Evey spent most of her time upstairs after that first night, in what Ron called "the vampire's lair". Walden didn't seem to mind as much as he made it sound, and Tony was positively beaming. They had improbable discussions, watched television, played board games, or sometimes simply sat in silence and read. Mrs Weasley gave up trying to have Evey come down and stay with the others, after a while. Evey stood her ground almost defiantly, in front of everyone, and said that she would remain in the former Death Eaters' room, whether Mrs Weasley liked it or not. She would sleep there, too, as long as Walden and Tony agreed to it - thankfully, they did.
She realised that she was being a brat, as Walden had so delicately put it, but she felt more at home with the outsiders than with anyone else, although she spent an entire afternoon talking with Sirius Black in the attic, when she found out that there was a hippogriff there. Nobody had told her why the former Azkaban inmate was here, so she asked him directly. It was quite a story. Evey wanted to know how people went about becoming Animagi, but he kindly explained that it was a long, arduous process and that it was ideally achieved with proper, official guidance. Evey resolved to look into it when she had a decent library at her disposal.
On 6th August, Harry Potter joined them at the Grimmauld Place. Evey had heard about the Dementor attack in Little Whinging, and she also knew that Harry would have to attend a formal hearing at the Ministry in a few days. It seemed preposterous to her that anyone would consider Harry to be in the wrong – he had been attacked by Dementors, for crying out loud, creatures that were supposed to be under the authority of the Ministry – but apparently, there was still a chance that he might be expelled from Hogwarts for using magic outside of school, even in self-defence. It didn't make any sense but, as Ginny pointed out, the wizarding world didn't hold Harry in high esteem at the moment. They had shown her several articles from the Daily Prophet in which they basically said that Harry was loony. Evey hadn't realised that the Ministry – and its puppet, the sacrosanct newspaper – refused to acknowledge Voldemort's return; she had never received the Daily Prophet at home.
As the night of the full moon approached, Evey began to worry. What if she did turn into a werewolf? She would be a danger to everyone. And, well, she could die, too. First transformations were said to be the worst, and the survival rate was frighteningly low, as Walden had pointed out the first time they'd met. She considered asking them to bind her, just in case, but Tony laughed it off. "If you do turn," he told her, "I'll deal with you, kid. I'm much stronger than I look." He flexed his absence of biceps to demonstrate, and Evey couldn't help but giggle. He always seemed to take everything lightly, but when he noticed that she was still nervous, gnawing on her fingernails as she often did, Tony promised that he'd Stun her if she showed any sign of transforming. Evey also reluctantly agreed that Professor Dumbledore should be alerted, if she was indeed a werewolf. She would require Wolfsbane – though she had no idea how she could afford it. The potion was difficult to brew and expensive, and Evey had no money. Her Muggle bank accounts had been frozen after the authorities had declared her dead, and she didn't have an account at Gringotts. Her parents used to exchange Muggle money there every year, to buy Evey's school supplies and leave her a bit of pocket money, but that was it.
Tony assured her that she was being silly. If she truly needed Wolfsbane, either the Order would purchase it for her, or Professor Snape would brew it himself. She really shouldn't worry.
Easier said than done, she'd muttered to herself several times that day, but it turned out that she'd made a fuss over nothing. As the sun dipped lower and lower beyond the horizon, Evey realised that she was exhausted. If she'd been about to turn into a monstrous wolf, she would be restless, aggressive, moody – anything but tired, really. When the moon finally became visible in the night sky, nothing happened. Satisfied that she wouldn't suddenly sprout fur and attack anyone, Evey had fallen into a deep sleep.
August was a good month, all things considered. Everything turned out well – Evey didn't become a werewolf, which meant that her secret was safe for now; Harry was acquitted and would return to Hogwarts the next month, and there was no news of any other attack committed by Death Eaters or known Voldemort partisans. There were no sightings of Greyback, either, but even if the wolf had made an appearance, Evey was stuck at the Headquarters for the time being. She would bide her time until she could hunt him down and…deal with him.
