Evanna spent the rest of summer training both with and without her father. The sessions with him had taken on an odd, mechanical feeling that had not been present with him before. She learned more curses, hexes, and jinxes than she had thought possible, and excelled at each one of them. When her father set her to duel two, then three, then four of his lower ranking Death Eaters at a time, she managed to incapacitate each one with few injuries to herself.

"You recognize that you will not be able to leave our enemies alive, yes?" her father said one day, when she had been knocked out by Death Eater number two in one of these duels, as he had started to come awake.

"You want me to kill your followers during training?" she said.

"I want you to win."

He said it with a sort of manic gleam in his eye that made Evanna have to repress a shudder. Even more concerning was what he said next.

"I will be accompanying you to the train platform."

Had Evanna been drinking something, she might have spit it out in the most undignified fashion. As it was, her eyes bulged out and she stumbled a little in her walk.

"Pardon?" she asked. "You wish to go to the platform? Platform 9 ¾?"

"What other train would I be going to? The Orient Express?"

Evanna was not quite sure what the Orient Express was, but was fairly certain her father was seriously considering accompanying her to the Hogwarts Express.

"But-but-you're-you."

Her father lifted an eyebrow. "I can see Narcissa's lessons in elocution were not lost on you," he said dryly. "Obviously, I will not be going as myself. Luckily, most of the public still believe you to be the daughter of Lucius Malfoy, who they believe to be alive."

"But the Order of the Pheonix doesn't," she said. "And you know that Dumbledore, well, knows who I am."

Her face burned as she said it. Her father's face twisted into a smirk.

"But the old man's hands are tied after keeping this secret so long," he said. "Gives me the opportunity to vex him what will hopefully be the last time."

He's mad.

Evanna shut the thought down almost as soon as it occurred to her. That thought…. It did not serve her, only frightened her with its implications.

So that was how she found herself being escorted to Platform 9 ¾ by the Dark Lord Voldemort disguised as Lucius Malfoy. He kept a possessive hand on her shoulder as they made their way through the platform. It seemed he wanted to see her handed off directly to her still supposed betrothed. That was when another disquieting thought occurred to Evanna.

He did not trust her.

Of course, the Dark Lord trusted no one fully, but Evanna had quickly been pulled into the ranks of his most trusted as he had trained her in the summer following his return. That trust had lessened significantly in the year following.

Mrs. Nott looked pale and nervous, as though she was the one who had been in Azkaban. She trembled and nearly bowed before Theo grabbed her hand and shook his head. Though the Notts knew it was not Lucius Malfoy in front of them, though most of Dumbledore's Order knew it was not Lucius Malfoy, it would not do to give away just who it was beneath the Polyjuice. Theo took Evanna's hand and kissed it.

"Good summer?" he murmured.

Evanna did not take a moment to consider the truth of the summer when she felt her father tense beside her.

As if drawn by a force like fate, Evanna turned to see a group of Order of the Phoenix members and aurors escorting Harry Potter and his friends to the train. Harry paused and clutched his scar, seeming to suddenly be in pain. He turned toward Evanna and her father, eyes widening in shock that quickly turned to determination, jutting out his chin as he deliberately removed his hand from his scar.

"The boy is annoyingly bold," her father muttered.

"Comes from spending all your time in a lion den," Evanna sniped, ordering her heart to quit thundering so loud in her ears. In her mind, she was screaming at Harry to just get on the train, not make a scene, not to challenge her father in this moment.

He seemed to somehow realize just how catastrophic a fight on the platform could be, because he allowed Granger to usher him along onto the train. The moment of tension broken, her father turned to Nott.

"Too many people know my daughter's identity," he said in a low voice. "I expect you and the other Slytherins to protect her on the train. She will be the most vulnerable while moving, without even Snape to watch over her."

Theo nodded, his face pale.

"We will protect her to the best of our abilities, Master-Mister Malfoy," he said.

Her father narrowed his eyes, the expression on Lucius Malfoy's face making Evanna want to tremble. "You will protect her with your lives, else those lives are forfeit."

Mrs. Nott let out a noise that might have been a whimper. Theo swallowed, doing his best to look like a grown man rather than the boy that he was. "Of-of course. She will be protected."

The Dark Lord held the boy's gaze for several moments longer and Theo seemed to sag when he finally turned to Evanna, putting both hands on her shoulders so she was forced to look him directly in the eye. Those steel, grey eyes of the man who had been her tormentor turned first victim. It was like an avenging ghost was haunting her.

Her father's voice lowered into a sibilant hiss that Lucius had never been able to produce.

"You are to sssssstay with the children of my followerssss," he hissed. "Do not sssstray with thossssse of lessssser backgroundsssss."

Evanna forced herself to stay stoic, to look beyond the outer shell of Lucius Malfoy. "Yessss, father."

"And remember your mossssst important tassssssk," he hissed. "Do what you need to keep above ssssssussssspissssion with your professsssssorssssss, but no more. Kill Albusssss Dumbledore when the time issssss right."

An icy claw clamped around Evanna's heart at the reminder of her mission. "Yessss, father."

In the guise of Lucius, her father pressed her close to his chest. She closed her eyes to keep herself from immediately shoving away, breathing deeply to calm herself.

"You will not fail me, daughter," he whispered in her ear, no longer in Parseltongue. "And we shall rule together for a thousand years."

Evanna pulled away, doing her best to hide her trepidation at her father's pronouncement. What did he mean to rule for a thousand years? A thousand years turned even the most powerful wizards to dust.

