So, here is another chapter. If you like it, please, leave a review. Thanks to those who already did that :) In the next chapter we'll have some memories of Barty, I think it'll help understand his character. I'm wondering what house should he be in at Hogwarts...I don't want to put him in Slytherin, it's too time-worn, every Death Eater ( except Wormtail) was in Slytherin.

Anyway, enjoy :)


At the beginning of February, the weather had slowly started to get warmer, snow melting and the sun beginning to shine more often. Rose was sitting in her painting room, lost in thoughts about the Order, Barty, and her own fate. She still hasn't found a way to escape, her husband successfully cutting off every possibility of fleeing. Four months has passed since her abduction, the girl became skinnier and paler than ever before, constantly depressed.

She did what she was told, in fear that Crouch would torture her again. Bravery was never one of her traits. Rose was a Hufflepuff: loyal, hard-working, friendly, and patient. She didn't like to take any risk and she wasn't particularly ambitious either. She just wanted to live in peace, work in the hospital, and help people as much as she could. The witch considered it her vocation, contented faces of her patients repaid the effort of working late.

Barty didn't hurt her again and she was grateful of that. Her feelings for him were so chaotic that her head always started to ache whenever she thought about him. Rose's stupid body acted on its own accord every time that blasted man stepped near her and touched her. She was angry at him for that, especially when he seemed to have much fun watching her struggle.

"Stop it," the witch told him one evening when he sat beside her in the library, putting a hand on her tight and stroking it with a very content grin on his face.

"That's not what you said last night," was his response. He was clearly amused and chuckled as she blushed furiously.

"You're terrible, you know that?" Rose retorted, turning her head away and trying to focus back on her book. She hated to feel so vulnerable around him. The thought that he knew what effect he had on her was seriously pissing her off.

Crouch didn't say anything, just put an arm around her from behind, pulling her into an embrace. He brushed away hair from her shoulder and placed a kiss on it. Rose could feel that he was smiling.

'Cocky bastard,' she thought.

"I've no idea why you're making it difficult. You enjoy it, but choose to pretend that you're not. It's very silly.", he said while kissing her neck. Rose wanted to kill him immediately. She also wanted to kiss every inch of his face, but that was out of the question.

"It's not healthy, you know?" he purred, his hand caressing her stomach. Rose made desperate attempt to escape, trying to stand up, but Barty held her tightly. She grabbed his arm, trying to pull it aside, but he just laughed and darted out his tongue.

"Barty, please...don't do this to me," the girl pleaded with cracking voice. She didn't want to do that with her captor, but she knew that if he'll insist she'll finally succumb to him. And then she'll feel guilty, tainted. The witch constantly tried to convince herself that the fleeting moment of passion and happiness wasn't worth the pain of remembering her old life, her friends. The face of Sirius if he'd ever found out.

"Shhhh..." Barty whispered, forcing her to turn around so he could kiss her properly on the lips. At first she tried to pull away, as always, but soon her resistance faltered.

She had lost another battle.


The next day appeared to be as any other of her imprisonment. Rose ate breakfast with Barty, painted for some time and went to her bedroom to read. Fortunately, there were tons of books in the house, so she had something to occupy herself with.

It was around 2 p.m when something unexpected had happened.

The door of Rose's bedroom opened and Barty strode in, with an unreadable expression on his face. He stepped near her, grabbed her arm and lifted up. She opened her mouth in surprise and he scowled at that.

"Don't make a face like that, it looks horrible," he said, cupping her chin. He bent down and kissed her, making her even more suspicious. She obediently responded, though, stroking his hair while he caressed her back.

"I'm very pleased with you, I must say," he told her afterwards, before sitting casually in the armchair. "You're obedient, didn't even try to escape to your precious Dumbledore," he smirked. Rose stayed silent, ignoring his chaff, remembering what he could do to her if she crossed the line. The wizard reached for her and forced her to sit on his lap. One of his hands immediately went to her waist, stroking it tenderly. Rose knew that one wrong word could transform the pleasant caress into painful grip which would left a bruise.

"I think it's time for a reward," he stated.

"Reward?" Rose repeated in disbelief. Was this some sort of trick?

"Have you ever been in the opera house?"

"N-No," the girl said. Her parents never took her to one, they considered it an entertainment of the upper class. It was too expensive.

"Well, Winky will tell you what to wear. Be ready by 7 o'clock. I will not tolerate lateness."

Rose was shocked. They were going out? Was he joking? She once again opened her mouth in shock.

