Chrysalis

Chapter 1: Departure in the shadows

Excellence. One shall never seek anything else than excellence. Excellence makes people strong, and the strong live, while the weak survive, or worse... they die. This is what is expected of you: excellence, and nothing less. Failure will not be tolerated, Evan.

A pair of green eyes watched the scenery from the window of the mansion. The place was big and spacious and warm, despite the rain beating on the tiles. A long sigh came to fog up the window, then in a blink, a long veil of eyelashes fell, making the two green orbs disappear. There was a knock on the door, and a growl came from shapely, pink lips. The door creaked open along with this pair of eyes. A house-elf entered timidly and approached the figure, sitting in the corner of the room, nonchalantly.

"It's time, master." said the creature. 

"Understood, Galrod. Hand me my coat, please." the young man stood up slowly.

"Of course, Master. Galrod will wait for your return. Galrod wishes you the best of luck at Hogwarts."

Without further ado, the young man took his things and left the manor to go to the centre of London, where a cart heading to Hogwarts was waiting for him.

The boy's name was Evan. Evan Lodewijk Jacob Bauw, son of the famous Dutch Deputy Minister of Magic Lodewijk Bauw. Originally from the Netherlands, born in Amsterdam on November 8, 1874, Evan had moved to London in June 1890 for his father's career, who had been offered a position within the Ministry of Magic in London to handle matters relating to the magic between Netherlands and England.

 Evan was then enrolled at Hogwarts, and one of the teachers, Professor Eleazar Fig, was required to teach him everything he needed to know in order to catch up to the fifth year level, although the young man already had a common practice magic, since a very young age.

Evan was a well-built, athletic boy who was a keen fan of Quidditch, which he had learned to play in the Netherlands since his tutor, coming from England, had introduced him to the sport. He was rather tall, with strong shoulders and a well-defined jawline. His skin was as white and delicate as milk, and his hair, extraordinarily fine, varied dependingly on the light from an ash blond to a warm brown. His eyebrows were well defined, although slightly bushy, and his eyes were covered with long brown eyelashes, revealing two magnificent irises of intense green. His cheekbones, high and also well defined, were constantly of a slightly pinkish tint, which contrasted with the paleness of his skin. A burn-like scar stretched across the surface of his right cheek, caused during an incident in his childhood that had scarred him both physically and mentally. Evan was, in every way, a very handsome boy.

Everywhere he went, he drew attention to himself: heads turned as he passed, and young girls blushed whenever he looked in their direction. Growing up in a wealthy family, Evan had the looks – and attitude – of a true gentleman. He was always polite and courteous, his deep and serious voice never saying one word louder than the other, speaking in a calm and composed manner. With a calm and serious temperament, the young man greatly appreciated solitude and silence. He could spend hours reading in total silence, by the faint light of a candle in the darkness, completely enclosing himself in his world. However, he was not prone to humour, and was quite reluctant to smile. His tastes, whether literary, clothing or food, were refined. But what Evan hated most of all was stupidity and ignorance. No matter how hard he tried – and it was in no way out of any real desire for condescension on his part – he couldn't stand simple-minded people. He didn't care if they were cultured or not, but he couldn't stand thoughtless people who spoke out of turn.But behind this calm and placid attitude, there was actually a veil of mystery so thick that it was impossible to discern.

But now, the first of September had arrived, after having spent the whole summer practicing magic with Professor Fig, and for the first time, Evan was going to set foot in a school. For the first time in his life, Evan was going to know what it was like to live like everyone else. What he didn't know, however, was that everything wouldn't go as planned...