Argo Pyrites seemed more the eccentric professor type than typical Death Eater when Evanna saw him in the drawing room of Malfoy Manor. The man wore voluminous robes that rivalled Albus Dumbledore in ostentatious color, with the addition of odd patches here and there, presumably to cover up holes where experimentation had gone awry. Evanna felt oddly overdressed in her slate grey robes and the circlet her father had given her. Narcissa had all but insisted that she wear it when meeting with the school governor.
"You must remind him who you are," she had said. "Currently, you are still young and untested. Those closest to you recognize your power, but especially with your father so far away, you must rely on such imagery."
Bellatrix had been the most maternal Evanna had ever seen her; that is to say she had hovered over Evanna, second-guessing every decision she made.
"This is how you want to assert your power? Meeting with an old academic?"
"Father says the future of the Wizarding World lies in Hogwarts," Evanna had told her biological mother blandly. "Given that I am still a student there, I am inclined to agree."
"Be careful that you do not overreach, daughter," her mother said lightly. It seemed, for once, that there was a note of genuine concern to the older woman's voice. "You have so much potential-do not let it be wasted."
"I know what I am doing, Mother," she had said, sounding more like a petulant teenager than she ever had. Bellatrix seemed to notice this as well, for she had smirked.
"One last bit of motherly advice-bring the snake with you. Old Pyrites sometimes needs put in his place."
Evanna coughed lightly as she entered the room Pyrites was waiting in. He seemed to be absorbed in studying the great portrait of Septimus Malfoy hanging on the wall. The blonde was covered in military awards, sword buckled against one hip and snake-topped cane with hidden wand in his other hand.
"Oh! Milady!" he exclaimed, bowing somewhat clumsily.
Evanna stepped closer to the portrait. "I see you are interested in history-Great-Grandfather Septimus played a pivotal role in the war against Gellert Grindelwald. Though, I suppose his relation to me is a bit further removed."
Evanna perched herself carefully on one of the armchairs, posture as though she were a queen sitting on a throne. With a smooth movement of her hand even Narcissa would have been proud of, Evanna gestured for Pyrites to sit. He did so with a rather theatrical show of creaking joints and a sigh to cover his not-so-subtle studying of Evanna.
"I must admit," the old man said. "Based on your record, I would not have connected you to the Dark Lord."
Evanna could see at the forefront of the old man's mind her own school records, how close she had come every year to failing Charms and Transfiguration. The way she seemed to kill every plant she touched in Herbology. Though her marks in Potions and Ancient Runes and Defence had always been close to the top of her class, there was no denying that she was not the child prodigy that her father had been in Hogwarts. She fought the urge to blush, instead hissing at such a low level that the school governor would not hear.
"As I am sure you are aware, Governor," she said coolly, "there are circumstances at Hogwarts that go unnoticed which prevent a student from achieving all they should. And there are talents that go completely ignored which prevent a student from reaching their full potential."
Evanna did her best not smirk as a heavy weight landed on her shoulders and Pyrites eyes went wide. Evanna slowly stroked Nagini's heavy head and the snake flicked her tongue out lazily.
"I did not mean any offense-"
"Of course you did," Evanna said bluntly. "Though perhaps not to myself. But you would do well to remember that for all I grew up in this house, I am no Malfoy."
She had learned from Narcissa that Argo Pyrites had often resented Lucius' rather heavy-handed-or heavy-galleon'ed as it was-manner of governing Hogwarts. He had often made a point to mention that the top-performing student for the class of 1998 was not Draco, but instead a muggleborn girl. Draco had come in second every year. Evanna, for the year of 1999, had not even made the rankings.
"How can I be of service to you my lady?" the old man said carefully, eyes never leaving Nagini.
"I wish to hear of your opinion on the state of education for magical children coming into our world after being raised by muggles," Evanna said, watching the man's face carefully.
As she expected, there was a slight sneer to his face.
"It is the height of injustice for a magical child to be forced to grow up thinking they are one of them," he hissed. Evanna rose an eyebrow.
"I must say, I have not heard many of my father's followers who seem to sympathize with muggleborns," Evanna said, unsure what to make of the man before her. That is, until he seemed to stiffen. Whatever House it was that Argo Pyrites had been Sorted into, Evanna had begun to think it was not Slytherin, for more reasons than one.
"Hasn't it been in the papers that Harry Potter himself was raised by muggles?" he said, deflecting. "The things that Skeeter is saying his muggle relatives did to him…. Complete animals, I tell you."
Evanna had, in fact, been reading the papers fastidiously. Sirius Black had awoken from his coma to take full custody of Harry Potter. Albus Dumbledore was in disgrace after it had been announced that the late Potters had had a list of nearly a dozen magical families they had wished Harry to go to in the event of their untimely deaths. Then had come the rumors and yet-to-be-confirmed reports of being worked like a house-elf, starved for food and affection, forced to live in a cupboard. Nagini hissed when Evanna soft strokes became more like a thump on the head.
"Ssssorry, lossst in thought," she hissed, ignoring the way that Pyrites shuddered at her casual use of Parseltongue.
"Don't let it happen again," the large snake hissed back angrily. Nagini was not near as taken with Evanna as the basilisk Del.
"And your solution is to what? Take any magical child from muggle guardians as soon as they show signs of magic? Surely the muggles will fight back against that," she said.
My parents did not. Perhaps my sister would be alive….
"Forgive me, my lady, but you have spent little time among muggles indeed if you do not think they would be relieved to get rid of the child who has just caused all the light bulbs in the house to explode or has just made the dog purple with green spots. Growing up in a house like this…. Forgive me for thinking you have been sheltered from much of the world's cruelty."
