Disclaimer: I own nothing, except Rose.

Thanks for your reviews and alerts, love you guys :)

As for the name of my OC, to be honest, when I started to write this story I wasn't familiar with Doctor Who series, so she has nothing to do with Doctor's companion. Sorry it's confusing. The name 'Rose' was simple and pretty, so I picked it without further thoughts, and it matched the scene of the wedding night, when Crouch crushes the flower in his hands :D I must catch up and watch the series, it's still on my 'to do' list, never had much time for it.

So, here we have another chapter. Enjoy :)


As the weeks passed, Rose was getting more and more accustomed to her new 'home'. The days were shorter now and soon Christmas would come. The girl wondered if her husband was even going to celebrate it. She couldn't imagine Death Eaters opening their presents and having a dinner together, especially those who didn't have any sense of what a family was, like Crouch.

But he had family now. Whether she liked it or not, she was his wife and as such counted as his family, so it was only natural for them to spend Christmas together. Rose supposed that it would be proper to give Barty some Christmas gift, but she had no idea what he would want. The annihilation of all mudbloods was out of the question. Moreover, she couldn't buy the present personally, as she wasn't allowed to go outside, so she would be forced to ask Winky to do it. Maybe the house-elf could give her some advice in that matter.

With that thought, Rose exited her bedroom where she had been moping around all afternoon. The manor was much warmer now that Rose lived there. Winky finally had someone who sincerely appreciated her work, for Crouch acted like he didn't give a damn about what conditions he lived in and what he ate. Rose supposed that everything was fine with him after his stay in Azkaban, where the prisoners were fed gruel and stale bread.

The girl was heading towards the kitchen, searching for Winky, when she heard a doorbell. Small feet hurried to open the door and a high voice said:

"Good evening, Mr. Malfoy! Master is waiting in his study, Winky will show the way!"

Rose froze. That was certainly unexpected. Since she had been imprisoned, no one from outside came to the house. The footsteps neared and Rose saw a tall, blonde man accompanied by Winky, emerging from behind the corner. When he noticed her, he stopped in his tracks and smirked.

"Mrs. Crouch," he said, bowing shortly, the smirk never leaving his face. Rose gritted her teeth. That stupid jerk was obviously mocking her.

"Mr. Malfoy," she replied coldly. Then, she quickly passed him by and started to walk in the library's direction.

"Are you enjoying your married life, Mrs. Crouch?" Lucius called after her tauntingly. She wanted nothing more than to hex him on the spot, but she didn't have a wand so she just ignored him and went on her way.

When she entered the library, she let out an angry growl. What was that stuck-up prat thinking? Rose could imagine that every other Death Eater was laughing at her too. Voldemort provided them a great source of amusement. She felt her eyes fill with tears. Her suffering was funny for them. She had absolutely no one who cared for her in this place.

Rose wiped her eyes with her sleeve. Enough self-pity. Lucius Malfoy paid them a visit, so he must have something important to tell Barty. Probably something about Voldemort. Something useful for the Order.

Without any second thoughts, the girl silently hurried to her husband's study. She tiptoed as quietly as possible near the door and tried to eavesdrop their conversation. Her heart was beating rapidly. She didn't want to think of what Crouch would do to her if he found her spying on him.

"...the snake had bitten him, but unfortunately they managed to reach him in time. That muggle loving old fool made sure that Weasley wasn't interrogated for being there. I hope that Umbridge will chase him out of Hogwarts soon," she heard Malfoy say.

"I don't care about that blood-traitor. The prophecy is most important now. The Dark Lord needs it to destroy the boy. But rest assured, he has a plan. The boy is proud and stupid, always wants to play a hero. I've been observing him during Triwizard Tournament, he survived thanks to his clever mudblood friend and pure luck," Barty replied, his voice hoarse.

Rose furrowed her brows, listening intently. What kind of prophecy they were talking about?

"Yes, the Dark Lord is right, as always. Potter would rush straight into lion's den, just to show off his bravery. Severus told me, that Potter is miserable at occlumency; the boy has no real talent at all. It will be easy to deceive him. It will be just like taking candy from a child," Lucius chuckled darkly.

