A/N: Hey folks, here is the second chapter of Evelyn Thorne story, which features a BAMF OC friend of Lily Potter returning during OOTP timeline. It's obviously AU and I would love to hear more from you all about what you think about this.
I have also uploaded another one my stories that I have written during my hiatus. It is called "SYMBOL". It features a muggleborn OC during First Wizarding War. Do check that out too.
Updates will be alternating between these two for a while as I have already written these two stories. As for "Oddity", you will have to wait for a bit. I need to get into the groove more so that the tone of the story doesn't drastically change due to the hiatus.
Well, let's get going...
Chapter 2 – A Walking Contradiction
It took a moment for Harry's brain to catch up as he realized that the woman had just tried to kill his godfather. He was still processing the fact that someone just tried to kill his godfather when the chair Sirius has taken refuge behind was blasted to smithereens. That jolted him out of his sluggish thoughts. Instinctively, he whipped out his wand and pointed at the woman.
"Merlin! Thorne, stop!" Mad-eye Moody shouted throwing up a shield between her and Sirius, only for it to be blasted apart.
"Eve, please listen!"
Remus's panicked voice jolted him out of the curse he was about to fire at the woman. The familiarity of address was something he had only heard Remus speak with Sirius. It confused him more than he could admit. However, when he looked at the woman she was frothing at the mouth and there was a mad glint to her eye. Her next spell threw Mad-eye back towards the hall. Even then, Remus wasn't firing any hexes.
Meanwhile, Sirius was scampering on the ground, trying his hardest to get away from the rapid-fire hexes that were being fired. It didn't last long as the floorboards turned into some sort of wooden ropes as they entangled him and he was whisked towards the woman. It was evident to anyone present from Sirius's cries that he was in pain as he was brought forth before the woman.
It jolted Harry out of his sluggishness and confusion as he pointed his wand at the woman and shouted.
"Let him go!"
The rage on the woman's face faltered for a moment as she whipped around to look at Harry pointing his wand towards her. If Harry expected her to balk or even dismiss him, he was bound to be disappointed. The moment the woman's eyes landed on Harry and took him in, she blinked in confusion before she stuttered.
"James!" she asked in confusion only to shake her head the next moment as if clearing her head of cobwebs. "I must be dreaming. You are dead. Wait! Your eyes! They are….. are Lily's. How! No, no, you must be Harry!"
A tender expression crossed her face. In all his life, Harry hadn't seen anyone look at him like that. It stunned him so much that the hex he was about to fire faltered in his mouth. He had seen that particular expression on Aunt Petunia when she looked at Dudley, on the platform 9 3/4 on parents who were there either to send off their children or welcome them back. But, no one had directed such an expression on Harry. It shook him to the core that this unknown woman was looking at him like that.
A sudden flash of light engulfed the room, along with the cries of a Phoenix as Dumbledore appeared in between them. Harry watched as the woman's face became entirely blank and the next moment she snarled at Dumbledore. With a flick of her wand, Sirius was sent flying away, almost dismissively, as the woman eyed Dumbledore.
Even from here, he could feel the woman priming her magic as if she wanted to fight Dumbledore. He had only felt such magic on two people before this. Once on Dumbledore at the end of last year, when he had arrived to rescue him from Crouch Jr. and the other was on Voldemort when he was resurrected. The woman didn't lower her wand as she eyed Dumbledore distastefully, as if she was looking at a cockroach under her feet. He had never seen someone look at Dumbledore like that either – not even Lucius Malfoy.
"Dumbledore," the woman spat.
"Evelyn," Dumbledore replied back calmly, but Harry could feel his tension underneath his calm facade. He was sure others felt that too.
"Move," the woman honest-to-merlin ordered Dumbledore.
Harry felt as if his head was spinning.
"Not unless you calm yourself down and listen to me," Dumbledore spoke gravely. The usual joviality of his voice was nowhere to be found.
"Lower your wand, Thorne," Mad-eye Moody came limping from where he had fallen.
"And if you would please release Sirius…"
"Shut up Dumbledore! I am not a misbehaving student for you to order me around anymore," the woman refused to lower her wand despite both Mad-eye Moody and Albus Dumbledore staring her down.
"I am well aware of it," Dumbledore replied gravely not taking his eyes off the woman.
"I wonder Dumbledore," the woman smirked at him, "are you more dangerous than a Nundu? Its been fourteen years since our duel, and I have grown stronger since then. How about we go for round two?"
