Disclaimer: I can't remember exactly what characters I do own and which I don't, so I'll say this: All copyrighted, trademarked or otherwise owned property is property of it's respective owner and no ownership is implied on the author's part. Enjoy!

~~Chapter Nine: Queathil~~

Kevin woke early, as usual. No dreams had disturbed his sleep; he had not forgotten to take the potion since his nightmare six days before. Pleasant thoughts filled his mind as he dressed and headed downstairs. It was a light day; the planned Divination class had been cancelled by Prof. Trelawney for some reason. He had plans to fill up that time.

An hour later, he was in the library, looking over the titles of books systematically. He had found a few references to books of uncommon enchantments-- he wanted to find out what was binding the mysterious gold- bound tome he still had, and how to break the spell.

"Ah, here we are," Kevin muttered, as he picked out a copy of 'Weird Wanda's Hungarian Hexes'. "Only two more."

Looking only at the bookcase as he searched for the next title, he didn't realize another person was looking in the same row until they both reached for the same book. He turned in surprise to see Evelyn standing next to him.

"Oh-- oh, hello." Evelyn put on a smile, a fake one, unless Kevin was losing his touch at reading faces. "You were looking for this book?" She held it up in her hand, a volume labeled 'Breaking Powerful Spells'.

"Yes, actually, I was." A similarly fake smile flickered on Kevin's face. "Why would you be wanting it?"

"Why would you?"

Dropping the pretense, he rebutted coldly "Ladies first."

"Oh. Thank you." Evelyn slipped the thin book inside the folds of her robes. "I was hoping you would say that."

"Not-- you-- ah, whatever. Take it." Kevin shrugged. "Anyways, I've been looking for you. I had a few questions to ask you."

She looked honestly surprised at that. "What?"

Noticing other students in the library, Kevin muttered "Not here. Somewhere were we won't be heard."

Evelyn raised an eyebrow in a mocking manner.

-She has sneering down to an art, and in different forms, too,- Kevin thought to himself. "Look," He snapped, "I know a few things that might get you in a little bit of trouble, if they happened to slip out of my mouth. I suggest you follow." Not looking behind him, he turned around and walked out of the library, up the marble staircase and into a side-hall. After a short pause, he heard footsteps following him.

He turned around once they were in a considerably remote spot, and began speaking the lines he had prepared along the way.

"I know of you and your two friends were in the library a bit after hours a number of days ago, looking for a book."

Evelyn's jaw dropped. It was surprisingly satisfying to see someone so self- confident look so stunned. He began improvising, hoping he sounded sufficiently sure of himself.

"I have suspicions as to what you may be looking for, and I may have it, but I'd like you to tell me exactly what it is, before I help you."

Evelyn first seemed shocked. Then despair flickered across her face... followed by... anger. Not what Kevin had wanted.

"I have a proposition for you, then," She spat at him. "You tell me exactly what you have, and I don't hurt you."

Kevin snorted, "Excuse me? You're not intimidating any... one..."

He broke off there.

Evelyn was holding her hand up in front of her face, and seemed at first to speaking to it. But then Kevin heard a hissing sound... and a thin, green and black snake emerged from her sleeve, coiler around her hand, flicking its tongue at Kevin.

"To rephrase what I last said," Evelyn continued, looking more angry by the second, "You will tell me exactly how you know what you know, what exactly you do know, AND what you have."

Panicked, Kevin looked around fast. The corridor ended in a door, but it was padlocked on the outside. Evelyn was blocking his path out.

Suddenly, all around then, darkness fell.

He heard Evelyn's cry of surprise, but didn't stop to think himself. He bolted past, shoving her aside as he ran. But her snake somehow jumped onto his hand-- he stopped, raising his hand over his other shoulder to dash the vermin against the wall.

"No!" he heard from behind him. He froze.

Evelyn emerged from what seemed to be a globe of dark, her eyes wide with new fear. "Please..."

-Why hasn't the damn thing bit me already?- He wondered quietly. -It has had every chance to.-

After a few seconds that seemed like hours, he lowered his hand. The snake slithered off and plopped onto the ground. It shot across the floor to Evelyn, slipping up into her robes. He noticed her hand moving slowly to her chest, patting something.

"How did you do that?" She asked quietly.

Kevin still had half a mind to turn and run. Any second year student who kept a snake on their body couldn't be completely sane. Still, he didn't. He paused, thinking, and then replied.

"I didn't do anything."

"Look!" She shouted, sounding panicked. "That... dark spot, it didn't just happen to appear there."

It was odd. A small area of the hallway where they had been had just turned pitch black. It didn't make any sense, but Kevin somehow felt she was right; it had been him who had caused it.

