Carpe Noctvm (A Barty Crouch Jr Fanfiction)

TWELVE - a party-crasher

That night Keira visits the library instead of attending dinner. She takes her ink and parchment to write down any useful spells she finds to fix the cabinet. It takes her right until Madam Pince bustles her out of the library at eleven o'clock to come up with a substantial list of spells that Keira can try on the cabinet. She is sure that Draco has already found it, Now I need to convince him to tell me where it is.

She rises the next day and eats with Draco and Blaise. Two post owls arrived for her that morning. One carrying the Daily Prophet and another carrying a letter. She unrolls the Daily Prophet first, scanning the front page for news that B has been captured as she always does. It's bound to be front-page news. Instead, finding an article on how to keep safe during these troubling times and being satisfied she turns to the letter. It's from B and before she gets carried away from herself she gets up from the table, gathering her things and heading off towards Potions in the dungeons. I miss Severus as a teacher, Slughorn is just not the same. She opens the letter from B and reads as she walks.

Keira,

I apologize for drawing attention to myself yesterday, especially since you were crying (an experience I'm not used to dealing with). I meant what I said though, that we will be okay if you're willing to stick with me.

I had an idea about vampires though. While I was living amongst them, before I got thrown out I quite liked the idea of being surrounded by these creatures who once you are one of them they will die to protect you. I thought that if we do ever need to go on the run, I suggest living amongst them. I hope this idea does not scare you, it is only meant to be interesting and slightly amusing.

Sorry I'm rambling.

But I also wanted to say that after my remark about not wanting to live at the Shrieking Shack it got me thinking about houses. I have a house. My fathers, well and mothers, which I can claim if Voldemort wins or I by some miracle manage to clear my name. But it's a house nonetheless and one I would like you to visit. I don't know why exactly because it's the house I was imprisoned in for 12 years but it would mean something if you were to see it. Maybe it will help me put away my demons and focus on us.

Anyway,

I miss you

(that's obvious from this stupidly long letter)

B.

Keira thought that this was a completely different person to the one she had seen smiling madly across the dinner table at her a year and a half ago. She liked this B, he seemed more open and more friendly.

Keira makes it to Potions, where Slughorn announces they will be brewing the draft of living death in return for a tiny bottle of Felix Felicis. Keira who was slightly arrogant in her confidence that she could brew the better potion, this was one she had discussed many times with Severus and hardly needed the recipe for.

However when the time was up she and Harry, of all people, tied for the most perfect potion. Slughorn was so impressed with them both that he offered them an invitation to his Christmas party and for Keira who was not yet a member of the slug club, a place. 

Slughorn engaged her in conversation at the end of the lesson and all the other students seemed to drain away. 'I knew your mother and father, you know?" Slughorn said and Keira stopped packing away. He mistook the stop for interest and carried on "Oh yes, incredibly bright, both of them, your mother was always extremely cheeky, had a come back for everything. Your father, well he absolutely doted on her. They were quite the pair those two" Keira quietly excused herself from his company and was walking back to the Great Hall for lunch when she started crying, heaving great, racking sobs and she slumped down into the wall, crying even harder.