Past Blood - Befana Enzo

When Eva opened her eyes she was no longer in the dark office of the Headmaster. Or rather she was in his office, but it was no longer dark. The sun shone behind a bald man in Dumbledore's seat. He moved his hands under his chin which didn't surprise Eva since he looked fragile enough to need the support. The Headmaster seemed bony enough that he should be clasping under his own weigh.

"You two," He said with a voice that was practically a whisper. "Can you tell me what ails you so?"

"No ailments on my part, Professor." A girl said. Eva's eyes moved from the man in the chair, across his desk, and then the two seats in from of the desk. She stared at the speaker and gasped.

The woman was a teenager with olive skin and tawny-colored hair. Her eye, the uncovered one, was deep brown while its twin was hidden beneath a ring of bandages.

Eva almost fell when she looked at a young Aurelia. Eva saw her own frame, albeit Eva herself had rounder hips. Aurelia's face was identical save for a sharper nose, smaller lips and the fact Aurelia wore a smile instead of the 'O' Eva did.

"Professor Dippet, I do not know for what reason I have been called," Aurelia continued. "I hope, however, that this is merely a misunderstanding. I know us Enzos are foreigners but I feel my family has treated you with enough kindness so that we can be accepted. Is this how the Scottish repay kindness?"

Eva felt goosebumps grow on her skin, despite the fact she knew no wind could touch her in a Penseive. Her grandmother was so…scary. Although Aurelia smiled throughout her speech and never raised her voice, Eva heard a trickle of sourness in the words. Did her grandmother just threaten the Headmaster? Did she just allude to bribing the Headmaster? Thoughts like those made Eva's head swell.

"No, no –" Dippet waved his spindly arms. He then rubbed a crystal ball on his desk that had a glided base. Aurelia glanced towards it and smiled wider. "I, of course, appreciate everything the Enzos have provided and –"

"The Scottish repay kindness with kindness and bullshit with bullshit." The boy on the left of Aurelia huffed. Eva looked at him and saw what could be a younger version of her uncle Manny. His voice even mirrored Manny's. They were clones save for that his not-born-yet-son's black locks were longer.

"Grandpa," Eva murmured to herself. Aurelia did not look at him. He glowered at her with such heat that the gold flecks in his eyes seemed like a fire.

"Dermid, please be reasonable." Dippet breathed, flapping his hand as if to fan away the flames in his stare. Dermid simply shifted his glare from Aurelia to the Headmaster. Dippet frowned and decided to keep his own gaze to the still-smiling Aurelia. "I've heard from Professor Dumbledore that the two of you decided to have a duel in his class rather than focus on the spell he assigned. While I'm sure Madame Lauren will be able to remove Melissa Moore's trunk by nightfall, it's just one of the latest incidents caused by your squabbles."

"I do not understand," Aurelia's expression went blank, doe-eyed. "Squabbles?"

"Yes, 'squabbles' are what we we call fights or tiffs or –"

"She understands your English just fine!" Dermid stood up. "She's just a two-faced, stuck up, bigoted –"

Aurelia shivered. Eva cringed because she could imagine herself making the scrunched up pose. "He keeps yelling – I feel like he'll attack me and that's the only reason I react to him."

"Dermid Scott, sit down." Dippet ordered.

"She's a liar and a snake!"

"Non pensai che sei media vera…" Aurelia muttered.

"She's is a disabled young woman who is in a strange land. You should be more compassionate." Dippet explained. Aurelia nodded and whimpered. "If I hear of another hex from you Dermid, you'll be doing lines for two hours for a week!"

"That's not…" After a sniffle from Aurelia, Dermid blew hot air from his nostrils. He must have figured he had lost this battle. "Sorry, Professor," Dermid said as he returned to his seat.

Dippet gestured to Aurelia. "Give her an apology too."

"What –" He snarled and she gave him a smile. "Sorry…" He hissed.

"Good, now, you two have Merryweather in ten minutes. Be off." Dippet patted Aurelia's shoulder before she rose from her seat. When she did rise she curtsied to him before skipping out. Dermid mock – gagged and followed her.

"I can't believe…" Eva could not finish speaking before the noticed her body floating out of the room too, following Aurelia. Eva walked alongside her young grandparents throughout the Hogwarts halls. Some things look wildly different, others look completely the same. She wanted to take in all the sights but her grandmother's voice brought her attention back to the couple.

"Baboo," Aurelia snapped her head away from Dermid. "Don't cling so close to me, half-Blood."

"There'd be more room on the stairwell if you fell off it." Dermid drawled. "Sorry to be sucking up your air."

"Well I can't fault you for that. You're just following instinct to breathe after all. All animals do." Eva winced and it was mirrored by her grandfather. Aurelia had verbally slapped the two of them.

