May the Best Man Win |×| Fred Weasley | 1 |×|

×| SIXTY-TWO |×

EVELYN WISHED SHE HADN'T FOUND OUT WHAT IT MEANT TO HAVE YOUR WORLDVIEW SHATTERED. But the week between the third Triwizard task and the last day of her sixth year had ingrained the definition of the phrase into her mind. She'd seem some strange things at Hogwarts, even by wizarding standards. She'd known the boy who lived, the boy who slayed the Basilisk and helped an alleged criminal escape the Dementors kiss. She'd known the terror of standing in the shadow of the dark mark and felt the cold grip of betrayal and loneliness. Her father had told her stories from his beloved history: stories of witch burnings and goblin riots and the first wizarding war. But none of those things - those stories and experiences - had quite been able to burst Evelyn's bubble of naivety. Some had come close - the Yule ball and the night of the Quidditch world cup final among the closest to success - but it had not been until Harry potter appeared screaming back on the quidditch pitch, clutching at Cedric's lifeless body as the sky turned from blue to red that Evelyn had fully realised what horrors the world truly held.

Rumors spread around the halls of Hogwarts, and like most of the student body Evelyn found herself sceptical of the facts. Until, that was, she was coerced into eating lunch at the Gryffindor table by Fred just a few days after the fact and found herself sat opposite to Harry. It was then that Evelyn's meager hope that the rumours weren't true was smothered by what the young, broken boy had told her.

So then, sat in the sombre silence of the great hall along with the rest of the school and beyond as Professor Dumbledore offered tribute to a fallen student Evelyn had barely known, she could swear for certain that she knew what horrors of the world had come (and would be coming) to Hogwarts:

Professor Moody hadn't been Professor moody at all. Albus Dumbledore had inadvertently exposed each of his students to the wrath of a death eater. Cedric Diggory had been murdered during the final task of what was bound to be the final ever Triwizard tournament.

If that hadn't been enough to make everything seem a few shades duller than before, Evelyn though bitterly as the hall raised their goblets in memory of a fallen classmate, there was also the single most terrifying piece of information her sixteen year old mind had had to comprehend thus far: Evelyn believed harry wholeheartedly. Even if that meant the world was going to end. You-Know-Who was back. A war was on the way. Soon, Evelyn knew, though she cringed at the thought, Cedric would not be her only classmate to fall at the hand of he-who-must-not-be-named or his followers.

Evelyn took a glance at each of her friends across the hall, her goblet lingering on her lips. Max, Nikki, Ashton. Roger, Cho, Jodie. Margaux, Léonie, Lee. George, Harry, Fred. As she checked them off on a mental list, Evelyn just hoped that fate might give her a little bit of time to prepare herself before then.

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"Do you really have to go?" Evelyn whined into Margaux's shoulder, holding tightly to her cousin as the visiting students prepared to depart Hogwarts school, "Can't we persuade aunty Jo to let you spend some of the summer in London with me?"

"You have had me to yourself all year, Evie," Margaux laughed, patting Evelyn's back before prying the Ravenclaw girl off of her, "we will write, and you will come to Christmas, and I will see you a lot sooner than it will feel."

Evelyn nodded understandingly. Margaux squeezed her shoulders smilingly then moved on to telling goodbye to the others. Through the overly crowded entrance hall, Evelyn spotted George and Léonie parting ways. Léonie's eyes soon caught Evelyn's own, and in seconds Evelyn was caught in another embrace.

"He told me he will write," Léonie explained when Evelyn asked her what she and George would do, "but this - how do you say again? Oh yes, this long distance relationship is not often a success."