As soon as Evanna walked back into the Common Room later that day, Draco was waiting for her.

Merlin, she looks so pale! I don't understand….

Evanna winced, but not so much at the crowding thoughts as at the twinge of guilt that she felt for having risked her brother. But if she had not risked her brother, then she would have lost her mother and….

"Ev! I-can we talk?" her brother was saying. "Privately?"

Evanna swallowed and nodded, feeling the pervasive headache that she had accepted as her new normal growing stronger. "Of course."

Wonder if she's going to faint again?

He's been giving me the most longing looks…

Perhaps if I get Giselle alone, she'll let me touch her...

That Professor Moody is a right wanker….

"So, about what happened," Draco began awkwardly. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"You-"

"I was just trying to help the family, but if you are really so upset, I'll tell Father it's not a good idea. We can wait to-y'know," he said.

It took Evanna a few moments to remember what he was referencing, as distracted as she was by all the mundane thoughts of the students around her. If she had to listen to one more teenage boy's thoughts regarding the Beauxbatons girls, she was going to go spare.

The funeral. Yes. Draco no longer wanted to tell their father that their mother was alive and well in this castle. He wanted to have a funeral for her. The thought was utterly morbid, completely absurd, and yet….

And yet, Draco clearly wanted-no, needed-some sort of closure on this family saga. And, as Evanna had stolen from him the fact that their mother was indeed alive, shouldn't she allow him this bit of closure?

"I think you're right," she said slowly.

"I'm sorry, you what?" Draco said. Evanna gave him a look.

"You heard me."

"Yes, but I'd like to hear it again. Sear it into my memory, because I doubt it will happen again."

Evanna pursed her lips and pinched her brother's arm. Hard.

"Oi!"

"Think you can remember that, brother mine?" she said sweetly.

He scowled and rubbed his arm. "That's my bad arm," he hissed. Evanna just rolled her eyes. "But, really, are you okay with it? With having the funeral?"

He said it slowly and watched her carefully as he said it, as though he was expecting her to pass out again. She nodded.

"I'm not happy about it," she said, trying to sound convincing. "I still don't believe she's dead," that was an understatement, "but maybe a funeral is for the best. After all, Father has to move on eventually."

She knew she had laid it on a little too thick when she felt the suspicion rise in her brother, but, the consummate Slytherin he was, Draco's face betrayed nothing but concern and sympathy. When had both of them learned to hide their lies so well?

"Alright," he said. "I'll owl Father then. Best to get it out of the way before Potter is in the paper again."

Evanna gave a small smile and shook her head. Her brother hugged her and kissed the top of her hair the way he had when they were small children before he made his way to his dorm.

Evanna found herself taking more and more Headache Relief potion as the week went on, as well as doing her best to avoid crowds. She ate in the kitchens, something that would have horrified Narcissa ("A young lady takes her meals in the dining room!"), and was almost late to all of her classes in an effort to avoid the crowded corridors. During free hours, she would escape down into the Chamber of Secrets, though even that had it's limitations. Instead of thoughts of schoolwork and gossip, she was instead nearly knocked over by the instincts and senses of the creatures who lived within the walls of Hogwarts, including Del. She took to going to bed earlier and earlier simply to escape the constant noise, to the point she was no longer completing all of her homework. Flitwick had sighed disappointedly, reminding her that in years past her strong written work had carried her through the poor wandwork. McGonagall had simply taken points.

Let's see Severus crow about his students turning in their work after this!

But, Evanna simply could not keep up. The end of the week brought Potions class as well as the announcement in the papers that there would be a funeral held for Narcissa Malfoy the following week, at Stonehenge, the way all of her ancestors had been laid to rest. And something more surprising-an owl.

"This came for you at breakfast," Draco said as he passed by her in the hall.

Which you skipped. Again.

"I just… don't like breakfast," she said lamely. Draco gave her a strange look.

"I didn't ask," he said.

She's been acting so strange.

Evanna flushed and snatched the note away from her brother. He shrugged and continued on to class. Her name was on the front of the note in thin, slanting handwriting that she did not recognize. She opened it and a pit opened in the bottom of her stomach.

The Headmaster requests a meeting in the Head's Office this morning at 9:30 am. Be advised the password is Jelly Bellies

Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Order of Merlin (first class), Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot.

