desiderium | t. riddle

iii. stalker

The sweet, almost melodious sound of Cassiopeia's breathing filled the dark dormitory. It contrasted greatly to Olive Hornby's gentle, yet rather nasty snores, which were being muffled by her own pillow.

Evangeline, on the other hand, made no noise as she slipped from her sheets, wrapped her shivering figure in a cloak, and exited the dormitory with her book bag in hand. Once she had ensured that she had no unwanted company in the common room, the half-angel pulled her wand from her robes and pressed it to the parting in her hair. She muttered an incantation under her breath and watched as it slowly turned her hands invisible in front of her very own eyes.

She gave a satisfactory sigh and swiftly exited Ravenclaw Tower to make her way to the Hogwarts Library. Soon after a very close encounter with a particularly rowdy poltergeist, Evangeline found herself standing in front of rows and rows of bookshelves that could not have been shorter than ten meters. The isles had all sorts of categorical markings, including "Sea Creatures," "Muggle Electricity," and "Wizarding Heroes of the 19th Century."

The only isle that caught her eyes, however, was the one marked "Human Transfiguration." She took a few long strides towards the shelves, only to stop several meters away when she realized a large lock had been chained across that section of the library to block off the shelf she was headed towards and a handful of others that had much gorier labels.

She blinked, nonplussed, and looked down to read the sign below the rusting lock:

Restricted Section
Not meant for the use of students without a teacher's signed permission. Offenders of this rule will face serious repercussions.

The girl pulled a face.

Do I look like I give a shit? ...Oh Merlin, how I love freedom of speech. Let's see just how far I can push my boundaries, shall we?

And with that, Evangeline pressed a finger to the lock and felt her mouth pull into a smug position when she heard the click and soft thud of the lock opening and falling heavily to the carpeted floor. Rule-breaking was truly exhilarating. 

Evangeline stepped over the fallen chains that now lay in a line across the entrance to the room and immediately found the books on Animagi in the human transfiguration shelves. She had always been fascinated with the idea of a spirit animal and having the ability to transform into the animal embodiment of your own soul.

She had been sitting on the floor, poring over books under wandlight for around an hour when she heard breathing behind her. Expecting it to be a professor coming to reprimand her for being out of bed after curfew, she turned and opened her mouth with the intention of giving a well-prepared excuse as to why she was where she was.

Instead, she saw another student in green and black robes, towering over her with an unreadable expression on his familiar features. Evangeline's expression became annoyed as she looked down at her very much visible hands.

The spell must have worn off. How long have I been sitting here?

Her question was answered for her when the dark-haired Slytherin said, "It's three in the morning."

"That it is," the girl scowled up at him before returning to her reading.

"What are you doing out of bed?" Riddle now sounded just as annoyed as the Ravenclaw on the ground.

"Reading," she answered shortly.

"I'm a prefect."

Evangeline sighed in frustration, not moving her stormy eyes from her reading, as she replied, "That you are."