Chapter 18

'Who even is this woman?'

A blonde haired boy sitting opposite Eve muttered in annoyance, speaking of the rather unattractive lady giving a speech to the occupants of the great hall; an admittedly rather tedious speech.

'I don't know, don't really care' a girl groaned in response 'but couldn't she bore us to death after we've had the feast?'

Hearing their quiet complaints soothed Eve's nerves, who up until that moment had felt as if she were steadily growing closer to hyperventilation. She had yet to be introduced to the entire school, something which she knew was coming, and despite the friendly smiles from those around her, she had not had time for any introductions.

She could still see the curious glances being sent her way by the other Hufflepuffs, and even from students sitting on the other house tables.

Just keep breathing, just keep breathing.

'Jeeesus Christttt' the girl next to her sighed in agitation as five minutes later the woman did not seem any closer to finishing her speech.

'Piper!' a voice hissed in a thick Scottish accent, and Eve glanced at a rather pointy faced girl who was glaring angrily at the brunette beside her 'don't blaspheme!'

'Don't blaspheme!' a boy opposite mimicked, causing his friends to snigger slightly.

'Sorry Gwen' the girl replied lightly, not sounding even remotely sincere.

A rather half-hearted trickle of applause interrupted Eve's eavesdropping and indicated the end of the speech, as Dumbledore once again took to standing before them all.

'Thank you very much Professor Umbridge, that was most illuminating.'

'Illuminating my arse' the girl snorted once again.

'Piper!'

'Sorry' she groaned, rolling her eyes.

'Now, as I was saying, we have the pleasure of welcoming a new student this year'

Eve flinched at the sound of shifting as every person in the room immediately turned their heads to face her.

'Eve Black will be entering her fourth year and has already been sorted into Hufflepuff, I know that you will all make her feel at home –'

Dumbledore's words were futile, absorbed by the frenzied whispering that spread through the great hall like wild fire.

'Black?'

'Did he say Black?'

'Do you think –'

'- but she couldn't be?'

'Sirius Black?'

Every atom in Eve's body told her to flee. To find the nearest escape route and run, but instead she ignored the way her heart thudded painfully fast, and the cold sweat that had formed a thin coat across her brow; she was not ashamed of her father.

'Oi EVE!' a familiar voice bellowed across the great hall, creating a break in the whispering as everyone, including Eve, turned to the source of the noise.

George Weasley.

'THEY HAVEN'T BEEN THIS SHOCKED SINCE HARRY TURNED UP!'

'-YOU'RE NEARLY AS INTERESTING AS THE BOY WHO LIVED!' Fred piped up, a wide grin spread across his face, and Eve couldn't help the twitch of her lips.

'You know the Weasley twins?' the girl next to her turned to face her, her green eyes alight with curiosity.

'Erm…yeah' Eve replied, her voice slightly gruff due to the dryness in her throat.

'That's cool' she shrugged 'seventh years don't tend to have much to do with us fourth years…especially the popular ones, I'm Piper by the way…Doris Piper, hence why I do not go by my first name'

Eve blinked for a moment as her mind took a second to absorb the chatter of the girl, Piper.

'And so…you're Eve?' she continued, urging for a response.

'Yeah' Eve smiled, feeling stupid at having nothing interesting to add.

'Cool, well I'm guessing you'll be in my dorm, there's only a few of us Hufflepuff girls in fourth year, we've got quite a bunch of boys' she rolled her eyes.

'Oh come on Pip, don't pretend you don't love being one of the few girls…being a minority gives you half a chance of getting a boyfriend' the blonde boy opposite grinned wickedly, earning a potato being aimed at his head by Piper.

'That's my girl' he gawfled, earning a few snorts of laughter from the boys sitting beside him.

'That idiot's Elias' Piper informed her, indicating the blonde boy 'and the two baboons either side of him are Davey' she nodded towards a dark haired, blue eyed boy 'and Patrick' she indicated the lighter haired boy on the right.

'Hello' Eve smiled, feeling incredibly awkward.

