When Evelynn gets to Transfiguration class on her third day in classes, the first thing she notices is that Dumbledore's got Floo Powder in his beard - he was probably contacting the Aurors about her case. Unlucky for him, Death told her there really was an attack in Ukraine, where Fiendfyre really was unleashed on the place at the end of the attack. By the time Grindelwald and his forces were through with the place, there was only ashes left. Making it entirely impossible to prove she wasn't there, as she had some pretty damn good burns on her even with her magic protecting her.
Bloody Ron Weasley and his pea-brained ideas - and bloody Granger for not reigning him in!
The second thing she notices is that Dumbledore's still got his…flair for extravagance, even in this time. And by that, she means he's apparently utterly color-blind even now - that or he's still got the worst idea of style or fashion she's ever known, and that's really saying something coming from her. Because his robes are currently neon-magenta, for Merlin's sake.
Evelynn sees Dumbledore stare at her warily for a moment before he begins his lecture on the Draconifors spell. Showing them how to turn a small rock about the size of Evelyn's hand into a small dragon, and explaining how it'll turn back into the rock if they don't fully concentrate. He then passes out a rock to each student and says the rest of the class is to turn their objects into dragons. Taking advantage of the free time, Evelynn starts mentally compiling a list of Potions she's going to have to brew - but, Merlin, she's tired! This blasted body has got to go!
She's constantly freezing cold, no matter how many Warming Charms she uses on her cloak and robes, she gets tired way too quickly, and just getting bumped into hurts! She never noticed the first time she had this body, but it sucks - she was amazed, after filling out at Hogwarts over the years, how good she eventually felt…but this contrast is jarring. And it's got to stop soon, she really needs to get this body fixed! Hence the Potions she's planning on sneaking in with Madam Pomfrey's prescribed Potions - a stroke of luck on her part, as all she needs to do is Charm a Vial to look like the Potions Pomfrey already has her on.
"Miss Peverell! When you are in my class, I expect that you do your assigned tasks in a timely fashion! Ten points from Slytherin!" Evelynn looks up to see Dumbledore looking irritated with her, even though nobody else has successfully managed to cast the spell - its been what, five minutes? The nerve of this man, just what is his bloody problem? Right, she's a powerful child who got Sorted into Slytherin.
Scratch that first bit, she's a Slytherin, period. She's no illusions about his views of the House - had she been Sorted into Slytherin the first time around, she's sure, she'd have been offed sometime first year. And it would've been blamed on the Troll, most likely.
Controlling her expression, she gets her two-toned Wand out and says "Draconifors." The rock sitting in front of her turns into a black version of an Antipodean Opaleye, but with glittering green eyes like emeralds instead of the opal color its named after.
Evelynn just manages to keep all sarcasm out of her voice, even if it is a bit cool as she asks "Was that satisfactory, Professor?"
Dumbledore's face twists into a grimace for a moment, before he says "Yes, three points to Slytherin."
It doesn't escape her notice that Tom immediately casts the spell, turning his into a Hungarian Horntail, but Dumbledore turns away after obviously noticing out of the corner of his eye. It makes anger burn in her veins once more, but she shoves it down for the moment before she accidentally freezes the floor underneath her again or worse. And sees Tom staring at her in curiosity - well-hidden curiosity, but she can see it in his eyes all the same. Consequence of studying insane-him for seven years out of sheer necessity, she can read this sane version of him all-too-easily. The other Slytherins are glancing at the two of them warily, like they're waiting for something to happen - her guess is that they're waiting for him to go off on her.
Evelynn just raises an eyebrow at Tom, asking "Does he do that often?" She gets the feeling she already knows the answer, though, and she doesn't like it one bit.
His lips twitch into a smirk for a moment, as he drawls "Does who do what?"
She raises an eyebrow at him, asking "Your really going to make me say it?" After a moment, she glances towards Dumbledore before meeting his gaze once more.
Tom eventually nods, saying "Yes. He doesn't trust me, hasn't since the day he gave me my letter. If anything happens, he automatically suspects me."
To his surprise, Evelynn's eyes darken with anger before seeming to glow a bit - hard to tell, though, in the lit room. Less hard to tell is the way her magic flares in her anger once more for a moment before its gone, or the fury he sees in her gaze for a moment. She glares at Dumbledore's back for a moment - if looks could kill, he'd keel over instantly - while quietly hissing "That bloody lying hypocrite."
Tom raises an eyebrow, checks himself just to make sure Dumbledore isn't anywhere near them, and asks "What makes you say that?" Because he's sure she didn't actually mean to say that out loud.
Evelyn turns back to him and practically hisses "A number of things, really. Dumbledore's all about his second chances, about House unity, about making things better for Creatures like Werewolves and such. About helping those who need it. When it suits him. When he wants or needs to play the benevolent old Wizard that anyone can turn to for help. The rest of the time? His precious lions get placed before anyone else and those he doesn't like get their lives made infinitely harder. Particularly those he thinks are a threat to him, or that he wants to use."
She should probably shut the hell up, before someone hears something she can't explain away.
Evelynn quietly gets her mounting fury under control before another incident of freezing something happens, or she goes off on the old man who's helping her Grandfather at the moment for what she's just realized is a pack of lies he practically spoon-fed her in her Sixth Year - never suspected Tom Riddle? Really, old man?! - and takes out her Muggle Notebook to write down the list of Potions she was making earlier. Good thing its Charmed to only she can see what's actually in it, anyone else will just see notes about Potions instead of what she's writing about. A little spell Death taught her, how to use the power of the Hallows to make it so only someone with a connection to the Hallows will be able to see what's written on something. Anyone without a connection to the legendary objects will only see something they expect to see on the paper, be it in real life or viewed in a memory - in this case, Potions notes. Hence why she has the word 'Potions' on the front of the book, give everyone something for their minds to expect.
