The days quickly faded from September to October. Evanna finally received a short letter from her mother, congratulating her on being Sorted and making polite inquiries about her health and new friends. She did not, however, mention anything of having been ill or explain Evanna's incident at the train station. Evanna was so frustrated that she had flung the bracelet her mother had given her across the room, only to have Draco support her out of the Great Hall to retrieve it.

"Merlin, Evanna," Draco said. "You've never gotten sick, now you've collapsed twice in as many months!"

Evanna gritted her teeth as the noise seemed to reverberate inside her brain. It was worse than last time-she was shaking and she could barely speak on their way to the Common Room. She heard footsteps behind her and an overwhelming sense of panic growing.

She's collapsing-she's been hurt-

"Mr Malfoy, where are you taking Ms. Malfoy? She looks like she ought to be going to the Hospital Wing," a deep voice was saying behind the siblings. Evanna groaned at the pain behind her temples.

"She said to take her to the Common Room, sir-"

Foolish idiot girl-

"She does not look in a state to make that kind of decision," the voice was closer now, and Evanna felt herself being lifted into a pair of strong arms, the scent of sage and rosemary filling her nostrils. She fought against the waves of concern and anxiety and guilt like a thing possessed.

"This happened at the train platform, sir," Draco said. "And Mother gave her this bracelet-I think it had some sort of charm, sir-"

"Well, where is it, boy?" the voice snapped.

"I think in her dorm, that's why I was taking her down-"

"Go get it and meet me in the infirmary."

"No!"

The thought of going to the infirmary cut through Evanna's mind. If she went to the infirmary, a letter would be sent home and then her father would know and would question her mother who would possibly decide never to tell Evanna what was going on in her own mind and she could not would not let that happen.

"Dorm-please-"

"Ms. Malfoy-"

"DORM!" Evanna gasped out.

The further they got from the Great Hall, the more the pain and noise in Evanna's mind lessened, though the anxiety and guilt did not. She slowly became aware that she was being carried through the castle like a baby doll, though it was not until they reached the blank slab of wall that was the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room that it fully sank in who it was carrying her. Her cheeks burned red at the realization that it was her Head of House.

"Let me down, sir, I can walk," she insisted. The professor did as he was bid, though she nearly toppled Draco over.

"I would not advise lying at this time or any other time, Ms. Malfoy," the professor said in a dangerous voice. "Now, where is this bracelet? Is it warded against Summoning?"

"Dorm room-I don't think so," Evanna said, leaning heavily against her brother as he pulled her to one of the low couches in front of the fireplace. The Professor watched them carefully even as he nodded and pulled out his wand.

"Accio bracelet!" he called. Within a few moments, the bracelet was zooming out and the Professor put it on her wrist. Immediately, she stopped shaking as the noise left her head, though she still felt the shadow of guilt and anxiety. Professor Snape stared at the bracelet curiously.

"Answer me honestly, Ms. Malfoy," he said, "have you been hearing voices making death threats around the castle again?"

Evanna shook her head. "No, sir."

Draco gave her an incredulous look, but it seemed that her professor's presence was enough to stop him from asking.

"May I?" the professor gestured at the bracelet. Evanna nodded and the man took her wrist and studied it.

She herself had never looked too closely to it, simply noting that it looked incredibly old and somewhat clunkier than what she typically thought of as her mother's style. She had assumed it to be some sort of precious metal, but looking at it closer, it seemed that was instead petrified wood. Carved into it were a series of knots and in the center there were two snakes entangled so tightly that one could not be sure where one began and the other ended. At the ends of the bracelet-more of a bangle, really-were two flattened circles with a cross dividing it into even circles.

"It looks like Celtic protection charms-there is a symbol for inner strength, the wuivre," her professor pointed at the snakes, "are for a warrior's protection and the solar cross represents equilibrium. And your mother didn't say anything about it to you?" He looked up at her, black eyes meeting violet.

Nor to me.

