Chapter 22

He held her tightly, silently, for what felt like hours, and Eve sunk into the comfort that his arms possessed.

They had never interacted like this, not in all of the years they had known one another, but words were unable to express their feelings and instead Eve let her body express all of her emotions in a way that her words could not, sinking into his embrace.

When Draco pulled away he took her injured hand into his own and his eyes flashed darkly at the words that were scrawled into her skin.

'I've had worse, Draco' she reminded him gently, the first words she had spoken since he had arrived.

'Even so…' he muttered, flicking his wand and clearing the blood from her wound 'you need to get that dressed.'

'Essence of Murtlap apparently' she mumbled, and Draco nodded.

The sound of approaching footsteps alerted Draco and he took a step away from Eve, turning to the source of the sound.

'Malfoy? What are you doing here?' Hermione questioned as she turned the corner 'Eve?'

Hermione blinked staring from one to the other, surprise evident on her face.

'I expect I'm here for the same reason as you, Granger, checking nobodies breaking curfew' he replied coldly 'I found Black wandering around after her detention.'

Hermione turned to Eve as if waiting for her to verify his answer.

Eve nodded 'I should get back to my Common Room, they'll be waiting up for me –'

'And I'll be off too, before I catch some of the filth that is floating around in this corridor' Draco sneered, turning on the spot and sweeping away without a second glance at either of them.

Eve watched his retreating form for a moment.

'Git' Hermione muttered, before smiling at Eve 'detention with Umbridge? Come on, I'll walk you back to your Common Room.'

'Thank you' Eve smiled at the sympathetic expression she was in receipt of, and fell into step with the older girl. She didn't see the sympathetic expression upon Hermione's face falter for a moment as a thoughtful one replaced it as she studied her.

'You want to put some Essence of –'

'Murtlap on it' Eve finished, flashing Hermione a grin over her shoulder 'Harry told me.'

When Eve entered the Hufflepuff Common Room she was ambushed with the concerned cries of Piper and Althea, and even noticed Elias, Davey and Patrick hovering behind them.

'Eve, are you all right?'

'I hate that git, Malfoy!'

'What did he say? Did he do anything to you?'

'No, no, no' Eve shook her head smiling 'he cleaned my cut actually.'

'B-B-But it's Malfoy!' Piper cried, looking aghast 'Do you know who his father is?'

Eve blenched at her words.

'Maybe he's not as bad as everyone thinks' Eve shrugged, feeling her cheeks warming.

'Yeah, whatever' Piper shrugged 'more likely he banged his head…hard.'

Elias snorted from behind them.

'Come on then' he called 'we're still only half way through our game of exploding snap!'

As they continued playing, Althea quietly bathed Eve's hand, and despite the stinging causing her to wince slightly, Eve felt a warmth building in her chest.

Maybe things aren't as bad as I thought.

'BILL? BILL!' Molly's shrill cry shot through Sirius like a bullet 'OH ARTHUR, HE'S BACK! THEY'RE BACK!'

Her cries were accompanied by rushing footsteps and various members of the Order burst into the hallway, Arthur Weasley at the forefront.

Molly had already pulled her dishevelled son into her arms and was squeezing him tightly, her words muffled in his shoulders.

Bill let out a small cry of pain as Molly irritated one of his various gashes and instantly his Mother jumped away from him.

'Oh Bill, oh love, you're hurt! What happened? Are you all right? Sirius, Alastor, is he all right? Come and sit down –'

Sirius almost chuckled at the woman's rambling, but the woman tucked under his own arm, leaning heavily on his shoulder, prevented him from doing so and ignoring the questions being shot at them, he led Alina into the living room so that they could both rest.

The return journey from the island was far more difficult than anticipated. The Bermuda Ministry had tightened their security due to their initial breach and it had taken fifteen extremely quick successive apparations for them to successfully make it back to Grimmauld Place.

Sirius and Alina let out a collective sigh as they sunk into an armchair and Sirius closed his eyes momentarily as Tonks scanned both he and Alina over, checking for any serious injuries.

'It's just scratches' he mumbled to her.

