Hermione Granger was not a stranger to grief.
The first grief came at the death of a fellow student, Cedric Diggory, with it her innocence was taken. The next one was caused by Sirius, and she experienced pain like none other. While the loss of Sirius itself striked her deep, it was the change his death brought to her best friend, her brother in everything but blood, that had impaled her heart.
At first she grew to fear death, and she thought she could run from the reality of it. Her sixth year was spent with the thoughts of boys and romance fogging her head. Then the war happened, Alastor Moody was killed, and she just learned to accept death and move on to fight. Fight for the fallen. Fight to survive. Fight to protect, to win. She obliviated her parents to protect them. She followed Harry and stood by his side, to protect and to win. She honed her instinct to survive. She became better to not disappoint the fallen.
Guilt had no place in her future except to bound her in the prison of past mistakes. Madeline knew this.
But at times, the pain was too fresh, too new, and her heart would be unwelcoming to those wise words. At times, those words would need to be re-learned. Madeline had also accepted this fact of life.
Currently, she was content with distracting herself with Grandmother's library, organizing the books in each section by ordering the books alphabetically based on the author's last name. Rearranging all the books in the library made her realise that some of the darker natured books that Grandmother mentioned were not among those books. Grandmother's study, upon introspection, was also lacking those research she had mentioned.
It led her to wonder if Grandmother had other places to store her books. Madeline absolutely needed to find them, thus began her quest in exploring the manor.
Of course, Madeline managed to unruffle a couple of house elves while she was at it.
"Miss Madeline shouldn't do chores!" Elsie shrieked upon seeing her with a feather duster during her covert house exploration. "Chores are Elsie's job. Miss is supposed to leave chores to Elsie!"
Madeline pouted, expressing a certain degree of distress.
"It helps me feel better, though. Would you care to allow me to help you with it?"
It was not a lie. She did feel better when she was doing something useful, rather than displacing one object after another untidily to find some secret entrance for the elusive study room.
Not to mention, she thought, looking at the conflicted expression on her Grandmother's elf, her being a miscreant in their eyes also distracted Grandmother's elves from grieving. Elsie seemed like she was through with her, what with all Madeline's insistence to have them sit with her during meals, allowing her in the kitchen and bake cookies with them, and also to have them learn to read and write for this past week. Madeline won all the arguments with them before, and the current defeated look on Elvie told her that the elf wouldn't try to argue with her again so soon. The house elf struggled as she trailed off.
"If it helps Miss Madeline feel better..."
Madeline smiled, her eyes twinkled in her glee. "Thank you, Elsie."
The elf huffed, exasperatedly, though Madeline could sense that beneath all her acts, the elf actually enjoyed having to scold someone.
Madeline had tried asking Elsie and Messie about their late mistress' study room. Unfortunately, both of them only knew one study room. This unexpected turn made Madeline extend her stay at the old townhouse for another week. Barty was not pleased, but there was little he could do to stop Madeline when she already made up her mind.
Madeline diligently searched every room, trying to find the mysterious study. Though, she set her mind to not be disappointed if by the end of the week she still hadn't found the troublesome piece of space.
Another benefit of this decision was that the extra week let her get more acquaintanced with her grandparents' elves, and with it, she became acquainted with her grandparents more.
"How was your day, Messie, Elsie?" She asked, during one of their dinners.
While there was a full course on the table in front of her, Elsie and Messie both had their hands preoccupied with a knitting project. It was a compromise, as they refused to eat with her and neglected their duty to the house. She made an order for them to knit her some maroon sweaters while she ate and they begrudgingly obeyed.
"Messie cooks and cleans, Elsie helps," the older elf, Messie replied tersely, to which Elsie gave a confident nod.
She hummed, already getting used to their dynamic. Apparently, Elsie was only bonded fifteen years ago, therefore Messie was the head elf of this residence. "Any reason for today's menu?"
Her question met silence.
Then,
"Roasted beans is the late Mistress' favourite," Elsie replied softly, taking a turn to speak as Messie grew silent.
"I'm not surprised. These beans are delicious." She kept her tone cheerful, but still respectful to their pain. "You cook very well, Messie, Elsie."
Both elves blushed, though Messie was more reserved. "Miss Madeline is too kind."
She only smiled demurely at Messie's words.
