-. casually cruel

Feel like making a deal with the devil?

[crueltykept]

isobel clemonte‌ ;

             Relief coursed through her when Barty didn’t tell her to sod off, she had been panicking about him thinking she was making assumptions of him, but when he not only did not seem to mind, but agreed with what she had said about him, Isobel smiled again. Whether at him or at the situation she could not be sure, maybe the noise -or the alcohol- was getting to her. His question took her by surprise, she really had not expected him to engage in conversation. What she to say now? 

             Of course she was above all of this, because her idea of a good time was not sweating disgustingly while people spilled their drinks around you but Ludo was her friend, her closest friend -Greta was the sister she never had, so Ludo had the closest friend title- and this whole thing was Ludo’s idea of a good time. And this was Barty she was talking with, not someone like Edgar who would agree that a party meant elegant ballgowns and tuxes, or sipping champagne while on a yacht, this was Barty and Isobel knew nothing about him. ❝I’m here because I let some friends convinced me it would be a good idea, but they abandoned me as soon as we got here…❞ she had been on her way to the door, decided to leave this party, there was no reason for her not to follow through with her plan, ❝so I guess you could say that…❞

Looking at Isobel, he could feel the hesitation, making her chose her words rather carefully. It was rather obvious that while she wasn’t enjoying herself, she was here to make somebody else happy, which felt oddly similar to him. He usually didn’t do this kind of thing though, he didn’t put himself in situations he didn’t want to be in for other people very often. “I guess sometimes our friends can be very different from us,” he mused with an uncharacteristically sincere expression on his face, though it lasted only a split second before his usual smirk took over again. 

The way Isobel was smiling at him, the way she seemed to pick her words so very carefully made him wonder whether she actually cared what he thought of her. What a weird thought, considering that they had barely ever had a full conversation. Following her gaze, that kept wandering to the door, he strangely found himself interested in continuing this conversation. Offering her an arm and a slightly crooked smile, he gestured towards the door. “Since neither of us wants to be here, how about we just leave?” he asked, eager to get away from the dance floor. “We can go to the library? Or wherever you want to go.” 

[crueltykept]

HALLOWEEN PARTY - Costume

In which Barty couldn’t be bothered to show even the slightest sign of effort and simply brought this to the party, telling everyone who’d dare to ask that he was dressed as their father. 

[nessa007]

Ron Swanson + Sister Michael Parallels [x]

[wixenprince]

Warning || Oct. ‘77 || OPEN

[crueltykept]

severus snape ; 

“Are you ready? Not going to back out now, are you?”

The fourth-floor corridor echoed with Severus’ voice as he turned to his companion, dark eyes barely visible under the hood of his robes. The Dark Lord wanted terror, destruction, and mayhem - what better way to start the festivities than with a macabre warning for the students and faculty? Written in blood, of course.

The threat of being caught dwelled at the back of his mind, even though he’d taken precautions to use Muffliato and a myriad of other protective spells that would give them a few extra minutes to run away if they were found. They’d have to do this quickly.

Severus slid his wand out of his pocket and pushed the sleeves up on his robes slightly, touching the tip of his wand to his palm. He cast another glance at his partner before whispering, “Diffindo.”

“I’m ready, I’m not planning on leaving after you dragged me here and kept me waiting while laying what felt like twelve different protective spells over us to do some scribbling on this wall” He couldn’t help a slightly exasperated sigh from escaping his lips, as he stood on the corner of the corridor, checking whether they were still alone. 

Watching Severus begin to draw his own blood only made Barty scrunch up his nose in distaste. “I really don’t understand why you’re so hellbent on self-mutilation when using the blood from some other kid would clearly be so much more pleasing to him,” he muttered under his breath as he shook his head once more, unsure how he had even gotten roped into this seemingly futile mission.

“Tell me you at least have something clever to write. If you’re just gonna do ‘Death’ or ‘Be Warned’ or anything like that I’m actually going to leave right now.” 

[bellatriixed]

when: october 11th, 1:38 am. where: exit to the slytherin dorms. who: bellatrix black & anyone.

What a spectacular day it had been indeed. And whilst some may have been rejoicing for the apparent Quidditch match that had been one of the houses’ unexpected win, she was more interested in the affairs of the Death Eaters, and how pleased she had been with the results of the meeting. She had laid down the law for her Lord’s followers and now she expected results from his recruits; failure was not tolerated. And now it was time to see his glory proclaimed as they flourished in the cover of night. A cruel smirk upon her lips, Bellatrix found herself rather lacking the need for sleep, when she herself could be participating in the joys of torture and experimentation to further her spell repertoire. Turning her head to see the brief glimpse of someone who seemed to also be out beyond curfew, her smirk began to widen as she remarked, “Well well; what do we have here?”

