austenkates]

Max Irons as Miles Richards - The Riot Club (2014) Part 4

[corruptedbartemiscrouch]

g-parkinson​:

It was clear from his words that their fathers weren’t so different. Or at least they both thought of their children as playthings. Her mother had tried to separate Georgie from all of that but it didn’t matter. None of it did. She got herself another glass as she thought about his question. It was much more than a simple answer. This was….well everything. It was their lives. Their children’s lives. Merlin, children. That was a different emotional breakdown for another day. Now she had to deal with this. She studied Barty for a moment before moving to sit down on the table in front of him. 

“I know we’re not the best of friends but our interactions have always been pleasant. You’ve asked my opinion on this which is much more than some others would have.” She had heard how some of the boys used to talk in the common room. It was even more awful than she liked to admit. “You said you don’t want to be in charge of my every move. There’s no reason for me not to believe you don’t mean that. If you do give me a reason to not believe you, I know Narcissa will help me feed you to a dragon and I’ll perfectly play the part of a grieving widow at the funeral that is held once you’re fully declared dead after being missing for years.” It was a plan they had talked about before. It wasn’t always being fed to a dragon but their current jobs made it a much easier way to dispose of a body. 

Her hand came to rest on his hand holding the glass, eyes meeting his. “For years I knew this was a possibility. Not you specifically but a betrothal. I had hoped it wouldn’t happen but it’s here now. I know this could be a lot worse for me. I hope you think the same.” She gave his hand a light squeeze before pulling back. 

A plan was already starting to develop in her head. “So we let them think they’ve won,” she said in a hushed tone, almost like their fathers could hear them from here. “We play the parts we’ve been given. But we won’t be behind closed doors. Things will be done our way. We’ll be the opposite of our parents. We’ll refuse to go to family events or be paraded around after the wedding. Once enough time has passed, we’ll strike. I don’t know exactly how yet. But we’ll just have to observe. Keep an eye on their weak points and how to exploit them.” Georgie knew the hat had placed her correctly in Slytherin. There wasn’t a problem she couldn’t find a way out of. 

Barty wasn’t quite able to hold back the scoff that came tumbling from his lips, and he proceeded to shake his head. “Put it this way, you would have to catch me first.” He said as a half smirk threatened to twitch onto his mouth. “I might be many things, but a man who is easily captured is not one of them.”  Barty wasn’t foolish, he knew that she probably understood the underlying message of that statement. It was something that only very few people knew for sure, but even he knew that keeping such a thing completely secret from his betrothed would be naive. 

Falling silent again, he mulled over her words, Barty wore many masks, played along with alot of facades, and he wasn’t worried about adding another role to his repertoire. Though, silently he did wonder how long that could feasibly last. All may start out well and good, but what if it proves to be an unhappy match? Do they still continue to play along? His thoughts were interrupted when he felt her hand on his own, his blue eyes looking down. It was odd, he would usually instinctively pull away at such a thing, but he was too busy further wondering if actually, maybe they could pull it off.  Their exchanges had been few, though they had all been fairly pleasant, which boded well. Finally, he nodded, managing to pull his gaze back up to her face. “I had always wondered in the back of mind, when or if my father would play his last card in a bid for power over me....”  He trailed off as another scoff escaped him.  “...Miserable bastard must have purposely left it so long, to make me think it was never going to happen...” His brow furrowed as anger started to return to him.  Exhaling, as an attempt to calm himself, he spoke again but in a lower tone.  “Almost feels like I’ll never be free of him.”  It would be so easy to just deal with him now, but it would cause too much of a fuss and there would be too eyes, too many questions. No, that would have to wait. 

Turning his head back towards her, Barty tilted his head to one side, “Strike?”  It wasn’t that he didn’t fully understand, it was more to do with the fact that Barty Crouch Sr had very few weak points, possibly his arrogance was his only one. His tireless want to reach the top of the chain would surely be his downfall one day. 

This time, he reached out his hand to clasp around Georgie’s, and locked eyes with her once again.  It was important that they had a decent level of trust early on, no matter how this all played out and Barty knew that.  “I will never dictate how you should live your life, nor would I have the inclination to do so. On that, you have to trust me.” 

[corruptedbartemiscrouch]

georgettexollivander​:

Georgette had just put a cigarette in her mouth and about to light it when he spoke. She looked around but there was no one else there. “I wasn’t,” she said with a disdained tone and finished lighting her cigarette. “Freak.”

To say that Barty’s mind was occupied would be an understatement, but even then, he knew that he heard someone say something.  Looking over to the witch, who he certainly wasn’t talking to, he rolled his eyes and scoffed.  “Not you.”  He said bitterly, and took a moment to look behind him.  It was probably time that he got himself a decent nights sleep, though that wasn’t likely to happen with his father hovering around constantly at the moment.  “Charming.” Barty retorted dryly. 

