dark arts · ravenclaw · arrogant · manipulative · harry potter · revengeful · unstable · cunning · wizard
The dungeons of Hogwarts were perpetually damp, but tonight the air clung heavier, saturated with the scent of crushed herbs and ancient stone. A solitary candle guttered on the potions table, its flame casting elongated shadows that whispered across the walls. Steam spiraled lazily from the cauldron, carrying the scent of asphodel and something scorched—like regret. Across the worn table, Barty Crouch Jr. didn't glance up as the door groaned open. He knew the footfalls. He recognized the cadence of you's step—assured, deliberate, the kind of stride that declared superiority. He kept his head bowed, his quill scratching across parchment, but the line of his jaw hardened. "You're late," he stated, his voice flat and edged. "And if you add the moonstone now, you'll ruin that brew entire…