Amycus Carrow

It was easy to walk with that never-forgotten pride, near smugness, as Antonin strolled through the gates of Hogwarts. The years hadn’t been easy on him, not kind or particularly forgiving. Two stints in Azkaban - one almost infinitely shorter than the first, thank Merlin, thank his gracious Dark Lord for never letting them falter now that he was gloriously, wondrously back. 

Despite his recapture the Department of Mysteries battle hadn’t been a total loss; Sirius Black was now long dead, long gone, with no body for the werewolf or the Potter boy to mourn, and Antonin was quite certain he’d done an impressive amount of damage to a couple of the Potter Gang that they’d surely not forget. It hadn’t all been for naught, and it had made Lucius Malfoy look a proper fool: that was worth the shorter stay in his old familiar cell (it hadn’t been the same cell, he did not notice that) honestly. It even pulled a sharp laugh out of him as his brain, ever skittering from topic to topic these days, settled on the fact.

The Dark Lord was clearly happy with him, and why shouldn’t he be? Antonin had proven his loyalty time and time again. He’d gone to hell on earth for Voldemort and he proved, happily, that he’d do it as many times as necessary. When Patrik Dolohov had died Antonin had seamlessly stepped up to take his place, and he’d die there too if he had to.

There was a pause, and Antonin seemed to realize that he was being greeted now that he was past the gates. By Amycus Carrow, who looked well indeed, and Antonin only briefly had to shake his head to clear his thoughts back to the present, fixing a jagged smile on his face as the younger man clasped his arm. The Carrows had avoided Azkaban time, he knew, but their devotion to the cause when Lord Voldemort returned was trusted enough by the man himself. Antonin could believe the pair of them had simply gotten lucky; he did not extend that gratitude to every colleague who had faced such fortune.

“Amycus,” Antonin greeted him in his best approximation of warm, though his voice was long since permanently altered, no longer smooth as snake oil, by the screams and wails of Azkaban. “Keeping brilliantly, my old friend. You’re looking fantastic.” 

It was true. The post was clearly suiting the younger man. If Antonin let his mind drift, and it did anyway, he could remember Amycus’s fresh-faced, certainly hungry look at his first meeting. He never would have thought Carrow would be much suited to be around children, it was true, but with the Dark Lord’s plans in place the students needed a… firmer hand, it seemed. Who better than the Carrows? 

“Wonderful.” Antonin murmured, eyes trailing around as they made their way through the grand, familiar doors of Hogwarts. His children were still here, somewhere; he only briefly sought them out in the scattering crowds. He let Amycus lead them to his office, assuming Severus would make his appearance at some point, but he was in no rush to speak to the Headmaster. Cocking his head slightly to the side he fixed Amycus with a blankly curious look. “Things are going well for you here? Teaching?”

Amycus knew Antonin didn’t exactly need a tour guide. The school had barely changed a wink since they had been students attending there; though Antonin left some years before Amycus. Even the dust was probably the same. 

“Good, good.” he nodded. A man like Antonin reflected the health of their other brothers. If he was doing well, then progress must be happening. As much as Amycus was thankful for his new position and loved the job, part of him missed the freedom of the outside. He wasn’t on the front lines anymore. There was only so much pain he could inflict on his pupils, and indeed he did, before he was forced to stop. On muggles, there was no need to stop. 

Maybe I need to take the weekend off, he wondered to himself as they crossed the courtyard. It wasn’t as busy as it used to be. The students tended to keep to their houses, avoiding the hallways or the outside. Made his job easier. The fewer interactions he had with children the better. They were too grating. 

“Best they’ve been in centuries, I expect.” he smirked. That might not all be due to his preaching, but he liked to think he had some affect on the changes being made. “We’ve made a good team here,” he added with a nod. “Just need to get rid of the last few resisting forces here...” Aka McGonagall. 

It wasn’t like Amycus to give credit to others, when there was a possibility of taking it for himself. Things really were changing. 

“I have a new class, changed it from ‘defence against’ to just ‘dark arts.’ It’s been going well, though I think next year I’d like to tweak the curriculum a bit.” he explained, his long black cloak billowing in the wind, making him look a bit like Dracula’s bat. 

The passion in his voice, which was once reserved only for his sister or quidditch, seemed out of place in the grown-up world of work. 

“I really think the students will respond better to a more cohesive learning module...” He hoped Antonin would relay some of his ideas back to the Dark Lord. Snape seemed disillusioned as of late, and thus remained unreceptive to his ideas beyond the obvious corporal punishment ( was there really an alternative?).

