Disclaimer: I do not own Neville, he belongs to JKR. I only own Eve.

Silk and Parchment

Neville stared down at the beautiful girl beneath him. She was reading. If one of the students came out the castle now, they'd probably be very confused. Why was Professor McKinnon sitting in the 2 foot deep snow next to the lake (which was frozen) wrapped in just a thin silk midnight blue cloak reading 'Hogwarts: A History', with Professor Longbottom sitting directly above her in a tree that had many, many branches, was covered in snow, and was completely leafless except for one auburn coloured leaf at seven o' clock in the evening? It just so happened that Eve McKinnon did not know Neville was there. Also Hogwarts: A History was her favourite book, this particular tree was her favourite tree and the snow didn't bother her as she welcomed the cold. It made her feel fresh and free from the stuffy classrooms of the crowded castle.

Eve brush some snow off her shoulder. Today she'd hurriedly tied her golden hair into a loose bun and the strands hanging out of it had curled into natural ringlets. Her deep blue eyes, such a similar colour to that of her cloak, stood out against her snowy skin which momentarily had a rosy tinge to the because of the low temperature. Eve's pale pink lips mouthed the words from the passage which she was reading, an adoring habit of hers that Neville had noticed. Eve would chew the knuckle of her index finger on her left hand when she was nervous, stutter whilst publicly speaking or if talking to a new class (in teaching situations it wore off after 2 lessons), stand on her tiptoes when she was happy, stare straight in front of her when she was eating, cross her toes when she was angry (very difficult if she was wearing shoes) and also tended to tug lightly on small strands of her hair when she was thinking. You were bound to notice some little things after you'd been in love with someone for 4 months.

Yes, Neville loved her, if you haven't already gathered that.

Eve was petite, her figure slim bordering on skinny, which the young woman found perfect as she was often in the position where she had to be there but she didn't want people to notice her. Being small helps that. But there was no doubt about it; she was the most beautiful woman in Hogwarts.

"Why would she ever want a fat, stupid idiot like me?" Neville wondered. It was getting rather uncomfortable in the tree; his leg was beginning to ache. Neville groaned and shifted his position.

Big mistake.

Eve looked up into the branches at the sound of groaning and promptly received a face full of snow as Neville moved slightly. She shouted out in surprise and the sudden noise caused Neville to lose his balance and fall headfirst out of the tree into the snow. Eve gave another yell of shock and drew her wand faster than you could say 'Huh?'

"Show yourself!" Eve commanded her attacker forcefully and she kept her wand trained on him until he dislodged his head from the ground, stood up and wiped the wet now off his round face.

"Ouch…" the man groaned rubbing his sore nose with his eyes tight shut. As he slowly opened them, Neville recollected how he'd shoved snow onto Eve's face, and then fallen out the tree next to her and now she had her wand pointing straight at him. Though she was wearing thick boots, Neville could tell her toes were crossed from the way she was standing. 'Oh no.' he thought, 'I've just made an awful fool of myself in front of Eve and now she's gonna be mad at me for the rest of the week.'

Seeing that it was Mr Longbottom standing in front of her shivering from head to toe and looking like a 5 yr old about to be scolded by his mother, Eve blushed and lowered her wand. 'What would McGonagall think? Threatening the herbology teacher?!' As Eve looked away from him Neville smiled. This was what she did. There was the strong part of her personality, where her eyes burned with passion and her voice rang loud and clear and she stood for what was right and what was true. Then, there was the shy part. She closed off to others, only said a few words if asked something and just sat contentedly with a small smile on her face reading, or practising spells. She was also sometimes angry, just random mood swings that were fierce but never violent. But Neville's favourite part of Eve's personality was when she was doing something she loved, like teaching. Her eyes would be bright as the sun and a dazzling smile would cross her perfect features. Eve was the best teacher in the school, strong-hearted and calm, generous but also knowing when to discipline. She knew just how to get the class interested and involved; even Fred and George Weasley would've sat there listening to her talk for hours whilst writing notes. And then there was her laugh. It was a laugh like no other, a fresh melody of music to people's ears. And whilst Neville contemplated this he did not realise a mood swing coming his way.

"What were you doing in the tree?! Spying on me?! You could've killed me or yourself when you fell!!" Eve yelled suddenly, her face going beetroot red and contorting with anger. "AND NOW MY BOOKS ALL WET!!" Her book was indeed wet. The parchment was soaked through and ink trailed down the pages.

