AN: Check the first chapter for disclaimers
Warning: This chapter has a non-con section in it
Helen had followed her own suggestion and stopped worrying about everything and everyone, she didn't let anyone bother her anymore. She even let her advanced knowledge show during classes, earning approval and respect from the teachers. Morag and Robert had taken over working out and deciding strategies for their Quidditch practices, whereas up until now Helen was also actively participating in it.
Helen had also stopped keeping an eye on the Weasley's too, as it was too much of a bother and she would have to wait and watch for something to happen anyways. She already knew it was the Weasley girl she had to look out for so all she had to do was wait for Tom Riddle to make the first move.
Most of her time was now spent on her enchanting and potions studies. She had tested her two-way mirror with Padma and while they worked fine she wasn't satisfied with their limitations and had started working on a different schematic to allow multiple channels to work at the same time. Instead of working on the mobile devices i.e. the mirrors, she started working on a central hub through which all the communications would be connected.
She had been working on it for a month now and while she believed that she had achieved success there were a few issues. So far, she had managed to devise a central rune structure to function as a central communications hub and had used multiple materials as the base to varying degrees of success.
First she had used gems but they were an utter failure due to the rigidity of their molecular structure. Next she had tried metals but they ended at the opposite end of the spectrum as while they worked fine for a few moments, they ended up melting as she increased the number of comms channels.
After experimenting a lot she realized that the ideal material for the hub would have to be a good conductor which could still mention its form under increased magical load. So, it had to be itself magically inert but allow magic to channel or conduct though it. The closest thing which met such requirements were the wands, however, even they weren't completely magically inert as using a wand continuously over a long period of time could burn it out. In fact, there had been documented cases of such instances.
So for now, she was stuck due to limitations of nature and material. She thought of making a staff for her purposes but rejected the idea as they would also eventually burn out under the enormous load of communications. They could work for a small closed network of mirrors though, something to think on later.
XXXXX
Lockhart had decided to take over her detention, which Helen guessed he was going to use as an excuse to befriend her. She had already met him once and he had subtly hinted a desire form a closer rapport with her so that their combined fame would catapult them firmly into the elite social circle of magical Britain and on the world stage as well. She had given Lockhart a positive indication towards the idea without agreeing with him outright.
Her detention was after the last class on Friday, so she could wear anything she wanted. She decided for a smart form-fitting sleeveless black blouse with a beige A-line skirt that ended just above her knees. She left her hair open in waves falling over her back and only applied light make-up, just a dark green eyeliner to highlight the color of her eyes and a colorless lip gloss to make her lips shine. Judging that she was presentable enough for an evening of socialization... ahem, Detention, she donned a plain black ankle length robe over her outfit and made her way to DADA office.
Lockhart admitted her inside a few seconds after she knocked.
"Ah, Helen, come on in. Heard you got in a spot of trouble", Lockhart said somewhat tiredly, probably due to having classes all day.
He continued as they entered his office proper, "Do you mind if we take this into the living quarters? I am a bit beaten after classes all day and would like a cup of tea while we discuss your punishment," winking at his last word.
Helen gave a smile as she replied affirmatively. He then led them to his living quarters through a side door and they entered into a living room with elegant decorations and beautiful furniture to match. Helen could see Lockhart's influence all over the place, as she was sure that all that stuff surely did not come from the school. The walls and woodwork were cream in color while the curtains, rugs and all the other soft surfaces like the armchairs and sofa were in Egyptian blue, a nod to his Ravenclaw affiliation.
Lockhart told her to make herself comfortable and she settled on the sofa after shrugging off her robe, crossing her legs at a slight angle with her hands resting on knees. He himself sat casually in one of the armchairs across the coffee table.
She saw his eyes subtly checking her legs and the form fitting blouse for a second before he called his house-elf and ordered tea for both of them. As they waited for the beverages he started addressing her.
"I heard what happened with the youngest Mr Weasley. Quite an annoying boy, isn't he?" he commented with a raised eyebrow and a playful smirk. Helen gave a sheepish smile.
