Chapter Eight, Halloween Part One

It had been three days since they left Rivendell and the day that Evelina had been dreading had arrived; her parents anniversary of their death. It had been eighteen years to the day that she lost her parents and even after all this time it still greatly affected her. The weather didn't seem to agree with her as all day the sun had beat furiously down on their necks as they made their long trek through open plains. Evelina had been quiet ever since she woke up that morning, hardly talking to anyone and only speaking when she was spoken to. She knew she was worrying the others especially her mates, but at the moment she just wanted to stay quiet so she can grieve, unfortunately the fates weren't going to be so kind to her today.

"Miss Evelina, are you alright? You've been dreadfully quiet all day." Sam asked her concerned as he quickened his pace so he could catch up with her. Evelina slowed her pace so Sam could walk with her, she may want to be alone but she wasn't going to be rude to anyone. "No. Not really Sam." Evelina said softly. She cursed inwardly when her cracking voice drew the attention of the others. Neville seeing everyone's attention on her and knew how hard this day was for her like tomorrow will be for him, came to her rescue. "Don't worry Sam," Neville said as he smiled at the Hobbit and wrapped his arm around Evelina's shoulders squeezing them gently in comfort. "Eve's grieving. This day of the year is always hard for her, more than most. Today is eighteen years since her parents died." Neville said sadly.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Pippin said softly though by the look on his face he was quite unsure what to say. "How did they die?" He asked, wincing when Sam slapped him around the back of the head. "You shouldn't ask that Pippin. Miss Evelina is upset enough!" He chastised.
"No, it's alright Sam. Pippin didn't mean any harm." Evelina said softly. She tried to smile at the young Hobbit who reminded her so much of Fred with his pranks. "In our world there was a war as you know, but the war had started when our parents were children. When our parents were old enough they joined forces with others to fight against the Dark Lord Voldemort.

When our parents were in their early twenties they had Neville and I, Neville being born a day before me. A Prophecy was made stating that a child born at the end of the seventh month, born to those who had thrice defied him would have the power to escape him." Evelina said looking down at the small pebble that she had unknowingly started floating. She looked up and saw that everyone had stopped walking to listen to her and they were stood in a clearing. "The thing is both Neville and I were born as the seventh month dies to parents who had escaped him three times," Evelina continued.

"Both our families went into hiding, but my parents were betrayed by the person they thought was their friend. He gave our whereabouts to Voldemort who didn't waste anytime in coming after us. I remember everything. I remember my dad playing with me, making coloured puffs of smoke come out of his wand, and my mum telling him off for getting me too excited for I wouldn't sleep." Evelina wiped the tears from her face and continued with her story, once she started she couldn't stop. "It was on the thirty-first of October. My dad had stood up ready to help put me to bed; he'd picked me up and kissed my forehead before handing me to my mum when the door was blown off of its hinges.

I remember him shouting at my mum to take me and run and that he'd hold Voldemort off, but we couldn't there was no escape. My mum ran upstairs into the nursery and just as she closed the door Voldemort killed my dad with the Killing Curse and came after us. I remember I started crying and so was my mother when she placed me in the cot, she told me 'Eve you are so loved, so loved. Eve Mama loves you, Dada loves you. Eve be safe, be strong.' When the nursery door was blown of its hinges. She begged him not to have mercy and not to kill me but to kill her instead. He told her to stand aside and let him kill me but she refused so he killed her too." Evelina couldn't carry on anymore as she broke down into tears. Neville wrapped his arms around her as she cried into his chest.

Clearing the lump in his throat Neville carried on for her. "Eve told me that he turned his wand on her and cast the same curse that had killed so many people, but it didn't work on Eve. Her parents love and sacrifice when they tried to protect her invoked Ancient Magick and the curse rebounded leaving Eve with only a scar on her forehead and destroying Voldemort's body. He didn't die like everyone thought he had, he'd delved to dark into Dark Magick creating Horcruxes which are basically objects that had bits of his soul in it, like the Ring. Everyone thought Eve had killed him when she was a baby but her parents had. They named her the Girl-Who-Lived for no one has survived that curse, they celebrated his downfall forgetting about a little girl who'd lost her parents and who was being treated badly by her aunt and uncle.

When he rose again when we were fourteen, hardly anyone had believed her even though she'd been captured and tortured and watched a friend die right before her eyes. But when they finally did believe her they sent her hate mail when someone in their family or their friends died or went missing. They put everything on a sixteen year olds shoulders when she then had no idea how to kill him because we didn't know then about the Horcruxes only the Headmaster did. He finally told her after her Godfather Remus and his wife Dora, Teddy's parents died leaving Eve to care for a toddler as well as juggle school work and fighting a war." Neville said with a scowl on his face, he really hated that old man.

"What happened then?" Merry asked softly with tears of his own falling down his face. "Bare in mind we haven't told you everything for it would take to long and it is not safe too say too much out in the open, I may have said too much already I don't know, but I don't want to say anymore for the grieve of the second war and the first is still too near, as I lost my parents a day after Eve did. They didn't die but they were tortured into in insanity for information but they never gave in, never said a word. I'm proud to be their son and I hope their proud of me, my Gran said they would be for she is. My Gran raised me for my parents don't even remember me and are stuck in a Hospital." Neville said wiping away his own tears.

"You are quite right Neville it is not safe to say too much. I think we should stop where we are for the night. Are you and Evelina up to putting up your wards and that marvellous tent of yours?" Gandalf asked, smiling softly at the young children who had gone through too much. Evelina nodded and pulled out her wand walking off to start the enchantments just in front of the trees. "Oh, and Neville," Gandalf called stopping Neville from reaching Evelina and starting the enchantments in an opposite direction to Evelina.

