Chapter 12

"Those whom I could persuade to talk told me that Riddle was obsessed with his parentage. This is understandable, of course; he had grown up in an orphanage and naturally wished to know how he came to be there. It seems that he searched in vain for some trace of Tom Riddle senior on the shields in the trophy room, on the lists of prefects in the old school records, even in the books of Wizarding history. Finally he was forced to accept that his father had never set foot in Hogwarts. I believe that it was then that he dropped the name forever, assumed the identity of Lord Voldemort, and began his investigations into his previously despised mother's family - the woman whom, you will remember, he had thought could not be a witch if she had succumbed to the shameful human weakness of death"HP6

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Evelyn looked out from the window while the Hogwarts Express was running through the fields of England and then of Scotland.She felt nervous because of the badge she had now to wear.Neal wrapped an arm around her, something that Vincent didn't dare to do. But Evelyn knew that Neal was in love with someone else and he was acting flirty only to tease his friend.She looked around her and felt in the middle of strangers. She wished she could join Adele and Kat instead of her boyfriend's gang.A knock broke the conversation and Evelyn's eyes widened when she recognized Riddle focusing on her."Miss Burke, professor Dumbledore requires our presence in his compartment now" he said ignoring the others."Go, our perfect Prefect" Neal chanted helping her up and pushing her away before Vincent could catch her for a warmer goodbye.Evelyn closed the compartment door a bit too loudly and followed the Slytherin boy.He eyed her slightly nervously, then said "I'm sorry for my sudden visit to your uncle's shop".She had other in mind, but mentioning that visit worried her "Don't be. It was unexpected. I didn't mean to be rude"."You weren't. I would have reacted in the same way".She spotted the large compartment that was their destination and abruptly turned towards the boy, leaning closer to him."I need to tell you something quite important. Is it alright if we meet privately later or in the next days?".He frowned "Can't you tell me now?"."No, later" she said stiffly, then hurried to step into the compartment, welcomed by the professors.

Being a Prefect meant more responsibilities than advantages, but at least Evelyn enjoyed the idea that she didn't have to corrupt prefects anymore when she broke some rules.The arrival to the castle was a relief.Evelyn was free to reach her friends and pretend for a moment she could enjoy the school like in the past years."How did the reunion go?" Adele asked after listig all the cool things she did in the holidays."Boring. Just plenty of new duties. Like we don't have already too much to study and do".Kat smirked "That's why I never wanted to become a Prefect".Adele leaned closer and whispered to Evelyn "Riddle had been staring at you for most of the supper".Evelyn turned to look at the Slytherin table but Adele stopped her."What you doing?" She hissed slapping her hand them impatiently asked "What happened? Is there something you didn't tell me?"."No. And as far as we know he never cared for girls".Adele gave her a bad look "Yeah. As far as I know"."Why don't you call Vincent and make him move closer?" Kat suggested."He's busy with his friends" Evelyn cut out and checked again the green and silver table.He was staring at her again and she stared back trying to guess what his game was.Then he understood what was wrong with him. He was trying to use legilimency on her again, but he couldn't anymore.She couldn't help but keep a triumphant grin. Her efforts during the summer fully rewarded her.