Why the hell did the Headmaster want a meeting with her? Despite having been in his school for three years, Evanna had not had a single interaction with Albus Dumbledore and that was very much by design. To be frank, she was a little scared of the old man. It was said he was skilled in Legilimency, amongst all his other accomplishments, and the last thing Evanna needed was for Albus Dumbledore to get a glimpse into her mind. She'd be likely to be on the next ship to Azkaban for all the Dark Magic she had practiced under Lucius.

She checked the time. It was fifteen minutes until this supposed meeting and only five until Potions class. There would be no time for her to go and explain to Professor Snape, let alone get his advice on the matter. Resigning herself to a very likely weekend in detention with her Head of House, she took off toward the Headmaster's Office.

The entrance to the office was guarded by a large pheonix statue, which made Evanna think rather unfavorably of her father's white peacocks at the Manor. Nasty things.

Feeling rather silly, she looked up at the statue and said, "Jelly Bellies."

Immediately, the statue sprang to life and Evanna stepped onto the rising staircase. She had forgotten what a dizzying process it was, or maybe she had just been too exhausted from the events in the chamber to have paid it much mind. Luckily, it was not too long before she was standing in front of an oak door. Nervously, she knocked on it.

"Come in."

Evanna swallowed and walked in. Despite the lack of weeping mothers, the office looked much the same as it had the last time she had been in the Headmaster's Office. Spindly objects on stands, delicate instruments whirring softly, portraits of old headmasters pretending to take naps or else looking at her interestedly. It matched the emotion from him-curiosity, a bit of trepidation. And the man himself, sitting behind his desk, fingers steepled together.

"Yes, Ms. Malfoy, do come in, take a seat," he said genially. Evanna sat down in front of him cautiously. He stared over his fingers at her. She saw her school file open on his desk.

"Sir?" she said after a few moments of uncomfortable silence. "What did you ask me here for? Am I in trouble?"

She reminds me of… But that is impossible. You must be going senile.

"Have you done something for which you would be in trouble?"

Evanna shifted in her chair, thinking of the very dangerous magic she had performed on her brother, of the magic that she had been learning from Lucius and the magic she had been learning on her own. But-with exception of what she had done to Draco-it's not as if she had performed anything dangerous or Dark within Hogwarts. Outside of Hogwarts was not truly Dumbledore's business.

"All I ever do is read," she said. "Searching for knowledge isn't against the rules in a school, is it?"

She's so young to be this mistrustful. Perhaps her father's influence. I must speak with Severus…

"Some knowledge ought to be restricted, for when a student is old enough to handle it maturely. And I believe, Ms. Malfoy, that was quite powerful magic that shook the castle before you went into the Hospital Wing," he said, eyes twinkling.

Evanna felt her heart in her throat. Shook the castle? Had her magic really done that?

"No one said anything to me about the castle shaking," she said, carefully avoiding admitting she had performed any sort of magic. "And I don't remember anything like that."

"As Headmaster, the wards of the castle reports to me when magic is performed. Especially strong, forbidden magic. Now, is there anything you would like to tell me? Any magic-say-you've performed on someone close to you? Your brother, maybe? A friend? Perhaps even an admirer?"

If she could affect Draco's mind, what could she have been doing to the Chosen One?

Evanna felt physically sick to her stomach. Was he accusing her of ? Or something even more sinister?

"I've never heard of that kind of relationship to one's wards, sir-is that unique to Hogwarts?" she said, trying to keep her tone light and level. Dumbledore frowned.

"I would have thought that Lucius Malfoy's child would know how impolite it is to ask about one's wards," he said.

"But it's not really your wards, sir. It's Howarts wards, and I am a Hogwarts student. Shouldn't I know how I'm protected?" she pressed, doing her best to redirect his attention. Something about this whole conversation was bothering her deeply. "Especially as I have been attacked in this castle before."

The Headmaster frowned and the feelings coming off him changed. Now, it was more annoyance, suspicion. Anger, even. She repressed a shudder. Despite his grandfatherly appearance, Albus Dumbledore was not a man to anger.

"I don't believe you quite understand why I've asked you here today, Ms. Malfoy. It was not for you to question how I protect my school, but rather to ascertain if you have been a threat to yourself or fellow students."

