Chasing Love

Chapter Seventy - De-Doxying

"You remind me so much of Eve." Sirius said, a gentle smile played on his lips, "She always knew everything before she was told."

"Do you miss her?" Eliza asked as she helped feed Buckbeak.

Sirius's smile fell, "Everyday. I miss her so much, she was the love of my life." He looked away, trying to hide the tears in his eyes, "When I was accused of her murder, well, it killed me."

"Voldemort killed her." 

"And Peter Pettigrew was the one who told him about her." Sirius said angrily.

Eliza shook her head, "It wasn't Pettigrew. He may have said something but the one who gave her up was my father."

Sirius's head snapped up to look at her, "Excuse me?"

"I was there. She was looking after me and then the doors of the room were flung open and in walked my father and Voldemort. Evelyn pushed me out of the way and then Voldemort killed her. I was left screaming over her body and my father - well, my father did nothing but watch."

He placed a hand onto her shoulder, "I am so sorry that I was not there to protect her and you."

"You would not have been able to do anything." Eliza told her, "Once they had decided upon her death then there was nothing anyone could do."

"Come on, let's go downstairs, I think they are getting rid of the doxy's." Sirius said as he guided her in, "Evelyn loved you as though you were her own, remember that."

"You and Evelyn were my parents really." Eliza replied, "You two cared for me the most."

They entered the room and were met with Mrs Weasley, the twins, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny. She joined the twins, "Where have you been?"

"We were feeding Buckbeak." She replied, "How's it going?"

"I don't see why we have to do this," Fred told her, "It's so boring!" 

A loud bell was heard from below them, it was soon followed by a series of screams and wails, "I keep telling them not to ring the doorbell," Sirius sighed before hurrying down the stairs to stop the screams. 

"Close the door, please, Harry," said Mrs Weasley as she looked through the guide to cleanse the house of doxy's, "Right, you lot, you need to be careful, because Doxys bite and their teeth are poisonous. I've got a bottle of antidote here, but I'd rather nobody needed it." She stopped in front of the curtains and motioned for them all to join her, "When I say the word, start spraying immediately. They'll come flying out at us, I expect, but it says on the sprays one good squirt will paralyse them. When they're immobilized, just throw them in this bucket." She told them. "All right - squirt!" The Doxy's were ugly little things, they were like beetles with sharp teeth. Eliza constantly sprayed the spray - not wanting one to get anywhere near her. "Fred, what are you doing?" Mrs Weasley shouted, "Spray that at once and throw it away!" Eliza glanced over to see Fred holding one. 

"Right-o." Fred replied, as he sprayed the Doxy so that it fainted but as soon as his mother had turned away, he put it in his pocket.

"What are you up to?" Eliza whispered to him, "They're bloody dangerous!"

"We need them with to experiment with the sweets." Fred replied.

"You don't even know how to handle them!" Eliza told him, "You could get injured."

He smiled at her, "That's why you'll be with us!"

"Cheers Fred, put me in danger why don't you."

"You won't be in danger!" Fred replied, "You're a pro when it comes to clever things. And anyway, you like it when it's dangerous."

"The true bloody Gryffindor that I am." She muttered to herself, "Maybe if I had been like my family I wouldn't be in this trouble, maybe just a stupid Death-Eater."