HI thanks for making it this far it has been a bit since my last update, mostly due to me not being fully satisfied with what I'm putting out there and taking the time to edit, so if anyone knows of a beta or you are a beta that would like to work on this please DM me!

thanks for reading and leave a comment on how ya think it is going

Helena had been sitting in her cell for a few hours now after the trial ended she heard a few hurried people walking by but heard nothing of consequence. Finally, she heard the door open and from the light of the room behind him came Dumbledore.

"You have caused quite a commotion up there young lady. But everything has been worked out. Now a warning, stay calm, you have on magic suppressing chains so you won't be able to escape even if you wanted to." he walked up to the cage and opened it unfastening the chains that held her to the chair but not the ones binding her hands.

"So I am just supposed to go with you quietly then."

"It is your best interest to do so, you do not know how lucky you are that this was your sentencing," he said walking her out of the cell towards the door and out into the hallway. It was also dimly lit with flickering lights lining the walls. He continued talking as they walked, "Not many know of who or what you are save for the council and a few arorers. We don't want to start a panic in the community if they were to find out there was an obscurus in the school. But it is the safest place for you. Grindelwald has a chance of breaking you out of Azkaban if he wanted but no one thinks he will come near Hogwarts.'' they moved towards a large door that went outside.

Helena could not believe what she was seeing, It was a large carrisge with a team of flying horses, they were jumping up and down when they caught sight of her, they were held by anchoring men so they would not fly off. "Flying Horses. This world is truly ridiculous" she mumbled as she was walked towards the carriage. It was silver and black an odd shape very boxy but with curving designs on it, and bars on the windows. A regular first class flying prision was what it looked like. Dumbledore took a few steps in front of her pulling her into the carriage. The interior was wall to wall black leather, Dumbledore's vibrant cloak and robes set him in contrast almost as though he was glowing against the backdrop. She situated herself on the opposite side facing him. The door closed and then they were off with a joilt.

On a side though she wondered to him,"How did you know my name?"

"There is a list that automatically registers every wizard and witch with magical talent in the ministry, Hogwarts takes from that list, somehow your name fell through the cracks, there was a letter sent to you but it went unnoticed by both Hogwarts and your family. It almost never happens, but with this war going on things and people get lost." There was another moment of silence as they rode hearing the horses wings gliding through the air at an incredibly fast pace.

"Give me your hands this will only take a moment." he said pulling his wand from his robes, and with no choice and no way to escape she lifted her hands in front of him. He grabbed them from the shackles in the middle turning them so that they were palms up. He then waved his wand over them in a figure eight motion speaking mumbled spells that she couldn't fully understand, as he repeated it she could see brown runes appear on her wrists after they fully formed he let go of her wrists and sat back.

"So is this branding or binding," she said rubbing her wrists as she felt a tingle where they were.

"You could say it is both, they will keep you in the school boundaries and serve as an activator to bind your obscus if needed. You will stay at Hogwarts as any other student, you will learn and interact normally. This was deprived of you as a child and now you are getting the opportunity, I suggest you make the best of it because there is no negotiation. If you hurt or severely break the rules I can not stop them from taking you to Azkaban, and trust me that is not a place you want to be." He looked at Helena as though he was expecting her to say something, but there was nothing she wanted to say she felt lead in the pit of her stomach sick and frustrated, this is what happens, Grindelwald was right there was no chance they would let her go back onto the field and fight to save people her people. She was cornered all she could do was sit back and bide her time until she found a way to get out of all of this.

It was mid day by the time they arrived. As they flew around the school she could see there were students at many of the windows crowding around to see what the commotion was about. She shifted very uncomfortably as they landed. Dumbledore handed her a black cloak to drape around her so that the shackles wouldn't show, apparently the headmaster was the one who was supposed to take them of and keep them just in case.

She stepped out onto the cobblestoned entranceway, she kept her head high looking only straight ahead as he guided her through the halls to the headmaster's office. When she entered she saw an ancient man sitting at the desk he had a long face covered with a stark white beard and ful silver hair. He looked as though he came out of a book illustration of Merlin or some imagination of a what a wizard would look like. He looked so much like a portrait that she was almost surprised when he moved.

He walked towards her extending his hand, "Hello miss I am Headmaster Dippet. And I welcome you to Hogwarts." she brought up her hand to shake his, though the exchange was awkward due to the restraints, "Please allow me" he said taking his wand out and waving them over the shackles. He then moved back to his chair and sat. "Now I have had Mr. Ollivander bring a few wands down to us so that you may find one suitable for you, please come forward." She had missed the meek looking man in the corner of the room, she moved closer to the desk leaving Dumbledores side as she looked at the array of wands on the desk.

