Chapter 35

"Tom Riddle would certainly have understood Helena Ravenclaw's desire to possess fabulous objects to which she had little right."Well, you weren't the first person Riddle wormed things out of. He could be charming when he wanted..."

HP7

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The summer passed without big events. Evelyn kept an eye on Tom, but hardly ever caught him in misdeeds. It was like he was truly keeping his word to her to make their relationship work.Letters came from Hogwarts and they both got their pins as Head Boy and Head Girl, which meant getting more responsibilities as adults.Starting their seventh year was bittersweet. It was their last year at school.Evelyn felt envious of the first year students who looked so young and so fascinated by everything, adventures were just ahead.While for herself she kept seeing darkness in her future.Tom never gave up on seeking the Founders relics, although most of their plans failed. There were so many mysteries in that castle that he didn't want to graduate and leave it. Evelyn could understand him: he was the Heir of a Founder after all, that castle was incredibly special to him.

On her side, she didn't want to leave the castle without solving her own secret quest. Books and papers didn't help her getting more hints.If she needed more information, she had to ask to someone who could have witnessed or heard anything useful to her.While Tom turned determined to deal with the Grey Lady, that Evelyn failed to make speak, she decided to try with the other ghosts.They tried to befriend the Fat Friar of Hufflepuff to learn that Helga's cup was surely inherited by her descendants, so they checked the family trees just to find that many were potentially keeping the cup.

After a patrolling shift next to the Gryffindor tower, Evelyn eyed a ghost that a Prefect indicated as the ghost of the Gryffindor Tower."Sir Nicholas?" She called running after the floating pale figure. She learned that that ghost didn't enjoy being called Nearly Headless Nick, as he was known amongst the living.The ghost turned with a friendly face "Yes?  Can I help you?"Evelyn almost expected that he would move his head to show that he was almost beheaded, but luckily his head was in the right place on his neck. She didn't want to face something creepy like it would have been facing the ghost of Slytherin who was always covered in blood and dragging his heavy chains."I'm fascinated by your story. I've been told you were a knight" she said with a flattering smile."Oh yes, my name is Sir Nicholas de Mimsy" he replied proudly."It's a pleasure to meet you properly" she slightly bowed "I don't want to leave this school without knowing a bit more of the ghosts who always watched over us students"."You're so kind, girl. I see you're a Ravenclaw. What a pity you are not living in my tower. Your kindness would have made you a great Gryffindor" he winked at her.She forced a wider smile "We are almost neighbors anyway. Can I ask you if you witnessed the golden ages of Camelot?".Nick sighed "I heard a lot of it. I'm not surprised if the word knight reminds you of Camelot"."And of Merlin" she added gathering all her courage to clear what she wanted to know "Did you know him or do you know someone who was close to him and that I could talk to?".Nick tilted his head a bit in a thoughtful way. Evelyn tried to ignore the red cut that opened on his neck, showing flesh."Hmm, yes. I know a knight who was close to king Arthur and so also to Merlin" he finally announced "Sir Cadogan!"."Sir Cadogan?" She repeated, happy for that news but unsure if she ever heard that name before."Yes. He knew Merlin, he was one of the Knights"."Knights" Evelyn repeated, thinking of Tom's knights "And where can I find sir Cadogan?"."He's close. He's on the seventh floor" he explained her in details where to find his portrait.Evelyn wondered how it could have been so close to her and she never imagined she had to care of the portrait of the silly knight riding a pony against a dragon."Thank you, sir Nicholas" she said with all her heart, agreeing to entertain him a bit longer, pretending that she was more interested in his story.Then she rushed passed her tower and finally stopped in front of the portrait she was looking for."Are you sir Cadogan?" She asked loudly to catch the attention of the lively knight who ignored her previous long staring.He jumped and turned at her "At your service, gentle lady. Yes, I'm sir Cadogan of...".Before he could chant his whole life, she interrupted him politely "I've been told you were one of the knights of the Round Table".He looked surprised at her words, but swelled his chest with pride "Indeed I was. Shining days of chivalry..."."So did you know Merlin?" She fired away."What a useless question is that? Of course I knew him" he spatted.Evelyn felt happy, incredulous and offended at the same time. She forced a friendly smile "I'm sorry. I'm just curious. Since nobody knows what happened to him, I was wondering if he was trapped somewhere here, in the castle".He scoffed at her "How can a castle trap someone so powerful like him? Gentle lady, I believed you were smarter".Anger started to boil into her veins. She tried not to focus on how to curse a bloody painting. So she ended up acting as Tom would have done "I'm just wondering. So what could have happened to him?".He sat on the grass, tried to be comfortable with his uncomfortable armour "I have no idea".She rolled her eyes. That conversation was getting insane. She was talking to a painting, after all. It wasn't the same like talking to a ghost "So, kind knight, you dare to correct me when I could be right. What else could have happened to the great Merlin? Do you know anything about his greatest desires?"."I knew Arthur very well. But Merlin was the real king" he said enjoying his own words "Do you know what was Arthur's biggest quest?"."Making Camelot rule the world?" She asked confused."No" he said harshly "The Holy Grail! He lived - and died - looking for that precious thing. But he couldn't find it. So it became Merlin's quest".Evelyn recalled all the things and legends she heard about that Grail, but she believed it wasn't a relevant detail. And she remembered other names linked to that quest, not Merlin's."So did Merlin ever find it?".Again the knight reacted making her feel stupid "If he did, it was on his biography, right? If it's not, then it's because we don't know what happened".She frowned a little disappointed "So you don't know what happened to him? Is it because you died before him, right?".She felt mischievous to mention him his death, but she wanted some revenge."I died in the most honorable way" he defended himself, jumping up and pointing his small sword at her, as if he was able to threaten her somehow."Death is never honorable" she whispered tiredly, those words weren't hers.Sir Cadogan narrated his incredible and eroic story, but she barely reacted mechanically to his enthusiastic speech. Her mind was trying to sort out the new hints she got.