"I think I told you not to do that," her husband growled and pinched her waist. The girl was too preoccupied with surprising news to notice though.

"We're going out? For real?" she asked, afraid that he'll say 'no' and tell her that it was a jest. Crouch let out an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes.

"Merlin's beard, you're really dumb woman. Yes, we're going out. For real."

Rose ignored his insult and squealed in delight, hugging him without second thought. She couldn't believe it was true. Finally, she would see other people, breathe the fresh air! She was so happy that she didn't notice, when Barty had pulled out his wand. It was only then, when she felt it pressed into her back, that she pulled away to see his face. He gripped her arm strong enough to make bruises, digging his fingers into her flesh. He was darting his tongue, his eyes wide with madness and anger, and Rose's heart stopped for a second. Did she do something wrong? Did he change his mind?

"Now, listen carefully.", Barty said in a low tone. "If you even barely think about an escape, I'll kill you. I'm not joking," he gripped her arm even tighter, causing her to wince in pain. "I have no use of disobedient wife. I'll kill you and replace you with some other little blood traitor. Miss Weasley, for example?"

The wand pressed harder into her back. Rose kept her mouth shut.

"Is that understood?" Barty asked and she nodded her head. The pressure on her back disappeared, his hand stroking now the place where he left a bruise. He regarded her for a moment with blank face, the madness once again gone from his features. The girl wasn't afraid anymore, though. She was used to his mood swings, they weren't so terrifying now as they were at the beginning. The only thing that mattered was that he was taking her outside this blasted house, this maddening silence. After a second of internal struggle, Rose kissed her husband, slowly at first. He didn't seem to be surprised, instead chuckled and pulled her closer.

After some time, they finally broke apart. Rose tried to gather her thoughts, while Barty stood up, pushing her gently from his lap. She walked to the bed, weak at the knees, and sat down. Her husband was on his way out, when one thing came to her head.

"Wait a minute," she said with a frown and Barty turned to face her, his hand on the doorknob. "If you're a convicted Death Eater and I'm obviously 'missing' or 'dead', then how the hell we're supposed to waltz into an opera house without causing suspicion?"

"Ah, don't you worry, my dear, I've planned everything ahead," he grinned like a complete nutter, and reached to one of his pockets. He raised his hand, so she could see the object he was holding: a small vial with some liquid inside. A liquid that oddly resembled a Polyjuice Potion.

"My speciality," he said, clearly proud of himself.


The pavement was wet from melted snow, the evening was cold and windy, but Rose never in her life had felt so happy and warm. People on the street were passing them by without paying any attention. Rose watched every new face, fascinated by the amount of pedestrians and cars. She had almost forgotten what it feels like to be on the street, the noise, the traffic. Muggles were hurrying in their own directions, not aware of the fact that a wizard and a witch were amongst them.

Rose looked up to see her husband. She still felt awkward when she glanced at the man who was walking beside her: he was even taller than Barty, blond, with a moustache. Rose sniggered.

"What are you laughing for?" Barty asked, his moustache moving in a funny way when he spoke. Rose couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"You look like my grandfather," she managed to say, holding her side.

"Oh really?" Barty said raising his furry eyebrow, causing Rose to laugh even more. The rest of the way to the opera house he kept entertaining her by making funny faces. Rose didn't know why they have apparated so far from their destination, but she didn't complain. It felt good to be outside, to know that the world didn't cease to exist while she was being imprisoned.

Finally, they reached an old and closed laundry, which looked like it could collapse any time. Barty placed a hand on the entry, whispered something quietly and with a small 'click' the doors opened. Then, he quickly ushered Rose in, closing the door behind them. No Muggle noticed anything odd in the fact that some fancy dressed couple just entered closed laundry.

Rose's eyes widened at the view of the magical opera house. The interior resembled a giant cathedral, with massive chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Marble statues were standing by the walls, changing their positions from time to time. The girl started to feel slightly awkward, she had never been in a place like this, everything was rich and beautiful. Her husband, on the other hand, seemed to be used to such things and appeared completely unfazed by his surroundings. She took his arm and followed him, trying not to look too lost in this place.

The opera turned out to be very interesting and Rose had great time. Of course, Barty had picked it to annoy her, because when he saw her face at reading the title: "La Belle et la Bete", he grinned like a cat who just caught a fat mouse. Rose kept her mouth shut, not wanting to give him any more satisfaction, deciding that she won't let his immature jokes ruin her fun. She once again realised, that wizards in fact enjoyed lots of muggle things, the tale of Beauty and the Beast being one of them.

