"I thought Lucius was supposed to be on holiday in the Continent," Evanna said as she stepped off the stairs into the foyer. She repressed the shudder at the sight of Bellatrix's wicked smile on Lucius' face.

"Don't you want your mother to see you off to Hogwarts?," Lucius' low hiss had Evanna clenching her fists. It helped nothing to know that it was actually Bellatrix in his skin.

"I can see myself off to Hogwarts," Evanna said, just barely keeping the growl out of her voice.

"I thought it best you had protection," her father came from the other end of the hall. Bella-Lucius did a low curtsey and the thoughts coming off her birth mother were enough to turn Evanna's stomach.

"I am going to Albus Dumbledore's school," Evanna snapped. "If I were to be attacked, it would be in the school, not the train station."

"In the school, there are Severus and Narcissa to protect you," her father said. There was a wave of disgust and suspicion from her mother. "At the Platform, Bella will see you safely into Nott Jr.'s compartment."

Evanna felt a swoop of disappointment. She understood now why Bellatrix was taking her; she was to be carefully watched to see that she was obeying her father's orders.

"I do know how to defend myself, Father," she said. "You taught me."

Her father smirked in a way that told Evanna he saw through her flattery but was amused enough by it that he would let it slide.

"Against Albus Dumbledore and half the Order of the Phoenix when you still have the Trace?" he mused. Evanna couldn't help but think only someone raised by muggles would ever take the Trace into consideration. "Let an old man protect his only daughter."

Let me bring my heir to heel.

Hating herself for bowing almost as much as as she had hated herself for following Lucius' orders, Evanna murmured, "I suppose this one time, Father."

"And do not forget your task," he said, sounding for all the world like a normal parent reminding their child to pack socks or extra quills. "I want to know the prophecy's full contents by the end of term. In order for my plans to move forward, you will need to be focused next year. "

Evanna did her best to keep her face neutral. She did not want to know what her next task would be. She hoped she would be able to convince her father to put aside the thought of war by then, to find alternative means to achieve Camelot, but she knew it was likely a fool's wish.

"I will do my best, Father," she said evenly. Voldemort stepped forward and placed a small kiss on top of Evanna's head.

"I know you will."

Whether the statement was meant to be a threat or some form of paternal pride, Evanna dared not ask.

Ginny POV

"You ought to come and sit with us on the train," Ginny said to Harry over breakfast.

"Harry's already spoken for," Ron said, mouth full. Ginny grimaced.

"Mum taught us better manners than that," she snapped. "'Sides, you and Mione have to patrol. Harry'd have more fun with us."

"That really isn't a bad idea, Harry," Hermione said. "We could come and join you Ginny, and Luna later-"

"Luna stayed at Hogwarts, didn't she?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, her dad was on some expedition," Ginny said. "But Bridget and Evanna will be there."

She watched Harry's reaction carefully. She had heard him that night, when he woke up claiming Lucius Malfoy was dead and that Evanna was to blame. Later the next day, she was arguing with her brothers that her best friend was not evil, far from it, and that Lucius Malfoy absolutely deserved to die. Evanna had spent years terrified of the man and only recently admitted to some of things he had done to her to her friends. Ginny was not naive enough to believe Lucius' abuse had been limited to only the things Evanna had told her. As far as Ginny was concerned, the bastard had it coming and her friend had likely been too merciful.

But that had not meant that Evanna was safe, not living at Malfoy Manor. And, a niggling voice that Ginny tried very hard not to pay attention to, Draco had to have been in just as much danger living there. Though she had been able to ask after Evanna without any concern, she knew better than to even think about Draco. Yet, here she was, thinking about Draco. She forced herself to study Harry's face instead.

Saying Evanna's name had been more than enough for the Boy-Who-Lived's face to go all sorts of colors. Ginny shook her head. She had had no chance since the day Harry had met Evanna Malfoy, that was for sure. It was reassuring, though, that Harry seemed just as smitten even after Lucius' death. If Harry wasn't Ginny's meant to be, she would certainly settle for him being Evanna's.

"You're also friends with Evanna Malfoy?" Sirius asked from the other end of the table, pulled out of his end-of-holiday depression for a moment.

"She's been my best friend since first year," Ginny said, a little defensively. Sirius merely shook his head.

"Gryffindors these days keep strange company," he muttered.

