December 2, 2014 (Evangeline)

"Miss Prewitt! A moment, please?"

Eva paused at the door of the Potions classroom, as did half of the Gryffindors flanking her on either side. She turned to face Professor Slughorn, who was waving at her from the front of the room. She returned to his desk.

"I don't want to be late for Transfiguration, Professor," Eva said as politely as she could muster.

"Yes, of course, of course," Slughorn tutted. "I just wondered if you would be making it to the Slug Club Christmas Party, two Saturdays from now?"

"Oh," said Eva. "Erm...I guess so. I've been busy preparing for next week's match." The Gryffindor Quidditch team had ramped up its practice schedule in recent weeks to get their new Seeker up to speed. Their first match of the year with Slytherin was rapidly approaching, and Darby was adamant that they win at all costs. Between that and classwork, Eva had little time to worry about anything else.

"Naturally," Slughorn smiled. "Very exciting game. But I hope you are aware that you will be expected to bring a date to the party? It is tradition, you see. Keep that in mind as the date approaches; do not forget!"

"I'll remember; thank you, Professor," Eva nodded. She exited the room, joining up with the Gryffindors who had all waited for her at the class entrance.

"Ooh, you need a date for the party?" Victoire giggled; clearly she had overheard. "I think I know just the person you should ask."

"If you say Mark Bolger one more time, I will hex you," Eva sighed.

"I'm just saying!" Victoire smiled. "He's handsome, he's single, and I think he's into you."

"What makes you say that?" Eva asked. Bolger had been supportive of her joining the team, but he hadn't said much to her outside of practice strategy. He seemed nice enough, but she didn't get why all the other girls were so smitten with him.

"Just indulge a girl, will ya?" Victoire pouted. "If I can't snog him, at least let me play matchmaker so I can get the secondhand goods."

"You are incorrigible," Eva laughed. "Am I allowed to use the bathroom on my own, or are you all going to follow me in?"

"What if there's a Slytherin hiding in your stall?" Victoire said half-jokingly. "You can never be too vigilant, Prewitt."

Eva was not allowed to roam the halls alone, not since an unseen assailant had hit her in the back with a Body-Bind Jinx and left her undiscovered in the corridor for two hours. The Slytherins were known for their nastiness in the lead-up to Quidditch matches, and they'd heard about the new Seeker position and had Eva in their cross-hairs. And apparently, she was not the only one, as the Gryffindors turned a corner and came across Roxanne Morrison, who was leaned against a wall nursing a rapidly-swelling eye.

"Oi, Morrison!" said Chris with alarm, rushing over to her. "You alright?"

"I'm fine; just a Stinging Hex," Roxanne said, flashing a crooked grin. "You should see the other guys. Sent Clifton and Wolford off with their sideburns on fire." Eva had seen the two boys before, the burly seventh-year Chasers for the Slytherin team. In fact, she suspected that one of them had been responsible for her Body-Bind accident…

"This is getting out of control," Chris groaned. "The Slytherins are more brazen than usual this year. Why doesn't the Headmaster do something about it?"

"Probably thinks it'll make us better fighters or something," Eva muttered. "Here, let me see." She gently grabbed Roxanne's chin and examined the bruise growing around her eye. Using Legilimency, she could barely make out the double-dash symbol that indeed represented the Stinging Hex, floating around the wound.

"Vulnera reducere," she muttered, and her wand began to perform the counter-curse. The swelling around Roxanne's eye began to go down, and soon her natural features returned with only a bit of red inflammation remaining.

"Thanks, Prewitt," Roxanne smirked. "Sorry, Wood, but you can't be rid of my dashing good looks just yet."

"And here I thought the first dozen Bludgers to the nose would've done the trick," Chris ribbed her right back. "Do we need to give you an escort as well?"

"You kidding? They're the ones that need escorting," Roxanne laughed. "I goaded 'em into it anyway by making fun of their pretty-boy Beater."

"Who, Hopkins?" asked Victoire. "That kid has it out for Eva, I swear."

Calvin Hopkins had indeed been giving Eva strange looks ever since their first encounter in Potter's Legilimency class. He didn't dare use passive Legilimency on her anymore, and Eva suspected he was in fact practicing Occlumency against her ever since their duel. He was often flanked by his Slytherin Quidditch teammates, who had less qualms about sneering in her direction and attempting to breach her mental barriers.

