Chapter 1: Help to Those in Need

My stomach hurt, my right leg hurt, my left leg hurt. My arms hurt and my head hurt. Come to think of it, I couldn't really think of any place where I did not feel any kind of pain.

Two weeks ago, I never could've guessed that I would be limping through a corridor on the fourth floor in the middle of the night, bleeding and shivering. Sure, I have had nightly excavations before, but none of them had left me quite as battered as this. I was fairly sure I would collapse at any given moment, but I couldn't bother going to the hospital wing again. Ending up in the hospital wing wasn't any kind of new experience for me either, but having slept there two nights out of the last five made me feel reluctant to go there. I could just imagine the condescending grin on Malfoy's face tomorrow as he prepared to make another snide remark about my now frequent visits to the hospital wing.

"Perhaps they should just move your bed to the hospital wing altogether, perhaps a sign with your name on it as well"

Then Parkinsson would laugh as if it was the greatest joke the world had ever seen. Crabb and Goyle would try to grin menacingly, but fail and end up looking as if they bit a large chunk of a lemon.

I could picture it so clearly in my mind I was almost surprised when I was jerked back to reality by one of my ribs throbbing with pain. I winced and tried to shift to ease the pain, but to no avail. I sighed and resigned myself to another night of skele-grow and unknown potions which tasted like sour milk. Hermione had told me about how violently the champions of the triwizard tournament were treated before the selection on Halloween. I hadn't really paid attention then, if somebody wanted to sign up for that. Good for them. I was just slightly downtrodden by the fact that it meant Quidditch was cancelled for the year. So when I was selected as a fourth champion I hoped that the story about the Durmstrang champion who lost a leg the night before the third task was an extreme case. However, I could clearly see how it could go in that direction.

"Going at this rate, I'll be without limbs by March," I thought bitterly.

I had tried going to the teachers, but no one wanted to help. Or as McGonagall said herself,

"Regulations within the triwizard tournament prohibit teachers from providing any help to the champions".

As if my very own inclusion in the tournament wasn't a huge breach of the regulations. Apparently, violence against champions was to be prohibited this year, but since Karkaroff insisted that Hogwarts broke the rules when admitting two champions, he demanded an exception to be made in his favour as well. I had been in the room when the subsequent argument took place. I had very rarely seen Dumbledore so desperate, even Madame Maxime and the ever smiling Ludo Bagman had appeared hesitant. But Karkaroff had remained unyielding and Mr Crouch had admitted that he had that right. So the Durmstrang students, taught duelling and magical combat since they were in their diapers, suddenly waged war on the other champions. Beauxbatons quickly organised and now, their champion Fleur Delacour was never seen without at least ten others by her side. There had been some impressive battles going on between the two visiting schools, but their champions had remained unharmed

I would have been happy to see so much of Hogwarts unite under one banner to defend Cedric, however, very little protection was offered to me. That left me as the easy prey. With Ron stuck in his fit of jealousy, I only had Hermione by my side. Something which had been more than enough before, but when faced against a group consisting of eight, seventeen years old Durmstrang students, there is not much two fourth year students can do.

So I did the only logical thing.

"Hello Harry," Hermione greeted me quietly.

I had been sitting in the library searching for some kind of spell, or charm or anything which could help me, but with no results.

"Hi Hermione," I answered tiredly.

"How much did you sleep last night," she asked as she sat down on a chair by my table.

"I don't know, four hours perhaps" I answered, "But I don't need you babysitting me, I have more pressing concerns than sleep now"

"If you don't sleep you can't focus and your time here is wasted, just because everyone else here is determined to hurt you doesn't mean you have to hurt yourself."

"I don't have time to talk, every second is one second closer to the next attack, I need to be ready"

"Let me help you, you can't do this alone" Hermione said pleadingly.

"I don't need your help, you couldn't help me earlier today so you can't help me now, you should just leave me alone so you don't get hurt again," I responded.