"And what about your little wife?" he continued. Rose held her breath.

"What do you mean?" Crouch responded. His voice seemed much colder now.

"She's a member of the Order, a dear friend of Dumbledore and Potter," Malfoy said, drawling last words.

"She's no threat. Real Hufflepuff, that one. She has been nothing but obedient and frightened so far. No need to worry about her."

"Obedient, hmm?" Lucius mocked. "I had a different impression, when I met her in the hallway, but I'm sure you know best how to handle her. The Dark Lord wouldn't be pleased if you raised a little viper in your own home."

"Mind your own business, Malfoy," growled Crouch. "The Dark Lord gave her to me, so she's my responsibility."

"My, my, no need to be so touchy, my friend. No one's going to steal your toy," Lucius said slowly, clearly amused. Rose clenched her fists in anger. They were talking about her like she was some kind of trophy. 'Real Hufflepuff, that one'? 'Wait till that Hufflepuff strangles you when you sleep', the girl thought.

"You're not my friend, Malfoy. You had many perfect opportunities to bring back my master and you didn't even lift a hand. I'm surprised and to be honest, disappointed that he didn't kill you. You'd better succeed in fulfilling your task, because if you don't, I'll be the first to cast the Cruciatus curse on you and we both know that I'm quite good at it.", said Crouch.

Rose decided it was a high time to withdraw. She went back to her room, as quietly as possible. When the door closed behind her, she let out her breath. If they found out that she heard them, she'd be dead. The witch sat on her bed, trying to pull out some useful information from their conversation.

First of all, someone had been attacked by a snake, Mr. Weasley probably. Rose hoped that he was alright for now. He was a good man and she liked him. Why had the snake attacked him, though? And what was that about a prophecy? 'The Dark Lord needs it to destroy the boy.' And he had a plan, a plan to deceive Harry Potter, to lure him into a trap. Someone had to warn him.

The girl smiled widely. Finally, she's the one to save the day. Dumbledore underestimated her and now she'd prove him wrong. The Death Eaters and her sweet husband made the same mistake and they'd pay for it. All she had to do was somehow contact the Headmaster and tell him what she had heard.

Easier said than done, though. How the hell was she supposed to do that? She didn't have a wand, Crouch made sure that she couldn't use a fireplace to floo someone, and she wasn't allowed to use an owl. The girl pondered over it for some time. She would wait, no need to be reckless. Someday, somehow, Crouch would let his guard down. She would be patient, obedient, respectful. And when he'd least expect it, she'd strike.


The next day, Winky brought Rose a small package. It contained small, silver cufflinks with emeralds on them. Very Slytherin-like, well-suited for a Death Eater. Crouch probably won't appreciate the gesture, but Rose didn't care. She wanted to at least try and have a normal Christmas, or as normal as possible given the circumstances. It had been a long time since she spent the holiday with someone else. When her parents died, she felt awfully lonely. She had a friend, back in Hogwarts, Harriet was her name, but after the end of seventh year they grew apart. Harriet moved to France with her husband and Rose spent her Christmases alone.

Winky was doing her best to make the house most comfortable and beautiful for her master and new mistress. There was a giant Christmas tree in the dining room, lit by thousands of small lights that resembled fireflies. Christmas garlands were hanging on the walls and mistletoe was attached in doorways. Every room had a holly wreath on the doors. The hallways were filled with the delicious smell of gingerbread. The house-elf seemed to be happier than ever. She hummed merrily while cleaning and smiled constantly at Rose. The girl was glad that at least one person in the house found Christmas preparations exciting.

Her husband, on the other hand, had been sulking about the entire week. He ignored her that week just like her first weeks in the house, and often ate in his room, not coming down even once. When Rose tried to talk to him, he would growl at her and threaten to curse her. It pained her, for no specific reason, so she shut herself in her own room and refused to go down to the dining room, despite Winky's pleas. Fortunately, since Crouch ate in his room, he wouldn't know to punish her for her disobedience. However, she knew that it was only a matter of time before his foul moods would drive her mad and she'd be forced to slap his arrogant face.

