"Have you already finished, Miss Crouch?" Asked the exuberant voice of Professor Slughorn, breaking the dissonant sound of quills scratching on parchment around the class.
There was a replying hum.
"I have. Is that a new potion batch for the hospital wing, professor?"
Regulus briefly glanced up from his essay, catching the sight of Crouch standing beside Slughorn's desk, her two feet long parchment already in the professor's hand. Of course she had finished her essay.
He put his attention back to his own work. They had thirty minutes left to finish this essay on the strengthening potion Slughorn just lectured them on, but while the others had to scrape any information they could get from the reference book, Regulus was confident that he could finish this in eight more minutes. He only needed to add the limitations of this potion and his conclusion.
"Why, yes it is, Miss Crouch. Madam Pomfrey had asked me to brew some hair-repair solution and calming draught, after she used hers dry for students who damaged their hair trying to reverse last week's feast disaster. That reminds me. Mister Black,"
Regulus paused and looked up at the call. Slughorn had a giddy smile sent in his direction. "I trust I can count on you again to deliver them to the madam?"
A polite smile fell into his face. "Of course, Professor."
"Splendid!"
The professor continued his talk with Crouch and Regulus let his eyes back into his essay once more, his quill never stopping as he wrote the material he knew by heart at high speed. The strengthening potion was a beginner potion, as expected from a second year material, but Regulus knew that depending on its preparation and steps variations, it could be an advanced potion with high potency and longer effect-time. The real limitation of the potion lies in its aftermath side-effects. Another paragraph was done, then another one quickly followed it, and his essay was finally finished.
It didn't even take him eight minutes to finish it as he expected. A smirk escaped him and he directed it to the floor, just so no one catches it.
Slughorn was not surprised when he handed in his essay well before the assigned time. He let Regulus leave the class early, just like he did Crouch some minutes ago. Regulus sent a smug smile to the sitting form of Rabastan from where he stood, receiving an arched eyebrow in return.
"That's right!" Shouted the professor, pulling Regulus' attention at him again. "Maybe you can use this time to deliver these potions to the hospital wing, Mister Black. I'm sure Madam Pomfrey has been expecting it to be delivered some time today."
Right. "I'll do just that then, Professor."
"Thank you, my boy!" The professor said, as gleeful as a goblin in the face of gold. "I know I can always count on you!"
With a calculated bashful smile, Regulus picked up the box full of potion and said his parting word to the professor. He also sent Rabastan another look, a silent request for his friend to take care of the things he left on their table, just before finally leaving the class with a box of potions in his hands.
Two steps outside the class though, Regulus had to pause in his walk, his eyes locked to the only other person in the corridor.
It was Crouch, walking towards him with her loyal dark leather bag slinging over her shoulder. She came from their dorm's direction, he realized.
He tilted his head. "Crouch. Did you forget something?"
The girl paused and blinked at him. "I didn't." Her eyes dropped to the box in his hands before meeting his gaze once more. "Hospital Wing?"
"Yes."
She nodded and continued her walk towards him. Her wild hair was braided today, the kind of complicated braid that made her look like a forest nymph, but Regulus could still watch the curls that framed her pretty face bouncing in each step she took. His eyes followed her as she walked past him, giving him a full view of her perfect side profile and then the complicated braid he saw this morning. Forest nymph hair was indeed an apt description for it.
"Aren't you coming?"
He blinked out of his dazed state. "Pardon?"
Crouch stopped in her steps and looked over her shoulder, her blue eyes meeting his confused ones. "Hospital wing. I will accompany you there."
Lady Fortuna was on his side, Regulus thought.
He gave her a curt nod to hide his brimming excitement, before finally walking to catch up with her.
They started to walk side by side, close enough for a whiff of lavender and vanilla scents to enter his senses. Regulus tried very hard to stay focused on the path in front of him, though he couldn't help a couple of discreet glances here and there. Silence reigned until one of them decided to break it just as they reached the stairs.
"So," Crouch prompted, "do you enjoy running errands for Professor Slughorn?"
Regulus would have blushed if he found any mockery in her voice, and he was grateful that there wasn't. Running errands for a Professor certainly wasn't his preferred activity to do in leisure time, and he knew it could make him look like he was trying too hard. But it had its uses. "It is a necessity," he replied in confidence.
Crouch hummed, as if considering something. "You want a future career in potions, then?"
Regulus smirked in amusement at her words. It was a sound conjecture, truly. Earning Slughorn's favor could indeed help anyone's career.
