Playing with Fire

Chapter 35

All Hermione really wanted to do, was to run away from the fury that was boiling inside Barty right now. She knew him well enough to know that he was not going to hold back for much longer. And if Lucius would appear, which he probably would within ten minutes, then Barty would maybe even repeat what he had done to Carrow. Despite of what he told her, he had no self-control. When he was in a rage, everything around him blurred and he would torture and murder everything in his way. He was insane, she had to remember that.

"Barty, please," Hermione whispered, massaging his shoulders in the hope that it would calm him down. "You don't even know if it's true. If you face Malfoy now, you might kill him. You tell me now that you won't, but I know you. You are angry, which makes you capable of anything. You need to calm down."

"Since when do you care so much about me?" Barty growled, the rage never leaving his eyes.

"You are my only protection here. And..." she couldn't finish her sentence, if she spoke the words, they might actually become reality.

"And what?"

"And..." Hermione tried again. "I- I think I do care about you. I don't want to see you dead."

"That is good to hear, pet. Seems like you are finally starting to appreciate me," Barty responded with a faint smile that didn't quite cover his coldness. "Seems like I finally convinced you. We would make a good team, you know?"

"I helped you before, with Carrow, remember? I supported you even though I did not approve of what you were going to do. I freed you from his grasp, and I gave you back your wand. I helped you then, so let me help you now," she whispered, ignoring his comment on how they would make a team. The main issue now was how to calm him down.

"I don't need help. Not from you, not from anyone. I can deal with that piece of shit by myself. I would advise you not to stand in my way," he growled in return.

"No. I won't let you. The Dark Lord won't let you get away with murdering another of his loyal followers," Hermione said, realizing too late that she had just referred to Voldemort in a way only Death Eaters usually do.

"He will when I tell him what a disgusting and unreliable waste of space we have in our midst."

"No. I said no," Hermione repeated firmly, showing determination. "You are not thinking rationally. You want revenge. But in this case, that is not a smart thing to do. Malfoy is a trusted Death Eater, and even though you might outrank him at the moment, that doesn't make you invincible. You know just as well as I do that your master is not forgiving. You will be punished, and I will be taken away from you. And I don't want that, and I am sure you don't want that either. You want to remain one of the most trusted Death Eaters. And that means that you can't murder Lucius."

"And you think you can order me around?" Barty hissed with a dangerous glint in his eyes that would have scared Hermione to death had she not known that his anger was completely directed at Lucius.

"Right now, yes. Let me help you. Let me talk to Lucius when he gets here. I will make sure that he treats Skye with respect. Trust me, it will be the best option for both our sakes," Hermione said, hoping that it was enough to convince him.

It took Barty a long moment to give a reply, but eventually he seemed to realize that Hermione had a point. So he decided to give her his permission.

"Alright. I will trust you on this. But I shall be listening to your conversation from the other room. And if I hear anything I don't like, from you or from that useless scum, I will intervene. And it will not be pretty when I do."