You'll notice that I vary between the events in the book and in the film. Sometimes it's a tad easier to write from the film instead, but I try to stick to the book as often as I can, and not rely too heavily on unoriginal work.
Emma
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Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place
Hermione had pulled Harry into an extremely tight hug, nearly knocking him flying, and he hugged her back, seeming surprised.
"Are you alright? They told us about the Dementor attack, I looked it up, they simply can't expel you." She said hurriedly. "You must tell us everything."
"Let the man breath Hermione." Ron said, looking happy to see his friend.
"I'm so glad to see you Harry." Evangeline hugged him gently. "I've missed you."
"And your hearing at the Ministry... It's just outrageous." Hermione went on.
"What is this place?" Harry asked, walking into the room. Evangeline noticed he held himself stiffly. Clearly he was annoyed at them for their lack of contact, she couldn't blame him really.
"It's Headquarters." Said Ron.
"For the Order of the Phoenix." Hermione hastily added, sounding breathless.
"Secret society Dumbledore formed back during the first war." Evangeline explained. "Your parents were in it, Harry, as were mine." She sent him a small smile.
"Couldn't have but any of this in a letter I suppose?" He said, his irritation clear in his voice now. "I've gone all Summer without a scrap of news."
"We wanted to write mate." Ron said earnestly. "Really, we did, only-"
"Only what?" Harry snapped.
"Only Dumbledore made us swear not to tell you anything." Hermione said, looking like she could cry.
"Dumbledore said that?" Harry asked, looking slightly hurt. The three slowly nodded.
"We're not sure why Harry. But it drove us mental not being able to tell you anything, really." Evangeline assured him.
"But why would he keep in the dark? Maybe I could help. After all I'm the one that saw Voldemort return, I'm the one who fought him, I'm the one the saw Cedric Diggory get killed."
There were two loud pops, and Fred and George appeared at either side of him, making him, and the other three jump.
"Thought we heard your dulcet tones, Harry." Fred said.
"But don't bottle it up though mate, let it out."
"You two passed your Apparation tests then?" Harry said gruffly.
"With distinction." George grinned, holding what looked like a very long piece of flesh coloured string.
"It would have taken you thirty seconds longer to walk down the stairs." Ron sighed.
"Time is Galleons little brother." Fred said. "Anyway, if you're done shouting Harry..."
"D'you wanna hear something a little more interesting?" George held out his hand. "Extendable Ears." He said, in response to Harry's questioning expression.
"Careful, Molly'll kill you if she catches you with them again." Evangeline warned.
The door opened, and Ginny appeared.
"Oh, hello Harry!" She said brightly. "I thought I heard your voice." She turned to Fred and George. "It's a no-go on the Extendable Ears, mum's gone and put Imperturbable Charm on the kitchen door."
Fred and George looked crestfallen.
"Shame." Fred sigh. "I really fancied seeing what old Snape's been up to."
"Snape!" Harry said quickly. "Is he here?"
The group went on to tell Harry everything they could. All about Snape being part of the Order, about Bill, Charlie and Percy, whom Harry was just shocked about. It seemed to come as a surprise to him that the Prophet had been speaking badly of him and Dumbledore, and the group reluctantly informed him. A few minutes later, Molly informed them it was dinnertime, and the group left the room.
Evangeline was suddenly conscious of how hungry she was as they made their way down the creaking stairs, and hoped desperately that Molly had made stew. Her stew was the best; along with everything else she cooked really. Everyone was already at the table when they arrived, including Mundungus Fletcher, and Ron and Evangeline were the last to be seated.
Evangeline grabbed Ron's wrist and slowed down slightly.
"Ron, sit next to Dung for me." She whispered in his ear as they neared the table. Goosebumps formed on his neck.
"Why?" He whispered back.
"Because he smells like piss." She hissed back. Ron bit back a snort.
"I don't want to sit with him either." He said. There was a brief moment of silence while the two looked at each other; there was a free space next to Tonks at the other side of the table.
At the same time, the two made a dash for it, but Evangeline managed to duck round Ron's tall frame and plonk herself in the seat, sending him a triumphant grin akin to the type he'd give her after a game of chess. Ron pinched her in the middle of she shoulder blades irately, and she squirmed in her seat.
