Mrs Pierre Bouvier – There aren't many Barty/Hermione fics, but it's kind of a growing thing, or at least I think so, now that Doctor Who has come about, but I've been waiting for an idea of this kind of fic since I saw the film and I'm so glad you like it! Any way, I know you may have heard this before, but this is a different kind of time travel, yes it's time travel, but no time turner……other then take its time travel lol ….ironic really….Doctor who…time travel….lol I only just realised the connection there lol….sorry back to your review. Thanks so much for reviewing! I really appreciate them and always reply with at least a thanks, in most cases more, if questions are asked etc. And tell me what you continue to think of my story, please!
w1cked angel – Like I said in the reply above, their airnt that many BCJ/HG fics, and I know, I thought I was gunna be appalled too, when the idea came to me I was like "Ew! Why did I just think that? …..but wait….." lol, how most of my ideas start I think. Sometimes I don't think I'm normal……anyway, thanks for the review! And please keep telling me what you think, and enjoy!
jalapeno1011 – Well wait no longer, cause here it is, it's longer and Barty may be a little more, or little less creepy, I can't remember how creepy I made him in the last chapter…..well that's not good….. Anyway, thanks so much for the review, I love reading them, like little bursts of the rainbow….wait, that's skittles….never mind. Thanks again and I hope you like this chapter too!
Please, everyone crazy enough to read this very unlikely and strange couple, please tell me what you think about it, cause so far I think I'm a little bit delusional at the moment…..
By the way, Barty never got the "Kiss" at the end of GOF, and Dumbledore never got killed as a result of Barty being alive, Barty was there the night of the Unbreakable Vow, and he stopped it, insisting that Draco wouldn't fail. So no unbreakable vow, no Snape having to kill Dumbledore when Draco failed. But more about that story later.
I think I've gone on for a bit too long now, so read and enjoy and don't forget to tell me what you think at the end!
Beneath My Skin
Chapter One – Of Coins and Choices.
She knew it wouldn't be easy, it was never easy, war was never easy, but she never thought it would come down to the meeting they were having now.
It had been a year since the Death Eaters broke into the school and tried to kill Dumbledore, they hadn't, but it was still an extremely close call, one that shook them all up a bit and in that year there was only one battle and one fight that occurred. The battle was the worst, that's how they lost Shacklebolt, the fight was small, very small, but it was a lot more personal then anyone wanted it to be. It was just her, Ron and Harry, they were trying to find one of the Horcruxs, the locket from Grimmald Place. Recently they had discovered that it was one, hidden by Sirius' brother, who had actually been a spy the whole time, not that anyone knew that, he sent secret messages and clues to the Order, but no one ever knew that they were from him.
They were looking for it in many of the boxes that were just lying around in the house when they heard a noise. All of them were on their feet instantly, wands drawn and eyes alert. Hermione didn't see what happened next, but she was now up against a wall, being pressed by a man she couldn't make out. She wondered why no one was helping her, but she could hear that they were fighting other people themselves. She tightened her grip on her wand and lifted her arm around the back of the person holding her there. Pressing it into his back she felt a point of something in her cheek, it didn't take much of a guess to know it was a wand.
She blinked a couple times, trying to get her sight back, and slowly it blurrily came. She squinted only to make out the face of Barty Crouch Jr, she gasped only to feel the wand forced more pointedly into her cheek. She didn't know he had escaped, she thought he was still in Azkaban, but obviously he wasn't. He had that lazy smirk on his face, it was lopsided and it caused winkles to surround his eyes. She tried to move back from his lowered face, but couldn't because of the wall that supported her.
Looking into his eyes she whispered a spell, but so did he. He was thrown across the room and hit the wall on the other side, whist Hermione fell to the ground, clutching her cheek. It burned so much and she let out a cry as she felt tears fall from her eyes. Still holding her searing skin, she looked up to see Harry and Ron yelling things at each other, things she couldn't hear because of the spells that they were throwing at the Death Eater in front of them. She turned and saw Barty getting up slowly, once he got to him feet he slanted slightly and very casually walked back over to her.