Of course, when asked, they'd say that it was a wizard who invented the story, but Rose knew that in reality, wizards and muggles shared much more than her race would ever admit. The art was one of those things, muggles knew how to create beautiful stories and works, to brighten their non-magical world. Wizards were good at tale-telling too, but there was something in muggle myths and tales, that captivated them completely, showed that muggles weren't as stupid as everyone thought.

During the performance, Barty held Rose's hand in his own, stroking slowly her fingers. The girl observed the struggles of Belle, the way which the Beast slowly wormed his way into her heart. Rose glanced from time to time in her own Beast's direction. He acted completely normal, no one would even suspect that behind this face a mad, dangerous murderer was hidden. The girl once again cursed herself for her feelings towards him. How could she desire this monster? How could she let him touch her and touch him in response? Was she suicidal? One day he would be bored of her and kill her without second thought.

His hand was warm right now, though, and Rose couldn't bring herself to break their contact. She felt safe, protected. It was sick, she knew it, but she preferred this over Greyback's fate. When the performance had ended, all doubts were gone from her head. She had great time, she was amongst people for the first time since autumn, Barty was keeping her near, acting normal, what was there to complain about?

Perhaps the fact that she was seated next to her captor, her lover, and Beast all in one. But she still...loved and hated him at the same time, both detesting and craving his attentions. He had given her a gift, to be normal for a little while. And that made up for it all.

Rose was smiling, holding her husband's arm on their way out. Something started to bother her, though. At first, she hadn't had a clue what could it be. Some kind of sinking feeling, the calm before the storm. Her smile slowly disappeared, her head started to ache.

Soon, she realised what had alarmed her. When Barty and Rose were heading towards the exit, the girl finally noticed Cornelius Fudge with his wife. He was so near, that she could touch him if she wanted to. One word, and she could be saved. Some part of her brain screamed to her to take action and run, but something was stopping her. Barty was holding her arm in arm, she could feel the heat of his body. To tell the truth, she was afraid. And not afraid of his tortures, if she was to be caught, but afraid of being free, far away from him. Suddenly she felt the need to hug him, to return to his house, to be only with him. The noise of so many people started to exhaust her. In the corner of her eye, she noticed Lucius Malfoy with his wife, they passed them by without a glance. No one could recognise Rose. If she told somebody that she's Rose Clifton, the girl kidnapped months ago, and this tall blond man beside her is Barty Crouch Jr, no one would believe her.

Her husband noticed her nervousness, for he quickened his pace, leading Rose towards the doors. She followed him obediently, trying to avoid looking at Fudge once again. Barty ushered her into an empty side street and they apparated in the house. Her chance, maybe the only one chance to be free was gone.

The potion started to wear off, the faces of her husband and her own returning to normal. Barty didn't say a word, just took her arm and climbed up the stairs to her bedroom. When they were alone, he took off her coat, threw it on the chair and started to unbutton the back of her dress.

"Barty, don't," she said feebly, but he didn't listen to her at all. Then, she heard a rustle of the fabric and felt a chill, her skin exposed to the cold of night. Crouch's arms pulled her into an embrace, his coat still wet from the drizzle outside. He buried his head in her neck, inhaling deeply. Rose had no idea what has gotten into him to hold her like that. After a minute he let go, looked at her with blank expression and said:

"You're freezing. Come, help me undress." She took off his coat, frock coat and started to unbutton his waistcoat.

"You're mine," he stated, while she was struggling with the buttons. "I'll never let you go. Never."

Rose shuddered slightly. Barty's face was now struck with madness, his eyes wide, the tongue-tic returned. Rose knew, that at this moment, any unconsidered word could enrage him, so she kept quiet. He brushed her hands aside and quickly took of the shirt and trousers, pushing her towards the bed afterwards.

"Mine," he repeated between kisses. "Mine."

"Barty, stop", she whispered placing her hands on his chest to push him away. "I can't...I shouldn't..."

He looked at her with an angry expression.

"Stop this nonsense," he growled. "You're my wife. You've proven today to be loyal and obedient. Don't take me for a fool, I saw the way you looked at Fudge. You can, you should and you will." Then he kissed her passionately, making her dizzy, his hands traveling up and down her waist.

"I know you want it," he whispered and she once again repeated in her head those words, like they could save her from her own feelings and desires:

'I hate him. I hate him. I hate him.'

She lost the war.