Written For:
- Flying Lessons #1: All relationships have to start somewhere, they don't just appear out of thin air! We need to make sure that we cover the beginning of the relationship before moving on to other aspects. We need to consider the beginning aspect and make sure that things work. Like with a broom on the first flying lessons, there are potential problems and this should be mentioned or considered. Your pairing might seem perfect but trust me, they're not. / Prompt used: (object) a Quill
- The 2016 Monthly Prompt List Challenge: (word) Bookcase
- Gringotts Prompt Bank/GTA V Prompts: "You can jerk me off if I get bored. I'm kidding! You can suck me off."
- Gringotts Prompt Bank/Feelings & Emotions: Hesitant
- Gringotts Prompt Bank/HP Locations: Library
Word Count: 1,251 words
Thanks to HP Slash Luv and 3cheersforidiots for your beta services :)
Chapter One
Parma Violets
"Regulus, knock it off. I'm trying to study!" Barty hissed at his friend, glowering. Regulus was sitting opposite him in the Slytherin Common Room, not concentrating on his own homework. Instead, Regulus was flicking suspicious-looking Bertie Bott's Beans over at Barty, trying to distract him from his work.
"You're so boring. It's Saturday," groaned Regulus, leaning back in his chair and putting his hands behind his head. "Who does homework on a Saturday?"
"Someone who wants to pass all the NEWTs that his father is making him do, that's who," snapped Barty, throwing a handful of the sweets at his friend. "Urgh, this is pointless! I can't concentrate with you around. I'm going to the library."
"Fine, we'll go to the library."
Barty shot Regulus a leering stare, smirking. "I didn't invite you along. You don't have to spend every waking moment attached to my arse, you know," he said, as he climbed out of his seat and gathered up his work.
Regulus grinned and slapped Barty's rear as he walked passed him, causing the latter to jump dramatically and glance around the Common Room, making sure that no one had seen it. "I'm coming to the library. I could read a book or something."
"Won't you get bored?" Barty raised an eyebrow. Regulus was much more suited to flying around on his broomstick on the Quidditch Pitch—he rarely visited the library, unless it was a dire situation.
"You can jerk me off if I get bored," Regulus muttered, smirking. "I'm kidding!" he continued, noticing Barty's mortified expression. "You can suck me off."
Less than thirty minutes later, Barty and Regulus had reached the library. Not unusually, the library was fairly empty—not many people opted to spend their weekends in the library, especially not other seventh year students. Hogsmeade visits were happening every other weekend now, and most students preferred spending some time out of Hogwarts.
Barty didn't mind that there was a distinct lack of other students in the library. He enjoyed the peacefulness of the place, and being able to browse through books at will. He was probably the sole person at Hogwarts who got on with Madam Pince too; she always smiled brightly when he entered the library, most likely ecstatic that someone quiet was going to be using her books.
When he entered this time, however, Madam Pince's smile faltered when she noticed Regulus. Like many other teachers, she expected Regulus to have the same kind of attitude and callousness for the school rules as his brother before him had. Sirius had left school now, and Barty and Regulus were in their final year—but teachers still expected the worst from Regulus.
Whilst he wasn't as noisy or flippant as Sirius had been at Hogwarts, Regulus did have an air of sarcasm and a haughty attitude, which he displayed often around teachers. His good looks and cavalier charm did him wonders, and it wasn't often that he got into trouble. He wasn't an O-Level student like Barty was, as Regulus preferred spending time playing Quidditch and being with his friends, feeling quite confident that he didn't really need his studies. However, if he really tried, Regulus could get flying colours in his exams—something which irritated Barty to no end, as Barty had to study impossibly hard to achieve the desired results.
As they sat down at a table in the library, Barty noticed that Regulus had his box of Bertie Bott's Beans in the baggy sleeve of his robes, and he was wearing a mischievous expression. Rolling his eyes, Barty stood up. "I'm going to go look for a book before you get us into trouble," he said in a low voice.
Regulus sniggered.
Barty was deep in a maze of bookcases when he smelled an unusual, but not unpleasant smell. It was like brown sugar, honey and... "Parma Violets," he murmured, thinking of the delectable, violet-coloured Muggle sweets that had been passed around the Great Hall in years previously. He followed his nose for the source of the smell, until he found himself in front of a large, mahogany bookcase, containing books for potion recipes.
Thinking it was one of the books that smelled so intriguing, Barty began plucking books out from the bookcase, sniffing their spines and pages. Before long, he had a pile of books in his arms, and there was a substantial gap in the shelf.
A small, quiet cough broke his concentration, and he snapped his attention towards the gap in the shelf. A pair of wide, glassy grey eyes were staring back at him unblinkingly. In his sudden shock, Barty dropped the pile of books, and they crashed loudly on the concrete floor.
"...What in the name of Merlin!" Madam Pince's familiar hiss sounded, and she appeared around the corner of the bookcases immediately, craning her neck like a vulture. She looked disappointed when she realised who it was who had dropped the books. "Barty Crouch!" she whispered, though her voice still echoed through the huge library. "I thought you had more appreciation for books!"
"I'm sorry, Madam," Barty garbled, reaching down to begin picking up the books. The strange, silvery eyes were still flashing in his vision. "I—I tripped."
"Well, make sure they all go back to their original places," Madam Pince murmured, and she stalked back to her desk quickly, her long black robes flicking around the corner.
Inwardly groaning, Barty began to scoop up the books in his arms, shaking them out by the spines so that their pages were straightened, and then he placed them one-by-one back on the shelf. It wasn't until every book was back in the bookcase, when the smell of Parma Violets filled his nostrils once again, and he spun around on his heel.
The silver-grey eyes were in front of him once again, except, now he could see the body that they were attached to. A thin, wide-eyed girl stood in front of him, clutching a heavy, fur-lined book in her hands. She had long, dirty-blonde hair which was piled on the top of her head in a messy fashion, with various tendrils escaping around her neck and shoulders. There appeared to be radishes attached to her earlobes, a quill tucked behind her ear, and a string of Butterbeer corks around her neck. The blue and bronze crest on her robes told Barty that she was in Ravenclaw, but he had never seen this girl before. She wasn't in his year group, probably a few years below, but he'd never spotted her at the Great Hall before.
"I'm sorry I made you jump," she spoke with an airy, feathery voice. "I was coming around to help you pick up the books — but I see you've already managed that."
"Who are you?" Barty asked suddenly, ignoring her apology. "I've never seen you before."
The strange girl looked away hesitantly, clutching her book closer to her chest. "I—I have to go." she said quickly, and before Barty could reply, she had flitted around the corner. By the time he had rushed to the end of the corridor of bookcases, she was nowhere in sight.
"Who was that pretty little thing?" a familiar, smooth, silky voice filled Barty's ears as he stared out into the library, searching for a hint of blonde hair. Regulus had wandered over to look for Barty, his hands thrust into the pockets of his robes.
"I don't know," Barty replied quietly. "I have no idea."
Note: I know that 'NEWT's should be spelled with dot/spaces between each letter, but FF isn't letting me do that!