"You see we, as famous as we are, tend to attract all sorts of people. Most of them are polite and genuinely just want to meet their idol or be awed by our presence. Some might want an autograph or a picture to remember the highlight of meeting their star and or gloat over their peers. Those are the kind of people that are easy and pleasant to deal with."
He paused as a couple of cups appeared on the coffee table, filled with dark liquid along with a plate full of assorted snacks to go with the tea. He indicated she indulged herself and picked his cup from the saucer taking a sip, and sighed as he relaxed into the armchair. Helen took a sip as well and detected a spicy flavor. She guessed the tea was on Asian variety, probably Indian or Malayan.
After a couple of sips Lockhart continued, "However, not all the people are kind and well-meaning. Some want to use you for their own benefit, while some want to associate with you so that they themselves could enter the limelight. Then, there are some who want to bring you down and tarnish your reputation. Now, I'll tell you how to deal with all the types and how to avoid confrontations with the foul, loud mouthed types."
For the next half an hour he talked about tricks and tactics to deal with all kinds of people and gave her tips on how to handle the especially tricky one. Helen was surprised that she actually found his words useful and listened to him carefully.
Once he was done, he got up and summoned a roll of parchment, a quill and an ink-pot and placed them in front of her and instructed her to write a summary of what they had discussed. "After all, this is a detention" and left her alone to work on the essay.
Half an hour later, Helen heard him enter the room again and felt him lean over her shoulder to look at her work. He smelt nice and fresh as if he had just come out of a shower.
XXXXX
Lockhart came around the sofa and joined her on it, sitting in the center to look at her essay. For the next five minutes they discussed the essay and he praised her on her good grasp of the topic.
After that was done, he banished the writing material and shifted slightly to turn towards her so that their knees touched and he looked at the beautiful girl directly, making sure that his wand remained out of sight in his right hand, hidden by his legs.
With a smile that he knew presented his face the best he said, "It seems you have learned quite a bit from me in just a short time."
He lowered his left arm, which had been lying on the back of the sofa, to her shoulder, placing his fingers on her bare left shoulder.
"Now imagine what all you could learn from me over a longer period of association."
The girl had tensed immediately at the skin contact but she relaxed fairly quickly, which he guessed was the effect of the inhibition loosening potion he had spiked her tea with. She breathed deeply as her eyes quickly wandered over his body, probably checking him out. He had deliberately worn a loose white linen shirt with a laced deep neck, which showed off a chiseled chest and a tight leather pant which left nothing to imagination.
He brought his right hand, still holding his wand, to rest over his right thigh, drawing her eyes to the tight material. The girl took another deep breath, and incidentally took another whiff of the mild love potion based cologne he was wearing, and looked into his eyes with an expression he couldn't decipher.
However, her eyes were dark, filled with passion, displaying that she was ready to dance at his whim. He brought his right hand over to her bare right thigh and rubbed the smooth skin softly with his thumb.
His lips curved into a smirk, which he knew girls found sexy and sinful and asked in a deep voice, "So, do you want to be associated with me?" as if her reply mattered.
She replied something in a whisper, but it didn't matter anyways and he leaned in to capture those sweet lips with his own. And sweet they were, sweet and soft and ... unmoving? He guessed that she probably didn't actually know how to kiss so he demonstrated it to her by pulling her closer to him and started moving his own lips, pushing his tongue to pry her mouth open.
Finally, she started kissing him back and put her hand on his chest to support herself. After a minute of sideways make-out which didn't allow him to explore her body properly, he pulled her on top of him with her legs on either side of his and his hardness pressing directly at her core, while still attached at the lips. As his tongue continued to explore her mouth, his left hand started doing the same with her body.
He marveled at the smooth texture of her thigh as his hand traced the warm skin under her skirt up to the edge of her panties. She seemed to enjoy that based on the slight tightening of her fingers in his hair.
He waved his wand and banished her clothes leaving her in a lacy black bra through which he could see her nipples and minuscule panties. He took a moment to appreciate the marvelous sight and commented with a victorious smirk, "You came prepared, I see."
