A/N: A double-length chapter is here for your enjoyment! I considered breaking it up into two halves for consistency's sake, but it works too well as a cohesive whole and simply has to deliver a lot of important information before we return to the other timelines. So sit back, relax and enjoy as we finally arrive at a pivotal moment in the story!

It has also come to my attention that I have alternately referred to the Room of Requirement as the Room of Desires in previous chapters, with no explanation for the change. I totally did not forget about my original name for the room or anything, and most certainly am not retconning my own fanfiction to match the true name for simplicity's sake. Nope, no idea what you're talking about! ;)


March 23, 2015 (Evangeline)

Eva was used to being ignored. After all, that had been her day-to-day existence at Willoughby Academy for four years. But the treatment she received from Gryffindor House after the Quidditch team's drubbing at the hands of Hufflepuff was somehow worse. Angry glares in the common room. Shoulder bumps in the corridors. Students standing up from the table in the Great Hall and moving twenty feet away when she sat for meals. That, on top of the cold silence she received for letting the team down, made her life downright miserable. Even Victoire and Chris were avoiding her – probably more at Chris' insistence than Victoire's, but their absence was felt all the same.

Roxanne was Eva's only reprieve through this period – the only person giving her the time of day. She too was receiving the silent treatment from her fellow Gryffindors, but she took it in stride, and often gave as good as she got. She sent two seventh-year boys to the Hospital Wing when they 'accidentally' pushed her down a flight of stairs one afternoon; she had to explain to her Head of House that she 'accidentally' hit them both with jinxes that caused their noses to swell to the size of balloons.

"Y'know, you ought to try defending yourself once in a while," Roxanne told Eva after giddily recounting this story over dinner. "People wouldn't mess with you as much if they knew you'd snap back."

"Maybe people wouldn't push you down stairs if you didn't pick fights with everyone who breathes," Eva teased back. Roxanne's response was to playfully flick a spoonful of mashed potatoes in her direction; Eva shot back with a volley of peas directly to the face.

"Touché," Roxanne chuckled as she removed a stray pea from her hair. "Point is, I worry about you, Prewitt. The team sees fit to protect you against the Slytherins, but turn the other cheek when the attacks are coming from our own House."

She had a point there. And while the Gryffindor Quidditch team couldn't exactly ignore Eva and Roxanne during subsequent practices, they sure didn't receive them all that warmly when they returned to the squad. "Listen up, gang," Darby ordered during their first practice after the Hufflepuff match. "Due to...unforeseen circumstances, we were short-staffed for the last match, and Hufflepuff handed our asses to us. We have to pray that Slytherin beats Hufflepuff next month, and then we have to beat Ravenclaw by at least two hundred and thirty points to have a prayer at the Cup."

"Never thought I'd be forced to root for Slytherin in my life," Mark Bolger muttered darkly, throwing an angry look in Eva and Roxanne's direction, as though it was their fault. (And he wasn't entirely wrong.)

"We'll have to be aggressive and score a lot of goals quickly to succeed," Darby went on. "That means Beaters, you'll be on permanent Chaser duty, and the Seeker will be on her own to survive until we've reached enough points to win."

Two things struck Eva about that statement. One, Darby referred to her as 'the Seeker', clearly still angry enough with her that he refused to use her actual name. And two, it was a stark departure from the team's previous strategy of 'protect Eva at all costs'. Did this mean Darby trusted her enough to hold her own against the enemy Beaters? Or again, was he angry enough with her that he no longer cared if she got her skull caved in by a Bludger?

By the end of the first few practices, she was convinced it was the latter. Bolger was firing Bludgers at her so hard that Eva had to learn new evasive maneuvers on the fly to avoid being obliterated. She thanked her lucky stars that the Headmaster still allowed her to use his Firebolt, because she knew without it she never would have been able to evade all of these shots at her head and rib cage. It got so dicey that Roxanne eventually swerved out of her original path to deflect a potshot at Eva's head from behind, resulting in a shouting match involving nearly the entire team that ended with Roxanne storming off the pitch in a huff.

"Listen, you don't have to worry about me," Eva said once she'd caught up to Roxanne at the castle steps. "I have to learn to handle Bludgers on my own eventually, right? Darby's right: protecting the Chasers should be your first priority."

"It'll be different when there are two Beaters targeting you," Roxanne warned. "Danbury and Leake may not hit as hard as Bolger, but they're deadly accurate. Did you hear what they did to Slytherin's Keeper in their last match?"

Eva had heard all right. Rumor had it that the damage was so bad, he'd wound up in St. Mungo's in order to Vanish a portion of his skull and regrow it entirely with Skele-Gro. "Point is, we can't win the Cup if you're too focused on babysitting me the whole time," said Eva. "I'm getting better with the Firebolt, and I'll find ways to improvise. Plus, if they're targeting me it makes it easier for our Chasers to score."

"True enough," Roxanne shrugged as they passed through Central Hall. "Say, is now a good time to check on your...experiment?"

"Hush," Eva said worriedly, glancing around to see if anyone was watching the two of them. It had been a while since they'd visited the Room of Requirement to check on her potion, but the ingredients ought to have matured enough by now to move on to the next stage. "I have some Arithmancy homework to finish...how about tomorrow after lunch? I have a free period."

"Perfect!" said Roxanne, clapping her hands together. "I have Charms then...I'll never turn down an excuse to skive off."

Truthfully, Eva could not have picked a worse time to begin brewing the Draught of Omniscience. Not only did she have Quidditch practice, daily homework, and O.W.L. preparation to worry about, but she continued to find herself being watched nearly around the clock. Professors would appear out of random doors and passageways whenever she thought she was alone in a corridor, preventing her from abruptly changing her route to the seventh floor. Calvin Hopkins was getting better at avoiding her notice, but she still saw him in her peripherals, surreptitiously keeping tabs on her.

But she had no choice but to risk it anyway. The final few steps of the brew were time-sensitive and the most essential for safety. According to The Language of Magic, if the potion was prepared even slightly wrong, the more harmful effects of Essence of Thought would not be negated. There were terrible descriptions of 'information overload' and 'the burden of knowledge' that could cause the consumer to go mad, which she preferred to avoid. And to do that, she would have to find ways into the Room of Requirement on five consecutive days at precisely the same hour, which seemed like a daunting task.

