As part of the grand reveal plan, Eva borrowed a Ravenclaw robe from Cho and placed it over her shoulders. She'd never liked blue that much—green was a much better colour.
Snape called all students to an urgent assembly during the night. Following after Luna, she kept her head down as they marched side by side, hand in hand.
Neville had been right in that Hogwarts truly had changed a lot since they left. It more resembled a military camp than the school she'd joined 7 years ago. Even the Dementors hovering over the school constantly gave her chills everywhere she went.
As the Ravenclaws plus Eva marched down the stairs, stepping between their left and right feet all in unison, Eva just about caught a glimpse of a figure near the top of the staircase that led towards the Hufflepuff common room. She instantly recognised the face, assuming it to be one of the Carrow siblings. It took every muscle in her body to keep her from raising her wand at his smug face.
Even the Great Hall was considerably more bleak and uncomfortable than before. Once lined up, Eva kept her arms by her sides and her head down, attracting as little attention to herself as possible. At this point, she was considerably surprised that no one had recognised her by her vibrant hair colour yet. Both she and Harry were holding their Dumbledore's Army coins so that they could warn each other when the time came to reveal themselves.
Where Dumbledore usually stood, Snape had taken his place. He looked down at the school with his head held high and his black robes exactly the same as always. On either side of him like bodyguards were the Carrows.
"Many of you are surely wondering why I have summoned you at this hour," Snape drawled in the same disinterested tone as always. "It has come to my attention that, earlier this evening, Harry Potter and Eva Infernum were sighted in Hogsmeade."
The students broke off into little whispered chatter, and even Eva could hear them excitedly wondering about their return. She tried to suppress the grin that began to inch onto her face.
"Now," the room went silent again at Snape's harsh voice, "should anyone, student or staff, attempt to aid Mr. Potter or Miss. Infernum, they will be punished in a manner consistent with the severity of their transgression. Furthermore, any person found to have knowledge of these events who fails to come forward will be treated as equally guilty."
Eva gulped and felt herself tense up slightly, relaxing only a little when Luna lightly squeezed her hand.
"Now then," Snape began to pace through the centre of the room, "if anyone here has any knowledge of either's movements this evening, I invite them to step forward, now."
There was a long pause, but no one moved. That was when the coin in Eva's hand began to heat up to the point where it was almost burning her fingers. Dropping it back in her back pocket of her jeans, she pushed her way towards the centre of the room, meeting up with Harry once more.
Students in all four houses turned and gasped loudly at their entrance. Somewhat lazily, Eva threw the Ravenclaw robe she'd worn off her shoulders and onto the floor beside her with a relaxed smirk.
"Hey Professor, did you miss us?" Eva almost laughed. "Now, I know what you're thinking, how could we have possibly broken into this place? I like what you've got going on here by the way, very Fortress of Doom." She motioned to the space around her.
"It seems," Harry added while Eva high-fived a few Gryffindors nearby her, "that despite your exhaustive defensive strategies, you still have a bit of a security problem, headmaster."
Again, with absolutely perfect timing that almost made Eva want to cry with happiness, the doors to the Entrance Hall burst open. The remaining members of the Order of the Phoenix walked in, led by Shacklebolt. Fred inclined his head at her while George winked.
Hecate then appeared beside her, taking Eva's hand and silently pulling her back to join the Order. The demon's unoccupied palm was filled with a bright amber flame which burned continuously, just slightly lightening the dingy hall.
"And I'm afraid it's quite extensive," Harry continued as Eva pulled her wand out of her pocket. "How dare you stand where he stood? Tell them how it happened that night!" he snapped. "Tell them how you looked him in the eye, a man who trusted you, and killed him! Tell them!"
Rather than respond verbally like any sane person, Snape whipped out his wand. The groups of houses dispersed towards the walls in fright. Meanwhile, McGonagall had moved to stand beside Harry, both of them with their wands aimed at Snape.
"Now this just got interesting," Hecate murmured calmly.
The hall went silent. Then, without warning, a bright light which turned to a twisting orange flame erupted out of McGonagall's wand, easily blocked by Snape. This was followed by another, and then another, very quickly knocking out the Carrows.
Noticing that he was losing the fight, Eva could see that Snape was apparating before even the others could, the pure concentration in his eyes and the way his heels lifted up slightly. In a blur of black smoke, he shattered through the window and glided into the night sky.
"Coward!" McGonagall shouted after him.
With Snape gone, everyone began cheering. Hecate, wanting a use for herself, threw little sparks into each of the torches fixed at the walls so that they burned warmly in the otherwise cold room.
She then tapped Eva's shoulder, pulling her from her conversation with the twins. "Sugarplum, isn't there someone you should probably say hi to?"
Eva raised an eyebrow. "Who-"
Out from the group of Slytherins congregated in the far left corner of the room, Draco shoved his way past a bunch of first years who were blocking his path with their excited conversations. His brows were set into a determined expression, his hair as sleek as usual and a smart black suit worn under his Slytherin robe. The pair made eye contact, his silver irises looking just as brilliant even from a distance.
