Chapter 6

Severus stepped through the floo and into an empty sitting room. He stalked up the stairs to find his ill mannered daughter sitting at the end of her bed and glaring at him. Were the circumstances or the target different he might have even been proud of the venom in her glare.

"Do not look at me like that, you are the one in the wrong here. You should not have hit Tywin li-"

"He should not have insulted my mother!" She yelled, rising to her feet and standing on her bed in a futile attempt to match his height. "He was being a dick!"

"Sit!" He roared it at her and she faltered, dropping onto her knees on the bed, her tears finally spilling over. He took pity on her and softened his voice. "Tywin should not have said that about your mother. But you should not have reacted the way you did. You cannot just attack people when they say or do something you don't like. I had thought you were better than that."

Her glare returned full force. "I'm sorry I don't live up to your expectations. Just get out!"

He quirked a brow at her. "Do not order me about in my own house. And you had better be in a more tolerable mood tomorrow," he said, stalking from the room and slamming the door on his way out.

Eve drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around them, rocking back and forth as she cried. She was angry and sad and wanted her mother. Or, at the very least, someone who would hug her. Right now, she would even appreciate a lie just to have someone hold her and tell her everything would be all right. She was so tired and just wanted a proper sleep. She wanted Uncle Harry, he would hug her, even read to her until she fell asleep, and then he would sleep with her all night in case she woke up from her nightmares. Or even Uncle Sirius, he would have complimented her on making the Nott boy bleed like that.

Rolling off the bed, she headed to the window and stared out over the dark little town. She opened the window and climbed onto the sill, using the gutter to get down to the ground, wanting to be anywhere else right now. Severus didn't even really want her there anyway. Maybe it was time to go to Uncle Fred's. But without a floo or bird, both of which she had just left behind, she had no idea how to get in touch with him.

She wandered down the dark street, trying to keep the sound of her sobbing to a minimum. She didn't really know the town, Severus didn't take her for walks around it, he always took her far from Spinner's End.

It didn't take long before she found the outskirts, finding a rather dirty and polluted river. She followed it, ignoring the foul smell it was letting off. When she grew tired of walking, she flopped down onto the ground. She already had blood on her dress, what did a bit of dirt and grass matter?

xXx

Severus was of course aware of Evangeline sneaking out of her window. The ever present wards around his home alerted him to the comings and goings of all magical beings, human, animagus or otherwise. Non-magical humans were just unable to enter at all.

As soon as she was out of the window, Severus rose from his chair and followed her at a distance, keeping to the shadows. She didn't appear to be in any rush, and the occasional sob he heard alerted him to the fact she was crying. He had no idea what to do about her distress. Ignore it and just growl and punish her for sneaking out? He doubted she would have pulled such a stunt at Potters. But then, Potter and Black were probably more equipped to meet her emotional needs.

Still he followed while he tried to puzzle out his next action and keep an eye out for any danger.

Eventually Evangeline sat down, curling in on herself and watching the filthy, polluted river as she sobbed into her knees.

He kept watch, unsure of what else to do. Parenting was not his forte. Finally he removed his frock coat and headed towards her silently. She didn't even startle as he draped his coat over her shoulders. But she did pull it tighter around her. Severus took a seat next to her and pushing aside his discomfort he put his arm around her shoulders, drawing her close. He tried not to take it too personally when she cried harder. She didn't pull away, and if anything, she seemed to be trying to bury herself deeper into his shirt. He brought his other arm up and held her tightly.

When Eve had first sensed Severus' presence, she hated him for following her, fully expecting him to drag her back and yell at her some more. But the comfort he was offering, she would gladly take. She felt surprisingly safe as he held on to her, all the stories she had been told about him coming to mind, how he had protected her mother and Uncle Harry throughout school, the risks he had taken fooling the darkest wizard of all time. If anyone could protect her from the world, it would be this man.

Severus sat with her for a good half hour before she finally fell asleep. He listened to her shuddering breaths for a few minutes more before he scooped her up and rose to his feet. She was light, too light maybe?

He carried her home and lay her down, pulling off her shoes before tucking her into bed and going to his own.

What an unpleasant evening.

xXx

Eve was surprised to find herself in her bed, though as the memories of last night returned to her, she supposed she shouldn't have been. Crawling out of bed she grabbed some clothes from her dresser and headed down the hall to the bathroom for a shower before heading downstairs to the kitchen. For breakfast she had just one piece of toast slathered generously in hazelnut spread. At Uncle Harry's she would sit in the kitchen and eat the stuff straight from the jar. Severus had not been impressed when he caught her doing that here and told her to stop it, or at least cut back.