Roxanne seemed less perturbed by this dilemma the next time she brought it up, when they reconvened inside the Room of Requirement. "Just ask the Room for a way!" she exclaimed. "Seriously, you underestimate what this place is capable of."

Eva considered this, setting down her ladle and closing her eyes. I need an easy way in and out of the Room that can't be detected by anyone watching me, Eva thought. She repeated this refrain in her head several times, unsure of how specific she ought to be or if the Room needed her to give her a clearer example. But when she opened her eyes, an opening was appearing in the wall. It was slightly smaller than a door and made of unpainted wood.

Eva cautiously approached the new fixture and pushed lightly on the wood. It swung open, and to her astonishment, she found herself looking directly into the Gryffindor girls' dorms – her dorm, to be exact. She was directly in between hers and Victoire's four-poster beds, and judging on the positioning of the room, she was standing in what should have been the interior of her dresser.

"Well well, if that isn't some Narnia shit right there," Roxanne whistled, impressed.

Eva quickly shut the door again and cast a Muffling Charm on it for safety. "Well, I suppose that's one way in and out," she muttered. "So long as nobody notices me climbing in and out of my dresser."

"No fair!" Roxanne pouted. "How am I supposed to join you for the final steps?" But as she was saying this, a second doorway was appearing next to the first, with an identical wooded door. Eva suspected what it was, and she was proven correct when Roxanne pushed it open to look into her own dorm room, one level above Eva's in Gryffindor Tower.

"You're welcome," Eva said sardonically, returning to her cauldron. "Now, hand me the Essence of Thought, would you?"

Roxanne froze at this. "The what?!" she exclaimed, looking with newfound awe at the vial of swirling green liquid on table beside her. "This is Essence of Thought? Are you mad?"

"I could be, if I do this wrong," Eva joked. But Roxanne looked deadly serious now.

"You're brewing the Draught of Omniscience?" Roxanne gaped at her. "I dismissed that thought ages ago, thinking nobody could be that stupid. Haven't you read all the research papers written about it recently, saying it's deadly and not to be attempted?"

"None of them written by actual Potions Masters, by the way," Eva pointed out. "All of them were written or commissioned by the Department of Magical Ordinance and Regulation, which is controlled by an ally of the Headmaster."

"What's your point?"

"The Headmaster doesn't want anyone brewing it," Eva continued. "So he likely ordered all those papers written to discourage anyone from trying it. Just like he ordered all those scathing criticisms of The Language of Magic in the papers after it was published. All written by former allies of his during the war."

Roxanne's eyebrows shot up at this. "You've done your research," she muttered.

"The only thing I can't figure out is why," Eva sighed, pacing restlessly as she pondered the same question she had for months on end. "Something about that book seriously worries him. And yet, he let me keep my copy, knowing I'm a Muggle-born who is likely to sympathize with Granger. It doesn't make any sense."

"Back up," Roxanne frowned. "You're a Muggle-born?"

Whoops.

Eva froze and looked up at Roxanne. "Uh...yeah," she admitted. "The Headmaster suggested I pose as a pure-blood to avoid prejudice when I transferred here. S-sorry for lying to you."

Roxanne processed this information in silence. For a moment, Eva worried that she'd just spoiled their friendship, and Roxanne would no longer trust her after such a prolonged lie. But to her astonishment, Roxanne bust out laughing at this revelation instead.

"You continue to be full of surprises, Prewitt," she guffawed. "If that is your real name. But that only makes things even more bizarre, doesn't it? Why does he show you such favor over all the other Muggle-borns?"

"I know," Eva groaned. "There has to be more to the puzzle here. And I'm not gonna wait around for an answer. That's why I'm brewing this Draught. I want to see what it is that he's so afraid of. I want to know what Granger knows."

"That's pretty bad-ass, Prewitt," Roxanne grinned.

"Thanks," Eva grinned shyly as she readied the cauldron for the next phase. After a tentative pause, she added, "My real name's Thomas, by the way."

"Evangeline Thomas," Roxanne said to herself, as though testing how the new moniker rolled off her tongue. "Meh, I prefer Prewitt. Besides, probably better I don't accidentally let slip your real name to the others, eh?"

"Appreciate it," Eva winked.

With the new passages into and out of the Room of Requirement, Eva found it easy to come and go as needed for the final stages of the brew. Somehow the Room managed to interpret her request perfectly, such that any time she got the urge to check on her potion, some sudden distraction would catch the attention of her dorm mates, allowing her to slip into her dresser unseen. Then, when it came time to head back to the dorm, they were always conveniently looking the other way as she reappeared. Roxanne reported similar phenomena in her own dorm.

And so it was five days later that Eva found herself back in the Room, standing over her cauldron with the vial of Essence of Thought in her palm. She had done everything in her power to ensure the instructions in the book were followed to a tee; the only thing left to do now was add the key ingredient. She uncorked the vial and held it as steadily as she could, hand shaking lightly as she prepared to pour…

"Let me help," Roxanne said, gently taking Eva's hand in her own to steady her. Together they tipped the vial upside-down to pour the Essence of Thought into the cauldron. It fell through the air less like a liquid and more like a heavy gas, floating down into the bubbling potion below. The effect was instantaneous. The bubbling intensified; Eva and Roxanne stepped back as the potion frothed and boiled madly. After a few seconds, the potion calmed, and to Eva's relief, it settled into a calm, light blue liquid state. If she didn't know any better, she'd think she just successfully brewed the Draught of Omniscience.

"Well done," Roxanne grinned, correctly interpreting Eva's sigh of relief as success. "What next?"

"Well, now it's done, in theory," Eva muttered, waving her wand to carefully lift the cauldron off the fire and set it on the ground. "All that's left to do is drink."

"Music to my ears," Roxanne said, clapping her hands together. She waved her own wand and conjured two glasses. "Shall we?"

"Now?!" Eva gaped at her. "And why do you have two glasses? I can't let you drink it!"

"What, so you get to experience it and I don't?" Roxanne said, pretending to be offended. "Come off it, Prewitt, I want to know what it does as badly as you do!"

"But...but what if it goes wrong?" said Eva. "What if someone needs to go get Madam Pomfrey?"

"What's she gonna do about it?" Roxanne rolled her eyes. "I've read about Essence of Thought too, you know. There's no cure once it takes hold of the mind."

"What if I brewed it wrong?" Eva protested. "I would never forgive myself if you died on account of my stupidity!"

