Author's Note: This is the first story that I've posted to this site in years. Please let me know what you think. I won't beg for your reviews, but I will admit that the reviews make me more eager to write and post. Do I even need to say it? I don't own anyone but the OCs. Thanks. -Ashley

We Belong To The Light, We Belong To the Dark

"Eva

"Eva?" Mrs. Malise called. "Eva, WHERE ARE YOU?" Her rising impatience was evident and Eva quickly hurried up behind her.

"Yes, mother?"

The older woman smiled hollowly in reply. "Be a good dear at school and try to stay out of trouble. Why we didn't pull you out and send you to Durmstang after your first dreadful year, I will never understand…" she trailed off talking more to herself than her seventeen year old daughter standing before her. Eva knew better than to interrupt her mother's wandering thoughts and instead, waited calmly for her to stop. "Nothing to do about it now I suppose, off you go."

Instead of a tearful, loving goodbye, Isabella Malise patted her daughter softly on the shoulder and urged her towards the waiting train. Eva obeyed subconsciously, gathering her things and moving towards the brightly colored train. She was eager to get back to Hogwarts and her uncomplicated, quiet life. She longed for the days when she could lounge alone under low hanging tree-branches and be alone with her thoughts. After settling into a compartment, Eva looked out her window, somehow expecting her mother to still be standing where she had left her. Instead, the platform was filled with emotional parents, waving here and there, smiling and gripping at each other for support. And her mother was nowhere in sight. Eva averted her gaze. She wasn't sure why she even felt affected by her absence. Though she loved her mother, they had had a distant relationship for much of her life. An only child, Eva was expected to cling to the pureblood tradition that ran strongly in her family and in much of the wizarding world. Though she didn't express her views openly to her parents, she knew that they sensed her hesitancy to stand steadfastly behind a growing power, which in her mind was a dangerous power. Times had changed since her parents had grown up. To Eva, it seemed ignorant to believe that pureblooded wizards were superior to those born to muggles, or married to them. Some of the strongest, most skilled witches and wizards that she knew came from those situations, and similarly, she knew many pureblooded wizards who lacked technique, quickness and all-around skill.

Eva glanced back around the empty compartment; grateful for the solace she was already experiencing. She closed her eyes and felt the tension loosen from her shoulders. Over the next several hours, Eva was vaguely aware that there were other students in the compartment with her. She didn't pay them any attention and they didn't pay her any bother. Time moved quickly as she passed in and out of a dreamless sleep before she filed off of the train with the rest of the students.

"Hurry up James!" Sirius Black called to his friend. They had just arrived at Hogwarts and Sirius was several feet ahead of James trying to secure an empty carriage. James Potter followed along slowly behind him, searching the crowd for a familiar girl. Loading his trunk in the carriage, he thought he caught a glimpse of her, but couldn't be sure before they lurched into motion. "Trying to catch a peak at Evans?" his friend chided.

James smiled wryly and nodded, though it hadn't been who he was looking for at all. On the contrary, James had decided that if Lily Evans was to be his, it would happen naturally, as it was the way of the world. He didn't know if he was maturing or if he was worn down from six years of constantly badgering the beautiful redhead, but either way, his thoughts were momentarily elsewhere. His thoughts rested solely on Eva Malise. His interest in her was completely platonic, friendly even. She was his year, Gryffindor, surprisingly, as she came from a typical Slytherin family. Similarly to his friend Sirius, Eva's family had certain…ideals of the wizarding world that were non-congruent with Hogwarts teachings and James's personal feelings. He was pleasantly surprised as he'd gotten to know Eva, guarded as she was, that she was kind, smart and fair, something no Slytherin could boast. Their friendship had been odd and mysterious to anyone who knew James. He was outgoing, boisterous, friendly and loud. Eva's personality contrasted his like day and night. They were inexplicably bound by an event at the beginning of their second year at Hogwarts. That night, James vowed to Eva that he would never share their story, not even with his best friends. And from then on, the small, quiet girl had been his charge. He watched out for her, talked with her and stood up for her furiously when anyone called her strange or different. Sirius never understood his friendship with Eva, although they were more alike than either would care to admit.

