The Girl Everyone Forgot About

Chapter 13

Today was the day, Reggie and Evie had been practicing the Alohomora charm last night, so Evie was feeling a little more confident about it now. She hadn't got the spell perfect but she was hoping that she had practiced it enough that when the time came, she would be ready.

The morning had dragged on for what felt like an eternity. The castle had lots of activities planned for the day that the children, who were remaining in the castle, could partake in if they wanted to. 

Finally, it was lunchtime, most students and staff would be in the great hall eating, so Reggie and Evie decided this would be the perfect time to raid Professor Snape's store cupboard. They had planned to rejoin everyone in the hall once they were done, so that they wouldn't be missed. 

The two first years, headed down the long corridor towards the dungeons. The store cupboard was down there, close to the potions classroom. As Reggie and Evie walked towards their destination, the air around them grew colder, as it always did when they were getting closer to the dungeons. Evie thought how eerie this part of the castle was, and if she was honest, it scared her a little. However, nothing was worse than the feeling currently bubbling inside of her. 

"Reg, I'm not sure I have the bottle for this" Evie whispered. 

"Don't be silly, of course you do! Just remember why we are doing this. I've got your back, don't worry," Reggie assured her. "Now, the store cupboard is just up there on the right, under the arch way... I'll wait here and make sure no one comes along to bother us," he said promptly.

Evie took a deep breath and walked a little way down the corridor and dipped under the archway. 'You can do this' she thought to herself. She stood in front of the door and pulled out her wand, "Alohomora," she whispered. The door remained locked. Evie sighed, knowing this was bound to happen. She decided she would need to speak a little louder. "Alohomora," she said more sternly, but it still didn't work. 

Just then, she felt someone standing behind her and her heart dropped. This could be one of two people. Reggie had come to help, realising that it was taking her too long or Professor Snape had caught her, and she was about to receive her first detention at Hogwarts or potentially be expelled for attempting to steal from Snape's stores. As she stood frozen, a waft of expensive cologne filled her nostrils. She was sure that wasn't Reggie, but it wasn't Snape either. As she inhaled the strong scent she realised she had smelt it before. She turned slowly and came face to face with Malfoy.

"Well, well, well, what are you doing potter?" he sneered. 

Evie carefully took a glance around the archway and could see Reggie was still on the look out. His back was facing her and she realised then that he had only been looking for people coming from the great hall, towards them. He had not been looking if anyone was coming up from the dungeons. 

Evie quickly hid her wand behind her back, "Nothing!" she responded, although not very convincingly.

"Don't lie to me Potter," he spat. "You have no reason to be here, Hufflepuff common room is by the kitchens... and it's lunchtime. Looks rather suspicious you being so close to the Slytherin common room and lurking outside of Snape's Store room. So, I'll ask you again, What are you doing Potter?" he stated. 

It was clear to everyone around Hogwarts that Draco and Harry despised each other. Evie didn't know why, but she felt like she could trust him. She was rather good at reading people, she was very in tune with people's emotions. Her Grandpa had said she was likely an empath. Though Draco was intimidating, she chose to see the good in everyone, so she decided to tell him the truth. 

"Fine," she sighed. "I came here to borrow some ingredients to make a potion for my uncle... he's sick" she paused for a moment unsure if she should elaborate, but decided to anyway. "It is the reason I couldn't go home for Christmas, he's too poorly," she had moved her gaze away from Draco's piercing eyes and was now looking at the floor, fiddling with a thread of cotton at the end of her sleeve.