Ron huffed under his breath and moved to the other side of the table, to take his seat next to Mundungus, wrinkling up his nose. Evangeline giggled to herself and he scowled at her.
Fred and George came in later, trying to charm a cauldron of hot stew- much to Evangeline delight- an iron flagon of Butterbeer, and a heavy wooden breadboard complete with knife to hurtle through the air toward them.
"No- JUST CARRY THEM!" Molly shrieked, half the table ducked away. The stew skidded the length of the table, before Evangeline managed to quickly charm it to stop before the end, just. The flagon of Butterbeer fell with a crash, the bread knife fell from the board and landed in the table where Sirius' hand was a second before, quivering ominously.
Everyone laughed while Molly shrieked at the twins, and the twins fumbled to apologize. Mundgus climbed back on his chair swearing, having fallen off seconds before.
After that fiasco, dinner was underway; and everyone was quieted by the taste of Molly's hearty food. While serious talk went underway with Harry, Tonks was changing her nose to different species, much to the amusement of Evangeline, Hermione and Ginny.
"Do the duck's bill Tonks." Evangeline chuckled, and Tonks did so, making the three applaud and laugh harder.
Much beef stew and many servings of rhubarb crumble later, and Evangeline sat back in her chair, lazily twisting some hair around her finger and enjoying the feeling of content 'fullness.' There was a lull in general conversation as everyone enjoyed the quiet and allowed their food to rest. Arthur was leaning back in his chair, looking comfortable and relaxed; Tonks was yawning widely, her nose now back to normal; and Ginny was sitting cross legged on the floor, rolling Butterbeer corks for Crookshanks to chase. Ron watched Evangeline twist her hair round her fingers repeatedly, each time the golden curl would twist and fall back onto her chest.
"Pajama time I think." Evangeline said quietly. "My jeans are feeling a little tight after that meal." She smiled, and Molly looked at her warmly as she left the room, yawning.
Evangeline stretched her shoulder blades as she made her way upstairs, ignoring Kreacher who was muttering the portrait of Sirius' mother behind the curtain. She moved languidly to her room, falling face first onto her unmade bed. She turned round tiredly, and took off her jeans, enjoying the feel of her sheets.
She was so tired...
...
"Hermione, was Evangeline awake when you left the room?" Molly asked Hermione exasperatedly, hands on her waist. There were far more Doxy's than she had thought in the drawing room.
"No Mrs Weasley, fast asleep."
"I swear that girl could sleep through anything." Molly said. "Ron, go up and get her will you?" Ron finished off his toast in one, impressively, and stood before making his way up to her bedroom, tip-toeing in front of the curtained portrait on his way.
When he arrived at the doorway, he found Evangeline lying atop the sheets on her stomach, her red t-shirt had ridden up so that her back was mostly exposed, and she hadn't any bottoms on, only grey pants that had 'KICK ME' embezzled in red on the back.
Ron would've laughed had his skin not been on fire. He could make out the shape of her spine in her back, and noted that her waist came in quite tightly, and her hips jutted out smoothly. Like an hourglass.
Evangeline moved slightly, and let out a sigh, tucking her hands further underneath her pillow.
"Bloody hell..." He said under his breath, running a hand through his hair. He tentatively stepped forward and tapped her shoulder.
"Evey..." He said gently, shaking her a little, she stirred slightly. "Evey." He said more firmly.
"Whaaat?" She groaned into her pillow.
"You need to get up." He said.
"Uggghh, fine." She looked up at Ron in his maroon pajamas and giggled to herself.
"That's really you're colour."
...
The high-ceilinged room on the first floor with olive green walls covered in dirty tapestries was the drawing room. The carpet exhaled little clouds of dust every time someone put their foot on it and the long, moss green velvet curtains were buzzing as though swarming with invisible bees. It was around these that Molly, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, George Harry and Ron were grouped, all looking rather peculiar as they had each tied a cloth over their nose and mouth. Each of them was also holding a large bottle of black liquid with a nozzle at the end.