[corruptedbartemiscrouch]

g-parkinson​:

Her emotions seemed to switch on a dime. It was the same thing that happened when she got word of her mother’s accident. One moment she was fine, the next she wasn’t. She downed the rest of her drink, hoping the burning in her throat would be enough to calm down the fire raging inside her. All it took was a few words about his own father and her mood changed once more. How dare her father do this to her? How dare Barty’s father do this to him? They were adults. They weren’t children of monarchs hundreds of years ago. And yet it was there as clear as day. A binding contract Georgie doubted she could get out of. 

She downed the rest of her drink before grabbing the bottle. She moved over to the other armchair and put the bottle down in the table between them. His next words made her pause. She had no reason to think he was lying to her. It would be silly of him to. He might be able to figure something out but she would have a much tougher time trying to get out of this. Her eyes met his for a moment before she looked into the fire. 

“I don’t want that either.” Her voice was smaller than she would have hoped. “I won’t let it happen.” Fingers tightened around the glass, her anger only growing by the moment. “I’ve worked too hard. I did everything I could to make sure I never needed anyone but myself. I kept my head down. I didn’t stand out. This wasn’t…” She trailed off, tears stinging her eyes. Without another word she stood up and threw her glass into the fire. It was dramatic, yes. But she needed to break something in that moment. It seemed the safest option. 

“My father did this to try and get back at me. Get back at my mother. I will not let him win.” Her tone was serious. There was no question she meant what she was saying. “He wants to break me. He has since I was younger. I won’t let him. I won’t let any man break me.” She felt the wave of anger starting to subside. “I hope you meant what you said. I don’t want to be miserable, either. I’ve seen what that can do to people. I will not let it happen to me. I don’t care what I have to do to insure that, but I will.” 

Barty was hardly someone to concede in a fight, which is essentially what he was having with his father over this particular matter. The thing was though, if he caused a fuss and flat out refused to marry Georgie, his father still held the power to have Barty fired, which would throw a wrench straight into the orders he had been given, which was to keep an eye in the Ministry.  He’d been playing the long game for the past four years and it was still nowhere near over.  If he threw in the towel now, it would be four years of his life wasted, and Barty just could not allow that. Four years of dealing with tediously dull people, and having to listen to their constant stream of mundane nonsense, and having to act as though he cared about it all.  No, that all couldn’t be for nothing. 

His eyes scanned her carefully as he watched Georgie throw her glass into the fireplace, an action he had done himself several times over within the Crouch manor. Partly because his fathers Edinburgh Crystal whiskey glasses were his pride and joy, and partly due to the rage which often came hand in hand with being Barty Crouch Sr’s son.  Barty wondered if her rage would subside anytime soon, or if he should return the next morning.  The news wasn’t as fresh to him as it was to her, he was around five hours a head, in terms of processing it.  Not to say that he hadn’t been just as angry, he’d just been forced to suppress it due to the public setting his father had chosen, admittedly that was somewhat clever of him. 

“My father has done a similar thing...” Barty trailed off, knowing that voicing it all aloud may threaten to cancel out his subdued state. “...He doesn’t like the fact that I’m no longer a boy, it used to be so easy for him to control me...”  His grip around his glass tightened and he had to take a moment to exhale. He’d never told anyone about the curses his father used to use on him to keep him in line, the only person who knew was his mother. It had started when he was very young, but as soon as Barty Sr had realised that his son was a stronger curse wielder than he was, the curses had stopped.  This was just another way of controlling him. 

“What do you want to do?”

[corruptedbartemiscrouch]

g-parkinson​:

It was an odd request. Typically letters were sent by owl, not a person. He had even owled her earlier. This letter could have been sent them. She looked at the envelope, noting the handwriting was different than what Barty had sent her earlier. Her eyes carefully moved over the letter. We are so happy to welcome you into our family. She felt her stomach drop. There was no way. “This….” Her eyes met Barty’s. He looked just about how she was feeling. This had to be some big joke. A sick prank he somehow thought would be funny. Her eyes moved over the next page of the letter, hoping for something other than what she was reading. It was nothing but kind words. The typical pureblood sayings of bring families together and continuing their noble lines. This wasn’t a joke. 

Her father….he couldn’t do this. Not anymore. She was an adult. She lived on her own. She had her own money. Her mother had made sure of that. There should be no way for him to do this. She let the letter fall to the floor, her hands suddenly unable to work. Everything in her body was screaming. This couldn’t be real. “She promised.” It was quiet. Barely loud enough for Barty to hear. “She promised this wouldn’t happen.” Her mother had said just that. It’s why she had her own place, her own vault. Her mother wanted to make sure she was taken care of and would never have to rely on her father. Or any man for that matter. 

A thought came to her then and she found herself rushing to the other side of the room. It was a small portrait, one of her mother’s. It was of her family tree, magically charmed to add whenever someone was added onto the line. She could see it now. A dotted line next to her name. Bartemis Crouch Junior. It broke something in her. A physical something. She wouldn’t be surprised if Barty heard it himself. Her eyes wouldn’t leave that dotted line. It was mocking her somehow. Making it look like she had chosen this. 

