Blood Magic ✤ George Weasley ✓

83 - Dancing With Our Hands Tied

musical mood: perfect world - twice

Eventually, the two got some rest, sleeping in through all of the day and into the next night. Well, Cass did, at least, the physical and emotional exhaustion overwhelming her. Quirrell, on the other hand, spent his time pouring over the map, as if Mopsus would pop out of the thing and tell him where to find him.

The following day, the two packed up their things, and walked several miles to the nearest train station. The burning heat was nearly unbearable, and their entire water stash was gone by the time they'd bought their train tickets and boarded their compartment.

Luckily, they didn't need to use the translation books Quirrell had packed, as Cass knew fluent French, but even then, the locals gave them odd looks. Maybe it was because they hadn't washed in days, and looked overall horrible and sweaty, or just because they were obvious foreigners.

"Is there anything else I should know?" Cass asked once she shut the door to their compartment, isolating them from the rest of the train, and leaving their conversation to themselves. "About the Bond, or my brother, or your life?"

"Let me think." He paused, closing his eyes as he pondered this. "Would you like to know how Barty ended up how he did?"

Her brow furrowed together in confusion. "Was he not always mad?"

A laugh escaped his lips. "You think I fell in love with a madman? No, he was wonderful, as a young man. Smart, popular, funny. I loved him for a reason, Cass."

"Why did he go mad, then, if he wasn't always like that?"

"Barty had always wanted his father's love, his attention. He'd have done anything for it. Until his late teen years. Then, he grew resentful, and would do anything to rebel against him. When Regulus Black and Evan Rosier joined the Death Eaters, he considered joining. Then, when Evan Rosier, who Bartemius knew was friends with Barty, was caught and killed, Barty was taken into custody. He was tortured for information, under Bartemius's orders, even though he knew nothing."

"No..." She stared at him, eyes wide in horror. Barty hadn't been lying, Bartemius had tortured him, had hurt him. His own fucking son.

Quirrell nodded gravely, biting down on his lip. "It was horrible. Something in him snapped. Not many people can withstand that amount of torture, and from one's own father...he was never the same. He joined the Death Eaters shortly after. I thought about joining with him, but I just couldn't. I couldn't bring myself to do it. I'm a halfblood, my mother a muggleborn, my father a muggle, and my older sister a squib. I couldn't betray my family, not like that. So, I went into hiding. Only after the war did I return, and by that point, Barty had been assumed dead, after being arrested. I was heartbroken. I lived the next ten years of my life in a state of pure misery. I blamed the Dark Lord for what had happened to my beloved Barty. I didn't blame Barty, not at the time. So when I heard the rumour that the Dark Lord was in Albania, I went to find him, to kill him. But he offered me the deal, that he would bring Barty back from the dead, if I helped him. I accepted."

"You really loved him."

"I did. He was my everything. I couldn't go on without him. I'm sure you've felt the same way, about some people."

"George, and Henry."

"You loved them both?"

Cass stiffened. "Yes. If you'd truly been watching me for so long, you'd know that."

"You make it sound like I was some sort of stalker."

"No offence, but it is a bit creepy, that you've had your eye on me for so long, while I thought you were dead."