The confrontation did its job. Madeline felt the Marauders' eyes on her lessened in a matter of days, their interest in her fleeting, discarded as soon as they deemed her a typical Slytherin.
She assured her tablemates of these developments a week later at their usual table, and unfortunately, none of them were eager to believe her. They still let her stay at their table, but now Snape and Lily glanced suspiciously at every little sound around them as they read, their senses sharp as if waiting for an ambush.
Three anxious hours later, night time came, and no marauders were in sight.
Lily Evans was befuddled.
"How did you do it?"
Madeline buried a smile at the confused frown in Lily's face. At her side, Snape pretended to scroll his parchment in indifference, but Madeline could see a metaphorical ear peeking between his dark hair, listening carefully and anticipating her answer. The honest answer would be by proving their interest in her to be a fluke of course, but she felt the need to take an advantage, and so she replied, "Open communication is the key."
Lily frowned. "But I told James Potter to lay off all the time!"
Telling him to lay off by shouting it from afar, was what she meant. Not really what Madeline was aiming for. "Have you tried talking eye to eye with James Potter to discuss your discomfort for his advance? Try making him understand?"
"That would only encourage him!"
No it wouldn't, she thought, tilting her head. Lily's reaction to her advice was quite strong, contrasting to the quiet scoff from the boy beside her, no doubt already dismissing her suggestion. "I've proven it, so... is it not worth a try?"
Lily Evans shook her head, muttering about how big headed James Potter was.
As they continued to pack their books, Madeline's keen eyes quietly observed the muttering girl in front of her. Lily's cheeks were flushed, as if the thought of James Potter alone was enough to raise the ire in her. Madeline recalled how the girl often ranted about James Potter, saying how she couldn't stand him and how awful the boy was. This year had been the worst, as James Potter started to ask her out every week, his ridiculous flattery and undying love proclamation becoming a routine quite of late.
But looking at the flushed girl in front of her...
Madeline blinked slowly, a new speculation was forming in her head. "Do you actually like him?"
Lily's hand slipped, her book almost fell to the table before she caught it in haste. She looked up to her and gaped. "No!"
"She would never," hissed Snape at the same time.
Madeline's gaze turned to the glaring boy, and then back to the red faced-girl, and then back to the boy. Snape's words and Lily's strong reaction sent her mind spiralling in possibilities. There was no doubt that they both were friends. And as they were friends, Lily Evans would feel obligated to avoid James Potter, a known enemy of Snape. 'She would never' Snape had said, and judging from that, Snape expected Lily to avoid James Potter too…
But Lily was more than just a victim of this hostilities between Snape and the marauders. No, she was also one of the causes. Madeline was certain that one of the reasons why the Marauders hated Snape so much was because Lily chose Snape's company over James Potter. If things went on like this, with Lily taking a passive role in their conflict, unknowingly encouraging their grudges by solely taking Snape's side and half-heartedly avoiding James Potter for her friend's sake...
She didn't know when and how James Potter and Lily Evans would be together. But it made her wonder... If Lily didn't have to choose. If Lily befriended both Snape and the Marauders now, before the situation with the war escalated...
Would it prevent Snape from joining the Death Eater?
A new resolve slowly formed in her, her mind cleared of the many doubts that had been fogging her mind ever since her decision to avoid the marauders. She asked to talk privately with Lily after they exited the library, earning her a suspicious look from Snape that Lily easily dismissed.
"She said it's a girl's matter, Sev. Do you actually want to hear it?"
Snape quickly backed off at the word 'girl's matter'.
They settled in one of the corridor's alcoves, sitting on a bench that was quite hidden from the route to the grand stairs. Everyone was in the great hall now, or at least, on the way to the great hall, making the corridor free of any passerby. No one would disturb them there and Madeline met her friend's green eyes head on, cutting straight to the point.
"Be honest. Do you like him?"
Again, Lily Evans' cheeks reddened. Madeline had thought that it was her anger against the boy that caused it, but now Madeline wasn't so sure anymore.
"He's a toerag, why would i?"