With every bit of part from their previous masters they shared with her, they grew more at ease when speaking about them the next time she asked about it. Madeline wondered just how much Elsie and Messie would be suffering if there wasn't any Crouch to take care of them. Kreacher became bitter and unstable after years of not serving the Blacks, and Dobby was... well, she must admit that Dobby was a peculiar elf, and it probably stemmed from thought of his service being never satisfactory enough. The Malfoys were a bunch of demanding snobs, from what little stories Dobby shared.
(Winky became a drunkard after all the Crouches were gone, her mind added.)
As her days progressed slowly, she turned to the comfort of her past memories of Grandmother, and by that, she meant she was going through her letters again. One's letter could tell you many things about the writer, and Madeline gulped everything she could regarding the lady she never met.
At one midday, when the sun was at hottest, she wandlessly conjure a breeze, accidently making them fly one by one. She could have summoned them she supposed, but the panic she felt at seeing her letters flying urge her to scramble down the floor to collect it one by one.
Then she caught one prominent word among those letters.
Due to her past experience, Madeline became sensitive towards the word 'chamber', and that was probably the reason her eyes's focus was unconsciously drawn to the word, and in extension, the whole sentence the word was in.
'Hidden in an old lady's chamber of heart, her books towered and a beloved name is carved.'
It took Madeline ten seconds to read the sentence thrice. After that, she practically jumped and ran towards her late Grandmother's bedroom.
Her grandparents had a room each, and Grandmother's was painted in black, with enough windows to lighten the place. As she entered the room with the window's curtain closed however, Madeline felt like she was in a gothic horror novel when she first stepped into it. Her feet led her to a stack of books on a small nightstand, her eyes inspecting every inch of it. She crouched down to get a better look of it and froze.
Under the nightstand was a black leather suitcase with wooden linings.
.
When Madeline returned home after two weeks, she was greeted by the news that they were going to have a visitor, particularly, Barty's friend, Evan.
Madeline was quite surprised when she heard it, as Father never allowed Mother to invite the Rosiers to their home. Well, they never invited many people before but Mother had asked permission to invite the Rosiers several times only for her request to be denied unrepentantly.
Apparently, her attempt to cover her curiosity with taking a drink of her juice had failed her, as Mother easily read through it.
"Your father is unavailable, his personal assistant said," Mother divulged, her eyes focused on her meal as she took a bite. She took her time to chew the bite, and Madeline knew she did that on purpose. Madeline patiently waited until mother continued.
"As he did not return any reply for my request to host Evan, I assumed that he did not object."
Ah.
Madeline exchanged a smirk with her brother, sharing one thought. Mother had come a long way.
It was noon when their visitor finally arrived, and coincidently, Barty had just woken from a nap. As Barty freshened up, Madeline greeted their guest alone.
"Evan Rosier, I presume?"
The strawberry blond boy took the sight of her, blinked, and promptly smiled charmingly.
"Maddy Crouch. Barty never mentioned that his sister is pretty."
The boy took her hand and left a light kiss on the back of it, his courtesy impeccable. She was suddenly reminded that this was the proper greeting that the pureblood used, and she managed to evade it just because her first meetings with all the other purebloods occured in Hogwarts. An amused smile escaped her as she also realized that the eleven years old boy in front of her was trying to win her through a compliment on her look.
"I'm afraid Barty knows little about beauty standards," she replied, her tone indulging. "We do not meet a lot of people and have you seen our mother?"
If he was surprised at the lack of attempt on demurring, he did not show it. The boy smirked, apparently amused by her reply. Was it her confidence or was it the teasing about Barty that had amused him? Either way, she was content to see her brother's guest entertained.
The boy made the smallest shrug, still with a smirk on his face. "Fair enough. Delighted to finally meet you. I'm a fan of your clouds."
She hummed, observing the boy. It turned out he had more incommon with Barty.
A second too long was enough to prompt the boy to continue. "Say, do you think you have some time to make more clouds? If you do, do you mind making one for me? In exchange for a favor, of course."
Another blunt person. No wonder Barty liked him. She let out a chuckle. "An aspiring Slytherin, I see. Are you sure you want to owe a favor before even reaching Hogwarts?"
The boy gave her a winning smile, but said nothing else. She led him towards their sunroom, engaging him with other small talks.
Evan Rosier was nothing like she imagined. Or maybe the boy was just an expert at making a great first impression. From what little she knew about Moody's story, Evan Rosier was a death eater scum who had more body count than anyone in his age had combined. Always so quick to use the killing curse, always alert, an utter beast in battle. This little boy told her she was pretty and kissed her hand, all charming and full of winning smiles. The difference between those two images hurt her head.
