A/N: Just so you know, it really hurt to write this chapter. I felt horrible after I wrote it. Angst, angst, glorious angst. The next chapter will be a little lighter though. Oh, and you should read the vignettes. I'm not just saying that, but to understand some of the stuff in this chapter (and probably some stuff in the previous chapter and upcoming ones) it'd be useful.
Chapter 9- Sometimes the Truth Hurts
Defence Against Dark Arts Professor Wilton L. Quirrell has died after attempting to steal the Philosopher's Stone for his Master, he-who-must-not-be-named.
The Professor, who has been described as one of Europe's most brilliant scholars and academics died yesterday night of severe concussion and skin infection. It appears that Quirrell had been planning for many months beforehand to steal the highly coveted stone from Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore with his Master but was foiled by the Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter. The current whereabouts of the Dark Lord are not known, though most believe he resides in the forests of Albania, where Quirrell visited last year to gain some 'practical experience' in Defence Against the Dark Arts.
Eve could not believe it.
Everything she'd known about her Father had been blown away in a mere one hundred and ten words.
Her Father was not what her Mother had made him out to be. He was a thief, a traitor, a liar and a servant to the Dark Lord, who had tried to kill the legendary Harry Potter, heir of Gryffindor! For all she knew, he could be a Death Eater! Anger boiled up inside of her like a volcano. Her Mother had lied to her and Emmanuel. She knew Emmanuel would take it harder than her, for he was the son, and moreso than her, remarked upon for his resemblance in looks and character to his Father.
But now was not the right time to be angry. Not with so many people around. This would have to wait until they came back to school.
***************************
Once back, Eve decided against telling Emmanuel immediately and on the afternoon after their return (a Friday), she adjourned to her Mother's room, hoping to find her there, taking the Daily Prophet article with her.
Knock, knock.
"Mum?"
No answer.
Eve looked around the corridor. No-one in sight. Cautiously, Eve tapped her wand against the locked door.
"Alohomora," she murmured, and to her surprise, the door sprang open quite easily.
Eve slipped in, taking care to close the door behind her. In all her time at Hogwarts, she'd only visited her Mum a few times in her rooms, which were not far from the Astronomy tower and had been her quarters in 20 or so years that she had taught at Hogwarts. Still, Eve liked it. The whole room reeked of her Mother. And today was no exception.
The room was slightly messy, but still quite presentable. Eve found herself wandering to the vanity, her favourite place. It was like a room in itself, smelling of roses and other sweet fragrances Eve couldn't identifty and where her Mother kept her jewellery and the little makeup that she wore. The jewellery was kept in a small wooden box, painted royal blue and inlaid with mother-of-pearl.
Eve seated herself at the vanity, taking the large heavy box in her lap. She opened it carefully, and one by one, took out all the pieces of jewellery in it. There was a necklace of rose quartz beads, matching earrings, her Grandmother's moonstone necklace ('Art Deco', is what her mother had described it as) and ring, a charm bracelet with stars on it and a Raven charm made of black onyx. Eve examined each piece, imagining that someday she would wearing them herself.
After taking the jewellery out, she found that there was a second section under the first. Expecting to find more jewellery, she pried the wooden shelf out. Instead, she found a collection of unusual objects. There was an extremely odd necklace, unlike any she'd seen. There was a silver cross, strung on a collection of oddly-grouped blue beads. She knew the cross was something to do with religion, but what was the purpose? It wasn't particularly attractive and didn't look like it was meant to be worn.
Placing it on the vanity, she next pulled out a small book, the title proclaiming 'The Verses of Christina Rossetti', with a bookmark in it. Opening it to where the bookmark was, there was a poem titled 'The Echo'. Eve read through it silently, and then decided that it was 18 lines was of mushy, sentimental romance. Then again, that was her Mother's kind of thing.
Next was a pile of old pieces of parchment. Eve looked at the first letter briefly, not wanting to invade her Mother's privacy further. It was dated 16th December, 1988 and the signature at the bottom proclaimed 'Love, Will'. Her Father. Love letters? she wondered quietly, as upon further inspection, she found them to be all from Will and written on varying dates, from mid 1988 to 1989.