He started pawing her breasts, as they resumed kissing and soon removed the flimsy lace, leaving her only in her thong. He waved his wand once more and divested himself of all his clothes, leaving her sitting on his hardness.
Slowly but firmly, he started pushing her downwards with his hand on her neck. She traced the path downwards with kisses and nibbles all over his neck, chest and stomach. But finally after a long delay she reached the place he really wanted her at.
Slowly the girl took him in her small warm hands and gave a tentative jerk sending small waves of pleasure through his body. But he wanted her to use her mouth so he again firmly pushed her head towards him. His intentions finally got across as she gave him a lick on the underside on his lower head.
Finally the young Ravenclaw took him in her mouth and sucked his head causing him to moan in pleasure. She continued to do so without his prompting so he moved his hand back to her breasts to fondle and squeeze the supple mounds.
After a while though she didn't progress to take more on him inside her mouth so he dropped his wand, deeming it unnecessary now and pressed her head down, forcing her to take more of him inside and throw his head back as pleasure coursed through his body.
XXXXX
Helen had started to panic slightly now, as he had yet to let go of his wand. While she could attack him wandlessly, normal spells were much weaker that way and if she failed he would have the drop on her and would only need a moment to have her completely under his control.
She had been playing along because she knew he was a renowned duelist and till he had his wand in his hand, she couldn't act. She had delayed since the start of the encounter by playing the innocent girl card all the while employing Occlumency to keep control of her emotions and keep an eye on his wand. She was slightly rattled when he had pulled her on his lap and again when he had removed most of her clothes. Her shields had finally wavered when he had removed his clothes.
Knowing where this was heading had filled her with dread, especially when he started forcing her downwards. So she had been imagining the retribution she would deliver him to keep herself under control, while letting her body be on auto-pilot. She had again delayed by kissing and biting him on the way down in the hopes of making him drop his wand but to no avail.
She finally took his equipment in her mouth, which she in her occluded state judged to be quite impressive, thinking that if he didn't let go his wand after this, she would have to resort on elemental magic and hope that he was distracted enough for her to gain an upper hand before he could react.
Her chance came as he finally dropped his wand to push her head down on him. She unconsciously relaxed her throat to avoid gagging, as her hand subtly crept to her calf to her hidden secondary wand, her main one lying uselessly in her robe's pocket. It was difficult to reach for a wand stashed on the calf while kneeling between his legs without letting him know.
As he threw his head back in pleasure, she pulled out the wand and struck with a non-verbal Stupefy, rendering him unconscious. Helen then released him from her mouth and shakily stood up to look down at the unconscious man. She shot another Stupefy at him, this time verbally, to be sure and then promptly collapsed on the coffee table and curled into herself, finally releasing her emotion from their occluded cage.
She hyperventilated for several minutes after an emotional ordeal and what she just avoided. After several minutes her tears started drying up (when did they appear?) and other emotions took over, those of anger and fury.
She got up and cast several Scourgify on herself and turned to Lockhart. He had gone soft and his head was still thrown back, now hanging over the back on the sofa. She bound his hands separately, each extending to his either side, by transfiguring the arm rests to have ropes coming out of them. Then as an extra precaution she stuck them to the sofa with a sticking spell. Next, his legs were treated the same and he was finally in a kind of spread eagle form but while sitting. As a finishing touch, she conjured a ball gag and fixed it in his mouth.
Satisfied with the setup she pointed her wand at his softness and didn't bother with a rennervate and instead snarled, "Crucio"
He jumped up with a scream, or at least he would have if he wasn't tied down and gagged. Helen kept the spell going and took satisfaction in his tortuous struggles and muffled howls. She kept the spell on him for a minute before letting up.
One effect of the Cruciatus curse, apart from the obvious torturous pain all over the body, was that it fired up all the nerves at the impact area. So after a minute of holding the curse, Lockhart had become hard again, despite the torture.
"You thought you could force yourself on me?" She snarled shrilly, "That you could Rape me? You pathetic bastard!"