Then again, murderers looked just like other people.
Of course, it wasn't fair of her to see him as a murderer now, so she did her best to separate two version of Evan in her head.
It turned out that Mother invited Evan on Barty's request to study together, so after they were joined by Barty, they quickly abandoned their tea to go to the library. Madeline was dragged by Barty to join them, as they wanted her to give them tips in preparation for Hogwarts. She happily surrendered to their wish.
It was fun, studying with Evan. Barty was a lot more cheeky in the presence of his friend, and she didn't miss the way he bragged about her to Evan (which was totally adorable, if she may say so herself.) Evan had a penchant to cut her in the middle of her words, which had annoyed her a bit, but a couple of strong reminders later, he managed to hold his tongue at her glare.
Their guest went home just before dinner, though his presence lingered a bit longer than that in their mind.
"So…" Barty prompted, calling her out of her reading. They were still in the library, waiting for the exact time they should go to the dining room. She turned her eyes at Barty as he continued.. "What do you think?"
Madeline hummed, recalling the memories of the day. "I can see why you both get along."
Barty scrunched his nose. "You can get a read on his character and our compatibility as friends some other time, Mad. I'm asking about his brain."
Oh.
"He has the foundation," she replied easily. "He will do well in Hogwarts."
"Just well?"
"Exceedingly well," she rectified. He wasn't at Barty's level, not even close, but what little understanding he had had depth in it, so it wouldn't be a mistake to say that he would grow beautifully under Hogwarts' care. That is, if he didn't harbor the trait of a sloth. Hogwarts, after all, stimulated its students to grow to their fullest potential, with only the limit of the length of those students would put themselves to.
She paused, eyebrow furrowing. Evan didn't seem like he was lazy, but… the way he didn't finish his answer, or often cut his answer short just because he found something new he wanted to learn… She turned to Barty to confirm her thought. "But I noticed that he often loses focus?"
Barty snorted. "Yeah, he does that a lot."
Madeline frowned.
That did not line up with what Moody said. Wasn't Evan Rosier supposed to have a great focus if he were to be adept in battle? Or maybe he just lost focus easily while studying…
"It's not a big deal, Mad," Barty tried to reassure her, mistakenly seeing her frown as a concern for his friend. "It's not hindering him or anything."
Again, Madeline hummed, lost in thought.
Evan was undeniably pleasant and he was more outgoing than the other purebloods, probably due to Barty's influence. She wondered if the Barty from the Before was as close to the Rosier boy as her brother was. Mother would surely arrange playdates for them, as Rosier's mother was Mother's best friend. She liked to think that even if the previous Barty was as close as her Barty to the Rosier boy, there would still be a difference between the previous Barty and her brother.
"Mad?"
She turned her attention at her brother again. Barty, funnily, was avoiding her eyes while his hands busily stacked up his books.
"If you put me and Evan in comparison…:
An eyebrow shot up at the inquiry.
"He will top you in Defense, but nothing else - Barty, why are you comparing yourself with your friend?"
Barty looked down, still not meeting her eyes. "Well, you got the top place in your year…"
"I didn't do it to beat my friends," she said, gently.
Barty shrugged, trying to appeal nonchalant. "I suppose not, but the result is still the same."
She assessed her brother. It was not new for him to show a competitive streak, though his competitive streak was usually accompanied by an air of arrogance. The way he avoided her eyes told her that arrogance played no part in this, so there must be other reason for him to do this. She tilted her head as a faint blush appeared when Barty realised that she was watching. Interesting…
"So you want to be the top student of your year too," Madeline stated, reaffirming the implication.
His blush became slightly more visible as he replied with a simple "Yes."
Madeline finally saw through his reason and started to coo, happiness bloomed at her heart. He wanted to be the top student of his year because she was the top student of her year. He wanted to follow her examples.
Barty was adorable and she was not shy to hide the fact. Her hands reached for his cheeks and pinched them slightly.
"My brother is the cutest."
"Hey!" Barty protested, pulling himself away from her grabby hands. Her smile only grew bigger.
"If it's that important to you, then I'll gladly tell you that you're currently smarter than even most of my yearmates. I have no doubt that you will be the top student in your year." She paused, and added as an afterthought, "Getting the top student title means nothing though."
