Hello! This chapter is a bt shorter than I had intended, but the next one will be longer :) I am going to make another plea for reviews as I could really use the feeback! Whether or not you like the way things are going, if you have any dreams of future pairings...I started with a set vision of who was going to end up with who and now I am wavering...
Aaaaaand now... *turns on music and hands out party snacks* A thank you to MrsCloWeasley and Fela! You two have made us an official party of four. You're both amazing!
Fire
Eva O'Connor had spent the majority of her summer inside her dad's flat, playing with Friend and reading about the Last Wizarding War. In the seven months since the Elder Wand had been stolen, one hundred and eight people had been murdered. Most of them muggles, but not all. She glanced over at the letter Mr. Potter had sent her at the beginning of the summer.
Eva,
Please don't hesitate to contact us if you need anything. If more than three days go by without Rose or Al hearing from you, Ginny or I will come by to make sure you and your father are alright.
We will pick you up for the train on the 30th of August.
Harry
Eva sighed and sat down on her narrow bed. There were five weeks between her and Hogwarts, and she hadn't been this conflicted about returning since her mother died. She knew she would feel better once she got back to school and out of the muggle world, but she was terribly afraid for her father.
Are you sure you even know enough magic to protect him if they did come?
The Prophet arrived every morning at dawn (if any of her neighbours had noticed the owls napping on their fifteenth floor balcony they hadn't mentioned it) to tell her whether or not someone had been murdered while she slept. The Prophet kept her somewhat connected to the magical world, but she was painfully aware that any information she got was literally yesterday's news. Rose and Albus did their best to keep her updated and since both of them had a parent in the Auror department, they had more information than most. But Eva still felt trapped in what Rose called her "muggle bubble."
One hundred and eight people dead. How can this be happening? Why can't they find who is doing this?
Friend mewed and rubbed against her leg. She scooped him up and cuddled him for a moment, taking comfort in his rumbling purr. She couldn't believe that things had deteriorated so fast. The muggle community had no idea what was happening of course, so only wizards were aware that the mysterious deaths were the result of the Avada Kedavra, the killing curse. To everyone's chagrin, the Auror department still had no leads on who was controlling the new group of Death Eaters.
But at least we know it isn't Voldemort.
No, just someone new and equally as twisted. Someone who doesn't want to be found.
Eva shivered despite the evening sun drifting through her small window. Eva had seen both Albus and Rose frequently throughout the summer, as they had both insisted on not leaving her without their company for more than a week or two. Rose had even figured out how to use muggle transportation and had stayed over on a few of the nights when Eva's father had needed to work. But for the most part she was alone.
"You're not afraid, are you?" Eva asked Friend.
The cat looked up at her with his big brown eyes, reminding her of James. She stroked his cheeks and cradled him closer to her chest, wishing she knew how James was doing. She worried about him constantly. James had announced to his parents in the spring that he intended to pursue a career as an Auror, which had caught his family completely by surprise. Prior to the rise of conflict in the wizarding world, James had been working hard to get signed on to a professional Quidditch team. Once the attacks started however, he had switched his aspirations completely. Much to his mother's dismay, his N.E.W.T scores were high enough to get him accepted into Auror training, and he was now apprenticing with one of his father's co-workers. Last Eva had heard, he was on track for being a fully trained Auror in two years.
And now he's out there fighting while you sit at home, hoping the paper will tell you what to do.
She rubbed Friend's ears absentmindedly. When Albus had told her about James' plans to fight, Eva had been one of the few people who wasn't surprised. James liked a good joke, and he was no stranger to rule-breaking, but he was also Ginny and Harry's son. Eva knew he wouldn't be happy waiting for other people to figure out what was going on.
And neither am I.
Eva heard the rattle of the lock coming undone, and the sound of her father's heavy boots in the hallway. He pulling as many morning shifts as possible with Holdfast Security so that Eva didn't have to be alone at night.
"Eva, honey? Are you home?"
Eva plucked Friend off her lap and padded into the hallway, "I'm here dad, don't worry."
Frank wrapped his daughter in a warm hug, "I can't stop thinking about all this chaos."