James settled into his seat, vowing to resume his search for Eva at the feast. He hadn't heard from her since they parted ways before boarding the train at the end of last term. She hadn't responded to his owls all summer, though he wasn't sure that she was even receiving his messages.

"Oy! You listening to me mate?" Sirius demanded. James looked around the carriage to see Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew staring at him incredulously.

"Yeah, I'm listening," James responded. As the idle chatter about girls and pranks continued around him, he only half-heartedly paid attention.

"So I decided that I'm going to bag Lily Evans…" Sirius's voice rang through the air, his eyes gleaming with laughter. James shook his jumbled thoughts from his head and rested his steely gaze on his best friend. Sirius's low chuckle erupted into an all out bellowing laugh. He was joined by the rest of the Marauders.

"If you could have seen your face, mate…"Peter laughed, clutching his round stomach. "We knew you weren't listening."

"You are a bunch of tossers. Supposed to be my mates, chasing my girl…" James couldn't help but smile at the ragtag group. The four of them had become friends quickly in their first year, Sirius and James because they mirrored each other, Remus because he kept them grounded and Peter….well, because every group needed a Peter.

"Well, I don't know how we managed to lose you between here and the platform," Remus noted, looking at James with raised eyebrows, his questioning clear on his face. "Because you look like you're here, but it's quite clear you're elsewhere."

"Yeah, Prongs, spill," Sirius chimed.

James looked from one friend to the next, knowing that they expected an answer. He sighed, opened his mouth and closed it and finally said, "It's Eva-"

"-It's ALWAYS Eva!" Sirius interrupted. "If I didn't know that you were head-over-heels for Evans I would wonder what was going on between you and Eva Maaaalise." Sirius's voice quivered as he said her last name.

"Hey! Why do you need to say it like that?" James demanded looking not only at Sirius, but at Remus and Peter. He knew they probably thought the same things about her as Sirius, but Remus, ever polite would never say them in his presence, and Peter was likely too scared. "She's a very nice person. Not that much different than you I might add." James glanced pointedly at Sirius.

Sirius rolled his eyes before continuing, "You don't know where she comes from…I, on the other hand, know enough about her to know that you shouldn't be running around consorting with her." His voice was becoming elevated.

"She comes from the same place you come from!" James bellowed back, somewhat regretting his anger at his friend.

Silence overtook the carriage as they arrived at Hogwarts. No one knew what else to say. James was angry at Sirius. Although he hadn't known Eva nearly as long as Sirius had, he undoubtedly knew her better. He had seen her at her lowest moments and knew more about her and her family than Sirius did. Even though she was pureblooded, she was not her parents, just as Sirius was not his. James exhaled and descended from the carriage. Remus muttered something about finding Lily for head boy and girl patrols and wandered off.

"Prongsie-" Sirius began but was interrupted by James shaking his head. "I know man, don't worry about it." Sirius nodded in understanding. James looked briefly from Peter to Sirius before gathering his things and heading towards the castle doors.

Eva shuffled along with the rest of the students, placing her trunk in the great castle entrance for the final time in her Hogwarts career. She moved quickly up the steps into the Great Hall and looked around breezily for a place to sit. Eva had many acquaintances, from all of the houses except Slytherin. She usually chose to sit at the Gryffindor table with girls from her dorm or even occasionally with James Potter. She never worried much about who she was going to sit with, as she mostly preferred the solace and anonymity of sitting with people she hardly knew. She scouted a wide place mid-way down the Gryffindor table and hurried towards it before someone else snatched it up. She was almost there when her left shoulder struck another and she fiercely looked to see who that shoulder belonged to. When she found deep silver eyes, nearly the shade of her own, she looked down quickly. She continued walking when a strong hand grabbed her by the back of her cloak. She pivoted and looked at the offender, expecting to see Sirius Black glowering down at her. Instead, James Potter stood, grinning at her, his glasses slightly lopsided on the bridge of his nose.

