I love all the Barty/Hermione fics out there, even if there are only about 5 of them, so I thought I'd join in with this little club, lol. Hope you all like it and please review, it only takes a second for you, but they all mean so much to me.
Here you go….
Beneath my Skin
Prologue – I remember
She remembered when she had first seen him how he was, he was being held back by two men by his arms. The men's grips were tight and it was easy to see that they were trying to cause him pain, but he just had that crazed smirk on his face, almost like he found it funny that they were causing him pain.
Hermione looked down at the chairs she was walking in-between, Harry was in front of her and Ron behind. They were surrounded by members of the Order and she glanced back at the delusional man before them before sitting in her seat. She spent the time waiting for the Ministry Officials to settle down in silence, afraid that if she spoke the demented man in the centre of the room, encircled by the chairs would see her and pounce.
He was like a beast in her mind, the look in his eyes and that smirk gave the effect that he was an animal stalking his prey, she didn't know that someone could be so animalistic, and she had seen people change into animals and beasts right in front of her.
The chattering room grew silent as the leader of the meeting stood up and held his hand out to everyone.
"As you all know, we are here to test Mr Bartemius Crouch Junior under Veritaserum so any questions asked will be answered truthfully and set some.. .. records straight." The old man said, he had short grey hair which was a big sort of mess on his head. He seemed nice and Hermione guessed this was the man who took Barty Crouch Seniors job after his unfortunate…..death.
Hermione saw many people nod and make quite comments about this statement and she quickly looked around the room, she saw a clock on the wall, only it had the date on it instead and it was all backwards, she squinted and tried to read it, June 24th. It didn't have the year on it though, but she guessed no one would really need reminding for the year, it was very unlikely for someone to forget or need to know that it was 1995. Like people would forget, she said to herself before looking back up and seeing Barty looking straight at her. She gasped and felt Harry put his hand on her shoulder, she looked over at him, and he gave her a small smile, but she couldn't help but find it hard to shake the feeling that Barty was just looking at her, even though she wasn't looking at him she could still feel his eyes boring into her face.
"Severus Snape will be admitting the potion, which has been verified." And with that she watched as Snape stepped forward and took Barty by the chin and tipped the contains of the small bottle into his mouth. Snape closed his mouth and held his long fingers over his mouth and nose causing the involuntary reaction of Barty to swallow the liquid in his mouth so he could breathe.
Snape let go and took a step back before asking Barty a question to test is the potion was in effect. "What house were you in at Hogwarts?"
Barty frowned instantly but couldn't stop himself admitting the information Snape personally knew he hated. "Hufflepuff." He spat the words out at Snape and let out a low growl.
Snape quickly turned around and nodded to the man running the meeting.
"Good, we may continue. Bartemius, how did you escape from Azkaban?"
Barty's glaring face, looked up suddenly from Snape to the elderly man who had just spoken, a wicked grin broke over his face and he let out a small laugh before answering the question.
"My dear mother, ever such a nice dying woman, made her last living wish to save little me from that hell hole. So she did." He then rolled his head back and laughed loudly before snapping his head back down and sticking his tongue out quickly like a snake.
"How?"
"How what?" Barty teased the man, "You're going to have to be a we bit more specific."
The gray haired man sighed and ran a hand though his hair, only messing it up more, "How did your mother help you escape?"
"Wonderful thing that Polyjuice potion, isn't it?"
Another man stood up and spoke up very loudly, his annoyance clearly shown in his voice. "This is getting us no where!"
Barty smirk only widened as he turned and looked at the grey haired man for the first time. "I answered your question, you answer mine." He said in an almost sing song way.
"Mr Crouch, are you saying that you and your mother swapped placing using Polyjuice potion?" The grey haired man asked him, ignoring the other man who was still stood up.
"Yes! Yes I am!" He yelled, causing an echo to bounce around the room.
The old man coughed and turned to the rest of the people in the room, "This man is clearly insane." He said, sighing and taking his glasses off to clear them.
Dumbledore suddenly stood up and walked down from his set to where Barty was still being held, he didn't get too close, but closer then anyone else would dare to go.
"Barty, why did you disguise as Alastor Moody?" He asked calmly, he already knew the answer, but Dumbledore needed the others to here it.
