Dum Spiro Spero

Chapter 22

"He's not an adult either! He's not James Sirius!" Molly was standing on one end of the table. The witch and Sirius had been arguing back and forth about what all Harry should be told. Sirius wanted to give him the truth, to not keep him hidden to protect him. Molly wanted to keep him out of it because he is still only a child. Evalyn and the rest of the table sat silently while the two went on.

"I'm perfectly clear who he is, thanks Molly." His face was stern. Evalyn slipped her hand onto his knee to offer him support.

"I'm not sure you are! Sometimes the way you talk about him, it's as though you think you've got your best friend back!" Her face was red in anger.

Evalyn stilled when Molly's and Sirius' voices rose. The argument continued and she looked to Remus, silently pleading for him to step in. The werewolf took note of this and spoke up. "Personally, I think it's better that he gets the facts, not all of them of course, but the general idea from us instead of something mixed up from others." Evalyn gave him a thankful nod before turning back to Molly.

When the red head didn't see anyone willing to take her side she spoke again, "well I can see I'm going to be overruled. I'll just say this: Dumbledore must have had his reasons for not wanting Harry to know too much and speaking as someone who's got Harry's best interest at heart —." Evalyn rolled her eyes when the old wizard was brought up. His need for not wanting to share information is why things are the way they are.

"He's not your son." Sirius' voice was cold, almost dangerous. The Black family genes were starting to show. The man was a powerful wizard, and the genetics made him seem much more intimidating.

"He's as good as, who else as he got?!" She leaned forward on the table, her eyes blazing onto him. This time, Evalyn scoffed. Her anger was starting to boil. Harry turned a soft look to her, knowing those words hurt her.

"He's got me!"

"Yes, the thing is it's been rather difficult for you to look after him while you've been locked up in Azkaban hasn't it?" The taunting look on her face enraged Evalyn.

Sirius went to stand up, but Remus held his arm to pull him back down. However, nobody bothered to stop Evalyn. She was now standing from her seat, glaring at Molly with fierce golden eyes. Sirius watched her with a smug look on his face. Molly cowered slightly under the blondes gaze. "Now you listen here Molly. I appreciate what you have given to MY godson over the years. But I will NOT let you come into MY house that we are allowing you and your family to stay in and insult MY ability to care for Harry. I will not stand by and let you drag MY husband's name through the mud. Especially when he is innocent and you know it." Her hands were clinched in tight fists, her fingernails digging into her palm. "Every single one of us care about Harry, and as his rightful godmother, I am giving him the option to choose what he wants to know. Whether you accept it or not, we are at war and secrets are what gets people killed. Now I will continue to respect you as long as you respect me and my family." 

Harry put a hand on Evalyn's shoulder, making the blonde turned towards him. He gave her a thankful nod and smile. Molly sat quietly, nearly in tears. When Evalyn sat back down, Sirius held her hand and rubbed soothing circles on her wrist. That evening, they answered Harry's questions carefully, and explained to him what the Order of the Phoenix is.

Later on, Evalyn leaned against a wall watching Sirius point out different family members on the Black Family Tree. Scorch marks were on a few spots, marking those who were banished. He told Harry the story of running away and going to live with James. Evalyn's heart hurt, seeing Regulus' face on the train when they came back to school that year. The way she held him while he cried. His name falling from Sirius' mouth broke her from her train of thoughts. "My idiot brother, soft enough to believe them. That's him at the name Regulus Black. He was murdered by Voldemort, or on Voldemort's orders more likely. I doubt Regulus was ever important enough to be killed by Voldemort in person." His finger lingered over his little brother's name. There was a pain in his eyes.

"He was one of my best friends actually." Evalyn stepped forward and wrapped her arm around Sirius' waist.

Harry gaped at her in disbelief, "Him? But he was a death eater, how could he have been friends with you?"

She smiled fondly, thinking about the younger Black brother. "He wasn't always one. Our friendship was kept in secret to protect the both of us. But we meant the world to each other. Regulus was truly one of the best souls that I had the pleasure of knowing. Now come Harry, your trial is tomorrow, and I can't wait to see those sorry sods faces." Little did she know, Kreacher was standing outside of the room listening to everything she said about his favorite wizard.

The house elf caught her off guard, everyone had retired to their rooms, while she stayed behind to finish cleaning up. He popped into the room, and she nearly dropped the plate she was putting away. "Mistress." He did a half bow, the sneer was still on his face, but it wasn't as cold as usual.

"How can I help you Kreacher?" She gave him a kind smile. Although she wasn't pure, he appreciated that she was always kind to him. There was a reason Regulus loved the witch, and he was willing to give her a chance.

"Follow me." He walked away without giving her another glance. She furrowed her brows and went after him, curious as to what he wanted. They went up the stairs and Evalyn froze at the door they stopped in front of. Regulus' name was at the top.

She shook her head and whispered, "I don't think I can Kreacher, have you been in there?" The house elf sighed and reached a hand out for her to grab. Her hand slipped into his after a brief hesitation, and she was apparated into the green bedroom.

Looking around the room, she could tell that the furniture and decorations haven't been moved, but someone has kept up with the cleaning. His broom was propped up on the wall, hung proud as if it was his most prized possession. A bottle of his cologne was on his dresser. Evalyn popped it open and smelled the familiar scent. Tears sprung to her eyes as she pulled open a drawer. There was a plain grey jumper that he used to always wear to Hogsmeade. Her fingers ran across the fabric as she pulled it out. She turned to Kreacher and silently asked for permission. When he gave a stiff nod, she spritzed a couple sprays of cologne on it and slipped it on over her shirt. It was still slightly baggy on her since the boy was taller than her by a bit.

When she sat on the bed, she continued to look around the room. "Can I have a minute Kreacher? I apologize, I'm just feeling a bit emotional." He said nothing as he vanished. Her eyes wandered, catching sight of something that looked off on the wall. It was the wall where his articles of Voldemort were plastered. She picked up her wand and muttered Lumos as she walked over to the wall. In the corner, there was a slight blur, from some sort of concealment charm. With a couple taps of her wand, the wall transformed. A small safe was revealed, with a muggle lock. After thirty minutes of trying several number combinations, birth dates, anniversaries, anything she thought could mean something, she finally settled on one last date. The date that she met Regulus and Barty.

With a click, it opened, and she reached a shaky hand inside. There was a small journal and his wand inside. She twirled the wand in her hand, it was a dark colored wood, nearly black. The handle was silver with several ornate embellishments swirling up the sides, giving it a comfortable grip. One would think it would be stiff, like the boy himself seemed to be, but it was surprisingly flexible. She set it aside and opened the journal. Little notes filled the paper. It was research of Voldemort, his habits, his strengths, his weaknesses. Regulus had found out his name and his blood status. The word Horcrux was written several times, and circled on different pages. With a sigh, she tucked it back into the safe and reconcealed it. "Kreacher?" Evalyn whispered into the quiet room.

He popped back into the bedroom and looked at her. "Yes mistress?"

Evalyn knelt down and kissed the top of his head, "Thank you, for allowing me to come in here. I understand you might not be comfortable with me, and certainly not Sirius. However, I appreciate you doing this. It means a lot to me. Regulus always spoke so fondly about you." The house elf nodded and grabbed Evalyn's outstretched hand. Once they were back in the hallway, she gave him a goodnight and made her way to her bedroom.

With a content smile, Evalyn slipped into bed next to her husband. She gathered the sleeves of Reggie's jumper and brought them to her face for one last smell before she fell asleep.