Chapter One

"The mistress wants to see you"

Helena Ravenclaw turned her dark, piercing eyes on the maid and nodded. She quickly tied her luminous, brown hair into a bun and gracefully made her way to where the maid was standing.

"What does she want?" Helena asked in a confident tone.

"She didn't say, ma'am"

Helena took a moment to think.

"You may go; I know my way"

"As you wish" the maid-servant bowed and disappeared down the winding stairway.

Helena watched her until she was gone; intelligent eyes filled with anger and envy. Rowena Ravenclaw was the last person she wanted to see. For a while now, Helena had been feeling an odd sense of resentment towards her mother. Helena no longer wanted to be known as the daughter of the most intelligent woman in Britain. She wanted to be the most intelligent woman in the world. After all, her mother was no wiser than her. The only difference was that diadem.

"Rotten, cursed diadem"

Helena grabbed the candle from her bedside table and made her way out of the Ravenclaw tower. If anyone saw her walking through the corridors, they didn't say a word. No one usually did. It was no fear that kept people at bay - although there was much to fear about Helena Ravenclaw. Her beauty was astounding; anyone who saw her either rejoiced at her beauty, or cowered at the sight. She was tall, proud and confident, and every movement she made proved it. The most prominent feature of Helena was her intelligent eyes. And she had the knowledge to match.

It was that knowledge - and the knowledge of her mother - that commanded everyone's respect. Helena was sick of it. She didn't want to be respected for her mother's achievements; she wanted to be seen as an individual; someone who didn't need to rely on metal crowns for her wisdom.

Helena entered her mother's office. Rowena was sitting behind her desk, absolutely still, looking out the window.

"It's a beautiful world out there. One day, I will explore every corner of it"

Helena was used to her mother's random comments and disregarded this one without a second thought.

"What is it you want, mother? I was just about to go to bed"

Rowena looked at her beautiful, young daughter. She was proud of the child she had produced. In every aspect, Helena was the perfect daughter. But the two women could not have been more different, looks and personality wise.

Rowena's silky-straight, black hair was tremendous in length. So much so that she could not even tie it up. She let her hair fall like a curtain around her torso. Just as her hair was open and free, so was her heart. She loved using her knowledge to help others. She was kind, generous and considerate of others. Her one flaw was the amount of love she possessed for Helena; it kept her from seeing that Helena was none of those adjectives.

"I will be gone for some time" Rowena answered.

"Where are you going?"

"It's just some business, my darling Helena"

Rowena stood up and took Helena's hands into her own. It took all of Helena's strength not to cringe.

"I'm leaving the diadem. It would be too much of a hindrance to take it with me"

"Who's keeping it safe, mother?"

Rowena was blind to Helena's intentions behind her questioning.

"Don't you worry; I have very trustworthy people keeping it safe"

"Where, mother? You should tell me, just in case"

"Very well, I've given it to the headmaster. It is safe in his office"

Helena nodded and kept her enthusiasm bottled up inside. She did not release it until she was alone in her room.

Her newly-discovered idea was absurd, dangerous and unfair to her mother, but Helena didn't care; just as long as she had the diadem.

xxx

Helena stepped into the headmaster's office. She didn't quite care if anyone had seen her come up or if anyone was going to try and stop her. She had a plan and it didn't involve being discreet.

But no one questioned Helena. No one tried to stop her. No one even saw.

Helena found the box easily and began working at opening it. Very soon, she was carrying the diadem in her bag and leaving the castle through one of the secret passage ways. Once out of the castle walls, Helena apparated away.

At the outskirts of a city far away, she found an inn to stay at. She kept to herself, and made sure her bag was on her at all times. After acquiring the diadem, Helena realized that the best thing to do with it would not be to destroy it, but to use it and become the most intelligent woman in the world.

Although at one point she had believed the diadem was cheating, she had changed her mind. She had the crown all to herself now; she could use it any way she wished.