Dum Spiro Spero

Chapter 17

Watching the students try to capture the egg was making Evalyn nauseous. After Harry finished, she didn't even stick around to see his score. The witch ran to the medical tent to check on him and Cedric. The hufflepuff smiled at her, showing he was fine. They traded a few words briefly before she moved on to Harry.

"How are you feeling hun?" She ran a hand through his hair. The motherly attention was still a foreign concept to him, but he enjoyed it. "I'm so proud of you Harry."

"Thank you, and I'm alright." Evalyn raised her eyebrow showing that she didn't believe him. "Honest, I'm alright." The boy shrugged and grinned up at her.

Immediately, she gave him a side hug. A sigh of relief escaped her lips. Soon the doors popped open and in walked Hermione and Ron. The latter's cheeks were red in embarrassment. Knowing this would be an uncomfortable conversation, Evalyn said her goodbyes and left. On the way out she was stopped by Moody.

"The boy did well on his summoning spell." He grunted as they walked together. She fiddled with her rings, which Moody picked up on.

"Yes, he did. He's honestly a smart wizard." The wind blew a few wisps of hair across her face as she scanned the people walking around. "I wish it could be me doing the tasks instead of him. I couldn't stand to see him get hurt because of a dumb contest."

"I could only imagine what a witch of your strength could make of a contest like this."

Evalyn's cheeks reddened at the praise. "Thank you Moody, that means a lot coming from you." She bowed her head before returning to her dorm. With a handful of powder, she took the floo back home to Sirius.

"Love, I'm back now." Sirius walked up to Evalyn with a paper in her hand. Without a word he held it up to her so she could see the headline.

There on the front page was the picture of her and Charlie. His arm was wrapped around her shoulder as he was leaning awfully close to her face. In bold letters it said 'From Murderer to Dragon Tamer' Evalyn didn't even read the article itself. Tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm so sorry love, it's not what it looks like." She moved the paper aside and when he finally looked up, he was smiling. Actually, he was laughing. "Why are you laughing? This isn't funny."

"Do you see your face? You look like you're about to Avada someone!" Evalyn looked at the picture again, and sure enough there was a scowl on her face directed at the two men not photographed. Her posture was tense and in the photo, she rolled her eyes at whatever Charlie had said.

"So you're not mad about Charlie?" Her brows were furrowed as he pulled her in for a hug.

"No, I have no reason to be. I trust you." Evalyn blinked at him, amazed at the maturity that has grown in him. "Besides, whatever he told you kept you out of Azkaban, so I owe him one."

She pecked his cheek, "That's a relief love, I love you."

"I love you more."

The morning of Christmas was spent with Sirius. Together, they set up a small tree, decorated it, and made hot cocoa. Sirius had ordered them matching pajamas to wear. She had gotten him a Walkman with loads of mixtapes that Harry helped her make. They had spent a week choosing songs to put on them that they figured he would like. She also got him some new wizard robes and shoes. Sirius, on the other hand, got Evalyn some new jumpers, baking utensils to replace her old ones, and he had some of her new photos framed so she could hang them.

He helped her get ready for the Yule Ball with a sad look on his face. He stood behind her as she sat in front of the mirror. A frown found her face as she gazed at him in the reflection. "What is it love?"