"I don't use wands, well more so, I have never used wands before." she said her hand gliding over them

"Yes I have been informed," Dippet said, she looked back up at the man, it seemed that everyone was informed about her. "And some of the staff has as well, but for the majority your affiliations," he said uncomfortably, " and your general situation is unknown to the student population and majority of the staff. It is best to keep it that way."

"I will need a place to practice by myself, otherwise the obscurius can become too much if i do not acknowledge it, especially since I will be doing magic here. Spells are not enough I need to release a lot of energy," she said her hand hovering over the selection before her

"Yes, students are typically not allowed to go into the forbidden forest, but when these… urges hit you the boundaries will be allowed to extend into a safe distance into the woods. Simply make sure that you are not followed and leave if danger approaches you, there are many other creatures in that forest."

"I will be careful," she said picking up a shorter wand from the table, she wasn't sure if she was supposed to feel or do anything but she gently moved it and made a cracking noise. The man in the corner, who she presumed was Ollivander, rushed over.

"No, no, no, no" he muttered taking the wand from her hands, "more flexible, yes more flexible, these won't do." he said taking a few of the wands off the table." there was a long grey wand with a knob at the end. He gave her an expectant look to do something, so she took it and waved the wand over some books; they flew off the table. Dippet waved his wand over the books and they went back into place and Olivander took the wand out of her hands again.

Frustrated Helena said, "I am sorry about the mess, I just don't know what to do with wands really."

"No need to fret, here try this one," it was a dark brown wand medium length very plain except for a bronze handle, she then did a silent levitation charm of the same books she knocked over, she didn't like the feel of it, but the books levitated a bit off of the table . It felt like running a raging river through a tiny hole. "It will have to do," Ollivander said moving to collect the other wands, "I wish you would have let her come to the store."

"We appreciate your understanding of the situation Mr. Oleander." Dippet said, "and thank you for your time this morning." he then turned back to Helena, "Now miss. Hornstein, the last thing we have for you to do before we have you sorted at dinner is to take a few tests to place you in classes." He began writing something before looking into her eyes, "We are not here to dictate what you do as long as you follow the rules of the school and stay on campus, this is your opportunity to have a normal life in the wizarding world. I suggest you grab the opportunities given to you here and stay on the right path." he nodded to Dumbledore who then guided her out of the room.

She wasn't sure what she was expecting, the test itself wasn't difficult there were a few things she didn't recognize but other than that it was basic information. After it was over Dumbledore told her that though she tested above fifth year that it would be better for her to be in class with children her own age then showed her to a room where she was supposed to change into some basic school robes and have the opportunity to clean herself up. After a short shower and putting on the loose-fitting robes she looked around the room. There was a think window in the room and she went over to take a brief look outside, she wasn't sure how late it was since the sunset so early in the winter. What she wanted more than anything was to here her reports what was going on in the front lines who was making their move, the war was picking up and instead of being out there she was stuck here playing school girl.

At that moment there was a knock on the door, Helena went to pick up her dirtied clothes and opened it. She had changed into some basic robes with no house name on them and put her up into its normal bun and looked up at the man. There was Dumbledore with a hint of a smile on his face, no matter how Helena looked at it something just didn't feel genuine about the man. He looked kind, but he looked like the kind to find and keep secrets she doubted many knew about the nature of the friendship between him and Grindelwald all the dark magic and illegal activities they played with as boys. There was a shiftiness to him behind his facade and she was already not a person to lower her shields for anyone especially someone like him. "I see the robes fit well," he said, "now please follow me."

He explained the sorting ceremony while they continued down the hallway, she decided to stay quiet and not tell him that she already knew about it and the different houses, it is better to seem ignorant and quiet if she wanted to get under the radar. They entered into a more open, highly vaulted area where the light just seemed to emanate from the air itself. At the end of the open space were large oak doors opened, she could see inside were four long tables with students buzzing about. There was a slight movement in her peripheral vision and she snapped her head to her left. She saw a gaunt, weak looking boy with dark thin curly hair on his head and sunken eyes. She could see his eyes widen in surprise that she had caught him and he froze in his tracks. Dumbledore turned to see what had caught her attention. "Lestrange," he said in a stern voice. At that, the boy jumped to attention, "Any specific reason you are late for dinner this evening?"

"No professor just overslept during a nap," he said looking at the entrance to the great hall nervously and grabbed his left arm. "Well go along then." Dumbledore said his eyebrow raised ignoring the obvious lie. The boy scurried inside going to his designated table, she noticed the green emblem on his robe when he passed. So a Slytherin then, she watched him go into the room and go towards the far left table.