She got up quickly and held her wand out at arms length, she sent a couple spells but all he reflected or countered until he got within a couple feet of her again. His tongue darted out and Hermione scrunched up her face with disgust, she needed to get away from this crazed man and find that locket, but she didn't know how.
"Miss Granger…" He said in an upbeat voice, dazed almost, "My my, how you've grown." His smirked widened as he flicked his tongue again, only this time he did it slower, more deliberate.
Hermione cringed in disgust at his actions and looking up and down him body, when she reached his face again she saw him still smirking, "And I see you're still insane." She restored, never making a move, it was always harder to make the first move so she was just waiting for him.
"Miss Granger, I taught you defence, I know every move you make." He laughed and stalked a couple steps closer, causing Hermione to straighten her arm. Barty slowly moved his eyes from her face, down to her feet and back up again. "And while I may be insane," He took another step closer, and his smirk slowly lowered into an almost friendly, kind smile, to which Hermione raised her eyebrow at. "Never believe that effects my intelligence."
Hermione swallowed and just glared at him. "Guess I'll have to use something new then." She said before taking a risk and yelling out "Avis!" And a flock of birds were conjured from her wand.
They all flew directly at Barty and she saw a look of pure anger cross his face as he yelled out,"Diffindo." which caused all the birds to be ripped in half and disappear all together but not before she got a good look at feathers and all the birds insides being thrown across the room. The look of hatred took a while to calm, his face was turned into a sneer, one that had her worried of what he might do. She took a step back and prepared herself for his attack, but he never made one. She kept her eyes glued onto his and slowly the began to circle each other, it reminded her of two animals stalking, testing out their prey before making a move. Hermione, moving closer to Harry and Ron as she walked around the room, her eyes never leaving the dark brown ones of Barty, knew that he knew what she was going to do, but he never tried to stop her, like he almost wanted her to get away, she knew he had had many chances, but just never took them.
She was only a couple of steps away from Harry and Ron when he suddenly stalked over to her, walking aloft but still strong and Hermione's breath caught in her throat she held her wand out and called out a spell, one Barty waved one of his hands at and it flew past him and hit a wall behind him. But before Hermione even had a chance to cast another spell she felt Barty grab her shoulders and lick her cheek.
It was warm. Not chilling cold like she thought it might have been if she had had time to think about it. It made her freeze, but not in a cold way, it was mainly shock that made her unable to move or think. She gasped when she felt her cheek sting after he ran his tongue over it, she remembered that he had also cast a spell before on that same spot and wondered was about to cast another spell at him, or kick him, knee him, whatever she could do first and which caused him more pain, but he pushed her to where Harry and Ron were.
She felt one of them catch her, she wasn't sure which one it was, but they both grabbed hold of either hand and they all disapparated out of the room, leaving the Horcrux behind, if it was even there anyway.
They all arrived in the Burrow and all of them practically feel to the floor because they were so tired and worn from the fight they just had. They all lay on the floor in a heap but none of them were complaining about it, they were all just breathing in and out heavily, really enjoying the fact that they were safe and together. Hermione stood up first, she was going to find Minerva or anyone else to tell them about what happened.
She passed a mirror in the hall and stopped. She looked in it, worry and confusion written all over her face, she now had a light purple mark on her cheek, where Barty had hit her with that spell, where his wand was resting just before he cast it, where he had licked it. She ran her hand across it and felt a slight sting and that it was still wet from Barty's saliva, quickly removing her hand, she wiped it on her trousers and moved closer to the mirror to look at it more closely. She recognised it as a rune, Pethro. It may have just been a coincidence, but she knew her Runes, and this one was identical to the Viking one of Fate. Her brow scrunched up as she lightly grazed her hand across it, not to hard to cause pain, but enough to just feel it, but was quickly interrupter by Molly walking by and quickly hurrying over to her, holding her by the arms and questioning her instantly.
