The four of them bolted as fast as they could out of the school and along the bridge that led towards Hagrid's hut. They were met half way by Harry and Hermione, and Eva had never been so relieved to see them both okay and without Umbridge in tow.
"How'd you get away?" Hermione asked.
"Puking Pastilles," Ginny responded. "It wasn't pretty."
"It was hilarious though," Eva laughed.
Ginny nudged her shoulder. "Just because your boyfriend wasn't puking too."
Ron handed Hermione's and Harry's wands back to them. "Told them I was hungry and wanted some sweets. They told me to bugger off and ate the lot themselves."
"That was clever, Ron," Hermione realised, astounded.
Ron tried to hide his proud grin. "It's been known to happen."
"It was brilliant!" Neville exclaimed. "So, how are we getting to London?" he asked Harry.
Harry sighed, and Eva knew it never ended well when it started with a sigh. "Look, it's not that I don't appreciate everything you've done, all of you . . . but I've got you into enough trouble as it is."
"Dumbledore's Army was supposed to be about doing something real," Neville reminded him, slightly annoyed, "or was that all just words to you?"
"Just let us come, Harry," Eva reasoned. "You'd stand a much better chance with backup too."
Ron nodded. "Maybe you don't have to do this all by yourself, mate."
Eva could see in Harry's eyes that he'd been won over. "So how are we going to get to London?"
Luna smiled happily. "We fly, of course!"
Once Luna and Harry had helped each of them onto the Thestrals, which for obvious reasons they couldn't see themselves, they took off into the sky one by one. Eva could feel the strangely soft mane of hers underneath her hands, although it was weird to be unable to see it. To her, it looked like they were all simply floating.
"Luna, this is so cool!" Eva shouted over the loud noise of their wings flapping beneath them.
Luna turned her head and smiled calmly. "I thought you'd like it!"
They flew through the evening, taking several hours to travel. After the first few minutes, Eva had found herself dozing off just slightly. It was as if her Thestral knew though, because it seemed to jolt slightly to keep her awake every time she felt her eyes fluttering closed again.
They arrived quite late in the evening. With the Thestrals left safely outside, Eva followed the others into the now empty Ministry and down one of the many elevators.
The doors slowly folded open, revealing yet another room made up of black shiny floors, walls, and ceilings. "Department of Mysteries," the speaker announced.
Eva felt someone grab her hand, and it was only once she turned around that she realised it wasn't one of the others, but instead her demon. "Hecate?" Eva asked.
Hecate turned her head and opened her palm facing upwards so that a small puff of fire burst into the air. "I'm not letting you go into this kind of situation unprotected, sugarplum."
"Whoa, nice outfit," Ginny complimented Hecate as she looked her up and down.
Hecate wore the same kind of thing all the time, similar in style to military apparel but more gothic and badass. Her clothes were all in black, with heavy studded black boots, and chains for some reason which Eva never really understood the point of. Her jacket was open and her top was just low enough so that men tended to stop and stare at her chest for a little too long.
Hecate nodded at Ginny. "Thanks girl."
The nervousness suddenly set in again for the group. They very slowly exited the elevator, sticking tightly together as closely as possible. Harry stared down towards the end of the long corridor ahead of them.
"This is it," he told them.
Harry led the way, followed by Hermione and Ron, Neville and Ginny, and Luna, Eva, and Hecate at the back. In virtual silence except their heavy footsteps, they entered the room.
The entire place was dark, so incredibly dark, but there was just enough light coming from somewhere unknown to see the endless tall storage shelves of prophecies in crystal balls. To avoid stumbling over their feet, the group all lit up their wands, and a small but continuously burning fire appeared in Hecate's palm.
A slight rumbling sound caught their attention. The door they'd entered through was moving away somehow, sliding along the floor. They were definitely stuck now.
"Harry, do you know where we need to go from here?" Eva asked.
Harry nodded and started ahead without them. Eva watched as he walked along the centre aisle, counting aloud as he went.
Suddenly he stopped, and all Eva could see was the light from his wand bounce in the air slightly. "He should be here."
"Harry." Everyone turned their heads to see Neville staring up at one of the shelves above his head. "It's got your name on it."
Harry ran back over but approached the crystal ball itself very slowly. Hecate pulled Eva out of the way while her gaze darted back and forth alertly.
As soon as Harry removed the ball from its stand, it began to speak. "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches, and the Dark Lord shall mark him as his equal, but he shall have power the Dark Lord knows not, for neither can live while the other survives."
"Harry!"
Eva could see a Death Eater approaching in the distance. They had the same signature mask, making it impossible to identify them. Hecate grew the size of her flame defensively, still holding Eva's hand. Harry joined Eva's side at the front of the group and held his prophecy.