The letters joined the rest of the objects as Eve pulled out two last things, an old photo and a scrap of parchment. The photo was of a youngish man, perhaps of 23 or 24. Eve's eyes widened. He looked almost exactly like Emmanuel, except much older!
He seemed rather short, with the very dark hair and brown eyes that she and her brother had inherited. He was wearing black robes and was smiling shyly at the camera, arms crossed. Turning the photo over, Eve saw the scrawled words 'Wilton, September 1st,1986. First day as Teacher!!!'.
Eve stared at the photo. This was the first time she'd ever seen a proper image of her Father. She found it virtually impossible to believe that this young, handsome wizard had become a Death Eater and ended up dead. The very thought of it almost brought tears to her eyes.
The small scrap of parchment, she noticed, was very delicate, and it was with shaking hands that she gently unfolded it. The sentence written on it was written in very shaky writing, but still legible.
"Amicitia amoris certissima pars." she read aloud.
Eve had seen that particular sentence many times. It was latin, it meant 'Friendship is a truer part of love', and according to her Mother, it was their family motto.
Eve pocketted the unusual necklace, the photo and the parchment, and put the other objects and jewellery back in the box, taking care to replace it on it's spot on the vanity.
Celly's work desk was near the bathroom, and it was Eve's next stop. As usual, it was littered with star charts, astronomy books and student assignments. Eve left these as they were and instead began to look through the drawers. All but one yielded a result. The final drawer was empty except for one key. Eve took the key, shut the drawer and began to look through the room, trying every keyhole to no avail. Finally, out of the corner of her eye, Eve noticed her Mother's bedside table drawer had two locks on it.
Crouching down beside it, she unlocked the first lock and found nothing of great note. It was filled with blank parchment and quills. She tried the second lock, finally getting some success. It was filled with photos.
But just as she was about to take a look at them, the doorknob turned, and Eve spun around to face her Mother, standing in the doorway.
"Eve? What are you doing?" she asked, crossing the room quickly as Eve stood, trying not to look guilty.
"Oh? I was just looking for your binoculars," she lied.
Celly regarded her shrewdly. "Eve, you know my binoculars are kept in the Astronomy tower with all my other viewing tools."
Eve mentally cursed herself, struggling to find a legitimate excuse with no success.
"What are you hiding?" her Mother asked, crossing her arms.
Perhaps the question is, what are YOU hiding, Mother? Eve thought, not answering the question.
"Bring out whatever you're hiding under your robes." she ordered.
Reluctantly, Eve produced the necklace, photo and parchment. Upon doing so, Celly's mouth dropped open.
"Where did you find those?" she asked, her voice dropping to a virtual whisper.
"You lied." she said quietly, also producing the article.
Celly snatched it from her, eyes darting from her. When she looked up, her expression was one of shock.
"I w-was going to tell you..." she began.
"Why didn't you tell us before we came here?" Eve asked, anger rising in her voice. "Why?"
She noticed her Mother steadily beginning to lose her composure, but found she couldn't stop.
"He was a Death Eater, Mum! Merlin's Beard, WHY? Why didn't you tell me? Why haven't you told Emmanuel?"
Celly shook her head, violently. "He wasn't a Death-"
"DON'T LIE!" yelled Eve. "He tried to kill Harry Potter!"
"No," her Mother protested feebly. "he didn't know what-"
"What's Emmanuel going to say? He is the very living image of our Father! Mum......" Eve paused, fighting the sobs that were threatening to choke her. ".....he's going to have to live with that the rest of his life."
"Emmanuel's not going to know." Celly whispered savagely, tears blurring her vision slightly.
"Yes he is! You CAN'T keep this from him! What's this about, anyway? Just because I had to find out doesn't mean that my brother won't either. What makes me different from Emmanuel? I am my father's daughter too! Did you hear that?" she asked, looking up at her stricken Mother. "I'm his child too!"
There was a painful silence, in which Eve witnessed her Mother seemingly crumple into a heap on the floor and she felt hot tears of anger, sadness and resentment of her Father sting her eyes.
