The lady doth protest too much

Georgiana Parkinson. 20.

[g-parkinson]

siriusbx·:

Sirius appreciated Georgie not asking anything further about Reg, he would more than likely talk to her about it, just not right now.  He gave her a quick smile as she squeezed his arm which echoed how he felt.  

Sirius didn’t actually know all that much about Barty Jr, just that he seemed pretty up himself, got his job probably because of nepotism, and was generally considered pretty unlikeable, at least in the circles Sirius was in.  He listened to Georgie speak, and a cheeky smile cracked at his mouth, “Don’t tell me you like him..”  Sirius chuckled softly, which was actually quite nice, he hadn’t done that in some time. “There are probably worse, like that slimey fucker, Malfoy or Mcnair…” Sirius dramatically shuddered in disproval at the two names which fell from his lips.   “Wait…. he stayed by your bed?”  Sirius tilted his head, the smile fading slightly.  He had always had a soft spot for Georgie, along with the very different, Molly the pair of them were like sisters he never asked for. And he’d take on anyone who even so much as slighted either of them.   “Sorta goes against pretty much everything I’ve heard about the guy.”

“Malfoy’s not that bad. Though I’m not sure I could be with someone who has much better hair than I do.” She gave Sirius a small smile. “He did. He even got Mungo’s to actually give me my potions without having to wait for them.” She did like Barty. While she knew that he at least cared about her wellbeing. She hoped it was more than that but he wasn’t as obvious with his feelings as some of the other men around her were. “I think he’s just quiet. His father seems a lot like mine. I don’t think he had the people I did. Both blood and not.” She knocked her shoulder against Sirius’. He was like a brother to her and always would be. “We both know how bad it can get.” She gave Sirius another smile. “You know, if you had been an option, I would have begged our mothers to match us. Would have made things so much easier.” 

[g-parkinson]

corruptedxbartemius·:

Up till recently, Barty had been choosing not to think about the wedding itself, to him it was just pomp and circumstance, he had never considered it to be anything meaningful. Of course, he knew that for some people, the day itself was the subject of precise planning and caused many a sleepless night, making sure that it was perfect. His maternal grandparents, though betrothed were the only couple in his family that he could think of who actually married for love.  He certainly couldn’t deny that Georgiana had been on his mind alot as of late, and the thing was, it didn’t actually bother him anymore.  A part of him had wanted to see her, he hadn’t felt obligated, he just wanted to. Which was new.  Barty knew that he had been feeling an odd knot in his stomach when his eyes had first fallen onto her earlier, not an unpleasant one, just an unfamiliar one.  

A scoff escaped Barty’s lips and he gave a single shake of his head, “My father will be having very little to do with it…”  Save for the financial side, Victoria always did have very expensive taste. “…Which is just as well, my parents don’t work particularly well together, when it comes to organising anything.  He’s much better suited to being told, as opposed to being asked.”   Finally meeting Georgiana’s gaze, something close to a smile flashed on Barty’s lips if only for a millisecond.  “I tend to have the opposite problem.  Never sharing enough.”  That sentence made him realise internally that there were certain things he ought to share before their upcoming nuptials….. 

Barty sighed, and looked over his shoulder and around them for a second. “Shall we go for a meal?  The weather is unseasonably mild tonight.”

“He has not been around much, no.” She couldn’t help the smile on her face. She had only seen the elder Crouch once, just in passing. From hearing her fiancé speak of him, it was better to not be in his company. “I think my father wants it all done. Wants me taken care of.” Though it was becoming more and more obvious Barty was not the person her father thought he was when he agreed to the betrothal. It was an extremely pleasant surprise. “I don’t think you’re that bad. When it’s important, you’ve shared with me. Not everyone had to perform like I did in the dorms at Hogwarts.” While she loved her house, it was a competition almost constantly. 

At his question, she couldn’t help but brighten up. And be thankful under her sweater was one of her more dinner appropriate dresses. “I’d like that.” Of course she would. Sirius had been right. She did like Barty. It might not have been something she had gone looking for but something nice all the same. “Much better circumstances than the last time we were together.” They hadn’t talked about that night. It wasn’t far from her mind. That much would be obvious if they went to Diagon. She had not been there by herself since. “Do you have a place in mind?” 

