The ghost of Helena Ravenclaw was known at Hogwarts as the Grey Lady. Many students assumed she was Jane Grey, the Tudor queen, but Helena had existed as a ghost for far longer than the first queen in British history.
Her true identity was Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter. She had died young, and the cause of her death was fairly strange.
A thousand years ago, Helena had wanted to prove that she was smarter and more famous than her mother, so she stole Ravenclaw's Diadem, the symbol of wisdom. Her mother, Lady Rowena, did not pursue the matter. On the contrary, she helped conceal it. Many years later, when Rowena was gravely ill and bedridden, she wanted to see her daughter one more time before she died, so she sent a wizard named the Baron to find her. The Baron found Helena, who had been living in seclusion in the forests of Albania, but when Helena refused to return with him, he stabbed her to death.
So this was the bizarre story of a seriously ill mother asking someone else to find her rebellious daughter, only for that search to end up getting her daughter killed instead.
Because Skyl knew Helena's true identity, he always addressed her directly as Lady Ravenclaw. This was not some earth-shattering secret either. Generations of Hogwarts students had hoped to learn the whereabouts of Ravenclaw's Diadem from Helena's ghost, and the only one who succeeded was Tom Riddle, also known as Afu during his student days.
Back then, Tom had been a model student at Hogwarts. He had a handsome face and a pleasant way of speaking, and he coaxed Helena's ghost into such delight that she revealed the secret she had kept for a thousand years.
"I hope you can do me a favor," Helena said softly and delicately. Her expression remained proud, but her eyes flickered with lively unease and nervousness. She was very afraid that Skyl would refuse. For someone with such a strong-willed nature, taking the initiative to ask for help only to be rejected was practically a fatal humiliation.
Skyl did not agree right away. Instead, he brought up the first time they had met. When Skyl had first arrived at Hogwarts, he had spent an entire night wandering through the main castle and copied the library's collection of books. After that, he had encountered Helena. He had talked about everything under the sun until dawn, and the proud ghost had listened in silence the entire time. Before leaving, she had even given him an annoyed sideways glance.
"Speaking of which, why were you willing to stay and listen to me ramble on about all those unimportant things back then?"
The pride on Lady Helena's face faded slightly because of that memory. Her ladylike demeanor made her beautiful, delicate face seem far more approachable.
"I merely thought of you as a little bird. Chirping and chattering away. I had just woken up at the time, so I did not mind listening to you talk."
Skyl could not help laughing.
He shook his head and finally asked Helena what favor she needed from him.
"Many years ago, I stole my mother's diadem. She sent the Baron to find me, but that man stabbed me with a blade." She gently pulled down her hazy collar. On her pearl-white chest was a pitch-black wound. This was the cause of her death.
"It does not matter that I died far from home. But my mother's diadem must not be left lost outside. I hope you can find it and bring it back."
"That's simple." Before Helena could finish, Skyl's figure suddenly vanished. He had cast Apparition inside Hogwarts Castle, where Apparition was supposed to be forbidden. When he reappeared, there was an ancient, faded jeweled diadem in his hand.
"Ah! You… how did you know where it was? I hadn't even told you yet." Helena almost shrieked.
"Actually, I've always known where the diadem was. I just didn't think it was very useful, so I left it alone."
Helena froze. She stepped forward and tried to lightly touch the diadem, but her ghostly body passed straight through it.
However, Helena solidly touched Skyl's hand.
"Huh?" Helena instinctively squeezed it. She had the illusion of touching a warm flame.
Because of his powerful soul essence, the current Skyl could touch souls. To a ghost, touching his body was like pushing against an invisible force field. There was a clear sense of resistance.
"You… are you already dead?" Helena looked horrified. A ghost opening her mouth wide in shock was actually rather amusing.
"I'm quite sure I'm still alive. Also, this diadem has already been turned into a Horcrux by Voldemort." Skyl explained casually, "It was hidden in the Room of Requirement."
A strange light appeared in Helena's eyes. Curious, she stepped forward and poked Skyl's shoulder, then circled around him, touching him here and prodding him there while letting out little sounds of admiration from time to time.
"Lady Ravenclaw, please mind your dignity. Your fingers are very cold." Skyl's nose itched, and he gave a small sneeze.
"Ah, my apologies." Helena floated backward a little and recovered her proud, aloof expression. "You… are a very helpful wizard. As for this diadem, I will trouble you to give it to the headmaster."
Skyl noticed that the pearly sheen on Helena's body had begun to dim gradually. The shell of longing wrapped around her was dissolving. For a ghost, once the obsession in their heart was fulfilled, it meant release.
