There had been so much blood. It spilled out of her chest and face. When she was carried out of the bathroom, her white locs were red and pink from it all.

Harry sat in a chair next to Draco Malfoy inside Professor Dumbledore's office. He couldn't stop replaying the scene in his mind. Hermione had jumped between them with her hands outstretched. He just said the first spell that came to his head. He didn't know what it did. He certainly didn't expect it to do that. He could still see her look of shock and betrayal. Why hadn't he listened to her? Why was he so sure that Draco was up to something?

There had been so much blood…

Professor McGonagall had been passing when she heard them screaming. He had never seen her that furious. Wasn't he just joking around with his mates a few hours ago? And now his best friends were in the hospital wing… or… or worse.

Feeling ill, Harry grabbed the rubbish bin and held it under his chin.

"Please don't," said Draco, looking a little green himself. "If you start, then I'll start and they've still got to interrogate us."

Harry rubbed his face. "Ceci is going to murder me, then Esperanza is going to come and dig me up so she can kill me again. Oh, God, what will our parents say?!"

"Nothing unless we tell them it was an accident," said Draco.

"Why not rat me out?"

"It's not always about you, Potter!" Draco hissed. "My being there was suspicious, too! Only one who could have good reason to be in there was Granger, and she's in the hospital wing."

"Why were you in there?"

"Obvious, isn't it? I was sick and needed the sink. Nia is a prefect, as much as Pansy pretends she isn't, and has been helping me. At least that much is true, she's been making sure I turn in my homework."

"So… Nia's been… checking in on you?"

"More or less." Draco stared straight ahead, sitting rigidly in his seat. "I might not like her, but I don't want to see her dead." He took a deep, shuddering breath. "I don't want to see anyone dead."

Harry's stomach twisted in knots.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I've been suspecting you were up to something all year, but…"

"Well… I haven't exactly given you much reason to trust me, have I Potter?"

"It goes both ways."

The office door flung open. Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Sirius, and Ms. Black entered looking furious. Before anyone could speak, Ms. Black raised her voice.

"Draco Llewellyn Malfoy! I told you to keep your head down and stay out of trouble and what do you do?! Kill the only person who is keeping you out of detention?!"

"I killed Hermione?!" Harry cried.

"Miss Granger isn't dead!" said Professor McGonagall quickly. "But she hasn't yet regained consciousness, so the only ones who know what happened in that lavatory are you two. Really, two boys and a girl in a lavatory!" She glared at them both as if assuming the worst.

"Before we go throwing around accusations, I think we'd better see what the explanation is," said Sirius with the most un-Sirius-like diplomacy. In fact, in this moment he and Ms. Black almost looked like brother and sister with their elegant black attire, long hair held back with a clip, cool expressions, and the way they drummed their lace-gloved hands against their arms.

"Go on then," said Professor McGonagall.

"Well, you see," said Draco, stammering like he already forgot his story. "Er, you know how Granger's got that annoying ability to see magic?"

"I'm aware of the ability," said Dumbledore.

"Well, I was feeling sick and I went to the nearest lavatory," he continued. "While I was there I heard hissing and thought… what if the Chamber of Secrets moved? They found eggs, right? What if they didn't find all of them? But I wanted to be sure rather than, you know, start a panic. So, I got Granger because she could see if something was there and Potter because he can talk to snakes and would be able to hear if any were there, right?"

"Right," said Harry, nodding. "While we were looking, a pipe burst and I acted using a spell I read in a book from the library. I guess… it being Nia's bad luck month… she was in the way."

"That is the biggest load of rubbish I've ever heard," said Ms. Black. "A burst pipe?"

"If I may," said Dumbledore. "A Miss Romilda Vane experienced a burst pipe not long before Draco and Harry. Perhaps things are not quite up to code from the Great Catastrophe of May last and we are due to call in a plumber."

"Will Miss Granger be able to verify this is true when she wakes up?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Yes," said Harry, trying not to let it sound like a question.

They were in a stalemate. None of the adults believed the story for an instant, but it was too probable to be false. Harry looked down at his lap.

"Nia will be okay, right?" he asked.

"She's Nia," said Sirius, finally hugging him. "A dozen Death Eaters couldn't take her out. She'll be just fine."

