Jekyll and Hyde
Tyene: And I thought you were messed up.
Wanda: (shrugs) There's nothing more comforting then knowing that there's someone out there crazier then you are. I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter 7: Cold Blooded
Helen woke to pandemonium the next morning. Some of the girls in her dorm were crying, while Hermione was rushing about looking for her and gasped in relief when finding her in bed.
"Mia? What's wrong?" Helen asked in confusion.
"It's professor Lockhart! He's been murdered!" Hermione gasped.
Helen's eyes widened and she scrambled out of bed. Hermione lead her downstairs to the common room where Ron was staring blankly at the Daily Prophet George had smuggled into the dorm. When he realized Helen was coming, he quickly closed it and folded it so she couldn't see any of the pictures?
"How?" Helen asked meekly, sliding into the chair next to him. "I thought...I thought they said this was the safest place in Britain..."
"No one knows." Ron said, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders. Helen flinched slightly before leaning against his side, seeking comfort. "Professor Dumbledore seems to think he left on his own free will, and someone attacked him outside the school. His room is totally in tact, no signs of struggle. If I had to guess, I'd say the heir of Slytherin did it."
"Heir...?"
Ron looked at her in concern. "Don't you remember? We saw his first message last night, you told us to go and hide."
"Oh...right..." She had experienced a Blank Space. Maybe Sierra knew something about it...if only there was some way for Helen to talk to her. "I'm sorry, I'm still waking up..."
Ron gave her a sympathetic look and brushed her hair aside with one hand. "Don't worry. I'm sure that the Professors will take care of it."
Helen managed to smile at him before asking, "Where's Ginny?" She looked around, but she couldn't see the redhaired girl anywhere.
"She went out earlier, said she lost something and wanted to ask Professor McGonagall for help finding it." Hermione said. She looked a bit worried. "I would have thought she'd be back by now."
"Let's go looking for her," Helen said anxiously, getting to her feet. "I mean, if Lockhart was murdered...! It's not safe to be out there by herself!"
"She should be with Professor McGonagall," Hermione said soothingly. "It's alright, Helen – they wouldn't let anything happen to her."
Helen bit her lip. "Okay...but if I don't see her by lunch, I'm going to go looking." She said determinedly.
Several Hours Later
When lunch rolled around and Ginny was still nowhere to be seen, Helen darted out of the great hall despite Hermione's protests that they should talk to Professor McGonagal first. She looked in the library and outside in the yard, two places that she had Ginny had hung out before, but she wasn't there.
Ron joined her and was beginning to share her concern. "Where could she have gotten off too?" He wondered as they sprinted through the halls, trying to guess where she might be.
Helen didn't answer; the scar on her forehead was prickling as though stabbed with tiny needles. There was no sense to it, but she was absolutely positive that something was very wrong.
They were just passing by the girl's bathroom when a scream split the air. Helen's heart jumped.
"No! No, no no...! go away! Why...go away, please!"
"Ginny!" Ron shouted, barreling towards the door.
The two Gryffindors burst onto the scene.
/
Sierra was swamped with a familiar haze of rage at the sight.
Ginny was surrounded by a sickly green aura, thrashing and clinging to the door of a stall for dear life as though fighting against her own body. A familiar diary lay on the ground, its pages flipping as though in a windstorm as green light left Ginny and entered it.
Sierra ran forward and snatched it off the floor, throwing it in the air. Burn! She thought furiously.
The wave of power swamped her. An animalistic screech filled the air as a bird of flame burst from her hands and consumed the book. When the flames burnt out, only the toasted cover remained behind. The aura surrounding Ginny dissipated.
Sierra darted forward just in time to catch and prevent Ginny from falling back on the floor. The younger girl was pale as a corpse, her chest heaving as though every breath was painful.
"Ginny? Ginny!? What's wrong? What happened?" Ron asked in a panic, grabbing Ginny's shoulders.
"That's not helpful, Ron!" Sierra said harshly, grabbing his attention. "Help me pick her up, we need to get her to Poppy."
Ron nodded, his face twisted in a way that made him seem nauseous before grabbing Ginny's legs. Sierra stuffed the burnt cover under her arms to present to the teachers. Together, the two of them brought her up the stairs into the hospital wing.
Poppy took Ginny from them, clear distress on her face. Sierra stood there in silence as Professor McGonagall and the other teachers were called down to investigate and ask questions.
Ginny whimpered.
"You're going to be okay, Gin," Ron said shakily, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You're gonna be just fine."