Evelyn took advantage of teasing him at the first occasion. They were both Prefects so it wasn't susoect anynore if they talked to each other publicly."You can't take your eyes off of me, can you?" She smirked at him.He smirked back "Don't blame me if you're so magnetic"."Do you have an interesting schedule this year?"."Why don't we compare them?" He offered his schedule and she showed him hers."Hmm, this year we have in common Arithmancy, Transfiguration, Astronomy and Defence Against Dark Arts. It's going to be interesting"."That's too much. We also have some of the patrolling hours together" she pouted."We have more than you imagine. I talked to Dumbledore and persuaded him that it was more efficient if we match different houses in a constructive way. Meaning that the Prefect girls patrol mainly their own floor, while the Prefect boys patrol mainly far from their own common room".She frowned "So you have all the fun and I'll get boring on my tower?"."No, you won't be alone there. Just saying, you would be matched with me, so I'll keep an eye on you and you can't help you own mate" he smirked."It sounds wicked just because you suggested it. At least I won't have that other Ravenclaw prefect sticking around me. He's quite annoying"."Don't worry. He won't have much chance to make your Fawley jealous" he whispered with an accomplish wink.She shrugged "So we have Arithmancy together now?"."Yes. I'm curious to see how skilled you are in this subject since we never attended the courses together. Did you pick all the subjects this year? I didn't"."No, I keep avoiding Muggle Studies and Divination"."Same as me, then. We are going to be the ones to get the higher scores again since I don't think other get as many subjects as we do. And see, we are still alive"."If you want to be the top student, I'll give up on Arithmancy"."I do not. I want to be that with you" he hissed to her and she stared at him confused.For a moment he kept staring at her then he stepped back commenting "You made outstanding progresses this summer. I'm impressed".Evelyn smiled proudly "Don't speak too fast. I hope to do better here at school"."I don't underestimate you. Not after seeing you with Ravenclaw's diadem. Did you sell it?"."No, I gave it back to professor Merrythought, back as the ugly iron crown that it was before"."What a pity. I really wished it was the real diadem. It looked really great on you. Maybe this year you will wear it again and surprise me again with some new skills"."I leave the role to anyone else. But maybe this year you will be Salazar Slytherin. Nobody would fit better than you. And you can bring some snakes to be more realistic?".He shot her a bad glance to silence her "I don't think this stuff is made for me. But if you will be a founder again, I'll about it and perhaps change my mind. But I would like to bring something cool like Slytherin's wand to fit since he didn't have a diadem. His wand is lost too right?".She tried to imagine them dancing dressed as the founders and she had to forbid that kind of stuff into her mind."Slytherin's wand? Oh, well, it's buried somewhere in America. But why do you care? You argued with your own wand? You can keep using yours"."How the hell do you know that?" He snapped."I just know" she rolled her eyes and realized that they sat in the classroom next to each other.She was so lost into the discussion and her fantasies that she didn't notice what she was doing. The professor asked for attention and started to explain the topics they were goig to deal with in the next months.Evelyn was bored and frequently glanced at Riddle, who seemed so willing to scribble in his elegant handwriting some notes.At the end of the lesson, he used so many parchments that he mixed them with hers.She picked one of them and realized that his writings weren't about the subjects.On purpose she exchanged some of the rolls.

Hours later she spotted Riddle walking straight to her in the library."I think we did a mess. These are yours" he placed two rolls of parchment on her table."Thank you. I was right solving some of the homeworks for Arithmancy. Why don't you join me?" She waved at the chair in front of her "And I have to give you back these" sbhe handed him his rolls "I thought we were at an Arithmancy lesson or can you mentally follow also a Defence Against Dark Arts lesson at the same time?".He grabbed the rolls stiffly and checked them "You can question me anything about that lesson and I can easily reply"."I don't doubt that. I'm just fascinated by your way of working. You looked like a model student, but are far more. I took a look at your theories. And I have a question".He glanced at her diffidently "Ask away".She leaned on the table and whispered "Who is Lord Voldemort?"."None of your business" he cut out annoyed stepping away from the table."Never heard such a name. Sounds Frenchy and macabre. Fly of the death" she scoffed."Will you shut up?" He hissed with irritation."Oh, sorry. Is he your best friend? A secret lover?" She teased him standing up to approach him.Riddle stared at her badly, then lowered his head whispering "That's my name".She frowned at him in confusion.Riddle stared at her, unsure if he could trust her. But he desperately wanted to share it with someone. And he chose her."Do you want to know where it comes from?"."Yes" she replied with curiosity and respect.He checked that nobody was around, then took out his wand and waved it in the air, writing his name in letters of fire. Then the letters moved to form his new name and soon vanished as smoke.His eyes lingered on her amazed expression. She wasn't scared. She was stunned in a positive way and he appreciated it. He didn't regret his choice."You don't have to tell about it to anyone. Maybe someday I'll share it with someone else. But for now I want it to be our secrets" he whispered to her ear."We already share so many secrets. But don't worry. Your secret is safe with me, Lord" she promised.

Vincent was an open book. He didn't have interesting secrets to share, he had innocent stories like the times he fell from the broom when he was little and other silly things. He had a happy infancy, he was a spoilt boy but he didn't lack of romanticism or affection. And he loved his own name because of the advantages it could bring to him when he didn't have many other outstanding qualities.Evelyn could understand why Riddle fashioned himself a new name. And realizing how big her discovery was made her hesitate about her intentions.

