February 4, 2015 (Evangeline)

"Blimey, Prewitt, have you slept at all this week?" quipped Victoire as she joined an exhausted Eva at the Gryffindor table for breakfast. "Your eyes are bloodshot."

"I'm fine," Eva muttered, rubbing her eyes with an exaggerated yawn at the reminder. "Just busy, that's all."

Eva had found herself with less and less free time as the winter term dragged on. Professors were assigning more homework than ever, O.W.L. exams were right around the corner, and Darby insisted on twice-weekly Quidditch practices to prepare for their match against Hufflepuff at the end of the month. She hadn't even had time to work on her new side project in the Room of Requirement; she would need at least five uninterrupted hours to begin the first brewing phase of the Draught of Omniscience. That was a luxury she couldn't afford right now.

Eva also couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched wherever she went. Ginny Weasley docked five points from Gryffindor after catching her eating in the halls between classes, as she'd missed lunch while doing homework in the library. Another time she took a wrong turn towards the administration wing and was immediately intercepted by Professor Krum to point her in the right direction. Even the ghosts seemed to be conspiring against her; she was reprimanded by the Fat Friar for arriving at Gryffindor Tower three minutes past curfew after a late-night study session.

Professor Potter was also much stricter on her during Legilimency lessons lately. "Prewitt!" he said exasperatedly after she found herself trapped beneath a well-placed Body-Bind Jinx from Candace Clearwater. "A simple Shield Charm would have blocked that from a mile away. Your reflexes need to be sharper."

Eva said nothing, simmering silently as she was released from the bind and struggled to her feet. Of course her reflexes were shot; she was exhausted from day after day of relentless study. She wouldn't even be sitting an O.W.L. in this stupid subject, anyway! The only incentive to care about Legilimency was the vague promise of making Potter's list of favorites for the Spell Theory elective offered to sixth- and seventh-years, but Eva doubted he would like her enough to select her even if she passed the class.

"Don't sweat it, Prewitt," Victoire consoled her as the class filed out for the day. "He's toughest on the students he sees potential in. He hasn't yelled at me in over three years!"

"Don't see him yelling at Calvin Hopkins much," Eva muttered bitterly. The Slytherin boy had always been Potter's favorite, the only student in the class with any semblance of success at casting and defending against mental spells. And speak of the devil...Eva ducked her head low and raced ahead of the pack when she spotted Calvin exiting the classroom, eyes scanning the crowd for her. Victoire and Chris raced after her, bemused.

"Trouble in paradise with the pretty snake?" Victoire teased. "Was he that horrendous of a flirt at the Slug Party?"

"Shut it," Eva said, face reddening. She'd made a point of avoiding Calvin ever since term resumed, partly because he seemed to be lurking nearby wherever she went. She couldn't quite explain why she was so averse to his presence – his attention towards her freaked her out, not believing she was worthy of the notice. He was like an extension of Professor Potter, constantly assessing her from afar, judging her worth as a witch, as a person. Scrutiny was the last thing she needed in such a stressful time.

Her cat-and-mouse game with Calvin did not go unnoticed by the other Gryffindors, either. "I've got a bet going with Bolger about you," Roxanne Morrison said a little too loudly at dinner that night, taking the free seat beside Eva. "He reckons he'll be able to corner you to ask you to Hogsmeade before Valentine's weekend. I think you're nimble enough to avoid it."

"Why is everyone so invested in my love life all of a sudden?" Eva groaned as the nearby Gryffindors chuckled at this.

"It's not just you," Mark Bolger assured her as the rest of the Quidditch team trickled into the Hall to join them. "Hopkins is being a little too obvious lately. I headed him off from taking a secret passage to catch up to you after breakfast this morning."

"Thanks, I guess," Eva muttered, picking irritatedly at her collard greens.

"Why don't you just tell him directly that you're not interested?" Chris offered helpfully. Every female at the table glared at him until he bowed his head in shame at the ridiculous suggestion.

