Evanna did not sleep in Slytherin House that night. She planned not to sleep there again, with her brother watching and reporting, watching and reporting. She remembered walking up to the Sorting Hat at the beginning of the year and begging to be Sorted anywhere else, but it had insisted that Slytherin was where she belonged. Judging by the suspicious looks she received from the rest of the school, Evanna felt as though she didn't belong anywhere.

Instead, she stayed in the Hospital Wing by Luna's side until closing hours, when she hid under one of the beds and waited for Madam Pomfret to do her end of night checks before coming out again. Her dreams were full of stone circles and slithering things and always always Lucius' sneer as he cursed and cursed her until she couldn't reach for her wand any longer.

So she stayed awake.

The victims of the heir of Slytherin, whoever he or she may be, were like statues around her. There had apparently been a Ravenclaw Prefect who was attacked the same night as Hermione. Eight victims in all, including the Gryffindor ghost and the cat. Evanna studied the face of each one, as though she might be able to dude out what had happened. But, whether their eyes were open or closed, it was like there was some sort of wall blocking of thoughts and feelings she might have been able to see.

Something white sticking out of Granger's hand had just caught her eye when someone grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around. She flinched, pulling her wand and firing a quick blasting hex without even thinking.

"Damnit, Malfoy!"

Evanna covered her mouth with her hands when she realized just who she had hexed: her professor. Something bubbled in her throat as her mind caught up with her ears and eyes. She forced the giggles back down her throat.

"Detention. For a month," he said. "And that is just for being out of bed after curfew when there is a monster on the loose."

"Didn't you hear, sir?" she said with more bitterness than she truly meant to add. "I'm the creepy Heir of Slytherin."

Professor Snape snorted. "Surely, Ms. Malfoy, you know better than to listen to the likes of Ronald Weasley."

Evanna looked down at her toes. "He's not the only one who thinks that. All of them do."

"And you know this how?"

Almost as soon as he said it, he clamped his mouth shut, being careful not to look her in the eyes. She remembered their confrontation in his office, right after winter holidays. He seemed to know then what she was talking about when she had mentioned her powers, and she knew that he was a man of secrets.

"I just know, sir," she said quietly. "I'm sorry for hexing you, sir. I didn't realize it was you."

He grunted in reply. "Why are you in here and not in your bed in the dormitories?"

"I needed out of there," Evanna said.

"If you expect less than a year's worth of detention, then I suggest you give me a better explanation."

"I won't be here that long," Evanna said darkly. "They'll be closing the school soon and then I'll just be training with Lucius."

Professor Snape pursed his lips. "Come. It's time you were in bed. "

"The sun is rising. It'll be time for breakfast soon," Evanna argued.

"Yet you did not sleep at all last night, did you?" Professor Snape accused.

"Sleeping is… hard," Evanna said slowly. Professor Snape raised an eyebrow at her and for a moment she couldn't help but wonder if he was the mind reader. He began to push her in the direction of the Slytherin Common Room. Before Evanna could give the password, her professor pulled a small bottle out from seemingly nowhere.

"Take this," he said. "I will see to it that your roommates do not disturb you. Do not attempt to hide in the study rooms or the hospital wing to avoid sleeping again."

Evanna squirmed under his gaze. She had thought that no one had noticed… "What is this?"

"Dreamless Sleep," he said. "You need it. Go."

Evanna nodded and ducked into the Common Room. She almost immediately ran into Draco.

"Evanna! Where have you been-you're wearing the same robes as last night!"

Evanna ignored him. He reached out and roughly grabbed her wrist. "Evanna! I asked you a question!"

Evanna flinched away from him, too tired to hide her immediate response.

"Oi! What are you doing to her?" Eva demanded from across the room.

"Stay out of it, half-blood," Draco sneered. "This is family business."

"And she's your Housemate, pompous ass," Elin said, coming up on the other side of Eva. "And you're in the Common Room, not bloody Malfoy Manor."