"Where's Sirius?" Harry demanded.
"You know, you should really learn to tell the difference between dreams," they removed their mask, revealing none other than Lucius Malfoy, "and reality. You saw only what the Dark Lord wanted you to see. Now, hand me the prophecy."
"If you'll do anything to us, I'll break it," Harry threatened.
There was a sudden voice in the behind Lucius, a manic laugh that rang through the endless echoing room. "He knows how to play! Itty bitty baby Potter."
Eva recognised the face instantly from the photo in the Daily Prophet. It was Draco's crazy aunt herself, Bellatrix Lestrange. Her hair, though a similar type to Eva's, was jet black and much madder and unorganized, reflecting her unhinged personality perfectly.
Neville gasped behind Eva. "Bellatrix Lestrange."
"Neville Longbottom, is it?" Bellatrix asked, standing just beside Lucius. "How's mum and dad?"
"Better now they're about to be avenged!"
Neville suddenly pointed his wand at Bellatrix and she did exactly the same thing back. Hecate tightened her grip on Eva, while Eva kept her wand out defensively. She'd never been so glad she'd done so much practise on Shield Charms.
"Now, let's everybody just calm down," Lucius attempted to diffuse the situation, "shall we? All we want is that prophecy."
"Why did Voldemort need me to come and get this?" Harry inquired.
"You dare speak his name?" Bellatrix whispered. "YOU FILTHY HALF-BLOOD!"
"Voldemort was a half-blood," Eva argued. "Thought he'd include that in his autobiography—Voldemort: 'I was defeated by a baby yet still have no nose'."
Lucius whipped his head around to face her. "Ah, Eva. What a surprise to see you here. I thought you would be with my son, but I suppose not. I never did support whatever it is you had between you."
Bellatrix laughed. "So this is Draco's little girlfriend then? The baby demon-summoner, eh? Complete with her whore of a demon!"
Hecate tensed up beside Eva and prepared to launch a fire ball at the woman. "Oh, trust me bitch," it was the first time Eva had ever heard her swear, "you don't want to get on my bad side. Capeesh?"
"I have to admit, little Eva," Lucius continued, motioning again for them all to calm down, "I am rather disappointed, as will the Dark Lord be when he discovers that you've made the mistake of joining the wrong side, choosing this riff-raff over true class and power. Hand the prophecy over, join us, and your friends will survive to see another day."
"That day will never come, Lucius," Eva spat.
"Tsk, how saddening," Lucius sighed. "In response to your question, Mr. Potter, prophecies can only be retrieved by those about whom they are made, which is lucky for you really."
There were now more Death Eaters circling in on them. Eva had her wand aimed at one while Hecate was still pretty focused on Bellatrix.
"Haven't you always wondered, what was the reason for the connection between you and the Dark Lord?" Lucius asked him. "Why he was unable to kill you when you were just an infant? Don't you want to know the secret of your scar? All the answers are there, Potter, in your hand. All you have to do is give it to me. I can show you everything."
Eva still had her wand aimed at an approaching Death Eater with her Stunning Spell already lined up.
"I've waited 14 years," Harry said.
Lucius faked a look of sympathy. "I know."
"I guess I can wait a little longer," Harry concluded. "Now!"
"Stupefy!"
The group all launched identical spells in unison, but the one Eva sent happened to be fast enough to send her Death Eater flying backwards. Hecate had thrown a fire ball at Bellatrix, but she'd used some type of water-based Shield Charm to block it.
With the Death Eaters distracted, the group ran as quickly as they could down another aisle and then made several turnings everywhere they could in an attempt to mislead their approaching enemies.
They skidded to a halt when Lucius appeared in front of them in a puff of black smoke, his arm outstretched, demanding the prophecy.
"I want doesn't get," Eva taunted, raising her wand over her head. "Confringo!"
A quick beam of bright light emitted from her wand, but it was blocked by a shield from Lucius, causing her spell to explode on impact rather than blow him up as planned. "My my, Eva, dabbling in rather dangerous spells, aren't we?"
"Fuck off," Eva snarled as she and Hecate ran down a different corridor before she could perform any other spells on him.
Another Death Eater suddenly appeared in front of her and she gasped. They raised their fist, aiming a punch for her face, when Hecate stepped forward and emitted a powerful blast from her palms. The Death Eater wasn't fast enough to defend from it, and the blazing fire swept through that entire aisle, obliterating them and destroying most of the other prophecies in the process.
Without another word, Hecate pulled Eva out of the now suffocating fire and led her down another few corridors, trying to locate the others. After several more sharp turns, they finally caught up with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but they were suddenly cornered by several masked Death Eaters.
