This challenge I am starting
Because hell, I love Harry Potter
I am using it for a presentation in my school where I'll be talking about fanfiction in one year
And since I love Barty Jr. (in the books and in the movies – love for David Tennant) I am starting it with him.
Introduction
It was once again one of Bartemius' dinner parties. Theresa Crouch had, again, run around in the house all day, commanding Winky around nervously and in the end doing all the housework herself. The house would have to be so perfectly clean when the ministry people came, not even for their sake, but for Bartemius'. The lord of the house himself sat at his desk, correcting papers, sorting them into the right order, clearing his throat every now and then and practicing speeches for the evening. The minister of magic himself, young Cornelius Fudge, would be the special guest tonight and Bartemius would stop at nothing to make this evening perfect. At… nothing. He slowly stood up from his desk and went out of the work room, going past his wife without a look. As he went upstairs, a soft muttering already got to his ears. His finger involuntarily twitched, a sign of angry nervousness. If Barty was hatching something in his room again… the head of the Magical Law Enforcement department would just snap. With a swift movement, he opened the door to his son's room without knocking. The 17-year-old shot up from the floor, which he had been sitting on. Now, Bartemius Jr. was standing in the middle of a circle made of black candles with blue flames.
Bartemius Sr.'s temple vein twitched. "What are you doing?"
A little smile crept over Barty's face. He was looking innocently at his father, secretly letting something Bartemius couldn't see slip inside his pocket, holding it tight. "Ah. Father. How… inconveniently you came into my room. To answer your question" he continued, carefully picking every word he was saying to his father, "I was… doing some meditation."
Bartemius didn't believe a word. "Don't think you'll get away with that, son" he snarled with his hoarse voice. "But for now, I have more important things to make clear. Today, the minister of magic himself will come to our home, Bartemius… and you, as follower to my post, will smarten up yourself completely and perfectly."
Barty raised an eyebrow. His father unwaveringly continued. "That means shave, clean hands, socks that are matching with your shoes… and wash that hair of yours" he said disdainfully, looking his son in the eye. Barty looked back at him, not less disdainful, but better at hiding it.
"Yes, father" he eventually answered.
Satisfied, Bartemius left the room, not having heard the sarcasm in Barty's voice.
"Good evening, Mr. Fudge, sir."
"Good evening, Bartemius."
"Would you like a drying spell, Mr. Fudge?" Theresa said. "It seems to be raining cats and dogs outside."
Fudge smiled a polite and uncertain smile. "Oh, yes please, Mrs. Crouch, I got really wet, even though I was just apparating 50 feet from your house."
"Alright" Theresa said and casted the spell, "and you can call me Theresa, please."
"Thanks, Theresa." Fudge then turned to Bartemius. "What was the reason you wanted this dinner with me, Bartemius? And don't come saying you just wanted to improve our relationship, because I don't believe you!" he said, waving his index finger, smiling.
"Indeed, sir" Bartemius answered. "I wanted to introduce you to my son, whom you have surely heard of already. He… would like to follow me in the ministry and I thought, if you like him, you could maybe help him getting in."
Fudge's face brightened up a bit more. "Oh, but you're surely talking about Bartemius Jr., whom I have heard of already! I'm really more than curious meeting the son of my most ambitious employee."
"You won't be disappointed, Mr. Fudge, sir" Bartemius said. He then turned to Theresa and a slight look of nervousness crawled in his eyes. "Where is Barty, Theresa?"
"He's just adjusting a few last things with his tie, he said when I knocked at his door five minutes ago" she answered, showing a shocked expression. "He really should be coming down any second now" she added, soothingly.
Intending to keep Fudge busy, Bartemius Crouch smiled and began talking. "You know, sir, he has just finished education at Hogwarts. A very talented sorcerer, he is. Managed to learn every single spell there is in less than—"
"Here I am, father." Fudge and his colleagues looked up the stairs from where the young male voice had come.
"Ugh!" it immediately came out of Fudge's mouth and Bartemius senior span around to see his son.
Bartemius Crouch junior was wearing a black leather coat and a white shirt under, which was soaked with the blood of the white rat that was hanging from a necklace around Barty's neck. The animal squeaked helplessly every now and then. Slowly, the teenager paced down the stairs, his thick, dirty boots leaving shoeprints on the light carpet. "The poor thing burned itself a few times on my candles this afternoon" Barty said, referring to the rat. "But I thought it was beautiful, so why not use it as decoration? Good evening, Cornelius" he greeted the minister. For a minute, no one said a word and Barty shook Fudge's hand without having been asked to do so. As the door behind Fudge, which he had left opened, slammed shut with a wind gust and as Bartemius senior's eyes got dark with fury, he spoke up again. "There's a storm coming on, isn't there?" He smiled his likeable smile and Theresa began to cry.
The next one-shot will center around Severus Snape 3
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