"As it is," said Professor McGonagall. "Ten Saturday detentions each. The first will be served with Filch. He needs assistance mending and assembling a suit of armor that mysteriously fell apart. No movies for the next month, either. If Miss Granger's story does not line up with yours when she wakes, the punishment will be much more severe."

Harry avoided eye contact.

"I imagine your guardians will want to speak with you," she continued. "Ms. Black, feel free to use my office."

"Come, Draco," said Ms. Black.

Draco obediently stood and followed his mother out of the room.

"I think I will take my leave as well," said Dumbledore. "Do not mind me, I will be in my quarters."

He went through a door between two bookcases. Harry looked up at Sirius and felt his stomach drop at the look of disappointment on his guardian's face. He'd never made Sirius disappointed in him before and he felt two inches tall.

"Come on, Pup," said Sirius. "I've got something I want to show you from my seventh year."

He went over to the Pensieve and touched his wand to his temple. He dragged out a memory and dropped it into the bowl. Harry dipped his face into the Pensieve and fell into the memory. They were outside on school grounds. It was a sunny day and the Marauders were sitting beneath the tree Harry liked to sit at on warm days with his own friends. James, his father, was sitting on the roots spinning a Rubik's Cube, though he didn't seem to be trying to solve it at this time, while he stared off into space. Professor Lupin was sitting nearby reading a book while Sirius and Pettigrew were playing a game of cards. Harry had to do a double-take when he looked at Sirius. With his long, black hair half-shaved, black nail varnish, and studded leather jacket, he thought he was looking at Cedric. But Cedric was never that pale even in winter, he had a squarer jaw, straighter nose, and had never held much swagger or aloofness as Sirius did. Sirius was the odd-duck of the group. James, Remus, and Pettigrew were all wearing the color blocked shirts and bell-bottomed jeans that were the style.

"I don't see why we have to stop pranking those self-proclaimed Death Eaters," said Sirius sourly.

"We don't have to stop pranking them," said James. "We just have to stop ganging up on Snivellus. He's free game if it's an even match."

"Still. First, we stop pranking first years and now him?"

"We unanimously agreed we were too big to pick on those too small," said Remus, nudging him playfully with his foot.

"We did agree," said Pettigrew.

"But why? You know what he did," Sirius growled. "Told my mum about… you know."

"Snape outed me to my mum just before winter holiday our sixth year," said the older Sirius. "She cut off my hair and burned most of my things. So the following spring, I told Snape how to get into the Shrieking Shack. I was an angry boy and had done a lot of stupid and selfish things. I didn't realize the person I would hurt the most was Remus. I think there's a part of him that still doesn't forgive me."

"I know," said James, placatingly. "I know. But I want to prove to Lily I changed. Since I stopped throwing myself at her, we're finally friends and I refuse to jeopardize that."

"Does she know you're still in love with her?" asked Pettigrew.

"The whole school knows he's in love with her," said Remus.

"Yeah, but I don't want to make her uncomfortable," said James. "I apologized for being a jerk and I even did the jerkface dance for her, it'd be… sleazy to keep up old habits."

"She has been flirting with you," said Remus. "So whatever you're doing is working."

James grinned a silly, lovesick smile that made Harry a little embarrassed for him.

"Yeah…" he quickly returned to reality. "Still. I know she and Snape used to be best friends. Even if they aren't anymore, a part of her still cares. I'm not saying we'll be the best of friends with Snivellus, but I'm aiming for more of a…" he wobbled his hand, "exist-in-the-same-space sort of relationship."

"At least until we graduate and he commits the atrocities we know he's capable of," said Remus.

"Exactly," said James. "So again. No more ganging up on Snape. I want to be a good person."

"You already are a good person," Sirius grumbled and rolled his eyes. "Fine." He threw down his cards. "How do you always win at cards, Peter?"

"Just lucky, I guess," he said, raking in his treats and cash.

James straightened up and narrowed his eyes. "That exist in the same place might have to wait."

Harry and Sirius turned around to see a furious Lily stomping away from Snape.

"I told you!" she said. "Leave me alone."

"But I said I forgive you for yelling at me," Snape replied, sticking his nose in the air. "I told you my reasons for doing what I did!"

"You're not listening to me! We can't be friends again."

"At James' worst, Lily defended Snape from him," said the Sirius next to Harry. "He didn't like that and called her the m-word. After that day, James took a good look at himself and started changing for the better. Lily distanced herself from Severus. This however… we didn't see coming."