Evelyn was walking fast to her next leason when Riddle easily approached her."Aren't we patrolling together tonight?".She recalled their schedule and was nervous about that. On the first evenings she got bored to death with the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff prefects."It seems we are"."Isn't Fawley jealous? Or he will be babysitting you?".She rolled her eyes "He will be sleeping. He has some exams tomorrow"."Sleeping or trying to study at the last minute? I heard his grades are not so high as his origins".She scowled at him "Why do you hate him so much? Because he's so popular? I thought you felt popular as well, specially amongst little girls"."I didn't know about that. And it's not jealousy. Why should I be jealous of someone so pathetic?"."Pathetic?" She repeated shocked."How would you describe him? I didn't hear many praises for him from you"."Why? Would you like to hear me talking about him all the time?" She didn't understand how they could end up discussing about that."Most of girls do that, his previous chicks were used to describe him as a god on earth. While now they try to talk bad about you".She retreated showing she wasn't bothered "I don't care about that. If you knew me a bit better you would know I'm not like most of girls"."I know that, I know you enough. Did Fawley visit you while you worked with your uncle or he was having fun somewhere else?".Evelyn stopped staring at him shocked "How dare you! What's wrong with you? Why this discussion about him?"."So that's a no" he said with indifference "The problem is not that I don't know you well, it's him who don't know you at all. And you know that too right? I'm just wondering why".She didn't expect that attack and felt weak. She swallowed hard "It's not your business, Riddle"."And it's not his as well, right? He doesn't care if you spend more time with me than with him. What if he comes to know how much of your naked skin I saw compared to him?".She raised her arm to slap him, but he grabbed her wrist before she could touch him."I don't mean to blackmail you" he reassured her "I'm just trying to understand what kind of game you are playing at"."This is not a game" she tried to struggle away from him, but his grip was like iron.He ignored her complain and placed his lips on the back of her hand, catching her by surprise.So he let her go, her hand unable to harm him anymore."Don't be angry to me. I just hoped you wanted to share with me the troubles of your lives, since I've also notice that you don't share them even with your friends or they are too busy with their new toys".She stared at him in disbelief "Would you like to share also your troubles? Maybe if you talk more about yourself, I'll be more willing to flood you with all my problems"."I'm glad to say that I don't have many troubles. I don't play the couples game, although I knew you hoped I would join it"."Is it because Cupid didn't catch you yet?" Something deep inside her was enjoying that conversation."No, I crushed Cupid. I own my life, nobody can force me into silly games"."So you're too selfish to care about someone?"."We all are selfish, it's not that"."Or you still didn't find anyone who can force you into those silly games"."Maybe I have" he smirked.She gaped at him "Then you carried on this whole discussion for asking my help with your affair?"."No, you're wrong again" he replied amused "I wanted to focus on you. Maybe you are the one who is fooling herself and I wanted to help you out"."You're talking nonsense"."About talking... Didn't you need to talk to me?"."Not now, I have still two hours of classes. We need to find another moment, when nobody can eavesdrop' she moved closer to whisper to his ear "It's very secret".Just two words were enough to lit him up. And Evelyn laughed to herself when she hurried to her lesson and left him behind wondering what was it all about, but then it turned into a bitter laugh.