"Cover your face and take a spray, love." Molly said to Evangeline the moment she saw her, pointing to the one bottle of black liquid standing on a spindle-legged table. "It's Doxycide. I've never seen an infestation this bad - what that house-elf's been doing for the last ten years..." Molly said irately.
"Kreacher's really old, he probably couldn't manage -'' Hermione began to defend.
"-You'd be surprised what Kreacher can manage when he wants to, Hermione," said Sirius, who had just entered the room carrying a bloodstained bag of what appeared to be dead rats. "I've just been feeding Buckbeak," he added, in reply to Harry's enquiring look.
Evangeline crossed to the table and tied a tea towel around her mouth and nose, and picked up a bottle. Molly warned them of the dangers of Doxy's and poised herself in front of the curtain, waiting.
"When I give the word, start spraying immediately." She said firmly.
"Let's whoop some Doxy arse." Evangeline said dramatically, making everyone laugh and Molly look at her scoldingly.
They had been spraying only a few seconds when a fully-grown Doxy came soaring out of a fold of the dusty curtain, shiny beetle-like wings whirring, tiny needle-sharp teeth bared, its fairy-like body covered with thick black hair and had four tiny fists. Evangeline caught it full in the face with a blast of Doxycide. It froze in midair and fell, with a surprisingly loud thunk, on to the worn carpet at her feet. She picked it up and dropped it in the bucket.
"Y'know, once you get passed the poison and biting thing, these things are actually quite cute." She commented, spraying another. The group narrowed their eyes at her... If there was anything these things weren't, it was cute.
Evangeline caught Fred slip an immobilized one into his pocket, and he sent her a wink. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, of course.
The de-Doxying of the curtains took most of the morning. It was past midday when they were finally finished.
Molly removed her protective scarf, sank into a sagging armchair and sprang up again with a cry of disgust, having sat on the bag of dead rats. The curtains were no longer buzzing; they hung limp and damp from intense spraying.
"I think we'll tackle those after lunch." Molly pointed at the dusty glass-fronted cabinets standing on either side of the mantelpiece.
"Yaay." Evangeline said dryly, sitting herself down. They were crammed with an odd assortment of objects: a selection of rusty daggers, claws, a coiled snakeskin, a number of tarnished silver boxes inscribed with languages they could not understand and, least pleasant of all, an ornate crystal bottle with a large opal set into the stopper, full of what Evangeline was quite sure was blood. The clanging doorbell rang again. Everyone looked at Molly.
"Stay here," she said firmly, snatching up the bag of rats as Mrs Black's screeches started up again from down below. "I'll bring up some sandwiches."
As soon as she had left the room, everyone dashed for the window nosily, to see who was at the doorstep. It was just Mundungus, holding a pile of cauldrons precariously.
"I bet they're dodgy y'know." Evangeline commented, forehead resting on the cool glass.
"Wouldn't be the shock of the century." Hermione said dryly.
"Mum won't like that." Said Fred, shaking his head.
Sure enough, a few minutes later the sound of Molly's shouting could be heard.
"I love hearing mum shouting at other people." Fred grinned.
"Makes a change." Ron scoffed. Fred opened the door a crack to allow the sound to come in more clearly.
"COMPLETELY IRRESPONSIBLE, AS IF WE HAVEN'T GOT ENOUGH TO WORRY ABOUT WITHOUT YOU DRAGGING STOLEN CAULDRONS INTO THE HOUSE!"
"The idiots are letting her get into her stride," said George, shaking his head. "You've got to head her off early otherwise she builds up a head of steam and goes on for hours. And she's been dying to have ago at Mundungus ever since he sneaked off when he was supposed to be following you, Harry." – "And there goes Sirius's mum again."
Molly's voice was lost amid fresh shrieks and screams from the portraits in the hall, George closed the door to block out the sound.
"Cleaning this room's going to be fun." Evangeline sighed, eyeing the dirty cabinets. "We could do with some music."
"Nah, I've looked everywhere, can't find a gramophone." Ginny said. Evangeline chuckled. Part of the benefits of growing up around Muggles was that she could think of simpler alternatives to the way wizards thought.
"I'll be right back." Evangeline grinned and skipped out of the room, leaving the others looking at each other curiously.
She walked cheerily down the stairs passed the screaming portraits.
