Entry: Wednesday, September 23rd, 2015

Sienna had a very interesting story for me when she came home from school today. Some girl called Helia apparently ‘picked up and put down’ a much older girl named Marietta that was trying to bully Sienna.

I asked Sienna’s bodyguards- and while they were unable to identify Helia, they were able to describe her. Roughly five years old and probably in Arienne’s year, one year ahead of Sienna, she’s also insanely strong for her age- she picked up the overweight twelve-year-old that was Marietta with one hand, then tossed her down on the ground like so much rubbish.

All despite not looking like she has an ounce of muscle on her frame.

It was no wonder the teacher didn’t believe Marietta’s accusations- the tiny girl didn’t look like she could have lifted Sienna, much less the pubescent Marietta, who must have weighed around four times as much as Helia.

Marietta’s attempts to bully my girls have been concerning up to this point- but not quite bad enough for me to do something about it. I think this was probably the tipping stone, if Sienna and her guards are right about what Marietta was trying to do. The Guards are checking the records for Helia’s identity, but with only her first name to go by and not knowing how it’s spelled, they’re not likely to find anything.

Entry: Thursday, September 24th, 2015

Arienne had an encounter with Helia today.

Helia Jennifer Black. Exactly as I would have expected from Arienne, she specifically asked for Helia’s full name, and made sure to remember it.

Apparently, Marietta was angry over Helia’s protecting Sienna, so decided to give Arienne a shove in a most unkind direction. Arienne’s guards reported the incident to me in full color, indicating that had Helia not intervened, Arienne would likely have been badly injured- probably a broken floating rib. As it was, they had a sneaking suspicion that Marietta had been at least lightly injured, as Helia had only barely lifted the girl before forcing her to sit down, hard. It was like Helia weighed three times as much as Marietta, rather than the other way around.

But of course, Helia Jennifer… Black.

Dukes of Hogsmeade and Kent and Strathern, Earls of Surrey.

And most importantly, the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black is a politically powerful House in the magical world.

Yet Helia is attending a non-magical school?

Something must have happened to the House of Black. Maybe Helia is a squib? But that wouldn’t explain how both Arienne and her Guards said she appeared and disappeared both out of and back into nowhere.

I have asked both of my girls to make contact with and befriend Helia if they can, and told them why- though I think Sienna might still be too young to truly understand.

Entry: Friday, September 25th, 2015

Sienna is rather understandably distraught about not being able to find her savior, Helia, today. I explained it as best as I could to her four-year-old mind, but I don’t think she really understands.

In other news, the SIS was able to confirm: Helia’s home address on file with the school… is one of our known magical addresses. One of those places that appear on camera, but we can’t see in person.

Incidentally, the address is identical to the one on file for the seat of the House of Black, both magical and non-magical sides: Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.

In other news, Marietta has been suspended, and is facing further punishment. One does not make an attempt to injure the Crown Princess, successful or otherwise, without facing the music.

Entry: Tuesday, September 29th, 2015

I got more strange reports about Helia today. Sienna encountered her again- this time protecting her from a teacher’s accidental fall due to a dropped book. Neither of the girls nor the teacher were harmed- though casually catching a hundred-kilogram teacher, lifting them into the air, and putting them back on their feet is no mean feat for a five-year-old with no discernible muscle. No wonder the teacher was staring- so were Sienna’s guards!

Sienna apparently understood when I told her the Blacks were important, but not why, so she asked Helia… and reportedly, Helia refused to tell her, on the grounds that it shouldn’t be spoken in public.

This is definite confirmation that she’s magical, or at least familiar with magic. Yet, Sienna’s Guards said the way it was spoken made it sound like she knew Sienna was allowed to know.

Sienna also eagerly asked Helia about where she went over lunch or breaks- and her answer was… concerning, to Sienna, her guards, and me as well:

She has ‘work to do’. She refused to specify any further than that.

What work does a five-year-old have to do?

Author's Note

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And here we have the largest section of the chapter. In other news, can you guess what Vanessa's position is? Not that it's very hard, she does basically everything short of spelling it out herself...