Dark Fascination 5 - Awkward Truths

Scarlet looked at Barty pensively as a sudden thought struck her, “But what about your father?”
He stared at her for a moment astonished, before standing and quickly crossing the room. His back was turned to her, “What about him?”
Scarlet ran a hand through her dishevelled hair distractedly, “I know what happened.”
Barty wheeled around, the first trace of his anger flashed across his face, “Do you really?!”
She stood, her eyes now level with his. He no longer towered over her, and it made him seem a lot less intimidating somehow, “I read-”
“- It in the Daily Prophet. I know. Who didn’t?”
“You-”
“I killed him, yes.” he cut across her again, dropping his hard gaze.
“How can you be so cold? Don’t you care?! How can you just stand there and be so blasé about it?” Scarlet’s voice became very shrill.

Barty stepped forward suddenly, reaching out and grabbing her wrists. He gave her a look of such powerful intensity it was almost painful to meet his gaze, but she felt she could not look away. She had never seen him so angry, but whether this was directed at her or not she couldn’t comprehend. For a moment she could see a trace of the Death Eater in him, before he changed his expression to one of remorse. Perhaps he had caught the look in her eye, the unexpected, uncontrollable fear that briefly lingered over her features. Whatever it was, it had made him quickly mask his rage, and Scarlet was glad of it. He hadn’t meant to upset her, she was sure.

“Don’t ever say that.”, regret was etched into every feature of his face, and she too felt a tug of guilt at bringing up something which caused such fierce emotions. She tried to pull her arms from his grasp but he didn‘t let go, though his grip loosened, “Scarlet. Listen to me. It’s not something that’s easy for me to deal with, but it’s also not something that’s going to go away either.”
“Barty, listen…”
“No, you listen. You have no idea what happened, none at all!” his voice took an
authoritative tone rather than irritated, and Scarlet found herself taken back to History of Magic and being berated by Professor Binns for “accidentally” turning Barty’s quill into a into a rather charming, yet slightly dishevelled cockatoo. Her whoop of joy at the success of the transfiguration however, was what had really annoyed him. If it weren’t for this, Scarlet doubted he would have noticed the interruption to his lesson. It proved worth it however, her mastery of the spell had overcome their boredom, and she was praised highly by Professor McGonogall the next day, as she was the only one who had managed to turn it into anything nearing a bird. The singed wing Barty produced was received with a look of disdain, and a loud sniff. Scarlet didn’t reveal however, that her newly found talent at the subject was due to boredom control in Binn’s lesson, which had led her to practice.

But Scarlet was no longer a child, nor a pupil, and those were times long gone. Barty wasn’t the boss of her either. Scarlet glared at him, “It hasn’t exactly been easy for me either!”
He didn’t reply, choosing instead to stare at her blankly in an irritating fashion.
“Do you think I’ve just been sat back relaxing in your absence? Do you have any idea what I’ve been through?!”
“No, actually. Care to tell me?”, he wasn’t being sarcastic. To her surprise, he looked like he genuinely wished to know.
Scarlet remained silent, letting her arms go limp, regarding him with a wary eye. She had to admit, his obvious sincerity was curiously endearing. This sense of openness Barty had never had with her before, she realised, but perhaps it was his anger that had loosened his tongue. Scarlet however was overwhelmed by the information that had been so unceremoniously dumped upon her. It wasn’t as if she didn’t have enough to worry about as it was. However, despite her annoyance and disappointment she couldn’t deny the sympathy she felt for him, nor the rush of affection she felt every time he looked at her with that solemn gaze.

Scarlet shook her head finally, “It doesn’t matter.”
“It obviously does.” Barty breathed, he still very disturbed by the abrupt change of subject, but Scarlet couldn’t let it go, but decided now was not the time for discussion of his father. She supposed she should feel privileged she had got this much information out of him, although she knew this was as much for her benefit as his. But she didn’t feel privileged, she felt empty and dazed, as though she did not understand anything he’d said with any clarity.

Barty looked at her tensely, before his eyes softened. The grip on her wrists could not be described as gentle, but it had slackened and no longer pained her as it had before. “I never imagined how it’s been for you.”
“I… You were my best friend, and then all of a sudden you were gone.” Scarlet sighed, hesitant to reveal her real feelings lest it make the situation even more uncomfortable than it already was. The unspoken sentiment behind her words however was somewhat unintentionally conveyed, the depth of her feelings on the matter however, only she could truly recognise. Despite this, Barty seemed to understand. His sudden extrication from her life had grieved her, it was true, and even Scarlet could not ignore the feeling of elation she had felt when she found out he was alive and well, despite all the complications it brought with it. He lifted his hand to her face, brushing away a tear that had strayed, unbidden, down her cheek.

Scarlet quickly wiped at her eyes with her sleeve. Reluctantly, Barty made to lower his hand, before she impulsively caught it in her own. He stared at her with surprise for a second, and she could feel the tension practically buzzing in the air between them, when on a sudden whim he pulled her close. As his arm encircled her waist to pull her into an awkward embrace, their eyes locked. Barty studied her face wistfully, sweeping a deviant hair from her face, before closing the remaining space between them and pressing his lips against hers. Scarlet’s first reaction was one of shock, before she engaged her brain. Her hand had found it’s way into his hair, she felt a surge of rebellion, and suddenly she was kissing him back with an utter disregard for her inhibitions. In his embrace she felt protected somehow, her mind was shielded from the questions and answers that constantly bludgeoned her tired brain. She didn’t have to think about the terrible things he had done, they didn’t matter. It didn’t matter. Her fingers traced the scar that ran down his cheekbone, as Barty deepened the kiss, during which she kept telling herself that it was alright, it wasn’t the same person who committed such heinous crimes. It didn’t matter.

But it did.

Scarlet ended the kiss abruptly, meeting his intent gaze, “Barty… What are you going to do now?”
He stared back at her, his dark eyes alive, the most alive they had been since before all this mess began. He was barely recognisable from the hollow, husk of a being that had stared from the front page of a thousand Daily Prophets.
“I was afraid your were going to ask me that.” he answered, breathlessly. Distracted by her proximity, Barty leant towards her once again, trying to quell her questions with his lips. She placed a hand over his mouth, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, before she straightened her face.
“Are you going to leave?” she asked quietly, trying not to think that of all the queries she had made that day, this was the most important.
Barty opened his mouth to reply, as she lowered her hand, when, with a jolt he doubled up, clutching at his arm in pain.

*

Barty heard Scarlet cry out from somewhere in front of him, as she inclined forward to his aid. He was vaguely aware that her hand was still in his, and he held onto it tightly. His mind was fogged with the searing pain, as he fell to his knees. He felt Scarlet kneel beside him, trying desperately to somehow support him. Looking down at his arm he saw the Dark Mark was red hot against his skin, as it burned into the flesh.
“Voldemort” he muttered, almost retching as a wave of sickness came over him. He could feel Scarlet’s pensive eyes on him, “I’m not going to go to him!”
“I know” she answered quietly, clearly as clueless at what to do as him. He felt a reassuring arm circle his shoulders.
“Anything’s better than this…” he groaned clutching at his head, which felt like it was splitting in two.
“Sssh…” her arm tightened around him, “You know what happened last time. You just have to try and endure it, the pain should stop soon.”
“I don’t think I can.” he whispered back hoarsely, burying his face in her shoulder.
Scarlet sighed deeply, and they continued to wait, wait until the pain ebbed away.

But it didn’t.