"Thanks, Ginny," Harry said. "That-that will be nice."

Ginny grinned even as Ron shook his head and Hermione bit her lip nervously. Before too long, her mum was bustling them all out the door and into the back of Kingsley Shacklebolt's car. Platform 9 ¾ was busy as always, giving Fred and George the perfect opportunity to slip away from their mother and begin selling their usual products of mayhem. Ginny scanned the crowd, looking for her friends, when Hermione gasped all of a sudden.

"Harry, look!"

She pointed. Across the station was a tall, imposing figure with silvery blonde hair and a sneer across his face. Beside him, was a petite dark-haired girl dressed impeccably in eggplant wool robes and dragon skin boots. Ginny's eyes narrowed as she watched Lucius Malfoy guide his daughter through the crowded platform with a vice-like grip.

"Thought that bastard was supposed to be dead?" Ginny demanded at the same time her brother said excitedly, "Is the ferret not coming back to school?"

"Ginevra! Ronald!" her mum fussed. "Don't be so rude!"

Ginny ignored her mother in favor of scanning the crowds for a shorter head of silvery hair. But, no matter where she looked, she did not see Draco. She watched as Lucius-or whoever it was in disguise-deliberately handed Evanna off to Theodore Nott as if she was a prisoner being handed off.

"C'mon," Ginny muttered to Harry. "Let's get to the compartment. She won't be able to talk to us out here."

Hermione and Ron followed behind them quickly, only waiting until they actually boarded the train to start bombarding Harry with questions.

"I thought you said that Lucius-"

"I did. I saw it," Harry insisted.

Ron gave a low whistle. "Are ya sure it wasn't the ferret saw in your vision-"

"The hell kind of morbid question is that?" Ginny snapped.

"Just saying, they do look alike and he isn't on the platform-"

Ginny just barely kept herself from ripping into her brother before they reached the compartment where she had first met Bridget, Luna, and Evanna. She opened the door and pointed Harry in before walking in herself. Ron tried to follow them in.

"It's time for your Prefect duties, isn't it?" she snipped.

"We were in the middle of a conversation-"

"And I just ended it," Ginny said. "I want to actually get to talk to my friend and make sure she hasn't been sucked into a murder cult or worse and I can't do that with you here, so have fun patrolling the train."

"But-"

"She's right, Ron, we really do need to go put on our robes and start patrolling," Hermione said, tugging on Ron's arm. Ginny gave the older girl a grateful look.

"But-"

"You've never cared so much to sit with your sister before, you just want to gossip!" Hermione snapped. Ron grumbled at that and finally acquiesced to walk on with Hermione.

"That was-"

"Completely necessary," Ginny said, a slight growl to her voice warning Harry to not argue with her in that moment.

Harry held up his hands in surrender. "Wasn't going to say anything to the contrary. It was actually rather impressive."

Once upon a time, Ginny would have blushed at such a statement from the Harry Potter. Now, however, she was distracted by the thought of the Malfoy siblings and what exactly had gone in that Manor over holiday.

"He has to be an imposter-probably the same person appearing in the Prophet too," Harry was saying. Ginny let him talk.

Her last interaction with Draco had not been pleasant. The boy had publicly made fun of her mother and played a large part in getting Harry and the twins off the Quidditch team (which, admittedly, was why Ginny was finally on the team). He had not even seen why she had been upset until she laid it all out for him. Draco Malfoy was an self-centered, entitled, bigoted asshole, there was no question about it.

So why was she so damn worried about the idiot?

"It has to be another Death Eater-maybe one of the ones released from Az-"

Harry cut himself off abruptly as Bridget walked into the compartment. The dark-skinned girl eyed him coolly, as though he were something interesting she had stepped on, before turning to Ginny.

"How's your Dad?"

"Alright," she said. "He finally stopped trying to sew his skin together."

Bridget gagged and Harry snorted. "You seen Ev yet?"

Ginny considered her next words carefully. She had been surprised to learn that her Hufflepuff friend had come from a family with Death Eater ties, though not near as bad as Evanna's. Ginny had yet to find a better Gobstones partner, nor someone who was as fun to gossip with than Bridget Travers. She had also not met anyone so determined that everyone was given a fair shake in the world-likely the reason the girl in front of her had a badger on her chest. It was not doubts about what side of the war her friend would end up on that gave Ginny pause. She glanced at Harry and knew that he had the same question on his mind: Did Bridget know about Lucius Malfoy?

