Chapter Twelve - The First Match Ends in Blood

Being Snape's daughter, Evangeline learned the art of masking emotions early in life. It helped in many situations, like when all of the students were ostracizing her, but she used it differently than her father. Where Snape appeared emotionless, Evangeline pretended nothing affected her. This backfired plenty of times because she's not as intimidating as her father, making bullies escalate to get a rise out of her. That whole 'they'll leave you alone if you don't give them the reaction they want' is a load of bull in her opinion. Still, it did help.

In several hours, Evangeline is going to meet her father for a father-daughter day.

She's nervous. More than she's ever been in her life. It didn't help that the day before, Ron and Harry had accused her father of attempting to steal something from the school and getting attacked by the guard dog. She knows he can be a bit of an ass, but stealing? That's just not like her father.

Since that night, when she overheard a conversation she wasn't meant to hear, Evangeline has been doing everything she can to pretend everything is okay. Half of her energy has been spent on not suddenly asking him "Did you kill my mother?".

She's run through every scenario possible on how that would go. There's one where he'll just deny, gaslight her into thinking she heard the man wrong, and scold her for eavesdropping. There's another where he confesses, but that would make their relationship awkward and ruin what they have. The least believable one is where he gets rid of her, and Evangeline is hoping he'd just send her overseas.

