A/N: I have the entire story done from here on out, I plan to have the last few chapters posted before I go back to school on Tuesday. Thanks for reading, please review! Barty indeed takes a leaf out of Mad Eye's book in this chapter. Couldn't resist.

Declarations of Loyalty

Chapter 6: The Traitor

"Barty, Barty, Barty," a female's voice purred from somewhere behind him. He stiffened and turned around to see Bellatrix Lestrange, flanked by Rabastan and Rodolphus, her eyebrow raised and her wand point at him. "What are we going to do with you?"

"What are you talking about, Bellatrix?" he asked with a humorless laugh.

"You let him live," she growled, poking him in the chest with her wand. "Regulus Black is alive," she added.

"Is he?" he said, trying to seem surprised. "He was dead last time I saw him."

"Lies!" Bellatrix spat, jabbing her wand harder into his chest. "I'll be forced to kill you, so I can tell the Dark Lord how you were in with that traitor."

"I'm 'in' with no traitor," Barty snapped, pushing her wand away from his chest. "If Regulus is alive, then he is alive. I obviously didn't kill him properly the first time."

"Then go kill him, bring us his body when you do," she demanded, his nostrils flaring.

He swallowed, and nodded, pushing past the three Lestranges to leave the room, the door clicked shut behind him.

"Wormtail," Bellatrix spat at a small man sitting in the corner of the room. He looked up at her with watery blue eyes. "Follow him."

He nodded and, before their very eyes, transformed into a small rat, and sped across the floor, squeezing through the crack under the door and following after Barty.

Barty Apparated into a back alley close to his parents' house. He was quite aware he was being followed. He walked up to the polished door, and pushed it open. A tiny house elf peered out of the kitchen, her brown eyes wide.

"Young Master Barty!" she squeaked. "What is you doing home?" she asked. He shushed her, shutting and locking the door behind him.

He walked up the stairs, no one was home other than the house elf, he was sure of it. His father had probably dragged his mother off for some stuffy Ministry event. He quietly entered his parents' bedroom and started rummaging through drawers of clothing, closets and under the huge bed. He found what he was looking for, a silvery invisibility cloak. He tucked it under his robes and walked back downstairs.

"Winky," he said tonelessly. "I forbid you to tell my parents I was here," he said. She nodded, smiling at him. He threw the invisibility cloak over himself and headed out the back door. He was pretty sure that the invisibility would throw off anyone tailing him. Especially since he predicted they had sent Wormtail.

He could outsmart Wormtail any day. He wasn't sure where he was going to go now. He thought he remembered the address of Sirius Black's flat, where he was sure Regulus would be. Not that he would get a friendly welcome from Sirius himself. But he knew he couldn't rejoin the Death Eaters without a corpse. The corpse of a person he wasn't sure he could kill.

"Get the door would you, Moony?" Sirius asked as someone knocked on the door.

Remus Lupin stood, setting down his cup of tea, and walked to the door. He opened it and someone pushed past him.

"Where's Regulus?" Barty Crouch asked, pulling off his invisibility cloak.

Sirius jumped up, wand drawn.

"Sit down," Barty said coldly. "Where's Regulus? I can't linger, Wormtail is on my trail."

"Wormtail?" Remus asked from the door.

Barty looked at him, and back to Sirius and nodded. "The Death Eaters are having me followed."

"Wormtail?" Sirius said, echoing Remus. "He's a-"

"Death Eater, yes, yes," Barty said impatiently. "No help for it now," he added angrily.

"Why are they following you?" Sirius asked sharply.

"Because, you ignorant dolt, they know I didn't kill Regulus. And unless I turn up there with his corpse, I'm dead. They're following me to make sure I do what I was told."

Sirius' grip on his wand tightened and Barty glared.

"I didn't come here to kill Regulus."

"Barty?"

Barty turned, lowering his wand. "Regulus," he said. "Why do the Death Eaters know you're alive?" he asked.

"Bellatrix saw me, at Gringotts. Why are you here?"

"They sent me off to kill you, I can't return until I can show them your dead body," he explained, looking pained at the expression on Regulus' face. "But I didn't come here to kill you. Wormtail is following me," he explained. "I was trying to shake him off."

Regulus looked at Remus and Sirius, his eyes wide.

"By the way, Lupin," Barty started coldly. "He's at the door. Let him in," he demanded, a scary smile playing across his features.

Remus opened the door up again and a rat tried to scuttle away before it was seen, but Barty was faster. "Accio Wormtail," he called, the rat was forcibly pulled backward and Barty caught him.

"So, Peter," Sirius said lightly, pointing his wand at the struggling rat. Barty let it go and the rodent was suspended in midair, twisting and writhing as it was forced back into a human form. "What brings you here?" Sirius asked.

"Just…" Wormtail started. "Fancied a visit."

Barty laughed coldly, and Peter looked at him in shock. "Yes, a visit. Or did you fancy yourself a little hero, thinking you could kill us all? Bring us to the Dark Lord as proof of your loyalty? You do know he doubts your loyalty, right Peter?" he taunted.

