Eva at Hogwarts: Everyone Needs Therapy

The day before everyone was to get back from break, I put on my handmade Weasley sweater that I got this year. Seems like Molly has either accepted that I’m here to stay or Ginny and her brothers convinced her to make one. I was anxious to see how Pansy and Hermione liked the extra present I sent them for Christmas, though Hermione’s got there right before she was to leave for the train. Pansy was getting back the next day for the start of term with everyone else

“Come on, Eva! Mione is going to be here soon,” Harry urged from his spot by the fireplace. 

“I’m coming,” I laugh, letting the boy drag me into the hallway. “I still can’t believe you got an invisibility cloak!” 

“No clue who gave it to me,” Harry frowns a bit, “I don’t even know who my parents were close to.”

“Don’t worry Harry, I can help you find more information about your family. There have got to be some people who remember them! Maybe Mamaidh knows something,” I pat the boy’s shoulder. I get a small smile from him and I take in the slight bags under his eyes. “Still having nightmares?”

“Yeah,” Harry sighs and the subject was dropped. I told him he should have stayed away from the mirror, even refusing to go with him because I didn’t need to know what my heart desired, my life at Hogwarts being everything I ever need. Harry led me to the Entrance Hall where we waited for Hermione to be brought up in her carriage. I bounced in place as I notice the carriage slowly coming up the hill.

“There she is!” I poke Harry in the side, chasing after him when he squirmed away from my fingers. 

“Hey! How was your Christmas?” Hermione hops out of the carriage and crashes into me for a hug. Harry throws his arms around the both of us and we rock back and forth a few times before separating. 

“Ron has been beating me in wizarding chess almost every day.” Harry’s grin was a bit crooked as he ruffled his fringe. 

“Find anything in the restricted section?” Hermione brightens up at the prospect of new information, only to dim at Harry’s disappointed expression. 

“You’ll find it at some point,” I reassure the two, noticing a bit of gold hanging around Hermione’s neck. I grin at the sight, following the Gryffindors inside so Hermione could unpack. 

“How was France?” I bump shoulders with Hermione, lacing my arm through hers. 

“It was fantastic! Skiing was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. I have gotten pretty good at it if I do say so myself,” Hermione puffed up in pride at her accomplishments. We listened to her talk about her trip for the rest of the walk up to Gryffindor Tower, where Harry gives the password. 

“Where did you go, mate? I woke up and you weren’t here,” Ron yawned from his place in front of the fire. 

“Mione’s back!” Harry plops down on the other side of the table where a game of chess was set up.

“How was your break?” Hermione sits down on the couch to watch the boys play. I sit on the arm of Harry’s chair and watch with a slight frown as Ron demolishes the boy.

“Have you played chess before?” I tilt my head as he leaves his queen open to be taken.

“Never had the chance,” Harry shakes his head as Ron takes the chance of removing his most powerful piece. I watch the rest of the match as I make a note in my mind to give Harry a chess strategy book. Hermione excused herself to go unpack and I followed her up the stairs. Lavender and Parvati were still gone so we had the room to ourselves.

“Thank you!” I was pulled into a hug as soon as the door was closed.

“Sorry it took so long to get to you. I think Anastacia got lost trying to find you in France,” I fibbed, fingering the lion pendant hanging around her neck.

“What did you do to it? It got warmer the closer I got to the castle,” Hermione took the pendant from my fingers to hold it in her fist. 

“I actually got the idea from Pansy. How she can sense others coming? It gets warmer the closer to get to either me or Pansy, that way you can find us if you ever need something,” I sit on her bed and watch as she starts putting things back where they go.

“Did you give Pans one as well?” 

“Yeah, I hope she likes it.” 

“She would love anything you get her. You know Pansy just cares that people think of her,” Hermione reassures me. I hope she was right, the necklace is nothing extravagant like the Slytherin was probably used to. I stay for another hour or so before Ron’s disgruntled looks were becoming annoying. I find Minnie and spend time with her before the twins find me and drag me into helping them plan out an idea they had.

“Spiked sweets?” I flip through the pages of research they had done, “Some of these would be good for pranks and others for getting out of class. But there is a lot more research to do before I would try to even make them.” 

“Will you help us though?”

“We want you to be a part of this,” 

I regard the twins as I think about their offer. It’s gonna take a few years before I even agree to let them test on people. But I always knew that the twins were most likely going to do something like this. 

“Of course, I’m going to help. Someone needs to keep your ideas from getting too big.” I laugh as the two hoist me onto their shoulders with a cheer. We start doing the research needed and I sigh as I look up from my book to see the focus on their faces. Now if I could only get them this focused on their school work. 

