I've had this idea in my head for a few days, and I just had to write it. I love the Bloody Baron's story (mostly because it's a lot like Snape's), and I wanted to give a bit of his background just to explain a couple things. This is when he's fifteen, so I gave him an actual name (which you won't have to do a lot of thinking to guess once you read this).

Also, I'm not completely sure whether some of the old English words I used are actually accurate, so just bear with me. Hope you enjoy!

He watched her from afar.

A brief glance wasn't enough for him, for he simply had to drink in her beauty for the longest time whenever he was near. And oh, he was near her quite often. Much of which time was on purpose, because he loved looking at her.

She sat on a rock near the Hogwarts lake, one leg folded over the other. A book was in her lap, and so her hair—her absolutely beautiful, dark, waist-length hair—was falling in front of her profile. Still, he could make out her perfectly shaped nose and lips and alabaster skin and icy blue eyes… even from this distance.

Her name was Helena Ravenclaw.

Darius Sherwood had taken a fancy to her in his first year at Hogwarts, but not because she was the daughter of one of the founders, and not solely because of her beauty, either…. He loved her intelligence, he loved how she held herself, how she was so confident—and not to mention slightly conceited, but he didn't care, and simply how she was. He couldn't fully explain it, but he just loved her.

But as a young boy, he had made no attempt to court her—that would have been disastrous, and Helena's mother would not have been very happy. Now, however, he was fifteen, and he felt it more appropriate now.

His attraction to her had been obvious from the start, though. So had that of many other boys, as Helena had always been extremely desirable with her beauty and even with her cold personality, but he didn't give up on the nice gestures. Of course, Salazar had chosen him to be in his own House: a mark of true cunning and determination. So it was expected of him.

Returning things he had seen her drop, giving her help on assignments unasked, smiling at her from across the corridor… Those simple things had given him away long ago. And truth be told, he didn't care. He wasn't secretive about his passion, as some other boys might have been.

She had always seemed indifferent to his kindness and obvious fancy, but he didn't care about that, either. It made her a challenge, and it meant that, the one day he did manage to win her heart over, he would be truly worthy of her affections.

And now, Darius was contemplating a first, real attempt at courting her. Something simple, obviously, something that just might break through that cold exterior of hers, or just flatter her… But she didn't need flattering, did she? Her self-esteem was already quite high, and she didn't need compliments to feel good about herself. But Darius suspected that she had just one tiny, obscure, insignificant thing about herself that she'd like to have appreciated for once.

Or maybe she would never take a compliment.

Whichever it was, Darius could only find out by trying. He was not extremely brave, but he felt that he had just enough courage to do this.

"T'isn't worth thy time," muttered a familiar, nearby voice.

Darius only just realized that he had been staring at Helena for over ten minutes, and turned to see the thin, freckled face and sandy hair of his close friend, Elric Peverell. He was frowning in an annoyed way, as he had said this same thing countless times before. And every single time, including now, Darius replied,

"She is worth anything."

Filled with resignation for what he planned to do, Darius waited patiently for the end of their break time until class, all the while watching Helena read. Elric had sighed and given up on convincing him not to go after her for the day, and followed him silently when it was time for the Slytherin fourth years to head to Potions with Professor Veridian.

Helena, holding her book against her chest, walked gracefully across the courtyard, and didn't seem to notice the light brown-haired boy a ways behind her. After she had gone up the stone steps and into the Entrance Hall, he pushed aside all fears and coughed to make himself known.

"Helena, might I haveth the pleasure of seeing thee to thy class?" said Darius with as much charm as he could muster, giving her a small smile. He folded his arms behind his back and titled his eyes slightly downward, for she was shorter than him.

"I am quite capable of walking on my own, thank you," she said stiffly, narrowing her eyes and starting to walk away from him. Even when it was so cold, her voice was utterly amazing…. But having expected this, Darius stepped forward again, unfazed.

"Perhaps thou would liketh company? Or wouldst thou mind if I simply walked beside thee?" he said, smiling a bit wider.

She regarded him with slightly less of a contemptuous look.

"Thou shalt be late for thy own class. I need no company."

With that, she pushed a stray hair behind her ear and continued to walk in direction of the marble staircase, but Darius persisted still. He was aware that a few people had stood by to watch, but didn't look at any of them.

"Five minutes with thee is worth punishment from any professor." Catching up with her, he looked at her at a respectful angle (which was more from the side than the front, and more acceptable socially), and smiled again. However, she said nothing this time, and frowned before quickening her pace.

Before Darius could even think to himself that this was only his first try and that he shouldn't have been upset, though, something suddenly rammed him very hard in the upper back and caused him to fly forward. In his flight, his body caught Helena's and they both came crashing to the floor. It was several seconds before he even thought of getting back up in his shock.

"What in the name of the gods is wrong with thou?" she yelled, jerking herself upward as Darius tried to get off of her. Some of the people around had laughed, but he hardly registered it.

"No—you do not understand, I—"

"I understand that thou are nothing but a pervert who has no respect for even I!" she argued, now scowling. She brushed herself off and hurried up the stairs before he could apologize, leaving him staring after her in horror.

Then, he heard cackling laughter behind him, and turned around.

"Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Peeves the Poltergeist, a slightly transparent little man with bell-topped shoes and hat who had been at Hogwarts since its creation, had come shooting through the air head-first like a comet and hit him again, knocking him over.

"PEEVES!" yelled Darius, furious. Having always been hot-tempered, he jumped up at once and pulled out his wand, then hissed a spell that caused a blue jet of light to shoot from the tip—but it missed the poltergeist, as he was quite nimble and able to dodge quickly. And he was still laughing, zooming around the Entrance Hall.

He couldn't hide his hatred for Peeves, and he stood there, seething. That damn poltergeist had ruined his chance—he had made Helena hate him, and now it wasn't likely that she would ever consider him. With his face red as Godric's robes, his fists clenched so hard that it hurt, and hot tears just beneath his eyelids, he began to take off down to the dungeons.

Just before he descended the stairs, he said, his voice loud and full of loathing, "I swear to the gods, Peeves, if I ever become a ghost, I will maketh thy eternal life hell."

Please review and tell me what you thought!