A WEEK AND A HALF INTO NOVEMBER, nearly everyone in the castle is outside, enjoying the snowfall from the previous night. Tom, Orion, and Theodorus stroll across the grounds, dodging a group of Hufflepuff First Years engaged in a fierce snowball war. They find Dorea and Walburga gazing in surprise over the Black Lake. Orion approaches them, asking, "Is something wrong?"
"Did you know Evelynn can ice skate?!" Walburga asks, bewildered.
Tom turns his head so abruptly he might get whiplash, exclaiming, "What?"
Dorea confirms, pointing towards the Lake where a figure can be seen gliding back and forth. The dark hair identifies her as Evelynn, even though she's too distant to see clearly.
"I didn't know she owned skates," Orion remarks.
"She doesn't. She's just balancing like that," Dorea explains, suggesting that Evelynn might have Transfigured her shoes into skates.
"Oh, like when she landed on the back of the chair and didn't even waver," Theodorus recalls, still amazed by that particular feat. Such skills must have helped her survive an attack from Grindelwald and his forces.
"Dolohov's been saying she's not a normal Third-Year after that," Orion adds, frowning slightly.
"Everyone already knew that. She threw Dumbledore across the Hall after Apparating into Hogwarts!" Theodorus retorts dismissively. "And then, she made a miraculous recovery."
Tom remains silent, his gaze fixed on Evelynn's figure on the ice.
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Evelynn glides back and forth on the frozen lake, lost in her thoughts, seemingly unaffected by the cold. Her mind is on Hedwig, her owl. At this time in her previous life, she had released Hedwig for winter hunting.
She deeply misses her owl, her first friend who had been there through it all: the good times, the bad times, and even during the Dursleys. Hedwig had always been there to nip at her ear and preen her hair when she needed it most, even during her most challenging years at school. Then, Hedwig sacrificed her life for Evelynn, flying into the path of a Killing Curse.
Evelynn believes Hedwig was her only true friend back then—maybe Neville and Luna too, but she may never know. If she could have taken one thing from her past, it would have been Hedwig, without question.
She spots movement at the edge of her vision, wipes her face, and sees someone approaching. Despite feeling down, she greets them, "Hey, good to see you. Something up?"
Dorea frowned and asked, "Something wrong, Evelynn? Or is it just the cold?" She doubts Evelynn realizes she has tears on her cheeks.
Evelynn shrugs and replies, "Yeah, probably just the cold. Let's head back in if you want. Or..." She glances at the boys standing on the edge of the lake with Walburga, a mischievous grin spreading across her face, "boys vs girls?"
Orion and Theodorus look at each other, doubting Dorea and Walburga would be up for it until Orion gets hit with a snowball. Evelynn laughs and quickly makes another to throw at Theodorus.
The two Purebloods brush the snow off their faces, exchange glances, and then scoop up snow themselves. Theodorus declares, "Oh, it's on."
Tom stares in mild shock as Evelynn starts a snowball fight with four Purebloods, three of whom are Blacks. They are usually the epitome of decorum, but now they've abandoned all dignity to throw snowballs. Just as he wonders how Evelynn managed this, a snowball hits him in the face.
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evelynn | t.riddle
FanfictionDespite the existence of magic and Muggle myths, Tom Riddle had been told that the Hallows were simply a myth and the Master of Death was a figment of the imagination. However, on Halloween night of his second year, a girl named Evelynn Peverell eme...