The next day, I weave through the crowds of returning students to find the Hufflepuff of our group. I catch a glimpse of Pansy holding her necklace as she scanned the people around her as Draco talks with the other first-year Slytherins. I see a head of fluffy brown hair in a sea of yellow and pick up my pace.

“How was Christmas Ced?” I jump onto the boy's back, almost knocking him over before one of his friends catches his shoulder. 

“Pipsqueak! It was great, though I wished you were there instead of stuck here,” Cedric shifted his grip to get a proper hold on me as he straightens back up. 

“I enjoyed the silence of the castle, let me explore without being caught.” I rest my chin on his shoulder before sliding off. The feast was amazing! Near the end, I get a charmed note from Pansy asking me to meet her in the library. I was waiting with a book open on the table in front of me half an hour later. I catch the faint scent of floral perfume and lift my head, getting a kiss placed on my temple as Pansy slipped into the seat next to mine.

“Thank you for the present álainn, I love it,” Pansy murmured and I duck my head in embarrassment. I had sent her a necklace with a pansy pendant. 

“It was nothing,” I wave away but Pansy grabs my hand and squeezes it as she fingered the pendant. 

“It warmed up as I got closer to you,” Pansy observed and I avert my eyes as I notice her grip it a bit tighter. 

“It does that with a few people,” I mutter, seeing Hermione weaving through the shelves with her hand around her lion pendant. 

“What did you charm this necklace with?” Was the first thing out of Hermione’s mouth when she got to our table and Pansy raised her brow at me, seconding the question. 

“I told you it warms when you get close to us,” I avoid the question. The charm had been very specific and I can’t tell her what it is without her figuring out my secret. It warms up when they get close to a soulmate, which was why I had to delay getting Hermione’s to her. I couldn’t have the necklace warming up around Flower, she would have surely figured out that I’m their soulmate.

“But what exact charm did you use?” Hermione pouted, leaning against me as she folded her hands under her chin.

“I don’t remember,” I pat her head as Pansy tries to stifle her giggles at her antics.

“You can’t say that when you have an eidetic memory,” Pansy reminded me.

“Sure I can! It was easy too,” I quip back. 

“You’re mean,” Hermione sagged against me, effectively trapping me in my chair. I just laugh at her antics and wrap my arms around her to keep the witch from falling to the ground. 

“Careful Piscín or I might think you like Eva more than me,” Pansy teased as she ran her fingers through the bushy hair.

“Eva is everyone’s favorite, there is no competition.” Hermione’s voice was muffled from where her face was pressed to my shoulder. I blush at her comment, ready to deny it until Pansy wrapped her arm around my shoulders.

“True. Doesn’t mean I can’t be a bit jealous,” I quickly look at Pansy with wide eyes, not wanting to overstep with her soulmate. Pansy gives me a playful wink, humor-filled eyes sparkling in the candlelight.

“Don’t freak her out Dove, we want her to stay.” Hermione weakly swats at the Irish witch who catches her hand and squeezes it. Dove, the nickname swirls through my head. This was only more confirmation that they were my soulmates if the necklaces weren’t enough. They go on to talk about their breaks while I sit in their warmth, mind churning as it processes everything going on. Every touch was being over-analyzed. Every conversation we ever had was being dissected. When I eventually returned to my room for the night it hit me that I am currently in the same building as two of my soulmates. 

I walk out to the common room to find Minnie, knowing she would be prepping for classes to start tomorrow. She was in her chair next to the fireplace, her robes traded in for a tartan pajama set I had gotten her for Christmas. Akira had her head resting on slipper-covered feet as she quietly purred.

“Mamaidh, can I go stay with Dora for a week?” I stop in front of the witch, wringing my hands as I avoided looking her in the eye.

“Is something the matter?” Minnie sets her papers to the side to give me her full attention. 

“I just need to go somewhere different to process a few things,” I scratch at my arm, not able to focus on one spot for too long. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” She summons a quill and parchment and hands them to me. I hesitate before climbing onto her lap, letting her comforting presence soothe my fraying nerves. I use one of her books to write on, requesting to spend time with my big sister.

“I know who two of my soulmates are,” I eventually whisper as Minnie gently rocks from side to side. 

“Oh?” Minnie doesn’t say anything else, letting me get my words together.

“I know who they are but they don’t know who I am. I didn’t tell them that I was here as well. I don’t think I’ve taken it in yet. Then there’s the thing that happened with the troll, I just feel like I need to get away for a while.” I press my forehead against her neck with my eyes squeezed shut. 

“You have been through a lot this year so far, I think a visit with Miss Tonks is just what you need. You’re still a wee girl no matter how fast you are growing up. Do you want me to make an appointment with Dr. Condie while you’re there?” Minnie kisses my crown as she tightens her embrace. I nod in agreement to her question, it’s been a while since my last session. She sends me off to bed a bit later with a promise that she would go send my letter. I had a restless night as my mind refused to shut off. I was relieved when Anastacia returned with the morning post, perching on the back of my chair after dropping my letter.