"He's talking nonsense!" Peter exclaimed to Sirius and Remus. "I, a Death Eater? That's preposterous."

"It's not preposterous, you spineless little wart," Barty snarled. "Why'd you join up if you don't even have the pride to admit it? Betray your friends, hide behind those more powerful than you, and not even have the courage to admit it?"

"You're a Death Eater!" he shrieked, pointing at Barty. "I am not the Death Eater here."

"I'll admit I am a Death Eater. But Bellatrix sent you to follow me. To make sure I killed Regulus."

"Please, Sirius, Remus, he's speaking nonsense," he whimpered. "I would never b-b-betray you," he moaned.

"Then explain why you tried to flee when we opened the door," Sirius started, regarding Peter with contempt. "Explain why, instead of knocking or letting yourself in, you were at the door as a rat?" he asked.

Peter finally faltered. "You don't understand!" he wailed. "The Dark Lord! He has…means of persuasion that no sane man would deny! It was joining him or death!"

"I would've died!" Sirius shouted angrily.

Peter sobbed pathetically, theatrically, into his hands, until Sirius turned his back on him. Then he drew his wand.

"Oh no you don't!" Barty growled, he whipped out his wand and, with a ferocious crack; Peter was back in his rat form, lifted into the air by Barty's wand. "Attacking while someone's not looking, then Peter?" he asked calmly as the rat was bounced violently all over the tiny kitchen. "Pathetic. You're a pathetic little creature." Barty grabbed Peter's fallen wand and with a crack, the rat was replaced with a flushed, breathless Peter, slumped on the floor.

"Barty, he knows where you are now, if he goes back to the Death Eaters-" Regulus said, looking worried.

"Remus, send word to Dumbledore we have a traitor in my flat," Sirius said, regarding Peter with disgust. Remus nodded and left the room.

Regulus, Sirius and Barty stood over Peter, all wondering what they were going to do with him.

"Stand up," Sirius demanded coldly. Peter looked up at him with oddly dull eyes and stood. It was suspiciously quiet for a few long moments, Remus rejoined them and nodded to Sirius, he had sent the message. After a few moments of no sound other than Peter's harsh, ragged breaths.

"Look out!" Regulus yelped as Peter lunged for Barty, who, for once, didn't react fast enough. Peter wrapped a hand around his throat and used his free hand to wrestle his wand away from the teen. Just as he grabbed his wand, he was blasted off, a sickening crunch as his head cracked against a cabinet.

"Are you okay?" Regulus asked as Barty stood.

"I'm going to kill him," he hissed starting towards Peter's unconscious body. Sirius and Regulus both jumped to grab him. "Let me go!" he snarled.

Remus walked over, and leaned over Peter's unconscious form. There was a small trickle of blood coming from the back of his head, and Remus straightened up. Then he saw Peter's eyes flicker and his hand twitch, and reacted to fast no one was quite sure who shot a spell first, or what spell had been cast at all.

Remus looked at them. "He's dead," he said carelessly. "My spell collided with his and caused it to backfire and hit him instead of me," he explained.

Before anyone could say another word, a silvery patronus of a phoenix flew into view. "Voldemort knows. Death Eaters storming Hogwarts," Albus Dumbledore's voice reverberated throughout the kitchen.

"I'll send him word that Pettigrew died, and that we're going then," Remus said, looking at Sirius, who nodded.

Regulus stared at where the phoenix had been. "He knows…" he muttered. "He'll go to Hogwarts," he said. "He'll try to get the last one from Hogwarts before we can get it. We have to go now!"

"What?"

"I can't tell you, Remus," Regulus said firmly. "But we have to leave."

Sirius and Remus nodded again and they walked towards the balcony.

"Barty?" Regulus said, turning when he noticed that his friend hadn't followed them. "Are you coming?"

Barty stared down at the floor where Peter's body was. "Bella asked for a corpse, I'm going to give her one. Then I might go."

"You're going to fight with the Death Eaters, aren't you?" Regulus asked, turning to and seeing that his brother and Remus had already left.

"I can't tell you that."

Regulus bit his lip, and nodded; he ran into his bedroom and grabbed the diary. When he reemerged, he saw Barty throw the invisibility cloak over the corpse and levitate it with his wand. He turned away and walked out onto the balcony, Apparating into Hogsmeade village.

He rushed up to the gates of Hogwarts ground. He could already hear the shouts of battle when he finally entered the grounds. He saw many of his old professors dueling with Death Eaters, he flew up the steps past them and towards the headmasters office. Just as he got there, the gargoyle sprang aside and Albus Dumbledore strode from the stairs, his face furious.

"Professor!" Regulus yelped. "Can I hide the diary in your office?" he asked in a low voice.

Dumbledore said nothing, but nodded, and ran off to join the fight. Regulus ran up the spiral staircase, into the headmaster's office. He set the diary down on the headmaster's desk, stroked Fawkes the phoenix, with shaking hands, and ran back down the stairs to join the battle.