Barty looked at the man before him, he pounced a bit, but smiled politely when he saw that Dumbledore did not jump or back away from him. "A little…..friend came home one day, and together we came up with a plot to restore Voldemort to his full body and power, a plot that needed me to be in very," He looked over Dumbledore's shoulder and up to where Harry was sitting, "Very close proximity to our young Mister Potter."
There were a couple whispers and gasps of shock from people all around but Hermione just kept on watching the man down in front of everyone, not taking her gaze off him for a second.
"Did you put Harry's name in the Goblet?" Albus asked the young man.
"Yes, very hard thing to do though, with Hermione with that seeker always hiding in that room though." Hermione winced when she heard him speak of her. She felt both Ron and Harry put their hands on her shoulder, like protective brothers before he started speaking again. "Had to wait for the night before all the names were picked." He said, his tongue darting out then back in every now and again.
Dumbledore was about to speak again when someone spoke up from next to where the old grey haired man sat. "Hermione? Who is this Hermione?"
"Hermione Granger, a student from my school." Dumbledore answered the question quickly, "She is not important at the moment."
Barty pulled unexpectedly and very hard against the two men restraining him, "No!" he yelled over Dumbledore's voice, who's head snapped around to him, curiosity written over his old worn features. "That was my question!" Barty yelled out to the man as if he was standing on the other side of the room and not just in front of him.
Hermione raised an eyebrow at why he wanted to answer the question and not just leave it with Dumbledore's answer, she felt her heard speed up in panic at what he might say, she knew it was crazy, it wasn't like she was very close with him, like Harry was and she had rarely spoken to him, except in lessons.
Dumbledore slowly began to speak to the young man before him, "Okay, Barty, who is Hermione Granger?"
Barty smirked and let his eyes scan the crowd of people looking at him before reaching Hermione and looking her dead in the eyes, he never looked away as he spoke, and Hermione felt that she couldn't either, no matter how much this man was scaring her.
"She was a student of mine, and my days is she the best student anyone could ask for. You don't even need to teach her anything, because she already knows it! She's so god damn smart, smarter them anyone in the Ministry will ever be. But what a funny little mudblood she is-" He spoke with such a dream like voice, and even when he insulted her, his voice still held pride and admiration in it, and that scared Hermione more then the fact he just called her a mudblood.
Dumbledore's voice cut him off the second that word spilt from his mouth. "That is enough Mr Crouch!"
Hermione jumped at his sudden raised voice, she had only heard him yell like that once before, and quite frankly, it scared her how such a calm, collect man like him could change so suddenly and have such a presence like he did at the moment. But even that didn't stop Barty from continuing.
"So perfect…" his voice was quite, but everyone could still make out what he said. "She shouldn't be a mudblood." His eyes darted around, like he was calculating something, "She smart, and morals….What morals this girl has!" He yelled out to everyone, like he was speaking of a great force, but really it was just her. She felt Harry and Ron rising from next to her, but she gently put her hands on either of their knees, causing them to stop and sit back down, but never off the edge of their seats. "Right, wrong. She's just so powerful, and everything a pureblood should be. But she's not….." He trailed off to himself. Hermione looked at both of the boys at her side, they both were glaring darkly at Barty, hands clenched into fists. Hermione looked up and met Dumbledore's calm blue eyes, he was checking on her, seeing if she was alright. She gave him a small nod and smile to reassure him, then Dumbledore began to talk to Barty again. Who was still currently watching Hermione, licking his teeth, then his upper lip. Hermione suddenly felt very uncomfortable and sat back in her chair, hoping to hide herself from his intense gaze.
"Barty, why did you put Harry's name in the Goblet?"
"And so mature…." Barty kept on talking to just himself, not hearing Dumbledore's question. His eyes still on Hermione, Dumbledore noticed.
"Mr Crouch, why did you put Harry's name in the Goblet?" The two men holding him tightened their grips on him to try and get him to focus but it didn't help, Barty just continued to mumble to himself.
The grey haired man from before stood up again and called over to Dumbledore. "We won't get anything out of him Albus, he is completely barmy!"
Dumbledore sighed and motioned for the men to take him away, the did but not before he sneered at him and glanced up at Hermione one more time, just as the door shut, taking away any presence he had in that room.
