AN: Some of the speech taken from chapter four of Deathly Hallows. Thanks for reading and reviewing, hope you like the chapter!

An Unwanted Reunion

In these dark days even visiting a relative had its own set of unique dangers. People shunned weddings and birthday parties; there was always a possibility that a large crowd contained one or two supporters of Voldemort, and after a few drinks had loosened the tongue a single careless word could prove fatal. Better to stay at home with people who could be trusted. At the moment people still spoke freely in front of their parents, spouses and children, but in the weeks and months to come that would change. The Imperius curse and polyjuice potion would prove popular in the coming war.

Evie and Sirius had taken all possible precautions. Polyjuice potion was out of the question for Evie as she would be drinking a draught later and two different doses at work in the same body could have strange consequences. She had dyed her hair a vivid shade of red and donned a pair of glasses similar to her brother's. Out of solidarity (or, as Evie preferred to call it, stupidity) Sirius had eschewed the potion and dyed his hair blonde, completing the disguise with a matching beard and moustache. They had travelled inconspicuously, using muggle transport and wearing muggle clothes.

Despite these safety measures, Evie gripped Sirius's hand a little too tightly and his eyes darted constantly to and fro. They turned into Privet Drive and felt immediately that they were being watched. Thankfully it wasn't a Death Eater who had them in his sights but an old woman peering out of the gap between her net curtains. Her eyes widened as Evie turned to stare at her and she withdrew, twitching the curtain back into place. The couple walked quickly up the path to Number 4, Evie torn between a desire to stand forever on the doorstep and the need to enter the relative safety of the house.

A woman yanked the front door open before they had the chance to knock. Evie's first glimpse of her brought to mind an image of a string that had been drawn too tight and could snap at any moment. Her mouth was set in a tight line of disapproval, and Evie wondered if it ever lifted into a genuine smile rather than just one of the polite, empty gestures she almost certainly shared with her neighbours. As the woman's eyes fell on Evie, however, her face contorted in its first uncontrolled display of emotion for months. There was undoubtedly fear in the way her eyes flew wide open, but also something that was less easily defined.

"Lily?" she whispered.

There were footsteps on the stairs and Harry appeared behind the woman. He was paler than usual, making the dark circles beneath his eyes all the more evident, but when he saw Evie and Sirius he grinned. "You two are early," he said by way of greeting. "I'm surprised Mad Eye agreed to this."

Sirius laughed. "He took a lot of convincing."

He wasn't exaggerating. When they had first put their request to arrive at the Dursleys' before everyone else to Mad Eye he had refused outright. After a long hour of arguing and bartering he had finally agreed, although he had imposed many conditions on their trip. On no condition were they to answer to their real names, leave the house undisguised, travel by Floo. The list was endless.

"This is Sirius, my godfather, and Evie, my sister," said Harry to the woman standing in the doorway, still looking as if she had seen a ghost. She flinched when introduced to Sirius and her eyes hardened at Evie's name. To Sirius and Evie Harry said, "This is my aunt, Petunia Dursley."

Realisation dawned in Evie's mind. This woman was Lily Potter's sister; her aunt. Now she understood why Petunia had looked so terrified when she set eyes on her. Evie knew from photographs and the comments of old friends that she bore a strong resemblance to her mother, and today, with her newly dyed hair, that resemblance was especially striking. Having not seen her niece since she was a baby, Petunia must have thought that Lily had somehow returned from the grave to visit her. Instead of sympathy, Evie felt a kind of grim satisfaction. If Lily had returned from the dead, she would certainly not seek out her sister to share kind words with her. More likely she would want to know why Petunia had treated her son so cruelly.

Petunia's lips twitched in a semblance of a smile and she disappeared into the living as Harry ushered Sirius and Evie inside. The moment the door was shut Evie hugged her brother and Sirius was waiting to take her place when she stepped back.

"All ready?" asked Sirius.

"Almost," said Harry. "Just need to finish packing."

"You go and finish. We'll follow you up in a minute," said Sirius. When Harry looked at him quizzically he explained, "I just want a word with your aunt and uncle."

Harry didn't need to be told what this "word" would be about. "You don't have to do that. After tonight I'll probably never see them again."

"He's been planning his speech for weeks," said Evie, smiling. "Don't deny him the opportunity."

Harry still looked as if he thought it was a bad idea, but couldn't hide a grin at Sirius's eagerness. Shrugging, he obeyed his godfather and slowly climbed the stairs to resume packing. Evie wondered whether his reluctance was due to concern for his aunt and uncle or a wish to witness what Sirius had to say for himself. She guessed it was the latter.

