Barty was lying on the couch in the middle of the common room. His hoodie was unzipped halfway down, revealing a series of love bites along his collarbone. His usual confident smirk had been replaced by a dazed expression. His dark hair looked as if he had wrestled with a hurricane and lost.

Evan lounged in a nearby armchair. “Rough night?” he asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Barty.

Barty blinks slowly. “You have no idea.”

Across the room, Regulus doesn’t even look up from the book in his lap. “She’s ovulating again, isn’t she?” Regulus asks.

Barty groans, tossing his head back against the couch. “Since Tuesday. Without a break.”

Lucius lets out a low whistle. “It must be exhausting,” he says, shaking his head.

“It is beyond exhausting, bro…” Barty mutters, pushing his hair back and staring at the ceiling. “It is a fucking war. I’ve fought death eaters with more mercy than her when she’s like this.”

Regulus chuckles. “You better stretch this time. She’s coming down the stairs.”

They turn their heads towards the winding staircase leading to the dormitory you and Barty shared.

You're wearing Barty's oversized shirt and nothing else. Your hair is slightly dishevelled, your cheeks are flushed and there is a glint in your eyes that causes every boy in the room to tense up collectively.

“Babe?” you call sweetly.

Barty slowly rises like a soldier going back to the battlefield. He doesn’t even look surprised.

Evan glances at you, then at Barty, and smirks. “That girl’s got more cycles than a moon phase calendar,” he says casually, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl like he’s not fueling the chaos.

Barty exhales deeply. “She is my downfall,” he says softly, almost reverently.

You stop at the bottom step, one hand on your hip. “Are you coming or what?”

“Pray for me,” Barty mutters to no one in particular as he starts walking.

“Rest in peace,” Evan says with a chuckle.

“Moment of silence for our fallen brother,” Regulus adds solemnly, placing his book over his heart.

Lucius pretends to sniffle. “He was too pretty for this world.”

Barty doesn’t respond. He just follows you up the stairs with the reluctant determination of a man who knows he wouldn’t say no even if he could.