Evey had wanted to get presents for Walden and Antonin for Christmas and was therefore disappointed when Sirius pointed out that they couldn't very well go Christmas shopping like everyone else. To her immense relief, however, Tonks had offered to get her what she needed. The young Auror did not come by the Grimmauld Place very often, but Evey enjoyed spending time with her when she did. Tonks had assured her that all of her expenses were covered by the Order – they had set up a special fund for orphans during the First War, which had been replenished after Voldemort's return.

Evey got Tony a hairdryer, more as a joke than as an actual present – he was incredibly vain about his hair – but he was delighted.

She wanted Walden to have something to help with his missing arm, but that wasn't something you could find at the local mall, nor even in Diagon Alley; he would need to have a proper magical prosthesis fitted, once they got out of here. In the meantime, Evey requested that Tonks purchase a book for him: The Ancients: Myth or Reality? They'd been animatedly discussing the identities of the Ancients, ever since Tony had revealed their existence to Evey. She was convinced that, together, with the book and Tony's occasional slips, they could puzzle out who the others were, without Tony having to commit any more breach in secrecy that would get him in trouble with his maker.

They were surprised by the presents, and they didn't have anything for her, but Evey didn't mind. It was a genuine pleasure for her to go hunting for the perfect present for everyone at Christmas; the only thing that bothered her was that she'd had to recruit Tonks, a very busy Auror, for such a menial task, though Tonks had assured her that she didn't mind. She was always glad for a break.

Evey also found something for Sirius, a Polaroid camera that he could use to capture moments with Harry, and a photo album. It wasn't much, but he thanked her warmly and she felt some of the gloom that followed him around disperse somewhat.

She had expected to spend the holidays with just the three of them, without frivolities, but things turned out quite differently.

She heard about the attack perpetrated against Mr Weasley almost as soon as it happened, because she was down in the kitchen with Walden and Antonin when Phineas Nigellus warned Sirius. The Weasley siblings came back in a rush to Grimmauld Place moments later, accompanied by Harry. Mrs Weasley appeared some time later and took her family – and Harry; but wasn't he part of the Weasley family, in a way? – to St Mungo, to visit Arthur.

Everything quickly returned to its initial state at the Headquarters after that. Walden and Tony were once more confined in their room, and Evey with them, although of her own volition. She greeted George and the others warmly, of course, but that was the extent of her meddling with them. In any case, they certainly had other things on their minds at the moment.

On Christmas Day, however, Mrs Weasley insisted that everyone - Walden and Tony included - should gather for lunch, before they departed for St Mungo to visit Mr Weasley again. Thankfully, he was out of danger and recovering already.

Evey walked into the dining room a little early – Tony was still working on his hair, and Walden preferred to wait for him; neither of them were in a hurry to be confronted with a horde of mildly hostile Weasleys – and she took the opportunity to talk with Professor Lupin, who would escort the Weasleys to St Mungo later. She didn't mention her current situation, but she tried to pass several questions as pure curiosity, and it seemed to go unnoticed. During her time at Hogwarts, she had been known for asking odd, sometimes completely off-topic questions. Professor Lupin, as well as Professor Kettleburn and her replacement, Professor Hagrid, must remember her better than most teachers. Her thirst for knowledge in the fields of Care of Magical Creatures and Defence against the Dark Arts was infinite.

Unfortunately, what she learned was of little help. She enquired about Greyback, and was surprised to learn that the bloody werewolf was responsible for turning Professor Lupin – Remus, he insisted; he wasn't her professor any longer. He didn't know where Greyback was, however, or anything even remotely useful about the older werewolf. Apparently, nobody knew exactly who he was, or where he came from. His past, before he'd first appeared in England about thirty years ago, was shrouded in mystery. They were interrupted shortly afterward by Sirius, who wanted to take a picture with Remus and Harry together. Smiling at Sirius's enthusiasm, Evey snapped the picture herself.

Tony and Walden finally arrived a few minutes later. Everyone gave them a wide berth, except for Sirius, who was used to them by now, but Harry's godfather was too busy enjoying himself to pay them any attention. Well, he should make the most of Harry's presence while he could; the kids would only be here for three weeks.

