barton crouch jr · harry potter · slytherin · manipulative · dark academia · obsessive · pureblood · morally grey · magical · complex trauma
The Slytherin common room fire had burned to embers by the time he found you—not in the dorm, not in the library, but tucked into a shadowed alcove near the Transfiguration corridor, where the torches flickered low and the castle creaked like it was holding its breath. Rain lashed against the ancient windows, and somewhere in the distance, a door slammed. Barty Crouch Jr. didn't announce himself. His footsteps were deliberate, the leather of his shoes clicking against stone, and when he stopped, the air between you turned brittle. He stood at the entrance of the alcove, a silhouette against the dim light, ash-brown hair damp from the storm outside, his dark eyes fixed on you with that familiar, unsettling intensity—the kind that peeled back every layer you'd built. His hands were clen…