Eva nodded, hiding her face in her dad's chest, "I know, I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry, Ev. This isn't your fault. There are wackos in every group, I just hate knowing that I couldn't do anything if they came here."
"They won't come here dad, and Mr. Potter put wards all over our suite. No one can come inside without us and the entire Auror department knowing about it." She gave her dad a tight squeeze. "Plus, I really can't imagine Death Eaters taking the elevator," she giggled, despite herself.
Frank sighed, "I'm glad you can still find a way to laugh, Ev. Personally, I'll be relieved when you get back to school."
Eva sighed. It was thanks to the Potters and Mr. Weasley that her father thought Hogwarts was safe. Eva had believed it too, until she began reading about the Last Wizarding War. Now she was pretty sure no one was safe. She couldn't even practice any defensive spells over the holidays without the Ministry for Magic punishing her.
O
"Diffindo!"
"Good!" Harry yelled as the target Rose was aiming at exploded.
Rose staggered backwards panting.
Harry had shown up at her front door first thing in the morning and, after a ferocious row with her mother, taken her and Hugo back to his cottage in Godric's Hollow, where they could practice spell work without any muggles to overhear. Aunt Ginny had been waiting for them in the backyard, which had been transformed into a sort of defense against the Dark Arts obstacle course. Harry and Ginny had sat her, Hugo, Lily and Albus down on the back steps and explained that they had to know how to defend themselves. Rose had been shocked. Her parents were all words of comfort and promises that Hogwarts was safe, that they were safe, but the Potters were training their children like warriors.
"They know who we are, there's no point pretending they don't!" Harry had yelled at her mother as the dawn light filtered through the kitchen windows. "We spent seven years fighting these people, and they won't forget what we did to them! If you think our children can escape the legacy we left them, you're fooling yourself! They have to be able to defend themselves, Hermione. They have to know what to do!"
If you think our children can escape the legacy we left them, you're fooling yourself.
The words still rang in her ears and shivered down her spine.
"Hugo, get your arm up higher, you're trying to shield the ground," Ginny snapped, lifting her nephews arm into the correct position.
Her fourteen year old brother had his face screwed up in concentration as he attempted to block Albus' spells. Rose bit her lip. The thought of Hugo needing to fight made bile burn the back of her throat like fire. He was too young.
Uncle Harry was the same age when Voldemort came back.
Hugo isn't Harry. None of us are.
"How are your nonverbal spells coming along, Rose?" Harry asked his niece.
Rose frowned, "Terribly. I don't think my wand can read my mind."
"It can. You're just used to relying on your words, but nonverbal spells are extremely important in duelling as they allow you to-"
"Attack or defend without your opponent knowing what's happening. I know, Uncle Harry," Rose breathed, trying to control her temper.
Harry smiled. "You know, you look a lot like your mother, but boy, do you ever remind me of Ginny."
Rose couldn't help but smile through her frustration. She absolutely idolized her fiery aunt. Gritting her teeth she slashed her wand through the air again,
Petrificus Totalus!
Lily fell back into the grass, completely stiff.
"Yes!" Rose shouted, pumping her fist in the air.
Harry smiled, "Well done, Rose." He bent over his youngest child and performed the counter-curse. "You have a lot of power in that wand, dragon heartstring?"
"Dragon heartstring and Aspen."
Harry nodded, "I don't know much about wands, but I think there used to be a famous duelling club that only took people who had wands made of Aspen."
"The Silver Spears."
Rose whirled around at her mother's voice.
Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley stood on the Potter's back. They were holding hands.
"Mum! Dad!" Hugo shouted, "I stunned Al!"
Rose watched as Harry walked over to his two best friends. She couldn't hear all of what they were saying, but she could tell Harry was apologizing for yelling this morning. Hermione wrapped Harry in a tight hug, and Rose could just make out the words, "You were right. We can't always be there to protect them."
O
Eva felt a sharp pain below her collar bone, and struggled to brush it away and go back to sleep. Her mind felt sluggish, and each breath burned her chest. The pain intensified, and Eva struggled to open her eyes. Flames licked the walls, making the yellow wallpaper bubble and peel. The room was alive with smoke and fire, like the center of dragon's mouth.