"Well, he can't ask you to Hogsmeade if you already have a date," Roxanne pointed out.

"But I don't have a date," Eva laughed. "And I haven't noticed anyone else lining up to ask me."

Roxanne leapt off the bench animatedly and took an exaggerated knee at Eva's side. "Evangeline Prewitt, will you so kindly accompany me to Hogsmeade Village in one week's time?" she said loudly and dramatically.

"This is not helping," a mortified Eva hissed as several bemused students from other Houses turned to watch the charade. But she knew Roxanne was unashamed enough to turn the joke into a spectacle for the whole Hall to see, so there was no point in arguing. "Fine, sure, I'll go."

"It's a date!" Roxanne clapped her hands together with a cheeky grin. Eva rolled her eyes and returned to her meal as the other House tables did the same. But Eva saw the whispers trickling down the Slytherin table, where Calvin Hopkins was sure to get the memo. She had to give it to Roxanne: her methods may be outlandish, but they got results.

And truthfully, Eva was intrigued by the prospect of hanging out with Roxanne. They hadn't spent much time together outside of the Quidditch team, but Eva always felt oddly at ease in her presence – her brand of chaos was a nice reprieve from the strict protocol of the school system. Plus, she owed Roxanne for introducing her to the Room of Requirement, AND for keeping her potion a secret. She could use more friends than just Victoire and Chris, anyway. The two Gryffindors had begun getting on her nerves lately, bickering nonstop ever since term resumed.

The morning of the Hogsmeade visit dawned clear and snow-free, though the freezing temperatures remained. Eva had half a mind to call off plans and cozy up in front of the common room fire to do homework, but she was starting to get stir-crazy from the constant grind of studying. So she bundled up in as many layers as she could comfortably fit on and joined the group of excited students heading to the Entrance Hall. Ginny Weasley checked off students' names one by one on the way out the door, and moments later Eva found herself in a carriage car alongside Roxanne, Victoire and Chris.

"So, anything in particular you want to do today?" asked Eva as the thestral-drawn carriage transported them down the hill into the village.

"Oh, a bit of this, a bit of that," Roxanne said noncommittally. Then, she leaned in closer so that Chris and Victoire couldn't hear her. "Maybe do a bit of potion-brewing?"

Eva froze; neither of them had acknowledged their last encounter in the Room of Requirement a month prior. "I-I haven't had the time to work on it," Eva whispered back. Luckily, Chris and Victoire were too busy arguing about whether or not the carriages were self-drawn or not to notice their hushed conversation.

"No time like the present, then," Roxanne winked. "I'm still dying to find out what that concoction of yours does."

"Well, we're headed in the wrong direction for that," Eva pointed out, as Hogwarts Castle disappeared from view behind them. "Unless we can bring the Room of Requirement with us."

"I'll do you one better," Roxanne grinned. "I know a secret way back into the castle. We can pop over and back before anyone notices we've gone."

Eva considered this. She had been itching to get back to work on the Draught of Omniscience ever since term began, but hadn't found an opportunity to do so without drawing attention to herself. Now she may have found one.

"Yeah, alright, maybe," said Eva. She had heard rumors of secret passages in and out of Hogwarts before, and the prospect of seeing one for herself was almost as intriguing as getting to work on her potion. The past month had been so boring and routine that she was itching to get into a spot of trouble, and in many ways Roxanne was the perfect accomplice to this end.

The carriage dropped them off at the entrance to the village; already they could see excited Hogwarts students running down the cobblestone streets to visit their favorite shops. "So, where to first, gang?" Victoire announced loudly once the four of them disembarked. "Zonko's?"

"Sounds good to me," Roxanne agreed. So they headed for the joke shop, which was already overflowing with excitable teens, scrambling to get their hands on the latest gag products. Eva knew this was a dangerous place to let Victoire linger too long; her proclivity for mayhem no doubt drew her to the more dangerous items the store had to offer. Eva sensed the watchful eyes of the store manager upon them from the railing above; obviously Victoire had a bit of a reputation here.

