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CHAPTER THIRTEEN. FAMILY FUEDS & STUNNING SPELL MISHAPS

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Evangeline's head rested in the palm of her hand as she half listened to Umbridge drone on and on about nonsense. Her cousin Gemma was sat next to her, furiously writing notes. Evangeline eyed the girl next to her before turning back to facing the front. Her eyes drooped slightly, the boredom she was feeling making her sleepy.

Gemma nudged her arm and it slipped out from under her. Evangeline's head dipped as the palm that she was resting it on had slipped down. She sent Gemma a fierce glare and the blonde only rolled her eyes. "Pay attention, unless you want another detention," she hissed. Evangeline almost shuddered at the word but kept her face neutral.

"Forgive me for not being interested in the bullshit that old hag is spewing from her lips," she muttered quietly. "You may not find it interesting, but you're gonna need to know it for the O.W.L.s," Gemma whispered. "We're also gonna need to know how to cast the defensive spells that we're learning or should I say not learning," Evangeline whispered back.

"Just shut up and take notes. Or at least pretend to. I don't want people to think that our family doesn't care about school just because you don't," Gemma replied before turning back to the paper in front of her. And that was the end of their conversation. The brunette wasn't surprised by the blonde's words, knowing that all she really cared about was her reputation and not whether or not Evangeline got another detention.

She wanted to slap the girl for saying that. Her studies happened to be very important to her and unlike Gemma, Evangeline liked to learn because she liked being knowledgeable. Gemma only wanted to pass her classes. By the end of the year, the blonde would forget everything unlike, Evangeline.

Evangeline's eyes scanned what was written on the chalkboard and she picked up her Phoenix quill, dipping it in the pot of ink on her desk. She began writing nonsense onto her parchment.

Her narrowed eyes swept across the room, looking at the individuals in the classroom. They landed on familiar red hair and Evangeline stared at the back of his head. Her mind wandered back to Ginny's words about family and wondering what it was like to have one that actually cared about you.

As if he felt her eyes on him, he turned around, but her eyes were already back on the parchment in front of her. He looked around the classroom in confusion. "Eyes on your paper, Mr. Weasley," Professor Umbridge said.

Ron did as he was told and went back to writing. Evangeline looked at Gemma as a question came to mind and Gemma ignored her stare. But the blonde was easily annoyed and her eyes snapped up to look at the brunette. "What?" She hissed. "Is there a reason that you pretend to be something that you're not?" She asked. Gemma was taken aback, "I beg your pardon?" Evangeline looked back at the parchment and began writing again.

"It's just, you're always putting on this façade. You pretend to be nice when your parents are around. You act like you're perfect when you're with Malfoy or in class. You're just so fake," she said. Gemma's face turned red in anger. "You'd know all about façades wouldn't you, Evangeline?" She spat the girl's name out as though it were poison on her tongue. Evangeline only shrugged in response.

"I'm just saying. No need to get angry," she whispered. "You always do this! You always say these things to get a rise out of me. It's like you enjoy pissing me off," Gemma hissed out. "Kind of like you enjoy treating Vivian and I as though we're scum underneath your shoe," Evangeline said back. "Well someone has to! You're always prancing around acting as though you're all high and mighty and I'm just putting you in your place," she said, her voice raising.

"Well I can't wait until somebody puts you in your place, you wretched bitch," Evangeline hissed back. "You take that back!" Gemma shouted. All eyes turned to her. Professor Umbridge was livid. "Miss Luther, Miss Caspian. What is the meaning of this?" She screeched. "Gemma doesn't like the truth," Evangeline replied. "Evangeline thinks she's better than everyone," Gemma responded.

The two glared at each other. "Girls! You best keep your mouths shut or you'll find yourselves in detention. Now back to work, all of you," the woman said. However, everyone's eyes remained on the two girls. Barry glanced between the two, his eyes holding a mixture of amusement and concern. "Mess with me again, and I will destroy you," the blonde threatened. Evangeline's head tilted to the side, "Really? What're you gonna do? Throw this book at me?" She held up her textbook.

Gemma stood abruptly, "Professor Umbridge, I cannot be successful in your class if I am seated next to her. I would like to sit elsewhere for the remainder of the lesson." Professor Umbridge glared at the blonde, "Sit down Miss Luther. This instant." Scattered laughter could be heard around the room. Gemma glared at the woman before plopping back into her seat. Evangeline sent the girl a smug smile before picking up her quill and beginning to write again.

••••

"What was going on between you and Gemma?" Hermione asked Evangeline as they cautiously made their way to the Room of Requirement at night. The two had decided to walk there together, seeing as they were both on their way there after making pit stops to their shared room.

Evangeline rolled her eyes, "Just me annoying Gemma because she's a bitch and it's easy. Nothing out of the ordinary. You don't need to worry about it." Hermione looked doubtful, "She looked pretty angry. So did you." Evangeline only shrugged. The two made it to the Room of Requirement, waiting for the door to formulate on the wall.

They entered the room, standing off to the side and waiting for the remainder of the students to come as well. Once everyone had gathered into the room, Harry began teaching them a new lesson about stunning spells. He grabbed a younger boy named Nigel and had him stand on one side of the room. "Stunning is one of the most useful spells in your arsenal. It's a wizard's bread and butter, really," Harry said. He walked to the opposite side of the room across from Nigel.

