Brothers
The next few weeks were a daze of classes and late nights in the common room. The homework they were given quickly piled up and Evan’s hand cramped from his essay on the dangers of incorrect wand work. He couldn’t recall the difference between a swoosh and a swish so he turned to the boy who lounged next to him, dragging a crumpled piece of paper through the air with his wand.
“Hey Bat, which direction is the-”
“Swish is down to up. Swoosh is up to down. Haven’t I told you this a million times already?” Barty demonstrated with his wand and the piece of paper swayed through the air.
Regulus was by far the most diligent student, but Barty’s knack for retaining information was incredible. Especially due to the fact that he hadn’t bothered to open a textbook thus far. Evan was not a poor student by any means, but he was highly struggling with the small, delicate movement required with wand work. He was too rough, and often found his spells being too extreme. He didn’t see why it was a requirement to wave around a stick when it came so much more naturally without it.
“Right, thanks.” He returned to writing his essay.
“Can you two take a break yet? We’ve been at this for hours and I’m bored.” Barty sighed.
“Who is this ‘we?’ Evan and I have been working, you have sat there and thrown bunched up papers at us.” Regulus didn’t even look up from his textbook.
“Yeah, You’re almost worse than Peeves, Bat.” Evan said. The nickname had taken some thought to come up with, but since Barty insisted on giving the two of them nicknames whether they liked it or not, Evan thought it was only fitting to give him one of his own. Regulus had agreed, but attempted to do the opposite and call him his full name which went over rather poorly with Barty.
“Nothing’s worse than Peeves.” Barty shook his head. Earlier that week, when the poltergeist was in an extra awful mood, he had dumped a bucket of paint on Barty. His robes still had traces of pink. “But can we please do something else? We haven't done anything fun all day.”
Regulus sighed but stood up and stretched his legs. “I need to make a trip to the library anyway.”
“I said something fun.” Barty complained and Regulus gave him a look. “Fine, I guess it's better than staying here. You’re coming too, Ev.” He grabbed the quill from Evan’s hand.
“Hey!” Evan tried to snatch it back. “This is my last thing and I’m almost done, you two can go.”
“Almost done?” Barty peered over Evan’s shoulder at the parchment he was writing on. “You’ve barely written a paragraph. Besides, if Reggie can take a break so can you.”
Evan rolled his eyes, but got up and followed the two boys out of the common room.
They opened the door and found a small group of Gryffindors a few paces away. They all had their heads down and were murmuring to each other. At the sound of the boys exiting the room, they startled and looked towards them. Evan saw Regulus’ face drop as he recognized his brother.
“What are you doing here, Reg?” Sirius looked surprised, as if he wasn’t the one lurking about.
“This is my dormitory, I’m in Slytherin, remember? Or did you forget that too?” Regulus said, his voice bitter.
“Reg, I didn’t-” Sirius said, sounding exasperated.
“Stop calling me that!” Evan had never heard Regulus yell before. It was startling and he and Barty shared a look, wondering if they should step in and intervene.
“Would you just listen to me? Can’t we just talk this out? You never listen!” Sirius walked towards his brother, matching his fire.
“Talk this out? You had all summer to talk to me and you didn’t!”
“What are you even talking about? I hardly left your side this summer!”
“All you did was talk about your friends to whoever would listen” Regulus pointed at the three other Gryffindor boys who also didn’t seem sure about what to do with the situation. “I just happened to be nearby.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry for finally having people who care about me! Why can’t you just be happy for me? Not everything is a personal attack on you.”
“Happy for you? I’m not the one who made a scene at the sorting.”
“Oh come off it, you don’t even want to be in Slytherin!”
“Yes, I do. Not being a blood traitor suits me just fine.”
Sirius’ face dropped. “Reg,”
“That’s not my name.”
“Regulus,” Sirius took a pause to correct himself. “You don’t mean it.”
“Don’t I? You have your friends, and I have mine. Leave me alone.”
Regulus stormed off with Barty and Evan trailing behind him.
“Are you ok, Regulus?” Evan tried to catch up with him.
“Why were they even lurking around?” Barty asked. Evan elbowed him in the ribs.
“Not what we’re focusing on right now, Bat” He whispered.
“Ow! Alright, I got the message.”
“I’m fine.” Regulus’ voice was short.
They walked to the library in an awkward silence. As soon as they got there, Regulus broke away from them to scan the shelves. Barty and Evan found a table to sit and discuss.
“They really went off on each other, huh?” Evan said.
“Was that like what you saw on the train?” Barty asked.
Evan shook his head. “Not really, I didn’t see much, but it didn’t look like Regulus was saying anything at all.”
“I’ve never seen Reg that scary. Remind me not to get on his bad side.”
“Yeah, me too.” Evan nodded in agreement. Regulus hardly seemed to show emotion and that was frightening enough, but it was nothing compared to his anger.
“I think we need to get him to talk.” Barty said.
“We can try.” Evan said skeptically. “But he tends to close off as soon as Sirius is mentioned.” There had been a few times when they tried to understand how Regulus felt about his brother. Like when Regulus’ mother had sent a letter, commending her son for being a Slytherin while simultaneously comparing him to his ‘disappointment of a brother.’ But everytime they had brought it up, Regulus would shut off and find an excuse to leave the conversation.
