Chapter 9

"Firstly, and very importantly, Voldemort was, I believe, more attached to this school than he has ever been to a person. Hogwarts was where he had been happiest; the first and only place he had felt at home." "Secondly, the castle is a stronghold of ancient magic. Undoubtedly Voldemort had penetrated many more of its secrets than most of the students who pass through the place, but he may have felt that there were still mysteries to unravel, stores of magic to tap"HP6

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Evelyn was mentally cursing Malfoy for her disgusting accident. She wanted to forget it as soon as possible just as she walked away from the infirmary.Adele and Kat accompanied her, trying to comfort her that she had no signs of what happened, but when she stepped into their common room her mates cheered her and Vincent welcomed her with a bunch of sunflowers."What's that for?" She asked shocked."Because you're wonderful again, darling" he gave her a quick kiss on her cheek."Again? What do you mean?" She looked diffident, then gasped in horror "So do you also know..?"."Ehm, I saw Riddle carrying you to the infirmary. I wish I could have helped you. So now these are for begging your forgiveness"."There's nothing to forgive" she hushed him, recalling that her saviour was Riddle. Vincent was never there when she needed him; he became sticky when she only wished to stay alone.

Her next lesson with the Slytherins was Potion.Evelyn was distracted by her thoughts and worries and time seemed moving slower.When finally the bell announced the end of the lesson, Evelyn only needed to catch a good occasion and she followed the Slytherin boys in the dungeons.She had to wave to him, but it was Lestrange who noticed her and poked Riddle, who understood by a quick glance at her and signed her to follow him in a smaller corridor.Evelyn wondered where he was taking her because he didn't stopped after taking many different corridors, but then he just simply stopped and turned towards her."First, I want to thank you" she started."It was my duty. Good to see that you're fully recovered".She was surprised that he wasn't mocking her, but he looked truly relieved "Yeah luckily. Second, I think that by chasing you I got totally lost here".He laughed softly "I can show you the way out".She looked around herself, thinking of how different it was from her tower, where there was only one staicase "You're lucky to live here. These dungeons are so intricated, there must be a lot of secrets hidden here"."What is it that you're looking for?" He asked suspicious."I don't know".His face showed that he didn't believe her."What about you, Riddle? You're definitely looking for something. Maybe it's something I've already found out?"."What is it that you've found out? The Chamber of Secrets?"."So is it then, the Chamber of Secrets" she smirked but in a dark place like that also a legend was potentially possible."You're seeking it too?" He asked alarmed."Honestly no. But I wouldn't be unhappy if I casually find it"."Then what is it that you're seeking?".She pondered his eyes, she had made a promise but Riddle ws the only one who she truly trusted in that castle and who could understand."Merlin was a Slytherin" she whispered.He frowned with disappoint "Everyone knows that"."Yeah and sadly I'm not in that house. So I'm deeply disadvantaged".He understood her message and smirked "If you need my help, you only need to ask"."I don't know what to ask. I'm looking for Merlin's secrets and I don't know of they are somehow linked to your Chamber. But we both are investigating around two of the greatest wizards of all times, both of the House of Slytherin. Is it just a coincidence?".His face showed that his answer was a no but he looked interested in collaborating."It could be a long seek. Are you sure you're perseverant enough to discover something?".She smiled with confidence "My perseverance already awarded me with some precious things you can't even imagine how valuable they are, so it's definitely a yes. Maybe if we try enough we would be able also to reunite all the relics of our four Founders".Riddle shared the spark of wild joy that crossed her eyes, the. shook his head "You're too ambitious for being a Ravenclaw"."Being a Ravenclaw doesn't mean being useless. I discovered that lady Ravenclaw herself has a lot of secrets too and I'm looking forward to uncover them too" she announced, catching his full attention, but she said bye and walked away."That's the wrong direction" he warned her at her back "Didn't you need help to find the way out?"."It can be a little practice for me, seeking the right direction" she said to him and walked away fast before he could follow her.She needed some time to find the main staircase out of the dungeons, but a nasty voice called her out."What is a freak like you doing in the snake's holes?".Evelyn turned to face her cousin, who came out from a dark corner with a bad face."I had Potion class" Evelyn simply replied."Hanging out with the famous Vincent Fawley made you so arrogant?"."Don't call arrogance what is just indifference"."I keep wondering what curse you used on him to make him fall at your smelly feet".Evelyn raised her head with confidence "None at all. I know well that I'm not beautiful, I'm not special. But he accepted me as I am. You should watch yourself and see if perhaps you need to change yourself a bit, in order to be noticed in a positive ways by the others".Evelyn smiled at her to mock her and turned her back."You wretch. Don't think you're safe just because you sold yourself to that dumb Fawley. He'll leave you soon and it will be just the beginning of your hell".Evelyn scoffed at that and walked away, careful in case of a sudden attack, but nothing happened.

