Barty's first memories were pain, horrible excruciating pain. He would take beatings from his father to protect his fragile mother. She would do nothing to help nor stop the beatings, always doing something wrong to cause them. Barty would be left broken upon the floor, carried and deposited on his bed to wake covered in bruises from a cane, spell traces, and blood. His wounds were never healed, he had to find ways to heal himself. During this time all he wanted was to be loved, held, and cared for, he wanted his mother to stand up to his father, risk something to protect him, try to save him for once but she never did, always breaking and going complacent when his father said she did wrong.
The scars were easy to hide, they were in secret places that one would not see if they weren't intentionally looking. Hidden behind clothes and protective walls. Only if one were to lay his body bare would they see the damage.
Hogwarts was his first escape, the school was warm and inviting, it called to him in a way no other place had. He was safe in its walls, no one could harm him. Then the sorting came, Slytherin was called out and his heart sank, he had disappointed his father again, a beating would surely occur once he was home. But Hogwarts was still safe, he could live without fear.
One day close to the end of the spring term a group of four Griffendor boys joined together and started a prank war, they targeted everyone but mostly Slytherins, Barty was an easy target. He was easy to spook and scare causing many fits of giggling from the 4 boys and, much to his own detriment, his house. Hogwarts became dangerous with Barty in fear of a prank going off or a housemate making fun of him.
He went home defeated and broken only to be broken more and not quite placed back whole. Some piece was missing, a hole had grown in his heart where he once held love. He no longer had a motive to save his mother when his father would go to strike her yet it was always him that was hurt never her, he suspected that she directed his father to him once he was mad. He wanted a reason to live to survive this hellhole but no one answered, his cries fell on deaf ears.
Second year was different, new faces joined Slytherin and the Barty hate club, it didn't help that his father locked up dark wizards or that he was top of his year causing many iries and envy. Then he met Regulus Black, a boy a year younger and brother to the menace known as Sirius Black, one of the 4 Gryiffendor pranksters. Barty thought Regulus would be the same, mocking and teasing him, yet he was surprised when Regulus sat next to him during meals or followed him to the library to sit and read.
They grew closer and Regulus became a reason to keep living, he filled that hole in Bartys chest and he didn't leave or hurt him. In fact Regulus was the one to heal or save him when certain pranks went nasty or his housemates made unsavory comments, it was always Regulus stepping in for him. Barty had found light in his dark world, Regulus was like an angel sent from the heavens to protect him. His beautiful face was always on Barty's mind, it never left, as he went about his day. Barty thought his angel could never be hurt, he was untouchable to everyone but Barty. Till one day in third year things changed.
Regulus received a note on a cold spring morning, a charm was placed on it to make sure only Regulus could read it, whatever was on the note made Regulus turn pale. He quickly got up, almost running to the doors of the great hall, Barty followed close behind but quietly to not alert him of his presence, Barty was worried for his angel and he would do anything to protect him. He turned the corner to 2 boys shouting, quickly identified as Sirius and Regulus Black.
“Brother you can't just leave me, the family, and live with the Potters!” Regulus looked close to tears, his eyes shining with emotion, something Barty had only seen a few times. Jealousy, rage, sadness, and panic showed in his eyes, almost having Barty jump out to protect him but he paused.
“The Potters are my family now, you've never cared for me nor has mother and father, I found my family with the Potters. James is like the brother you will never be and for as much as you “try” to be you will always be in his shadow.” Sirius then turned on his heel and walked away towards the library. Regulus was left frozen in the middle of the hallway till everything caught up to him and he collapsed with a sob.
Barty rushed to Regulus's side placing him gently in his arms and Regulus continued to sob. Barty whispered calming words as he stroked Regulus's hair, rocking them back and forth. Regulus looked up at Barty, his eyes bloodshot but no longer leaking tears, and nuzzled in his neck whispering a thanks that Barty had to strain to hear before passing out. Barty carried him back to their dorms, sending off a quick note saying both were unwell to the teachers of their classes. He avoided everyone on his journey back, quickly opening the Slytherin common room and rushing up to their shared room.
