desiderium | t. riddle

xiii. epithet effect

The heavy air of the dungeons fell into a seamless parallel with the morose tenor sticking to Evangeline like unpleasant moisture that day. It was a rather unusual thing for the other students to behold, given that the Ravenclaw was typically seen with her teeth perennially unveiled in what looked like an effortless grin. With the exception of the day a few second year Hufflepuffs claimed to have seen her stalking along the hallways with ink clawing at ruined white tights and shards of reflective glass in atypically frazzled hair. While a select few chose to take the witnesses' accounts and spin fabulously horrific stories, (one of the more impressive ones consisting of acromantula-eating chinchillas) most chose to dismiss this ludicrous fable in favor of keeping the glass on the frame of their perfect mental images of the Serpens girl intact.

In light of her newly somber appearance, two noteworthy pairs of calculating brown eyes latched onto Eva as she pulled open the ingredients cabinet in search of powdered moonstone, her hand lingering gently on the cabinet door as she stooped over to scan the contents of the cupboard.

The owner of one of these pairs of brown eyes furrowed his brows momentarily before nudging the blonde boy next to him and whispering into his ear. The blonde looked back at the boy, mildly nonplussed, his eyes roving away from his friend to cross the room to where Eva was still looking for ingredients. The corners of his mouth quirked up a bit at the dark-skinned boy on the stool next to his and he nodded shortly, promptly jumping out of his own stool. The other boy followed suit, and ran a hand haphazardly through his dark curls before breaking his face out into a grin. He shoved his hands carelessly in the pockets of his uniform trousers and nudged the blonde's shoulder playfully, as if egging him along, and they simultaneously took a few quick strides to reach Slughorn's student store cupboard.

The second pair of brown eyes mentioned earlier narrowed at the two boys' interruption of their scrutiny, though the bearer made no other move to show his displeasure or prevent the foreseeable interaction.

"Looking for syrup of hellebore?" The dark-skinned boy laughed as Eva looked up from her languid rummaging with bemusement widening her previously weary eyes.

"Ah... no, actually. Got that already." She opened and closed a casual fist in a gesture towards her work area, on top of which the two boys could see a bottle filled with the aforementioned baby blue syrup. "I'm not sure where to find powdered moonstone, though. Do you think it's run out?"

The two boys exchanged sheepish grins, though the blonde's was significantly more subdued.

"Not sure," he spoke, raising an innocent eyebrow before extending a smooth hand towards her. She offered her own hand in return and shook shortly. "Abraxas Malfoy. We've met before, but only briefly."

Confusion flickered momentarily on Eva's face until a memory returned and the reason for the name's familiarity registered in her brain. Mischief shone in the first boy's chestnut eyes as he chuckled at his blonde counterpart. "Yeah, 'brief' because it took her all of two seconds to smite your pathetic arse in that duel."

If Abraxas was embarrassed by the memory of his debasing loss, it didn't show on his face. On the contrary, his faint smirk stretched almost imperceptibly, though his pale blue eyes remained trained on the girl in front of them.

"And I'm Rosier. Laurent Rosier, that is." His hand extended as well, shaking hers with considerably more vigor than Abraxas, whose grip had been steady, but gave off the energy of the more charming greeting of a kiss on the knuckles. The confidence Abraxas dripped with in his every stride had actually caused Evangeline to be quite surprised when he didn't greet her in this unduly formal way.

"Evangeline Serpens," she nodded at the pair, trying to brighten her mood for them, but settling for a soft smile upon finding that forging a grin to match Laurent's was near impossible in her acrimony. "But I suppose you can call me Eva."