When the clock stroke eleven, she hurried to dismiss the knight and went back to her tower, curious to know what was Tom's plan to charm the cold Grey Lady.She spotted him coming from a balcony. It was a rainy evening and he looked like he stayed under the rain for a while."So is this your plan?" She snapped crossing her arms and watching him just in his shirt again."Seems so" he took his tie away.Evelyn gaped, unable to accept that he truly wanted to put that plan into practice "Seriously?".He shrugged brushing a hand on his wet hair, something that made him irresistible "Why not? Don't I look like a poor boy to whom who can share any of your secrets?"."You look like the devil" she said dryly, trying to look indifferent.He smirked handing her his robes "Hold this. Later I'll give you a taste of how devilish I can be, mark my words".She smiled amused "I don't doubt that".

Evelyn waited in the Room of Requirements, holding his wet robes and tie as something slightly stranger to her. She was used to see them covering the boy she desired, but somehow they also covered a monster, no matter if in the last months they had a great time together and she couldn't complain, or she just closed her eyes on his weird affairs that he carried on with his Knights.She checked his pockets, but nothing unusual came out. She thought back to their story, wondering if it was going to become something worth to be narrated, like the ghosts' and the portraits' great stories. Or if it was going to be forgotten, marked as something ordinary, when in fact the craziest things would have been secret forever. How could she ever confess that their relationship started from a sort of bargain? She could admit the previous attraction, but she felt she had been forced into the whole thing. And given his outstanding ability to manipulate, she wondered how much she allowed him to manipulate her and if it was a bad or good thing.

The devil finally reached her in the room, without the triumphant smirk she expected to see on his face."So?" She asked impatiently."I think I know where it can be" he whispered, but his reaction didn't fit with his words."Staying wet isn't healthy" she allowed him to take his time and waved her wand to turn dry the clothes he was wearing."I thought you had other ideas to warm me up" he woke from his thoughts giving a provocative smirk."I do, but not before you tell me what you've found"."It's more intriguing that I imagined. It's Helena's fault of the diadem is lost" he explained softly "She stole the diadem and ran away with it"."So she knows where it is now? Or the Bloody Baron?"."She hid with it into a forest in Albania. It's still there hopefully"."Albania?" She repeated, mentally calculating how far that country was."Yes. We need to go there" he said nervously.She glanced at him "We can't go there now. We can't leave the school when we are so close to graduating".Christmas holidays already passed so they had no way to leave the school for some hours.He nodded weakly "We can go there as soon as we leave the school".