"No, I don't care, we have done so much before together, we can get through this if only you let me help."

"I don't need your help Mudblood" I responded angrily.

Hermione had stared at me for a few seconds, shocked, before her expressions morphed into one of anger and she replied heatedly.

"I know what you are trying to do here, you think you can insult me so I'll leave you alone, I am not an idiot Harry."

Okay, that was a blunt attempt to be fair, perhaps I have to be more personal.

"No, of course not, Ms Know-it-all Granger can never be wrong, you must always shove the fact that you know in everybodies' face. Can never let it be unsaid that Hermione Granger is brilliant and can do whatever she wants," I had responded coldly.

I had seen I had struck gold from the look of hurt in her eyes. She glared at me for a second before standing up and turning around."

"Fine, you get your wish then, I really hope that you insult all your other friends you have," she snapped.

"Oh wait, you have none," Hermione finished and spun on her heel and stormed off.

I hadn't really meant any of it, and I don't think she did either. But there was some truth to it I guess, not the racism part but the other things. Her leaving me alone had saved her, she seemed to be doing fine from what I saw, top of the class again as she could actually attend all her classes. I, however, was slipping. Flitwick and McGonagall showed some sympathy and gave me some slack for not doing homework at an acceptable standard, if at all. Snape, in contrast, made it a great deal in front of the entire class to dissect my work and make sure everyone knew of the 'sentences of incompetence' my essays consisted of. All the Slytherins had been roaring with laughter with their 'Potter Stinks' badges on, and to my dismay, even a few Gryffindors had sniggered a bit.

Another throbbing in my rib woke me from my musings, suddenly my right leg collapsed under me and I fell to the floor with a yelp. I leaned against the wall and panted heavily, as if I had just ran a marathon. I wondered if this was it, if someone on their way to charms class in the morning would find me here, at the brink of death. Hopefully life wasn't really in danger, but I knew that I would definitely get some permanent injuries if I wasn't tended to soon. So I braced myself, and tried to heave myself back to my feet, but to no avail. I tried again, and again, and again until I at last had to admit that I would not be getting back up. My right leg screamed at me with all its might the second any pressure was put on it.

I sighed and regretted everything, how could I have forgotten my cloak after my detention, the one thing which protects me from everything, my security in physical form. Wandering late at night was never a good idea, but when Durmstrangs are after your blood, it's a bit like driving a car without a steering wheel. You're bound to crash.

I was fully aware that no one was going to find me, perhaps I would be lucky and some patrolling teacher or prefect would find me, tonight but I doubted it. I contemplated screaming for help, but I couldn't find it in me. It was as if I had lost my voice. I had never been particularly religious, but I sent some kind of prayer to whatever deities existed.

"Someone please help me, anyone, help" I whispered quietly, my voice hoarse and my ribs throbbing even more from the small exercise.

As if the castle itself heard my prayers, a door suddenly appeared on the wall in front of me. It wasn't any door which fit the decorative theme of Hogwarts. It was dark in the corridor with next to no light so I couldn't make out any details, but I could clearly see that it was a shining silver door with black details on it, or they could've been blue, or green. I couldn't tell in the dark. The door swung open slowly without making a sound, a bright purple light illuminated the corridor from inside. Just inside hung a single purple torch. Deciding I had no other better option I began to crawl towards the door inside. Slowly but surely, I got closer to the door. My only thoughts were on the door, could it be salvation? The room inside was very small with only the torch flickering. However, to the left there was an opening which led further inside. I continued to crawl and dearly hoped this wasn't some kind of elaborative prank. I could only imagine how I now looked. Dirty, bloody, dishevelled and probably scared. My already small dignity would disappear faster than you could say 'dignity'.

The tunnel which I crept through had no decoration except the torches with purple fire. They flickered over and I could see my shadow looming on the wall. The tunnel took a sudden turn right and I found myself looking inside a room.

