t4t barty ships r like next level peak, like any character shipped w barty, turn them t4t and oh my god, its the most peak ship ever and nothing comes close (besides jily, jily beats ANY ship nd idc)
Titania was lying lazily in bed, observing Barty smoking by the window only in his boxers. It was the first time he left her alone there just after they had sex, the sheets covering her naked body, all her clothes scattered on the floor. It was an atypical situation coming for him, who was a zealous lover, caring and gentle, always cuddling her after sex, giving his full attention to her. Titania had a bad feeling, something was off about it.
The straw-blonde man puffed at his cigarette, the moonlight painting his freckled skin in a pale blue light. He was just a year younger than her, yet looked so much younger, maybe like a teenager who was still studying for his N.E.W.T.s. His back was turned to her, but she could see his reflex by the window glass. Barty observed the streets with a contemplative expression, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. It was unusual from him to be so introspective at her presence.
Titania Snape and Bartemius Crouch Junior started seeing each other only after she received from Lily the confirmation about Regulus' death, followed by his father Orion Black a week later or so. She got the news about it after few months already passed, the conditions of his death were a mystery and she had no idea how Sirius found out about it. Titania was desperate to know how it happened and she knew Regulus was close to Barty, who was his classmate at Hogwarts and joined Voldemort's ranks with him at the war.
Barty didn't know the details either, the only thing he told Titania was the fact Regulus was considered a traitor and his death was used to send a message for anyone else who dared to betray the Dark Lord. Of course Barty had to act like he didn't care about the death of his friend in front of anyone else, but Titania could see his suffering. They consoled each other and grew closer after that, starting an affair not much later.
At the beginning it was just a tentative from Titania to numb all the grief she felt. After a while, though, the witch started using Barty to gather any useful information that could help the Order of the Phoenix. Titania tried to enter the secret society, however Dumbledore denied it, the old wizard never trusted her. It wasn't enough to stop Titania from helping her best friend Lily, brewing potions to help the Order at the war and fed them with any intel she could get from her Death Eater lover.
Titania was pretty sure she had Barty at the tip of her fingers, aware he had a crush on her since Hogwarts. As much as Snape felt bad for manipulating him, she had no regrets of doing so considering Lily was the person who mattered most for her. Thanks to her affair with Barty she was able to help anticipating some of Voldemort's movements and just recently she discovered there was a spy infiltrated in the Order. Barty didn't seem to know who was, but maybe it was just a matter of time for him to discover.
Titania sat down on the bed, covering her chest with the sheets. Barty remained still as a statue, deeply lost in thought. "Is something wrong, Barty?"
The young Death Eater didn't turn to look at her direction. He took a long drag, releasing the smoke slowly. "We must stop seeing each other." His voice was void of emotion. "The Dark Lord is furious about information being leaked for the Order. If he discovers it was my fault, he will kill me and go after you." Barty turned his body in her direction, studying her reaction with cold eyes while taking another drag.
Titania stared back at him as if oblivious about what he was implying, burying her feelings behind her Occlumency shields. Barty let out a brief snort, putting out his cigarette in the ash tray near him. "Don't worry, I won't snitch on you." Barty flashed a sad smirk when a genuine expression of surprise came from Titania."I don't want you to be hurt."
"Barty, I—"
"You don't need to explain yourself, Titania. I knew all along, I'm not stupid!" Barty crossed his arms. "I enjoyed the moments we spent together, no hard feelings," His gaze shifted to the ground. "Even if you loved me back, we would have to take separate ways... I'm not strong enough to protect you, I'm sorry." The gentleness of his words made Titania feel slapped on the face. He turned his back to her again, facing the window. Only now the witch noticed Barty's wand was on the bedside table beside hers. He wasn't afraid of her hexing him, or he just didn't care.
Titania gathered her clothes and dressed herself, the room awkwardly silent. The witch took her wand and before leaving the room she gave a last glance at him. "I'm sorry for hurting you, Barty."
Barty turned his body to face her, he sighed with a concerned expression. "Please, Titania, don't try something risky like this anymore... Survive this war and don't get more involved than you already are, please!" He made a pinched expression. "Take care!"
Titania felt a pang in her heart. "You too, Barty. You are a good man, I hope you survive this war as well. You don't deserve what I did to you..."
Barty scoffed. "It's not in your nature being naive, Titania. I'm a Death Eater, you have no idea of half I've done–"
His voice faltered when Titania walked closer to him, putting a hand over his arm. "Yes, you've done lots of wrong things, I can only imagine... but it's never too late for taking the right decision!"
He stared deeply at her, trying to hide behind a blank mask and failing miserably. His eyes giving away the turmoil of feelings he had inside of him. "The only right choice I ever made was to end what we had just now," He reached a hand over her hair, brushing a dark lock behind her ear. "The last thing I want is your blood in my hands." Before Titania could say something, he put a finger over her mouth, silencing her. "No hard feelings, I swear," Barty gave her a kiss on her forehead. "Just be safe, please."
Titania left the place with her heart crushed by guilt for using Barty as a paw –a man who genuinely cared for her well-being and safety. Snape felt as if she kicked a puppy, and It hurts even more the fact she never reciprocated his feelings. It would be so much easier if Barty only wanted to use her as a good shag, but his affection towards Titania were true. Of course, given the opportunity, she would do everything all over again to protect Lily.