[g-parkinson]

siriusbx·:

Another laugh fell from Sirius, it was reassuring that she hadn’t seemed to have changed much.  Hell in high heels, he had often jokingly referred to her as.  It almost made him feel for the guy who would have to deal with her, that was until he heard through the grapevine that it was the uptight twat, that was Barty Crouch Jr.  “I don’t think your overreacting.” Sirius stated. his smile quickly fading.  At her question, Sirius gave a half hearted shrug. “Take you heard about Reg….” He said lowly, and found her gaze with an expression which said he really didn’t want to talk about it.  Clearing his throat, hoping that she wouldn’t say much about his brother, he quickly headed the conversation in a different direction. “Heard that old Smarty Barty is the lucky guy, good luck with that tosser…. tell you what Gi, if he ever does anything to you, just let me know.”

“I don’t think I’m overreacting either.” She knew she wasn’t. The attack was, and should have been, plenty to be worried about the safety of the students. It’s not like these masked people would just go away when school started. “I did hear.” Anyone in the wizarding world who even half paid attention heard about Regulus. Though she wasn’t entirely sure the truth of any of it. But it was clear from his expression, it was not something Sirius wanted to talk about. Though she couldn’t let the moment just pass. She put her hand on his arm, squeezing gently. While she did have a thousand questions, this was clearly not the time. That point was made obvious with the quick subject change. “He’s the one. It’s been...rather nice, honestly. His mother is kind. And Barty...” She trailed off, tucking her papers back under her arm. “He’s a lot better than I thought someone my father picked out would be. He took me home from St. Mungo’s the night of the attack. Spent the night next to my bed and everything.” She shrugged one shoulder. “He at least doesn’t actively hate me or close to one hundred years old. That’s already better than what I had been expecting.” 

[g-parkinson]

corruptedxbartemius·:

This was all entirely foreign to Barty, he had never had any concern for another person, save for perhaps his mother. He wasn’t even sure he was capable of empathy, a simple diagnosis would more than likely point to him being closer to the psychopath end of the spectrum than not.  But with that in mind, he would be lying if he said he didn’t care about Georigiana’s well being, and at first this had irked him incredibly so. It had felt like she had some sort of hold over him just because they were engaged. But he had since realised that she had no more control over it than he did. 

He wasn’t sure that he believed her when she said she was well, but chose not to push that. A sort of small smirk formed on his lips as he found her gaze, “You might be the first person to describe my mother as ‘kind.’ … Though she does seem to like you.”  He tiled his head slightly. “Plan?”  He now rose to his feet, sliding his hands into his pockets. Barty could be seen as threatening just by his physical frame, he was tall and well built, and he seemed to realise for the first time just how much smaller Georgiana was in comparison. No wonder it was so easy to carry her, he thought to himself. “Should I ask?”

There was a time where she would feel intimidated by Barty. But that was before he told her he didn’t want to control her. Before he spent the night next to her bed when she was hurt. Now, it was oddly comforting. While they weren’t the best of friends, he at least seemed to want no harm to come to her. Though as he stood before her, she needed to look into buying some taller heels. Even though their height difference did make something twist in her stomach. She did tend to like men that were taller than her. “The wedding.” She realized as she said it that it might have been a mistake to bring it up. It’s not like they had really talked about it outside of that first night. But it was inevitable. It was most likely, the only reason they were standing here talking. “She’s....she’s not letting my father do anything, really. He wanted us married as fast as possible but she’s not letting him.” It was a kindness she didn’t even know about. Not that she was not wanting to get married. But the idea of a longer than few weeks engagement was appealing. 

“She keeps telling him to leave the planning to the women and that it takes time. It’s working so far. I’m not sure I’d be able to stop him if it was just me.” There would always be that slight fear towards her father. That question in the back of her mind about her mother’s death. “It’s been...rather helpful to have her.” She didn’t tell him how it made her miss her own mother even more. Or that each meeting made her more and more anxious. “And staying busy has been nice.” Another poor choice of words. She shook her head, taking another breath. “I’m sure you didn’t want to hear any of that. You really do need to cut me off or else I just keep going. I’ve never been very good at holding my tongue. Got me in trouble more than once as a child.” 

