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HELENA CARLING RAVENCLAW

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PURE-BLOOD - RAVENCLAW - RAVENCLAW HOUSE GHOST - ANNA FRIEL

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<center>THE BEGINNING</center>
<p>
The castle was new, then. Nothing like it had ever been created before, at least not on such a great scale. The founders had no model, no designs already in place that they could draw from. What they were embarking on was entirely experimental, and had the potential for great success or great failure. So, of course there was an equal measure of excitement and nervousness coursing through both Hogwarts' first students and its founders as they sat in the Great Hall for the first Sorting ceremony in the school's history. The founders handpicked the students they wanted in their house. For that reason, Helena Ravenclaw was rather nonchalant about the whole affair. She knew her mother, the founder of Ravenclaw house, would select her and was spared from worrying about who would choose her. And, so she was chosen, a Ravenclaw in name and in Sorting. Being instructed by the greatest witches and wizards of her time was a privilege and an exciting prospect. Helena could not wait until she had the opportunity to distinguish herself from her peers, to show them that she had the potential and drive to become just as great as, and perhaps even better than they were.
<p>
<center>THE BARON</center>
<p>
Helena was thirteen years old when she first spoke to the Baron. They were in the same year, but there had been few opportunities for them to interact up until they were placed in the same Potions and Transfiguration classes. In both classes, they were seated next to each other and worked together on class assignments. They became good friends over the course of the year and remained so until their fifth years in school. The Baron had developed a more than platonic affection for Helena and at the beginning of the school year, he revealed those feelings to Helena. She quickly crushed his hopes that a romantic relationship might develop between them. Helena considered the Baron to be far below her standards, and said as much to him.
<p>
She thought the issue was resolved then, and that the Baron would take her rejection to heart so their friendship could continue without any awkwardness. But, he was persistent. Every opportunity he got, he made advances on her. Helena hexed him out of sheer annoyance more times than she'd like to remember. Not surprisingly, their friendship suffered greatly, but the Baron wouldn't take no for an answer. He even went as far as to threaten any other males who were interested in her. She was 'his', and he wouldn't have them encroaching on his 'territory'. Helena drew the line there. She was no one's possession, and she wasn't going to let him take up any more of her time. There were more important things (like her education) for her to be worrying about.
<p>
Eventually, after many humiliating and public arguments, the Baron's pride kept him from pursuing her further. She was making him look pathetic, and though he loved her, he still had a reputation to maintain. After leaving school, Helena was sure that she'd never see him again, but the Baron had a nasty habit of showing up when he was least wanted.
<p>
<center>THE DIADEM</center>
<p>
Helena was tired. Tired of living in her mother's shadow, tired of always being compared to her and criticized because she wasn't as brilliant, as inventive, as good. The expressions of disappointment were relentless. She had tried so hard to be better. No other Ravenclaw took their studies more seriously. She forsook the cheering company of her friends in favor of the dreary emptiness of the library. There were nights when she refused to sleep because it got in the way of her pursuit of knowledge. She had the best marks in every class, her work was nothing short of exceptional. And still, that wasn't enough. She sacrificed everything to be recognized as an individual separate from her mother. Unsurprisingly, Helena harbored a great resentment for the woman, and once her years of schooling were completed, she sought to get as far away from castle (and her mother by extension) as possible.
<p>
Helena traveled through Europe, seeking a place untouched by her mother's influence. Helena was painfully unsuccessful. It seemed that there would be no escape for her. Defeated, she returned to Hogwarts shortly after her twenty first birthday with the intention of becoming an instructor there. However, Helena scrapped those plans when she discovered that, during her absence, her mother had crafted and enchanted a diadem that would increase the wearer's intelligence. Her overwhelming desire to best her mother in something drove Helena to steal the diadem. After the theft, Helena once again left the castle and sought to use the diadem to break out of her mother's shadow and accomplish the goals she'd set for herself.
<p>
With the diadem, Helena was finally able to set herself apart from her mother, though she lived with the constant fear that one day her betrayal would be revealed. Luckily for Helena, her mother was far too ashamed to admit that her own daughter had stolen her most prized possession. Helena's success, unfortunately for her, was short lived. Mere months after she began receiving the acclaim she so badly wanted, she was forced underground by an old schoolmate of hers, the Baron. Her mother had sent him after her and Helena was certain that he was meant to be the instrument of a long overdue punishment. She never once thought about returning the diadem to its rightful owner. Without it, she would fade back into the obscurity she'd worked so hard to get out of and she would not allow that to happen. So, she ran, and kept running until she found herself deep in the heart of a forest in Albania. Helena made the mistake of thinking she'd be safe there. It was a mistake that would lead to her unfortunate and untimely death.
<center>THE FOREST</center>
<p>
The forest was dark, and cold, and decidedly hostile in its feel. Its unwelcoming nature was why Helena had chosen to hide there. Only the very brave dared to set foot in it, and her pursuer was anything but brave, that much she remembered. The last time Helena had seen the Baron, she was seventeen and he was madly in love with her. According to the bits of gossip concerning him that she'd managed to pick up, it seemed that he still clung pathetically to the hope that she might one day return his love. Maybe, if he managed to find her, she could use that affection against him, but Helena wasn't too worried about him finding her. She was cleverer than him by far and had hidden her trail well.