'That's what Benvolio said' she replied archly, and Sirius opened one eye questioningly.

'Romeo and Juliet? Shakespeare?' she replied, before shaking her head with exasperation 'and you call yourself a Blood Traitor.'

He chuckled.

'What happened?' Remus' voice sounded.

'Moony!' he called, grinning wearily.

'You'll have to ask Alina' Mad-Eye growled.

All attention in the room turned to Alina, and with a deep sigh she opened her eyes and sat herself up, before relating everything that had happened on their mission.

After a twelve hour sleep, and an extremely large breakfast served by Molly the following morning, the four comrades were feeling far better.

'If it wasn't for Bill we wouldn't have made it half as far as we did' Sirius praised, and Bill grinned brushing off the compliment.

'If it wasn't for me?' he chuckled 'I think we have Alina to thank for getting us there!'

'What I did was because of my bloodline' Alina replied 'what you did was because of talent.'

They chattered over the breakfast table far more enthusiastically than the previous evening, and it was just as they were finishing their tea that Dumbledore chose to appear.

'It is fantastic to see you all back looking so well!' he beamed as he entered the room 'no – no – please don't stand on my account!'

'Tea, Albus?' Molly offered.

'That would be lovely, Molly' Dumbledore replied 'it may be ever so British of me, but I am never one to turn down a nice cup of tea'

As Dumbledore stirred his cup, a pleasantly thoughtful expression remained on his face as the four Order members related their tale and when they were finished he remained silent for a moment.

'It seems to me, that Voldemort is extremely interested in discovering the location of whatever this 'Eternity' is that Frayne was referring too.' He finally stated.

'You mean you think it's a real place?' Bill asked, his brows rising with interest.

'Oh indeed I do, Mr Weasley' Dumbledore nodded 'the Vadima were under the attack of the wizarding world, and as you know it would be very dangerous for a Dark Wizard to have access to their power…the Race, for all means and purposes, seem to completely disappear from history at this point.'

'So what happened to them?' Mad-Eye demanded with frustration in his voice.

'What happened to them, indeed' Dumbledore raised an eyebrow 'it is my belief that they created a safe haven for their people. Somewhere that protected them from the Wizarding Race…'

'Eternity' Alina breathed.

'Exactly' Dumbledore nodded 'and if that is the case, which I believe it is, then there a many more Vadima in existence…the question is, where?'

They fell silent for a moment.

'Do…do we really want to know?' Alina finally asked, and kept her gaze steady as everyone turned to her in surprise 'what I mean is, if they have created this place to keep them safe, surely they are safer without anyone knowing where they are!'

'You have a very good point Alina' Dumbledore contended 'and were it not for the fact that Voldemort himself is searching for its location, I would agree with you profusely. However, it is inevitable that eventually Voldemort will find the location, and without protection, without prevention –'

'- he could gain control of all of them' Sirius completed, his eyes widening slightly.

The room fell silent, and a collective shudder seemed to flow through them all as their minds processed the horror that would occur if Voldemort were to be successful.

'What do we do?' Molly asked, her face pale.

Dumbledore turned to Alina, his face etched with reluctance and his eyes apologetic.

'You want me to visit my mother.' She spoke for him, a bitter taste in her mouth.

'Eve! Eve, wake up!'

Eve opened one bleary eye and nearly fell out of her bed at the shock of Piper's face leaning directly over hers.

'Wha- Piper?' she spluttered, noting that the sun was only just rising.

'I haven't finished my potions essay'

Eve stared at the girl in confusion, before pulling herself up to a seated position and wiping her eyes.

'You mean the one for first period?' Eve clarified, shaking her head.

'Yes' Piper frowned 'but I had to concentrate on the Quidditch tryouts!'

Eve shook her head at the girl's priorities.

'Well the tryouts are over now, so you better start writing or Snape's going to kill you!'

'I know!' Piper groaned, before her face lit up once again 'but before I go to the library I can check the noticeboard, the list should be up now!'

Eve smiled at the excited twinkle in Piper's eyes.

