The Mute Malfoy

FORTY-FIVE

    Evelyn wasn't surprised to find herself sitting in the Hogs Head with all of her friends and acquaintances a few weeks later. She wasn't surprised at all these days, which is not the blessing, most thought it would be. She was not experiencing life, she was merely waiting for it to happen. Umbridge becoming high inquisitor, more detentions for Harry, none of it held weight to her. She found herself grasping at little moments that felt like life again. And the thing that felt most like life?

Aspen.
    She found herself drawn to the pink haired girl. Most of her free time was spent following Aspen around like a lost puppy dog. Evelyn ate breakfast with Aspen. Evelyn walked to classes with Aspen. Evelyn studied with Aspen the library after dinner. It was very obvious to almost everyone around them.
    Harry thought it was good Evelyn had a new friend, though he did start to miss her a bit. They saw each other in class, at quidditch practice, and every other night in the common room. They used to do a lot together. They spent the summer together. The summer that led to the kiss he wished he never agreed not to speak of. Evelyn smiled at Aspen the way she smiled at him.
    He didn't know what to think. Here he stood, in front of his fellow students about to convince them he should teach them defense against the dark arts, and all he could think about was Evelyn Malfoy. He glanced at her. She was sitting right next to Hermione, who was right next to him. Directly in front of her Sarah Aspen, of course, and her two other friends, Diane and Jasmine. Harry was so tuned in to her he heard the sound her coat made as she crossed her arms. He thought she looked really pretty. Harry hadn't seen Evelyn in a dress since the Yule ball.

