Oh, I'm done for, William thought as Eva stared at him with a look of disproval. His palms broke into a clammy sweat, as his mind began racing.
She's figured me out-
"What's it like?" she whispered, and he held his breath in a shock.
She's not mad?
Eva blinked a few times, waiting patiently for his answer.
She's not mad!
He let out a sigh as he looked up in thought. He figured there was no point in hiding at least his sleep disturbances from her. Eva saw William lift his hand, allowing Pokey to crawl up his arm a bit while he pieced together how to describe his experiences.
"You're awake, and can't move. You can't speak, you can't even control your breathing. You're trapped, and just have to wait it out. I've felt hands grasping my shoulders before of someone who wasn't actually there, and couldn't move or scream. It makes me afraid to sleep every night, because when it happens, it lasts for at least an hour- every time I start to fall asleep, I wake up paralyzed. Usually comes with a nightmare too," William said, giving Pokey a gentle poke above his snout as he sniffed around his arm. He smiled a little, adding, "so, this is where I come on those nights. Pokey here seems quite fond of me, because he sees me quite often."
He looked over to Eva, who had a horrified frown across her face as she covered her mouth with a hand. She shook her head, saying, "that sounds horrifying."
"It is," he answered simply, only intensifying Eva's frown. William gave her a bright smile, holding Pokey in front of her face as he said, "but he's quite a blessing, wouldn't you agree? It's not all bad, you know."
She watched Pokey twitch his little snout, then moved her head to the side giving William a pitiful frown. She reached forward, taking Pokey from William and setting him down in his cage, moving the banana over to him to keep him occupied. She quickly sat on William's lap, throwing her arms around his shoulders for a tight embrace that surprised him.
"Uh- Eva- I-" he stuttered, smelling the fragrant body wash as her soft hair cascaded from his left cheek down his neck. Her head was resting against his own, making his heart pound all over again as he nervously hugged her back. He found himself smiling, and felt the unexpected gesture already easing his mind.
"Will- I'm so sorry. I never knew you were going through this. You can always come talk to me if something's stressing you out."
William held her close, his smile disappearing as he had a flashback of the night he overheard Tom asking Professor Slughorn about horcruxes. Then the nightmare of them being Tom's minions. Whatever that group was called- it seemed that they were the first ones and that he planned to expand it exponentially. The last thing William wanted was for Eva to be involved in any way, and one of the recurring nightmares he had always focused on that very fear.
"Promise me you will?" she asked, letting go of him and holding out her pinky finger. William looked down to it with a small chuckle, nodding his head yes.
Sorry Eva- but I'll have to lie to you for now. I can't tell you about Tom. I can't tell you that it hurts when I see you with Isidore, and that as much as I try to ignore it, I can't help but feel jealous. Some of my nightmares are me losing you to him, which is actually just becoming a reality. And I'm afraid Tom will manipulate you the way he did Professor Slughorn. You're far too nice for his own good, and I never want you to be taken advantage of.
I'm sorry I don't show you the real me. I'm more observant than I let on, and a better actor than you could ever imagine. The side you see is who I wish I could always be, but I'm always on edge now. I don't think even Isidore- whose intelligence is that of a genius- suspects anything from Tom, and it's terribly scary doing this all alone.
So I'm afraid I won't be able to confide in you the things that are causing my symptoms. But it'll be okay- I can handle myself well enough. I'm sorry for lying, Eva. I'm really sorry.
William finally tugged her pinky finger with his, answering, "I promise I will. So long as you do the same."
William smiled warmly, acting in such a way that Eva completely trusted his words. On this one, her ability to see through lies was rendered useless by William's charm.
It's a good thing I fancy you, otherwise I think you would've seen through a fake smile. I'm sure I look like a smitten idiot, but at least you view it differently.
"If I must- Sir Sinclair-" she said, then leapt out of her chair, falling into a deep curtsey.
"I swear to you I will confide in you with anything that is inconveniencing me. And I will always listen to you, and relieve you of your troubles even if it kills me! I swear on my title as a knight of this castle- a stewardess to the Lady Helga Hufflepuff and a colleague of Sir Cadogan of the Hogwarts portraits-" she knelt on one knee, looking up to him and placing a hand over her heart. Her smile turned more tender, her voice now serious as she said, "I promise to make you happy."
William smiled, clearly touched by her words. Deep inside of him, the place that usually ached when he saw her falling for Isidore now felt warm- the same warmth when he realized how he felt about Eva.
William held a hand out again to Eva, pulling her to stand with a nod of his head. He made no effort to hide how happy she made him, making her break into a wide grin. She giggled a little, looking over to the hedgehog as she said, "isn't that right, Pokey?"
The listened to scuffling for a second, then heard him sneeze. Eva and William erupted into laughter, bending over to get a look at Pokey as he bit his stuffed banana.