"Keep your eyes open during the match, Prewitt," Roxanne said sternly. "I won't be able to deflect every Bludger that comes your way."

Eva was painfully aware of that fact. She was intimidated enough by Calvin in a crowded room with a dozen people between them; she couldn't imagine how he'd act when he had a bat in his hand and the only thing separating them was a few feet of open air.

Darby was also aware of this dynamic, and he drilled it into the Gryffindor team during practice that evening. "Bolger, you can't get distracted by the Chasers every play!" the captain snapped. "If you and Morrison lose track of Prewitt for too long, the enemy Beaters will make short work of her."

"What, and leave you alone to deal with Clifton and Wolford?" Bolger protested. "Those bruisers will gladly body-check you off your brooms if you aren't careful."

"We'll live," Darby muttered, exchanging grim looks with his fellow Chasers, Macmillan and Young. "We might get beat up a little, but the important thing is Prewitt surviving to catch the Snitch."

"I don't feel comfortable with you sacrificing yourself for me," said Eva. "I can handle myself."

"If you feel bad, catch that Snitch sooner than later," Darby snapped. "You're still learning evasive maneuvers; until you master them, you keep the training wheels on."

Eva felt immensely guilty that she was putting her teammates in danger for her benefit. But Darby was right: while Eva had strong instincts on a broom, her mechanics were still rusty, and she had trouble focusing on flying and avoiding Bludgers at the same time. She'd learned this the hard way two weeks earlier, when she suffered her first broken leg after failing to dodge the heavy ball during a Snitch pursuit. Roxanne assured her it was a rite of passage, and they'd spent the night in the Hospital Wing in adjacent beds as the Beater regrew a dozen teeth from yet another hard collision with the ground.

After practice, Eva had just enough time to finish up some of her Dark Arts homework before passing out for the night. She could not ever recall a time she'd been so tired in all her life...between Quidditch, homework, and catching up on Hogwarts curriculum, she had hardly any free time to herself. But she relished in the grind, giving herself no time to worry about things outside of her control. Like who had killed her parents, or what she was going to do after graduation, or the odd behavior of the Hogwarts staff.

She'd noticed increased hostility from many of her professors in recent weeks. Ginny Weasley continued to antagonize and dock points from Eva despite her newfound resolve to keep quiet and not openly challenge the curriculum further. Viktor Krum seemed determined to make Eva squeamish with his grisly depictions of animal sacrifice and nasty curses, and his criticism of her essays seemed far harsher than what her fellow classmates earned. Slughorn seemed let down every time Eva turned in a sub-par potions sample, and his essay grading was similarly tough. Even Fred Weasley, one of the most jovial and friendly professors she'd ever had, seemed intent to micro-manage her spell work, though Eva was easily the most talented caster in the class.

Worst of all was Legilimency, where Harry had seemingly made it his mission to torment Eva every second she spent in his classroom. Ever since her surprise victory over Calvin Hopkins in her first class, he had tested her abilities against a wide range of attacks, and she'd failed miserably to stop them every time. She could not get the hang of reading the opponent's attacks, and try as she might, she could not replicate her lucky guess against Hopkins' Incendio.

"Why didn't you anticipate the Jelly-Legs Jinx, Prewitt?" Harry demanded after yet another duel went her opponent's way.

"I didn't see it in time," Eva groaned from her position flat on her back. The jinx had sent her writhing across the room, knocking over several desks and chairs in the process before the counter-curse could be applied. "He masked it with a Stinging Hex."

"You have to learn to see past the deception," Harry chastised her. "A competent dueler will never tip their hand so early. Anticipate the last-minute switch!"

"Yes, sir," Eva groaned as she gingerly got to her feet. She didn't know why Harry was being so hard on her in particular – it wasn't like the rest of the class was faring much better. Only Calvin had managed a successful counter-curse in the weeks since their first duel, and he still got it wrong more often than he was right.

Eva had been studying The Language of Magic whenever she had spare time, but she had yet to glean anything more useful from it. Even on the rare occasions that she did recognize a symbol from the book, it came far too quickly for her to identify it and remember the counter-curse before her opponent hit her with the spell. Harry had explicitly banned the use of the Shield Charm during in-class duels, even though it seemed effective enough against most minor jinxes and hexes. Eva was beginning to give up on the book as a useful resource, and her classmates had given up on her being some secret genius after her repeated failures.