Rose had no idea why she even cared for his attitude, because as long as he avoided her, she was safe. Nevertheless, something was bothering her; something unclear as of yet. During her stay in that house, she grew oddly accustomed to it. Also, Crouch didn't terrify her as much now as he had in the beginning. To tell the truth, she grown to, well, like talking to him. Of course, that was mainly because he was the only person she had seen since October. He was the only man for that matter, too. When he kissed her occasionally, she would shudder, but she wasn't entirely sure if it was just from fear anymore.

His visits to her bedroom weren't as unpleasant as they used to be either. Rose still refused to give in and respond to his caresses, but she didn't mind them either. Better to endure that than suffer tortures. Something was wrong with her and she would swear that she was going insane from being imprisoned there. It was annoying and she felt guilty because of that stupid feeling. Her plan to contact Dumbledore hadn't been successful thus far. No one had come for her and she was starting to think that the Order had just given up on her. It angered her to no end and she felt abandoned, sad.

Considering all of this, it was no wonder that Rose woke up on Christmas Day angry and irritated, filled with hate towards the whole world. And Crouch. Especially Crouch. Sighing deeply, the girl got up from bed, making a promise in her mind to return to it as soon as possible. The snow was falling heavily outside, covering everything in a white, thick blanket. Rose stood for a moment by the window, observing the spinning snowflakes. Her mind wandered again to the Grimmauld Place. Was Sirius alone, too? Or perhaps Harry had come to spend Christmas break with his godfather? Remus Lupin and Mad-Eye Moody didn't have any family, so they could be there, too. The girl snorted at the thought of them sitting together, with paper hats on their heads, devouring turkey. It would be fun, being with them now. Sirius always had good word for her and maybe if she tried harder, if she didn't act so shy, she could make friends with everyone else, too.

No use to wish for the impossible, though. With another sigh, Rose went to bathroom. After taking a shower and changing into a plain, green dress, she heard Winky humming in her room. It brought a small smile on Rose's lips. Maybe this day wouldn't be so bad, after all. The house-elf did her best to please her family, so it would be very ungrateful to ruin the creature's happiness by putting on a long face. Winky greeted her mistress cheerfully when she came out of the bathroom.

"Good morning Mistress Rose! Winky is wishing you a Happy Christmas!" the house elf chirped cheerily. Rose smiled at her.

"Thank you, and the same to you." After a moment she added:

"Do you know if your master will be coming down for breakfast?"

"Master won't, Mistress, but he'll come for Christmas dinner for sure!"

Yeah. So he was still brooding in his room. Rose had no idea what had gotten into that man, but she presumed that those changes of mood were a result of his insanity, just like that unnerving tongue-tick. Sometimes, when he acted mostly normal around her, she almost forgot what kind of psycho he actually was and that frightened her more than anything. It was just horrible, constantly expecting an attack from him, even if he didn't show any hostility towards her. Rose still couldn't believe that he wasn't going to hurt her more than he already did.

The morning passed by peacefully. After spending some time in library, Rose decided to go early to the dining room. For once she would be there first, without Crouch waiting for her. When she entered the room, she noticed the presents under the Christmas tree. Her first thought was to wonder whether Death Eaters actually sent each other Christmas gifts, the very image of it too absurd to consider for too long. She opened her mouth in passing shock, but quickly closed it, when she came closer and discovered that there were only two packages on the floor. The present she was giving Crouch and one other, wrapped in red paper. Nothing more.

She curiously picked up the red package. It had a small note attached to it, with her name written elegantly upon it. A gift for her. She didn't know why she was so surprised, she was Crouch's wife after all. Some sort of rule of etiquette probably demanded that he gave her a present. Though, to be honest, she hadn't expected him to do so. Most of the time he acted like he didn't give a damn about her, so she found it strange that he actually remembered her and bought her something.

'Probably told Winky to pick it and doesn't even know what it is', Rose thought, but smiled nonetheless. She put the package back where she found it, deciding that she should wait for Crouch with opening it.