'How come you're only starting this year?' Patrick asked her, leaning across the table and piling a heap of mashed potatoes onto his plate.

'I – I've been home schooled up until now, but I really wanted to come to Hogwarts…so here I am' she told him lamely, sounding ridiculous even to herself.

'Well it's about time, we've needed something good to look at in Hufflepuff for a long while' Davey grinned, earning a glare from Piper, and causing a deep blush to creep up Eve's neck.

'Ignore him…in fact, if you want a bit of advice, ignore all of them' Piper told her 'my mum said boys tend to mature later than girls…and these lot seem determined to prove her right.'

'Oh don't go getting all pious on us, Doris' Patrick taunted 'you sound like Gwen'

'Excuse me' an icy tone cut in, as the pointy faced girl, whom Eve took to be Gwen, narrowed her eyes at the boys, before her glance flickered to Eve and grew slightly darker.

Eve tried smiling at the girl, but to no avail, as Gwen turned decidedly away from her, refusing to acknowledge her existence.

What a strange girl.

The feast continued merrily, and Piper's friendly banter seemed to almost cloud the continued whispering and stares the remained focused on her for the entirety of the evening.

'First years, please follow me!' Gwen sounded loud and clear over the scraping sounds of people moving to make their way to the dormitories.

'I – erm –' Eve began, feeling slightly lost and unsure as of where she was supposed to go.

'I suppose you'll have to come with me too' Gwen informed her cooly, barely sparing her a glance, before turning on her heel and leading the group of incredibly tiny students away.

'Ignore her' Piper told her, making a rude hand gesture at the Gwen's retreating figure 'I'll show you the way to the common room.'

Thankful for the kindness, Eve allowed Piper to lead the way through the winding passages of the castle, far too tired to marvel at the ancient suits of armour and lively portraits that decored the walls. They walked down three flights of stairs until they reached a room of what seemed to be a cellar, filled with barrels.

They joined the crowd of students, huddled around the pile of barrels and Eve watched in surprise as Gwen, whom stood at the forefront of the group, tapped five of the wooden barrows and three sprang forward, revealing a doorway.

'Remember the combination' Gwen told the first year students beside her 'otherwise you will not be able to gain entrance into the common room.'

The common room could only be described as homely. Large armchairs surrounded a huge fireplace already alight with a fire. The walls, draped with Hufflepuff banners of yellow and black also held a few portraits who were currently chattering with each other, clearly discussing the new students entering the room.

'What d'you think?' Piper asked her.

'It's…brilliant!' Eve replied, earning a beaming smile.

'Piper!'

'Pip!'

As they made their way through the common room, various students called out to Piper in greeting, all to whom the girl stopped and chatted with animatedly.

She has so many friends.

'This is Eve' Piper had introduced her over and over, and despite rather questioning glances and hesitant responses, everyone had been friendly.

'Come on, I'll show you our dorm' Piper told her after a while, bidding a few people goodnight and leading her to a nearby staircase.

They climbed two flights of stairs before they reached a bright yellow curtain, covering their dormitory door.

'And this is where you'll be staying' Piper explained, as they entered a room containing four rather grand beds.

Two girls already inhabited the room, both of who had frozen mid conversation and were out right staring at Eve.

'Hello' Eve smiled awkwardly.

'Hi' one girl replied quickly, tying her blonde hair into a high ponytail, 'I'm off to bed, good night girls'

The girl climbed into the nearest bed and drew the curtains around it.

'Well…good night?' Piper called, rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

'That was Anastasia and I'm Althea' the petite black haired girl who remained greeted her 'and you must be Eve…we thought you'd be in our dorm; we saw the extra bed.'

'I was telling Eve we're glad to have another girl here, we don't have the best ratio'

'And have you heard about Jodie?' Althea asked, her eyes alight with the excitement of her story.

'Erm…no?'

'She's left Hogwarts, her mum's sent her to Beauxbaton's!'

'No! Why would she do that? Jodie loves it here…' Piper frowned.