Dear Eva,

Of course, you can come to spend the week here, Bill and I are excited for you to stay with us. I can come to pick you up from Hogsmead at lunch. Hold on for a bit longer Pip.

Love,

Dora

I hand the letter to Minnie and she nods in recognition. I avoid the others for the day, ignoring the concerned looks I was getting from them. I spent the class before lunch in my room packing a bag for the week, triple checking that I have everything. Akira meows at me when I go to check my bag for a fourth time. I glance at the kneazle as she glares at me, huffing in amusement as I sit on the ground and let her climb onto my lap. 

“You are too big for this,” I complain even as I scratch behind her ears. I get an incredulous chuff in return and smile a bit.

“I know, I know. Pot meet kettle,” I wrap my arms around the furry body as she puts her paws over my shoulders with her head tucked under my chin. The weight helped settle most of my anxiety, letting my mind slow down and think about what I am doing. I haven’t told any of my friends what was happening so for them I was going to disappear for a week. I push that guilty thought deep down and instead think about what I could do while Dora was at auror training. 

“Do you think the goblins will let me go to work with Bill?” I ask the kneazle who just licks my neck in response with a rumble. “You’re right, probably not.” 

“Are you all packed?” I look over to find Minnie standing in the doorway with a soft smile. The worry in her eyes had me hug her tightly for a few minutes before she shrunk my bag and led me out to the carriage that was waiting to take us to Hogsmead. 

“Where are we meeting Miss Tonks?” Minnie asked once we had disembarked the carriage. 

“She didn’t say, but can we go to the bookstore while we wait?” I ask, leaning into her side to avoid someone who walked by. Minnie lead me to a shop called Tomes and Scrolls and followed behind me as I browsed the shelves. 

“How did I know I would find you here,” Dora spoke as soon as I had pulled a book from the shelf to reveal her smile on the other side.

“Because your auror training right? Putting those investigative skills to use.” I tease before running around the shelf to tackle the young woman. 

“Sorry I couldn’t get here sooner,” Dora had made herself the perfect height for me to bury my face in her neck. She held me close before tucking me into her side to greet Minnie as she joined us in the aisle. 

“Take care of her or you will be in detention with Filch, I don’t care if you’ve graduated.” Minnie threatened through her small smile as she hugged Dora. 

“I knew you missed me, Minnie!” Dora beamed at the older witch before getting a bit more serious. “Don’t worry, Xeno said that I could drop Eva off at The Rook when Bill and I both need to be at work.” Minnie nods her approval and crouches down to pull me into a hug before leaving to return to her class.

“Do you want to look around here for a bit?” Dora grew back to her normal height as she guided me out of the shop. 

“I just want to go,” I sigh, leaning into her side.

“Emotions can be draining, huh,” Dora held out her arm for me to hold before we were gone with a pop. I stumble a bit on the landing and close my eyes against the spinning world for a few seconds. With the world stable again, I look around at the flat that we landed in. There were many knitted blankets that looked like Molly’s handy work. The space was filled with organized chaos that I remember seeing in Dora’s room one summer. 

“You both really are made for each other.” I snicker as she gently shoves my shoulder.

“Oi! It’s not that bad! You and my mum both,” She shakes her head, shedding her jacket only to drop it on a chair. 

“It’s a mess!” I defend my statement as I start to organize the coffee table. 

“But we know where everything is,” Bill entered the room while towel drying his hair that had grown out significantly. 

“Billy! How has the bank been since your last letter?” I let the young man pull me into a hug. 

“It has been great! The goblins are starting to trust me with more jobs. You would like to learn about the bank's spells and structure,” Bill ruffles my hair before leaning over me to kiss Dora.

“Oh gross! I don’t need to see that! I think I’m going to be sick,” I pretend to gag as I shove the two apart, much to their amusement. 

“You mean you don’t like watching us kiss? My little sister? In that case,” Dora pulls Bill back into a deeper kiss. I giggle and escape to search around the flat, quickly identifying the spare room that had been set up for me. I set my bag down and flop onto the bed as residual tension drained from my shoulders and back. 

“You have been carrying too much weight, Pip.” Bill gently sat on the bed next to me. 

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” I sigh, rolling onto my back to look up at him. 

“I still think you should tell them, but maybe you just need to not think about it for the week. Give yourself a break,” Dora sat on my other side. I hum and close my eyes, feeling the pull of sleep.

“We’ll wake you up for dinner,” Bill promised as a blanket was laid over me. Two kisses were pressed to my temple and the sound of the door was the last thing I heard before falling asleep.