"So does he like bananas or...?" Eva asked, and William shrugged as he said, "I gave him a banana and he really liked it. But he'll happily eat anything. I just found that stuffed banana over the summer and brought it for him."
"He seems to like it," she said, watching Pokey run around the cage in circles with the banana gripped between his teeth.
"He really does," William agreed, looking back over to the grandfather clock. He frowned a little, murmuring, "it's almost three in the morning- did you finish that assignment?"
Eva bolted upright, letting out a small shriek. William shook his head, saying, "we have to finish it, it's due tomorrow!"
He ran over to where she had been seated, opening the textbook to the bookmarked page. She followed after him, asking, "'We?'"
He looked over to her, giving her a confused stare as he asked, "yes. I'm helping you finish it."
"You don't have to-" she began, and he held up a hand with another shake of his head.
"No way am I letting you do the rest of this alone. I'll tell you what I did on my assignment and tell you where to find answers you need. Since it's not a group project. Just because our assignment topics are different doesn't mean I can't help you with yours. It's not like I would be sleeping anyway."
He turned back around, sitting down as he illuminated his wand to use as a lamp. She sat next to him with a sheepish smile, opening up her folder and organizing her schoolwork in front of them.
The two of them worked diligently, and Eva was surprised at how focused he could be with such little sleep. He was smarter than she realized, since he always seemed so tired during the day when they worked in a group on assignments. He was actually focused, efficient, and thought outside the box. At one point, she just looked at him as he was explaining something, not really listening with a small smile on her face. He eventually looked over, stopping and asking, "what's wrong?"
"You just-" she began, then stopped herself with an inquisitive smile. William stared back at her, completely confused, asking, "I what?"
"It's nothing, really. Don't worry about it," she answered, giving his arm a squeeze before picking up her quill and bending over her paper. He raised an eyebrow, wondering what was going through her mind, then decided to drop it and reached for the packet to his right.
They continued working for the next hour, finally finishing the last of her assignment. William stretched his arms, turning to look back at the clock. He heard Eva packing her belongings, then turned back to her as she stood up. He followed in suit, and she turned to him with a sigh.
"I guess we'll have to try and sleep for a little while before class," she said with a nod to the clock. He nodded in agreement, pushing in his chair before walking over to Pokey's cage. Eva scurried over, clutching her books and papers to her chest, bending down to the cage with a grin.
"It was nice meeting you, Pokey. Have a good night," she said, standing back up to let William put Pokey back under the counter. Eva then gave a small frown, saying, "I'd like to see him again."
"He's always under the counter. I leave him there since he's nocturnal," William said, his gaze fixated on Pokey as he laid with his quills down. Eva smiled, saying, "I kind of liked it being the two of us."
William's head snapped back at her, and she shrugged her shoulders saying, "you and I do the best things on our own. Thanks for showing me Pokey. And, I wanted to tell you I'm glad you came to me with the sleep paralysis situation. I won't say anything to anyone, and I hope it gets better soon."
William nodded, a sheepish smile on his face as he looked down to the floor. Initially, he dreaded the idea of her knowing about the frequent episodes sleep paralysis and insomnia, but ended up feeling a bit better that it was her who knew his secret. He still wished he could've been completely honest about it, but knew Eva would be safer if she was kept in the dark.
"Shall we head back?" she asked, jolting him out of his thoughts as he nodded with a smile.
"I'll walk you back to the Hufflepuff dorms," he told her, and she replied with a happy, "thank you."
The two of them headed out into the dark hallway, dimly illuminated by the bluish hue of William's wand. The people in the portraits slept, and they walked as quietly as they could to keep it that way. Although, at the end of one corridor, a woman's voice called out to them.
"William, Eva!"
The two of them stopped, turning to face the portrait of a beautiful woman wearing a regal gown and gold crown. She folded her arms, sitting back on her throne with the points of her crown glinting off an unknown light source from within the painting.
"Queen Victoria!" the two of them yelped, recognizing her as the queen which Sir Cadogan served. She was based off a work of fiction, but had more of a commanding presence than the portraits of existing royalty throughout the castle. Eva and William met her when Eleonora asked in passing if it was the real late queen of England- to which the queen explained who she really was to them. Eva and William got to know her the more they spoke to the portraits and were charmed by her- it she was intelligent and wise, yet headstrong. She was the perfect combination of all four houses. They got to know her well over the past few years, and always knew she had answers to anything they needed help with.
William bowed as Eva curtsied, and the queen gave them a confident smirk with a nod of her head. She had frequently seen William wandering about the castle with his insomnia, and quickly pieced together that Eva was now in on it. Another thing she was well aware of was how William felt about her.
Time to help him out, she thought.