Eva followed along with the group as they perused the aisles, wondering how they were going to slip away unnoticed. She didn't want Victoire asking questions; the last thing she needed was a member of the Weasley family to catch on to what she was doing in the Room of Requirement. She also didn't want Roxanne to let anything slip, not knowing if she realized just how dangerous and illegal her potion was. But fortunately the sixth-year said nothing, merely following along and feigning interest alongside Eva.

"Hey, watch it, Chris!" exclaimed Victoire, as she was accidentally elbowed into a wall by the gangling boy. "You pushed me!"

"Well, it wasn't on purpose!" Chris protested. "God, why do you always get on my case about the tiniest little things?"

"Because you have zero self-awareness and bumble around like a great oaf!" Victoire huffed. "You're swinging your arms around like a rag doll—"

"Am not! It's crowded in here, that's all—"

"All the more reason to mind your own space! Honestly, I can't believe you refuse to take responsibility for your own actions, it's insufferable—"

It seemed that half of the shop had paused to watch this ridiculous argument take place. Eva caught Roxanne's eye, and the older girl subtly motioned towards the door – time to go. Eva couldn't agree more.

"Hey, we're gonna visit the Apothecary," Eva cut in, tapping Victoire on the shoulder. "Catch up later?"

"Yeah, sure," Victoire muttered, barely acknowledging her. Then she was right back to screaming Chris' ear off, as the hapless boy attempted to defend himself from his own clumsiness. Eva and Roxanne slipped out towards the exit and managed to escape unnoticed.

"Sorry about them," Eva muttered as they strolled down the street in the opposite direction of the Apothecary. "They've been bickering loads lately. Think they're getting sick of one another…"

"Nah, they're madly in love," Roxanne said with a sarcastic swoon. "They just don't know it yet. Everyone suspects they'll be a couple by the end of term…Bolger and I have money on whether they'll be married before or after they turn twenty…"

"You and Bolger seem to wager on people's love lives a lot," Eva remarked. "Anything going on between you two?"

Roxanne laughed heartily at this. "Nah, Mark's like my little brother," she guffawed. "He couldn't keep up with me if he tried. Besides, he isn't exactly my type, if you catch my drift."

They made their way back to the southern end of the village towards the Three Broomsticks, where students were pouring in through the front doors to escape the biting cold. "Passageway's in the basement," Roxanne explained as they approached. "We'll just wait for Rosmerta to get distracted then slip past."

"You go ahead," said Eva. "I'll meet you inside."

Roxanne gave her a curious look, but shrugged and entered the crowded pub. Eva glanced around her, suspicious...she still could not shake the feeling that she was being followed. Her instincts led her around the side of the building to a narrow alley, but it appeared to be deserted. And yet, her paranoia remained…

"Incarcerous!" Eva suddenly shouted, slashing her wand forward. Thick ropes sprang from her wand and shot down the alley; they suddenly wrapped around something unseen, and Eva heard a yelp of surprise. She rushed forward to the fallen object; a boy was thrashing madly from beneath an invisibility cloak, trying to free himself from his binds. Eva vanished the ropes and whipped off the cloak, groaning at what she saw.

"Calvin!" she gasped. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I was just..." Calvin Hopkins stammered. "I thought I would, uh..."

"Why are you stalking me?" Eva demanded. "I ought to report you to the Headmaster for this!"

"Already knows," Calvin muttered under his breath, dragging his feet in embarrassment.

"Come again?"

"The Headmaster already knows I'm following you," Calvin admitted. "He, uh...he asked me to."

This was the last thing Eva expected to hear. "Why would he do that?" she demanded.

"Look, I dunno, okay?" Calvin said, throwing up his arms in defeat. "He thinks you're up to something. He asked me to keep an eye on you, to report back if you did anything suspicious."

