(Untitled)

[y_s0_sirius]

Characters: Sirius, Barty Crouch Jr
Rating: PG-13?
Time Period: modern
Location: Tomorrow to Horizon.
Relative Date: A few days after the full moon.
Status: closed

Comments

[bartemiscrchjr]

Barty nodded. He hadn't thought about a secure bin. That was a good idea. He'd have to make sure he had that at his own cottage.

"Once you've got that crushed and into the cauldron, you want to take the fluxweed and chop it finely." He looked over the book.

"This is the long way to make the potion, by the way. And if you don't really know what you're doing you can easily mess it up, like you did." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He wanted to agitate Sirius again but he knew that Sirius needed to be able to concentrate and he probably couldn't do that if he wanted to throttle Barty.

"It's not difficult for someone to mess this potion up, especially the way they have it written in the book. I've made some notes that will help you out, and it might even brew a bit faster than this claims." He made another note in the book, crossing something on the instruction list out completely and writing beside it.

[y_s0_sirius]

Barty was right about Sirius' concentration. He chopped the fluxwed finely--that was one thing he WAS good at. Slughorn had been a stickler, and had inadvertantly helped Sirius by being so picky.

'Maybe when I'm more comfortable with this one, you can help me learn the easier way,' he said, assuming there was one since this was apparently the 'long' way.

[bartemiscrchjr]

"That's what the notes are for." He smiled a little as he watched him chop up the fluxweed.

"That's good enough. Don't want it too fine. Now, for the best results you need to mix the fluxweed in with the pond slime before you add it to the potion." He made a note of that in the book. That was something that he'd learned on his own and probably even Snape didn't know about that one. He'd made a few batches of the potion for a friend before he'd gone entirely crazy.

[y_s0_sirius]

Sirius nodded. He wasn't one to question potions masters. They spent time with potions as he did with wand magic. Like Snape and Barty with potions, he knew tricks with his wand that weren't in any book.

He mixed the fluxweed and pond slime, nodding, impressed, when the two seemed to bond and alter into something slightly different. 'S'pose this was what Golpalott was talking about with that wretched third law,' he muttered.

[bartemiscrchjr]

Barty nodded vigorously. "Exactly! It's amazing to see everything come together, really." He grinned, getting excited about the whole process. He really did love working with potions. He cleared his throat a bit.

"Alright, you want to set that aside for now. It has to stew a bit. Get the moon dew and the vinegar. You want to just pour in the moon dew but the vinegar must be sprinkled. It's essential." Barty looked at the ingredients again.

"It's really no wonder this potion has a retched taste. I'd been trying to come up with something that makes it taste better without altering the effects of the potion but there's nothing. It's almost like you're supposed to hate drinking it." He shook his head. He was definitely going to keep working on that flavor issue.

[y_s0_sirius]

Well, with moon dew, pond slime, and vinegar, it's not going to taste like treacle tarts, for sure. I'm sure Remus would be thrilled to have it taste better. From how he describes it, even the most foul Bertie Botts Beans taste better"

'There is a young witch here. Called Cia. She apparently never got her school letter at 11. From the way she tells it, she moved a rather lot. Remus and I are teaching her as best we can. He's got the Defence Against Dark Arts down and I'm working on charms and transfiguration. I've been doing potions too, but as she's exceptionally bright, she's going to need a better teacher than I. Perhaps you'd consider teaching her.' he suggested offhandedly.

[bartemiscrchjr]

Barty made a disgusted face at Sirius' description of the potion. That seemed about accurate, though, since he'd tasted the potion himself to make sure it was right. There were few potions masters that would actually test the potions on themselves, and Barty only did it with the ones that wouldn't hurt him and the effects would wear off on their own

[y_s0_sirius]

Sirius glared at Barty's amusement. It was something Cia called 'stink eye'. He'd learnt it from molly Weasley, himself.

He cubed the mandrake root. 'Why not chop it? If it's going to dissolve anyhow? Not complaining or second guessing--just curious.'