"I want answers, and seeing as you're not going to say anymore to me, I'm going to find them myself. Good afternoon, Mother."
It took all of her strength not to turn around and comfort her Mother as she marched out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
***************************
Once outside, Eve stumbled in a teary haze down the corridors, heading towards the Slytherin dungeons, hoping to find Seth. Of all people, she managed to run into Mara Parkinson.
"Why the sad face, Quirrell?" she smirked. "Off to have a crying fit like your Dad used to?"
Eve could not withstand it anymore, and with all her strength, slapped the girl across the face.
"Don't you dare say anything to me about my Father!" she yelled at the shocked Mara. "He's not your business, and he's not mine, so just shut up!"
Eve didn't bother to wait for a reaction and stumbled on towards the dungeons, tears splashing down her front. By luck, she managed to find Seth, engrossed in a divination book on a seat outside. He looked up at her, astonished.
"Eve? What on Earth....?" he asked, putting down his book.
Eve had no answer, except to finally break down.
Seth, not accustomed to these kind of happenings, awkwardly put his arms around her as she sank onto the seat beside him.
"Eve, please....." he said gently. "tell me what's wrong."
Eve finally looked up at him, and staring into his eyes, came to another realization. He knew too. Snape knew. Tony knew. Livia, Varina, Severa, Percy, Penelope, Atticus........they all knew.
"Why?" she asked tearfully. "Why couldn't you tell me the truth?"
"About what?"
"About my Dad?"
Seth looked away guiltily.
"So you've found out," he finally murmured. "I was asked not to say anything by Snape. He swore me to secrecy."
"But, why?" she asked, trying to calm down.
He sighed. "I wanted to tell you Eve, more than anything. So did my Mother. So did Snape. But he said it was your Mother's job, so I said nothing." When Eve remained silent, Seth continued, not quite sure what to say. "I'll let you in on something, Eve. A few years ago, I was in your exact situation. My Father died just after I was born. He was addicted to muggle drugs and died of an overdose. When I was old enough to start asking questions, my Mum did gloss over who my Father was and all that, and I ended up finding out the truth from Snape. And it hurt. It still kinda hurts now, to be honest. My Father was not an entirely good wizard, and the fact that my Mum had lied about him hurt me alot. But I got over it. My Mum thought she'd been doing the right thing. And so does yours, Eve."
"She doesn't want Emmanuel to know." Eve whimpered, and forced him to look at her, roughly grabbing his chin. "Seth, promise me that you'll tell him for me. Promise."
Seth looked at her. "Eve, you know I-"
"Don't." she interrupted. "I'm his sister. I'm giving you permission. Tell him now."
"Why can't you?" he asked nervously.
"Because I am going to find answers." she said, standing up uneasily and taking his hand. "Please, Seth. You're his friend."
Seth contemplated this for a full two minutes before finally agreeing to.
"Thankyou." she murmured, and turned to leave.
Seth watched her as she crossed the courtyard. Then, finally standing, began to make his way down to Snape's office. This was not going to be easy, and he wanted all the help he could get.
***************************
Eve's next call was her room, in which she picked up the folder of clippings, and then to Professor Dinsdale's room. She found him typing quietly at his typewriter.
"Eve, nice to see you." he murmured, still bent over his typewriter. When no answer came, he looked up and his face dropped.
"Eve...." he said, standing up. "What in the name of Merlin is the matter?"
Eve shook her head and handed back the clippings and the article to him.
"Oh...." was all that he could say, as he took the clippings from her. He sunk back into his chair, his head in his hands.
Eve looked at him, slightly surprised. What did he have to be miserable about? She moved aside some papers and sat cross-legged on his desk.
Finding her voice, she asked what the matter was.
Atticus looked up, giving her one of the most guilty-looking glances she'd ever seen.
"It was my fault...." he said softly. Then, he suddenly slammed his fist on the desk.
"Damn!" he cursed, more out of frustration than pain.
"What? What was your fault?" Eve asked anxiously.
He sighed, leaning back in his chair and looking up at her. "Your Mother asked me not to say or do anything that'd give you an idea about your Father's death. I forgot that those clippings had anything in them that could harm you. I also forgot that you asked to look at them. I'm so sorry Eve....."