Something bad happened to an insolent Gryffindor student, something that slipped out of Evelyn's control.She was shocked for what she did, she put herself into troubles in a blink of an eye, in front of a crowd."You are beautiful" a voice whispered into her ears.She turned seeing Lestrange winking at her.She replied with a small smile, but soon she was called into the office of the Defence Against Dark Arts professor.Evelyn didn't need to act to show how regretful she was."I didn't expect to hear such a thing from you" professor Merrythought said disappointed "You're one of the most brilliant students of your year in the subject I teach. Be careful, you may use Dark Magic just for childish games, but then it will overwhelm you and you won't be aware of it".Evelyn hated being scolded by a professor. It was humiliating enough to make her promise not to do it again."We will discuss about your detention soon. It breaks my heart, but you can't stay unpunished for something like that".Evelyn just kept her head low, until a shy knock on the door distracted them."Professor Merrythought" Riddle greeted innocently "Professor Slughorn wants to speak to you now. He's coming here".The old witch sighed "Alright, let him in. Miss Burke, you'll get a message with the place and the time. You can go now".Evelyn stood up, inpatient to leave that place before she could use some hex against the teacher too.She stepped out of the office while Tom kept the door opened for her. Slughorn was walking in the opposite direction and greeted her happily but she just replied with some cold formal words.The girl hoped to find some solitude, but she realized Riddle was still silently walking next to her."There's no need to stifle your laugh" she hissed without looking at him "You must be very amused"."I am not, actually" he said calmly "I'm by your side. That stupid Gryffindor deserved a lesson. And you don't deserve any detention".She scoffed at him "Sure. You support anything linked to Dark Arts. Merlin knows how I wish to see you get caught while you're performing your favourite magic"."I suppose you have to wait forever to see such a thing" he smirked "But don't worry about the detention"."Yeah. I just hope I don't have to deal with animals' stuff with bare hands"He laughed "No, it will be something funnier"."And how do you know that? Are you a seer now?"."Sadly no. I've been talking to professor Slughorn and suggested him a more useful activity to involve you in".Bad news for her "Aww, bloody hell.."."I guess you'll like it. Be positive. It will be fun"."What now? Should I thank you?"."No, just relax" he smirked at her with a mischievous smile and nodded her goodbye.

Vincent hurried to her, late as usual."I heard..about what happened. I can talk to Merrythought and make her change her mind.."."No, it's fine, thanks. Everything's alright" she interrupted him harshly."But you don't deserve it"."Perhaps I do. Really, I won't be under any physical torture. Well, I hope it. Just don't worry. And please, don't talk about this to anyone. That would be such a humiliation, more than any kind of detention"."You have my word, darling. Not a word".But he couldn't anything against the rumours that soon spread.