"This is not the right time or the right place for such Miss Evelyn!," Dumbledore replied warily, "while I may have grown old, I assure you that my magical prowess has not declined since then. There are bystanders here who might get injured if we do entertain your notion – bystanders both you and I might not want to harm."
Harry saw the woman's eyes flicker towards him for split second. Her wand slightly wavered for a second before a grimace took over her face.
"Fine," the woman spat, "I can hold off for a few days at least. Meanwhile, I do have some filth to clean off this earth."
"Eve, please, just calm down and listen," Remus began only for the woman to shoot a withering look at him.
"Ah, the werewolf defends the mutt! Why am I not surprised?" the woman spat venomously.
"Eve, please just listen,"
"Shut it! I don't mind cleaning up the whole crew. You all led her to her death and I told her not to trust that old bat over there or that idiot Potter. Look what it got her." The woman raged at Remus. "I should have hunted you down like the filthy halfbreed you are. I didn't, on account of her. And look at you, defending the traitorous mutt."
Harry saw Remus flinch back at the venom in the woman's voice. Anger coursed through him as he saw Remus withdraw back into himself. From the way they spoke it was clear to Harry that the woman had some past history with the Marauders. If not, how would she know that Remus was a werewolf and Sirius was a dog? However, it didn't look like the woman cared for that history much now. If anything, the woman looked ready to kill Sirius, and even Remus if it came to that, on the spot right now.
A chill engulfed Harry as he saw the woman turn towards Sirius. As much as he wanted to know who the woman was, he knew that he had no time for that. If they didn't calm her down right now, he was sure they would be fishing out Sirius's body before the day ends. Even with Dumbledore here, the woman looked too sure of herself for Harry to feel comforted at the Headmaster's presence.
"I don't think that is going to happen, Thorne," Mad-eye growled.
"Mad-eye, I might respect the hell out of you. But, I promise you that I will carve my way through you if you stand between me and that mutt," the woman replied in an annoyed tone. "He has a lot to answer for. I don't know why you lot are defending him, but, honestly, I don't care. Today he dies and not even that old bat there could prevent that."
Harry panicked hearing that, but before he or anyone else could say anything, Professor McGonagall's voice came from the entrance in reply.
"Maybe you should wait for them to explain why they protect him, you silly girl!"
The woman whirled around to see McGonagall standing at the entryway with a severely unimpressed expression on her face.
"Professor," the woman said in confusion.
"Lower your wand girl!" McGonagall tutted as she walked towards the woman as if she didn't care one bit that the woman was in a stand-off with Dumbledore.
For a moment, Harry worried for Professor McGonagall's wellbeing. But, he needn't have. As she neared the woman, Professor McGonagall reached up and took the ear of the woman and started shaking it like she was a misbehaving child.
"I was late for a few moments, look what you have done, you silly girl! Didn't you learn from the last time? It cost you ten years just because you couldn't calm down and listen to me for ten minutes. Now, that you are back here, not even a day has gone past, you are up to your old antics," Professor McGonagall scolded the woman like an irate mother causing the woman to look up at her sheepishly.
"But, Professor," the woman whined, "Black is here. Why are you, of all people, defending that asshole?"
"Language Evelyn!" Professor McGonagall snapped. "Go, sit down there, and until you calm down, I will be taking your wand away. Once they have explained to you why Black is here and you have calmed down enough, I will give it back. Now, give me your wand!"
"Professor," the woman seemed reluctant.
"Evelyn Euphemia Thorne! Now! Wand!" Professor McGonagall said sternly as she demanded the wand once more.
The woman huffed and handed her wand unwillingly. She grumbled under her breath as she took the offered seat. She sent a scowl at Remus and Dumbledore before letting out another huff and crossed her arms and looked away as if she was a petulant child.
Harry didn't know what to make of her. The woman was a walking contradiction. One moment she was challenging everyone, including Dumbledore, and the next moment she was acting like a petulant grandchild in front of Professor McGonagall. Unlike many others he had seen, it didn't look like she liked Dumbledore much, but there was an inordinate amount of trust and respect she held towards Professor McGonagall.
The way her eyes had softened when she saw him made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. But, the way she had reacted to Sirius's presence and how she had insulted Remus drove all the goodwill away. If not for that one look she had sported when seeing him, he would be fuming mad at anyone who treated Sirius or Remus like that. Everything about her was confusing to him.