"I trust you, Eva," said Roxanne. She said this sincerely, without an ounce of sarcasm – a rarity for the sixth-year.

"But why?" Eva said meekly. "You barely even know me."

"Just a good feeling I get from you," Roxanne shrugged.

Eva wanted to put her foot down and refuse Roxanne's request, but knew that attempting to sway the stubborn girl was useless. Besides, her own curiosity about the Draught had been building in intensity over the past few months, and she couldn't wait any longer. "Fine," she said. "At least let me go first, so you can call for a house-elf or something if I start seizing up."

"Deal," Roxanne said eagerly. She held out the two glasses eagerly as Eva dipped the ladle into the cauldron and scooped two portions of the Draught out. It wouldn't take much for the Draught to have an effect; the book recommended half a pint as an adequate serving size, but she erred on the smaller side to be cautious.

"Here goes nothing," Eva muttered, looking down at the blue liquid in her glass. Without giving herself time to second-guess, she threw back her head and downed the drink in a single gulp. Roxanne watched on, fascinated.

For a moment, Eva thought perhaps nothing had happened. The Draught had a vaguely burnt taste, which she was pretty sure came from the sopophorous beans, but otherwise she could barely feel it running down her throat or settling in her stomach. "Well...I guess that's a good sign," Eva said after a few bated breaths. "I suppose you're welcome to join m—"

Then it hit her, all at once. She dropped to her knees as her mind exploded with information – disconnected thoughts and ideas washing over her in a colossal tidal wave. She knew that the Essence of Thought was attempting to drag her under, to untether her from this reality and take her on a sojourn to a different time and place. But the other ingredients did their job, keeping her rooted in the Room of Requirement in the year 2015, as she reeled from the intense mental side-effects.

"You alright there, Prewitt?" Roxanne asked worriedly. "You're not looking too hot."

"Just...give me a minute," Eva managed to grunt. "I'm almost...past the worst of it…"

She could feel the intense pressure on her brain beginning to lessen bit by bit, her mind no longer in immediate danger of being dragged away from her body. But the 'information overload' continued to wash over her, and she scrunched her eyes shut, as though attempting to stop it from assaulting her. She continued to see disconnected thoughts and images rush past her consciousness, too quickly for any one of them to be recognizable.

She began practicing her Occlumency in an attempt to shut her mind to the assault, to no avail. However, it had a peculiar side-effect: despite her closed eyes, she could 'see' floating symbols appear in her line of vision. It looked like a sort of wave – two jagged lines set atop one another, both inset within a triangular figure. She frowned at the symbol, wondering what it could mean. The only thing it reminded her of was her very first day at Hogwarts, when she'd used the triangle to repel fire during Ancient Runes.

So that's the symbol for Occlumency, then? Eva wondered to herself. The triangle representing the defensive, or counter-acting aspect? So if I removed the triangle, then…

She wasn't sure how she did it, but as she pictured this image in her head, the symbol actually appeared in place of the old one: the two jagged lines set atop one another, minus the triangle. She focused the symbol and wondered how she might intensify it. More identical symbols began to appear around them, and she could slowly feel her mental energy expanding outwards. Now was as good a time as any for experimentation.

Legilimens, she thought. At once her vision exploded with more of the jagged symbols, and suddenly Eva could see the entire Room of Requirement before her. But it looked nothing like she remembered. It was full of vibrant currents, flowing through the room in all directions. Currents of light, energy or something else, Eva couldn't be sure. She was also aware of the fact that her eyes were still closed tight, and yet she could make out each feature of the room around her as the currents moved over and around each of them. She could see the outline of Roxanne's form nearby, still kneeling beside her in concern.

"Whoa," Eva managed to chuckle, waving her hands in front of her face to see how the currents responded to them.

"Well, that's invitation enough for me," Roxanne shrugged. "Bottoms up." She too downed her blue liquid in a single gulp. She too dropped to her knees moments later, groaning with the effects of the Draught on her mind, until she finally fell silent, with only her shallow breathing filling the space between them.

"Now what?" she muttered.

"Use Legilimency," Eva said. "It's...it's beautiful." She had gotten back to her feet and was wandering the room, marveling at the beautiful currents all around her. She could see symbols flitting in and out of view within these currents, too quickly to be identified individually. But she intuitively knew that these currents represented magic itself. A passive resource, waiting to be called upon and used by anyone able to harness and manipulate it. She opened her eyes to get a better view, but found that keeping them closed allowed her to focus on these currents more, her vision of the real world more of a distraction than anything.

"Whoa indeed," Roxanne laughed beside her. She too had gotten to her feet and was swishing her hands through the air – clearly she too could see these currents. "What is it?"

"Time to experiment," said Eva. She raised her wand, preparing to cast a spell to test her hypothesis. She wanted to cast a spell she knew the 'symbol' for, and she remembered her brief duel with Calvin Hopkins, and the semi-circular symbol she'd seen that tipped her off to his incoming fire spell. That would be a fine place to start.

To Eva's astonishment, as soon as she resolved to cast Incendio, the aforementioned symbol emerged in her vision. It was as though she could summon it from the passing currents, where it had lay dormant waiting for her to call upon it. "Are you seeing this too?" she asked Roxanne as the symbol hovered around her wand, prepared for her to utter the incantation.

"Yeah," said Roxanne. "What is that symbol?"

"Better stand back," Eva warned, aiming her wand across the room. "Incendio!" A jet of flame shot out of her wand, and with it came an explosion of the semi-circle symbols, pouring out of the currents of energy around them and into the channeled fire. Eva wondered if she could alter the properties of these symbols any further, such as negating them once they'd been cast. She envisioned these symbols with the triangle surrounding them, and as she did so, the symbols re-formed themselves at her command. The fire immediately extinguished itself – no smoke, no burning odor left behind.

Roxanne groaned and rubbed her eyes dramatically at this display. "Sorry," Eva apologized. "I should have used something other than fire—"

"It's not that," Roxanne muttered. "I can't hold my Legilimency that long. Isn't it draining you?"

"Huh?" asked Eva. She didn't even realize she'd been passively holding her Legilimency open; she cut it off, and the currents of energy around her disappeared.

"You don't feel like your magical stamina is draining?" asked Roxanne. "I can barely hold it for a couple minutes before I'm completely spent."