"Eva," he greeted her warmly, reaching to pull her into an embrace. Although usually hesitant to be touched, Eva welcomed the hug and even surprised herself with the enthusiasm she displayed, gripping him back. "I wrote you, you didn't write back-I was worried…" his brown eyes showed his genuine concern.

Eva mustered her best calming smile and looked at James, hoping he would take the bait. "We'll catch up later?" she hoped her friend knew enough about her and her past that he would let it go at that for now.

"Absolutely," he nodded an understanding that clearly was deeper than just a confirmation of her request. "But until then, I insist that you eat dinner with us."

Eva looked hesitantly from James to Peter and briefly at Sirius. She gently nodded and joined the boys at the Gryffindor table. She listened quietly, savoring Dumbledore's words, remembering the first time that she had set eyes upon the enchanted night sky ceiling and heard the headmaster proclaim unity and understanding. She had never felt so welcomed, so understood. It hadn't taken long for her to realize that even in this haven for understanding, divisions existed. Pureblood families, though dwindling, were more protective than ever, something that Eva knew first hand. She had been excited to be sorted into Gryffindor. As a wide-eyed child of eleven, with no brothers or sisters to precede her, Eva knew nothing of acceptable houses for pureblooded children. She was confused and dismayed when her letter sharing the good news with her parents had not been celebrated, but ignored. It had been the first time that she started to understand that their differences might divide her family. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, taking in the scents and sounds of Hogwarts, sealing them away in her memory. When she opened her eyes, Dumbledore was finishing his speech and students were already beginning animated chatter amongst themselves.

"I have been waiting for treacle tart FOREVER," Peter proclaimed, reaching for a tray that had just appeared in front of them. Eva shared a knowing smile with James before reaching for the pitcher of pumpkin juice.

If James had been concerned about Eva before he saw her, he wasn't quite sure what he thought now. He had officially laid eyes on her, talked to her and observed her and he wasn't sure what he truly thought yet. On the surface she looked well. There were points during Dumbledore's speech where she actually looked overwhelmingly content, something he rarely saw in her. But something was bubbling just below the surface, James could sense it. Eva was a complex young woman, more so than any he had ever met before, and yet, after five years of friendship, most of the time, he truly felt that he understood her. Even after the disconnect of months of no communication from her, James still felt like they were exactly where they were when they said goodbye on the steps of Hogwarts months before. He was grateful, however, when she asked him to take walk on the grounds after dinner.

"How are you?" he asked, bracing himself against the early autumn breeze that swept across the rolling hills around the castle.

"I'm well," Eva responded briskly, looking at all of the scenery that Hogwarts had to offer. She could feel James's gaze lingering upon her, waiting for her to continue. "Really, I'm fine."

"Why didn't you write back?" James questioned plainly. It was a fair question, Eva reasoned. He had written her several times; she still had the letters tucked away in her trunk.

"I didn't know what to say James," she answered truthfully, pulling a strand of long dark blonde hair out of her eyes.

"Look at me," James demanded. Eva looked at him, at his eyes searching hers for an answer. If anyone happened upon them and overheard their conversation, they would seem like scorned lovers instead of friends. She was sure that some people thought that they were. He braced his hands against her shoulders, holding her in place at arms length, their shadows dancing beside them. "Tell me what is going on."

"I…"she began slowly, lowering her eyes from his before swallowing and continuing, "I don't know what to think anymore James. I was raised with one set of very specific ideals, that I have come to believe is more wrong than I ever imagined anything could be. And I love them, I do." She paused when referring to her parents. James silently willed her to go on. "He's growing stronger you know."

Her eyes defiantly met James's stunned stare, flashing a powerful blue before calmly returning to their normal blue/grey color. James didn't acknowledge her comment instead he continued, "I knew things had to have been hard for you this summer, but why didn't you write me back?"

