Tom glances around the Charms classroom on Halloween, wondering just how nobody else can feel it. There's a chill on the air, a near-electric buzz that keeps brushing against his skin - not unlike the feeling he got from the Hospital Wing this time last year.
And its coming from Evelynn.
She said she gets a power boost from Halloween to November 2nd, but he hadn't known just what that meant until now. It means she's twitchy, bouncy - seemingly physically incapable of holding completely still without that buzzing getting much more noticeable. It means she's slightly off, everything takes a moment longer than usual to register with her be it movement or talking...or anything else.
It means her status as Master of Death, a living conduit for the Void at times, is much more noticeable.
There's a chill around her that isn't usually present, her magic seems colder than normal and filled with that electric buzzing. It's that hint of power that always laces her magic…but its not much of a hint for the next three days. If it was an undercurrent in her magic before, now its at the surface and moving her magic along like a bloody river.
And its as distracting as it is seductive and alluring - even more so than normal, and her magic was already a temptation he could just barely focus through sometimes. Right now, its all he can do just to focus on the lesson and getting the spell right.
Tom's just grateful they don't have Transfiguration, as there's no possible way Dumbledore won't sense it. Or, at the very least, harp onto her about not paying attention in class, give her detention, and figure out something's changed with her magic then.
Potions to, she'd probably kill everyone else by accident when she stirred in an ingredient a moment too soon or too late.
Thankfully, the day passes without any complications in classes, and Evelynn retreats to the corner table she's all but claimed as her own while still being twitchy and edgy. And the difference between now and even yesterday seems to stand out even more in Evelynn's darkened little corner of the room - she seems to glow, her skin looking almost luminescent in the darkness and her eyes resembling two Killing Curses even as she reads.
"I'm so sick of that damn Mudblood! Stuck-up little know-it-all thinks she knows everything just because she's the teacher's favorite!" Tom's attention gets taken by Amycus Carrow, who's complaining to his twin sister and Antonin Dolohov. He knows who Carrow's talking about - Amanda Meadow, a Ravenclaw in their year who's trouncing him in Runes and Arithmancy, much like a Hermione Granger with a much better attitude if he remembers the bushy-haired girl right - but doesn't much care about the particulars.
There's a quiet chuckle from a familiar corner, but it wasn't quiet enough. Because the entire group is eying Evelynn now like sharks in the water…having had a whiff of blood. Before Tom can say anything, Dolohov sneers "Going to be a Blood-Traitor and stick up for the Mudblood, Peverell? Or are you insulted because you are one?"
Killing Curse green eyes move to the group, even as Tom feels the air take on an electric charge now that Evelynn's focused on them, and she says "First off, I'm half. And fucking proud of it, to boot. Second, a Blood-Traitor is someone who betrays the magic in their blood and marries a Muggle, gives up magic altogether, etc. Care to explain how me being amused by your complaints qualifies me for that?"
Amycus scowls at her, his face turning red along with Dolohov's - she's just sitting there, perfectly relaxed like she doesn't have a care in the bloody world! Certainly not like she's about to get Hexed into the Hospital Wing!
Evelynn raises an eyebrow in their direction, asking "No, nothing to say? Nothing at all? Here's a suggestion, you want to do better than a Muggleborn…pick up a book. Its what everyone else does."
Amycus snarls, seeing red and casting before he can even think about what spell to use. Only for the Reducto to miss her completely, as she somehow did a backflip of sorts…and landed on the back of the chair she was just on. Resulting in gasps from all across the Common Room, even as the Seventh Years set up hasty protective spells to keep anyone from getting hurt by the sudden duel.
Evelynn smirks, even as she's balancing on the back of her chair - well, she hasn't had a proper duel in a long time…and she does need something to use some magic on, so nothing ends up frozen or freezing cold again. She gets that shark's smile on her face, the one that makes almost everyone in the room shudder and the three idiots that decided they could take her on pale drastically, and asks "Oh so you throw temper tantrums when you don't get your way? How very mature of you."
Alecto shouts "CONFRINGO!" Unfortunately for her, it freezes as it gets close to Evelynn - ending up shattering on the ground into tiny little shards.
"Cute," she gets down from the chair back in one fluid movement, seeming more like a predator in motion than a person, "but I've faced worse. Anything else, or are we done here?"
Antonin tries to disarm her, making Evelynn think his sight is worse than hers ever was - she, in all her life, has never tried to disarm anyone that wasn't holding anything. "What, exactly, were you trying to disarm me of? The book I was reading before?"