"That's what I've been saying," said Snape, grabbing her hand and yanking her towards him. "I want to be more than friends."

Harry's jaw dropped at seeing Snape kiss his mum. Suddenly, the hatred from the man, the bullying, the belittlement, it all made perfect sense and Harry felt his stomach twist with disgust and discomfort.

Lily shoved Snape, but he held onto her wrists making her unable to get to her wand. "Get off me!"

"Oi!"

Harry jumped as his father passed through him towards Lily and Snape.

"She turned you down!" said James. "Leave her alone and get over it."

"Oh, and of course you are the epitome of leaving well enough alone," Snape sneered. "Butt out, Potty, this has nothing to do with you."

"It does when you aren't respecting someone's boundaries," said James. "Get your hands off her or I'll report you."

"I said back off!"

"Get away, Severus!" said Lily, backpedaling away into James. He steadied her while she raised her wand. "Levicorpus!"

Snape was lifted off the ground by his ankle. Lily and James backed up a little more and she put Snape down before anyone could notice or start ganging up on the taunting.

"Lily always was soft on him," said Sirius, shaking his head. "You never forget your first best friend."

"Thanks," said Lily, smiling at James.

Harry saw that she loved him, too. Really, truly.

Snape recovered and stood, glaring at James with pure hatred in his eyes.

"You! This is all your fault!" He drew his wand. "Relashio!"

James yelled out. He dropped his wand and clutched his hand as blisters erupted from his skin.

"Severus, stop it!" Lily trained her wand on him. "This is too broken to fix. Just walk away before someone gets badly hurt."

A cruel smile appeared on Snape's lips. "Agree to go out with me and I might."

"James said something similar to Lily before her falling out with Snape," said Sirius grimly. "Not his proudest moment and he regretted it every day since."

"NEVER!" Lily spat and Snape's smile faded.

"Sectumsempra!"

"James!" Young Sirius shouted.

James clawed at his chest and collapsed to the ground as blood spewed down his face and chest from his open wounds. Harry couldn't look away. Hermione had done the same thing. After firing a stunning spell at Snape, Lily fell to James' side and waved her wand over him.

"Vulnera Sanentur." She repeated the phrase like a song until most of the blood had returned to their wounds and the worst of the cuts had sealed up.

Snape had dueled with Remus, Sirius, and Pettigrew until he was forced to retreat.

"Yeah, you better run!" Young Sirius yelled after him.

"That spell," Harry whispered. "It was Snape's…"

"Yeah… if you're expecting it, you can get a few nasty cuts, but when your opponent is unarmed…" Sirius sighed. "If Lily hadn't created a counter-spell to it, James could've died before we got help."

"So why wasn't Snape expelled?"

"Short of killing someone, it's very difficult to get expelled from Hogwarts," said Sirius.

They watched Lily lean over James, kissing his cheek, and the memory faded away, leaving them standing in Dumbledore's office.

"I don't know how and I don't care how you learned that spell," said Sirius. "But please, be cautious about what you use."

Harry took a deep breath and nodded. "Am I allowed to see her and Ron?"

"I should think so. I'll go with you. At least to protect you from Ceci's wrath."

"If she punches me in the face I think I'd deserve it," Harry muttered.

Sirius wrapped an arm around him and they walked down to the hospital wing. Along the way, they ran into Snape. Harry felt like a child again. Wary of a stranger. He couldn't get that image out of his head.

"Potter," said Snape. "What on earth was that spell you used on Miss Granger?"

"Leave it, Severus," said Sirius. "It's none of your concern."

"No?"

"No. He's my godson and I'm sure that Roger and Beatrice, his foster parents, will also have a stern talking to with him."

"And the punishment?"

"Has been decided upon without your input." Sirius patted Harry's shoulder. "If you'll excuse us."

"Is there a way we can take back the Fidelius Charm on him?" Harry asked when they were out of earshot. "I don't care what Dumbledore says, I don't want him back in our house knowing how he felt about my mum."

"I think Cecilia might know how," he said. "And look, I will probably send my mirror to Roger and Beatrice so they can talk to you face to face. Even though it wasn't for a long while, they were still planning to adopt you and family like that doesn't end."

"I know." He sighed heavily. "They still look after me like a mum and dad. I am so grounded."

People were staring and whispering about what happened. Evidently, some of the blood was still pooled in the lavatory long enough for people to see. He tried not to listen to the rumors. Whatever they were, they wouldn't be good and he knew that Hermione would get the worst of it.