Evelyn wanted that story to be over so she looked forward to the detention night.Professor Slughorn dealt with it, acting like it was just a formal ceremony.He led her to an abandoned library, where she was surprised to recognize Riddle."Tom will explain everything to you" Slughorn said warmly "I guess one hour can be enough. But you can leave earlier when you've finished".The professor closed the door behind her, leaving her alone with the boy."Why you?" She asked diffidently."Why not me?" He replied."Are you in detention too?"."No, but I kindly offered my time to a greater good. And of course Slughorn took advantage from it".She laughed dryly "You're mad"."If you say so" he explained their duty, put in order some old archives of the school.Not bad as she imagined. They could also use magic so it was more enjoyable. And an hour ended very fast."It was nice to do it with someone" she admitted in the end after they talked to Slughorn who also thanked them for their time."It's great to hear it from you. Do you want me to walk you to your tower?"."No, I remember the way to reach it"."Alright. Goodnight then".She didn't reply, but a question was tormenting her so she had to ask."Why did you do that?".He smirked "Why do you think?"."It has a price, doesn't it? You don't act so kindly without a hidden dark purpose. Is for that book? Is that your price for helping me?".He stepped dangerously closer "You're not an ungrateful girl, are you? You took something that it's not yours. I could have reported you to the teachers and bringing you much worse kind of detention, but I didn't. I'm just asking you not to be so selfish. We can share things as we shared some adventures. You're smart and I'd prefer you as an ally more than an enemy"."I'll give it to you after I ended reading it. I can promise it to you. Just give me some time" she said patiently."That's not yours. You have no right to keep it" he complained."Why not? That's a book that shouldn't be allowed into a library. Professor Merrythought punished me for using a silly dark spell, but why she didn't care to take away such a dark book from there? Anyway, don't worry, you'll have it, there's no need to try to persuade me or cheat on me".Riddle looked confused by her speech, then turned fighting again "Burke, you are selfish"."I am not. And I thank you for your company tonight. Now goodnight".She hurried to her tower, where she found Vincent waiting for her to tell everything about the detention, but she didn't want to talk about it.She agreed to sit next to him and said vaguely wjat she had t do, but for some reasons she decided to omit that she wasn't alone and avoided to mention Riddle."That's terrible. I'm glad it's over. Don't worry, tomorrow we will have fun and you'll forget about it. What's better than a Quidditch match with Ravenclaw?".She disliked Quidditch but he always begged her to go to watch it with him, so she had to accompany him. In that moment she preferred other ten hours of detention with Riddle than two hours of that boring game.Vincent kissed her goodnight, placing his soft lips on her cheek, lingering as usual because he hoped for more, but she just moved away with a smile.She didn't want to truly kiss him. She knew he had many girlfriends before and she didn't want to become just another name on his list of conquests. And she felt that a kiss was enough to make her less interesting into his eyes.She didn't know why he kept being interested in her, they had very little in common, it was hard to have a good conversation with him, but his friends and hers were favourable so it helped. And she started to cure herself more than she had ever done, taking care of her hair and her aspect.But it was a problem from her to kiss some lips that many girls in that same castle were used to kiss.

The Quidditch game seemed endless. She reacted only when Neal got hit and almost fell from his broom, otherwise she even got bored by Vincent's arm, that was sometimes wrapped around her shoulder, but most of the time was waving for cheering the Ravenclaw team and it became dangerous. Instead of kisses, she would have received many bruises.She used the next Potion lesson to steal some lotion for her bruises, but when she left the classroom she noticed some ripped piece of paper in her book.When she recognized the handwriting her heart sank. She looked around but she already left the dungeons.She hurried to her tower, to read it carefully away from curious eyes.

I'll be waiting for you at the bottom of your tower at midnight. Use discretion.T.M.R.