Evey noticed that Walden hadn't buttoned up his shirt properly – he'd missed a button – so she turned toward him and redid the buttons in order. He frowned at her when she started, then realised what she was doing and sighed softly. "I told you, lass, not in public."

She gave him a wicked grin. "I wouldn't have to, if you learned how to dress, you barbarian."

He smiled back, looking almost apologetic. Well, it wasn't his fault if he had only one arm. Oh, wait, it was, actually. Foolish man.

When she was done, she looked up at him. He was gazing down at her, patiently waiting for her to finish. "Thanks," he said quietly.

They stared at each other for a long moment, and she thought maybe this was it, maybe he was going to–

"Finally!" Tony exclaimed, materialising at her side. He hadn't been invisible; Evey simply hadn't noticed him. "I was beginning to think you'd never get around to it."

Walden turned to scowl at him, obviously confused, and Evey gave serious thought to strangling him, even though it would achieve nothing, considering that he didn't breathe. She glared at him instead, and he grinned. "Well, don't let me keep you. Kiss her already," he told his brother, punching his shoulder lightly. With that, he walked away to give them a semblance of privacy, Evey assumed.

Praying to all the gods that she wouldn't blush, she regarded Walden steadily and raised an eyebrow in expectation. If that wasn't clear enough, she didn't know what else to do. He was too fucking tall; if she wanted to kiss him herself, she would have to half-climb on him first. She held back hysterical giggles at the thought.

He was still frowning. "What?" he asked, looking as clueless as before.

Oh well. "Nothing," she said with a defeated sigh. She patted his right arm before taking a seat at the table.

Tony caught his brother's eyes as Evey settled down at the table. 'What the hell?' He tried to convey the message as discreetly as he could, mouthing the words with exaggerate care, but saw that one of the twins was eyeing him suspiciously. He made his way to Walden. "What the hell?" he repeated out loud, gesturing wildly with his arms.

"What?" Walden said. "You were kidding, right? You were both kidding."

"Merlin's hairy mole, Walden! Are you blind?" he asked incredulously, passing a hand through his hair. He realised too late that he shouldn't have done that and rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"I'm not blind," Walden retorted. "Is she?" he went on, indicating his missing arm.

Tony snorted. "Oh please. She couldn't care less about that."

"I bloody well care," Walden said angrily before stalking away, crossing the hall and barricading himself in the living room. Tony felt a moment of panic, but he doubted that Walden would puzzle out what Tony was attempting to craft in there, especially given his current mood.

He considered going after his brother, but eventually decided that he'd better talk to Evey instead. Walden would come back when he'd had time to calm down and think. It wouldn't do to press him.

"Hey," he said as he sat down beside Evey. He gave her a bright, apologetic smile. He hoped that it wasn't his interruption that had caused the kiss not to happen.

"Hey," she replied distractedly. "Please tell me he took it as a joke."

"Nope, he didn't. Especially after I scolded him."

"Ugh." She hid her face in her hands for a moment. "I only have myself to blame, I suppose," she murmured. "I should have said something earlier. Or never," she said bitterly.

"Earlier, I'd say." Much earlier, and preferably in a quieter, more private setting. Like…the room they'd been sharing for over five months, perhaps? Tony had never understood why people pondered over their actions and second-guessed themselves so much, so often. How did they get anything done? "Although I don't think it's a matter of timing," he added. "You've got to put yourself in his shoes, V. To him, you're just a kid."

She turned to glare at him, her fists clenching on the table. "I swear, if you call me that one more time…" She trailed off, looking annoyed. "Do I look like a fucking kid?" You certainly don't, Tony thought ruefully. She looked like a very pretty young woman. Walden didn't realise how lucky he was that she'd fallen for him instead of…anyone else. "Do I sound like a kid? Merlin, Tony, I'm more mature than you are."

"I can't argue with that." She was. Then again, most everyone was. "But–"

"You're basically telling me that, because I'm young, I'm doomed to date only boys, not men." She didn't leave him time to respond. "It's not just a silly crush, damn you. I…" She hesitated. "Never mind," she went on with a shake of her head. She sighed heavily, and perhaps a bit over-dramatically. "I guess I'll have to settle for you, after all."