Hecate closed her eyes, and one of the Death Eaters closest to Ron spontaneously burst into flames. That distraction provided their perfect chance to retreat, sending Stunning Spells in the direction of every single one who attempted to block their path.
The group finally met up together at the end, practically running straight into each other. They glanced down the corridors and realised that there were Death Eaters on both sides.
Eva stepped forward towards one with her wand raised. "Reducto!"
She was surprised when she heard exactly the same thing behind her. Ginny had performed the same curse on the opposite side to her, filling the room with two searing bright lights.
Then there was a single shattering sound which slowly built up in volume until the point where the sound of crystal colliding with the floor became deafening. Like a wave, it continued towards them, picking up speed and force from either side as the shelves collapsed rapidly.
"Get back to the door!" Harry shouted.
Grabbing Eva's and Hermione's hands, Hecate followed Harry back, shouting out which directions to run through at each turn. Eva had lost count of how many times they'd changed route from left to right.
The door quickly came into view, and luckily it was already open. Without checking first, they all jumped through, Hecate disappearing just as Eva and Hermione entered.
The fall came out from nowhere. It felt like Eva's stomach was doing somersaults, and all she could think to do was tighten her grip on her wand and bite her lip to prevent a scream.
It was like in one of those nightmares where you fall but halt inches from the ground. Eva's nose was a hair's length from the floor when she froze midair before they all fell on their fronts with a light thud in unison.
"Department of Mysteries," Ron remarked as they staggered to their feet. "Got that bit right, didn't they?"
"Already broke my promise to my mum that I wouldn't get myself into shit like this during this year," Eva grumbled. "Luna, you've got a bit of blood, just there." She pointed to her mouth.
Taking her sleeve, Luna wiped it away as if it was just a little drool. "Gone?"
Eva decided to play along with her nonchalance and held her thumbs up. "Yep, you're good."
Harry was already walking forwards towards what looked like some kind of archway. He had the prophecy held tightly in his hand, unwilling to part with it for fear of it easily getting into the wrong hands.
"The voices," Harry pointed out. "Can you tell what they're saying?"
Hermione glanced at Ron for a moment. "There aren't any voices, Harry. Let's get out of here-"
"I hear them too," Luna added as they made slow steps forwards towards the centre of the room.
"Harry, it's just an empty archway," Hermione pleaded. "Please, Harry!"
Harry turned around sharply. "Get behind me!"
Eva spun on her heel and pointed her wand confidently upwards. There were several streams of the same black smoke, spiralling down from the ceiling and closing in on them. It was a confusing and disorientating flurry of movement but, no matter what Eva did and no matter how hard she thrashed, she could feel someone grabbing her, eventually by the neck.
Once she'd gained some idea of where she was again, she realised they weren't alone. There was a gloved hand around her neck, almost choking her, and Hecate was standing right beside her with a flame pointed at them threateningly.
"Let my human and the others go," Hecate demanded in a low growl.
Eva heard a laugh from directly behind her which allowed her to figure out who it was that was holding her—Lucius. He forcefully dragged her forwards with him by her neck as he spoke.
"Did you actually believe or were you truly naïve enough to think that children stood a chance against us?" Lucius taunted, tightening his grip around her neck thus choking her further. He extended his free hand towards Harry. "I'll make this simple for you, Potter. Give me the prophecy now, or watch your friends," he pulled Eva's hair harshly, causing her to whimper in discomfort, "die."
Harry paused for a moment, debating his options. Meanwhile, Eva was trying and failing to pull herself out of Lucius' grip.
"And here I thought you might've secretly been a decent guy," Eva breathed out, causing Lucius to pull at her hair again painfully.
"Don't give it to him, Harry!" Neville pleaded from somewhere behind her.
Very hesitantly, Harry raised a shaking hand. He placed the prophecy into the palm of Lucius' free hand that he wasn't using to choke Eva, but he still wouldn't let her go, no matter how much she struggled.
There was a flash of bright light behind them. Even Eva could see it from the corner of her eye. Tightening his grip of her throat, Lucius turned around on the spot, and a strong wave of relief hit her when her sight was met with Sirius.
"Get away from Eva, and get away from my godson," Sirius snarled.
Out of nowhere, he punched Lucius hard across the face, causing the blonde to completely remove his grip of Eva. Eva fell to the floor and dropped her wand but instantly felt someone help her up and hand it back to her.
"Hecate, why didn't you just punch him?" Eva asked, her throat still feeling strangely sore.
"I'll admit, that thought didn't cross my mind," Hecate confessed guiltily.
There were several more blinding flashes of light, which Eva now noticed was white smoke, similar to the Death Eaters', except several Order members appeared instead—Tonks, Lupin, Shacklebolt, and Moody.