What?
Eva struggled to sit up, and realized that the sharp pain that had woke her had been Friend's teeth. The cat was now crouched beside her, his warm brown eyes streaming from the smoke. The cat's little chest heaved with the effort of drawing breath.
We're burning alive.
Eva coughed viciously and struggled to draw breath. She could feel consciousness slipping away from her again.
No. We will not die here.
She snatched her wand out from under her pillow and performed the bubble-head charm on Friend before turning to herself. The fresh air didn't make her lungs stop burning, but she could feel her brain slowly waking up.
Dad.
Grabbing friend off the bed and tucking him under her arm Eva staggered out of her flaming bedroom. "Partis Temporus," she coughed, forcing the fire out of her way as she struggled down the hallway towards her father's bedroom. Sparks landed on her shoulders, burning the flesh away.
If I can feel my skin burning then I'm still alive.
The smoke was so think in her father's bedroom that she stumbled and fell, smashing her knee on something as she went down. Refusing to drop Friend, she crashed onto her shoulder. Something cracked and pain shot through collarbone.
You've broken your first bone.
Eva stumbled back to her feet and over to her father's bed. She could feel the blood from her collarbone streaming between her breasts. The blood felt cool compared to the air.
"Dad!" she shrieked, her voice tearing into the back of her throat until she tasted blood.
Her father didn't move.
No. No. No.
Eva placed Friend on the bed and rolled her father over. She couldn't tell if he was alive or not, and she didn't have time to fumble for a heartbeat. The walls were beginning to fall in, crumbling towards her as the flames devoured their home. Eva cast the bubble-head charm on her father, and dragged him out of the bed.
"Wing- wing," she choked as her voice broke.
Winguardium Leviosa.
Her father lurched into the air.
Eva scooped Friend back up into her arms and guided her father's unconscious body out of the bedroom. The living room was now entirely in flames. Eva blinked furiously, her energy fading rapidly.
There's no way out.
Eva's eyes settled on the sliding glass door, which had exploded in the inferno.
Augumenti.
Water came pouring from her wand, drenching the flames enough that Eva was able to guide her father's body towards the opening and crawl after him with Friend. The night air felt like kisses on her burned skin. She looked down on the city below them and felt tears sting her eyes. The bubble-head charms flickered and vanished, and her father dropped onto the patio floor.
We're fifteen floors up.
Eva retched, her whole body shaking and burning. She could barely move, and she couldn't think of a single spell that could save them.
I'd rather fly than burn.
Wrapping her arms around her father and tucking Friend into her pajama top, Eva pointed at the railing, "D-Diffindo."
The barrier between her and the night sky exploded into the darkness. Eva took a rattling breath and heaved her father up with a strength she thought was long gone.
I'm sorry.
Eva closed her eyes and pushed them all away from the remainder of the building.
So this is what it feels like to die.
O
Rose wasn't even aware that she was screaming as the two bodies plummeted from the sky. The sirens muggles used to signal death and disaster were shrieking all around her, and the red lights flickered along her and Albus' skin.
"Rose, look!"
Rose watched as Eva and her father halted in mid-air, and she knew her mother had gotten there in time.
Thank you," she breathed, tears now pouring down her face. She was shaking with uncontrollable sobs for the first time since childhood.
Albus was gripping her hand tightly and repeating the same words over and over again, "They're going to be okay."
"Rose! Al!"
Rose whirled around to see her father running towards them through the crowd of terrified muggles, "Mum is making sure they're taken to Saint Mungo's, we can meet them there."
"Where'd my dad go?" Albus asked anxiously, looking around.
Her dad began guiding them through the crowd towards the car, "He's investigating what happened. It looks like the building was set fire by wizards, Al. None of the muggle alarms worked, and all the doors were sealed shut by magic. There was some sort of glamour that kept the neighbourhood from noticing the blaze until it was too late."
Rose felt her stomach heave.
So this is what war looks like.