"So come on, then, Nigel. Give it your best shot," Harry said to the young boy. Nigel breathed in before he brought his arm up and threw it forward. "Stupefy," he cried. The spell blasted out of his wand, throwing Harry backwards. The force of the spell also knocked Nigel off his feet. "Good. Not bad at all Nigel. Well done," Harry said from his position on the ground.

Another pair stepped up to the front, practicing the stunning spell. Evangeline stood next to Hermione who was getting ready to go up against Ron. "Don't worry. I'll go easy on you," the redhead said to her. His eyes then landed on Evangeline who raised a brow. He squared his shoulders, puffing out his chest slightly and making himself seem taller. Evangeline almost laughed. "Thanks, Ronald," Hermione said at the same time Evangeline said, "You look ridiculous."

Ron's shoulders dropped slightly and he turned around, walking to his side of the room. Evangeline stepped away from Hermione and stood off to the side with the other students. "Come on Ron," multiple male voices chimed from around the room. Evangeline scowled. Neville walked in the middle of the two, looking to Ron then Hermione before turning and walking off to the side.

Evangeline crossed her arms over her chest and watched in anticipation. Hermione's face quickly turned serious. The two looked at each other, raising their wands. But Hermione was faster. "Stupefy." Ron was thrown backwards, landing on his back. Laughter could be heard around the room. Evangeline couldn't contain the smile that spread across her lips.

A group of girls huddled around Hermione, laughing and congratulating her. Ron stood up and made his way over to where his brothers stood. His eyes fluttered over to where Evangeline stood, wondering if he had embarrassed himself too much. But Evangeline was eyeing her sister, the older girl's face mirroring her own. Evangeline stepped forward onto one side of the room. Vivian did the same, standing opposite of her multiple feet away.

A low whistle could be heard. "This should be good," the Weasley twins said. Evangeline gripped onto her wand, preparing herself. Vivian did the same, narrowing her eyes. "Don't hold back," the older girl called. Evangeline shook her head, "Don't worry, I won't." The air in the room seemed to still. The group of students eyed the two sisters, practically holding their breaths. It could go either way and the anticipation was growing.

The sisters lifted their wands. "Stupefy," they said simultaneously. The spell blasted from both of their wands, shooting across the room and hitting both girls at the same time. Evangeline was thrown backwards, the force of the spell almost knocking the breath out of her. When she hit the ground a flash of a memory flickered through her mind. She could only hear muffled voices and see blurred faces. Bright colors blended together, the images never clearing.

She didn't know what was happening in the memory and it faded fairly quickly. When she opened her eyes, she could see multiple faces looking down at her, all holding varying levels of concern. "Are all right?" Harry asked. Evangeline nodded, pushing herself into a seated position. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You fell pretty hard and neither of you would get up," Hermione said. Evangeline's eyes swept to the opposite side of the room to see Vivian also sitting on the ground, leaning against Fred Weasley for support. Evangeline had no idea what had happened or why the spell had the outcome that it did. It was only meant to briefly stun them.

"Maybe we should call it a night," Harry said as Hermione and Ron helped Evangeline to her feet. She swatted their hands away and looked at him. "No. I'm fine," she said. She looked to Vivian who nodded in assurance. "All right, fine. But you two will sit out for the rest of the meeting," Harry said. Evangeline didn't bother arguing, walking over to a far wall and sliding down it.

Vivian heaved out a sigh as she slid down next to her. "What the hell happened?" She asked Evangeline who shrugged. "Something really strange is what. After you hit me with that spell, I saw something. I think it was a memory. Did you see it too?" She said. Vivian shook her head, "All I saw were stars. What was the memory?" Evangeline shrugged again, "I don't know. It wasn't clear."

"Weird," Vivian muttered before looking her sister over. "You okay?" She asked. Evangeline nodded, "Yeah, you?" The older girl smiled, "Yup." The two turned back face the students who were back to working on the spell. Later on, Harry ended the meeting and they all began leaving in groups. Vivian bid her sister goodbye, wanting to get to her room quickly to avoid suspicion.

Evangeline waited for a few groups to go before deciding to leave. A hand on her shoulder made her stop and turn around. Ron's hand dropped to his side once he had her attention. "Hey," he said. "Uh, hi," Evangeline replied. "I just wanted to uh, make sure that you were okay. You were sort of out of it earlier, saying something about a letter," he said. She furrowed her eyebrows. "A letter?" She asked and he nodded.

"What exactly did I say?" She questioned. He cleared his throat, "Uh, just something about needing to send a letter. That he needed to get it." Evangeline grew confused, looking down and trying to wrack her brain for some sort of explanation. Ron watched her, his eyes holding concern. He gripped onto her shoulder again and her eyes snapped up to meet his. His blue eyes widened slightly when meeting with her brown ones and a blush began coating his cheeks.

"A-are you okay?" He asked again. She nodded distractedly, breaking eye contact. "Yeah, yeah. I should go," she said, moving away from him. "Yeah, o-okay," he said before sighing. "Are you sure you're all right though? I can take you to Madam Pomfrey if you'd like," he said. "And tell her what? That I was secretly practicing a stunning spell with my sister and it went wrong?" She said. Ron's face heated up even more. "I-I guess not," he mumbled, looking down.

Evangeline sighed and placed her own hand on his shoulder. "I'm fine, really. You don't need to worry about me Ronald," she assured, confused as to why he was so concerned. He nodded and she began walking to the door. She briefly waited before the next group of students left, Evangeline going with them.