Her one refuge was in Ancient Runes, where Professor Babbling had emerged as her favorite teacher by far. She was gracious in dealing with Eva's early mistakes while catching up to Hogwarts standards, and complimentary whenever Eva mastered a complex concept. "Excellent logic in your analysis here," she wrote on one of Eva's recent essays. "I look forward to seeing what other creative solutions you are able to find in this course." Her suspicion seemed correct that Babbling, alone of all the teachers, seemed encouraging of Eva's outside-the-box methods that had put her in such hot water in her first week at Hogwarts.

Her classmates seemed unconcerned with Eva's recent course struggles. All anyone could talk about was the upcoming Quidditch match, and shouts of good luck followed Eva around the halls – even from the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. It only served to make her more anxious – something else I get to disappoint people with, she thought bitterly. At Willoughby she did her best to blend in and avoid attention; at Hogwarts, attention seemed to follow her everywhere she went. It put loads more pressure on her to succeed, and she was already tough enough on herself for her failures.

"Knut for your thoughts, Prewitt?" asked Roxanne one morning, joining Eva at the Gryffindor table for breakfast. "You're stabbing those sausages like they offended you somehow."

Eva took a deep, shaky breath; she hadn't realized how tense she was until it was pointed out to her. She had been aggressively hacking at her food, taking out her pent-up frustration on her breakfast. "Just tired, that's all," she sighed. "Lot on my mind lately."

"Worried about the match?" Roxanne deduced. "Listen, don't sweat it. Even if we lose, people will get over it. Gryffindor's been rubbish for years now; it'll be business as usual, really."

"I don't wanna let the team down," Eva said. "You're all putting so much faith in me. I'm not worth all the attention."

Roxanne studied her with an odd expression. "Meet me on the seventh floor after dinner tomorrow," she said. Then, with a wink, she got up and left the table. Eva watched her go, perplexed. Tomorrow was the night before the match; what could she possibly have to show her that couldn't wait until later?

She met Roxanne at the designated spot the following night, after reassuring Victoire and Chris that she didn't need an escort. She did have to duck through a few secret passages to avoid wandering Slytherins along the way, but she was finally getting the hang of Hogwarts' geography and didn't need a guide at all times. Roxanne was deep in an argument with a painting on the wall when she arrived.

"It's none of your business what I'm doing here," Roxanne said crossly to the portrait of a short and squat knight. "Mind your own."

"You shall not disrespect Sir Cadogan in such a manner!" the knight cried in indignation. "I say again, state your business or draw your weapon for battle, knave!"

"Um...hello," Eva said to announce her presence.

"Hey, Prewitt," Roxanne greeted her. "Just telling this annoying knight to bugger off." Eva grinned, bemused, at the knight, who tried to follow them through his neighbor's portraits as they walked down the corridor away from him. He was eventually held up after barging through a portrait of a sleeping dragon, which woke angrily and chased him off with a stream of fire from its snout.

"Where are we going?" Eva asked.

"I wanted to show you one of my secrets," said Roxanne. "I found it a few years ago while looking for a bathroom." They arrived at a blank stretch of wall opposite a tapestry, and Eva could see noting particularly interesting about it that would warrant dragging her up here for no reason.

"Cool wall," Eva deadpanned.

"Smart-ass," Roxanne chuckled. "Okay, now I want you to close your eyes and imagine a place. Somewhere that you feel totally at peace and relaxed. Doesn't have to be a real place; just think of it in your head."

Eva thought it was a silly request, but she obliged, closing her eyes and trying to picture such a place. Roxanne guided her by the arm down the corridor, occasionally spinning her around to walk in the other direction. "Okay, now open your eyes," Roxanne ordered. Eva did so, and gaped at the ornate door that had materialized out of nowhere in the wall.

"What the—?" Eva asked.

"Open it," Roxanne grinned. Eva slowly approached the door and pushed it open, and gasped at what she saw. It was a room exactly like the one she'd pictured in her mind. A cozy wooden cabin space, complete with a crackling fireplace and soft furniture lining the walls. An enchanted window at the other side of the room overlooked a picturesque forest, untouched by man, as though they were miles from the bustle of civilization.