Helena murmured to herself, "At last, Mother will no longer be shamed because of me… Ah, sweet death…"
The ghostly figure slowly dispersed. Skyl stood where he was and watched Helena's release, silently mourning this friend he had only met a handful of times.
However, Helena's ghost did not completely pass on. Unexpectedly, after her body fully dissolved, it condensed again amid a swirl of white mist.
"…Huh? Why am I here?"
Helena, whose release had failed, now wore a set of wizard robes and a pointed hat. She had become even younger than before, looking only about seventeen or eighteen, dressed like a student. Her memories also seemed to have partly vanished. Flustered, she asked why she was here.
"What happened to me? Hey, which House are you from? Why haven't I seen you before?" The young Helena glared at Skyl. At this point, she had not yet become as arrogant and aloof as she would later be. Her words were crisp and full of life, and she was still in the bloom of youth.
"Lady Ravenclaw, you are already dead."
"What?! How did I die? Who, who killed me? Does my mother know about this? Did she cry?"
"A thought-form recondensing. That really is rare." Skyl murmured to himself, curiosity appearing in his eyes.
A ghost whose obsession had been resolved had actually recondensed. It seemed there had to be an even stronger obsession that had reversed the process of release.
Who else in this world would still yearn for Helena so intensely?
The answer was actually very clear.
He turned and looked around, then saw the Bloody Baron slowly floating over from the end of the corridor. This ghost was the murderer who had killed Helena. After Helena died, the remorse-stricken Baron had used the murder weapon to take his own life. His ghostly body was stained with Helena's blood, which was why he was called the Bloody Baron.
"Helena…"
Without a doubt, it was the Baron's intense longing that had pulled the already released Helena back into the world.
Skyl could not help shaking his head. He had finally understood. It was practically impossible for these two ghosts to be released. Their obsessions were tangled together. Even if one ghost was released, the other would pull them back into the world. This was basically a magical ghost perpetual-motion machine.
Helena narrowed her eyes and looked the Bloody Baron up and down. This ragged, shackled man had once been one of Hogwarts' first students. He had studied magic under Salazar Slytherin, making him Helena Ravenclaw's schoolmate, as well as her hopeless admirer.
"Who are you?"
"It is I, the Baron."
"How did you become so shabby?" Helena covered her mouth and giggled. The bright-eyed charm of her seventeen-or-eighteen-year-old self was truly endearing. "And you're wearing shackles too. Don't tell me you forgot to hand in your homework and Old Snake punished you? Still, locking you up with shackles is going too far. Do you want me to ask Mother to put in a few good words for you?"
"Oh, Helena, I have wronged you…" The Baron sorrowfully explained the full history between the two of them. As expected, Helena fiercely scolded him.
Skyl sighed softly. Sighing along with him were the Fat Friar, Sir Nick, and a group of other ghosts, all of whom were hiding around the corner and secretly watching the situation.
The Fat Friar wiped the corner of his eye, saddened by the love, hatred, and grudges between these two old friends. He sighed quietly, "Oh dear, poor souls. Love really is a terrifying thing. Thank heavens I lived my entire life as a bachelor."
Helena ran off crying, while the Baron awkwardly remained in place. Seeing this, Skyl could only shake his head and return to the dormitory.
After daybreak, he handed Ravenclaw's Diadem to Dumbledore.
When the old headmaster learned that this object was actually the treasure that had been missing for a thousand years, he was pleasantly surprised.
"Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure." Dumbledore recited the inscription on the diadem. "Yes, there is no mistake. This is indeed Ravenclaw's relic. Legend says that whoever wears it will become wiser. When I was a student, many of my classmates wanted to find this diadem so they could pass their end-of-year tests more easily. Ah, I can hardly wait to try its effects. I am embarrassed to admit it, but my memory has been declining a little recently."
Dumbledore had been run ragged. The enormous project of building the central brain made him feel as if his brain cells were about to burn out. Having a treasure like this to improve his intellect was like receiving coal in the middle of a snowstorm.
Skyl reminded him at the right moment, "This diadem has already been turned into a Horcrux by your good student."
Afu was staring at the Horcrux from the side. The expression on the dog's face was strange, like Gollum seeing the One Ring, as if he wanted to pounce on it right then and there.
"It needs to be purified. I recently learned a new spell, the one you created."
Skyl and Dumbledore looked at him at the same time.
Afu's body stiffened. He raised a dog paw and covered his eyes.
Dumbledore waved his wand and softly chanted, "[Purify the Unclean]."
A burst of intense light flashed. Black smoke erupted from Ravenclaw's Diadem, and Afu let out a scream as if he felt the same pain. Of course, at that moment, Harry also felt as if he had been punched. His whole body went weak, and he collapsed to the floor.
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