If I told you I owned these characters, then I would not be telling the truth.
Chapter Five: Meetings
Halloween came and went uneventfully, and November marched through slowly. It would have been just another fall at Hogwarts, if it hadn't been for my romps with Artemis and after-dinner meetings with Will—although he did not try to kiss me again, no matter how much I wished he would. In fact, he was a bit distracted lately. He would talk with me for hours on end...and then I would give one mention of my sleepwalking episode or his family, and he shut down. It was aggravating, to say the least.
Rose forgave me in the excitement of the Quidditch outcome. Lily was seeker, Hugo and Fred were chasers, and James was keeper. Albus, Rose, and I were content to watch. Winter approached, and I began to feel a lot easier outside, with the Black Lake frozen over. Soon my nightmare seemed just that—a nightmare. I began to forget about the girl in lavender and the silver snake altogether. Before any of us knew it, December was upon us.
I rose one Saturday morning and looked outside to see the ground covered in about five inches of snow. I pulled on my heavy cloak, gloves, and boots before racing outside without bothering to wake my sleepy room-mates. When I reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Artemis came bounding to meet me, but skidded to a stop when she saw the snow. I felt her confusion as if it were my own.
"It's snow, Arty! Like rain, only more fun!" I scooped some up and threw it into the air, letting it rain down. She looked at me suspiciously. "Come on!" I called. She stepped gingerly onto the white ground. A made a snowball and tossed it at her, catching her square on the head. She jumped about a foot in the air, then gave chase. I laughed, running even though I was fully aware that I was no match for the rambunctious hippogriff. When she caught up to me, I realized how large she had gotten.
"Wow, Arty. You're almost as tall as your mother!" She chirped happily, then knelt down. I immediately understood, but I was a little bit apprehensive as I climbed onto her back. "You're sure about this?" I asked her. She gave me a reassuring chirp before she began to gallop through the snow, holding out her wings, which had shed their down in the last couple months. I closed my eyes.
Suddenly, it was as if we were part of the same body. I could feel my arms and legs, but I could also feel Arty's wings and hooves as we picked up speed, and, finally, lifted off. I opened my eyes. We soared above the frozen Black Lake, whipping through the damp clouds. This was nothing like riding a hard, inanimate broom—it was like flapping my own wings. We turned gracefully, racing toward the school. I guided Artemis up to the window of our dormitory. We hovered as I knocked on the frosty windowpane. I saw Rose roll out of bed and stare at us with wide eyes. Then, we were off, climbing above the highest peaks of the highest towers, only to dive back downward.
I lost track of how long we were in the air, but I do know that, when we came to a skidding halt in the powdery snow, quite a crowd had gathered beneath us. I hopped off of Artemis, patting her bright back.
"Thanks, Arty." The crowd began to applaud us, and Artemis took a dainty bow. I laughed and imitated her. Featherfoot chirped from the forest edge, and Artemis trotted towards her mother, glancing back at me in a farewell. The crowd dispersed, dissolving into several different snowball fights. Rose rushed up to me.
"Evey that was awesome!" I nodded.
"Yeah, it was like...we were the same." Rose was puzzled, but I opted not to explain. "Meanwhile, I'm starving. Let's go get breakfast." I said, and we headed through the war zone to the school.
I spent the rest of the day lazing about in the common room with Rose, discussing, among other things, the upcoming ball.
"So...you're going with...Will, I presume?" I frowned.
"We haven't really discussed it, actually."
"Evey, I asked Kristina Chang and...there is no "Will" in Ravenclaw house." Oops. "So where are you really sneaking off to two nights a week?" I gulped. Only Rose would actually take the time to check out my story. I sighed.
"How long have you known this?"
"About a month, now..."
"A month?!"
"Well...I tried to bring it up a lot, but we were never alone!" I smiled. It was times like these that I loved Rose, despite her nosiness.
"Okay. You found me out, and here's the truth. I really have been meeting someone named Will, but...well...how about I introduce you?" Rose nearly jumped for joy. A held up a hand. "But you have to promise me one thing," I told her. She frowned.
"What?"
"You cannot tell anyone else...at least for a while. Okay?" Rose nodded. I excused myself and went up to the dormitory. To my convenience, Lysander was sitting on the window ledge. I let him in and read the note attached to his collar.
E-
Usual time, usual place?
-W
I scribbled a reply on the back:
W-
Why don't we meet in front of the Library, usual time? There's someone I'd like you to meet.
-E
Seven could not arrive quickly or slowly enough. I glanced at Will, three tables away, and he frowned. I looked at Rose and then back at him. He nodded. He was alright with meeting Rose. I just hoped she would feel the same way towards him.
At ten to seven, I stood up. Rose followed suit.
"We're going to go study in the library," I informed my cousins. They hardly glanced up, involved in a heated discussion over Quidditch tactics.