But Crouch missed out this tiny bit of information.
"Blacks don't do 'career'," he divulged to her with pride, "except if it's a position of power. Phineas Black being the example." At this point, Crouch's blue eyes stared at him so intently that Regulus had to look away before shrugging. "I just enjoy potions, and Slughorn can provide me with more reading material."
Crouch didn't give him a reply for a long time after that. A brief glance told him that she was mulling over his words, or perhaps thinking of other things. He could never be sure about her.
They had reached the first floor when Crouch spoke again.
"You want access to the restricted section."
It was not spoken as a question, but he confirmed it either way. "Yes."
Crouch hummed appreciatively and sent him a smirk. "Smart."
Regulus had to calmly look away again. His face had gone uncontrolled as an involuntary grin threatened to break out.
Thankfully, they had reached the Hospital wing.
"Good afternoon, Madam," Regulus greeted the witch sitting at the corner desk after they entered the room. "These are the potions you requested. Professor Slughorn trusts us to deliver them to you." He put the box of potions on the table beside her desk, prompting the healer to immediately inspect them. She made a satisfied nod at the end of it.
A clearing throat sound from beside him pulled their attention from the potions.
Crouch, with her hands now holding a dark purple box, was smiling sweetly at the healer. "Also, I want to share with you this box of chocolate I recently procured."
Regulus blinked at Crouch. Was that why she tagged along with him? To give Madam Pomfrey chocolates? He turned to the healer, finding the rigid witch eyed Crouch with scrutiny before she pursed her lips.
"The potion I will take, but I will not accept the chocolate if it's some preemptive apology for future reckless deeds."
Regulus controlled his face before his eyes could widen at this revelation. Crouch, it turned out, was trying to gain the madam's favor after their disastrous, horrifying, incident last year.
The girl beside him mocked a pained look. "Madam, it saddens me that my first impression left such a poor mark on your judgment. I would like to rectify that there is nothing reckless in my person. My slytherin sensibilities won't tolerate it." She put the box of chocolate on the witch's desk with a most grievous expression, "I beg you to accept my humble apology for causing such an error."
His lips itched to quirk up, and so did the madam's.
At the end, the madam was more successful in containing it, though her eyes couldn't quite hide the amusement behind it. "I'll be the judge of that, Miss Crouch."
Crouch smirked. "Of course."
Judging that her affair was finished, Regulus cleared his throat, making Crouch turn her head to his direction. "Shall we?"
His question met silence.
Crouch was staring at him, and Regulus couldn't help but stare back at her clear blue eyes.
Embarrassingly, it took him five seconds to realize that Crouch was not looking at him. No, her blue eyes were gazing off to something behind him.
She finally set her eyes on him again after the pause. "You can go ahead."
He frowned. Turning his head to his left, his eyes caught the sight of someone on one of the mattresses. A particular someone he knew and disliked. He turned his eyes back to Crouch.
"I think I'll wait."
Crouch didn't reply to him with more than a nod, and she walked straight to the person's mattress. Regulus masked his face under an indifferent look as he watched Remus Lupin stare at the approaching figure of Crouch, while Regulus could only see her back walking away from him with only her pretty braid to console him.
"Hi there," greeted Crouch. Regulus narrowed his eyes at the warmth in her voice. "How fortunate that we meet again here."
A pause, with Lupin's eyebrow arched in amusement.
"Circumstances aside," Crouch added, a smirk could be heard from her voice.
Regulus didn't know what it was that he was watching, but he knew that he didn't like it.
"I want to thank you for last week. It was highly entertaining to see Hogwarts panicking over hair color."
"I'm afraid I have no part in Hogwarts' hair crisis last week," Lupin smoothly lied, like the liar he was. Regulus barely resisted the urge to scoff at it.
But Crouch seemed to grow more amused at his unashamed lie.
"Pardon my assumption, then. I was thinking of thanking those good samaritans with some sweets for their service, but perhaps some other time."
Regulus snapped his eyes at Crouch in disbelief. There was another box of chocolate from her bag, now carried in her hands. She couldn't be serious. He knew that she enjoyed their prank - he was happy to see her laugh, even - but thanking them for the prank? Why would she do that? His brother's gang were trouble makers!
"Oh, in that case," Lupin drawled with an annoying smirk, "I happen to know someone, who knows someone, who heard about someone who might have an inkling on the good Samaritans you mentioned. I'm sure I can ask them to pass on your sweets."
