Loyalties | Barty Crouch Jr

A Slug Club Supper

Barty ended up spending an entire week in the hospital wing before Madam Pomfrey deemed him healed enough to leave and start attending classes again. Leonora had graciously volunteered to bring him all of his homework during that time so that he wouldn't fall behind.

He did never end up making the team. Regulus had explained that while the boy was a great contender, he wanted the team to be perfect this year, as this was his final year at Hogwarts, and he was itching to win the quidditch cup.

Barty had been rather disappointed, while Leonora had been quite relieved. If Barty could get a cracked skull from tryouts, imagine what could happen during an actual game.

After he was released from the hospital wing, he still had to wear a bandage wrapped around his head for another week, causing a lot of stares. He absolutely hated it; everybody staring at him with pity in their eyes.

And the rumors of what everybody thought had happened only got worse, Leonora now getting spun into them. Something about two overly jealous boys vying for the girl's attention, even though Regulus was already betrothed to another.

None of them cared enough to dispel them. It would be old news by the time Hallowe'en rolled around anyways.

October 10, 1978 - Tuesday Afternoon

Every Tuesday and Thursday, after classes, Leonora found herself alone along the outskirts of the forbidden forest, practicing her animagus form. She would have preferred to do the transformation every day, but she figured her friends would become suspicious if she disappeared every single day before dinner. So, two days a week would have to do.

However, early October meant the weather was getting increasingly colder, and she feared that her hatred of the cold would negatively affect her desire to practice her transformations. She anticipated traveling out less and less during the winter months, but perhaps when it got to that point, the Room of Requirement would be a good replacement to the forest.

A slight breeze swept through the air as soon as Leonora stepped foot outside of the castle, lightly pulling strands of her hair along with it. She brought her fingers up to her face, tucking those strands neatly behind her ears, before pulling her light jacket tightly around her body as a way to further protect herself from the chill in the air.

One good thing about the weather getting colder, was that not as many students could be found outside studying or hanging out with their friends. Most opted to stay in the warmth of the castle and today was no exception. Glancing around, Leonora only noticed a handful of other students outside, all most likely headed back from Care of Magical Creatures.

She briskly walked in the direction of the Forbidden Forest, keeping her head down as she passed other students on the path. When she passed the last students, she picked up her pace even more, occasionally turning her head around to see if anyone was watching her. It didn't appear so.

It took her a couple of minutes to reach the edge of the forest, and when she did, she turned around one last time, just to double check. When she was confident that there were no stray students wandering around, she finally disappeared behind the trees. 

Each time she entered the forest, she only went in far enough so that the castle was just barely visible to her through the thick trunks and leaves. She had no intention of traveling in any further than she needed to, scared of the possibility of getting attacked by a dangerous creature.

Taking a deep breath, she slipped her jacket off of her arms, letting it fall to the forest floor, before holding her wand up to her chest to say the incantation.