[crueltykept]

A small smirk on his lips, Barty pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning on, exhaustion making his body feel a little stiff. “I was wondering how much longer you were going to miss out on the fun for,” he replied, his voice a little scratchy, not having spoken for a while. With a couple of steps, he walked up to her, twirling his wand between his fingers. “Not to sound like a creep,” he couldn’t help but laugh, considering the things they were going to do put them well above creep level, “but I was hoping to talk to you. I know that our Lord has ordered chaos and blood spread and I’m more than happy to oblige, however, I can’t help but wonder whether I couldn’t be of more help to his future plans if I knew a little more about them.” Looking at Bellatrix, he let out a little sigh. “You know I like to plan ahead, pure chaos isn’t quite my prefered brand of action.” 

[crueltykept]

rita skeeter ; 

“Aw, baby.” She coos, the hand on his shoulder giving a tiny squeeze. “You really think of me as your whole world? Wow! I’m flattered.” She doesn’t match his tone this time but instead lets it become rich with aggrandized sweetness, as if his sarcasm came off as little more than a compliment. She knew all she had to do was be near to nettle him, but twisting around his words to her benefit made it more fun.

She lets her hand lower to the lapel of his suit and comes to stand in front of him. She takes her time in smoothing it out. Her actions rather quite careful, avoiding her usually roughness in favor of simply keeping a closeness with the boy. Boys like him were easy to ruffle up. “Didn’t you hear originality was dead.” She says bluntly. “All people really care about is that it isn’t their name getting dragged through the mud, and that nobody knows that they actually care about the gossip going around about them.” She tugs at his lapel this time before letting her hand drop completely. “You would know this if you ever talked to literally anybody. But, that’s too hard for you, huh? I believe in miracles, though.” She gives a bright, fake smile then. “Maybe I’ll start a Make-A-Friend foundation for you. I am a miracle worker, after all.”  

The fact that Rita had never heard about the concept of personal space had long since been known to pretty much everyone at this school, nonetheless, it was still irritating. Honestly, who had raised that girl? Ignoring his obvious his sarcasm and acting as if he had genuinely meant it was child’s play, nothing worth another thought or even warrant a reply. Therefore he just raised his eyebrows at her, was there really nothing better for her to do here?! 

He was barely following her speech about gossip, never having had any interest in it or the supposed ‘writing’ Rita did. The thing vexing him way more was her constant touching, her fingers wandering over his jacket, making him feel the severe need to take several steps back. On the other hand, he knew that would have been admitting defeat so instead, he stood very still, sighing at her words. “Probably not as hard as it would be for you to stop bothering people, but I understand, a good upbringing is nothing money can buy after all.” He faked a sympathetic smile, looking down at her. “The sole knowledge that people could be as absolutely insufferable as you might be what is keeping me being interested in making friends, have you ever considered that, darling? No offence, of course.”

[crueltykept]

isobel clemonte‌ ;

            A determined look on her face and a deep breath later, Isobel found herself braving the sea of people dancing around and on each other on the dance floor. She was desperate to find someone she knew, or even someone willing to have a conversation on the sidelines. Each step she took was met by some body covered in sweat, and when she used her hand to push someone and felt something sticky she simply shook her head in defeat, ❝good god, that’s it! I’m leaving❞ she said to herself, Isobel picked up her pace and started to dodge people as best as she could, until someone -she would bet they did it on purpose- slammed into her. 

           Isobel felt time slow down, she was headed for the ground, when a steady hand came out of nowhere to stop her from falling. ❝Thank you❞ she said to her mystery savior, before she could agree with him on the disaster that falling would’ve been, she recognized the voice, ❝Crouch❞ she said with a smile. ❝I didn’t expect to see you here, sorry, not that I know you, or know much about you… it’s just, in potions club, you seem…❞ she felt her cheeks flush, she hated when people made assumptions about her, and now here she was doing the same for Barty, Barty who she barely talked to outside of potions club, who if they had happened to be in the same year she wouldn’t have minded as potions partner ❝- above all this…❞ 

The seemingly genuine smile wasn’t exactly a reaction Barty had expected to get, considering the amount of effort he put into deterring other people from even wanting to talk to him. He knew Isobel mostly because she was one of the less annoying people in potions club, usually quiet and concentrated on the work they were doing, something he could appreciate. Otherwise, however, he knew barely anything about her. However her stuttering was amusing, he had to admit. A slight smirk appeared on his lips, at the sight of her blushing and he nodded at her words. “You most definitely assumed right, then.” He said, looking at the people surrounding them and shaking his head in distaste at the behaviour of his so-called peers. 

For a second he considered simply leaving it at that, walking past the girl and following his plan of getting just a little drunk in order to make all of this a little more bearable. On the other hand, she looked almost as misplaced as he felt and something about her manner was fascinating to him. “So how about you? You don’t seem too happy to be here either.” He said, raising his eyebrows in question, his attention now focused on her. “Are you... above this as well?” 