She hadn't even made a conscious decision to move her feet at all from where they stood, but instead it was as if they carried themselves. She hurled herself into his arms as soon as she was within reach, clinging onto him tightly.
Once their lips finally parted for breath, Draco rested his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry," he muttered.
"You're . . . sorry?" Eva asked.
"I'm sorry, at the manor, I should've stopped Bella, I should've figured out a way to get you out of there sooner, I should've protected you, I should've-"
"Draco," she interrupted him before he had the chance to go into full-blown hysterics, resting her palm against his cheek, "you little idiot, do you think I'd be alive if you hadn't handed me back my wand? If you hadn't unintentionally given your own wand to Harry? If you hadn't held me out of the way of the glass from that chandelier of yours that Dobby dropped over our heads?" She wrapped her arms around his torso. "Don't apologise for keeping me alive. Anyway, what about your wand?"
He pulled a wand from his pocket, black with silver embellishments around the handle. "This is my mother's. It doesn't have quite the same understanding of me, I'm afraid."
Suddenly, the room became much darker. Everyone went silent as a chill swept through the room. The most bizarre thing was that there was no window open, thus there should've been no draft in the hall whatsoever.
"What's happening?" Eva whispered, moving slightly closer to Draco to stay warm.
A scream suddenly rang from the corner of the room. Eva quickly searched for the source of the noise, but it soon ended and was overtaken by another girl, seemingly in her first or second year, who was curled up in a corner with her hands over her ears.
Then the scream suddenly became so much louder. Eva's ears were ringing painfully and she automatically clasped her hands over her ears. It took her a moment, but she eventually noticed that it was her own scream that she was hearing, not someone else's.
Once she regained control of her body once more, she found herself on the floor with her knees drawn to her chest, leaning back against Draco who was crouched beside her. Her breathing was at an uneven pace as she tried to find a rhythm to her breaths once more.
"What was that? Are you okay?" Draco questioned as he glanced her over to check if she'd been hurt.
"I," she gulped back the lump in her throat while he and Hecate helped her stand up straight, "I don't know. But I'm fine," she dusted herself off, "I think."
Then there was a hissing sound that rattled through her head. The students around her, even Draco, cringed at the sensation, but Eva was pretty used to it at this point. Having a demon interact like that for years tended to do that to people.
"I know that many of you will want to fight," Voldemort whispered directly into their minds. "Some of you may even think that to fight is wise. But this is folly. Give me Harry Potter."
Eva felt Draco reached for her hand, quickly interlocking their fingers with a slight nervous tremble to his movements. She rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb soothingly.
"Do this, and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave Hogwarts untouched. Give me Harry Potter, and you will be rewarded. You have one hour."
The hissing softened and then disappeared entirely. Hecate restarted the fires in the torches as everyone slowly but surely began to adjust back to reality. Even from the other side of the crowd, Eva could see Harry standing alone, trying to process everything for himself.
"What are you waiting for?" Pansy shouted, pointing at Harry. "Someone grab him."
Ginny was the first to dive in front of Harry. With a disappointed but unsurprised head shake, Eva removed her hold of Draco's hand and joined Harry.
What did surprise her though was when Draco joined her, then followed by the remaining Order members, Dumbledore's Army, and soon all of the school minus the Slytherins.
"Students out of bed!"
Draco lightly tugged Eva out of the middle of the room. Filch came running into the Great Hall, holding Mrs. Norris dearly in his arms. Eva would never not find his run hilarious. Even during that dire situation, she struggled not to laugh at his idiocy.
"Students out of bed!" Filch repeated like a siren, or an ambulance maybe. "Students in the corridor!"
"They are supposed to be out of bed, you blithering idiot!" McGonagall snapped, now having taken up Snape's post at the front of the room.
Filch went quiet. "Oh. Sorry ma'am."
"As it happens, Mr. Filch, your arrival is most opportune." McGonagall slightly raised up the bottom of her robe to walk down the stairs towards them. "If you would, I would like you, please, to lead Miss. Parkinson and the rest of Slytherin house from the hall."
"Exactly where is it I'll be leading them to, ma'am?" Filch asked.
Pansy was far from pleased, her arms crossed and a toddler-like pout on her face. If it was any other day, that probably would've triggered another Parkinson meltdown.
"The dungeons would do," McGonagall replied.
The other houses began to clap and cheer as Filch led the Slytherins out of the room. As Pansy walked past Eva, she shot her one last deathly glare. Eva simply waved her off with a smile so kind that she knew it would bother her forever.
Eva then turned to Draco. "Aren't you going with them? I'm sure Pansy would love your company," she teased.
He shook his head. "I'm sticking with you." He glanced around the room somewhat nervously. "You're the only one I'm trusting right now."
She slipped an arm around him. "I feel honoured."
"And Mr. Malfoy?" McGonagall approached the couple sceptically. "I assume you're staying with Miss. Infernum rather than accompanying the rest of your house to the dungeons?"
Eva could feel Draco tense up angrily and decided to answer for him. "He's staying," she responded shortly, him tightening his grip of her waist.
