A/N: WARNING! Strong language and violence. Should be a good chapter then, right?:) Enjoy.
REMUS:
“You know you boys are free to go, right?” Malfoy continued amicably. “We just want Eva.”
“We’re not going anywhere,” spat James. Took the words right out of my mouth.
Malfoy smiled, a horrible sour grimace. “I hoped you’d say that. Although you do realise that she wouldn’t lift a finger to save any of you? She’d be more likely to help us.”
Eva’s fingers were like pincers around mine, and her breathing was quick and shallow. “You don’t know me,” she managed quietly.
“And yet, we do,” a girl said, stepping forwards. “We know you better than these two idiots anyway, judging by that sweet confused look on their faces.”
Well, she had a point there.
“It’s no-one’s business but my own,” Eva said, her voice stronger. She looked at me and James on her right. “You two should go.”
I squeezed her hand. “You’re insane. We’re staying. We don’t need to know your business to be your friend.”
The girl smirked. I realised I knew her from somewhere. “You should. The Llewellyn’s have history with friends. Stabbing in the back history.”
I studied the faces circling us. About twenty people in all. The three of us had no chance. Eva and I had our wands in our pockets. James' wand was in his hand, but he’d be in St. Mungo’s before he had chance to raise his arm. We were screwed. I wasn’t even paying attention to their poisonous words. I realised Snivellus was there, and Sirius’ brother stood there too; easily the youngest.
“How did you find out?” James was stalling. Hopefully Sirius and Peter would work it out and come looking for us.
“That chubby kid who hangs around with you. Is it Pettigrew? We didn’t realise he was there when we said the password, but his excited squeal gave him away. So we found out what you were doing, and arranged a welcome party! We Modified his memory though. Couldn’t have him telling you, but we did suggest Llewellyn came along. ”
Then there was a banging behind us. “FUCK!” I heard Sirius’ voice shout. “WHAT THE FUCK WAS THE FUCKING PASSWORD?”
“Who cast the Confundus charm on Pettigrew? Because I will personally make sure you get better at it,” Malfoy said. He pointed his wand at us. “Don’t make a sound.”
We didn’t say anything, but the wall was so thin you could hear everything that was said on the other side.
“Don’t be such an arse, Sirius! How do you know something’s happened to them?” It was Lily.
“Because Peter was acting all weird and I think he’s been cursed, so I left him and ran here-”
“And Alice and I heard some Slytherins saying that they couldn’t come back here until they were finished.” It sounded like Frank. “I left Alice and came here too.”
“Lily,” said Frank, “Go get McGonagall.” I heard her footsteps echoing on the stone. Five against twenty was better odds than three.
“The password is Salazar,” Frank said.
“NO!” James shouted, but Malfoy stepped forward and grabbed him, punching him in the gut and stealing his wand. Two other Slytherins jumped on top of him, holding him back. I gripped Eva, stopping her from running towards James.
“Do come in!” he called. “Potter wants to see you!”
Sirius and Frank charged in, wands out, but they stopped when they saw James.
“Looks like we now have a bit of a time restriction,” the girl said. “But look who we have! Muggle-lovers and blood traitors.”
Eva grabbed Sirius’s arm as he started forwards. “She doesn’t mean you.”
“I know,” he growled, but stopped. Why did Sirius know what we didn’t?
Together, we surrounded Eva. Even Frank, who clearly had no idea what was going on. She wasn’t going to get hurt. I would never ever let that happen.
“How touching,” Malfoy sneered. “Llewellyn is letting her friends get hurt for her.”
And then he said something and I fell to the floor. There was only pain, and dear Merlin, it hurt. I couldn’t hear or see or anything- there was just a blinding pain which surged through me like fire and ice at the same time. I couldn’t breathe, but I was somehow still yelling, and then I heard Eva.
“STOP IT!”
Icier burning. More torture.
Then it stopped, as quickly as it began.
Eva was kneeling next to me, tears running down her cheeks. “Remus!” she said, her voice full of pain.
“You’ll go to Azkaban for that,” I heard James say, barely controlling his anger.
“You see, Llewellyn, that was all you had to do.”
With difficulty, I looked up. Malfoy was twirling Eva’s wand, caressing it. And then he snapped it. My eyes narrowed. You don’t break wands.
But Eva didn’t look at him; she didn’t even blink at the crack the wood made. She was focused on me. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
“All this is a bit late, isn’t it? Compassion for your friends?”
“I AM NOT MY GRANDFATHER!” Eva suddenly whipped around and yelled at the Slytherins.
"Do you want to hear a story?" Malfoy said, perching on the arm of a low sofa. With a lazy flick of his wand, ours flew out of our hands. Regulus caught them.
“Once upon a time,” Malfoy began, “there was three best friends; Albus Dumbledore, Gellert Grindelwald and Dewi Llewellyn. They were clever and full of ambition, and planned to change the world. But then there was a fight, and Llewellyn and Grindelwald left Britain for Europe, leaving the feeble Dumbledore behind. Llewellyn adored Grindelwald; and in return he was Grindelwald’s most trusted advisor, privy to every secret. Even when Grindelwald suspected there was a traitor, even when he curled in on himself, he told Llewellyn where he hid- he told his most trusted, closest, oldest friend, who was a spy for Dumbledore. After Grindelwald was imprisoned, someone worked it out. Llewellyn died a traitor’s death.”
