The Black Brothers
Barty’s Hogwarts letter arrived in the middle of the night, during a raging thunderstorm. He had been having a spectacularly disastrous day, even more so than usual, which only worsened when the owl carrying the letter all but launched itself at his bedroom window, shattering it on impact and showering a thoroughly irritated Barty with shards of glass and rainwater.
“Bloody bird,” he muttered under his breath as he grabbed the letter with one hand and attempted to cover the gaping hole in the windowpane with the other. He knew his father would be less than pleased when he found out, but that man was never pleased anyway, so he couldn’t bring himself to care very much.
Barty’s mood improved considerably, however, when he noticed the unmistakable seal on the back of the envelope. He eagerly tore it open, already knowing the contents of the letter but wanting to see it anyway. It read:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Crouch,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress
Barty clutched the letter in his hands, holding on to it like a lifeline. He was going to Hogwarts. He was going to get out of this prison of a house and spend ten months away from his wretched father. He muffled a whoop of joy into his fist, careful not to wake anyone.
Grinning widely, he grabbed the owl and ruffled its feathers, momentarily forgetting his aversion to birds. Even the broken window and the growing puddle on the floor seemed insignificant now.
He was going to Hogwarts. He would be free.
-----
People-watching had always been one of Barty’s favourite activities. After finally settling down in an empty compartment, he pressed his face to the window and began to observe the crowd on the platform. Everyone blended together, dozens upon dozens of perfectly ordinary people. Every once in a while, something stood out. A flash of bright red hair, a ridiculously tall hat, a rogue owl flying around…
As Barty started to lose interest, a group of newcomers caught his attention. It was a family of four; a regally beautiful woman with cold, dead eyes, a tall man who looked extremely bored, and two children. One of them was slightly taller and had longer hair. He was also the most beautiful person Barty had ever laid eyes on. He carried himself with the same effortless grace as his parents, but he had his arms crossed like a petulant child and was pointedly ignoring them. The other child, his younger brother, Barty assumed, looked absolutely terrified. He was nervously tapping his foot on the ground and kept shooting frantic glances toward his brother which the latter either didn’t notice or purposely ignored.
Barty knew who they were from the moment he laid eyes on them. Everyone in the wizarding world knew of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. Walburga Black, a cruel, vicious, vindictive woman. Orion Black, an alcoholic with no interest in his wife or children. Sirius Black, the troublesome heir whose only goal in life seemed to be to disappoint his parents. And finally, the youngest. Barty recalled hearing about a daughter but considering that the child looked very much like a boy, he assumed he had misunderstood. No one knew anything about the cadet yet. People talked, of course. They wondered what kind of person he would grow up to be. Would he honor the traditions of the House of Black and make his family proud? Would he follow in his brother’s footsteps instead?
Barty had heard all kinds of things about the Blacks from his father, none of them good. He had never personally met any of them, but he knew one thing for sure: if there was one thing Barty could do that would be sure to disappoint Bartemius Crouch Senior., it was to befriend a Black. So that was exactly what he would do.
Barty refocused his attention on the family. Walburga had leaned down and she was whispering something to her sons. Sirius looked supremely disinterested, but he had gone a shade paler. His brother, on the other hand, was visibly distressed. He managed to keep his composure, but he looked like he was about to faint, or throw up, or both. Walburga straightened out and fixed her eldest son with a final glare before turning on her heel and walking away, Orion following behind her.
The minute his parents left, the young boy reached out and grabbed his brother’s hand almost reflexively. Sirius’ head whipped toward him, and his brow immediately furrowed in concern.
Barty lost interest after that and turned away. He still couldn’t believe he would be completely free for the better part of a year. He pictured himself running through the halls after class, lounging around in the common room, learning all kinds of sick hexes…
He was so caught up in his fantasy that it took him a minute to notice the boy standing in the entrance to the compartment looking rather awkward. He had a mop of fluffy blonde hair and warm brown eyes that looked almost yellow in the sunlight. His clothes were baggy and hung loosely on his slight frame. He seemed nice enough.
Barty flashed the boy a crooked grin and gestured to the bench across from him. He held out his hand as the blonde made his way into the compartment.
“I’m Evan. Evan Rosier,” the boy introduced himself, shaking the hand that Barty had offered.
“Barty. How’s it going?”
Evan shrugged. “Alright, I guess. Can’t wait to be away from my family for a long time.”
Barty grinned again and nodded. “Yeah, I get it. I’m so happy to finally be getting away from my bloody father.”