Eve stared at him. "Professor....you know, I'm glad I found out."
Atticus lowered an eyebrow. "Eve, how can you say that? You're crying. This is probably going to change your view on your Father forever. Tell me, would you rather remember your Father as you did before, or do now?"
"What, remember my Father as a lie? No, I knew there was something about him, even before I knew this. Something that Mum was keeping from me."
Atticus nodded. "I suppose that is quite understandable. I know Seth had the same problem. He had a bad feeling about his Father."
Eve found herself calmed down and she wiped her eyes.
"I want answers, Professor." she said, resting her chin on her hand.
"Of course you do," he said in reply. "but not from me, I'm afraid. I met your Father only once. Sure, I knew a bit of what happened, but I don't know the full truth, Eve. Your Mother or my Uncle could tell you, but I can't."
"I don't want to talk to either of them," Eve murmured. "especially Mum."
Atticus looked at her thoughtfully. "You will have to forgive her eventually, Eve. Of course, it's your choice when you do choose to do it. Until then, if you want answers, there's only one person I can think of."
***************************
Eve knew it was a gamble doing this, but she had to know. And to be quite honest, she didn't want to be around anyone at school. Not Emmanuel, not her Mother, not anybody.
So it was that Professor Dinsdale asked Professor McGonagall would he be able to go to London to pick up supplies? And would young Miss Quirrell be able to accompany him so that she may refresh her school supplies? It took alot of persuading on his part, but she eventually gave in and said yes, also giving him the assignment of visiting "Miss Hermione Granger at the Ministry of Magic to see her findings on the search for the Heir of Rowena."
For him, it also provided a good excuse for going to see Catherine. For Eve, it was a chance to seek answers about the Father that she had known so little about before.
End of chapter
A/N: Just clarify something here. Eve has neglected to look at the date of the articles. If she did, she'd realise there was five years between her Father's death and her birth, wouldn't she? Atticus has failed to tell her that her Father wasn't a Death Eater either. She'll learn more in the next chapter. If you're also curious about Emmanuel's reaction, we'll see that in the next chapter too. In the meantime though, do review.
Chapter 9- Sometimes the Truth Hurts
Defence Against Dark Arts Professor Wilton L. Quirrell has died after attempting to steal the Philosopher's Stone for his Master, he-who-must-not-be-named.
The Professor, who has been described as one of Europe's most brilliant scholars and academics died yesterday night of severe concussion and skin infection. It appears that Quirrell had been planning for many months beforehand to steal the highly coveted stone from Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore with his Master but was foiled by the Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter. The current whereabouts of the Dark Lord are not known, though most believe he resides in the forests of Albania, where Quirrell visited last year to gain some 'practical experience' in Defence Against the Dark Arts.
Eve could not believe it.
Everything she'd known about her Father had been blown away in a mere one hundred and ten words.
Her Father was not what her Mother had made him out to be. He was a thief, a traitor, a liar and a servant to the Dark Lord, who had tried to kill the legendary Harry Potter, heir of Gryffindor! For all she knew, he could be a Death Eater! Anger boiled up inside of her like a volcano. Her Mother had lied to her and Emmanuel. She knew Emmanuel would take it harder than her, for he was the son, and moreso than her, remarked upon for his resemblance in looks and character to his Father.
But now was not the right time to be angry. Not with so many people around. This would have to wait until they came back to school.
***************************
Once back, Eve decided against telling Emmanuel immediately and on the afternoon after their return (a Friday), she adjourned to her Mother's room, hoping to find her there, taking the Daily Prophet article with her.
Knock, knock.
"Mum?"
No answer.
Eve looked around the corridor. No-one in sight. Cautiously, Eve tapped her wand against the locked door.
"Alohomora," she murmured, and to her surprise, the door sprang open quite easily.
Eve slipped in, taking care to close the door behind her. In all her time at Hogwarts, she'd only visited her Mum a few times in her rooms, which were not far from the Astronomy tower and had been her quarters in 20 or so years that she had taught at Hogwarts. Still, Eve liked it. The whole room reeked of her Mother. And today was no exception.