Remembering Fawley's reaction from last year, she pointed her wand again at his hardness and slowly made cuts on the sensitive head, while Lockhart tried to shriek around his gag. After several cuts she put down her wand and punched the man in his gut, causing him to try to double over against the binds. She followed that with a few punches to his face turning his handsome face into a mess of bruises and cracked skin.
When she realized that she had accidentally knocked him out she 'rennervated' him with another Crucio. Before continuing her retribution she pointed her wand at his face and coldly uttered "Legilimens".
She had expected him to have formidable shields, but encountered only very basic defense, which was already shattered from the torture. Slightly surprised, she plunged into his mind to discover his secrets and weaknesses. And secrets she found, she discovered the truth behind his endeavors. The truth was that they were not his endeavors at all, but of other people who he had obliviated after gaining enough details to write a book on them.
However, he had been smart and had covered his tracks by actually going to the places and leaving evidence of his presence there, in case someone took a closer look. He had also altered the memories of various people who had come in contact with the original person. Afterwards he had also practiced all the spells that were used in various encounters, which actually made him slightly competent and had carefully edited his books so that there no dates overlapped and such. It was by that practice that he had become a decent enough dueler.
She also discovered that he had actually tried to potion her, which had failed because of the rituals she had performed, or else by now he would have had her and probably with her potion-ed consent. This caused Helen's blood to boil and she gave him another round of Cruciatus while shrieking profanities at him.
She again entered his mind and discovered that she wasn't his first victim and that he had been doing the same act for years now. Most of the time potions worked and the girl would comply with his 'suggestions'. But sometimes the girl in question resisted the potions, so he would force himself on her with the use of binding and immobilization spells. Afterwards he would Obliviate his victims and move on to the next target.
She plundered his mind more violently after that and discovered all his secrets, weaknesses and everything else that was useful. She came out of his mind feeling particularly vicious and continued his torture with liberal use of bone breaking curses, cutting curses and fire whips as well as several dark curses which were designed for torture without breaking the victim's mind, unlike the Cruciatus.
After an hour of continuous work, Helen finally stopped, satisfied for now. Lockhart was lying unconscious with the sofa soaked in his blood; bruises, welts, cuts and burn marks decorating his body, and with several of his ribs broken and his right shoulder dislocated.
She absently cleared herself of blood, which she had gotten while cutting him up with a conjured knife and summoned a few medicinal potions he kept, all the while thinking up the plan to use him and his resources for her benefit. She had already decided to keep him alive for now, as he was more useful to her alive then dead.
Since she did not want his injuries to show, she forced a couple of blood replenishing potions down his throat and healed his cuts. Next she fixed up his bones and forced a whole bottle of skele-gro down his throat. After that, she healed all the bruises and other marks that would be visible during a normal day, but left all the rest unattended.
She immobilized him with a 'Petrificus Totalus' after setting his head upright, conjured a stool in front of him and placed herself on it. She rennervated him, this time with the proper spell and immediately entered his mind while he was still in a drowsy semi-conscious state. She started implementing suggestions in his mind, which normally would be a very difficult task, but since she had already broken his mind somewhat, it was simpler. Simpler, but not easy as the mind was quite complex, and thus she took her time to carefully implant the right thoughts, suggestions and triggers.
Helen was going to make him her slave, while he kept his public persona the same as before. By the time she was done, he would live only to please her and do his utmost to follow her every whim, or die trying.
Most of what she wanted could have been easily done with the imperious curse but it could be resisted or overcome by strong mental fortitude, not that Lockhart had any, or broken due to external influences. However, the goblins could detect the curse and she planned on him going to the goblins very soon. Due to that, she was going to use legilimency, pain and pleasure conditioning (a stick and carrot approach) as well as aura manipulation to turn him into her slave. It would take almost a week of daily work and she would actually have to get him off a few times as a 'reward', but she would do the unpleasant activity as the final result would be greatly satisfying.
Once done, she levitated and deposited him on his bed, and returned to the living room. After getting dressed she left, planning to have a long hot bath to scrub herself clean.