"She was on the platform," Ginny said. "With her father."

Bridget seemed to tense a little at that. Ginny glanced at Harry, giving him an almost imperceptible nod. She knows something.

"But her brother wasn't there," Ginny continued, still watching her friend. The Hufflepuff relaxed.

"That's rather odd. Maybe he's off with his minions," she said casually as she shoved her trunk in the overheard before flopping on the bench. Her dark eyes flicked to Harry and she pursed her lips. "Did-did Evanna say anything to you on the Platform?"

Ginny scoffed. "Don't be stupid. Not with Lucius around."

Bridget shook her head, opening her mouth to say something. "I hope-"

She cut herself off, looking out the door of the compartment. "Here she comes!"

Ginny was beat to the door by Harry, forced to watch just over his shoulder as Evanna walked down the corridor hand in hand with Theo Nott. Her friend looked like a bowtruckle caught in a Lumos when she saw Harry. Her supposed 'betrothed' (medieval concept any way) frowned at the occupants of the compartment.

"You coming in, Ev?" Bridget said from the other side of Harry.

"I'm sitting with the Slytherins today."

Her voice sounded all wrong. Quiet. Thin. Like she had not been getting proper sleep. Ginny furrowed her eyebrows as she glanced over her friend for injuries. She didn't see any, but then she had never seen any.

"But you always sit with us on the train. It's tradition," she said.

"It's a much older tradition to sit with one's House-mates," Nott said pompously. "Especially when one of them is your betrothed."

He said the word with nearly as much derision as Ginny did. Evanna squeezed his hand so tightly that Ginny heard a finger pop. The action reassured her somewhat-there was still fight in Evanna, whatever it was that had happened over break.

"I suppose this once we can let the Slytherins have you," Ginny said dramatically, sounding a lot more light-hearted than she really was.

"Tell your brother this is the only time," Bridget added.

Evanna blinked slowly. "My brother isn't on the train. He-he spent Yule with Mother."

Ginny barely noticed how Harry jerked in front of her such was the relief that flooded her system. If Draco was at Hogwarts, that meant whatever had happened with Evanna and Lucius and whoever else was in that awful house, he was okay. She should not care this much about it, but she did.

"Quite the mummy's boy, isn't he?" Harry said, a forced quality to his voice. Evanna glanced at him once, and then away quickly.

"See you around, Bridget, Ginny," she completely ignored Harry's presence. "Shall we, Theo?"

Without any further ado, the Slytherins left, making their way to the back of the train.

"Has she somehow become more irritatingly secretive?" Bridget said dryly.

Ginny shook her head, taking the opportunity to sit down on the seat to cover her wobbling knees. Harry still stood at the door, watching Evanna walk away.

"No, she's just gotten worse at it," Ginny said. "You may as well sit, Harry. Evanna won't come back, not when she's apparently got to toady up to the Snakes."

"And that's just okay with you when she-" Harry cut himself off.

"The first thing you have to know about being friends with Evanna, Potter-"

"I've been her friend longer than you have, Travers," he snapped. Bridget glared at him.

"Then you'd realize, Potter," she spat. "That it is nearly as dangerous to be Evanna Malfoy in this world as it is to be Harry Potter. And you wouldn't expect her to put that aside just to spare you some hurt feelings." She stood, shaking out her robes primly. "I'm going to hang out with the 'Puffs."

It went unspoken that Harry was not invited. Ginny pursed her lips. "See you at the DA?"

"Yeah."

Harry and Ginny remained in relative silence for most of the ride until Ron and Hermione came in to tell their wild tales of Fred and George giving some first-years ton-tongue toffee. Evanna nor Bridget returned the entire trip.

A/N: Thank you to my guest reviewer for attempting to critique Evanna. Unfortunately, the term "Mary Sue" is not only outdated and sexist, it also applies to a broad swath of characters throughout the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre. I would argue that even our beloved Harry Potter is a Gary Stu, and a 'bad'one at that.

Criticism is great. It helps me grow as a writer. But, typically when someone accuses a character of being a Mary Sue, especially when anonymous, it just means that they didn't like the character and won't take the time to reflect on what it is they do not like.

Sorry for the rant. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!