AN: Check the first chapter for the disclaimers

So, one of the most irritating things I've found while writing here is the site indicating the UK English spellings wrong. As someone who was brought up being taught those spellings, seeing that stupid red line is so bloody irritating I can't tell you! So those who are wondering why all the American spellings in my story, that's the reason. Blame the site!

Beta's note: As another Brit I can confirm this is really bloody annoying.

Now that the mini-rant is over, let's get on to it.

I know I said it'll take me longer to post the next chapter as I tried to finish 1st year in it. Yeah, well, that's not happening. It had gone over 10k words, so I had to divide it into 2 parts. Here's the first one, it's a bit shorter than the last few chapters, but it'll tide you guys over till the next one, which will be the last of the 1st year.

Enjoy!

Early on next morning, Helen could be found in the room of requirement humming a tune while preparing for a ritual. It was the physical enhancement ritual she had hit a roadblock with a few weeks back because of the unavailability of Re'em's blood. However, she now had troll's blood with her and most of her problems were solved. The ritual originally used Re'em blood but could be modified to utilize troll blood easily. The fact that she had slain the beast herself also boosted the ritual. Instead of just increasing her physical endurance and increasing her resistance to injury, now the ritual would also increase her strength significantly. This was because she would now be using blood she had drawn herself not even ten hours ago.

This was a mesoamerican ritual so it required Nahuatl runes, which she was currently drawing on her body, using a mixture of ingredients including the troll's blood. The runes mostly centered around her solar plexus with a few runes on each of her limbs and back.

The ritual was obviously a dark one, considering the blood component of it. Despite that, the side-effects were rather mild and actually favorable, in her opinion. The ritual would increase her metabolism and accelerate her puberty. Because of this, she was likely to go through a growth spurt over the coming months, big deal. It could be easily explained away as her being an early bloomer and she wanted the puberty to be over soon anyways. What Helen didn't know is that the Potters were notorious for being late bloomers and the ritual would not make her particularly distinct from her classmates. .

Done with the preparations, she stood up and checked her work in a mirror. Satisfied, she centered herself and started pouring magic into the runes over her body. Helen did so for a minute, until she started feeling an ache in her muscles. This was her cue to stop channeling magic and wait for the ritual to take effect. It didn't take long as the pain started building up in her bones as well. The pain in her body was caused by it being modified at a cellular level. Every cell in her body was given higher endurance than normal, making her overall tougher and stronger but not changing her physical appearance.

Soon, the pain started receding from her body leaving behind a dull ache in her muscles, which would remain for about a day. Exhausted, Helen summoned an armchair and settled into it. Curious to see the results, she willed the room to provide a knife for her and sliced her forearm. Or at least she tried to but the knife barely made a scratch. It did cut through her skin when she applied more pressure but Helen was satisfied. Next, she summoned a few wooden boards and punched through them with little effort. This increased endurance would doubtlessly come in handy at some point during the future.

Pleased, Helen moved to the most important part, getting used to her strength. For the next hour, she summoned thin champagne glasses and tried not to break them while holding them up. After somewhat getting used to her strength, Helen left the room and went back to Ravenclaw tower to get ready for the day. The night before, Ravenclaw house had grilled Helen about the incident with the troll. There were questions about why she was there and why didn't she call the professors. Then there were calls to give details about the fight itself. They were all awed and amazed by her description. Throughout her story, her year-mates' expressions were a mixture of worry, wonder and a hint of worship, she rather liked the last part.

Today the worry was gone but the wonder and worship remained. It might have had something to do with Helen encouraging such thoughts through legilimency. She wanted the group to completely follow her and she judged that this incident would push past their last bit of doubt or reluctance. This assessment was proved correct from the way they all waited for her and looked for her approval throughout the day. When they went for breakfast, they subconsciously arranged themselves around and behind her. At the table as well, they sat in a manner as to subtly indicate her as the leader of the group. The rest of Ravenclaw had also shown a certain degree of respect for her actions and decisiveness.

Helen had taken seats near the door and had kept an eye at them. As soon as she saw her mark, she called her, "Hermione, why don't you join us for breakfast today?"

The Gryffindor was startled for a second and then came over nervously. Helen encouraged her with a warm smile, "Good morning, why don't you take this spot?" she indicated to the space in front of Hermione. She hesitantly sat and introductions were made. Slowly, she opened up and started chatting with the Ravenclaws, feeling at ease with the more intellectually geared group. She kept on glancing Helen's way throughout the breakfast, shying away and blushing slightly whenever she was caught looking. Since everyone had the first two periods free, they went back to the Ravenclaw tower to laze around a bit and Helen invited Hermione along.

