It's a week and a half into November, and most everyone in the castle is outside enjoying the snow that fell last night. Tom, Orion, and Theodorus are walking across the grounds, avoiding a group of Hufflepuff First Years that are in an all-out snowball war, only to find Dorea and Walburga staring out over the Black Lake in something like shock. Orion goes over to the two of them, asking "Something wrong?"

Walburga incredulously asks "Did you know Evelynn can ice skate?!"

Tom whips his head around so fast he should get whiplash, asking "What?"

Dorea nods, pointing out at the Lake where they can just see a figure moving back and forth on it. The dark hair gives it away as Evelynn, even if its too far away to make out any details.

Orion says "Didn't know she owned skates."

Dorea says "She doesn't. She's just balancing like that."

Theodorus says "Oh, like when she landed on the back of the chair and didn't even waver." Everyone's still blown away by that particular display, it must be how she survived getting attacked by Grindelwald and his forces.

Orion frowns, then says "Dolohov's been saying she's not a normal Third-Year after that."

Theodorus dismissively says "Everyone already knew that. She threw Dumbledore across the Hall after Apparating into Hogwarts!" And then pulled off a miracle-recovery.

Tom doesn't say anything in response, eyes still locked onto Evelynn's form out on the ice.

Evelynn slides back and forth on the frozen lake, lost in her own thoughts and not bothered by the cold in the slightest. She's thinking about Hedwig - this time in her last life, she'd released Hedwig to go hunting for the winter.

Now…Merlin, she misses her Owl. Her first friend, who'd been there through everything. The good, the bad, and the Dursleys. Her Owl, who was always there to nip at her ear and preen her hair whenever Evelynn needed it, be it in second year when the entire school thought she was the Heir of Slytherin and setting a monster on the Muggleborns - Merlin, will that even happen now?! Has she averted Myrtle's death? - third year with the Dementors depressing everyone, or fourth when the entire school ostracized her once more because she was unwillingly entered into the Triwizard Tournament. And then Hedwig gave her life for Evelynn, flew straight in front of a Killing Curse for her.

Something tells her Hedwig was her only true friend back then. Neville and Luna to, perhaps, but she'll never know. But, Merlin, if there were one thing she could've taken with her back, one reminder of her past…she would've picked Hedwig. Without question, she would've picked her first and most loyal friend.

She glances over at the sight of movement at the edge of her vision, then quickly wipes her face when she sees who's making their way over. Well, trying - she's had practice sliding on ice. She practiced it specifically once her magic started freezing things after the first Samhain she made it through as the Master of Death. Now, its like sliding on wood while wearing socks - to everyone else, though, its a lot harder.

She makes her way over, saying "Hey, good to see you. Something up?"

Dorea frowns, asking "Something wrong, Evelynn? Or is it just the cold?" She doubts Evelynn realizes there are tear tracks going down her cheeks.

Evelynn just shrugs, saying "Yeah, probably just the cold. C'mon, lets head back in if you want. Or…" She glances over at the boys standing on the edge of the lake with Walburga, a familiar mischievous grin coming on her face as they get closer to the group, "boys vs girls?"

Orion and Theodorus trade glances, thinking Dorea and Walburga won't- Orion suddenly gets nailed in the face with a snowball. Walburga and Dorea both point at each other, but Evelynn laughs and scoops up another to lob at Theodorus.

The two Purebloods clear the snow from their faces, exchange looks, then scoop up snow themselves. "Oh, its on."

Tom blinks and stares in mild shock as Evelynn starts a snowball fight with four born-and-bred Purebloods. Three of them are Blacks, for Merlin's sake, they practically live and breathe decorum and such. And yet, Evelynn has somehow managed to get the four Purebloods to abandon all semblance of dignity and…start throwing snowballs everywhere. He's really got to know how she manages- a snowball hits him in the face, breaking him from his thoughts.

Everyone else freezes, a look of horror coming over all but Evelynn's faces as they realize…she hit Tom with a snowball. He clears the snow from his face, expression unreadable, then…flicks his fingers in Evelynn's direction. A snowball hits her square in the face, making everyone go still once more for an entirely different reason. "Now its on."

Orion crows "Yes! Finally!"

Theodorus says "We haven't been able to hit her yet!"

Soon enough, there's two forts in the snow and the guys are pinned beneath some trees. Though, they're giving as good as they're getting. Dorea grumbles "Those two and their love of Quidditch."

Walburga says "Just be glad Abraxas isn't involved. Remember what happened last year?"

