A/N- Here's Chapter 3. It is a bit lighter, and defines the characters a bit more. The next chapter will be explosive and Eva's secret will be revealed! Enjoy!

Chapter 3

Eva tossed in her sleep. She was in a dark, unfamiliar corridor of the castle. She ran her hand absentmindedly over a tapestry hanging to her right. The portraits looked ominous, not saying anything as she passed, instead looking at her with dangerous eyes. She was chilled although the temperature was quite warm. Green light vibrated past her and instinctively she ran, turning corners, shooting fearful looks over her shoulder. She couldn't see anything, but she continued to hurry along. Another bolt of vibrant green passed her and she fell, trembling. Eva scrambled to her feet but she wasn't quick enough, her bones felt as though they were splintering inside her body as she was lifted off the ground and slammed back into the rough stone repeatedly. And then everything went black.

Eva sat up, her shirt matted to her small frame by sweat. She peeled herself from her blankets and stepped onto the cool wooden floor, shivering. Reaching for a pair of oversized sweatpants and another shirt, she quickly changed. Sliding the dorm door open and closing it almost soundlessly behind her, she headed down to the common room.

The room stood empty, but warm and glancing at the clock, Eva learned she had only been sleeping for roughly two hours. After Lily and Eva had gone to their beds, Eva fell asleep quickly, exhausted. It was rare that she lost her temper, and even rarer that she cried like that. Eva had learned at a young age that emotions were to be controlled and harnessed, never revealed. Her father believed that exposing your emotions gave your enemies insight into your mind and therefore, advantage over you. Eva assumed this was why neither of her parents had ever been overly affectionate towards her. She hadn't brought her wand downstairs with her, so she hoisted two oversized logs into her arms and into the glowing ashes of the fireplace. Sometimes it satisfied her to do things by hand.

She settled back into the worn couch cushions and closed her eyes, letting the smoldering fire warm her.

James stormed back and forth through past the portrait hole. He'd exited the common room, blinded by rage a while before and wandered through the various halls and stairways in the castle, daring Filch to catch him. Though with no particular destination to go, his anger had subsided a bit and his body felt heavy on his feet. He wanted to talk to Eva, make sure she was okay. And ask, rather beg, her to reconsider their vow of silence years earlier. And yet, he knew Eva, he knew that she would never relinquish such a painful, embarrassing and hurtful secret, especially to people that had been truly awful to her. She didn't want pity and she didn't want allies to come because of it. James couldn't deny understanding that. Swearing under his breath, he realized that nothing would be solved tonight and stepped through the portrait hole.

Eva jumped noticeably when she heard the unmistakable groan of the portrait hole swinging on its aged hinges. Turning defiantly, she faced none other than James Potter. Concern was evident on his face and he smiled tiredly, in spite of himself.

"Eva, what are you doing down here?" he began carefully. Her face bore the unmistakable signs of rough tears and he didn't want to agitate her again.

"I couldn't sleep," she answered looking back towards the fireplace, where James was using his wand to levitate an oversized piece of tinder. It wasn't a lie really, she had a nasty nightmare and as such, she couldn't sleep. "Where have you been?"

She was speaking quietly and James wasn't sure if it was due to the late hour of their meeting or the rollercoaster of events that had played out earlier. Eva moved her feet on the couch to create room for James and he gratefully sat down next to his friend.

"Thinking." He didn't know how to tell her that he'd inadvertently spilled part of her secret to his friends earlier. It hadn't been intended in any way; instead the words fell from his lips before he'd had any opportunity to encapsulate their ramifications on his friendship with Eva. She was the opposite of trusting, and James knew that she had never known a single person that she deemed trustworthy. Weighing his options, he figured it was probably better to confess to her now. "I made a mistake Eva. A big one…I know you'll be mad, but I hope you'll understand that it wasn't intended. I've never, I would never, violate your friendship…." He trailed off.

Eva didn't say anything, instead she eyed James warily, eyebrow cocked precariously above her eyes, still red rimmed from earlier in the evening. James recounted the incident clearly and recoiled once he was finished. Eva sighed heavily and briefly closed her eyes but didn't say anything. Several minutes passed and James busied himself with the rough edges of his robes.

"Let's just talk about this tomorrow," Eva said simply, looking at James. He made eye contact with the often fiery tempered young woman and understood. Her gaze had said it all. She wasn't mad at him, but she also didn't have the energy to discuss anything more tonight.

