"Merlin, Harry, your face!"
Harry had been trying to sneak back into the Common Room quietly, but, of course, his friends had had different plans. With his lifelong ban on quidditch-the thought still made him sick to his stomach-Harry had been focusing on both the DA and training in the Chamber of Secrets. Well, perhaps focus was not the right word for his training in the Chamber of Secrets. That night, Evanna had taken advantage of his lack of focus to hex him during a duel, which resulted in a spectacular black eye.
"My wand, Harry," Evanna had taunted. "You are supposed to be watching my wand!"
It was hard to keep his attention on a pale yellow stick when the one holding it was so much more interesting.
Hermione and Ron had apparently waited up for Harry that night, and Hermione was aghast at the state he had come in.
"It doesn't hurt," he mumbled, trying to slip past his friends to his dormitory. Before he was able to, Hermione had jumped up from the couch to stop him. He frowned at her.
"We need to talk, Harry," she insisted.
"I'm tired, 'Mione, I really don't want another interve-"
Before he was able to say anything else, Hermione had held up an battered magazine. It was open to a page with the oddest picture on it-the Dark Mark as it had been at the Quidditch World Cup, partly obscured by a stork. The headline read: You-Know-Who's Heir at Hogwarts?
"What the hell?" Harry muttered, taking the magazine from her and sitting on the couch as he began to read the article.
What if the Dark Lord's heir has been hiding in plain sight for over a decade? As readers know, You-Know-Who vanished without a trace nearly fourteen years ago when he cast the Killing Curse on baby Harry Potter. To all the world, it seemed that there was no one to take up his cause, thank Merlin and all the gods.
But is that true?
He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was known to have only one female follower in his inner circle, and was obsessed with keeping the old wizarding families alive, claiming to have been descended from Salazar Slytherin himself. We at the Quibbler believe that You-Know-Who's heir is at Hogwarts this very minute! After the incident at the Quidditch World Cup, as well as new informants, we believe that he could be readying to take over his father's-
Harry tossed the magazine away. "Of course this is the quibbler," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "Why are you showing me a tabloid?"
"Sometimes even the muggle tabloids get things right," Hermione said. "Don't you think this has cause for concern?"
"Not particularly," Harry said. "I doubt that Dumbledore would have allowed Voldemort's son to attend-"
"That's just it, mate, Hermione doesn't think You-Know-Who had a son," Ron said, his face unusually pale.
"Good," Harry said. "Then can I go to bed?"
"Harry-I think," Hermione gulped, "I think You-Voldemort had a daughter."
Harry had the most absurd image of Voldemort sitting down to a princess tea party with a small child with no nose and shook his head to dispel it.
"Say he does. Say she's walking around the castle, recruiting her own little Death Eaters and being little miss evil junior-how did she even get into Hogwarts? Doesn't Dumbledore have some sort of list that tells him who to send letters to? I doubt he would have allowed 'Tom-ette Riddle' into Hogwarts."
Ron coughed. "He probably didn't know. The Hogwarts register only records the name put on the birth certificate."
"Think about it, Harry," Hermione said in her most reasonable tone. "If Voldemort had a child, do you really think he would raise it? Wouldn't he hand it over to one of his Death Eaters to take care until it was old enough to practice magic?"
Now, he had the image of a person in a Death Eater mask wearing a baby carrier on his chest. "I still prefer not to think of Voldemort as being a father," he said.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Just think about it, Harry. We already know that he gave his most trusted followers things for safe-keeping. And I doubt those followers would have let it be known that they had adopted You-Know-Who's child while she grew up. It wouldn't be smart after he claimed to have been under the Imperius Curse that he was still protecting his lord's baby."
Harry narrowed his eyes at his friend, not really liking where she was going with this. "What are you trying to say, Hermione?"
Ron and Hermione exchanged looks. Ron cleared his throat.
"You know in most pure-blood families-especially ones who still hold to betrothal contracts like the Malfoys-kids tend to look like their dads. Something in the magic when they make those agreements." His ears were turning pink. I mean, it's unheard of for firstborns to not look like their dads, unless, you know, the mum's been seeing someone on the side-not really polite conversation, you know-"
"What Ronald is trying to get at," Hermione said, giving the redhead a stern look, "is that Evanna Malfoy looks nothing like the rest of her family. Not to mention how weird the Slytherins have been acting around her this year-I saw one of them bow to her our first week back-and we know Lucius Malfoy was given Voldemort's diary, so why not-"
Hermione cut herself off as she looked at Harry, who felt himself becoming angrier and angrier.