But Amycus was a visionary. “If we start including charms work earlier, in first year, I really think we could get the students up to confringo by the end of year 2. Then they’ll be at the unforgivables by 5th year, ideally..” he was growing more and more excited as he was talking about it. 

“And then imagine if we crossed disciplines, incorporated potioned dark magic by year four–– Hey!” He yelled, lifting a hand to pause their conversation as he spotted a young boy talking with another student, pink pygmy puff bouncing back and forth between them. Amycus grabbed the hood of the boy’s robes, yanking him roughly backwards. He snatched the pygmy puff from the air and shot an exploding spell at it. 

“If I have to deal with one more of those stupid things...” he muttered to Antonin with a sigh, before starting to carry on with their walk. 

“Every bloody day I’m exploding at least 10-15..” he muttered, ignoring the whimpering cries from the students at the scene they left behind. They knew what the policy was. 

“Seen not heard, am I right,” he smirked and nudged him with an elbow, changing tones as they went inside. 

Andromeda couldn’t have been happier that summer had finally started. It meant more time with her sisters and her friends having fun and relaxing. Their parents became more lax with them during the summer. Then again they were busy with their own drinks as they mingled and caught up with each other. They weren’t all that worried about what the children were up to, as long as they weren’t in the way or causing trouble. 

She could Sirius up on the patio, currently being accosted by their parents and she couldn’t help but laugh at the look of irritation on his laugh. She was distracted by the image when she felt the cool water of a sprinkler as it moved over head and she laughed in glee as she ran to join Cissy who was dodging through a maze of flowers and bushes as she enjoyed the sprinklers. 

There was a bright smile on her face as she made her own way through the flowers, not the least bit concerned that her dress was soaked or the dirt and grass that dirtied her feet. 

She paused to catch her breath, pushing her wet hair back from her face as she watched everyone else around her. She heard Amycus and looked up, scowling as he told her to move so he could hit the sprinkler. “Leave it alone!” She snapped. “Everyone is having fun with them. Why do you have to ruin it?” 

Amycus frowned, his hand wavering in the air with the rock in it.  

“Just go away baby,” he shot back in a mocking voice. They were the same age sure, but she was a girl, what did she know? The smartest girl in all of England was his sister. And Andromeda definitely wasn’t his twin. 

“Stop being a party pooper.” he muttered, his hand slowly dropping back down. He wouldn’t give up his fight just yet, but it might be easier to wait till her back was turned first. 

“I don’t care if everyone else is having fun.” he shrugged, brushing his sandy wet hair away from his eyes. The sprinklers were coming back around again, ready to drop a spray of water on them again. 

“I want a pool. Stupid sprinklers are for babies.” he frowned. They were for little kids sure, but Amycus was about to turn 6 that fall. As far as he was concerned, he might as well be on the patio with the older kids. 

“I hate them,” he turned his attention back to the sprinklers, getting a rain shower of water on his face again that made his skin shiver. 

“Here.” he offered Andromeda a rock. Maybe then she’d let him throw one of his own. He pulled another from the pocket of his shorts. 

 Andromeda rolled her eyes at his reaction, she didn’t miss the scowl that formed on his lips in response. Though she couldn’t fathom why he would react so strongly to the news. Why would he care? She had expected the harsh reaction from Bellatrix, but thus far everyone else had seemed happy for the new couple. 

Well Ted hadn’t seemed all that pleased with the news either. She had done her best to explain the situation to him, and he seemed to grudgingly accept why she was doing it. She only hoped that one day it wouldn’t come back to get her. She was lying to so many people she cared about at the moment and she was doing her best to try and figure out what the right thing to do was. 

She made a sound of disgust at his question, her eyes narrowing as she turned to glare at him. “I don’t believe that’s any of your business Carrow!” She snapped, her voice coming out as a hiss between her teeth. “How dare you even ask me something so personal!” 

Amycus frowned, though it was his own lack of thinking that had him actually expecting a proper response.

“So you have then.” He stated flatly, crossing his arms and raising his brow. The fact that she refused to answer automatically meant that they must have. Either that or he was just in the mood to be more annoying than usual. 

“How was it?” He pressed her, part of him genuinely curious. They weren’t close enough friends that this would be an appropriate question, nor was he actually concerned about the dynamics of her relationship. It was more out of curiosity, crudeness, and sheer judgement that had him seeking more information. 