'Come on then, I may as well come with you!' her words earned a beaming smile from Piper.

Twenty minutes later, they were dressed and moving at a fast pace towards the notice board in the entrance hall.

Eve held her breath when Piper scurried over and began to scan the list, if her friend hadn't made the team then Eve didn't know whether she could handle Piper's disappointment.

Her fears, however, were futile, as Piper's wide grin and loud cry were enough to signal good news.

'I told you you'd get on the team!' Eve congratulated her, and jolted as Piper pulled her into a crushing hug.

'This is brilliant! I've got to tell my mum…and my dad! Oh, and Great Uncle Bertie!' Piper was practically bouncing on the spot 'I'll go and Owl them now!'

She waved her farewell with a brief flick of her wrist and began running towards the staircase.

'Don't forget your potions Essay!' Eve called after her, but was given no indication at having been heard.

Shaking her head and chuckling quietly to herself, Eve headed in the opposite direction to her friend, making her way out into the castle grounds, onto the Quidditch Pitch, and only fifteen minutes later she was up in the sky, circling the length of the pitch.

She inhaled deeply, her taste buds savouring the crisp morning air. For a split second she closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation of the wind in her hair, before a sudden image flashed before her eyes.

It was a large room, she couldn't quite make out the details, but a single figure seemed to draw all of her focus. He stood tall, his face strikingly beautiful and his hair golden. He outstretched his hand to her, and all around them were excited whispers, growing steadily in pitch…

Eve's stomach lurched as the image suddenly faded and her whereabouts returned to her. She let out a sharp cry and her heart skipped a beat as she wobbled ominously on her broom.

Idiot she cursed herself who closes their eyes on a broom!? And what the hell was that!

The panic that had set in soon moved to adrenaline as she steadied herself and returned to the enjoyment.

She had revelled in the freedom that walking the school grounds had brought her, but flying was an utterly different experience. It was so superior, so magnificent, that she almost wished she could live in the sky, that she could spout wings and glide from morning to evening in the complete and utter freedom.

Perfect.

At that moment she could completely relate to Piper's passion for flying, and she wondered whether she herself would have been a Quidditch enthusiast had she undergone a normal upbringing.

Perhaps.

Feeling a moment of daring she pushed her broom higher, and holding her breath, she turned the broom, feeling her hair drop above her head as she turned a loop in the sky.

A loud cheer that followed almost caused her to fall, and she jerked her gaze downwards to locate the source of the cries.

Firstly, her eyes locked upon a lone figure, a tall frame whose white blonde hair was left shining under the light of the morning sun.

Draco?

But a second bout of cries drew her attention away from Draco and to the opposite end of the pitch as she found herself looking down in bewilderment at three grinning faces; Davey, Patrick and Elias.

'What the -' her voice trailed off as she shook her head.

Feeling the pressure of an audience, she nervously brought her body forward and aimed towards the ground, saying a silent prayer of thanks as her feet connected with the grass firmly and without a stumble.

'Hi!' she greeted them breathlessly.

'Was that Draco Malfoy?' Elias asked incredulous.

'Er...I think so' Eve replied, her head turning to the spot where she had seen him from the sky.

He was gone.

Why was he here? Eve barely had time to ponder her own question before it was posed out loud by another tongue.

'What on earth was he doing here?' Patrick asked, clearly baffled.

'I dunno' she shrugged 'maybe he was just going for a walk'

'Yeah…maybe' Elias still looked doubtful.

'A-Anyway! What are you doing here?!' she quickly asked, before anymore theories could be put forward.

'Well rumour has it -' Tommy began, his slow smile making his dimples more prominent.

'- by that, he means that our dear Doris, let it slip' Elias interrupted with a wide grin.

'And by let slip, he means during her angry ranting about having to go to the library instead of the Quidditch Pitch' Patrick added, his eyes sparkling.

'Well anyway' Tommy continued, glaring at his two friends 'Piper mentioned that she'd been teaching you to fly, so we thought we'd come and see for ourselves.'

Eve fought back a chuckle, firstly at the image of Piper's angry ranting, and secondly due to the infectious grins spread across each of the three boys' faces.

