snake in the grass

She drew a breath, for a moment not sure what to respond even though it was as simple as two words. The witch felt caught, not having expected anyone else to be wandering around at these odd hours. “It’s just me. Emmeline Vance.” Did that even mean anything to them? It was just a name surely. Emmeline scrambled, shoving the notebook she’d been holding moments before back into her bag. “Nothing wrong with a nightly walk, hm?”

Whoever it was didn’t immediately answer or make any move to show theirself. Alert and wary, Barty’s body pulled wholly away from the wall and the hand not holding his smoke slipped into his pocket. He didn’t know magic well enough to properly defend himself, but he could at least get away if someone was trying to mug him or the like. But a moment later she spoke, and his body relaxed again as he let out a breath, his hand pulling back to drum his fingertips against the side of his leg. “Emmeline...?” Barty didn’t forget names, didn’t forget faces, though he never knew her well he recognized her name from the occasional mention amongst pureblood society. It held no weight to it, much like his own. His smoke returned between his teeth and he took a long drag from it as his back found the cool brick wall again. “Nothing wrong with that, no,” the mask agreed with her, a lopsided little smile finding his lips. “But you can’t be too careful, can you? Dodgy time of night, dodgy place to be...” They were only one street over from knockturn alley, which unlike the main street was still up and running in full swing. Dim light poured from the entrance out into the street, the only thing disrupting the otherwise dark shop fronts.

House Call | Barty & Cassius

Cassius was maybe blowing this out of proportions just a bit. But it was a big deal! Mostly because no one ever dared to tell him no. With his horrific temper, they dare not to encourage his anger. But his father was a completely different case, and he certainly didn’t care or fear Cassius’s sharp rage. That almost made it worse somehow, seeing his anger completely disregarded as a childish tantrum. Which, maybe it was, but certainly not to Cassius HE needed someone to take him at least somewhat seriously! And he knew just the person who would listen to him, whining or not.  Cassius was almost more at home at the Crouch Manor than he was Mulciber estate, but really what it was is that there was no one brave enough to shoo him away. Letting himself in through the Floo, he handed off his coat to Winky, asking for Barty’s whereabouts. Of course Crouch Sr. wasn’t home, and thankfully, the Missus was out shopping. Nothing against Miss Crouch, he just hated bothering her, really, for her own sake. It was like handling something much too fragile for his clumsy hands. Much like he used to regard Barty. Something made of glass that would shatter in his hands should he handle the boy too roughly. How happy he was to find how wrong that assumption had been.  After being pointed to the right room Cassius was throwing open the door, boisterous as always, “Pennnnyyyy, it’s all falling apart, I had to actually go to work todayyyyy,” he whined quite loudly as he made his way to Barty’s side. Without hesitation he was grabbing the young man’s head snatching it against his chest, “It was horrible. I had to do paperwork, Pens, can you believe it? And it’s all over the fucking papers, I feel like a celebrity, but the kind who shit in King’s Cross during busy hour, not the award-winning kind.”  @bartcmius-jr

A voice took him by slight surprise - thinking for sure he’d go undetected. But it was a familiar one and he relaxed almost as instantly as he had tensed. Barty. Well, that was worth pausing for, he supposed. “Relax, Crouch.” He called back softly - there was no need to be any louder in the dead quiet of the night. “It’s just me.” Severus took a few steps into the dim light from the street lamps and made his way closer.

From the shadows came the all too familiar sound of Severus’s voice, and for a moment Barty let the mask fall, his expression falling blank and his eyes focusing on the other man’s as he came into the light. It lasted only a moment before the mask’s usual, lopsided grin tugged at his lips again. It was the kind of slip he wouldn’t allow around many, but Severus was one of the few people in Barty’s life who would remember how he was before the mask had been perfected, and who had been permitted to know of his secret purpose. His friend wouldn’t judge or persecute him for it any more than Barty would him. “Sev,” he let out a breath of relief, shuffling his feet as he leaned himself back against the wall almost as if too tired to hold up what little gangly weight he had to him. His cane remained hooked to his wrist despite it, the wall more than enough support at the moment. “Almost scared the shit out of me, mate. Dunno what you think you’re doing, lurking in the shadows like that.” “Seems suspicious,” he teased, bringing the smoke back to his lips for a pull. Cloudy grey eyes met Severus’s with amusement.

“What is it to you?” The phrase escaped accompanied by a sneer as Lucius narrowed his eyes. Getting defensive was the initial response to not expecting someone else to be there. He relaxed slightly upon realizing it was Barty. Not enough to fully put his defensive front down, merely opting for not immediately threatening the other man.

A familiar voice came drawling from the darkness and Barty let out a low breath, stilling his free hand which had been slowly slipping down to the pocket where he kept his wand. Not that Barty Crouch was particularly good at magic, but he would have tried had he needed to defend himself. As it was, Lucius Malfoy posed him no more threat than any other wizard with ties to his Dark Lord. “Nothing, Lucius,” Barty answered sounding a bit breathless for the scare and let his long, lanky body slump fully against the wall once more, shaky fingers raised his smoke back to his lips and he chuckled nervously as he asked, “what’re you doing, slinking about in the night?” He glanced to the store fronts nearby, most of which were lightless and shut up for the night, a soft glow emanating from the still bustling street of Knockturn Alley just down the way.

They flicked immediately over in the direction of whatever movement he’d caught. He could have sworn there was someone there. Alarm took the mask’s features and he called out nervously, “w-who’s there?”

🥊 | how strong is your muse’s survival instinct?

⚖️ | what is your muse’s moral code? what kind of morality do they have?

Barty has a very specific moral code considering how tiny and immoral it actually is. Basically it boils down to two things:

Possessions are important, they are to be cared for and respected.

8: Does your character hate anyone? Why?

Barty hates a lot of people. But he doesn't hate anyone as much as he hates Crouch Sr. He finds that man to be the most vile and despicable person, and would absolutely kill him if it wouldn't make Penelope miserable.

24: What prejudices does your character have?

Barty isn't particularly bothered by muggles or muggle borns, but he does see them as expendable. He's fine to go along with whatever Voldemort wants of him.

And he's a little misogynistic, he doesn't respect the role that pureblooded women play in society and sees them as pretty, empty things for marrying off to maintain blood purity.

32: What does your character look like?

Barty has dark brown hair and grey eyes like storm clouds. He is clean shaven. He stands at 6'4" and his body is thin and lanky in a way that makes him look delicate and weak. He has long, thin fingers. His body is covered in scars, bruises, and bandaging, and he has bandages wrapped up and down his arms from his shoulders to his wrists. He carries a walking cane.

36: Does anyone want to harm your character?

I'm sure there are a lot of people who would like to harm Barty. I'm not sure of anyone specific though.

56: What’s one of your character’s quirks?