Chapter 13:
The second that Alina's hand had connected with her daughter's it felt as if a gust of wind had conjured within her and blown its gusts throughout her body. It seemed to awaken something within her that she had not known exsited. The weakness that had engulfed her since she had been at the Malfoy Manor evaporated and been replaced by sheer power. It was as if her magic was dancing through her veins, crackling against her skin causing her hairs to stick on end. She could feel the magic trickling and bubbling towards the area their skin connected and rather than stopping it continued to run it's course into her daughters body. At the same time she felt the strange sensation of her daughter's magic crackling at her own finger tips, seeping into her body and prancing through her. It explored every inch of her body as if it were memorizing her to the very core, and Alina let out a sigh as a warm tingle spread through her body.
My power recognises you.
It was as if her magic was giving a leap of joy as it was finally discovering it's own creation. Alina felt as if every nerve in her body were ten times more sensitive than before, as if her entire soul had awoken from a deep slumber.
I made you she sighed inwardly our powers are one.
Eve's body had erupted in warmth; a warmth that started from the fingers that connected with her mothers and spread through her entire body.
Her skin buzzed and hairs stood on end at the sensation, and her heart thumped wildy as adrenaline corsed through her veins.
'Why do they call you eversor?' Sirius asked her.
The second he spoke the tingling in her body disappeared and a block of ice dropped into her stomach, she looked at him fearfully, dreading the reaction her parents would give her when they discovered the reason. She could tell by one look in their eyes, the love and kindness refkecting from them, how they had fought against the people who had held her captive – they would never understand.
The could not possibly understand the things she had done, the atrocities she had committed.
Alina must have seen something in her eyes, or sensed her hesitation to respond, and Eve felt a squeeze on her hand.
'You don't have to be afraid' she told her.
'I'm not scared of you' she whispered, her eyes flickering from her mother to her father. She held her father's gaze firmly, showing him her determination to remain strong and her eyes widened in surprise as he smiled approvingly back at her.
'There are different types of fear…Eversor' he used her name hesitantly and immediately registered the girl wince at the word and mentally reminded himself to not speak it again 'you might not fear us. But you need to know you don't have to fear our judgement either.'
Alina raised her eyebrows at his words and turned to face Sirius, wondering at what point it was that he had gotten so wise? Was it after he had lost James? After he lost her? After he lost everything…
'One thing that we don't do is judge people he smiled wryly, keeping his daughters steady gaze
Eve paused, staring deeply into his eyes as if searching for something.
It was an intensity that he had only ever experienced from one person before; her grey eyes delved into his own as if piercing the very fabric of his soul causing him to suck in a deep breath.
The power radiating from her gaze was remnant of her mother.
Just like Alina.
It seemed as if Eve found what she was searching for, and with a shaky breath and a hesitant glance at the woman whose hand still softly cradled her own, her lips opened and formed barely a whisper.
'The destroyer'
A cold chill shot through Alina as she heard the name, the words triggering a faint memory.
One in which she wore a cloak with a hood pulled up to cover her face.
Where she stood outside under the nights sky.
Where her entire body responded to the wishes of Lucius Malfoy…
'Well, unusual names seem to be a family trait' Sirius remarked lightly, removing the awkwardness that had built in the room and cocked an eyebrow 'unless you'd like me to fetch the constellation map…I'm sure there's a star on there somewhere that could provide a far more unusual –'
'-what and end up with a silly name like Sirius!' Alina scoffed breaking away from her memory, and causing Sirius to raise his eyebrows in a mixture of amusement and outrage.
'How dare you mock the house of Black and the honourable traditions it upholds' he retorted snottily, sounding remarkably Slytherin.
Eve didn't quite know what to make of them, her parensts, watching the man and woman bicker whilst their eyes simultaneously remained bright with affection.
However a word he had spoken triggered something in her mind.
'Black?' she questioned, and watched as the man…her father…turned to her in surprise.
'I've heard that name…' she studied his face intently 'Draco spoke of you…he said you had escaped from –' she stopped mid sentence and bit her lip in hesitance.
Silently she cursed herself for opening her big fat mouth.
Well done, Eve. Just accuse your father of being a Murderer…
She winced and braced herself for the sharp blow, the pain of a curse hitting her for speaking so freely…but nothing came.
Instead she felt a rough hand gently cupping her cheek, she flinched in surprise at the contact, but allowed the hand to raise her chin so that she was once again looking up.
She found his silvery-grey eyes in her path and met them reluctantly.
'I told you, you have nothing to fear' he told her again, his eyes clouded with sadness.
'I'm not scared' she repeated, her voice betraying her as it shook as she spoke.