"Good night, you two," she said, her voice just as proud as her posture. She then leaned forward, lowering her head as she whispered, "we must be careful. The caretaker has just reached this part of the castle for his nightly walk. I'm afraid your wands will attract attention. For now, you're safe, but the portraits around the corner are horrendously grumpy when awoken and will likely complain loud enough for him to come by."
She turned to Eva, saying, "Eva, William usually doesn't use any light to get around at night. Being the gentleman he is, he's using it now. That's just why he's never been caught before, if you're curious."
"Oh, goodness that's impressive," Eva whispered, looking up to William before meeting Victoria's eyes. She nodded, a knowing smile spreading across her face as she leaned back to her throne.
"I agree, it really is! So, my suggestion is to take advantage of that and get to your dorms without being seen. Or without waking anyone nearby," she added. Victoria saw William eyeing her suspiciously, but agreed when Eva announced, "that's probably a good idea."
"Thank you for telling us, Queen Victoria. We'll get going then," William said, then whispered, "nox."
"Goodnight, get some rest," she said sweetly, blending into the dark as the wand's light dissipated.
"Can you see me?" William asked, and Eva whispered, "not at all. My vision in the dark is terrible."
William looked over to her, seeing her squinting as she looked around. He couldn't see her that well, but could see well enough to see that she had curly hair and the outline of portrait frames on the walls.
"Take my hand, Eva. I know where we're going," he said, and Victoria smirked triumphantly in the dark unbeknownst to them. She saw Eva reaching forward, and William's hopeful expression as he held out his hand.
"Okay," Eva murmured, squinting and reaching forward to feel only air in front of her. He reached to the side, clasping her hand in his, making her stiffen a little from surprise. His grip was firm and his hands were warm, unlike her hands thanks to the drafty and damp castle air.
He's really... gentlemanly, she thought.
"Sorry, my hands are cold," she said. William pulled her forward, and the two of them began walking as he replied, "it's alright. I don't mind."
He took her through the castle, carefully and slowly helped her descend the stairs. Eva couldn't help but think about his behavior that night. She looked up to him, actually able to see his wavy brown hair in the dark. She remembered how sad his eyes looked as he talked to her. It was strange- usually his bright blue eyes matched his comedic antics- but they were serious tonight. She could tell something was wrong, and it saddened her more than he realized when confiding in her.
"Here we are," she heard, not even realizing they were in front of the Hufflepuff door. She felt his grip loosen, then quickly squeezed his hand tighter as she turned to him. He gripped her hand again, looking surprised despite the fact she couldn't see his face.
"Thanks again for tonight. I don't know what I would've done without your help, and I'm so happy you introduced me to Pokey-" she paused, her eyes narrowing as she said, "why are you just so nice?"
He laughed nervously, placing his free hand to the back of his neck as he said, "ah, it was nothing. I like helping when I can."
She sighed with a smile, saying, "you're just too good to us. But I really want you to come to me if you ever need anything. Okay?" she said with another squeeze of his hand.
"I will," he answered. She nodded, saying, "good. Now, get back safely and get some rest."
She let go of his hand, and he said, "I will. I promise."
"I'll be checking in during breakfast. Have a good rest of your night," she answered, hearing his footsteps approaching the stairs. She knew he was leaving so he didn't learn the way into the house, and smiled over to where she heard him.
"Thank you, Eva. Goodnight," she heard, then his footsteps grew fainter as he ascended the stairs.
He's really a good guy. I hope he's alright.
William continued down the halls, finding himself smiling as he remembered Eva's warm hug. He touched his cheek, still shocked her head had been resting against it not long ago. He then thought of her comedic outburst as a pretend knight; it may have been silly, but was the most perfect thing he could've asked for to make him feel less alone. Then he remembered how sincere she looked as she knelt on the ground, proclaiming that she promised to make him happy.
He halted abruptly, staring into the distance in the silent castle. He was feeling a warning-like omen from within his body, and stood in the stillness of the moonlit windows as he patiently waited. Easily 95% his premonitions come through dreams, but the remaining five percent were during conscious waking hours.
So he waited and waited, for an image, a scene to play out, or a voice. He was hopeful, assuming it was the alternate reality he had been praying for since the nightmare.
He focused, calming himself as he prepared to speak what he saw, preparing to let his ability control his body. However, the words that escaped his lips were more horrifying than he could've asked for as he envisioned their group again. He read Tom's lips, speaking for aloud him as his mind learned the name of their group for him.
"Death... Eaters..."
A/N: ...
Is William right or not?!
Also, apparently Riddle didn't go with the name "death eater" right off the bat, but I figured for the purposes of this where Eva is "helping" him preserve life, I'd go straight with that name. Wouldn't be as sus with someone like her and her moral motivation.
Thanks for reading, following/favoriting, and commenting. It means a lot, seriously.