[g-parkinson]

siriusbx·:·

Sirius had only recently been feeling more like himself, he had spent a couple of weeks pretty well shut in, and avoiding…. well everyone. He couldn’t cope with all the ‘I’m sorrys.’  He was on his way to the three broomsticks to have a conversation with Rosemerta, that he had been avoiding. He wasn’t going to need her spare room anymore because he had moved in with Marlene.  He knew the older witch would be mildly upset by this, so he was actively looking for distractions all the way along Hogsmeade. The corners of Sirius’s lips turned up as his eyes fell onto Georgie, he hadn’t ran into her for a while, and they had been pretty close as kids. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t seen her since before the attack last month.  “So your still clumsy eh?”  He said cheekily, as he knelt onto the completely soaked cobbles to help her gather the papers she’d dropped.  “Some things never change then.”

Just as she was about to tell off who was talking, she realized who it was. At least Sirius would help her. “More like furious in the wrong shoes,” she said as she stood up, wincing slightly. That bruise that had just healed from the attack was going to come back in full force it seemed. She stood up carefully, transfiguring her shoes to flats with a few words. “It seems that the Board doesn’t think we should be concerned after the attack.” She grabbed a few of the papers, taking another deep breath. “I’m overreacting bringing it up. According to them.” She knew she needed to get home. Her emotions were about to bubble over and she didn’t need to release them onto Sirius. Another deep breath and she put her fake smile back onto her face. “Haven’t seen you in a while. Things going well?” 

[g-parkinson]

corruptedxbartemius·:

It wasn’t that Barty had been avoiding Georgiana, he hadn’t been going out of his way to avoid her or anything. But he also hadn’t put aside the time to go and check on her since the night he had stayed by her bed, like some kind of guard dog. It must have been a week since that happened, perhaps a week and a half, if one were being pedantic. Barty’s mother had sent her son an owl the previous morning asking if he were maintaining contact with his newly betrothed, which had slightly bothered him. Barty was never going to be the ideal husband, that was fairly evident from his behaviour. Although, unlike most of his actions, it wasn’t actually intended to be hurtful or some sort of slight towards Georgiana, he just did not posses the sort of interpersonal skills that came so easily to others. Unless of course it was put on as a mask, a facade. But he was trying not to start his marriage that way. 

He knew that she would be leaving work soon, and so he had waited in the Ministry lobby. Seemingly staring into space until she entered his periphery, thats when he turned his head towards her. “How have you been?”

@g-parkinson·

It wasn’t that she was avoiding Barty. She had things to do. Busy even. It hadn’t been awkward when he had left her place after he took her home. It had been...well endearing, really. It had given her hope. He at least wanted to make sure she was okay. It was becoming clear he was someone she could trust. There was that small voice in the back of her head questioning that but would it hurt to try? There was at least a chance of being somewhat comfortable and she was going to take it. At least until he gave her a reason not to. 

She had worked a few days a week with her brother. She didn’t really need to do it, not with what her. mother had left her. It was a good excuse to get out of her house. To make some money of her own. Plus, it keep her at the Ministry. It was easier to know things if she could be around. She had entered the lobby when she felt eyes on her. It wasn’t uncommon but it was enough to raise her concern. She had turned her head when she heard Barty’s voice. Gods, he was handsome. 

“I’ve been well,” she said softly. She was lying. Her injuries were healed but any small sound, any shadow that moved she was scared. Terrified that something was going to come and throw her into another wall. Or even worse. She needed to change the subject. “Your mother has been very kind in helping me plan. I’m sure she’s told you all about it.” She gave him a warm smile. “How have you been?” 

[g-parkinson]

location: hogsmeade

She really should have planned her outfits better. There had been a meeting of the Hogwarts Junior Board, one she had gotten herself on with a well placed donation. But it was still Scotland. Scotland meant rain. Rain meant slippery cobblestones and mud. She couldn’t get to the Three Broomsticks fast enough to floo back home. She didn’t appreciate how little her fellow members seemed to care about what was going on. It had started to rain lightly and she increased her speed. Until her shoe caught just right and she managed to fall. “Gods above.” she said as she sat up, looking at her scattered papers. “Isn’t this just perfect?”