The room was slightly messy, but still quite presentable. Eve found herself wandering to the vanity, her favourite place. It was like a room in itself, smelling of roses and other sweet fragrances Eve couldn't identifty and where her Mother kept her jewellery and the little makeup that she wore. The jewellery was kept in a small wooden box, painted royal blue and inlaid with mother-of-pearl.
Eve seated herself at the vanity, taking the large heavy box in her lap. She opened it carefully, and one by one, took out all the pieces of jewellery in it. There was a necklace of rose quartz beads, matching earrings, her Grandmother's moonstone necklace ('Art Deco', is what her mother had described it as) and ring, a charm bracelet with stars on it and a Raven charm made of black onyx. Eve examined each piece, imagining that someday she would wearing them herself.
After taking the jewellery out, she found that there was a second section under the first. Expecting to find more jewellery, she pried the wooden shelf out. Instead, she found a collection of unusual objects. There was an extremely odd necklace, unlike any she'd seen. There was a silver cross, strung on a collection of oddly-grouped blue beads. She knew the cross was something to do with religion, but what was the purpose? It wasn't particularly attractive and didn't look like it was meant to be worn.
Placing it on the vanity, she next pulled out a small book, the title proclaiming 'The Verses of Christina Rossetti', with a bookmark in it. Opening it to where the bookmark was, there was a poem titled 'The Echo'. Eve read through it silently, and then decided that it was 18 lines was of mushy, sentimental romance. Then again, that was her Mother's kind of thing.
Next was a pile of old pieces of parchment. Eve looked at the first letter briefly, not wanting to invade her Mother's privacy further. It was dated 16th December, 1988 and the signature at the bottom proclaimed 'Love, Will'. Her Father. Love letters? she wondered quietly, as upon further inspection, she found them to be all from Will and written on varying dates, from mid 1988 to 1989.
The letters joined the rest of the objects as Eve pulled out two last things, an old photo and a scrap of parchment. The photo was of a youngish man, perhaps of 23 or 24. Eve's eyes widened. He looked almost exactly like Emmanuel, except much older!
He seemed rather short, with the very dark hair and brown eyes that she and her brother had inherited. He was wearing black robes and was smiling shyly at the camera, arms crossed. Turning the photo over, Eve saw the scrawled words 'Wilton, September 1st,1986. First day as Teacher!!!'.
Eve stared at the photo. This was the first time she'd ever seen a proper image of her Father. She found it virtually impossible to believe that this young, handsome wizard had become a Death Eater and ended up dead. The very thought of it almost brought tears to her eyes.
The small scrap of parchment, she noticed, was very delicate, and it was with shaking hands that she gently unfolded it. The sentence written on it was written in very shaky writing, but still legible.
"Amicitia amoris certissima pars." she read aloud.
Eve had seen that particular sentence many times. It was latin, it meant 'Friendship is a truer part of love', and according to her Mother, it was their family motto.
Eve pocketted the unusual necklace, the photo and the parchment, and put the other objects and jewellery back in the box, taking care to replace it on it's spot on the vanity.
Celly's work desk was near the bathroom, and it was Eve's next stop. As usual, it was littered with star charts, astronomy books and student assignments. Eve left these as they were and instead began to look through the drawers. All but one yielded a result. The final drawer was empty except for one key. Eve took the key, shut the drawer and began to look through the room, trying every keyhole to no avail. Finally, out of the corner of her eye, Eve noticed her Mother's bedside table drawer had two locks on it.
Crouching down beside it, she unlocked the first lock and found nothing of great note. It was filled with blank parchment and quills. She tried the second lock, finally getting some success. It was filled with photos.
But just as she was about to take a look at them, the doorknob turned, and Eve spun around to face her Mother, standing in the doorway.
"Eve? What are you doing?" she asked, crossing the room quickly as Eve stood, trying not to look guilty.
"Oh? I was just looking for your binoculars," she lied.
Celly regarded her shrewdly. "Eve, you know my binoculars are kept in the Astronomy tower with all my other viewing tools."
