Chapter Text
Barty POV
I wake with a start to the sound of my father yelling about something that is probably my fault, most likely the product of one of the numerous pranks I have pulled on the staff and my parents over the summer break. I reach over to retrieve my wand from my bedside table and cast a tempus, 9:30, I let out an audible groan and roll out of bed, I need to leave in half an hour to get to the station on time. As I head downstairs the yelling gets louder so I bypass the dining room to avoid my fathers rage and head straight for the kitchen to steal some toast before making my way back upstairs and to my room.
Back in my room I start pulling on my uniform and shoving some things into my ‘last minute bag’, for anything that hadn’t made its way into my trunk when I was packing last night, including a plush snake, called ‘Snake’, a gift from Evan during our second year, I kiss its head before tucking it in the bottom of my bag. I quickly drag a brush through my hair, resulting in it looking more messy than when I started, before grabbing my trunk, wand and bag and heading downstairs, for the second time today.
I had barely finished descending the stairs before I heard my fathers voice “son, about time you were down here, it's time for you to leave now” he says, tone cold and disappointed, disappointed in what? Who knows, he always sounds like that when he talks to me.
“I know father, I’m on my way out now”
“Good, your mother is outside waiting for you”
I start to walk towards the door but he puts his hand on my shoulder, stopping me, and grips it hard “don't disappoint me Barty”
I feel a shiver go through me and I grip the handle of my bag harder “I won’t, I promise”
He lets go of me and I quicken my pace to get outside, when there a house elf takes my trunk and loads it onto the back of the carriage as I climb into it where my mother is waiting for me, a warm smile on her face “hello love, ready for another year?”
“Hi mum” I reply, giving her a hug before continuing “I can't wait to get back to class and work and stuff” I trail off as I hear her laughter from the other side of the carriage.
“Oh love we both know that's not why you like school”
“Yeah, you're right” I agree with her as I start laughing with her.
The ride to London passed very quickly and before I knew it, we had said our goodbyes and I was on the train, ready to start my fifth year at Hogwarts.
—
I poke my head into my usual carriage on the train and I’m met with the familiar sight of my friends, Pandora, Regulus, and the one I’ve been waiting to see all summer, Evan, my best friend and crush of five years.
“Why hello there, seems I’m the last one here, how were all your summers?” I ask as I sit next to Evan and am immediately pulled into a hug.
“Ours was good, right panda?” the boy trapping me in a hug replied, I looked up at him and smiled.
“Oh, yes, it was good” a brief answer from Pandora before she went back to staring out the window at, well, who knows what.
“Mine was fine, a lot quieter now Sirius isn't at home” the answer from Regulus was to be expected, with his idiot gryffindor brother leaving him in the house with only an old house elf for company “how was your summer Barty?”
“Well” I say before sticking out my tongue, showing off a shiny silver ball sitting in the middle of my tongue “I got a new piercing” I continue, looking up at Evan who had a small look of surprise on his face.
It wasn’t a secret that I had a lot of piercings, it also wasn't a secret that I technically shouldn’t have most of them.
“How in the ever loving fuck did you get that done?” the dark haired boy opposite me asked as one of Pandora's feet kicked him in the side while she tried to get a better look out the window “ow, panda”
“Sorry reg” she replied
I sat up, much to the displeasure of Evan, and simply tell him “there's a guy I know” with a grin on my face “he’s a muggle, haven’t seen him in a while though, so while I was there I thought it was time for a new one”
“And I suppose that was less than legal, you're only 15 Barty” Regulus says
At the same time an emotion that I can't quite decipher flashes over Evans face, sadness, anger, jealousy maybe? “Although, I suppose that is your ninth one now, so it probably doesn't make a difference, I mean, it does look badass”
“Right! I think it's my favourite yet” I laugh as I lay my head back in the blond boy's lap "hurt like a bitch though, I couldn't talk for like, a week!"
"what a tragedy" Regulus shoots back a smirk on his face before turning back to his book.
Shortly after I find myself falling asleep, vaguely hearing the voices of Evan and Reg but not what they are saying, and before I know it the train is pulling into the Hogsmeade station.
—
Were sitting in the carriages on the short journey from the station to the castle, a blush lingering on my face after waking up in Evans lap, his fingers combing through my hair. I can see the knowing look on Reggies face, his face twisted into a grin, I glare back at him while pandora talks in my ear about some discovery she had made over the summer, something about nargles, I try to pay attention but all my thoughts travel to the blond boy sitting opposite.
My eyes are momentarily drawn to Regulus who was staring at the front of the carriage, like something was there, pulling it, but that was a silly thought, the carriages pull themselves like they always do.
“Hey Reg, what are you looking at?”
“Um, nothing! thought I saw something there, but it must have been a trick of the light or something” the boy rushed his words, seemingly worried that we wouldn’t believe him or something, he had seemed rather withdrawn in the letters we had exchanged over the summer, I’ll have to talk to him later.
We reached the castle and walked to the great hall to take our seats for the sorting and the speech from the idiot who is our headmaster. We sit in our usual seats and are joined by Dorcas, the fifth and final member of our group, who’s going into her sixth year.
“Sup cas” I say as I sit down next to her
“Hey Crouch” she replies, playfully shoving me so I bump into Evan who is sat next to me.
Regulus rolls his eyes at our antics and motions for us to be quiet as Dumbledore begins his speech.
We sit through the ‘big speech’ for twenty minutes of welcome back, blah blah blah, don’t go in the forbidden forest, blah blah blah, don’t go near the whomping willow, blah blah blah, don’t provoke the squid, blah blah blah, let the feast begin!
And with that out the way food appears on the table and we all start eating, except the first years who sit stunned for a moment with the sheer amount of food that appeared all at once before also digging in.
I see Reg look over to the gryffindor table at a certain quidditch captain with a redhead clinging to his arm, but I don't say anything.
An hour later we’re all heading to our respective dorms, panda up to the Ravenclaw tower, the rest of us head down to the dungeons where cas splits from the group to go to the girls dorms and the rest of us carry on to the boys dorms where we promptly get ready for sleep and get in to bed, it’s been a long day and were all exhausted.
I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow and my last thought of the day is how excited I am to be spending another year at hogwarts.
—
I hear a shuffling and someone knocking something over, I jolt upright, well I guess I’m awake now, I reach for my wand from under my pillow and cast a tempus, 1:43, who is awake at this ungodly hour
“Barty, are you awake?”