A Captive of Life
By Adaia Swordmaiden
Summary: ONE SHOT. From when Crouch and his wife go to get their son out to when Voldermort comes to 'visit' Bartemis Jnr. and Snr.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything - it all belongs to the great J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 1 and only
"Please Barty," she whispered. "I'm dying so just do this for me before I go." Bartemis Crouch ran a hand through his hair, torn between his loyalty to and love for his wife and his hatred of his son.
"I can't bear to leave you in that horrible place," he said.
"Please," she whispered, her eyes pleading him. He sighed.
"Alright," he said. "I'll do it. For you."
"Barty." The young man looked up, almost unable to believe his eyes and ears. For a moment he thought that he was about to die and that his mind was throwing up pictures of his family.
"Mother? Father?" he murmured, half walking, half crawling to the bars and pulling himself upright. His mother reached out and stroked his face, tears running down her cheeks. "Why-?"
"We're here to get you out," his father said gruffly. Bartemis Jnr. unconsciously took a step back, the memory of the night in Courtroom 10 fresh in his mind.
"But how?" he whispered. His father gently set down his wife and she pulled out of her handbag two vials of thick glutinous liquid. "Polyjuice potion?" His mother nodded.
"This one has one of my hairs in it," she whispered. Barty Jnr. nodded with tears in his eyes, understanding. He knew that if his mother wanted to do this there would be no swaying her. Then he pulled a hair out of his head, flinching slightly as it came out. He passed the hair through the bars and was handed the vial with his mother's hair. He looked at his mother and then unscrewed the vial; throwing back his head and drinking the lot of it in one go. For a moment nothing happened and then his skin began to bubble slightly. He clamped his eyes shut, unable to watch himself or his mother who had drunk the potion with his hair in it. There was a soft thud and Barty Jnr. opened his eyes. The cell door was swinging slowly open. On the other side was standing his mother who now looked like him. He took a slow step out of the cell and his mother embraced him before stepping into the cell. Bartemis Snr. slowly closed the cell door, re-locking it with his wand. He reached through the bars and touched his wife's hand before turning and starting to walk towards the exit, angry tears running down his face. Barty Jnr. took a step after him and nearly collapsed. Bartemis Snr. turned and quickly picked him up, carrying him out as he had carried his wife in.
"Master Barty has been so good lately," Winky said. "And the Quidditch World Cup is coming up. Why not let him go?" Bartemis Crouch Snr. sighed.
"Alright, Winky," he said. "But you'll have to be extremely careful and do exactly as I say."
"Yes Master, of course Master," Winky said, bobbing her head and beaming. Finally her weeks and weeks of asking had paid off.
Barty Jnr. blinked and looked around. Where was he? he wondered for a moment before he realised. He must have unconsciously broken through his father's Imperius Curse. He looked around again. He recognised the Top Box from the last time he came to the Quidditch World Cup. His father had always gotten them seats there. Barty Jnr. glanced down at Winky who was sitting in the seat beside him, her hands covering her eyes. Then he looked forwards and he saw it. Poking out of a boy's pocket, a wand. Barty Jnr. sucked in his breath silently. Here was his chance. He could take the wand and escape. But what then? He would be hunted down either by his father or Aurors and send back to Azkaban or be forced to endure the Cruciatus Curse. He hesitated, his hand already reaching for the wand. Then he made his decision. He would take the wand now and hide it. Then he would be able to overcome his father. Perhaps even seek out and rejoin his Lord. The Dark Lord. As one of the chasers scored and the boy cheered along with his friends, Barty Jnr.'s hand shot out and returned beneath the Invisibility Cloak with the wand. The boy never noticed a thing. Barty Jnr. smiled quietly. Success.
Barty Crouch Jnr. gripped the wand and began to walk towards the door quickly. Winky sensed his movement and threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his ankle.
"No Master Barty!" she shrieked.