The train blew its horn, warning students to make their last goodbyes and Evanna took the opportunity to step away from her father and look away from the fearsome fervor in his eyes.

"C'mon, milady," Theo muttered, taking her hand and placing it on his arm. "We need to get to the train."

Evanna nodded, allowing him to pull her onto the train. She could not help the pang as she turned toward the train car where most of the Slytherins sat and away from the compartment she had first sat in with Ginny, Bridget, and Luna. It was not that she had never sat in another compartment; it was that something about this year felt different. The rift between the girls seemed more permanent this time.

Theo didn't leave much time for Evanna to reflect on the situation, though, for he was already pulling her along to the upper-year Slytherins' compartment. Blaise Zabini was already in there, arm slung casually around Daphne Greengrass while Crabbe and Goyle argued over some sweets in the corner. Evanna was somewhat surprised to note that her roommates, Elin and Eva, were also in the compartment. Unfortunately, so was Pansy Parkinson, who gave Evanna as dirty as a look as she dared.

"So it's true?" Pansy said. "Draco isn't coming to Hogwarts this year?"

"Looks like you do indeed need to patrol the train, Pans," Blaise drawled.

"She's a prefect, too," Pansy sneered.

"Ahh, but she is our lady, so it would be best she stay away from the uncouth masses," Blaise said, giving his usual debonair grin. "Besides, she and I have been invited to a formal tea on the train."

"Pardon?" Evanna asked.

Blaise passed a piece of parchment to Theo, who glanced at it with a scowl before handing it to Evanna. Evidently, a new professor was having an 'informal meeting' with those students with a reputation of being 'the best and brightest' of the new generation of witches and wizards. Evanna didn't have to be a mind reader to know that the scowl on Theo's face was because he had not received such an invitation. Blaise seemed almost more gleeful at that fact.

"Looks like I will be accompanying you to tea," he said with a grin. Theo scowled.

Eventually, Parkinson left to go and patrol the train cars and Crabbe and Goyle went along to cause some sort of mischief. Evanna did not comment as several of the upper-year students whose parents she had rescued from Azkaban quickly took their place. It felt like her father had ordered some sort of guard duty, only, there was not one of her 'guards' who would be able to fight better than she could. So, if not actual guards, the Slytherins surrounding her could only be regarded as spies.

Evanna was not at all surprised to see that Harry had been invited to such an event-it was, however, surprising to see Ginny Weasley in there. Though Evanna knew Ginny to be a very capable witch with a wicked sense of humor and great on the Quidditch field, it was doubtful that Professor Slughorn would know any of that. By very definition, Weasleys were the furthest thing from influential in the Wizarding World.

As Evanna entered, Harry awkwardly stood until Blaise pulled out her seat and she had sat down.

"Never would have thought that being raised by muggles and a fugitive would teach you such old fashioned manners, Potter," Blaise quipped.

Evanna fought the urge to blush at Harry's chivalry. It was made easier by the glare Ginny was shooting her way.

"Welcome to our little salon," said an older gentleman whose sateen waistcoat was stretched almost to the point of no return. "Mr. Zabini and Ms. Malfoy I assume?"

"Yes," Blaise said graciously. "My mother always said you were her favorite professor, Professor Slughorn."

The large man positively beamed. Evanna braced herself for a long year with the professor.

"I was most disappointed to learn that young heir Malfoy was not on the train," he continued, turning to Evanna. She gave him a tight smile.

"My brother decided to… Pursue training elsewhere for a little while, at least," she said. She could not help but notice that Ginny was glaring at her all the nastier for it. "So I suppose you will have to settle for a consolation prize, professor."

"Oh, but you are rather interesting yourself, aren't you, Ms. Malfoy?" he said. "After all, the papers were rather smitten with your forbidden romance two years ago with Hogwarts' most famous student."

Evanna could all but feel the panic rolling off of Harry in waves. She gave another tight smile.

"Yes, the tabloids are always obsessed with the rich and famous, aren't they?" she said. "As you said, though, that was two years ago and greatly exaggerated. I hope I can impress you with my own skills in the classroom, though-you're to teach Potions, yes?"

The twinkle in the man's eye had only grown at her denial of her relationship with Harry, as though he was an old society woman sniffing out gossip. Evanna kept her expression pleasantly neutral until the man at last turned away from her to continue interviewing his roster of influential students. Blaise smirked at her.

"If only he knew," her one-time date said.

Evanna pursed her lips. "It's best he does not, don't you think?"

She dared a glance at Harry, who had slipped a chocolate biscuit into his sleeve as though he was ten years old eating dessert before supper. She quirked an eyebrow at him and was delighted to see that sometimes it was she who could make him blush. That brief moment, however, was quickly quashed by Ginny's suspicious scowl as she glanced between the two. Evanna quickly began serving herself a small sandwich and settled in for was sure to be a long afternoon.

A/N: So, in my initial outline, this chapter was supposed to get us all the way through the feast and the next would be first day back at Hogwarts and school would officially start. And then I realized there was still a lot of moments to be addressed. So, expect another chapter or two before the true beginning of school.

I've been getting a lot of guest reviewers which is AWESOME, but it means that I can't really answer questions, esp questions about updates. :/ But as to the question of who will die/be kept alive by the end... Well, I suppose all I can really say is that I rarely save somebody without killing off/severely maiming someone else later down the line. It's a war they're fighting-a brutal, nasty war. People will die on both sides, others will be injured in ways that change who they see themselves as. At the same time, I am not George RR Martin and I do like a happy ending. So yeah-bout as clear as mud, right?