Sirius barged into the living room, followed by Evie, and Petunia gave a small, scared squeak.

"Who the ruddy hell are you?" demanded a large, red faced man.

"Vernon-" said Petunia fearfully.

"I'm Sirius Black," interrupted Sirius, and the large man, Vernon, paled; clearly the name was familiar to him. "I've wanted to talk to you for a long time, but various unfortunate circumstances have prevented me."

"And what would your kind have to talk to me about?" sneered Vernon with false bravado.

"How you've treated my godson for the past sixteen years."

"We gave him a home!" spluttered Vernon. "We took him in for nothing out of kindness and decency!"

"You gave him a cupboard and your son's leftovers," corrected Sirius, his voice icy. "And you did it grudgingly, because you didn't have a choice. If the situation had been reversed, if something had happened to you and your son was orphaned, do you think Lily and James would have treated him as you have treated Harry?"

"I'd rather see Dudley dead than in the hands of one of your lot!" shouted Vernon.

A movement glimpsed out of the corner of Evie's eye caught her attention. A large boy stuffed into an armchair, who she assumed was Dudley, flushed a deep shade of red. When he realised he was being watched he dropped his eyes to stare at the floor.

"You might want to rethink that," said Sirius. His voice was calm, which worried Evie. She knew the anger that was steadily rising just beneath the surface. "You're about to trust your family's safety to our lot."

"Aha, and who's fault is that?" demanded Vernon. "The boy's! If we hadn't taken him in we wouldn't be in danger now! Do you have any idea the kind of disruption this is causing to our lives? I'm going to miss work; Dudder's is going to miss school, we-"

Evie couldn't take it anymore. She had just about been able to cope with their flimsy justifications for their atrocious treatment of Harry, but this was intolerable. Vernon was complaining about minor inconveniences when Harry's life would be at risk every day from now until Voldemort was defeated. He could be hiding and fighting for years, always scared that the next dawn would hail the day of his capture and death. Didn't these people realise?

"Imagine a man who's supremely evil," said Evie quietly. Perhaps it was the shock of being interrupted or the utter strangeness of the statement, but Vernon fell silent and turned to stare at her, his mouth hanging open. She felt the eyes of all three Dursleys and Sirius on her. "I say man, but strictly speaking that's not true," she continued. "He's barely human anymore. He kills anyone who gets in his way or offends him, including children. He tortures, too. And he has dozens of people in his service who do the same for fun." She paused briefly, feeling the prickle of tears. Sirius's hand alighted on the small of her back protectively, supportively.

Taking a breath, she continued. "He tears families apart. Children are left to grow up without parents, and parents…" Bellatrix's face swam before her eyes, gloating in victory. It was replaced with Sirius's, wracked with grief and exhausted after another sleepless night. Then Molly Weasley's as she pulled Evie into a sobbing embrace, offering her wordless comfort. "Parents are forced to bury their daughters and sons," she finished, her voice small and broken.

"This man first tried to kill Harry when he was a baby. Harry has faced him four times since, in various forms, and survived against all odds. The fight against Voldemort has cost him his parents, a friend and his mentor. He's been persecuted and tortured. Now every witch and wizard in the country is looking to him to stop Voldemort for good. And he accepts this as his task without doubt or protest. He will go, almost alone, to find a way to end Voldemort once and for all, despite the fact that many wizards with twice his age and experience have died trying to do the same.

"When you're in a safe house, surrounded by highly trained wizards, Harry will be relying on his own wit and skill for survival. While you're living comfortably, he won't be able to walk into any building where wizards reside without risking his life."

Evie's words, filled with a heart aching mixture of grief and pride, seemed to have struck a chord with Petunia that Sirius's anger had not. She stood facing the window, her arms crossed and head bowed. There was something in her face that was more than fear for her husband and son, although that was certainly evident. Dudley's face had drained of all colour and Evie privately thought that it was a very good job that he was sitting down, or he would probably fall. Clearly he was realising the reality of the monster that would be hunting them for the first time.

Vernon, however, had been growing steadily angrier since Evie began speaking. His face was now a shade of red that Evie had never seen on a person before. He spluttered a few times, apparently incapable of forming a coherent sentence, before finally managing to spit out, "Who are you?"

"I'm Harry's sister," she said, her voice full of love for her brother. "And unlike you, I'm proud to call myself his family."

With that, she turned on her heel and left the room. Sirius took her hand and squeezed it gently as they climbed the stairs. "I couldn't have put it better," he murmured.

