Chapter Text
Evan Rosier has never been the romantic type—or so he liked to tell himself—but he knew one other person in his life might disagree.
Pandora Rosier ran down the curved staircase and now stood in the living room, a bright smile on her face and a big suitcase by her side. Her blonde waves, which fell over her shoulders and cascaded down her back like a wild river, mirrored the hair of her twin brother. Others would often say they’d be unrecognizable from one another if they were of the same gender. Pandora liked to disagree. She and her brother were quite different, really. For example, she’d never chase after her best friend of seven years if said best friend made it loud and clear they were pining after someone else the entire seven years, but that was just a tiny detail, wasn’t it?
Both siblings now sat in a shared compartment of a still train, each on the opposite side, both looking out of the window at the retreating figures of their parents.
“They never stay too long, do they?” Pandora said, more musing than actually looking for an answer. Evan let out a loud snort at her words but didn’t turn to look at her as he spoke. “I don’t blame them. It’s not like this is some kind of grand event for them. I bet they’re glad to be rid of us until July.”
His sister gave him a faint frown of disapproval but didn’t voice her thoughts. The silence between them dragged on for several seconds before she decided to break it again, much to Evan’s disdain.
“How are things with Barty?”
Evan was never sure, not that he really thought about it, but now he knew it only took five simple words to sour his mood. “Things are great, thank you very much.”
“He’s still with Regulus then, I assume,” Pandora said in the soft tone she always used—the one that reminded Evan of the moments when their mother would tell them bedtime stories when they were both shivering under the blankets, hiding from the thunder.
The blond bit down on the inside of his cheek to keep from letting out more than necessary and gave a firm nod instead. His eyes roamed the crowd of waving parents and excited students until they laid on a familiar brooding figure making its way towards the train. He let out a sigh that could have meant a lot of unspoken things.
A minute later, the glass door to the compartment slid open and shut close again before Evan forced himself to turn his head and meet the curious gaze of Barty Crouch Jr.
The dark-haired boy was the epitome of beauty, in Evan’s eyes. The way his messy waves stuck in different directions as if he had just woken up, the way his eyes were the perfect mix of green and brown, the way he liked to display his muscles to anyone who spared him a glance—that boy was simply perfect.
“Don’t act like you’re not happy to see me,” the brunet grinned and reached out to ruffle Evan’s already messy hair before plopping into the seat beside Pandora, whom he wrapped his arm around in a short-lasting hug.
The thing about Barty was that nothing was too far for him. If he wasn’t all over someone, kissing and biting their face off, could it really be considered flirting? Apparently not.
“We’re ecstatic, trust me,” Evan murmured and turned back to the window.
He heard Pandora’s voice as she rambled about one of the books she was in the middle of reading, happy to finally have someone who’d listen to her, but he was too focused on following a particular person outside the train to register her words.
“Oh, that’s Xeno!” Pandora said once her gaze wandered to the glass door and sprang up to her feet. “I’ll see you at Hogwarts,” she added before quickly slipping out of the compartment and running after her beloved partner, leaving Evan alone with the oblivious Barty.
“Are you on your period or somethin’? You look super pissy right now, mate,” Barty looked him up and down with a smirk that caused Evan to roll his eyes in response.
“Well, seeing your face so early in the day isn’t exactly a reason to be all happy and giggly,” Evan snorted and crossed his arms over his wool sweater. Barty’s smirk grew wider, clearly happy with the answer.
The brunet kicked his boots up onto the empty seat opposite him and leaned back in a casual manner, as if the train belonged to him. “Hmm …” He hummed for a moment before speaking again. “I know how to chat you up. Did you sha-”
His mischievous words were interrupted when the glass door slid open again, revealing Regulus Black standing in the frame with Dorcas Meadows trailing behind him, both with frowns decorating their faces.
The younger of the two Black brothers slipped onto the seat next to Barty, opposite Evan, and gave them both a short nod of greeting before opening up a book he held under his arm and ignoring everything going on around him. Evan’s eyes immediately fixed on the smile that snaked its way onto Barty’s lips and didn’t seem to be leaving anytime soon.
Meanwhile, the queen of Slytherin sat down next to the blond boy and put her legs over his lap without hesitation. Her big curls were nicely done into little braids and he didn’t hesitate to spare her one of the compliments she always appreciated.
Despite everything, when Evan let go of all of his negative thoughts about the people surrounding him, he really did feel his best when he was with them.
Soon, the Hogwarts Express went into motion. The surroundings flickered past quickly and eventually Evan turned his head and joined in the conversation the others were having instead of tuning them out. Just then did he realize how much he missed his friends over the summer. Sadly, it took one brief glance between Regulus and Barty to shatter the thought and bring him back into his pathetic reality.
The lights overhead flickered and turned on, making everyone realize just how dark and late it had gotten.
“The castle is getting closer. We should get changed into our robes,” Regulus said in the tone of a concerned mother and stood up with his school robes already in hand. Evan sat in place, arms still crossed, as he watched as Barty quickly scrambled to his feet and followed the other boy outside into the train hallway, his pupils in the shape of hearts. Dorcas snickered next to him, clearly amused.
When they were gone, he stood up as well and reached for his suitcase to find his own robes. “You wouldn’t mind changing with me here, would you?” Dorcas gave him a sly grin when he shook his head. It was strange but Dorcas was the only one he could truly be himself around, except for his twin sister, perhaps.
“You okay, babe?” Her voice rang through the empty compartment as they stripped their top layers, backs to each other, and pulled their house robes over their heads instead.
Evan let out a half-snort half-laugh and turned around when he was sure they were both fully clothed again. “I wish I could say that I am.”
Dorcas looked at him with a smile and shook her head. “There’s at least one reason to be. We’re going to Hogwarts, after all,” she said and leaned in to press a friendly kiss to his forehead before sitting back down in her seat and waiting for others to return so she could continue in her gossip. Evan nodded and returned to his seat as well, thoughts running wild through his mind.
The glass door slid open the sixth time that day and the two boys plopped down onto their previous seats, one more composed and mannered than the other. Barty looked like he could jump up and down for hours from ecstasy whilst Regulus was frowning, trying to look anywhere but at the other brunet. Dorcas gave them a curious glance but didn’t question them, partially because she didn’t want to cause Evan any more pain and partially because the train moved to a halting stop and a loud whistle pierced the air, announcing their arrival at the Hogsmeade station.