'And yes' he continued after a brief pause 'I was in Azkaban…but I can assure you I was innocent. I shouldn't have been imprisoned'
'Something that we all have in common' she commented wryly, a small smile twitching on her lips.
A short silence followed her statement, and she took the time to study each of her parents' faces.
Her parents…
The whole ordeal seemed surreal. She had dreamed, fantisized her entire life for this moment, and now that it was here she felt completely overwhelmed.
On first impression it was clear that her father had suffered a difficult life. His skin was the sallow complexion of someone who had been deprived of daylight…a colour that her own had not quite reached. His hair, although cut into a style, was slightly lank as if the colour had rinsed from it and left it lifeless. But his eyes shone brightly, a deep stormy grey that radiated intellect.
It was clear that he had the potential to be handsome, in fact on closer inspection it was clear that in his youth he most definitely was attractive, but it seemed that the years had worn him harshly.
Her eyes moved to her mother. In stark contrast to the man beside her, it was her mother's beauty that struck her immediately.
Her eyes were a strikingly bright blue, and seemed to gaze straight into her own as if they were searching deep into her soul. A small button nose that was almost a duplicate of her own and high cheekbones were framed by a thick tussle of blonde hair.
Yes, she is beautiful. She told herself.
But her eyes, despite their shocking brightness, were clouded with hidden ghosts.
She was extremely thin, making her frame extremely child like and vulnerable.
She had to supress a snort at the thought; from what she had witnessed of her mother she was anything but vulnerable.
Power exuded from her very pores. She could sense it the moment she had connected with her by touch.
'I won't ever let them imprison you again'
Her thoughts were broken as her mother spoke.
Supressed anger laced her tone, and she blinked as she noticed her mother's eyes darken as if a shadow had passed over them.
Alina obviously must have seen the look of concern in her daughter's eyes and immediately her gaze softened and a gentle smile lit up her face.
'You're safe now' she told her.
Something welled up inside Eve's chest. It bubbled within her, and as she tried to respond she felt a choking sensation in her throat. Emotions flooded through her so quickly and suddenly that she barely had time to register let alone recognise them.
'I- I –' but she didn't know what to say.
She was safe.
Lucius could not hurt her again, he could not force her to do anything she didn't want to do…he couldn't make her hurt people.
And she was with her parents.
Her family
She was no longer the destroyer. No longer Eversor.
She was a daughter.
She looked up, meeting her mother's eyes first and then her father's.
She held his steady gaze without wavering.
'Eve' she spoke the words softly, forcing away the image of Draco's face that her mind had conjured up as she mentioned the name.
Sirius frowned questioningly as a wide toothy grin slowly spread across her lips.
'Eve' she repeated 'my name is Eve.'
His face remained blank for a moment, before an equally wide wolfish grin graced his face that seemed to illuminate his hidden good looks.
Alina blinked in surprise as she glanced from Sirius to her daughter.
Both met each other with identical gazes, and both faces stretched into identical grins.
She couldn't fight back the content smile that curved her own lips upwards as her eyes soaked in her family.
Her Sirius.
And her daughter.
Her…Eve.
Unusual, yes. But unusual seemed to be the most prominent trait in this family.
Eve's eyes were heavy, but stubbornly she blinked hard to clear her blurring vision. She refused sleep to take its hold on her, to lure her away from the family she had finally been united with.
She felt her head drop slightly as sleep battled against her, but she pinched her arm quickly and sat herself further up to attempt to keep awake.
However, despite her best attempts it seemed that her parents were nothing if not observant.
'You need to rest' Sirius told her firmly, and merely raised his eyebrows as she opened her mouth to protest.
He turned to her mother, whose frame was slightly slumped in the seat beside her.
'You need to rest too'
'I'm fine!' Alina snapped, her chin sticking out in defiance and her forehead creasing into a frown.
'No you're not' he replied firmly and standing up he reached out and grasped her arm, helping her to her feet.
'You're both exhausted and need to get your strength back' he told them, reaching out with his free hand and selecting a vial of potion from the bed side table and handed it to Eve.
'This is dreamless sleep potion, it will help you to get some rest. Drink all of it and you'll drop off to sleep soon enough' he told her softly 'I'm going to take your mum back to her room and then I'll come back and check on you…if you need anything at all just call out for me and I'll be right there'
His eyes glued to her own for a moment in concern, and she smiled in response before bringing the vial to her lips and downing the entire potion.
The effects of the potion were almost instantaneous as a wave of drowsiness washed over her.
Blinking furiously, she kept her eyes firmly on her parents as with great care her father took her mother in his arms and escorted her from the room. She heard them pause in the doorway for a second to glance back at her, before the soft click of the door told her they had gone.
