Beautiful Control
Part 1 Chapter 2
Detention
Evelyn Greyarc watched the Scottish country side roll by as the scarlet Hogwarts Express steamed away. She sat alone in her compartment, staring out the window. Her mismatched eyes staring back at her. She thought of her adoptive father; that had been a fun time, when she discovered her Guardian's monthly furry nights, all that came of it however was her determination to become an animagus. She smiled to herself, wondering what she'd be. Most likely some kind of cat, she thought.
She was coming into her third year at Hogwarts, Although she should be going into her fourth, the year that she was meant to first go to Hogwarts she had to spend a large amount of the year in Hospital after she got a horrible muggle illness that caused her severe coughing, fever and fatigue.
Evelyn heard a bump in the passageway outside her compartment and spotted a small boy with messy black hair and circular glasses on his nose. He looked like a first year. There was something eerily familiar about the boy. Not his looks or anything like that. Familiar in that she recognized herself in him. Baggy clothes, that downward glance, skinny...she was well aware of these situations coming from an orphanage. He must have felt Evelyn staring at him and he turned his eyes to her. They were a striking green. He gave an awkward smile and she nodded back to him. The boy continued past. Not too long after he went past, a boy about the same age with orange hair peered into the window of her compartment, he took one look at Evelyn however and turned bright red, continuing down the passage way. She laughed at the first years antics and turned back to her moving show of the great outdoors.
When they arrived at Hogsmead station, everyone exited the train. Hagrid met the first years to take on the boat and Evelyn followed the rest to the carriages. By now she knew that most people couldn't see the Thestrals that pulled the carriages. But she always thought they were beautiful. This is probably why she didn't have any friends, she thought to herself.
Once situated in the hall, she sat at the end of her Ravenclaw table. It didn't seem to matter where she went, people were always avoiding her. They would take one look at her eyes and that would be it. Children were harsh.
The first years entered the hall, looking in amazement at the ceiling. A bushy haired girl that asked her on the train about a toad spoke up about reading the ceiling was enchanted in Hogwarts: A history. Then the sorting ceremony began. This was usually a dull affair, however this year people where pumped to see which house the famous Harry Potter went into. Truthfully, Evelyn felt sorry for the boy. No doubt he would have some heavy expectations set upon him.
When Harry was called out, the room went silent in baited breath. The shaggy haired boy Evelyn saw on the train approached the stool cautiously. The hat was silent for a good while before shouting out "Gryffindor", much to Harry's relief. Evelyn smiled, happy for the kid. Throughout dinner, Evelyn could barely eat a thing, too afraid to throw it up again. Truth be told, she was not a healthy person. Both in mind and body.
Dumbledore gave his speech and they all left for their dorms. She followed the rest of her House Mates back to the Ravenclaw tower. Evelyn thought back to her own time under the hat. She had been there for a good ten minutes. She was too much in the middle. Eventually she told the hat to just put her in Ravenclaw and be done with it. Thus, she was now a Ravenclaw.
The next morning was the first school day of the year, and Evelyn truly wanted it to be over already. She was an excellent student, the top of all her classes out of all the houses. Despite her academic success, she despised school for the people. The only ones she felt comfortable with at school were teachers. Evelyn would often spend her time helping Hagrid with the animals, or having tea with McGonagall, sometimes she would volunteer her time to helping Trelawney polish the divination Crystal Balls. In some way shape or form, she spent time with most of her teachers. Students would accuse her of being a teacher's pet, but the truth was that she simply found their company more enjoyable.
Her first lesson of the day was Ancient Runes. On her way to the class she came across Veronica Lestrange, a Slytherin who Evelyn had once considered her friend, until Veronica tried to cut her neck for talking to her boyfriend. Not that Evelyn was ever interested in that idiot. She was just telling him an answer to a question about DADA.
"How's it going, freak?" Veronica sneered at her. Her sharp features narrowing at her maliciously. Her brown bob bounced as she sauntered around.
"Lovely, thanks, Veronica," Evelyn purred with a sarcastic smile. The Slytherin girl frowned at the Ravenclaw and stomped away. Evelyn shook her head, remembering when she first met Veronica. 'Don't worry, I'm no where near as crazy as my Aunt in Law'. What a joke that had been!
After lunch, she was turning a corridor when suddenly something came crashing into her.
"Oof!" Evelyn cried, only barely managing to stay standing, given that she had barely any weight to hold her up. The thing stepped back and looked up at her. It was Harry Potter.
"I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed.
"It's fine. Where are you trying to go?"
"Transfigurations," he mumbled. His friend, a Weasley whose brothers were in Evelyn's year, came running up, out of breath. She laughed under her breath.