"Are you okay? Did you get the locket? Where are the boys?" Her voice held all the worry that it usually did, only now so did Hermione's.
"Their in the...er," Hermione bought a hand to her head, she couldn't think straight, her hand was shaking as she let it brush over her hair. "The living room." She finally said, she looked at Molly and gave a weak smile, Molly hugged her warmly and took her by the hand, taking her into the kitchen, where Hermione instantly found herself in Ginny's arms but Hermione just laughed lightly and patted the girl on the back. She was just glad she could hug the girl, she felt like she was going to cry, funny, that she wanted to cry now that it was over, she thought to herself before Ginny let her go so she could see the other people in the room.
Snape, Remus, Tonks, Moody, Minerva, Arthur, Fred and George were all there, somehow fitting into the kitchen, she was thankful that Dumbledore couldn't be there, out of fear of what the cramped conditions could do to the old mans health. She smiled lightly to everyone and saw Snape and Moody studying her cheek rather then acknowledging her at all. Molly had left, Hermione guessed, most likely to get Harry and Ron, but she soon returned, her motherly expression still on her face, yet it held that slight announce look that she had seen many times.
"They'll be here in a minute. Just getting up." She informed everyone, then walking over to her sit, next to Arthur and Minerva, and sitting back into it. Ginny had done the same so it was just Hermione standing at the door, feeling uncomfortable under everyone's gaze.
Harry and Ron soon slumped into the room, not being bothered to stand, after seeing there were no sits available, they just both sat on the floor. Harry reached up to one of Hermione's dangling hands and tugged it lightly so she would get the idea and sit down next to them, which she did.
After everyone couldn't take it any longer, someone finally spoke up and for some reason, Hermione was glad it was Moody, she knew that he would get it straight out, no sugar coating, just down to what happened.
"So you didn't get the locket. Who stopped you?" Hermione wondered how he knew that someone had stopped them, but then looked down at her clothes and Harry and Ron's and saw that hers were covered in what she could only make out to be bird guts and Harry and Ron's were both ripped and dirtied, it didn't take a genius.
Harry was the one to speak, which Hermione was thankful for, she really felt that if she even moved she'd fall apart or die.
"We were looking for it when two Death Eaters stormed in, the one we," he motioned to himself and Ron, "fought….well I guess it was Crabbe," He breathed in and looked around the room, "senior." He clarified when he saw the shocked look on Minerva's face.
"You fought?" Remus said, pointing at Ron and Harry, both nodded, then Remus' gaze fell onto Hermione, "What about you, Hermione?"
Hermione just rolled her head across the wall behind her that she was resting it on, so she could look at Remus.
"I didn't see who she was fighting." Harry spoke up, turning his body heavily to face her.
"Yeah, neither did I actually, you alright Herms?" Ron asked, speaking for the first time.
Hermione let out a snort and moved so she was sitting up a bit straighter, she glanced at Ron and Harry before turning her gaze to Remus, the person who had asked her the question. She fiddled with her hands a bit before she spoke, "Yeah, I was against Barty Crouch Junior."
Hermione heard a couple people gasp, but she just keep her eyes on Remus, knowing he would give her a brave face.
"Isn't he the insane one?" she heard Ron ask out loud.
"No," She heard Snape's sharp voice cut in, she turned to look at him, her brow crinkled and a shocked look on her face, she had meet Barty, in person twice now. She could tell that he wasn't sane, so it came as a shock when Snape even suggested that he might not be. She saw him sitting back in his chair, his arms folded across his chest like usual. He had a dark expression on his face and Hermione wondered what he knew, "He isn't insane. Just," Snape ran a hand though his hair, trying to find the right way to explain it, "In a bad place. A very bad place."
Everyone sat in silence, very few believe what he had just said and the ones that did, didn't know what to think. One of the people that didn't believe Snape was Hermione, who was currently thinking about all the things Barty had done, her anger rising inside her and the ability to hold it in was weakening. She took one final look at her hands and looked up to meet Snape's piercing black eyes.
