Evelynn wakes up, a groan already at her lips as the pain crashes back into her consciousness - something's wrong, something's definitely wrong. Because ever since she found a Potion recipe in Snape's old textbook, one that reverses malnutrition and gives the body a growth spurt, her pain tolerance went through the roof. Of course, that particular detail could have something to do with how she withstood the Cruciatus a number of times to, as well as Bellatrix's 'girl-time' at Malfoy Manor twelve years ago.
She sits up, only to let out an indignant and horrified squeak that she'll forever deny until the end of existence itself. But…bloody Merlin, her body! She's in her twelve-year-old body! No wonder she hurts so much! Now that she knows what its like to not have a body so malnourished a stiff breeze goes right through her, she's acutely aware of each and every difference.
For one, she's already freezing.
For another, her body was - is, unfortunately - so weak that she physically cannot handle that much pain. Not only is this body not used to it, it isn't physically capable of bouncing back so easily - not without using a lot of her magic, another thing she won't be able to do for a while...and not just because her magic needs a few months to recover from time-traveling.
She simply didn't have the same kind of stamina as when she got through with her sixth year. A year she spent on the potion she'd found and convinced Slughorn to let her brew. It strengthened her bones, packed some meat on her frame, made her grow at least six inches in the space of a few months…to say she's getting more and more horrified as her mind lists out what Snape's miracle potion did is a big understatement.
Its only when a door opens that she realizes…she's in Hogwarts. Given the number of Curses on her, the fact that she remembers coughing up blood in the Great Hall, how she's pretty sure there was a rib in her lung - punctured her lung, but stayed there via her magic so her lung didn't collapse altogether during the fight - and how her body was practically on fire she hurt so badly…she should be in St. Mungos. Or whatever they have for a hospital in the unlikely event that it hasn't been founded yet!
Its only because of the Hallows, and that its been the 'Day' of the Dead - which actually lasts from Halloween until November 2nd - that she's healed and awake. The power boost she got from the Hallows supercharged, for lack of a better term, her magic and destroyed all the Curses that were on her as she healed at an almost inhuman rate.
No, not 'almost' - it was an inhuman rate, no mortal could handle healing that much and not burn out completely.
She groans and holds her aching head, already getting a throbbing headache at the mere thought of Dumbledore and all his manipulations. Honestly, she definitely didn't want to deal with him! Certainly not this soon!
Mark Flint, Slytherin's Sixth Year Prefect, gets back into the Common Room only to find a sea of hungry, expectant gazes locked onto him. The most noticeable being the dark gaze of Tom Marvolo Riddle - despite being a Second Year, he's stronger than half the House combined and can hold his own with absurd ease. Not unlike the girl in the Hospital Wing - Evelynn Alyssa Peverell, she called herself.
"Yes, she's awake." After around three days, only - its November 3rd, making her recovery a bloody miracle. The others had reported that its like the Curses were destroyed by her own magic, like her magic was countering and…almost decaying them on its own - how, nobody's actually sure. But she managed it somehow, waking up in an unbelievably short amount of time.
When he sits down, Abraxas Malfoy impatiently asks "Well?"
Mark pinches the bridge of his nose, then says "Its complicated. For one, I'm almost certain she lied to the Headmaster and Dumbledore."
Tom carefully asks "And what makes you say that?"
Mark levels a serious gaze at the Second Year that rules the House, and says "Because, after she took a Dreamless Sleep right before Dumbledore came in asking if he could speak with her again, she looked over at me and grinned when the man got turned away. And said 'Too bad, manipulative old bastard.' Yes, I was under the Disillusionment Charm! I taught it to you, Malfoy, so don't even think about asking if I cast it wrong."
Tom silences the brewing argument with a wave of his hand, asking "So, what'd she say?" Mark chuckles humorlessly, and says "She said a lot of things. How much of that was true…I don't know. Her name, or the name she's going by, is Evelynn Alyssa Peverell."
The entire Common Room all but explodes into chatter, everyone instantly debating the validity of the claim. Its a total loss of Pureblood decorum, and Tom is torn between amusement and confusion - on the one hand, its hilarious to watch the Purebloods lose their shit over a name. On the other hand, it most likely means that name is a big deal.
Tom looks to Nott curiously, and quietly asks "Peverell?"
"You remember the story about the Hallows? Well, nobody believes in the Hallows, bar a few power-obsessed nutters that think they'll become immortal and all-powerful if they can collect all three, but the Peverells themselves are another matter entirely. They were a real family, and the three brothers from the story were very real. And very famous for their roles in the story. Buried in Godric's Hollow, after they died. And, ironically enough, what happened to them lines up with the story pretty well. Antioch was murdered in his sleep, and Cadmus committed suicide after his wife died. Ignotus, the youngest brother, lived a long life and died peacefully in his sleep. But the line was thought to have died out eventually, as it disappeared centuries ago."
Tom raises an eyebrow, then asks "So…how'd she show up out of nowhere?"
Theodorus shrugs, saying "That's the mystery, isn't it? In more ways than one, at that." He knows his friend has been all but obsessing over the detail that Evelynn Peverell appeared in the Great Hall - despite all the Wards on Hogwarts. In all honesty, its a fair thing to obsess over - the Hogwarts Wards are supposed to be the strongest, most secure in the entirety of the British Isles...and Evelynn Peverell apparently cut through them like they're melting butter. While heavily injured, at that.