"Well-er-hi." Hermione opened to the crowd of twenty or so students. "Well...erm...well, you know why you're here. Erm...well, Harry here had the idea- I mean I had the idea-that it might be oof if people who wanted to study Defense Against the Dark Arts-and I mean really study it, you know, not the rubbish that Umbridge is doing with us because nobody could call that Defense Against the Dark Arts. I thought it would be good if we, well, took matters into our own hands. And by that I mean learning how to defend ourselves properly, not just theory but the real spells-"
"You want to pass your Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. too though, I bet?" A boy in the crowd asked her.
"Of course I do," Everyone who knew Hermione knew that. "But I want more than that, I want to be properly trained in Defense because...because...because Lord Voldemort's back." As the terrified reactions rolled in, so did the stares. The group split; half stared at harry, the other half at Evelyn. "Well...that's the plan anyway. If you want to join us, we need to decide how we're going to-"
"Where's the proof You-Know_Who's back?" A Hufflepuff boy interrupted.
"Well, Dumbledore believes it-"
"You mean, Dumbledore believed them."
"Who are you?" Ron asked rudely. Evelyn stifled a laugh.
"Zacharias Smith. And I think we've got the right to know exactly what makes them say You-Know-Who's back."
"Look, that's really not what this meeting was supposed to be about."
"It's okay Hermione." Harry took the pressure off his friend. He turned to Evelyn and she nodded, ready to back him up if he needed her, but this was something he knew he had to do. "What makes me say You-Know-Who's back? I saw him. But Dumbledore told the whole school what happened last year, and if you didn't believe him, you don't believe me, and I'm not wasting an afternoon trying to convince anyone."
    He was right. Evelyn knew it was a waste trying to preach the truth to these people. If they were going to believe the Dark Lord was back, it had to be on their own terms.
"All Dumbledore told us last year was that Cedric Diggory got killed by You-Know-Who and that you brought Diggory's body back to Hogwarts. He didn't give us details, he didn't tell us exactly how Diggory for murdered, I think we'd all like to know-"
"No." Evelyn made eye contact with the boy and he cowered back down. She turned back to Harry and nodded, gesturing for him to continue.
"If you've come to hear exactly what it looks like when Voldemort murders someone I can't help you. I don't want to talk about Cedric Diggory, all right? So if that's what you're here for you might as well clear out."
"So, like I was saying...if you want to learn some defense, then we need to work out how we're going to do I, how often we're going to meet, and where we're going to-"
"Is it true that you can produce a Patronus charm?" Said a voice from the back. Evelyn peered out and was shocked to see it had come from Noah Ainsworth. The lone Slytherin in the building looked at her, then back to Harry to wait for an answer to his question.
"Yeah." Harry was already upset from Zacharias Smith's stupid comments. Now, stupid Ainsworth was here interrogating him about his Patronus.
"A corporeal Patronus? A stag, correct?"
"Yes." He tried to hide the gritting of his teeth.
"Blimey, Harry! I never new that!" Lee Jordan, a close friend of Fred and George, announced.
"Mum told Ron not to spread it around. She said you got enough attention as it was." Fred teased Harry.
"You killed the basilisk with the sword of Gryffindor, right?" Diane asked though she already knew the answer. Evelyn smiled slightly. It was nice to see her friends helping them. More of Harry's achievements over the past four years were brought up before Harry put a stop to it.
"Look. I...I don't want to sound like I'm trying to be modest or anything but.. I had a lot of help with all that stuff..."
"Not with the dragon, you didn't. That was a seriously cool bit of flying..." Aspen spoke out.
"Yeah, well-"
"No one helped you get rid of those dementors this summer," Noah said, much to Harry's surprise. A Slytherin defending him; that was new.
"No, okay, I know I did bits of it without help, but the point I'm trying t make is-"
"Are you trying to weasel out of showing us any of this stuff?"
Evelyn sat straight up. "Are you trying to end up in the hospital wing?" She was one comment away from slipping Zacharias Smith one of Fred and George's untested candies.
"Well, we've all turned up to learn from him, and now he's telling us he can't really do any of it." He meekly made out, desperately avoiding Evelyn's cold glare.
"That's not what he said." Fred Weasley snarled at him.
"Would you like us to clean out your ears for you?" George asked, pulling out a large and lethal looking metal instrument.
"Or any part of your body, really, we're not fussy where we stick this." After Fred spoke George mouthed "left or right?" To Evelyn. She mouthed back "Both".
"Yes, well," Hermione said, trying to steer them off the train of violence. "Moving on...the point is, are we agreed we want to take lessons from Harry?" Once the majority agreed a debate rose about where and when to hold meetings. Every house had quidditch, not to mention the handful of prefects in the group. It was decided that those factors would be figured out after the meeting. Hermione pulled out a piece of parchment and quill and asked everyone to sign and keep todays events secret. Once Aspen had finished signing, Evelyn dismissed herself to Hermione and left the Hogs Head trailing behind her pink haired pixie of a friend. Harry watched them go, dwelling on his friend for longer than he should.
"Do you mind if we stop at Honey Dukes?" Aspen asked. Evelyn nodded, giving her friend permission to grab her by the hand and drag her into the sweets store. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach until Aspen dropped her hand, getting distracted by the Chocolate Cauldrons. It was moments like these that made Evelyn remember what Ginny said to her at lunch many weeks ago. She was starting to think liking girls the way she liked boys was not so farfetched.
"Oh I just can't decide. Eve, what do you think, Fudge Flies, Jelly Slugs, or Cockroach Clusters?" She held up a box of each. Evelyn silently took the boxes from her hands and walked to the counter. "What're you doing?" Aspen asked from behind her. Evelyn said nothing as she pulled her coin purse out from her pocket.
"Evelyn I can buy my own sweets." She said as her friend handed the cashier a handful of sickles.
"You asked my opinion, I thought you should have them all." She handed the treats back.
"You spoil me." The girls walked out of Honey Dukes together. "I could get used to it, you know. Being spoiled by you. It would really go to my head. Next Hogsmeade trip we'll walk into Gladyrags and I'll demand their finest dress robes. They will hate us by the time we leave." Aspen joked.
"I'd happily do it. Let the whole village hate us. I'd buy you the moon if I could." A red blush crept over Aspen's cheeks. She could tell Evelyn was dead serious. "Your shoe is untied." Before she could protest, Evelyn lowered herself on one knee to tie Aspen's shoe.
"I like the way you tie shoelaces." She held a hand out and lifted her friend up once her laces were tied. Neither let go the whole walk back to Hogwarts.