She could almost hear her mother in her ear chastising her for her lack of appetite too. The last few months before her mother was put in hospital, Eve hadn't been able to get much down, and her mum hadn't been able to keep much down. Eve had been sick with worry, and her mum had just been sick.

While Eve nibbled at her toast, she prepared Severus' morning coffee. She used to do the same for her mum, make her morning tea. As she got sicker, Eve had started making her breakfast too, just toast and cereal since she couldn't really cook anything on the stove. As her mum got sicker, Uncle Harry had stopped by more often to prepare their meals, some times even staying over the night. A couple of weeks before her mother took up permanent residence at the hospital, Uncle Harry had practically moved in with them to keep things running, make sure the bills were paid, that Eve got to school on time and was picked up and such. Eve tried to help as much as she could, terrified that if she was too much of a burden, she might be left behind. At one point, the kids at school had had her convinced that was why her father wasn't around. How could she know others might not feel the same way? If her father could leave her, others could too.

When Severus came down, he merely gave her a nod and took his seat opposite her, sipping at the cooling coffee. Nothing was said of last night, either the events at dinner, or what came afterwards.

After her breakfast she went to her room to read for a few hours before Severus came up to tell her it was time to go to St. Mungo's.

Once they reached the magical hospital Evangeline ran ahead of him, eager to get to her mothers side. When Severus arrived she was already lying down beside her mum and reading a Potions magazine to her someone must have left.

Occasionally she would hit on a word she didn't know how to pronounce, usually the Latin name for an ingredient or potion, and Severus would tell her what it was, never once looking up from his own reading.

When visiting hours were over and a healer had ushered them out, they headed down the street not a word being uttered between them. The tension was thick and even he was getting uncomfortable with it. He had wondered if he had over stepped his bounds last night. Was she angry with him?

Though he would never admit it to anyone, he had apparated to Hogwarts last night after finding it impossible to fall asleep. He had gone to the library and found a few books on parenting and raising magical children. Albus had caught him, but apart from a knowing smile he had been wise enough not to comment out loud on his selections.

From what he had read in the books, communication had apparently been key, but he despised communication, discussing feelings and what not. Maybe he should just use Legilimency on her in one of their lessons to get a sense of what was bothering her. She was coming along nicely in those lessons, so that was good. He had never come at it from that angle before, rather than teaching someone how to enter someone's mind, he was teaching her to how to stay out.

xXx

Days on and they had gone about their time together just ignoring it all. Everything had seemed to fall back into place on it's own. He had taken her to her dance lessons, which he had learned seemed to be some kind of release to her. He supposed it made sense, it was a form of exercise and it required discipline and focus to get it right. It looked as if they were gearing up for some kind of recital. He hoped it didn't come up while he still had her.

He had continued reading the books but hadn't been able to put the offered advice into action. She didn't seem chatty, he definitely wasn't chatty and the ensuing conversation would only be stilted and awkward and probably make things worse.

When he tried to get a feel for her thoughts with Legilimency he only got garbled images of her and her mother, a longing he wasn't able to make sense of and a pervading sadness and resignation. It was a horrible feeling to see in such a young girl. Especially when he had seen memories of her, fiery and passionate or happy and smiling.

They were also to try dinner with the Malfoy's again, and when he had told her, he was surprised she had taken it so well. He was expecting an outburst. From what he remembered of her mother, she probably would have stomped her foot and packed a tantrum much like the child his daughter was supposed to be. Probably not, Hermione rarely acted in that manner, but he had seen it on a few occasions when she really was set against something. Eve however, had taken the news blankly. At least she didn't fight, though he might have preferred it. Over the days she had become more despondent and exhausted, as if she could sense the end coming. He was quite sure she hadn't heard his conversations with the healers though, he had always ensured he cast silencing spells around them, even if he knew her to be in the hospital room with her mother.

The only reason he had agreed to dinner was in the hopes Narcissa could do something. The girl was craving her mother and he hoped Narcissa could offer some kind of comfort he was incapable of providing. He certainly wouldn't be depending on Pansy for motherly anything. The woman had changed little since Hogwarts, still selfish, still vapid and still dumb as a stump. Her one redeeming quality was that she genuinely seemed to love her son, she was a different person around him. But around other peoples children, not so much.