There's a round of snickering and groans, and Amycus and Alecto simultaneously cast a round of Supplicio Atrox on her in response. Which she lets hit her, full on - only to remain standing, not even twitching. If she was trying to prove a point by letting the two Torture Curses hit her…she more than proved it.
Even more so with her next words of "How to put this so even you three will understand it…oh, right. Been there, done that; and I must say, even together the two of you are utterly pathetic. That was nothing compared to other Curses I've had on me."
She unleashes the full weight of her magic, which covers the entire room like a heavy blanket and takes a single step forward, and Antonin freaks, shouting "Szervaprító!"
Tom's just about to step in and demand what the hell that Curse is, not to mention why he thinks he can use it on Evelynn when he declared her off-limits…when Evelynn snatches the Curse straight out of the air. The silence is so thick Tom swears he could actually cut it with a Severing Charm, as everyone stares at Evelynn in a mix of awe, shock…and horror, on the part of Dolohov and the Carrows.
And then that silence gets broken by Evelynn, as she lets the purple magic move between her fingers, saying "Ah, this is the one that shreds a person's organs from the inside, leaving no physical mark as they bleed out internally from the damage. I'm going to take a guess and say its a family spell, since I doubt your Creating Spells this young."
Tom stiffens in utter fury - Dolohov just tried to kill Evelynn! The detail that she wouldn't stay dead notwithstanding, he doesn't know she's bloody immortal and would just sit back up after a few minutes if it actually did kill her. And then he notices Evelynn's expression - where before she was more amused by the 'duel' if it could even be called that than anything else, now she looks bloody furious with Dolohov.
And not without good reason, considering the Curse she's…holding. He's steadfastly not thinking on that just yet. Better to focus on her- nope, nevermind. Her ruthlessness is also not something he can think on and keep in control right now. Her magic- yeah, nope. Not in the slightest.
Merlin, she's just about suffocating the three insipid fools…along with everyone else in the Common Room. Which, right now, is so cold everyone can see their breath as it leaves their mouths and the windows are frosting over- wait…oh. Oh, bloody hell.
All the fires die suddenly as Evelynn's magic goes a strange combination of freezing cold and electric, plunging the room into the eerie light filtered through the water of the lake - near-total darkness, just enough to see by and more than enough to see Evelynn almost literally glowing with magic. Merlin, she's like a bloody beacon - the only thing allowed to shine in this darkness, Tom's mind unhelpfully supplies. And her Killing Curse gaze is locked onto Antonin, promising a world of pain for trying to cast that curse on her.
Her wand is in her hand in a flash, and she quickly says "Reparo. Oppungo." Nobody knows what she just repaired and then sent flying, but there's a crashing sound and Amycus' honest-to-Merlin shriek. And then another crashing sound, as she waves her hand almost dismissively, and Alecto groans in pain. Leaving Antonin all alone - alone, and bloody terrified as she seems to glide towards him silently.
"So, you like causing other people pain, Dolohov? Like to watch them suffer, writhe on the ground in agony as their life bleeds out of them? Well…why don't you see what its like, then?" Dolohov lets out a squeak as he suddenly gets yanked forward by magic, forced to stare directly into Evelynn's eyes as she hisses "Experience all the pain I have ever felt."
He's already shivering from the case of hypothermia she had when she was left on the Dursleys' doorstep that night when she throws him to the ground. "You ever try something like that again, it'll be the last thing you ever do, Dolohov. That's a bloody promise."
And then her magic sucks back into her body, letting everyone breathe again without freezing their lungs, as she calls over "Pain's an old friend of mine, he's gonna be down for the next five hours. Unless you want Slughorn coming in because of the screaming, I'd either Silence him or take him to a dorm and put up some Wards."
The first person to speak is Abraxas Malfoy, asking "You're a Parselmouth?!"
"And if I am?" The edge in Evelynn's voice is all too clear a warning, one nobody else is stupid enough to ignore. And, even if her voice wasn't enough of a warning…her magic certainly is. Contained for now, but lashing out in her fury.
"N-No reason…none whatsoever…"
Evelynn just rolls her eyes irritatedly, snatching up the book she was reading and stalking out the door. Orion and Theodorus relight the fires in the fireplace and braziers, only to find…Amycus suspended midair, held there by a large spike of ice embedded in a wall that's gone through the back of his robe and across his back, and Alecto lying in the midst of a very broken table.
Antonin, for his part, is currently thrashing around, screaming his head off on the floor before curling up on his side like he's trying to protect himself. Tom quickly silences the fool, even as Lestrange gets Amycus down from the wall and Rosier gets Alecto to her feet.