How could a guy like Sebastian be getting fucked and yet he was still alone this valentines day? This holiday always left him thinking, ‘what in Merlin was wrong with these women?’ The idiot blokes that they dated weren’t anything special, most of them weren’t even rich. So what was the big fucking deal? 

“Bet he gets you to do all sorts with that mouth,” his eyes narrowed and he nodded his chin in her direction. 

Potions was going well - as it always did, because Evan always partnered up with Severus. They had a functional relationship, in that they were using each other: Evan used Sev for his skill at potions, and Sev used Evan to feel nice and important. The other boy was a bit obsessed with purebloods, which could be annoying, granted, but it also had its uses. Mostly for potions. 

Severus was doing all of the work on this particular potion. It was a division of labour Evan tried to avoid since he did want to actually learn, but today Evan had no qualms whatsoever with letting Sev run with it. Other, more important things were on his mind. Namely, getting high with Amycus. 

Evan scribbled a note suggesting just that on the back of an old draft of an Arithmancy assignment (Merlin only knows how long that was floating around in his bag). If his partner saw what was written, he made no indication. That probably meant Severus disapproved, but the best thing about him was that he knew his place and had enough sense to keep his thoughts to himself. 

When Professor Slughorn’s back was turned, he folded the note into an airplane and threw it towards Amycus. It sailed through the air and landed gently on the table in front of his friend. He watched Amycus read it, and when Amycus looked his way, Evan gave the smallest of nods. 

He rolled his eyes at the Carrow’s crass terminology but followed him out of the class roughly five minutes later. The hallway immediately outside the potions classroom was not highly trafficked, so it was easy for Evan to locate Amycus. They were the only two people in the hall. Evan walked over to where the other boy was and was summarily criticised, though he supposed Amycus would have considered it a greeting, judging by the ‘clap’ on his shoulder. Though, really, it was more of a hit than a clap. 

Evan didn’t stumble or fall when he was hit, but his torso did move, if only just a bit. Straightening up to his full height, he said, “I am not shit at potions.”

His eyes widened a little bit before quickly narrowing. That… that was an order. Wow, okay. The corridor they were in was not a wise place to linger, not if they wanted to avoid returning to class, so he walked with Amycus for a bit. The minute they left that hallway, Evan pounced. Verbally. He remained fairly loose physically.

“You’re in a mood. Newt eyes make you feel particularly stupid?” he asked, throwing in a smile at the very end.

Amycus walked alongside Evan, both of them instinctively knowing which route they were headed without having to talk about it. If they could avoid the prefects, that would make their afternoon a lot easier. 

“Pfftt,” Amycus raised a brow and smirked. “Not what Snape was saying to the rest of the common room yesterday night,” he lied. “Apparently he’d rather a broom as a partner.” he laughed, openly teasing now. He wondered how much he’d get away with. Sometimes it just felt good to push people for no reason, even people he sort of cared about, like Evan. 

“Not a mood.” he shrugged. “ Just eager to leave this fucking place.”

His eyes immediately narrowed at the insult. It was one thing to be the one doing the teasing. Amycus didn’t take his own medicine well. 

“I know what she was saying,” he shot back. “I just don’t care.” He tried to brush it off but the weighty feeling was making his hands and feet grow warm. 

“I know how to fucking cut them, she’s just too stupid, thinks she knows bloody everything.” 

They rounded the corner of the hallway, Amycus leading with a half-step ahead of Evan. He stopped on a dime and struck his arm out to cut Evan across the chest. 

Two prefects were standing near the bathrooms in the middle of the hallway. The sudden problem made him forget all about the insult momentarily. 

“You egghead. You almost got us caught.” he hissed. “Idiot. I’m obviously not the stupid one.” he growled, turning back from where they first came. They’d have to find another way. 

Andromeda watched him in wry amusement; clearly he found the idea of a girlfriend to be preposterous. Though she wondered if it was by his own choice or by sheer necessity. Truthfully she wouldn’t have been surprised if it had been a combination of both.

She had spent much of her childhood with the Carrow siblings, though they had never been close friends. It had been friendship merely out of convenience when their parents had spent time together. Alecto and Amycus had been attached at the hip ever since she could remember. And though she wouldn’t say it to either of them, she had also found them a tad strange. Not to mention their cruel streak; it would take a special kind of girl to handle a relationship with him. 

She didn’t miss the blush on his features, an odd sight on him but one she didn’t care to comment on. Whatever was going on in his personal life wasn’t her business, nor did she care to know about it. 