XXXXX
Helen came out of his mind, satisfied at finally having him completely under her control after over a week's worth of work. He was kneeling in front of her, as she sat in his armchair, still in her uniform.
"What a tiring day it has been, my feet hurt," she casually commented. Lockhart immediately lunged forward to take her feet in his hands, but stopped just before touching and looking at her with imploring eyes, seeking permission. She gave him a nod, internally satisfied.
He immediately took her right foot in careful hands, slowly removed the heels and socks she was wearing and started giving her a foot massage. After a few minutes he gave her left foot the same treatment. Helen thoroughly enjoyed both the massage as well as the satisfaction of a job well done in enslaving the man.
Wanting to humiliate him further, she ordered him to lick her feet clean and he did so with a smile on his face. As a reward she let him caress her calves for a while as she relaxed while enjoying the pleasant sensation, since his libido and attraction wasn't something she had removed. In fact, Helen had intensified his desire for her, since it helped in him following her orders.
"I want you to go to Gringotts as soon as possible and funnel your wealth into the reconstruction of the Potter Manor. However, be discreet about it. Am I understood?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, mistress." Lockhart replied with a bowed head, still kneeling before her.
"Next, I want to use your contacts to get an invite to this year's ministry Yule ball and you will RSVP with me as your plus one."
"Yes, mistress. Thank you, mistress." He replied with a happy smile on his face, which reminded her of a dog who had just been praised by its master.
"There, you will introduce me to all your important contacts as well as to all the members of Wizengamot that you know personally. Do that well and I will reward you beyond your dreams, slave."
He nodded eagerly with hope in his eyes and she left him to his own devices.
XXXXX
Halloween was approaching and the weather had taken a turn for the worse. The skies were heavy with clouds and they had regular showers throughout the week. Helen had maintained her routine though of getting up early to workout and practice magic. This morning was different though.
On her way to the RoR she found a girl, first year by the looks of it, curled up in an alcove near the entrance of Ravenclaw tower. On closer inspection, she found that it was Luna Lovegood, the seer first year girl, one she had vowed to look out for but had forgotten due all that has been happening in her life. She looked as the girl shivered and tried to curl further into herself to protect from the cold. All she was wearing was a flimsy nightie which gave her no protection whatsoever from the elements.
Helen gently shook the girl up, feeling a bit guilty and determined to help her out. Luna woke up slowly and looked at her with tired eyes.
"Good morning, are you going to practice magic?" She asked, as if it was normal for her to sleep on the floor out in the open in cold weather and to know about the secret schedule that Helen followed.
Helen shook her head at the absurdity of the situation and replied with a kind smile, "Not anymore, now I'm going to take you back to Ravenclaw tower. What were you doing out here anyways?" she asked gently, as she helped the girl up and wrapped her robe around her.
Luna replied in a quirky voice, "Oh, the nargles pulled me out of my bed and then locked me out of the tower. They are pranksters you see, the nargles. They like to play jokes on people."
"Uh-huh." Helen replied distractedly, as she tried to translate her words to normal speech. It seemed that someone was bullying Luna. Something that Helen had anticipated but not acted on. Some of them had to be Luna's year-mates, but at least one of the tormentors had to be senior to block the entry of the tower. Her mind immediately went to Marietta Edgecombe, Cho's friend and her fellow 3rd year, as she was the type to do something needlessly cruel and petty.
Helen guided Luna back inside the tower and to her own Oval, instead of the first year one. There she pulled the sofa as close to fire-place as possible safely, and laid the tired girl on it, covering her up with a summoned blanket. She then sang Luna back to sleep, while still holding her in her arms. Once she was sure that Luna was asleep Helen carefully detached herself from the girl and made her way to the third year oval after applying Disillusionment Charm on herself.
She found Marietta's room and quietly entered inside to find the said girl asleep. After sealing and sound-proofing the door, she turned to the third year girl and quickly petrified her before hitting her with a rennervate and a legilimens. Helen found that Marietta indeed was the instigator and had two first year girls as accomplices. She went to work and emerged from the room fifteen minutes later, having applied a conditioning in the girl's mind similar to what she did to Lockhart but on a much smaller scale and with a very specific trigger. Now, whenever Marietta so much as thought ill will towards Luna, she would remember feeling extreme pain coursing through her body and would feel dread that it was going to happen soon again. Helen went straight to the first year oval and both the girls were given the same treatment.
