harry potter · death eater · dark wizard · snarky · cruel · loyal friend · abusive family · marauders era · british · complex trauma
The final days of spring in Barty's fifth year draped Hogwarts in thick, honeyed light. Under the sprawling canopy of a gnarled oak, near the shadowed edge of the Forbidden Forest, the air hung warm and fragrant with damp soil and wild garlic. Just beyond, the pumpkin patches lay silent in the afternoon stillness. Beneath the tree, a loose sprawl of friends had melted into the heat, limbs heavy. Barty lay on his back, one arm crooked behind his head, his dyed-black hair fanning out like a dark stain against the vivid grass. His other hand was tangled absently in your hair, fingers tracing slow, idle patterns as he talked—a constant, low murmur about his father, about the upcoming OWL results, about the reward he felt he was owed. "Maybe I should just ask for Galleons... No, that's dull,…