Dumbledore then turned to her, "I will go and inform Headmaster Dippet that you are ready to be sorted, just wait out here until he waves you in. After that the fifth year prefect should show you around, they have already been briefed that you will have a separate room." with that Dumbledore walked up through the tables to the end where all the teachers and the Headmaster. Who in Helena's eyes still looked as though he was a painting, which would not surprise her much now as she had seen a few moving paintings on the way here. She leaned against the large door and observed the crowded not particularly looking at anyone. As she saw the laughter and energetic atmosphere of the room she became more and more resentful of them. She could feel anger pulsating through her, this was their life? This was what they were accustomed to? Were they even aware of what was going on outside of the walls? The war with other wizards or the muggle war? No, she thought as she breathed in the fiery anger inside of her turning into an icy disdain all the while her face never changing. Her muggle world was not the only one that had to change, this one did too. And with that thought in her mind, she could see Headmaster Dippet take the podium.

Lestrange had run over to the center of the table and took a small spot between a boy with long blonde hair and another with jet black curls on his head. The blond was engaged in a discussion with some other boys next to him but excused himself when the dark-haired boy began speaking. "So Lestrange, did you find out anything."

"Not really Tom," the boy said slightly out of breath and with a little bit of a stutter, " w-well yeah one thing. There is this new girl. I think she's a transfer she came in this morning on a carriage with a bunch of flying horses. Looks like she was picked up from where ever she was by Dumbledore." Lestrange said shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

"Anything else?" the blonde said as Tom took a sip of his drink his eyes following Dumbledore as he glided into the great hall and up to Headmaster Dippet.

"Well some of the paintings said she did well on her tests, but as usual most of them are not very talkative with students."

Tom had not been upset when transfiguration classes had been canceled, anytime he didn't have to interact with Dumbledore was a plus in his book. There are not many professors in the school that could see through him. There was a mutual distrust there. When he had left there were whispers through the school that he might have gone to face Grindelwald. It was widely known that many thought that Dumbledore would be the one to stop his advance. But instead of that, he had returned in a large Ministry flying carriage with some random girl. Lestrange per usual had failed to get any actual information about the situation. Apparently, Dumbledore went to escort a new student to the school. He had to admit that he was interested to see what constituted an escort form one of the most powerful wizards of the time. He was in a good position to find out, as he was one of the prefects, they had been told this morning to be prepared for a new member to the 5th year class, but we wouldn't know what house till dinner. He looked up as Headmaster Dippet moved to the podium and the room went quiet as people looked towards him.

Dippet waved his hand over his voice so that he could speak and be heard without having to strain his voice. He looked over the room as it gradually became quieter as students saw that he was about to speak, "Good Evening, I am sure that all of you have missed the presence of your transfiguration teacher these past few days, but I am happy to say that he has returned to us." there rose various yelps and clapping around the Gryffindor table, "We at Hogwarts are known not only as a school but also a place to offer sanctuary to those who need it. I have the honor to introduce to you the first transfer student Hogwarts has had in many years, Mis. Helena Hornstein.'' he waved his hand to becon the girl in.

There was a shift in the room as many of the students turned to look back to the entrance as a girl walked in. Tom had to admit that he was slightly surprised that there was nothing seemed too off about the girl. As she walked in one of the first things he noticed was her profile he had to admit she was a good looking girl, she had an classic type of beauty that was gentle and smooth tall features that made her look as though she was cut from stone and her hair tied up into a tight bun and her eyes were a bit sunken making her look a bit older than she was. He wanted to get a better look at her but her gaze was steady and forward. She walked with confidence but like a quick flowing march, every step was pointed and she made no move to look around her she didn't seem phased by the whispers and giggling around her. He did not like knowing nothing about a new student in the middle of the year. There had to be a reason that she was here, there had to be a reason that Dumbledore need to escort her. She wasn't from one of the main pureblood families, her name was obviously muggle or at least he didn't recognize it. He idly wondered what house would she be put in.

Helena made her way to the front of the room where Dippet motioned her towards a stool at the front of the podium. She sat there looking forward as the sorting hat was placed on her head. "What an unusual magic we have. Hmmm" she could feel the humm of him speaking in her head, there was a pause and she could almost feel the hat going through her mind her memories, she didn't know it would have access to her mind like this, she hated it and tried to push it out unsuccessfully, " I am sorry for what you have had to endure, you will not find anyone here who has gone through quite what you have, and even though you might not care you are safe here. But where to put you, where to put you." You have a hunger for knowledge but your mind extends to more than just the pursuit of information, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff are definitely out of the picture for you. You have a fire in you, you want to right the wrongs done to you and your loved ones that fire and determination is indicative of a Gryffindor, not to mention your reckless tendencies to run into a fight." she looked over to the table and the red and gold boisterous crowd, they looked welcoming enough, but she couldn't care less about that, of her house, she was here to gain what she needed and get out as soon as possible.