That was all the piece of paper was saying. There wasn't her name, so it could be a prank.Many questions tormented her. Why he couldn't ask her directly? She remembered she barely noticed him during the lesson because she was focusing on her task and his seat was on the opposite side of hers.Then what did he want fron her at that late hour? Only bad news. She undertood why he couldn't ask her directly. She would have asked him thousands of questions. But it didn't mean that a piece a paper would have made her say yes.Breaking rules to meet him? He was crazy.Evelyn laughed thinking of locking herself into her room just out of spite. He didn't ask her to join him after all. He said he will be waiting. And she wasn't so stupid to fall so easily into what looked like a trap.She played with her fingers on the book she stole from the Restricted Section, imagining that he was trying to trick her just to steal it from her. What else could ever attract him to her tower?She planned to go to sleep earlier, so she wouldn't be tempted to go.Instead after the curfew she was out of her tower.

Curiosity had the best on her and she needed to see with her own eyes if he broke the rules too just to wait under her tower.And there he was, visibly nervous of being caught but he couldn't hide because he wanted her to see he was there.Tom checked the time starting to tap his shoe impatiently, moving to the shadows when he heard noises from the other corridors.

Evelyn sniggered making him turn to the dark corner she was hiding."How long have you been there?" He hissed angrily."I was waiting for you to leave".He rolled his eyes "I started to think you wouldn't have come. Instead you were hiding there taking the chance to admire me".She stiffened at his cocky smile "What do you want? Why asking me out in that miserable way?"."I was thinking of when I said we could be allies. I meant it. But if you keep fighting me..".Evelyn sighed "Go to the point, Riddle. I won't waste my sleep hours because of you"."I am also missing our little adventures. Do you prefer sleeping and letting me living them all alone?" He took something from his pocket and opened his palm in front of her.She frowned at the key he showed her "What's that for?"."I don't know yet. Would you like to find it out with me?".She shot him a heavy look "You mean troubles"."Scared?" He teased her."No, curious".He liked that answer "Let's go".Before she could complain, he was already walking far from the tower and she had to hurry for not losing the path."So...where did you take the key?" She asked while they were hurrying on a staircase."I found it in a dusty corner of the Restricted Section"."And what does it open?"."I said I don't know. It has a symbol that recalls the one of the kitchens, so I'd say we should start looking there".At least they wouldn't have sneaked out the castle. She liked the idea "Alright. Do you say it's safe to sneak into the kitchens now?"."Hopefully yes".He slowed down raising his head like something has caught his attention "Do you hear it?"."Hear what?" She whispered alarmed."I don't know. Like there's something, something more" he was like struggling inside, but she couldn't hear anything except her own heartbeat."This castle is filled with secrets and any kind of magic. That's what is making it so fascinating" she said to be comforting.He smiled at her, grateful for those words "Yes. Sometimes I feel like there's something invisible floating all around, calling me. And I wonder why nobody else can hear it"."We are not anybody else. Everybody else cares of other things. While we chase the mysteries of this castle. As we are doing tonight, right?".He nodded proudly "Exactly".