The room was large and circular with several doors looking similar to the one I had just entered. Whereas the tunnel had been completely void of any furnishings, this one had chairs and tables made out of a shining metal with purple engravings and a large circular mat lay in the middle of the room. A large chandelier dangled in the room and spread a warm light throughout. After the coldness of the corridor I could not help but enjoy the sudden warmth I was flooded with. The room looked incredibly cosy and the fireplace, with normal fire, cackled invitingly. I couldn't find it in myself to appreciate any of this, I just stared at a purple armchair by the fire, or more specifically I stared at the girl who was sitting in the armchair by the fire.

The girl stood up with a frown upon her face, she was fairly tall and had long blonde hair cascading down her shoulders. A set of robes very similar to the ones I was wearing myself was her attire, with one crucial difference, instead of the red details of Gryffindor, or even the green, blue or yellow of the other houses. Her's were adorned with purple details, the same shade as the fire in the tunnel outside and on the doors. I opened my mouth to speak but closed it quickly again. She looked as if she was a seventh year, perhaps a sixth year, but I had never seen her at Hogwarts before.

"What happened to you?" the girl asked gently, her voice sounded soft like silk but with a hint of concern. Her mouth was fixed in a grim line and her frown deepened when I couldn't muster any answer but a quiet gurgle.

Still lying on the floor I tried to form a reply but nothing but gurgles kept coming out. The girl started to walk towards me and raised her wand at me. I tried to raise my hand in some kind of defence but all I saw was a blur of ruby red light and then I was gone.

-()-

As consciousness greeted me again I found myself in a comfortable bed, and I sighed contentedly at being free from all the pain I had suffered the last few days. Then it registered with me, the pain was entirely gone, I looked over myself. My right leg where I had a gash bleeding the night before was entirely smooth and no sign of my encounter with the Durmatrangs could be seen anywhere.

"Am I dead?" I wondered aloud, as I stared up and down my body..

"Not yet, although if you keep doing what you did last night, it should not be too difficult to accomplish," a female voice answered to the right of me. My eyes widened and I froze in my place.

Ever so slowly, I turned my head towards the voice and it was the same girl I had seen last night.

"You stunned me," I stated matter of factly.

"It was objectively the best option, not that you were much different stunned than before" she responded drily while looking at me with a neutral expression.

She watched me as if I was some kind of problem that needed to be solved, not someone who had just crawled inside her room all bloody and dirty. I watched her and noticed some details I couldn't have seen the previous night. She was pale, as if she hadn't seen sunlight for a while, but she didn't look unhealthy at all. Her eyes were a brilliant purple, the same shade as all her furnishings.

The girl cleared her throat and looked decidedly uncomfortable under my close scrutiny. I looked away, embarrassed.

"So… who are you exactly, and what is this place?" I tried hesitantly.

"I am someone who will help you, and this place is where I live." She responded neutrally, still looking at me curiously.

"Right, so exactly what will you help me with? I mean, you've already healed all my injuries. Thanks, by the way," I responded, still uncertain about this whole situation.

"No problem, and to answer your question, I will try to help you with whatever you need help with, and then we won't see each other again. So what is your problem? I assume those injuries weren't caused intentionally," she stated in the same neutral tone, as if she was simply talking about what was for lunch. Not how I had literally blooded her doorstep.

"Unless you know a way to fight off ten people at the same time, you can't really help me here," I said tiredly.

"Is this the only time you've been…left in a similar situation?" The girl wondered aloud. She continued, "Is this a problem which you think will continue or develop?"

I glared at the girl, annoyed by the fact that she talked about my injuries as if they were just a minor nuisance with an easy solution. It wasn't as if I just randomly stumbled in here and accidentally got knocked unconscious, but hey, she was the first person outside my closest friends who had tried to help since I was named champion.

