Barty couldn't wait until he had a free moment alone. The letter that Luna handed him was burning a hole in his pocket, and he just wanted to tear it open. He didn't want anyone else to read it, though, so he needed to wait.

Charms went past in a blur. If asked, he wouldn't even be able to tell anyone what spell they learned, and Charms was one of his top subjects. He knew that Transfiguration was with the Ravenclaw students, and he couldn't wait. For once, he thought with biter amusement. He hated Transfiguration, and he struggled with the spells almost every lesson.

When Charms finished, Barty was the first one out of the classroom, and already heading towards the Transfiguration classroom when Severus caught up with him.

"You couldn't wait, could you," Severus said as he fell in step with Barty.

"Nope," Barty said, sending his friend a smirk.

Severus scowled, but he stayed silent, and he stayed silent until they turned into the Transfiguration corridor. The moment they turned the corner, Severus grabbed Barty's arm and turned him around.

"What is it about this girl?"

Barty shot Severus a sharp look, but he wasn't overly surprised by Severus' observation. "I don't know what you're talking about," Barty said anyway, determined to keep the girl all to himself.

"Don't play dumb," Severus said with a sneer. "You've been acting weird ever since she arrived, so what is it?"

Barty shrugged, a move his father would criticise him over. "She's different," he said.

Severus caught Barty's gaze, and held it. Severus seemed to be studying him and judging him all at once. After a moment, Severus broke the connection. "Just don't let Regulus know," he said with a small smirk. "You'll never hear the end of it."

Barty would never admit to himself or anyone else that he felt a thrill of fearshoot through him at Severus' words. He hadn't even thought about Regulus.

Entering the classroom, Barty smiled when he saw Luna already sitting at one of the tables. His smile quickly fell when he saw the distracted look in her eye. Barty knew that Luna was very good at wearing a mask, but he'd seen her without it on that first night, so he knew how to spot when she was distracted or sad. That realisation surprised him, but he wasn't unhappy about it.

"Luna," Barty said, making sure to force a sneer on his face. It wouldn't do to let her know that he was concerned about her.

"Barty!" Her voice echoed around the room and Barty spotted Severus' dark glare from behind him.

"Shut up," he snarled. "Do you have to be so loud?"

Luna smiled, and tilted her head to the side. Barty was glad to see the smile was a genuine one. "Of course," she said. "I had to make sure you would hear me over all this chaos."

Barty looked around the practically empty room with a raised eyebrow.

"She's different alright," Severus said from behind him, capturing Luna's attention. Barty was surprised to see Luna's mouth fall open for a moment.

"You're Severus Snape, right?"

Severus jerked, and Barty barely managed to keep his eyes from widening. She must know him in the future. She almost seems fond of him.

"How do you know who I am?" Severus turned to him with a glare. "Have you been talking about me behind my back?"

Barty winced inwardly. He could see Severus' glare darkening, and he barely managed to prevent himself from stepping away from the look.

"No, no, not at all. I just know, you know?"

"No."

Severus' deadpan voice seemed to amuse Luna as her eyes brightened and her smile widened.

By now the class was filling up, and Professor McGonagall was just entering. She took a look at al the chatting students and glared at them when they caught her eye.

"Take your seats please, students."

Luna turned to the front and let out an honest to Merlin squeal when she saw McGonagall. "Look who it is," she said to Barty.

"Miss London," the Professor said.

"Yes, Professor, sorry. I'm just so happy to see you, it's such a pleasure. I've always liked. . . I mean, wanted to meet you, and now I get the chance."

Barty winced at the girl's slip up, and he could see some of the Slytherin students shooting her confused looks, but no one spoke, other than the Professor who was giving Luna one of her more deadly glares.

"That's very kind, Miss London, but I must insist that you sit down so I can start my class."

Luna's eyes widened dramatically and she started to frantically nod her head. "I'm so sorry, Professor," she said. Luna spared Barty a small smile and a wave before sitting down.

"Mr. Crouch," the Professor said.

Barty turned to look at her and realised he was still standing in the middle of the classroom. "Sorry, Professor," he said, glaring at Severus who seemed to be laughing at him.

Barty sighed and tried to pay attention to the class. He failed.

When the class finally ended, Barty was as frustrated as he was annoyed. The spells continued to fail for him, and worse, Luna seemed to have no trouble. When Barty started to mumble about this, Severus had only raised an eyebrow and asked him why he wanted to impress her so much.

"I don't," Barty practically snarled at him.

Severus didn't reply, but his disbelief was clear.

Barty left the classroom, and he was pounced on by Luna. Her wide smile and bright eyes made him want to smile, but he forced a sneer on his face.

"Have you read it yet?" she asked with a dream-like voice. They continued to walk down the corridor surrounded by other students, but Luna acted as if they were the only ones there.

Barty winced "I haven't had the time."

Luna spared him a disappointed look. "You must read it right now, and I'm going to stand here and make sure you do."

Barty stopped walking and turned to stare at her. "Right now, right here?"

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

Barty stared at her, waiting for her to tell him she was joking, but she just continued to stare at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Fine," he said, huffing. He pulled the envelope out of his pocket and tore it open. Inside was a small piece of parchment with a single sentence on it.

Be prepared for the worse.

(w.c 1.095)

WolfWinks –xx-