Voldemort was hunting the Potters due to a prophecy that came into his knowledge so it was too risky to visit them. The last time Titania saw Lily and her son Harry was three months ago and as far as she knew, only few people met them from time to time, all members of the Order. Sirius was the closest friend of James and was able to meet the Potters more frequently, so he was now acting as the intermediate between Titania and Lily.
As much as Snape never liked Sirius, it was the only way to help Lily and the Order, so she agreed to encounter her arch-enemy from Hogwarts. James and Sirius paid for the potions she made but Titania would do everything for free if necessary.
Titania and Sirius met every two or three weeks in muggle pubs, always dressed as muggles. Everything was spoken, never written, so they chat as casual friends, eating or drinking something. Surprisingly, they could do that like civilized people. Sirius gave her messages from Lily and told the most needed potions, also updating her about Harry's growth while Titania supplied him with his last request of potions and any information she could get from Barty. Of course Sirius knew about her affair with the Death Eater, since Titania revealed it for Lily, who ended up expressing her concerns for her husband James, who told Sirius everything.
Sirius and Titania met in a pub two days after her last encounter with Barty. It was a Friday night and they sat facing each other at an isolated corner, where they could have more privacy and watch who entered or left the place.
"So, did your 'boyfriend' finally give any useful information this time?" Sirius didn't try hiding the spite in his voice. Every time they met, Sirius made inquiries about Barty and always gave a sermon about how dangerous was meeting him, trying to dissuade Titania from seeing the Death Eater.
Snape swallowed a lump in her throat, staring up at Black. "Actually, I can't meet him from now on,"
Sirius' body tensed."What happened?" He stood up just to sit beside her protectively."Are you hurt?" His eyes scanned her face with genuine concern.
"N-no!" Her voice faltered with his sudden proximity. She was used to be near him after their meetings started, but he never sat so close to her. Titania cleaned her throat and look up at him, trying to hide how much he affected her. "Barty said it's too dangerous for both of us so it was best stop seeing each other," Sirius' eyes narrowed, knowing she was hiding something. They stared each other in silence for a few seconds and felt so awkward for Titania she ended up spitting all the beans. "He knew all along I was using him to get intel for the Order."
Sirius' eyes widened and he let out a breath. "Shit! He could've killed you," Sirius took one of her hands in his, squeezing it gently. "What else happened?"
Titania felt her face grow hot recalling her last encounter with Barty was also a sexual one, but of course his question wasn't about that. "He let me go. Said he didn't want me hurt."
Sirius released her hand with a frown. "And how do you feel about it?"
"What do you mean?" She raised an eyebrow for him.
"Not even a broken heart?" He asked reluctantly with a smirk. Titania felt her heart falter for a second, noticing the insecurity in his voice.
"Of course not!" Titania's heart was hammering inside her chest as if she just ran a marathon. She tried to hide as best as she could how nervous she was. "I thought it was clear I was only using him since the beginning."
Sirius scanned her eyes with a penetrating gaze. "So you never loved him? For real?"
Titania scoffed. "What?" His question was blunt and unexpected, making her more confused. Sirius was hard to read and she had no idea if he was teasing her or genuinely interested in her feelings. She straightened her back and stared at him defiantly. "Your question is irrelevant."
"It's not irrelevant to me," Sirius said softly, taking her hand again.
"Is this some sort of joke?" She huffed, pulling her hand away from his grasp.
"No, I'm serious." He leaned closer to her, opening a wolfish grin, ignoring when she rolled her eyes with the stupid pun involving his name. "I always wanted to ask you out, but every time I finally gathered the courage you were dating another. Can you give me a chance this time?"
Titania felt her face hot, so she looked down at her own hands, trying to gather her thoughts. He put a hand over hers, squeezing her knuckles gently. She found herself staring up at him again, searching his face for any clues he was just fooling around with her. She found none. "Why are you telling me all of this now?"
Sirius sighed. "I wanted to tell you earlier, but I had no idea how you really felt about Barty...We are in the middle of a war, I can die tomorrow, so this could be my last chance with you."
Titania scoffed. "Is this another stupid prank you planned with James?" Sirius opened a half-smile and the witch gasped outraged. "You are so ridic—" Sirius pecked her lips, caughting her off guard. "Sirius!" He silenced her with another peck, a hand on her cheek, pulling her face closer to his. It didn't took them long to deepen the kiss, Titania corresponding him eagerly.
When they finally broke the kiss, both of them breathing unevenly, Titania opened her mouth to say something and Sirius put a finger over her lips. "You are forbidden to talk today, unless to express your undying love for me."
"You are such an idiot, Black!" Titania grabbed his shirt, sealing their lips together one more time. She could feel his lips forming a smile while kissing her back. She interrupted the kiss, glaring at him. "I swear, if you're joking with me—" He cut her off with another kiss.
"I already said I'm pretty serious!" Luckily he was a good kisser, or else Titania would've slapped him for that stupid joke. Part of her felt insecure about what was happening right now, but at the same time, all her being answered so naturally to his touch and his words, Snape let herself get lost in their embrace. It could be precipitated from her surrender herself so easily to him, but what was happening between them felt true.