"I don't know-"

He started sifting through her school file. "Your teachers have reported a quiet, studious girl who is obviously strong magically, yet has trouble with the simplest of Charms and often struggles in Transfiguration as well. Yet, she shows strong aptitude for dueling, Potions, and arithmancy. Or, in simpler terms, seems to be lacking completely in control over Light Magic, while showing strong affinity for the Darker offerings. Am I incorrect?"

Evanna swallowed. "I don't see-"

"Of course, we cannot disregard your own trip into the Chamber of Secrets and your subsequent strange friendship with Harry Potter, despite being a Slytherin," he said, saying friendship as though it was something far more sinister. "And most recently, this episode leading to your stay in the Infirmary. The magic expelled that day suggests to me a dangerous spell gone awry and I wish to know what it was."

Her mouth was dry but her palms were damp. Wasn't that supposed to be the opposite? Though Lucius had been cruel and controlling, constantly molding her to his will, the man in front of her was a different kind of dangerous. Both men were remarkably good at presenting a good public face, but both were equally capable of destroying her, she was sure.

"I-I don't know, sir," she stuttered. "That day-I was upset with my brother for-for insisting my mother-for insisting my mother is dead. Perhaps I performed accidental magic or-or there was something else in the castle-or one of the foreign exchange-"

"Are you trying to convince yourself, Ms. Malfoy? Because you are not doing a good job in convincing me."

She frowned, fighting back tears. What could she possibly do? What could convince him to leave her alone? Then she started to get angry. What proof did he have beside suspicions? What evidence besides the green and silver badge on her chest?

That look. Where she knows I know, but that I can't do anything yet. It looks just like him.

She knew it. "I really need to get to Potions class, sir," she said, half rising from her chair.

"Sit down, Ms. Malfoy-"

"You obviously have decided that I am guilty of some wrongdoing," she said, brushing her skirt in an effort to seem more nonchalant. "But to do something about it, you will have to prove it. Now, may I continue with my education?"

There was a flash in Evanna's mind and she thought she saw a dark-haired boy with a prefect's badge, hissing the same thing to Dumbledore. Prove it. But it was over in a flash.

"I'll be keeping an eye on you, Ms. Malfoy," he warned. "Especially your friendship with our young Mr. Potter."

Evanna bit her tongue to shove down the tidal wave of rage that rose within her at that comment. What gave Dumbledore any right to Harry's life? Though it defied all logic, Harry was her friend and no one had any right to say anything about it.

"May I leave, sir?" she said through clenched teeth. Dumbledore waved a hand and his door opened. Evanna sped through it and all the way down to the dungeon, not even glancing at the clock. She barely noticed that it was not her class in the Potions classroom until she caught sight of a pair of green eyes.

What is Malfoy doing here?

Ohh, Snape is going to explode!

Today just got interesting!

Merlin, we're going to lose so many points.

She looks terrified…

"Ms. Malfoy, what is the meaning of this? Your section ended fifteen minutes ago! If you wish to serve more detention-"

Evanna didn't mean to, and she wasn't altogether sure how she did it. All she knew was that she desperately needed to speak with her mother and Snape just had to understand that. He blinked, as if in shock.

How in the world…

"My office, now, Ms Malfoy," he said. Evanna swallowed and nodded, rushing forward as her Professor turned to continue writing on the chalkboard. A hand caught hers and a shock went through her. She turned to see Harry's worried eyes.

I heard that, Evanna.

Somehow, she knew that was his mind whispering to hers. And she knew when he barely opened his mouth and murmured, "Are you alright?"

Evanna swallowed. With him touching her, his eyes trained on her, she knew that she couldn't lie, but she also didn't have time to explain how deeply the meeting with Dumbledore had rattled her.

"Later," she murmured, then, experimentally, in her mind-meet me in the Chamber of Secrets?

Harry nodded and let her go. Evanna heard Granger whispering frantically to him, asking him why he's so friendly with Malfoy's little sister, felt her brother's annoyance, Weasley's outrage and her Professor's ever-growing worry as made her way to his office and beyond into his private rooms. Her mother was sitting in a rocking chair, wearing a dressing gown and reading a book.

"Darling, what are you-"

"Oh, Mother, I think I've messed everything up and I don't know what to do!"

Narcissa didn't say a word, simply opening her arms and holding Evanna close.