@mxrsmxrdrestarters​

[mikaelsongifs]

[fashion-runways]

[g-parkinson]

fashion-runways​:

SORORITÉ VINTAGE - Click to enlarge! if you want to support this blog consider donating to: ko-fi.com/fashionrunways  

[g-parkinson]

location: outside of twilfitt and tattings

Georgie was thankful her father refused to do anything with the wedding. He didn’t need to be there. This wedding was only happening because of him, yes. But there wasn’t anything she wanted him involved in. That included her dress. It was only her first appointment, mostly taking measurements and going over what she wanted. It was fun, at least. Though it was very hard for her not to go with a black dress. She thought Barty would get a kick out of it the way she did. Maybe she should ask him. It would be perfect, honestly. If he was okay with it, she might just do it. 

Georgie hadn’t spent much time in Diagon since the attack. It was still a little too fresh for her. So she was immediately on edge when she heard yelling down the alley.  Someone was further up the lane, a better vantage point from where she was. “Is everything alright?” There was a slight edge to her voice she hoped wasn’t noticeable. “Nothing to worry about?” 

@mxrsmxrdrestarters​

[g-parkinson]

corruptedxbartemius·:

Barty had been pacing the sitting room for a while, he had been glad that Georgiana hadn’t put up much of an argument about finally resting.  He was however, mildly annoyed that he was still hovering about. He had thought about leaving several times, but he just couldn’t quite allow himself. Honestly, he wasn’t even entirely sure how much time had passed since he had left her alone in her room. Upon looking at his watch, he saw that it been a good hour or so.  If he were the one in desperate need of sleep, one hour certainly would not cut it. He slid his hands into his trouser pockets as he continued looking around the room. A person’s home, their safe place spoke volumes about who they were, and Barty noticed a distinct lacking of pictures of Georgiana’s father.  There were of course, the standard ones that a person leaves out, but none of the candid sort that he saw in other people’s homes.  He only noticed that fact because his own apartment was the same, one family picture and the rest were of his mother, even the expressions in the pictures spoke a thousand words. In fact, if he didn’t know her, he would probably assume both parents were dead.

He sighed heavily, mostly because he was exasperated at himself, how ridiculous. He should leave, yes he really should. Though, he found himself instead climbing the stairs to the room he had watched Georgie enter an hour or so previously. Still completely out of it, so Barty took care as he quietly crossed the threshold into the room. His head tilted to the side as he watched her rest, realising in that moment that he too was exhausted.  He raised a hand to pinch at his temple, wondering one last time if he would be better off leaving and returning in the morning, though he spited himself once again.  Lowering into the armchair by her bed, he loosened his tie, eyes never leaving her.  He had been right to take her to st Mungo’s after the Attack.  Of course, it wasn’t something he could ever really advocate, but he did not regret it.   He rested his chin in his hand, elbow placed on the arm of the chair.  

Perhaps it was because he too was completely wiped out, but he found himself murmuring, barely audibly, “How did you manage to get caught in the middle of it anyway?”   And with that, he too passed out. 

She couldn’t tell you when exactly she fell asleep. All she had really done was change and crawl into bed. She knew one of her elves would take her dress and make sure she woke up in the morning. It had to be hours, considering the light now shining in her window. She came to slowly, feeling the ache of her muscles. Merlin’s beard, it was bad. She must have hit that wall harder than she thought. She saw the potions on her bedside table, mind briefly thinking back to what Barty had said. I can brew you a potion. She had a feeling his were much better than what she got from Mungo’s but she wasn’t going to do anything about it now. Gods above, what he must think of her. 

She had finished one bottle of the potion when she heard something shift on the other side of the bed. Must be one of the elves. Good. She needed some tea. The words died on her lips when she realized just who was in the room with her. She rubbed her eyes, making sure she wasn’t seeing things. It was Barty. He had fallen asleep in her chair. In her room. Not far from the bed she was sleeping in. He was here. He had stayed. And not just stayed, stayed in her room. Stayed where he could see her. There was a perfectly good couch downstairs. Even a guest room. But he had chosen the chair right next to her bed. He hadn’t even gone home to change. The only difference from when she had seen him earlier was his tie was gone. 