He nodded at barty's words. He wanted to caution barty not to have her experimenting but for now, he kept quiet. Though he'd certainly enquire what he was teaching her, when he met with her.

[bartemiscrchjr]

Barty had seen a look similar to that one on his own father's face many times and he cleared his throat. Brought back a few memories he'd rather stay forgotten, really. He looked down at the book and then back at Sirius.

"I....can't remember exactly why it matters." He scratched his head as he thought about it. "I just know that the potion works better if you cube the root and not just chop it. There's a reason, though." He sighed and crossed his arms. This was going to bug him now. He just had to ask, didn't he?

"One of the times when having Snivellus around would help. He probably remembers." He sighed again and shook his head. Sirius never did answer his question.

"How'd she manage a wand? If she never got her letter that means she never went to Diagon Alley so she never went to Olivander's....." As far as Barty knew, that was the only place to get a wand. He looked at the wand that was now his that lay on the table. He missed his wand. The wand that had chosen him all those years ago. But that was a wand

[y_s0_sirius]

'Well, she's American, so she'd have gone someplace in the States. Apparently, this place provided her one--seems to be good for that. She'd been using Remus', but as you know, the best magic is done with one's own wand.

'After some weeks of lessons, she apparently found a wand sitting on her bureau. She said it felt a lot better to work with, and her magic has certainly improved, since.'

He finished cubing the mandrake root. 'This go in the cauldron now?' he asked.

[bartemiscrchjr]

Barty scratched behind his ear as he thought about what Sirius said. This place provided her with a wand. Perhaps he'd be given a new wand as well. The one he had worked okay, but nothing performed better than one's own wand. It took him a moment to realize that he'd been asked a question.

"Huh? Oh, yes. Put that in the cauldron and stir it thoroughly, then add the pond slime and fluxweed mixture." He cleared his throat. Barty was lost in his thoughts again. He wrapped his arms around himself as he leaned back against the table.

"You said you come from a different timeline? One where events moved beyond what I know?" He ran his fingers through his hair.

"Can I ask you something?"

[y_s0_sirius]

Sirius did as told, adding the ingredients to the cauldron. He didn't ask if there was a special way to stir, knowing that, if there was, he'd have been told so.

Looking up when done, he nodded. 'When I was taken, well... brought back to life and then taken, the War was over. Many wizards died. Including Bellatrix (oh yes, that had been fun to watch--if he did get out of here, he'd be thanking Molly).

'Harry and his friends were in their 30s, and had families,' he said proudly.

At the second question, he nodded again. 'Of course.'

[bartemiscrchjr]

Barty closed his eyes and sighed a bit. He'd always liked Bellatrix, even if she hadn't treated him all that well. She didn't treat him as bad as the others had. And she was one of the few others that was truly loyal to Voldemort. He cringed a bit at the thought of his master being dead and the boy living on, but that's the way things worked sometimes. Buffy had even said the good guys always win. He ran his fingers through his hair before wrapping his arms around himself again.

"What do you remember happening to me?" He cleared his throat. "How'd I end up?"

[y_s0_sirius]

Sirius noted the reaction, but didn't question it. At Barty's question, he looked away. That wasn't a question he wanted to answer.

He fiddled with the objects on the table. Finally, he said, 'You got the Kiss. I don't know what happened after that.' He'd been forced into hiding and with the war erupting rather quickly, his focus had been on the Order, and on Harry.

[bartemiscrchjr]

Barty's whole body went cold for a second and he shook his head.

"No....that's impossible. Father never would have....." He stopped midsentence. His father never would have allowed them to give him the Kiss, but he'd killed his father. Stood there and watched him die and reveled in it like it was the happiest moment in his life.

"I'm finding myself suddenly very glad to have been taken away when I was." He cleared his throat and ran his fingers through his hair. The kiss was a worse punishment than death. He visibly shuddered as he thought about what it meant.

[y_s0_sirius]

'I'm sorry,' he said quietly. 'This place... It may not be the friendliest place, but it does seem big on second chances, in some form,' he said.