'Apparently her mum had a real big issue with coming back here after what happened to Cedric' her voice softened at the mention of the name, and Eve's ears pricked with interest 'her mum's a Potter supporter, reckons it's all been a massive cover-up by the ministry and wanted to get away before You-Know-Who comes back…the whole family has moved to France-'

'Wow' Piper whistled 'well even if Potter is telling the truth, there's no safer place than Hogwarts –'

'Do you think he is? I mean…' Althea dropped her voice 'my Gran thinks he might of lost the plot a little bit…Rita Skeeter says –'

'Oh come on Althea' Piper scoffed 'you can't believe anything Skeeter says, and she's been off the radar all summer! Maybe Potter has lost it, but at the end of the day Cedric didn't just drop dead did he –'

'Why don't we just ask Eve?' Anastasia's voice sounded, slightly muffled from behind her curtains, and Eve's head jerked up in surprise as the girls head poked out from her bed.

'Sorry?' she frowned.

'Well your dad will know if he's back won't he? I mean…he's that sort'

'I don't know what you're talking about' Eve replied quietly, feeling slightly dizzy at the coldness of the girl's words.

'Well aren't you a Black?' she asked.

'Shut up Ana' Piper snapped, causing the girl to once again disappear behind her curtains.

'Just ignore her' Althea told Eve quietly 'her mother's pretty high up in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement so…well it's not an excuse, but that's why she's being…like that – ' she finished lamely, nodding towards Anastasia's bed.

'And her father –'Piper began, but after a sharp look from Althea she slammed her mouth shut.

'It's fine' Eve replied softly, ignoring the threat of tears burning behind her eyes. She knew this was what to expect, but it was all too much…it was incredibly intense being thrust into Hogwart's and the girl's words had stung

'I…erm…I think I'm going to go to sleep, it's been a long day'

She caught the concerned glances from both Piper and Althea but she forced a smile, and bid them both good night, before falling into a deep sleep.

The next morning, it had taken Eve a moment before she realised where she was. She had risen early, and found that Piper was already up and dressed.

'Ah good you're awake' the girl grinned 'I've already been out for a ride' she held up her broom.

Eve had showered and dressed in a matter of minutes. Feeling slightly experimental, she brushed a light amount of bronzing powder on her cheeks, just as Ginny had shown her, and added a coat of mascara to lengthen her eyelashes.

Done.

Letting out a sigh, she left the bathroom and came out to join Piper.

'The others are still asleep, there's no getting Althea out of bed until the last minute. Let's go down to the Common Room where we can talk properly' she half whispered, flashing another grin and spinning on her toes, marching from the room.

They sat on two of the armchairs in the common room, amongst only a handful of other students.

'I always wake up early, I like to get in a ride before breakfast otherwise I just get too restless' Piper explained 'and I want to make sure I'm ready for try outs'

'Try outs?' Eve asked.

'For the house quidditch team, I got on the team last year but you have to re-try out each year…do you play?'

'Quidditch?' Eve asked 'oh, no' she shook her head.

'Well you should, it's brilliant' Piper stated, and Eve smiled, reminded of the countless conversations that had taken place in Grimmauld Place about the sport.

'-I don't care if her dad's a loony, she can be a nutter too as far as I'm concerned, it still don't change the fact that she's fit' a male voice echoed from the boys staircase interrupting their conversation, and causing Eve's blood to run cold.

'She seems quite nice anyway, and he's got a point mate, looking like that she can be related to the biggest psycho on the planet and get away with it –'

'- well to be fair, she kinda is. I mean do you reckon she's actually related to Sirius Black –'

Eve, Piper, and the rest of those occupying the common room had turned to the sound of the voices, and as the speakers came into sight, they froze mid conversation.

The three boys from the feast stood at the foot of the staircase, staring directly at her with identical looks of mortification on their faces.

