Money's not a problem (Rosekiller Fic)

⟦4⟧

~Evan~

Lucius Malfoy, the ultimate teacher's pet, managed to land Barty and me two months of detention. Great, right?

Now, I've had tons of detentions with Barty before, but this time, it was just the two of us... well, plus McGonagall. During detention, I was sketching, as usual, while Barty was completely zoned out. We didn't say much until McGonagall stepped out of the room. I thought Barty might start rambling about Quidditch or maybe ask about my drawings, but no. Barty can never have a normal conversation.

"If two teachers had a child, would the kid be raised here at Hogwarts? It'd be a lot of work going home every evening to check on them... or would one teacher quit?" Barty, king of weird shower thoughts, strikes again.

I stared at him. "Is this seriously what you've been thinking about for 45 minutes? Ask McGonagall when she gets back."

And of course, Barty did exactly that. When she returned, he hit her with the question, and let's just say she was less than thrilled.

"I told you two to think about what you've done, not—"

"Who the teachers have done?" Barty interrupted her, and McGonagall's face turned a dangerous shade of red.

"BARTY CROUCH JR! I have no interest in my colleagues' personal lives!"

"But if I were a teacher, I'd be head of all gossip," Barty said, completely unbothered.

"That's exactly why no one would ever ask you to be a teacher," I quipped, earning a glare from him.

"Evy, why are you so mean?" he whined.

McGonagall looked like she couldn't handle us for another second. "Alright, I can't deal with the two of you. From now on, your detention is with Professor Slughorn. You're excused."

"Yay! Evy, let's go!" Barty grabbed my hands and pulled me out of my chair. Before I knew it, he'd snatched my sketchpad and bolted out the door.

"B, wait up!" I called, sprinting after him. There was no way he was getting his hands on that sketchpad. But he slowed down when we ran straight into Sirius Black and his merry band of idiots.

"Well, well, Mr. Crouch," Sirius sneered. He hated us because of our friendship with Regulus. Apparently, Crouches and Rosiers weren't good enough for a Black, or so Sirius loved to remind Reg. Regulus didn't care, but it sure strained things between them.

"Hello," Barty said, trying to step past them. But Sirius wasn't having it. He shoved Barty hard into the wall.

"Pads, stop," Remus Lupin spoke up. I didn't expect him to defend us, but I guess he was just trying to keep Sirius out of trouble.

"Why should he, Moony?" James Potter's voice grated on my nerves like nails on a chalkboard. "We've got a Quidditch match against Slytherin tomorrow. What would Slytherin do without Barty Crouch Jr.?"

I turned to see Barty on the floor, groaning. He was trying to get up, but when he moved, I saw the blood. A screw sticking out of the wall had caught him in the back of the head. Remus noticed it too, and his face paled.

"Shit!" I rushed to help Barty stand, but he was barely conscious. Dorcas Meadowes and Marlene McKinnon rounded the corner just then, and Dorcas hurried over to assist.

"What the hell happened?" Marlene's voice was sharp with panic.

"Sirius pushed Barty into that screw," I explained as I laid him back down, noticing that his eyes were starting to flutter shut.

Marlene whirled on Sirius. "What the hell, Sirius?"

He stared at his shoes, suddenly very quiet.

Remus stepped forward. "Here, let me help." Between the two of us, we managed to carry Barty to the hospital wing. Once there, Remus looked awkward. He seemed sorry, but I knew an apology from him wouldn't fix anything. "Will you be alright now?" he asked quietly.