"Erm...I'm not sure what you mean," Eva admitted. She'd heard other students at Willoughby refer to their 'magical stamina' before, but never quite understood it from them either. Was this a phenomenon she ought to be aware of?

"You're telling me you never grow tired from using constant magic?" Roxanne asked.

"I mean...I get physically and mentally tired, sure," Eva shrugged. "But from using magic? No, I don't think so."

"Once again you prove yourself better than the common witch, Prewitt," Roxanne chuckled. "You Aussies must be built different down there. But anyway, what d'you reckon those symbols are about? I've never seen them before!"

"I have," Eva admitted. "In Legilimency. Sometimes I could catch glimpses of symbols before a spell was cast. Not as strong as this, but still there, just barely. It did me no good in repelling them, I'll tell you that much."

"I've never seen symbols like that," Roxanne chuckled. "You sure you've never drank this potion before?"

"Never," said Eva confidently.

"Maybe that's why the Headmaster's so interested in you," Roxanne theorized. "Like I said all along, you're naturally better at things than most people, and he can see that somehow."

"No I'm not," Eva denied. But the evidence to the contrary was starting to pile up. How was it she could see these 'symbols' of magic before she'd ever taken a dose of the Draught of Omniscience, which supposedly caused such visions in the first place? And how was she able to maintain her 'vision' for so long without growing tired, like Roxanne seemed to within mere minutes? It scared her to think that she had abilities others did not – she always sought to blend in with her peers and not stand out in any way. But here was something concrete that set her apart, that made her superior in some way. And somehow, Potter was onto her for it.

A part of her wanted to chuck her copy of The Language of Magic in the fire and forget all about this stupid idea of hers to study its teachings. But she was mesmerized by the currents of magic she could now see all around her thanks to passive Legilimency, which she found herself keeping active more and more often. She sat in the back of her lectures, eyes closed, watching the streams morph and react to the professors as they demonstrated spells in front of the class. She even did so as she walked the halls, enjoying the view of these currents passing through the halls like blasts of fresh air, occasionally lingering on enchanted items like the picture frames and hidden corridors.

This practice did not escape the notice of her classmates, however. "Oi, Prewitt, are you testing your memory of the school or something?" Victoire asked her one afternoon, breaking her weeks-long silent treatment to do so. "You're walking around with your eyes closed so often, people are wondering if you're sleep-walking."

"Huh?" said Eva, distracted; her eyes snapped open to see the redhead peering inquisitively at her. "Oh, right, sorry. Just exhausted."

"Aren't we all," Victoire grumbled. "I don't understand why the professors insist on more homework leading up to our O.W.L.'s, as if we don't have enough on our plates! Professor Lovegood assigned us a three-foot essay on prophecies today...I'm not convinced the old bat is even a legitimate Seer!"

Eva had rarely encountered Professor Lovegood, the dreamy-eyed blonde witch that she knew taught Divination – an elective she did not take. The subject was never taught at Willoughby, as her former Headmistress, Professor Campbell, frequently decried the field as 'speculative rubbish'. But she supposed it made sense for Harry Potter to take more stock in the subject, considering the infamous prophecy made about him and Voldemort. And she recognized the name Luna Lovegood as yet another former war hero who fought alongside him in the war, so it made sense to her at least.

Victoire was absolutely right about one thing, however: their course load was piling up like crazy, and they had less free time than ever. Eva badly wanted to bury her nose in The Language of Magic and learn more about her newfound sense of 'Sight', as the book called it, but begrudgingly had to set it aside to focus on schoolwork.

And by some act of supreme cruelty, the final Quidditch match of the season, Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw, was set for the Saturday after O.W.L.'s concluded. This meant that there was no reprieve on that front either, and Darby insisted on adding a second practice session each week to prepare. These sessions became even more intense after Slytherin trounced Hufflepuff in their mid-April bout, giving Gryffindor a legitimate chance at the Cup.

"Bloody hell, Morrison!" Darby shouted hoarsely during yet another slog of a practice session. "If you peel off to defend Prewitt one more time, I will confiscate that bat and make you punch the Bludgers with your bare hands!"

"Wouldn't you like to see my mean right hook in action," Roxanne fired back with a grin. But Darby was in no joking mood; even if he was back to referring to her and Eva by name, he was still cross with both of them.

"I know you two are chums or whatever," Darby groaned, "but can you leave her be for one practice? You're exposing myself and Macmillan to attack from the left flank."

"But how can I resist that innocent little face?" Roxanne fake-pouted, pointing at Eva with yet another devious grin. Darby stared her down until she rolled her eyes and flashed him a half-hearted thumbs-up as the scrimmage resumed.

Eva too was growing concerned with how often Roxanne swooped in to defend her from Bludger attacks. She knew how important the safety of the Chasers would be in the upcoming match, and had been focusing mainly on her evasive strategies as a result. If Roxanne didn't stick to Darby's strategy, they could lose whether or not Eva caught the Snitch. She worried that perhaps Roxanne's protective instincts extended beyond the game, and their experiences in the Room of Requirement had made her especially conscious of Eva's well-being…

But there simply wasn't time to press the issue as April turned to May and the looming specter of O.W.L.'s consumed all of Eva's free time. She had no clear direction she wanted to take in her sixth-year courses; her Career Advice meeting with Ginny Weasley had produced no tangible paths for her to strive towards. She just hoped to get as many O's as possible and decide from there what she wanted to pursue based on the results. And that, of course, meant not leaving any one subject to chance, ensuring that she had a comprehensive understanding of the Hogwarts curriculum in every field.

And while she felt that she was getting closer to applying Hermione Granger's teachings to her coursework, she could not justify taking time away from her studies to test that theory. While she felt reasonably confident she could use the symbols from The Language of Magic to create more powerful runes, for instance, she wasn't sure how the testers would react to her deviation from the taught material. Besides, none of this would help her on the written portion of the exams – maybe she could use some of her new abilities to help her on the practicals, but it was a risk to try, so she opted not to chance it.

Before she knew it, she was lining up outside the Great Hall in late May for her first test written exam: Arithmancy. She was glad it was the first of the bunch, as it was perhaps the most intuitive to her; it shared enough principles with Muggle mathematics that she never struggled with the subject. After breezing through that, she sat the written exams for Potions, Charms, Ancient Runes, Dark Arts, Transfiguration, and History of Magic. The latter was the most difficult, since – as Eva had suspected – Ginny Weasley's select version of events was nowhere near sufficient for a broad understanding of wizarding history beyond the past twenty years. Luckily Eva was able to draw from some of her more robust Willoughby curriculum to at least feel like she scraped a decent grade.