'Have you seen her this morning?' she asked suddenly, turning to Elias.

'Who – Pip? No, why?' he frowned.

'She got on the Hufflepuff team!' Eve blurted, and a small smile crept across Elias' face.

'Well of course she did' he replied coolly, shrugging, as if there were never any doubt.

Eve smirked slightly at his reaction, and she caught the knowing glance exchanged between Patrick and Tommy.

Elias, however, remained oblivious.

'I do believe it's time for breakfast!' he announced, his stomach grumbling loudly.

'I suppose we can save Piper from her essay whilst we're at it' Patrick chuckled.

'Oh God' Elias groaned 'she's going to be a nightmare today'

'You should have seen her this morning, she was practically bouncing off of the walls' Eve laughed.

They chattered until they were half way back to the castle, when the sound of a voice and a flash of light caught their attention. Glancing at each other, they all immediately detoured from their root, and veered right to peer behind the tree that was constricting their view.

'Oh it's just Ana' Tommy told them quietly, and Eve glanced at him questioningly.

'What is she doing?' she asked as she watched her Dorm Mate hiss with frustration and furiously flick her wand in an attempt to perform a stunning spell.

'Practising for Defence Against the Dark Arts' Patrick replied quietly.

'But we're not allowed to do practical magic in Defence –'

'-but we will have to in our exams' Tommy cut her off 'and Ana's mum's high up in the Ministry, if she fails Defence, a howler will be the least of her worries'

Eve watched the girl in silence, feeling a flicker of sympathy for the girl whose face was twisted with frustration.

'She just needs to make the flick more forceful, her wrist movement is too soft' Eve noted softly as she observed the girl.

'Since when were you an expert on Defence Against the Dark Arts!' Patrick asked her, raising a brow.

Eve blushed in response but was saved by Elias' low hushing of warning and his arm pulling her backwards so that she was fully concealed by the tree.

'Wha-' she began, but was immediately stopped by the finger over Elias' lips telling her to be quiet.

'Umbridge and Filch' he whispered lowly 'he must be able to see the flashes from his Office…'

'Oh he would go and get her, the git' Tommy muttered 'Ana! Ana!'

Eve watched as Anastasia spun around in alarm, her eyes widening with surprise as she saw them.

'Wha –?' she began.

'Umbridge!' all four of them hissed together.

But whilst there was time for the warning, there was no time for her to respond.

'You! Girl!' Filch's wheezing cry sounded, telling them all that Anastasia had been spotted.

Ana's face paled dramatically, and her eyes darted as her bottom lip began to tremble.

'Oh God…I'm going to get detention' she was speaking to herself, the fear in her voice evident to all of their ears 'Mum's going to kill me.'

Eve felt her heart drop at Anastasia's words, she had only known what it was like to have parents for a matter of months but the very idea of disappointing them was too hideous for her mind to even process.

She didn't think she would be able to bare her father's eyes, which only lit up when they saw her, drawing him away from the forever torment that is Azkaban, dissolve into darkness. Or her mother's face, so beautiful despite the torture she had suffered over the years, crease at her forehead as her shoulders slumped…

She was thankful that small matters such as detention would not bring those images into reality. For they had been deprived of one another for so long, that there was little any of them could do that would bring anger upon them.

It was with that thought that something in her mind clicked into place, and although she knew that what she had decided to do was potentially very stupid, she decided nevertheless it was very, very necessary.

'Eve, what are you –'

Patrick, who was pressed up against her in their hiding spot behind the tree whispered in her ear, but she ignored him, moving quickly and running out into plain exposure.

'Eve!?' Anastasia's surprised voice was the last thing she heard, before the familiar, smug voice, penetrated both of their ears.

'Miss Williams, and Miss Black' Umbridge's beady eyes lingered upon her for a moment before she continued 'Mr Filch has informed me that he spotted a student casting spells out here this morning…in particular he noticed a red light?'

Anastasia was visibly shivering beside her and Eve felt a surge of sympathy for the girl.

'It was –'Anastasia began.