"So why not his daughter?" he scoffed. "Why do you hate her so much, Hermione?"
Hermione had gone an odd purple-y color. "Why do you like her so much Harry? Just look at the facts-"
"These aren't facts, they're-they're-"
"She can speak Parseltongue, Harry!"
"So can I!" Harry replied. "Are you going to start saying I'm Voldemort's heir now? I look like Tom Riddle, after all!"
"You speak Parseltongue because of your connection to Voldemort-Dumbledore told you as much," she said, gesturing at Harry's head. "Doesn't it stand to reason that Evanna is also connected to him?"
"Evanna Malfoy is not bloody Voldemort's daughter."
A new voice had joined the Common Room. Harry turned and he had never been so glad to see Ginny Weasley in his life. She looked beyond angry-she was livid.
"Thank you," Harry said, walking to join her. She nodded at him.
"Ginny, all due respect, this conversation doesn't concern-"
"She's my best friend and bloody well saved my life first year, so don't tell me that it doesn't concern me," Ginny growled.
"Ginny, if you'd just listen you'd hear we've got good reason-she doesn't look anything like a Malfoy for one-" Ron started.
"And her mum lives with Professor Snape and her dad has always mistreated her," Ginny shot back. "I think everyone can connect the dots, but most are polite enough not to point it out."
Harry shuddered at the implication.
"That may be just as bad," Ron said belligerently. "Either way, she-"
"Stop! What about she saved your little sister's life do you not understand?" Ginny spat at Ron.
"She saved my life, too," Harry said. "And she's been training me to fight Voldemort."
Hermione's eyes widened. "That's where you've been gone to? Harry, do you have any idea how dangerous-"
"Evanna isn't dangerous!" Ginny cut her off. "How many times-"
"She's a Parselmouth, Ginevra!"
Ginny seemed taken aback by her brother's response as Harry yelled back "So am I!" His response seemed to help Ginny get over her own.
"Merlin, Ronald, I never thought you were a bigot. A bloody idiot yes, but not a-"
Hermione interjected. "Watch who you're calling bigot when you hang out with a Malfoy-"
"So she's a Malfoy again now, huh?" Ginny scoffed. "She agreed to be in the DA so that she could help everyone-"
"She may have told you that but she's probably just sp-"
"Then how do you explain-"
"I don't think she should be allowed back to the DA or around Harry for tha-"
"SHUT UP!"
Harry snapped, looking from one friend's face to the other. Hermione had become even more purple and the redness had spread from Ron's ears to the rest of his face. Ginny looked positively feral as she glared at them.
"I know you're just trying to protect me, but Evanna is my-" he choked on what to call her. Friend seemed so much less than what the roaring in his gut would agree to. But, ultimately, what else could he call her? "Evanna is my friend. I like her. She has helped me and saved my life more than once, and still is trying to keep me living. She's given me more training than Dumbledore or the rest of the Order has."
"But Harry-"
"She knows not to talk badly about you two because she knows that I care about you guys. Can't you give her the same?"
Now they looked ashamed of themselves. Harry almost wished that he had Evanna's powers so that he could tell how genuine that was. He did not, however, need her powers to understand the savagely smug look on Ginny's face. The girl who had once stuck her elbow in butter was now rather scary.
"I'm sorry, Harry," Hermione said. "I just don't want to see you hurt."
"Then don't hurt me," Harry said bluntly, feeling bad when she winced. "I'm going to bed-unless you want to accuse Hedwig of being Voldemort's familiar?" Okay, maybe he didn't feel that bad.
Ginny followed him as he went towards the staircases to the dorms.
"You know that was all hippogryff shite, right?" she said in a low voice.
Harry snorted. "Of course I do. Her being Snape's daughter would make more sense, as disturbing a thought as that is."
Ginny shook her head. "It's just-you know Mr. Malfoy abused her, right? There is no way that he would have done that if-"
His heart constricted, remembering how she had been so terrified as to run to the "Ginny, you don't have to convince me," he said.