"I'll count on you to deliver them, then."
He couldn't believe it. Regulus watched Crouch hand the box of chocolate to Lupin, who eyed it hungrily - he obviously had never seen a chocolate that expensive before - and it turned out it wasn't the worst part.
"Oh, and here." Another chocolate. A chocolate bar. "It's a get-well-soon chocolate."
Lupin's eyes were glued to Crouch, as if capturing her in his memory, and Regulus couldn't stand it. He glared at the wall beside him. He didn't care to listen to any more of their conversation. (That was a lie, Lupin gave her precisely two thanks after that, one with less eloquence before he repeated it more smoothly.) When Crouch finally returned to his side, Regulus welcomed her with his expressionless face and silence.
And the silence continued long after that.
"Why did you give them a reward for their prank?" He finally bursted just before they reached their dorm. The dungeon was still empty, as there were still five minutes before the fifth period ended, so Regulus was not worried that someone might hear them. Undauntedly, he met Crouch's eyes with clear disapproval, the darkness of the dungeon made his eyes appear darker. "It will only encourage them in these pointless pranks."
"It's not pointless," the infuriating girl evenly said. "A well executed prank with good intention has the ability to brighten the day. Besides, it's good to encourage them for a prank like last week, as it was a lot better than a targeted prank." Again, her eyes seemed to be lost in some memories.
But Regulus was not in the mood to dissect her thoughts.
"You owe me," the words left his mouth before he could think of a better way to say it.
Crouch blinked, eyes focusing back at him. "Pardon?"
"That day, in front of the Hospital wing," he started. Crouch's eyes widened in surprise at his mention of the incident, but Regulus pushed through. "I called Madam Pomfrey for you and kept the incident a secret. That's two favors."
There was no subtlety in his words, but Regulus found at the moment that he couldn't care less. He unwaveringly held Crouch's hesitant gaze.
"Of course. I… I thought we chose to not talk about it."
Regulus pushed down the urge to scowl. He generously let her have her space, was what happened. Any Slytherin would have happily milked on the vulnerability the others had exposed. It seemed that Crouch forgot about this little fact, and Regulus's cold gaze silently reminded her of it.
Judging by the realization that dawned upon her eyes, it succeeded.
"Sorry - er, I mean thank you. Is there any way I can repay you?"
"I'll hold those favors for now," he replied brusquely.
The two of them parted quietly after that. Crouch gave him her small, awkward parting smile, which Regulus returned with a small nod.
She left him standing rooted in the common room, staring at the ghost of her smile with his heart feeling conflicted.
.
Regulus wanted to drown himself in regret the nights after he said those things to Crouch. Rabastan said he was right to demand Crouch to notice his previous generosity, but Regulus just wanted to take it all back now. It wasn't right. Crouch was in a bad position that day when he found her bleeding, and to make her owe him for his help just made him… rotten.
But he didn't know what to say.
The following weeks after he reminded Crouch of the favors she owed him, Crouch seemed to be more reserved with him. She still had her warmth, she even gave him a present on his birthday - the basic formula of her cloud. It was very precious that he felt million times worse about snapping at her - But she felt more guarded. As if she was more aware of his bites and venoms.
He hated it.
He wanted to sulk, but Rabastan never let him drown in his thoughts. Always pushing him to visit the library or the first year dorm. He wanted to sulk, but Quidditch training also wouldn't let him waste his time in the confine of his mind. Burke put more pressure on everyone, as Slytherin finally had a chance to win the quidditch cup with him on the team. It left Regulus with only one option, that was, to run away to the privacy of the astronomy tower in the nights. There, alone with the vast starry sky and his own thoughts, Regulus could see everything clearer.
Tonight however, someone beat him in taking the place.
With only a moment of hesitation, Regulus approached the lone figure of his cousin. She was sitting on the floor, behind the narrow steel fence with her feet dangling at the edge of the tower, her silky fair hair moving with the faint cold wind of the dying winter. Melancholy swam in her grey eyes as she stared up to the northern sky. He followed her gaze, thinking that she was eyeing her sister's constellation, Andromeda. He was wrong however, as it was not the Andromeda she was setting her eyes on. Rather, his cousin was staring full of hope at the constellation Draco who took most of the center place of the northern sky.
He took the place beside her and sat, eyes still staring at the dragon.
"Is everything alright?" He asked quietly.
A pause.
"Of course," replied his cousin, her soft voice wavering.
