They lay in bed for some time afterward. Walden hoped that Tony would come up with a reasonable explanation for their sudden disappearance, though he doubted that anyone would really care. Everyone was excited about Christmas and eager to visit Arthur in the afternoon; they had more important things on their minds.

Walden lay on his back, and Evey, beside him, so close that he could feel her heartbeat, was idly tracing one of his scars – one he'd received from an Aswang, seven years ago. It had been a nasty wound, and it had gotten infected before he had a chance to reach St Mungo. It had left a long, ragged black scar just an inch from his heart.

He eyed Evey sideways; she was smiling, looking almost...smug. Walden still couldn't believe what had just happened. He didn't understand what she saw in him. Eventually, he decided that he might as well ask her directly. "Why me?"

"You say that as if it's a punishment," she complained.

Wrong choice of words. That was a common issue with him - he was used to dealing with magical beasts, but rarely interacted with human beings. His social skills were…well, he didn't have any. Sociability had always been Tony's strong point, and Walden had relied heavily upon him for that sort of things. "I didn't mean it like that, V."

She smiled crookedly, indicating that she'd understood the question perfectly well indeed. "Because I like you," she said simply.

"That's not much of an answer," Walden grumbled. "Why do you like me?"

She considered for a moment. "Because you're a good person. Because you're tough and brave and vulnerable. And, most importantly, because you're gorgeous." She grinned. Gorgeous? Was she being sarcastic? He couldn't tell.

"How can I be tough and vulnerable at the same time? And what makes you think I'm vulnerable, anyway?" That was not a word he would use to describe himself, no more than 'gorgeous' was.

"Because you feel guilty about everything you did when you were a Death Eater, and you want nothing more than to make up for it. I mean, you literally cut off your arm for that purpose," she said matter-of-factly. "Guilt and regret make people vulnerable. I should know," she added bitterly. It was survivor's guilt, in her case. She had convinced herself that she should have somehow handled Greyback and saved her family. Merlin, even Dumbledore would have had trouble doing that. The werewolf was uncommonly resistant to magic, and ruthless besides. Walden had told her that before, of course, he and Tony both, but Evey was having none of it. She would heal with time, he supposed. He hoped that she would, for her sake. Guilt had a tendency to permeate your mind until you couldn't think, blotting out everything that was good and positive in your life.

"You're also caring, no matter how much you try to conceal it," Evey went on. "You only became a Death Eater because of Tony, didn't you?"

Walden frowned, tensing slightly. "What did he tell you?"

"That Rookwood recruited him, and that he went over with barely a pause. That you joined him three weeks later because you were afraid he might do something stupid and get himself hurt – or worse," she said.

Walden hesitated, but he figured that she might as well hear the whole story. She'd trusted them from day one with her secret; he owed it to her. "Did he also tell you that he persuaded the court he had me under the Imperium Curse the whole time, so that I wouldn't be prosecuted? He confessed to killing both Gideon and Fabian, when I actually killed Fabian myself." He paused, feeling nauseated by the dreadful memories that assaulted his mind as he said the words. He'd never confessed out loud, had never told anyone else. "I didn't even go to trial." That was the sort of things that never failed to prompt a rush of guilt. Walden had never protested, when Tony took the blame for both murders. What would he have done if he'd been the first to be interrogated? He didn't think he would have even considered sacrificing his own life to absolve Antonin from blame. And when Tony had spoken, eyes and voice steady, Walden had been too stunned to object. No one else had contested his confession - not even Molly, who'd witnessed the scene. The other Death Eaters involved hadn't been present at their preliminary hearing - they were already in Azkaban, condemned to life for other crimes.

Of course, they'd never meant to harm Molly's brothers. It had been retribution for helping a prisoner escape the dungeons. Voldemort had ordered them to tag along with the Lestranges and Bellatrix had forced them to deliver the killing blow – one twin each. It had been the first - and thankfully last - time that they'd been sent to execute someone. Other Death Eaters usually took care of that, people like Travers or Rowle. Walden had been Voldemort's middle man for all dealings with magical creatures, and Tony was the one who came up with new spells and magical artefacts. That was how they had lured his brother in the first place, by promising him that he would have all the resources he wanted and that he could experiment on whatever he fancied, as long as he worked on a few projects for them. Often as not, those 'projects' had involved discovering new methods of dealing pain and extracting information, but not in the beginning. Voldemort had been much more subtle in the early days.

"I did not know that," Evey said softly, bringing him out of his reverie.

"You deserve better than me, V."

"I'm sure I do. But what's better than perfect?" she mused.

She just wouldn't see reason, would she? "Gorgeous, perfect… What else? Do you have something to atone for?" he asked her suspiciously.

Evey chuckled, moving on to the next scar on his chest - round and crimson, a present from an angry Manticore. The poison contained in its vicious tail had reached Walden's bloodstream within seconds, but he'd developed an immunity to most poisons over his years as Warden. Anyone else would have died in atrocious pain in a matter of minutes, but Walden had made it to St Mungo just in time. "Stunning. That's actually the word that came to me when you opened the door, that day."

"That day?" he repeated. "What, when we first met?" Now she was taking the piss for sure. He scowled at her, but she avoided his gaze.

"I know, it's stupid," she said abashedly. "There's no such thing as love at first sight, blah blah blah. And you were being a real twat. But I never really managed to shake off the initial crush. You know, I sometimes feel faint just looking at you smile." She was blushing furiously now, eyes downcast.

Love at first sight? She felt faint? "You're crazy," he murmured.

"All the best people are," Evey said brightly.

