birth of the cruel | elaine

[diana eoina bainbridge]

lets not forget were all guilty

all three dimensions
polluted by earnest despair

March 15, 2023
Elaine Lyra Dupree

Second Floor Girl’s Bathroom

She was almost there. Almost. Diana struggled to control her breathing and slow it down. Her body shook in response to fighting the latest bout of anxiety. This year had been truly awful so far, and all she wanted to was to make it back to the Ravenclaw Common Room, where she could curl up with a book in that chair by the fire she always sat in. Maybe Cara would be back, and she’d sit nearby and write. It was always calm there, not that Ravenclaws were known for their rowdiness, but it was peaceful for Diana’s busy brain. There was one thing that had been occupying her mind since the previous December. What she had seen.

Ethan was a classmate of hers, they weren’t close, but he was friendly. A survivor in a chain of attacks on her other classmates, but Ethan had been lucky. Word was he wouldn’t say what happened despite the extensive injuries, and everyone still walked around in pairs or groups—afraid to be alone. The thing was…Diana had seen it happen. Not entirely, but enough that she hadn’t slept in days worrying if that girl had seen her. Elaine. There had been this peculiar look in her eyes despite the atrocity, an expression one wouldn’t typically associate with violence. Now Diana felt like she saw Elaine after turning every corner, and maybe she hadn’t seen her. This was all made up in her mind, right? Otherwise, she would have done something by now. It had been three months.

Diana heard the door open, and she glanced at the lock on the stall door to make sure it wasn’t open. The footsteps were slow. Deliberate. And they slowly made their way closer and closer to the stalls. The echo was loud. Diana wasn’t typically a skittish girl, but if her mind wasn’t racing because she was mentally dissecting the topics of the latest book she’d picked up, it was overthinking matters of life and death because of what she’d seen. The footsteps stopped, but there wasn’t any other noise aside from her heartbeat in her ears. And she didn’t know if she should leave and make her way back to the Common Room.

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[Elaine Lyra Dupree]

Elaine had known someone had spied her Unbreakable Vow with Ethan, but she hadn’t been able to discern the identity of the girl until several days ago. Desiree had taken it upon herself to figure out the spy, and now she had a name to the face. Diana Bainbridge. According to Desi, the girl was one of seven children, all of them current students at Hogwarts. Excellent. Elaine knew that whoever had seen them wasn’t on her side, but would be too afraid to do anything; she could smell their fear as they’d scampered off. Elaine had spent the past weeks biding her time; she never did anything rashly, without careful forethought and planning. It would not do to act first then think later. She had yet to be discovered by the Headmistress and her minions, and she was not about to let that change now.

She had been tracking Diana, and she could tell the girls’ mind was beginning to unravel due to the anxiety of being caught. If the girl had gone back to the Ravenclaw common room, Elaine would not have been able to follow her. Of course, with Desi in Ravenclaw she could have chosen to interrogate her, but this was something Elaine wanted to do herself. Mercifully, Diana chose the girls bathroom to hide in, somewhere that would not be strange for Elaine herself to be. She pushed open the bathroom door and walked slowly inside. There were a few closed stall doors, but only one was firmly locked. Smirking, Elaine stopped in her tracks and held out her wand. She locked the bathroom door nonverbally and gave pause. She could faintly hear the sound of Diana’s heartbeat from here; she was terrified. Good. “Alohomora,” she sang, pointing her wand towards the locked stall. It burst open and Elaine walked to stand in front of the stall door, blocking Diana’s way out. “Good afternoon, Diana, isn’t it?” she said, keeping her tone pleasant. Her eyes sparkled darkly however, as if she were a cat getting ready to pounce on her prey.

diana eoina bainbridge

[diana eoina bainbridge]

lets not forget were all guilty

all three dimensions
polluted by earnest despair

March 15, 2023
Elaine Lyra Dupree

Diana didn’t dare breathe as the footsteps slowly approached and stopped. There was silence after that, and all she could hear was her heart violently beating against her chest. She’d been a bit of a nervous wreck, but it hadn’t stood out against the entire anxiety of the student body and these student deaths and attacks. The school year had hardly begun before a student had been found dead on the train. She heard the spell being cast. ’Alohomora. And she physically flinched with the door flung open and collided with the sides of the stall.