Satisfied that this would keep Luna safe for now, Helen went back to her oval and relaxed next to the blonde girl, who immediately shifted and laid her head in her lap.
That morning the second year Ravenclaw's were treated to a rare sight of Helen Potter asleep. Even stranger was the fact that a first year girl was sleeping with her head in her lap and her arms around Helen, who in turn had her own curled protectively around the little waif of the girl.
At breakfast, Helen was seen intensely discussing something with her biggest fan Colin Creevey, who had a determined expression on his face. He gave a firm nod after the discussion and Helen planted a kiss on his check, causing him to blush, and she passed him a small square object. From that day onwards, Colin rarely followed Helen, instead he could always be found in the close proximity of Luna Lovegood, the whimsical first year Ravenclaw.
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Halloween evening saw every student in Hogwarts enjoying the grand feast at the great hall. Helen had made sure that Hermione was present in the hall this time around. The house elves had out done themselves and Helen, who usually was very particular about her diet, was also indulging herself on the vast spread of greasy but mouth-watering food.
After the meal the second year Ravenclaws started making their way up to their tower to relax and enjoy the festival. However, they were barely out of the double doors, when Helen heard a voice
"... rip ... tear ... kill ..."
Blood drained from her face as she immediately recognized the voice. A part of her mind scolded herself for not predicting what the dairy version of Tom's soul was going to do. She should have realized it sooner that he would obviously go for that damned overgrown snake, as from his perspective he had visited her only a few months ago.
But most of her mind was consumed with finding Hermione, her muggleborn friend. Helen found Hermione just exiting the great hall and immediately yanked at her arm, keeping her close but slightly behind her. The girl was confused, but wisely didn't question her and silently followed her. Padma, who had also noticed her reaction, smartly realized something was wrong and had slipped her wand in her hand.
The voice seemed to grow fainter as it was moving upward the same way the rest of her friends were going, so she followed them immediately on the grand marble staircase slipping her own wand in her hand. As she reached the first floor, distantly, from the floor above, and growing fainter still, he heard the voice: "... I smell blood... I SMELL BLOOD!"
'Fuck!' Helen thought and carefully but quickly made her way up, reaching the second floor before the rest of the group. She peaked around the corner towards the girls' lavatory where she knew the entrance of the Chamber was hidden.
Something was shining on the wall ahead. She approached slowly on the wet floor and saw a dark shape hanging underneath the words that had been daubed on the wall between two windows, shimmering in the light cast by the flaming torches.
Realizing it was a cat and that the danger was probably past, she withdrew her wand and gestured to Padma to do so as well. They were quickly joined by the rest of Ravenclaws and the Griffindor who were also ascending to their own tower.
Lisa finally asked what was in everyone's mind, "What does that mean?"
She was of course referring to the words written in blood, 'The Chamber of secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware.'
"What's going on here? Why aren't you moving?" Argus Filch came shouldering his way through the crowd. Then he saw the cat and fell back, clutching his face in horror.
"My cat! My cat! What's happened to Mrs. Norris?" he shrieked.
He turned to Ron, who had stepped closer to look at the cat.
"You!" he screeched. "You! You've murdered my cat! You've killed her! I'll kill you! I'll -"
"Argus!"
Dumbledore had arrived on the scene, followed by a number of other teachers. In seconds, he had swept past Helen's group, and detached Mrs. Norris from the torch bracket.
"Come with me, Argus," he commanded Filch.
Helen flicked her eyes towards Lockhart and gave him a subtle nod towards Dumbledore. He immediately stepped forward eagerly, "My office is nearest, Headmaster - please feel free -"
"Thank you, Gilderoy," Dumbledore responded.
The silent crowd parted to let them pass. Lockhart hurried after Dumbledore; so did Professors McGonagall and Snape, after they ordered the crowd to disperse. Helen quickly started moving and dragged Hermione with her.