"Hang on...that's why you've been following me everywhere?" said Eva, incredulous.

"Yeah," said Calvin, hanging his head. "Sorry."

"Right...I see," said Eva, still trying to process this new information. "Well, stop it, would you? Or next time I'll hex first and ask questions later."

"Yeah, right, okay," Calvin muttered.

Eva examined the invisibility cloak she'd ripped off of him. "This yours?" she asked.

"Potter's," Calvin muttered. "Loaned it to me."

Eva was of half a mind to set fire to the thing in frustration. Instead, she tossed it roughly back at Calvin, who awkwardly caught it. "I'll be going, then," she said, turning to leave.

"Wait!" Calvin called after her. "Did...did I do something wrong? At the party, I mean?"

"Huh?" said Eva, turning again. "Like what?"

"I dunno," said Calvin. "I just thought things were going well between us...but you've been ignoring me ever since. Was it something I said? If so, then I apologize, for whatever it was."

"Why does it matter?" Eva laughed. "You only asked me to the party so you could keep an eye on me."

"That's not true!" Calvin insisted. "I asked you because I was interested in you. And I still am, for the record. I think you're an amazing person, Eva—"

"Look, it's not anything you said or did," Eva said hastily, feeling increasingly awkward by the minute. "I'm just not looking for anything serious right now. Don't take it personally."

"O-okay," Calvin nodded. "I understand. What about just friends, then?"

"Friends don't follow each other under invisibility cloaks, Calvin," Eva rolled her eyes. "See you back in class." And with that, she turned to leave Calvin behind in the cold, looking like a wounded puppy dog. And she didn't feel one bit bad about it.

"Got lost?" Roxanne teased as Eva joined her at a corner table of the bustling pub.

"Had to shake off a tail," Eva muttered. And she recounted the story to her, leaving Roxanne with a furious expression on her face.

"That slimy snake!" she fumed. "And here I was thinking it was just a schoolyard crush. Why is the Headmaster so obsessed with you, anyway?"

"He might suspect what I'm doing," Eva sighed, lowering her voice so as not to be overheard. "I had to sign my name at the Department of Mysteries to check out the ingredient for my potion."

"Are you ever going to tell me what's so important about this potion, anyway?" Roxanne asked. "You're not like, building a bomb to blow up the Headmaster's office, are you?"

"Nothing like that," Eva chuckled. "Let's just say it's a brain enhancer and leave it at that."

"Ooh, trying to get an edge for your O.W.L.'s, then?" Roxanne smirked. "Now that's the kind of mischief I can get behind." Eva merely smirked back; she would not disabuse Roxanne of that notion for now. Not until Eva was sure she could fully trust her…

They sat quietly sipping their Butterbeers in the corner while waiting for an opening. They finally got one when a poor second-year Ravenclaw girl tripped and knocked over an entire table's worth of drinks to the ground. Madam Rosmerta hustled over to aid in the clean-up, and Roxanne grabbed Eva's hand. "Quickly now," she ordered, dragging her towards the back of the shop.

They snuck into the back storeroom and down a flight of stairs to the basement. Eva helped Roxanne move a heavy keg of Butterbeer aside, unearthing a trapdoor hidden beneath. They slipped through and found themselves in a long tunnel, which purportedly led back up to the castle.

"How did you find this place, anyway?" Eva asked.

"From your friend Vic, incidentally," Roxanne explained as she led the way. "Apparently she got her Uncle Fred piss-drunk one Christmas, and he told her about the seven secret passages he and his brother discovered at the school. Most of them were destroyed during the war, but this one's still around. Pretty useful for smuggling in drinks for House parties."

It felt like an eternity later when they finally emerged at the other end of the tunnel. Roxanne peeked her head out from behind the one-eyed witch. "Coast is clear," she said, helping Eva out into the corridor. "Let's not waste time; best not to get caught sneaking about by Ginny Weasley."

