second book in the Evelyn Black series
• • mature - language, drugs, alcohol, themes of sex • •
NEXT BOOK: Back to Hope
• slow slow-burn (like years) friends to lovers •
• soft burn romance •
[ all books listed in prologue via chronological order ]
...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Her hands shake. She could barely keep still all day, waiting for three o'clock to strike. It felt like time was ticking tectonically slow to wring out all her anger and anxieties while they were still thick in her blood.
"Ev," Fred sets a hand on her shoulder. "Do you want me to..."
She nods hurriedly, passing the steel cauldron to him. She scoots aside, letting him take her previous seat before the glass, tear-drop vile they swiped from Snape's today, set precariously on a three-legged wire stand. She watches him pour the apple-green liquid into the vile, slowly and carefully. Her stomach twists around itself like a gymnast.
Hermione, Nell, Lee, Jaz, Harry, Ron, and Ginny stand behind the two on the floor. They watch Fred's motion, holding their breath.
Fred sets the empty cauldron down.
"Set," he says.
Evelyn reaches over, careful not to let her excitement knock the stand over as she corks the vile tight and plucks it into her palm in one go. "Alright," She stands up and reaches for Fred's hand, which he graciously takes to stand. "Harry, are they still in the library?" She asks.
Harry glances down at the enchanted map in his hands. "Yep."
Evelyn nods and turns back to Fred. "Swell. You, Harry, and Ron go get George from Laurel," she says.
"How do we do that?" Ron questions.
"Tell him I'm having some breakdown in the hall," Ginny excuses with a wave of her hand.
"Excellent," Evelyn says. "Hermione and I will be beside Ginny when you get out there and as soon as he gets far enough away from the library, that's when we get him down."
"Lee, that means you too," Fred nods.
"What about us, Weasley?" Jaz asks with her arms crossed.
Fred rolls his eyes. "I think two might have a better go at staying in the library," he says. "Keep Laurel in there, or else she may try and stop it."
"And she's no better than pulling hexes and charms on us to get to George," Evelyn reasons.
"We can keep her in her place," Nell promises calmly.
"Excellent," Evelyn smiles. She could taste the victory (on the tip of her tongue, they were so close), but she had to keep vigilant, and humble. Too high of hopes too soon would just lead to another night of crying in the privacy of her bed until she passed out from exhaustion.
"Let's get crackin' then?" Jaz proposes, offering her arm to Nell. "Give us about five to get there," she calls back, opening the door they'd blessed with a silencing charm minutes ago.
"We'll leave here soon," Fred says, "n' we'll wait about ten minutes from when they get in there so it doesn't look too suspicious."
"They do have to find 'em," Harry points out. "George and Laurel. Forgot to tell 'em."