Barty huffed at his sister, finally managing to make a fair distance so that he was safe from her pinching. He was happy to let her touch his cheek when he was seven, but now he was eleven, for Merlin's sake! He hoped she could control herself in Hogwarts, otherwise he would start teaching her a lesson.
About her words, he almost scoffed if he didn't see that Madeline genuinely believed in her own words. Getting the top student must have meant something to her otherwise she wouldn't bother with all of it. Why did she try to deny it?
"So if I dare you to get a troll on Herbology…" He trailed off, eyes challenging.
Madeline hummed, a smile still perched on her face as she mulled over his words. Getting a troll, he said. What a fascinating idea. She never got a troll before. Hermione Granger would straight up had a heart attack if she got one, but even if Madeline's fear remained unchanged, she didn't think getting a troll would still be defined as failure in her eyes.
A glance at Barty told her that he was still waiting for an answer. She decided to play along with his challenge, imagining such scenario. An image came up and she smirked, amused by her own thought.
"Professor sprout would probably beg me to retake the test so that my record remains unblemished," she pondered out loud.
"Ah," Barty nodded sagely, "so the most important thing is to get the professors to like you."
Madeline snorted, shaking her head exasperatedly though fondness clearly shone from her eyes. Her brother was impossible.
.
The Diagon Alley was packed, as usual. People did not bump each other's shoulder but it was a close thing, so Mother told them to stick together with their arm clinging at an another.
"Come, children," Mother said, leading them to Twilfitt and Tattings. Madeline locked her eyes at Mother's baby blue robe so that they didn't lose her sight.
Fortunately, the south side of Diagon Alley where the shop was located had a lot more room for them to breathe.
"Aren't you meeting with Evan?" She asked, not moving away her eyes from Mother's figure. Barty's head shaking was left unseen but his audible reply was heard.
"He's already got his wands. Since like, forever. Also, Diagon Alley is not that interesting for him so he'd rather stay at his house."
An inherited wand, her mind supplied. Not surprising for a wizard with their background. Evan being not interested in Diagon Alley was also unsurprising, as he must have gone to the place repeatedly throughout the years.
They arrived at the shop, which turned out to be busy enough to make them wait for fifteen minutes. Mother took advantage of the time to skim over robe designs for young witches. Mother, it turned out, wished to pamper her daughter with more robes.
"Another robe?" Madeline echoed, her tone stayed neutral. In truth, she was a bit intimidated by the thought of having more robes. Her wardrobe was already full as it was! Was this the Pureblood way of life, she wondered?
Mother, of course, waved away her question, the thought of having too many robe never crossed her mind. "You need it, dear."
She looked to side, searching for support from Barty. Unfortunately, Barty was busy gazing at a huge pointy hat on one of the mannquin, not really listening to his surrounding. Madeline sighed.
Their purchase for Hogwarts list of requirements was less painful after Twillfitt and Tattling, though Madeline and Barty argued a little bit when they buy their Books. Madeline wanted Barty to have his own books but Barty was adamant to use Madeline's books, saying that they used to share books and he wanted to see Madeline's notes in it. In the end, Barty got his wish granted. The siblings then proceeded on having a book-shopping spree to which their mother just shook her head.
Their last destination was of course, the Ollivanders.
Barty was vibrating when they finally came to the wand shop. He did not even try to assess Mr Ollivander when he met the eccentric wizard, his eyes eagerly looking around the shop, taking the sight of cupboards full of wand that filled the shop.
After Barty's fifth attempt in finding his wand, Ollivander brought them a dark colored wand, its texture and its color tickling her mind. Madeline was struck by the familiarity she sensed from it, and it was just after the wand responding beautifully to Barty that she recognized it.
"A Holly wand."
Ollivander snapped his attention to her, sharp gaze observing her. "Indeed, Miss Crouch. Holly wood, 12 inches. Dragon heartstring core, slightly supple. Holly wands are known to work most well with those that need to overcome a tendency to anger and impetuosity," - Madeline furrowed her eyebrows at that. Harry, she could see why a Holly wand chose him. But Barty? Anger and impetuosity? He had long passed that stage! - "but also have the willingness to compromise. In this case, paired with the stubborness and passion of the Dragon heartstring core, they are likely to compromise for their loved ones."
She blinked, processing his words.