The practicals were much easier for her in general. Potions and Ancient Runes were the trickiest, giving her little room to improvise beyond the strict curriculum. Charms and Dark Arts were easier; while she still had to identify correct wand motions and incantations, she was able to reproduce every spell with ease thanks to her Sight. But the most fun by far came with her Transfiguration practical; her examiner was astonished with the speed and accuracy of Eva's transformations. She found that the Sight made things trivially easy; when asked to turn a tea kettle into a lantern, for example, she merely had to twist the currents around the object in question to manipulate the symbols into the correct form. She had to sheepishly admit that she did not recall the wand movements she'd used – because she hadn't used one at all – but was still pretty sure she got full marks.

Friday afternoon should have been free after all of her exams concluded, but Professor Potter insisted that all of his fifth-year Legilimency students take a practical exam in the subject to test their progress. "This is not for an official grade," Potter reminded everyone as they lined up against one wall of the empty classroom. "Just to assess where you stand as you head into your critical sixth and seventh years."

"More like determining who he's gonna invite to his Spell Theory course next fall," Amy Burton muttered to Eva as they patiently waited their turn. Eva silently agreed this was likely the case.

One by one, Harry called students forward to demonstrate basic ability to predict and defend against nonverbal spells. Most students were able to successfully deflect the most basic of casts – Stinging Hexes, Disarming Charms, and the like – but struggled the more complex the spell Harry threw at them. Only Calvin Hopkins managed to successfully deflect all five incoming spells, including an impressive wall of ice to block Potter's tendrils of flame for the final test.

"Very good, Hopkins, full marks," Harry praised him as a beaming Calvin stepped back to the wall. "Miss Prewitt, you're up next."

Eva stepped forward, tentatively taking up a defensive stance across from Harry and holding her wand loosely front of her. She activated her Sight and kept her eyes trained on Harry, eager to test her newfound knowledge but wary of demonstrating just how advanced her Legilimency abilities had become.

She batted away his first few spells with ease: a Freezing Charm and a Body-Bind Jinx. All she had to do was draw forward the nearby currents of energy to swallow the spells whole before they could reach their target. The third was a simple Water Charm, which she transfigured into mist. This was the most difficult to perform, as there was a glare from a nearby window preventing her from seeing the symbols until they were already in the air hurtling towards her.

Now was as good a time as any to push her limits. Eva closed her eyes, increasing the intensity of her Sight to focus her magical attention on Harry. She heard murmurs of surprise from her classmates, and Harry himself seemed to hesitate. But soon she saw the magic swirling around his head, symbols shifting rapidly as he decided what to throw at her next. She heard Harry swish his wand forward as he selected his next spell, which contained a large quantity of sharply-angled symbols that she vaguely recognized—

Saltare cessare! Eva thought instinctively, and watched as the same sharply-angled symbols sprouted from her wand, except that they were inscribed within the upside-down triangle. Her counter-jinx met Harry's own spell in midair, and hers swallowed his whole. Eva had no idea what visible effect this had, but it must have been an impressive sight, for the entire class gasped in awe.

Eva opened her eyes, and saw the bewildered look on Harry's face. "You predicted that I would cast a Jelly-Legs Jinx?" he asked.

"Y-yes," Eva said uncertainly. Was that not the point of the exercise?

"Even though I used the Mandarin non-verbal incantation?"

"I didn't see the incantation," Eva confessed. "Just the spell itself." She didn't even realize Harry had used a language other than Latin to summon the jinx. To her, the magical symbol was indistinguishable from any other Jelly-Legs Jinx.

If Harry was shocked, he didn't show it for long. He settled back into his stance, and Eva followed suit, closing her eyes again and focusing hard. She suspected that she had done something to truly surprise him, and worried what he would have in store for the final round. Symbols were swirling around his head and wand, morphing and shifting rapidly. Eva watched as Harry whittled them down to three separate symbols, two of which she recognized. She waited for him to select one, hoping he would choose one of the two she knew she could block.

Then he fired all three at once.

Eva had no idea what spell he had cast. All she knew was that she'd never seen multiple symbols used in conjunction before, and hadn't the faintest idea of how to stop it. She threw up a basic Shield Charm in a desperate effort to protect herself, but the shield shattered on impact, and she was thrown backwards with the force of the spell. She heard cries of surprise from her classmates, and knew whatever Harry had cast had been something quite formidable.

Eva lay on her back, feeling like she'd been simultaneously punched in the gut and zapped with electricity. Harry hurried over to her and cast a quick counter-curse to set her right; she sat up, sucking in uncertain breaths, staring up at the Headmaster in shock.

"Good effort on the whole, Prewitt," Harry complimented her. "But you know I discourage the use of generic Shield Charms in this class. Not only is it a fallible defense, but it doesn't demonstrate anticipation of the correct spell."

"And which spell was that, sir?" Eva demanded hotly. Her tone elicited scandalized whispers from the class, but Harry motioned for silence.

"If you can't tell me what it was, perhaps you haven't been paying as close attention as I thought," Harry said with a sad smile. "Keep practicing, Miss Prewitt."

Eva didn't wait to be excused, nor did she return to the wall of students; she stalked out of the classroom in a huff. She didn't know how or why, but she felt cheated. She hadn't seen Harry cast any spell nearly as complex as that one with the other students. Had he done so to punish her? Or was the spell truly something benign that she ought to have recognized with the 'correct' usage of Legilimency the Headmaster wanted her to use?

"Evangeline!" a voice called out after her. Eva turned to see Calvin Hopkins hustling down the corridor after her.

"What?" she groaned.

Calvin awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck as he skidded to a halt in front of her. "If it helps, I didn't recognize that last spell he cast either," he muttered. "It looked Dark, whatever it was."

"What's his problem with me, anyway?" Eva fumed, half to Calvin and half to herself. "It's like he's determined to make life difficult for me!"

"I wouldn't have gotten all five if he'd used that spell against me, either," Calvin offered. "So if you're mad about only getting four, don't be."