With a sigh, McGonagall nodded, continuing towards Harry. "Very well."
"You." Ron stepped towards Draco threateningly with his wand out and pointed at him. "So you've decided to join our side after all, huh? Even after that stunt your lot pulled at your manor? You lying, two-faced-"
"Ron," Hermione gave him a warning look, "that's enough."
"Don't you dare give verdict on my own decisions, Weasel-Bee," Draco sneered, looking Ron up and down. "I will do exactly as I please without waiting for approval from the likes of blood-traitors like you."
The entire Weasley family were now agitated, glaring daggers at the blond. With a roll of her eyes, Eva pulled Draco back a little. "So," she rolled up her sleeves, exposing her Dark Mark for all to see, "we're fighting I guess?"
The school became a flurry of movement as people ran in all directions up and down the stairs. The younger years were being sent to escape through the Room of Requirement and into Hogsmeade, leaving all those who were willing to fight protecting the school.
"I like this," Eva thought out loud as they stepped into the courtyard near the front entrance hand in hand, "this whole protecting the school thing, it's fun."
He very slowly twisted his head. "Did you just describe this war as 'fun'?"
"Well, not 'fun', no," Eva corrected herself, "that came out wrong, I'm not a sadist."
In response Draco only nodded his head sceptically.
With their wands out, they watched as the remaining Professors sent up all manner of shield spells into the sky, some familiar from her previous few months, but some completely new. The only difference was that this was taking so much longer, each individual fragment of the shield being built piece by piece.
"I have an idea." Eva let go of Draco and stepped directly into the middle of the courtyard, pointing her wand towards the sky.
"Protego Totalum!"
The spell worked like every other time, this time with so much force that it blew her hair back. A dome-like shield formed around the school from where her wand was pointing, shimmering a slight blue colour as the edges reached the perimeter of the castle. Since this was the biggest shield she'd ever produced, she could feel her limbs tingling as her magic pulsed through her wand aimed directly above her head.
Everyone around them including the teachers stopped and stared at her. A few seconds later, with the shield fully formed, Eva lowered her wand by her side and smiled smugly.
McGonagall attempted to form words but couldn't. "H-how did you . . .?"
Eva shrugged. "Shields are my speciality, I guess."
"Speciality?" Flitwick repeated. "That is beyond the skill of any witch or wizard that has ever been known to exist!"
Still not knowing what to say to that, she nodded. "I do my best." She then turned back towards Draco, whose jaw was hanging open stupidly. "Shocked that I'm not entirely good-for-nothing?"
He closed his mouth and gulped. "And your shields are how strong?"
"Fairly," she replied. "It'll definitely hold for now, but . . ." she glanced out at the currently peaceful and quiet sky, reaching back for his hand again, "it won't keep Voldemort out forever, of course."
"Are you nervous by any chance?" Draco asked her.
For the first time in a long time, Eva reluctantly nodded in confirmation. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm nervous. You?"
"I'd be more surprised to find someone who isn't," was all he responded with.
After a moment, Eva finally spoke. "Why did you choose to stay? You could've gotten yourself to safety, or joined the Death Eaters, but instead you're helping to fight for the school and for Harry?"
"This has nothing to do with Potter, or the Dark Lord, or this pathetic excuse for a school," he answered, turning his nose up at the courtyard. "I'm staying with you, plain and simple, and I'm not leaving." He glanced at the people around them. "Must we have a sentimental moment now?"
She was going to come up with a sarcastic retort but couldn't think of a suitable one. "If not now, then when?"
He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine. You're the only one I have left who was truly on my side. You were the only one from the beginning. Leaving you would just be . . ."
"Idiotic?" she guessed.
He laughed very quietly under his breath. "Idiotic."
It didn't take long for the Death Eaters to begin bombarding spells at the shield Eva had conjured. Honestly, she was pleasantly surprised to see it hold up for that long, although it was strange. It was as if each little hit took an extra bit of magic from her to strengthen the shield again. She could feel herself just slightly weakening.
So they watched, and they waited. It was all they could do. There wasn't much to say between them, few words could be exchanged. All they had left to do was to stand in each other's arms and wait for Voldemort's entry.
Just as Eva was twirling her wand in her hand for the millionth time and Hecate was testing out flame temperature, shapes, and sizes in her palm, there was a rumble that shook across the ground, like an earthquake. They slowly glanced up.
The shield was breaking, shattering like an eggshell into little pieces that fell away weakly. Eva could feel it draining her, and before it could get any worse, she pointed her wand at the sky and pulled the remaining shield down as one chunk.
It dissolved away, disappearing in the air over their heads. Eva began to regain her breath with her eyebrows furrowed.
"Are you ready?" she asked Draco.
He nodded. "I suppose. You?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰
Author's note: We're getting so close to the end of this story now, oh my god I'm not ready. But at least we have a proper Draco-Eva reunion like it was supposed to be from the start. I had way too much fun writing Eva's extra af entrance though haha
Anyway, thank you so much for reading, stay safe, and ily lots!