The wizard then turned his attention to Barty, who was still staring at his new wand. "It is well suited for protective magic, and do not be surprised by its ease to cast wordless spells."
Barty's eyes shone at the last addition, radiating his awe. Madeline's, however, were still stuck on the elder wizard, assessing the wizard suspiciously. She fortified her occlumency shield. The wizard directed the wand's traits to her while telling its abbilities to Barty. He read them too quickly for it not to be legilimency. She didn't feel anything nudging her occlumency shield, though. Could it be that the old wizard was just that perceptive?
After Mother paid for Barty's wand, she ushered them out the shop. As established previously, Mother would leave them to enjoy a day out in Diagon alley as she went to the Lady's luncheon in one of Diagon Alley's cafe. Barty and Madeline exchanged a look after receiving a pocket money from Mother.
"Ice cream?"
"Ice cream."
.
A few minutes later, they were sitting at one of Florean Fortesque' ice cream parlor tables, with an ice cream of their choice in their hand.
The taste of toffee felt heavenly in her tongue. She didn't realize that she had been missing for this ice cream for years. Barty chose the hard serving ice cream, and he was now currently licking the spoon off the strawberry flavored ice cream he had deemed utterly delicious. They enjoyed their ice cream slowly, engaging themselves with small talk after another.
Then a messy haired boy with round glasses entered the parlour. She tried to not stiffen and failed.
"Do you know him?" Barty tilted his head, catching her slip. Of course.
"No," she replied apathetically. "But he's pretty well known in hogwarts."
"In a good way or in a bad way?"
"Depends on to whom you ask the question."
"Well, is there anyone else here I'm talking to?" Barty asked, making a show of gesture by opening his arms. He then took a spoonful of his ice cream. "You, ice cream? Is he bad news or the opposite?"
His face was so serious as he stared it down - then he promptly glomped the ice cream with his mouth, making her snort.
Once again at ease, Madeline smiled. "Make your own opinion once you're in Hogwarts, Barty. But if you must know, I'm neutral about him. I'm neutral about a lot of things, actually."
Her brother furrowed his eyebrows, visibly thinking her words deeply. After some time, he waved away her reply.
"Then he's leaning towards bad."
Madeline blinked.
"How on earth did you manage to come to such a conclusion?"
"If he's truly good then you wouldn't bother to say you're neutral," Barty explained unconcernedly. Madeline opened her mouth to make a counter but a thought occured and she wisely shut it again.
Hermione Granger might held James Potter in high pedestal, but it was the adult version of James Potter that she regarded so highly. The one who was the member of the Order of Phoenix and the one who sacrificed himself for her bestfriend. She hadn't come to be acquainted with the current James Potter. What little she knew about the boy came from her general observation, and except for his friendliness towards his housemates, she didn't see anything positive in the boy. In fact, hearing Lily's complaint about the boy made her think that James Potter was not as pristine in the heart as she liked to think.
She wondered why she almost tried to make excuses for a boy she hardly knew. Barty, strangely, often saw through her like that.
Madeline hummed, acknowledging Barty's reply. "A very interesting approach."
Barty grinned. Her lack of confirmation or denial made it clear that he got it right.
"I call it the simplification method of Maddy's mind," he said, cheekily. Maddy rolled her eyes.
"Eat your ice cream, Barty."
.
The sibling's next destination was a potion ingredient store, as Madeline had things to buy for her mission. Barty assumed she needed those ingredients for her experiments, and she didn't have any intention to enlighten him with the truth. Just after they entered the shop though, someone called her name. The siblings turned and caught sight of a curly haired boy.
Madeline and Regulus Black stared each other silently, the previous memory of that particular encounter slipped into the front of their mind. Just by their eyes exchange alone, they met an agreement.
Nothing happened.
She smiled pleasantly. "Black. May I introduce you to my brother, Barty Crouch?"
Black eyes turned to Barty, and Madeline proceeded. "Barty, this is Regulus Black."
Barty stared at Black calculatingly, not a word uttered between them. Madeline hold Barty's arm tighter, trying to remind her brother of his manner. She failed.
Barty turned to her, his face questioning. "He's your potion study partner."
"Yes," she didn't sigh, but it was a close thing. Where had his manner gone, honestly?
Barty turned his attention back at Black, who she partialy blamed for the awkward air between them. There was still no words exchanged between them for quite a time.
Then,
"What a coincidence that we meet in a potion ingredient store, then," Barty said.