Roxanne whistled appreciatively as they stepped into the center of the space. "Didn't have you pegged as a country girl," she remarked. "But nice work."

"What is this place?" Eva breathed, marveling at the detail of the space. The interior of the room reminded her of a cabin she used to travel to with her parents on vacation, up in the state forests near the Sunshine Coast.

"I call it the Room of Desires," Roxanne said. "It takes the form of whatever you ask it to. You asked for a place to unwind and relax, and this is what it interpreted for you."

"Fascinating," Eva said. "But why did you bring me here?"

"Because in twelve hours, you take the pitch for your first Quidditch match," Roxanne said sternly. "And you look like you haven't slept properly in two weeks. So you're going to stay here tonight and get your beauty sleep. No excuses."

"But…" Eva began to protest. "I have homework—"

"That can wait until Sunday."

"My dorm mates will worry—"

"I'll cover for you."

Eva sighed and sank into a nearby sofa. It was impossibly soft; she melted into the cushions, relishing in the warm glow of the nearby fire. This was a place she could unwind, where she could take her mind off of things. The bed in the corner also caught her eye; the bedspread looked suspiciously similar to the one that draped her childhood bed back in Brisbane, the one she would never get to sleep in again.

"Alright, fine," said Eva. "I'll stay."

"And don't you dare wake up early!" Roxanne smirked. "You sleep in as long as you need. We'll see you down at the pitch when you're ready." And Roxanne exited the Room of Desire, shutting the door behind her, leaving Eva alone in the cozy space.

Eva stood to take in her bearings. She saw a wooden desk in the corner where she could get some homework done; now that Roxanne was gone, she could do some more work without being chastised for it. But she did feel a bit sleepy; the room was so warm from the fireplace that she felt pleasantly light-headed and drowsy. She moved towards the bed, figuring she could get a few hours of shut-eye before starting on her homework. It was still early, and there was no need to waste the whole night away without—

But the second her head hit the pillow and her body sank into the mattress, she was out like a light.


Eva awoke some time later feeling more refreshed than she had in weeks – perhaps months. The fireplace was still alive and filling the room with pleasant warmth, and sunlight was peeking through the enchanted window on the wall. The only sounds were the crackling of logs and the chirping of birds in the distance. Eva felt as though she could lay here forever.

"Tempus," she muttered, rubbing her eyes sleepily. The time that displayed over her head did not look right. Surely she'd only been out for a couple hours? She did a double-take and stared more intently at the numbers, willing them to change, but they refused: 9:47 AM.

Shit, Eva thought frantically as she lunged out of bed and began to gather her things. Why had she not set an alarm?! The Quidditch match was set to begin at 10 on the dot, and Darby had instructed the team to arrive no later than 9:30 to prepare. She was atrociously late. Eva grabbed her bag and darted from the room, sprinting through the castle in a mad dash to get to the grounds and the pitch beyond.

The Gryffindor team looked alarmed by her appearance when she skidded into the locker room some time later. "Where have you been?" Darby demanded. "We take the pitch in less than five minutes!"

"Overslept," Eva wheezed, throwing her bag onto the bench and beginning to change into her Quidditch robes. She felt like her lungs were about to split in half, but she didn't dare slow down. Her team needed her now.

"Have a nice rest?" Roxanne asked slyly as Eva grabbed her broom and fell into line with her team in the tunnel.

"Sorry," Eva apologized frantically. "I forgot to set an alarm, and the room was so warm—"

"Relax," Roxanne instructed. "Deep breaths. You made it; no harm, no foul. Nice broom, by the way."

"Huh?" Eva said, looking down at the broom in her grasp. It was not the school broom she'd been using in practice; it had a sleek, polished copper handle and looked far more expensive than any broom she'd ever ridden. "This isn't mine."

"Time to go!" Darby ordered. The doors to the stadium had opened, and the team was marching out onto the pitch. There was no time to locate her own broomstick. Eva marched forward with her team, taking in the screaming crowds around and above them. She felt queasy; she hadn't done much flying in front of a crowd before, and now every face in the stands was either cheering her name or rooting for her downfall. It was a good thing she missed breakfast, she decided, or it might have made a reappearance on the grass right around now…

The Gryffindor team formed a semi-circle at midfield, opposite the Slytherins, who were already lined up waiting for them. "Captains, shake hands!" ordered Madam Hooch, the referee for today's match. Darby walked forward and shook hands with Wolford, one of the burly Chasers on the Slytherin team. In fact, most of their team was large and muscular...their Chasers could have easily been Beaters on any other team. Only their Seeker, a brooding seventh-year girl named Parkinson, and one of their two Beaters, Calvin Hopkins, were more slender and built for speed rather than strength.