'Morning boys' Piper's jolly voice broke the silence 'I should start making bets on how long it will take for you to put your feet in your mouths –'

'Morning Pip' Elias grimaced, before glancing at Eve apologetically 'erm – sorry about that Eve we were just –'

'It's fine' Eve quickly told him, smiling warmly despite the iciness of her insides 'good morning'

A few minutes later Althea came bounding down the staircase, her long black hair in a neat plait.

'Come on guys, breakfast!' she demanded, leading them all out of the common room.

On her way to breakfast Eve was followed by whispers, but managed to ignore them by taking in her surroundings, she stared in wonder at each portrait, the splendour of the wide sweeping staircases and regal looking banners, and once at the Hufflepuff table she stared up at the ceiling, amazed at the bright blue sky.

'You gunna eat that?' Patrick jerked her away from her thoughts, pointing at a sausage remaining on her plate, she shook her head and he reached over, taking it from her plate.

'That is so rude' Althea shook her head at him and he grinned back at her, his mouth filled with food 'urgh.'

After they had been handed their class timetables, and Eve had listened as Piper complained at the shared charms class with the Slytherins, a flurry of owls had swooped into the room, and Eve had beamed as a large black owl landed before her, holding out its leg with a letter for her and she immediately recognised her mother's writing.

Eve,

Hufflepuff! Congratulations! Me and Padfoot are very proud of you, and hope you're settling in well!
We don't want to bother you too much, but know that you can write to us whenever you want to.
I hope everyone's nice, and if they're not…well I'm sure Ginny's shown you how to cast a decent bat bogey hex (but don't tell Dumbledore I suggested that.)
We're all thinking about you here, enjoy your classes.
Send my love to everyone

Mum

Ps: Padfoot said to remind the twins that he's waiting for a toilet seat – from the prefect's bathroom?

Eve smiled as she finished the letter, and glanced over at the Gryffindor table. It had to have been Harry who told them, but for once she didn't feel irritated at him; she felt thankful.

He must have sensed that he was being watched, because suddenly Eve's grey eyes were met by his piercing green ones, slightly questioning.

She smiled at him, a true and honest smile.

She watched as he registered the look, she watched his eyes widen with surprise and then he smiled kindly back at her.

'All right Evie!'

Eve let out a squeak of surprise as the voice sounded behind her, and she jumped round in alarm.

'George! Don't do that!' she scolded him lightly, clutching her chest.

'Sorry' he grinned, and she felt the infectious curving of her lips.

'This is Piper' she quickly introduced the girl beside her after receiving a sharp nudge.

'All right Piper…say, have you tried a canary cream before –'

'-George, stop it!' Eve interrupted him before he could pull out a canary cream from his cloak.

'Maybe another time then' he shrugged at Piper 'I just thought I'd catch you and see how everything's going?'

Eve's entire face lit up at the question, it was her third day at Hogwarts and having got used to the whispers that seemed to follow her, she could not have been happier.

'- and in Charms I got the spell right first time! I've never done magic like this before!' she gushed.

'What do you mean magic like this?' Piper asked suspiciously, and Eve's mouth dropped open slightly in alarm.

'You need to be careful Eve, if you carry on like this you'll end up on the path Ron's taking' George interrupted, ignoring the question 'a prefect' he whispered, his face contorted with disgust.

Eve shook her head at him but couldn't help but laugh.

'Anyway where are you off to now?' he asked.

'Defence Against the Dark Arts' Piper answered 'it's our first one of the year.'

'Urgh' George pulled a face 'good luck! Umbridge is…well…Umbridge makes Quirrell look like a saint!' he shook his head.

'Yeah, we've heard' Piper grimaced 'anyway we better be off Eve, we don't want to be late.'

They waved their goodbyes, and moved swiftly down the corridor, finding the correct room and taking a seat in the middle.

The door swung open once again and the stout brown haired woman who had given the speech at the welcome feast bustled into the room. Immediately the class fell silent, as the woman stood central to them all, her face beaming around.

Darkness.

Eve shuddered at the overwhelming sense of darkness that seemed to leak out of the woman. She had not experienced such an aura since she had escaped from the Malfoy Manor.