Evelynn blinks, then says "No. What happened?"

Dorea says "Right, this was before you arrived. He broke his arm on a Bludger first game in the year, but refused to leave the game until it was over! Then he just walks to the Hospital Wing like its nothing!"

Evelynn blinks, finding absolutely no resemblance to Draco whatsoever - the spoiled brat complained if the weather was bad, for Merlin's sake! And exaggerated that scratch he got from Buckbeak for weeks, to.

Abraxas must've been rolling in his grave.

Evelynn glances up over the snow fort she and Dorea made while Walburga was covering them, has to quickly duck down to avoid one of Tom's snowballs, and murmurs "I might have an idea, but I need you two to cover for me."

Dorea nods, saying "Go for it, Evelynn. We'll keep them distracted."

Tom looks up over the wall of snow he put together with a little magic, and flashes a combination of a smile and a smirk at Evelynn when he catches her eye. It makes her falter just long enough for him to throw a snowball at her - he misses as she ducks down, but still. First an ice cream, now a snowball fight…this seems to be a talent of Evelynn's, letting him experience new things that most others get.

And then Orion and Theodorus both yelp about a minute later, jumping, shivering, and looking around wildly, which pulls him out of his thoughts instantly. And that's when he detects a tingling in the air, the telltale sign that Evelynn's using the Hallows. He was so caught up in his own excitement that he completely missed it, but…

Tom smirks, and silently moves behind the tree while discretely eying footprints in the snow. Only to grab Evelynn by the shoulders and trap her against the tree. After a minute, she reveals herself - red-cheeked and eyes sparkling…and a handful of snow in each hand that gets promptly dropped. His sneaky Slytherin…

"I think that counts as cheating, you know."

Evelynn smirks at him, and says "All's fair. Especially since we didn't exactly set any rules."

Tom smirks at that himself, then leans over and whispers into her ear "No, I suppose we didn't…" He feels her shiver, and smirks to himself - he honestly wouldn't have thought Evelynn wasn't the age she looks if he hadn't seen her memories firsthand, because she'll react exactly like a thirteen-year-old at times.

Case in point: she's never been able to control her blush. Ever. This life or her last.

Deciding to tease her a little, get her flustered and blushing some more - as he's made it his mission in life to surprise Evelynn and make her blush as much as possible, among other things - he leans forward so she's pressed fully against the tree and murmurs "Distracting my opponent, for instance." He hears Evelynn's breathing hitch, and when he glances at her…mission accomplished, her face is red as a Stunner.

And then he notices the frozen tracks on her face, and one hand moves to cup her chin while dragging his thumb across one. "What happened?" Evelynn, previous mood forgotten, murmurs "Nothing, just thinking about Hedwig is all."

If Tom never has to hear her scream like that for real, it'll be too soon - her shriek when her snowy owl flew in front of that Killing Curse was terrible. Gut-wrenching, making his chest tighten weirdly - again, he never wants to hear her scream like that ever again. He murmurs "She hasn't been born yet, you know. You can wait and buy her."

Evelynn leans into his hand, and murmurs "It won't be the same, though. Hedwig, she…she was there through everything. Every single thing. The Dursleys, the good times, the bad times…she was brilliant. Even when I didn't have anyone, I had Hedwig. The school would turn against me, people would gossip about me and insult or Hex me in the halls, and i could always go to the Owlery and talk to her."

Tom hums, then says "She might've been a Familiar, then, instead of just an Owl. Since she died on her own terms, died protecting you…" She might come back. Evelynn never knew if Hedwig was a Familiar or not, never having been told of such things - and, if she was, the bond was likely blocked if it was known about. But still, if a Familiar has a strong enough bond with a powerful Witch or Wizard...they could come back to them, after they die.

Plus, Evelynn being the 'Master' of Death doesn't hurt one bit.

Neither of them actually realize they're getting closer until a voice yells "Oi, Tom! Where are you, we're getting destroyed!" Both Tom and Evelynn jerk away when Orion pokes his snow-covered head around, and Tom glares at the Black while Evelynn blushes brightly.

Orion glances at the two of them, realizes what he just interrupted, and mentally slaps himself for his timing. And braces himself to get Cursed later, if Tom's look is anything to go by.