Regulus turned to look at her. "Is there anything I can help with?"
This time, a small smile broke out of her face. "Sweet regulus," she mused out loud, "I remember aunt Walburga once thought you were not cut out to be a Black."
He froze, eyes hardened at her words.
He didn't appreciate it. Not at all.
Sensing his glare, his cousin turned to look at him with an apologetic smile. "I don't mean it like that, Regulus."
"Then what did you mean?" He hotly asked.
His cousin sighed, eyes looking back at the starry northern night, her hands clutching at the horizontal steel in front of her chest. "I'm beginning to think that no man or woman is cut out to be a Black."
Regulus furrowed his eyebrows.
He didn't understand what she was saying - and for Narcissa to be the one who just uttered the nonsense... "You are the perfect example of everything a Black should be, Cissa," he said instead, sincerity bleeding through his words.
Indeed, his cousin Narcissa was the perfect Black. Graceful and strong, proud and unbending. Cunning and resourceful. She never made a mistake, upholding their family name with sanitary perfection.
But his cousin looked away at his words.
Another silent pause followed them.
Regulus pulled his legs to his chest and hugged them. The stars were bright tonight, he thought. He wanted to turn around - just to check the southern sky to see if everyone's stars appear tonight. But before he could do that, Narcissa had spoken again.
"Remember the man Bella likes to talk about?"
He blinked. It was a pointless question, of course Regulus remembered the Dark Lord Bellatrix repeatedly mentioned. His silence seemed sufficient to answer her question as she continued slowly, "Lucius has become… an acquaintance of his."
He frowned again.
Being acquainted with the Dark Lord didn't sound too bad, but Narcissa had spoken it like a grave news. "I expect he has," he carefully replied.
She turned at him, her eyes solemn. "You and Sirius will have to as well, in a couple years."
"And we will deliver," he declared, pulling back his shoulder, straightening his posture, "A Black supports their house."
"You, I trust. Sirius, on the other hand…"
He narrowed his eyes at her accusation. "Sirius cares about our family. He will."
A sigh answered his conviction, followed by another pause. Regulus turned his head to the side, his eyes glancing at the southern sky. Father's were the most visible, followed by Sirius'. Regulus' own star was blocked by a pillar from where he was sitting.
"Do you know the planet that rules the stars of Sirius' birth?"
He looked to his cousin again, curious in what she intended to say. "Pluto. The planet of transformation and rebuilding," came his easy reply. He used to like to hear about it, as his own planet, Uranus, also represented transformation and change.
There was, however, a fine distinction between Pluto's and Uranus' nature in governing changes, one that he tried not to acknowledge.
One that Narcissa must have known too as she chuckled darkly, "You left quite a bit of information there."
Regulus found himself clenching his jaw. Her eyes radiated both fondness and sadness as she pierced through him,
"Sirius… he was born to destroy."
Regulus looked away.
.
Giving the Marauders chocolates for their prank, Madeline figured out later, led to a couple troublesome consequences that she very much wanted to avoid. One of them was how they now seemed to often watch her during meal time.
"They're creeps," Barty sneered over his breakfast, glaring at Sirius Black who replied his sneer with a wiggling of his eyebrows.
She sighed. It was the third time Barty called them creeps this week, and it was only Tuesday. "It's alright, Barty."
Her words did nothing to console him.
They finished their meals in silence, no longer comfortable to talk candidly with observing eyes around them. Madeline hated to admit that she was not very comfortable in her own house, and now she also had to consider other houses' eyes on her. Sneaking a glance at Barty, she wondered if her discomfort affected him. She hoped it didn't, but she could never be sure with Barty about anything regarding her.
Her eyes trailed to a boy sitting four seats over her brother. Regulus Black, with his usual indifferent expression on him, ate his meal with flawless etiquette, in bites that were too small to be satisfying. Madeline didn't blame the boy for her current hyper-awareness among the Slytherins, so she hoped the boy would stop avoiding her. They still had their potion session, but now it felt like he didn't know how to act around her.
She must admit that it was a shock when he outright called her out of her ignorance for his help that day. But it worked as a reality check for her - She was in Slytherin, the house of the snakes. Even the sweetest, kindest boy like Barty had his own self interest to pursue and schemes to manipulate. Nothing was free, here in Slytherin. Just because she didn't socialize much with other snakes didn't mean it was acceptable for her to forget about their nature.
At least she knew her brother's concern for her was genuine.