"What are you doing?"

Severus turned from the wardrobe in Evangeline's room he had been rummaging through to see her standing in the doorway curiously.

"I am trying to find suitable attire for dinner tonight," he replied.

"All my dresses are at home."

"Grimmauld?"

She shook her head. "The home I lived with mum. It's connected to the floo network."

"Can we get in?"

She nodded and he followed her down to the living room. Taking some floo powder from the mantle she called out the address and stepped through. Severus followed a moment later and glanced around, unsurprised to find a modern muggle home.

"It was grandma and grandpa's home before they...you know."

Severus nodded. He knew they had died a year or so after the war, but was unaware of the specifics.

"I'll go find a dress," she muttered, heading for the door opposite them.

"You might as well pack your clothes and anything else you wish to take," he told her.

She nodded sadly, understanding she would most likely never be coming back here to live. While Evangeline was out of the room Severus took this chance to look around. There were many photo's all over the place, many of his daughter throughout the years. A few of Hermione with different people or at various stages of pregnancy. She was absolutely glowing in those photo's, gorgeous. There were some muggle pictures, some wizarding. One moving picture in particular caught his eye. It was of Eve, she looked to be about five or six, sitting on a garden swing and watching butterflies. A peaceful, carefree smile graced her face as she swung back and forth, her curls flying about her with the motion. He hadn't seen a smile like that on her since he had met her. She really was a pretty child. It was hard to believe she was created from his genetic material.

There were more snapshots of her life, quite a few with Potter, who was obviously there from even before her birth as he was in a few of Hermione's pregnancy photo's. Severus actually felt a pang of regret shoot through him as he imagined where he might be in these photos. There were some photo's of her using her magic with Hermione's tutelage, he could see himself being there to guide her, he was brilliant with wandless magic after all.

A surge of anger rose within him at Hermione for keeping Evangeline from him, for never giving him the choice to know her. What right did she have!? Why would she even do it!?

He picked up the moving picture of Eve on the swing, shrinking it and slipping it into his pocket before he even gave much thought to his actions.

Evangeline entered the room, dragging a suitcase behind her and he forced down the bubbling anger. It didn't escape his notice how she avoided looking around at the house. Being here obviously made her sad and uncomfortable.

"Ready?" He asked.

She nodded and they returned to Spinner's End. Severus sent her suitcase up to her room and told her to get ready. He went to his own room and took the photo from his pocket. He stared at it a moment before laying it down on his dresser. He didn't really know what to do with it. He didn't have photos in his house. All the ones of his own childhood and of Lily were thrown in a box and buried at the bottom of the wardrobe.

He met Evangeline in the living room by the floo, she came down in another pretty dress, her hair out mostly but pinned back with little star clips. She didn't seem to be able to do much with it. They flooed through to the manor and everyone who had been present at the last meal was waiting in the parlour. Theo cast a pointed look at Tywin who stepped forward towards Evangeline.

"I apologize for what I said at your last visit," he began. "I behaved poorly and you were right, your mother is deserving of respect and I should have shown it."

Severus arched a brow at this, wondering how many times it'd had to be rehearsed so it didn't sound so fake.

Evangeline took the offered hand. "I'm not sorry for punching you, you deserved it. But I still shouldn't have done it. But I'll probably do it again if you say something stupid."

Draco and Blaise tried to cover their snickering as Tywin visibly winced at the memory of how hard the little girl could punch. Severus however was not impressed and he glared at the younger men for their blatant signs of encouragement. Tywin nodded and the pair shook hands on it.

Narcissa was the first to make a move, leading Evangeline towards the dining room as she gushed over her pretty dress and hair along with Lady Zabini.

The others trailed behind, Lucius falling into step beside Severus.

"Is Evangeline well Severus?" He asked. "She is looking a little pale."

"No, she isn't," he sighed. "The end draws closer for Hermione everyday and it is taking its toll on Evangeline's appetite and sleeping habits. I am...at a loss. I'm considering slipping her a sleeping draught again, maybe adding nutritive potions to what little food she does eat."

"Not everything can be solved with potions Severus," Lucius remarked.

"It would be a much simpler world if it could," he muttered.

They were seated at the dining table, the children beside each other this time in an attempt to encourage them to become friends. They were close in age and Tywin didn't have many friends either. Pansy was very selective about those she allowed to associate with her son. The only reason Evangeline was allowed was because Severus was so closely connected to the Malfoy's.