They found Harry on his knees in the middle of his room, attempting unsuccessfully to force his rucksack shut. He looked up anxiously as they entered. "How did it go?" he asked. "I heard Uncle Vernon shouting."

"Surprisingly well," said Sirius, and flopped onto Harry's bed.

They spent the next hour talking, and to everyone's surprise and relief it didn't feel too strange. The summer after the battle at the Department of Mysteries had been uncomfortable, to say the least. Harry had been forced to reconcile his anger and sense of betrayal with his sister and godfather's grief at the loss of their unborn child. Many times last year he had wanted to rage at them, but the sight of Evie's swollen eyes had stopped him. There were times when the sight of their hands entwined or Sirius's lips resting against Evie's hair sent a jolt of anger through Harry, but as the weeks passed and he realised they had no intention of pushing him out of their lives he steadily regained his trust in them.

Evie and Sirius had seen little of Harry since last September, and the last time they had spoken had been at Dumbledore's funeral. They wanted to know every small, inconsequential detail of his sixth year at Hogwarts. They didn't speak of Malfoy and Snape's betrayal, nor of the murder that none of them could quite believe had happened. Neither did they speak of the monumental task that lay before Harry. Instead he told them of Ron's performance as Keeper and his short lived relationship with Ginny, and in return they described their new house and Winky's life there.

They had almost forgotten their danger when the doorbell rang.

Harry reluctantly got to his feet. "That'll be Hestia and Dedalus," he said heavily. "Better get to them before the Dursleys do." He left the room, taking with him his rucksack and owl.

Sirius and Evie remained behind, transforming their hair and faces back to their usual state. By the time they had finished and followed Harry downstairs, the Dursleys (much to Evie's relief) were gone and the kitchen was full of people. Evie was hugged by Hermione and greeted warmly by Fred and George before Mad Eye called for order, and she and Sirius took their places next to Tonks and Remus.

With the exception of the occasional question from Harry, everyone was silent as they listened to Mad Eye explain the plan. It was all going very well until Mad Eye reached the part about seven of them taking polyjuice potion to transform into Harry.

"No!" he almost shouted. "No way!"

"I told them you'd take it like this," said Hermione, and Evie nodded her agreement. There was no way Harry would let them risk their lives like this without putting up a very good fight first.

The argument went back and forth for a couple of minutes between Harry and the rest of the group, with Harry blankly refusing to entertain the idea and everyone else insisting that they were willing to take the risk. Eventually Mad Eye said, "If it has to come to force, then it will. Everyone here's over-age, Potter, and they're all prepared to take the risk."

Harry attempted one last protest before Mad Eye shouted him down, and he grudgingly tore out and handed over a few hairs. The hairs added to the potion, the fake Potters – including Evie – lined up to drink their share. The effect was almost instantaneous. Evie knew that she was gaining several inches of height while her hair shortened. She would have liked to look in a mirror, but she doubted that she would be able to see much with Harry's atrocious eye sight.

Thankfully someone thrust a pair of glasses into her hands and she eagerly put them on. When her vision cleared she found that she was looking at a room full of Harry Potters.

"Wow – we're identical!" cried Fred and George in unison, eliciting a chuckle from one of the other Potters.

There was little time to appreciate the hilarity of the situation before Mad Eye tossed them new clothes and ordered them to change. Everyone began to strip off without embarrassment, which, unsurprisingly, seemed to distress Harry. They were to be indistinguishable from each other to confuse the enemy. The only unique thing that Evie had was a small vial filled with a black, hissing liquid. She had no intention of using it as it would give away that she was not the real Harry, but she wanted it close by in case of an emergency. Once she was dressed she kept it clutched tightly in her left hand. When they were all dressed identically they were marched by Mad Eye out into the garden where their transport awaited.

Evie and Sirius were to ride Buckbeak. There was no need to bow to him as they had grown used to each other during their long stay at Grimmauld Place, and he was as fond of them as any imperious creature could be. Sirius cupped his hand and gave Evie a boost onto the hippogriff's back. Unaccustomed to her new height and shape, she misjudged the force required for the jump and would have launched herself straight over Buckbeak's back to the grass on the other side had Sirius not grabbed her ankle. Blushing, she scrambled into a sitting position while Sirius vaulted almost effortlessly into place behind her, flashing her a winning smile. She scowled and nudged him in the ribs with her elbow.

Looking around, she saw that each Harry Potter, accompanied by their protector, was mounted on their broom or threstral and ready to leave. The real Harry was crammed into the sidecar of what Sirius whispered to her was his motorbike.