Back in their common room, everyone was gathered talking excitedly about what had happened. Helen didn't pay any mind to it and quietly went upstairs to her room with Hermione and Padma in tow. Back in her room, she collapsed on the bed, while Hermione sat on the corner of the bed with Padma occupying the chair. Both of them turned to her and Hermione finally broached the topic, "Explain."
Helen looked at them for a moment, sighed and sat up pulling her knees to herself.
"Padma already knows this and I'm going to tell you as well, Hermione, but first I need a promise that you will not reveal this to anyone." She looked at the Gryffindor who gave a tentative nod.
Helen continued to look at her for a moment before sighing again and swung her legs down, "I'm a Parselmouth," she said as she started taking off her heels.
Hermione, to her credit, took it quite well and only replied with just an "Oh."
"So, as we were exiting the great hall, I heard a voice" she started rolling down her stockings, "a voice of a snake, a huge snake." she got up and put the stocking rolls in the laundry bin and her heels in her shoe rack in the wardrobe, "It was hungry and it wanted to kill."
She shrug off her robe and tie and chucked them in the laundry bin as well, "Legend has it that Slytherin had hid a monstrous creature in Hogwarts after his arguments with the other founders" she started working on the button of her shirt, "whose sole purpose was to cleanse the school of those with un-pure blood," as she threw the shirt away she looked pointedly at Hermione, "Muggleborns."
She unzipped her skirt and slid it down, "According to the same legend, he hid it in a secret place he created within the castle," she turned around and unhooked her bra, which joined the rest of the clothing pile, glancing back over the shoulder, she said, "The Chamber of Secrets."
She rummaged in the wardrobe and pulled out a wine red night dress, "Most believed that it was just a rumor as there had been no proof of any such chamber," she donned the dress which stopped before her mid-thigh and finally turned around "until it was opened roughly fifty years ago, and a muggleborn student died."
She joined Hermione, who couldn't decide whether to blush or to be scared, on the bed. It seemed her little striptease wasn't quite enough to completely distract the intelligent girl.
"Now, based on all the evidence like me hearing snake voices and a student dying without a mark on them as well as the fact that this is Slytherin we are talking about, the identity of the monster is quite obvious." Helen said, waiting for either of the girls to finally get it.
Padma didn't disappoint as blood drained her face and she whispered "Basilisk."
"Yes, the king of snakes, and a huge one probably, judging by its voice as well as its approximate age of a thousand year. A Basilisk never stops growing, has the most lethal venom in the world and can kill with just one look from its eyes."
Hermione was growing fainter and fainter by every word, as Helen continued clinically, "It is considered to be one of the most dangerous creatures on earth with only a Nundu it's better. And even that's a debatable case."
"Now, there are two ways to avoid death by its eyes. First, be a parselmouth. Now, that is not something one can become easily. In fact, if one is not born as one, then it's extremely difficult to become one. However, the second option is much simpler, at least in theory, just don't look directly in its eyes. I don't know what happens when one looks at the reflection though, they might get a nosebleed or something..." Helen knew she was rambling by this point, but she couldn't stop as she was worried and focusing on Basilisk facts was distracting her from the fact that they had one roaming around the castle.
Once she calmed down a bit she got up, pulled out another of her nightdress and tossed it in Hermione's lap "You are sleeping here from now onwards."
As Hermione opened her mouth to protest, she ordered "No arguments," and Hermione meekly agreed.
Later that night, once Hermione was safely tucked in her arms, she formulated her plan. She had already secured the only muggleborn she really cared about... she thought of Colin for a second, and realized that she liked having him around too, so she decided to give him a subtle warning as well. But regardless, she was not going to take any action yet. Tomorrow she would check Lockhart's memory to find out about Dumbledore's reaction and then she would watch and wait. She would keep an eye on Ginny Weasley from a distance but that would be it. In an ideal world, this incident would harm Dumbledore's reputation and Helen would be able to easily handle the diary herself, but she truly did not know enough to say at this point..