O
Eva opened her stinging eyes slowly and looked down at her chest. She was wearing a pale yellow shift that she had never seen before. Blinking, her eyes shifted to a small furry body nestled between her arm and her ribcage.
Friend.
She stirred groggily, slowly realizing she wasn't in her bed.
The fire. Dad. Dad.
Eva tried to speak but her throat burned so badly that she spent the next few minutes hacking. Her chest felt like it had been crushed.
O
Rose and Albus sat side by side in the waiting room with James, Ginny and her parents. Lily and Albus were staying with Grandpa and Grandma Weasley, and Uncle Harry was still trying to figure out who had caused the fire that claimed the lives of over three hundred muggles.
"Mr. Weasley?"
Rose watched as her father got up and went to speak with a kind faced Healer. She watched in horror as her father closed his eyes briefly and ran his fingers through his greying red hair. The Healer walked away and Ron turned to face his family.
"Frank was dead before Eva pulled him from the building."
"No!" Rose shrieked at the same time Al began to cry and James smashed his fist into the wall.
Ginny wrapped her arms around her youngest son, "I'm sorry, Al."
"I-It's not fair. She lost her mum just last year. She can't lose him too," Al sobbed into his mother's shoulder.
Rose felt like her body was crumbling into nothingness. She leaned into her father's embrace and tried to think, but all she do was picture Eva's face when she learned that her father was gone.
"Rose, sweetheart?" her dad whispered.
Rose looked up into her dad's blue eyes.
"The Healer wants to know if she has family we can contact."
Al rubbed his eyes, "I think she might have a great aunt on her mum's side but… I'm not sure."
"Why do they want to know that?" Rose challenged.
Her mum sighed, "She won't be of age for another few months, and another year and a bit in the muggle world. Her government will want to place her with a guardian, her next of kin."
Rose leapt to her feet, "We are not sending her off to live with some person she has never met and who doesn't even know she's a witch!"
"We weren't saying-" her father began.
James whirled on his mother, cutting off his uncle, "She can have my room. I'm barely home anymore anyways. I can sleep in Al's room when I'm around."
"You can confund the muggles right? So they don't know?" Al asked.
Ginny looked at her two sons, "If Eva wants to stay with us then we will make it happen."
Rose looked at parents, "She could live with us too, right?"
Her mum nodded, "Yes, Rose. Of course. The Potters have more room, but she would be welcome to share your room if she wanted."
Ron took his daughter's hand, "She can stay with whoever she wants, Rose. Eva is family."
A raw scream broke into their conversation like an icy blade.
"Eva!" Rose shouted, leaping to her feet and looking at her parents wildly, "they told her?"
Rose felt Al grab her hand. All the colour had drained from his face from listening to his friend's heartbroken shrieks.
"She shouldn't be alone," Al breathed.
The sound of smashing ricocheted down the hall.
"Miss. O'Connor, please calm down!"
"M-Miss!"
Rose sprinted towards where the sounds were coming from, desperately trying to reach her best friend. By the time she reached the hospital room, Eva was standing in the middle of the room, shrieking and crying like Rose had never seen anyone do before. Various tables and instruments around the room had been smashed into the wall, and the glass window was vibrating. Rose could feel Eva's magic whirling around the room, completely unleashed by the pain her friend was experiencing.
Rose felt Albus' hand tighten in hers.
The Head Healer looked at them, "I'm going to have to stun her if she doesn't calm down."
"Eva?" Rose approached her friend cautiously.
Eva didn't move or look up, she just rocked back and forth on her feet whimpering softly to herself. Her magic was wildly stripping portraits off the walls, and smashing loose objects into the walls. She was completely unhinged.
Rose took a deep breath and walked up to her friend, touching her pale face softly. Eva's eyes open. Her dark blue eyes seemed to be completely devoid of soul.
How can she survive this?
"Ev?" Albus approached them, and reached out to touch Eva's arm softly.
Recognition flickered in Eva's eyes and tears began to stream down her face. "He's gone," she whispered brokenly.
Rose nodded.
Eva fell forward into her friends and the three of them sunk to the floor, holding each other. Rose rocked her small friend back and forth, feeling like she was holding a small child.
