Keep Your Friends Close - Saturday, 18th of November, 1978

[Evan Rosier II]

Evan thought he had seen the last of these crowded weekends in Hogsmeade when he graduated a few months ago, and yet here he was, walking passed the Three Broomsticks amidst a crowd of former schoolmates and familiar faces. The third years all seemed so much younger than he and his mates had been in their first visits to Hogsmeade, or perhaps he was just that much older now. There was a mess of teenagers, hormones abounding, running wild through the streets and Evan honestly missed very little of it. He was happy to be free of school and the structured schedule it required, and he much preferred being seen as a proper adult by passersby than as 'just a student'. Evan was working man now, though the job was of complete disinterest to him, but he had a posh office, a desk with a gold nameplate on it to remind his subordinates who was in charge, and a lovely little paycheck he was saving up so that he could find a place of his own soon enough. Having spent the entire summer with both of his siblings, and with Christmas holidays looming, Evan was eager to have his own space. Until then, living in his family estate would do, and being an adult no one questioned where he was headed when he left Rosier manor this afternoon to meet up with a friend who, sadly, had not yet found the same freedom from Hogwarts just yet. 

Barty was in his final year at Hogwarts, and being a year younger than Evan it meant anything more than owl correspondence would require meetings during Hogsmeade trips. Evan had had a few older friends do the same for him after their graduations, so it was nothing more than paying it forward to be meeting Barty at the Hog's Head. They had discussed meeting at the Broomsticks, but that was always so busy and it ran a higher risk of bumping into a mudblood or some other unsavory folk. He turned down an alley and made the short trek toward the dingy pub, spying a few more familiar faces as he walked. He skirted around a puddle from this morning's rainstorm and reached for the door which swung open with ease. Evan took a moment to allow his eyes to adjust to the dimmer lighting before scanning the tables for a familiar tuft of dark curls and pallid complexion.

Tagged: Barty Crouch Jr. & anyone else
Outfit: dressed down and still pretty

[Barty Crouch Jr.]

Nursing a butterbeer -well not really, he hadn’t taken one sip, it was just for show- Barty scanned the room, again. He did this more out of habit than anything. There was no danger here, not for him, and the patrons were so small in number it would be easy to spot Evan when he arrived. He shifted, leaning back against the booth, mulling over the meeting to come. It was a social call, mostly, but Barty had ideas in his mind and Evan seemed the perfect person to help him with his goals. One of them at least. He had begged off Reg for the day, promising to find him before they had to return to the castle, but he had to admit he missed the lad. Reg was a good friend, one of Barty’s only, and their weekends in Hogsmead were a bright spot in the otherwise dreary day-to-day life of a Hogwarts student. But this was necessary and he would be a fool to decline such an invitation. Not if he wanted to get anywhere in life.

Well, anywhere where you're father isn't.

    Yes, anywhere other than there.

A shadow crossed the door and Barty looked up automatically, a grin coming to his face as the man himself made his appearance at last. Many of his housemates were impatient, the Medusa's for example, one could never keep waiting. Barty on the other hand had infinite patience, he was still glad though that Rosier hadn't kept him waiting too long. He was also glad they had chosen this place, opposed to the Broomsticks as he was in general, he didn’t want any perky ears listening in. What he wanted to discuss was of secrecy and one thing Hogwarts was good at was spreading private things around. He had used this to his advantage many times but now was not one of those times. He raised his hand to hail the graduate, scooting back to the farthest end  of the table when he had caught his attention. He offered the same hand for a shake, firmly gripping the other Slytherin’s larger appendage and planting a welcoming smile on his face. Evan was not like others, who were easily manipulated, but Barty still felt the need to put on a good show. He had worked very hard to appear affable and he wasn’t going to stop now. “Old friend, how are you?”

[Evan Rosier II]

As his baby blues adjusted to the indoor lighting, Barty's pale hand shot into the air and caught his attention. The lad hadn't needed to put in such effort, as there were only a handful of patrons in the pub and he was easily spotted, but Evan nodded toward the guy and stepped further inside. Reaching the table, Barty extended his hand and Evan shook it, sliding into his seat across from the student. "Hey up," he said in greeting. "I suspect I'm doing better than you, seeing as I get to go wherever the f*ck I want after this. How's Hogwarts treating you, then?" The poor kid still had half a year to go, and Evan knew from experience that half a year could feel like an eternity, possibly longer for poor Barty J who no longer got to look at Evan's amazing mug on the daily.

Tagged: Barty Crouch Jr. & anyone else
Outfit: dressed down and still pretty

[Barty Crouch Jr.]

Ah, Evan. He had always had such a way with words and it made Barty grin to see that some things would never change. While they were in school together Rosier had provided much entertainment in the way of annoying other people. The yet-to-graduate Slytherin didn’t let the recently graduated Slytherin’s nature get to him the way some of his peers did, it was hard to be vexed by someone so decidedly below his intellectual level. But, Evan did have his merits, was not an imbecile, and would be very useful to his plight if he played his cards right. That's what this whole meeting was really about, it was his ulterior motive, but didn't they all have there own reasons for things? He wondered what Evan's was for accepting this invitation. 

“That is a far point, but soon, very soon. ” Not soon even for him, he could not wait to be away from the castle and out from under his father's thumb. However, he wouldn't let his impatience at having nearly six more months of schooling left show, Evan would likely jump on the opportunity to tease him. While Barty did not get frustrated easily, he did not invite humiliation. Rosier was very good at that, especially when he felt he had the upper hand, and that was not what he was here for today.  “Hogwarts is as it ever was. Halfway through the final year, could be worse I suppose. I’m more concerned with looking forward now anyway. You know, to my future after Hogwarts.”

[Evan Rosier II]

There was a hint of longing in Barty’s response, which Evan could relate to. Some of his classmates had been apprehensive about their schooling ending; mindbogglingly longing for those structured days and forced friendships to continue as long as possible, but that had not been Evan’s view of things. And it seemed Barty J was of a like mind. Hogwarts was fine for what it was, but it wasn’t as if it was the pinnacle of magical education. They had learned defense against dark magic, but hardly covered dark magic itself at all. Of course, there had been some more amiable professors who permitted him time in the restricted section of the library, so that he could educate himself if the administration would not allow him to be taught properly on the matter, but that was hardly enough of a reason to bemoan the end of their schooling. Since graduation, Evan had had more opportunities to hone his skills than he had even considered while at Hogwarts. Only a few weeks ago he had joined a mission alongside the Carrows and Bellatrix Lestrange, a single evening which had been more educational than several years spent studying in the restricted section combined. Poor Barty, who would have had a fabulous time on such an outing, was stuck in the castle probably memorizing the various names of Jupiter’s moons or some sodding rubbish of the like.

As Barty brushed aside talk of his final lessons, Evan looked toward the bar. “Wotcher, Abe. How ‘boutta pint of heavy?” The typically disgruntled barkeep looked even more disgruntled than usual at Evan’s flippant request, but Evan smiled cheekily in return before looking back at his younger mate. “Oh yeah?” he asked, not as surprised as his tone implied. “I would’ve thought your father had your future all laid out for you. Following in daddy’s footsteps…” Evan snickered lightly at the presumptuous Sr Crouch, knowing full well that Barty J was not long to follow that man’s path. “What is it you’re planning to do with your future, if not become the law abiding puppet of daddy dearest?”