'-me' Eve finished for her quickly, ignoring how Anastasia's mouth had dropped open in surprise and tensing at the jubilant expression that lit up Umbridge's face.

'And what, pray tell, were you doing casting spells out here this morning, Miss Black? Were you duelling?' her gleaming eyes flickered between the two girls.

'No' Eve announced tightly 'I came out here to – to – practise defensive spells and Anastasia followed me, to stop me. She said that I would get into trouble.' Eve held her head high as she spoke.

'Well, Miss William's was right' Umbridge's voice was dangerously soft as she seemed to gain pleasure from the turn of events 'and why, Miss Black, would you feel the need to practise defensive magic, when I have clearly told you that the Ministry recommends a theoretical basis for learning the required curriculum.'

'I think Harry Potter has summarised why we need to be able to practically defend ourselves.'

Even Eve herself was shocked by her own words, unsure of why she had retorted in such a manner. Whatever Harry had decided to proclaim to the world about Voldemort's return, she had been adamant that she was not going to stand alongside him as he did so.

Umbridge's eyes widened with shock.

'Well, Miss Black. It seems that you, not unlike Mr Potter, have not quite yet learnt the lesson I tried to teach you in your first detention with me.' Her words were soft, but they cut through Eve like blades 'so you can join him in detention this coming Friday, we shall see if the message will finally begin to sink in, won't we.'

Umbridge's lips curved into a wide, toad like smile, and Eve felt a tremor of electricity rush through her body as her magic begged to be allowed release.

She has no idea what I'm capable of she inwardly fumed, before cursing herself at having such a thought.

'I will see you on Friday then, Professor Umbridge' Eve matched the woman using an equally soft tone 'now I best be going to breakfast or I'll be late for Potions.'

As she turned and headed back to the castle, not daring to glance in the direction she knew the boys were residing due to the fear of giving away their hiding place, Eve could almost tangibly feel her Defence Professor's eyes burning into her back.

Bitch she thought.

'Ready to go, Alli?'

Alina had been lost in thought and it was Remus' bright voice which jolted her back to reality.

She made a groaning sound of assent in her throat and sighed heavily.

'We might get something this time' Remus' tone didn't do anything to encourage conviction of his words, and Alina merely shot him a disbelieving glance in response.

It was one week since they had returned from Frayne's Island and Alina's third visit to her mother.

Three visits in one week. Alina couldn't even remember seeing her mother so frequently when she had been living at home, and her mother certainly was not welcoming the sudden attention from her only daughter. Rather the exact opposite. Her mother had in fact been incredibly volatile in response to her presence, and due to this Alina was finding it near impossible to find relevant information from amongst her mother's jumbled thoughts.

'Her mind is harder to access than normal people's…and with one thought shooting to another before I can even grasp what's happening it's just – she's just – ergh!' Alina ran her hands through her hair.

Remus smiled at her sympathetically.

'We've only been trying for a week. Believe it or not Alli, sometimes things don't come easily…shall we go?'

Alina nodded, and as she rose from the kitchen table she could not prevent her eyes rising to the ceiling, as if she were expecting to be able to penetrate her gaze through the opaqueness.

'How is he?' Remus' voice was low, and she shot him a dark look causing him to grimace 'that bad, huh?'

She nodded silently, letting out a deep breath.

'It's cruel of Dumbledore to have let him go on one mission only to cage him up now' she shook her head.

'Dumbledore's only trying to keep him safe, Alli. The last thing we want is him getting caught.'

'Don't you think I know that, Remus?' Alina's eyes flashed 'but just as he's gotten his freedom, just as he's gotten away from that prison cell he…they…nobody should be caged up Remus…nobody!'

Remus watched her steadily; his face remaining calm as he allowed her to vent her frustrations, but his eyes sparkled with understanding.

Sirius' mood had begun to darken just less than one week ago. Beginning from the moment that Dumbledore had made it clear that he would not be partaking in any further missions for the Order. Alina had watched in silence as the feint trace of light in Sirius' eyes had immediately faded, and his entire demeanour had shrunk. The mood had only deteriorated since then, with him choosing to lock himself away in a room with Buckbeak or disappearing into an empty room and loudly playing his old record collection from their school days rather than socialise with anyone.