"Cedric's probably there and ready to knock my teeth out, isn't he?" said Harry.

Sirius' expression grew tight. "I… I don't think he's coming. I sent another letter and it was returned. Inside the envelope was a note Nia sent, but it was all torn up and there was owl blood on it. I don't know what's going on with him but… it's not good."

"Oh… Maybe he's being held captive somewhere?"

"Maybe. Or…" he trailed off without finishing the thought.

Harry didn't speculate. Instead, he entered the hospital wing. Mrs. Weasley and Percy were already there. Everyone else would no doubt be following. Cecilia was sitting next to Hermione who was ashen and her face was twisted up like she was in pain.

"Is she going to be okay?" he asked.

"Physically? Yes," said Cecilia coldly. "If this wasn't because of her bad luck, I'd smack you across the castle. You know what she's been through!"

"I know… I'm sorry."

"Don't be too hard on him," said Mrs. Weasley. "I mean, he did save Ron's life with that bezoar."

Cecilia looked like she wanted to argue about how those two events weren't even related, but said nothing, instead looking back down at the book she was reading.

~o0o~

When Hermione opened her eyes she felt… off. She was sitting in… Dumbledore's office? No… it couldn't be his office. The paintings were all landscapes, and while there were several magical items, the walls weren't packed with Victorian clutter.

"Better be… HUFFLEPUFF!" the Sorting Hat announced.

"NAY!" she cried in a voice that wasn't hers. "Say it is not so! A Hufflepuff I cannot be… think of how my mother would react if she knew."

"Thou cannot change who thy are," said the Sorting Hat. "Thou couldst only improve to be the best version of thyself."

"An improvement…" Hermione scanned the office and her eyes laid on a diadem. The lost diadem of Ravenclaw. The smooth, blue and gold lapis lazuli shone even in the flickering torch light. "If I cannot be a Ravenclaw… I will make myself one."

The hat protested, but she ripped it off and rushed over to the diadem. She admired it in the light and slowly rested it across her forehead. She closed her eyes and waited for the secret wisdom to be revealed to her.

…

Nothing.

Hermione opened her eyes. Did she have it on wrong? She took it off and studied it and how the wings were swooped. Up or down? She turned it over and tried it on again. This time it nearly slipped off and still… nothing. It had to be broken. She gripped the diadem in her hand and left the office in a hurry. She needed to get out of here. She couldn't stay.

"Helena!"

No. Not now.

Hiding the diadem behind her back, Helena turned to face Barclay, a weasel-type boy. One look and she knew everything about him. Though he was sorted into Slytherin, he had taken a shining to her and tended to follow her around and sit with her at meals and insist on studying with her. It was awkward to say the least, but she didn't have any other friends except for Helga's daughter, Rachel, but Rachel was only eleven and couldn't quite understand things like this yet. Rachel was Hufflepuff through and through.

"Helena, it is getting late," said Barclay. "You should be retiring to your Common Room."

"I was just on my way, Barclay," she said stiffly.

"I would be more than happy to escort you," he said.

And do more than that, I am certain, she thought drily, trying not to wrinkle her nose.

"It is merely down the corridor," she replied. "I can make my own way."

"I insist," he said, holding his arm out to her.

Swallowing back her distaste, she rested her hand in the crook of his elbow and palmed the diadem, hoping her sleeve was long enough to cover it. It was only a short walk to Ravenclaw. There had been talks of constructing a tower for them, but as their numbers were so few, much to Mother's chagrin, they were keeping the smaller space that overlooked the courtyard.

"Goodnight, Helena," said Barclay, bowing and pressing a swift kiss to her hand.

"Goodnight, Barclay," Helena replied, tipping her chin in a slight nod and wiping her hand on her dress.

She knocked rapidly to wake up the stone eagle. It came to life and looked down at her.

"I have green hair, a round red head, and a thin white beard," it said. "What am I?"

"A… a leprechaun?" Helena asked.

"'tis not," said the Eagle.

"A fae."

"'tis not."

They went on and on like this for over an hour until Helena was in tears with frustration. Why did her mother have to set this up for her pupils?

"I don't know!" she said furiously, scrubbing her cheeks. "I never know the answer! Can you not give me an easy one? Why not a hint?"