"How do you say in a letter that everything that you've ever known is complete rubbish? I am homeless-" her voice faded to a whisper.

"You know you could always come stay with me, if I'd known you got kicked out, I would have claimed you straight away, you know that," James vowed. "Hell, I claimed Sirius and he's not nearly as nice or charming…"

Eva laughed despite the seriousness of their conversation, "that's not what I mean James. I FEEL homeless. More and more I feel less welcome in their world. I know that they sense that I don't share their pureblood superior thoughts. But similarly, I'm not completely accepted by non-pureblooded witches and wizards because they fear that I AM just like my family. It's the weirdest feeling, being caught between two places and not belonging to either." She finished and looked at him. He nodded slowly before they both began moving back towards the castle, his arm comfortingly strewn across her shoulders.

Arriving in the common room, it was clear the most of the other students had turned in for the evening, with only a few students dotting furniture throughout the room. Sirius and Remus were waiting for James and beckoned to him when they entered the common room. Eva smiled appreciatively at James before heading for the staircase to her dorms.

"Eva?" he called to her gently. She turned slowly and raised her eyebrows expectantly.

"Yes?"

James stepped closer and lowered his voice. "You belong here, always remember that. You are brave and kind hearted. You belong in Gryffindor and you belong at Hogwarts. And mostly, you belong on this side, the right side. I know deep down you know that." We winked at her mischievously. She could feel herself blushing as she turned and quickly hurried into her dorm.

"Are you sure nothing is going on with you two?" Sirius asked as James approached.

"I'm sure man," James smiled, "besides, I only have eyes for one Gryffindor woman. She has long, red hair and piercing emerald eyes…"

"Yeah mate, we know you LOVE Evans and want to marry her," Remus added. James heard a snicker behind him and turned to see Alice, one of Lily's good friends standing next to Lily, a look of distain on her face.

"Already, Potter?" she inquired, looking tired. "We've only been here for a few hours." She shook her head, gathered her things and her and Alice headed up the staircase that Eva had climbed only moments before.

"Thanks MOONY," James slapped his friend on the arm jokingly. They all shared a brief laugh before Sirius interrupted.

"I don't know what it is about Eva that you seem to find so interesting…" he wondered. "She's not terrible to look at, I suppose, but she doesn't stand up to half of the girls in this school."

"Sirius, I know you know that's not true," Remus said incredulously. "She's a very attractive girl."

Sirius shrugged, "that may be, but for the last six years she's done nothing but mope about the castle. I rarely see her interact with anyone other than James. She doesn't look anyone in the eye. That girl is trouble, mate. All of those girls are."

"Those girls?" James looked at Sirius, unsure of his meaning.

"Yeah, pure-blooded girls. They're up to no good. Take it from someone who grew up watching the things that they were told. Eva, for example…I grew up with her, and I saw the things her parents said to her, about muggle-borns and blood traitors and other beings that they saw as inferior."

"That doesn't mean she listened, Padfoot," James suggested. "After all, didn't your parents tell you the same things, and you're not like that at all."

Sirius shrugged, "lets just say that I'm on the low side of that trend. I was surprised that she was sorted into Gryffindor, sure, and I heard my parents talking to hers. They were displeased, disgusted, just as my parents were…couldn't understand how such a noble, pureblooded heir could wind up in a traitor-house. I admit I felt bad for her, thought maybe in some way, we could team up, take it on together. When we were twelve, at a wedding, I suggested to her that we become allies. Do you know what she did?" Sirius paused for dramatic effect. "She stared at me. She just looked right at me, through me, as though I wasn't even there. Thinks she's better than everyone, that one does."

"I think you have her figured out so wrong, mate," James looked at his friend.

Sirius shook his head, "I don't think so, mate, I will never understand what draws you to that girl."

For about the thousandth time since that night in second year, James wished desperately to tell his friends what had happened, what he had witnessed happening, to Eva. Maybe then they would understand, join him in protecting her. But James knew that he could never reveal what happened. It was not his story to tell.

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