Well... I got asked to
carry it on, and it deffinately made me want to :) So please, review,
tell me what you think,or suggestions, or if you simply want more,
reviewing makes me do it faster XD
I apologise if the conversation
seems to carry on a bit long, but I needed it to for the purposes of
the story. And thanks for all the reviews. They really do help :)
Chapter 3
Barty Crouch Jr. stared out at the beautiful dark lake below, where he was sat in the long grass on top of a remote hill. He was still out of breath from performing the powerfull spell which had sent him from the Hogwarts grounds. This was nowhere near as far away as he'd of felt comfortable, but for now, this was as far as he was willing to go. He felt a momentary feeling of guilt, but quickly pushed it out of his head. Where had guilt ever gotten anybody? Once again, he payed attention to the serene lake below, and the long grass around them, blowing in the wind. He remembered Hermione, and looked over at her. He certainly hadn't expected to be accompanied by some one like her, but part of him was pleased not to be alone as usual. He was struck by how cold she must be, only in a t-shirt and skirt, and how uncomfortable she looked at that odd angle. He pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arm around her. That was better. He conjoured up a loaf of bread and took a bite, returning his gaze to the lake.
When Hermione stirred, she spent a few beautiful moments where she had forgotten what had happened, and snuggled into the warmth surrounding her. Before she openned her eyes and remembered. And she was in the bastards lap. She quickly sat up, pushing his arm off her.
"Hermione?" She ignored him. Now she was away from him, she realised how cold it was in the wind, and pulled her knees up to her chest, trying to keep warm. She felt Crouch's eyes on her, staring intently. "...W-Would you like my coat?" She shook her head. There was a silence, until, "...Are you hungry?" Once again, she shook her head. "Thirsty?" She shook her head, and finally he fell into silence. They sat there for a while, before she remembered she had questions herself.
"Where are we?" He jumped as she spoke.
"I'm not sure entirely, we're in still in Scotland. This is as far as I could get with my magic, there were enchantments which made apparating ridiculously difficult ...We're leaving soon.
"We are, are we?"
"Please, Hermione, don't make this harder than it is."
"And what's going to happen to me?"
Barty stared at her. He hadn't really given it a thought. He wasn't going to kill her, he felt oddly attached to her. She could come with him, but what then? Sooner or later, word was going to get round to Voldemort that Barty Crouch Jr., his most loyal supporter was accompanied by Harry Potter's best friend wherever he went. He sighed. He'd worry about that later. "Well... You could come with me for a while."
"I'd of thought you'd of killed me."
"Yeah, well... I didn't. I'm not going to, either." He looked away from her.
Hermione felt the need to change the subject. "So... Where are we going later?"
"There's a little house I used to stay in, when I was hiding. It's in the middle of no where, so I thought we could go there. In fact," He looked down at her, she still looked cold. "I think we should probably get going now." He held out his hand, but she gripped his arm instead. He didn't fully understand why she did this, why his arm was any different, but he ignored it. "Hold on." And with that, he apparated, and Hermione soon found herself with both her arms wrapped round his one arm, holding on as hard as possible, her eyes clenched tight.
They both fell ungracefully in a heap, Hermione looking especially rumpled after the horrible feeling of side along apperition. Barty stood up and pointed his wand at the pile of wood in the fireplace, before it erupted into flame. Hermione edged towards it, grateful for its warmth. She sat there in silence for a while, before she began to think how late it must be.
"What time is it?"
Barty pulled out a battered looking pocket watch, that looked like it was grand-looking, once upon a time. It was looking a little worse for wear now, however. "About two thirty" He told her, squinting at it through the darkness. "It's getting late."
"It is" She answered, hearing her stomach grumble.
"Are you sure you arent hungry?" He asked her, a look of concern on his face.
"I'm certain, thankyou." She snapped at him. He knew she was lying.
"But-" She glared at him, and he gave up. "Okay. If you do get hungry, ask, okay?"
"Fine." He stood looking at her for a second, before she looked back at him. "Would you just leave?"
Barty stared at her, hurt. He hadn't expected this, he'd tried his best, after all. "I- er... Okay. Space." He took a few steps back. "You need some space." He said, sadly, before disapearing into his room, shutting the door softly behind him. He shrugged off his coat and kicked off his boots before collapsing onto the bed, and falling to sleep, pushing the feeling of hurt to the back of his mind.
Hermione relaxed a little when Crouch left the room. What had happenned that night? So much had happened so suddenly, she felt as if she hadn't quite had time to register everything as it hit her. And Crouch? Crouch was insane. One minute, he's threatening to kill her, the next minute, she found her self being kept warm in his body heat and being offered his food. It was all a little too much to handle. She slumped down on her side and stared into the fire, feeling tired at the peaceful sound of the crackling. It reminded her of home, a place that felt further away than ever here. She thought of Hogwarts, and wondered if news had got out about her disappearance. She hoped Harry and Ron hadn't yet found out. Their was nothing they could do tonight, and they had already lost enough nights sleep worrying about people they love dieing. Certainly more than the regular seventeen year olds had been through. She felt it was best not to dwell on such things, and maybe she should at least try to get some sleep.