Before it could speak, the door swung open and Aart and Kendra burst through hand-in-hand. They paused, wide-eyed and blushing as they saw Helena. Helena couldn't care less about who was stuffing it up with who and shoved past them. There was no one else in the Common Room. She turned right down the short hallway and flung open the door to her room. She could hardly hear her roommate as she shoved all her worldly possessions into a satchel.

"Helena, whatever is the matter?" Mildred asked.

"I cannot stay here another minute," said Helena, glaring at the diadem.

"Is that Professor Ravenclaw's diadem?" Mildred gasped.

Helena shoved it in her bag and clasped it before shouldering it.

"Helena, wait," said Mildred, leaping out of bed.

Without another word, Helena raced out of her bedroom, through the Common Room, down the stairs, and out the front door of the castle. Rain began to fall, going from a mere trickle to a waterfall in a matter of minutes.

After that day, all she ever did was run. She mostly hitched rides on carts. Slept in the homes of those who took pity on her. She evaded ruffians and thieves by using her magic, which typically meant moving on to evade the witch hunters. Whenever she had the chance, she tried on the diadem hoping it would give her some sort of clarity… Sight… an answer… And every time… nothing.

She eventually ended up in Bulgaria. Ironically, near the sight where her mother first learned of the Sapphire of Mycenae. The very sapphire embedded in the diadem that refused to work for her. Sometimes, she wondered if it ever truly worked at all or if it merely worked for her mother.

Her mother… everyday of those years she was on the run, Helena thought of her mother. How ashamed she must've been that her only daughter was a failure at school and a thief to boot. A simpleton who now lived in a cottage in the middle of the forest living only off her garden and goat. Helena tried on the diadem every night until her sixth month of living in the cottage. She decided she never wanted to see it again, so she hid it in a hollow tree that had branches that twisted impossibly and hundreds of knobs that looked as if it contained the key to a secret passage. There wasn't one.

She tried.

The rain was falling, not unlike the rain of the day she left. Though it was midday, the sky was as dark as early evening. Helena had placed several pans around the room to catch the leaks, but since the storm began the evening before, she'd had to empty them out every-so-often.

On one of these instances, she had just finished adding the kettle water to the pond that seemed keen on growing next to her cabbages, a movement caught her attention. She narrowed her eyes and drew her wand from her sleeve.

"Helena!"

She knew that voice, but rather than bring relief, it made her tense. She closed the door, but before she could cast any enchantments of protection, it was flung open once more. A man strode in, bedecked in fine clothes and furs, a bronze circlet perched on his chin length hair and a sword not unlike the one Godric wore hung at his hip, except this one seemed human made rather than goblin.

"Helena," he repeated, smiling and taking her hands. "It has taken me ages to find you."

"Barclay," she said, pulling her hands from his grasp. "What are you doing here?"

"Your mother sent me to find you," he said, taking his wand and drying himself instantly. He looked at her cottage and his nose wrinkled. "This is where you have been living all this time?"

Helena scowled. It may have been an unsightly home, but it was her unsightly home.

"Come," he said. "I will take you out of this squalor."

"Squalor…" Helena repeated, crossing her arms. "Well, you seem to have made a name for yourself, Barclay."

"Baron Barclay now," he said, grinning. "I pledged my allegiance to the king, won a battle for him, he gave me a title, land, and knights to lead. After you see to your mother, I'll take you to my castle. You will love it, Helena, it has a library bigger and grander than Hogwarts'."

"You make it sound as if I agreed to go," she replied. "Which I have not. I never belonged at Hogwarts and I certainly don't belong with you."

The smile slid off his face and his gaze grew hard. A sick feeling set into Helena's stomach and she took a step back.

"What must I do, Helena?" he asked, voice growing tight. "I have money, power, land, and a people to lead. You cannot deny that after our years of school there isn't at least some fondness! I have been offered the hands of many women, but it is only you who I want, Helena. Are you truly happy living here in a house that is falling apart, digging in the dirt for your next meal, and remaining alone entirely?"

"I am not alone!"

"There is another…"

"Yes," she said, lifting her chin defiantly. "I have been living with my love and sharing my bed. I will never love you, Barclay. I have never wanted you nor once saw a future with you. Leave! Now!"

Barclay's pale face grew purple with rage. His eye twitched and his body shook.

"If I can't have you," he said. "Nobody can!"