"Bad place? He killed his own father. He condemned his mother to die in a cold cell in Azkaban. He kidnapped Moody and impersonated him for a year!" She felt tears welling up behind her eyes and she didn't care, the pain in her cheek was throbbing and she just didn't care about being polite, or being nice. She just wanted to let everything that he had done, that he had caused and how she felt about those things, and how they hurt so many people off her chest. "He was the one who lead to the new rise of Voldemort, and to do that he cursed unforgivable, he nearly killed people along with leading to Cedric's death!" Hermione clenched her fists and just continued to stare at Snape, who was taking in everything she was saying, a look of sadness yet spite in his eyes. "He manipulated people. He tortured people! He had said and done the most cruel and callous and horrid things I can think of. Someone in a bad place doesn't do those kinds of things, Professor." She finished, she felt tears slowly flow down her cheeks and as she went to wipe them away, her hand brushed the mark causing her to hiss at the sting.
"Who marked you?" Snape's voice was calm, and Hermione looked up to his gaze again, only now his was softer, like he knew the answer, but knew it just had to be said.
Hermione self consciously took a bit of hair from behind her ear and let it fall across her face, to hide the mark. "Barty Crouch, sir." She said, her voice held no emotion and Snape and Hermione both raised their heads up but kept their eyes on each other. It wasn't until Molly and Minerva rushed over to her and bent down to her level, brushing her hair back so they could see the mark, that her and Snape's staring contest finished.
"Oh my," Molly said, brushing the feature with her finger, causing Hermione to take in a sudden breath of air. "This is not good."
"My child," she heard McGonagall sigh, and when they both stood up they turned and gave everyone else a grave look.
"It's just a mark." Hermione said. She stood up and brushed her clothes off. She needed some sleep and didn't really want to stay around here whist everyone discuss her like she wasn't.
"Miss Granger, for such a smart girl, you are very stubborn. Barty Crouch is very….animalistic, he has marked you as his, it's not as powerful mark as Harry's is, but it is not to be thought upon lightly." Snape said, Hermione just glared up at him.
"I'm tired, can't you all brief me in on this in the morning, I don't like being around when people are talking about me anyway." She said, hoping it was a good enough reason and that they would let her go.
"You may go child." McGonagall's voice sounded as tired as Hermione felt, she looked over at her teacher and saw the worry in her eyes, Hermione suddenly felt a bit guilty about being so cold.
"I…..I'm sorry." Hermione said before turning and walking out of the door.
But before she had even stepped out of the door frame she heard Moody start to speak, she was surprised he had stayed quite for so long anyway. "I knew that Crouch boy was going to do something like this to her, things he said at the Ministry about her those years ago, he has an obsession with her-"
Hermione didn't hear the rest of what he and everyone else was saying, she had walked up the stairs to where she was sleeping and shut the door behind her. She lay faced to the wall as it stung too much to lie on her cheek, and she cried herself to sleep, which didn't take long.
The days that followed consisted of Hermione sitting in the study, reading booksabout markings, Pethro, the Crouch history and tradition and some more books about marking spells. She had come up with very little and that's what scared her the most. She had been stopped many times, by many different people in the Order, many of whom she didn't know, and each one had looked at her face, looked a bit closer, made a face, sighed and walked away. She hated it, but guessed that's what Harry got all the time so she felt a wave of sympathy for him, but it still annoyed her when they did it to her, like she was just a painting or a statue to look at.
Two days after that, all the Order were called to Hogwarts. They all were in the Room of Requirement, which currently was just a big wall, with dark walls and loads of chairs sat out in a big circle. Hermione looked around and saw everyone, she sighed when she saw many people whispering and taking quick glances over at her, and she just sighed and turned back to Harry, Ron and Ginny, who were currently talking about what the password meant, which was Willy Wonka.
