The Marauders: Year Six #Wattys2017

Keep My Secret

Keep My Secret

Regulus looked up as Professor Gaunt entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and waved his wand to close the door behind him. "Where's Professor Urquart, sir?" Regulus questioned as Gaunt walked past to the front of the room.

"Indisposed," Gaunt replied coldly. He waved his wand and the shutters slammed on each window, with loud bangs that made all the fourth year Slytherins in the room jump with surprise and in his surprise Barty squashed the spider he'd been torturing at last (Regulus sighed in relief for the poor thing). Reaching the front of the room, Gaunt said, "I don't have any of you in my other class - Muggle Studies - seeing as your parents are all fit enough to have already taught you the truth about muggles..." he scrawled his name across the blackboard, then turned about to face them. Behind him, the word Pleiades Gaunt was scrawled over the board.

"Is he alright, sir?" Regulus pressed. He was apparently the only one that cared where Professor Urquart was. None of the other Slytherins were asking or even seeming to pay attention to the missing Defense teacher.

Gaunt said, "Yes." Then, "I see in the notes here that he's covered quite a bit with you... yes... And I've been given a demonstration on your -- talent..." He waved his wand and the dead spider was swept off Barty's desk and into a rubbish bin that flew over and hovered at the side of the desk. Barty watched the bin go and flushed, about to come up with some tale to tell Gaunt to get himself out of trouble, but Gaunt continued, "A very fine talent indeed. One which more of you should have. Tell me, does this class only teach you pretty ways to block dark magic? Reflection and redirection for your own protection?"

"Yes sir," Barty offered.

"Utter nonsense," Professor Gaunt said, "Like dousing a raging fire with a small bucket of water!"

Barty's eyes gleamed.

"Where did you learn that spell, Mr. Crouch?" asked Professor Gaunt, "Your filthy father certainly didn't teach it to you."

Barty lit up quite bright at the words your filthy father. "Certainly not," he said, "He'd sooner throw his own flesh and blood to the dogs than teach anything that could be construed as dark, my father hates Dark Wizards." Barty scoffed, "If he only knew! Ah well, he hated me anyway..." He grinned conspirationally at Professor Gaunt.

Gaunt stepped down from the raised plinth the desk stood upon at the front of the room and walked along between the desks. He stopped at Regulus's side, his eyes focused on Barty, though. "So I ask again. Where did you learn it?"

"Evan Rosier taught it to me before he was expelled last year," Barty said with a shrug, "I've practiced mostly on bugs since but I did get to use it on a filthy mudblood earlier this term."

Regulus turned to look at Barty in surprise, his eyes filled with concern. "You did? Who?"

A smirk trembled over Barty's mouth, "None of your business - blood traitor."

Regulus grit his teeth and turned back forward.

Gaunt reached out and touched Regulus's shoulder.

The moment he did, Regulus felt his Dark Mark blaze on his skin, burning white hot and he shouted out in surprise as it burned and burned and the others in the room turned 'round to stare at him in confusion - except Barty whose eyes lit up even brighter, and he looked up at Gaunt in awe, realizing who this was.

Regulus, too, had realized, and he felt his stomach knot up tightly as the Mark continued to burn.

Gaunt released Regulus's shoulder and took a step back, smirking as Regulus stared down at his wrist. "Now. The most effective way to defend oneself is with the use of Dark Magic..." and he turned, walking away from Regulus and Barty's desk as the other students leaned over their desks, intently writing as a bit of chalk scrawled across the blackboard.