She snorted at his question and shook her head, an amused smile rising to her lips. “Clearly you haven’t been keeping up on all the latest gossip. Haven’t you hear that I’m currently seeing Sebastian Nott?” Or rather she was pretending to date him, but Aycus didn’t need to know that. “I also didn’t have to pay him a think. In case you’ve missed it, it’s an honor and a privelege to date a Black daughter.” 

Maybe he had been out of it for too long? How could he have missed this?

“Oh.” he said flatly, his face contorting to a scowl as he thought.

Somehow he couldn’t picture them together. What did she see in a guy like Bash anyhow? Its not like his family had that much money. He wasn’t overly attractive either. So what was the big deal? The pang of jealousy made him irrationally irritable. Its not like Amycus liked Andromeda, so really it shouldn’t have mattered to him that she was in a relationship. But it did. 

If Amycus had bothered to think about it, he might have realized he was being petty. Sebastian was an okay guy, and Carrow really didn’t have much of a problem with him. And yet, Amycus made a mental note to add him to ‘the list.’

He wondered what they looked like together. He wondered what Andromeda looked like–– she definitely wasn’t unattractive. He tried to picture them naked, two bodies grinding in the night together. Amycus was still a virgin, with a lot of naive and grandiose fantasies about what sex and a proper relationship were–– none of which came from real experience with the opposite sex. 

But he still tried, despite the slight stirring in his pants. 

“Have you guys fucked yet?” he blurted, his tone heavy with judgement. I bet she’s a slut. 

The Three Broomsticks was crowded with all sorts of people – those avoiding their studies, those avoiding going home to their families, those avoiding the immediate post-work day lull of returning to a quiet house, students avoiding their roommates and predictable Great Hall menu. 

Not everyone was avoiding something, of course. But Sirius, who was adept at avoiding a great many things –– today it was avoiding the finishing touches on his Cursebreaker application, but it had never been a one-item list –– couldn’t help but project.

It was because of all his fellow avoiders and drinkers that the Broomsticks soon passed from ‘pleasantly crowded’ to ‘packed’. Sirius had taken up residence at a corner table in the late afternoon with a book open in front of him and a drink that had since been reduced to a single, thin rim of amber whiskey at the bottom of a glass. It was beginning to become sticky, rather than refreshing. The location had been preferable to the Hogwarts library when Sirius first staked his claim to the prime real estate, but now all the noise drowned out the thoughts in his head and the scales were tipped too far. 

Tucking his book under his arm –  the Modern Implications of Goblin Magic at Hatshepsut did not make a compelling conversation piece – Sirius took to his feet and blinked around the room as he tried to reconcile the sparser company of earlier with the sea of close-knit faces now. He wanted another drink, but he knew that he’d need a cigarette or two (not to mention a gulp of fresh air) before he had the patience to wait in line for one. Between fifth years begging butterbeer off Rosmerta and elderly gentlemen with too many years under their belt to remember their manners, Sirius was not looking forward to being jostled by this crowd. 

The back door of the Three Broomsticks was a subtle thing, painted the same color as the rest of the wall and notable only for the thick, metal push-bar that granted access to the outside world. The Marauders had often used it to sneak in before they were of age. Sirius was a little nostalgic to be putting it to the reverse use.

Outside in the alley, the shadows of a recent sunset fell across discarded crates and a (blessedly) empty dumpster. It was cold outside, but insulated from the noise of shouts and music of inside. The moment Sirius pulled the door shut behind him, the alley was thrown into a comfortable kind of silence that he wouldn’t be able to stomach for long…but it was nice for now. He put his book down on the tin lid of a rubbish bin and pulled out a cigarette with a sigh of relief. 

Sirius had no sooner lit up and taken a first deep, much-needed inhale than he was joined by a new sound –– the echo and shuffle of other footsteps in the alley, either coming or going from the secluded little safehold. 

“Hello?” he called out, figuring it was better to assert himself than to seem like he was skulking around. It was just a bit of loitering; he wasn’t doing any harm. Part of him felt foolish, wondering if he’d imagined the noise and was now just speaking to shadows. But if he was, he doubted the shadows would tell anybody. “Don’t suppose you have a proper lighter? I’m using my wand, which is always…a bit shite, really.” 

They were smart words of advice from his twin, but thoughts weren’t exactly house elves to be ordered around. Amycus couldn’t obliviate his mind–– where were the thoughts supposed to go? She was just trying to make him feel better. 

