Narcissa Malfoy looked thinner. She was as elegant as ever, in that light, delicate way that Evanna knew she could never quite pull off the way her mother could. From her curly mass of hair to her forever stubby fingers, Evanna felt she took up space in a way completely antithetical to how her mother was able to draw every eye to her.
But, still, her mother seemed somewhat diminished standing there on the train station waiting on Evanna. Her face lit up as Evanna rushed off to greet her, but the smile did not fully reach her eyes. Evanna thought she could see the faint glimmer of a glamor, but it could just as easily been the reflection off a snow drift.
"Oh, Evanna darling, I missed you so!" Narcissa said, wrapping her arms tightly around Evanna.
"I missed you too, Mother," Evanna replied. "How come you never answered my owls?"
Narcissa's eyes shuttered as she looked about the train station. "I was rather unwell, darling-didn't your father tell you?"
"Yes," Evanna said, not caring about the tone of resentment in her voice. "But you said-"
"Let's go along home, dear," Narcissa cut her off. "We can talk as you unpack. Your father is on a business trip and won't be home until tomorrow."
Evanna nodded, a great weight she didn't know she was carrying seeming to lift off her at the thought. She grasped her mother tightly as she was sucked into Side-Along Apparition, arriving just outside of the Manor. Narcissa brushed her impeccable skirt-suit and heavy cloak off, despite none of her clothes having so much as a wrinkle, and then looked over Evanna's own clothing with a shrewd look.
"I don't remember ever purchasing anything quite like for you," she said, gesturing to Evanna's black turtleneck sweater dress and tall dragonhide boots.
"I felt like I was a little old for the pastels," her mother quirked her lips at that as they walked into the foyer of Malfoy Manor.
"Oh? And where did you obtain the black?"
"My dormmates taught me," she said. "Did you know there were spells that you can use to make your clothes look like the ones in the magazine? My stitching is usually a little wonky, but I have gotten-"
"My dear girl, if you had wanted new clothes, you should have told me rather than do something so plebeian," Narcissa bemoaned. "I suppose you have reached an age to make your own decisions about your sense of style-so long as you do not go overboard with it. I shall set up a clothing allowance for you to use in the morning."
By that time, they were up the stairs into Evanna's room. Evanna tossed her trunk onto the bed and flipped it open, as though she would actually be the one to unload it, but of course, the house-elf, Dobby would actually hold that responsibility. The elf snapped into the room, and set to it almost immediately, leaving Evanna and Narcissa to sit on the bed.
"So, Mother," she said. "Why did you not send me hardly any owls this summer? Will you finally tell me what happened on the train? And why were you able to tell Professor Snape what to do in a letter and not me? And why didn't you owl me like you said you would? And what is this bracelet you gave me-it looks nothing like anything you would ever wear-"
"Slow down and breathe, darling," Narcissa said, placing a hand on Evanna's. "I will get to all of your questions, I promise-Dobby, bring us some tea, would you?"
"Yes, Mistress."
The elf was back in a moment, and Narcissa carefully served Evanna some tea. Evanna took a sip and then stared pointedly at her mother. Narcissa sighed and sat her own tea down in her saucer.
"You should know what I'm about to tell you your father would prefer you not hear," she said. "You should do your best not to let him know that I have discussed this with you."
A flash of an empty classroom and an echo of pain went down Evanna's spine. No, she would never tell her father anything that she did not have to.
"Of course, Mother," she said. "But what is it?"
"You know that your great grandmother passed away the night before you were born. Wonderful witch," Narcissa said wistfully. "She had a way of making everyone listen to her, no matter how high they thought themselves. Family legend claims she was even able to bend the ear of Grindelwald. You have her eyes-Valerie Rosier's eyes."
Evanna furrowed her eyebrows. Her mother so rarely spoke of her side of the family, not that Evanna blamed her over much. The Black family had been all but decimated in the war. A blood traitor, two prisoners in Azkaban, one child dead-Narcissa, so far as Evanna knew, was the only one left.
"But what does that have to do with what happened at the train station?" Evanna asked. "Or what's been happening all term?"