Madeline noted how the older girl immediately thought of James Potter from her vague question alone. She smiled, appearing as innocent as a barely thirteen years old girl, "Well, he's cute, for one."
"I'm not shallow," Lily scowled, crossing her arms.
A defensive gesture, perhaps?
Maybe she was reading too far into it, but she still needed to take that chance. Madeline looked down. "I'm not saying you are," her tone apologetic and hesitant as she looked up, "It's just... I'm curious."
People dropped their guard when the person they were up against appeared to be vulnerable. It was common knowledge for anyone who was trained in the methods of manipulation, and Mother had trained both Barty and her well. She called it the subtle art of socializing of course, trickled in between their etiquette lessons to make it less boring. But even Barty at the age of 8 realized that it was the glorified way to call manipulation.
Lily's eyes softened at her admission.
Madeline was very much aware that it was not just Barty who had a pair of adorable cheeks. Her cheeks made her look young, and she depended on it as Lily Evans bit her lips, her nurturing tendency over-riding her judgment. Here she was, a younger girl who was curious about what a third year girl felt for a boy.
If her speculation proved to be correct...
"Don't tell anyone," Lily Evans demanded under her breath.
She buried down the urge to smirk as she nodded.
Lily Evans sighed, her fingers played with the hem of her sleeves and eyes looking anywhere but her. "Maybe I am shallow," she started, her words dragged in hesitance. "I like that he likes me. And he compliments my hair all the time. I mean, he often embarasses me, but... I hate my hair, but when he says it's pretty, I don't hate it that much, you know?"
Madeline's eyes were drawn to the red tresses of Lily's hair. It could indeed look unflattering, especially if Lily chose the wrong outfit. She looked down to her own hair.
Her blonde hair.
"I know that feeling," she quietly admitted without meaning to, "I hated mine too."
"Really?"
She nodded before she looked up, meeting her friend's confused eyes. "I wanted my hair to be brown. I wanted my eyes to be brown."
"Brown," Lily repeated slowly, face contorted in confusion.
Madeline's eyes fell to her hair again. If she hadn't been so distracted, she would have seen Lily's incredulity at her words. But Madeline was lost in the memories of Hermione Granger, or at least, what was left of it. "Brown. Warm brown. Blue eyes look cold."
For years, she didn't like to see herself in the mirror. Until last year, she still felt bitter when someone complimented her looks. Because it wasn't her look. It wasn't the look she had learned to love after much ridicule of her hair, her plain look, her front teeth.
She missed Hermione Granger's look now more than ever, as lately, her memories of her parents, Hermione's parents, were getting blurry in her mind. She desperately needed the evidence of being their child.
"They can be warm too," Lily spoke, her voice soft. Madeline looked up, finding the older girl smiling in encouragement, "especially when you smile."
A smile grew involuntarily at her words. "Thank you. I've accepted them now, but your words still mean a lot."
Yes, she had accepted them now. They were, after all, a pair of eyes that she shared with Mother and Barty. How could she hate the eyes that had the shade of her loved ones' eyes?
Lily Evans beamed at her words, her bright smile reminded her of Harry at his happiest.
- and thinking of Harry reminded her of James Potter.
She cleared her throat. "So. You don't hate James Potter like you often say?"
Lily blinked, remembering their initial topic.
"Maybe not," she replied carefully. "Don't be mistaken, I still think that James potter is loud, ridiculous, arrogant, and annoying. But he can be smart sometimes, and he's... quite good looking, I suppose," she scrunched her nose as she said it, as if disgusted by herself for admitting it. Then her eyes softened, "he likes my hair. And maybe I like the attention a bit, even though I'm not sure if I like him, like him. Do you know what I mean?"
Madeline nodded fervently. She knew exactly what Lily meant.
Madeline would blame it on hormones, but not long ago, she dreamt of Oliver Wood and the memory of him calling her 'brilliant' after putting the impervious charm on Harry's glasses at their Quidditch game in her third year. The dream reminded her of the effects of compliments on her teen self - she chose not to write the rest of her dream in her dream journal - and honestly, she didn't think that effect had lessened even now. There was that time when Regulus Black called her brilliant and asked her to study together…
"Does that make me bad?" Lily asked, breaking her musing. The older girl fidgeted in her seat. "I mean.. he's awful to Sev"
Ah, yes. The reason for this entire conversation.