"Ready?" shouted Mad Eye, and everyone nodded and prepared to take off. "Good luck, everyone. See you all in about an hour at The Burrow. On the count of three. One… two… THREE."

Sirius tapped Buckbeak's sides with his heels and they soared into the sky. All around them brooms and thestrals were surging upwards. There was a pleasant swooping in Evie's stomach as the hippogriff accelerated, and for a moment she almost forgot their danger and was simply happy to be with so many of her friends.

And then all hell broke loose.

The sky was suddenly full of dark cloaked figures swooping purposefully towards them from all directions. Sirius cursed under his breath and wheeled Buckbeak around, urging him away from the Death Eaters as the other Potters and their defenders did the same. Essentially this didn't change their plans: they were to make for different safe houses across the country and from there travel to The Burrow. But their danger had now increased a hundredfold by the inevitability of a mid air battle. Evie's logical voice, the part of her mind that wasn't completely overcome by fear, noted the implications of the Death Eaters' attack. Someone must have informed them of the date they were moving Harry, and the only people with access to that information were Order members: they had been betrayed.

Sirius's voice broke through the haze of panic clouding her mind. He was shouting at her, ordering her to use her wand. Glancing over his shoulder, she saw that they were being pursued by two Death Eaters. At the moment they were out of firing range but Buckbeak was no match for their brooms and the gap between them was closing quickly. Evie groped for her wand, fumbling it with her cold fingers, and cast a defensive spell around the two of them while Sirius turned and prepared to begin firing spells.

With the Death Eaters mere feet behind them, Sirius began to duel, gripping Buckbeak with his legs while his wand slashed through the air. From her position at the hippogriff's head Evie could see almost nothing, but the shield surrounding them flickered and died almost immediately. A jet of purple light shot past before she could renew the charm and would have hit her had Sirius not thrown himself backwards, knocking her flat onto her stomach. She struggled back into a sitting position and cast another shield charm, putting all her will into making it as strong as possible.

Behind her Sirius continued to duel. Although Evie didn't dare risk turning to watch the fight lest she lose her balance, she could feel the rapid motions of his wand arm. The controlled movement of his body against hers did not suggest the frantic reactions of a cornered animal, but a skilled fighter in his element. Despite their situation, or perhaps because of it, he was unusually cool and calm. Evie, casting one shield charm after another as the Death Eaters' curses continued to break through, took heart from this.

A muffled cry reached Evie's ears over the wind, and there was a subtle change in Sirius's position on Buckbeak. She panicked, thinking that he had been hit and was about to tumble off the hippogriff to the hard earth below, but when she reached to grab him she realised that he was still duelling. He was now focusing all of his efforts on one fixed point. The shout of pain she had heard had belonged to a Death Eater, and now Sirius had only one opponent.

Without warning Buckbeak jerked violently, almost unseating them. "What's going on?" shouted Sirius over his shoulder. "Is Buckbeak hurt?"

Evie didn't have time to find out. A Death Eater had somehow managed to slip unnoticed ahead of them and was now flying straight towards them, lying almost flat against his broom and grinning in anticipation. Sirius couldn't possibly fight in two directions and Evie's shield charm would be useless should the Death Eater fire a killing curse. Raising her wand, she shouted the one spell that had any hope of saving them. Thick black fog streamed from the tip and shot with unnatural speed towards the Death Eater. Prepared to fend off a more violent attack, he was caught unaware and engulfed. Buckbeak completed the job, smoothly changing course to fly over the Death Eater and raking his vicious front claws through the top of the dark cloud. A shout of pain told Evie that the hippogriff had hit his mark, and the fog spiralled down to earth.

Carefully Sirius turned to face the front again. "Are you hurt?" he called over the rushing of the wind.

Evie shook her head. "Are you?"

"Just a scratch. You know what this ambush means, don't you? We planted false information in the Ministry; the only people who knew we were moving Harry tonight were those who were at Mad Eye's meetings."

"You think we've been betrayed?"

"I can't think of anyone in the Order who would sell Harry to Voldemort, but what other-" Sirius finished abruptly and sagged against Evie. He fell forwards, pushing her flat onto her stomach and forcing her wand arm between her body and Buckbeak. Her first thought was that he had been injured more gravely than he had told her, but a patch of sky to her left shimmered and a Death Eater came into view; he had been Disillusioned.

