I Do Not Own Harry Potter.

Next to last chapter. (sniff, sniff) This is an added chapter, I wrote it in about fifteen minutes or so. It answers some questions that are very pertinent to the characters. Let us all thank Ginger for her supercalifragilisticexpialidocious beta-reading skills. (I hope I spelled that right)

Dumbledore had just left her room after changing her password and telling Eva that Hermione had left the infirmary and would be fine. The Headmaster had made it quite clear that even though the school term was almost over, she was not allowed to disobey the restrictions set out for her. No one was to come to her rooms, except himself and Professor Snape. Eva reluctantly agreed and the Headmaster bade her a goodnight.

Eva changed into her pajamas and waited on the sofa for her father. She knew that he would be coming in sometime tonight. There was no way he would allow what happened today to just slip by without handing out one of the lectures he liked to give Eva. She was just nodding off when she heard the door open. She quickly roused herself and sat up straight.

"Good evening, Eva," he said as he approached the sofa.

Eva stood from her seat and looked ahead. "Good evening, Father," she answered. She'd had enough experience with her grandfather to know that proper manners might help in a situation like this. At least Severus would not have a reason to say that she was disrespectful.

Severus did not say anything for a few minutes; he just stood and gave his daughter an appraising look. He had to admit that she did not look like one who would know Dark Magic, but then, there was no mold for the Dark Wizard. He finally took in a breath and sat in one of the chairs by the fire. He waited for her to take her seat on the sofa before continuing.

"That was an impressive display of magic, Eva. Where did you learn?"

"Grandfather taught me everything I know about the Dark Arts, Father. I know what you're getting at," she said as she looked at her hands on her lap. "I didn't mean to lose my temper. I just saw Hermione all limp in Draco's arms and I lost it. It was kind of like the straw that broke the camel's back. So many things have happened; I didn't know . . . I should have controlled myself," she finished lamely.

Severus looked at his daughter and then to the fire. "While I agree that you should control your emotions, I do understand why you lost it." He turned to the stunned face of his daughter. "Don't think I didn't know just what I was doing when I handed those restrictions to you in the hospital. I meant for you to get angry, Eva." He gave her his patented smirk. "I believe you inherited my uncanny sense of precisely what will annoy people the most."

Eva smirked back at him, but then she got a confused look on her face. "If you knew that would anger me, then why did you do it?"

"Because Eva, someone with your abilities must have self-control. Something that I have been trying to instill in Potter for the last six years. You, however, are in a league beyond him." He stood and loomed above her. "You have a very dangerous knowledge. One that can do great harm to others, and to yourself."

Eva nodded and put her head down. She knew that Severus was talking about her knowledge of the Dark Arts. It was why she was so advanced in Occlumency and wandless magic. You had to have an inordinate amount of control over your emotions in order to perform many of the curses in the Dark Arts. Her grandfather had seen that Eva had amazing self-control and that was why she was taught so much at an early age.

Severus knelt in front of his daughter and held her hands. "Eva," he called. He waited until her eyes were looking right into his. "You are not a Dark Witch." He put a finger on her lips when she tried to interrupt. "Listen to me. You are not a Dark Witch. Yes, you have an amazing grasp of the Dark Arts, but you do not purposefully seek it out."

Eva looked down at their hands intertwined on her lap. Her father did not know that she now had one of the Darkest books in the wizarding world in her trunk. She'd been going through it everyday and trying some of the hexes on a plant she had in her room.

"A Dark Wizard is not born," continued Severus. "A Witch or Wizard must consciously make the decision to turn to the Dark Arts." He stroked his daughter's hand unconsciously as he spoke. "It is the most foolish thing that one could do, but the Dark Arts have a kind of unnatural attraction to them that draws people."

"But what about Grandfather, and Grandmama, and all the Dark Wizards in my family?" asked Eva.

Severus sighed and sat next to his daughter on the sofa. "Yes, most of your family were Dark Wizards; on both sides, but that doesn't mean you're a Dark Witch. Just look at your mother. She's nowhere near being a Dark Witch."

Eva nodded. "What about the Energy Healers past? Were any of them Dark Witches or Wizards?"

Severus thought for a while before answering. "I don't know, Eva. I do know that the last Energy Healer, the one your grandfather told you about, was not a Dark Witch. She helped with the war effort, if you remember. Before that I would not be able to tell you. Most of them were from well-to-do pureblood families and were surrounded by Dark Magic, but they had to make their own decision. I'm sure that some of them made the wrong one, but I can't tell you for sure." He looked at his daughter and put his finger on her chin, moving her face to look into his. "As much as your mother would like to think that you're an adult, I see something in you that I wish I had held onto longer. You have feeling, Eva. You love; you hate; you feel things. I, unfortunately, stopped doing that long ago." He gave her a sad smile and turned to the fire, once again, silent.

"Can you . . . turn from the Dark Arts?" asked Eva.

Severus kissed the top of her head. "I didn't think you would have to ask that question. Am I not proof of that?"

Eva smiled at her father. "Yes, you are, but that doesn't seem to stop you from being a prat sometimes."