Madeline unconsciously straightened her back as she poured all her sincerity in her words, "You should start talking to James Potter. Maybe if you befriend him, he can be less stupid. Who knows? Maybe if you're friends with them, he and his friends will stop antagonizing Snape, and Snape will stop antagonizing them in return..."
Lily stared at her in silence, eyes unconvinced. "Befriend him," she parroted eventually.
Madeline nodded. "Befriend him."
"But..." The older girl eyed her hesitantly and Madeline nodded, encouraging her to go on. "What if he stops liking me after I befriend him?"
She blinked, staring at the other girl.
That was... rather shallow.
She shook her head, dismissing the thought. Lily Evans needed encouragement right now. "You're clever and kind," she said primly. "And you can be funny. Sometimes."
Lily smiled, her shoulder loosened.
"Very encouraging, Maddy."
She grinned. "Just talk to him. I'm sure he'll like you even more."
"Alright!"
Mission accomplished.
They walked to the great hall together after that, both feeling content with the result of the talk. "Why is it easier to talk about this with you than with my roommates?" Lily Evans pondered out loud in their walk. Her eyes scanned her from the top of her hair to her mary janes covered toes, and then up again only to stop at her cheeks. "You're like... a baby."
More like a grown woman in a dead body suit, she thought. "This baby will beat your charm scores."
Lily grinned. "A baby that bites, I see."
"All baby bites," she corrected. "Not all of them have teeth, though."
"How can something bite without teeth?" Lily quipped, before pausing. "Wait, don't answer that. I actually saw this book in Hogsmeade, called the Book of Monsters, and guess what? The book bites - and it will bite you. It can even rip through clothes - "
.
Madeline had a routine every morning. A glass of water, occlumency meditation, yoga, and sometimes, a light reading before breakfast. It helped her feel refreshed and focused. Help her feel energized in the morning.
She was certain that these four boys did not have such a routine.
"Such a lovely day," Evan Rosier sighed over the breakfast table, his posture relaxed, looking as if he had just had the most pleasant time.
It was half to eight in the morning.
"And we have waffles too!" Her brother beamed from her right, scooping up some to his plate. She frowned as she watched him. It was not unusual for Barty to be high-spirited in the face of food, but she was certain that it went beyond food.
For one thing, Barty never came to the great hall this early. The classes started at nine, and her brother usually finished eating just ten minutes before it, delaying his meal to the last minutes so that he didn't feel hungry in the middle of his classes. Imagine her surprise when she went for a walk for her light reading, only to find Barty already up on his feet, marching down to the great hall with a big, satisfied grin.
And now Barty was devouring waffles before the chirpy Hufflepuffs even filled half of their seats.
There was also this peculiarity, she moved her gaze at the other two boys who sat in front of her. No matter how close they were, Barty and Evan did not usually come to breakfast with Regulus Black and Rabastan Lestrange. From what she observed in these past years, she had come to know that Regulus Black was not a morning person. The boy tried to hide it, but he was visibly more irritable in the morning, with his scoffs, sneers, and scowls, everytime someone disturbed his peace. He usually came even later than Barty to the great hall, though he still finished faster than him. She supposed he didn't eat much at breakfast. In any case, breakfast hour was decidedly far from Regulus Black' favorite time of the day.
Therefore, Regulus Black shouldn't have that little smile right there as he ate his waffles.
She turned her eyes to her brother, face marred with curiosity. He was still devouring his waffle. "Did something good happen?"
"Maybe," her brother said, still chewing his food. The cheer in his voice was hard to miss. She pushed a napkin in his direction and he took it, cleaning the syrup on his right left cheek. "Or maybe it will, the day's still young."
Barty beamed, his face the picture of pure happiness, and though it made her happy to see him like this, she couldn't help but feel suspicious.