Their was no way she was going to go and ask Crouch for a bed, so she curled up infront of the fire, and felt herself fall to sleep strangely easily.
The next morning, Hermione awoke to the sound of rain pumelling down onto the roof. She had always liked the sound, as it made her gratefull she was inside, not outside getting drenched like everyone else. It made her feel warmer. Hermione pulled the up blankets up to her face.
Blankets.
Hermione didn't remember any blankets. She sat up, quickly. She was now on the sofa with a few slightly worn looking tartan blankets spread across her. Crouch must have done this for whatever reason, she didn't even want to know how his mind worked. Looking to the side, she saw that their had been a tray of food left for her, a cup of tea and two fried eggs that looked as though they had been cooked by some one with no cooking experience what so ever, maybe perhaps a hyperactive toddler old. Swallowing her pride, she almost ate the eggs in one go, she was so hungry. She had just started on the tea when Crouch bounded into the room, looking rather pleased with himself. Hermione was bewildered by his apparent mood swings, looking at him now, she would never of thought he was the same man as who had threatened her yesterday. In fact, she felt she would have laughed at him, was it not for her knowing who he truely was, and what he was capable of.
"I made you eggs." He beamed.
"I know."
"And tea."
"I know."
"I made a mess of the kitchen."
"I thought you might of."
"I couldn't cook before I got slammed away for years in Azkaban, so you can imagine."
She shook her head in disbeleaf. "Why are you being like this?"
He frowned, slightly. "Like what?"
"Like we're best friends all of a sudden? It was only yesterday you were threatening to kill me,"
He considered for a moment. "Well, you know... If we're going to be stuck with each other, we may as well not be complete enemies."
He was completely insane, he had to be. Why couldn't he be a normal, easy to hate two dimentional villian? Why must he make things different, constantly seeking her approval? She wanted to ask him all these questions, but something made her stay silent.
"...So... About this thing you put on us, keeping us together... How long does it last? You made it sound like forever."
"It can be forever, but 'binding our destinies', that can be anything, from one side of the scale to the other,"
He decided to change the subject, as he was trying to keep this conversation light. "...Was your food okay?"
"It was fine... A bit of a mess, though." She hadn't been joking when she said this, but he seemed to take it as a joke.
He grinned. "It was a bit, wasn't it? Well, as I said, I'm no Jamie Oliver."
Hermione couldn't help but smile. "So, you come from a pure blood familly, aligned yourself with the forces of evil, got sent to azkaban for half your life, yet you still kept up to date with muggle popular culture?"
He grinned, once again. "Oh yeah, I know my muggle chefs... Well, you know, in azkaban I'd read just about everything I could get ahold of, muggle or not. And now I'm fully confident that was I back at Hogwarts, I'd pass my muggle studies NEWT with flying colours, this time, anyway."
Hermione raised one eyebrow. "You took muggle studies?"
"Yep." He thought for a second. "Why?"
"Well, it's just in my experience, wizards from your background dont take to kindly to muggles."
"In your experience?" He frowned. "Let me guess, Draco Malfoy's in your year." Hermione nodded. "I've seen his picture, the Malfoy's are often in the papers, done some 'kind act of charity'. Sucking up to authority, more like. Anyway, he's the spitting image of his cousin Robert. Imaculate white hair and an unhealthy pale face, he was in my year at school, we hated each other. Everytime some thing was said against him," Barty put on a high, whiny voice. "You wait until I next see Lucius...". He's the only one with real power, anyway.
At this, Hermione couldn't help but laugh. "That sounds like Draco's cousin alright."
"He hated me with a vengance. I dont even know why."
"Weren't you in his house?"
"Nope, I was in Ravenclaw. I was almost in Slytherin though, I was almost in Gryfindor, the hat was really unsure about it. Eventually I just went into Ravenclaw because it's the family house.
Hermione was surprised. "I thought all death eaters were in Slytherin."
"I guess I was an exception."
"You seem to be an exception to most conventions."
He gave her a huge friendly grin, and she felt for a second that she could trust him. "Well, you know... Oh, hold on." He began rooting around in his pockets before he pulled something out, something long and thin. "I- I got a new... And well, if you want this back- I mean, I thought you might- well, of course, you would- I mean..." He paused for breath. "I wanted to return this."
Hermione stared at him. "Thankyou." He held it out to give it to her, his robe pulling back to reveal his fore arm, and that's when she saw it. All the joy she felt crasing down within her. It was the bitter reminder of who he was and what he stood for, and that she had been laughing and joking with such a man. She snatched the wand off him, and pulled away from him.
He glanced down at his arm, expressionlessly eyeing his dark mark. "Oh." And with that, he got up and left, angry with the whole turn of events.
