PART 18

A BOY , clad in scarlet and gold , books clutched tightly under his arm as he swiftly walked through the sea of students flooding the classrooms and corridors. His right hand was wrapped in white gauze , hidden behind his back to avoid attention. His peridot irises focused in front of him , as he made his way towards the Gryffindor Tower.

His heart was thumping in his chest , and blood was rising to his cheeks as the bruise on his right hand began to sting excruciatingly.

Harry Potter let out a surprised yelp , as he was suddenly pulled behind a marble column. In the prevailing darkness , he saw a pair of haunting blue eyes , and when his gaze got used to the obsidian darkness , he saw Evanna lifting his hand up. His right hand. Her fingers lightly grazed over his bandaged hand , and without a single movement of her lips nor an utter of a spell - she  wandlessly untied the gauze , letting it fall into a heap of ivory at her feet.

Harry blushed slightly , before hissing in pain as Evanna examined the words - "I must not tell lies" , engraved upon his skin in letters of crimson. 

"You can't keep your mouth shut , can you Potter ?", She asked incredulously.

"She refused to believe he is back", Harry said pointedly , fuming as he reminisced the incident that had taken place in his first Defense Against the Dark Arts class within  the safety of his mind.

"Ferula", Evanna whispered , producing fresh fabrics of pearly white gauze from thin air , wrapping it around his hand that had been marred with the ghastly words.

"Try not to argue with her , I suppose controlling yourself while around her isn't that difficult of a task", Evanna said , as Harry gulped and nodded.

Swinging her bag over her shoulder , Evanna walked a few steps ahead of the duo , before abruptly coming to a halt. Tilting her head towards the left , she said ,"Oh , and Potter , you better learn Occlumency."

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Through the melanoid shadows of the looming bookshelves , emerged a girl dressed in an ensemble darker than the starless sky above. She held a lantern in one hand , fingers curled around the mahogany handle , dim light illuminating the path ahead as she weaved her way through the library and towards the unfrequented section housing leather older than time itself.

The Restricted Section.

With considerable agility , and perhaps a noiseless air , her fingers curled around the spines of the books , pulling them out one by one until a tall stack lay on the rosewood table. The ivory light of the full moon poured in through the glass windows , shapeless shadows dancing across the walls like graceful swans at play.

Curses. Dark , divine and powerful. A rush went through her bones , as Evanna's pupils dilated with interest - ravenously devouring the words imprinted on the amber pages as though she had been starved. Which , in one way , held true.

Long had she confined herself behind the curtains , long had she tortured her soul and bound it with ropes of faux goodness. But slowly , she would now set herself free , flames of ruthlessness dancing in her eyes.

She did not wish to be a Lord , no. She wished to be a leader. A leader who would be perceived as a hero , worshipped by the masses and feared by the gods themselves. She knew , amongst this crowd of humans occupying the lap of Gaia , Evanna was the one most capable to lead. She was the acrrier of the Gaunt blood , the bearer of powerful magic and the last heir of Salazar Slytherin himself. Of course , she should be the one on the throne.

 Each spell she read made her cherry lips curl upwards more , as she delved deep into the power and lust of magic. The Dark Arts were not evil when chosen by the doer. She knew that no magic was evil. There was no dark or light magic , it was the wielder who chose to make it so.

Her chest heaved with exhilaration   , and she would have drowned herself into the sea of knowledge till the first ray of dawn bled through the linen curtains , had she not read the word 'horcrux.'

Evanna shut the book immediately. Of course she knew what horcruxes were. But she wouldn't make them. Having witnesses the affects of dividing one's soul into multiple pieces first handedly , she was aware that she did not wish to look like a ghost before Death could touch her. As ambitious she was , she did value her appearance. Appearances were necessary , especially when gods had blessed with you with the face of an angel.

Besides there were other ways to conquer death.

Especially , when there was a wand , a stone , and a cloak lying around somewhere. It was a matter of time before she found them.

The sound of a tear echoed in the library , the noise piercing the quietness that was as ever-present as mourners in a cemetery. She swiftly mended the tears of the pages regarding horcruxes , making it seem as though the pages had never existed in the first place. It was paranoia at it's peak , but Evanna did not wish to risk having someone else - perhaps , someone like her - know about such illegal magic.