"Are you sure you don't want to delay it? You look too tired for patrolling".Vincent was trying to persuade her not to go patrolling and spend the evening with him into their common room, mistaking that she was troubled by something else."It's not hard patrolling. You just stay out there waiting for something unusual to happen under your eyes. It's my duty, I can't start delaying now"."I wish I can help you with that, stay out there with you"."You would fall asleep after a couple of minutes, trust me. It's boring"."But you wouldn't be alone. I can't fall asleep next to you"."I am not alone. There are other prefects and sometimes also teachers. We have turns"."So are you sure? I would replace you if I can"."Enjoy the evening for me too. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight"."Goodnight, Evy" Vincent hesitated and she knew that he hoped for a kiss but she just smiled at him and walked out the common room.She and the other prefects had to meet a couple of floors downstairs to plan their patrolling areas, then divided into couples.Evelyn followed Riddle on the higher floorsThey had to check also the towers.They were walking silently, when suddenly Riddle pushed her into a room."Hey! Manners!" She complained while he locked the door. The room was very old and covered with cobwebs. It looked like an abandoned potion classroom."Sorry, I caught the first occasion of kidnapping you" he smirked turning towards her "Didn't you have something 'important' to tell me?".Her heart ached. She knew she had to be ready for that, but she wasn't. She knew that after she spoke, things wouldn't have never been the same."Yeah" she mumbled lowering her head "I'm just not sure if it's a good idea telling you"."Is it about your annoying boyfriend?".She scowled at him "No. It's about you".He seemed caught by surprise but it made him more impatient "Tell me. Or just let me inside your mind, I'll learn it by myself".She crossed tightly her arms roaming back and forth trying to contain the stress "I'm glad I learned occlumency. I'm jealous of my secrets"."But it's something about me, you said"."Yes. What if it's something so bad that could make you very upset? Would you prefer not knowing the truth if it's very unpleasant?"."I hate not knowing. So I surely prefer knowing. And maybe it's not as bad as you may think. It's something that could be fixed easily".She wished she could believe him. Instead she was bearing a heavy burden "No, it's not something to fix. It's something about the past. And there's no way to fix it"."Hell, you found out that you're my sister?".She gaped "What?" Then laughed, getting that he was joking "No, luckily no"."Yeah luckily" he smiled in an unusual way, that for a moment distracted her.She moved closer to him, whispering "If I have to tell you this, you must promise me you won't overreact to what I will reveal you, you won't do anything bad nor reject me blaming me for that. Okay?"."I would never reject you. Just tell me, we can sort it out together".She nodded "Yes, together. But that's something you'll have to allow me to do. Because I'm afraid that's not a good news for you"."Don't judge for me. If it's so hard to say it, you can use easier words to explain it".She frowned, more convinced that he was totally misguided. Was he truly expecting her to make a love declaration?Her heart sank even more thinking of the truth."I wish I can. But I can't" she walked a bit, feeling her bones frozen for the heaviness of the thing she was about to reveal "It's also about Vince, but well not in a good way, sadly. I'm afraid I committed a very big crime".Riddle's grin widened "Stop judging. I'm sure you did nothing wrong. I'm the bad guy here, not you"."Oh I'm afraid this is something you could never do" she counterattacked "You see, I kinda used him. He's very close to his uncle, the ex minister. And I stole some keys, so I slipped into the archives of the ministry...".The boy's face turned serious, he understood that it wasn't about anything romantic and he was eager to know.Evelyn felt totally uneasy "You didn't ask me, but I know how much you want to know your origins. So I found some news about your family"."You did it for me?" He whispered incredulous, stepping closer to her "And what did you find out?"."Past is past, Tom. It's just for you to know, nothing more. I don't want you to be too upset, or revengeful" she begged staring into his eyes, eager for knowing what she knew."Tell me. Did you find out about my mother?" His voice slightly trembled for the impatience.She stared into his shining dark eyes, she felt so weak. She hated it all. She hated that her parents abandoned her and died. And she hated also the story of his family. Everything was so wrong.She lowered her head and slipped a hand under her robes.He looked a bit confused, then his eyes focused on the piece of paper she revealed.He tried to grab it, but she retreated her hand out of him."Be patient" she asked "It's something we can slowly talk about, okay? It wouldn't be healthy for you to read this, you would say nothing and storm out of here, and then you would be unreachable. That's not what I want. I want first you to know that you're not alone. My story is awful just as yours"."I'm ready. I can take it. Whatever it is".She swallowed, hoping that she could truly trust him, then unwrapped the piece of paper."I ripped it from the archive documents. We can't use magic out of this castle, so I couldn't find another way. But here it is. It's your family tree".Riddle grabbed the paper and watched it bewildered."There are also the identity pictures of your grandfather, your mother and your uncle" she explained quietly "And... Your grandfather and your uncle went to prison for attacking muggles. Your uncle is still alive, he will be out next year".Riddle just kept staring at the photos and the names, his fingers were slightly shaking."Your mother never came to Hogwarts" she added uneasily "Because she was a..."."Don't say it" he warned harshly "I understand it. And my father was a muggle"."Yes" she confirmed sighing "There's the address of where they lived. Little Hangleton. So I made a little research and I found out that there's a rich family surnamed Riddle in the main town, Great Hangleton. And the leaders of the family are named Tom and Thomas".Riddle turned pale "So he is still alive?".She didn't dare to reply, but she could feel how much anger was gathering inside of him.He didn't need a reply. He folded the paper and slid it into his pockets."You did the right thing. I needed to know" he whispered, sounding like a menacing hiss. She almost felt fear, she could feel the goosebumps on her skin."I'm so sorry"."Don't be" he said coldly, stepping towards the door."Wait" she ran to put herself between him and the door "Past is past, okay? Don't be too upset, please. I know that was better not knowing, but I also learned that it's better knowing the truth that wasting your life with illusions and false hopes"."At least you can be proud of your parents. They were both wizards" he hissed bitterly."People who abandoned me" she pointed out."Mine did it too. But they were nothing. A squib and a muggle. When I worked so hard for my whole life thinking I had to show them I was worth of being their son"."You don't have to show anything to anyone. You are a great wizard, nothing can change that. Not because you're the heir of great wizards but because you are yourself, smart, creative, curious. Don't try to compare yourself to your family"."Family. I don't even look like them".She recalled the ugliness of the Gaunts, there was nothing of their features in Riddle's appearance. His mother's eyes looked in different ways."Perhaps you took all from your father"."A muggle"."Who cares? You're exceptional compared to them. You worth more than all of them put together. It's a blessing that you're alive and far from them"."Evelyn, stop wasting your time with me. You deserve to stay next to someone important like that Fawley, why are you still sticking around me?".She gaped recalling one of their previous discussion when he said the opposite."Because I'm not blind, Tom. And I don't want to leave you alone, no matter how much you try to push me away. You said we would fix it together, remember? So don't run away from me now. I won't tell anyone about this, nobody else needs to know. But we can talk about it when you want"."I have nothing much to say about it. Except the need to kill them all"."Killing them would be a gift for them. The best punishment would be letting them root in the mess they've done, without harassing you".He glanced at her and slightly nod "We have duties to attend now".They walked back and forth in the corridors. Riddle needed to move for managing his thoughts and said nothing.Evelyn kept an eye on him, but didn't dare to ask him to speak up his mind although she didn't want to leave him alone, fearing he could do something terrible.She felt guilty. She knew she had hurt him deeper than anyone else. She destroyed his hopes with revealing the truth, but it all started with the best intentions. She wanted to help him.That evening seemed endless. They didn't have much to do so it was even worse.When the clock rang midnight, finally they were free to go to sleep.She mumbled a goodnight and walked away with her head low."Burke!" He called when she was about to go up her tower.She turned crossing his unreadable gaze."Thank you, really, for everything"."I only wanted to help, not to shock you"."You've been more helpful to me than all those years I wasted looking for my parentage. I'm truly grateful. But we should not speak about this never again"."Don't let it torment you. You're a great wizard, don't care about the mistakes of the past"."I don't need your compassion"."Is this a way to tell you want me away from you?"."No, I'm not sending you away. It's just that I don't want to talk about it, ever. Let's just do as we never found out about it, deal?"."Okay, thanks for warning"."See you tomorrow. Goodnight" he quickly turned his back on her and rushed down the staircases.