"Tell me if they try anything," said Barty before they left the table to go to their respective class, his tone commanding. Just like how he always did lately after they started watching her.
Madeline smiled fondly at her brother. "I will."
The first class that day was Defense against the Dark Art, taught by a grave looking man with a crooked nose. Baddock was an ex-professional duellist, an old friend of their charm professor, Flitwick. It was unclear why he chose to take a cursed position in Hogwarts while he could travel and attend all the duel competitions around the world, though Madeline was very grateful that he was far more competent than Hermione Granger's second year defense professor.
Baddock had them paired up to practice the disarming spell, and Madeline was calculatedly paired with the untalented Derica Dowson.
She pursed her lips at Dowson's yet another failed casting after the third time.
"Confidence," she tutted at the now red faced-girl. They were practicing at the very back of the class, and everyone else was busy practicing with their own partner, but Dowson was red with humiliation and her eyes were cautiously looking around. Madeline hoped the girl was listening "You need confidence to cast the spell. Your magic won't answer your call if your will is hindered by doubts."
The girl nodded distractedly and she tried again. Her magic sizzled out before anything could happen.
Madeline had enough. "Perhaps some urgency, then."
She walked away, making quite a distance between them. When she turned around at Dowson's again, her wand held in front of her face, Dowson finally understood what she meant by 'urgency'.
"Wait, Crouch -"
She bowed, before doing the stance for dueling. "Disarming spell only. On the count of three."
The girl gulped as she watched her left hand made the gesture of one, and two, and three -
"Expelliarmus."
Her casting was too fast for Dowson to react. Dowson's wand was thrown pitifully away from her, while the owner was too stunned to do anything. The cluttering sound of a wand on the hard floor was loud for them to hear.
Madeline arched an eyebrow at her mindless stare. "Pick it up."
The other girl flushed.
With a scowl, Dowson walked to her wand and picked it up harshly from the floor, her straight black hair falling to the front as she bent down. Madeline waited as Dowson walked back to her position, and when she was finally facing her again, Madeline's left hands already started to count again.
One. Two. Three.
"Exp- " - "Expelliarmus."
This time Dowson's wand flew right into Madeline's waiting hand, much to the girl's clear frustration, if that ragged breath was any indication.
With stark indifference, Madeline wasted no time to throw the wand carelessly at the floor between them. "Pick it up."
From Dowson's withering glare, she reckoned she had successfully make her furious.
She thought she would continue this method for two more times before testing it.
"Expel-!" - "Expelliarmus."
This time, besides her wand blown away from her hand, Dowson was pushed back by the force of her casting, landing solidly on her butt.
"Expel-!" - "Expelliarmus."
This time Dowson was also thrown away, crashing to the wall behind her.
The next one would be the last one, Madeline thought. After her left hand finished the count, she let the furious girl in front of her finish her casting. "Expelliarmus!" The girl shouted, no longer doubtful, with dark eyes locked on her in determination. Madeline smirked when the magic did not sizzle out upon exiting her wand, and she didn't move away even though she had the spare time to do so, letting the spell hit her person.
She was disarmed, her wand cluttered on the floor behind her.
Dowson stared down at the wand on the floor, eyes widened in disbelief.
Then she looked up to her, smirking gleefully.
"Pick it up."
She chuckled. "Well done."
Madeline's steps were light when she picked up her wand, the success of her teaching brightened her mood. Was this how Harry felt when he taught them? Then again, Harry didn't have the pleasure of making fun of his student before the said student made fun of him in retribution, so maybe that was her sadistic side peeking out. With her beech wand once again, Madeline cheerfully twirled it before putting it back in her arm holster.
However, it was at that moment that she realized they had spectators, which included Professor Baddock who sat at the front of the class. She tried to try to be indifferent about it as she returned to Dowson. You would have thought choosing the farthest spot from the man would prevent it from happening, she thought mournfully. Alas, nothing could be done for now. Madeline immediately consoled herself that she didn't show them anything interesting. It was just the disarming spell, with a variation in its effect, yes, but at least she didn't disarm more than one wand at once…
The professor was suddenly standing behind them.
"Nicely done, young ladies," he said, the praise in his tone made Dowson blush. The professor turned to her, sharp eyes holding her in place. "Miss crouch, do you mind helping out some other students as well? I think the others could benefit from your… method of teaching."
She took her time to process his words.
When she finally did, Madeline started to look around. There were at least three students who hadn't had the spell down, with Warrington being one of them. She turned to the professor with a demure smile.