They get to another abandoned classroom, and lock and Ward it - since the one they usually use is locked, Warded, and all but gave Lestrange frostbite on his palm when he placed it on the door and tried to undo it. It didn't take much to realize Evelynn's in there, and extremely pissed off. The main clue was the way cold suddenly spilled out from the crack between the door and the floor, freezing the floor even as it washed over them again and put the brazier on the far wall out. And then there was the sound of an explosion, and something hitting the door. Hard.
Tom glares at the Carrow twins, who are beaten up but nothing too serious - bruises galore, especially on Alecto when Evelynn tossed her into a table with all the force of a wrecking ball at full speed, but no broken bones.
And Dolohov, they…they aren't sure what, exactly, Evelynn did to him. 'Experience all the pain I have ever felt' doesn't really tell them much beyond the detail that she's inflicting all the pain she's ever experienced on him. Right now…Tom would say he's being beaten up - or, perhaps, just beaten - judging from the way he's curling up. But a diagnostic spell from Lestrange shows nothing. No injuries at all - it must be in his mind, then, rather than true physical pain.
I'll have to ask Evelynn about that spell tomorrow.
And get her to teach it to him.
She's mentioned to him that the body can only handle the Cruciatus for four minutes before they go insane from it, and Dolohov's been going for about…five, going on six minutes now with no signs of stopping. After the Carrows get exactly as much pain as they inflicted on Evelynn - well, he can't be sure if it's exact, what with Evelynn's pain tolerance, but it's the same strength the combined curses held and the same time - the pair get sent off to the dorms.
Leaving Tom to wait for Evelynn, if only to get a time on when Dolohov will get over the Curse - or whatever it is she used - on him. It takes a solid three hours, but the door finally opens, back up to reveal an exhausted Evelynn. "Tom?"
Tom instantly asks "What happened?" Because she looks a mess, rumpled clothing and almost physically shaking.
Evelynn shrugs, saying "I needed to let off some steam. I was two seconds away from killing all three of them with just a thought, just like how I got here. So…" She gestures behind her, and Tom sees the room is covered in half-melted frost. And it looks like a warzone.
After forcing his gaze back to Evelynn, he asks "What spell did you use on Dolohov? I've never seen anything like it."
Evelynn chuckles, and says "You wouldn't have, I made it up myself. Its not really a spell, per se, its more focused intent and raw magic combined with Legilimency than anything else. It makes a person feel all the pain I've ever felt, condensed down into five hours tops, but without any memories or physical injuries attached. So, no long-term effects like with the Cruciatus. I thought it up for a very special woman named Dolores Umbridge, thinking she deserved to know what its like to carve your hand open with a Blood Quill. She didn't take it so well."
Tom swallows, forcing his thoughts off just how ruthless and vindictive Evelynn can be. But, Merlin, she's incredible. He can't stop the desire that shoots through him this time. He keeps himself from moaning at the feeling, but it's a close thing, instead asking "Can you make it to your room?"
Evelynn nods, saying "Yeah, I'll be fine. Thanks for asking. You might want to keep Dolohob from mentioning me getting stabbed through the arm, carving my hand with a blood quill until it burned, or anything else like that."
Tom raises an eyebrow, asking "I thought you said there were no memories attached?"
Evelynn nods, and says "There aren't…but its kind of hard to mistake the feeling of something going straight through your arm bone, Tom. Or the Basilisk Venom, followed by Fawkes' tears burning through it. And I can only hope he doesn't recognize the words themselves, they were too tiny to be done with a knife. Even a bloody penknife. And I was Crucio'd twice at the end of my fourth year, nearly had my head explode mere minutes before that, got excruciatingly possessed around the same time my fifth year…"
Evelynn shrugs, and says "If he doesn't go blabbing about 'what could she have possibly gotten up to if she was raised in the Muggle World,' he'll wonder why I've known more than thirteen years' worth of pain despite my current age. He might actually black out once its over, though. The way I arrived, you see."
AN: Hey, everyone! Next chapter is up, and I'm so sorry its late! Been trying to get into the workforce, but...for everyone that has a 'now hiring' sign up, its surprisingly difficult to get a second interview or anything. Mega-frustrating, let me tell you!
Anyway, I couldn't think of anything for Halloween besides getting into a scrape with some of the other Slytherins for this Halloween - something always happens on Halloween, or Samhain if you want to call it that, but I didn't really want to use the Werewolf Cub attack that Debs did in 'Lord of Time'. Good news, the Carrow Twins and Antonin Dolohov offered themselves up on a silver platter - good thing I don't really like their characters anyway. As I read somewhere...someone has to play the 'idiot role' and this time it was them.
Enjoy! More chapters coming soon! Please review!