Evan laughed, then, and Barty couldn’t help but smile at the way his dimples appeared and his whole face lit up. He momentarily considered saying something stupid to make him laugh again, but he was interrupted by the sound of voices outside the compartment.
“–don’t want to sit with you and your sodding mates! You’re not my keeper, Sirius, I can make friends on my own.”
“Why are you being so bloody difficult? I’m just trying to look out for you!”
“I don’t need you to look out for me! I’m not like you, okay? So just go find your mudblood and blood-traitor friends and leave me alone!”
There was a beat of silence before Sirius’ voice was heard again, low and cold.
“What the fuck did you just say, Reggie?”
“You heard me.”
Silence again. Then, a derisive snort.
“Fine, then. Get out of my fucking sight. I don’t want to see you until Christmas.”
Barty and Evan both had their ears pressed against the glass at this point, thoroughly invested in the argument. They waited for a moment, but the conversation seemed to be over. A few seconds later, a figure stormed into the corridor and the door to the compartment was aggressively thrown open.
The youngest Black stood panting in the doorway, warily appraising an amused Barty and an equally amused – though better at tactfully hiding it – Evan. He quickly schooled his features into a mask of cool indifference and knocked rather belatedly.
“I don’t suppose you have room for another?” he drawled, raising an eyebrow questioningly. His voice was surprisingly smooth and melodic when he wasn’t yelling, and his accent sounded vaguely French.
Barty nodded and invited him in, seizing the chance to befriend him.
“Well, Baby Black, it’s nice to meet you.” Evan began, grinning lazily. “I’m Evan, and this is Barty. You had quite the row out there with your brother, didn’t you?”
The boy’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t call me Baby Black,” he hissed angrily, “My name is Regulus Arcturus Black. And were you eavesdropping?”
Barty shrugged nonchalantly, still grinning. “That we were. But don’t worry, I really don’t give a shit about your family issues. Though I do enjoy drama, I let you in here because my father would be absolutely revolted if he learnt that I was befriending the likes of you.”
His mask slipped for a second and he looked confused. “You want to befriend me because… It would disappoint your father?”
“Exactly,” Barty confirmed, smirking, “The old man would lose his mind if he saw me talking to a Black, and, let’s just say that making Bartemius Crouch Senior lose his mind is kind of my thing.”
This successfully made the corner of Regulus’ lips twitch, and Barty smiled wider, considering it a win.
That is, until Regulus asked, “Wait, your name is Bartemius?”
Evan cackled.
Barty scowled and glared at them pointedly. “Barty. My name is Barty. Besides, your name is Regulus Arcturus, so I really don’t see how you can make fun of mine.”
Barty half expected him to get offended, but he laughed instead. His laugh was even brighter than Evan’s. It was extremely contagious too, and soon, the three boys were laughing so hard their stomachs hurt and tears streamed down their faces.
It was a great start.
-----
“D’you reckon I’ll get into Gryffindor?”
“I’ve heard Dumbledore’s a proper nutcase…”
“My sister says Potions is really difficult.”
The entrance hall echoed with the sounds of the first-years’ excited whispers. Barty, Evan, and Regulus pushed their way through the crowd, trying to get as close to the large oak doors as possible. Fortunately, everyone gave Regulus a wide berth and quieted down as he walked past with his head held high, and the other two got the same treatment by association.
Just as Barty began to wonder how long they were going to wait, Professor McGonagall stepped out into the hall, the great oak doors closing behind her with a flourish.
Minerva McGonagall was an intimidating woman. She wasted no time with introductions, simply assuming everyone already knew who she was – which they did. She quickly explained the sorting process and the traits of each house before walking back into the Great Hall and gesturing to the students to follow.
She made her way to the far end and stood next to the Sorting Hat, picking up a list of names. The chatter quickly died down as she cleared her throat and began listing names in alphabetical order. When she reached the letter “B”, she was interrupted rather loudly.
“MINNIE!”
All heads turned to the Gryffindor table, where Sirius Black had jumped to his feet and was making his way toward the staff table. He walked right up to McGonagall and threw his arms around her rather dramatically, and Barty thought he saw him whisper something in her ear. To everyone’s surprise (and several people’s disappointment) the professor did not push Sirius away or give him detention on the very first evening – that would have been a record, even for the likes of Sirius Black – she actually hugged him back easily before sending him back to his seat. She then continued as if nothing had happened.
“Now, where was I? Ah yes. Regulus Black.”
