Tony made his way noiselessly down the stairs. At two in the morning, he wasn't likely to run into anyone, not even the dog. When he couldn't sleep, Black spent most of his time brooding in the attic, with the hippogriff.

As he opened the door that led to the unused living room, however, he was glad that he'd bothered to turn himself invisible. That might be the only perk to his curse, but it certainly came in handy, especially now that he was stuck here.

There was a girl sitting cross-legged on the mouldy couch, reading by the diffuse light produced by a short wand - maple wood, if he wasn't mistaken. She wasn't Molly's daughter, that much he could say for certain – her hair was a dull brown – but other than that, he had no idea who she might be. He knew he should go back upstairs – he really shouldn't be here – but his curiosity got the better of him. It often did.

It wouldn't do to startle her. He made himself visible then cleared his throat loudly. The girl turned toward him with a small frown. Clearly, she hadn't expected to see anyone, either. She was young, Tony noted, and quite pretty. "Sorry to interrupt, but I think you're in my brooding spot," he told her with his most charming smile.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think anyone ever came down here." Considering the state of the room, it was an honest mistake. And, in fact, that was precisely why Tony came here at night. The girl closed her book, stood up and took a few steps toward the door.

Tony raised his hands. "Oh, you can stay. I was just kidding. We can share. It's a very large decrepit couch." Merlin knew, it would be nice to have someone to talk to. "I'm Tony," he introduced himself. It was better to stick to his nickname until he knew more about the girl.

"Evey," she replied simply.

She seemed to hesitate for a moment but finally walked back to the couch. Tony sat down at the other end. "You're new here, aren't you?" he asked her.

"Yes, I am. I arrived this afternoon. Have you been here a long time?"

"A few weeks. We were among the first to settle in. Shitty place, isn't it?"

She chuckled softly. "It's not what I expected, I'll admit. It certainly doesn't look like it harbours the Order of the Phoenix. Then again, maybe that's on purpose," she added thoughtfully.

"Nah, I think they were just caught by surprise by Voldemort's sudden reappearance. What brings you here, anyway?" Too late, he realised he shouldn't have asked that; she would return the question for sure.

She replied before he had time to change the subject. "I'm in hiding, apparently."

"Join the club. We've got cool jackets."

"I didn't realise that we were sheltering Death Eaters," she went on casually, "let alone dead ones."

Tony stared at her. If he'd had a functioning heart, it would have been pounding. "You know who I am?" Bloody hell! I knew I should have gone back upstairs.

"You're Antonin Dolohov." Oddly, she was still smiling. And she didn't look as if she was about to scream in terror and wake up Molly; that was something. If Molly found out he'd left his cage…um, room...she'd try her best to kill him. "It seems we have more in common than I thought possible," Evey went on.

"We do?" he asked her with a frown.

"I'm also dead to the world. Do you have a club for that, as well?"

"It was just me until a moment ago. I guess we could start one together," he told her a trifle uncertainly. "How do you know who I am?" She seemed a bit young to remember the War. Were her parents in the Order? Damn, he hoped he hadn't tortured anyone she knew.

"They wrote a small article about you when you…died. There was a picture." She shrugged. "I assume you wouldn't be here if you were a danger to anyone. Mrs Weasley would never let that happen, not with the kids here." She paused, scowling slightly. "Although, come to think of it…you killed her brothers, the Prewetts, didn't you?"

Tony gulped down some air reflexively. A familiar feeling of crushing guilt settled in his mind. "I… Yeah, I did. But you're right," he added hastily. "We're not dangerous. We're here to help."

"We?" she repeated slowly.

You fucking idiot! he cursed himself. He would never learn to hold his tongue, would he? "I'm here with my brother," he explained reluctantly.

"Oh? I didn't know you had a brother. Is he a Death Eater, too?"

"He was. We're not Death Eaters anymore, though. We're not exactly members of the Order, either. Not yet, anyway. Dumbledore doesn't trust us enough to send us on missions or anything, but that's what we're here for," he said determinedly.

"Seeking redemption, uh? Good for you." She sounded sincere.