He appeared soon after, looking grumpy and glaring at the Christmas tree like it was the cause of his foul mood.

"Let's get it over and done with," he growled, while taking a seat at the table. They ate dinner in silence, Rose constantly wondering why he was so angry. The meal was delicious. As always, Winky had done her best. When Crouch finished, he stood up without a word and started towards exit. Rose eyed him warily.

"Aren't you going to open your present?" she asked silently, afraid of provoking his wrath. He turned around and looked at her with an unreadable expression on his face. Then, he just strode quickly to the place where presents lay and picked up the one destined for him. The girl hurried to his side, curious of his reaction. She took a seat in an armchair in the corner and watched him expectantly. Crouch quickly unwrapped the paper and opened the small box. He regarded the cufflinks for a moment with blank face, closed the box and looked at Rose.

"Thank you, they're lovely," he said, but Rose wasn't sure if he really meant it, or said so because it was proper to say. Or something like that. "Hurry up and open yours," he continued, clearly irritated by the whole situation as he sat down in an armchair opposite Rose's.

Rose did as she was told and gasped when she saw what lay in the box she held.
It was a silver necklace, with a yellow topaz cut in a shape of pear. The gemstone resembled a giant, golden tear and glittered in the light of the room. It was probably worth hundreds of galleons, more than her family ever had in Gringott's. Rose opened her mouth and looked at her husband. He was smirking, amused by her reaction.

"Kind of pretty, isn't it? Belonged to my mother. It has been passed down through generations, every woman who married an heir to the Crouch fortune owned it. Now's your turn."

Rose didn't know what to say, so she just stared at him with wide eyes and managed to mumble a quiet 'thank you.'

"Glad you like it," he said and quickly got up to leave. Rose felt a sudden urge to speak with him, to know what bothered him so much.

"What's the matter?" she asked, before she could stop herself. Crouch just ignored her and continued to walk away. It would be best to drop it at that point, but Rose was very stubborn in her need to understand the man she lived with. She was very stupid, too.

"Maybe if you talked about it, you'd feel better," she said and that was the most foolish thing she could say to a Death Eater. A Death Eater in a foul mood. He slowly turned around with a look of such disdain that Rose immediately shrunk in her seat. He slowly approached her.

"Listen carefully, because I won't be repeating myself," he said calmly. "I don't need some filthy blood traitor to ask me about my personal affairs. You are here to bear me an heir, nothing more, nothing less. You'd do well to remember your place." He spoke those words like he was lecturing a very slow child.

Rose felt her face growing red from humiliation and hurt. Once again she felt tears in her eyes, she had no idea how many times she cried during these last months, but it could certainly suffice for a lifetime.

"I hate you," she said through gritted teeth. "You're a pathetic nutter who killed his own father and drove his own mother into a grave. I despise you more than anything."

After that sentence, silence fell in the room. Crouch just watched Rose, calm and collected, as though he was completely unfazed by her words.

Another second passed and then all hell broke loose.

In a moment Rose went flying across the room, the curse hitting her just before she could fall on the floor. Her body was writhing in agony, her screams so loud that they must have been heard outside the house. The pain continued on and on and on, till Rose felt like it would never go away. But then, just when she started to lose consciousness it stopped. She hit the ground with a thud, her vision blurred, mind clouded. Someone lifted her to her feet and gripped her chin. The girl managed to focus on the face of her husband. He was grinning widely, darting his tongue like a snake, his entire form shaking with rage.

"You are very ungrateful wench, aren't you? To talk to me like that. I see that I've been too good for you, but that'll change now. The little gutless Hufflepuff learned how to fight back, hmm?"

He slapped her across the face so hard, that she fell again to the ground. Her sobs echoed in the room.

"Get out! Get out before I kill you," Crouch rasped. Rose obeyed immediately and hurried to the exit, faltering on her way. Just before she got out, a chair smashed into the nearby wall with a loud thud. The girl ran to her bedroom without looking back, entered bathroom and threw up in the toilet, her body shaking violently.

The attack she constantly feared since she had arrived had finally come, the moment she dropped her guard and foolishly considered herself relatively safe.