"Where are we really going?" Rose asked excitedly. I shrugged.
"The library." She looked a tad disappointed, but didn't say anything. There were a few devoted students in the library, so I ducked into a nearby deserted corridor instead. We leaned against the cold stone, waiting. I heard footsteps approaching.
"Wait here," I murmured to Rose, and stepped into the main hallway. Will looked at me apprehensively.
"You sure this will be okay?" he asked. I nodded and, taking his hand, led him into our corridor.
"Will, I'd like you to meet my cousin, Rose. Rose, this is Will." Rose looked up and froze.
"Nice to meet you, Rose." Will let my hand go and extended it to her. Her eyes flitted between Will and I, stunned. I pleaded silently for her to take his hand. Then, as if she had suddenly realized that this was, indeed, happening, she took his hand.
"I've...heard a lot about you...Will." I breathed an inner sigh of relief. Will excused himself, claiming he had a test to study for. He said a polite goodbye to Rose and winked at me, then he was gone.
"Um...let's talk in the dorm, okay?" I asked her. She nodded mutely, and we trudged to the common room.
I explained everything to her, beginning with the first night and ending with the past month. She listened without any interruption, and when I was finally finished, she spoke.
"You could have told me sooner." I hung my head.
"I know that, now...I was just...scared."
"Well, if what you said about that dream was true, then you have a lot worse things than your own family to be afraid of." I nodded, fingering the snake necklace, which I had not taken off since Will had given it to me. "If someone really wants you...dead...then, they'll be trying to figure out another way to do it. I'd be aware if I were you." She shook her head. "I still can't believe you never told me this, Evey! You must have been so scared..."
"Well, actually," I admitted sheepishly, "I felt...safe, knowing that Will was watching out for me..."
"Evey, I know that you like Malfoy...sorry, Will, but can you honestly trust him with your life?"
"I...I know this sounds stupid, Rose, but...yes. I trust him. I've just got this feeling...I can't explain it." Rose was silent for a while.
"Well, if you trust him, Evey, then I do, too," she said, "But I would be careful if I were you." She left me alone with my thoughts. Rose never failed to surprise me. Sometimes she was so childish, and then she would turn around and behave wise beyond her years.
The week before the break arrived, it seemed to me, rather suddenly. I was just stuffing the last of my things in my suitcase for the break when I heard a meowing at the window. I got up to let Lysander in, hardly needing to read the note attached to his collar.
We met at the secret study, as usual. He was there before I was, already sitting in the chair. I took my place beside him, carrying a thin package wrapped in bright paper.
"Hello again." He said. "What's that?"
"A turnip." I replied dryly.
"For me?" I raised my eyebrows. He laughed. "It just so happens, I got you something, too." He produced a small package from his pocket and handed it to me.
"But," I warned, "You can't open yours until Christmas morning." He laughed.
"You can't either, since there's a charm on yours."
"There's one on yours, too." We shared a laugh.
"I'm going to miss you," Will said out of the blue. I bit my lip.
"Do you think there's any way we could ride together on the train?" I asked him.
"I don't know...probably not without raising suspicion....how did Rose take it, by the way?"
"She was...surprised, but she handled it fine. She doesn't really trust you, but that will come."
"And do you?" I frowned.
"Do I what?"
"Trust me." I felt my cheeks get a little warmer.
"Yes, I do," I said quietly. " A question had been eating away at me since our night in detention—what exactly were Will and I? "You know, I really don't have a problem with telling the rest of my cousins...I mean...if we are...you know..a...um..."
"We are," he said quickly. "I mean...provided you want to be..."
"I do." I said, not quite trusting myself to say anything else.
"I'm just...afraid of what would happen if my father caught wind of it." It was quiet for a time as we gazed at the fire.
"What are you doing over the break?" I asked him, simply to break the silence.
"Dinners, ministry functions...boring stuff."
"Maybe I'll see you around...I mean, we only live a few miles away from you."
"I'd like that," he said. I sighed after checking the time.
"We should go soon." I muttered reluctantly.
"You know, for old time's sake, we could sleep here tonight." He joked. I snickered.
"Rose would murder me." He grinned.
"Well, in that case, I suppose we should go." Will hopped out of the chair and helped me up. We took our time walking back to the main staircase. Before we reached it, Will stopped me. I turned to face him.
"What?"
"We're under mistletoe." I looked up.
"No, we're n-" He pulled me closer to him.
"Details, details." My heart leaped in my chest. We got quite close before we were interrupted by a group of Hufflepuff first years coming around the bend. We jumped apart once again. I began to laugh, and Will joined in. We paused again when we reached the staircase.
"Well...'bye." I said.
"See you around?" He asked. I nodded. He turned on his heel and left. Disappointed, I headed back up to the Gryffindor common room, where Rose was sure to be triple-checking everything for the trip home.