"It will be my pleasure, Professor."
.
Warrington's expression when he faced her in that defense class had given her another idea to help the current war. He looked, to put it simply, like he was trying to find a way to escape her.
It made her think of the possibilities of wizarding folks, having means to escape death eaters as they ambushed their houses. She despised her spotty memories now more than ever as she couldn't recall who had said it, but she remembered feeling scared… and someone, with a shaking voice, was telling her about coming home to a sickly green sky of snakes and skulls above their house, knowing what had happened to their family…
It appeared in her dream a couple of times before. That was, finding Crouch manor with the Dark Mark looming over its roof. She couldn't go back to sleep after those dreams, wondering and imagining scenarios. Bad scenarios.
And the Dark Mark hadn't even been used.
She had one year before it was used.
March was approaching and she found herself drowned in her many research even deeper than she had before. There was no time to waste, and she aimed to begin testing all her ideas at the beginning of third year. Her magic would have matured enough then so she would not exhaust herself too much every time she tried them.
But she shouldn't be surprised that a particular someone would not let her drown in her research.
"Mad!"
She paused at the call. She was in the secret passageway that connected the dungeon and the grand staircase, one she discovered herself after sensing the familiar hum of a password-based warding charm in the portrait of Professor Basil Fronsac in the dungeon. There was only one other person who she told about this passage. She turned around to see her brother walking swiftly to her.
Barty was grinning innocently. "Are you going to the library?"
The honest answer would be no. She was trying to use the passageway to the grand staircase so she could use another passageway at the grand staircase that would lead her directly to the seventh floor, where she did all her research and all her sneaking around.
The lie she settled with was, "I was hoping to visit my friends, actually."
Barty blinked. "The Hufflepuffs?"
"The Hufflepuffs."
"Cool, cool. Let me join you."
Madeline eyed her brother with great skepticism. "You want to meet my friends?" She had offered to introduce them before, but Bethany and Amanda were rather skittish about Barty, and Barty himself never seemed interested in meeting them.
"Nope," replied Barty, popping the 'p' without any care. "I thought I'd find out where the kitchen's entrance is while you're meeting your friends… " his eyes bored at her, glinting in excitement, "Hogwarts A History says it's near the Hufflepuff entrance."
Madeline blinked. "You don't know where it is?"
A beat.
He narrowed his eyes at her, "Wait a minute - You're saying you know where it is?"
Her smile was the picture of innocence and Barty huffed. "Of course you know where it is."
They both then proceeded their walk side by side as Madeline thought of ways to lose Barty off her trails. Unfortunately, her mind couldn't do a lot of work as Barty distracted her with his stories along the way.
"- I've been trying to talk with the paintings but I always feel dumb afterwards. I mean, they're all paintings of food! I tried asking for a password to some of them, including a roasted chicken painting, an apple painting, a cranberry pie painting, and a painting of a basket of baguettes. Baguettes, Mad!"
She giggled, a hand covering her mouth so as to not let her giggle echo in the dark passageway. Shaking her head, she asked, "Why did you pick them?"
Barty shrugged. "They seem awfully suspicious to me."
The idea of suspicious baguettes got to her. What did it take for a baguette to seem suspicious, she wondered? Did they not appear crunchy enough? Was it the wrong golden brown color? Her giggle now rang loud without constraint, much to Barty's amusement.
She couldn't stop grinning even if the laughter had finally stopped. "What else have you tried?"
"I tried saying yum, yummy, delicious, delicious delight, sweet, magical magnificence, gluttony is sin, a full stomach is a happy stomach, study with your stomach full, and many other food and stomach-related phrases among other things."
"To all of the paintings?"
"To all of them."
Madeline shook her head, still smiling, exasperated by her brother's tenacity and sheer ridiculousness. "You know what? I think I'll accompany you in your pursuit."
Her brother practically buzzed on his feet at her words.
"Great! Then you'll give me some clues right?"
She continued to walk as if not hearing his request. It was his ridiculous struggle she wanted to draw some entertainment from, after all. Giving him clues wouldn't do her any favor.
Barty, on the other hand, saw on her face what he deemed to be Maddy's evil grin, just like that time before she shoved a flobberworm to his face in one of their scavenger hunts. He paused in his walk, his big eyes blinked.
"Mad? You'll give me clues, right?"
Another beat.
"Eventually."
Barty scowled, before making a series of quick steps to catch up with his sister.
He couldn't help the bright smile that followed.