Chapter 6
"Now, what the fuck Regulus?" Barty hissed the moment that they had closed the door. He had rounded on Regulus without a second thought, and his eyes demanded answer. Regulus flinched as Barty slammed his hand against the wall, irate. Moments later found regret coursing through him, as he realized Regulus truly was on the absolute edge. Regulus flinched at a lot of stuff, and people, but Barty typically tended to be the exception to that rule. He sighed, forcing the air from his lungs as he tried to settle his frustration. He would have to be delicate about this. After all, Regulus was in a tough situation, and Barty supposed that he was really not helping things. He had been upset because of how sudden Regulus' letter had seemed, and the fact that it had been positively dripping in blood. The contents as well had lefft him freaked out, and he had spent every waking moment since then coercing his father into getting his arse over to the Potters, and bringing him along. He was almost certain that Crouch Sr. probably thought his sudden interest in the Ministry was nothing short of a miracle, but he had needed to know Regulus was okay.
It was a good thing that he had. Clearly, Regulus was not okay, and it was almost infuriating that none of them had even bothered to try and help him when anyone would be able to tell that there was something wrong. Curling his fingers into his palm, he pulledh imself away from Regulus, avoiding looming over him, and gently tucked a strand of his hair behind his ear. Heaving a sigh, Barty thought about how to continue this. When he had found Regulus, he was not expecting Sirius to have taken his wand, and therefore Regulus to be as far on edge as he could ever be. He did not know if the Gryffinidiots had known about the wand, but honestly, he really did not care either.
"Look, Regulus, I know things have been difficult, lately, and I apologize. I wish that I could do something to help, but as it is..."
"I know," Regulus said softly, casting his eyes down to the side. "I did not ask you to do anything, though,"
"You sent me a letter covered in damned BLOOD!" Barty lost his calm, unable to quite temper his anger. He never did have the easiest temperment, after all, and his anger often was volatile, though not as badly as Regulus' could be, when directed properly. "BLOOD, Regulus, Blood. It was soaking. I had no idea what happened, all I could see was the streaked letters saying that you had been taken from Grimmuald to the Potters by Sirius. What else could I do?" REgulus was beginning to realize he had made a mistake.
He had thought that Barty should know what was going on, because he had been worried about him finding out through other means, but it seems quite obvious that his parents had not dished the severet out to the public yet, which meant that they were trying to save face. They probably managed it too. Say what Sirius may about their parents, but their manipulations were top tier. Regulus would know, considering they were typically used on him, as horrid as that may sound. It took a long time for Regulus to be able to figure out what was manipulation, and what was not...which left him more depressed than before, because then he knew exactly what they were saying to manipulate him...which was honestly the worst.
"I was not exactly thinking in my right mind, Barty." Barty growled at his words, and Regulus had to attempt to avoid flinching again. He managed it, but Barty knew what to look for, and saw the slight widening of his eyes. It caused him to soften, entirely, and his shoulders to droop, realizing the extent of what was going on, finally.
"I may have...overreacted, a bit." Regulus gave a slight quirk of his lips.
"Just a little?"
"That is all you will be getting from me." Barty huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "It must have been difficult. Black isn't exactly known for his kindness." Regulus' smirk turned into a bittersweet expression.
"No, he is not." They left it at that, and Barty moved away from Regulus entirely, and pulled him gently by the arm to the bed.
"Sit,"
"What about your father?"
"What about him?" Regulus just levelled and unamused look. "He will deal, for now just...just listsen to me please, damn."