Something about this woman, she did not what exactly, made her feel uncomfortable.

She shifted in her seat, frowning as unease flooded through her.

'Good Afternoon everybody! Wands away and quills out please!'

A collective groan echoed through the class.

'Quills out is never a good omen' Althea whispered to her.

'Maybe it won't be too bad?' Eve suggested, and heard Piper scoff at her suggestion.

'Miss Black!' Professor Umbridge's girly voice grew a steely edge as she snapped 'something to add?'

'N-No Professor' Eve stuttered, blushing at having been singled out.

'No Proffessor Umbridge' the woman corrected, with a smile that did not reach her eyes.

'No Professor Umbridge' Eve corrected, feeling her cheeks darken to a shade of crimson.

'Good' Professor Umbridge beamed, clasping her hands neatly before her and observing the entire class with her rather bulbous eyes 'now, this year we will be following a carefully structured theory centred, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic.'

'Try and say that three times –'Elias commented, and a few people sniggered.

'Sorry, you seem to have left the rest of us out of the little joke Mr Matthews, do share?'

The class fell silent at Professor Umbridge's comment, and Elias looked around nervously.

'Sorry' he mumbled.

'Sorry what Mr Matthews?'

'Sorry Professor Umbridge' he replied through gritted teeth, earning a wide smile from the Professor.

'That is perfectly fine Mr Matthews, and I look forward to reading all about your views on 'when comedy is appropriate' in the essay you shall be writing me. I'd like three feet of parchment on the topic for Monday please.'

The lesson continued in a similar fashion, and Eve felt her discomfort at the woman's proximity only steadily increase as the Professor's eyes seemingly kept hovering on her.

The fourth time Eve felt the familiar sensation of eyes burning into her head she jerked her head up and met the woman's gaze, refusing to look away.

For a split second there was no movement by either party, until a slow smile crept upon Professor Umbridge's face and her eyes narrowed slightly.

'Miss Black' she spoke softly, yet Eve felt a cold shiver run down her spine 'it seems that we are both in the same shoes this year, being new to the school! I'd very much like it if you'd join me for a cup of tea in my office this evening – I'd like to hear how you're settling into the school…seven o'clock – don't be late, dear' she added.

When the lesson was over, it seemed that there was quite a battle to leave the classroom first, as the students hurried for the freedom of the corridor.

'Three feet for Monday!' Eve heard Elias groan.

'At least you don't have to have tea with her tonight' Piper remarked, throwing a sympathetic glance at Eve, whose stomach had lurched at the reminder.

She was many things, but stupid was not one of them, and Eve was under no illusion that she would be enjoying a conversation about settling into Hogwarts.

She let out a heavy breath and tried her best to ignore the tight knot that had formed in her stomach as they made their way to herbology.

After dinner that evening, Eve dawdled back to the common room with Althea and Piper, her expression stony and her stomach clenching with nerves.

'It might be all right?' Althea suggested, to which Piper let out an extremely unladylike snort.

Eve just shrugged.

Over dinner they had heard of other horror stories from 'Umbridge experiences' and Eve had left feeling even more deflated than she had previously over the evening that lay ahead.

'I can't believe about Potter' Piper grinned 'Parvarti Patel was saying that he yelled at Umbridge –'

Piper's story about Harry was lost on Eve's ears, which were experiencing a strange humming sound and her entire body had lost sensation.

As they had turned the corner, nearing the staircase, three approaching boys had come into sight.

But only one of those boys had caught her attention.

White Blonde hair, cool grey eyes and a bored, arrogant expression…

'Draco' the words slipped almost silently from her lips.

'Eve? What's wrong?' Althea had interrupted Piper's story, her dark eyes alight with concern.

Her mouth was too dry to respond, she was unsure whether her mind was even capable of forming words.

She hadn't realised that she had stopped moving, but her legs suddenly felt too heavy to move, she felt completely frozen; it was as if time itself was standing still.