"BLOOD TRAITOR, BESMIRCHING THE HOUSE OF BLACK!"
Evangeline grinned and sent a small wave to Mrs Black as she walked down the hall, and slipped out of the house. She found herself checking the streets before descending the stone steps... Just in case.
She headed directly to next door and knocked on the much cleaner, brighter wood. A woman answered not long after, young with dark skin and afro-style hair.
"Alright? I'm Lisa I just moved in down the street." Evangeline smiled brightly and held out her hand.
"Nice to meet you..."
"Weird question. I was just wondering if you maybe had a portable radio somewhere I could borrow? Decorating, you see and we haven't unpacked anything yet." Evangeline lied through her teeth, smiling.
"Course, think we have one in the kitchen." The girl disappeared back into the house for a moment, and Evangeline took the time to nosy inside from the doorway somewhat. She could hear the television blaring from the living room. She missed television a bit; all around were framed photographs of the family; all stationary. That was strange for Evangeline to see now.
The girl returned with a small black portable radio in hand.
"Thank so much, you're a doll." Evangeline grinned and took the radio.
"Just bring it back whenever." The girl waved her hand, and Evangeline nodded, beaming, before turning and practically jogging back to the house.
When she arrived, the portraits had finally quieted down, and were recovered by the curtains. Evangeline made her step light as she continued up the stairs, finding the drawing room again, where the group were sitting around on the floor, eating little jam sandwiches that Molly had made.
"Ooh, lovely." Evangeline grinned, bending down and popping a whole one in her mouth.
"So ladylike, Evey." Ginny grinned. Evangeline smiled through a mouthful of sandwich.
"Where did you go anyway?" Harry asked, looking up at her. Evangeline held up the radio in an explanatory way, before placing it on a dusty little table. Harry and Hermione nodded in understanding, but the rest looked confused.
"What's that?" Ginny asked. "Is it a Muggle thing?"
"This, my Gingerly challenged friend it a 'portable radio.'" Evangeline said ceremoniously, pulling the metal aerial out.
The Weasley family looked fascinated at it.
"How does it work? I thought Muggles like... Put things in the wall." Ron said confusedly, referring to plugs.
Evangeline chuckled. "Batteries my dear..."
"Oh yeah, Dad has loads of them in his shed. Different sizes and all..." Fred said.
Evangeline laughed again, before scanning the waves for something to listen to. She found mostly fuzz, and terrible dance music for most of the channels.
'I used to think maybe you loved me, now baby I'm sure...' Came through the speakers.
"OH MY GOD, YES!" Evangeline squealed and turned it up loudly, making everybody jump. Harry and Hermione laughed, they of course recognized it... Everybody knew that song.
"Now everytime I go for the mailbox, gotta hold myself doown..." Evangeline sang along, pulling Hermione to her feet, making her giggle. "'Cause I just wait 'til you write me, you're comin' aroound." She spun Hermione. "I'm walkin' on sunshine, WOOAH!" The two chorused, and everyone was surprised at Hermione's compliance.
Evangeline and Hermione danced around the room, and soon the twins couldn't help but join in the fun, Fred taking a reluctant Ron and pulling him round the room extravagantly.
"What an Earth are you lot doing?" Molly appeared in the doorway, hands on her hips.
"Oh come on mum! It's not all doom and gloom!" George pulled her in and spun her round, and it wasn't long before a smile broke onto her face, and she couldn't help but laugh at the antics of them all. They were all kids, and they needed days like this.
Evangeline ended up dancing with Ron, swinging his hands as he laughed; she basically danced around him, laughing madly. She'd always had a knack for this; even in the worst times, she always managed to make everyone feel a little bit better, and make them forget about all the darkness around them... Even if it was just for a little while.
As the song finished, she wrapped her arms round his neck and kissed his forehead.
"Thanks for the dance sweetie." She grinned.
...
Molly kept them all working very hard over the next few days. The drawing room took three days to decontaminate. Finally, the only undesirable things left in it were the tapestry of the Black family tree, which resisted all their attempts to remove it from the wall, and the rattling writing desk. Moody had not dropped by Headquarters yet, so they could not be sure what was inside it.