"Yes, as long as I'm a champion, they'll go after me," I responded calmly, trying to match her demeanour. The girl appeared genuinely confused for the first time, she observed me for a second with what I thought was mild confusion at least.

"What do you mean by champion?" the girl asked curiously.

"For the tournament obviously" I responded, once again annoyed by the complete ignorance this stranger showed.

"Which kind of tournament are we talking about here? Quidditch?"

I looked at her bewildered, not sure whether she was serious or not. She must be playing some kind of joke or just found it funny to wind people up. I huffed and got out of the bed, luckily I was still wearing my underclothes so my dignity was preserved. I scanned the room for my clothes, found them on a nearby nightstand, and put them on. I exhaled slowly and frustratedly and made to leave the room. The door was without a handle and closed however, preventing me from escaping the delusional girl.

"Please open the door," I demanded with a hint of frustration in my voice.

"I could of course, but just so we're clear here, my offer of help will only stand for as long as you remain in this room." The girl looked at me as neutral as ever, I wondered if she actually possessed the ability to display emotion.

"Right, because someone with their head so deep down in the sand that they don't know about the Triwizard tournament will be much help," I responded sarcastically.

"Perhaps I should explain myself." The girl nodded to herself slowly. It almost looked like she had a conversation with herself.

Then, the door swung open behind me, and the girl gestured to one of the armchairs in front of the fireplace.

"I want to help you, but I need to understand your situation to do so," she explained.

I sighed and responded, "Sure, but I have classes starting soon, I don't have all day."

"I would just like to point out that you would never have been able to attend a class today if I hadn't decided to help you," the girl pointed out with a pair of raised eyebrows.

"And I am grateful for that. Clearly, your ability in healing is great, but I can't heal someone into staying away from me."

"Perhaps not, but I want you to explain your situation. Assume I know nothing about anything," she told me and folded her hands in her lap.

"But how do you not know about the triwizard tournament if you live at Hogwarts? Surely all the foreign students around will have given you a clue if nothing else."

"You are not supposed to be helping me, what I do is irrelevant, I fixed your injuries and now I ask you of this, if can't you just trust that I am trying to help you. Then you can leave. But know this, if I wanted you harmed, I would've just not healed you," the girl explained with a cold smile.

I reluctantly admitted that she was probably right and began telling her about my 'situation' as she called it. After I had finished telling her about the selection, my visits to the hospital wing and the events preceding me blacking out on her doorstep she only nodded understandingly, as if this kind of problem was completely normal and something she had dealt with before. She was particularly interested in the age line though, she wanted all the details about how it worked and how it was supposedly fooled, she reminded me of Hermione in a way. Then she fell quiet and sat still in contemplation for a few minutes. I was just about to stand up and depart for my dormitory when the girl opened her mouth.

"I have a plan."

I looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue.

"As a Hogwarts student, you are allowed to leave the premises and live at your own home if you want to. So just go home, have your parents teach you the necessities and return to the school only for the tasks," she said, satisfied.

I looked at her incredulously. Perhaps wanting help from her wasn't the best idea I'd had.

"First of all, my parents are dead. Secondly, that plan is awful," I responded drily.

The girl gave me a forced smile and sighed.

"My condolences, but can't you just go to whoever you live with and do the same, and that plan is not awful."

"It is awful, and I stay with my Aunt and Uncle, they are muggles, who I can assure you won't tolerate any 'freaky business' as they call it."

Her gaze sharpened at this and definitely got the subtext of that statement and looked at me calculatingly for a moment.

"I couldn't help but notice the scars on your torso earlier, and you are incredibly malnourished. Is that because of them?" she asked icily.

For the first time I got the impression that this wasn't anyone you wanted to cross. She had appeared fairly absentminded and ignorant earlier. At this however, her entire demeanour changed. The previously neutral face looked as neutral as ever but those two purple orbs were transformed. I wasn't sure if it was only the fire reflecting in her eyes but they shone stronger, it almost looked like one of her purple torches had been ignited in her eyes.