The final exams kept them extremely busy. There was a reason if the NEWTs meant "Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests".Tom passed his exams with top grades, sometimes that rarely happened at Hogwarts. Seeing how many "Outstanding" he got seemed something so inhuman that Evelyn wondered if having a horcrux helped him somehow. If that was the explanation, she almost regretted not having split her soul too to get some secret help.Her grades weren't that bad: mostly "Exceed Expectations" and a couple of "Outstanding", enough to let her apply to any job she wanted, although there was none that she wanted.

The astronomy tower was one of the places they liked the most. They felt on the top of the world, so close to the sky."I'm going to miss this place" Evelyn whispered with a sigh.She allowed Tom to embrace her from behind "What if we can stay here?".They came from a boring evening at Slughorn's party, where he invited wealthy wizards that could offer jobs to the seventh year students.Evelyn felt so irritated that she needed an excuse to leave the dungeons before suffocating. And Tom managed to follow her, although he was Slughorn's superstar and the professor couldn't stop introduce him and talking about him to all his acquaintances."Stay? How?" She replied, resting her head on his shoulder while looking up at the stars "We should have failed our NEWTs to get some extra months or an extra year here"."Is there any offer that appealed to you?"."No" she said annoyed "Do you know what I once dreamed of becoming? I wanted to become a healer and work at st Mungo's. But now I can't do that, not when...she's there".Tom swallowed, understanding "I'm sorry"."It's fine" she smiled and turned to look at him "What do want to become? You can even become the youngest Minister of Magic, as Slughorn said".He scoffed "I don't care to become a Minister. I want to stay here".From his eyes she could say that he wasn't joking "And what would you do here?".He slightly smirked "Merrythought is retiring. Hogwarts needs a new Defense Against Dark Arts professor".Evelyn took some time to get used to the idea "Professor Riddle. Sounds cool"."You could teach with me. Two brilliant students could easily replace an old witch as professors" he suggested, as if he believed it was possible.She frowned "I don't think that teaching is the job for me. You can be a good professor, although you lack of patience. I would be more your assistant than anything else"."Alright" he shrugged "I'm sure I'll need an assistant".She melted a bit under his kiss "How are you going to apply for the job?"."I meet the headmaster tomorrow. I can't delay. I'm afraid I won't get a chance to talk to him again in the next days".The next days were their last days in the castle. And there was their graduation ceremony.

Evelyn could tell that his meeting didn't go well from Tom's dark face as he marched down from the Headmaster's office. He looked like the leader of an invisible army of demons."Well?" She said a bit intimidated."He said I'm too young to become a professor, but I can come back after some years and try again. Merrythought is leaving and should be replaced by someone else for just some years? That's nonsense. I'm so disappointed" he was almost shaking for his fury."I think it's good for you to live some years away from the school so you can gain some more experience" she said carefully, hoping to comfort him."Experience doing what? There are no other jobs that appeals me"."Slughorn can make you get whatever job you want".He grimaced at that "I don't need him. I can't bear the idea that someone else takes the place that must be mine".He marched passed her, who placed herself in front of him to stop him."Tom, calm down! What do you want to do?"."I can't accept it. Think about it. Someone else takes my place as professor and what will be the next reason that the headmaster use to kick me out? That I have to wait for the new professor to retire? How many teachers were replaced in seven years? It will take too many years, Evelyn. I don't want to stay away from here forever".She couldn't disagree with him "So what's your plan?"."I'll curse the Defence Against Dark Arts position"."Curse?" She repeated shocked. She knew how powerful he became and the things he was capable of, so she didn't undervalue his menace "Don't do anything that can damage us. We can still get expelled"."I need to sneak into Merrythought's office when nobody is around. Stop worrying, I'm not going to kill anyone" he said bitterly."What curse is it then?".He inhaled deeply then explained in a whisper "Any new professor that will take that position won't stay longer than a year. When my time will come, I'll break this curse and keep the position for how long I wish"."Really? Do you mean it?"."Of course I mean it, Evelyn. I know that I can't ruin our final week here. Why did I make you so scared?".Because she saw how bloodthirsty he looked "I just feared that you would use your extreme ways".He touched her cheek gently "I know we have a reputation to keep. I wouldn't do anything that could put it in danger. I'm not so impulsive".She sighed. Maybe he wasn't that impulsive, but he was calculating and too clever.She agreed to help him, covering his shoulders. She didn't understand exactly what magic he used for the curse, but old Merrythought didn't suspect anything and everything seemed ordinary.