This wasn’t something someone did who didn’t feel anything towards the other person. He could have left. It wouldn’t have been a big deal if he did. But it was a big deal he stayed. Her eyes stayed on his sleeping form for a few moments. She felt something settle inside her as she did so. He felt something. He cared about her, even if he hadn’t made it clear. This did. The pain potion was starting to kick in and she knew she needed to take the next one. Taking the cork out, she took it as fast as she could, her body winning out as she coughed at the taste. She looked at the bottle, shaking her head. “Merlin, that’s awful.” It took her a moment to get her breathing back under control. One of the elves came in and Georgie asked for tea, hoping her fit hadn’t woken Barty up. 

[g-parkinson]

augustspencer​:

August felt his stomach fall when Georgiana said that their fathers had arranged the union. He was about to retort that they lived in 1979, not 1679, but then she dropped the other bomb of her mother having passed years before. 

“My god, Georgiana. I am so sorry. I honestly had no idea. And is this fairly common?” August furrowed his brow.  When she had mentioned that her husband to be was at least nice to her, which seemed to not be the norm, August was truly taken aback. And not on behalf of Georgiana, she seemed more then capable to handle her own business, but the whole idea of arranged marriage seemed backwards and pointless to him.

“Well, if that ever changes, or you just need someone to talk too, I’m really only an owl away.” He smiled at the dark haired witch, feeling this protective nerve rear its head for the first time in a long time. 

“It’s pretty common. Sometimes people marry for love. Or at least they end up liking each other enough so things aren’t miserable.” She knew her parents were in love once. But that was before. Before her father started to get a little too into his ideals. A little too into the superiority of others. Of her brothers. Before the accident. “I thought I was a little too old for it. Turns out, not at all. But he’s not too bad. I at least will be able to live my own life. And he’s not terrible looking. And my age. I’ve seen and heard of a lot worse.” 

She let out a shaky breath, realizing the headache she had was still there. She felt a throb right behind her left eye and found herself squeezing Auggie’s good arm. At least she was pretty sure it was. It wasn’t the one he was holding close. She’d feel awful if it was the bad one. “That’s sweet of you. I’ve known for most of my life this would be the case. Or it would be the case if I didn’t marry the right person. Right according to my father who’s wrong most of the time. Though I think he did this to try and punish me. So far...it’s not that bad.”

[g-parkinson]

ofvanitixs·:

Picking up the newest addition of Seeker’s Weekly was a hobby of Emma’s, though she stopped by to pick up something for light reading every now and then. She didn’t make too big of a habit of reading material outside what she needed for work, but there was always the exception whenever the woman allowed herself some time to relax (outside of Quidditch that is, though if anyone had seen Emma play the game it’s questionable if that was to be considered relaxing). Those exceptions just seemed to be few and far between as the years went on. “The Arrows,” she spoke, the frown staying on her face even though she was happy to see her friend. “Third game in a row this season— they’re doing terrible.”

“I’m sorry,” she said with a small smile as she leaned against the bookshelf. She knew how Emma felt about Quidditch. She knew how Emma played Quidditch. While Georgie didn’t mind a ride on the broom, actually playing was too much. She’d much rather be safely on the ground. “Maybe we should go to a game? You being there in person might just be what they need to get themselves together. If they have any sense, that will be enough.” Carefully, she arranged the books in her hands before grabbing one in front of her. “Besides a clearly suffering Arrows, how are you?” 

[g-parkinson]

corruptedxbartemius·:

Barty was relieved that she seemed to relent, because he really didn’t want to spend more wasted time going back and forth on the matter.  Whether he liked it or not, it really was in his best interest to make sure she was both mentally and physically well.  Both their fathers aside, he couldn’t deny that there was some sort of pang in his stomach aching at him, it had been ever since he had first came to see how she was.  It wasn’t just that he was hardly familiar with the sensation of guilt, that alone was niggling at him, it was also that he wondered if he should have given her some sort of warning, or made sure that she would be far away from Diagon on that night. It hadn’t even crossed his mind prior to the attack, he had been somewhat pre-occupied with other things. How can I be a Husband if that never occurred to me?