Evanna was rather shocked by the language coming out of her roommate's mouth, but used the opportunity to wrench free from her brother. Just then, Prefect Padgett came over to their little group.

"Blishwick, Gamp-what's going on here?" she demanded.

"This is a fam-"

"I wasn't talking to you, Malfoy," she said, holding up a finger. Evanna couldn't help but smirk at the put-out look on her brother's face.

"He was stopping Evanna and she looked scared," Elin said. "And then he was being rude to Eva."

"I see," she turned to the siblings. "Malfoy get on to breakfast already."

"But-"

"Do you want me to report you to Professor Snape for ignoring a Prefect?" she snapped. "From your own House? Not to mention harassing first years."

"No," Draco said sullenly.

"Good, now get on with it," she said then turned to Evanna. "You weren't in your bed last night-I take it Professor Snape caught you?"

"Yes, and he gave me Dreamless Sleep," she said, holding up the bottle. There was a wave of satisfaction from the older girl.

"Right. Then get on up to your bed and see that you take the full dose," she said. Evanna had the most peculiar feeling that Padgett was the Prefect responsible for keeping Professor Snape informed on her sleeping habits.

Her roommates made sure she was in her bed with her pajamas on and Dreamless Sleep taken before they left, making Evanna believe that perhaps they too had been keeping tabs on her. But, she did not have much time to wonder for she was soon fast asleep.

When Evanna woke, it was late in the evening and there was a pit in her stomach. The dorm room was empty, as was the Common Room-it must have been a night that Professor Snape forced all his Slytherins to the library under supervision. With no one to stop her, Evanna made her way out to see if there was maybe a way for her to get ahold of something to eat in the Great Hall.

She was nearly there when she saw a flash of long red hair disappearing around a corner. She furrowed her eyebrows; what was Ginny doing by herself? As a Gryffindor and a member of a prominent Blood Traitor family she was far less safe than Luna had been.

"Ginny?" Evanna called, hunger forgotten. Her friend didn't even turn. Evanna ran after her as the girl took a roundabout route to the second floor. There was water on the floor-they must have been near Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and the wall where the first attack had taken place.

She saw Ginny standing in front of the wall, a bucket in one hand and red dripping from the other. Evanna gaped in horror as she watched her friend write a new sentence below the first.

"Her body will lie in the Chamber forever."

"Ginny! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Evanna demanded, marching up to her. She placed a hand on her shoulder and yanked her around.

There was something terribly wrong with Ginny. Her warm brown eyes were glazed over and fuzzy, her freckles all but disappeared from her bloodless face. For months, Evanna had felt fear and anxiety rolling off the girl, but now there was only a deep sense of satisfaction. A job well done, a goal accomplished after years of labor.

So close.

"You're not Ginny," she said, backing away from the other girl.

"No, I'm not," not-Ginny smiled. "Evanna Malfoy, but not like a Malfoy. I've heard much about you. Interesting that I never knew that my most slippery follower had a second child…"

Evanna was shaking her head, backing away slowly, thinking of some way out of her predicament.

"You are friends with this little blood traitor, aren't you?" not-Ginny gestured to herself. "I can't quite be sure that you won't disrupt my plans, can I? Of course, I would not want to offend dear Lucius by killing you. His purse strings are rather too important to my cause."

Evanna's stomach lurched as she realized not-Ginny had drawn her wand. There was a horribly cruel grin on her face as Evanna began to scramble back, not quite daring to turn her back on the entity wearing her friend's body.

"Bombarda maxima!"

The world exploded around Evanna. And then everything went black.

A/N: Two updates within 24 hrs! I am working so very hard to get through Chamber of Secrets before I move (possibly as soon as Sunday!) We've got a couple chapters in the Chamber proper, then one to wrap things up at Hogwarts and finally back to Malfoy Manor before skipping ahead to about halfway through Goblet of Fire. I'd love to hear your thoughts and theories thus far! And for Harvana? Evarry? fans, I promise, their day is coming, but this is a slow burn and they are only 11 & 12. (Y'all can also give me ideas for that ship name :) )