Before the drowsiness consumed her, and sleep took over a few things ran through her mind.
Firstly were the faces of her parents gazing down on her with an emotion in their eyes she had never seen before; and emotion she could only assume was…love?
Secondly she briefly acknowledged how she had just drunk an unknown potion given to her by someone she had only met for a matter of hours…but she had been honest when she had told them that she wasn't scared. She knew they wouldn't hurt her.
And finally, as her vision blurred and she allowed her eyes to flutter closed was the blank expression of resignation on Draco's eyes as he pointed his wand at her…
'Draco' she breathed.
A soft knocking on her door awoke Alina from her slumber and feeling slightly dazed she called out.
'Come in!'
The door slowly opened with a creak and Alina felt her lips immediately curve into a warm smile as a bespeckled face and messy black hair peered around the doorway.
'Come in, Harry' she chuckled lightly at his hesitance.
If it had been James she was certain he would have charged in regardless to whether she had given him permission or not.
She felt a dull pang in her chest at the thought of James and quickly brushed away the memories and drew herself into the present and the boy who had taken a seat beside her bed.
She pulled herself up into a seated position, crossing her legs and turning to face Harry.
God his eyes look so much like hers…
'Ron and Hermione are arguing again' he informed her, as a reason for his appearance, and Alina nodded with a grin of understanding.
She briefly wondered whether herself and Sirius had made their friends suffer as much as Harry did with their constant arguments.
Definitely she thought with a small chuckle.
'How are you feeling?' he went on to ask her, his eyes filled with concern.
So much like Lily.
'Fine! If it weren't for Sirius threatening to hex me if I get out of bed I'd be up by now' she told him before lowering her voice 'not that I couldn't deal with him if he tried, but sometimes I've got to let him be 'the man''
Harry grinned in response to her comment and laughed quietly before his face became more serious.
'What happened?' he asked her quietly 'why did you and Sirius run off…was it him?'
Alina flinched at the thought of Voldemort and felt a wave of anger at the familiarity in Harry's voice when he mentioned him.
Harry was fifteen, he wasn't supposed to have had contact with the darkest wizard of all time.
Didn't we fight to prevent this?
'No' she told him softly 'I take it you haven't spoken to Sirius?'
Harry shook his head 'I haven't really seen him today, I think he's been busy…'
Alina paused for a moment and sucked in a deep breath.
'When I was taken I was pregnant' she told Harry 'and yesterday we found out that our child…mine and Sirius' daughter, was alive and still imprisoned'
Harry's eyes widened with shock as he registered what she had said.
'Yours and Sirius'…' he breathed quietly, before he looked back up at her his eyes startlingly green in the light 'and you went to find her.'
It wasn't a question so she nodded silently.
'Did you find her?' he spoke carefully, as if worried he would provoke unwanted sadness, but seemed relief as a bright smile lit up her face.
'Yes!' she told him eagerly 'seems like we got there just in time…but she's safe now. She's asleep in the spare room. Her name's Eve, she's the year below you…' her voice trailed off as she realised she was gushing and she studied Harry's face.
A warm smile spread across his features and there was no hint of the emotion she was dreading to see; jealousy.
Over the last two years she was more than aware that Harry's relationship with Sirius had grown into what could be described as father and son…and as for herself, over the last few weeks she had been a constant presence in his life and was hoping to gradually form a similar bond.
Her fear was that Harry would feel pushed out of the equation now that Eve was in their lives.
'You know when I found out I was pregnant, I only told your mum' she told him and saw Harry's eyes gleam with alertness at the mention of Lily 'we were both so excited that you would both grow up together…Sirius and James had been talking for ages about a new era of 'Marauders'…' she shook her head at the thought.
'We thought you were going to grow up together, go to Hogwarts together…just like we all did' a flicker sadness appeared behind her eyes but she quickly blinked it away and smiled encouragingly at Harry.
'When they took me, once I found out about James and Lily – my main concerns were for the two of you…' she gazed intently into his eyes 'I never thought I'd see you both again – and now I have – it's weird…so so weird'
'Alina…' Harry began, nerves evident in his tone.
'Yes?'
'I was wondering…I've met a lot of people who knew my dad…but not really my mum –'
His voice trailed off as he saw the sadness in Alina's eyes, before the emotion was quickly erased from sight and she nodded with a small smile.
'Your mum had loads of friends, she was one of the kindest people you could ever hope to meet – she used to put me to shame all of the time' Alina chuckled 'there are very few people who are naturally good. Your mother was one of those few people, and from what I have seen and heard you seem to have inherited that gift from her.'