Sirius lay awake staring at the ceiling of his dorm. What had James's comment meant? He played several scenarios through his head but he had a hard time understanding how Eva had anything to do with him and vice versa. Their families were close and he'd often played with her as a child, but Sirius's knowledge of Eva ended there. Her father, much like his own, was an overwhelmingly cruel man, though not completely much so to his daughter. Not like Sirius's parents who had disowned him for his alliances only the year before. He shook the thought from his head and rolled to his side. James had still not returned, his bed lay empty, blankets still bunched as he had left them the previous morning.

Sirius wasn't pleased with himself for losing his temper, he considered himself to be well mannered, especially to women. However, Eva had done nothing in his opinion to earn his respect and as such, he shouldn't have to show her any. He got out of his bed and reached for the Marauder's map. James had left it in the common room when they returned from their search earlier. It was a careless mistake, Sirius thought, but couldn't blame James for his anger. Sirius begrudgingly knew that he did have one reason for being nice to Eva. James.

James had taken him in when his family had turned on him. James had been more than a friend for six years; he'd been a brother. Sirius sighed softly and turned onto his back. He wouldn't be nice to Eva, he just couldn't. She was a part of something in his life that was truly dark, something that he has disowned with his families beliefs. She acted superior and he simply couldn't look past that. Similarly, he vowed that although he could never like the girl, he wouldn't go out of his way to be cruel to her, either, especially in James's presence. Satisfied with himself, Sirius fell into a deep sleep and didn't hear his best friend enter their room only minutes later.

The morning brought confusion for Eva, who found herself shivering on the common room couch. The bright sunlight of dawn poured through the stair glass windows, casting colored shadows all around her. Eva mused briefly that it felt like being in kaleidoscope, or at least in one of those ancient-looking tall cathedrals in Rome. The clock chimed dolefully, indicating that it was six in the morning. Eva had slept less than three hours. While she could probably hurry up to her bed, draw the curtains and sleep for another hour before her dorm mates began to bustle around getting ready, she took the opportunity to take a long shower, enjoying the hot water melting the chill of the common room away. She emerged from the bathroom wrapped in an oversized towel and was surprised to bump into Lily.

"What are you doing up so early?" Lily inquired, showing genuine surprise. The rest of the dorm's occupants still rested comfortably in their beds.

"Accidentally fell asleep in the common room last night," she answered shrugging. Lily didn't ask for more information and Eva was pleased to avoid the particulars. She continued getting ready, rummaging through her trunk to find something comfortable to wear to her lessons. After selecting a pair of jeans cut like men's trousers, she added a simple long sleeved black shirt. She applied foundation and black eyeliner before softly sweeping a shimmery gray shadow over her lids. A light swipe of lip gloss and she felt satisfied. By this time, her hair had mostly dried, and Lily joined her at the counter. The dorm stood eerily quiet as both girls soundlessly got ready, save for the occasional curse word as Eva gently wrapped the natural waves of her hair around a large barreled curling iron, burning her fingertips in the process.

After one particularly loud curse, Lily jumped and poked her mascara wand into the white of her eye. Letting out a louder curse word, she scrambled to flush the black makeup from her eye. Once she had calmed, Eva looked at her flustered roommate in the mirror, and simultaneously, they broke out laughing.

"I don't, I've never. I'm sorry," Lily stammered. "I don't use words like that." This only made Eva laugh harder.

"And how did that make you feel?" Eva asked in her best television therapist voice.

Lily eyed her peculiarly, tears still spilling slowly out of her injured eye, "quite good actually!"

Both girls continued laughing until Alice, who was still sleeping, hollered for them to "Shut up."

They quieted long enough to gather their school books before heading out of the dorm and bursting into a new round of laughter.

The girls were among a handful of students who had progressed to the Great Hall for breakfast. They settled into toast and tea, talking animatedly. Lily really almost didn't recognize the girl sitting in front of her. Only hours earlier, she had been a shambled mess. And the six years before that, well, she'd been distant and dismissive.

Eva felt different. She didn't want to admit that Sirius's comment had cut her as deeply as it had. At first she had been confused, mulling over that fact after James had gone to bed. Earlier this morning, and she was inhaling the steam in the shower, Eva concluded that it hurt so badly because he had been right. Eva never thought about what anyone thought about her. She purposely stayed off the radar of most people and things to avoid anyone thinking about her. It had never occurred to her that those actions would actually make people think more about her, and worse, think she was a dismissive bitch.

Eva hadn't really ever felt welcomed, or accepted, any kind of identity and self-awareness that she felt was a result of her own observations. The closest to a compliment that she had ever received from anyone, including her family, was Lily telling her that she was pretty the previous night. It wasn't that she felt cheated by the lack of contact from other people. These types of relationships were all that she'd ever known. And yet something felt so comfortable and reassuring about the way that Lily was excitedly talking to her now.