Hermione was reluctant to go because she didn't want to break any rules by entering the house dormitory, but the rumored private library inside Ravenclaw tower was a strong point to the contrary. When Helen informed Hermione that it wasn't against the rules, her curiosity won out and she accompanied them upstairs. Before entering they made her promise not to reveal any secrets of Ravenclaw to anyone else and then explained to her how to enter the common room.

Hermione was amazed by the common room but that didn't hold her attention for long. As soon as she spotted the small library to the side, she was gone so fast, it was like she had apparated into it. Ten minutes later Helen dragged the reluctant girl out from the library and up to their oval. To say Hermione was jealous of the arrangement would be a huge understatement. After giving her a small tour they all settled in and were discussing a variety of topics, making Hermione feel a part of the group. The smart girl had realized what was happening and gave a grateful smile to Helen for it.

During their discussions the topic of Hermione's sorting came up. The Ravenclaws were confused how she ended up in Gryffindor when she obviously belonged in Ravenclaw. A blushing Hermione had explained how she had argued with the hat to put her in the house that Albus Dumbledore belonged in, in retrospect it was obviously a terrible choice. While the group had a laugh, Helen made a mental facepalm. People should be looking up to her, not Dumbledore.

Helen realized that the girl had huge potential but also exhibited a submissive demeanor, with a tendency to follow authority figures blindly. She could use this behavior into making the girl one of her own. By the way the girl was sneaking glances at Helen, she seemed to already have a crush on her. The girl was cute and would grow into a beautiful woman, so that particular route would be open to Helen as well.

Hermione's sorting discussion shifted to a discussion on Helen's sorting. Everyone was curious about her long sorting process and how everyone expected her to be a Griffindor. Hermione informed them that the Gryffindor crowd was really disappointed by not getting her. Helen told them how the hat was indecisive over her placement. The hat had said that she could go and thrive in any of the Hogwarts houses but had finally settled on Ravenclaw due to her intelligence and thirst for knowledge. It was almost the truth as the hat had Slytherin as the first choice for her but one which she had rejected due to the current environment over there being completely unsuitable for her.

Hermione had also informed them about Weasley's fate. McGonagall had gone hard on him, especially when he did not admit to any wrongdoing and justified his statements. The head of Gryffindor had given him one whole month of detention with Snape and Fitch on alternate days. But that wasn't the worst of it. The twins, having heard what he had said and caused, were not happy with him and had planned cruel pranks for him over the next month. Their elder brother Percy had written to their mother about Ron's behavior and it was rumored that the Weasley matriarch was very fond of Howlers.

XXXXX

It was 3rd of November and the first quidditch match of the season was upon them. Gryffindor vs Slytherin, the long standing rivalry had the whole school excited. Even the Ravenclaw's were stirred by the atmosphere.

The last few days in the build up to the match had seen increased hostility between the two houses. Spontaneous fights would break out and spells were flying throughout the corridors. One day the Gryffindor captain and keeper had to skip lunch and dinner due to him being under Madam Pomfrey's care, after being hit by some curse in the back. The very next day all the 7th year Slytherin were puking their guts out right after dinner. Helen suspected the Weasley twins were behind that particular mishap. On the day of the match, the teams were escorted to the great hall for breakfast by their housemates and then escorted in a similar fashion down to the Quidditch pitch.

Hilliard had gathered his own team and they were going to attend the match together to observe the rival teams at play and compare notes.

What they saw had them worried. Up until now, they had assumed that Gryffindor would be the weakest team with a disjointed chaser trio and a sub-par seeker. They were right about the seeker but nothing else. The beater's were very well coordinated, which was completely on brand for the Weasley twins. Their keeper was probably the best in Hogwarts and would likely go on to be a professional player. It was the chaser trio, or the 'Flying Foxes' as the entertaining commentator was calling them, that had them surprised and worried. Despite being young and inexperienced, Johnson, Spinnet and Bell were very well synchronized and were holding their own against the much more experienced Slytherin lineup.

Slytherin were as they were expected, experienced, well structured and aggressive. Their game plan revolved around not letting the opposition team utilize their strategies, by any means necessary. They weren't afraid of committing fouls or being physical, and this obviously threw off the Gryffindors.