A beat.
"Indeed," Black replied, plain and simple.
She honestly could not be bothered.
"I'll let you familiarize yourself with each other, then." With that, she took a massive step towards the counter of the shop, leaving her brother and yearmate to sort out their tension. Boys, honestly.
It was fortunate that Black was there to distract Barty. In the end, she could freely made her order to be sent to the manor before she left for Hogwarts. Nothing illegal in her list, but many of them were definitely rare and some were very specific in its use. The man at the counter must have wondered what use would those particular potions had for a young witch. He arched an eyebrow at her requests, but at her expressionless face, he dared not to ask questions.
Galleons were exchanged, and Madeline was satisfied. She returned to where she left her brother, only to be greeted by strange sight.
Barty, the one who had stared Black down cautiously just ten minutes ago, was talking animatedly to Black, his gestures were all open to see. It boggled the mind.
She saw the exact moment Barty realized her presence.
"Mad!" He joyfully called her. She approached her strange brother. "Black here apparently knew about your cloud," Barty shared, his tone pleasant. Then he shook his head in disbelief. "But he hasn't quite grasped the sheer awesomeness of it yet! It's outrageous!"
She turned Black, making the boy feel urged to explain. Explain he did.
"Evan Rosier said the most peculiar thing the other day when we met. Something about finally getting his personal cloud?"
Ah.
"Do you want to join us, Black?" Barty offered surprisingly, not even waiting for her to speak. "We're going to the broom shop."
They had not, in fact, planned for a trip to the broom shop.
"I don't want to intrude…"
"Nonsense!"
Madeline stared at her brother, then to Black, then back to her brother.
What an earth had happened?
.
"You're not allowed to buy another broom, Barty."
Madeline glared at her brother. Mother would be furious if they came back with a new broom. Barty had no need for a new broom, he had just bought a new broom last year! And that was because she generously helped sweet talk Mother into buying Barty the broom, as she would be leaving him for Hogwarts. If he thought he would leave this shop with the new Comet broom, he was gravely mistaken.
Her glare, however, was answered by a winning smirk.
"Ah, but I'm one sticker away from getting a wish," the boy airily replied.
She sighed, ignoring Black who was watching their interaction with increasing interest. Why did she make the token system again? Ah right, to nudge him to be a good person. Ten best brother sticker equals a wish. Any wish. She started to regret it now. Her eyes met her brother's.
"You won't be allowed to bring it to Hogwarts," she started her last argument, "and by the time you are allowed to bring a broom to Hogwarts, there will be a much newer, a much faster broom than this year's release. Do you think Mother will allow you buy another broom next year if you buy one this year?"
Barty frowned, eyes looking down.
She waited patiently.
His eyes met hers once more and he huffed, hands letting go the new released broom (oh, yes, he was basically clinging to the broom all this time. It was a close call for Madeline, indeed.) Madeline let out a breath in relief, fingers massaging her temple as her eyes closed.
Barty and Regulus exchanged a glance.
For your information, Regulus had also been clinging to the broom. Madeline's lecture made him release the broom from his grip and Barty could very much relate.
"She has that effect, doesn't she?" Barty asked, his woe evident, to which Regulus nod.
"She does."
Madeline opened her eyes and narrowed it. "What effect are we talking about?"
"Nothing," came the boy's quick reply.
Their trip to the broom shop turned out to be their last one. It was five minutes before the time their Mother wanted them to meet her at the cafe where the luncheon was held and to their greatest surprise, Black's mother was also in that luncheon. The three of them walked to the cafe together.
It was just Madeline's luck that they met Walburga Black first rather than her mother.
"Regulus," the lady dressed in black greeted, her sharp gaze locked at her son's company.
Black knew his assignment.
"Mother," he greeted back. "May I introduce you to Madeline Crouch, and her brother, Barty Crouch?"
The stern looking lady assessed the siblings, and Madeline calmly kept her composure.
It was her first time seeing Walburga Black. The potrait was much worse looking than the real one, she realized. Or maybe the potrait was made in the next couple of years, when the lady's look had declined. Her voice was also less aggravating than the potrait's - or maybe it was due to the lack of shrieking?
"My condolences for your grandparents passing," the lady said, breaking her out of her thoughts. "She will be missed."
Madeline was surprised at her considerate words, but did not show it.