She couldn't curse him without yanking her wand from beneath her, which would almost certainly unbalance Sirius and unseat him from Buckbeak. Her left arm, however, was still free, and miraculously she still clutched the potion vial in her frozen fingers. If she could throw it at the Death Eater it would be as good as hitting him with a powerful curse, but it was their only chance and he was too far away to be sure of hitting him.

Thinking fast she whispered, "Slow down, Buckbeak."

Buckbeak snorted but did as he was commanded. The Death Eater now flew side by side with them, but was still out of arm's reach.

"Don't hurt Sirius!" she called to him. "Don't hurt him and I'll come with you to Voldemort."

Now that they had slowed considerably she heard his laughter clearly. "You're in no position to negotiate," he said. "I could kill you both right now."

"But Voldemort wants to do it himself, doesn't he?" asked Evie. The Death Eater paused, considering. He knew as well as she did that the servant who brought Harry Potter to Voldemort in chains would be rewarded beyond his wildest dreams. "Let Sirius go and I'll give you my wand," she said.

"No funny business," he warned. "If I see your wand move I'll kill you and Black."

He moved closer to them and Evie held her breath. In just a few seconds he would be in reach and she would have to act. When he drew up alongside them his hood fell back, revealing a scarred face that was alight with excitement, and Evie lashed out. The phial flew out of her fingers and smashed against his cheek, small shards of glass clinging to his skin. Rage flashed in his eyes as he drew back his wand. Evie screwed up her eyes, waiting for death, but instead an agonised scream rent the air. Opening her eyes a crack, she saw that the skin on one side of the man's face was bubbling. He clawed at his cheek as if hoping to find and tear away the source of his pain, but succeeded only in smearing some of the deadly potion onto his fingers. Somehow he had enough presence of mind to grab his broom and fly back in the direction of the Dursleys' house, where lay his only hope of help.

Evie watched him disappear. Now that she was no longer fuelled by a desperate fight for survival she began to shudder violently. She was trapped beneath Sirius who, at the very least, was unconscious, her wand was inaccessible and they were still miles away from their safe house. They had long ago left behind the noises of the main battle. Had her friends escaped or were they dead? In a few moments more, when the reality of her situation finally sank in, she would fall apart.

But the moment her breath became ragged in her chest, they hit solid ground. Buckbeak, whether out of fear or instinct, had brought them down to earth. Thanking the animal repeatedly, Evie grabbed Sirius's arm and fell sideways to the ground, bringing him with her. She noticed that they were in a deserted field, out of sight of muggles and Death Eaters alike, but her relief was short lived as she pressed her hand against Sirius's back. His shirt was torn and when she pulled her fingers away they were covered in something warm and sticky.

With a great effort she rolled Sirius onto his stomach. Holding up her wand for light, she saw that there were three deep gashes in his back, as if an animal had swiped at him with its' enormous claws. Tearing open his shirt, she wished that she had just a few simple ingredients with her; she could create a potion that would heal him completely. But she hadn't a single plant or essence, and time was just as scarce. Instead she used her wand and worked as quickly as she dared, fearing both that she would hurt him more in her haste and that more Death Eaters would swoop down on them at any moment.

By the time she had finished she had resumed her normal appearance, and her long hair stuck to her face in sweaty clumps. The wounds had closed but Sirius was left with three angry red scars. Perhaps she could find a way to heal them later, but for now all Evie cared about was getting to safety. Panting, she rolled Sirius carefully onto his back and pointed her wand at his face. "Ennervate!" she murmured.

Sirius's eyes flew open. "Where are we? Are we at the safe house?" he demanded, sitting up and wincing.

"Careful!" warned Evie. "A Death Eater snuck up on us and you were injured and knocked out. Buckbeak brought us down here – wherever here is."

"Are you okay?" asked Sirius, pushing her hair away so that he could search her face for signs of pain or injury.

Evie gave him a shaky smile. "I'm terrified and feel like I could sleep for a week, but apart from that I'm fine."

"We need to get out of here," he said. Struggling to his feet, he looked around for Buckbeak. The field was flat and unobscured by trees, but there was no sign of the hippogriff. After a minute of calling his name with no response, they decided that he must have left while Evie was healing Sirius. "We'll have to travel directly to The Burrow," said Sirius regretfully. "Mad Eye won't like it but I can't see any other choice. We've missed our portkey."

"I hope Buckbeak is okay," said Evie, looking up at the sky. "I think he might have been hurt earlier."

Sirius slipped his hand into hers and squeezed it comfortingly. "Hippogriffs are clever, and Buckbeak especially so. He'll make his way back to Hagrid."

With a final look at the dark sky, they turned on the spot and disappeared.