"Is...is he gone...?"
"Is who gone? Ginny, what happened...did someone try to put you under the Imperious Curse!?"
"The what?" Sierra demanded.
Ron looked up at her for a moment, his freckles standing out starkly against his now very pale face. "It's one of the three unforgivable curses, it forces people to do your bidding."
"He...he tried to make me kill Hagrid's chickens..." Ginny whispered, shuddering. "I said no...but then...but then...! It-it was like he was inside me...!"
Sierra's fingernails dug so deeply into her palms she drew blood. "You're safe now, Ginny." She said in a deathly quiet voice. "That diary you found was cursed. I managed to destroy it. Now Poppy's going to take care of you, alright?"
Ginny looked at her, her face streaked with tears. Sierra remembered her smiling and laughing while she played Quidditch, and the dark pool in her stomach deepened...
She reached out and placed her hand on Ginny's forehead. "You'll be just fine." She said. "I'll protect you. Just rest now."
Ginny gave her a tiny nod, relief flooding her face. Ron stayed next to her, asking her questions and giving comforting hugs, while Sierra pivoted on one heel and stormed towards the Headmaster's Office. She stopped at the Gargoyle outside and barked out the name of every magic sweet she knew until it opened – the Headmaster was known for his sweet tooth.
She stepped into the hall when she realized that the Headmaster was already in talks with someone. Pressing herself against the wall in order to remain unseen, Sierra listened.
"...I'm simply wondering how poor Ginerva came across the diary." It was Dumbledore. Wait. He knew about the diary? Sierra thought. How, and why didn't he say anything when he saw Ginny writing in it?
I'm beginning to think Pedo Santa isn't as saintly as people say he is...
"How dare you suggest that?" Lucius demanded. "My first concern for the students of this school."
"And yet...some of the board of governors were under the impression you were threatening their families in order to ensure that I would loose my post this year. Perhaps it is merely a coincidence that this conversation would occur at the same time a threat to reopen the Chamber was found..."
I knew it, Sierra thought darkly. She reached into the her bag, which she had placed an internal expansion charm upon some time ago, and pulled out the invisibility cloak she had been given for Christmas last year and threw it over her head.
She had sent off a message thanks to Colin Creevy, who had a mildly disturbing crush on her, to her friends that she wasn't feeling well and was going to be hiding out for a while, away from the crowds. She said the stress of seeing Ginny attacked was making her feel sick.
Hopefully that would give her the time to do what she had been planning.
Eventually Lucius stormed out of the office, and Sierra discreetly gave chase.
At first she was concerned that he might go to the Ministry – too many people, too easily exposed. However, he instead took the floo to his home allowing her to follow suit without much trouble.
/
The home of the Malfoy's was garishly grandeur. Sierra was reminded of Vernon and Petunia, which didn't do her temper any favours.
Narcissa, the wife, wasn't home. She was out with a social meeting, how many of these pureblood bastards are there?, Sierra wondered darkly.
She had studied up on Transfiguration. It was by far her favourite subject at Hogwarts, since it had so many practical applications and it was the class she excelled at – Helen, as far as she could tell, was more comfortable with Herbology and Charms.
Sierra was a prodigy in transfiguration, something that delighted Professor McGonagall to no end. According to her, her father had also been extremely talented in this field of magic. Though Sierra had different uses for it then the old professor probably had in mind.
Stunning the strange small creature that had filled up the bathtub, Sierra waited until Lucius came into the room. Then she struck.
She disarmed him and blasted him into the tub with a stunner. Lucius sputtered and coughed, flailing around to see who had attacked him. With a flick of her wand, Sierra transfigured the water into a familiar substance – battery acid. It was thick, dark and most importantly very poisonous.
Then she dropped the anvil to pin him.
Sierra watched dispassionately as Lucius vainly struggled to free himself – were all 'superior' wizards helpless without their wands? For pete sake, Vernon put up a better fight...not for long, but it was more then this guy was managing...
Eventually Lucius could no longer keep his head above the acid, and he disappeared. A few bubbles floated up, but then there was nothing.
Sierra let out a snort. "No one touches my things," She muttered darkly. "Ron...Hermione...Ginny... Luna...they're mine...and no one else can take them, harm them...and anyone who does will die screaming."
Noise at the floo. Sierra smiled coldly. The wife was home.
End Chapter
The first mention of the scar prickling. Just as a note...Sierra, Helen's illness and the scar are connected...how, I'll leave you to speculate...but I hope you'll be surprised.
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