[crueltykept]

narcissa black ;

        THE WAY BARTY looked after her was different than that of her family, and perhaps that’s why she valued him even more. He didn’t over protect her, he watched her carefully and ready himself to jump in if she needed him, unlike the cotton pillows her family wanted her to be on at all times. There was a part of her that wished it had been him, not Lucius, who her parents chose, while they weren’t in love at least there was their friendship and their strong bond to found their future. 

        “Like that muggle fairy tail, we can turn into a pumpkin or whatever and call it a night. Or go star gazing on the way to bed.” Narcissa had a love for the stars like no other, she felt at home under the night sky. She locked her arm with him, looking down at him with sweetness in her eyes, “Thank you, for letting me drag you here. I always feel better with you in the room.” She was safe, but she could be herself, at least as much as she could be in public. “Now, which one of this bloody cauldrons do you think it taste the least awful?” 

“I never knew of your mysterious desire to spend the rest of your existence as a pumpkin, do tell me more about that, please.” He teased with a grin, having only a very vague grasp on the fairytale she was referencing. Fairytales weren’t really his preferred kind of literature, even though the idea of magic portrayed in muggle fairytales had proven to be quite amusing. Her proposal to stargaze, while not really being his cup of tea, would at least mean her being happy and him getting of all this. The music, the smells, the lights, all of it would probably give him a headache in less than ten minutes. 

A headache he had decided to endure, to do Narcissa a favour. Even though he wasn’t quite sure whether going to this party could be considered favourable for anyone. “You’re probably the only person who feels this way. Usually, my attendance tends to have the opposite effect.” He replied with a wink in her direction, leading her carefully through the crowd until they got to the cauldrons. “Well, I’m betting that all of them are going to have some sickly sweet mixture, completely ruining the perfectly fine liquor that was probably put in there.” Then he looked into each of them, scrunching his nose in disdain. “So, what drink would you prefer: purple, green or this really concerning orange?” 

[crueltykept]

bellatrix black ; 

where: the room of requirement when: friday september 16th, 11:02pm. who: bellatrix black & barty crouch jr / @crueltykept

A small smirk placed upon her features, and her wand twirling in her fingers, Bellatrix wondered just how she would spend her night for amusement, especially since classes hadn’t really started back yet. Her eyes searching the room of someone worthy, she didn’t seem to find anyone of interest, and it was because of this reason she decided to stand and leave the roam the crowd, to find her entertainment elsewhere. Her wand placed in its holster, she began to walk through the talking and dancing crowd, before all of a sudden she spotted Barty; someone who was exactly who she was looking for. Bellatrix’s smirk widening, she remarked, “Fancy catching you here Barty. Join me.”

Having arrived with the youngest Black sister, he couldn’t help himself from smirking as the oldest appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, right in front of him. They were different as day and night in his eyes, while he felt protective to Narcissa, he felt connected to Bella in a very different way. The darkness that was clearly visible in her eyes was one that echoed within him, making her more than a welcome company. “It would be my pleasure.” He said, standing up from the couch he had claimed earlier that night. “As long as you’re not about to tell me that you’re planning on dancing.” He added to that, his face showing obvious disdain for that sort of behaviour, not that he really thought she was going to ask him for that. 

[crueltykept]

narcissa black ; 

        OF COURSE THE party was not to the standards of any of the pure family children, but it was the set up for their teenage selfs and while she wasn’t one to often engage in the typical teenage behavior after being sick for so long that was the kind of thing to cheer herself up. Fully dolled up and looking her best, even with a few symptoms still remaining, she stood close to Barty, her personal body shield. Narcissa was only sure of one thing when it came to the two, she could not pinpoint when or how they became so protective of one another, but she did not disliked it either. 

         The blonde leaned in closer to him as he wrapped his arm around her, so familiar with the touch, any other would’ve won an instant smack to the arm and the most deadly smile, but she looked at him with softness in her eyes, the way she didn’t look at many. “I figured,” but she was sure many would say some weren’t if they were to be asked, she had suffered from that last year. “Yes, yes, my knight in shinning armor,” she chuckled, lifting her hand up to hold his hand that rested over her shoulder in her own. “Why don’t we have one drink,” she tapped her nose with her finger, “maybe we’ll both have some fun, besides if we don’t we already made an appearance we could just, puff, disappear from the madness.”

While Cissa looked like she belonged here, Barty couldn’t help himself from still seeing the little girl, chasing after her older sisters, that she had been not too long ago. Now, the youngest Black sister was obviously old enough to be at parties like this one still, he couldn’t quite shake the feeling of responsibility for her well-being. He was quite aware that Narcissa was probably one of the most well-protected girls out there, considering her family and especially her older sister, still he wanted to keep an eye on her as well. 