“Make sure you don’t splinch us.”  He had managed to say before they left, he was about to comment further on the sudden landing, but before a singular word could leave his lips, she had collided with him. The way she instantly back away from him upon their landing, only made Barty wonder if she had put two and two together, and was she….afraid of him now? Maybe she had figured out what he was, and that attempting to like him, never mind love him, would be a hopeless feat.  His brow furrowed slightly as made some attempt to speak.  For once in his life, Barty wasn’t annoyed or even mildly perturbed, was it really possible that the only thing he was feeling right now was guilt?  The only other time in his life that he had even tried to give himself to someone else, had been with Evie Nott, and that hadn’t gone well.  Though, he suspected that much like himself, her mind had been somewhere else, or rather on someone else. He just never worked out exactly who. However, this was different, and Barty didn’t like it, he didn’t like not knowing what he was feeling deep within himself. 

“Sit down.”  Barty said sternly, Reaching into his inner pocket for the medication that the head mediwitch had given him, he eyed them and scoffed. He could probably find something better in a muggle store.  Slowly, he set the medicine down, and unfastened his blazer jacket, sliding it off and discarding it over the sofa, and proceeded to pull his wand from his trouser pocket.  He had pretty much perfected charms to take blood out from fabric at this point, no matter how expensive, he had alot of expereince in having to charm many a white shirt. Without saying a word, he knelt down infront of Georgie and pointed his wand at the blood stains and watched at the auburn marks started to shrink until they were gone. “No point in ruining a perfectly good dress.”  He said lowly.  “I really think you ought to rest.”  Raising his gaze up to meet with Georgies, his face was expressionless, he really needed to work on that.  “If you want, I can stay for a while.”

It was easy to do as he said. He wasn’t going to hurt her. He had told her that. He wouldn’t start now. Even with his words about his father still in the back of her mind, she allowed herself to do as he said. To allow herself to be taken care of. She watched carefully as he looked at the potions. Were they the wrong ones? The moment she opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong he took his jacket off. He must have been staying then. A sense of relief washed over her. 

Normally, the sight of someone pulling out a wand and aiming it at her would cause her to grab her own. Yet she stayed perfectly still as Barty did just that. Her reaction alone was enough to her to show she was more comfortable with him than she cared to admit. The spellwork was perfect. Clearly this wasn’t the first time he had done it. It made her wonder what else he had taken blood out of. That thing twisted inside of her again at the thought of him having to do this to his own clothing. His voice caused her to snap out of her thoughts, eyes slipping back into focus as she took him in. Her hand closed around his forearm, squeezing gently before nodding. “I would like that.” 

She stood up slowly, not trusting herself to move quickly. Her steps were slower than normal as she made her way to the stairs. “I’m glad you found me.” Her voice was quiet as she moved up the stairs. Almost as if she was afraid to disturb the moment. “The whole hospital was packed. You could have easily missed me.” A turn to the left once at the top of the stairs, opening the double doors to her master bedroom with a wave of her hand. “Or you could have just walked away. It was kind of you to come up to me.” She offered him a small smile, wincing as she turned to face him. “Even kinder to take me home.”

[riverdaleladiesdaily]

[g-parkinson]

riverdaleladiesdaily​:

CAMILA MENDES Photographed by Daria Kobayashi Ritch for Rodarte’s Fall 2022 Collection

[g-parkinson]

corruptedxbartemius·:

Barty excelled in many things, and he could enter a room full of people and know which one out of the dozens was worth his time before even talking to them, and he knew which to avoid. It just came naturally to him, reading a room, knowing exactly what to say, to have even the best reader confused about him and his true nature. But he didn’t know what Georgiana wanted to hear, and he had no idea what he was supposed to do.  His four grandparents had all passed before Barty was born, and his parents never truly loved one and other, so he had no basis, no example set.  He thought that it would be easy, to wear yet another mask; the Husband.  To let her have her own life, to be the supportive husband, to share with her what he had.  But he was slowly realising that, apparently that was not enough, she obviously wanted some kind of emotional connection to him, which Barty had no clue on how to feign, nevermind what it would truly look like. 