Madeline drank her water, eyes never leaving her brother. She watched him for a long time, taking her time as she ate her own meal. When she couldn't discern anything from watching her brother, she turned to the boy in front of her.
Regulus Black, as usual, was eating with the impeccable manner he was born with. His every motion was sharp and precise, the muscle movement in his jaw as he chewed included. Not a hair out of place, his clothes pressed flawlessly, and yet…
There was that little smile at the corner of his lips.
She continued to observe him, her mind speculating what kind of reason they had for their good mood. The kind that made Regulus Black smiled as he ate a waffle. Did they encounter a rare potion ingredient on the way here? A rare potion book? Or maybe something related to Quidditch?
The boy cleared his throat, and she met his sun-kissed grey eyes. One of his perfect eyebrows was slightly arched now, as if questioning her.
She unashamedly continued her stare.
Regulus Black stared back.
They were at an impasse.
"Stop it Mad, you're going to make him flustered."
She blinked, breaking the stare to turn her attention to her right - missing the way Regulus' eye twitched in irritation - Evan, she saw, was chewing his waffle slowly in front of her brother, eyes flat as he stared at Black, while Barty was giving her a very unimpressed look.
"I'm not flustered," Black defended from in front her.
She turned her head to him again, an amused smile on her lips.
The boy looked away, flustered.
Rabastan Lestrange sighed.
She turned to her brother again, "I'm just trying to figure out what got you all so cheerful in the morning."
Barty blinked slowly, his face betrayed nothing but innocence. "Why? Can't I be cheerful in the morning?"
"It's suspicious."
"Relax, Maddy," Evan drawled, his smile sweet as he pushed a plate to her, "have a muffin."
She frowned at the muffin.
"Do you want one too?" Evan offered to Orpington beside her, receiving a curt shake of head and a quiet 'no thank you' in return.
Her curiosity unsatisfied, Madeline was going to badger her brother again about their mood that morning, her question sitting at the tip of her tongue, when an owl flew by their table and dropped a letter - right beside her plate. Barty perked up at the letter, his curiosity piqued, and Madeline sent him a look that said it wasn't over, before finally focusing on her letter.
The envelope was sealed by a deep blue wax, the exact shade of Crouch family's signature color. No doubt a reply for her last letter.
She wasted no time opening it.
"How's Elsie and Messie? Or is it Mother?" Barty asked as she read the first paragraph.
"It's not from them," came her distracted reply.
She frowned as she read Barty Sr.'s reluctance in aiding her, saying how it was an unnecessary course of action in this time of turbulence. Boring. Boring. Boring. She was too young to think about these subjects. Boring. Boring. Boring. And at last - He agreed to invest in her plan, as long as he could oversee her project development process. A smirk escaped her as her heart pounded loudly, elated at the response. Maybe Barty Senior wasn't that bad after all.
"You've been writing to Father?"
She turned to her brother.
Barty's eyes were glued to her envelope, face frowning. Her heart stopped for a second. She never told Barty that she was exchanging letters with Father, did she? In fact, Barty hadn't even seen Father's letters before, as Cito somehow always sent the letters earlier than other owls... Her brother eyed her cautiously, "Why?"
She hesitated before replying, "I need something from him."
Barty frowned deeper.
"I'll tell you later," she assured him, not feeling certain herself with her own words.
It didn't surprise her that she failed to assure him.
The subject of her correspondence with Father was not something Madeline wanted to expose to Barty. The war, the death eaters, Voldemort and his movements… she hoped that Barty could stay away from all of it. She had thought about it a lot, actually. There wasn't a reason why she couldn't keep him away from the war, Barty would graduate in June 1980, and she planned to kill Voldemort before Halloween, 1981. There was no need for him to be involved. She didn't want him to be involved. She wanted him to be free from all the horror of war.
She would do anything to keep him safe from it.
The rest of the day went by slowly. Her classes continued as usual, and by lunch, she finally figured out why Barty and his friends looked so satisfied with themselves so early in the morning.
Four Gryffindors were missing from their lunch table, rumored to be spending their day in the infirmary after a chaotic incident in their charm class on the first period. They started to chirp at every end of their sentence, and it was quite funny for them at the very beginning,
- until an hour later when they started to grow beak.
