PART 15

Sunlight poured into the white-washed room , sharding light upon the bright glass vials filled with liquids of different colours , sparkling against the light inside shelves. Beds were arranged neatly upon the tiled floor , covered with ivory duvets. Evanna sat up on one of them , reading a letter an owl had delivered to her as she rested in the infirmary.

Evanna's eyes skimmed the words on the parchment , written in a brilliant emerald ink. It was the briefest of letters - one of the rare ones that she had found on the mantle beside her bedside at the hospital wing. The words had been written in an elegant scrawl , the emerald of it embedded deep.

"Evanna ,

What you did was an act of utter shame. He would be very disappointed , and so am I. I raised you better than this.

Lyra Frey."

As much as Evanna wished to crumple the paper , and watch it burn up in flames - she did not do it. Instead , she held out her palm , wandlessly summoning an ivory quill from the mantle. She whispered a spell to conjure some ink , and dipping the nib of the quill inside the onyx coloured liquid , she began to write on the back of the same parchment ,

"Mother ,

As much as I would love to , I couldn't bring my poor self to waste fresh parchment for a purpose that concerns you. I hope you understand. And he does not have a right to be disappointed when he wouldn't even have come back to life without my ideas. I think , by now , you know that however my drastic my steps are - they are the correct ones. Afterall , you did raise me.

Your dearest daughter ,

Evanna Frey."

Folding the parchment neatly into an envelope , she kept it beside her on the duvet of the bed. Her eyes wandered the walls of the infirmary she had been locked up in since the event's of the previous night. Her surroundings were white , and within a ew hours she had gotten used to the strong fragrance of lemon that lingered in the air. Her expression softened considerably as her stare fell upon a sleeping Draco beside her. His head lay on top of his arms ,which had been folded and rested on the edge of her bed , silver hair falling like a curtain in front of his face. Smoothening out the creases on the ivory duvet , she gently ran her fingers through his hair.

When he stirred a little , she quickly withdrew her hand , leaning back on her pillow. Draco lifted his head up , rubbing his eyes before blinking a few times at Evanna. A slow smile grew upon his face , and he jumped forward to engulf her in a hug , being careful not to hurt her.

After he pulled away , Evanna enquired ,"Did I wake you ?"

He shook his head. 

"Did you seriously stay here all night ?"

He blushed , sitting back down on his hair. "Err , no. I was forced to leave at night - so I came back at dawn." He cleared his throat , glaring at Evanna as he spoke again ,"You had to play the hero again ? You're bloody worse than Potter , you know that ?"

Evanna gave a sheepish grin , lifting her arm to rub the back of her neck - before hissing in pain.

"Hey ! Don't move", Draco said , fussing over her. Evanna let out a little laugh at his overly concern self , making his insides flutter. A comfortable silence engulfed them , both sitting in silence looking at particularly nowhere. Evanna's eyes suddenly fell upon a huge basket that sat at the foot of her bed , filled to the brim with candies and cards.

Pointing towards it , she asked ,"What's that ?"

Draco followed her line of vision , letting out a light laugh as he spoke ,"Half of those are from Pansy , Theo , Blaise and I - and the other half is from Diggory's father , for 'saving his son.'"

"Well then if it is for me , can you pass me one of those chocolate cauldron boxes ?"

Laughing , Draco obliged - leaning down to pick the brilliant blue box , opening it and placing it between himself and the girl. She picked out one of the large , caramel-coated balls - popping them into her mouth - the taste of firewhiskey burning down her throat.

"You can have some too", Evanna chortled at Draco's expression - who flushed and mumbled a 'thank you' , before joining Evanna in eating the candies.

"I met your mother , by the way - she seems quite stern", Draco mused , shuddering slightly.

"Oh you have no idea."

"She also has different hair."

"Yes , I got mine from my father , and my eyes from my mother. Although , I would have loved it if I had black hair."