Evelyn was barely able to spot him in the following days. Riddle wanted clearly to stay alone as much as possible and he turned indifferent also during the lessons. Somehow he also skipped his patrol shifts, making also the teachers worried for him fearing he was sick for the first time in five years.Days passed and he seemed moving back to his normal routine, although he was more silent than ever.He recovered in time for the first Hogsmeade trip of the year. The prefects had a lot of work to do, to check that all the students who were moving away from the castle were allowed to join the trip.Vincent tried to help, but the girls took advatage to spend time with him, slowing down the process.It was almost lunchtime when they ended and were free to walk to Hogsmeade too.Vincent grew hungry and impatient to have some great mea in his favourite and expensive tavern."We need to hurry. We are already late" he urged quickening his pace.She hurried, not caring much about reaching Hogsmeade just to spend the whole day into a boring pub.Suddenly her feet stumbled on something and she lost her balance falling into strong arms.Her shock turned into deep embarrassment when she met Riddle's beautiful eyes. Vincent was too far beyond to do that, but soon came back.Riddle helped her up and she stepped away from him, while another hand touched her shoulder."Are you alright?" Vincent asked concerned kicking away the rock.She hardly took her eyes away from Riddle "Sure. Thank you".Riddle just nodded while protectively Vincent wrapped an arm around her and pulled her on their path again.The Slytherin boy watched the rock that he saw making an unnatural movement to hit the girl's feet, when he noticed a dark shadow disappearing behind a corner. He instantly knew who was the culprit. Milly.