She wasn’t sure how much time had past before she started laughing. Not just chuckling. A full on belly laugh. It wasn’t a normal reaction. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew this. But she couldn’t stop it. “The bastard really did it.” She turned back to Barty, still chuckling softly. “He really did. That fucking bastard.” Without another word, she went over to the small bar cart, pouring herself a full glass of firewhisky. She downed half of it before silling it up once more. “Well,” she said as she poured Barty one, too. It seemed he could use a drink, too. She handed him the glass before speaking once more. “It seems we’re getting married.” 

Barty had never been particularly well versed when it came to emotions, he had always held the mantra that showing your emotions made you weak. It was near impossible to get so much as a furrowed brow from him. And he struggled even more with conveying empathy when someone else was expressing their emotions to him. His gaze had settled on Georgie when she was reading the letter from his mother, and had remained there, following her as she moved around.  She looked how he had felt when his father had initially told him, only Barty didn’t have the luxury of being in his own living room.  To add salt to the wound, he had been in his own office with the door open, no less. If he had indulged in some kind of outburst, countless Ministry employees would have likely overheard. 

It was her laughter that truly took him by surprise, and he suppressed a want to roll his eyes. He honestly couldn’t tell if she was having a break down or if it was some kind of hysterical reaction. He wasn’t familiar enough with the woman, to know what best to do. He had opened his mouth to speak, but before he could attempt to say something, Georgie had beaten him to it.  He knew that she could only be speaking of her father, Barty didn’t know much about the Parkinson patriarch but it was clear from the her tone that she loved him about as much as Barty loved his own.  That was something he was able to empathise with.  “My father and I had an agreement as well..”  Barty said bitterly, his gaze finally leaving Georgie as he lowered into one of the armchairs, loosening the buttons on his blazer as he did so.  Raising his hand to rub at his temple.  “I thought if I did as he asked and worked within the Ministry, that would be enough.”  The words fell from Barty’s mouth before he had even considered them.  “I should have known better.”   He said in such a low tone it was barely audible. 

Another thought which occurred to Barty as he watched Georgie pour out firewhisky, was if she worried about what sort of husband he would be.  He had no idea himself, it was not as if he had a great example to look to.  Taking the glass from her outstretched hand, he could only nod before downing most of what the glass contained.  His father had been a bully to Barty’s mother throughout the vast majority of their marriage and he knew he had never wanted that if he were ever to marry.  Aside from that though, he had absolutely no idea what was meant to happen next. 

Having never been the sort of person that would speak their mind, he had fallen silent for a minute or two, mulling over if he should say what was on the tip pf his tongue.  “I have no inclination to have a marriage full of misery and dictating where, when and what your up to....”  He trailed off, sighing heavily.  “...I have seen what that does and it’s nothing if a huge waste of time for both people.”

[g-parkinson]

location: georgie’s townhouse in primrose hill 

ft. @corruptedbartemiscrouch​

The owl from Barty had been unexpected. It was short, simple. A request to meet and a confirmation when Georgie offered her place. She wasn’t sure what it might be about. The two had a nice time after their encounter at the Ministry, enjoying a few drinks before going their separate ways. She had thought all was well from that point. Never one to burn bridges unnecessarily, she had left the office early, letting her elves know company was coming. Luckily, her house was usually ready for company. It took the elves only a short time to get ready. It was enough time for her to get changed. Her clothes from the reserve were not her best and she didn’t want to look dirty. 

The elves were busy preparing tea when she heard the knock on the door. She checked herself once more in the mirror, knowing the door would be answered promptly by one of the elves. She had already given them the direction of putting him in the living room so she went there, smile on her face as she entered. “Barty,” she said before pointing her wand towards the fire, the flames coming to life. “I have to admit, I was surprised to get your letter. I hope all is well.” 

[corruptedbartemiscrouch]

To say that Barty was unamused, would be a vast understatement.  He had just spent an entire afternoon with his father. Which in itself was bad enough, but he had decided to inform Barty that after years of saying it wasn’t something he believed in, he was in fact going to have his son betrothed.  It was nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to control Barty’s life even more than he already did.  The worst part was that, Barty himself could not even dispute it because appearing to be under his father’s thumb had always been part of his plan, except now he really, truly was.  To his credit though, there was probably far worse that he could have chosen.  Oddly, Barty had already had a couple of drinks with Georgie, though he hadn’t thought much about it at the time. 

He had decided it was probably best to send an owl so she would be aware of his visit. Originally, both his parents had wanted to accompany him, though thankfully he had managed to talk them out of that.  He had however, left with a signed letter from his mother informing Georgie of the betrothal, which suited Barty.  He didn’t even know how he would go about broaching the subject. 

Arriving promptly, Barty as he always did was wearing a suit, perhaps he looked too formal, though he always did. His gaze fell to the elf who answered the door. Something which did not go with the rest of his personality was that he had a soft spot for elves, having been partially raised by his mother’s elf.  “Good evening.”  He said lowly, wearing a solemn expression on his face.  Not knowing what to add to that, and so instead he reached into the inner pocket of his blazer and took out the letter from his mother, informing her of the betrothal.  “You ought to read this.”