Snakes and Roses|| Rosekiller || ✔️

41. Consequential Insanity

WARNING: depictions of grief, graphic depictions of torture, losing memory/ losing ones sanity

Barty is still on that battlefield, cradling Evan's body, crying over the loss of the love of his life.

Evan is dead

Evan is gone

Barty can't accept it, he won't.

How could someone do this? How could the universe take Evan away from him? He's been stripped of the good in his life. Evan was all things good, at least to Barty he was, and now he's gone, and Barty can't believe it, he doesn't want to believe it.

He recounts the memory, Alastor Moody and the two aurors surrounding Evan. The killing curse came from one of them, but he doesn't know which one.

The more times he plays the memory in his head, the angrier he gets, and he decides that he's not going to let them get away with this, any of them.

"I'll come back for you, my love" Barty says softly to Evan, kissing his forehead and running his hands through Evan's curls one last time.

He uses his wand to conjure up a blanket that he uses to cover Evan's body, he then conjures up flowers that surround Evan'd body, giving him a temporary, yet beautiful grave. He'll come back and give Evan something proper later, but right now he needs to avenge Evan, he's not letting the love of his life die in vain.

Barty scours the streets of the town that has now mostly been destroyed and he finds the two aurors that he doesn't know the name of. He doesn't need to know their names, he just needs to get to them.

He picks up his pace and reaches them, but they don't see him coming, which is good for Barty because it gives him the opportunity to grab them and apparate, which is exactly what he does.

They're transported to an empty warehouse, Barty isn't sure where, this is just where Barty had pictured when he apparated them.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Asks the first man, Barty is sure he knows him, he used to be the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, Frank, Barty thinks his name is, and the dark haired woman next to him used to be a beater on the Gryffindor team...Alice, he thinks.

Not that he needs to know their names, but it doesn't hurt. Barty doesn't answer Frank, instead, he conjures two chairs. He then flicks his wand and the two of them are bound to the chairs, causing them to exchange frightened looks between one another

"What are you doing?" Asks Alice

"Tell me, do you know who Evan Rosier is?" Asks Barty

"Who?" Asks Frank

Barty tsks "wrong answer" Barty replies. He raises his wand at Frank, who flinches slightly and that small flinch, that slight action sends a thrill through Barty. He relishes in the fear exhibited in his victim's eyes. "Crucio" Barty says, almost bored

Frank yells out in pain, causing the chair to shake as his body writhes, straining against his binds "Stop it! STOP!" Alice shouts

There's a bit too much care there for them to just be friends or colleagues. No, they're lovers. Barty would know, Alice looks at Frank the same way Barty looks at Evan. It makes him feel sick, it makes him feel angry. Why should they still continue to love one another when they took Barty's love away from him.

Unfair isn't it?

Barty looks to the far corner at the back of the warehouse and there stood..Evan.

Except it can't be, because Evan is dead, Barty watched him die. He shakes his head and Evan disappears. For a moment, Barty's stomach lurches, hallucination or not, he wants Evan back simply to look at him, to feel his presence again.