Dum Spiro Spero

Chapter 15

That's what drew him into Evalyn. She never looked at him with judgement. Evalyn and his mom were the only two who treated him like a human. However, it had been getting difficult to speak with his mom on certain things. He was always told to stop talking about it, or don't let Lucius find out about those feelings. "Will you tell me about the other boy?"

Evalyn nodded, and conjured up some treats for them to share. "His parents were not supremacists. They were pureblood, but didn't hold those values. Instead his father expected too much from him. It was so much, that no matter what the boy did, it was never enough. Many times, his father dismissed him, was disappointed in him for not being better. For not having the same goals in life that he did. The two boys were inseparable. This particular one pushed himself too hard. He was the smartest, most talented wizard of Hogwarts at the time. However, despite the awards and accomplishments he received, his father still wasn't proud of him. Eventually he gave up. He became a deatheater, alongside the other boy. Merlin, they did everything together." She paused to grab a tissue. Draco frowned at the tears that welled up in Evalyn's eyes.

"What happened to him?"

"I wasn't enough for him anymore. My words, my praise, my love only carried him so far. He needed to feel it from a parental figure. And he found that feeling on the dark side. His talents and skill were put to use and he climbed the ranks quickly. Nobody would have even suspected it from him. He was the perfect soldier. It quickly corrupted his mind though. The darkness swallowed him whole. There were numerous times when he tried to get me to join him. He even tried to kidnap me. It was like looking at a shell of the boy I loved. I no longer recognized him."

"Do you hate him for it?"

"Yes and no. I hate him because the boy was smart, but he was too daft to not fall for their trap. But I can't hate him, because I know somewhere inside of him is the boy I took care of." Draco scoffed, making Evalyn eye him curiously. "What is it?"

"You're daft for thinking he's still there. For Salazar's sake, if someone tried to kidnap me, I'd never forgive them."

She pondered over her next words carefully. "Sometimes, it's having hope that keeps you sane. If I didn't believe that the goodness can still be found in bad people, I would have lost my mind. The first boy for example, made the good choice in the end. I hope that the second boy can do the same."

Unbeknownst to her, the DADA professor stood outside the closed door. He heard every bit of the story. When it was done, he scoffed and sipped his flask before heading to his own room.

Throughout the day, several other students stopped by to say hello. The herd of Weasley's, including Ron who brushed off any questions about Harry, Cedric Diggory, Hermione, Luna, and Blaise Zabini. The last one surprised her considering she didn't talk with him much last school year outside of class. She figured Draco maybe confided in him. Harry was the last one to stop in. Shortly before curfew.

The boy looked exhausted. There were bags under his eyes, stress lines etched into his forehead, and his eyes were dull. Immediately, she stood up and walked over to him. Harry crashed into her arms, sobbing into her shoulder. He had grown slightly since she last saw him. "Oh Harry, I'm here." She ran her fingers through his messy hair and ran her other hand up and down his back in a motherly way. Pulling away slightly, she looked at his face. "Do you want to talk about it? Or do you just want to hang out for now?"

The boy pushed up his glasses and thought about it. "Can we just hang out?" He asked nervously.

"How about you stay in my room tonight? I'll conjure up another bed, we can watch a movie and have some treacle tarts? I'll make sure to wake you up early enough so nobody knows you were even gone." Harry nodded, and Evalyn flicked her wand to transform their clothes into pajamas. She clapped excitedly "This is going to be so much fun."

The two ended up falling asleep on the couch. They sat side by side under a shared blanket. His head leaned on her shoulder with his mouth wide open, her head leaned backwards on the back of the couch. Tissues and popcorn were thrown all over the two, as if it were dumped on them. The duo slept through the alarm, but luckily for them a certain Professor stopped by. When McGonagall knocked on the door, it cracked open slightly. She called out Evalyn's name and heard only snoring in response. Deciding to wake her up, the older witch pushed open the door further and stepped inside. Her heart fluttered seeing the witch and her godson cuddled on the couch. The Disney movie 'Bambi' was softly playing in the background. She quickly took a picture and duplicated it, leaving a couple copies on the end table. Reluctantly, she walked over, and gave Evalyn a little shake.

The blonde shot up, eyes still closed as she yawned. Her sudden movement caused Harry to fall forward off the couch with a thud. He groaned when he hit the ground and Evalyn busted out laughing. "I'm so sorry Harry, it's time for you to go to breakfast." She wiped her tears before helping him up. "Now run off." The boy gave her one last hug before she transfigured his clothes back and he left. She turned a sheepish gaze towards McGonagall, "Sorry Minnie, he was just so sad."

The older witch passed her the photo, "Don't apologize Evalyn, he needed it." Evalyn watched as the Professor left the room before turning back to the photo. She ran her fingers over the picture with tears in her eyes. Immediately, she got up and called for her owl. While she waited, she took a quill and wrote on the back of the photo.

'Snuffles,

I wish you could be here love. I can't wait to see you again.

I love you with all of my heart,
Snitch.'

On the very bottom, she scribbled something else.

'Harry and Evalyn after watching Bambi
November 1994'