Dumbledore was still standing in front of him, blocking his view of her. But, he could somewhat see what she looked like. The woman had dark black hair, which was straight. She had it in a bun that looked eerily similar to Professor McGonagall's. It only further deepened his impression of her. Unlike McGonagall, she didn't look strict. In a way, her mannerisms were similar to Sirius's. She looked carefree and was obviously slightly drunk. The smell of alcohol wafting from her body confirmed it.
Her dress was shabby and unkempt. There were multiple tears and cuts across her dress. She looked as if she had just returned from the wild. Considering what Mad-eye told about her, she might just have. As Harry felt the tension in the room drop exponentially, he tried to sort through the past ten minutes of conversation about her to get a good idea about her.
"Merlin! It's such a pain to deal with you ever since Lily and Alice were gone," Professor McGonagall groaned uncharacteristically causing Harry to look up in shock.
He couldn't help but wonder if Professor McGonagall was talking about his mother.
"No thanks to that bastard there and his demented cousin," the woman snarled causing pieces to click in Harry's mind.
Of course, she wanted to kill Sirius. Didn't he want to kill him too when he had first laid his eyes on him? Only after he had learnt about the truth regarding the secret keeper had he been able to look at Sirius differently. If what he had heard about the woman was true, then she didn't know that. No wonder she wanted to kill Sirius and lashed out at Remus when he defended him.
This was all a huge misunderstanding. That's what it was. Though, that didn't explain why the woman didn't like Dumbledore. She seemed to almost hate Dumbledore, which confused Harry. He hadn't seen any member of the Order hate Dumbledore before this.
"Ah, that is where we might have hit a slight snag, Miss Evelyn," Dumbledore began in a jovial tone.
"Cut the crap old man, don't talk to me like I am a misbehaving teenager," the woman cut Dumbledore off ruthlessly. "Are you telling that shitstain there isn't responsible for Lily's death? Or is it about his dear cousin Bella being innocent all along?"
The woman sneered.
"Evelyn!" Professor McGonagall said sternly causing the woman to grimace. "Shut up now, and for Merlin's sake, let them explain to you."
The woman huffed and looked away.
"And Albus, can you please be silent. We both know she wouldn't believe anything you say. Let Remus explain," Professor McGonagall said in a tired tone as if it was a long-standing fact and he should know better.
Dumbledore let out a huge breath and nodded back. He gestured for Remus to speak. Remus looked troubled for a moment, eyeing both the woman and Dumbledore warily, and began to speak.
"Eve, just listen for a bit. Be calm and I hope you don't do something stupid in front of Harry," Remus began as he gestured to Harry standing behind Dumbledore.
The woman narrowed her eyes at Remus but didn't do anything else. She merely nodded as she sat there with her arms crossed before her, Harry watched as Remus explained in a short and concise manner how Sirius had broken out of Azkaban in Harry's third year and how he knew that Peter was in Hogwarts. He went on to tell her about how the truth about the Secret Keeper was identified and what happened afterward. And Sirius's current status with Wizarding Britain. It was followed up with Harry's last year and the resurrection of Voldemort.
Throughout the story, the woman didn't take her eyes off Remus. In the end, she let out a huff and looked away. Silence lasted for a while before she broke it by turning towards Sirius, who was still entrapped by the floorboards.
"Let me get this straight, you used that sniveling rat as a secret keeper?"
"They thought it was a perfect misdirection, with Sirius here acting as bait and the rat acting as the real secret keeper," Remus said trying to calm her.
"And Lily went along with that?" she asked aghast.
"We… we… had to convince her," Sirius said fighting off the pain from the predicament he was in.
"Of course, it was another of those stupid plans James and you cooked up. Why am I surprised that it went all wrong? I told her not to date that moron. Even her brain started shriveling with prolonged exposure to you idiots," the woman hissed angrily.
"Evelyn," Professor McGonagall's stern reprimand cut short her rant midway.
The woman huffed, and she put her hand out asking back her wand. Professor McGonagall looked at her suspiciously.
"I am fine Professor," the woman huffed, "I won't kill him. I haven't exactly forgiven these morons either. I need some time and lots and lots of alcohol before I can do that."
Professor McGonagall gave her an understanding nod and returned her wand back to her. With a wave of her wand, the woman freed Sirius from his bindings. Sirius dropped unceremoniously on his butt.
"Right, now that the mutt is back where he belongs, it is time I see to the job that I actually came here to," the woman let out a huge sigh, "if you can move your bony ass aside Mr. Dumbledore, I can get a proper look at Harry."
