C'mon! Remember!
Bartys pov: 2016
He loses track of time pretty quickly, he forgets how long a second, a minute, an hour is, he forgets pretty quickly. But he remembers almost as quickly.
He remembers his fathers lack of acknowledgement, he remembers Evan crying in his arms after an argument with his father, he remembers Regulus fainting due to lack of blood, he remembers screaming, he remembers fear, he remembers the look his father gave him after he came out, he remembers it got worse.
He doesn’t remember why.
He remembers being alone, he wants to be alone so why is being talked to? He’s familiar, but who is he? He knows Barty, recognises him pretty quickly, But Barty forgot him.
“Why do we have to take pills?” He asks the next morning at breakfast, He’s more guarded and surveyed than Barty is, he has handcuffs on his feet too, Barty doesn’t.
Barty only shrugs in response
“They taste funny, don’t they taste funny?”
“Do I know you?” This apparently wasn’t the question to ask as the other guy appears to be shocked by it, he speaks anyway
“We weren’t really close in school so I get it. Don’t worry. Peter” He goes to outstretch his hand to be shaken but pulls it back when he remembers the handcuffs “Peter Pettigrew”
Barty nods “Do you want something?”
“Oh! Am i supposed to want something? Sorry...um... ok yeah sure, I want to know something. Why’re you here? I mean- it doesn’t look like something your father would allow, yknow? Ruin his reputation and all that” he says the last bit through a mouthful of toast so it’s badly spoken and inaudible but Bartys used to that now so he understands fairly quickly.
“Do you ever stop talking?”
“Oh sorry”
“Believe it or not Pettigrew, my parents sent me here, claimed I’m insane or something like that. Care to share why you’re here?”
“Attacked a family, a day later attacked someone else, well two people so some two maybe”
“Why?”
Peter shrugged “Dunno” mouth full again “was asked to I guess”
“And you actually tried? What would you get out of that?”
“money”
“Money? You should’ve asked for more, and you’re here because they survived?”
“They weren’t exactly meant to”
“Check for a pulse next time, aim for either the head or heart and dig in until it touches the floor below them”
“That would’ve been smart... You were Ravenclaw right?”
“Slytherin”
“Oh right...Ravenclaw was a close second though yeah?” Barty nods “Wait hold on, so your parents sent you here? I mean- they sent you here alive! Believe they had a whole funeral for you and everything. And yet here you are! A fucking live!”
“Thanks for the reminder...” he mumbled before what Peter said actually hit him “wait they what?”
“Should’ve seen Evans face, it was funny! i never knew love could do tha- Hey! Where you going?” Barty had stood up from his seat, not wanting to continue this conversation at all. “I’m finished, so... to my room”
“Awesome, let me join you!” He began to stand before Barty out his hands on his shoulder to sit him back down “I rather you didn’t” and he walked off.
Barty returned to his room, free from handcuffs, people and a closed door. Left to his own thoughts.
Funeral? For who? Himself? Evan? Maybe he should’ve asked for that to be made clear... well he kind of did, its not like its his fault that Pettigrew doesn’t know when to shut up. Was he always like that? Its hard to remember.
So, Barty, an innocent man, was staying in a place surrounded by actual criminals, murderers and somehow probably worse.
Was he in a Prison? An insane asylum? Where is he?
More time passes, it’ hard to tell how long, a century probably with how slow yet fast time feels. It’s lunch, they’re eating, Peter running his mouth again when a man who could easily dress as a cyborg for Halloween requested to speak to him.
They entered a room Barty hadn’t even known was there until that very moment. He looks around at the black and white marble when his eyes land on three familiar faces he hadn’t noticed before, he probably should’ve as they were sat right in front of him.
The eldest women appeared to be in tears at the sight of him and she rushed to her feet to pull him into a tight, loving and home-like hug. Home?
She let go and Barty was met with a very much younger looking and smaller women who bowed to him before sitting besides the only other man in the room. He didn’t move to greet Barty, he just remained still, training his eyes to focus on the floor instead of him.
He was told to sit, he found himself listening before he had the thought not to. So now he sat opposite three people who knew who he was, and three people he recognised but couldn’t put his finger on it.
“This is a bit of a shock to us all I think” Said the Cyborg-esk guy who sat besides Barty a chair away. “So lets get straight to it then. It is unheard of for anyone to actually leave Azkaban once they arrive” Azkaban? He was in Azkaban? The most dangerous and most guarded prison known to man? He was in Azkaban? A prison for the insane? He was where?