She paused to smile kindly at him before continuing.
'She was liked by everyone, but there were four of us as best friends…me, Lily, Polly and Alice' her voice lost enthusiasm as she spoke and gradually her tone deadened to a monotone as she spoke.
'Polly was the first victim to the war…before we even realised we were fighting one' as she spoke she relived the memory, the pain and the loss.
'The rest of us remained best friends, but eventually the war claimed us all. I was first to be taken, I understand that I was believed dead…soon after I was gone He came for Lily and James' she spoke quietly, Harry leaned in absorbing every word she spoke.
'And Alice…well I take it you heard what happened to the Longbottoms?' her voice caught as she spoke, the loss of Alice being the freshest wound of them all.
Alice was supposed to be safe.
The war had been over; it shouldn't have happened.
'Neville's mum?' Harry breathed, and Alina nodded silently.
'How is Neville?' Alina asked.
'He's fine' Harry smiled gently 'the clumsiest boy you'll ever meet though' he grinned.
Alina laughed at that, and frowned thoughtfully.
'I'll have to meet Neville' she spoke more to herself than Harry 'I'm just happy you're all safe. I know you've had a hard life, Harry, but I'm here now. And I'll do whatever it takes to protect you.'
The final words she spoke were with such clarity, such determination that Harry couldn't respond.
His heart had skipped a beat, and his body tingled with warmth, as he embraced the love in Alina's voice.
For a long time Harry Potter had not understood what it was like to have a family. And at that moment, hearing the motherly care in Alina's voice, he wondered if he was finally going to find out.
Eve let out a sigh as she stirred from her sleep. Her eyes, however, remained tightly closed.
She was terrified of opening them. Terrified that it was all in her imagination, that she would find herself back in her cell and her parents had not truly come to save her.
But the soft pillow that she felt her head resting on, and the thick duvet that covered her body keeping her luxuriously warm told her a different story.
Taking a deep breath she counted down slowly in her head, working herself up to opening her eyes.
Three, two, one….
CRASH
At the sound of the door crashing open, Eve's eyes flew open and she sprung from the bed onto the hard wooden floor. Her arms were outstretched and her knees were bent into a defensive stance.
'Oh, shit! Sorry love!' a surprised voice sounded 'I didn't realise…wait, hang on….who are you?'
Eve found herself staring at a teenage boy, perhaps a few years older than herself, with startlingly bright…orange hair?
His voice, slightly higher due to his initial shock had deepened as his surprise had turned to confusion and then on to suspicion.
'I'm Eve' she responded to him, neither moving nor relaxing her muscles which were still tensed in preparation for a fight.
The boy stared at her for a split second too long before his response, a slightly dazed expression on his face.
'Why…How are you here?' he asked her.
'My parents brought me here…' she replied slowly.
'And they are?...'
'Alina and Sirius' she replied, raising her eyebrows at the look of shock on his face.
'A-Alina and S-Sirius?' he spluttered, before realisation dawned on him 'so that's where they disappeared to yesterday' he muttered, more to himself.
Eve watched the boy curiously, he was not like anyone she had ever met before. His hair was an almost obnoxiously bright orange and his face was laced with light freckles. And his eyes…his eyes were neither blue nor grey, nor filled with coldblooded cruelty…
They were a warm brown, lit up with humour and kindness.
'I'm George' he grinned, speaking in a hushed tone, extending his hand and moving towards her.
In that moment, Eve had to make a decision. Would she allow the virtual stranger to approach her, to touch her?
She gazed once more into his kind eyes and with a deep breath, she lifited her own hand to cup his.
'Hello George' she breathed, unable to prevent her lips curving into a smile at the sight of his infectious grin spread across his face.
The sound of approaching footsteps caused the grin on George's face to falter, and panic take its place. With a quick grimace and an apologetic look, he dived onto the floor hiding his body with the large oak bed.
'Wha –'she gasped in surprise, frowning down at the boy.
'If anyone asks…I wasn't here' he hissed.
As if on queue, there was a light knock on the door and Eve looked up in alarm.
'C-Come in?' she called, feeling terror clutch her with its sticky fingers.
Who would it be? Why would this boy, who was older that her and clearly had access to a wand, need to hide.
The fear left an icy trail through her, and she felt as if she had been holding her breath for a year as the door slowly creaked open.
She gasped out loud as the sight reached her eyes. Never had she seen someone so horrifying. Deep, angry red scars distorted his entire face, one eye was spinning wildly in its socket, a startling blue that did not match his other eye and his lips were twisted into a scowl.
Eve stared at him in silence, her body waiting for the attack she was sure would come.
