The three girls did not head back to the Slytherin Common Room until late that night-decidedly not making it to bed by Professor Snape's curfew. The girls ran through the corridors, giggling and shushing each other in equal measure, when Evanna heard it.

"Come...come to me…"

"Did you hear that?" Evanna demanded sharply.

"Hear what?" Eva replied.

Evanna held up a finger demandingly as she heard the voice again.

"Let me rip you…"

"It's past curfew, we'd best be getting-Evanna!" Elin cried after her as Evanna took off down the hallway in the direction opposite of the Slytherin Common Room as she followed the voice.

"Let me tear you...Let me kill you…"

"There's someone in the castle," Evanna said, running, hoping to find a professor, a prefect, somebody…

The other two girls ran after her, calling her name as she rounded the corner, but this time did not go crashing into Harry. One look at him and she knew.

"You heard it too?" she demanded. He nodded, pale as a ghost. She opened her mouth again, but a voice cut her off.

"I thought you were done luring other students into antics last year, Potter," Professor Snape drawled. Evanna nearly groaned out loud, but good breeding would not allow her to do something so common.

"I had detention, sir, I was just getting out and I heard-" he trailed off.

"Something you shall get very used to Potter. Ten points from Gryffindor. Get to the Tower before I take more."

The older boy immediately did as Snape told him, bouncing off to Gryffindor Tower. The professor then rounded on the three Slytherins.

"You think I wouldn't be informed of an entire dorm missing?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "If you are going to break the rules, do not be so Gryffindor."

Eva looked down at the floor. "Sorry, sir, we-erm-got lost on our way back and then Malfoy heard… something."

The professor's eyebrows crept up his forehead. Evanna fought the urge to sigh at her Housemate's lame excuse.

"Undoubtedly, you will eventually learn to tell a proper lie, but you will not endeavor to tell those lies to me," the Potions Master replied. "To your dorm, all of you."

Eva and Elin scampered off, eager to not tempt the Professor into taking points or giving detention, but Evanna hung back for a moment.

"I know for a fact, Ms. Malfoy, that your parents would not approve of you gallivanting the halls dressed like that, nor with such company as Harry Potter."

Evanna shook her head. "Eva wasn't lying, sir, not completely. I did hear something and that's how we ran into Ha-Potter."

He rose an eyebrow and gestured for her to continue. She bit her lip, unsure that she should have said so much. What if he thought her crazy? But, if there was some sort of murderous loon on the loose, a professor needed to know.

"There was a voice, sir," she said trepidatiously.

"A voice?" he said skeptically.

"I'm not crazy!"

"I did not say you were," he replied. "What did this voice say?"

"It… it said," she gulped, icy fear washing over her as she remembered the words. She had been too caught up in the adrenaline of the moment before, but now she was able to fully realize what it was saying and she had run after it. "It said it wanted to kill."

If possible, Snape went paler.

"I believe it is best I escort you back to the Common Room, Ms. Malfoy," he said carefully. Evanna looked up at her professor fearfully.

"Do you think I'm mad?" she demanded. "Hearing voices in my head?"

"I believe, Ms. Malfoy, that Hogwarts has often proven itself to be less than safe, despite our Headmaster's insistence that there is no safer place," he replied. "You do not strike me as particularly unhinged, Ms. Malfoy, so if you say there was someone speaking murder… I would feel better knowing all my Snakes are in the Common Room. Slytherin has not been breached for nigh on seven hundred years."

Evanna nodded, following behind her professor in thoughtful silence until they reached the Common Room and he shoved her in. Almost immediately, she was accosted by her brother.

"What have you been doing? It's past curfew and you're looking halfway like a muggle and those two girls in your year came in babbling something about you and Potter. If Father hears you are associating with him-"

"And how will Father hear that I'm associating with him? Are you going to tattle tale on me?" she sneered.

"You know Father had asked me to keep an eye on you-"

"And you know Father keeps me like a glorified prisoner!" she snapped, rather louder than she meant to, causing half the Common Room to stare at the two siblings. Evanna felt blood rise to her cheeks as she stared at them all in horror. Draco pulled her over to a study nook.

"Propriety, Evanna," he hissed, reminding her of their old nurse house-elf. "I'm just looking out for you-"

"No," she replied, realization dawning on her. "You're like Father. You're just looking out for the family name."

"Evanna-"

"I'm going to bed," she said simply. "It's past curfew."

With that, she simply turned on her heel and left, ignoring her Housemates as they tried to watch her leave.

A/N: Does that answer your question, Serenity? Even if our girl still has none of her questions answered?

Sorry this is a bit of a shorter chapter, but I (1) wanted to keep with at least one update a day while I can and (2) it felt right to end it there. I'm having fun with this kind of tussle between familial and friend relationships that Evanna is having. Like everyone, really, who she is close to will reflect in who she is at the moment. At times, she will be close to her Housemates, at times her brother, and will have moments where she is completely isolated and just playing a role. But she's not quite there yet.

Anywho, please read and review! I love hearing theories about where the story is going! And keep in mind-this is a bit of an AU, so I have played with the rules of canon somewhat. That's the fun of fanfiction :).