Eve mentally cursed herself, struggling to find a legitimate excuse with no success.
"What are you hiding?" her Mother asked, crossing her arms.
Perhaps the question is, what are YOU hiding, Mother? Eve thought, not answering the question.
"Bring out whatever you're hiding under your robes." she ordered.
Reluctantly, Eve produced the necklace, photo and parchment. Upon doing so, Celly's mouth dropped open.
"Where did you find those?" she asked, her voice dropping to a virtual whisper.
"You lied." she said quietly, also producing the article.
Celly snatched it from her, eyes darting from her. When she looked up, her expression was one of shock.
"I w-was going to tell you..." she began.
"Why didn't you tell us before we came here?" Eve asked, anger rising in her voice. "Why?"
She noticed her Mother steadily beginning to lose her composure, but found she couldn't stop.
"He was a Death Eater, Mum! Merlin's Beard, WHY? Why didn't you tell me? Why haven't you told Emmanuel?"
Celly shook her head, violently. "He wasn't a Death-"
"DON'T LIE!" yelled Eve. "He tried to kill Harry Potter!"
"No," her Mother protested feebly. "he didn't know what-"
"What's Emmanuel going to say? He is the very living image of our Father! Mum......" Eve paused, fighting the sobs that were threatening to choke her. ".....he's going to have to live with that the rest of his life."
"Emmanuel's not going to know." Celly whispered savagely, tears blurring her vision slightly.
"Yes he is! You CAN'T keep this from him! What's this about, anyway? Just because I had to find out doesn't mean that my brother won't either. What makes me different from Emmanuel? I am my father's daughter too! Did you hear that?" she asked, looking up at her stricken Mother. "I'm his child too!"
There was a painful silence, in which Eve witnessed her Mother seemingly crumple into a heap on the floor and she felt hot tears of anger, sadness and resentment of her Father sting her eyes.
"I want answers, and seeing as you're not going to say anymore to me, I'm going to find them myself. Good afternoon, Mother."
It took all of her strength not to turn around and comfort her Mother as she marched out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
***************************
Once outside, Eve stumbled in a teary haze down the corridors, heading towards the Slytherin dungeons, hoping to find Seth. Of all people, she managed to run into Mara Parkinson.
"Why the sad face, Quirrell?" she smirked. "Off to have a crying fit like your Dad used to?"
Eve could not withstand it anymore, and with all her strength, slapped the girl across the face.
"Don't you dare say anything to me about my Father!" she yelled at the shocked Mara. "He's not your business, and he's not mine, so just shut up!"
Eve didn't bother to wait for a reaction and stumbled on towards the dungeons, tears splashing down her front. By luck, she managed to find Seth, engrossed in a divination book on a seat outside. He looked up at her, astonished.
"Eve? What on Earth....?" he asked, putting down his book.
Eve had no answer, except to finally break down.
Seth, not accustomed to these kind of happenings, awkwardly put his arms around her as she sank onto the seat beside him.
"Eve, please....." he said gently. "tell me what's wrong."
Eve finally looked up at him, and staring into his eyes, came to another realization. He knew too. Snape knew. Tony knew. Livia, Varina, Severa, Percy, Penelope, Atticus........they all knew.
"Why?" she asked tearfully. "Why couldn't you tell me the truth?"
"About what?"
"About my Dad?"
Seth looked away guiltily.
"So you've found out," he finally murmured. "I was asked not to say anything by Snape. He swore me to secrecy."
"But, why?" she asked, trying to calm down.
He sighed. "I wanted to tell you Eve, more than anything. So did my Mother. So did Snape. But he said it was your Mother's job, so I said nothing." When Eve remained silent, Seth continued, not quite sure what to say. "I'll let you in on something, Eve. A few years ago, I was in your exact situation. My Father died just after I was born. He was addicted to muggle drugs and died of an overdose. When I was old enough to start asking questions, my Mum did gloss over who my Father was and all that, and I ended up finding out the truth from Snape. And it hurt. It still kinda hurts now, to be honest. My Father was not an entirely good wizard, and the fact that my Mum had lied about him hurt me alot. But I got over it. My Mum thought she'd been doing the right thing. And so does yours, Eve."