Hermione laughed and joint in, "Willy Wonka is a fictional character who owns a chocolate factory." A look or realization crossed over Ron and Ginny's face.
Ron quickly turned to Harry, a look of confusion on his face, "Guess you were wrong mate," He said to Harry, who was trying to hide a laugh, Ron didn't notice and turned to Hermione. Pointing at Harry he said, "Harry here said he was a type of animal that makes people horny!"
Hermione smirked and nodded at Ron, whist taking a quick glance to Harry who had stopped hiding his amusement and was now nearly crying with laughter. Shaking her head she felt someone tap on her shoulder. She twisted her head to see Dumbledore, she smiled up to him and said hi, but he was only looking gravely down at her cheek. Hermione was about to frown when he started speaking to her.
"I guess you want answers about that marking don't you?" Hermione nodded and he continued, "I think you'd be best to ask Mr Crouch, he is the only one who has the answers."
Hermione frowned, there was no way she was going to ask Barty, he was insane and a Death Eater. She wondered how delusional Dumbledore was getting, but didn't question what he had said.
He smiled gently to Hermione and looked up to see many people watching him, he walked over to the empty seats on the other side of the circle but didn't sit down in his.
"Fellow Order members, I call you here because we face a grave time, one that we will not all survive. This is a one in a blue moon meeting, one where it is to give you the information of what to do if the times are too dark and there is no other way." Hermione understood what he was talking about, and looked around the room, so did many other people, including Tonks who did not have a happy look on her face about it. She took Ginny's hand, who was sitting next to her, and squeezed it. Ginny looked up at her, and Hermione could tell she didn't know what was about to be said.
"Each of you will be given a coin, this coin can be opened when twisted and inside is a potion, only enough for a sip. Each coin has the persons name engraved in it." He moved his hand out to behind him, and Hermione saw coins appear on the table, each with parchment under them. Her eyes shifted back to Dumbledore and he continued, "Use them only as a last choice. And I stress, do not drink any one else's potion, although it is the same potion, they are made for you and only you." Dumbledore looked down at the floor in front of his feet and even though she was on the other side of the room, Hermione swore she saw a tear fall from his eye and hit the surface of his glasses.
Frowning she saw some people get up and collect their coin but many kept seated. Hermione looked over to Ginny, who had tears in her eyes and Hermione hugged her.
"Is this what it will come to?" She heard Ginny ask her, her voice cracking and quite.
Hermione held her tighter, "I promise it won't. Not like this, never like this." Her voice was strong, but she wasn't. Just below the surface she knew that this is what it may come to but she couldn't show that, she needed to be the person who Ginny could believe, the stronger one of them all.
She stood up and took Ginny's hand, they walked past Remus and Tonks to the table, and Hermione saw her get up in the corner of her eye, and she started yelling at what Hermione could only guess as Remus.
"I can't believe you would even suggest that!" Remus stood up too, taking a small step to Tonks but she didn't stop. "You know I would never lower myself into doing that! If I go down, I go down unwillingly and fighting, I thought you knew that."
Hermione and Ginny had stopped now, and watching Tonks yell and Remus, and so had everyone else by the looks of it.
"Tonks, you knew this was going to happen, and you know it is not forced, it's your choice, and it is only being given out just in case you get trapped in a bad situation and need to end it." Remus' voice was low and Hermione could only just hear it herself.
Tonks had a look of disgust on her face at his words, "I would never do that to myself. I'm not taking a coin."
Remus took hold of her hand, but she quickly jerk it out of his grip, "It's not just a coin, Tonks."
Tonks turned away from him, and sad quietly, "I know, but it just doesn't set well with me that I have my own suicide in my pocket if I take it." Remus slowly walked up to her back and put his arms around her.
Hermione didn't hear what he said to her, but he could only guess that he was whispering calming words, of comfort and support. Smiling at the couple, her and Ginny moved over to the table, Ron and Harry quickly joint them. They were the only ones at the table at that time, and Hermione let her eyes rake over all the coins that lay neatly in rows, each one shining and beautiful. But she knew that inside was a potion able to take her life in just on drop.
