Evan Rosier sat in the dimly lit corner of the Slytherin common room, a thick textbook on Dark Arts propped open before him. Barty Crouch Jr. lounged nearby, idly flipping through a potions manual, occasionally glancing over at Evan with a mix of curiosity and boredom.
"Listen to this," Evan murmured, his voice barely above a whisper as he read aloud from the book, "'After death, the brain lives on for 7 minutes to replay our best memories.'"
Barty lifted his gaze from his book, brow furrowed slightly. "And why would that matter to us?"
Evan looked up, meeting Barty's gaze with an intensity that caught him off guard. "Because, Barty," he said softly, "if I were to die, those seven minutes would replay my best memories. And you... you'd be my seven minutes."
Barty's expression remained impassive, a mask he wore well even among friends. He shrugged nonchalantly and returned to his potion book, but Evan noticed a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes.
Time passed in Hogwarts, with Evan and Barty becoming inseparable allies within the Slytherin house. They excelled in their studies, delving deeper into the Dark Arts than most would dare, driven by ambition and a thirst for power that bound them closer together.
One fateful night, during a skirmish with Aurors, Evan Rosier found himself on the wrong end of a stray curse. It pierced through his defenses, leaving him bleeding out on the cold ground, surrounded by chaos and screams.
Barty, masked and immersed in the heat of battle, didn't see Evan fall. It was only when the skirmish ended and the Death Eaters regrouped that he realized Evan was missing. Panic surged through him as he frantically searched the battlefield, his heart sinking as he finally found Evan, pale and lifeless.
Kneeling beside his fallen friend, Barty lifted Evan's head gently, his hands trembling as he tried to staunch the bleeding. But it was too late. Evan's eyes, once vibrant with life and mischief, were now dulling, a small, serene smile lingering on his lips.
In those final moments, as the world faded around him, memories flooded Evan's mind. He saw flashes of Barty and him, from their first meeting in the corridors of Hogwarts to late nights studying forbidden spells in the Room of Requirement. He remembered laughter shared over secret pranks and quiet moments of understanding that needed no words.
And as darkness enveloped him, Evan knew that textbook had been right all along. Barty Crouch Jr. his closest friend and confidant, his first love, would indeed be his last seven minutes.
In the aftermath of that night, Barty carried Evan's memory with him like a shadow. Behind his impassive mask, grief gnawed at him, a silent testament to a bond forged in the crucible of Hogwarts and strengthened through years of darkness.
For Evan Rosier, death had come swiftly, but in those final moments, he found solace in the memories he cherished most—memories of a friendship that transcended the boundaries of loyalty and ambition, even in the face of death.