They reached the corridor with food paintings and happily Evelyn tickled the pear painting, that turned into a green door handle.They stepped into a gigantic room that looked like the Great Hall but the walls were full of food and instruments to cook them.Evelyn never saw it before and thanked her partner in crime for that visit. She felt like a kid who was mesmerized by every single detail.She opened some jar with all kind of fruit marmalades until she found one filled with a golden liquid inside.She drowned a finger into the honey to taste it.Riddle turned catching her while she was sucking her finger.She stiffened and lowered her hand "Sorry. Childish".He slowly stepped closer to her and took the honey jar "You can take it away if you like it so much"."No, it's fine" she wasn't into the stealing mood, but Riddle looked like it was his main hobby."Then taste a bit more of it" he insisted."No, it's enough"."Well, if you're sure of it" he imitated her and tasted the honey from his finger under her shocked stare "Do you dare to call me childish for this?".She shook her head."Good, then. Let's go if nothing else is attracting your gluttony" he left the jar where it originally was and seeked something that could fit his key."No hint of a door or something that this key could be useful for?" He asked scanning the higher shelves.There were no visible doors in the whole Hall except some small ones that didn need any key and seemed to be for the House-elves. Evelyn tried to thickle some drawings but nothing happened, until she approached the large brick fireplace for the warming her hands."Hey, the fire" she said and Riddle was soon by her side.She touched the top of the fireplace "There's the same symbol on your key".Riddle put the key to compare them "But what's the use?"."This must be the door we are looking for" she whispered."We step into the fire without the floo powder?"."Hold the key" she suggested "Although I'm not sure it can work for both of us".He hesitated watching his key, then closed his hand in a fist and with his other hand he grabbed hers "Let's try this way".He slowly extended one leg, approaching the fire until he place the foot on it "It doesn't hurn nor burn, it works".He tightened the grip on her hand and pulled her in. The heat of the fire made her narrow her eyes, but as soon as she stepped into the fireplace she didn't see a wall in front of her, but a dark old room.Riddle stepped forward and when they left the fire behind, the fireplace was gone, replaced by a stony wall.Evelyn took out her wand to lit some candles and the light revealed an ancient unused room."We did it" Riddle whispered with a wild enthusiasm."Is this... The Chamber of Secrets?" She asked carefully in a whisper."I don't know. It seems an old Potion classroom. There's nothing that recalls Slytherin here"."Well, it's dark" she mumbled."Look, there's a hole" he kept her hand into his and pulled her to the center of the room, where a carpet half eaten by mice releaved a manhole.He put the key into his pocket and moved the round metal away, to reveal the passage.He lit the bottom, that was about three meters deep."Afraid?" He asked to Evelyn."No. Why should I fear when I have nothing to lose?".She didn't mean to tell those words aloud and she caught a puzzled frown on his face before he smirked slightly."What about your life? Your dignity? Your boyfriend?".She recalled that Vincent knew nothing about it and wondered what his reaction would have been if he found it out. She wouldn't have liked to know that he was spending the night with another girl. But Vincent wasn't an adventurous person."I don't let them become a weakness of mine" she replied with a shrug.Riddle smirked and lowered hinself into the hole, then she imitated him.When they placed their feet on the dusty floor, suddenly around them all the torches lit up, blinding them for a moment.The manhole closed above them.It looked like a medieval place. In the angles of the room there were armours, some tables with ancient objects."Where are we?" Evelyn asked in a whisper."No idea" he moved towards a door, but there was no keyhole. A golden candelabra was right in front of it."What's this for?" He tried to move it but it didn't bulge "We can't pass"."Maybe that's the key to open the door" she pointed to the candelabra "Why else it would be there? It didn't turn on like the other torches"."Do we need a magic password?"."I don't think so" she looked closer the golden object "Seven arms" she whispered "Seven... The most powerful magical number".She waved her hand on the first candle and a white flame burst from it.She gasped looking at Riddle, who approached her with admiration."Go on" he suggested.She lit the other arms making appearing flames of seven different colours. Then the candelabra disappeared and the door opened with a sinister sound."Excellent. I'm glad you're here" Riddle greeted her.They stepped into another room, that was creepier. It looked like a torture chamber. There were also many bones and skeletons.The door locked abruptly behind them and a cold breeze made them shiver."I don't like this" she whispered looking for a way out, when a pinch under her neck made her gulp and she felt something cold grabbing her wrists.She screamed kneeling on the cold floor, her arms dragged down by the weight of some chains that attacked her from the wall like they were snakes made of metal.She looked up to see Riddle coming closer. It wasn't his job. He took out his wand and casted some spells.She shut her eyes, worried that he might hurt her, but she felt nothing.He repeated charms and tried advanced spells, but nothing worked.Evelyn's darkest nightmare seemed to have come real "Magic doesn't work here".Her weak voice sounded like she was doomed.Riddle stopped hiding his worry. He even disdained his wand for betraying him. He acted like he wanted to throw it away, then took control of himself and put it back into his pocket instead.He kneeled in front of the frightened girl "I'm not leaving you here".Evelyn felt a bit comforted, but the bones on which she was sitting on were like hissing to her saying that it was her destiny.Riddle took her hands, his skin was warmer than hers.He raised them to see how the old handcuffs were made, then tried to force them with his bare hands.After some trials one handcuff suddenly opened with a sharp click.Evelyn gasped in surprise while he hurried to open also the other.When she was finally free she groveled away from those chains and the boy helped her to stand up.She stared at the inanimated handcuffs that bruised her wrists with hatred, then retreated her hands from the ones she had been grabbing tightly."Thank you" she said gratefully crossing the boy's eyes.He nodded "Let's get out of here now. There's a small passage there".She followed his gaze with horror "It looks like a passage where to throw out blood and waste"."At least it's clean now" he looked down into the hole "See? There's some light over there. We can slide in it".He showed her how to do it and disappeared into the passage. She hurried to follow him since she didn't want to stay locked into the torture's chamber.She slid for something that looked like forever before reaching the light.She bumped badly on the floor and accepted Riddle's help to stand up.The new room was like a square box. There were again bones, human bones, on the floor, and some lit torches floating under the ceiling. They had no way to go back into the passage that was above them. There were no windows nor doors."What do we do now?" Evelyn asked shyly.Riddle was scanning the whole room, then pointed above them "There's a manhole up there, see? And there's a ladder down there. We should climb up there".She helped him getting the short ladder, but a loud crack startled them. The floor started to move, or the ceiling started to move down."What's going on?" She cried."I don't know, but we can't use magic!"."So we'll be crushed!" She understood how those bones stayed there and startwd sweating cold.Riddle hurried with the ladder and tried to push the manhole away."It's locked!" He cursed punching the handles "Wait! The key! Evelyn, I need your help here!"."What can I do? I can't lift the whole ceiling!"."The key! It's in my pocket. Take it".She stared at him perplexed."It's not a good moment for admiring me. Can you help me, please? Or we'll be stuck into here for a very long time".She snorted approaching him and touched his robes pocket."No, not there. In my pants' pocket".He caught her widened eyes and he sighed rolling his eyes snapping "Oh come on. I don't keep snakes into my pockets".She hurried and with disgust slid her hand into his pants pocket. She never touched a boy's leg before and she soon retreated complaining "It's not there!"."Look better! It's on the edge of the pocket. Be useful!".She snorted again and looking away she slid her hand again. Riddle felt uncomfortable too. He disdained being touched by others, but the girl's hand was tickling his sensitive spots and he couldn't help but stiffen, his body reacting out of his control."Here!" She took her hand out too fast and with relief he ducked a bit to take the key and insert into the keyhole.The floor stopped moving and a hole opened above them."I knew it! I knew it could save us!" He exclaimed pushing the hole away.Evelyn sighed heavily and ducked to catch her breath."Do you want to stay here?" He mocked her."No, I'm just exhausted".He climbed down and helped her up "Come on, we can't stop here. Can you climb? You go first".She grimaced at his cocky smile "No way. You go first". Even if she got worried he could leave her alone down there. But thinking that he would have helped her to reach the hole just to enjoy her underskirt views was unbearable.He shrugged and climbed, holding the border of the hole and pulling himself up. Without a proper ladder it was hard.Then he offered her a hand before she could fear that he would trap her down there.She climbed and grabbed his hands, but she was too short to push herself up enough to get out of the hole.Riddle pulled her risking to fall into the hole, but he didn't give up and gathered his strength.With one last effort she got out of the hole and landed on top of the boy, making them both shocked for a moment.She moved to lay next to him, glad to recognize a familiar place of the castle, while the hole closed.They were both panting hard. But they were safe.