Mark says "She also seemed to really dislike Dumbledore. She never said as much, but it was there in the little things. The way she'd keep an eye on him, the way she'd give him as little or as basic information as possible. She was much…warmer with the Headmaster. Madam Pomfrey, to. Certainly less stiff, even if she didn't give much more information to them."
Malfoy asks "So, what's the story she gave them?"
The entire room's gone silent as a graveyard, and Mark swallows drily under the weight of all their stares - Tom's most of all - and says "That she was attacked by Grindelwald out in Ukraine, though she never actually said it was him. Just that a lot of people in strange dark clothes with sticks like we all use appeared out of nowhere, started shouting weird words, throwing brightly-colored lights around, and wanted her for something. Didn't say what, though, just that a blonde guy with eyes that were different colors kept asking her questions she didn't understand about a stone and a cloak but she didn't know anything. According to her, her parents were killed when she was just a baby and she got this lightning-shaped scar from the event on her forehead. After that, she went to live with her aunt and uncle, but after her eleventh birthday they started acting weird. Packed up and left, never staying anywhere more than a week or two."
Nott sucks in a sharp breath, saying "They reacted to her having magic. Badly."
"That's what it looks like. And, according to her, they didn't want her anyway. Never did, actually. Though, that information only came up when she asked why Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let her leave the bed once it was clear she wasn't dying. Apparently, its not something she's ever had experience with, people actually giving a damn about her. Her words, not mine. She's got a mouth and an attitude, and isn't afraid to use either."
Tom blinks, then says "So…she's Muggle-Raised, or claims to be, and expects to have to take care of herself. What else?" The similarities are piling up in his mind…and he's not sure what, exactly, to make of it.
Mark chuckles, and says "Sarcastic, almost to the point of being caustic with Dumbledore at times. But smart. Smart enough to put him on the spot for her being in the school Hospital Wing instead of in an actual hospital - even if she had to play being entirely confused. But, here's the real reason why I think she's hiding something. You couldn't sense her magic at all. Not a drop of it, compared to when she was completely out of it and the entire Hall could feel it."
Tom nods, that would be suspicious - and it makes him even more curious than ever. They all remember the description of the curses that Madam Pomfrey said Evelynn Peverell had on her that Abraxas Malfoy brought them - many of them, she'd never seen before and the Counters had to be created by a Curse Breaker and a Healer that had been called in to keep her alive. Not that they got around to the counters, since its only been three days.
The burns were from Fiendfyre, and how she managed to survive that alone was something that astounded them - the current theory is that her magic blocked most of the Fiendfyre, so she was only burned by it instead of consumed entirely. As for how she survived all the curses…sheer will, perhaps. Or stubbornness and defiance - both of which she was the spitting image of when she threw Dumbledore across the room, an event that's been preserved in a Pensieve for free viewing at anyone's request. Not to mention broken bones, one of which had pierced a lung and stayed there, Curses that were supposed to have withered her body beyond saving in only a few hours, and a few that had even the Seventh Year Slytherins gasping in horror - and that's hard to do for a number of reasons.
And there's a Curse Scar on her forehead, in the exact shape of a Lightning Bolt - how she got that, well…there's only one explanation for it, especially if she's had it for as long as she can remember. Like she said, she was attacked as a baby. The scar's long-since healed, physical proof of sorts of her story.
Avery asks "So, she gets attacked when she's a baby, goes to live with her aunt and uncle, but they don't have magic and don't particularly like her because they think she does. They see her letter to Hogwarts, freak out on her, and start moving around the country, only for Grindelwald to find them?"
Flint nods, and says "That about covers it. Why they wouldn't send her here…she wasn't big on the details, but what she did say and do gave the impression they didn't particularly care for her. At all."
Tom tries to keep his interest objective, keep his emotions from showing on his face…but its hard. Merlin, its hard when she's sounding more and more like him by the minute. Well, he's always been good at figuring mysteries out. He just has to hope she's Sorted into Slytherin.
And then Abraxas asks "What was she like otherwise?"
Mark raises an eyebrow, sarcastically asking "Physically?"
All of the older year boys' attentions immediately snap to the Seventh Year, making Tom roll his eyes at Theodorus - honestly, its like their minds are simply lust-filled gutters.
"Well, thin. Very thin. Quiet voice, with a lilt to it. Greenest eyes I've ever seen, though. Bets are she'd be cute if she was a normal weight. But, like I said earlier, she's not the usual kind of girl - sassy and infuriating, bets are."
Tom promptly tunes out the rest of the House at that point, more interested in what this Evelynn Peverell can do than what she looks like. After all, she Apparated straight through the Hogwarts Wards, proceeded to yell at Dumbledore and throw him across the hall, and then survived a litany of Curses and injuries that should've done her in - would've done anyone else in, at that. Made a miracle recovery in only a few days, when logically she should've been drained dry just from Apparating into Hogwarts.
AN: Hey, everyone! So, I know its only been two days...but I can't help myself. Oh well. Anyway, I hope you like this! More on Evelynn's backstory in later chapters, i promise its good! Please review if you've got suggestions!
Speaking of which, to ParadoxTheory374, yes Evelynn is going to be much smarter and more confident than canon Harry. She's also not going to take Dumbledore's crap. ;)