Soon, September was upon them. George, Fred, Ron, Ginny, Harry and Hermione went back to school, and life at the Black house changed drastically. Mrs Weasley was supposed to return to the Burrow, but she hesitated to leave Evey alone with Tony and Walden, even though Sirius would remain at the Headquarters. They had an animated discussion about it, but Evey was adamant that she would not be going anywhere without the other two. In the end, it was settled that Mrs Weasley would come by twice a week to make certain that everything was in order – and that Evey was being properly fed, presumably.
Kreacher, the Blacks' old house elf, could be a real jerk when addressing most people, Sirius included, but he practically worshipped Walden, possibly because he was a Pure-blood wizard and because it wasn't obvious to Kreacher that he had turned his back on Voldemort. Sirius's clear disdain toward the former Death Eater may have something to do with that - that, and the fact that Walden treated the elf with the utmost respect, which never failed to make Sirius scoff. In any case, the house elf fed Walden the most scrumptious meals every day without fault. He tolerated Antonin, but it hardly mattered, since the vampire didn't have to eat. It soon became obvious that Sirius would have to cook his own meals, however; Kreacher couldn't disobey a direct order from his master, but when commanded to bring Sirius food, it would consist of a decomposed rat, or mashed Doxies. The house elf seemed unsure how to address Evey. She was Muggle-born, so in all logic he should have despised her, as he had Hermione, but it was clear that she was a friend of Walden, and Kreacher was reluctant to anger him. He therefore settled for ignoring her, although at Walden's request, he brought her proper meals when she didn't feel like cooking for herself. When he realised that, Walden also tried to convince the house elf to cook for Sirius, but Kreacher drew the line there, apparently.
As a result, Evey had to make sure that Sirius ate regularly, because his morale was spiralling downwards rapidly as the days wore on, and he couldn't be bothered to cook. They tried to spend as much time with him as he would allow, but no matter what they did, he became gloomier by the day. Evey soon began to hope that Harry would be back for the winter break.
Early in October, they all settled down in the dining room for breakfast, as usual – Evey had cooked some extra bacon and eggs for Sirius – but he only seemed to be pushing his food around listlessly. She tried to engage him in conversation, but he only grumbled in reply, so she turned to Walden instead. "I never really asked about Buckbeak," she said. "Why was he sentenced to death in the first place? I mean, I know he scratched Malfoy, but the whiny little shit asked for it, didn't he? It would never stand in trial."
Walden shook his head. "Hagrid shouldn't have had hippogriffs there in the first place. They're classified as XXX, only to be handled by competent wizards. I'm not saying Hagrid's not competent, but third years are a little young for that sort of things. Now, of course Malfoy had it coming, but lawfully, Hagrid was at fault. He's lucky he didn't receive a formal blame and wasn't sacked. I'm sure Dumbledore played a part in that."
Sirius roused from his apathetic state. "And I'm sure Lucius Malfoy had nothing to do with sentencing the poor beast to death," he said with a sneer.
"He certainly sped things along. He always does," Walden replied quietly. "But the judge would have passed the same verdict, even if Lucius hadn't involved himself. You have to understand, the people who sit in those trials are old, useless gits. They wouldn't know a hippogriff from a griffin. They're not field workers, they're paper-pushers. If the world was right, I would be the judge of these things, but my opinion is often disregarded, when they even ask for it. When a kid's been injured, they won't look further into the matter. The beast is always at fault, or the beast's owner if it isn't sentient."
"Why would they ask for your opinion? You're just the executioner," Sirius said with a small frown.
"The executioner?" Evey repeated incredulously. "That's the tiniest part of his job! Sirius, he takes care of every single matter that has to do with magical creatures in all of Scotland. He's the one they send when there's a rabid werewolf on the loose, or when a horde of forest trolls decides to go down to the nearest Muggle village for breakfast. He also finds injured beasts and makes sure they're given proper care, and he checks the wards that protect the reservations every week. And that's just part of the job. He's on duty at all times."
They were all staring at her in astonishment. "How do you know all that?" Walden asked in a puzzled voice. "I never told you about my job."
"Because I wanted to work with you," she explained sheepishly. "Well, I still do," she amended. "We had career counselling during our fifth year, and that's the only thing Professor Snape could come up with." She smiled. "I told him I wanted to work with magical creatures, but I didn't want a boring job. I wanted something that allowed me to use everything I learned in class and more, including Potions and Herbology, and Transfiguration. I wanted daily adventures. And it had to be in Scotland."