Dermid pulled out his wand. "You little…"

"Professor Dippet!" Aurelia hollered. Dermid shoved his wand back into his pocket before the bald man arrived. "I forgot to tell you how nice you looked today, Professor Dippet." The Headmaster smiled and walked back into the office.

"You're crafty, I'll give you that." Dermid said, "Which makes your petty games all the more annoying. You should be smart enough to know your Pureblood pride is a load of bullocks. You could be so much better than any of them but you ended up worse!"

Aurelia shoved him so hard Dermid hit the railing. "No." Her small word held so much fury. Eva stepped away when she heard. Dermid sucked in his breath and gripped the red blotch on his arm where he had landed. "I can't be worse than them. I can't."

She stomped away. Eva tried to run towards Dermid, but the memory made the scene of him fade meanwhile pulling her to Aurelia.

"What a fool," Aurelia seethed. She folded her arms and rubbed them. A genuine shiver ran down the girl's body. "As if…" Aurelia sighed.

"I'm starting to wonder too." Eva said. "How could you be so cruel to him? How could you say those things?"

Eva, of course, got no answer but walked next to her grandmother anyways. She noticed they were leaving the castle and grimaced. Her confusion grew and fear was added to it when she saw they were heading for the Forbidden Forest.

Aurelia murmured the Disillusion Charm on herself before tip-toeing pass Hagrid's hut – Eva marveled at how new it seemed, how young the Hagrid that was in the Hunt's window looked – and crept into the forest. She walked only a few yards in when the Charm faded. Aurelia didn't look fazed, but she whirled her head back and forth.

"What are you looking for?" Eva asked.

"Befana!" Aurelia whispered. Eva looked back and forth too, trying to find this Befana. Finally she heard a rustle in the grass. Eva glanced down and nearly missed the green and black dotted snake that slinked over to her grandmother. Aurelia knelt and picked up the snake. "You're just what I need right now, Befana." Aurelia said when she put the snake on her shoulders.

Befana nuzzled her cheek. Dear, I can smell the tears about to fall from your eye. What happened?

Aurelia sniffed. "I won't cry over some half-blood's words. I won't allow it!" Aurelia muttered. "Can't you eat him? I heard there was a snake that eats people like him!

Eva held her breath, remembering the Basilisk from second year. Eva remembered the soft whispers she heard while she walked in the hall, the ones that made her cover her ears in a useless attempt to bat them away. I'll find you…you're too interesting to escape…was the snake's threat that echoed in many nightmares. The only advantage to hearing the creature what that Eva could drag away her friends if the voice was too close for comfort. Barring Justin, who insisted that he didn't need to be babysat and ignored her warnings, it kept them safe.

Do not even joke! That creature is unholy. It is not something meant to hunt humans for something as menial as blood purity…

"Befana!" Aurelia scolded.

Please, child. Human is human to us, wizard is wizard. Purity of blood makes no difference unless a master insists on it.

"Well I insist!"

Well, you are not my mistress, or at least not just so. You are my friend, my slightly deluded charge…

"If you were going to chide me too then you shouldn't have…" Before Aurelia could finish Befana coiled around her arm. Befana slithered on the grass again but looked back at Aurelia. Aurelia held a grimace on her face for a full minute but the frown faded as the second ticked on. "Sorry." Aurelia admitted. "I never told you about my day. It was that Dermid guy again…"

Eva heard a chuckle come from the snake. Since your dance you and he seem to have daily confrontations.

"It's his fault. He said something awful…" Aurelia breathed. "He said I'm worse. That ignorant lout doesn't know Mr. Enzo and he dares –"

Aurelia, you said you wouldn't cry over him.

"I'm not!" Aurelia pounded the dirt. She kept her eyes closed but tears still escaped. "How dare he? How could he? How could I even compare to…" Aurelia rubbed the bandages. "My grandfather plucked out this eye himself you know. It was from before I even met you when I was about ten. Mr. Enzo said he needed some part of me to test my blood since I'm a bastard. He said he wouldn't have it healed because I needed to learn from my mother's mistake, so I'd learn not to risk my pure blood on a fling as she did. He needed for me to have Pureblood more than he needed me to have two eyes. So being pureblood has to be important right?"

Aurelia… Befana did not say anything else. She simply brushed against Aurelia's knee. Eva warred inside herself. One part wanted to comfort her crying grandmother. Another remembered the hateful words Aurelia spewed at Dermid and thus that part wanted to run away from her. Eva wondered if she should leave the Penseive right now.

A/N: So yeah, there's going to be a series of Chapters dealing with the past. Like a prequel save for its in the middle of the story. I'm thinking it'll be no less then five "Past Blood" chapters and no more than ten.

Translation Notes (Italian):

Aurelia:

"Non pensai che sei media vera…" = "You don't know you are half right..."

"Baboo." = "Idiot."