Evelyn didn't know how to say goodbye to that castle.She spent all the time she could to visit the whole castle again, mechanically doing her duties as Head Girl, watching the other students speaking lively about the upcoming holidays while she just wanted to have some little more time to live in that beloved place.Her legs led her to the Trophy Room.She checked the list of Head Boys and Girls to read her own name, feeling unworthy to be on that list. She recalled all the rules she broke in all those years, all the misdeeds that she covered.Then her eyes wandered until they found Tom's name on a special trophy, for his lies and manipulation.She realized that they were leaving also the Chamber of Secrets behind. The farther Tom would stay from the castle, the safer the students were.

When she left the Trophy Room behind, she moved to the Armoury Gallery, thinking back of the origins of that castle and her unsolved quest. She surrendered to the idea that if she wanted to continue her quedt, she had to seek out of that castle. She focused on the Holy Grail, but the legends seemed more fantasy than reliable information.

The last day at Hogwarts came too fast.The seventh year students were overly excited for the final ceremony and everyone was already speaking of their future, their life in the adult world.Evelyn lazily listened to Adele and Kat's speeches during their last hours in the dormitory. They already applied at the Ministry and at the Daily Prophet, getting positive replies. Evelyn couldn't be affected by their happiness because whenever she looked at the Daily Prophet she read news about attacks and dead wizards, while the Ministry needed new recruits to replace all the wizards who died because of Grindelwald."So what kind of look did you choose for the ceremony?" Adele patted Evelyn's shoulder to wake her from her gloomy thoughts."The most ordinary possible" Evelyn sighed. Her friends were making a mess with make up and couldn't stop waving their wands to create the most extravagant hairstyle."Come on, why don't you try purple hair and a lot of eyeliner?" Kat teased her making the the mirror hovering in front of her.Evelyn made a bad face "I don't want to disguise as a freaking clown. I like to look normal. You look like queens with make-up, while on me it makes me feel ridiculous"."At least swear that you'll use that lipstick" Kat grabbed her arm "It's been the whole morning that you're playing with it. I'm sure it will look great on you".Evelyn looked down at the lipstick that she was holding in her hand. It was in the make-up kit that Walpurga Black had gave her as Christmas present. Evelyn never trusted to try anything of that kit, but Tom swore that it had to be save. She had teased him to use at least the lipstick to see if it had some negative effect on him, since she was sure that Walpurga never gave up on her dream to steal him from her.Evelyn smirked at the challenge and decided to use it to make her lips red, making her friends happy.They hurried to wear their uniforms for the last time.Evelyn looked at her reflection in the mirror. She felt quite silly with those red lips, but her heart ached as she placed her pointed hat on her shining dark hair for the last time. She recalled when she was just eleven and was so impatient to wear her new school uniform and her pointed hat. Now she was an adult and she couldn't wear school clothes anymore.

Evelyn mentally bid farewell to her dormitory and the Ravenclaw tower, as with her housemates she walked down for the last time.Her sorrow was washed away by the sight of Tom waiting for her at the bottom of the staircase. She couldn't count how many times he had run all those staircases from the dungeons to her tower to meet her, but she never got used to the pleasant feeling that it gave her each time.And the way he was staring at her reminded her that she was happy that she didn't have to say goodbye to him too. Not yet.She took the arm he offered, wondering if her cheeks turned red just as her lips. If he didn't stop to stare at her with that intensity she could also melt."I was right" he smirked "I knew that using that lipstick would make you so irresistible".Evelyn reminded herself to breath. Adding the tone of his voice to his wonderful gaze wasn't helping her to keep her sanity."I'm looking forward to check if it has side effects" she scanned his look. He had his dark hair perfectly combed, every detail was flawless.She felt proud that they were still together. She couldn't bear the idea that they could be apart, although she needed a big deal to accept and try to control the darkest side of him, the devil behind that angel face.

