They took a turn, following the menacingly looking tentacle, after his little talk with Helena, their search began all around the castle, it really felt alive, or at least he thought so since whenever he looked at it, it would disappear from sight.
Helena had to search for Professor Baker from all around the castle, then she would come back to where Allen was waiting, once with that information, he would look the way she came from and try to pinpoint its location, the further he tried to do it, the more it became a burden on his magic, so he had to get as close as possible without letting himself be discovered.
Allen managed to catch a glimpse of it a few times but every time he caught it with his eyes, it would disappear, even if he explicitly intended to harm it using his magic.
His panting could be heard through the Room of Requirements while Helena floated beside him. "I… I don't think it's working, it knows that I'm actively searching for it, therefore, it tries to evade me as much as possible."
"Hmm… I didn't expect him to create such a powerful curse either. And what's more, it's not a set pattern, is it?"
Allen shook his head from left to right. "No, every time a Professor gets hurt it's always a different way, so they can't really point at the similarities to try and break it.
Any ideas?"
She shook her head as well. "I think we need Professor Baker to leave before it's too late, and even then, according to what you are saying it feels almost like it's too late already.
His gaze was stuck on the floor, his mind raced thinking about the situation. It's not like he had to do something either, he took it upon himself to try and save Professor Baker from the curse's wrath, or more specifically, from Voldemort's.
Would he let it be after the first year and let the curse run its course against the following professors just because he doesn't know them, or isn't related somehow to them?
'William did explain that she would leave before the term ends, so there shouldn't be an issue if I stop what I'm doing, right?' Allen mused.
"I think… we can stop it for now, I'll ask William again when Professor Baker plans on leaving. It's been a few days so she should have an estimated time at least."
Helena nodded, agreeing with his new plan.
"In any case, thank you for helping me out, even if you can't see the curse. Thanks for believing in me."
A kind smile appeared on her face. "Don't worry about it, if it were someone else, I might have doubted the authenticity of the tale, but I know your eyes can see more than meets the eye."
"Right, you knew my mother, didn't you?" A small crease formed in between his eyebrows. "Did she… How did she use her eyes?" He asked doubtfully.
Helena stayed silent for a moment. Thinking about how to answer the question. "It… was a bit different with her. She also imbued fear into the person or ghost that she saw but… if she wanted to, she could make them freeze in the stop."
"Wait! Freeze them? Like the Body-Bind Curse?" Her tale got interrupted midways.
"Yes, something along those lines. She, well," Helena doubted again before continuing. "She used to mock the Slytherins that messed up with her and her friends by using her eyes against them."
"How is that mocking them?" A puzzling look showed on his face.
"She used to call her ability the 'Basilisk's Glare' and would often go after them, of course it enraged them since a Basilisk is the king of serpents, and she being in Gryffindor, proclaimed to have its eyes. It didn't really make any sense to me, but apparently it got them riled up, even a few of the older students were bothered by her demeanor.
Add to that the fact that her glare became more powerful with each year, she did tell me that some professors asked her to stop it since it was scaring the younger students, and even the ones in her year."
"So they believed it? That she had a Basilisk's Glare?" He felt his skin crawl at the name her mother came up with about her ability. He didn't know whether to feel second-hand embarrassment or something else.
"No, most of the professors asked her to stop it for the sake of peace, with Voldemort running rampant, the muggleborns were easily triggered by anything pertaining to blood purity, that included your mother's ability."
Allen interrupted her again but she didn't let him say anything as she put a finger up. "I know, she was a muggleborn as well, Gryffindor to boot. Her yearmates were thankful to her for defending them but at the same time she could tell that they were getting scared of her ability. After all, she did manage to freeze someone out of fear for two days straight."
"He was frozen? Like petrified? For two days straight?" His face turned from second-hand embarrassment to one out of dread.
"That's correct. It took a toll on her body of course, she couldn't see anything for a whole week, and in her weakest time, people tried to take advantage of that, your father, of course, wouldn't leave her side and protected her from the other students. Of course, it didn't help that she petrified someone from the same house, maybe the retaliation would've been less if it had been someone from Slytherin, alas, not only did she froze a yearmate, but she did it protecting a boy from Slytherin as well."
The shock on Allen's face was evident. "How do you know so many details about it?"
"Your parents told me themselves," She turned around as she continued talking. "And as for the boy, I'm sure you know him, after all, it's your head of house."
He felt his stomach drop, her mother saved Severus Snape, but from who?
"Remus Lupin, friend of James Potter, whom I'm sure you know because of their child." Allen nodded affirmatively.
"What happened after that?" Curiosity emanated from his voice.