"She doesn't want Emmanuel to know." Eve whimpered, and forced him to look at her, roughly grabbing his chin. "Seth, promise me that you'll tell him for me. Promise."
Seth looked at her. "Eve, you know I-"
"Don't." she interrupted. "I'm his sister. I'm giving you permission. Tell him now."
"Why can't you?" he asked nervously.
"Because I am going to find answers." she said, standing up uneasily and taking his hand. "Please, Seth. You're his friend."
Seth contemplated this for a full two minutes before finally agreeing to.
"Thankyou." she murmured, and turned to leave.
Seth watched her as she crossed the courtyard. Then, finally standing, began to make his way down to Snape's office. This was not going to be easy, and he wanted all the help he could get.
***************************
Eve's next call was her room, in which she picked up the folder of clippings, and then to Professor Dinsdale's room. She found him typing quietly at his typewriter.
"Eve, nice to see you." he murmured, still bent over his typewriter. When no answer came, he looked up and his face dropped.
"Eve...." he said, standing up. "What in the name of Merlin is the matter?"
Eve shook her head and handed back the clippings and the article to him.
"Oh...." was all that he could say, as he took the clippings from her. He sunk back into his chair, his head in his hands.
Eve looked at him, slightly surprised. What did he have to be miserable about? She moved aside some papers and sat cross-legged on his desk.
Finding her voice, she asked what the matter was.
Atticus looked up, giving her one of the most guilty-looking glances she'd ever seen.
"It was my fault...." he said softly. Then, he suddenly slammed his fist on the desk.
"Damn!" he cursed, more out of frustration than pain.
"What? What was your fault?" Eve asked anxiously.
He sighed, leaning back in his chair and looking up at her. "Your Mother asked me not to say or do anything that'd give you an idea about your Father's death. I forgot that those clippings had anything in them that could harm you. I also forgot that you asked to look at them. I'm so sorry Eve....."
Eve stared at him. "Professor....you know, I'm glad I found out."
Atticus lowered an eyebrow. "Eve, how can you say that? You're crying. This is probably going to change your view on your Father forever. Tell me, would you rather remember your Father as you did before, or do now?"
"What, remember my Father as a lie? No, I knew there was something about him, even before I knew this. Something that Mum was keeping from me."
Atticus nodded. "I suppose that is quite understandable. I know Seth had the same problem. He had a bad feeling about his Father."
Eve found herself calmed down and she wiped her eyes.
"I want answers, Professor." she said, resting her chin on her hand.
"Of course you do," he said in reply. "but not from me, I'm afraid. I met your Father only once. Sure, I knew a bit of what happened, but I don't know the full truth, Eve. Your Mother or my Uncle could tell you, but I can't."
"I don't want to talk to either of them," Eve murmured. "especially Mum."
Atticus looked at her thoughtfully. "You will have to forgive her eventually, Eve. Of course, it's your choice when you do choose to do it. Until then, if you want answers, there's only one person I can think of."
***************************
Eve knew it was a gamble doing this, but she had to know. And to be quite honest, she didn't want to be around anyone at school. Not Emmanuel, not her Mother, not anybody.
So it was that Professor Dinsdale asked Professor McGonagall would he be able to go to London to pick up supplies? And would young Miss Quirrell be able to accompany him so that she may refresh her school supplies? It took alot of persuading on his part, but she eventually gave in and said yes, also giving him the assignment of visiting "Miss Hermione Granger at the Ministry of Magic to see her findings on the search for the Heir of Rowena."
For him, it also provided a good excuse for going to see Catherine. For Eve, it was a chance to seek answers about the Father that she had known so little about before.
End of chapter
A/N: Just clarify something here. Eve has neglected to look at the date of the articles. If she did, she'd realise there was five years between her Father's death and her birth, wouldn't she? Atticus has failed to tell her that her Father wasn't a Death Eater either. She'll learn more in the next chapter. If you're also curious about Emmanuel's reaction, we'll see that in the next chapter too. In the meantime though, do review.