“He sold out his friend,” the girl said, flicking back her hair.
“I didn’t think you Slytherins were all that big on loyalty,” Frank said. A spell shot out and hit him in the stomach. He staggered backwards, winded.
“What do you want, Malfoy?” Frank spat.
“I want Llewellyn.”
“I mean, what’s the big plan here? Because I’m struggling, and I’m quite bright. You beat us all up, and you think we won’t tell anybody? You can’t keep this a secret.”
“Oh yes I can. Because I have powerful friends,” Malfoy said, and yanked up his right sleeve. A black skull was tattooed there, an ugly snake curling out of its gaping mouth. “I touch this, and here comes the Dark Lord.”
“You know,” Sirius said, “I was a bit afraid of Voldemort until you said that. But now he sounds like scary dog which comes when you whistle.” He rummaged around in his pockets. “Sorry mate, I’ve only got owl treats.”
In spite of myself, I smiled, and Eva next to me bit her lip. Malfoy was raging. “I’ll kill your family!” he yelled.
“Great,” Sirius said. “Start there.” He pointed at Regulus. “I’m related to half of you.”
Honestly, I loved Sirius. Only he could make this situation funny.
“We’ve disowned you. I heard you were living with the Potters?” said the girl. I realised where I’d seen her before; she was Bellatrix Black, a cousin of Sirius’.
I saw James’ eyes widened in anxiety at Sirius. He was still being held roughly by Slytherins.
“Keep them out of it!” Eva snapped. She was at my side still. I tried to get up, but she pushed me back down. My breathing felt like flames.
She didn’t get up either, but stayed kneeling on the floor. “I’ll do anything, just don’t hurt my friends.”
“Actually,” Bellatrix said, “I think I preferred the Llewellyn’s when they were traitors. It was funnier.”
“Do what?” Malfoy said.
Eva paused. She looked so helpless and vulnerable on the floor, but her voice was strong. “I’ll leave Hogwarts. Go live as a Muggle abroad. I’ll-”
“Say you’re ashamed of your grandfather.”
EVA:
You know, when it comes down to it, it turns out there is nothing worse than plain old humiliation.
I breathed heavily and looked at my friends.
“Don’t say it,” Sirius said quietly.
Somehow the gap that between us and the Slytherins had closed, and there was a guy in Sirius’s face immediately. He pinned him against the wall and shoved a wand in his face. “Shut the fuck up, alright?”
But Frank jumped on the guy’s back and pulled him off, and managed to punch him in the face before he shot a spell at him which made him stagger backwards.
Then there was somebody holding back Frank and James was trying to get free too and Sirius was bleeding. Sirius looked feral, like a wild dog, and I realised with a jolt he and James were Animagi.
“NO!” I yelled at the two of them. “Don’t you even think about it!” They could go to Azkaban, and the were not making that sacrifice for me.
But they weren’t looking at me, and I could just tell what they were going to do.
Oh, the crap you do for your friends. ”I’M ASHAMED OF MY GRANDFATHER!” I yelled.
There was complete silence, and then Malfoy grinned. “Betraying your family for your friends now? Never thought you’d stoop so low.”
I wanted to go up to him and punch the living daylights out of him, and kick him senseless, but I stayed with Remus on the floor. I couldn’t leave him, and he’d grabbed my hand as if he knew what I was thinking. I finally caught James’ eye and ever so slightly shook my head. There was no way they would face prison for me.
“We’re running out of time,” said a familiar voice. I looked up to see Regulus. Not an unexpected surprise.
“You’re right. How are we going to clear this up? Didn’t quite expect it to get this big really,” Malfoy mused.
“We could just wipe all their memories.”
“Call me picky, but I want them to remember this humiliation,” Malfoy said.
“And me,” hissed Bellatrix. Someone punched James for good measure.
“Shall we just say there will be consequences? Family ones? Dark ones.” Malfoy chuckled at his own joke. “Let them go. I think we’ll keep their wands though.”
That’s why, five minutes later, when we had collapsed a few corridors away and McGonagall and Lily found us, we told them it was nothing.
A/N: What did you think of this? Am I any good at writing suspense? It'll get a bit lighter now, and a bit of comedy too hopefully. Although, Sirius' timings leave a lot to be desired, as you can tell. Is Eva's background a good plot? I'm going to expand on the theme of traitors loads.. so :)
AND! How much do you love my fantastic banner? Much love to CJ_Black at TDA.
Also, I've got a new story up, called 'Birds of a Feather'. Please check it out, it's the reason I haven't updated this in aaages. It is an AU of 'Order of the Pheonix', and I'm kinda proud of it.
Please review!
What an A/N. Tis massive. Till next time!
PS. The answer to the riddle in the last chapter was (of course) a coffin! How lovely. And macabre. Congrats to all that worked it out and commiserations to those that didn't.
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