"Why did it have to be in Scot-?" Walden began to say, but Sirius cut him off.
"Snape told you to work with him? To become…what is it even called?" He scoffed. "Couldn't he come up with an even riskier profession?"
Evey drew herself up. "The official title is Warden of the North, or Warden of Scotland. And it's not that bad."
"Not that bad?" Tony intervened with a small chuckle. "You've seen Walden without his shirt, haven't you?" he asked her wryly.
Gods, don't let me blush, Evey prayed silently. Walden rarely bothered to dress properly, now that Mrs Weasley wasn't there to berate him as often as before. It was always difficult for Evey not to stare at him. Well, to be fair, if she were the one wandering around the house without a blouse, they would likely stare at her, too. "They're just scars. He's alive, isn't he?" she said dismissively. "Besides, it only shows that he could use some assistance. And someone to bring him flowers whenever he's in St Mungo." She grinned.
Walden was gazing at her, his mismatched blue eyes steady. "It is dangerous, lass. More than you know."
"Well, I am dangerous," she retorted sweetly. "More than you know."
Walden shook his head. "I don't take on apprentices, V."
"I know, they told me that at the Ministry. But it looks like fate brought us together."
Walden let out a mirthless bark of a laugh. "Fate. Right. I'm sorry, but you'll have to find something else."
Evey was about to respond when Mrs Weasley walked in. "Morning, everyone," she called around briskly. As usual, she was carrying several bags of food. Tony stood up to help her, but she gestured for him to stay where he was. It always astounded Evey that no one ever commented on the fact that the vampire was wide awake during the day, though he did make an effort not to stand directly in sunlight where others could see. Apparently, the blood they were giving him - animal blood - had no effect on him. He had to drink human blood, preferably at the source, and Evey had discovered soon after her arrival that Walden was that source. Feeding sessions were always a bit awkward. She'd offered to take turns with Walden, but neither of them would hear of it.
Mrs Weasley dropped the groceries in the kitchen and sat down with them for a moment. Studying Evey with narrowed eyes, she asked if everything was alright.
"Absolutely fine," Evey replied truthfully.
"We were just discussing Evey's career options," Tony said with a sly smile. She turned to glare at him.
"Indeed? What did you have in mind, dear?" Mrs Weasley asked her curiously.
"She wants to work with Walden," Tony answered before Evey could open her mouth. Merlin, he could be infuriating.
"Oh, is that so?" Mrs Weasley's mouth was a tight line. "I don't think that's much of a career." Walden frowned but said nothing. "But if you want to work with magical beasts, dear, there are many alternatives. Arthur knows someone at the Ministry – Nathaniel Bayle – who works in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. I'm sure he can help you find something that's more…" She trailed off, at a loss for the proper term.
"Suitable?" Evey supplied grimly.
Mrs Weasley nodded. "Indeed. Arthur could ask him to–"
"Molly?" Tony interrupted her almost timidly. She scowled at him. "Bayle's a partisan of Voldemort."
"Of course he's not! He's a gentleman, and he's involved with many charity associations," Mrs Weasley said indignantly.
Tony sighed. "I know. He was always good at deceiving the rest of the world. But you probably remember Augustus…" Mrs Weasley paled. "Yeah. He was quite charming too, wasn't he? They're not all as obvious as Bellatrix, you know."
"It's not just that, either," Walden added. "There were accusations of statutory rape made against him a few years ago–"
"I've never heard about any such accusations," Mrs Weasley said.
"Few people did. Yaxley and Malfoy stifled the rumours, and the case was dropped altogether before it even went to trial," Walden explained quietly.
Mrs Weasley was speechless for a moment, but she recovered quickly. She turned to Evey. "In any case, dear, I believe you should do some research on universities before making a final decision. To consider your options."
Evey nodded meekly. "I will, Mrs Weasley." She would not, but she didn't want to start a fight. Walden threw her a shrewd look. Of course, if she couldn't convince him, she wouldn't have much choice but to pick a different career.