Harry, ever the noble Gryffindor gentleman, escorted Evanna all the way back to the Slytherin Common Room. She kept arguing with him the whole way.
"Potter, this is really unnecessary, you don't-"
"I'm walking you there, and that's final," he said firmly. "And it's Harry, remember?"
"You Gryffindors really are too much. And besides-how do you know the way to the Slytherin Common Room?" she pressed. Harry went red, and images of a bubbling potion and a cat-Granger hybrid floated across Evanna's mind. "Harry Potter! I never-"
"It was two years ago! And I thought you said you could control it?" he accused. Evanna winced.
"Control is a strong word," she admitted as they rounded the corner into the corridor where the entrance to Slytherin was. Just coming out of the plain wooden door was a familiar blonde head, closely followed by Blaise Zabini and Theo Nott. Evanna had rarely witnessed her brother acting so dejected.
As Harry and Evanna stood at the end of the hall, Nott nudged her brother.
"Malfoy, look."
"What Nott?" her brother snapped.
"There," he said. Draco looked down the hall and his grey eyes connected with Evanna's immediately. With no hesitation, he picked up his pace and had in her in a tight grip within moments. Evanna stood stiffly in his embrace, closing her eyes tightly against his blonde hair, so much like their father's.
"Thank Salazar-what the hell, Evanna?" he demanded, pulling away from her. "You've been gone for nearly two weeks! Professor Snape was apoplectic-I just managed to keep him from owling Father!"
Evanna flinched back from him. Those weeks had dulled just how much her brother had grown to resemble their father. She felt the urge to run back to the Chamber, just stay there, just hide-
Harry was standing right behind her. It seemed that Draco noticed his presence at the same moment that Evanna remembered it.
"Take it easy on her, Malfoy," he said. "She the rest of the castle for a reason."
"Potter," he sneered. "You've done enough. You can run along back to Gryffindor Tower now."
"I'm not going anywhere unless-"
"Gentlemen," a deep voice said behind. Evanna tensed further. "I see you have found our errant Ms. Malfoy. Come."
He crooked a finger at Evanna, who stood stock still as Draco slowly backed away from her. Harry, however, did not move from her side.
"Sir, can't you all just let her-"
"I believe I know what is best for my student, Mr. Potter, far better than you," Professor Snape snapped. "If you know what is best for you, then I would suggest you make your way to the Gryffindor Tower. Now."
"But-"
Evanna turned and gave him the barest shake of her head. Harry pursed his lips, shooting dirty looks at both Professor Snape and Draco, before storming away.
"Thank you for getting rid of him, sir, if you don't mind I need to speak to my sister-"
Draco had just caught hold of Evanna's wrist when Professor Snape held up a hand to stop him.
"You may have your little family reunion some other time," he said derisively."For now, I have some matters to discuss with my errant student, such as just how much detention she will be serving for this little stunt."
Evanna bit back her groan as she trotted obediently after the long-legged professor. He did not say a word the entire walk to his office, not that the distance was even half as long as it felt.
"In," he barked, gesturing to the open door. Evanna ducked in, keeping her head down. Professor Snape followed behind her and without saying a word, walked over to his shelves full of potions ingredients and shifted a jar of what looked to be bat wings. Almost immediately, the shelf began to move, revealing the beginning of a small sitting room. Evanna looked at him in confusion.
"Sir? Is that-"
"You will not speak of this to anyone," he said sternly. "Come."
He lead the way in and though it was indeed a small sitting room, there was also a bed set up in the corner, a slight figure laid out on it, blonde hair splayed on the pillow like a halo. Evanna took an unsteady step forward.
"Mo-mother?" she whispered, completely forgetting that Professor Snape was even there as she rushed forward to the woman lying on the bed. She was pale and thin and unconcious, but undeniably Narcissa Malfoy. "Mother, please, can you hear me? What is wrong?"
She grabbed a hold of her mother's hand and closed her eyes, focusing her whole self on her mother. She saw flashes, things that were so familiar to her, an angry man, forcing her to do things, torturing her. Then, less familiar, a dingy muggle street, a dark-haired man supporting her, a woman with wild curls and a large, round stomach on a stormy night….
Then, everything was black. There was something still swirling beneath, but it was as if there was some sort of enchantment blocking Evanna from seeing anything else. She turned to her professor, pale and shaking herself. She sniffled loudly, wiping her face of the tears she could feel making their way down her cheeks.
"Sir, please, what's wrong with her?" Evanna begged. "Can't we do anything?"
"I've been treating her in secret since she came to me, at the end of your first year," he said in a toneless voice. "The curse placed on her was… brutal. But, I believe I have found something to reverse its effects, at least for a time. She is unconcious most days, but there are times that she is more lucid. While her attacker yet lives, she will never be rid of it."
Evanna frowned, not needing to guess to know who had put her mother in such a state. She gripped her mother's hand tighter.
"Why show me her now?" she demanded. "Why not when she first disappeared?"
"Because I did not believe it right to give you false hope when I was unsure whether she would survive."