They moved from the drawing room to a dining room on the ground floor where they found giant spiders lurking in the cupboards, (Ron left the room hurriedly to make a cup of tea and did not return for an hour and a half).
The day of Harry's hearing rolled around eventually, he was up extremely early, before anyone else, and would be taken by Arthur as he went to work.
Harry, Ron, Hermione and Evangeline spend most of the day nervously checking the window to see if Harry had arrived back yet.
"Bloody hell, how long are they going to be?" Evangeline groaned. She wasn't patient at the best of times.
"A watched pot never boils Evey." Tonks said, rubbing a piece of dirty Black silverware with a cloth. "And they've not been got that long."
"Yeah, just try and distract yourself." Ginny said. Evangeline sighed and crossed over the room, picking up a plate and cleaning it as best she could without magic. She looked up at the tall, precarious looking set of shelves, covered with china and silverware and sighed, cleaning it would take forever.
Evangeline walked over to the window, and got to work on trying to wipe away some of the grime, getting sick of plates.
"Ron, can you pass me that cloth please?" Hermione said, pointing to the other side of the room where he stood. He did so, but as he turned, his foot caught on the leg of the shelves, and it's lack of strength meant that the wood shook, before it tipped forward over Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Fred and Tonks, sending the many plates and pieces of silverware, tumbling...
It all seemed to happen in slow motion. Evangeline didn't have her wand immediately on her, and her instincts guided her. She rushed forward, fell to her knees and lifted her hands toward the falling cutlery and china, eyes squeezed closed.
"Why did I do that?" She thought.
Ron, Ginny, Fred and Tonks had crouched and covered their heads. When they didn't feel the downpour on their heads, they slowly opened their eyes and looked up... The contents of the shelves, the forks, the knives, the plates, were all suspended above their heads. They looked slowly over at Evangeline, who held hand her hands poised in front of her, and seemed to be holding up the shower of kitchen wear.
"Evey..." Tonks said quietly, eyes wide. Everyone else was looking at her with shock. She was shocked herself.
Evangeline went with what felt right, and slowly moved away her left hand, instead poising it toward the shelves, so that she could push it back onto four legs. Once she had done that, she moved her left had back beside her right to control the contents of the shelves, she carefully set it all down on the floor, managing not to smash anything, before letting her hands drop to her sides.
Everyone was still staring at her.
"Well, never done that before." She said breathlessly, eyebrows high.
...
Evangeline was sitting at the table, with Tonks beside her, and Sirius, Molly and Lupin were sitting at the table across from her, expressions serious.
"Evangeline... Have you every performed wandless magic before?" Lupin asked. Evangeline looked up, not understanding why they all looked so ominous.
"Only when I used to get angry and things would smash when I was younger..." She said. "But I know that happens with most young witches and wizards... I've never like, performed a spell without my wand like I did then." She explained. "Have I done something wrong?"
The adults' expressions softened.
"Not at all Evangeline." Sirius assured her. "It's just that in history, only very experienced and talented wizards can perform wandless magic."
"Could I have maybe inherited it?" She asked.
"It's not traditionally something in inherited," Lupin said. "But I'm sure there's an explanation for it..."
"Should I not do it anymore?" Evangeline at them all. "I don't even know if I could."
"Oh no Evey, quite the opposite. Talent is not something to be hidden, it's something to be embraced, something to be honed." Sirius smiled, a familiar glint in his eye. Evangeline smiled, and was about to open her mouth to speak when she was cut off.
"We're home!" Came Arthur's voice from the door. Evangeline grinned widely and sprung up.
"Sorry, can we discuss this later?"
"Of course, dear, go on." Molly smiled, and Evangeline rushed out of the kitchen just as Ron, Hermione, Fred, George and Ginny thundered down the stairs.
Harry stood in the doorway, while they all looked at him and waited for him to speak.
"Well?" They all exclaimed.
...
"I knew it!" yelled Ron, punching the air. "You always get away with stuff!"
"They were bound to clear you," said Hermione, who had looked positively faint with anxiety when Harry had arrived back, and now was holding a shaky hand over her eyes, "there was no case against you, none at all."
"Everyone seems quite relieved, though, considering you all knew I'd get off," said Harry, smiling.