"I… err… here, l-let me help you with th-that…" Neville stuttered embarrassed. He used a warming charm to dry the pages. "How are you n-n-not f-f-f-f-f-freezing?" Neville's teeth chattered. He pointed at her silk cloak.

Eve blushed again. Now that she'd calmed down she felt stupid for shouting. "I don't really feel the cold…" she murmured pulling the silk around her. Eve turned and headed back toward the castle with Neville hurrying behind her.

"Hey…err...Eve? Are you mad? 'Cause I …umm…I…err…wasn't s-spying on you. Y'know, in the tree? I really wasn't. It's just…I…err…I was just…umm… studying the… leaves…" Neville finished lamely. Eve stopped and turned to face him. They were now in front of the oak doors of the castle.

"Neville, it's okay. I overreacted and I'm sorry. Are you staying at Hogwarts over Christmas?" Every year, 8 teachers had to sign their names down to stay with the students and the others would go and visit families.

"Yeah…I…err-"

"So am I. Excuse me Neville, I have to dry off before dinner." And without another word she turned and entered the castle. Neville called after her but she disappeared into the crowd of chattering students suddenly swarming out of the castle wrapped up in excessive warm clothing. As the kids began throwing snowballs about Neville laughed and joined in their fight. At least he had some people to play with, as juvenile as that sounded.

***

Eve stood in the seventh floor corridor, staring out the window into the winter wonderland that was the castle grounds. Neville was so different to all the other men she had ever met. Whereas normal teachers would scold the students for having a snowball fight, Neville joined in. He was also never in his office, so no one could ever find him. He was sweet and shy, always wanting to please, and yet there was fire inside him, a burning passion and also a confidence that made him into the bravest man she ever knew. But overall, Neville was a mystery to her.

Eve tore her eyes away from the man covered in snow and continued her journey to her office. When she arrived in her deserted charms classroom, she found it was not deserted at all! There was a large jet-black screech owl sitting on her desk. As Eve entered the room the owl turned its beady yellow eyes towards her. "Sutekh." She muttered and untied a scroll of parchment attached to the owl's leg. Just as she guessed the owl was Sutekh, and just as she dreaded it was Haren's spidery handwriting on the parchment in bottle-green ink. Eve grimaced and cautiously unravelled the letter.

Dear Eve,

I've been lonely here without you darling. When I discovered you would not be coming home to me for Christmas, I was distraught! But I understand you wish to stay with all those lovely little children. So I will simply be paying you little a visit on Christmas Eve. Then we can spend Christmas just like last year, agreed? I know how much you enjoyed it last year.

I've bought you a gift, and I have a question for you. However, I will ask you when we are together again. I don't know what I'd do if you gave me the wrong answer.

Goodbye for now, my love.

Haren Vacerick

Oh no. Haren was Eve's boyfriend of several years. He was in her year at Hogwarts, but in Slytherin. At school he was never very popular, but rather good-looking and therefore, when he took a liking to Eve, she was very pleased. They went out in their 5th year and he seemed like the perfect boyfriend. When his fellow Slytherins called her a mudblood he would defend her. But in their 6th year, Eve was on the run so they had no contact. After the battle of Hogwarts, Haren had reclaimed Eve as his own as they redid their 6th year, much like a champion claiming his trophy. His possessiveness of his girlfriend grew rapidly over the course of the year, though no-one noticed. No-one ever really noticed Eve. Over their 7th year, Haren also grew more violent and if Eve tried to leave his side, he would keep her in a vice-like grip, like a tight claw around her arm, until she relented.

As for the letter now, it was more of a shield to the interceptors, but Eve could see through the lies. 'I've been lonely without you.' Eve almost laughed at the thought. He'd probably been having the time of his life without her, sleeping with every available woman that he saw. By distraught he meant furious and therefore the fact that he was coming on Christmas Eve was horrifying to say the least. Last year. The year before had been torture, Christmas, she remembered, as the first of many times he had properly beaten her. As for the gift, Eve wasn't sure what he meant, but it seemed there was a correct answer to the question and she dreaded to think what would happen if she got it wrong.

One thing was for sure, she wasn't looking forward to the 24th of December.

A/N: Hi guys, sorry the update took so long. Also in case anyone was wondering, Sutekh (Haren's owl) is the name of the Egyptian evil god of chaos. So you learn something new every day I hope you enjoyed the chapter. PLEASE REVIEW. Thanks to all the reviewers last time: Selesteant, and Gaili Beron. Thanks, you guys are great.

Prongster x