She hopes the Quidditch match will take her mind off of everything. Harry needs her support, and it wouldn't be right to take the attention off of him.

~~~After the match~~~

Well, things didn't go as planned.

Harry had almost died during the match. Someone had jinxed his broom in an attempt to buck him off it, similarly to when a horse gets spooked. Ron and Hermione pointed fingers at Snape. Evangeline called them liars, even though she saw it with her own eyes. She saw her father in the professors' stand across from them, eyes locked on Harry, muttering something under his breath; when Hermione spooked him by setting him on fire, Harry got control of his broom again.

Even then, she couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe that the man who kindly took her in, raised her with so much love and warmth and guidance, was capable of possibly murdering someone in broad daylight. Or at all. It just wasn't like him. It wasn't. Never has been, never will be.

Evangeline couldn't stay up in those stands, sitting among the people her father warned her about, rooting for the boy her father utterly despised. She suddenly found it hard to breathe and barely paid attention to the small argument going on beside her. She needed to get away. It was so hot. Why was it so hot? It shouldn't be this hot. Or should it?

Evangeline abruptly stood up, rudely pushing past people and ignoring Ron and Neville as they called out to her, her heart beating against her chest like clubs to a drum. Someone grabbed her wrist, their grip tight. Her heart rate spiked, an instinctive response flooding her veins as it did the very same night she accidentally destroyed the bathroom to defeat the troll.

Without thinking, Evangeline whirled around, the back of her hand connecting with Hermione's cheek with a loud smack that echoed across the field. The bushy-haired girl dropped into the lower seats. Evangeline didn't stay to apologize, much less realize what she just did.

Revolting thoughts pushed its way to the front of her mind, feeding her anxieties with a buffet of scenarios that'd have anyone believe their lives were ruined. She rushed and stumbled down the stairs, holding onto the railings for dear life as tears flooded her eyes. The salty liquid cooled her cheeks and dripped onto her tongue as she breathed heavily, lungs begging for air.

Step after step after step. Dear Merlin, why won't you end? JUST END! Evangeline's thoughts exasperatedly demand, her tears thickening.

In her haste, Evangeline's foot slips – her heart drops, terror flickering in her eyes. Her body instinctively curls into a ball as she tumbles, knees tucking in as her arms wrap around her head to protect it. Sharp bouts of pain shoot up along her back and sides. With every hit, Evangeline is reminded of the words so callously thrown her way.

Thud – "Why do you always do this?" – Thud – "You'll never live up to your father's expectations." – Thud – "You'll never amount to anything." – Thud – "Why can you never listen?" – Thud – "Idiot child!"

Evangeline lands on grass. The soft tendrils graze her skin, offering a semblance of comfort. She lifts her head. Her eyes are tinged red, her body is sore, and she can't stop the tsunami of emotions consuming her. Evangeline's nails dug into the dirt as she sobs. Her chest heaves once more, and she swears the ground is breathing alongside her. She could sense it. The subtle rise and fall of the earth mirroring a confusing yet powerful sensation deep within her; one that'd always appear whenever she was close to the ocean.

"What's happening to me?" She murmurs, brows knitting at the now muddy ground.

Evangeline drags herself to her feet and sprints into the distance, ignoring the biting agony in her ankle that informed her she must've sprained or broken something. She rips off her cloak and jumper, barely acknowledging the cold breeze nipping at her skin. Evangeline takes a quick glimpse of the Black Lake to her right, the dark sheen glistening under the Fall sun. A lost memory flashes before her eyes: a man with a warm smile surrounded by a golden glow, his thumb caressing her cheek. She almost trips but catches her footing, her protesting ankle snuffed out by adrenaline.

A lump forms in Evangeline's throat as she nears the castle, the door in sight. Her arm raises, hand outstretched to push it open – she lets out a strangled cry as her hair goes slack, and she's pulled back against a woman's chest, an arm wrapping around her neck and cutting off her air.

"Evangeline!" Snape screams, the raw panic in his tone sending a chill down her spine. She's never heard him sound that scared before, not even when she got a concussion during one of her soccer games. That was enough to tell her that something was wrong. Very wrong.

"Die, Possseidon'sss ssspawn!" The woman shrieks, raising a bronze blade high above her head.

With a flick of his wrist, Snape cast the Disarming Charm, knocking the dagger out of the woman's hand. Evangeline raises her non-injured leg, slamming it down to stomp on the woman's foot only to find nothing but cold, hard ground. She looked down, eyes widening in horror when she saw that where the woman's legs should be were two serpent tails. She looks up, meeting the gaze of a humanoid serpent with a murderous glint in its eyes.

A loud, deep squeal snatches everyone's attention. Out of nowhere, a massive stallion with a glossy black coat with white patches from hoof to knee came galloping at terrifying speeds. It rammed into the woman, knocking her and Evangeline down. The woman lets out an agonizing scream as the stallion bites down on her arm and drags her away a fair distance before asserting dominance. It shoved and harshly nipped, squealing in what could only be assumed was a scolding.

With the female creature dealt with, Snape attempts to go to his daughter's side to ensure her safety when Konstantinos steps in front of him, putting a hand on his chest. "Don't intervene," he commands, a hint of excitement in his eyes.

"Don't intervene?" Snape repeats, his patience for the Tritone having long since vanished. "Who do you think you are? That is my daughter!"

Konstantinos gets in front of him again. "And she needs to learn to kill monsters on her own."

"Kill monsters?" Snape mutters, appalled by the thought. "She's eleven years old! Evangeline is a child!"