There were four giant canaries in the infirmary now. Some even said one of them tried to fly free - stupid James Potter, trying to fly the moment one window was opened. He was lucky he was big enough to be stuck in the window - causing quite a commotion and giving enough juice for the rumor. Madeline glared at Regulus Black the entire time during lunch - she didn't tell him that potion just for him to experiment with! No doubt he made it slow acting and made its effects longer - it was supposed to be under a minute!
And so, in her attempt to avoid her brother and showing her displeasure at their action, she chose to not give them any more attention and spent the rest of her week hanging out with Amanda and Bethany.
"I can never thank your mother enough. It's just so pretty!"
Bethany turned her head left and right in front of the mirror Madeline conjured, her brown hair swirled and curled in an elegant bun, shimmering under the dim light of the unused classroom. Madeline smiled in contentment as she closed her book, 'Witch's Charm Collection' that was given by Mother for her birthday. She had practiced a lot of charm in it now, so much that she basically could style all her female yearmates without any of them having the same hair style.
Bethany finally found her best angle, freezing in her pose as she smiled. But then she pouted, her chest deflating. "Now we only need parties to attend," the girl mournfully said. "I wish someone would invite us to one already."
At the mention of parties, Amanda looked up from her book to meet her eyes in the mirror. "Seraphina Fawcett told us about the wedding you purebloods are invited to."
"Narcissa Black's wedding, right?" Bethany added, her eyes lighted up as she looked up to hers. "I wonder how her wedding gown will look… Then again, she will look beautiful no matter the dress."
Madeline faked a smile.
She didn't want to think about the wedding. Seeing Narcissa Black's cold, indifferent face every day in the dungeon and the great hall was hard enough for her. Her dreams were, unfortunately, persistent in reminding her of that day in the Malfoy Manor, with cold marble floor and insane laughter echoing the room…
And the Malfoy family's cold faces watching from the side as Bellatrix Lestrange carved her arm with a cursed blade.
She now knew of course that they could have been heavily occluding at that moment. Draco Malfoy seemed like he was going to puke at the end of it - and Narcissa Black showed signs of someone who closed all their senses. But that didn't change the fact that they let it happen. They could have stopped their crazy relative at any time - or perhaps distract her with something else! Anything other than torturing her.
They chose silence.
She was left alone to endure everything.
Madeline gave her friends a fake cheer, "I'm sure there will be pictures of her dress in the prophet, or at least the witch weekly."
"Have you already decided what dress you will wear?" asked Amanda, and Madeline nodded.
"It has been decided for me."
Bethany perked up, "Is it pretty?"
"I think so," she hummed, remembering the dress grandma Adelle sent to her. Although it was green, Grandmother cleverly chose a warm green shade of color and mixed it with linen color… It looked more like a Hufflepuff dress rather than one of Slytherin. A Fawley pride, she supposed.
"Please take a picture of you wearing it and send it to us," Bethany pleaded. "At least I'll live vicariously through you."
She snorted. "Of course."
"Do you often get invited to parties?" Amanda asked, now closing her book. Her hair was in a french braid, one that she helped charm before doing Bethany's hair, and she adjusted the end of it to fall onto her chest. Madeline shook her head.
"This will be the first social event I attend."
"But you're a pureblood."
"I didn't socialize much in my earlier years," she shrugged, receiving an amused smirk from Amanda.
"You don't socialize much even now."
She returned her smirk.
"Guilty. Anyway, have you heard of Professor Slughorn's gathering? He holds Christmas parties every year for them."
Now that Bethany's hair was finished, Madeline finally took a seat next to the girl as Amanda scowled.
"He only invites third years and above."
Bethany shook her head, turning fully around to face her friend and laying her hands widely on the table between them. "But this might be our only chance, Amanda! We have to get better in potion soon. I heard he invited Lily Evans to it this year, so being a pureblood isn't a requirement. We can be invited to it next year, and then we can use all the beauty charms in Maddy's book - "
Madeline let her friends converse, falling to the lull of normality around her.