Tywin didn't mind Evangeline. Before the punch in the face he had actually considered liking her. Though he didn't know why. She didn't seem to be impressed by the fact he was a pure blood, or a Nott. All his other friends were, and his mother had stressed the importance of his pure heritage and how it elevated him above many others. But Evangeline didn't seem to care, she even interrupted him sometimes when he was speaking. Even now though, he didn't mind her presence. He couldn't help but wonder why. Was he that desperate for a friend?

The adults around the table noticed Tywin's glances at Evangeline, who seemed to be focusing on her plate intently. He looked at her as if she were some kind of perplexing puzzle and Severus wondered if he was supposed to step in and deter his interest. Did children start with nonsense this young?

"It's rude to stare," Eve told him quietly, having felt his eyes on her frequently.

She turned to him, staring straight in his eyes and holding his gaze for some time. Eventually, Tywin blinked.

"You lost," she said.

"What?"

"You blinked, you lost."

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"Our staring contest. You blinked first, that means you lose."

"I didn't know we were having a staring contest," he said, his irritation seeping into his voice. "Again."

They both blinked a couple of times in preparation before boring into each other's eyes. Both were incredibly stubborn and didn't want to admit defeat. Their eyes dried, teared up, turned red, until finally Lucius broke it.

"Enough," he said, causing both to jump, blink and rub at their eyes. "No more games at the table. Eat your dinner."

"Yes Mr Malfoy," they both replied in unison, looking appropriately chastised.

Evangeline wasn't very hungry, but forced a few more bites down so as not to be rude.

"Is it not to your liking Evangeline?" Mrs Malfoy asked kindly.

"It's lovely Mrs Malfoy, I just don't eat much," she replied, forcing a smile onto her face.

"You really ought to eat more, you're practically a waif."

Evangeline stomached a little bit more in an effort to please her.

When the meal was finished, they shifted to the adjoining room for drinks. Draco suggested Tywin take Evangeline out and show her the gardens as they must not have gotten very far last time. Eve was keen on the idea, wanting to leave the adults and their boring talk of politics and Quidditch behind, it was always the same thing with adults.

She followed Tywin down one of the many windy hallways.

"Severus mentioned the Malfoy's had a big library," she said. "Can I see it?"

Tywin shook his head. "Lucius doesn't like me being in there. He said there are books with powerful and dark magic. I'm not allowed in there without an adult."

"Does he lock the door?"

"I don't know."

"We should go and see," she suggested. "If it's unlocked we'll just poke our heads in. I just want a peek at it."

Tywin looked unsure.

"A quick peek," she pressed. "It'll be fine and I'll be fast."

Tywin reluctantly agreed to lead her to the library and he glanced up and down the hallway just to be sure before he even tried the massive double doors.

The doors gave way easily and Eve entered, keeping close to the door. Uncles Fred and George may have spent much of her life encouraging her to break rules and damn the consequences, often pressing upon her the lesson that it was easier to ask forgiveness than get permission, but her mother had been a stickler for the rules. And the Malfoy's and her father were not people she wanted to displease. But her curiosity over the Malfoy library wouldn't be satisfied until she had seen it.

Eve gazed around in wonder, it was huge, even bigger than some of the muggle public libraries her mother had taken her to. And of course it would have more magical texts in it. She took slow deliberate steps towards the nearest shelf, just wanting to scan the titles quickly.

"Evangeline, we're not allowed," Tywin hissed, grabbing her wrist.

"I won't touch anything, I just want to see the titles."

Tywin followed closely behind Eve, who was feeling a little triumphant that she had bent this boy to her will. Who knew a pure blood would be so...what is the word? Complicit? Compliant? She wished she had her dictionary with her.

Scanning the titles she found a few her mother had mentioned, some she had seen on Severus' shelves, but even more she had never heard of before. She wanted to take some off the shelves and flip through them, but the nervous shuffling of Tywin behind her gave her pause. Perhaps the punishment Lucius Malfoy dished out was a harsh one. She had seen in her mother's memories the kinds of things that had happened to her when she had been caught and brought to the Malfoy Manor. And she had told him she wouldn't touch anything.

"All right Tywin," she said softly. "Let's go."

He breathed a sigh of relief and practically dragged her out of the library, quietly closing the door behind them. He led her through the manor again, and they stepped into another huge room Eve instantly recognized. She froze.

"I know this room," she whispered softly.

xXx

A/N: Thanks for the reading and reviewing :)