<p>
It should have been damn near impossible for him to find her. Helena remembered too late that the Baron was receiving help from her mother, the only person in the world who had the intelligence and skill required to find her. The realization hit her when she heard the Baron stumbling clumsily though the dense thicket. The only advantage she had now was her knowledge of the forest. The Baron would be slow because the landscape was unfamiliar to him, there was still a chance that she could escape. Helena abandoned everything she had, except for her wand. She hid the diadem inside a hollow tree and planned to return for it later, when the Baron was no longer a problem. For hours, Helena trekked through the forest, only resting when it was absolutely necessary. Finally, when darkness settled in, she thought she'd finally lost the Baron. Helena let her guard down, and that was when he disarmed her.
<p>
She scrambled after her wand, which was rather difficult to find in the dark. Before Helena could locate it, the Baron approached her, demanding that she return to Hogwarts with him. Helena refused, and he attempted to bargain with her, promising her love and affection beyond anything she'd ever experienced, if she'd come with him. Again, she refused and rejected his affections in the harshest way she could. The Baron, furious at her rejection, drew the knife he'd carried with him for extra protection. Helena hadn't thought that he would actually use the knife. The Baron had never been one for direct action, good for threats, but not much more.
<p>
So, when he drove the knife into her abdomen, her expression twisted with surprise, before the pain hit her fully. He stabbed her once more, this time embedding the knife into her chest. Helena collapsed, struggling for breath for a few moments. She died with a gurgle and a weak cough. Helena never knew that the Baron wanted her to return to Hogwarts because her mother fatally ill, and wanted to reconcile before she died. At least, not until it was too late.
<center>THE CASTLE</center>
<p>
She was still in the forest where she died. Being a ghost felt strange, Helena realized. Like she'd been stripped down to just her memories, like everything secret about her had been brought to the surface for all the world to see. It was highly unpleasant. Moving was surprisingly easy. It wasn't much different from how it had been when she was alive. Well, except for the fact that her feet couldn't touch the ground and she glid more than she actually walked. Passing over her lifeless corpse wasn't as disturbing as Helena thought it would be. It didn't send her into hysterics. It didn't make her angry. No, what made her angry was the Baron.
<p>
He was there too, as a ghost, his clothes covered in her blood, staring forlornly at their bodies. In that moment Helena wished she could hurt him, make him suffer. She settled for giving him a nasty glare and turning away. Stewing angrily in silence only held an appeal for so long. Eventually, Helena had to think: What do you do when you're dead? Should she go to her home? Back to Hogwarts? Back to her mother? The thought of her mother re-sparked that anger. After all, this whole messy affair had been her fault. She wanted nothing more than to confront the woman, to make her see what she'd done, what she'd caused. And, quite suddenly, she was there, inside the castle. One moment in the forests of Albania and the next ... Hogwarts. Helena itched to know what she'd just done, but she set her curiosity aside for the moment. She had more important things to do.
<p>
Finding her mother's quarters was easy, and getting inside was even easier. Being able to phase through solid walls was one of the few perks of being a ghost. Helena thought it was strange though, that her mother hadn't set up any defenses to ward off spirits, benign or evil. The woman was too cautious to ignore something like that. It was then that Helena knew something was terribly wrong. The state of her quarters only validated her suspicions. The place had been cleared out completely. All of her mother's possessions, gone. The only things left were furniture and plain tapestries on the walls.
<p>
Helena went in search of the other founders, knowing they would be able to give her the answers she needed. She found Helga, giving the older woman what was probably the worst fright of her life by suddenly appearing through the wall. Helga stayed silent for what felt like an age after Helena had posed her questions. When she finally answered, she did so slowly, without any of the exuberance that was characteristic of her. 'Rowena's dead,' she'd said. 'Salazar's gone, too. Just me and Godric now.'
<p>
Godric was the one who gave Helena the details. It was after hearing him explain why her mother had sent the Baron to find her that Helena felt the first inkling of remorse for the choices she'd made, what she'd done over the past few months. She'd been so foolish, so set in fighting her mother that she'd missed the only chance she'd ever have to make things right between them. More than anything, Helena felt the need to atone for her mistakes. But, what could she do?
<p>
The answer came to her while she was mulling over the past. She'd wanted to be an instructor at Hogwarts once, and with two founders gone, Helga and Godric needed help if they were to keep the school running. So, Helena took on the classes her mother had taught and did whatever needed to be done to keep the school running. Helga and Godric died eventually, and the school passed into new hands. Helena taught until someone was found to replace her, and she helped with administrative duties until she was no longer needed. She took a place as the Ravenclaw house ghost, opting to be known simply as 'The Grey Lady' rather than as Helena Ravenclaw. Her desire to make her name known was what had lead to her downfall, and so she thought it fitting to strip herself of that name.
<p>
As the centuries passed, Helena faded more and more into the background, keeping to herself most of the time. She retained the hunger for knowledge she'd had in life, spending most of her time in the library or in deserted classrooms reading about the new advancements made in Transfiguration, or something of that sort. Now, she doesn't hold much interest for any students other than the Ravenclaws, though there are some other curious minds who may find her to be a wonderful resource.
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Name/alias: Sandra
<br>Age: 19
<br>Gender: Female
<br>OOC House: Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff
<br>Limits: None
<br>How did you find us: Through an advertisement on Caution 2.0

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