They stole their way up to the seventh-floor corridor, pausing only once to avoid the Bloody Baron, floating lazily past the Transfiguration department along their path. Moments later, they were safely inside Eva's new potions lab, all of her ingredients still laid out on the table where she'd left them. She double-checked to make sure the vial of Essence of Thought was still intact, eyeing the murky green liquid with trepidation.

The first phase of brewing the Draught of Omniscience wasn't too difficult, but it was incredibly precise. She began by heating the water in the cauldron and dropping in the sliced salamander eyes, then counting exactly thirteen seconds before adding the powdered root of asphodel. Then she had to stir precisely twenty-nine times counter-clockwise followed by two clockwise turns, before finally adding the sopophorous beans. She was relieved to see the liquid turn a light shade of orange as it reacted to the latest ingredient; it meant she was doing something right.

According to the recipe, she needed to monitor the potion closely for the next four hours and make sure the potion did not congeal. This gave her and Roxanne plenty of time to chat, with Eva occasionally pausing to stir the cauldron at intervals as it cooked.

"I gotta say, I never expected to see a pure-blood taking instructions from that book," Roxanne remarked, commenting on the earmarked copy of The Language of Magic sitting on the nearby table. "Whatever you're doing with it, I understand now why you don't want the Headmaster to find out."

"You're familiar with the book?" asked Eva.

"'Course I am," Roxanne shrugged. "Every Muggle-born knows the story of Hermione Granger."

"You're Muggle-born?" asked Eva, eyebrows arching.

"Surprised?" Roxanne winked. "So were my folks when I got my letter. I wasn't sure about this whole magic business at first, but once I learned about Quidditch, I was sold. It's like rugby in the air, but you get to swing bats at people."

"Were your parents okay with you coming to Hogwarts?" Eva inquired, jumping up to sit beside Roxanne atop the nearby table.

"Hell no, they weren't!" Roxanne laughed. "Disowned me the moment they found out. Haven't seen them since my eleventh birthday."

Eva froze in shock. "Oh...I'm so sorry," she said, horrified. "That must have been really difficult."

"Eh, you get used to it," Roxanne shrugged. "They were shit parents anyway. I'm pretty sure my dad was a member of C.A.W. and would have tried to strangle me in my sleep if my mum hadn't kicked me out of the house first. Luckily Professor Potter found out and enrolled me in the castle housing program straight away."

Roxanne recounted all of this as though it didn't mean anything to her, but Eva could see the deep hurt in the girl's eyes, the repressed anger simmering behind her casual gaze. It was no wonder she was so impulsive and prone to reckless behavior. Eva so badly wanted to share her own life story, but did not want to reveal her true blood status just yet – nor did she seek to minimize Roxanne's pain by unloading her own onto her.

"I think I'll be joining that program myself this summer," Eva said instead. "On account of my parents dying last summer."

"Yeah, I heard Vic saying something about that," Roxanne said sympathetically. "Potions accident, was it?"

"Something like that," Eva muttered. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. We weren't that close." The conversation abruptly ended there, as Roxanne gratefully did not dig deeper into Eva's parents. Perhaps she could recognize when somebody else was avoiding a topic of great personal pain and regret…

Eva did listen intently as Roxanne recounted her Hogwarts experience up to that point, and it reminded her a lot of her own time at Willoughby. "Didn't make friends too easily," Roxanne shrugged. "Never felt like I needed 'em much anyway. Once I was old enough to join the Quidditch team, that was the only thing I cared about. Got the grades I needed to remain on the team, stayed on the captain's good side, and mostly just kept my head down."

"You took your O.W.L.'s last year, didn't you?" asked Eva. "How did they go?"

"Bloody awful," Roxanne grinned. "Scraped a pass in Charms, Transfiguration and DADA, but flunked everything else. Got chewed out by the Head of House over it. Not that it matters...I'm not gonna make it in the wizarding world anyway."