"I don't know how that happened," he said slowly.

"You didn't say anything, use your wand... that's not how magic works!" She answered. "It's just... not..."

"What is that snake?" Kevin interrupted. "I don't recall it being normal to have snakes in your robes. Not among non-Slytherins, at least."

"It's my..." She stopped. "Wait. Why are we talking?"

Kevin puzzled over that for a second. Hadn't she just threatened him? Then again, he had first. "I believe," he answered, "It's because we came to a stalemate."

"No," Evelyn responded in a barely audible tone. She seemed to be contemplating something as she talked. "It's because Queathil didn't bite you."

"Queathil?"

"'That snake'."

"Now that is because he had more common sense then you. It's not regular for first years to die of lethal poison."

"No!" She laughed. "It only would have hurt for a bit. I could have told you it was poisonous, though. Not sure what I planned on. I was angry."

"Do you blackmail people often?"

"Excuse me?" She looked at him incredulously. "You seem to have forgotten how this entire encounter started."

"Oh. Right. Well, that wasn't... I mean..."

Evelyn started to say something, then stopped, frowning. A second later, she asked in a quieter tone, "Would you like to talk somewhere? Perhaps we could discuss this as..."

Kevin grinned, knowing what she didn't want to say. "Potential allies?" He offered.

He wasn't sure why they had headed outside. It was a good day; the sun shined down through a sky only slightly blotted with clouds, and it was unseasonably warm. Still, Kevin never felt safe outside. It was too open.

A few yards outside the gate, Evelyn asked "So, do you really know anything about that dark you conjured up?"

"I'm not sure," He responded slowly. "I know that..." -Wait!- His common sense broke in. -What the hell are you doing? She's in another house; she was threatening you for information, and now ten minutes later, you're tempted to tell her what you didn't tell Dumbledore? Wake up, Kevin!-

-Shut up,- His intuition responded curtly. Common sense, defeated, retreated moodily into the recesses of his mind.

Clearing his throat, he continued "I know that I have some connection to darkness. It's odd-- I can't quite explain it-- but there's defiantly something unusual about how I seen so connected to it."

There was a small pause, and then Kevin continued "You never answered my question. About the snake."

"Queathil. Quay-eth-thil. You ever heard of Familiars?"

"Yeah, but they aren't real-- just fairy tale things. At least, I thought so..."

"He's mine. And, as you saw, he is very real. We are... very close."

"How does it work?" Kevin asked. "Have you had him since you can remember?"

He noticed they had arrived at one of the greenhouses. On instinct, Kevin tried the door; it was unlocked. He shot a questioning look at Evelyn.

"I haven't heard they're off limits." She shrugged and opened the door. From somewhere inside, a crow cawed shrilly. Kevin poked his head inside and saw and crow-headed gargoyle, large and stone, flying around the entrance.

Laughing, he hurried inside and Evelyn shut the door behind them. The gargoyle flapped back to it's perch above the door and froze in place. It looked surprising like a common stone statue, when it was immobile.

"To answer your question," Krysten said, "No. I met him only a little more then a year ago, a little before I was enrolled at Hogwarts. I was walking in the woods, and he just came out of the underbrush. I suppose I knew there was something special about him when I looked in his eyes."

"I was missing from home for two days. I don't remember how long it seemed, really; our thoughts were-- well, merging, I suppose. We... well, I don't know how to describe it without sounding stupid." She shrugged. "It's almost like we are one person now. We share thoughts."

"That's amazing. I had no idea something like that was possible. Is he really as-- no offense-- intelligent as you are? I didn't think snakes had human intelligence.

"I don't know about most serpents, but right now, he just told me that you had funny eyes."

Kevin blinked. "Oh... they aren't that unusual. I've seen other people with black eyes."

"I haven't," Evelyn said quietly. "But to be honest, I didn't notice until he pointed them out to me. Could you..." She began to move her hand out, but then stopped with a nervous smile. Kevin shrugged and turned his head so that they were looking directly at each other.

Green eyes. She had deep green eyes. Something inside of him found this disappointing; Kevin couldn't place why.

The moment the thought crossed his mind, Evelyn sighed and looked away. "I swear," she whispered, "That I almost saw what Queathil meant. But I didn't."

After a few minutes of silence, Kevin spoke. "Evelyn, about this whole book business. What were you looking for?"

She smiled. "You get the first question after all? Oh, fine. Gary, Sethin and I were looking for a volume we had promised to snatch for..." Suddenly, her face fell. "I can't... I need to go."

Before Kevin could say a word, Evelyn had ran past him, back towards the greenhouse door. He called after her in surprise and chased her out of the greenhouse, but no further, merely watching her run across the lawn back to the castle.