His chuckle was not cruel, but there was a bit of darkness to it. Evanna rose an eyebrow.
"Given how little I have been present at society functions, I do not believe anyone can make assumptions on my upbringing," she said coolly. She felt a wave of curiosity from the governor, but she brushed it off. "Nevertheless, it is true I've little experience in the muggle world."
"I am sure that is by design, milady," he said cautiously.
"I need a list of all underage magical children being raised in muggle homes. I want to know if they are being given the opportunity to learn without fear of their families," she said. "I am sure someone of your background can handle that."
Pyrites' face went an odd splotchy color. He had worked hard, she was sure, to bury his lineage under an eccentric personality and strange areas of expertise. Funnily, she thought of her father teaching himself to fly simply because no one had ever told him magic could not do that. Or even of Harry, producing a Patrons at age thriteen and somehow still being unaware of just how powerful a wizard he was. It was a scary thought that perhaps muggle-raised wizards had an advantage over the old families.
"I will do what I can," the man said carefully. Evanna could sense he was trying to circumvent her, that she would need to make sure he did as she told him.
"I expect your initial list in three day's time, when we will discuss a timeline for checking on the children," she said. "It would be best that you remember orders from myself shall be regarded the same as my father's orderssss."
She let the last word slip into a hiss, that had Nagini rousing from her half-asleep state to flicker her tongue at the older man again.
This time, he could not repress his shudder.
His words stuck with Evanna though. While her upbringing had been far from idyllic, she had no experience whatsoever with muggles. The closest she came was the half-bloods and muggleborns she knew from Hogwarts. And yet, she knew her father expected for the pair of them to usher in a new era in which wizards lived openly among the muggles, bringing an end to the awful wars the muggles had fought in the past century. But she had learned that there was a strong disconnect between what her father said he wanted to be his legacy in this world and what it actually was.
So, the day before Argo Pyrites was supposed to bring her the list of muggle raised children, Evanna dressed in her least-wizardly outfit-a short-sleeved robe that looked more akin to a sundress and flat mary-jane shoes. She did not tell anyone before slipping into the drawing room and Flooing to the Leaky Cauldron. The pub was emptier than Evanna had ever seen it; she supposed the events of the end of term had many people taking precautions and staying home.
"Welcome, young lady," the barkeep said, nodding his head to her. "Any table is open if you are staying…."
He trailed off hopefully. She supposed he had not had much business of late. But, she was a woman on a mission. Still, it never hurt to support a small business….
"I'm just passing through," she said, "a little… gift shopping. So if you could not mention that you saw me…"
She gave a charming wink as she lay a few gold galleons on the greasy counter. He chuckled, nodding his head and winking in return. Evanna did her best to not look as nervous as she felt stepping out on the muggle London side of the pub instead of the Diagon Alley side.
HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONK!
Evanna nearly yelped aloud as a large truck blasted past her, nearly splashing her with fetid water from a puddle. The difference between the empty pub and the busy muggle street was staggering. Sounds came from everywhere, people were everywhere, vehicles flying down the road, buildings that looked impossibly tall to have been built without magic, a fine mist of rain that was not blocked by climate charms, noise, noise, noise-
….missed the bloody bus again….
….don't think he's just working late….
….I swear to God if she has left….
….oddest fashion on the young these days…..
….the child has to stop….
….never wanted to be living like this….
….wish he would bleeding commit….
….why am I so….
….I should just quit this damned job….
….hope she will say….
….will he ever act normal….
Somehow, the thoughts of the muggles were every bit as disorienting and varied as when Evanna ventured into huge groups of wizards. If anything, the thoughts came at her stronger, without any natural magical defenses to keep them from assaulting the forefront of her mind. She forced herself to walk forward, head down so as to avoid the eye contact that would surely only worsen the voices swarming in her head for attention. She walked quickly, looking for somewhere, anywhere, that might provide a moment's respite from the Merlin-damned noise of the muggle-world.
After a block or two of Evanna bumping into various muggles as she did her best to avoid eye-contact, she started to feel a little more normal, her defences snapping back into place to keep out the noise. Still, she was relieved to spot a sign for a park up ahead. Even if it was crowded, at least she would be removed from the constant movement that was muggle London.
She heaved a sigh of relief as green and trees took the place of the grey of too-tall buildings and pavement. The first bench she came across, she sunk onto, closing her eyes for just a moment, before realizing that she had sat down beside someone.
"Pardon me, I didn't notice-"
She opened her eyes to find green eyes staring back at her, a disbelieving grin just below.
This may be my best summer yet.
"Ev?"
Evanna blinked a few times, wondering just how it was that fate always seemed to guide right to Harry James Potter.
A/N: Three things-
1) Nagini being a trapped Indonesian woman in a snake's body being forced to do an evil wizard's doing is stupid. So for this story, she's never been anything more than a snake.
2) A muggleborn Death Eater (or at least Voldemort follower)? This version of Voldemort he is more concerned about setting up wizards as a ruling class over muggles, with of course himself as the ultimate ruler. In canon, we know that he tried to recruit Lily Potter, as well as choosing the half-blood to "mark as his equal", so I thought to play with the idea that Lily was not the first muggleborn he tried to recruit and perhaps he had once succeeded?
3) Evanna is finally on her journey to realizing the ideas she has been raised with are not necessarily what's right. Soon, perhaps, she will be creating her own path instead of following one side or the other of the war.