Helena raised her wand, but no spells came to mind. She only knew garden magic now. Barclay drew his sword in fury and drove it through her. She gasped, stumbled, and collapsed to the floor against the bed.

"Oh…" Barclay dropped his sword and fell to his knees. "Helena… My dear Helena. What have I done?"

"Don't touch me!" she hissed. She felt cold all over and her hands shook too much to keep her hands pressed to her stomach, the scarlet blood bubbling between her fingers.

"I… I'm sorry, my love," he said, a tear sliding down his cheek. He drew a dagger from his hip and plunged it into his heart, leaving Helena alone.

"I'm home," a lilting voice called. A woman with dark eyes and olive skin entered the cottage, removing her cloak. "What a storm…" her words trailed off when she saw the sight, releasing a wail, she fell to Helena's side. "Helena! My light! What happened?"

"Persephone…" Helena whispered. "I… I… I'm so sorry. There's so much you d-don't know… and no time to tell."

"There's time," Persephone whispered, tears as heavy as the rain streaming down her cheeks. "We can get a healer. The wound doesn't look too terrible, there's still some time."

"No…" said Helena, reaching up and touching the face of the woman who made her world seem not so grey. However, she had lied to this woman for the time they were together. Persephone had no knowledge that Helena was a witch or a thief who stole her mother's greatest creation. "There's no time… I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. You have nothing to be sorry for."

"I'm so cold, Perse…"

Persephone wrapped her up in her own coat to hide the blood.

"Stay with me," Helena begged. "Until I'm asleep."

"Of course." Persephone embraced her, stroking her raven hair. "I love you."

Helena closed her eyes and took a shuddering breath.

When she opened them, she was on the docks of the English Channel. She looked down at herself but saw no sword wound marring her pale flesh and no blood on her hands. However, the Channel didn't look like it did when she was there before. The sky was the palest blue like on a Summer's day, though no sun shone. White ships floated on the black waters and bumped against white docks. Helena looked around for someone. Anyone.

"Helena," a voice called. It sounded like a man, a woman, and a child all at once.

Helena looked around but found no body to match the voice.

"It's time to move on, Helena," said the voice. "Just board the boat. Your mother will be along shortly."

Fear and anxiety jolted through her core. No… she couldn't face her mother. Not after all this time. It would be a curse to spend eternity under her disappointing stare.

"No," she said. "I won't board the boat… I can't face her!"

"Think carefully of this," said the voice. "Your choice will be eternal. It would take unknown power to reverse this. One you will not possess."

"I don't care!" she shouted. Something pulled at her gut, dragging her back into darkness.

"You can never come back," the voice called.

Helena opened her eyes and found herself sitting in the small library of Hogwarts. Mother was always working to expand it, though there were so few books and scrolls on the subject of magic. Why was she here? She didn't want to be here! She looked down and saw the table through her hands. They had become a silvery blue. Almost grey. She stared at them in shock.

"Helena…"

She jumped to her feet and whirled around to see Barclay staring at her, his clothes still splattered in crimson blood, the only color amongst his silvery-blue clothes and skin. No… this was so much worse. She refused to spend eternity with him.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"I told you," he replied. "I want to spend eternity with you."

"I changed my mind!" she cried, looking up. "Take me back! I want to go back!"

"Helena, I will treat you right! I promise! I'm sorry for what I've done."

She ran through the tables and bookshelves, wailing and begging for the voice to return her to the docks. To take her anywhere else but here. When she tried to leave out an open window or door, she found herself right back in the library and right back in the presence of the man she loathed. Heaven for him. Hell for her.

And no chance of return. No chance to be reunited with her love. No chance to apologize to her mother.

What had she done?

Centuries passed in a blur and Helena found herself glaring down at a man with red eyes. Tom Riddle. He had always spoken kindly to her. Listened when she told him of her mother's diadem.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" she shrieked.

"What needed to be done." He smiled cooly. "Thank you, Helena. For telling me the whereabouts of your mother's diadem."

"GET OUT!" she wailed with more force than Moaning Myrtle. "GO!"

"Very well. I've done what I needed to do."

She drifted along a corridor and a door appeared. Inside the door was a room full of hundreds, no, thousands of objects, many of them broken.

"Where is it?" she muttered. "Where is it?"

For the first time, she passed a mirror and when she fully looked into it, she saw who she was. Finally gaining control of her own actions and thoughts, Hermione screamed.