"and that my dear, is why you are not a gryffindor, you are fiercely devoted to those you love and trust, but you have cut off the part of yourself that would allow you to trust another, you are ambitious with your goals and have the mind to get what you want... in variety of ways…" the another pause and for a breif second she saw a glimps of the medical room from the camp with that man overtop of her again, it was breif and jarring but she made no move to show it and then the hat spoke out loud shouting "Slytherin!" cheers erupted from the Slytherin table and as the hat was removed from her head she got up and made her way to the table. She saw a boy in the center of the table stand up and wave her over. She took a breath in forcing the hint of a smile on her face and moved towards them. As she made her way towards them she noticed that the same boy she saw in the hall earlier surry around to the other side of the table.

Tom held out his hand to the girl, "Very nice to meet you, my name is Tom Riddle, Prefect. Welcome to the best house in Hogwarts." there were a few whoops and nodding around him. He motioned to a seat next to him and a blonde boy. She noted there are not a lot of options as she looks around, Helena nods and takes the seat. Tom sat next to her as she moved to put some food on her plate. "Slytherins are a head above many of the other houses here both intellectually and socially, this" he gestured to the boy to the other side of her, "is Abraxas Malfoy."

He extended his hand as well "Nice to meet you." Helena said lightly shaking his hand. He was a decently attractive boy, they both were she could at least admit that. Tom had a strong jaw and tall face that accentuated his dark eyes. The Malfoy boy was a completely different type, he had a reserved glow about him. His hair was a blond that she had never seen on a person, and it went below his shoulders tied with a black ribbon. He looked like he was a royal from an old story or history book, and from a moment she barely recognized the name Malfoy she was sure that she had heard it before but could not place it. She could feel the stares of a few of the girls at the table and all she wanted to do was eat and get out of the situation. But she had to play nice student and just go under the radar so that was what she did.

"So," Malfoy said moving back to his food, "what brings you to Hogwarts?" She could see the slight shift in a few of the people around her and she could tell that though some of them were either eating or participating in minor conversations that they were listening nonetheless. Shifty group of people she already found it tiring to have to interact with these people but this would truly be an effort on her part.

"One could say I was being privately tutored, then abruptly it was decided for me to come here." she said slowly picking at her food per usual she wasn't very hungry she felt even more uncomfortable eating in front of a bunch of calculating strangers.

She could see a girl with dark hair lean over from the opposite side of Tom, "Oh is that because of the war?" Helena nodded, "Well that makes sense," the girl continued. " It used to be popular for families to privately tutor their children, but the benefits of graduating from Hogwarts and the connections you make here usually wind up with the best here or at least the best families." she stretched her hand over Tom making a point of leaning into him in the process, "My name is Parkinson, Penny Parkinson, where is your family from?"

"My father's family is German and my mothers is English, but with all due respect, I am not very comfortable talking about my family." Helena said her smile strained, she could tell this house was very nobility or social standing oriented, she could tell by how Pennys and Toms eyes strained calculating why, but the less they knew about her the better. Then the thought occurred to her that she could just shift the blame on to Dumbledore. He was responsible for her and he did warn her to be careful not to divulge too much information about herself so it would be an easy and simple responds, "Well more so I am not really at liberty to talk about them because of the war and everything, Dumbledore told me I shouldn't talk about it." hopefully that would end the discussion.

But then the blonde boy behind her piped up, "He can be a real stick in the mud that one." Helena looked back to him and he was politely eating a bit of chicken barley looking at her, he swallowed his food and looking back over he continued, "He looks and acts like he would be a nice teacher, but he has it in for this house, right Tom."

"Yes he is a Gryffindor at heart and well they are a mess of a house really," Tom said leaning his arm across the table slightly blocking Penny to look at her and she could feel the heated stares at her she should stay far away from them, "blood traitors and miscreants the lot. You should know now that in general Slytherins generally stick together here. So if there is anything that I can do for you to ease your stay please let me know." he gave an award-winning smile and then moved on to his own food. She shifted in her seat recognizing that the smile didn't reach his eyes. Reaching for some food she mulled over the thought that there are definitely people here that she needs to stay away from this Tom boy seems to be fairly popular and he comes off as being nice but something seems to be lurking below the surface. Then again she is in a house of snakes.