An hour had passed since the start and currently the score was 70-50 in favor of Slytherin and the gap was only getting larger. If Mclaggen, the Gryffindor seeker, didn't catch the snitch soon, the lions would surely lose. Both Wood and Johnson were carrying knocks that were affecting their performance and the twins were slowly being overwhelmed by the collective efforts of the opposition.

Half an hour later it was over. Gryffindor had managed only three more goals while the Slytherin team had scored five in return, when the snitch was caught by Higgs with McLaggen nowhere in sight. The match ended 270-80 giving Slytherin a huge 190 point lead from the get go.

XXXXX

Two weeks had passed and now it was time for Helen's first game. Over the course of those weeks, Helen had taken to flirting with Cedric a bit but he seemed to know what was going on and never gave up any of his team's tactics. That didn't mean they didn't enjoy the flirting though. Helen had earlier decided that she wasn't going to use mind magic to influence her chances in Quidditch because she rather enjoyed the game and challenge that came with it.

Hilliard had stepped up the training after the first match and had a manic look about him. The match day dawned with light mist which would be gone by the time the match started. Hilliard had ordered the team to bed early last night and had them gather in the common room early in the morning for a final tactical discussion. They knew they would never outscore the Badgers, so they planned to play defensively and employ all the delaying tactics they knew of to give Helen the opportunity to catch the snitch.

Helen was using a new Cleansweep 7, a decent broom with only the latest Nimbus being faster than it. It was a good broom for both the chaser and seeker positions because it had good acceleration as well as almost unrivaled handling. Helen didn't own the broom though, it belonged to Hilliard who had bought it as an 'emergency' broom with the money he had happened to find on his bed after Flitwick had checked it for doxy infestation. Flitwick had, in turn, coincidentally found the exact same amount of money on a chair after a meeting with Miss Potter.

Soon, the teams were lined up over the pitch waiting for Madam Hooch to finish giving instructions. She had inquired about her broom but it was a mere formality as she was also in on the scheme. Helen would later find out that she had actually suggested it to Flitwick in the first place. Just before Hooch blew her whistle, Helen gave another flirtatious smile to Cedric and they were off.

Within minutes, they realized this was going to be an extremely tough game. The Hufflepuff team was very good and already had multiple attempts on goal. By the ten minute mark, despite Ravenclaw's defensive efforts, the Badgers were up 20-0. Helen figured that unless the status quo changed, even her catching the snitch wouldn't save them the match. So she charged at the chaser open for pass and checked him, blocking the quaffle with her broom. Then, she flew onwards in a zig-zag motion, bluffing a snitch sighting. She got Cedric's attention and dragged him around for a bit, while the loose quaffle was collected by a quick Cho and passed on to open Hilliard who went on to score their first goal. As soon as the goal was scored, Helen stopped and gave Cedric an impish smirk, who then realized he had been played.

The game continued in the same vein for the next forty minutes but Hufflepuff were still slowly pulling away. The scores sat at 90-50 on the hour mark when something unexpected happened.

As Helen was flying in a loop, searching for the snitch, her broom suddenly gave a jerk nearly dismounting her. When she stopped and examined it, it lurched again and she barely managed to hold onto it. Helen recognized quickly that it wasn't a fault in the broom, rather someone was cursing it. Cursing a broom was no ordinary feat as the modern brooms were loaded with a bucket load of anti-curse wards and spells, otherwise professional quidditch would become a death match. Combine that fact with a motive and there was only one candidate who could curse her while she was thirty metres above ground. She quickly glanced towards the staff area and indeed Quirrell's lips were moving silently while his eyes were fixed on her as he continued his curse. She saw two more things that had her surprised. One, Snape's lips were also moving and she realized he was trying to counter the curse. Two, Hermione was sneaking towards them under the rafters, having realized what was happening.

Helen tightly held on to the broom as the other players had also stopped playing, with Cedric now hovering a few feet under her in case her grip slipped. Hermione had reached her target and lit Snape's robes on fire. Wait, what?

She had thought Snape was cursing her. Of course she did! Snape looked and behaved like a typical Bond Villain. He wasn't the most pleasant person and seemed to target her during classes. He also looked like the main suspect with his lips moving in the counter curse while Quirrell's looked to be trembling. But, nonetheless, her actions worked, as Quirrell's concentration was broken as soon as the fire broke out and Helen's broom stabilized. She remounted it and the game restarted; Quirrell didn't try anything again for the fear of detection.