After a while he stood up and offered a hand to help her up."I'll never...do this...with you...again!" She snapped still breathless."Surely I'll never lift you again. Eat less next time"."I'm not fat! It's you who has no muscles" her elbow hit his arm making him wince, but instead of tease her back he harshly pulled her closer and pressed a hand on her mouth to suppress her gasp. He dragged her to a darker corner and she heard what made him react in that odd way.Footsteps echoed in a near corridor and seemed coming closer.Riddle moved looking for a place to hide, then pushed the girl into the only hiding place.The closet was narrow and the two students could barely fit in there.A low voice broke the silence. With scare Evelyn recognized it belonged to a teacher.Riddle silently closed the doors of the closet and darkness fell into that small forniture.The idea of getting expelled petrified the girl. She just survived a crazy experience just to see her school career vanish like smoke.The steps came closer.She tried not to be negative, but she needed to distract herself.Catching her breath was painful and she had to be silent for not to get into big troubles.She cursed herself promising not to let herself get involved into Riddle's reckless adventures anymore.She noticed their breaths were intertwined. They were so close she felt herself dizzy.Tom turned to her and scanned her face back. They were close enough to see each other even into the darkness.Her heart was beating fast from the run and the danger, but also for something else.It was wrong.It was totally wrong.But she felt helplessly pushed towards him by some invisible force. The fear for what they probably were about to face made her reckless.And he seemed moving closer because of the same force.The steps moved away and broke the enchantment.Riddle turned and carefully opened the doors, then stepped out taking the girl with him.In perfect silence they left the room and scurried over secondary corridors, slowing down just when they were sure they were finally safe."We made it" Riddle whispered in excitement. "Safe and sound" Evelyn leaned against the wall and he rested his hand on it. She scanned him while his handsome eyes were checking that no menace was around, then they crossed her eyes.Her cheeks were already red from the run, but she felt she blushed even more.She lowered her head clearing her throat "I guess it's time to go to sleep now"."I'll walk you there"."There's no need. Your dorm is nearer. I can go up by myself"."I want to accompany you instead. Also for thanking you for coming. It was...nice to find out something new with you".She welcomed those words with a smile "Yes, I agree. And throw that damned key into the lake".He grabbed the key from his pocket and placed into her hand "Do whatever you want. I let you the fun. I don't want anything to do with it anymore".