“Yeah, but I think it's at least worth a shot.” Barty shrugged. “Speak of the devil.” He motioned behind Evan where Regulus was walking toward them with a stack of books.
“Looks like you’ve got yourself enough reading to last the rest of the semester?” Barty joked.
“Are you kidding?” Evan laughed. “It's Regulus, he’ll blow through those in a couple hours.”
“How could I have underestimated the mighty Regulus’ obsession?”
“Are you two ready?” Regulus asked, not paying attention to their jokes.
They nodded and followed him back to their dorm. On the way, Evan prayed that they wouldn’t run into Sirius and his friends again. Luckily, the corridor was deserted when they arrived. Regulus didn’t stop at the couches they frequently claimed and instead continued on to their dormitory. The room was empty. Regulus tossed his pile of books onto his bed and sat down to open a small blue book.
“Are you two just going to stand there and watch me all night?” Regulus asked.
Evan realized that he and Barty had just been standing side by side next to Regulus’ bed, so he moved back to sit down on his own bed and gestured for Barty to join him. As he put his hand down on the bed, he felt an odd prickling sensation creep across his palm and then vanish, but he chose to ignore it. They had more pressing matters to attend to.
“Anything you wanna talk about, Reg?” Evan said. He knew it sounded stupid as soon as he said it. He made a mental note to ask Pandora to talk to him. She could get anyone to open up.
Regulus looked up at him skeptically. “No.”
“Cut the act, Reg. You’re obviously worked up about Sirius.” Barty was less subtle than Evan but it got results.
“What do you want me to say?” Regulus put his book down. “That I feel like I hardly have a brother anymore?” That I wish he would have written at least one time last year like he promised he would. Do you want me to say that I wish he would ask me how I had fared with our mother while he was off parading around the school with his precious Potter? Maybe that he would have thought twice before letting that bloody hat put him in Gryffindor and how I would have to clean up his mess like I always do? Couldn’t he just realize that his actions don’t only affect himself?” Regulus’ shoulders shook and Evan could see the tears that streamed down his face.
Barty moved first. He sat next to Regulus and put an arm around him. “He sounds like a right prat.”
Regulus gave a wet laugh. “You have such a way with words, Barty Crouch.”
“Why thank you, Regulus Black.”
“Very poetic.” Evan took a seat on the other side of Regulus. “I couldn’t have put it better myself.”
“You know, I always wanted a brother. And it sounds as if you might be in need of a new one. What d’ya say, Reggie? Brothers?”
Regulus took a moment to consider the offer. “Brothers.” He agreed.
“You too, Ev.” Barty said. “Brothers?”
“Brothers.” Evan nodded, grinning.
“Good, because brothers mean we stick together, always.”
“And we have each other's backs.” Evan added.
“Nobody gets left behind.” Regulus said. “Ever.”
“Exactly.” Evan could hear the grin in Barty’s voice. He basked in the warmth of the thought. Brothers.
They spent the rest of the night in their dorm talking. Throughout the night, the prickling sensation on Evan’s hand returned twice as bad. He itched it until it was red but the feeling wouldn’t go away. Eventually Evan just decided to hope that it would be gone by morning. Unfortunately, Evan was woken up in the middle of the night by the same feeling along his arms and legs. After several minutes of scratching, he realized he was not the only one awake. Across the room, Aziz was dragging his nails along his neck and shoulders. Someone else was in the bathroom and Evan could hear the sounds of water being splashed and scrubbed on skin. In the bed next to him, Regulus was tossing and turning although Evan wasn’t sure if he was awake just yet. The door to their room flew open and Edward stormed in.
“They got you too, Rosier?” Edward asked.
Evan nodded, noticing the nail marks that crept up Edwards arms.
“It's not just us either, it sounds as though they got every dorm in Slytherin.” Edward said.
“Who got what?” Evan was too tired to make sense of the situation, and the itching that was now moving to his neck and face did not help.
“We don’t know who, but someone put an itching powder in every bed. The bastard probably got it from Zonko's.”
“Who would even do something like that?”
“Sirius would.” He heard a voice from behind him and found Regulus sitting up, scratching at his face. “It would explain his lurking outside too.”
“But how would he even get in? He would need the password to open the door.”
“Barty managed to guess it.” Regulus shrugged.
“What did I guess?” Barty walked out of the bathroom. The skin all over his chest, arms, and even up to the edges of his face was red and raw. Evan grimaced at what it must feel like.
“The password, Reg thinks that Sirius might’ve been the one behind this.”
Barty considered it for a moment. “I wouldn’t put it past him, but it would be incredibly hard to sneak into every room undetected. He doesn’t have a knack for turning invisible does he, Reg?” Barty laughed at the thought.
“Not that I know- wait,” Evan could see the pieces falling into place in Regulus’ mind. “Potter does. Sirius went on and on about his invisibility cloak.”
“Then there’s almost no doubt it was him!” Barty said, almost excitedly.