"Does that sound good to you?" Lily asked giddily. Eva realized that she had been so lost in her own self-analyzation that she hadn't heard a word from Lily. She looked at the redhead wide eyed.

"I'm sorry, kind of zoned out there for a minute," she answered tentatively sipping her steaming tea. "Does what sound good?"

Lily didn't seem phased that Eva hadn't been listening. "Hogsmeade this weekend?" she simply replied.

If she went to Hogsmeade (only once before) she had gone with James. The prospect of going with another girl and traipsing about the clothing boutiques did seem appealing. "Sure, sounds great!" she replied enthusiastically, reaching for a piece of bacon. Eva couldn't remember ever feeling so hungry. And yet, she physically felt her appetite diminish as the Marauders strode in. Heading for their usual place at the Gryffindor table, James looked stunned to see Eva seated with Lily. He sent her a pointedly questioning look and Eva couldn't help but feel like he was a little bit jealous, whether it was of her for sitting with Lily or Lily for sitting with her, she couldn't tell. She mustered up her best grin and James looked even more confused.

Lily noticed Eva retreating both verbally and physically and frantically tried to reengage her to no avail. She took her last bite of toast and stood, encouraging Eva to do the same. She was pleased to see that Eva took her cue and reached for her book bag. Lily didn't believe that avoiding confrontation was the most beneficial solution, but with the wounds still fresh and Eva's emotional evening, she wasn't going to object now. They moved down the table briskly, focusing on the door ahead of them.

Eva was relieved to have Lily there with her, and felt defiant, chin held high for one of the few times that it had at Hogwarts. She turned to Lily, mouth open to begin talking but her words were lost when someone grabbed her by the forearm. Turning sharply, fingering her wand, Eva looked hateful but softened immediately upon realizing that it been James Potter who had stopped her.

"Hey," he said simply, his voice calming. Eva was instantly disarmed.

"Hey," she replied quietly, holding his gaze, avoiding the other three sets of interested eyes on them.

"Where are you going?" James asked nodding towards Lily. Eva motioned for Lily, who looked apprehensive, to continue ahead of her. Lily hesitantly obliged, but didn't move far, leaning down to talk to a Hufflepuff prefect at the next table.

"I don't know, out of here?" Eva responded. James stood and guided Eva away from the table towards the door. He realized if he wanted to have any kind of real conversation with her, it would have to be away from the other Marauders. "What's up?" Eva asked once they were out of earshot.

"What's up? The last time I saw you, no offense Eva, but you were a mess! Next thing I know you're down hear laughing with Lily bloody Evans!" James sounded angry but the smile on his face betrayed his real feelings.

"Oh, Potter. Don't be jealous just because in six years you haven't broken through to Lily and I did in one night?" Eva was grinning madly at him.

James was overwhelmed for a minute. Was Eva joking around with him? In all of the time that he'd known her, Eva had been a hollow shell of herself. And not that one night had completely transformed her, but James noticed a difference.

"Did you just call me POTTER?" he raised his voice for effect. "You win for now Eva. I'm glad you're okay. And don't think that I won't be using you as an inner circle spy…I expect you to put in a good word." He headed back towards the table with a wink and Eva laughed briefly in spite of herself.

"Oy! Eva?" he hollered after her. She turned and faced him. "Hogsmeade this weekend?"

"Sorry Potter, I'm going with Lily," she smirked at him and met Lily at the door before they both disappeared from view.

To the other three at the table, this exchange had been bizarre to say the least. Not only was Eva not angry at him, she seemed downright happy. Sirius mused to Remus that he could count the number of times he had seen her laugh in the last six years on one hand, and including the one that they had just witnessed that made one. Remus rolled his eyes in response and Sirius dropped the issue. As James approached the table, Sirius said nothing about the interaction. He had decided before he'd drifted off the night before that he couldn't be mean to her if he didn't say or think anything about her at all.

James plopped down on the bench looking phased.

"You alright mate?" Peter asked slowly. His hesitancy was clear and a wariness to get involved in another discussion like the disastrous one the night before was palpable.

"She's going to Hogsmeade with my Evans," he sounded stunned. He looked up at his friends. "And now I have a spy on the inside!" As the four men laughed and joked together the indiscretions of the previous evening seemed all but forgotten and for one, Sirius was glad. But he knew that he would make a point to investigate James's comment about Eva protecting him at another time.

Well here chapter three is, it's a bit lighter, but chapter 4 will reveal James and Eva's secret, unravel Eva's tough exterior and draw Lily, Eva and the Marauders together like nothing had before. Please review, I know lots of people are reading...I really appreciate whatever you have to say about my writing. Thx, Ashley.