"I like yours better", Draco said sincerely - and , for the first time , he swore he saw Evanna's cheeks pink ever so slightly - but it disappeared the next moment , the ghost of a smile remaining on her lips. A pearly bracelet resting on Evanna's right wrist momentarily caught the sunlight , making the minuscule diamonds gleam in the rosy light. Upon recognising it as the bracelet he gifted to Evanna , his heart raced.

"I-is that the bracelet I gave you ?", He asked slowly.

Evanna popped the last bit the chocolate into her mouth , as she nodded her head.

"Yes , I wear it all the time", She replied.

He had previously not been able to see her wear the bracelet for it was covered with the sleeves of her jumper. But now , the sleeves of her shirt were folded - exposing her forearm and wrist.

Leaning his chin on his fist , he asked with a nonchalant expression ,"Do you want to come over for the summer holidays ? Mother said in her last letter that she would love to have you."

Although his expression was casual , Evanna could see the nervousness in his eyes. With a sad smile she shook her head.

"I am sorry. I- I need to be home. I always have to inform my mother about such things a month earlier , and she wouldn't allow it so late."

"Oh", Draco said , shoulders drooping as a dejected expression etched onto his features. Although he was disappointed , he tried not to make much of it. The duo continued to eat the chocolates , the stack of it lessening by the passing minute , and laughing at the smallest of things.

Breaking their comfortable banter , Draco assumed a serious air - his voice laced with concern as his full moon-like eyes studied the Ravenclaw's weak form.

"Evanna you have to promise not to endanger yourself again. Saving Diggory from the killing curse was chivalrous - but the consequences are severe too. Please , please think before you act in the future , Ana. You could've had fatal injuries", He spoke , his thumb brushing the girl's knuckles.

Evanna chuckled and nodded , and although Draco knew that she would probably not keep the promise - he smiled knowing that , in the future , he would do anything within his power for her to not risk herself.

And for a while , both basked in each other's company - knowing well that maybe , in about a month or two , things in the wizarding world would change for the bad - eventually resulting in an unpreventable war. But each silently vowed to protect the other - whatever the situation be.

                                                                __________________________

After a week , Evanna's mangled arm had surprisingly healed well enough for her to make the journey back home. She stood with her fingers curled around a suitcase , and the other holding a jar within. A jar with a beetle. It was a rather odd sight , but she melted well into the crowd of students on the platform at Hogsmeade. An ashen coloured cat followed her footsteps swiftly , bright hazel eyes following it's master's figure.

People would glance her way - talking even more highly of her with admiring eyes. She held her head high , azure irises searching for certain Slytherins amongst the horde. From within the sea , someone pulled her gently by the elbow , and she was about to bite back rather harshly before she saw warm , honey coloured eyes before her. The cat followed her , camouflaging itself well against the pillars.

"Diggory ?", She asked , pulling her arm away.

"I wanted to thank you for saving me back in the maze I- I never got to thank you properly , and I decided to do it now", He said , gratefully. Evanna's strawberry lips curled upwards in a smile , and she nodded her head.

"Anytime", She said.

"Write to me ? I would like to be friends', Cedric chuckled honestly. Evanna laughed lightly , nodding as a way of reply. She waved at his fading figure as he disappeared into the throng ,and he waved back.

Evanna sighed , before resuming her walk once again. Upon finally finding them huddled together , she rushed towards them , engulfing Theo with a hug from behind. Theodore chortled , turning around to return her gesture as he spoke ,"Time you showed up , blondie here was missing you."

As they pulled away , Theo was greeted with a scowl from the platinum blonde.

"I wish you could've come with Daphne and I to Italy", Pansy sighed , before smiling at the brunette.

"Write to us ?", Daphne chimed.

"Write to all of us", Blaise emphasized. The three then conveniently disappeared , leaving her alone with Draco. When she turned to look at him , she saw him smile at her.

"Er .. write to me as well ?", Draco asked , rubbing the back of his neck. Evanna grinned and replied ,"Only if you agree to keep up entertaining conversation."

 All of a sudden , she felt something claw at her ankle. Looking down , she found her cat. As she lifted it up to her shoulder , Draco watched with an inquisitive expression as the feline nuzzled into Evanna's neck protectively.