"She got detention for the rest of the year, while losing the house cup entirely that year for attacking a fellow Gryffindor. In reality…" Helena doubted for a moment before telling him. "She was thanked by the headmaster for making sure a tragedy didn't occur, but the way she went about it was wrong, or so she told me, he told her, in the end she was forbidden from using her ability again in school grounds, of course, that didn't stop her in its usage, as long as they didn't see her using it, no one could really say with certainty that it was her."
Allen's mind was in a mess, for such a cringe-worthy name his mother came up with for her ability, the effects were as fearsome as she named it. "And you are telling me this because of the petrification effect she used, right?"
"That's correct." She smiled warmly at him. "If everything else fails, maybe you can try to practice with your 'Basilisk's Glare'."
At the mention of the ability's name, he felt his skin crawl. "I don't think I want to call it that."
Helena shrugged her shoulders as she turned towards him. "Any other suggestions?"
"I… No, not really, I was hoping you could give me one, actually." He mustered.
"Mystic Gaze?" She asked, making his skin crawl again.
He stayed silent for a while, not really wanting to say his opinion.
"You don't like it, right?" Helena asked.
"We- Well, It's not that but… I'd feel a bit of embarrassment calling it that, I mean, how could my mother go around calling her ability 'Basilisk's Glare'?!" He raised his hands to his face, trying to cover his shame.
"So the name I came up with is equally embarrassing?"
"... A bit, just a bit." He spoke in a sorrowful tone.
Helena chuckled briefly before talking again. "It's alright, but I recommend that you name your ability, words hold power, after all, it is the language we speak, and not only that, it is also the way we use magic.
Names are even more important since they become engraved in your being. Why do you think fae often trick wizards and witches into giving them their name?"
"Wait. Fae exists?!" He asked incredulously.
"Of course, but in recent years their sightings have been less and less, choosing to hide from the magical population," She sat down on the floor, and invited Allen to do the same. "Have you not heard of stories about children being abducted only to come back the next day or the following days? Or fae exchanging their children the same night without their parents knowing any better.
Those are of the tamest examples, of course. The more visceral ones would be when they ask for your name, and the unsuspecting wizard, without understanding the underlying meaning of their words, offers it to them. Many examples of that have happened before."
Allen gulped nervously. "Are… Are there any fae close to Hogwarts' grounds?"
"In the forbidden forest, they used to be abundant but I haven't heard of them appearing in front of students in recent years."
The conversation continued to derange towards the magical creatures of the forest, at the end of the day, right before curfew, Allen ran with all his might back towards the dormitory, his head full of stories about the fae, hoping that he will never find one or run into them.
When he woke up, Allen felt more tired than usual and his eyes stung a bit, as if he stared at a screen for a few hours before going to sleep, only to wake up with no rest.
After a few classes, his friends were talking excitedly about the summer plans.
"I've been talking to Professor Malik, and apparently, we can't try it in this full moon since it's going to be a lunar eclipse. Some wizards have tried it before, but the results were the same as if the moon were to be covered by clouds or another type of phenomenon." Armand explained heartily.
A sound of fingers snapping brought him back from his tired mind. "Dammit, then do we have to wait until the next winter holidays?"
Armand nodded his head in a defeated manner. "Apparently so, and even then, professor Malik did say that it would be better for us to try it in our second year, that way he can see if we understand transfiguration a whole more. That also helps us to understand the process a bit better."
William agreed, moving his head up and down. "What do you think, Allen?"
"Mmh… I'm thinking about the curse in the position of the DADA professor." He blurted out without really thinking. Then a moment later he realized what he said.
"Ah! No! I mean, well, yes, but… I'm just worried about professor Baker, you know?"
'Especially because the curse doesn't seem to leave her at all.' He lamented internally.
"Aha! You are worried about my cousin, uh?" A smug smile showed on William's face.
"Yes…" Allen accepted defeatedly. 'It's better if they think I'm superstitious instead of alarming them, I guess.'
"Don't worry mate, she was a Hogwarts' student too, she knows that even if a curse doesn't exist, it's better to not take any chances, so she'll be leaving a week before we end classes." William swung his arms around, catching his friends from each side.
"So, any plans for the summer, besides reading more about animagi?"
"Yeah, my family will go on a vacation to Italy. Draco wanted to visit Romania though, so maybe we'll make a stop there. All in all, not enough time to study." Armand chuckled as he told them their plans.
Their reaction was lukewarm since both Allen and William couldn't really relate to his idea of 'summer vacations'.
"What about you, Allen?" Armand returned the question.
It suddenly hit him, he'd have to return to the orphanage, no wand magic and who knows if he could do his wandless magic now that the trace was in place. "I… didn't really thought about it, I never thought the school year would end so fast, so I didn't really planned ahead." He said truthfully.
William raised his left hand up, showing him a thumbs up. "Don't worry, I can ask my parents if we can spend the last days of summer holiday together.
"Thanks William." Allen smiled at him, more determined now to make sure nothing happens to professor Baker.