"But you still don't know."
"No," he said. "But I felt you needed to be shown that it is possible to avoid the long arm of Lucius Malfoy. He and I have been associates for many years, but he has yet to guess where his wife is."
Evanna's stomach froze at the word. Associates. She remembered that summer, men in masks, muggles floating above the ground.
"Your detention will serve to prevent you going home over Eostre. We will devise something else, perhaps an apprenticeship or the like for the summer," Professor Snape laid a hand on her shoulder. "Let me help you."
Evanna flinched away, focusing solely on her mother.
"I didn't know how much she protected Draco and I until she left," Evanna said, her voice dead. "If I leave Draco in the Manor by himself, then things will only become worse. It's better there is two of us. I thank you for the detentions, though. It'll be nice to put it off a little while."
She felt deep frustration and even fear from the man, even as he fought to suppress it.
"Ms. Malfoy-"
"Thank you for showing me my mother," she said. "Can I-can I stay down here with her a little longer?"
A pause. "Ten minutes. Then it is curfew."
Evanna nodded, still studying her mother's face as she listened to her professor walk away. She could see her mother's eyes moving rapidly under her eyelids.
"Mother, I've missed you," she whispered. "You don't even know how much."
It could have been her imagination, or it could have been real. But either way, Evanna smiled when she felt the hand she was holding squeeze hers back.
Two days saw the Hogwarts students back in classes and everywhere she looked, she could hear thoughts and voices discussing the article that Rita Skeeter had published, her disappearance. She kept her head down until she rounded the corner into the Transfiguration classroom, taking her usual seat next to Ginny.
"You'd think they'd have something else to-" Evanna stopped herself as Ginny stood up, flouncing over to sit next to Colin Creevey. She gaped at the redhead, who steadfastly ignored her.
This behavior continued for three days, each time Evanna tried to speak to her friend, Ginny left in a huff. The first day, Evanna was hurt. The second, she was annoyed. The third, she was angry.
As soon as her last class was over, Evanna marched to the Castle Centre, where she could hear Weird Sister music being blared loudly. She marched in there, where Luna was hanging upside down from her perch and Bridgett was curled on a beanbag chair. Ginny looked up from where she was bouncing a quaffle off the wall and let out a puff of air before turning to march away.
"No, not again," Evanna said, a blast of power escaping her and shutting the door and locking it. Bridgett stood up, wide-eyed, and Luna flipped down from her perch.
"Let me out of here, Malfoy," Ginny said after fruitlessly wiggling the handlebar.
"Not until you tell me what's been going on!" Evanna demanded. "What have I done that you've been acting like this all week-"
"What have you done? Are you really asking me that question?"
"Yes, I am! We're supposed to friends!"
"That's rich, coming from you!" Ginny shot back.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Ginny huffed, turning back towards the door and wiggling on the door knob again. "Let me out of here, Malfoy!"
"Not until you tell me, Weasley!"
"Merlin, but we don't have all day to watch you two argue!" Bridgett suddenly exclaimed, before turning toward Evanna. "Evanna-that article with Harry Potter."
"Yes, I know, trust me," Evanna said, blocking out thoughts of the Howler and the ever-lingering desire to hide among the Hogwarts pipes until she came of age.
"That's what she's upset over. You know she's always had a crush on him," Bridgett said gently.
"That's not even it!" Ginny exclaimed. "I'm supposed to be your best friend and you said nothing to me about him! If you really liked him, and he really liked you, and you had just talked to me before parading it across the bloody school."
Evanna gaped at her. In the background, she heard the door come unlocked and barely noticed as Bridgett and Luna snuck out the back.
"Ginny-I swear-I didn't mean to hurt you," Evanna said. "There's nothing between Potter and I-nothing between me and any guy. I expect to be betrothed soon, but honestly that article was nothing but gossip causing me all sorts of trouble."
"I saw that picture-it wasn't nothing," Ginny scoffed.
"He helped me. You know my-erm-condition," Evanna had always allowed her friends to assume she had some sort of disorder. "He saw me rather disoriented that night and helped me out. That's it."
Ginny stared at her, then shook her head. "You really believe that, don't you?"
"Pardon me?"
Ginny shook her head ruefully. "I knew I would have to let go of that silly crush," she said. Evanna blinked at her friend's sudden change in heart.
"I'm sorry, what's going on? Are you still angry with me?"
"Nah-think you're a bit of an idiot, but that's should be nothing new," Ginny said with a wicked grin. "Now, where exactly did you go for a week and a half? You had the castle going mad with gossip."
Evanna shook her head, utterly perplexed by the hot and cold temper of Ginny Weasley.
"It really doesn't matter where I was, but when I got back…" Evanna trailed off.
"Yes, go on?"
Evanna gave her a look, then physically shut and locked the door.
"Are we really good again?"
"Only if you tell me what has you so secretive," Ginny fired back. Evanna but her lip.
"I haven't told anyone yet," she said. "I'm not supposed to tell anyone. But… Ginny, I saw my mother."