Somehow Evelyn managed to persuade Vincent to leave the village sooner and enjoy the deserted fields in front of the castle. At least they were far from the girls who used to stalk him and speak bad about her."What is it?" Evelyn just sat down on the grass next to him when he leaned closer to her to take something from her back.She saw some small red fruit that she didn't notice before.He gave her one of those red dots to taste."Strawberries!" She recognized "In autumn! This is cool".She picked some more of them and put a fruit into his mouth, getting a thankful smile from him.She laughed retreating her fingers for the fear of getting bitten.Vincent took another small strawberry and did the same to her. It was childish but a very lovely and sweet game.Evelyn enjoyed it but one short glance was enough to break that happy moment. Causally her eyes crossed Riddle's unreadable dark stare from the main pathway. She realized he stopped to watch them and his stare was so penetrating.Evelyn reverted immediately her eyes to her boyfriend, but her vivacity already vanished and she had to pretend, not knowing why one look was enough to bother her.

She had patrolling with the Slytherin prefect in the following night, but Riddle appeared far more distant again. She didn't want to think it, but her mind supposed that he was back into his depression or perhaps he might be jealous. As far she knew he didn't have a sweetheart and she felt he wasn't the kind of looking for one, knowing his attitude, even if many girls swooned around him. But none of those girls knew him enough or they'd be scared of him. Voldemort. That name made Evelyn laugh on one side, but on the other side it was a nervous laugh. She perceived there was something so dark into him she felt menaced.Maybe he truly needed to get involved into some relationship before his loneliness and his sorrow would corrupt him forever.

Days passed and she forgot about it. Also dued to the fact that Riddle was back to his usual moods.Now the problem to her was Vincent.She was trying really hard to keep their relationship at its best, but she still felt out of place next to him.The full of envy looks from the other girls shouldn't irritate anymore after almost one year, but Evelyn was still so concerned. And she couldn't even talk about it to Kat nor to Adele since they always defended Vincent anyway.Evelyn didn't have other friends. She noticed that the Hufflepuff prefect was excessively kind to her and sometimes he entertained their boring hours of patrolling with some nice songs he played with his pocket flute.But definitely she wasn't going to be confident with him.

Evelyn stepped into the Great Hall, led by her complaining hungry stomach. She glanced at the edge of the Slytherin table where some students of her years were practicing some magic and she felt attracted by it like a moth.Emma Rosier was giggling in front of the glass she transfigurared with an advanced spell."Who can do better?" She challenged with pride.Evelyn hesitated, then stopped and waved her wand, getting easily the same result.She ignored the bewildered gaze of the Slytherin girl."I prefer yours actually" Evelyn tempted a friendly smile to her schoolmate, who happened to be the other Slytherin prefect of their year "Yours has a really amazing shade of violet".Rosier's features softened."Evy, what are you doing here?".She stiffened at the familiar voice while Vincent's arm touched her shoulder."Look, we didn't even deal with it yet" Neal admired the works of magic.Vincent pinched her cheek, a bad habit she dispised since it made her feel treated like a kid. But he laughed at her scowl "Don't run too fast or you'll get old earlier"."Old?" She repeated blankly.Neal snickered "You're tactless, Vince"."Really impressive, Burke" another male voice cooled down her burning irritation.She crossed Riddle's eyes while he sat on the seat in front of her. At least he pretended a sincere tone."Thank you, Riddle" she said aloud, shooting a bad look to a bewildered Vincent, then stiffly she walked fast to the Ravenclaw table, getting a seat in the middle of the group of girls.That was another defect of Vincent: he wasn't good with words as she dreamed him to be. She tried to bear it patiently, but he was also used to distractedly mention his past love affairs, that all last less than a season, and it was a burden for her. Because he talked like he missed how his old stories worked.

Evelyn also started to regret being a Ravenclaw. It was a thought that haunted her when she was particularly angry for something, but she wondered if her choice with the Sorting Hat just made her life harder.The Entrance Hall was deserted.Evelyn looked up at the cloudy sky. The first early snow was falling, bringing a cold air that evaporated the warmth of the recently ended summer.She didn't realize that someone had been watching her for a long time until some near light footsteps made her turn.Riddle smirked at her "Ready?"."Sure" she walked with him, slowing down to watch the hourglasses next to the doors.She admired the shining gems. She liked the sapphires of her House, but she loved also the emeralds."Slytherin is going to win this year too" she commented."I didn't know you can surrender so easily"."I'm not that angry if Slytherin wins".Riddle smiled at her "Right, because you're a Slytherin deep inside you".A small smile escaped from her lips. He was right. She had to be a Slytherin and crush her nasty cousin instead of betraying her nature out of fear.Or maybe it was Vincent who had to be into another house so she didn't have to bear him even in the common room.Evelyn was surprised of her own thoughts. If she was having such negative things in mind, something big was about to break.