Regulus was off for the rest of the year, his smile never quite meeting his eyes. Barty could do little but try to cheer him up when the thoughts were too much. Regulus was thankful, always proper, never one to let go of edict. Till it was the last day of the term, OWLS had gone and passed with them doing well and Barty gaining the 2nd highest spot, Regulus pulled him into a dark alcove to talk. His eyes shifted not meeting Barty's but before Barty could speak Regulus had pressed his lips to Barty's. Sparks went off, lights exploded behind Barty's eyes, finally someone cared, finally he loved someone and they loved him too. Regulus pulled back with a dusting of red on his cheeks. Barty pulled him in for another kiss before he spoke, “Be my boyfriend, Reggie?” Regulus's cheeks darkened as he nodded his head, placing another quick kiss on Barty's cheek.
Barty went back to his dark life but it was different this time, he had Regulus, his shining star to pull him out. School years came and passed each year they grew closer, daring life to pull them apart, to make their love a lie but it never happened. Regulus and Barty were finally happy.
Then the dark lord arrived, he pulled them into his folds and both fell willingly, at least that's what Barty thought. Regulus started to pull away, the days where Barty would come home covered in blood that was not his hurt Regulus's heart too much, he took to hiding away. The dark lord never suspected a thing, he trusted them both with different but just as important tasks. Regulus was the brains and Barty was the killer. The dark lord was pleased so pleased they rose in ranks gaining a place in his inner circle.
Life came to a halut the day Regulus found a way to kill the dark lord, he had made a horcrux, a way to have him live even after death. Regulus couldn't stay still, he left under the night's cloak of darkness, calling to him his favorite house elf, Kreatcher, before leaving. Barty awoke to an empty bed, one that held no one but him, he searched and searched for Regulus, his star, his light, but he wasn't there. Barty was alone again, like he was so often before he met him, the cold sunk into him as he laid in a pile on the floor.
Regulus arrived at the cave, it was easy to get in but when he faced the basin his fears became true, a poison to kill the one trying to take the locket. It wasn't truly meant to kill, only to weaken to allow the inferi to get them, dragging them to their watery grave to wait for another to pull under. Kreatcher begged him not to, to let him take it, but Regulus had chosen his fate. The shell was filled and he drank it, shellful after shellful. His body growing colder, the sounds of his heart slowing, his very life force draining like an hourglass, a timer that never stopped till the end.
The locket was pulled out and Regulus moved to the boat but it was too late the inferi had started their climb. He shot off spells daring them to try but it was only him and he was fading fast. They circled him in pushing him towards the basin, he had to climb it to keep them away, for time, he had to destroy the locket. His time was like falling sand, never stopping, only speeding up as less and less filled the hourglass. His eyes widened as he realized he would never leave this cave, the darkness would become his very being, he would never see the light again.
The fake locket he held in his pocket was dropped in the basin, quickly filling once more, before Regulus called out to his oldest friend, “Take this, destroy it, I will not make it past through these walls again, this is my last stand against the dark lord and my final farewell. Goodbye Kreatcher.” The elf took the locket, disappearing with a pop as clawed hands pulled at his legs, pulling him off the basin towards his end. He fell into their arms, their claws cutting at his tender skin as his eyes filled with tears. “Goodbye Barty, Goodbye my love, I hope to see you in my next life however long that takes,” and he was gone, pulled apart by the inferi and pieced back together as one of them to drag under trespassers.
Barty felt pain, pain like nothing before. His hand holding his and Regulus's vow shined, they had gotten married before the dark lord when life was happy, it burned so much. The golden strings dissolved around his arm leaving it like before as if Regulus was never there. Tears pooled and spilled down his cheeks as he knew Regulus was dead and he was alone, that hole filled with his star now growing empty again.
The dark lord was defeated but that didn’t stop Barty, once he found him again before Hogwarts started its first term, he threw himself back into his work. His life was the dark lord, he lived solely for him and his cause, trying to fill the hole with devotion to a man who was less than human. This continued for a few years, he tried to kill the Potter boy but he would always pull through. On the final day of the last battle Barty prepared for the end, when his lord would win and he would sit as his right hand man but his dreams never fulfilled as a beam of green met his chest and he fell to the ground dead.
Barty opened his eyes to that train station, the one that started it all, and Regulus, his star. Tears poured down Barty's face as Regulus held his hand out to him, barty grabbed it tightly, and Regulus pulled them onto the train as it pushed back from the station onwards into the unknown.