"You. Little. FREAK!"
"Bellatrix, please. It's not what it looks like!" pleaded Barty on the verge of tears.
"It looks like you were snogging my cousin, Regulus over there!"
"Don't tell anybody!" cried the direct object of the latter sentence.
"Why shouldn't I?" she demanded.
"Because-Because if you do, then-then you'll disgrace the Black family name!"cried Regulus, parroting what his mother was always yelling at Sirius about.
"That's not my problem anymore!" she grinned evilly. "I'm a Lestrange now, remember?"
"You'd sell out your own family name like that?" cried Regulus, momentarily ignoring the irony in his statement.
"They're not my family anymore. I'm tired of suffering along with the rest of you, as Sirius brings your family name down. I'm no longer going to be a part of it. I'm free" she retorted.
"but then you'll be responsible for the ruination!" cried Regulus
"The role of a pureblood" recited Bella
"is to keep her family name high, and every other pureblood family's name mud"
"Please, Bellatrix" cried Barty again
"Don't tell anybody. I'll do anything!"
"Save it for your father! I wonder what will happen to Barty Crouch, Head of the Department of Law Enforcement's reputation, when word gets out that his son was caught snogging another boy. Oh the scandal" she crooned with relish.
"Bellatrix, I'm begging you not to tell anybody" Whimpered Barty Crouch, her jab of torture making it's mark.
"Begging is a routine part of being a Death Eater!" shrieked Bellatrix with utter delight.
"Never once have I taken out a target who didn't prostrate himself before me until he nearly soiled himself. If I listened to every stupid arse who told me he'd do anything if I let him live, the Dark Lord would have relieved me of my duties after my first mission! My house elf always said he'd do anything if I stopped practicing the Cruciatus curse on him. As if the pathetic little wretch had anything I wanted! If I'd obliged that stinking monkey, how would I have gotten my Unforgivable Curses so sharp? And how would I have become the Dark Lord's most trusted follower then?"
Tears of fright and despair started rolling down Regulus's face.
"B
"I'm your cousin?" he whispered, barely audible.
"I don't care" cackled Bellatrix maniacally, relishing his helplessness.
"Now if it's all the same to you, I've got to go and send an owl to The Head of the Department of Law Enforcement telling him about my encounter. And after that I've got to go and send an owl to my Aunt and Uncle telling them the antics of my darling little cousin, Reggie. Oh I wish I could see the looks on their faces when they realize that their supposedly good son Regulus is that disgusting little kind of freak who's even lower than a muggle. And then, I've got to go and tell every single girl in my dorm that I caught the darling of Slytherin snogging a pampered Ministry brat"
And with those words hanging in the air like a grim evil, she flounced off in an abnormal (for her), infuriating, lethal fashion.
Regulus watched her figure skip away down the corridor faster than a Cleansweep 5 before he broke down into tears.
Despite the fear Barty was feeling in his own heart, the idea of Regulus distressed was even worse. He encompassed the younger boy in his arms and gently but firmly drew him into his chest, where Regulus proceeded to bury his face into his shoulder. Barty slowly felt moisture accumulate in that part of his shirt.
He tried his best to gather every ounce of courage in his heart (for a split second he almost wished that he was a Gryffindor so that he might have more) Trying to ignore what his father would do to him when he returned from the holidays, he steadied himself by running a finger through his lover's silky hair. It was like black corn-silk.
"It'll be OK Reg. We'll be OK" He muttered. The confidence was seeping out of his voice fast.
"My-my parents...They're already upset about S-s-Sirius...when they find...out about...me" choked his boyfriend.
"I know Reg...I know"
"They...will...be...so...disappointed in me"
"It's not your fault you are the way you are"
"Neither...is it...Sirius... fault... he's... the way... he... is... but they... don't.... care!
"He chooses to act like an idiot... you can't help it if you like...the same gender" said Barty, his heart slowly beginning to crack lines.
"I'm scared Barty...I'm so scared...what will they say... I'm... not... Gryffindor...I can't face them. I can't...I can't. I CAN"T!" sobbed Regulus.
He seemed so small, so innocent. It hurt Barty even more than anything Regulus had previously said. Disappointment from his family was clearly a new thing for him...He was so protected...so naive...On the other hand, he himself, had done nothing but disappoint himself from the moment that he was born...so in a way...that made him tougher than Regulus... It pained him the thought of Regulus returning from Christmas break...he would no longer have that innocence. Barty knew it in his heart. But he could almost feel the hole. He didn't want to lose the sweet, unscarred boy. In a way, that made him complement Barty. Opposites do tend to attract.
Barty took a deep breath, forcing himself to commit that smiling, untraumatized child to memory before he was dragged from his grasp forever. He pressed Regulus against his body even tighter and inhaled slowly but sharply.
"It's OK Reg. I'll protect you... You're going to be OK"