It was her. Elaine. The same face and eyes full of menacing pleasure just like Diana had seen that night with Ethan. She could still picture that scene in her mind and the magic in that scene. While another student might not have known what they had seen, Diana had done enough reading instead of homework to know what magic had occurred that night. Suddenly all those random facts and knowledge she’d read over the years to fuel her endless curiosity about magic had proven useful. ”Wh-what do you want?” She asked, failing at trying to keep her expression neutral. Her hair unwittingly shifted from its natural blonde to a dark black in response to her current fear.

Diana still held onto that shred of hope that Elaine wasn’t there because she knew Diana saw that night. This had to be a misunderstanding, right?

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[Elaine Lyra Dupree]

Elaine could feel Diana’s fear and anxiety oozing off of her. The poor girl was terrified, and rightly so. If she had witnessed what Desi believed she’d seen...well, that would be enough to scare anyone. “I just want to talk,” she drawled, putting her wand away for the moment. If the girl was too scared to speak, she would be of no use to her, and Elaine had a feeling she could find a use for Diana Bainbridge.

“Come on out, I’m not going to hurt you,” she purred, gesturing for Diana to come out of the stall. She even took a few steps back, arms outstretched to look less menacing. Diana didn’t know Elaine could perform nonverbal spells, but she was hoping she didn’t have to use them just yet. “I want you to tell me what you think you saw last month. I know you saw me with Ethan Johnson, what I don’t know is what else you saw,” she asked, deciding not to beat around the bush. Elaine had been with Ethan, and Diana had seen her. There was no denying either fact, so there was no need to hide it.

diana eoina bainbridge

[diana eoina bainbridge]

lets not forget were all guilty

all three dimensions
polluted by earnest despair

March 15, 2023
Elaine Lyra Dupree

It was unsettling how calm Elaine looked. So composed as if they were merely discussing the weather. Diana felt warm. Her face felt hot from anxiety. She even took a few steps back as if Diana was just supposed to just trust her. This wasn’t very reassuring at all, not when so many thoughts had so much time to simmer in Diana’s mind. The curse of being able to pick apart a potion to its basic pieces or a spell, she did the same with just about everything else.

Instinctively she shook her head ‘no’. ”No. I didn’t see anything. I swear.” She swallowed hard, but her mouth and throat felt like sand. How was she supposed to get away from her? Hex her? Diana wasn’t sure she wanted to explain to her Head of House or the Headmaster that she’d hexed Elaine because she felt paranoid. Still, she couldn’t get that image out of her mind. Elaine and Ethan holding hands, the red strings wrapping around them. It was just like the book she’d read before described.

”Please…” Diana forced the words out. Her voice wasn’t strong, and her entire body was tense. ”I won’t say anything. I didn’t see anything happen.” Somehow, she hadn’t told Cara, and even Kinsey had sensed something wrong but not what. Diana hadn’t told a soul.

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[Elaine Lyra Dupree]

Elaine simply looked at Diana, her expression blank. It was obvious that the girl was lying. Her body was tense, and her voice wavered as she spoke. If she had been telling the truth, she would sound at least a little more confident. Without speaking, Elaine enacted her Legilimency; she had been practicing with Alistair for well over a year, and could now breach minds with relative ease. She saw flashes from Diana’s point of view; Elaine and Ethan, arms clasped together as Desi had performed the Unbreakable Vow. What was more, Diana knew exactly what it was; where she had gleaned this knowledge from Elaine was uncertain, but it was enough for her.

“You’re lying,” Elaine said finally, pulling back out of Diana’s mind and crossing her arms. “But I’m impressed. Not many would try to lie to my face like you just did. You’re either very brave, or very foolish.” She laughed unpleasantly. “Because of that, I’ll offer you a deal. A duel, wands only, and no tricks on either side. You win, I will concede what I’ve done and you can run off and tell the Headmistress; I will not interfere. Though I won’t say I’d go quietly.” Pausing again, her smile widened on her face. “And if I win…” she began, then paused, allowing a plethora of ideas to run through Diana’s mind. If she won, would she kill her? Her siblings? Elaine was certainly capable of doing that. “I will wipe your memory of the event you had the unfortunate luck to witness. You will be blissfully unaware, and can go about your life.” She extended her hand to the girl.

