Against the dark Hearts

Evangeline

I trudged through the snow to the Owlery, holding a letter to my mother in my hand. It was nothing special. I told her that I was doing well and having fun with my friends. She didn't need to know how I really felt. I had tried to focus on my studies and not think about certain wizards. It wasn't easy with him constantly around me, but after a while, the frustration lessened. I tried to convince myself that I had fallen in love with a moment, not the person who had triggered it. Eventually, I began to believe it. It had been a romantic moment. I had wished for something like that, and it had appeared in my first week at Hogwarts and captivated me.

Somehow, I managed to pay more attention in class again, mainly focusing on not getting into any further trouble. My head had hurt for days afterward, and I had been in the hospital wing every day to ensure that Madam Porter could make sure my skull didn't suddenly burst into flames.

Days after being released from the hospital wing and making it clear in front of everyone that I had no interest in romance, I saw Sebastian walking with a girl across the Hogwarts grounds. It was Nerida Roberts. He had generally distanced himself from our group because he spent more time with her. Every time I greeted him in the hallway or sat down with him at the table, Nerida would grab his arm and pull him away. Eventually, I gave up. He was my best friend, yes, but if he wanted to be with her instead, I had to respect that. During that time, I spent more time with Ominis, and although we had already gotten along well before, it got even better. In a platonic way. I didn't feel that kind of attraction to the Slytherin heir.

The thing with Percy Baudelaire wasn't mentioned anymore. I had thanked him for the flowers, and when he asked me if we wanted to have a Butterbeer together, I declined.

There was no one in the Owlery except the owls, of course. I took off my gloves and handed a letter to an owl, which immediately flew off. The letter would be with my mother in a few hours. For a while, I stared off into the distance, admiring the vast landscape around Hogwarts and lost in my thoughts. Then he was in love with Nerida, and it shouldn't matter to me.

I had made it clear that I didn't want anything that went in the direction of romance. I regretted it because at the beginning of the year, I had wished for it, and I had wished it would be Sebastian.

It didn't matter how much I tried to convince myself that there was nothing there, it had been there from the beginning. In the moment when I knocked him off the podium in Defense Against the Dark Arts and he told me he was impressed.

His dark green eyes had captivated me. I didn't know what this feeling was back then, I thought I just liked him. But after the incident at the creek and now that he constantly had his tongue in Nerida's throat, it was clear. I was so jealous that I couldn't think of anything else. I wanted him to feel the same way, even if I wasn't sure if Nerida was just a consolation prize for him or really his beloved.

Maybe I should invite someone out on a date, someone Sebastian didn't like, like Garreth Weasley. I pushed off the railing and started walking back, lost in thought, not paying attention to where I was going or who I was bumping into. I collided with a slender figure as I was leaving the owlery and fell backwards onto the ground, the figure landing ungracefully on top of me. Blonde, long hair spilled over my face and a soft "Ow" could be heard.

As I pushed the hair out of my face, a beautiful figure was supporting herself over me. Eyes like the night sky, pale skin with flushed cheeks, and curved lips were very close to mine.

She wasn't wearing a house cloak, so I couldn't tell which of the four Hogwarts houses she belonged to, but she certainly wasn't a Ravenclaw.

Someone like her wouldn't walk through the common room without being noticed. "I'm sorry," she said with a sweet voice, standing up. She reached out her hand, and I took it and let her help me up. "I'm Evangeline Lovegood," she said gently, reaching out her hand again. I took it once more. "I'm-," she cut me off. "Oh, I know who you are," she said in a soft tone, her voice sounding like it was made of clouds.

"You're the one who saved Hogwarts," she continued. I nodded somewhat hesitantly, how did she know that? Why didn't I know who she was?

"I just came back from America a few days ago," she said, as if she knew what I was thinking. "Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't pry so much into other people's thoughts!" she said, looking at me apologetically. "You can read minds?" I asked, surprised, and she nodded. "Yes, I'm a Legilimens," I had no idea what that was, but it was fascinating.

"Oh, yes, it's a rare gift!" she said. I was starting to feel a little insecure, and I felt the need to protect my thoughts. Had she also read that I thought she was beautiful? "No, but thank you," she said now, and I looked at her in horror. "Oh, I'm so sorry, can I make it up to you? With a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks?" she asked.

I was completely overwhelmed, and if she hadn't read that in my thoughts, then it was written all over my face. I blinked a few times. "Yes, sure, nothing would be better than that," I said then. Her expression brightened after she looked at me apologetically.

"I just have to send these letters off!" she said, hastening over to the owls. She sent off three letters, and all three owls flew off in different directions. Evangeline and I had a lot in common; we both loved to read, and she liked magical creatures. She told me she had spent a year in America with her parents and two brothers studying dragons. She also told me about the American school Ilvermorny and how different it was there. She was one of the most interesting people I had ever met, and she was a Ravenclaw. She hadn't been here in my first year and had only returned to the United Kingdom a few days ago.

I was blown away.

After our first meeting, Evangeline and I spent every day together and after less than a month, we couldn't be separated. I also introduced her to the others in the group and everyone found her really nice except for Sebastian, who was already with Nerida and couldn't get to know Evangeline well.

At the end of January, another secret sixth-year party took place, this time with snow and cold, so someone had the idea of holding it in the Room of Requirement. It wasn't my Room of Requirement, but that of a Gryffindor who knew how to party.