Devotion

Chapter 1

As I sat and stared out of the window in my room, I wanted to cry again. That seemed to be all I was doing these days, but I couldn't help it. There was nothing happy about my life.

I was sitting in the Leaky Cauldron, a pub full of witches and wizards, when I was not one. The street of Diagon Alley, which I had a perfect view of from my window, was full of shops of items I could never use.

In my lap was a pile of books, full of spells I could never conjure, the history of a world I would never be a part of.

Don't get me wrong, it was fascinating. Wasn't it everyone's dream to live in a world full of magic? But I couldn't help feeling horrible. All the emotions that consumed me now were jealousy, depression, and anger.

Why had my sister gotten the magical talents? Why had all of this been hidden from me, by her and my parents? And why, why, did my oh-so-perfect sister have to basically kill our parents?

I threw the books on the floor, angrily pacing as tears dropped freely down my cheeks. She was always the golden child in our parents' eyes. I guess now it made sense, why wouldn't they love the one who could do magic more? I was just a stupid muggle, nothing magical about me.

And yet I loved her, all the time, even when our parents shunned me aside to make way for her. Because she always talked to me, made me feel special.

I laughed bitterly at the irony of that. She had just been playing with me all along.

I should've gotten the powers. Maybe I wasn't a genius like her, or beautiful like her, or stupidly brave like her. But I wouldn't have permanently wiped our parents' memories, making them as good as dead. And I wouldn't have waited to tell my sister about everything until the damage was already done.

She would be showing up any minute now. Every night at 5 she comes 'round and tries to make things right between us, tries to explain her actions. But it's a lost cause. It was lost a long time ago.

As I heard the chime, the door to my room opened. Of course she was on time.

As her now-tamed bushy brown hair entered the room, I just glared. "Go away, Hermione, I don't want to talk to you again."

She sighed, her honey-brown eyes looking at me with pity.

"I get that you're mad and upset Evy, but—"

"Don't you dare use my nickname! And yes, I'm bloody mad and upset, nothing you say is going to change that!" I yelled at her, my hands clenched into fists.

"But I'm sorry, Evelyn, I really am—"

"That doesn't fix it! You can apologize and apologize Hermione, but it won't change anything! You lied to me, your fucking twin sister, for seven years!"

"I wanted to tell you, but Mum and Dad wouldn't let me," she attempted to argue.

I scoffed. "We kept secrets from them all the time when we were little, that's no excuse not to tell me. We told each other everything, Hermione," I said, my voice cracking a bit with emotion.

Her eyes started to water a bit. "They said it would hurt you if you knew, that you would always feel left out. I didn't want to hurt you, Evelyn, can't you see that?"

"Well you did hurt me, Hermione. I thought we were close, but I guess not. You probably wouldn't have ever told me if you hadn't killed our parents and left me alone."

"I didn't kill them! I was protecting them, Voldemort—"

"Oh right, of course, you were protecting them too. Cause you have to protect everyone, don't you Hermione, even if it ends up hurting everyone?" I said viciously, my anger getting the better of me as I turned to face the window.

I heard her choke on a sob behind me, but my anger didn't lessen. A few minutes passed, which I assumed she spent trying to collect herself.

"Okay Evelyn, you win. I was wrong, I was wrong about a lot of things. It's in my nature to be protective, and I guess I sometimes let it cloud my judgement—" her voice cut off as she let out another sob.

A second later, she continued, "I talked to the Minister today though, and he said, well, I suppose I'll just let you read it." I heard a rustle of movement as she put an envelope on the dresser.

I still didn't answer, just looked out the window. Eventually, my sister moved to what sounded like the door, and quietly said, "I am sorry, sis. I hope this at least somewhat makes up for what I did. I do love you, even if it doesn't feel like it right now. I hope one day you'll love me again too."

I heard the door open and gently close with a click, leaving me alone in the darkening room. I sat staring out the window and watched the sun set over all the happy people in Diagon Alley.

As the time passed, my anger faded, and my mind shifted to the envelope on the dresser. I sighed and walked over to it. Not like I had anything better to do.

I slowly lifted the tab, and my curiosity grew at the large amount of parchment inside.

Dear Miss Evelyn Granger,

I normally would dismiss such a request of this magnitude. It is unfair to other muggles in the world, and at least from my point of view, more work than it's worth. But Miss Hermione Granger has done quite a lot for the wizarding world and has made some fine points regarding your case, so I feel obliged to honor her request.

If you genuinely want this, I will allow you to become a citizen in the wizarding world. But mind you, this won't be easy. Despite just ending the war, the old prejudices haven't completely died. So I urge you, for the time being, to keep it hidden that you haven't any magical powers.

And another thing to warn you about. It hasn't been disclosed to the public yet, so please keep it quiet. We are about to pass a marriage law for everyone age 17 and up. So of course, it will apply to you. Everyone refusing to participate in it will have their wands snapped and be banished to the muggle world. So, if you do not wish to be a part of that, then you might as well forget the rest of this letter.

Now, if you still wish to become a part of the wizarding world after reading this, then the details of what is to follow is on the second piece of parchment in the envelope. If you do not, no harm done. All I ask is that you keep all of this quiet.

-Kingsley Shacklebolt
Minister for Magic

I was crying by the time I finished reading. My sister had done all this for me, and I had just screamed at her. I had to find her.

I shoved the letter into my back pocket, not bothering to read the rest now. I could decide later. I whipped open the door, sprinting down the hall.

I counted until I found the room she was staying in, eleven doors down from mine. Not bothering to knock, I opened the door, and found her sitting on her bed reading.

"Evelyn!" she cried, shocked. But I didn't say anything. I just hopped onto the bed and wrapped her in a hug.

"I don't forgive you yet, sis, but thank you," I murmured into her ear. She just hugged me closer, letting out a sob of her own.

Together, in each other's arms, we cried. I'll never know for how long, for we eventually fell asleep. But for the first time in a long time, I felt like we were sisters again.