“Do we have a deal?”

diana eoina bainbridge

[diana eoina bainbridge]

lets not forget were all guilty

all three dimensions
polluted by earnest despair

March 15, 2023
Elaine Lyra Dupree

Diana might as well have been petrified. Elaine didn’t respond right away, instead looking at Diana as if her eyes had some magical ability to see into her soul somehow. She felt as though she was being read, and her anxiety grew—Diana wasn’t known for being a good liar. Often she was too focused on her goal. The endgame for knowledge or whatever task she had at hand typically took over everything. But then she flinched as Elaine accused her of lying. What could Diana do? Nothing. So she stared back. She remembered what she had seen, of course, and it stayed in the forefront of her mind. An Unbreakable Vow—a binding magical contract where the punishment was death. It wasn’t magic meant to be used by students their age, and most witches and wizards typically didn’t use it at all in their lifetime.

The impulse to talk to Ethan this entire time had been there, of course, but she’d been too scared to even do that. Diana had to agree with Elaine, though only because she felt like the latter—foolish. Going to a Professor should have been the solution, but her anxiety had paralyzed her. ”A duel…that’s it?” Diana asked nervously. Having her wand out left her less vulnerable than sitting in this bathroom stall with Elaine blocking her only exit. Was it going to be that simple? Diana was average at best when it came to dueling. She’d always preferred to be with her books. A part of this nagged her. Would she really have a chance to walk free and forget the weight she’d been carrying these months? Was Ethan given a similar choice?

Maybe it was desperation, but Diana looked at the hand outstretched toward her, and she waited a few moments. She thought through her options. Elaine could very well be lying—but did Diana even have a choice at this point? ”Ok…” She put her hand in Elaine’s hand, though it wasn’t the strong handshake she wished she had. ”If I win, you let me go.”

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[Elaine Lyra Dupree]

Elaine’s smile widened wickedly as Diana agreed to the terms, and shook on it. It was now binding that she would duel her, and why wait? It would only give Diana longer to prepare, or longer to chicken out and tell someone what she had seen. “Excellent, shall we?” she declared, turning towards the sinks and crouching down so she was eye level with the tiny snake engraved on the tap. Now, Elaine was no Parselmouth - sadly she had not been blessed with the ability of Salazar Slytherin, as she was not a direct descendant of his. But learning a few words, including ‘open’ took some time to find, but less time to master.



Elaine hissed out the word, as she had done several times before, and the sink groaned and sank into the floor, creating an opening to the slide that would take them down to the Chamber of Secrets. “Well, it’s certainly not big enough to have a proper duel in here, and we can’t very well take over a classroom or the Great Hall. People would get suspicious,” she explained, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She stood up and stretched. “It is a quick slide down, but we will have more than enough space to complete our duel,” she added. Gesturing to the entrance, Elaine smirked at Diana. “After you,” she said with a mock gratuity. She wasn’t about to go down first, even though she had made the journey down to the Chamber of Secrets several times now. No, she didn’t want Diana to run after she’d made the jump and tell someone about what she’d seen. Elaine would not give her the opportunity, unless she won the duel as agreed. There were no loopholes where she was concerned.



diana eoina bainbridge

[diana eoina bainbridge]

lets not forget were all guilty

all three dimensions
polluted by earnest despair

March 15, 2023
Elaine Lyra Dupree

Elaine moved quickly, but Diana felt frozen, and by the time she managed to stand up and venture out of the stall, the floor had begun to move loudly. Of course, it wasn’t going to be something easy. Why would it be? Diana didn’t know Elaine well, but that was something in her eyes that sent a chill down her spine, and then she’d feel nothing but absolute fear. Diana had read about such places in books, but mostly legends, and she had no idea where Elaine was taking her, but she was now sitting with the instant regret of agreeing to this duel.

