Evelyn sighed as she cleaned her room, waving her wand to set all the items back in order. It had become rather cluttered, particularly with the Dark alert objects Moody had insisted she have. She sat on her bed slowly, leaning back to stare at the picture on her wall. Remus looked up from his book to roll his eyes at Sirius and James, who were proudly trying to curse a bowl of apples. Peter watched in admiration while sending the occasional glances in what could only be Mary's direction. She and Lily sat off to the side, taking enthusiastically with bright eyes, looking like sisters. Besides the image, there was another Muggle photo Lily had taken of her and Severus when they were kids. She could feel her brother's scowl glaring down at her.
"HEY EVE!" James bounded into the room, not brothering to knock, although he paused at the picture of her twin. "I think I'm going to have nightmares. Never thought I'd see Snivellus again."
Evelyn bit her lip as she sat up from her messy bed, moving in his line of eyesight. "What do you want, Potter?"
James pouted, pushing out his bottom lip dramatically. "Now is that any way to talk to your darling boyfriend?"
Evelyn froze for a moment, a faint blush rising on her cheeks. Turning away to hide it, she began to straighten the sheets on her bed, "that's odd, seeing as you never asked me for a relationship."
"What?" James looked genuinely confused, his glasses glinting in the afternoon sunlight slanting through the window. "Yes, I did. When I—" he stuttered in an attempt to come up with a response. To Evelyn's surprise, he got down on both knees, raising a hand to his heart. "Evelyn Elisabeth Snape, would you do the honours of becoming my girlfriend."
"Don't be ridiculous," Evelyn snapped, a mischievous gleam in her eye. "Of course I will." She immediately turned back and adjusted her comforter, feeling James growing impatient behind her. She stepped backward in shock as the bed leapt to life, the sheets folding themselves. She turned around to face the dark-haired man.
James dropped his voice to a whisper. "Forget the bloody bed." Taking a step forward, he closed the distance between them, pulling her neck forward and placing his lips on hers.
Evelyn sank into his touch, falling backwards on the bed as James leaned on top of her, the warmth of his body seeping through hers. "You had a reason of coming into my bedroom, didn't you Jamesie?" she murmured without pulling away from his mouth.
"Can't help myself," James's voice was hoarse as his eyes scanned her figure in admiration. "You're beautiful, Evelyn."
"I love you." The words slipped out before Evelyn could realize what she was saying and as soon as they did, she clapped a hand over her mouth in horror. "Just forget that—"
"Why would I want to forget that?" A light pink dusted the top of James's cheeks as he gazed at her, his hazel eyes glimmering with joy. "I love you too."
Evelyn smiled as he captured her lips once more and she let herself sink into the mattress, enjoying a proper snog.
---
Evelyn bit her lip as she looked over at James, who was sleeping soundly on the sofa. His lips were parted in a soft snore as his hair fell messily over his forehead. Taking out a sheet of parchment and a quill, she pursed her mouth as she began to scrawl a quick letter.
James
I had to leave, please don't be angry. There is Order business I have to take care of. I'll explain when I get back. Thank you for the last few months, they've been incredible.
All my love,
Evie
Folding it carefully, Evelyn placed the letter on the table besides the sofa, leaning over to kiss James gently on the forehead. She couldn't help feeling guilty for leaving him like this, but if what Regulus said was true, there was no way she could bear to put James in that sort of danger. Taking one last look at the sleeping man, she let out a soft smile before disapparting with a pop.
Opening her eyes, she was almost immediately blown over by a gust of wind and she held up her robes to avoid the ocean spray. She stood on a rock in the middle of the sea, Regulus having just appeared beside her.
"I could have used a bit of warning you know," Evelyn gritted her teeth as she ducked to avoid a wave of water.
Regulus ignored her as he stared at a massive cave looming to their right, its entrance a gaping hole that seemed rather forbidding. "If I don't come back, tell my brother I never stopped loving him."
Evelyn frowned, reaching over for Regulus's arm. "Reg, you're going back to tell him yourself." Swallowing nervously, she conjured a small boat to take them across the expanse of water. The wind blew their hair in front of their faces determinedly, ignoring any attempt Evelyn made of pulling it back. Stepping onto the rocky beach, she accepted Regulus's hand as he pulled her into the mouth of the cave.