If his heart could beat, it would be pounding, even though he knew that she was only teasing. "Finally! Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for you to say that?" he said with a grin that he hoped appeared genuine enough. He was rewarded by a small smile. "Do you want me to talk to him?" he asked her more seriously.

"No, I will talk to him myself. After lunch," she added with a meaningful glance at the people surrounding them.

Tony nodded in approval. Better late than never. "Alright. Let me know if you need me. I'll go see if Molly needs any help in the kitchen. And if she'll accept it from me," he said grimly. He stood up and left Evey to her thoughts.

Walden made his way back to the dining room hesitantly. He would like nothing more than to settle in his bed and read Evey's unexpected present, but he couldn't leave things as they were.

He had no idea what had just happened. Had Evey sent him any…signals? He could differentiate various emotions in the magical creatures he dealt with, but when it came to reading people, he was as good as blind, Tony was right about that. But even if she had… What was wrong with her? What could she possibly see in him? He was a reclusive, one-armed Death Eater. Former Death Eater, admittedly, but still.

He was not fit to be with her – or anyone else, for that matter. He never had been. He couldn't remember the last time he'd even been with a woman. His job left him little time for that sort of things, and he tended to avoid women in any case. Women were trouble.

And Evey was so bloody young! Merlin, she could be his daughter.

Then again, it was quite possible that Tony was just messing with him and had involved Evey in the prank. He wouldn't put it past his brother. He was almost hoping that that was the case.

He walked up to her slowly, still unsure what to say, and sat down beside her. He glanced around, to make sure that no one could hear them, and took a deep breath. "Did you want me to kiss you?" he asked her bluntly.

She didn't turn to face him. "I see that Tony's not the only Legilimens in the family," she said wryly.

Alright, she was clearly pissed off. Even he could tell as much. Did she have to be like that, though? He hadn't asked for this. He tried to come up with something clever to say, and failed.

"Yes, Walden, I did want you to kiss me," she stated flatly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I still do, in fact." She turned her head and settled her eyes on his. Merlin, she was being serious.

She seemed to be expecting some sort of answer. Walden cleared his throat. "V, I… We can't..."

"If you're going to enumerate the reasons why you think it's a terrible idea, don't bother. I don't want to hear it," she said, annoyed. She swung her gaze back to the table.

An uncomfortable silence settled between them. He had to tell her why it was a bad idea, tell her that she could do a lot better than him, that she deserved better, whether she wanted to hear it or not. Then he realised that he didn't want to do that, so instead he said, "I wasn't kidding before."

Evey frowned, eyeing him sideways. "About what?"

"About not doing that sort of things in public," he said quietly.

Evey didn't reply, and the silence stretched for so long that Walden began to think that she was holding back laughter, that it was a joke after all.

She stood up abruptly. "I forgot something upstairs," she announced to no one in particular. She walked away swiftly, without looking back.

From the other side of the room, Tony gave him a thumbs-up, then made a shooing motion in his direction. Of course, he'd heard everything.

Nobody seemed to be paying Walden any attention so, after counting slowly to ten, he followed Evey upstairs.

Remus frowned at Macnair as he made his way after Evey, hoping that he was misinterpreting the situation - the hushed argument between them, Dolohov's smug grin. It was hardly his business, but Evey had been his student, and she was vulnerable, after what had befallen her family in July. If Macnair was taking advantage of her… Well, in all fairness, vulnerable or not, Evey looked like she could take care of herself. He knew she could take care of herself. She had been one of his best students, and certainly the most enthusiastic about the Defence against the Dark Arts class – at least in her year. Then again, according to his former colleagues, she'd been enthusiastic about all of her classes – including History of Magic; Cuthbert Binns had been more surprised about it than anyone else.

Remus hadn't seen Evey since he had been forced to resign from Hogwarts, a year and a half ago, and there was something decidedly odd about her, something he'd never noticed before. A werewolf's senses were only enhanced during the full moon, when they transformed into the cursed beast, but Remus had always found that to be only partially true, for him at least. He couldn't see in the dark or anything quite so fancy, not in human form, but he did have an acute sense of smell. There was something about Evey's scent... He couldn't tell exactly what it was, or what it reminded him of, and the more he thought about it, the more it eluded him. It would probably come back to him when he least expected it, as these things usually did.