Tom keeps an eye on Evelynn Peverell as she cools down - or, perhaps, warms over - while writing in her notebook she's apparently using for Potions. When he takes a peek while she's looking away, though, its just Potions notes that she's adding a few details in - so why, for Merlin's sake, would she be concentrating so much and mumbling bits of calculations under her breath?
He puts that question to the side in favor of trying to sense the last bits of her magic in the air - Merlin, she's incredibly powerful. Whenever she gets angry, he can practically taste her magic in the air. It's a chilling cold, the kind that seeps into your bones and stays there…and its delicious, when its not aimed at you. There's just the barest hint of more underneath that chill, the tiniest undercurrent of freezing cold and electricity that could cut you straight to your very core and turn you into a block of ice in moments. He recognizes that feeling from Halloween, though it was much stronger that night.
The idea that she's holding back, that she's not showing everyone her true strength - that her true strength may well be what he sensed on Halloween…its enough to make him almost instantly obsessed - as of right now, he wouldn't stop looking for answers on her if Merlin himself told him to.
Just as class ends, Dumbledore says "Miss Peverell, come up here." When she gets over, he hands her a parchment while saying "This is a list of the assignments I've given so far. You have until Winter Break ends to complete them."
She just nods, taking the list and rolling it up, saying "Thank you, Professor."
"If you need my help, my door is always open."
Dumbledore makes an unsubtle attempt to get Evelynn to look at him, but she just turns around saying "If I need help, I'll ask, Professor." Bloody childish prick, none of the other teachers are giving me a quarter of a year's worth of work.
She heads out the door, almost immediately feeling a dark gaze on her when she exits the room. Accompanied by a smooth voice asking "So, what'd he want?"
Evelynn glances up at Tom, who's surrounded by his group of Slytherins, then says "Fourteen essays by winter break's end." An estimate that gets corrected as soon as she opens the scroll. Oh, so not just for this year...BOTH years. Bastard.
"Sorry, I stand corrected. Just take a look, it'll be easier than counting them out."
One of the boys she thinks is Nott asks "And he expects you to get them all done?! That's...Merlin, that's insane!"
Evelynn shrugs, then says "He doesn't like Slytherins, plain and simple. Probably wants to break me or show me my place, or find out what secrets I might be hiding. Like all the other adults..."
She glances at the parchment again, then unrolls it and reads for a minute. Then…gets a smile on her face. Not a particularly nice smile, though. One that makes all of them but Tom shudder, actually. A shark would either be proud of it…or also shudder in fear of it and swim away as fast as possible.
Before anyone can ask what she's thinking to get a look like that on her face, she moves past them and towards the dungeon. Something tells them, though, that Dumbledore's going to deeply regret giving her so many essays to do in such a short time. Winter Break is only a few weeks away, and she's supposed to write that many essays?!
Tom spies Evelynn Peverell sitting in a dark corner of the Common Room about two weeks later, roll after roll of parchment spread out around her and a Transfiguration book as she writes away with her wand tucked behind her ear as it produces enough light to read by. She grimaces and massages her writing hand, not surprising seeing as she's apparently on her fourth essay of the ni- wait, is that quill still writing?! It is!
He feels his eyes widen to almost comical proportions when he sees her grab ahold of the quill once more that never stopped writing on the parchment. She's simultaneously keeping up two different spells at the same time - the first being the Lumos her wand is producing, and the second being however she's writing with the quill. She's definitely no beginner when it comes to magic, no matter how good an act she may play.
She's been unfailingly polite in classes, but silent as a grave unless answering a question. She usually disappears if she's out the door first, only reappearing for meals, classes, or curfew - but, if they're in the corridor before her, she stays in sight and doesn't do anything out of the ordinary at all - which is entirely frustrating, as he'd like to know where she goes between classes. He's also halfway convinced she's pulled a few all-nighters on the weekends, since there's been a few times where she's been cranky and snappish at just about everyone on a Saturday morning.
He's just finding more and more questions to ask as he keeps observing her, including how she's shot up so fast in height - oh, he's sure she'll play it off as finally having access to good food, since she's made it no secret that her relatives hated her, but somehow he thinks its more than that. A potion, maybe? She's been seen taking some, as per Madam Pomfrey's orders, but he's not sure which ones specifically.
Still, seeing her verbally slap Dumbledore in the face with the information was rather hilarious - she was prescribed a series of Potions to take should she wear out before the day was done, something about her body not having enough stamina due to malnutrition and therefore tiring out at a much faster rate. One thing that they share in common, it seems, is giving Dumbledore trouble in subtle ways. Case in point, the same evening after Dumbledore tried to confiscate her Potion Madam Pomfrey could be found giving him a thorough reaming out.
And, if the reaming out were somehow noticed by all the Slytherins via an apparently off-hand comment by Evelynn…well, its icing on the delicious cake.
They may not know exactly what to make of Evelynn Alyssa Peverell, with her mysterious powers and how things aren't quite adding up with her, but she's certainly been an interesting and powerful addition to the House.
AN: Hey, everyone! Yes, Dumbledore is INCREDIBLY suspicious of Evelynn, wanting to take an excuse to question her in private. Like, say, asking for help with an overload of Transfiguration essays. And Tom is equally curious of her, but anything he tries is just going to be really amusing to her more than anything else. Still, there's little things if you know what to look for - too bad for Tom he doesn't know what to look for so he's just watching her every move. I'll have things start picking up in a chapter or two, so enjoy! Please review!
PS. Got a suggestion for Girl Who Survived - to make a time skip in the main story and reference the vacation. Honestly...that may end up being what I have to do with it, because its just not coming whatsoever. Been trying to get the creative juices going, but its not working.