Everyone was reunited in the Great Hall. The graduates were lined up in alphabetical order to greet the teachers.Evelyn was amongst the first ones while Tom was lost behind the long line of students with their pointed hat.She felt intimidated when her name was called, but the smiles of her professors encouraged her. She shook their hands, imagining that someday the future students would shake hand also to a certain professor Riddle. She couldn't imagine him as a smiling teacher. And she envied so deeply those hypothetical students.Her thoughts made her a bit indifferent to the headmaster's praises of her school career. She thanked him politely, then watched him placing his wand on her school pointed hat, making it turn into a common adult hat. Then he did the same to her school uniform, turning it into a formal dress.Evelyn immediately missed being a student, but turned with a big smile to the cheering crowd and waved her hand. Her eyes easily spotted Tom and she beamed at him.His turn came much later and the headmaster took his time to praise the most brilliant student that the castle had seen in many years. Tom acted as humble but confident as usual.The applause for him was very warm but composed, showing the high reputation that he gained in his school years. There weren't mocking whistles nor loud comments.Evelyn looked at him as a leader. Even the election of a Minister would hardly get such a polite reaction by the whole crowd.

Later the ceremony ended and the party shook the whole Hall.Tom caught her up in the crowd and Evelyn finally hugged him and pressed her lips on his cheek, enjoying the result. It was so funny to see the red mark of her lips on his cheek that she laughed while he just grinned."Do you still remember my name?" She teased him."Of course, Evelyn Burke" he kept her close, leaning closer to whisper in her ear "That lipstick isn't cursed, as I assured you. And if you agree to follow me out of here, I'll show you that your red lips didn't change anything in me, except for the fact that it keeps turning me on".She wrapped her arms around his neck, for not losing balance under his blinding gorgeousness "We can't leave now. Why don't you keep under control your appetite with some food and drink? This is the last time we can enjoy a delicious meal of this castle"."As if that's the kind of hunger that is tormenting me now" he sighed, but agreed to sit next to her. Since they were no more students, they weren't sorted into houses anymore.While enjoying the dessert, Lestrange approached them and Evelyn noticed his surprise and how he almost died to stifle his laugh. So she laughed for him. Tom didn't look irritated and talked to his mate in low whispers. Whatever Tom and his knights were in the castle, it wasn't going to end after the school. Evelyn just feared that in the world outside the consequences of their misdeeds would have been worse."You really are a breathtaking lady" Lestrange provocatively greeted her "Enjoy your holidays. See you soon".Evelyn wondered why he said goodbye so early, but then noticed that many were already saying goodbye.The evening flew away and the students had to leave the castle to reach the train.The ex students left the castle in the same way they reached it foe the first time seven years earlier: on boats on the Great Lake.The boats were the same and Evelyn was surprised by the difference: when she was eleven the boats looked big while now that she was an adult the boats seemed narrow.She took a boat alone with Tom, since there wasn't room for four as it was when they were kids.The boat left the underground harbor and started move on the water, taking them out of the dark tunnel and under the curtain of ivy that uncovered the view of the wide lake.Sitting on a boat gliding across the smooth lake seemed something so romantic that Evelyn wished it would never end."Do you remember that evening when we arrived here? Everything looked so big then" she rested her head on Tom's shoulder."Yeah, I never imagined that I would have lived my best seven years in this place. It's heart breaking to leave" he whispered thoughtfully."You're right. Heart breaking" she agreed, looking back at the big castle that was growing smaller and distant.When she was a child, she had the certainty that she would become a student of Hogwarts. Her path was clear in front of her. Now she could choose her future, but she felt so afraid because she didn't know what could be the best choice.

The castle disappeared in the darkness of the night. Evelyn felt empiness in her heart, like the light was turned off. Her instinct told her that she would never step back into the beloved place.She had to move on, and find a way to survive in the dark maze called future.