Evelyn watched the small key in her hand, then took her wand and made it vanish. It was great to have her magic back.In the meanwhile Riddle was fighting weird thoughts that were teasing him, so he focused on something else that he wanted.Evelyn spotted her tower and regretted that she walked too fast."Well, I'm grateful" she stopped, recognizing the Hall of Hexes, and turned to face her partner in crimes "We're safe after all the crazy stuff we'd been through"."Do you doubt of me? Maybe next time we can deal with less dangerous adventures. We can be a team" he suggested.She smiled "It doesn't sound so bad"."Being in a team means keeping secrets and sharing everything" he warned her."Yeah, I know that" she looked at the empty wall they were facing.She wondered if he deserved such a big reward. Knowledge is power. She didn't like to share knowledge. But if he deserved...He whispered something and she felt a weird sensation tickling her head. The necklace on her chest pinched her skin.Instinctively she took out her wand and pointed to the boy, stopping whatever he tried to do on her.He stared at her with the same surprise.And then she understood.Legilimency. He wanted to read her mind. She felt shocked like he just slapped her hard. She cursed herself for being such a fool.Even her hair turned dark, out of her control "You dared...".He looked stunned too "I didn't mean..."."Yes you meant!" She cried, careless of her voice echoing in the empty corridors "This was all just a play of yours"."That's not true. I wanted to ask... Since I involved you in our adventure and I wanted a small reward"."You just crave for that bloody book. You cheated. You're always a cheater" she started to walk nervously out of his reach."We had fun. Do you deny this?".She couldn't."I hope you'll get caught on your way back to your bed" she hissed.Before he could react a door appeared in the wall and she slipped inside hurriedly keeping him out from there.She laughed to herself for the deeply shocked face of the boy, but then different feelings overwhelmed her, watering her eyes.Evelyn was unwillingly craving for a real friend and when she thought she found one, her hopes soon shattered.