"Thank you for your kind words, Lady Black." Both siblings nodded deeply at the lady, earning them the lady's approval on their manner. The lady then turned to her son.
"Where is your brother?"
"No need to answer that," a shout was heard from their side.
Sirius Black ran as he approached them, his clothes was as messy as a simple shirt could get. Madeline ignored the clicking noise Lady Black made as she watched her bestfriend's godfather, all smiley. It was… a good difference from the Sirius Black she once knew.
Sensing her stare, the older black brother threw her a winning smile.
"Why hello. Who's this?"
"Madeline Crouch and Barty Crouch Junior," Lady Black cut, saving their time from repititive introduction as she glared at her oldest son. "You would know if you were punctual."
Sirius looked like he couldn't care less for his mother's jab as he tilted his head at her, grey eyes taking her features one by one. A flash of recognition appeared in his eyes and he grinned.
"Hey, we've met!"
"We have," she conceded.
"You're Regulus' friend, aren't you?" Sirius asked, his face getting nearer to hers by the second. "I saw you with him a couple of times around the castle."
"Sirius."
That was Regulus' voice, probably trying to stop his brother from making a scene. What was curious was that one glance at Walburga Black told her that the lady did not even paying attention to her oldest son's antics. No, she was watching Regulus. Madeline took another glance to her side, this time to Regulus' direction. The boy was beet red.
And Sirius thought it was funny. Thus, he opened his mouth.
"Funny. Regulus didn't share many things about you."
"Sirius."
The desperation in Regulus's voice was clear and Sirius stopped. Straightening his posture, the older boy put his gaze at his little brother, and to her, and back to his brother. He then nodded, appearing satisfied.
"Ah, I see."
"You didn't see anything."
"Sure thing."
Lady Black was strangely silent and Madeline, frankly, was not going to involve herself in another inbreed family shenanigan.
She smiled, polite to a tee. "I'm afraid our mother is waiting. Lady Black."
One last nod from both Madeline and Barty, and the siblings were gone from their sight.
.
Their mother was still talking with a couple of wiches in front of the cafe when they saw her, so they decided to wait for her closeby.
Today was pleasant, Madeline thought. It was a pleasant enough day for her to conclude her summer. After this trip, she would focus every leisure time she had to work on her mission. Barty would also be at Hogwarts and she wouldn't be able to disappear to the room or requirement for hours. She needed to think a solution for it.
Speaking of Barty, she took a glance at the boy beside her. He had been silent, with a small, content, smile lingered on his face.
"Barty?"
Barty hummed, and it was his slightly furrowed eyebrows that made her realize that he was thinking deeply on something.
Madeline could easily guess what he was thinking, so she rolled her eyes.
"You can analyze the Blacks' personalities and dynamics later, Barty."
Barty smirked, confirming her guess. "It's just too fun. I'm finally going to see lots of people."
A soft smile graced her smile, hiding her pained heart after hearing his words.
How could she forget? Barty was different from her. He was genuinely an eleven years old boy who had been confined in a big manor, with only four people to interact with. Thinking about it made her want to curse Barty Crouch Sr. to the moon. Still, she didn't want to ruin his mood.
Her smile turned playful. "What am I, then? A chopped liver?"
"A cute chopped liver," he nodded without missing a beat, making her smile stilted.
This boy… His cheekiness was starting to get to her.
One step towards her brother was all it took for her hands to reach his cheeks. She pinched. Hard.
"Who's cute now, pink cheeks?"
"Aw aw aw! Maddy!"
Barty made an effort to step backwards, intending to make a distance but she did not let go. Hermione Granger often slapped her besfriends' arms, but Madeline preferred to pinch Barty's cheeks to channel her need of violence. It was partially his fault, actually. His cheeks were just that cute.
"Madeline! Barty!"
They parted, or rather, Madeline let go of Barty's cheeks.
Their mother walked in fast pace, her face furious. At this sight, Madeline had just realized that they were in public, and Mother's friends were standing just right there, not even five meters away from them. She gulped. Mother was lenient but at the same time, she regarded propriety highly. Pinching her brother's cheeks on a busy street where many eyes could see was decidedly not proper.
So obviously, Madeline did what any self-respecting witch would do in her predicament.
"He started it."
"No, she started it," Barty countered, faster than a blink, then proceeded to stuck his face in front of Mother. "Look at what she did to my face, Mother."
Oh, now he was exaggerating. "I was making it cuter."
"We're going home."