Not many Hogwarts students had a love for History of Magic in the way that Bathilda Bagshot did. In fact, most students didn't care for the subject much, at all. It was generally considered to be one of the most boring courses in the school, and it was taught by one of the driest professors that this school of Witchcraft and Wizardry had to offer.
Bathilda, though, wasn't most students. She was something else entirely. She found history to be a fascinating subject - one that allowed a student to acquire a wealth of knowledge, and a solid educational foundation in which all other subjects would be supported by. Everything that she learned in History of Magic, she retained, and every other class that she took during her tenure at Hogwarts was built upon her abundant collection of historical facts.
But, Bathilda was a curious girl. Every day, she went out of her way to do extra work in her favorite subject. She offered to tutor her fellow students who lacked her academic flare, to spend hours doing extra homework, to research historical events more thoroughly - perhaps to add perspective from other points of view - and even to be Professor Binns' personal student assistant. This, in particular, was rather peculiar, as student aides were not commonly practiced, nor were they thought to be necessary, or even helpful. However, due to her extremely persistant insistance, Binns eventually agreed. Who could argue with her indrecible dedication and persistence?
Each day, after class, she would approach the Professor and beg him for something to do. Most days, he would assign her a specific event in history and a few books to accompany it, and she would head to the library. Dutifully, she would sit at her regular table and do her assigned research. She always found something interesting to add - at least by her standards - and she would return to the History of Magic classroom, eager to impress her professor with her new wealth of knowledge. Though he resisted her assistance in the beginning, Binns was grateful for this fresh perspective of history that she was adding to his repertoir.
After her extra, self inflicted study sessions, she would return to the Ravenclaw common room. She would chat with the House ghost, Helena - The Grey Lady - about the research she had done, and Helena would chat about these events with her, adding perhaps another viewpoint on the accounts that she had been alive to experience. Though Helena was a ghost, Bathilda considered her to be one of her best friends. Helena was someone she could trust. Even though she often spoke in riddles and was dead, the strange girl had found a friend in the ghost, and vice versa. The two of them were quite the odd pair, but they were inseperable, nonetheless. They were bookends of a particularly diverse, historical volume.
One day, however, Bathilda's life took an interesting turn. Everything that she had once thought, believed in, and cared about would be turned upside down, and all because of the ghost she considered to be her best friend. She had confided in Helena, entrusted her with her deepest, darkest, and most sacred of secrets. Bathilda confessed to Helena her love for Professor Binns.
Bathilda knew that it was strange, yes, but she also knew that they were a match made in heaven. They were kindred spirits, and they existed on the planet, intended for the same purpose. The sole reason for either of them to exist was to teach the history of magic to young witches and wizards - to educate and inform, and to mold young minds. Though she knew her relationship with her Professor would be unusal, difficult, perhaps a bit unethical, and would also go against all laws of nature, she simply could not help the way that she felt. She was hot for teacher, and it was a feeling that she could no longer keep within the confines of her heart.
When she admitted this strange proclamation of love to her dear friend Helena, she expected support. She thought that, perhaps, Helena would be able to give her advice, and assist her in her pursuits of the other ghost. If anything, the Grey Lady might have some insight into human and ghost relationships, and could possibly explain to her the most logical way for her to go about pursuing the Professor romantically. Though skeptically, Helena finally gave in and agreed to speak with the Professor, ghost to ghost.
The following evening, as Bathilda researched her daily assigned topic from the glorious field of magical history, she was interrupted by a large blast of sound. It frightened her out of her near comatose state that always engulfed her during her epic nights of intense researching. The sound was persistent, continuing on and off for the better part of an hour, and she was rendered unable to continue. For the first time, as Professor Binns' official student aide, she would be unable to complete her assigned tast. Shame flushed through her system as she grudgingly stood, beginning her walk toward the history classroom.
However, once she arrived at the classroom, she discovered what had caused the horrendous cacaphony that forced her research to end prematurely. Horrified at the sight of Professor Binns kissing the Grey Lady, Bathilda let out a loud cry. Never again did she speak with Helena Ravenclaw. Rather, she decided to devote the rest of her life to becoming the greatest historian of her time. All of the research she had collected in assistance to Professor Binns was taken back and kept for herself, and she began to work on her first book. This strange girl considered this fateful day to be character building, and never again did she allow the prospect of life, love, or happiness stand in the way of her true walk in life.
She was a historian - no more, no less.