Evelynn, for her part, is blushing ferociously, almost desperately trying to convince herself she and Tom didn't almost kiss. She's not developing feelings for him, she's not - so what if he's hot, or effortlessly scary-brilliant, or funny when he tries, or if he notices her favorite foods and passes them down while pretending to make room for something else or that she runs her hand through her hair when she's upset, or that she just knows he had something to do with her not having to fight eventually someone for the table she's unofficially claimed as her own…bloody hell. She's so doomed.

She's apparently got her first crush…on Tom bloody Riddle.

And she hasn't got a clue why it seemed like her arms had lightning running up and down the nerves from where he was holding her, or why the air was almost literally humming with power between them - it was probably just their magics, yeah that's it. A perfectly…well, as ordinary as magic can be, explanation…

Theodorus raises an eyebrow at Orion, as they're hiding in Theo's room for the time being after the look Tom had for Orion, asking "You found them what?!"

Orion nods, saying "I swear, they were inches apart, Theo. If I'd been ten seconds later…I don't think they'd have heard me."

"Well, it certainly explains the snow down our backs if Evelynn was over there. How she snuck up on us is another matter."

Orion chuckles, and says "Dorea and Walburga covered for her. And they got a kick out of seeing us jump around with snow going down our backs and pelting us with snowballs."

Theodorus chuckles, then asks "So, they were really-"

"He had her backed up to a tree, and was leaning in, Theo! How many ways could that have possibly gone?!"

"Fair point. Dammit, couldn't you have been just a few moments later?!"

"I know, trust me I know!"

Dorea finds Evelynn lying in the corner of the couch furthest from the fireplace, and asks "What's wrong?"

Evelynn murmurs "Nothing much, Dorea. Just dealing with a teeny tiny existential crisis at the moment." One centered around 'what the hell is she doing, going and getting a crush on Tom Riddle?!'

Voldemort always said love, and anything like it, was a weakness, he laughed and scorned the very idea of it. The one person she knew, before she even woke up, that it would be a bad idea to try and get involved with...and she goes and gets a crush on him. And she knows from Lavender and Pavarti that crushes go one of two ways. Either they turn into love - which, she's no idea about whatsoever, as Lavender and Pavarti were usually more focused on the physical part of having a boyfriend and her life before coming through time was less than ideal for learning anything about even crushes - or it ends up like Ron and Lavender did. All face-sucking, and Lavender throwing herself at Ron to try and drag him to bed somewhere.

Honestly, she's not sure which would be a less-complicated outcome - she's never been with anyone before, ever. Never been in love, either, though.

And she's even less sure which Tom would be at-all receptive to. Assuming he hasn't already decided such feelings are ridiculous, pathetic, and a waste of time, effort, energy, and potential.

Dorea hums, then asks "Want to talk about it?"

Evelynn puts one hand to her forehead, rubbing at her temples as she says "Not really. I doubt anyone will be able to help me through this one."

Dorea gets a gleam in her eye and a beaming smile, saying "You like somebody!" It makes the entire Common Room go quiet, even as Tom's head snaps up to glare darkly at the Black witch.

Evelynn opens one eye to give Dorea a stink-eye of her own, and asks "What've I said about girl-talk?"

"Yeah, yeah, but this is serious! Who is it? Maybe-"

"Oppungo." Dorea promptly gets hit in the face with a nearby cushion, and within moments all the pillows and cushions in the entire common room are chasing a cackling Dorea out of the room.

And then the cushions fly back to their places in the heavy silence, broken by Evelynn flatly saying "Next time, I'm Summoning Woodpeckers." She then heads to her own dorm, leaving Tom with a stony expression, and Walburga, Orion, and Theodorus exchanging glances. This…they're going to have to do this exactly right. Still…it hasn't blown up in their faces yet, and Tom is obviously going to be looking to Curse whoever he thinks Evelynn is interested in into Oblivion.

Oops, they might've just put a target on some innocent bystander's back.

Tom, for his part, is wondering exactly who has the gall to try and take what's his…and how many Curses he can get away with before Evelynn figures out that it was him. Maybe he should get Antonin to teach him that Curse of his.

AN: Hey, everyone! Next chapter is up, and I hope you like it! Couldn't really think of anything dangerous, exciting, or just plain crazy that might be happening right now, though I do have something planned for Christmas. Good news, though, I've thought of a way to get them together! Nothing too corny - I think, anyway - but I'm going to love having the Slytherins think they aren't together. Because I can't imagine someone who's had the spotlight on them for so long, and had the public turn on them time and again, be very keen on anyone - *cough* Dumbledore *cough* - finding out about them too soon.

Anyway, enjoy! More chapters coming soon!