"Mount your brooms!" Madam Hooch barked. She blew her whistle, and both teams kicked off from the ground. Eva shot ahead of the pack, high into the sky, before hastily yanking her broom handle back to slow down. She hadn't expected such acceleration from the unknown broom. She did a few tight maneuvers to test the broom; it was far more sensitive and agile than she was used to. She would have to be careful to adjust to the more powerful ride…

An amplified voice carried across the pitch from the stands as both teams warmed up. "Welcome one and all to the highly-anticipated Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match!" said Quinn Mescal, an enthusiastic third-year Hufflepuff holding a microphone. "The Slytherins are on a five-game win streak in the matchup, and the Gryffindors are looking to reverse their fortunes. They've made a last-minute switch at Seeker, resting their hopes on fifteen-year-old Evangeline Prewitt!"

There was a loud cheer from the Gryffindor section at Eva's name, along with sizable jeers from the Slytherins. Eva did her best to tune out all the noise, focusing on the task at hand. She had enough on her plate between dodging Bludgers, finding the Snitch, and doing her best not to fall off this foreign broomstick.

The teams once again faced off at midfield for the start of the match. Madam Hooch released the balls, mounted her broom, and blew her whistle. The match was on.

"And it's Slytherin with the Quaffle!" Quinn announced. "Clifton passes to Wolford, who passes to Glenn – ooh, rough collision there with Macmillan, surprised that wasn't a foul – back to Wolford – oh, watch out!"

Eva managed a barrel-roll at the last second to avoid a Bludger careening towards her. "Head on a swivel, Prewitt!" Roxanne yelled in passing as she chased down the offending ball. Eva shook her head aggressively; she had been caught watching the play and not minding her own. She eyed Calvin Hopkins hovering to her left and took off in the opposite direction.

"Slytherin scores!" Quinn was yelling. "Ten-nil to Slytherin, who take advantage of Gryffindor's Beaters being preoccupied with their Seeker." Eva caught Darby's eye as the Chasers returned to midfield for the reset, and his expression was clear: Focus on the Snitch.

Eva circled high over the play, keeping one eye out for the Snitch and another on the enemy seeker, Parkinson. She could sense Roxanne hovering nearby, trying to keep any stray Bludgers off her tail. Eva tried not to focus on the Chaser play below, but the Slytherins were taking advantage of their numbers, and their aggressive play was clearly wearing the Gryffindor Chasers down.

"And a nice save there by Wood!" Eva heard as she passed by the stands. "Prevents yet another Slytherin score. Thirty-nil to Slytherin as Darby passes ahead—"

Eva saw a blur of movement to her left, and realized that Parkinson was diving towards the ground. She shot after her; to her surprise, she caught up rather quickly, soon outstripping the older girl as her broom carried her downwards at tremendous speed. She squinted towards the pitch, trying to find the Snitch that the opponent had clearly spotted, but couldn't see anything.

Then at the last moment, two Bludgers came hurtling towards her from opposite directions. Eva yanked her broom handle up and barely avoided being pancaked from either side by the heavy balls.

"Great save by Prewitt to avoid disaster!" Quinn said excitedly. "A nice trap set by the Slytherin Seeker there, but it didn't quite work. Meanwhile, it remains thirty-nil as Clifton takes it up field…"

"Careful there," Roxanne cautioned as Eva returned to her spot above the action. "They're gonna use feints like that to draw you into exposed situations."

"Noted," said Eva. But truthfully, she never felt in serious danger from the Bludgers. Her broom had so easily avoided them that she felt she could get out of their way at any time now. "Say, I just had an idea…"

Some time passed before there was significant action again. The Slytherin Chasers were still having their way with the Gryffindors, and the only reason the score wasn't 100-0 was the valiant efforts of Chris Wood in goal. He'd made multiple tough saves already, and although the Gryffindors couldn't mount a counter-attack without the help of both Beaters, they were still keeping it close.