As they argue, Evangeline's adrenaline fades and the pain from her swollen ankle rises with each unbearable second. She blinked back tears, steadied her breathing and closed her eyes, and focused on the weird feeling that's been plaguing her for the last few minutes. She couldn't pinpoint where it's coming from, just that it's there. Everywhere, like a pesky mosquito that won't go away now that its presence has been acknowledged.

". . . and if I ever see you try to harm my girl again, I'll feed you to that spider giant in that there forest. Lord Poseidon put me in charge of that girl since she was six, and there ain't no way I am letting him down or my name ain't Caspian!"

Evangeline's eyes shoot open, realization smacking her in the face like a piece of bread with peanut butter on it. She stares at the horse, recognizing it as a Shire – an incredibly rare breed not native to Scotland – and it had on a navy-blue halter with a golden inscription along the strap.

"And another thing –!"

"Caspian!" Evangeline calls out, getting onto her knees and pushing herself to her feet, keeping her weight on her good foot.

The stallion raises his head, ears rising and flickering as its eyes land on Evangeline. It trots over to her, unashamedly stomping on one of the woman's serpent tails/legs and kicking dirt in her face. "Yeah?"

Evangeline's brows rise, her jaw dropping. "You can talk?" she exclaims. Caspian freezes.

The argument between Konstantinos and Snape pauses, momentarily forgotten as everyone turns to Evangeline after hearing what she'd just said. "Has she gone mad?" a student whispers to another. "She must be" . . . "A talking horse?" . . . "What is she on about?". The second Snape notices his daughter's ankle, he's by her side, taking this chance to shove the Tritone to the ground.

"Uh . . . no?" was all Caspian could think to say, though he hadn't meant to.

"Come along, Evangeline," Snape hurriedly says, putting his arm around her. "We have to get you to the hospital wing. I believe that wound of yours is now infected and you are starting to hear things."

His daughter was barely listening to him. She knew she wasn't hearing things; her horse was talking. She's just not sure why she's the only one that can hear him. Maybe the explanation was similar to why only dogs can hear the sound a dog whistle makes. Although, the frequency Caspian was talking at was debatable.

"You do talk." Evangeline pulls away from her father, letting out a pained hiss as she accidentally puts pressure on her hurt ankle. Snape grabs her arm and wraps it around his neck, putting his arm around her waist and lifting her up to keep her off the ankle.

Again, Snape attempts to drag his daughter into the castle to get her treatment while arguing with the intervening annoyance that was Konstantinos. Evangeline keeps her eyes on her stallion, unknowingly talking with him telepathically. She got looks from the weird faces she was making. Evangeline notices how stiffly Caspian's ears are pointing, and how his eyes are constantly looking up. Something's wrong, she can tell.

She holds out her hand, beckoning him forward with an urgent wave. Once Caspian was close enough, Evangeline took a deep breath and grabbed onto his back as if she was grabbing onto a saddle. The students and staff watched in astonishment as she hoisted herself up with little difficulty, looking natural atop the stallion. Evangeline makes sure she's balanced over Caspian's center of gravity before gently gripping his torso with her legs while keeping her muscles loose.

"Die!" A distant, hollow voice shrieks.

Pain flashes along Evangeline's biceps, the sound of cloth tearing filling her ears. An arrow lands by Caspian's hoof; the stallion snorts once – the words, "Oh, fuck no!" ringing in Evangeline's head – and speeds off down the field.

Evangeline lurched backward from the sudden jolt, instinctively grabbing Caspian's mane to not fall off. She manages to steady herself, letting go of his mane and leaning forward slightly, placing her hands near where his neck meets his shoulder and tightening the muscles in her stomach. Evangeline glances over her shoulder, watching Snape stop running after them and a few of the Quidditch players clamber onto their brooms, and looks up, spotting three people riding . . . pegasi? Weirdly, they were dressed in nice suits, with swords sheathed at their side and bows in their hands.

She stifled her fear at the sight of blood trickling down her arm, soaking into her white button shirt. To feel cold liquid, the metallic smell smothering her nostrils, made her heart stop.

"Hey! Mind openin' the gate before I crash?" Caspian says.

"You wouldn't," Evangeline replies, her expression hardening. "I know you. You're not that stubborn."

"No, but, at the speed I'm runnin', I can't turn without slippin' and fallin' on you. So, open the gate or get squished. Your choice!"

Despite his sturdy build, Caspian could run at high speeds if he wanted to. It helped that the Snape family – mostly Evangeline – used him more for riding than pulling things.

The gate was fast approaching, the window to force her stallion to turn without incident narrowing. Evangeline reaches into her left pocket, ripping out her wand and casting a spell with a flick of her wrist. Caspian narrowly misses getting smacked as the gates open, and Evangeline closes them the moment they're on the other side.

"Was that necessary?" Evangeline asks, lips curling in distaste. "I mean, wouldn't it be better to run into the Forbidden Forest instead of Hogsmeade? There's more cover there."

"Yeah, and a lot more monsters!" Caspian retorts. He had a point. That was why the forest was forbidden, and the fact that was the last place a few students were last seen over the centuries. However, Caspian was less worried about the monsters and more about the unfamiliar terrain. He'd hate to break his leg and not be able to ride with his girl anymore. "Besides, there's a wooded area up ahead."

Caspian veers off the dirt path, dodging the pegasi rider's arrows, and galloping into a thicket of tall trees whose crown of leaves were densely packed together. He slows to a walk, appreciating the light appearing at the end of Evangeline's wand to light his way.

"Those . . . whatever they were probably ain't gonna give up," Caspian says. "So, we should probably wait out here for a while."

"Do we have to?" Evangeline moans, her voice barely above a whisper. "My ankle's killing me. I'm pretty sure if I don't see Madam Pomfrey soon, she's going to have to cut it off or something."

Caspian rolls his eyes, tail flicking. "Don't be so dramatic."

"I'm my father's daughter. I'll be as dramatic as I want."

Author's note: Sorry about the wait. Writer's Block is a bitch.