"Is this the cat you had talked about ?", He asked , arching a perfect brow.

"It is", Evanna replied. "Maybe I can introduce you on the train."

Draco laughed and nodded - before looking at the jar she held.

"Why do you have a jar with a beetle in it ?"

"Reasons", Evanna shrugged simply , and they fell to step beside each other - walking up to the train. Tucking her cat inside the loose sleeve of her robe , and telling him that she would join him after a while - Evanna searched the train for the Golden Trio. Catching a glimpse of red hair , she followed the person through the thick crowd - before stumbling into a fairly empty compartment. Three people were seated within , one with the red hair and blue eyes - Ronald Weasley. There was a girl who was looking outside with a blank expression , bushy hair falling to her eyes - Hermione Granger. Harry Potter sat absently twirling his wand.

Evanna cleared her throat , drawing their attention towards her.

"Evanna ?", Hermione asked.

"Yes. I wanted to hand this to you. Do whatever you want with it", Evanna said , handing Hermione the jar with the beetle and sitting beside her , putting one leg above the other. Hermione raised an eyebrow at the odd 'gift' - before her eyes widened slightly.

"Is this...... Rita Skeeter ? My suspicion was correct", Hermione whispered - as Ron choked on the chocolate frog he was eating , while Harry leaned forward to hear more.

Evanna nodded nonchalantly.

Hermione snapped her fingers together , and turned to Harry.

"Remember how that vile woman found out about Hagrid ? She is an Animagus - an unregistered Animagus", Hermione spoke , the words flowing out of her mouth as realisation dawned on Harry's face.

"How did you catch her ?", Ron asked , swallowing slightly - although his eyes filled with rage as he looked at the beetle struggling to claw it's way out of the glass jar.

"I have my ways", She answered simply , shoving her hands into the pocket of her robes - lips titling into a lopsided grin. As she made her way out of the compartment - she took a last glance at the three baffled students.

"Have a good summer. And write to me , Hermione", Evanna said - knowing that Hermione was the most sensible out of them. Hermione obliged with a warm smile , as the three waved at her before she disappeared out of sight.

                                                                    __________________________

"But on a more serious note , Evanna , please be safe - and stay out of trouble", Draco whispered , tightening his embrace around the brunette. The train had long reached the King's Cross Station - and in the distance , Draco's parents waited for him. After bidding farewell to the other four , Draco and Evanna had finally come to the difficult task of saying goodbye.

The cat mewled , raising it's paw to rub against it's ear. Puffs of smoke emanated from the scarlet train , and throngs of parents and students crowded the station as they returned home for summer. The screeches of trolleys being pushed against the coarse floor , and the hoots of owls filled their ears.

"I will", Evanna promised , her voice coming slightly muffled as she inhaled his minty fragrance.

Draco took his sweet time breathing in her intoxicating scent of peaches and honey , memorising every tiny detail before they parted ways. Pulling away from each other , Evanna lifted her cat into her arms as the Malfoys made their way towards her.

"Evanna , dear it's lovely to see you again", Narcissa Malfoy chimed , leaning forward to offer her a motherly hug. Returning the gesture , Evanna smiled and said ,"The pleasure is all mine , Mrs. Malfoy."

"Please call me Narcissa , dear", She said , her streaked hair shining in the light. 

"It's good to see Draco finally decided to leave his childishness behind and fix whatever .... misunderstandings you had", Lucius drawled , eyes flitting towards Draco before looking at Evanna again as his palm curled around the obsidian came he held. Draco mumbled incoherently , as Evanna nodded , smiling at him politely before Narcissa spoke again.

"You should have joined us for the summer dear , Draco and I would have loved it", She said with a sad smile.

"Thank you for your offer , Narcissa. I appreciate it , really - but I have family business to take care of", Evanna explained , as Draco raised a brow. As they bade each other goodbye , Draco leaned forward to whisper in her ear -

"Ana if you want to tell me something , you can. There's something you are hiding , and I know that."

Not quite meeting his eyes , she gave him one last side hug - before dissolving into the sea of colours.