'From one prison to another' she muttered darkly, before raising her eyes to meet Remus'

'and it doesn't help that I can physically feel the torment waving off of him, this stupid, bloody connection –' Alina cut off of her words and sighed 'come on then Remus, let's go –'

Remus looked like he wanted to say something, but he clearly thought better as he snapped his mouth shut and took her arm in his. One hour later they were in her childhood home, sitting in the kitchen and watching Mrs Blake steadily drink a bottle of Gin.

'For goodness sake, Mother!' Alina finally snapped 'it's barely midday!'

Mrs Blake's bloodshot, yet nevertheless startlingly blue eyes shot upwards, laced with malice.

She didn't reply.

'Fine.' Alina sighed 'now I'm going to try this again, just try and give me something, all right?'

She did not bother waiting for a response that she knew would not come, instead she leant forward and once again gently pushed her mind forward, probing the edges of her mother's mind before obtaining access.

Alina grit her teeth with frustration as irrelevant image after irrelevant image sprung forward; the bottle of whiskey she'd had last week, their old house elf, the dress she'd worn to the last ball, the intrusion of Alina in her home, Alina crying as a little girl, her father shouting cruelly, Alina trying to climb up onto the bed with her but being too small to do so…

'Ergh, this is ridiculous!' she spat, slamming her hand down on the table and causing a jolt of her magic to shoot down her arm.

'Alina' Remus said warningly.

Her mother's eyes were still on her and Alina felt unusually flustered.

'I'm fine, I'm fine' she muttered, silently counting to ten in her head.

She took one final deep breath and with more force than was perhaps necessary, she pushed her mind forward again and burst into her mother's mind, clearly catching her by surprise.

The thoughts were less frantic this time, and she quickly searched through those at hand before her mother could begin to panic at the intrusion.

The same memory of Frayne, her mother crying as she stared down at Alina sleeping as a baby, her mother writing a note to her father saying that she was leaving…and then proceeding to tear it up, and then a face…a face in the window. Her mother was terrified. An unknown face. Dark, slicked back hair, dark brown eyes lined by deep purple bags and a thin scar curving from the corner of his lip and up across his left cheek.

The images then grew distorted as fear seemed to captivate her mother, and Alina jerked her mind backwards, retreating to her own body and breathing heavily as she stared wide-eyed at her mother's trembling form.

'Alli?' Remus had sat up straighter, clearly noticing that something had transfixed between them.

Alina opened her mouth to respond, but her throat had closed and she was unable to form words. Her heart pounded against her ribcage and her entire body felt as if it had been dosed with ice cold water.

Her eyes never wavered from her mother.

That face, the man in the window…

That memory was unlike the rest she had seen; for it was not old it was recent…

Her mother may not recognise the intruder, but Alina did, and she knew that her mother was extremely justified in the terror she had felt.

For Alina had seen that face before.

She had seen that face when she was tired from the excruciating agony of a long labour, when she was fighting with every ounce of power her body possessed to keep the tiny, new born infant that she loved without a doubt more than anything else in the world. She had seen that same face smirking at her as he held the baby, her baby, firmly in his arms with his wand drawn as he shot spell after spell back at her attacks.

He was a Death Eater.

Thorfinn Rowle.

And what was he doing at her mother's house?

A/N: Thank you to those of you who reviewed, It's nice to know you're still there and enjoying the story :) This chapter was supposed to have a lot more in it, but if i'd put it all in I think it may have been classed as a novel by itself, so it shall have to stretch to the next chapter!
Lot's of mixed opinions about Draco and also a few about George - which was interesting to read :) - and some of you ask suuuuch difficult questions that I cannot answer as I do not want to ruin anything!

Just a thank you to:
Alpenwolf
Lovely Rain Dancer
Poppy5972
talyag
Val
Reader
BooksEqualsGreaterThanLife
Naflower05
Your reviews made my fingers extremely typing happy :) x