Eva guffawed at this. She found it funny that that's where Calvin's mind went first – their unspoken competition – but she couldn't say he was entirely wrong. That wasn't the only reason she was mad, however. It bothered the hell out of her that Harry seemingly showed such favor to the boy over her. Was it truly because he was a pure-blood, and she wasn't? Or was it something else?

"And I have to ask," said Calvin. "How did you recognize that Jelly-Legs Jinx? Did you study Mandarin at Willoughby or something?"

"Yeah, a little," Eva lied. Calvin Hopkins was the absolute last person she was about to divulge her secret with, even if he hadn't admitted to being a literal spy for the Headmaster. She turned to leave. "See you around, Hopkins."

"Wait!" said Calvin. She begrudgingly turned to face him again. "Good luck against Ravenclaw tomorrow. If we can't win the Cup this year, I at least hope it's you."

She hesitated at this kind remark. "Thanks," she said, then turned to leave. She still doubted Calvin's true intentions – did he truly want to be friends with her, or was he still trying to gather intel about her for Harry? She still harbored some guilt about how she treated him at the Slug Party, but his actions in Hogsmeade the following term had negated that in her mind. So why was he still trying to make amends? She decided she didn't have time to ponder that question right now.

Ravenclaw needed dealing with first.


"...And another spectacular maneuver from Prewitt! That Bludger looked primed and ready to knock her teeth out, but she yet again eludes disaster!"

Eva did her best to tune out the sounds of the commentator and the constant cheers and gasps of the audience. It took every bit of her focus to avoid getting knocked off her broom; that last near-miss had nearly seen her fly clean off the handle with how hard she had to brake and swerve to avoid the heavy ball from smashing her in the face. She returned to her position above the pitch, one eye scouring for the Snitch, the other keeping tabs on the two Ravenclaw Beaters that were making her life a living hell.

Darby's assessment of Danbury and Leake had been both completely accurate and dead wrong. They were indeed highly-skilled and intelligent players; while they may have lacked the raw athleticism of the Gryffindor Beaters, they were shrewd strategists and accurate shots. But Darby had misjudged their strategy. Sure, at the outset of the match they remained focused on the Chasers, helping in defense of the Ravenclaw goals while occasionally harassing Eva. But once they realized Gryffindor's strategy of leaving Eva to fend for herself, they had done the opposite of what was expected: they began targeting her exclusively.

Eva could see the logic in their thinking. Who cared if Gryffindor ran up the score a hundred to nil? If they successfully knocked the enemy Seeker out of the sky, the path would be clear for their own Seeker to track down the Snitch at his leisure. Eva had never been bombarded with so many Bludgers before, even in practice drills, and every thirty seconds or so saw her performing yet another insane maneuver to evade them, drawing the admiration of the crowd.

Fortunately, this did make life easier for the Gryffindor Chasers, and they were taking full advantage of the numbers disparity there. "Macmillan scores on a beautiful pass from Darby!" Quinn Mescal exclaimed as the Gryffindor faithful roared their approval. "The score is now 80-20, Gryffindor leading."

A sixty point lead. Eva did the quick math in her head...if she caught the Snitch right this second, they would win by two hundred and ten points. That was just shy of the 230 needed to win the Cup...Eva needed to survive long enough for Gryffindor to score two more goals, then she could end the match.

Of course, that was easier said than done. She was forced into a quick barrel-roll to avoid yet another well-aimed Bludger – Leake had taken advantage of her brief pause to do math. She could barely stop to think about anything other staying airborne.

"Another fine dodge by Prewitt! Meanwhile, Darby steals the inbounds pass from Crocker...passes to Young, back to Darby...a nice Bludger from Bolger clears the way, and he shoots...SCORES! 90-20 Gryffindor! But what's this? Scanlen has spotted the Snitch!"

Eva's stomach lurched. She wheeled around to see the Ravenclaw Seeker, Eric Scanlen, rocketing towards the Gryffindor goal posts, where the Snitch was supposedly lurking. Eva flattened herself against the Firebolt, jetting off after him. She still could not catch the Snitch until Gryffindor scored once more, but she had no choice but to attempt to stop Scanlen from catching it himself.

"No!" Eva shouted as she flew past Roxanne, who was peeling off from the Chasers to follow her. "Score the damn goal; I'll handle it!" They could not afford to deviate from their strategy now. If Ravenclaw's Chasers began to cut into their lead, it would prolong the match, thereby making it more likely that Eva was knocked out of the sky. She was holding her own so far, but her time was quickly running out. Roxanne hesitated, but gratefully obeyed as she returned to defending the Quaffle.

Eva could see Scanlen extending his arm towards the Snitch, but thankfully she would be able to get there first. She realized how simple it would be to just cut off the little golden ball and snatch it before him, but she sadly could not. Instead she aimed for the front of Scanlen's broom, intending to feign a collision. Scanlen saw her coming from the corner of his vision and flinched; he jerked his broom backwards just as Eva rolled underneath him. It was a temporary measure, but it allowed the Snitch to dance out of his reach.

She spun around to draw level with Scanlen again, looking around wildly to lock eyes on him again. It took her a moment to locate him, shooting off across the pitch after the Snitch again. She prepared to take off after him again, when—

WHAM!

The next thing Eva knew, her vision exploded in white spots and she was in a tremendous amount of pain. Her luck had run out – the Bludger had made direct contact with her right temple, and it took every ounce of control not to fall off her broom. She quickly descended to the pitch and dropped to her knees, blinded by the searing pain.

"Ooh, what a nasty hit there from Danbury!" Quinn winced. "Prewitt is down on the pitch, and she looks badly hurt! Darby calls for a timeout to tend to their injured player."

Eva heard her teammates swooping down to join her on the ground, and each of them gasped when they saw the damage. "Blimey, Prewitt," Bolger groaned. "Rough luck, that."

"Just take a seat, Eva," Darby said consolingly, patting her on the shoulder. "I'll get someone to take you up to the Hospital Wing."

"No!" Eva protested. Ignoring the pain in her throbbing temple, she struggled to her feet. "You would have to play a man down. You'll lose for sure!"

"We'll figure a way out of it!" Darby insisted. "Prewitt, you're in no state to go on—"

"Look, I can still see just fine," Eva shot back, though she wasn't quite sure how true this was. The corners of her vision were blurring, and she could feel the swelling around her right eye rapidly growing. "We only need one more goal, and then I can end this thing."