Eva saw Moody approach them from the corner of her eye. "Hecate, get Eva and whoever else you can to safety," he ordered.
"I'm so confused, what?!" Eva questioned impatiently while she blocked a spell launched at her by a Death Eater.
Hecate launched a searing ball of flames at them and completely cooked them to death as if it was nothing. "I'm part of the Order," Hecate responded as she took Eva's hand and led her off.
They ducked between several large boulders built into the floor while spells deflected off surfaces around them, showering them with rubble. Stopping near the edge of the room when a large explosion occurred a few metres away, Hecate grabbed Eva's shoulders and turned her around.
"I need to help the others, Harry's over there," Hecate pointed over her shoulder to Sirius and Harry who were crouched behind a boulder just a few metres away, "get to safety, and no heroics, sugarplum."
Eva opened her mouth to argue but it seemed to be useless since Hecate had run off in anyway. Rolling her eyes and holding her wand firmly in her right hand, Eva crawled her way over to Harry, putting up a Shield Charm as she went to deflect another Death Eater's spell.
She pulled on Harry's arm once he was within reach. "Harry, let's go!" she raised her voice over the sound of the ongoing battle.
The floor suddenly shook as another explosion hit the other side of the stone they were hiding behind. Eva ducked her head, avoiding the worst of the debris hitting her head.
"Black!"
Lucius was standing behind them, his wand pulled out from his cane and aimed at them. Two other Death Eaters also appeared, and it seemed that Eva had her new opponent. The man eyed her furiously, with nothing but pure rage behind his eyes.
"Reducto! Confringo! Stupefy!"
Eva launched every offensive spell she could think off, but not a single one of them seemed to do anything. With a taunting laugh, the Death Eater sent a Confringo curse towards her, but she was fortunately able to block it with another shield.
Their duel continued for the longest time as Eva slashed her wand from side to side, creating shield after shield to defend herself from the array of dark spells he bombarded her with. She could see the irritation in his eyes—surely a schoolchild should've been completely obliterated by this point.
While Eva was distracted, one perfectly timed Stunning Spell somehow missed her shield. She felt a jolt as it made impact with her torso and flew her backwards. Twisting and turning through the air, she felt herself land painfully between two boulders near the end of the room.
For a moment, everything around her blurred out. Her vision seemed to distort, and the voices and blasts around her became muffled. It only took a moment for them to become clear again, allowing Eva to begin to stand up.
Just as she put her weight on her left foot, she gasped in pain and almost tripped if someone hadn't caught her first.
Hecate pulled her up by her forearms. "What about no heroics do you not understand?" she snapped, rolling her eyes. "Tonks, I have another one for you," she called over her shoulder.
The woman Eva knew as Tonks appeared, her hair the coolest purple colour she'd ever seen. Tonks propped Eva up over her shoulders and helped her to hobble over to the others.
After hiding while the rest of the battle occurred, Eva, Neville, Luna, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron were finally able to leave. They were still shaken up, as anyone would be, especially after having heard of Sirius' death too. Leaving the final few duels to occur between the Order and Death Eaters, Neville helped Eva to walk with them as they entered the main lobby of the Ministry.
Eva gasped. The entire place was completely destroyed. Around their feet was what looked like white sand, there was water all over the floors, the windows were missing, and the large banner with Fudge's face on it had been torn to shreds.
But that wasn't the worst of it. In the middle of the room, Harry was lying uncomfortably on the floor while Dumbledore crouched beside him. Harry muttered something, although it was difficult to tell what, and was then thrown onto his back. Eva jumped, tightening her hold of Neville's arm.
That was when he appeared. Voldemort himself, it was undeniable. His face was nose-less, just as Harry had described, and he was pale, bony, skeleton-like. Just the mere appearance of him sent a cold rush of fear to her heart.
As soon as the Aurors appeared, Voldemort disappeared again, apparating away in a whirl of fine white dust. Very slowly, they edged forward towards where he had just been standing.
Eva wasn't sure whether it was appropriate to laugh at Fudge's pyjamas, but decided not to when he eventually was able to speak.
"He's back."
⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰
Author's note: Okay, a lot happened in this, but you see kinda how much Voldemort wants Eva on their side. And Lucius, obviously, is like Draco but so much worse. I find it funny to think if someday Eva became his daughter-in-law, being strangled by him would be the most memorable memory they'd have with each other haha.
Also, adding Hecate into the Order felt like it made sense to me. Hecate will do whatever she needs to do to keep Eva safe, and if that includes joining the forces against Voldemort, so be it.
Anyway, thank you so much for reading, stay safe, and ily lots!
