In Her Eyes Lies Her Heart

“I don’t think you should go, Harry,” said Hermione quietly as they walked back up to the castle. “It might make you late for Sir-“ she glanced at Eve. “I mean it’s just awfully late for you to be out, I don’t think it’s a good idea,” she finished quickly.
“Hermione, that’s why I think I should go,” said Harry, exasperated. She had been arguing against him going since they had left the Three Broomsticks. “Hagrid wouldn’t ask me to come so late if it wasn’t important. Besides, I’m sure Eve will be keeping an eye on me, so it’ll be fine.”
At half past eleven that evening Harry donned his invisibility cloak and slipped out of the common room. The halls were deserted, and his way onto the castle grounds was unimpeded. As he passed the Beauxbatons carriage, a figure moved from the shadows. As he had expected, Eve was waiting for him.
“Hullo, Harry,” she said, striding towards him.
“How’d you know I was here?” he asked, poking his head out of the cloak so she could see him.
“I could hear you,” Eve replied, quietly. “If you’re going to sneak around in that cloak, you should learn to walk softly. Now hold on..” Harry watched as she turned into a small, white ermine. She sat up on her haunches and gestured for him to lean over. He did so and she jumped up onto his shoulder, settling herself around his neck like a furry scarf. Harry reached up and stroked her tail absentmindedly, but withdrew his hand quickly when she bared her teeth and made an angry squawking sound.
Harry crept to Hagrids, now aware of every sound his feet made. “Now I’m worried I’m too loud, thanks a lot, Eve,” he said disgruntled. The ermine made a trilling, clicking noise that made him feel as if Eve was laughing at him. When he reached the cabin, he knocked.
“You there, Harry? Hagrid whispered, opening the door and looking around.
“Yeah,” said Harry, slipping inside the cabin and pulling the cloak down off his head. “Whats up?”
“Got summat ter show yeh,” said Hagrid.
There was an air of enormous excitement about Hagrid. He was wearing a flower that resembled a large artichoke in his buttonhole, and he had attempted to comb his hair again. The broken teeth of the comb were still tangled in his wild hair. Eve made another chortle-like set of clicks.
“What’re you showing me?” Harry said warily. He didn’t like Hagrid being this excited. Only things like fluffy and the blast ended skrewts got him so worked up.

“Come with me, keep quiet, an’ keep yerself covered with that cloak,” said Hagrid, leading the way out of his cabin and off toward the Beauxbatons carriage.
“Hagrid, what-?”
“Shhh!” said Hagrid, and he knocked three times on the door.
Madame Maxime opened it. She was wearing a silk shawl wrapped around her massive shoulders. She smiled when she saw Hagrid.
“Ah, ‘Agrid… it is time?”
“Bong-sewer,” said Hagrid, beaming at her, and holding out a hand to help her down the golden carriage steps.
Madame Maxime closed the door behind her, took Hagrid’s proffered arm, and they set off across the grounds, Harry running to keep up with their long strides. Eve sunk her claws into Harry’s jacket to keep hold of him.
“Wair is it you are taking me, ‘Agrid?” said Madame Maxime, playfully.
“Yeh’ll enjoy this,” said Hagrid, gruffly, “worth seein’, trust me. On’y- don’ go tellin’ anyone I showed yeh. Yeh’re not s’posed ter know.”
“Of course not,” said Madame Maxime, fluttering her long black eyelashes.
They walked –Harry ran- so far around the perimeter of the forest that the castle and the lake were out of sight. Just when Harry began to think he would go back to the castle, Eve perked up, pointing her slender head towards the trees. A few moments later, Harry heard what Eve’s more sensitive earing had picked up quicker- men shouting, followed by an echoing, earsplitting roar.
Hagrid led them through a thin veil of trees, which opened up to reveal a large paddock, filled with scrambling men, all trying to subdue four enormous Dragons.
Eve made another squawking noise, this time of surprise and fear. Harry’s mouth fell open. The vicious reptiles were stamping, roaring, and snorting, sending torrents of red fire from their open, fanged mouths into the clear night’s sky, fighting against the chains held by thirty wizards on the ground.
“Keep back there, Hagrid!” yelled a wizard near the fence, straining on the chain he was holding. “They can shoot fire at a range of twenty feet you know! I’ve seen this Horntail do forty!”