"You're bleeding pretty bad," Chris said with a worried expression. "You could pass out with that much blood loss—"

"Cauterize it, then," Eva snapped. "Madam Pomfrey can sort it out after."

"I don't think this is such a good idea—" Darby muttered.

"Cauterize it!" Eva demanded, wheeling on Roxanne. She knew of all her teammates, she was the only one who would listen. Roxanne clearly looked uncomfortable as well, but she recognized the determined look in Eva's eye and nodded.

Roxanne drew her wand and pointed it at Eva's forehead. Eva felt an agonizing burning sensation right at the most tender point of her injury; she wanted to scream in protest, but bravely held it in. Roxanne followed it up with a Freezing Charm, which helped somewhat to numb the pain.

"That should help with the swelling, too," Roxanne muttered, stowing her wand away again. "Dunno how long it will hold, though."

"You'd better score that goal fast, then," Eva said, looking back to Darby. "We good?"

Darby looked like he wanted to be sick, but he eventually nodded. He badly wanted to win the Cup after all, and it was his last chance to do so as a seventh-year. "Fine," he sighed, throwing his leg back over his broom. "But if you feel light-headed at any point—"

"Score the damn goal," Eva shot back, grabbing her broom and launching back into the air. She could see Madam Pomfrey hurrying over and didn't want to give her the chance to assess her. The Gryffindors in the stands raised a great cheer as the team returned to the air to resume play.

"Well, I've never seen a player take a hit to the head like that and continue playing!" Quinn was saying with an air of reverence. "That Prewitt girl is one tough cookie. The Chasers line up at center court for the face-off, and the game resumes…"

Eva returned to her usual circling above the action, attempting to scan the pitch for the Snitch. But she quickly realized what a fruitless exercise this was. Despite her best efforts to deny it, her vision was rapidly deteriorating. Her vision was blurring severely, and despite Roxanne's best remedial efforts, she felt like her head was due to split in two. Eva briefly shut her eyes in an attempt to will the pain away, to no avail.

She had only one recourse left. Something she'd never attempted in a live match before, or even considered for that matter. "Legilimens," she muttered.

The entire Quidditch pitch came to life in her mind's eye, pulsing with the currents she'd grown accustomed to seeing when she used her Sight. But something was different here. She could clearly make out distinct streaks of light within the currents; these streams seemed self-directed rather than passively flowing through space. It took Eva a moment to realize that she was seeing the magic of the brooms flying through the air; she could not make out the individual symbols from this great distance, but the patterns were drawing distinct paths as their riders rode them through the sky. She also saw two darker patterns slicing through the currents, much more nimble and sinister-looking. And one of them was heading straight towards her—

Eva ducked as the Bludger careened past her head, earning a chorus of ooohh's from the stands. "Another nice dodge from Prewitt!" Quinn complimented her. "Dunno how she saw that one; I can see the swelling on her face from here…"

Truthfully, Eva could no longer see a thing. She kept her eyes firmly shut, both from the dull pain and the lack of true vision. But she could still use her Sight, and she would have to rely on that to get her through the match. She shot forward again, no longer scanning the pitch with her eyes, but probing the entire area with her mind, seeking out the telltale magical signature of the Snitch…

"Are you mental?!" Eva heard a voice exclaim as she shot past one of the magical streaks she'd associated with brooms. It was the voice of Eric Scanlen, passing her by on his own search for the Snitch. Eva could only imagine how odd it must look for her to be flying at full speed with her eyes tightly shut, but she couldn't worry about that right now…

It seemed several of the Ravenclaws had caught glimpses of her now, and that momentary distraction was enough for the Gryffindor Chasers to capitalize. "Macmillan has an opening!" Quinn shouted excitedly. "She rolls past Dawlish, feints left...passes off to Darby, who fires...AND SCORES! Gryffindor leads one hundred to twenty!"

An eighty point lead. That meant Gryffindor was now in striking distance of winning the Cup. All Eva had to do now was catch the Snitch...with her eyes closed...as her head continued to scream in painful protest at her…no big deal…

Eva reached out with her Sight even more intensely, illuminating the pitch more vibrantly in her mental vision. She hadn't yet tested the limits of her abilities; she knew she could maintain the Sight passively for several hours without tiring, but had never poured so much of her magical energy into it before. Surely her stamina would be decreased the harder she tried...not to mention her physical brain's attempts to shut down and enter a recuperative rest…

Then she saw it. A few meters above the ground, right at midfield. A distinctive golden pattern, darting erratically about. It could only be one thing: the Golden Snitch.

Eva dove. She heard the whooshes of nearby players as she flew directly through an ongoing Chaser play towards her prize. She wanted this over now. Her grip on reality was loosening; her head was throbbing painfully; her Sight was faltering. She focused only on the tiny pattern of gold that would make all of this worthwhile.

"Prewitt's going for gold!" Quinn shouted as the crowd reached a fever pitch. "Scanlen is miles away; he had no idea! She's reaching for the Snitch...seconds away now...oh, watch out!"

Eva's Sight was so narrow that she didn't see the two streaks of black closing in from her left until the last moment. She had no chance to dodge them. She braced for impact and heard a sickening crunch as they made contact. But not with her. Eva's fingers closed over the Snitch just as the streak of a broom crossed in front of her path, and the crowd gasped in horror.

"Prewitt has the Snitch!" Quinn roared over the crowd's mixed elation and fear. "Gryffindor wins the Quidditch Cup! But Morrison is down on the pitch after taking both of those Bludgers for her Seeker...this does not look good, folks…"

Eva spiraled to the ground and tumbled awkwardly off her broom onto the grass, releasing the Snitch. She crawled towards the body sprawled face-down a few feet away from her. She could not see the damage, but she certainly heard the blood-curdling screams of Macmillan and Young as they landed to check on her.

"Roxanne," Eva said weakly. "No…"

Then she succumbed to her own injury and dropped to the pitch, unconscious beside her closest friend.


Eva had no idea how long she was out. All she knew was that she was suddenly thrashing in a bed in the Hospital Wing, fighting to get up, to check on Roxanne. Madam Pomfrey had to rush over to prevent her from destroying the straps holding her in place on the bed.

"Honestly now, Miss Prewitt!" she chastised Eva. "Control yourself!"

The nurse waved her wand to release Eva from her bonds, and she sat bolt upright, scanning the room. The Hospital Wing appeared to be deserted. "Where is she?" she demanded.