"I know-it's just-they're going to keep on about it, you know? And everything I know about Evanna's father-her real father-Lucius-if those two idiots keep on about it and he hears that people are again speculating that she's not his-"
Harry knew exactly what had Ginny so riled. The thought worried him as well.
"I'll talk to them," he said. "Think you could help me convince them?"
Ginny clenched her jaw. "By Godric, I'll try. Goodnight, Harry."
Evanna POV
My children could not be more different from one another than night and day. The twins would tear this world apart to rise above the other. I fear they are far too much like me. Their ambition left unchecked…. The world would tremble before it. I have devised a curse-which Rowena is sure will work-that they nor their offspring would not be able to hurt one another. The spell will not go into full effect until their seventeenth nameday-I hope I can keep them from harming one another until then.
For all that I worry over them, I fear my gentle Morgane's affliction more. She is so much like her dear mother… I do not understand how to protect her. The boy she has chosen to align herself with. She loves him dearly, and I do not wish to stop her happiness, but the boy. The boy I do not trust.
Helga believes me to be a monster for thinking he has no business being at Hogwarts, but I see the way he looks out these windows, toward his home. His people. His magic hating father, who he had to flee from. But, Helga forgets I have more experience with these men than she; she does not understand the longing to go home, to prove oneself. She has known comfort and gentleness all her life, as has my sweet Morgane.
The boy keeps sneaking out of the castle. The serpents tell me he has been meeting with his half-brother on the edge of the woods. But, even the serpents have their limits and cannot tell me what they speak of. I have my plans for the day he brings the muggle armies back to our door. It will not be the slaughter I experienced in my youth.
Evanna felt an uncanny familiarity with the story. She had read that name before. Morgane Slytherin. It had been on a tombstone in her dreams. But that could not be possible.
Could it?
She had heard of prophetic dreams, but those did not flow through her line. Or did they? There was little she knew about her father's family and she still had not brought up the topic of her birth mother; as far as she was concerned, Narcissa was her mother. But she could not rightly say that there had not been Seers in her blood before.
"What are you reading?" Theo sat down next to her. The two had engaged in an uneasy friendship since the quidditch game. Evanna was not quite sure what to make of it-or of his continued flirtation with Parkinson-but she knew when it was better to make allies than enemies.
"The thousand year old diary of my ancestor," she said dryly. He blinked.
"You didn't have to answer me. A simple none of your business would have been fine," he grumbled. She laughed, not bothering to correct him.
"But where would the drama of that be?" she asked.
"Yes, I forgot, most Dark Princesses are destined for a life on the stage," he said dryly.
"I've always been more drawn to politics, though that is a stage in and of itself," she said, shrugging nonchalantly.
"The consummate Slytherin, grabbing for power, right?" he teased. But, Evanna turned the question over in her mind.
"I think…" she murmured. "I think I just always saw my fath-Lucius manipulating and hoarding power and thought it would be a better world if men like him didn't have that power. I suppose i figured that I could at least do a better job than him."
Theo looked at her thoughtfully.
"I think you would," he said after a moment of silence.
I would take the Dark Mark tomorrow if it was hers.
Evanna blinked at the thought. It was a dangerous thought, she knew. If her father heard it…. Well, though she had felt so secure with him this summer, she couldn't help but think he would not stand for that kind of threat, with the potential to divide his forces. And Theo… there would be no hesitation. Theodore Nott would be dead, likely his entire family too.
"Why did you come over here, Theo?" she asked softly.
"I broke up with Pansy."
She blinked at the implications of that. Surely he didn't expect her to take him back with open arms after parading the other girl around for so long, despite their friendship and betrothal. Not when her mind was so occupied with green eyes these days.
She squashed that thought viciously.
"Can't say I'm sorry," she said neutrally.
He snorted. "Didn't want you to. Anyway, I'm taking Daphne Greengrass to Hogsmeade this weekend-just wanted to give you a heads-up. You should go with someone too. Not a Gryffindor. But. You know. Another guy-or girl. I won't get in your way."
Evanna blinked again. "You are the most confusing boy I've ever met, Theo."
"I don't know you've much room to talk, Ev," he replied. Then, they both burst into laughter, causing several people to shoot them looks before realizing who it was. For once, Evanna did not let the suddenly nervous looks bother her.