Chapter three

Year three: Reunions

Evadne swallowed. This wasn't gonna be as easy as she had hoped it would be. But who had expected something else.

She smiled as she felt Remus' gaze on her.

The man was looking at her with worry in his eyes. "Nervous?" he inquired softly.

'Of course I am nervous. I am gonna meet my brother again. I have thought him dead for more than ten years.' she thought. But out loud she spoke: "Just a bit."

Together they approached the house in the small village in Cornwall and knocked on the door.

***

Evadne smoothed her veil as she waited for the door to be opened. She had chosen to wear her favourite pink, silver embroidered robes and veil. 

Suddenly she door went open and a man stood in the opening. He had short black hair and deep blue eyes. He held a child about one year old on his hip.

The man looked over them. "Remus, what are you doing her? I thought you were teaching at Hogwarts. And who is this?"

"I am, Orion. But there I discovered someone who I thought you should see as soon as possible." Remus explained.

At those words Orion turned his gaze towards Evadne. He studied her carefully and a strange expression appeared on his face. "Evie?" he asked hesitating, like he was afraid his eyes were playing tricks with him.

Evadne couldn't speak, so she just nodded. A tear escaped from her eye and rolled down her cheek. Orion handed the child to Remus, stepped forward and pulled Evadne into an embrace.

"Evie, where have you been all those time? I tried to find you. Just like Remus did." he asked softly.

"I will explain when we are inside. Okay?"

Brother and sis let go of each other and the group headed inside.

***

"Orion? Who were that?" a melodious female voice called. From behind a door a short woman with shoulder length blond hair and a lavender robe appeared from behind a door. She was also holding a child about one year old. "Oh hello, Remus. What are you doing here? I thought you were at Hogwarts. And who is that?"

"I was, Gwen. We will explain in a moment. Could we go to the living room?"

The group headed to the living room where everyone sat down. Gwen quickly produced some tea with the help of her wand. 

"And now I am curious. Why are you here all so sudden?" Gwen asked.

"I found someone at Hogwarts. Someone Orion and I have been looking for a very long time." Remus only said.

Gwen looked at Evadne, then at her husband. Her eyes were wide open. Of course she knew who her husband had been searching. "Remove your veil." she asked Evadne.

Evadne did what she asked with a small smile on her face.

Gwen looked again between her husband and the stranger on the couch. Then she stood up and held out her hand to Evadne. "You must be Evadne. I am Guinevere, your sister in law."

Evadne smiled wide and took the hand. "Indeed, I am Evadne. Nice to meet you."

***

After meeting her nephews Brian and Marcus and a slight explosion from Orion in the direction of Dumbledore, Orion asked: "But where have you been all that time?"

"I have been at Greece. At the Olympia Order to be exactly. I went there right after graduation and I came back slightly more than a year ago." Evadne clarified.

"The Olympia Order? That's quite something. Are you fully initiated? And what are you doing now at Hogwarts now?" Orion asked.

Evadne nodded. "Yes, I am fully initiated. I did my full medi-witch study there and now I teach Healing Magic and work with Madame Pomfrey in sickbay."

Orion seemed to think for a moment. Finally he said: "Evie, but why did you leave? I know everyone was gone, but to leave and lose contact with everyone?"

"Around graduation I was very depressed and I wanted to get away. Albus and Minerva gave me this as an option. In Greece I had the time to deal with everything. And I learned things I had dreamed of since I was a little kid."

"Why did you come back?" Gwen asked.

Evadne looked at her sister in law. She was starting to like her direct ways. "Albus asked me to come and teach. Mother Olympia and I decided it was time to go back. At least for a while. I used the last name I had adopted in Greece and the veil to hide my old identity and went back. The staff knows, but further no one connected me with my past."

"A new last name? Which one?" Orion asked.

Evadne looked at her brother, relieved to sense understanding. "Silverhorne."

"Silverhorne… Evadne Silverhorne… You're the lycanthropy expert. Together with… what's her name… Romia Moon." Gwen cried out.

Evadne smiled and nodded. "The same. Although expert is a hard word. That's Romia. She is the expert, I merrily helped. Are you familiar with our work?"

"With some of it. My brother suffers from lycanthropy. So, that's why." Gwen explained.

Evadne nodded. "Born with it?"

"No, bitten when he was eighteen." Gwen answered. Gwen was silent for a few moments. "Some people say you both are werewolves also."

"I am not. Romia, however, is. She was bitten at the same age as your brother. She had been bitten shortly before I met her at the temple." Evadne told. "We worked a lot together."  This launched Evadne into telling a few more things about her life back in Greece.

"You tell a lot about Romia. Are you close?" Orion asked.

"We are best friends. When she came to the temple, nobody wanted to room in with her, because they were afraid. We got talking, I found out she was very nice and since I know very well that werewolves aren't dangerous the other twenty-eight day's of the moon cycle, I roomed in with her. Things grew from there." 

***

Remus and Evadne stayed the whole day and the biggest part of the evening. Evadne used the time to get to know her brother again and to get to know her family.

The bond between Evadne and Orion had never been so strong because of the fourteen years age difference. But know, as the only two free, living members of their family the bond was different.

And also Evadne loved her sister-in-law. She was open and direct. 

***

Slowly brother and sister walked over the cemetery. They stopped by three small tombstones.

Evadne took the small bouquets of flowers. "Mom, dad. It has been awhile." She placed the bouquets at the tombstones. Her fingers glided over the smooth tops of the stones, remembering the past.

Then she walked over to the last tombstone. "Hé big sis. Our dreams didn't really come out the way we planned. Together we would study Healing Magic, Ariadne, and work together and start a small practice."  Evadne placed also some flowers on that grave.

Orion came to stand behind her. "You okay, sis?"

Evadne stood up and turned around. "I am fine, Orion. There is somewhere else I want to go." Slowly she made her way to the corner of the cemetery. There she kneeled before two marble tombstones.

Orion was again behind her. "Who are buried here?"

"Jamie and Lils are buried here." Again she ran her hand over the stones. "I wonder of Harry has ever been here. I believe not."

"We will make sure he comes here once, Evie. Place the bouquets. It's getting late."

Evadne placed the last two bouquets and stood up. Orion placed an arm around her shoulders and together they left the cemetery.