They were silent for a moment. "Maybe I should leave you alone," Tony said eventually. He stood up, followed by a trail of dust from the couch.

"Oh no, please don't! I could use some distraction." She gazed at him steadily, her green eyes utterly unafraid.

He sat back down hesitantly, though Merlin knew he could use some distraction, too. "Why do you need distraction? And for that matter, why aren't you in bed? It's really late, you know."

"Really early, you mean." She sighed, indicating the newspaper that lay on the dusty coffee table.

Tony picked it up gingerly. It was a copy of the Daily Prophet, dated 16th July. Two days ago, he thought, though keeping track of the time was not an easy task, in this place. 'GREYBACK MURDERS FAMILY OF FOUR' the headline glared at him. He turned toward Evey. "Please tell me that's not what I'm supposed to be reading."

She shrugged. "You don't have to read it. It's garbage, anyway. They misspelled my mum's name."

"Shit. I'm sorry." Poor kid. Greyback rarely made a clean kill. How in the blazes had she survived? "Maybe we should talk about something else."

"That's a grand idea," she concurred with an emphatic nod.

"Are you still at Hogwarts?" She seemed mature enough, but she couldn't be more than eighteen, nineteen at most.

"I just graduated."

"Got some fancy N.E. ?" How odd it was, to have a perfectly banal conversation with someone who didn't look at him as if they feared that he was about to eat them.

"Uh-huh. All the ones I wanted. Care of Magical Creatures, Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, Charms, Defence against the Dark Arts and Alchemy."

Alchemy? He didn't even know that was an option. In any case, graduating with seven N.E. was quite an achievement. "Any idea for the future?"

"A very specific idea, actually, but it's a bit complicated," she said with an air of frustration.

"Because you're stuck here?"

"Well, there's that, yes," she said with a bitter chuckle. "But beyond that, the only person who might take me as an apprentice disappeared a few weeks ago."

"Ah, yes, that would be a problem. Doesn't he have a substitute, though?"

"I asked that very question when I was at the Ministry last week, trying to find him, but they laughed in my face. Said no one could substitute for him. And they also said that the bloke was unlikely to let me work with him in any case, even if he resurfaced. They told me to start looking for something else, that it was no job for a little girl."

Ouch. "What's the bloke's name?" Tony asked suddenly. His brother had 'disappeared' a few weeks ago, when they'd moved in here, and he had always been against taking on apprentices because his job was dangerous. And he worked for the Ministry. But surely, that would be too much of a coincidence…

"Not sure about his first name. They just call him Macnair."

Of course. There was no such thing as a coincidence. "It's Walden," he told her with a small smile.

Her eyes widened in surprise. "You know him?"

"He's my brother. Well, that is, we're not related, obviously, but his father married my mum, so…" He trailed off with a shrug.

"So Macnair's here? You said your brother was here with you."

"Yeah, he's here alright."

"But that's fantastic!" Evey exclaimed. "Can I talk to him?"

"He's sleeping." And snoring. That was why Tony usually came downstairs at night; his hearing was much more delicate than it used to be.

"Oh, right. In the morning, then?"

Bloody hell. Now he was in trouble. "Ah… Well, it's just… You see, technically, I'm not supposed to be down here," he told her sheepishly. "We're confined in our room for the time being. And um…I don't think Molly will agree to that. I mean, she definitely won't. Hell, I shouldn't even be talking to you. She'll kill me if she finds out." Walden would probably kill him, too. Merlin's fungous toenails, what had he gotten himself into?

"I won't tell her I saw you," Evey said. "I won't tell anyone. I swear." She looked like she meant it, but Molly had a bad habit of finding out whatever you least wanted her to find out. Well, he only had himself to blame. He shouldn't have talked to the girl in the first place.

"I really should go," he said earnestly, standing up once more. "We probably won't see each other around, but it's been nice talking to you. And again, I'm truly sorry for your loss." Bloody Greyback. Someone really ought to put that mad wolf down.

Evey looked disappointed, but she didn't say anything, so Tony went back to the room he shared with his brother.