It was pitch black besides a faint green glow that seemed to oddly illuminate the wall towards the back. The stone was sharp and jutted out at awkward angle, nearly causing Evelyn to impale herself. Regulus reached the end of the trail first, a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead as he took out his wand, creating a large gash in his hand.
Evelyn let out a cry of shock. "REGULUS!"
"The wall's been cursed," Regulus explained darkly, his eyes scanning the stone. "It needs a blood sacrifice."
Evelyn watched the boy's figure, noting his disturbing outlook on the possibility of his survival. Regulus didn't plan on coming back. "We need help." She reached over and closed her hand around the pendant on her neck. "I'm sorry Regulus, but I can't lose you."
There was a flash of light before Sirius appeared out of thin air, looking rather tan and thin. The bones stood out prominently on his face and Evelyn felt a stab of worry.
"I thought Remus would come."
Sirius frowned, still finding his bearings. "He gave me the necklace, stupid selfless man." His gaze fell on his brother, who was still clasping a bleeding hand. "Reggie?"
"You shouldn't be here," Regulus hissed, fixing Evelyn with a hateful glare. "I trusted you."
"And I've tried to solve problems on my own way too many times to let you make the same mistake," Evelyn bit her lip sending a glance at Sirius. "You can't do this alone."
Regulus turned around without a response, although Evelyn could see a small amount of tension leave his shoulders. Raising his hand, Regulus wiped his blood on the stone, the crimson stain glimmering in the halflight before the rock moved aside, revealing a large cavern.
Evelyn stared at the expanse of water, which was a sickly green and surrounded a small island in the middle of its depths. There was a flimsy-looking boat anchored at the dock on their side and she followed Regulus in hesitantly, shuddering at the inch of water already filling the bottom. As soon as Sirius stepped foot inside, the boat shifted and began to move of its own accord.
"So, does someone want to explain to me what's going on?" Sirius broke the silence, his grey gaze darkening. "Or do I just follow along with a Death Eater and a psycho?"
"Hey!" Evelyn retorted, glaring in his direction. "It's nice to see you too." Looking over, she saw that Regulus had refused to turn around, his gaze stoic and focused on the island ahead. She let out a sigh. "What do you know about Horcruxes?"
Sirius frowned, his face growing paler in the green light. "Mother mentioned them once. Said you had to kill for a way to immortality." He flicked his wand on his thigh irritably. "Didn't pay much attention though, most of what she said was a load of rubbish."
"Which is precisely why you don't know anything," Regulus snapped, finally turning around as they neared the shore. "The Dark Lord has created Horcruxes, how many I don't know, but definitely more than one. Until they are destroyed, there is no way of defeating him." He stepped out of the boat, not bothering to help Evelyn out this time. "One is the locket of Slytherin, which I've located here."
Evelyn followed his dark figure, her cloak dragging in the water as she stumbled over the rocks. Sirius grabbed her elbow to steady her and she looked at him gratefully. Peering over Regulus's shoulder, she saw him staring into a small basin, which was filled with a strange liquid. At the very bottom, there sat a silver locket, which glinted eerily in the dim light.
"Evanesco," Sirius muttered, waving his wand at the contents of the basin. The contents barely moved.
"Don't be an idiot," Regulus hissed, taking off his cloak and tossing it to the ground. "The Dark Lord wouldn't make it that easy." He rolled up his sleeves before bending down and taking hold of a shell. "Kreacher came here once before with him. I ordered him to tell me everything." His features twisted into an expression of pain. "He left him to die."
Sirius appeared unaffected, "that nasty creature—" he caught himself at the grimace on Regulus's face. "Alright." He wiped his hands on his jeans, which were so filthy it didn't seem to make a difference. "What do we do?"
Regulus shook his head, lowering the sea shell into the basin and filling it with the liquid. "Make sure I drink all of the potion, no matter what."
"What does it do?" Sirius lunged as Regulus brought the shell to his lips, snatching it from his hand. Before his brother could protest, the Gryffindor had tilted the contents to the back of his throat with a shudder. "Tastes like pumpkin juice."