Narcissa's eyes suddenly snapped to hers. "Is the bracelet not working even after Severus strengthened the charms?"
Evanna shrugged. "I've not been getting any more headaches, but odd things have been happening at Hogwarts."
"Yes, Severus has said as much. I'm not altogether sure…" she trailed off before looking at Evanna again. "He says you've heard the attacker's voice?"
"Yes, since a week after term started," Evanna said. "But it seems… different, somehow. Is whatever this is very common?"
"Oh, my dear, no," Narcissa said. "As far as I'm aware, you would be the only one alive to possess the Gift. At least that's what all the family legends say-you know I can trace my lineage much farther back that Merlin? On my mother's side, we have been here as long as the Celts."
"Yes, Mother," Evanna said, feeling irritated. "But that does not explain emotions that I have no right to feel and thoughts inside my head that aren't mine!"
Narcissa coolly took a sip of tea. "Are you quite done?"
"No, Mother, I'm not quite done!" Evanna said angrily, standing to her feet. "You and Father keep me locked up in this Manor for all my life-not Draco, mind you, but me-and when I finally get out of this house for once in my life, I collapse from all the noise! And you give me some ugly bangle and tell me you will owl me but you don't! And Father, he comes to the school, and he-he-"
It was that abandoned classroom again and Evanna had left her wand behind and a red spell was shooting toward her and she was shaking all over and she felt her face and it was wet-
Narcissa had set aside her tea and gathered Evanna up in her arms. Evanna allowed herself to sink into that embrace.
"I'm sorry, my dear," Narcissa whispered into her hair. "I'm so sorry for all my mistakes."
Evanna slowly pushed away from her mother as her shaking subsided. Professor Snape's words to her were ringing in her ears. But how could what he said be true? Lucius Malfoy was one of the most powerful men in Britain and Narcissa had no family left. None but Evanna and Draco, and Pureblood laws were such that both children would have to stay with their father, even against their Mother's wishes.
Better off without me.
"Mother, please, in the simplest terms, just tell me what's going on with me?" Evanna said.
Narcissa seemed ready to say something, but then nodded. Before she sat back down, something caught her eye however. Evanna watched as her mother watched the house-elf carry the book Luna Lovegood had given her for making her shoes.
"Here you are giving me such trouble and you already knew," Narcissa scolded, a forced playfulness in her tone.
"What are you talking about?"
"Elf, bring me that book."
The elf followed Narcissa orders immediately. "You can finish the rest later. Leave."
Her mother pointed at the runes on the cover. "The Book of Purple Eyes-it has the tales of all the léitheoir aigne since the end of the Roman Invasion."
"You mean this is about something real?" Evanna asked, thinking she may have to reevaluate Luna Lovegood's opinion on the nargles.
"Are you real?" Narcissa teased gently.
"But what does it mean?"
"The middle ages and the witch hunts were not the only times our people were persecuted by Muggles," Narcissa said. "In particular, the Romans did not appreciate any who undermined their power-especially women who did so. The léitheoir aigne were respected amongst the tribes of Britain-women of great power, all marked by purple eyes. This made them rather easy to pick out by the Romans.
"When it became evident that the Romans were going to conquer, a complex bit of magic was performed-so the story goes-by the Maid, the Maiden, and the Crone. It ensured that no matter what, there would always be one of the Gift, as they called it, living in Britain."
Evanna furrowed her eyebrows. "But what does that mean? Practically, I mean."
"I believe you can already guess, my darling. And you must start to control it, before it controls you. That bracelet won't last forever."
A mind reader. You can read minds, and one day, you will do so much more.
A/N: So that's one mystery solved! And I told you all that the prologue would matter eventually. I'm not altogether happy with the way it unfolded, but I needed to get on to more of the plot. Now that Evanna recognizes its importance, she will start to read the book Luna gave her and soon begin to exercise her powers.
Thank you again to my reviewers, I love hearing from you! The poll on my semester updating schedule will stay up on my profile until I am finished with the Chamber of Secrets (which will hopefully be in the next 21 days before I move-eek!)