tricks up sleeves and all that
rosekiller microfic | 1,180 words | magician Barty, single dad Evan
The first thing Evan thought when his daughter told him she wanted a magician at her birthday party was how did I raise a child who enjoys close-up magic? It wouldn’t have been his first choice, probably wouldn’t have even been his last. He would’ve gone with something classier, more elegant, like a tea party or a day at the museum. Something to live up to the extravagance of previous years. Sure, Eleanor is only seven but that doesn’t mean she can’t enjoy the finer things.
So, in between meetings and phone calls, Evan researched children’s birthday party magicians, and as you’d expect, not much was living up to his standards. After days of sifting through resumes and background checks, he was eventually able to find a well-designed website with good reviews and speak to a representative who promised to send their best.
This is why Evan is so confused when he opens his front door to find a tall, lanky man in ripped jeans and a worn out t-shirt, his look complete with ruffled hair, an eyebrow piercing, and excessive amounts of tattoos.
“You must have the wrong house,” Evan says. He thinks he should probably close the door but something about this man is intriguing. He wants to look for just a second longer.
The man leans back to check the address beside the door. “You’re Mr. Rosier, right? I’m here for the birthday party. I’m Barty, the magician.”
Evan raises a brow. “You don’t look like a magician.”
“Were you expecting a full tuxedo? It’s like 95 degrees out.” A tilted grin spreads over his face, showing off a pointy canine. “Here let me show you.” Before Evan can back away, Barty is reaching behind his ear and producing a shiny quarter, flipping it between his fingers confidently. “Ta da.”
“That’s hardly magic,” Evan says, crossing his arms. He better get a full refund if this is the best they had.
“No, you’re right. That’s just the decoy.” He raises his left hand, and between his thumb and pointer finger he holds Evan’s watch, which had previously been secured to his wrist.
Evan’s mouth drops open slightly. He hadn’t even felt it. “That’s not magic either, that is literally stealing.” He snatches the watch back, putting it on.
“It’s the art of misdirection,” Barty explains. “I do a dumb coin trick, and while you’re paying attention to that, I do something more impressive. It’s like, the basis of all magic.”
Evan doesn’t even know what to say. This man has just pickpocketed him on his own front porch and now he wants Evan to let him into his house?
At the same time Evan is getting ready to slam the door in Barty’s face, Eleanor appears at his hip, smile wider than a mile across her face.
“Is this the magician, Dad?” she asks, tugging at his shirt while she bounces up and down.
“You must be Eleanor,” Barty says, squatting down so they’re at eye level. He’s performing now, Evan can tell. He lights up and his smugness from before is washed away. “Would you like to pick a card?”
Eleanor nods enthusiastically.
Barty pulls a deck out of his back pocket and starts shuffling. Evan watches the way his fingers move deftly around the cards. Bending and flipping them expertly before fanning them out in front of her.
“Okay, go ahead. But don’t tell me what your card is, just show it to your dad and put it back anywhere in the deck.”
Eleanor does as instructed and shows Evan the card, ace of hearts, before sliding it back in.
“Thanks Eleanor, that’s great.” He starts shuffling the cards again, adding in flourishes here and there. Evan watches intently, trying to track his every move, see where he might be switching cards out or taking a peek, but he moves too quickly for Evan to stay on top of everything. “Now Ellie, can I call you Ellie?” Eleanor giggles and nods her head. “Your dad here,” he tilts his head up at Evan, “has already seen me do a trick similar to this, but I think I can put a new spin on it, what do you say?”
Eleanor looks up at Evan, affronted. “Dad! You’ve been playing with the magician without me?”
Evan hears Barty try to stifle a laugh and feels the beginning of a tension headache spreading behind his eyes. “I was just making sure he was up to our standards,” he grits out.
“Don’t worry Ellie, your dad was just doing his due diligence.” Eleanor looks appeased and waves her hand in a motion that tells Barty to continue. He does one last shuffle and then reaches behind Eleanor’s ear. When he pulls back, he has the ace of spades in between his pointer and middle fingers. “So Ellie, was this your card?”
She looks confused and a little disappointed. Evan holds himself back from kicking Barty directly in the face. “Um… close,” she says. “Mine had hearts on it.”
Barty looks at the card. “Huh. You know, sometimes the cards don’t always do what we want them to so we have to shake some sense into them. He starts waving the card quickly back and forth. When it comes to a stop, Barty holds the ace of hearts where the ace of spades had previously been. He smiles in triumph. Evan still kind of wants to kick him in the face.
Eleanor lets out an excited squeal and rushes forward to tackle Barty into a hug. “Can we keep him, Dad?” she screams directly in Barty’s ear. He doesn’t even flinch.
Evan lets out a resigned sigh. He’s really never been able to deny Eleanor anything, so he steps to the side, opening the door wider, a smile tugging on the corners of his mouth. “Of course Eleanor. Go gather your friends in the living room. Barty will be right in.” He places a hand on her head as she runs by.
Barty stands up and straightens his pants out, sliding the deck back into his pocket. “Good enough?” he asks, shrugging a shoulder.
Evan scrutinizes him for a second, running his eyes over every inch of the man. The line of his cheekbone, the curve of his neck, the way his thumb rubs a circle into the side of his pointer finger. There’s something about him. Evan hasn’t heard Eleanor scream that loud since Pandora got her a bug collection kit for Christmas last year.
“I want you to know that I keep a detailed inventory of everything in my home, so if you steal something I will find out, and you won't be happy about the consequences.”
Barty smiles, something mischievous glinting in his eye. “We’ll see about that,” he says brushing past Evan to make his way into the living room. Evan closes the door behind him. Right before Barty turns the corner, he throws something over his shoulder. Without thinking, Evan catches it. His wallet. With the ace of hearts sticking mockingly out of the top.
67 notes
·
View notes
Barty's father had been very specific when he told him where he should seat in the train to hogwarts, which is why Barty went in the complete opposite direction as soon as he got on board.
He looked into the compartments until he found one with only two people, he opened it and peek inside, the two boys sttoped talking and looked at him
"Can I seat here?" Asked Barty with a smile, the one that won his mother back at home.
They look at him for a second, then the blonde one speaks
"Who are you?" The black haired one crosses his arms and leans back, looking at him expectantly.
Barty feels his stomach turn a little, but maintains the fake positivity
"Bartemius" The two kids look at him spectantly, that is not what they were asking, Barty realized. "Crouch" He adds.
He sees recognition flash across the two boys eyes, and that's how it's going to be right? the shadow of his all important father looming over him forever, even when he just wants to make friends not tied to him.
"Black" says the black haired one, how fitting, he moves his eyes to the other kid "And this is Rosier"
Now it's Barty's turn to recognize surnames, he's heard his father mention them, how he longs to storm into the Black residence and throw them all in Azkaban, same with the Rosiers.
His father would hate it if he talked with those two (even more so if they became friends) which was all the best for Barty. He made his decision. Now, this two would be his friends not tied to his father in any way.
"So, can I seat?" The kids exchanged glances, and Rosier moved closer to the window, Barty took seat next to him.
"It's Evan, by the way" Said the Rosier kid. "And this is Regulus." The boy gave him a nod.
Barty had to put in practice his best acting skills, he was euphoric, this would piss his dad so much.
"You can call me Barty."
17 notes
·
View notes