Barty turned to grin at Regulus and push him forward, but he paused at the expression on his face. He looked simultaneously confused and furious. Before he could read more into it, Regulus had already walked up to the hat and placed it on his head. The hat deliberated silently for several long minutes. Barty glanced at the Gryffindor table where Sirius was white-knuckling his goblet in anticipation.
“Slytherin!” the hat finally declared, and Barty did not miss Regulus’ sigh of relief or the vaguely guilty look he shot his brother as he sat down at the Slytherin table.
Before he could think about it too much, McGonagall called out his name and Evan shoved him forward.
He stepped up to the stool and placed the hat on his head, wondering briefly where he would end up, but the hat did not hesitate for even a moment before shouting, “Slytherin!”
Barty imagined what his father’s reaction would be when he found out. He threw his head back and laughed at the thought as he made his way over to the table where his housemates were cheering.
He dropped down onto the bench beside Regulus and saved a seat on his other side for Evan. There were two people sitting across from him, a girl and a boy. Barty immediately disliked the boy. He had stringy black hair and a perpetually disdainful expression his face. The girl, on the other hand, seemed nice enough. Her long dark hair was styled in braids, and she flicked it carelessly over her shoulder while carrying an animated conversation with Regulus.
When she noticed Barty, she turned to him and extended her hand. "Dorcas Meadowes," she introduced herself, grinning widely.
Barty returned the smile and shook her hand. "Barty Crouch Junior. I see you've met Baby Black, then. I'm surprised you managed to have a proper conversation, he was quite rude to me, actually." he grinned, nudging Regulus fondly.
The latter simply shoved him away and grumbled under his breath, “Don’t call me Baby Black.”
The three of them fell into easy conversation after that, and Barty decided that he really liked Dorcas, a decision based mostly on the fact that she adored Queen as much as he did. She also seemed to enjoy teasing Regulus, which had become Barty’s favourite hobby in the short time he’d known him. And they all had shitty father figures. Always a great thing to bond over.
Eventually, Evan was sorted into Slytherin, and Barty patted the seat next to him as he approached. Evan introduced himself to Dorcas and inserted himself into the conversation with ease. Barty thought that was rather admirable. Then, Regulus said something in Dorcas’ ear, and she nearly choked on her water laughing, making the rest of them laugh along with her. Barty didn’t think of his father for the rest of the night.
-----
The Slytherin common room was gorgeous. Barty would have preferred it to be somewhere nicer than the dungeons, but really, he wasn’t complaining.
Barty, Evan, and Regulus settled into one of the dorms along with a short blonde boy called Thomas Burton. Fortunately, he seemed to want to have nothing to do with them and left immediately after quickly putting his things down on the bed by the window.
Barty and Evan chattered easily while unpacking, and Barty decided then that he and Evan would be good friends someday. He thought he and Regulus could be great friends, too, but Regulus was… different. He hadn’t said a word since the feast had ended, and he had been jittery and anxious all night. Eventually, he just got up to leave.
“I need to have a word with my brother,” he announced bluntly, gesturing to the door. “You guys get some rest, don’t wait for me.”
Barty immediately jumped to his feet, intrigued. “What do have to say to your brother that’s so urgent?”
Regulus shot him an annoyed glare. “Nothing that concerns you, Crouch.”
That only sparked his interest more. “Oh, come on, don’t be like that. Can I come? I promise I won’t bother you. Evan said he was going to bed, and I don’t exactly want to sit here and wait for Tim Burger or whatever his name was to come back.”
Barty fully expected Regulus to scoff and tell him to fuck off, but instead he just shrugged reluctantly. “Fine. But not a word, okay?” He suddenly looked nervous again, maybe even shy.
Barty nodded eagerly and followed him to the Gryffindor common room, calling out a quick goodnight to Evan on his way out.
The Gryffindor common room was significantly more welcoming than the Slytherin one. Brighter, warmer, happier, obnoxious decorations in the house colours, a roaring fireplace. Barty wasn’t sure if he loved it or hated it.
Fortunately, Sirius was rather easy to locate, considering that he and his friends were pretty much the only source of noise in the room and that there was a large group of awestruck students gathered around them.
Regulus sighed and started forward, carelessly shoving his way through the crowd. Ignoring the questioning looks and murmurs of the group, he stepped right up to his brother and cleared his throat. “Sirius, a word.” He critically eyed two young boys who were snickering obnoxiously and added, “In private.”
Sirius did not look pleased. “How did you get the password?” he demanded.