"What makes you say that?" asked Eva.

"It's all about connections," Roxanne said bitterly. "Not what you know, but who you know. Muggle-borns never stood a chance. Unless you manage to suck up to the Headmaster enough to get into Spell Theory, of course. He has the power to decide if you succeed after graduation or not."

"And I take it you weren't gonna do that," Eva deduced.

"Potter never gave a damn about me," Roxanne said. "If he doesn't like you, he pretends like you don't exist. Doesn't criticize you in class, doesn't attempt to engage with you in any way. Just pushes you aside in favor of the students he thinks have 'promise'. Like Calvin Hopkins. Like you."

"He's harder on me than anybody in our class," Eva protested.

"That means he wants to see what you're capable of," Roxanne retorted. "He sees something in you. You're on the fast track in this school, kid, and you don't seem to care. That's probably why I'm so fascinated by you."

"Because I've got a golden ticket?" Eva asked, rolling her eyes.

"No," Roxanne corrected. "Because you're determined not to use it, and figure things out on your own. That's pretty badass."

Eva considered these words. Perhaps it was exceptionally reckless to be in here, thumbing her nose at the administration by brewing an illegal potion and risking expulsion. She had seen first-hand the veracity of Roxanne's words – the pure-bloods of the castle seemed to all be in Potter's good favor, while the Muggle-borns were either cast aside or forced to work doubly hard to keep their grades up in the stratosphere. She was the rare Muggle-born to have captured Potter's attention...was she a fool to risk throwing it away for no reason other than sheer curiosity?

Even spending time with Roxanne Morrison seemed to be a risk. Eva could tell that none of the teachers liked her, that she was an outcast among her peers. But that was what likewise drew her to Roxanne: her unwillingness to accept the status quo, her desire to challenge the established order. Eva had always kept her nose out of trouble all her life, but trouble seemed to find her anyways. Magic had disrupted her neat and tidy childhood. C.A.W. had disrupted her home and security. Now she was ready to confront that trouble head-on before it caught her off-guard once more.

Once the four hours were up, Eva took the cauldron off the fire and carefully transferred its contents into a large beaker. The half-finished potion would need to mature for six weeks before it was ready to add the final ingredients, including the Essence of Thought. Roxanne helped her clean up, and minutes later they were bounding back towards the one-eyed witch, laughing and skipping down the corridors. Roxanne's reckless energy was infectious, and Eva was starting to feel bolder every minute she spent with the girl. So much so, in fact, that she quite forgot that she was being watched like a hawk within the castle…

"Well, well," a voice muttered as they rounded a corner. Eva and Roxanne froze as Ginny Weasley stepped out from behind a pillar to confront them. "Where do you two think you're going?"

"Just heading down to the Great Hall for a late lunch, Professor!" Roxanne said cheerily. But Eva could tell that Ginny was not in a joking mood.

"I specifically remember signing you two out for Hogsmeade this morning," Ginny said coolly. "And I know for a fact that no carriages have returned from the village yet. So how is it that you two find yourselves back in the castle?"

Eva and Roxanne looked at each other for a satisfactory answer. Neither of them could think of one.

"That will be detentions, then, for both of you," Ginny sneered. "My office, every Saturday for the next four weeks."

"B-but professor," said Roxanne, a glimmer of hope still in her voice, "surely you don't mean next Saturday? We have Hufflepuff next weekend."

"Then I hope Mr. Darby has a suitable replacement ready at Beater and Seeker," Ginny remarked without missing a beat.

Roxanne opened her mouth to argue, but Eva stopped her. "It's not worth it," she sighed. "Just let it go."

"Very wise, Miss Prewitt," Ginny smirked. "I will be having a word with my brother about re-sealing the secret passages. I would advise you two not to attempt to use them again, or I will get the Headmaster involved."