    Breakfast on Monday morning was filled with worry. Every student awoke to a new rule from the high inquisitor; no clubs of any kind were allowed without approval from the pink menace herself. Even Quidditch players had to be approved. Evelyn was thankful she had avoided more detentions with Umbridge. Quidditch had been the highlight of her 5th year so far. She took to her position like a natural. Angelina Johnson had already begun bragging about her new unstoppable chaser. As Evelyn drank her pumpkin juice and listened to Aspen break down her weird dream from the night before she noticed Professor Rosewood making her way to her spot at the Gryffindor table.
"Ms. Malfoy, would you mind coming with me? I want to talk about your paper from last week before class starts." Evelyn nodded and gathered her things. Aspen gave her a funny look but said nothing. Professor Rosewood led the way out of the Great hall and towards her classroom.
"How was your trip to Hogsmeade this weekend?" The professor asked.
"It was good. How was your weekend Professor?" She asked as the two reached the History of Magic classroom.
"I spent it away from the school. In London." She told Evelyn as she shut the classroom door.
"London?" Rosewood walked to her desk and opened a drawer and pulled out a letter. Walking straight to her student, she handed her the letter. On the envelope was her name in what could only be her mother's handwriting. "Narcissa asked me to give this to you. She warned not to send anymore owls to the manor."
"My Mother gave you this?" Rosewood nodded. Evelyn ripped the letter open.

My beautiful daughter,
    First off, congratulations on making the Quidditch team, I know you will make an excellent chaser. I regret not allowing you to fly earlier; you are a natural my dear. My biggest concern in life has always been your safety. I believed keeping you grounded would keep you safe, but of course my girl would learn to spread her wings. Do not let Quidditch consume you; your O.W.L.s are of most importance.
    I have, of course, heard from your brother. It seems you both came running to me to mediate your squabble, but I am afraid I will be staying out of this. You and Draco must make your own choices and solve your own problems without me. What I can say is that you are not alone, Evelyn. Your feelings and emotions are all valid. Feel them, whether positive or negative. Live in those moments and make decisions that feel right in your heart.
    You must not send anymore letters to me. The Dark Lord insisted on reading your last letter, meaning he knows the struggle you face inside. Whether or not you have seen it yet, you know you will face him this year. If there are any emergencies and you must speak with me, alert Myra at once. She will help you get in contact with me. Tell no one about this; it is not safe in your own mind, let alone others.
    Love, Mother

"How do you know my Mother?"
"We were friends before the war. Before she met Lucius." Evelyn could tell she was telling the truth, which was the scary part. "How close are you to another vision?" Evelyn had been awaiting a vision since she awoke this morning. This weekend was the last thing she saw, meaning she could have one at any moment.
"As of this morning, it could happen at any moment."
The professor nodded. "If it should happen in my classroom know that I have a plan in place. So do the other members of the order." Evelyn nodded. "I suggest you start drawing in public places. It seems to be common knowledge throughout the school that you are a seer, and we don't need anyone wondering how you see the future." A knock on the door ended their private conversation. Students would start trickling in to the classroom soon enough so Evelyn made her way to her seat. She pulled out her sketchbook in an attempt to show her Professor she was listening. At least she liked drawing.

Hi. It's been a while.
Honestly I've learned over the past few years to stop expecting myself to do anything in a timely manner. I have a few chapters written and lined up for y'all as an apology for not updating in like 2 years. I really don't wanna be that girl who never finishes the fanfic she started in middle school, so I promise to try! I didn't realize how much I missed Evelyn until I sat down and wrote 1000 words in one sitting. Turns out all I needed to do was make things gay for inspiration to truly strike. See you in the next chapter a week from today! (Ps probably don't get used to/expect weekly updates after I finish posting these few chapters. I literally write whenever I feel like it and refuse to write if I don't)