She shook her head and turned her head away. "Tonks is right." She whispered to herself.
"Here Herms, I found yours." Ron smiled kindly as he handed her the coin and the piece of paper that came with it. She slipped the coin in her pocket, not wanting to look at it, and held the paper. It simply said her name at the top and she could see an imprint of where the coin had once lain on it. She folded it and put it in the same pocket as the coin.
Turning she caught Snape's eyes again. She remembered not seeing his name or coin on the table, but remembered that he was the one who made the potion most likely, so he would already have it. She wondered why he was looking at her so differently, not a tone or trace of any detest or hate in his eyes and his mouth was not in a firm line like usual, but in a small frown.
His eyes fell to the pocket she had placed the coin and piece of paper in, and she felt it begin to burn, but she guessed it was just her sub conscience. She tore her gaze away and walked over to Remus and Tonks, who had now calmed down. She remembered that day. And that on that day she always knew that they had been given the coins for a reason, but never thought that they would have to actually use them.
Hermione pouted her lips at the irony that Tonks was the first one to use the potion. Dumbledore hadn't told them that the coins were connected and that everyone would know when another person died, because they all turned stone cold, and the persons last message was played out to everyone. She briefly told them where she was, and that she wanted them to come find her body later, when it was safe and she cried at the thought that she would be left there, even after death. She wiped the tears away and told Remus that she loved him, something that everyone already knew, but Hermione couldn't help but feel like she was listening to something personal. And finally she spoke of why she was taking her potion, she was being held by Lucius Malfoy and that he was going to rape her. Hermione knew that Tonks would sooner die then let herself be taken advantage of like that.
She sent out a prayer for Tonks, even though she knew it was too late, she was just thankful they had seen her take the potion and ….. Just stop living, Hermione told herself. That's what it was, it wasn't dying. It was not living anymore. She knew she didn't make any sense but as she watched Remus morn, and slowly others take their potion and find out that a few had gone down fighting, mainly the men who didn't have the major threat of rape and sexual assault as the women did. She wondered how long it would be before she had to make a choice, one like this. She tried to think of what it would be like to be in their situations and what she'd do, but she just couldn't.
Closing her eyes, she felt a stray tear escape, and she held onto the coin tightly in her hand. It was warming up again. Warming up from the last message.
Bill and Fleur. She was glad they died together, not on their own, always wondering about the other. They knew they were together and going to be safe. They didn't say much, it was mainly Fleur in French to her family, her sister, Hermione knew some French, so she knew what most of the words she said were. Bill just kind of held her and he said a simple bye to his family and friends. Hermione knew Bill a little bit, and knew he wasn't one to talk that much, she just dreaded walking out of her bedroom doors and having to face the world.
Everyone in the Order never spoke of the new deaths; they just acknowledged them and continued like they had never happened. Each mourned on their own and did it in privacy of their own rooms or outside somewhere.
Hermione didn't mourn for them, and that worried her a bit. She just accepted each death and repeated the same thing in her mind, the thing that she had told herself so many times, she was sure she was trying to convince herself of it.
Quietly, to herself Hermione said the sentence that she did after every time the coin started warming up again. Her voice never quivered, she never spoke it was emotion, just that same monotone.
"This is a war, wars have casualties but on both sides, we are not an exception."
And with that she connected the coin to the necklace she had made she that it was easy to get to and harder to lose, and she stood up, putting on the mask she made so perfect, like everything else she did, and went to join the masquerade of the Order and she liked to call it.
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Hey, well that's that chapter over and I've nearly finished the next so it won't be that long before I update again. Please review because if people review I feel guilty if I make them wait, so I post quickly so you'll get the next chapter sooner if you review. So please do.
Your Loyal Fictioneer
xXxUntouchablegothxxx