Even though he usually shied away from most forms of unnecessary physical contact, he didn’t mind it with her. They had known each other for too long to still feel uncomfortable. Her laugh at his insistent warnings made him frown a little, he really hoped she was taking his words seriously. He didn’t trust even one of these ridiculous drunkards not to try and hurt her if they’d get the chance. However, he’d probably just drive her away if he’d continue his warnings. “Alright, I suppose I could be convinced to have something to drink. I won’t try to ruin this for you intentionally.” A grin returned to his features, as he let go of her and started walking, towards the golden cauldrons. “The whole poof idea sounds really interesting to me though. Definitely going to keep that one in mind.”

[theoraeken-a]

[crueltykept]

where: room of requirement — ludo’s party when: friday september 16th, 11:46pm. who: barty crouch jr. & (( @isobelclemonte ))

The Raven had absolutely no interest in participating in something as frivolous as dancing at a school party, among way too many sweaty bodies, all moving in a way that made it really clear just how British they were. He was, however, not above trying to make his way through the dancing crowd, as it was the shortest way to get to the drinks. Drinks he desperately needed right now. At some point his gaze had lost Narcissa among the ever, leading to an underlying feeling of anxiety he wasn’t quite able to shake. It was startling to him that apparently nobody else here was bothered by the severe security thread this party posed.

He was just about to push another sweaty body out of his way when he saw a girl, who was apparently on her way in the other direction, stumbling after somebody danced straight into her. Since she would fall straight into his path, he reached out and held onto her arm to steady her. “You don’t want to fall down here, trust me.” He muttered, before quickly letting go of her once he was sure she wouldn’t lose balance. It wasn’t easy to make out her features in this lighting but after squinting at her for a second, he was quite sure. “Clemonte? Twice in so little days, huh.” A smirk had suddenly made it’s way to his features as he looked at the dark-haired witch in front of him, carefully studying what he could see of her expression. 

[crueltykept]

where: room of requirement — ludo’s party when: friday september 16th, 10:05pm. who: barty crouch jr. & (( @narcissaa ))

Barty leaned against one of the walls as he carefully watched their surroundings. Other than most people who came, he didn’t feel quite comfortable in this room filled with potential foes. Turning to the blonde girl standing by his side, a rare smile spread across his face. She was the whole reason he was here in the first place. After being dragged here by Evan last year, he hadn’t really planned on attending another one of Ludo Bagman’s parties. Her argument had been that she wanted to keep up appearances, that as a Black she couldn’t not go to the biggest back to school party. Even the argument that this party wasn’t very representative couldn’t sway her, leading to Barty deciding that it would be better if he went with her than. 

Laying an arm around the younger girl he pointed at the drinks offered in big cauldrons. “So, none of these are non-alcoholic. If anybody tells you different don’t listen to them. If you need anything else to drink come to me. Generally, if you need anything always come to me.” He said, talking close enough to her ear so that she would even understand. Looking around he sighed a little. “I can’t believe you convinced me to come here, I’m going to have to watch this foolishness all night.” 

[shesnake]

Good Omens episode 3 “Hard Times” (2019) dir. Douglas Mackinnon

[crueltykept]

evan-rcsier‌:

“Man the whole school’s here, there’s got to be at least two or three people you like besides me,” Evan joked. Sure it’s not like the masks were much of a factor keeping people from recognizing each other but still lEvan was having a hard time tracking down anyone worthy of his time. Barty must have been having the same problem.

However his mood soured a bit at the mention of his betrothed and he tried his best not to let his smile waiver. But Barty knew about the whole situation and Evan figured he’d catch on even without the physical clues. “Surprised they think we’ll all come together for peace and not hex each other for having to be together three days too early. They know we’re all not happy.” He shrugged. “Heard she came with Walden. If you track down him or Emma she’s sure to be close by.”

“Two seems just about right, they seem to be undetectable tonight though. Probably because they’re the ones being able to afford an actual mask.” He replied, chuckling a little at his own joke. “However, I’m in a bit of a mood so I probably wouldn’t be good company, even for those.” Though that was a relatively regular occurrence for him, he still felt as if tonight it might be especially bad. 

“I mean, at least they took our wands. Otherwise, I would straight up assume they’re trying to get rid of us. You never know with the Ministry these days.” He wouldn’t talk to everyone about the Ministry like this, especially considering who his dad was but with Evan he didn’t feel the need to hide his real feelings about them. Then the topic came back to Nadiya, which only made the younger Crouch shake his head in exasperation. “Walden?! Times must be tough for you, when a woman picks Walden MacNair over you, my friend.” Clapping his friend on the back, Barty hoped he wouldn’t take his teasing remark the wrong way. 

[allamericanedit]

[pxrcelaintosteels]

“He clings to his hate so stubbornly, because once the hate is gone he’ll have no other choice but to deal with his pain.”

—