There was a long eerie silence as everyone tried to take in what this man had just said. Hermione just continued to stare at the door that Barty had just exited out of. She felt cold, the way this man was talking about her, this Death Eater just fascinated with her. It made her feel very violated for some reason. She saw Molly and Arthur stand up and begin to move out of their chairs and out of the court room. Ron stood up after them, along with Harry, who helped Hermione get up on her shaking legs. They silently walked out of the room and down a set of stairs so they got to a big hall room, where many people who just witnessed what had happened where standing.
Hermione just kept on looking down at her hands which were held just in front of her. She didn't want to look up, in fear and embarrassment that they might recognise her and start asking her questions to which she didn't have any answers, she was just as shocked, if not more, by Barty's thoughts of her.
Molly walked over to Hermione and hugged her, Hermione just put her arms around the plump woman and held her a bit to tightly.
Molly finally let her go but still held her at arms length by her shoulders. "Are you okay?"
Hermione nodded, but she knew that wasn't going to convince anyone. Come on, where is that Gryffindor courage? She asked herself. "I'm fine, just a bit shocked at what he said."
Molly sighed and gave her another hug and started whispering into her ear. "It's okay child, he's not well, he cannot harm you."
Hermione felt tears in her eyes but forced herself not to let the fall, she bit into the inside of her lip and whispered in a very panicked voice, "Why did he sat those things?" her voice was nearly breaking and she could feel herself shaking.
Molly just let her go gently and smiled warmly at her, "I don't know."
Hermione was about to ask Molly something when she saw Dumbledore walking towards her, she wiped her hand under both of her eyes even though no tears had fallen and held her chin high.
"Miss Granger, I think there is something we need to discus." His voice was strained and Hermione nodded meekly.
"Can Harry and Ron come?" Dumbledore nodded, and Hermione glanced at Harry and Ron, who were standing just behind her, she looked back at her headmaster and began to follow him.
They walked through the many halls in the Ministry until they reached a small dark wooden door, which they stopped outside of. Dumbledore opened it with a tiny key and they all walked into it. Hermione instantly saw four chairs, three on one side and one on the other.
Dumbledore walked to the single chair, whist Hermione, Ron and Harry walked to the others and sat down. All three of them, looking wide eyed at Dumbledore as if he had the answers to the questions they didn't ask. "Barty Crouch is a very complicated person." Dumbledore started.
Ron muttered something under his breath, which Hermione heard as, "Very mental person."
"Yes, Ron, he does have some mental problems, mainly from the very twisted and difficult life he has had."
"Headmaster, he is a Death Eater. As loyal as they come," Harry spoke politely to Dumbledore, "Don't you think it's a little weird that he looks at Hermione so…." Hermione saw Harry struggle to find the right word, "fondly." Hermione let out a snort at his choice.
"I do not know why he does, Hermione is clearly all of the things he spoke of, but I do not know why he was thinking these things, he is very mentally disturbed." Dumbledore said calmly. "I think it would be better if we all just forgot about Barty Crouch. He is being sent back to Azkaban where he will not be getting out of any time soon."
Hermione spoke up for the first time since they got in the room, "He's supposed to hate me."
Dumbledore's gaze feel onto the fifteen year old girl in front of him, "Miss Granger, you are smarter then everyone in Hogwarts, you are extremely powerful and you are very beautiful. Everything a Death Eater thinks a muggleborn isn't supposed to be. But you are, and Barty has seen that. Everything Voldemort has been saying about muggleborns and muggles, none of them are reflected in you. You are living proof that Voldemort is wrong in everything he believes."
Hermione nodded, taking it in, but it still didn't stop that sinking feeling of coldness inside of her. "Can we just forget everything that happened today?" Dumbledore gave a kind and slow nod to Hermione's question and Ron and Harry took her by the hands and smiled at her. "I mean, he is insane after all." And with that, all of them left the room, and Hermione, Harry and Ron went back to the Borrow with the rest of the Weasleys and none of them spoke of that day again.
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I know it's short, but it's only a prologue, the next chapters will be longer!
Okay, this is my first Barty Jr/ Hermione fic…….lol, I hope people like it so far, and please review, because they keep me going. Anyway…… please review, and for everyone who has a Barty/Hermione fic, please update them and if your reading this and like it, or any other Barty/Hermione fic, why not write one yourself.
Your Loyal Fictioneer
xXxUntouchablegothxxx