Eva could feel the heat radiating off of Roxanne beside her, and did her best to get them out of the situation as fast as possible. "Understood, Professor Weasley," she said in as polite a tone as she could muster, then she grabbed Roxanne's arm and guided her roughly away. Once they had put several flights of stairs between them and Ginny, Roxanne wrenched herself free and unloaded her frustrations.

"That heartless bitch!" she seethed. "She knows how important Quidditch is to me! What did I ever do to earn her wrath?" Roxanne paced to and fro in the passageway, fuming; Eva could practically see the red in her eyes.

"It's my fault," Eva sighed. "I've been on her hit list ever since Christmas. You were just caught in the crossfire, that's all."

"I'm beginning to think you're a magnet for trouble, Prewitt," Roxanne sighed in exasperation. "I've never seen another student attract so much negative attention from the teachers."

"I do seem to attract trouble," Eva agreed. "Probably why you're always hanging around." For a moment she thought she'd struck a chord with Roxanne at the biting remark. But instead, Roxanne flashed a reluctant smile and playfully shoulder-bumped her.

"Like a moth to a flame," she smirked. "And I was craving Honeydukes chocolate all afternoon...you owe me, Prewitt."

"I'm buying for our second date," Eva agreed, grateful that Roxanne was back in a playful mood. But it didn't last long, as they had to break the bad news to Darby and the rest of the team at dinner that evening.

"You what?!" Darby groaned. "How could you do something so stupid so close to a match? Now I'm gonna have to play Davis at Chaser again! And how am I supposed to find a replacement Beater on such short notice?" Eva and Roxanne had no solutions to offer, and they had to endure the next hour of Darby ranting angrily about their predicament over dinner.

"Surely the Headmaster won't allow this," Darby muttered. "He loves Quidditch, and he knows this is our best chance at the Cup in years. Maybe you can talk some sense into him?"

"Me?" said Eva, mortified. "He hates me!"

"For the last time, he does not hate you," Roxanne encouraged her. "Would he have given you his own broomstick if he did? Now, swallow your pride and go ask him!"

This was the last thing Eva wanted to do, but she couldn't say no to the hopeful looks in the other players' eyes, so she begrudgingly agreed. That night, she headed up to the Headmaster's office, preparing to hold her hat in hand and beg for forgiveness. Maybe he will understand, she thought to herself. He's a reasonable man...maybe if I offer to serve double detentions later to make up for it…

To her surprise, the entrance to the spiral staircase stood open; the gargoyles did not spare her so much as a look as she ascended towards the office. As she approached, she could hear voices coming from above her, as though a fierce debate were ongoing. She paused at the door and listened; it did not seem to be multiple voices after all, but just Harry, muttering rapidly. Was he dictating some kind of journal? Or was he perhaps arguing with one of the former headmasters' portraits hanging on the wall?

"Headmaster?" Eva called out tentatively, knocking on the great oak door. "May I come in?"

The muttering didn't cease; if anything, it grew more rapid and frantic. "She isn't ready," Harry was saying. "Our time has not come yet...patience, friend, I know you have waited long...our salvation is soon to come…"

Eva cautiously pushed opened the door and peered into the office. She expected to see Harry seated behind his desk, conversing with one of the portraits on the wall. Instead, she encountered him curled in a ball at the center of the room, head encased within his arms as he rocked back and forth. He looked quite like a child cowering from some nightmare.

"Professor Potter?" she said, stepping into the office. "Are you alright?"

"'Mione?" Harry muttered, head snapping up to scan the room. His unfocused eyes found her across the office, his piercing green gaze finally locking onto hers. Recognition passed across his face, and his brow furrowed in sudden anger.

"Out!" he bellowed. "Get out!" Eva didn't need telling twice; she scurried from the office and flew down the spiral staircase three steps at a time, heart hammering. She had never seen such a fierce expression on the man's face before, and she never wanted to be on the receiving end of it again.

She could have sworn that those emerald green eyes had flashed blood-red at her…