Tentatively she approached the opening, it was pitch black, and Diana couldn't tell if she was jumping into a pit or what it was. She glanced to the side and to Elaine. It was obviously too late to back out now. Or was it? Diana gripped her wand in her hand as she stared at the hole in the bathroom floor. She told herself to go, but her body didn’t move, and instead, she took a shallow breath and turned to run, wondering how far she’d make it or maybe she’d get lucky and run into a Professor in the hallway or she’d just keep running forever at this point. Diana turned away from the hole and stared at the bathroom entrance.

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[Elaine Lyra Dupree]

Elaine sighed exasperatedly as Diana froze on the spot, just like a deer in headlights. She was going to do this the hard way wasn’t she? “Now, now Diana. We had a deal. No talking until after we duel, and that’s only if you win,” she said, wagging a finger and stepping in front of the girl, blocking her escape route. “Must we do this the hard way? You could make it so much easier on yourself by going willingly,” she told her. When Diana still didn’t move, she shook her head. “Locomotor Mortis,” she said, pulling out her wand lightning quick and casting the leg locker curse on the girl. With a sniff, she slid Diana’s feet from under her and sent her down the slide, following quickly behind her.

When the two reached the bottom, Elaine stood quickly, dusting herself off from the snakeskin bed she had nestled at the pipe’s exit to ensure a soft landing. She pointed her wand at Diana and undid the spell. “Now that wasn’t so hard was it?” she purred, lifting the girl up by her upper arm. She gestured towards the passageway that led to the Chamber. “Tell me Diana Bainbridge, are we going to do this the easy way this time, or shall I use force again?” she asked silkily, fingering her wand as she spoke.

diana eoina bainbridge

[diana eoina bainbridge]

lets not forget were all guilty

all three dimensions
polluted by earnest despair

March 15, 2023
Elaine Lyra Dupree

It was everything to force herself to move. Her instincts, her brain, and her entire being told her to run and not jump into that hole. Diana had never frozen like this before, but fear was a powerful motivator, and it was as if her life depended on it. Would she ever see Cara again if she went down there? What was a twin’s existence if they didn’t have their other half? It was mere seconds after Diana had decided to run for it that suddenly Diana was on the ground. She felt the wind get knocked out of her as her legs were useless, and the momentum had caused her to fall into the hole.

Once at the bottom, she lay where she had landed, not immediately recognizing what she had landed on, but her hunch gave her goosebumps. ”I—I’m sorry.” Diana feebly apologized as she stood up, now released from the curse. Her elbow throbbed from where she had half landed on it. Elaine’s hands on her arm felt foreign. She was being gentle and yet had easily cursed and forced her down here so easily. It was unsettling.

Now that they were in this place, this chamber. Diana thought through all the material she had ever read. This had to be the Chamber of Secrets. Complete with giant Basilisk skin. It was part of the legend of Hogwarts, plus the stories from the decades before when Harry Potter had been just a student. Not that he often spoke of these experiences as Diana had known the man to be her neighbor since she was born. There was a curiosity to where she was, but all those usual feelings of wonder and curiosity were quickly overwritten by her own fear. ”I won’t do it again.” She muttered in response, taking the steps toward the Chamber until she could see how large it was. Even though she suspected, she couldn’t help but ask. ”What is this place?” Fortunately, she’d held onto her wand as she stopped and turned to face her assailant.

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[Elaine Lyra Dupree]

Elaine waved her hand dismissively. “Do not trouble yourself further, you’re here now and let’s make sure there are no more roadblocks,” she said, letting go of the girls’ arm as she walked over to the snake door. She made the same strangled hissing noise, and the door opened. Not taking chances, she grasped Diana’s elbow again and led her into the long chamber. It was still so magnificent to behold, even though Elaine had been there before numerous times. She didn’t need to be Slytherins’ blood heir to appreciate what he had created. He knew centuries ago that magical schooling should be more selective, and Mudbloods not allowed at the school. If only the basilisk was still around; he had been killed by that blasted Harry Potter a few decades ago now. Well, no matter. Elaine could handle this one on her own.