'Hello, Eve I take it? The man asked, in a gruff, yet rather pleasant tone.
Eve blinked in surprise.
'Y-yes' she stuttered, and the man nodded thoughtfully.
'You look like Alina' he informed her and Eve had nothing to respond with except a dumb nod.
The man stared at her for another moment, before nodding his head as if he had gained whatever he had come for, and turned to exit.
'And you can tell the buffoon cowering under your bed, that his mother is still looking for him and she's none best pleased' he growled 'oh, dinners in half hour' he called finally over his shoulder as he closed the door behind him.
A moments silence, and then the sound of George scrambling to his feet met her ears, she turned to him, her face the picture of wild confusion.
'That's Mad-Eye Moody' he told her in ways of an explanation 'used to be a brilliant Auror…but sent him a bit mental, really'
'An Auror?' she asked quietly.
'You know…they fight against dark wizards?'
'Oh, like my mum and dad?' she asked, and George chuckled.
'Not quite, Aurors get paid for what they do.'
Silence fell between them and Eve bit her lip shyly, feeling awkward standing there talking to this boy.
The only person she had spent time with in a friendly manner was Draco, and even then it hadn't always been enjoyable with his constant mood swings.
'Why were you hiding?' she asked him, and a broad grin lit up George's face.
'My mum found some of me and my brother's…inventions. She doesn't quite approve of them, see' he shrugged 'anyway, Fred is currently hiding downstairs somewhere, so that's why I'm here!'
'You're hiding from your mum?' Eve clarified slowly, and George nodded eagerly 'but…why…is she going to hurt you?'
George frowned at her question, and seemed to study her face before he replied.
'Course not, well not really. We'll probably get a shouting at…although when we stole dad's car we did get a few hexes sent at us…this isn't really as bad as that though' he shrugged.
'Are you coming down to dinner?' George went on to ask her, and she raised her eyes to meet his.
'Am I allowed?' she asked him quietly.
'Course you are!' George beamed, nodding his head in indication towards the door and grinning 'come on!'
Eve blinked, unsure whether to follow the boy, but sucking in a deep breath and acknowledging his wide grin she followed his lead.
The house was nowhere near as large as the manor her prison had resided in, but the tall ceilings and wooden floor boards left a cold chill in the hallway he led her out into.
Silently, Eve thanked whoever had dressed her in the large jumper that kept her body warm.
'You have to be quiet as you go down stairs, it's not worth the earache if you make noise' he whispered to her.
'George…' she begun, hesitating at the top of the staircase, and he turned back to look over his shoulder at her 'what if my father gets angry at me for leaving the room?' she whispered.
George smiled warmly at her 'Eve, you're not in prison you're allowed to leave the room if you want to…plus, you're hungry right?'
Eve bit her lip in uncertainty before nodding her head.
Yes, she was hungry.
'Come on then!' he told her, reaching out and gently taking hold of her elbow to lead her down the staircase.
'George...' she began again, and the boy paused once more raising an eyebrow enquiringly at her 'why is your hair that colour?' she asked.
For a second George just stared at her, as if unsure whether he had heard her correctly.
'Why is my hair…this colour?' he asked, trying to clarify the question she had asked him.
'Yes' she nodded 'I've never seen orange hair before.'
She didn't know what she had said but George's laughter seemed to explode from his chest.
He dropped his hand from her arm and clutched his stomach as his loud guffaws echoed down the staircase.
Eve stared at the boy in alarm.
Was he crazy?
She shuffled uncertainly on the step she was standing on, and George finally raised his head to look at her face, wiping a tear that was trickling down his cheek.
'Oh Eve, you're going to see plenty more orange hair, now that you're here' he choked out, before bursting into laughter once again.
'FOUL MUDBLOODS LACING MY HOUSE WITH DISGRACE. BLOOD TRAITERS, MUCKBLOODS, MUDBLOODS AND SQUIBS INVADING THE GLOURIOUS HOUSE OF BLACK –'
The shrill yells caused Eve to jump violently and ended George's laughing fit.
Quickly the boy took her arm and led her down the stairway towards the sound of the screaming.
'George – Wha -?' she began to question, but stopped in her tracks as they reached the bottom of the staircase and found four pairs of eyes staring back up at them.
'Errmm…sorry about that?' George shrugged meekly.
a/n: Thank you all for your reviews I truly appreciate them all and will do my best to respond to them this week! It seems that nearly all of you want to hear from Eve's POV aswell which makes me happy as the more I'm writing and thinking about Eve the more excited I am to write more from her.
I know it's taken me ages to update and I will do my best to be better at it, but have so many exams at the moment it's difficult!
Thank you so much though xxx