“Is’n’ it beautiful?” said Hagrid softly.
“It’s no good!” Yelled another wizard. “Stunning Spells, on the count of three!”
A chorus of “Stupefy” came from the thirty wizards, and their stunners shot through the darkness like rockets, bursting into a shower of stars on the dragon’s scaly hides.
The dragon nearest them, the Horntail, tottered for a moment before slumping to the ground with a reverberating crash that made the trees sway.
The dragon keepers lowered their wands and approached the dragons, securing the chains and attaching them to spikes driven deep into the ground.
The wizard who had warned them not to come closer turned and walked to them.
“I didn’t know you were bringing her, Hagrid,” said Charlie Weasley, following Madame Maxime as she strode around the paddock for a better look. “The Champions aren’t supposed to know, she’s bound to tell her student, you know that.”
“Jus’ thought she’d like ter see ‘em,” shrugged Hagrid, staring enraptured at the dragons.
“Really Romantic date, Hagrid,” said Charlie, shaking his head.
“Four…” said Hagrid, “so it’s one fer each o’ the champions? What’ve they gotta do- fight ‘em?”
“Just get past them, I think,” said Charlie. “We’ll be on hand in case it gets too nasty. They wanted nesting mothers, I don’t know why… but I’ll tell you this. I don’t envy the one who gets the Horntail. Vicious thing. Its back end is as dangerous as its front, look.”
Charlie pointed to the dragon’s tail. Long bronze colored spikes protruded from it every few inches.
Harry had had enough. Trusting Hagrid to be too busy to miss him, he turned silently and began to walk back to the castle.
Harry, with Eve still slung across his shoulders, made it into the castle without hindrance. They saw no one, except for Karkaroff, whom they passed halfway back. He must have seen Hagrid and Madame Maxime from the ship, for he strode confidently in the direction of the dragons.
Harry began to run once he reached the stairs, having only five minutes before he was supposed to meet Sirius in the Common room. He reached the Fat Lady with one minute left.
“Balderdash!” he gasped, hands on his knees.
“If you say so,” she muttered sleepily, without opening her eyes, and the picture swung forward to admit him. Harry climbed in, pulled the cloak off, and threw himself into the armchair near the fire. Eve leapt from his shoulders to the arm rest, looking at him expectantly.
Harry glanced up. “Oh- right, I forgot you were there.” Eve looked pointedly from him to the dormitory. “Er- well I’m supposed to be meeting someone...” He gestured to the fire.
Eve leapt lithely into the air and landed as a human.
“Well, if you want privacy, I can wait at the top of the dormitory stairs, and warn you if anyone is coming.” Eve said, taking off her jacket and gloves and laying them across the back of the sofa. It was the first time Harry had seen her without gloves on. Her hands were slender and delicate looking, but scarred across the knuckles, as if she was recovering from a fist fight.
“Er- yeah, that’d be great, thanks,” said Harry, confused, but grateful.
Eve walked to the top of the stairs and sat to wait. She could hear Harry begin talking to his visitor, but couldn’t make out any specific words. He seemed to be explaining about the dragons, and she couldn’t help but notice the faint trace of panic in his voice. Her throat clenched just thinking about it. How was she supposed to protect him from a dragon? How did Dumbledore expect her to keep an eye on him when she could only turn into an animal the size of a small cat? She couldn’t even guide him, because she didn’t know what he would have to do.
Eve wracked her brain, looking for a solution for Harry’s dragon problem, but came up with nothing. The only spells that would work on a dragon were far beyond Harry’s abilities, and she didn’t have time to teach them to him anyway.
A rustle came from the boy’s dormitory, and Eve heard a pair of feet walking towards the stairs. She ran downstairs, hissing a warning.
“Harry someone’s coming down the- Sirius ?” Eve came to a dead stop behind the sofa. She stared into the fire, transfixed. Harry looked between them, bewildered.
“Evie?” Sirius whispered.
Eve ran around the couch and threw herself to the floor in front of the fire place. “Sirius…” Eve said, in a low, broken sounding voice Harry had never heard before. She reached a hand into the fire. Harry made to stop her, but she seemed to feel no pain from the flames. Her hand hesitated above Sirius’s face, then she withdrew it. “Someone’s coming, go!” and his head disappeared from the fire.
Eve gave a last look to Harry before transforming and scurrying away out of the portrait hole.