"You mean Miss Morrison, I presume?" asked Madam Pomfrey. "She's been taken to St. Mungo's. The damage to her head was far more severe, and they'll need to operate on her immediately."

Eva raised a hand to her own face, gingerly touching the spot where she had been swelling up. She felt no damage whatsoever. "You are fine, by the way," Madam Pomfrey tutted, answering the unspoken question. "No brain or skull damage, so it was just a matter of anti-inflammatory charms and pain relievers. I'd recommend staying here overnight to rest, but it's not required."

"Can I visit St. Mungo's?" Eva asked.

"Certainly not!" Madam Pomfrey huffed. "The only thing you'd accomplish there is distracting the Healers. I will send word as soon as they know more about her condition."

"Okay," Eva muttered. "I think I'll return to my dorm, then."

She gathered her belongings and got dressed, trudging out of the Hospital Wing towards Gryffindor Tower in a daze. They had won the Cup – but at what cost? The castle was empty and silent, as though joining her in mourning. Would Roxanne be okay? Had she permanently hurt herself in yet another selfless display of sacrifice? Eva's stomach was twisted in a knot at the thought.

"Tempus magnum," Eva muttered when she arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady. It swung open to grant her entrance, and when she crawled through the portrait hole, she was met with a sudden explosion of noise.

"Prewitt! Prewitt! Prewitt!" chanted seemingly the entirety of Gryffindor House, pulling her into the common room and hoisting her onto their shoulders. The other Quidditch team members were there, laughing and cheering along with the rest, beaming at the sight of their recovered hero. Darby was brandishing the gleaming Quidditch Cup, which he proudly passed to his Seeker as the crowd cheered.

Eva nodded politely until she was finally set down again. Victoire came rushing through the crowd towards her, engulfing her in a hug.

"Thank Merlin you're alright!" she breathed. "That was an incredible catch! Were your eyes really closed the whole time? Candace swears it, but I'm not so sure—"

"I'm alright," Eva mumbled, gently extricating herself from the redhead's grasp. "Just a bit tired, that's all."

"Oi, you heard the woman!" Victoire shouted at the surrounding Gryffindors, all still jostling to give Eva their regards. "Give her some space, people!"

Eva sank into a nearby armchair and massaged her aching temple. She rejected several offers of Butterbeer and Firewhiskey that came her way, staring absently into the fireplace.

"Why the long face, Prewitt?" asked Bolger, snaking through the crowd to sit beside her. "We won! You should be celebrating!"

"Just worried about Roxanne," Eva sighed. "Madam Pomfrey didn't seem all that convinced she'd be back to normal anytime soon."

"Aw, Morrison's a tough cookie," Bolger grinned. "Sure, maybe it won't do that ugly mug of hers any favors, but she would never let something like that take her down."

"She shouldn't have done it," Eva muttered bitterly. "She thought I was helpless, and threw herself in harm's way because of me."

"She has a tendency to throw herself in harm's way whether or not it's warranted," Bolger reassured her. "Don't beat yourself up over it."

"If you say so," Eva shrugged. It didn't make her feel any better.

Bolger hesitated for a moment before leaning in closer towards her. "Say, d'you fancy a dance with me?" he whispered. "I reckon you're pretty cute, and I'd like to get to know you better."

"Thanks, but I'm not really in the mood," Eva frowned. "Why don't you ask Victoire Weasley? I think she fancies you."

Bolger chuckled at this. "I might have, except I think she and Wood just disappeared up to the dorms," he said as he got to his feet. "Chin up, Prewitt! It'll all be just fine." And he left her to wallow in her self-pity as the party began to ramp up as only Gryffindors could manage.

Loud, obnoxious music was blasting in from some unseen source as students began to dance the night away. Bolger was pouring shots of Firewhiskey into eager students' mouths from the Quidditch Cup itself, occasionally missing and pouring it directly into their eyes, eliciting yells of stinging pain. Greg Darby and Eloise Fletcher were snogging madly in a corner, oblivious to the rest of the world around them. Eva saw far more skin than she ever wanted to see from her classmates as outer layers of clothing were shed amidst the revelry. Eva remained rooted to her seat by the fire, trying to ignore the chaos all around her.

Just as Eva was about to get up and head up to bed, a sudden hush fell over the room as a new figure climbed through the portrait hole. For a moment Eva thought it must be Ginny Weasley, here to rip into her House for its boorish behavior. But when she stood to see who the new arrival was, she nearly fell over backwards into her seat again.

"Haven't started the fun without me, have you?" Roxanne demanded. Her arm was in a sling and her head was heavily bandaged, but she wore a broad, cocky smile on her face. The Gryffindors erupted in cheers at her appearance, and she joined her teammates by the steps.

"We thought you were going into surgery!" Bolger exclaimed as the team converged on their newly-arrived member.

"I did," Roxanne winked. "Turns out my brain didn't suffer any damage, so it was an easy fix. They tried to keep me overnight, but I wouldn't let 'em!"

"Good to see you're still kicking," Darby said, clapping Roxanne appreciatively on the shoulder. "Thought you weren't gonna wake up 'til July."

"What have I always said? You can't get rid of me that easy," Roxanne grinned. She turned towards Eva. "Heard you made a helluva catch after I went down. Shame I didn't get to see it."

Eva glared at Roxanne, feeling mixed emotions of fury and relief at seeing her standing there. "You didn't have to do that," she said angrily, pushing Roxanne in the chest in her frustration. "I told you not to sacrifice yourself for me."

"And I told you, Prewitt," Roxanne laughed, playfully shoving Eva back, "that you're more important than I am. Can't have anything ruining that pretty face of yours."

Eva continued to glare ferociously at Roxanne, her emotions swirling. Then, without thinking about what she was doing, she grabbed Roxanne by the shoulders and kissed her. Hard.

The entire room went silent as the two girls abruptly pulled apart. Roxanne looked thunderstruck; Eva was immediately mortified by what she'd done.

"S-sorry," she stammered.

"Well that explains a lot," Roxanne muttered. A sly grin spread across her face. Then she pulled Eva close with her good hand for another, more passionate kiss as the room exploded in surprised cheers and catcalls all around them.

In any other circumstance, Eva would have been terribly self-conscious of all this attention. But right now, she didn't notice any of it. She was on top of the world, daring anyone to watch, hoping that this moment of triumph would never end.