I squirmed at this and avoided her gaze. That was all the answer she needed and she leant back in her chair again. Whereas before she had seemed to be contemplating something completely trivial, she now was deep in thought and we just sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes. Every now and then she would look at me, every time I got the impression she was running calculations in her mind, trying to determine different outcomes. In the end I had had enough and decided that I would really have to leave and go to class, another detention could literally be fatal.

Then she met my gaze and spoke up once again.

"I have an offer for you." She paused and pondered how to continue. "I can teach you a few tricks. Prepare you fairly well for the first task. There is one condition however," the girl stated seriously.

"What is your condition then?" I rolled my eyes in exasperation, she was awfully dramatic.

"I'll teach you magic and what you might need to know, but exactly what the plan is for the task, I will only tell you the day of the first task. You get the tools, but you will have to wait for the blueprint." She folded her hands again in her lap and I looked at her vaguely amused.

"Sure, I don't even know what we're supposed to be doing for the task, but either way, why should I trust you to teach me anything? You still haven't graduated Hogwarts, you're like sixteen or seventeen," I observed with a raised brow.

The blonde girl nodded as she listened and met my gaze seriously. Suddenly, she stood up and began to speak as she was pacing in front of the fireplace. "I need you to promise that nothing I tell you now will reach the ears of anyone else."

"I'll try, but if you admit to murder or something I can't promise anything." I was kind of concerned over what she was saying. Who was she, really?

"I need you to promise me that no matter what, you won't tell anyone about me." She held my gaze with a piercing stare.

I don't know what made me do it, but here I found myself pledging to keep this girl's secrets. A girl, whose name I still didn't know. My gut told me it was the move and I went along with it. Upon hearing my promise the girl smiled brilliantly and began pacing once again.

"To put it simple," she began. "No one alive except you knows that I am here," she continued.

That was not quite what I'd been expecting. How did that even work? Was her parents dead as well? But how didn't Dumbledore know that some random girl was living in a hidden room in Hogwarts? Perhaps the girl thought he didn't know.

"Seems likely," I responded drily eventually.

The girl rolled her eyes and sat down again. "Look, I've been hidden here for a while, only showing myself to students who need an extra piece of help. When you came upon this place in your…state, the castle decided that you needed aid and awoke me. I am the physical embodiment of that help," she explained in a lecturing tone.

I remembered something Dumbledore had told me back in my first year. 'Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it', it seemed this statement was more literal than I had understood then. I wondered if Dumbledore knew about this room, if anybody did, it would be him. Although, if the girl was right and nobody else alive knew about her, then Dumbledore had the right to proclaim himself a seer.

"So you are Hogwarts, but in a physical form?" I asked hesitantly, now looking at the girl in a new light.

"Not quite, but I have preserved myself here to ensure that Hogwarts remains a place where talent has a chance to prosper." The girl gave me a small smile.

"So who are you exactly? A former headmaster?," I asked confusedly.

"I am a help to those in need," she stated decisively, as if that settled the matter.

"Your name is 'A help to those in need'?" I asked sarcastically.

The girl rolled her eyes and sighed. "No. I won't give you my real name just yet, but you can call me Ma'am or Sir. Whichever you prefer," she responded calmly.

At that point I remembered my classes and a glance at a clock, which was to no one's surprise purple, revealed that I was already late to Transfiguration. The girl must have sensed my distress, because she decided to end our little meeting.

"I expect you back here at four this afternoon, if you are not, this arrangement is off the table."

"Got it, but I really must run now," I said, now very stressed.

The girl only smirked at me and waved me goodbye. I took that as my sign to make myself scarce and ran towards the common room, hoping I would not get too many detentions. Just as I went through the door she let out a last remark.

"Just one piece of advice Potter."

I looked around at her and waited for her to continue. An expression of stress and annoyance across my face.

"The best way to win a fight is to never start it."