'Eve?' She jumped as Piper's loud voice penetrated her daze and tore her eyes from Draco's approaching form 'what's up?'

'I can't…'

'You can't what?'

I can't be here. I can't do this. I can't lose him…

She wasn't too sure exactly what she couldn't do, and her voice cut off as Draco's eyes connected with her own. He had seen her.

He said something quietly to his two large companions, and both immediately looked at her with identical smirks on their faces.

He sauntered towards her, his face no longer void of emotion but a dark glint gleamed ominously from his icy pupils, his lips twisted upwards into a feral snarl; every aspect of his demeanor oozed predator.

Eve gulped, attempting to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat.

In a matter of seconds he was standing directly before her, and Eve sensed the discomfort seeping from Althea and Piper who stood confused beside her.

'Get out of the way Blood Traitor' Draco hissed, looking coldly down at her.

'What?' Eve asked, confused by his words.

'You heard, Black' he replied 'It still bemuses me how people of your kind are allowed in this school.'

Eve was gobsmacked.

He's actually going to pretend I'm a stranger. He's really going to do this…

Her nerves were invaded by a flicker of anger.

'Hey! Leave her alone!' Piper shouted, the slight tremble in her voice betraying her fear.

'I suppose if Dumbledore didn't allow Blood Traitor's in, then the Mudbloods wouldn't have anyone to associate with' he continued, eyeing Piper pointedly before his lips curled in disgust.

Piper's face burned with embarrassment, and her mouth clamped tightly shut.

'Move' one of the larger boys grunted, and Eve glared at the boy angrily.

'There's plenty of room for you to get past' she snapped.

'How dare you speak like that –' Draco began, but she interrupted him.

'- Draco –' she began, and his face grew even paler as she spoke his name.

'Your filthy lips have no right to speak my name, Black' he growled darkly, although Eve caught the slight break in his tone, and roughly pushing past her he continued down the corridor without even a glance back.

'Draco!' she shouted after him, unsure whether she wanted to yell at him or plead with him, but her calls were futile.

She watched him disappear around the corner, her stomach twisted with conflicting emotions; sadness, yearning and anger.

'Eve…what was that about?' Althea asked in a small voice, the girl clearly shaken up by the exchange.

'It was…' Eve began, but her words trailed off.

What could she say? How could she explain?

'Nothing' she finished lamely 'it was nothing. I – I better go now, don't want to be late for Umbridge.' She forced a small smile, and left the two girls standing in the corridor before they could ask any more questions.

'Come in!' the high pitched voice called after Eve had knocked on Umbridge's office door 'oh, Miss Black! Lovely!' the woman clapped her hands together at Eve's appearance.

'Do take a seat…would you like some tea?'

Hesitating slightly, Eve took a seat in a rather overly cushioned chair, and allowed her eyes to sweep around the room, which to her distaste seemed to consist of cats, and the colour pink.

Her eyes quickly returned to her teacher, who had not waited for a response and was currently pouring tea into a teacup, which unsurprisingly was decorated with a fluffy white kitten.

'I don't drink tea…' Eve began hesitantly, eyeing the cup being handed to her warily.

'Oh don't be silly dear' Umbridge chuckled, still amazing Eve with the lack of amusement reaching the woman's eyes 'I can assure you my tea is very nice…now tell me about how your first week has been so far?'

Eve reached out and took the teacup, and as her hands connected with the china she took in a sharp intake of breath. I jolt of electricity had shot through her fingertips, causing her to almost drop the cup with the sudden shock. Her stomach began to contort with discomfort and with all the effort she possessed she rested the saucer on her knees in an attempt to steady her shaking hands.

What was that?

'It's been good…really good thanks' she replied awkwardly 'how about you?'

'Oh it's been very interesting' Umbridge replied, showing her pointy teeth as she smiled expectantly at her 'drink up, dear'

Eve glanced down at the cup in her hands and back up at the woman, the discomfort in her stomach tightening its grasp on her until she felt as though her insides were suffocating.