Molly was wiping her face on her apron, and Fred, George, Evangeline and Ginny were doing an animated victory dance around the room singing: "He got off, he got off, he got off!"
"That's enough! Settle down!" shouted Molly, though he too was smiling.
Arthur had to return to work not long after, and everyone sat down for dinner, aside from Fred, George and Ginny who were still singing and dancing.
"There was no way you were going to lose with Dumbledore on your side." Evangeline said, as Ron shoveled a mountain of mash onto everyone's plate.
"Yeah, he swung it for me." Harry said, smiling. Suddenly, he clapped his hand up to his forehead, and the three looked at him with alarmed expressions.
"What's up?" Hermione asked quickly.
"Nothing, it happens all the time now." Harry mumbled. None of the others had noticed a thing; all of them were now helping themselves to food while gloating over Harry's narrow escape; Fred, George and Ginny were still singing. Hermione looked rather anxious, but before she could say anything, Ron had said happily:
"I bet Dumbledore turns up this evening, to celebrate with us, you know."
''I don't think he'll be able to, Ron," said Molly, setting a huge plate of roast chicken down in front of Harry. "He's really very busy at the moment."
"HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF."
"SHUT UP!" roared Molly.
...
Evangeline felt bored, and trapped inside the old house. Something had to be done.
She pulled on a pair of denim dungaree shorts over her Weird Sisters t-shirt while. She had waited for Hermione to fall fast asleep before putting on some battered old Converse All Star's and fluffing her unruly curls.
Swiftly, she wrote a note saying 'don't panic,' in the unlikely event that Hermione awoke and worried where she was, and slipped out of the room, closing the door gently behind her.
On tiptoes, she crept down the hallway and down the obnoxiously loudly creaking stairs and eventually made her way to the bottom, practically holding her breath as she passed the portrait of Mrs Black.
She nearly got to the door, when the door to the kitchen swiftly opened, and she had to clap her hands over her mouth to keep from shrieking.
It was Ron, standing his pajamas and dressing gown, a half eaten porkpie in hand. Both jumped when they saw each other.
"What are you doing?" Evangeline hissed, through heaving breaths.
"I was hungry." He held up the porkpie with an obvious expression, and a bit of pastry on his bottom lip. He looked her up and down, and raised his eyebrow her fully dressed state.
"What are you doing?" He whispered back. Evangeline glanced up the stairs, wondering someone would here.'
"Come with me." She said quietly, grabbing his hand and tugging him toward the front door.
"I'm in my pajamas." He protested.
"Everyone's asleep anyway." She said with a roll of her eyes, as she undid the many locks on the door, and left with Ron in tow.
"So, what're you doing?" Ron asked when they were out in the night air, tugging his dressing gown around him.
"I'm just bored Ron. Stuck inside the house all the time and all." She waved her hand at the building as they walked down the stone steps and onto the street.
"Yeah, I know what you mean." He yawned. "You don't like to be bored more than most either."
"Nope, it depresses me." She stretched out her arms.
"Where are we going anyway?" Ron asked.
Evangeline pointed toward the small playground in a close at the end of the street.
"Seriously?" He questioned.
"Seriously." She grinned back, picking up the pace.
Soon enough, Ron and Evangeline were sitting on the swings together, lazily rocking back and forth.
"I think we should savor times like these y'know." She said, resting the side of her head on the cold chain.
"What d'you mean?" Ron asked, looking over at her. Her face was illuminated by the dim streetlight, so her skin looked paler than usual, and her lips looked dark and pink. Gorgeous.
"Not having to worry about anything, not having to be scared or on guard." She smiled dazedly, tipping backwards a little. "Just sitting on a swing with my best friend." She smiled over at him, and he smiled back. The words 'best friend' were ones he both loved and hated to hear coming from her mouth.
"We should go back." She sighed, standing. Ron nodded, and stood also, noticing some of the wood chippings on the floor had gone into his slippers.
She looped one of her arms around his, and rested her head on his shoulder as they walked down the street.
Ron wondered why her always smelled like honey.
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Please continue to review. (I have to admit I've been a little lazy with the proof reading, very tired).
Thanks. xxx
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