“Some guy in your year gave it to me, Frank Longbottom, I think.”
Frank looked up from his book and shot them a guilty look.
Sirius clicked his tongue in disapproval and turned dramatically to the girl next to him. “Alice, you are now my favourite. Right,” he continued, refocusing his attention on Regulus and Barty, “let’s go to the dorms then, shall we? And make it quick, I’m in the middle of a conversation here.”
He grabbed Regulus’ arm and turned to leave. Barty made to follow, but Sirius stopped him and raised a questioning eyebrow. “And who are you? I believe Reggie said in private.”
“It’s fine, Sirius,” Regulus said, though he looked slightly green, “He can stay.”
Sirius did not look convinced, but he chose not to say anything. Instead, he just led them to the dorm and closed the door before turning to his brother.
“What do you want?”
“You know exactly what I want, Sirius, I’d rather not go into detail right now,” Regulus responded, shooting a quick glance toward Barty.
Sirius snorted. “I did you a favour, Reggie. Why are you angry?”
“I don’t need any favours from you! I didn’t ask for your help, and I certainly didn’t ask you to make a scene in front of the entire school! What did you say to McGonagall, then? Did you tell her about me? Because that’s not your fucking right, Sirius!”
Barty had little to no idea what he was talking about, but Sirius looked genuinely hurt for a second.
“No, of course not. I wouldn’t do that, you know I wouldn’t. I just told her they made a mistake on the list. That’s all. Despite what you might want to believe, I’m not a monster, Reggie. I really was just trying to help. Sorry if I shouldn’t have.” He looked down at his shoes, and Regulus sighed.
“No, it’s…” he grimaced as if it were physically painful for him to get the words out. “Thank you. Just… ask me next time before you try to help, okay?”
Sirius nodded and gave him a small smile, and Barty was pretty sure he was witnessing an important moment, except he had no idea what was going on.
“Okay, what the bloody fuck are we talking about?” he blurted out finally.
The brothers shared a glance and had a silent conversation in the way only siblings could. Fortunately, Barty had always been rather good at reading body language, and it seemed to go something along the lines of:
“Can I tell him?”
A hesitant look from Regulus.
“Do you want to tell him?”
More hesitation.
“You don’t have to do anything, obviously, but I mean, you brought him along, didn’t you?”
A little more hesitation, then a reluctant nod. “Yeah, it’s fine, go ahead.”
“Are you sure?”
Another nod.
Sirius finally turned to Barty and eyed him up and down. Despite the brothers’ clearly complicated relationship, Barty could tell that Sirius was fiercely protective of Regulus, and that made him rather intimidating.
“I’m gonna tell you something about Reggie now,” he said, his voice low and menacing, “And if you dare to be an intolerant shit about it, I’ll rip off your dick and shove it so far up your arse it’ll come back out your mouth.”
Barty gulped and nodded, too wary to make one of his signature smartass remarks about how there was in fact no tube connecting the arsehole to the mouth.
“As you know,” Sirius continued normally, as if he hadn’t just threatened to emasculate Barty, “This here is my brother, Regulus Arcturus Black. He is a boy, just the same as you and me, he was just…ah, put in the wrong body, shall we say? So, yes, Reggie is a boy, but he was born a girl.”
Barty wasn’t sure what he had been expecting, but it certainly wasn’t this. He had heard of people like that, of course, transgenders, he believed they were called, though his father liked to group everyone different into a single category called “bloody queers”. If he was being honest, Barty didn’t give a shit that Regulus was transgender. Sure, it was a bit confusing, but it didn’t really affect him in any way, did it?
“Oh. Well, alright then,” he responded simply, shrugging.
Sirius blinked. “That’s- That’s it?”
“Yeah, I mean, what difference does it make to me? If he wants to be a boy, that’s his business. So, he has tits. Big deal.”
Regulus looked extremely shocked by his nonchalance.
“Uh, okay. Well, that’s settled. Do you… have any questions?”
“Nah, not really. But, Sirius, if I may, that stunt you pulled in the Great Hall was rather stupid now that I know the context.”
Both of the brothers looked confused.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I assume your parents don’t know you’re transgender, right? I mean, no offence, but they don’t exactly seem like the most progressive people.”
Sirius snorted.
“So,” Barty continued, “They’re bound to have heard from someone that their ‘daughter’ is being referred to as Regulus Black by now, aren’t they?”
Regulus and Sirius paled and glanced at each other.
“Shit.”