It had been a long time since that night in Ibiza. And yet to Amycus, it seemed like eternity, but the nightmares were vivid like it was yesterday. He couldn’t stop thinking about the blood and the look in the man’s eyes, and his sister’s face, the smell and the texture. It was all there before breakfast, during the lull of the afternoon, on the quidditch pitch, and well into the late night snores from his dormmates. 

The worst thing was he came to find himself looking forward to the thoughts. it scared him that maybe one day he would forget all about what had happened. He was terrified for his life, for the possibility he would be discovered, and that he might drag Alecto down with him, but forgetting the feeling and what they had accomplished together would be much worse than years spent in Azkaban. Or so his naive 17 year old brain thought. 

He couldn’t tell Alecto all this though. She already thought he was losing it. Whenever he opened his mouth about it, she’d shut him up. He sensed she didn’t feel the same way. For the first time in his life, he felt like they weren’t on the same page. 

Amycus was tired of the castle, tired of the company and in one of only two times in his entire existence, he was tired of Alecto. He wandered the streets of Hogsmeade, unable to make a decision. He was cold, his hands were bright red to match his cheeks, his feet were tired and soaked from the mud. He didn’t want to drink but he wanted to be warm. He wanted noise but he didn’t want people. He’d get to the door of Honeydukes, only to be turned off by the smell of sugar. And so on he trudged. 

Maybe I’m depressed, he thought bitterly to himself. An Amycus that was lost in his own head wasn’t just a dangerous Amycus, but an intolerably dramatic one as well. 

He saw the alleyway and his mind was made up for him. He just wanted a taste of it. He wanted to relive it even if it was just standing in the dark filth, surrounded by bricks. He could use his imagination. All he needed was the setting. This would help.

The shadows covered him like a blanket the further he went. And he just stood, his eyes closed while he let his brain wander and do the rest. The voice was unexpected but not enough to throw him. He opened his eyes and turned. He recognized the tone from a boy in his year, someone he had known briefly early in life. 

The disappointment wasn’t enough to ruin his mood. He felt charged, refreshed, with more energy than he’d had all year. He could fly the pitch in 3 seconds, it felt like. 

“Here,” Amycus said, pulling himself from the shadows and throwing the muggle lighter in the direction of the shadow. He hoped it clipped Sirius’ head. It wasn’t exactly a gentle toss. 

Amycus wiped his red eyes, unaware that he’d been crying. Why were they wet? He didn’t feel sad. 

Finally free from the dark he gave Sirius a once over, noting the book. 

“Bit weird for a study spot.” he turned his up his nose, genuinely confused. 

“Always so welcoming, aren’t you.” Her voice was full of sarcasm as she made herself comfortable in the plush chair across from him. She laughed as he told her she could have them all, plucking the one off the top and opening it to read. “As much as I would love to keep them all, I’d hate to leave all your other favorite ladies without a valentine.” 

She folded the letter back up and set it on top of the pile once more before she turned her attention back to him. “Oh I have no doubt that you’ll hurt many first years feelings with these lovely little limericks. They’ll likely cry at the terrible grammar.” 

“Narcissa? Careful now Amycus, I can be quite protective when it comes to my sister. You go insulting her and you’ll end up with a rather nasty curse or hex.” 

“Pffft” He snorted a laugh at the prospect of having a girlfriend. People often told him he was being too picky. But there wasn’t anyone at Hogwarts who seemed to fit the standards he set for a significant other. Too tall, too short, talks too loud, has red hair, doesn’t watch quidditch... the list went on and on, a mile long. 

Ironically there was only one who seemed to fit his “perfect girl,” the one girl who was way out of his league and beyond his reach. As others had also often jokingly told him, he couldn’t exactly afford to be picky. Sure money and the blonde hair helped, but his personality seemed to have the nasty habit of keeping people (especially women) away. They seemed to sense his disfunction. 

Amycus tried not to let it get to him. He didn’t need a girlfriend. He didn’t need anyone except his twin. And he had his friends. That should be enough. And the money, oh yes the money was good too. He could be alone for all he cared, or so he told himself. 

His eyes narrowed at the slight insult. But it was Andromeda, so he brushed it off. 

“Mmm..” he hummed a response, a slight blush appearing in his cheeks at the sound of her name. He dared not say anything or continue to the topic further. It was a rather unusual response for him to have to a threat. 

“What about you? Find some ugly sod desperate enough to kiss you or?” he said in a bored droll. He was impressed by his own show of quick wit and a smug smirk curled up the corners of his lips. 

“How much that set you back?” he continued with growing confidence, implying that she needed to pay for said date.