Eva saw an opportunity arise when one of Slytherin's Beaters swooped down to harass Wood on goal. "Ready, Morrison?" she asked, and to her left, Roxanne nodded. Then Eva took off, making sure to buzz close by the stands so that Quinn would notice her.

"And Prewitt is off!" he said right on cue. "She must have seen something near the opposing goal posts! Parkinson takes off in pursuit!" Eva could faintly hear Parkinson somewhere above her, desperately racing to keep up. Eva stretched out her arm, acting as though she was moments away from making the catch…

Then she saw a streak of black to her right, and abruptly spun out of the way. A moment later, she heard a crack as Bludger met bone. But it was not Eva that was hit, and it was not even the same Bludger...

"Hopkins is down!" Quinn said excitedly. "Morrison takes advantage while the Slytherin Beater is distracted with a nicely-placed hit!"

Eva turned to see Calvin Hopkins hunched over his broom, painfully clutching his right arm. Her ploy had worked: Roxanne had been able to take him out with the other Bludger while he was preoccupied with the Seekers. Calvin circled to land on the pitch, where Madam Pomfrey rushed out to meet him for medical care.

"Play resumes with Slytherin down a player!" Quinn continued. "Gryffindor takes over the Quaffle, and you have to imagine they'll be more aggressive now with a numbers advantage…"

"Go help them," Eva ordered Roxanne. "I can handle one Beater." Roxanne gave her a concerned look, but nodded and took off to join the play in progress, sending another Bludger in Wolford's direction.

Eva once more circled the action, knowing the end was near. She and Parkinson were sharks in the water, ready to pounce as soon as they smelled blood. It was just a matter of who saw the Snitch first.

It was Eva. She spotted it hovering near midfield, unseen by anybody. Unfortunately Parkinson was closer, but Eva flattened herself against her broom handle to try and snatch it before the older girl knew what was happening. Parkinson was quick to react, careening towards the Snitch, but she was a split second too late. Eva darted past the girl and grabbed the Snitch before effortlessly barrel-rolling to avoid the desperation Bludger from Slytherin's last remaining Beater.

"Prewitt catches the Golden Snitch!" Quinn yelled over the roar of the crowd. "Gryffindor wins, one hundred and seventy to thirty!"

Eva was immediately mobbed by her excited teammates. Darby was crying openly; Chris was thumping her on the back; Bolger was hugging her tight; Roxanne was laughing her head off at their successful ploy against Calvin. The fiasco of Eva being late that morning was forgotten; she was the hero of the morning, and nothing could diminish her stardom today.

The party was already raging when the team arrived in the Gryffindor common room soon after. Eva was mobbed by her House mates and handed cups of various suspect liquids, most of which she turned down. Loud music was blasted into the room and the House prepared to dance the night away. Things were beginning to get out of hand until Ginny Weasley marched into the room an hour later, looking furious.

"Wood, get off that table this instant!" she barked. "Darby, I can see you and Miss Fletcher under that blanket; separate yourselves at once." The room sheepishly got itself in order as Ginny glared at all of them.

"Good game today," Ginny congratulated the team. "Miss Prewitt, the Headmaster would like a word."

"Now?" Eva asked. She reluctantly followed Ginny out of the common room towards the Headmaster's Office. She took the spiral staircase alone, knocking on the great oak door before entering.

Professor Potter was beaming at her when she walked into his office. "Bravo, Evangeline!" he said. "That was some impressive flying you showed out there."

"Thank you, sir," Eva bowed, smiling in spite of herself. She knew Harry had been a Gryffindor himself, and despite his claims of neutrality, she was sure she saw him cheering loudest of all after her Snitch capture.

"It seems you handled your new broom quite easily," Harry remarked. "How did it perform for you?"

Eva stared at this remark. "Did...did you give me the broom?" she asked, incredulous.

"Well, of course," Harry frowned. "Did you not find the note I left in your locker?"

"No," said Eva. "I was...preoccupied." She hadn't had time to take in her surroundings properly that morning, so of course any note would have escaped her notice.

"I thought it might be time to loan out my old Firebolt," Harry grinned. "It served me well in my Hogwarts days, but it's been lying dormant in my office ever since. I'd heard rumors of Gryffindor's talented new Seeker who had a bit of a Bludger problem. I thought a bit of extra agility might be appreciated."

"It was, sir, very much so," Eva said. "But I can't accept such a nice gift. It's too good for me."