She placed the books properly , uttering a spell to even remove the fingerprints that her finger tips had left behind on the golden dust that coated the spines - before quickly leaving the library. 

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"Where were you ?", Was the first question that was uttered from Draco's lips as he saw Evanna enter the Ravenclaw dormitory. Evanna raised an eyebrow , walking up to where he stood with a worried frown by the twirling azure flames of the hearth.

The portrait of Lady Rowena Ravenclaw hung from the wall above it , cerulean eyes shining like oceans of wisdom , raven hair in pristine curls , held back by a familiar silver diadem. It was quite dark , except for the transparent ceiling , which provided an outlook to the obsidian skies above , and the torches that illuminated bits of the room - the sapphire of it piercing through the clouds of melanoid.

"Just went down to the kitchen for a midnight snack , I was up late doing my Herbology essay", She shrugged. "Why are you here anyway ?", Evanna asked.

Draco breathed a sigh of relief , nervously rubbing the cuff of his shirt before clearing his throat. He did not know why he was feeling so nervous in front of her , it was just - inexplainable. His ashen eyes focused anywhere except on the girl in front of him , and he stuttered ,"I-er , I just worried , because all of us thought that you would be sleeping in Pansy's dorm , and we couldn't find you here either-"

"So you were waiting the whole time over here ?", Evanna questioned - walking a few steps ahead.

"Sort of", He shrugged , desperately trying to appear as nonchalant and confident.

To his surprise , Evanna did not say anything further - brushing past him , her feet found the mahogany spiral of stairs leading up to her bedroom. 

"Care to tell me why you have been limping ever since we got to school ?", Draco asked , making the girl abruptly come to a halt.

"None of your business", She muttered , leaving the boy baffled as to why she was refusing to tell him. Gently , he reached forward to wrap his palm around the bracelet he had gifted to her , resting on her right wrist , making her stop once again. Once again , she did not face him - only letting out a frustrated sigh.

"Did something happened after our visit to London ?", He enquired softly. Evanna pulled her wrist away harshly , turning to face him with a blank expression. Quite unexpectedly , Evanna let out a sigh of defeat , burying her hands within the pockets of her robes , before she uttered a simple sentence.

"It's a game my mother and I enjoy."

"A game ?", He questioned. Half the times , he did not even understand what she said , her unpredictability scaring him.

"I was pale because of poison , limping because of the Cruciatus Curse. My mother should be in the same condition as me , perhaps worse", She grinned.

"P-poison ?", He stammered , palms turning clammy.

As though reading his mind , she replied ,"Did you think simple poison would kill me ?"

She had been six when she had started mixing poison into her food. Little amounts , slowly but steadily building an immunity against it. Another of her paranoid acts.

His heart hammered in his rib cage , breath quickening and falling. Cold , pearly droplets of sweat beaded his forehead - and needless to say , he was terrified. For the first time in his life , he was terrified of Evanna Frey.

A game ?  A game , when they could kill each other ?

Reading his thoughts again , she spoke smoothly - voice flowing like the sparkling waters against the pebbles of a stream ,"That is precisely the idea , Draco."

With a last cheshire like grin , one that sent chills through his veins - Evanna turned towards the fleet of stairs , trudging slowly up the stairs as though she were terribly tired. Which , as a matter of fact , was quite true.

But before she completely became one with the shadows of the girl's bedrooms upstairs , she halted in her steps.

"Oh , and Draco", She spoke - making the boy with ivory hair stop in his tracks , his back turned towards her angelic voice.

"Ask the others to spread the word among Slytherins about what I had said earlier in the Common Room in the presence of all of you. I'll schedule a meeting for all of us in the 'Three Broomsticks.'

[A/N : THINGS TAKE A DARK TURN FROM HERE. I APOLOGISE FOR SUCH A FILLER CHAPTER. ALSO , I AM NOT TRYING TO ROMATICISE THE ALCOHOL AND DRUG ADDICTION EVANNA HAS.]