Walden snorted. That was exactly what Jeanne had told him, almost a year ago. "Fair enough," he said. He turned around to face Evey and kissed her, feeling her smile against his mouth. "I think we should keep this to ourselves," he said a moment later. "At least for the time being. What do you think?"

"Are you scared of Mrs Weasley?" she asked slyly. "No, I'm just kidding. You're right. They'll all be gone in a few days, anyway. We'll just let Sirius know after the holidays. Maybe."

Walden nodded. "Did Tony know about this?"

"I'm not sure. I mean, I didn't tell him anything, but he must have noticed. I wasn't exactly discreet or subtle, you know. It's difficult not to stare at you, sometimes," she said affectionately.

"It's funny, because I thought you liked him, actually," Walden admitted.

"Tony?" She laughed. "Well, I like him, but not like that. Although…" She pondered for a moment. "Yeah, when you die, I might consider him as a replacement."

"I appreciate your ability to project yourself so far into the future," he said wryly.

Evey grinned, eyes twinkling. "The fact that he's immortal complicates everything, though. That means he'll retain his good looks forever, while mine wither and fade. I don't like that."

Walden wished she hadn't brought on the topic, but… "V, you do realise that I'll be forty soon, yes?" he said more seriously. "My stunning looks won't remain what they are for very long."

"You'll always be good-looking to me," she said with a shrug.

She would likely change her mind in a few years, but they might as well enjoy what they had while it lasted. Walden cast about for another topic of conversation. He had never been good at coming up with conversational subjects, so he settled for the first thing that crossed his mind, as he often did. "What was the thing that struck you the most about the wizarding world, after you found out that you were a witch?"

Evey didn't even take a moment to consider her answer. "Everything," she replied earnestly. She didn't comment on the completely random question, either. "To find out that all the stories were true," she went on, "all the fairy tales, the legends – partly true, at least. I mean, unicorns were real! And all the gods… And the dinosaurs! Oh, I used to be crazy about dinosaurs. I still can't believe they were in fact sentient magical creatures who annihilated themselves in a full-scale war. I was very disappointed about that." She brushed some hair away from her face; her eyes had taken a faraway look, as though she'd traveled seven years in the past. "When I was a bit older, and already a bit more...nonchalant about it all… That is to say, when I was a teenager," she said with a grin, "that was when I found out about Tolkien and the fact that the Elves were real." She gazed up at him in wonder. "I still can't quite wrap my head around it, you know. I mean, it's one thing to know that there are vampires and pixies, and another to realise that your favourite books in the world are based on facts, even loosely adapted ones. I'm still surprised that they let him publish it, though. Doesn't that work against the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy?"

"Nah, too much of it is made up. Who in the Muggle world would believe that it's real, anyway?" he asked with a laugh. He loved how enthusiastic she became when she enjoyed a particular topic, how passionate she sounded, the way her eyes shone with excitement. "So you'd already read Tolkien by the time you found out you were a witch? At...eleven?"

She gave him an odd look. "Well, obviously. Hadn't everyone read The Lord of the Rings by that age? My mum used to read The Hobbit to us when we were little kids, and I moved on to the One Ring trilogy when I was 8 or 9. And then onwards to The Silmarillion, of course."

"I've never read any of those," Walden admitted. Evey stared at him. "I was at Hogwarts when I learned about the Muggle books - I already knew about Elves and such, of course, being raised in a wizarding home - but I just wasn't interested in reading them, knowing it was all fake."

"It's not all fake," Evey pointed out. She sighed. "I can't believe you've never read… I don't think we can be together, now that you've shared this incredibly disturbing piece of information about yourself."

Walden chuckled awkwardly, unsure if she was entirely messing with him.

"Merlin, relax! I'm just kidding. Don't you dare leave this bed." Abruptly she was on top of him, smiling devilishly. "You'll have to physically remove me." She leaned forward.

And just then, as Murphy's law would have it, there was a knock on the door. "Are you decent?" Tony called from the hall. Walden let out a relieved breath. If it had been Molly, Walden would be a dead man. "Guys?"

Damn, could he speak any louder? They might not have heard him from downstairs - or from across the Atlantic Ocean. Good thing that not everyone had Tony's enhanced hearing. Evey chuckled. "We are most certainly not decent," she called back just as loudly.

"I come in peace," Tony said, "and I bring an offering of food."

They exchanged a meaningful look. Well, that changed everything. He was starved, and he could hear Evey's stomach rumble at the mention of food. A second later both of them were hunting down their discarded clothes.

Evey opened the door when they were more or less dressed and took a surprised step back when Tony hugged her. "I couldn't imagine a better sister-in-law," he said with a grin when he released her. He turned to Walden and clapped his shoulder. "And you… Aw, Wal, I'm so proud of you. My baby brother has finally become a man." He pretended to wipe away a tear from his eye. Evey was shaking with laughter.

"You idiot," Walden muttered. "You know I'm older than you, right?" Only by a day, but still.

Tony pretended not to hear him. "So! When are you getting married? I can be your wedding planner. I'll be your best man, of course, so I'll take care of the stag party. Don't worry, I already have a few ideas. Personally, I think spring weddings are the best. Also, you should–"

"For Merlin's sake, will you shut up?" Walden growled at him.

"Mm, we're not quite there yet. And before you ask, no, we're not naming our first child after you," Evey added with a smirk. Walden's face must have visibly paled, because they both laughed. "It's a joke, Wal. Gods, for once in your life, relax, would you? It's Christmas, we're all more or less alive, everything's fine."

"Yeah, cheer up, mate," Tony said. Easy for him to say. He'd never had complex relationships with women. They'd never lasted long enough to become complex.

"Anyway. Moving on to important business," Evey said. "I believe you mentioned food?"