"A powerful broom is nothing in the hands of an unskilled flier," said Harry. "And you proved how skilled you really are today. A few students here and there have flown Firebolts in recent years, but I haven't seen flying like that in a very long time."

"You don't mean that, Professor," Eva said humbly. "I only just learned to fly weeks ago."

"Talent cannot be taught, Evangeline," Harry said. "Some simply have it, while others don't. You feel free to use that broom for as long as you're a student here. Don't let your talent go to waste on those feeble school brooms!"

"If you insist, sir," Eva nodded. "Thank you."

"I've already kept you from your House mates far too long," Harry said, clapping his hands together. "Go enjoy your evening. Just do me a favor and make sure Chris Wood doesn't set Gryffindor Tower on fire again."

"Will do, sir," Eva laughed. And she turned to exit the office.

"Oh, and Eva?" Harry called after her. "Don't judge Slytherin House too harshly for its poor behavior in recent weeks. They aren't all bad eggs, I assure you."

Eva nodded and exited the office. But the odd remark stayed with her as she made her way back up to Gryffindor Tower. Clearly Harry had known about the mini-attacks happening in the halls after all. Did he not care, or did he think it was just harmless fun? Despite being a Gryffindor himself, Harry seemed rather partial to the Slytherins. Why did he make excuses for them? Was this his twisted way of reforming the House and its sordid history, with love instead of punishment?

And why had he loaned her his prized Firebolt, of all people? Eva had yet to prove herself as a Seeker, and yet he saw fit to reward her with such a phenomenal gift. Surely she hadn't been the first talented Seeker to come through Gryffindor House since he took over at the school. Or was she? She suspected that Harry had ears everywhere in the school, and it was very possible word had reached him that she was a natural talent in the air. It still felt like too generous of a gift, and she contemplated returning the broom to his office after their next practice...

"Prewitt!"

Eva turned, and her stomach dropped when she saw Calvin Hopkins marching down the corridor towards her, arm in a sling. She glanced around for any nearby Gryffindors, but saw no friendly faces. She reflexively reached for her wand, but noticed that Calvin had not drawn his. Was this an ambush, or perhaps a warning of some kind? She stood her ground and warily watched as the tall boy approached.

"Yeah?" she asked uncertainly.

Calvin hesitated for a moment, eyes searching hers. To his credit, he did not attempt to use Legilimency against her, instead simply reading her facial expressions. "D'you wanna go to Slughorn's Christmas party with me next weekend?" he suddenly blurted out.

"I—what?!"

That was the last thing Eva had expected him to say. She thought maybe he was going to challenge her to a rematch duel, or reprimand her for embarrassing him in front of the school once again. She searched his expression, completely caught off-guard by his simple question.

"Never mind, it was a stupid idea," Calvin muttered. It seemed that he had misinterpreted her reaction as a rejection. He turned to go, but Eva quickly reached out and grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Wait!" she said. "I'm sorry, I was just surprised, that's all."

"You were?" Calvin asked, turning back towards her, eyebrows raised.

"Well...yeah," Eva shrugged. "I thought you hated me."

"Hated you?" Calvin laughed. "I couldn't stop thinking you after our duel. I thought maybe you got lucky, but then all the rumors about your talent, and seeing you fly today...I was just jealous, I guess."

"Jealous? Of me?" Eva laughed. "I'm nobody. Just a girl that got lucky a few times."

"I don't think you're nobody," Calvin offered quietly. Eva felt a shiver of pride at this; she had no idea that he held her in such high esteem. She smiled in spite of herself.

"Thanks, Calvin," she said. "Sure, I'll go to the party with you."

"Really?" Calvin beamed. "Great! Erm...want to meet up in the Entrance Hall at eight on Saturday?"

"Yeah, alright," said Eva.

"I'd better get back to my common room," said Calvin, turning to go again. "See you then." And he walked away, Eva noted, with a distinct spring in his step she'd never seen before.

How bizarre, she thought. She hadn't expected this development, but she wouldn't turn down the chance to get to know someone from a different House. Calvin seemed sincere enough, and she ought to give him a chance after he owned up to being jealous of her. That level of self-awareness was rare in boys her age – she knew that much from painful trial-and-error at Willoughby.

Maybe the Headmaster was right after all: Slytherin House wasn't all bad eggs.