She embraced with a smile
as she opens the door
a cold wind blows
it puts a chill
into her heart again
It bothered Evyn that the Slytherin dormitory was in the dungeons. It gave one the feeling that the house was truly malignant and vile. She stopped at a stretch of bare, damp stone wall. The password was normally just one word or two. This time it was a phrase. "Mudbloods are vulgar and inferior." She unwillingly groaned. The stone wall opened up and she preceded inside.
A crackling fire was going on under the carved mantle piece. The familiar green lamps hung from their usual spot on the ceiling. Evyn's friend, Camilla pretended to seem overly surprised upon her arrival. "Well, well, well. Look who decided to grace us with her presence. You finally figure out who's superior?" Camilla teased, referring to a few days earlier. Since Evyn was just and kind at heart, she couldn't bring herself to state the password correctly. Instead she had said 'mudbloods are wondrous beings.' The hidden door pushed itself further against the wall, making it very clear that Evyn would not be entering that night. She knew if Salazar Slytherin or even her parents had heard her speak these words, she would be disowned. Evyn had to sit and wait for another Slytherin to come along and open the wall.
Evyn pretended to laugh at Camilla's comment. She then retreated to her dormitory. She wasn't exactly in the mood for any of this. But standing at the base of the staircase was Pansy Parkinson. Pansy clapped her hands slowly as Evyn approached. "Great job today, mudblood hero." Half the school most likely knew about what happened in the halls that day. Evyn stared the black haired girl down. She had half a mind to say some rather off color things. But as she opened he mouth, a sharp pain erupted in her back. The feeling shot up her spine and into all of her nerves. The sudden jolt of pain sent her to the floor in an instant. " I know you can't quell your feelings for me, Evyn, but really now?" Pansy teased, not noticing that the situation was serious. The smirk upon her face quickly faded once she realized it wasn't a joke. Evyn lay on the floor, breathing heavily. Her eyes were half closed from the pain. "Oh no." Pansy stammered. She called up to the girls' dormitory. "Nona!" She yelled for the head girl. Evyn heard all of the commotion, but soon her vision blurred to white and she was no longer in the Slytherin common room.
A horrid voice which she had hoped never to hear again sliced through the air. "GET UP!" It shrieked. Evyn remembered it all; the pain, the harsh words, the horror. A pathetic whimper came after, silenced by more shouting. "You're weak!" The voice continued. Evyn heard the screams, the jinxes and the curses that soon followed. Her whole body was on fire. It was too much. Then it was over.
Nona's face came into view. The seventeen year-old prefect knelt over Evyn, wand in hand. It was hard to mistake her because of the pink streak in her dark hair. "Oh god, not again." The older girl pointed the Elm wood at Evyn's back. "Episkey!" Evyn's rigid movements ceased and her breathing rate turned to normal after a few moments. Camilla and Pansy helped her to her feet. "This is the third time, in what? Two weeks. I mean, there's no trace of anything, not even a scar." Nona stared at the fifth year who was still recovering. "I honestly don't know why this is happening to you." Of course she didn't know. No one did. That was except for Evyn.
"Ronald! That's gross." Hermione remarked after over hearing the Weasley boy's joke. The red headed boy shrugged his shoulders.
"Harry thought it was funny." He looked at his friend in the desk beside him, who was also grinning. Hermione rolled her eyes and turned to the front of the room. 'Boys.' She said to herself. After a few short minutes Professor Flitwick entered the classroom. Normally Hermione would have been all ears, but she couldn't help but wonder why the Slytherin girl had helped her and Calvin the day before.
"...So you will be assigned a partner to work with." Hermione suddenly snapped back to focus. Assignment? Was it some sort of project? Oh why had she let her mind wonder? Flitwick readjusted his spectacles and began to read off the list. "Blaise Zabini and Tobias Emerick." He read off two Slytherin names. "Seamus Finnigan and Ronald Weasley." The Gryffindor boys seemed fine with the pairing. The list went on. Hermione felt bad for one of the Gryffindor girls who had been assigned to work with Pansy Parkinson. Hermione hoped that her partner would be someone at least halfway decent. Being able to get along with whomever she had to work with would make the assignment so much easier. Her name was one of the last few called. "Hermione Granger and Evyn Di Amourie." Evyn turned to the other side of the classroom. Hazel eyes met brown once more. So that's who Evyn was. The girl from the day from before. Hermione had heard of Evyn Di Amourie before, but was never able to match the name with a face.
The students made seating adjustments according to who they would be working with. Hermione grabbed her belongings off of her desk and approached Evyn on the other side of the classroom. "Sorry, but what exactly are we supposed to be doing?" The Gryffindor laughed nervously as she sat down in the chair next to the Slytherin girl. She didn't want to look like an idiot, especially in front of someone of that particular house. But then again, Evyn proved to be different than the average Slytherin they day before. Evyn lifted her head, her dark hair sliding out of her face.
"Aren't you supposed to be the studious one?" She half grinned. Hermione realized it was meant to be a joke, but not right away. The brown haired girl blushed a bit for a short moment, trying to find the right response. "Not at the top of your game today, Granger?" Evyn raised an eyebrow. Hermione's jaw nearly dropped. She had not expected her partner to have this type of mellow and witty attitude. "It was playful banter." Evyn explained, seeing the look Hermione had given her. She then opened her charms book and began searching for a page. "Everyone and their partner gets assigned a certain charm. We have the shield charm." Evyn informed Hermione. "We're supposed to research the use as well as the history of the charm. We present our work and demonstration at the beginning of next week. I'm pretty hand with a wand, but if you want I can cover the history of the spell." Hermione almost fell over. Almost no one whom she had ever worked with offered to take the more difficult portion of an assignment. Most always, her partner would give up half way leaving her to do everything by herself.
The two decided that they would divvy up the assignment as best they could, making sure that each did their share. Hermione began to jot down notes with her quill while Evyn read the text book. As she scribbled down words, Hermione couldn't help but let her mind wander once more. She put her writing utensil down and turned to the Slytherin. " I want to thank you for yesterday. It was very courteous of you." Evyn's eyes shifted back and forth across the pages.
"Don't mention it." She replied nonchalantly, leaving it at that. But Hermione pressed on. She couldn't believe that the girl didn't think it was anything worth mentioning.
"You're being modest, it was really-"
"Don't," Evyn interrupted, looking at the Gryffindor that time. "mention it." She finished. Hermione picked up on the social cue and went back to her writing, sheepishly. Evyn paused for a minute or two. She then shut the book and placed it back onto the desk in front of her. "Look, Hermione," She began to apologize. "that came out the wrong way." Hermione glanced up from her writing and listened. "It's just that," Evyn sighed, searching for the right words. "Some things that I believe in, I'm not allowed to believe in." She over enunciated the word. "I have to follow things that I don't necessarily think are right; especially because of my background. No, it's not fair, but that's life. There's nothing I can do to change that." There was a brief period of silence between the two girls. Then Hermione took the opportunity to speak up.
"But you can change it." She argued gently. "At the end of the day, you decide how to live your life. Be your own self. Dare to be different." Evyn took her partner's words into consideration as she collected her own thoughts. Hermione was wise beyond her years. And what she had said was true to some extent. But Hermione didn't know the pressure that ate away at Evyn. She didn't even know half the battle
"I have an obligation to this house." Evyn jabbed a finger at the Snake crest upon her robes. "And to my family." she added bitterly, distastefully even. The weight of all the expectations clung to the girl like leeches. Hermione tried to sympathize though knew she would never truly understand another's struggles.
"Is that all that really matters?"