"Let me go!" he demanded, shaking his leg. He considered cursing or stunning her but decided against it. She had, after all, been kind to him and had, even if she hadn't meant to, given him the chance to get the wand. She eventually let go and he moved again towards the door. This time, however, Winky didn't throw herself at him. Instead she made a series of hand movements and Barty Jnr. found he couldn't move any further. Winky dashed for the door of the tent and outside. Barty Jnr. smiled grimly, thinking that her terror had driven her away, but then he felt a yank and he was being pulled after her. He swore and fought against the pull. He should have known that she would use her own brand of magic. Slowly but surely, she pulled him towards the forest where others were already hiding. "Let me go!" he demanded again but she ignored him and continued to pull him. He glanced back, past the tent to where the Death Eaters were torturing some muggles. His lip curled. They wouldn't try to free his Lord but they would make fun for themselves like this? He and Winky reached the first line of trees but Winky kept on pulling. She probably knew that it would be safest to get him deep into the forest where he couldn't see the Death Eaters. Winky pulled him into a clearing and kept on running though she couldn't go very fast as Barty Jnr was pulling against her with all his might. He glanced to the side and saw the boy whose wand he had stolen along with a gangly red-haired boy and a bushy-haired brunette girl.
"There is bad wizards about!" Winky squeaked to them. "People high - high in the air! Winky is getting out of the way!" Barty had a closer look at the boy and his eyes widened as he saw, by the light of the boy's friends' wands, a lightning shaped scar on the boy's forehead. Then he smiled grimly and raised the stolen wand, meaning to put and end to the life of his Lord's destroyer, but Winky managed to pull him back into the forest. He searched his mind for something he could do to get back at the so called 'Death Eaters' and then he had an idea. Instead of trying to run away from Winky, he ran suddenly towards her and the magical, invisible leash she was keeping him on went slack, making her fall forwards on her face. Quickly he raised the wand so that it was pointing straight up.
"MORSMORDRE!" he roared. A vast, green, glittering skull with a serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue erupted from the end of the wand and shot into the air, stopping well above the trees. Barty Jnr. looked straight up at it and laughed maniacally but his laughter was drowned out by the screams that erupted from the wood around him. A moment later there were several loud cracks and two beams of red light shot through the trees, hitting Barty Jnr. and Winky and stunning them.
Bartemis Crouch glared at his invisible son.
"I hope you're happy with what you've done," he snarled. "Because of you I had to sack Winky and I can't find any more house-elves to work here." Barty Jnr. kept silent. His father thought he was still under the Imperius Curse and if he answered his father would know that he had broken its hold. "I'm going to have to send Weatherby letters with instructions, saying I'm sick, until I get another house-elf because of you." Barty grinned suddenly beneath the Invisibility Cloak. He knew how much his father hated to miss work - he hadn't ever since Voldermort had fallen. Even if he was still a captive of his father, at least he was causing him pain. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Bartemis Snr. sighed and got up. "Come on," he said. "Stick with me and don't get in the way of whoever it is." The two headed down the stairs and Bartemis opened the door. A hooded figure stood outside, cradling something in its arms. "Can I help you?" Bartemis Snr. asked. The figure looked up and Barty Jnr. couldn't help but gasp. He instantly recognised Peter Pettigrew, one of Voldermort's Death Eaters although possible the most cowardly of them all. Bartemis Snr. seemed to recognise him as well but he gaped at him, speechless. Pettigrew quickly drew a wand, flicking it at Bartemis Snr. and sending him flying across the hall. Barty Jnr. stepped hurriedly out of the way and Pettigrew came inside, his wand still out, cradling the bundle he had in his left arm.
"Stupefy!" Pettigrew shouted, pointing his wand at Bartemis Snr. Barty Jnr then threw off the Invisibility Cloak and Pettigrew turned to face him. Barty Jnr nodded coldly at him and Pettigrew unveiled the bundle he was carrying. A huge snake slithered in the door, coiling itself around Pettigrew's feet. Barty Jnr. suddenly bowed to the creature Pettigrew had been carrying. Voldermort. And as he bowed, Barty Jnr.'s cruel, twisted mind knew that he was no longer a captive, that his life now had meaning.
That he was no longer a captive of life.
End