As quiet, introverted Evelyn Berman agrees to spend her sixth year studying at Hogwarts School of witchcraft and Wizardry, she is introduced to the school's adored Marauders.
From the moment she meets Sirius Black, there's something about the boy t...
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The Christmas holiday had arrived at Hogwarts and the spirits of the students were high. Homework had been turned in and tests had been taken; the only thing left to do now was enjoy the well-deserved break.
In the past few weeks, the halls of the castle had been adorned with grand trees trimmed with glass ornaments and twinkling lights, all topped with shiny, glimmering stars. The starry sky that normally enchanted the ceiling of Great Hall had clouded over and large, perfectly shaped snowflakes were now falling over the students at mealtimes.
The castle was breathtaking this time of year, but Evelyn, who would have expected herself to be overtaken by joy as she walked through the corridors, the spirit of her favorite holiday so prevalent around her, did not find herself in the brightest of moods.
It had been almost a week since the boggart incident, and she had since gotten over the original shock of the horrifying night. She was no longer seeing the image of her dead family in front of her every time she let her mind drift, yet still, as she sat on the Hogwarts Express, watching snow-covered trees fly by her out the window, she felt... off. As if something was missing—like a part of her that she never knew was there, was suddenly gone.
She had tried to describe the feeling to Holly who had, unsurprisingly, noticed her poor mood—Evelyn began to think Holly was better at picking up on her moods than she, herself, was—but, Evelyn struggled to find the words to describe the sensation she was feeling.
The prank was cruel, without a doubt, and it had obviously frightened her, but what had she lost? After days of Remus, James, and Peter showering her with apologies and regretful glances, Evelyn had decided to forgive them—she had not suspected they had much to do with the prank in the first place, so it was easy to accept their friendship again. As for Sirius, he still had yet to speak to her since the incident, but that was not a shock. Remus had assured her that Sirius did feel guilty for what he had done, but Evelyn had still not expected the prideful boy to apologize. He disliked her far too much for that.
Still, none of this justified the emptiness Evelyn was feeling. She had gained back the three friendships almost as quickly as she had lost them, and it was not like she and Sirius had ever had a friendship to lose in the first place. She was sitting in the compartment with three of her best friends in the whole world, only a few hours away from seeing her family again. She was just two days away from opening presents, giggling with Hannah as they failed miserably to decorate sugar cookies, and drinking hot chocolate while they and their mother watched Miracle on 34th Street as they did each Christmas night.
At this moment, Evelyn had everything she could hope for, so why did she have this hollowness inside of her? What could be missing?
"Earth to Evelyn..." Marlene chimed from beside her, waving a hand in front of her distracted face.