"It's that way," she said, pointing down another corridor.
"Thank you!" they said quickly before running off. Evelyn watched them run off before remembering she was now going to be late for Potions! With a gasp she tore off in full sprint, class had already started and she was five floors away and the other side of the castle.
In a record time of eight minutes she reached the dank dungeons and found her classroom door. She took a moment to gasp and try and suck in air, before knocking.
"Enter," came a slow, deep voice from behind the door. Evelyn's breath was ragged and she could feel her fatigue catching up with her. With another deep breath she pushed open the door. In all honesty, the dungeons is where she felt most comfortable. There were many times she wondered whether she made a mistake, but then again, she could do without even more prejudice against her.
When she stepped into the classroom, they were still taking down notes from the board, though that didn't mean Snape was any less unimpressed.
"What poorly founded excuse have you come up with, Miss Greyarc?" he sniped. Evelyn shuffled her feet as her peers sneered at her.
"I ran into some first years, sir. They bumped into me then asked me for directions," she told him honestly.
"For your tardiness, on the first day no less, you have detention tonight," he told her coldly. Evelyn nodded and quickly took her seat, memorizing the notes on the board on the way there. By the time they were brewing, Evelyn was caught up. Just like in all her other classes, she was also at the top of this one, much to the chagrin of her Professor. Yet, even he could not deny the girl was undoubtedly talented. They were making the Babbling Beverage, an easy potion really. Well, easy to Evelyn. The other students in the class were fretting over their failing potions. Snape was making his rounds of insults, as per usual.
Evelyn could understand why people didn't like Professor Snape, but she couldn't help but hold him in the highest respect, no matter how spiteful or rude he was to her. He had a passion for potions undoubtedly. Not only that but he was intelligent and had a thick skin, something Evelyn herself wished she had. That being said, detention with the man was in no way pleasant.
The ever looming potions master finally made his was over to Evelyn's cauldron. The pale girl stared up at Snape as if she were daring him to find a mistake. The class fell silent as they watched, knowing Snape always had a hard time critiquing Evelyn Greyarc's work. The professor stared at her coolly before lowering his gaze to her cauldron. Once again brewed perfectly. He sighed inwardly and gave a sharp nod before turning on his heel.
"And what do you think you're all gawking at?" He snapped. Evelyn frowned, there seemed to be something setting her potions professor on edge.
Later that night, after Evelyn spent yet another night staring blankly at her food, wishing it would disappear and she had stayed the required amount of time for dinner, she made her way to the dungeons. The girl's silhouette appeared and disappeared as she stepped from moonlight to darkness. If anyone where to see her, they may think her a ghost, despite her opaqueness. The way she walked silently and gracefully was enough to make any ghost jealous. As she approached the wooden door to the potions classroom, she tied her waist length black hair into a messy bun in preparation. Then, she knocked. After a few moments the door opened and Professor Snape stood there with an eyebrow raised at her.
"Miss Greyarc, come in," he stepped aside and allowed her to pass. Whilst Evelyn was not particularly scared of Snape, she was usually anxious around people in general. So she entered the room with her gaze lowered and her hand giving off a nervous twitch in the same motion as twisting off a jar lid.
"Hopefully this will be the first and last time you will spend detention with me, so long as you take away a valuable lesson..." he spoke slowly, completely in control. She watched him as he made his way across the class room in measured movements. Evelyn waited patiently for her punishment.
"It just so happens that tonight I need to harvest some baygrout roots, after speaking with the headmaster, we have agreed that you will assist me in harvesting them," he declared.
"Yes, Sir. But don't detentions usually involve cleaning cauldrons or something of the sort?" she asked, her voice was soft, but carried well in the dark classroom. Snape raised an eyebrow at her again.
"Yes, but as this is something already on my list of things to be done and the fact that washing cauldrons is a little above your skill level we shall proceed as planned," he told her. Evelyn was shocked, that was almost a complement!
"Yes, Sir."
They walked in silence towards the castle grounds. Evelyn held in one hand a basket. The two, as silent as each other, almost scared the paintings to death...well, if they could die. Once they made it out to the open, the moonlight hit them, temporarily blinding Evelyn's blue eye.
"It's moonlight, why are you squinting?" Snape asked in annoyance.
"Sudden bright lights can hurt my blue eye, sir." He looked at her inquisitively. "It's more sensitive than the other one."
"Are you at all blind in that eye?"
"No, sir. It's just sensitive to light," she told him. Severus thought over this idea in his mind whilst Evelyn's was in chaos as they neared the Dark Forest.