"No, sir," she said, wincing a little. Her head still throbbed slightly.

"Sir, she's pale as a ghost," her brother interjected. "Don't you think she ought to lie down?"

"Yes, she should. I shall inform your morning teachers that you will not be present today. I will send a house-elf with your lunch-you are to inform me if you are still feeling unwell," he said sternly. Evanna nodded. Truthfully, she found herself rather unsettled by the thought of being around people at the moment, so the admonishment was a welcome one. Besides, the next day was her birthday and she wished to be well-rested in order to put to good use whatever gifts she was to be given.

She should have known better. Somehow, having taken off the bracelet once seemed to lessen whatever powers it had over her headaches, for the next day it seemed to come in waves. Draco had frowned at her throughout the day, as she hadn't bothered to open her presents, nor had she ate at lunch and had barely touched her breakfast. By the time the Halloween feast arrived, spots were flying across her vision.

"You're not acting yourself, Ev," Draco had said, placing a slice of beef wellington on her plate. The dish was usually her favorite, but tonight it simply turned her stomach. "Did you take off your bracelet again?"

"No, I'm not stupid," she snapped harshly. The pain behind her temples really was building and she had no patience for her brother's coddling. The smells of the feast were starting to get to her too. "I'm going to bed."

She got up and left the table. Her headache lessened some as she left the Great Hall, and seemed to fade more as she got further away and into the dungeons.

"Bite…. Maim… kill…."

Evanna jerked around, the voice sending chills down her spine. She began walking faster, but the voice seemed to be going in the same direction that she was.

"So hungry… kill… hungry…"

She was running now, holding her hands over her ears as she sprinted through the corridors, praying that whatever it was would not thing her prey, that she would get to the Slytherin Common Room in time.

"I smell blood…. I SMELL BLOOD!"

Evanna ran into someone, both of them falling backwards into a pile. Evann sat up, clutching the back of her head where it had hit the stone. She felt a little blood, and the thought set her heart pounding.

She can hear it too.

Harry Potter was looking at her with those wide green eyes, but Evanna had no time for that. They had to get out of the corridor before anything bad happened.

"C'mon, you idiot!" she cried, standing up unsteadily before reaching out a hand for Potter. His hand was warm. "We don't want it to get us!"

They ran down the corridor, hand in hand, rounding the corner only to be splashing in a puddle of water. Evanna fought the urge to wrinkle her nose in disgust, but that was before Potter came to a full stop, staring aghast at the wall. Foot-high letters had been painted there in something that looked suspiciously like blood. Even worse-there was a cat hanging by its tail, completely frozen.

"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened," Potter murmured. "Enemies of the heir, beware."

Evanna's headache was back in full force. She turned, noticing the halls slowly filling with more students. Her brother was at the front of the line. His eyes narrowed when he saw her, still holding hands with Potter. She jumped back from him. He seemed to be confused, hurt even, at the gesture until he turned to see the growing crowds. She noticed his friends, Weasley and Granger, pushing their ways toward him.

"Enemies of the heir, beware," her brother read off the wall. He sneered at Granger. "That means you're next, Mudbloods."

"Get out of my way, excuse me-outta-"

A scream rent the air and an older Ravenclaw student fell to her knees in the center of the crowd, tears pouring down her face.

"My cat!" she howled. "Someone killed my cat!"

It was Eliza McLaird, the one who stole Luna's shoes.

A/N: I always feel like fanfics are so boring when they have major plot points happening in the same exact way as canon. So, I've changed things up a bit, and things will continue to be changed up. Some more hints to Evanna's identity, some more hints to her powers, some more Harry/Evanna interaction-what more could you want?

Let me know what theories you may have going and remember, Evanna's not the only one with secrets (or romance, for that matter). Tell me if you've any requests for things in the future-very little of the story is set in stone and is mostly me playing with how canon is affected & changed with Evanna's presence. It'll be a bit of a butterfly effect-more and more will change the older they get.