Helen spotted the snitch a few times over the next half an hour, but every time Cedric was closer to it, so she had to fake in the other direction to get him away from it. Finally, she got lucky with the snitch being roughly equidistant between them both. Helen immediately went for it but Cedric was no sloth though and he too accelerated, having realized that this was the real deal. The snitch, realizing it was being tailed, now started flying in a random pattern to shake its pursuers off. Helen had a small lead, having seen the golden ball first with Cedric behind her on her right. Suddenly, the snitch made a ninety degree turn to the right and flew upwards causing Helen's advantage to disappear. She and Cedric were now neck to neck urging their brooms forward when the ball again changed course and few downwards. They were nearly onto it when it started flying horizontally just a few feet above the ground. Both made a go for it at the same time, resulting in a collision. They tumbled and rolled on the ground for a few feet and came to a stop after a few feet with Helen lying on top of Cedric.

Cedric looked up into her eyes and said with a smile, "Good match." Helen replied, "Good match indeed," and raised her hand showing the caught snitch. The crowd, who had gone silent during their chase, roared in approval and the commentator announced the final score 230-150 with Ravenclaw winning by 80 points.

Before getting up she said, "Thank you for earlier. I know you wouldn't have let me fall." and kissed him near his mouth on his check. Leaving the blushing boy, she got up and was immediately caught by her team. They proceeded to lift her over their shoulders and took a victory lap around the pitch. As soon as she dismounted her friends tackled her into a group hug and were cheering on excitedly. Soon, the procession moved into the Ravenclaw common room and a party was planned for the evening. On the way back she saw a blushing Cedric being teased by his year-mates about winning despite losing the match. Upon meeting his eyes, she gave him a wink causing him to blush further and his mates to intensify their assault on the poor boy.

For the party Helen had changed into a black scoop neck sleeveless romper dress. It had a front split knee length overskirt and huge bright roses printed on it. To go with the dress, she had slipped into black pencil heels and applied makeup to match the dress with light eyeshadow and blush, black eyeliner and glossy dark pink lipstick. This was the first time she was going all out and wanted to bedazzle everyone. She entered the oval and found most of her dorm-mates waiting. The boys were slack-jawed at her appearance and couldn't take their eyes off her. The girls shooed them out and waited for Mandy and Morag who were running a bit late. All the girls had followed her advice and were all also decked up in beautiful dresses borrowed from Helen. Hermione was present too and was looking rather fetching in a denim skirt with a destroyed hem and a plain white sleeveless top. Helen went up to her and whispered in her ear, "You look lovely" and pecked her cheek causing her to turn vermilion. She continued, "and thank you for the fire," giving Hermione a knowing smile, causing the latter's eyes to widen. After Mandy and Morag were ready they went down as a group with Helen coming last out of the stairwell.

As soon as they reached the common room, the first year girls were cornered by the older girls who were curious about their dresses. When they were informed about Helen being the supplier, they commended her choices and a discussion of fashion ensued. Cho even asked if she could borrow a few pieces from time to time.

The party was a smashing success with lots of food and butterbeer being available and with a lot of games and dancing involved. Helen was once again the center of attraction and this time around there was no sulking jealous boy to break the mood. She danced with a lot of boys and had unconsciously coaxed the good-looking ones to hold her closer. She had even danced a slow number with a crimson Hermione, who despite her embarrassment was unwilling to let her go at the end of the song. Professor Flitwick also joined the party and later escorted Hermione back to the Gryffindor tower.

As the party winded down, the first years decided to have an after party of their own in their oval. They played many party games while relaxing on the couches. At one point Padma asked Helen, "Can you teach me how to fight?'' The others looked interested as she continued, "You took down a mountain troll, which most adults cannot do. That you did it in close quarters while protecting Hermione speaks volumes of your talent and skill. Not only that, you are the first one to learn spells and you do so with understanding far beyond our own."

Helen, who was leaning on Lisa with her legs in Micheal's lap, gave it some thought. Finally she asked, "Are you all interested in this? Do you all want me to teach you?" seeing them nod enthusiastically she consented. "Alright I'll do it. But please don't break my faith. You are my first friends and you letting me down will break my heart," she said, making her voice thick with fake emotions.

Padma looked horrified and quickly placated her, "I'll never betray you. You're my friend." When everyone else followed quickly as well she gave them a dazzling smile and they started planning out schedules. Internally, Helen was very pleased because this would completely cement her place as their leader and them as her followers.

Hope you enjoyed the two quidditch matches. If you all want me to write detailed matches, tell me so and I'll see what I can do.

Thank you once again 1saaa, and you guys better thank him as well, or you would still be reading my original horrible unedited draft :D

Please R&R.