It was fun, playing with her hair and talking about parties and dresses. She didn't think Hermione Granger allowed herself to think about them much. Mother liked to comb her hair, so Madeline found it soothing to play with her hair, but she forgot why Hermione Granger didn't like to manage her hair. Or maybe she liked it? She remembered how happy she was at the Yule ball when her hair was arranged prettily…
.
Her brother did not let her avoid him for too long. He had questions, after all, and now Madeline had enough time to think about the reply.
Exactly one week after the letter, they talked in the privacy of the kitchen.
"Is it the ribbon?" Barty asked quietly after they sat.
Madeline did not expect the first question to be this. Had she had less grace, there would have been an off guard expression on her face for Barty to catch.
Her brother pushed on, "Have you forgiven Father because of the ribbon?"
"It's not about the ribbon," she said cautiously, confused by the topic. What's the ribbon got to do with anything, exactly?
"Then why are you talking to him?" Barty demanded, arms crossed. His eyes looked hurt. "I thought we don't like him."
He was looking at her like she betrayed him and honestly, she kind of felt like she did under his judging eyes...
Madeline was aware that she was very verbal in expressing her dislike to their father, but she didn't think that her brother was taking her side to such a degree… Her dislike was 'their dislike', or so Barty said, and now her brother felt that… she betrayed him? Because of the letter?
How should she defend herself exactly? She still didn't like Father. Barty Senior was a neglectful parent, prioritizing his job above all else. His view on dark magic was honestly tiring to face every time the topic came up, and she blamed him for Charis Crouch's death, though she most blamed herself for that.
Because of him, she was stuck for 9 years in the manor, only getting her information of the brewing war from the Prophet and he -
His neglect could very much cost her her brother. Her past life reminded her of that.
Unfortunately, Madeline needed his help. She needed access to galleons and the ministry's channels to distribute her solution. To prevent death.
Barty wouldn't understand without knowing the gravity of the situation, though.
Madeline took in the sight of her brother, her eyes searching. Barty still had that hurt look on his eyes, but at the same time, he looked hopeful, perhaps pleading. Madeline had prepared a lie for this confrontation; she had planned to tell her brother that they were discussing his upcoming birthday. Now, remembering the dislike for their father she had sowed in him, she realized how stupid that lie was. Madeline Crouch didn't need her father to give her brother a happy birthday.
She sighed, making up her mind.
It wouldn't hurt to tell him a little.
"It's about the missing cases," she divulged in resignation.
Barty frowned, confusion taking over the previous hurt look. "The missing cases? What about it?"
This is it.
"I'm helping him."
The silence that followed was loud. Barty stared at her incredulously, not believing the words she just uttered. To his defense, it did sound ridiculous. Bartemius Crouch Senior never let his family know anything important, prefering to hide them in the unknown. It may have worked on Mother, as Mother was a bit of a worrier and her health could easily drop from worries alone, but Barty and Madeline grew to resent his overprotective ways. So to hear that she was helping the man in such crucial matter…
"And he allows you to help him?" Barty asked, still in disbelief, "him?"
She winced. "Well, my help is not direct, so…"
Barty stared at her, the intensity of it almost made her fidgeting in nerves. His mind was processing many things at once, she could see, and she wished he would just speak his thoughts out loud so she could understand them.
From what she knew, her brother didn't follow the news much, and he didn't display much care to the missing cases before. He didn't even know about Voldemort - Father made sure that any talk about the missing cases and the dark family movements were extinguished before it could lead to anything informative - and so she wondered what got him so serious about her words…
In the end, Barty said only a few words.
"Let me in. I want to help."
She sighed, exasperated at his plea.
"Oh, Barty. I want you to focus on your studies first."
"I'm already through the second year material," he contended, stubbornly crossing his arms. "I can help."
She fixed down her eyes at him in silence, hoping he would realize the sheer absurdity in his words.
He flushed, "Alright, maybe I can't. But I want in."
Madeline gave him her most apologetic look, her tone patient, "Maybe next time, okay?"
And by next time she meant never, she thought.
Her brother scowled.