He fell silent as he watched her lower her gaze from him.  “Your not keeping me from anything, can you please at least sit down.”  It wasn’t so much a request as it was a statement.  He did however, know how to take care of someone, he had spent countless nights of his childhood helping his mother heal herself after various arguments with his father. He just never thought that he would transfer that onto another person.  He slowly raised his hand, and felt her forehead for a temperature, the action was oddly gentle and didn’t fit with what Barty usually projected, and almost as if that realisation hit him, he took his hand away again and shook his head. “I can brew you a potion, I really do think you need to rest. You feel too warm.  Wait here for a moment.”  

At most, he was only gone for ten minutes, he had gone to speak with one of the nurses. He could be relatively charming when he wanted to be, and managed to get what Georgiana needed from a fairly tired looking member of staff.  Returning to his betrothed, he held out his hand to show that he had the medicine. “Look…”  He started to say as he approached her, his expensive shoes slightly clicking on the cold floor with each step.  “…You can take this and leave if you want, or I can come with you and make sure you are alright.”

It was easy to do as he said. She was exhausted, both emotionally and physically. Following a simple direction like sitting down was good. That she could do. Her thoughts were racing and she almost missed the realization that his hand was on her forehead. It wasn’t what she was expecting. It made everything calm for a moment. Her eyes met his once his hand dropped and she nodded. Sinking into the empty chair behind her, she watched as he made his way over to the healer that seemed to be in charge. It felt that he was gone for only a moment but she knew in reality it must have been minutes. He was offering to help. She almost said no. Almost. The offer of someone who was not paid to take care of her offering to do just that made her realize she needed it. She could ask this of him. They were to be married. She would need to depend on him. “Come with me. Please.” It was more vulnerable than she would usually allow herself to be. Her typical defenses were gone. “I don’t want to be alone right now.” 

She rose from her chair and grabbed his free hand. Nodding once, she took a deep breath before imagining her living room. The apperation only took a moment but it was a bit of a rough landing, knocking her into Barty. She apologized softly before stepping back. Though it was slow moving, she could feel the attack catching up with her. The dread. The fear. The pain. All of it. Being home just made it more real. Her hands started to shake as she looked down at them. It was only then she realized there was blood on her dress. It was ruined. This day was ruined. If it wasn’t for the person in the alley....she didn’t even what to think about what might have happened. 

Her breath became more shallow as her thoughts continued to race. She tried her best to calm down but couldn’t. The blood on her dress might not even be hers. People were hurt. At least one person was killed. Her knees felt weak and the tears started to form in her eyes. While she knew she needed to depend on Barty, she didn’t want him to see her like this. But she couldn’t seem to move. “I....I....” She trailed off, shaking her head. “I’m sorry I....” 

[g-parkinson]

augustspencer​:

“Oh, well then congratulations are in order!” August said cheerfully. “Your mother in law sounds nice. It’s so cool when you can get along with new family.” August had a healthy history of dating, and had only introduced his parents to one girl, but that quickly burned out. He had learned long distance was a challenge, and if she had joined him while he trekked across the nation, they would have drove each other crazy. 

“Yeah, hopefully they will call me back soon. I’m just excited to have this taken care of by the way of magic. Cast’s are such a pain. And you arm itches like crazy.” He chuckled, remembering trying to itch his forearm with a fork at the dinner table one night, before his dad had taken it away from him. 

“So, whos the lucky soon to be husband of Georgiana Parkinson? Have you been dating long? Go to school together?” He peppered her with questions, wondering if he had run into this mystery man yet himself. 

His excitement was sweet. He was just trying to be a good friend. Be excited for something he thought was exciting for her. “We aren’t dating.” Might as well just come right out and say it. There was no reason to pretend it was anything different. “Our father’s arranged it. It’s why my mother-in-law is doing most of the planning. Typically it’s just the mothers but well...” She shrugged her shoulder, leaning back in the chair. “Hard for both of them to do it when one has been dead for years.” 

She turned her head to look at him. “I don’t know if you’ve met him. Barty Crouch. The younger one. He works for the ministry. We both went to Hogwarts but he was in Ravenclaw. So it could be a lot worse.” House rivalries were all but hard wired, it seemed. “He’s been nice to me. That’s already better than some stories I’ve heard. I don’t think that will change either. He’s so hard to read so I couldn’t tell you if he even likes me or not. But I don’t think he wants me dead so....already better than most of our parents, I think.”