“Why don’t we go to Dumbledoor then?” Edward cut in. Evan hadn’t realised that he had lingered and listened in on their conversation.
“Hold on Greengrass.” Evan said with distaste. “Don’t be a snitch.”
“But if we have the evidence-”
“But we don’t. We have nothing they couldn’t deny. And honestly, I don’t trust that old git.”
“Right you are, my dear Rosier.” Barty said. “Besides, I have better plans.”
“Nothing illegal, Bat.” Regulus sighed.
“Of course not!” He replied, but he gave Evan a wink. “I would explain it, but I dont think it's best in…the present company.” He gave a pointed stare to Edward who rolled his eyes but walked back to pound on the bathroom door which Aziz had claimed once Barty left.
“So?” Evan asked once the other boy was out of earshot. “What’s the plan?”
“Forget that for a minute.” Regulus groaned. “How are we going to stop the itching?” The left side of Regulus’ face was red and starting to swell.
The boys decided to search every spell and potion book they had to find a way to ease the effects of the prank.
“Did the water not help?” Evan asked after looking through his third book.
“”It took the edge off a little,” Barty said. “But overall not really.”
They went back to searching which grew harder by the minute as the rashes grew the more they scratched at them. After what felt like hours, Barty sat up from where he was laying on the floor. They had deemed the beds unsafe and were sitting on the cold stone floor.
“It’s just magic isn’t it?” He asked.
“What do you mean ‘it’s just magic?’ Everything around us is magic.” Evan said. His temper had grown considerably short due to the ache of the itching powder.
“Exactly!” Barty shot up and started pacing. “If it is from Zonko’s, the powder is just enchanted, there’s no physical properties that cause the itching. So, just a simple Finite Incantatem should do the trick.”
“Bat, you’re brilliant!” Evan dropped his book.
Regulus nodded. “That is genius, but it does assume that Greengrass is right.”
Barty shrugged. “Might as well give it a go.” He turned to Evan. “Turn around.”
“What?” Evan was taken aback at the suddenness.
“Someone has to test it out.”
“Why can’t Reg go first?” Evan was worried about what would happen if the spell went sideways and didn’t work. “Or you, since it was your idea.”
“Reg has more to lose since I have to aim at his face, and I don’t trust your wand work enough to try it on me before we know that it works.”
Evan sighed but he turned around nonetheless. He braced himself as Barty cast the spell. He expected the worst, but the itching slowly ebbed out of his arms and neck. It left a sort of numbness. All he could feel was the grime of the powder itself against his skin.
Evan sighed in relief. “That worked wonders. Do Reg!”
Barty turned his wand on the third boy and cast the charm again. Evan watched the smooth drag of his wand and the subtle flick at the end as he slowly recitited the words. He made it look as easy as breathing. Like a brush against canvas. Sure, Evan was told that wandless magic wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t as entrancing as the slice of Barty’s wand.
“Brilliant, Bat. Just brilliant!” Regulus smiled as the spell’s effects worked on him. He had gotten the worst of it. The left side of his face had swelled so much that his eye was shut closed.
“Well, Ev?” Barty looked at him expectantly. It took Evan a moment to understand what he meant.
“Can’t Reg do it?” He didn’t feel confident enough to not mess the spell up on Barty.
“He’s half blind, besides you can do it without your wand anyway.”
“I don’t know,” he hesitated. “This isn’t the simplest spell. And I’ve never been too good at controlling how powerful it is. What if it's not enough, or-”
“Evan.” Barty cut him off. “You can do this.” He looked him straight in the eye. Barty’s dark eyes were determined and encouraging. “And besides,” He laughed. “I really want this over with.”
“Ok.” Evan took a deep breath. “Ok.” He closed his eyes and focused his energy towards what he wanted to accomplish. The familiar buzz started deep in his chest and slowly expanded outwards. It grounded him and he could sense a less familiar magic as well. One that ran through the floor and walls, holding the castle together. Evan ignored it, focusing on the task at hand. He murmured the spell under his breath and he felt his magic drain.
His breathing was heavy and he found himself kneeling on the ground. Barty and Regulus peered down at him in awe.
“Brilliant.” Barty breathed, barely audible.
Evan felt exhausted, even more so than usual. “Well, did it work?” He let Barty help him stand up.
“Yeah,” Barty nodded. “I feel great.” He smiled that crooked grin. “I told you, you could do it.”
For a moment there was nothing else besides them. The buzz of Evan’s magic still hung in the air connecting them. Barty’s lopsided smile reached all the way to his eyes. Those eyes that were so dark in the dungeons but shone amber when touched by the sun. His face softened and Evan almost thought he might be studying him the same way. So lost in thought that it wasn’t rude to stare.
He had never had such a friend like Barty Crouch
“Might as well go tell Shafiq and Greengrass that we found a solution.” Regulus Said. Barty quickly broke from his gaze to agree. Evan couldn’t move, not yet. He wanted to soak up every last bit of the warmth from that gaze.
“Coming, Rosier?” Barty called from the doorway.
“Y-yeah,” Evan finally turned to follow the boys out of the room.