dancing in the shadows (R.A.B)

cold champagne and even colder words

chapter sixteen : cold champagne & colder words

"Sometimes Eve forgets that Sirius isn't as nice as James, that Sirius has seen the dark side of the world, that he can be selfish and manipulative and isn't full of butterflies and rainbows like his best friend, and a big part of her hates herself for undermining something that makes Sirius into the type of person he is."

CHRISTMAS EVE NIGHT COMES even faster than Eve expected, rushing up on her and Barry in a moment so sudden that they nearly forget - well, actually, they do forget. Barry's mum is the one who has to find them (she catches them racing on the Quidditch field and calls for ten minutes for them to come down) and practically force them both into fancy clothes.

"You look stupid," Barry says when he sees her, smile playful, but it doesn't even begin to match the hysterical laughter that comes out of Eve when she sees him in his outfit. He's in dress robes, and they look fine on him, but he stands so stiffly that it was making her uncomfortable.

"Loosen up," she says, and then laughs again when, twenty minutes later, they walk down to the floor room to meet Barry's parents, and Mrs.Crouch says, "Why are you standing like that?"

"Yeah, yeah," Barry grumbles, but lets his shoulders fall and jaw unclench nonetheless. "Shouldn't we be going?"

Mr. Crouch is a serious man, with a serious face. His mouth is always set in a thin line, eyes always guarded, back straight and hair groomed to perfection. Eve had met him quite a few times before; her mother worked alongside him as an Auror. They weren't partners, but they ran in similar circles - Mr. Crouch was deadset on becoming a high political figure at least and Euphemia Potter was from an old family, old money, old connections.

Eve has overheard her mother talk about the man. Euphemia would cluck her tongue, shake her head, as she said, "That man is too distant to get far."

Standing in front of him, Eve can understand what her mother means. He stands close to his wife but doesn't let a piece of himself even brush against her, and when he looks at his son there is no fondness in his eyes. He is staring at a stranger; he is too distant to know his son as more than anything but the boy who lives upstairs.

"Yes," Mr. Crouch says, and reaches out for his wife's hand. She reaches out to hold Barry's, and Eve grabs Barry's wrist; in a movement so fast that Eve doesn't even see it, Mr. Crouch spins and in a crack they land outside the Black Manor.

Eve stumbles over her feet, nearly tripping in the tall heels that Bellatrix had picked out for her; Barry grabs her arm at the last second and draws her closer into him, snickering.

"Children," Mrs. Crouch says, but sounds fond. "Get yourselves together, come on."

As they walked up, Eve couldn't help but marvel at the sight. She had been there before; the Black's annual Yule parties were legendary amongst Old Families, as some type of drama always ended up happening or getting revealed. Secrets spilled faster then rain drops from a thunderstorm as soon as you crossed through the doorways. As the Potter's were part of the old pure blood families, they had been invited every year - despite their very 'Light' status - but they rarely went. Mostly because her mother, as an Auror, had probably put some of their relatives behind Azkaban bars. Euphemia had always refused to take bribes or hush-galleons. She was one of the few Aurors to do so.