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CHAPTER FOUR. CARRIAGE RIDES & NEW PROFESSORS

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The remaining five slowly followed after the Caspian girl and entered the carriage. It was a bit crammed and Evangeline silently cursed her sister and her immaturity. Harry and Neville were sat on opposite sides of her, the latter's elbow jamming into Evangeline's side. She sent him a sharp glare and he quickly apologized.

Hermione gave Evangeline a small smile and the girl only nodded in response. She surveyed her nails, avoiding looking at the others around her. Ronald shifted uncomfortably in his seat, eyeing the Caspian girl cautiously. She ignored their stares and attempted to get comfortable in her seat. Once they were all seated, Hermione spoke.

"Everyone, this is Loony Love—" She cut herself off, her eyes going wide. Cleo scratched her head, her own eyes wide as she made a face that said 'yikes'. "Luna Lovegood," Hermione finished, avoiding everyone's eyes. Evangeline eyed Hermione, wondering what that slip up was about before deciding that she didn't care. She tuned the group out as the carriage began making its way to the castle.

"So, Evangeline. How was your summer?" Hermione asked, pulling Evangeline back into the conversation. Evangeline sat up in her seat, clearing her throat and staring at the girl in front of her. "It was great. Yeah, I just had a blast and now I'm back here, with you people and contemplating whether or not I should jump out of this carriage and let it run me over," she sneered.

Hermione looked down at her hands and nodded. Although she was fairly used to Evangeline's attitude, she sometimes forgot just how blunt and rude she could be. "She was only being polite. No need to be rude about it," the Weasley boy snapped, his eyes narrowed at the Caspian girl. Evangeline's head whipped around to face him. "I wasn't talking to you, weasel. I was answering Hermione's question. Are you Hermione?" She said.

"Yeah well, I don't appreciate the way you were speaking to her," he replied. "Ron, it's okay. I'm used to it," Hermione said, immediately regretting it after the words left her mouth. "You shouldn't have to be used to it," Ron said. "There's no reason to be upset," Luna spoke up. "She's only projecting her feelings in the form of contempt and anger to hide the fact that she's hurting on the inside," the blonde girl continued.

Evangeline scoffed. "Oh, you just know me so well," she replied sarcastically. "I mean, it's pretty obvious," Luna said with a shrug. All eyes turned to Evangeline, awaiting her next course of action. "Maybe instead of trying to psychoanalyze me, you should worry about making sure that everything's all right in that head of yours," Evangeline said, tapping her head for added affect. "By the way, your magazine is upside down," she added.

She sat back in her seat and stared in front of her, eyes on the castle as it got bigger. A frown was etched into her features as she thought about what Luna had said. The girl's words bugged her. As the castle grew closer, Evangeline was thrilled, wanting to get off that carriage and as far away from these people as possible.

••••

The Sorting Hat has just finished placing the first years in their houses and the feast had commenced. Some of the students were  confused and mildly shaken at the fact that the hat had sung a different tune than usual. Nobody knew why the words were said, which is what freaked them out.

Evangeline sat on her own in the middle of the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. She poked at the food in the plate in front of her. A glare was set on her face and directed at her sister, who sat across the room at the Slytherin table with her friends. Vivian looked up and sent the girl an innocent smile and wave before going back to talking to her friends. Evangeline would start plotting her revenge very soon.

She sighed and looked down at her plate, stabbing her fork into the piece of meat that she had cut up and putting it into her mouth. Cleo came and sat in front of her, sending Evangeline a smile when she looked up. "What are you doing, Valentine?" She asked in mild annoyance. "Eating," Cleo replied, shoveling mashed potatoes into her mouth. "Why are you eating here?" Evangeline asked next.

"So that you don't eat alone," Cleo replied as though it were obvious. "I like eating alone," Evangeline deadpanned. Cleo laughed and nodded her head, "Sure you do." Evangeline rolled her eyes and said nothing else, opting to just eat her food and ignore the girl in front of her, though Cleo had other plans. "So, What classes are you most excited about taking this year?" She asked.

Professor Dumbledore spoke before Evangeline could give the girl a rude reply. "Good evening, children. Now, we have two changes in staffing this year. We're pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who'll be teaching Care of Magical Creatures, while Professor Hagrid is on temporary leave. We also wish to welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Dolores Umbridge. And I'm sure you'll all join me in wishing the professor good luck. Now, as usual, our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has asked me to remind you—" Professor Dumbledore's speech was cut off by an annoyingly high pitched clearing of the throat.

