Chapter 1: The Eaglet's Tale
It was all too easy.
My Mother had been sleeping more and more, and tonight was no exception. She had retired early from dinner, and must have gone directly to bed. I waited until the other Heads had gone to bed, and then I made my way to my mother's chamber.
It was the first thing I laid my eyes on as I closed the door, glistening as it reclined on a plush cushion underneath a clear bell jar. It's gleaming silver was intricately laced and it's sapphires glittering from their places in the band of the diadem. For a moment I thought of throwing it down, and thought of nothing better than to hear the sapphires skitter across the stone floor.
(But I resisted.)
I replaced the glass over the cushion, and placed the tiara into the pocket of the heavy cloak I was wearing. It's weight was masked by the thickness of the cloth, or was it so weightless and useless an object, it held no bearing at all?
I turned, glancing at the drawn curtain over the alcove where my mother must have slept. If she had not been sleeping, she surly would have heard me enter, even if she had heard me, the glass was thick and made a deliberate thud as it was removed from the table, and she cared enough about that damn tiara to stop me from taking it.
(She didn't care if I went alone, though.)
I moved quickly, before she could make her move and left the room, not sparing another glance at the veil, or at the now empty case.
I knew from here, the only one who could stop me would have been Godric Gryffindor. Lord Slytherin had left the school, My Mother slept up in her room, and Lady Huffelpuff was puttering around the kitchens somewhere with the House-Elves. Yes, Lord Gryffindor was my only obstacle, for if he was not in his tower, then all my plans were at a loss.
Thankfully I made my way down through the castle, cursing my Mother's floor-plan, as it impeded my way, forcing me to wait at several landings, expecting Lord Gryffindor or my Mother to discover me. The weightless diadem now seemed to drag me to the floor. But even then, my way was barred for only short increments of time. I had crossed the Entrance Hall quickly, knowing that if Lady Huffelpuff had seen me, I could tell her I was going for a walk by the lake, as she knew had been a favorite of my Mother's.
(She never allowed me to go on one of these strolls with her.)
Once outside the great Oak doors, it all seemed to happen so quick. I had expected for someone to stop me, for some flaw in my plan. If my Mother had found me out, surly she would have laughed at how simple minded my escape had been! Maybe that was why she did not divine my ideas, she always thought herself so above the rest.
I made my way down the path to the lake, so if I was discovered even this late, I had an alibi. From here I would make my way down to the tree line, and walk in their shadows until I came to the front gate. From there I would apparate.
As I walked, however, I realized I had no need for secrecy, for no one was in the grounds, or looking at them. I was free to walk to the front gate and leave. No one was there
(or cared enough)
to stop me. Although it was only about eight in the evening, the sun had set, as it was early Spring, giving me enough coverage to make my way down the slope towards the stone gates. I reached them in minutes and I turned around once more to look at the castle that my Mother had such a hand in building. My Mother, in all her wisdom and greatness. Well, I had all that now, tucked away in a pocket. I would be the wise one, the celebrated one, Helena Ravenclaw! Then my Mother would
(love)
respect me. All I needed to do it was the diadem, to prove myself. I took the diadem out of my cloak pocket and grasped it tightly. I closed my eyes, blotting out Hogwarts, the last time I would ever see it through living eyes, and turned the calm blackness of my eyelids into crushing darkness, thinking not of a single place, but any place out of my Mother's reach.
When I could breathe again, I opened my eyes on a forest clearing. Calm water cascaded down a small, rocky waterfall into a gazing pool. The ground was a smooth blanket of green, and the leaves above me showed a beautiful moon rising into the sky. It was still night where I was, and the weather was pleasant enough.
I passed several weeks in this spot, picking wild berries for my food. It was one of the times I missed Lady Huffelpuff and her House Elf Battalion. I was not sure wether it was my longing for her, but her candied nature and soppy grin seemed to have softened into true and natural affection. Even my Mother's austerity had softened into grim sorrow over the loss of the diadem
(or was it me?)
I had no use to wear the diadem.
It was not until about two month after my flight from the castle when he arrived, as I knew he would. I may have been out of my Mother's reach, but I was not out of his. When I heard him moving about the trees, I placed the diadem into the hollow of an old tree.
He was handsome, and possibly under different circumstances I would have married him. He was tanned, chestnut haired, and suave, always brandishing his long sword about to impress the maidens. That did not work on me
("Pride goeth before the fall, Helena", mother always said that)
yet he still desired me. From the time of our sorting, Baron Slytherin took after his Uncles traits, and he desired ME.
(However, his Uncle did not show the same desire in my Mother.)
My Mother knew he would not return without me, and so she arranged for him to come. She had to have known where I went, or he would not have found me so quickly,
(or did I want to be found? Didn't I know what was happening to my Mother?)
it was when he arrived that I found out I had transported myself to a forest in Albania. It was one of my favorite places, due to the large amount of costal areas. I always loved the water,
(and hadn't Lord Salazar once let slip my father was an Albanian...)
He begged me to return. I refused. He demanded. I refused. He threatened. I still refused. The Baron always had a temper, and by my third refusal it had reached a breaking point. He seemed frantic in his bid to make me return, for reasons I know now, as my Mother was dying. I still refused his demands, as his breathing turned heavier, and the chords began to stand out on his neck.
Like my escape from Hogwarts, my escape from life was as simple and quick. He simply snapped, and lunged at me and finally penetrated me. His sword was sharp it almost did not hurt. All it took was one stab. I fell onto his shoulder, the sword supporting me, as I rested on it's hilt. From my position I could see over his shoulder into the hollow of the tree, where my Mother's diadem rested, safely.
I felt him begin to turn, and I fell into the crushing blackness once more, being whisked back to home.
He carried me up to the castle, where he was met by a distraught Helga Huffelpuff, and a stoic Godric Gryffindor, who took me from the Baron's arms and whisked me into what is now the Portrait Gallery off the Great Hall.
I was very weak by then, but the last thing I heard Lady Huffelpuff scream and run into the hall sobbing, relaying the news that Baron Slytherin was lying in the Entrance Hall in a pool of blood. He had stabbed himself in remorse.
My Mother had already died and I never saw her, or the diadem, again. I suppose she did know more than me, diadem or not, as she moved on when she had the chance, and I stayed in the castle.
And the Diadem stayed in that Albanian Forest, Tom. And it's been there for all these years. I wonder if anyone has found it in that tiny clearing. No one ever happened upon me except for the Baron. Tom?
The Grey Lady finished her story, and looked at the young boy who had sat patiently and listened. She could not be sure, but Helena Ravenclaw could swear a glint of scarlet flash across the beautiful coal eyes of Tom Riddle, the only one to hear her story, and the location of the diadem that no one knew had been stolen. Rowena Ravenclaw had taken the knowledge of the Diadems whereabout to her grave.
Like Mother, Like Daughter