"You should be proud of your parents, I doubt even some of us will be able to stand that much torture your parents were exceedingly brave. I take it the torture was a curse." Gandalf asked.
"Yes," Evelina stopping in her enchantments for a moment. "It's called the Cruicartus Curse. It feels like you have a hundred white-hot knives stabbing you, acid then being poured into the wounds, all the while it attacks your nervous system." Evelina told them not noticing the grim expressions from the others as she and Neville carried on with the enchantments before setting up the tent.

* * *

"I still can't get over this tent." Boromir muttered to himself as he looked around the tent. They had not long finished a wonderful meal that Sam had cooked them on the drive and were now sitting in what made up as the living room chatting amicably to each other. Frodo looked over to Evelina who was sitting by herself, a leather bound book in her lap as she sat by the radio curled up in a chair as she listened to a song from their world, as Neville had said it was run on magic like everything in the tent, except for the oil lamps. "She'll be okay Frodo," Neville said as he saw where Frodo was looking.

"She's never had a chance to grieve properly really. She's just lost one person after another and she's had to put on a brave face and act like nothing affected her otherwise the Newspapers and the Press would attack her. And she's half expecting something bad to happen."
"Why?" Legolas asked worried about his One. He looked over to her sitting by herself looking through a book with a small sad smile on her face as tears built up in her eyes. He hated that he couldn't do anything to help her and he knew Aragorn was feeling the same way. He'd come closer to Eve since they left Rivendell and they were now sharing soft kisses like she did with Aragorn, he wished he could make her smile again.

"Every year on the anniversary of her parents death something bad has always happened to her. She's agitated that it hasn't happened already which is one of the reasons she's alone, that and she likes to sit by herself and look through her photo album that she has of her parents and us and the friends we lost." Neville told them sadly.
"Well we'll make sure it doesn't happen this time." Aragorn swore seriously. Neville smiled when the others nodded their heads he was glad that he and Eve had these people, maybe they could finally move on from all the pain that had happened to them.

Recognising the song that was on the radio Neville stood up and made his way over to Evelina, he wanted to cheer his sister up and if that meant doing a stupid dance in front of the others so be it. Pulling her up Neville gently pried the book from her hands and placed it in her vacated seat. He let the music take them as he coaxed her into the stupid dancing they'd done after the war was over when he and Luna visited her, Teddy and Andromeda.

(The song for this chapter is called "O Children". It is by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and therefore is not mine so I will not be writing down the lyrics. But if you wish it can be easily found on YouTube for you to enjoy.)

Evelina sighed as Neville pulled her up and started doing the goofy dancing they'd done only a few months ago, that made Teddy laugh at his mother's and uncle's silly dancing. Unbidden a smile spread across her face as she thought of her little boy. And started to join in on the dancing, letting the music take hold of her like she did before. She laughed as Neville twirled and stopped in front of her before spinning her around and forcing her to do silly turns as he held her hands. "They look incredibly close to be just friends." Boromir said snidely as he sat and watched the two friends dance. "And what do you mean by that, Laddie?" Gimli asked gruffly glaring at the man as he smoked on his pipe.

"It is obvious that they have a close bond like brother and sister with all they'd been through. He's trying to make her laugh again and yet you insult them by insinuating she's cheating on Aragorn and the Elf with Neville. You disgust me." Gimli glared at Boromir and turned to watch the two dancing to the somewhat sad song. "What?!" Pippin shouted. "How can you say that about Eve and Neville when they helped all of us protect our minds from the Ring? You don't know them so you can't judge them, none of us really know what they've been through so we have no right to judge." He shouted jumping out of his seat to glare at the man. He looked up when he felt a hand on either one of his shoulders and saw that it was Aragorn and Legolas smiling at him before they turned the fiercest glare anyone had ever seen from them on to Boromir.

"If you don't have anything nice to say about Eve I'd appreciate it if you don't say anything at all." Aragorn said his voice icy cold that matched the look in his baby blue eyes. "I would have thought someone of your station would have felt more compassion as you've also been made to fight for Gondor from a young age." Legolas continued glaring at the Gondorian, his voice as cold as Aragorn's had been there was no kindness in his grey eyes as he looked at the man. Realising he wasn't going to win he muttered a half-hearted apology while Gandalf shook his head at him before turning his eyes back to Neville and Evelina who had just finished their dance.

"Do you feel better now Miss Evelina?" Sam asked concerned as the two joined them Evelina curling up between Aragorn and Legolas on the sofa, her head resting on Aragorn's chest and her sock covered feet in Legolas's lap as he rubbed her shins soothingly as Aragorn ran his hand through her hair. Evelina looked up at Sam from her fist where she was obliviously holding something. "A little Sam. The pain never goes away but it does slightly lesson or you get used it, I'm not sure." Evelina answered softly with a shrug as she looked back down at her fist a look of contemplation on her face.

"Use it, Eve." Neville told her but she stubbornly shook her head biting her bottom lip, he sighed and stood and crouched in front of her covering her hands with his own. "You can use it. It's part of the gift you have, and I know you won't stop worrying about it until they tell you themselves."
"Worried about what?" Legolas asked concerned.
"Use what?" Gandalf asked concerned.
"Eve is worried that Teddy's real parents would be disappointed in her for being here and leaving him with the Wild Hunt and his Grandmother. Eve's Resurrection Stone." Neville replied.