He turned to look behind him and a stubby woman dressed in all pink stood up from her seat. Evangeline eyed the woman in distaste before turning back to her food. The woman walked around the table that the professors were sitting at and toward where Dumbledore was standing. "Thank you, headmaster, for
those kind words of welcome," she paused dramatically. "And how lovely to see all your bright, happy faces smiling up at me. I'm sure we're all going to be very good friends," the woman continued.

"That's likely," Evangeline heard Fred and George Weasley say, a few people away from her. She looked up at them and couldn't help but agree with what they said. She knew for a fact that she would not be friends with that woman. Both boys seemed to notice her staring and turned to face her. One of them sent her a wink and she rolled her eyes, turning back to the woman in pink.

"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. Although each headmaster has brought something new to this historic school, progress for the sake of progress must be discouraged. Let us preserve what must be preserved, perfect what can be perfected, and prune practices that ought to be prohibited," she concluded, adding in a high pitched giggle at the end of her speech.

Evangeline could already tell that she was not going to like this woman. She began walking back to her chair and Dumbledore began clapping, eliciting a chorus of sparse clapping from around the room. The headmaster began speaking again and Evangeline ignored him, continuing to eat her meal. "Who does that Umbridge think she is?" Cleo said and Evangeline shrugged.

"I mean, did you see her? Interrupting Professor Dumbledore's speech and acting like she owns the place," Cleo continued. "She's from the Ministry, I'm pretty sure they all act like that. They're all stuck up assholes with no lives," Evangeline muttered. Cleo's eyes widened and her mouth fell open. "Am I dreaming or did Evangeline Caspian actually hold a conversation with me?" She asked.

Evangeline rolled her eyes. "Oh no. Sound the alarms. We cannot stand for such an atrocity," she said. Cleo smiled widely, "And now she's making jokes. Are you feeling all right? Do you need me to take you to Madam Pomfrey?" Evangeline gave the girl a look. "What? This is the most you've spoken to me in the four years that I've known you. Forgive me for being a little surprised," Cleo defended. "Oh don't be so dramatic. We've had conversations before," Evangeline said.

"Me asking you how your day was and you telling me to 'sod off' is not the same as having a conversation," Cleo said. "Hm, sounds like a conversation to me," Evangeline replied, going back to eating. "You, my friend, need a lesson in communication skills. And how to be more social," Cleo responded. "I know how to communicate, I just choose not to do it. And socializing is for people want to make friends, which I don't," Evangeline said.

"How can you not want friends? That's so lonely," Cleo said. Evangeline shrugged, "Maybe I like being alone."

••••

Evangeline walked through the common room later that night only to witness the end of a confrontation between Harry and Seamus Finnigan. She didn't know what had happened nor did she care. She just walked across the room and to the stairs that led to the dorms.

Once she had gotten there, she saw that Hermione was already there and unpacking her things. She looked up as Evangeline entered. "Oh, hello Evangeline," Hermione said in a polite manner. Evangeline didn't reply, instead walking to her side of the room and taking a seat on her bed. Hermione didn't say anything else, just went back to unpacking her things.

The silence in the room became uncomfortable so Evangeline decided to start unpacking some of her things as well. The two girls walked about the room, placing items where they were meant to go and putting their clothes in their respective areas. The silence was becoming too much for Hermione for she decided to break it. "Did you know that the first oranges weren't orange at all?" She asked aloud.

Evangeline paused in what she was doing and turned to face the girl. "What?" She asked. "Yeah, they were actually green. Crazy right?" Hermione laughed nervously. Evangeline stared at her, eyes narrowed in confusion. "Um, okay," she said unsurely, turning back around and going back to doing what she had been doing before.

"Did you know that peanuts aren't really nuts? They're actually legumes. Did you know that?" Hermione continued. Evangeline looked up at the ceiling in annoyance before turning back to her roommate. "What are you doing?" She questioned. "W-what do you mean?" Hermione asked back. "Why are you spewing out useless information that I don't care about? Is this something Muggles do?" She said.

Hermione cleared her throat. "Well, no. I was just— nevermind. Forget I said anything," she said. Evangeline nodded and returned to what she was doing. Hermione left the room after a few minutes and Evangeline decided to get ready for bed.

After changing into her pajamas, she was ready to crawl into her bed and sleep. Hermione returned then, Cleo with her. The two girls also got ready for bed. Evangeline had gotten comfortable in her bed when the lights turned off. She closed her tired eyes and willed herself to fall asleep.