Now that they were in the big open space, Elaine strode several steps away. With a wave of her wand, she put up barriers blocking the entrance to the chamber and the side pipes the old basilisk had used to Petrify students. Diana would have nowhere to run, and would have to finish the duel until one of them conceded. Turning her face directly towards the girl, she inclined her head. “I believe the correct way to start a duel is to bow to your opponent,” she said smoothly, dipping into a bow. The moment both were standing upright, Elaine began. “Locomotor Mortis,” she crisply barked, sending the spell flying towards Diana. She’d start off easy; she wanted to see what Diana Bainbridge was made of.

diana eoina bainbridge

[diana eoina bainbridge]

lets not forget were all guilty

all three dimensions
polluted by earnest despair

March 15, 2023
Elaine Lyra Dupree

There was an eerie calmness to Elaine. Diana was fearful of it, though also envious of how she maintained so much control. Diana wrapped her arms around herself as the cold chill of whatever cavern they were in began to hit her, and then the entrance opened suddenly, catching her attention. But Elaine grabbed Diana’s arm, and she followed. It wasn’t as if there was an obvious exit to wherever they were. Plus, she proved that she wasn’t faster than Elaine’s wand in wanting to escape.

Entering the chamber, Diana immediately noted where she was. That face carved into the wall in front of the long chamber was unmistakable. There was a mix of fear and wonder in her chest as Elaine let go of her arm. Barriers were cast to block them in, and Diana gripped her wand in a trembling hand. Diana followed suit and bowed, though Elaine didn’t wait to announce the duel had started. Her voice echoed in the chamber as Diana was knocked off her feet. Falling hard on her arm, she rolled so she could see Elaine. ”Impedimenta” . Maybe if she was lucky, it would slow her down for the few seconds she needed to cast the counter-curse for her legs.

But Diana rolled again anyway and back onto her feet. Wand out. Dueling was not a strength for her, she didn’t have the speed or the fortitude for it, but she at least had knowledge of spells. The option for losing this duel meant she would have her memory modified, but the fact that Elaine had been willing to use magic such as Unbreakable Vows with Ethan made her fearful and wary. Many spells came to mind in this current situation, but every basic dueling exercise told her to start with one. ”Expelliarmus.”

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[Elaine Lyra Dupree]

Elaine had twirled out of the way but she had felt the impedimenta curse whirl by her closely. Too close for her liking. Diana wasn’t the easy target she had imagined her to be, at least when it came to dueling. “Not bad,” she complimented, but she easily deflected the disarming spell. “Harry Potters signature move, very nice,” she called with a dark laugh. “Though predictable.”

Elaine pointed her wand not at Diana but at the top of the chamber. “Reducto” she shouted and a shower of rocks came tumbling down, too far from Diana but plenty to distract her. She thought Levicorpus! and flicked her wand in the other girls direction. Severus Snape had created this spell during his Hogwarts days; Elaine had recognized his handwriting during a trip to the Room of Requirement when she had to hide a purchase from Borgin and Burke in. She had stumbled upon a very old copy of Advanced Potion Making and her curiosity had gotten the better of her. Her grandmother had been a schoolmate of Eileen Prince so she had been able to confirm her suspicion on the identity of this Half Blood Prince. This spell, Elaine had to admit, had been a great achievement.

diana eoina bainbridge

[diana eoina bainbridge]

lets not forget were all guilty

all three dimensions
polluted by earnest despair

March 15, 2023
Elaine Lyra Dupree

Diana’s heart pounded heavily in her chest. If she thought she had felt fear before, it was nothing compared to this. There was something in Elaine’s eyes that told her this was a duel and not some exercise in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Diana’s last spell was easily deflected, and she held her wand out in front, ready to deflect whatever came next, but Elaine’s wand suddenly wasn’t pointing at her anymore. Looking to where it did point, she was distracted by the noise of exploding rock, and despite the distance, it was instinctual to put her hands up to shield herself.

It was a mistake, but Diana knew it was dangerous to shoot off such a spell when they were underground. The whole chamber could collapse on them, and then she’d really never see her family again. However, as Diana moved to regain her composure, she felt her foot move from under her, and suddenly, she was upside down. Diana’s hands had moved to brace herself for a fall that never came, she was floating instead, and her wand clattered on the stone floor loudly as it rolled slightly. ”No…” Her tone was desperate as she reached her arm until her fingertips barely touched the piece of wood. She needed her wand back. She needed to defend herself. ”Dammit.” Diana said through gritted teeth as she desperately reached for her wand.

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