Summary: When let off from Azkaban on a second chance, Barty Crouch Jr becomes Xenophilius Lovegood's worst nightmare, back to haunt him and his daughter. In order to fulfil forgotten vows, an ex-murderer and a war heroine are brought together in unconventional circumstances, leading to an unexpected romance.
Authors Note: Forgive me for this chapter being shorter than normal, but I wanted Christmas to have it's own separate chapter, despite there not being much information (the events around Christmas are more important than the actual day). Happy reading!
oOo
Christmas at the Crouch Manor hadn't exactly gone to plan, but Luna was just happy that Barty was okay.
She had crept downstairs early in the morning on Christmas morning, and quickly cleared the mess that had been created in the living room. Instead of putting everything back how it had been, she considered Barty's feelings—while the Calming Draught and his medication seemingly weren't having an effect on him now, it was inevitable that he would've reacted negatively to the over-the-top Christmas décor. So, she had vanished all of the streamers and the ornaments and the tree, choosing instead to just leave the Christmas angel perched on the mantelpiece.
Not that Luna really had much of a choice with that one. When she had reached out to move the angel, the miniature character had exclaimed loudly that she had no intention of being stored in a box during the festive day.
After making sure that the living room was clean and tidy, Luna had entered the kitchen and commenced cooking breakfast. For the sake of getting it done quicker than normal, she chose to use her wand this time. Within minutes, flour, eggs and milk were mixing together in a bowl, while a pan heated oil over the stove.
While pancakes began to sizzle in the pan and Luna absently reminiscing to Barty's failed attempt at making breakfast not so long ago, Barty wandered into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes.
The sight of him tugged at Luna's heart. Barty looked oddly young; his hair, now getting quite uncontrollably long, was hanging in his eyes, which looked tired and purple-lidded. The plain grey top and pyjama trousers he was wearing were oversized, making him look skinnier than normal. But worst of all were the scars that marred Barty's pale forearms, long, jagged welts that had been healed by Luna, leaving the dark protective skin shiny and bumpy.
She bit her lip and avoided staring at them as Barty entered the kitchen and sat down at the table quietly, choosing instead to offer him a bright smile. "Good morning. Merry Christmas, Barty."
He looked up at her and gave her a strained smile, but his eyes looked sad. "Merry Christmas, Luna."
oOo
Aurora had been delighted when Caroline Greengrass had invited her to stay over the Christmas period.
Christmas Day at the Greengrass Mansion was a very quiet affair. Caroline's husband had died a very long time ago, and her youngest daughter, Astoria, had opted to spend the Christmas at the Malfoy Manor, with the boy who she was betrothed to marry. Caroline's older daughter, Daphne, was in a disagreement with her mother over the Wizarding War and where her loyalties lay, so she had too decided to flee the nest and spend Christmas elsewhere.
So it was just Caroline and Aurora sitting at either end of the long white dining table on Christmas Day, eating their dinner and sipping their wine quietly.
"It was such a surprise when you arrived, Aurora." Caroline spoke once she had pushed her plate away and leaned back in her seat. She was still wearing a smart dress suit, even though it was Christmas, only she had opted for a pale grey suit instead of the black ones that Aurora had seen her in every other day.
"How did you know who I was?" Aurora replied, taking another delicate sip of the crisp white wine that Glinda had poured her.
"You look exactly like Cordelia; how could I not? Your hair is the same lovely red colour, your eyes are just like hers. Even your voice is similar."
Aurora smiled. "I must say, I'm glad that you realised who I was. I was worried about introducing myself. Did your family and my mother have some kind of argument that caused her to flee England?" Aurora hadn't asked any intrusive questions up until this moment. She had been nervous about causing Caroline any unnecessary upset, but there were answers she needed to know.
After all, Christmas was supposed to be the season of kindness and good will. There was no better time than right now.
Caroline pressed her lips together and clapped her hands quite suddenly. Glinda jumped from around the door, and rushed forward to collect the dinnerware; snapping her knobbly fingers so that they jumped into the air and soared out of the dining room, following her into the kitchen. "Your mother told no one that she was going to leave, Aurora. In fact, we had no idea that she was pregnant with yourself at the time. We didn't know until she wrote to us once she was in Australia, but she never told us where she had gone - otherwise we would've come to find you both immediately. She was scared. She'd always been scared of the Dark Lord."
"What did he have to do with her, though?"
Caroline sighed. "It was a different time, Aurora. Most Pureblood families—including many from our own family—were fully supportive of the Dark Lord's motives. He was getting stronger day by day, and more dangerous," she paused, taking a long drink from her glass. "Cordelia and I never agreed with the notions of the Dark Lord, though our parents very much supported him. While I, on the other hand, was a lot more brave in those dark times, particularly after giving birth to Daphne, Cordelia was not. I can only imagine that after discovering that her two best friends had become Death Eaters and then discovering that she was pregnant, she crumbled and fled the country."
"Her two best friends?" Aurora sat up, her interest piqued. "Was one of them Regulus Black?"
Caroline smiled wanly. "Yes, I thought that Cordelia might have told you about Regulus. He was a lovely young man, right from the moment Cordelia made friends with him. He always treat her wonderfully, and often visited in the holidays. I think our parents quite hoped that she would marry him—it would've made them very happy, to know that one of us was marrying into the ancient and most noble house of Black."
"Who was the other?"
This time, Caroline's smile faltered. "Barty Crouch—Junior. He was Regulus's friend, and I think that is the only way that they ended up becoming friends. He was nice enough, but there was something that I just didn't like about him. He had this look in his eye—like he was always thinking about something dangerous. Like a wounded animal."
"What's dangerous about a wounded animal?"
"My dear, a wounded animal is much more dangerous, because it's even more determined to survive." Caroline pressed her finely manicured fingertips together. "When she announced that he was her boyfriend, we were most disappointed. Of course, he never was her boyfriend—at least, he didn't see it that way. I think that she had lost hope in ever truly getting Regulus's attention, at least in their later years, as he was a lot more withdrawn, so she turned to Barty. Only Barty had so many of his own problems, that he was probably just using her too."
Aurora's brow was furrowed together. "I'm sorry, Caroline. I'm confused. I...I guess I came here with the thought that Regulus might be my father. But...is this Barty Crouch my father?"
Caroline was reaching into her jacket pocket and pulling out a carton of cigarettes, one of which she placed into her mouth. She lit the end with her wand, and took a deep drag. "I couldn't tell you, dear," she replied vacantly, leaning back further in her chair. "My dear sister took them both to her boudoir."