'I'm just waiting for it to cool down' she mumbled, feeling her eyes stray to the doorway.

Why do I feel so trapped?

She found herself desperate for an escape, unsure of why she felt so strongly she forced herself to remain seated, ignoring the instinct to run from the room.

A layer of sweat formed along the back of her neck.

She was hot. Uncomfortably hot.

'Oh let me help you' her smile widened and with a flick of her wand she continued speaking 'a little cooling charm, the tea should be perfectly fine now. So, how are you finding being separated from your family? I understand you were home schooled previously?'

It was a perfectly honest question, but the intensity of Umbridge's gaze and the darkness of her pupils as they burned into her own convinced her otherwise. There was only one reason she had invited her to her office, there was only one topic she truly wished to discuss.

'It's just me and my mum…and it's hard being away from her, but I'm glad to be here' she replied, smiling and raising the cup to her lips.

'Argh' she suddenly spluttered, as the breath shot from her body as if someone had punched her in the gut. Severely winded she stared up in shock at Umbridge who was narrowing her eyes in confusion.

'What is the matter Miss Black?' she demanded impatiently.

'I don't –' she began, but let out another gasp of breath. Her finger tips were burning, it felt as if her hands were literally on fire, blistering her skin. Her hands shook, every instinct in her told her to drop whatever she was holding and to find ice to sooth the pain.

'Miss Black!' Umbridge snapped, as Eve slammed the tea back onto her desk, causing a portion of the contents to spill.

'S-sorry!' Eve spluttered, in shock. The second the cup had left her grasp, the minute she had freed her hands, the pain had instantly ceased.

She eyed the cup once again, glancing up at her professor.

'What's in the tea Professor?' she asked shakily, the question leaving her lips before she had a chance to stop herself.

'Excuse me, Miss Black?' Umbridge asked icily, no longer feigning kindness 'stop being so utterly ridiculous, there are only tea leaves, water and milk.'

'N-No, it wasn't' she replied, the calculated expression in the woman's eyes confirming that what she was saying was the truth.

Something in her, perhaps her magic, perhaps simply her unconscious, told her not to drink the tea…told her something wasn't right, she felt the trendles of her magic pushing forward, begging to be released as if some kind of magnetic force was absorbing them.

'Miss Black, you have come into my office and not only proved to be rude, but inconsiderate about my belongings, you have spilt your drink everywhere-'

'You put something in my drink! What did you put in it!' Eve demanded, anger replacing her discomfort, and the waves of magic grew in intensity, the power shivering delisciously through her.

'Do not making accusations that are entirely impossible –'

Making a snap decision, Eve allowed the magic to release and with a gush the waves of electricity jolted forwards. Eve was surprised by the weakness of the barrier she was met with. In less than a second she had entered the woman's mind, in only a second more she had seen the potion being placed into her drink and the intention behind her actions.

Find Sirius Black.

She withdrew from the woman with a gasp, and ignored the dull ache in her head as she sprang up from her seat.

'I do not know where my Father is…I have never met the man' she told the woman blandly, narrowing her eyes 'so there is no need at all for you to put something in my drink. I don't know what it was but-'

'MISS BLACK!' Umbridge's high pitched voice bellowed, cutting her off 'I will NOT be spoken to in such a manner! DETENTION! And fifteen points from Hufflepuff!' she spat, before standing, smoothing down the front of her plaid suit and politely clearing her throat.

'I shall see you again Friday evening' she continued in a simpering tone, dismissing Eve from her room.

Stupid, idiotic TOAD Eve seethed, as she stormed down the corridor and finally came to a halt in front of Hufflepuff common room.

'Detention already' she groaned to herself.

At Least Dad will be proud.

A/N: It's taken me forever to write this and i am so sorry. Introducing Eve to Hogwarts required a lot of space and therefore I couldn't really get as much as i wanted into this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it but please let me know if you think it's a bit boring and i'll do my best to change that! Thank you for your continued support it means the world xxx