"Eva," said Severus warningly.

"Sorry. I do have another question. If it's okay?"

"Of course."

"Are the Dark Arts really bad? I mean, it's just the way you use them isn't it?" she asked.

Severus sighed. "I don't know how to answer that question, Eva. I wish I could give you a definite yes or no, but it's not that easy. I would like to say that it is how you use them, but most people use them for bad, which is why they are the Dark Arts."

"But it's knowledge," said Eva. "Is knowledge really that bad?"

"It's like I told you, Eva, the Dark Arts have an attraction, a pull, that can make someone who is lonely feel welcome, someone who is weak feel powerful. It's not something most people can resist. If it were pure knowledge, I wouldn't see a problem, but the Dark Arts come with a lot of baggage."

Eva nodded. She knew just what kind of baggage he was talking about. She wasn't sure what she was going to do to explain what had happened to Harry, Ron and Hermione. She would have to do something soon; she knew the Hogwarts rumor mill had already begun to churn.

Eva sat at her desk the next day with her quill poised over her parchment. She had finished her exams for the day and had gone straight to her rooms, as the Headmaster had ordered. She was trying to figure out how to phrase her explanation to Harry.

Just because she could not see her friends, did not mean she could not contact them. No one said anything about taking away her owl privileges. She sighed and slumped back in her chair. "I'm just going to write one letter to all of them," she finally concluded.

Dear Everybody,

I hope that you will read this explanatory letter with an open mind and not think too badly of me when I'm done.

I know that what you saw, or what you were told happened (Hermione), does not show me in the best light. I am not about to deny what you witnessed. I would like to explain my frame of mind, however.

You all know that my grandfather was a Master of the Dark Arts. Well, he passed a lot of the knowledge on to his granddaughter. What you saw was one of the curses that I learned under his tutelage.

Normally, I would never use the Dark Arts against anyone, but when I saw what Pansy had done to Hermione, I completely lost it. I couldn't think of anything but all the harm and injury that she had caused me and my friends this whole school year. I don't lose my temper very quickly and I try to control the explosion when I do. I'm sorry that you had to see it.

I hope you can forgive me and still be my friends.

Your Friend (I hope), Severa Raven Nocturino

Eva looked at the letter and was satisfied with what it said. She summoned Horatio to her with a whistle she had trained him with. She tied the letter to his leg and he went back to the Owlery. She would have to wait until tomorrow morning to find out if she could still say that she had friends.

Harry smiled at the snowy owl that landed in front of his plate. He untied the letter that it had on its leg and handed him some toast to munch on and moved his goblet of pumpkin juice closer to him. "How are you today, Horatio?" he asked.

The owl hooted in reply and affectionately pecked Harry's hand. He floated over to the other side of the room and landed in front of Eva's plate. He sat there as Eva petted him and he finished his piece of toast. Eva looked over to the Gryffindor table with curiosity. She saw Harry, Ron and Hermione lean over the parchment and Hermione looked over her shoulder once to look at Eva.

The trio got up and left the parchment with Neville, so he might be able to read it as well. Eva watched as the left the Great Hall. She sighed and looked at Horatio. "I guess they didn't understand," she told the owl. He hooted in reply and jumped to her shoulder to nip her ear affectionately.

She giggled. "At least I still have you." Eva stood with her owl still on her shoulder and made her way to the Entrance Hall. Horatio flew outside as she passed the door.

Eva went through her day and her tests, with a heavy heart. She knew she did well on her Charms test, but more than once she had had to pull her head out of the clouds and concentrate on the parchment in front of her rather than staring at the back of Harry's head.

She hated going to the Great Hall to a table where she felt so isolated. The older Slytherins had only warily tolerated her after the incident with Pansy. Clearly, they did not like the fact that she had hurt a fellow Housemate, but Eva sensed they were a touch envious and very definitely uneasy at her display of Dark Magic. They didn't seem to care that Pansy had been the one who started the whole thing. To her embarrassment, her younger housemates treated her like some kind of war hero and openly gaped at her. She didn't have the energy to deal with any of them, so she just sat in her corner of the table and ignored them all.

It was during dinner that she saw the lone owl soaring towards her table. It was Hedwig. She smiled when the snowy owl landed in front of her. Untying the letter from her outstretched leg she smiled and petted the owl's plumage. "Here you go," said Eva as she gave Hedwig some owl treats. Hedwig hooted in thanks and flew over to her owner. Harry smiled as his owl came back to him.

Eva opened the parchment. She read the short missive and smiled. They completely understood what had happened and Hermione even wanted to learn how Eva had performed the curse. Eva was not about to teach her how to perform any Dark Magic, but she was glad that they had understood.

She was upset that she couldn't go to their table and talk to them, but she could smile over at them. Looking up at them, she saw that they had beat her to it. Hermione, Ron, Neville, Ginny, Dean and Seamus were smiling and waving at her; Harry smiled and winked, effectively causing a blush to creep to her cheeks.

I know there is someone out there who has questions. Please pester me! I love answering them. Mattie :o)