“But it is possible if you have a person to replace him, a person willing to spend the rest of their lives here in place of your son” Son?
He wasn’t talking to Barty, no one really does, but he was addressing the man who still hadn’t looked away from the floor. He looked up in that moment, looked Barty up and down, and opened his mouth to speak but the older women beat him to it.
“I’ll do it” her voice sounded like home too. Her touch, her sound, it was home.
“Barty, don’t you dare argue with me on this” she said as she looked at the man, but not Barty. Barty went to say something, anything really but it appeared she hadn’t even said his name but the mans she was currently having a staring contest with as he spoke “He’s here for a reason”
“Because you couldn’t stand him! He’s our son” there’s that word again “I will happily take his place”
Then, as if on cue, Barty remembered.
He remembered being hugged by a mother in tears as she said goodbye to him for the last time for four months before he left for school. He remembered being escorted to his room by a maid who’s more slave than she is maid, as his parents argued about who he could and couldn’t hang out with. He remembered introducing his father to his boyfriend of three years and seeing the look displayed on his fathers face, a look that clearly said “we wont get along”, He remembers his parents, the good and the worse. He remembers Winky, her helpful and unhelpful attitude and actions.
He remembered in one massive flash what home truly was. It was mother, it was Winky, it was Evan. It was not his dad.
“Why can’t Winky do it?” He spoke, interrupting the apparent argument his parents were having that he didn’t even notice until it stopped.
“I will! To please my masters i will! To grant you freedom, I will” she said, nodding in exaggeration to show she clearly agreed.
“No..I need you Winky. “His father said, sighing. “can’t give you up yet” Now that’s a bullet to the heart if he’s ever heard one. He spoke again looking into his mothers eyes, His eyes showed clear regret at leaving his wife here yet hers showed relief and danger that he hadn’t seen on her since she yelled at his father for outright saying he cant be gay.
"Are you sure he’s worth it?” Bro, I’m right here, how badly he wanted to remind him wasn’t evident in his expression apparently as he still was completely ignored
“I’ll replace him, I insist” She turned away to look at the cyborg fella who nodded before pulling out a stack of papers for his parents to sign. They both did.
And that’s how Barty found himself in a car talking to his father for the first time in approximately a year, according to Winky anyway.
“You’re to stay in you room, Winkys the only person to enter or leave, understood?” He still showed no care for his off breed. His son. Well, that’s great.
“What if I’m hungry?”
“Winky will bring you food”
“And the bathroom? Winky can’t bring me the toilet”
“The only time your allowed to leave your room is for the bathroom. And only when no one else is in the house. Do I make myself clear?” You could always repeat it again so I don’t forget. He was so tempted to say that but decided against it as his father already looked on the verge of shouting and Barty just didn’t have it in him to hear.
So, he nodded before responding “You just took me out of imprisonment to put me in another. Poor mother”
“Don’t speak of her around me”
“She’s gonna die in there. You sure this is what she wanted when she gave her life to save mine?”
His father stopped the car, breathed in and out before he spoke “Winky, check no one’s around” She left the car, leaving then in complete silence until she returned. “The boy is back, he looks to be leaving though” At that Barty looked outside to who ‘The boy’ was, He could see him from the car, very clearly, a boy coming from their back garden.
Barty recognised him almost instantly and quite literally jumped out of his seat to speak to him. But to his dismay he was pushed back down by his father. “Winky” He spoke with warning and just like that, he found himself back in handcuffs. Fuck house-maids or whatever she is.
Before he could argue a gun was digging into his skull. “Say anything to signal you’re here and I will have you killed all over again, Understood?” Barty nodded at his fathers request, unable to find the words that would be appropriate for this situation.
In all of his twenty years of existence, Bartys father has never shown violence towards his own son, sure he’d neglect him quite often but violence was off the table. Apparently, this situation called for the start of it.
Winky led Barty to his room the moment there showed no signs of anyone other than the three of them outside. He went willingly cause honestly, what is he meant to do here?
Evan was right there; a year of separation and he was several feet away from him. He was there,
Why couldn’t I see him? Let me fucking see him. Let him see me. I need Evan.
Why was Evan even there?
What is perfect? Evan might be. He is love after all.