xxxxxx
The Ghost and the Machine
By Oriondruid.
xxxxxx
The ghost of Helena Ravenclaw, who was also known to the Hogwarts pupils and staff as The Grey Lady, drifted rapidly along a battle damaged corridor of Hogwarts School, one which led to the School Library. She was terribly worried that the precious books might have been damaged, and that perhaps her friend, Madame Irma Pince, the school's librarian, had been hurt in the battle, which had now thankfully ended. This successful, if tragically costly, conclusion to the fight being due, in part, to Helena herself and her aid to Harry Potter, in locating the hiding place of her mother Rowena Ravenclaw's lost diadem. She hurried along to seek reassurance that all was safe, the books of the school's library and her friendship with it's Librarian were, after all, the things she most greatly treasured in her ghostly 'afterlife'.
xxxxxx
In life Helena Ravenclaw had, like her mother, been quite a scholar, although this was unusual for women of their time. She had inherited all of her mother's intelligence, but sadly did not also share her more passionate, loving nature. Indeed it was this academic tendency and her slight emotional coldness that had led to her never having been able to find a suitable husband prior to her murder by her estranged fiancé, the Bloody Baron. It seemed no man could ever fully match up to her intellectual requirements and she would not settle for one with a lesser mind.
The library had always been one of her favourite parts of the castle, because there she was still able to indulge in her one true passion, her love of books. Unlike most other earthly pleasures this was one that, even as a ghost, Helena Ravenclaw was still able to indulge in. Even so, sadly for some centuries of time following her death, she had been limited to reading whatever the pupils happened to be studying at the time, by de-materialising and reading over their shoulders as an unseen, silent presence. The school's pupils did not see her doing this, but the library gained a reputation for being somewhat unusually cold and draughty sometimes, due to the regular presence of the unseen ghost.
Helena was forced into reading this way because no matter how hard she tried over the centuries there was just no way she could actually pick out a particular book she wanted from the shelf, or even turn it's pages. The powers of a true ghost like herself to affect physical objects, (unlike those of a poltergeist like Peeves, who was a very different type of supernatural being), were very feeble indeed.
However in recent years she had gained a helpful ally in her quest for knowledge, thanks to the aid of her fellow, but living, bibliophile, Madame Irma Pince, the school's Librarian. Often after the library had quietened down in the evening, whilst Madame Pince was sat, quietly doing a spot of cataloguing or repairing the damaged spine of a book Helena would re-materialise in the library with her and they'd chat, of course about books. They soon became firm friends, their mutual interest in the written word drawing them together across the gulf between the living and the dead and also spanning the centuries of time which separated the historical ages of their births. Whilst many of the school's ghosts such as the Gryffindor House Ghost, Sir Nicholas de Mimsy Porpington, (or as he was more usually known, Nearly Headless Nick), were on very amicable, familiar terms with the pupils and staff of Hogwarts the two book loving women's relationship was a true and close long term friendship, one that was most unusual between two persons where one was living and the other dead.
Once Madame Pince discovered the dilemma Helena had in getting to read what she wished and the limitations she was forced to do so under she resolved to help her. They came to an arrangement whereby Helena would choose a particular tome she was interested in reading and Madame Pince would the place it, cover open, upon an enchanted book stand in her office, which she had charmed. It was one that would turn the pages at regular intervals allowing Helena sufficient time to read the text thereon, meaning that, even if in a somewhat cumbersome way, Helena could now read any book of her own choosing. This arrangement had persisted between the two friends, the ghost and the librarian, for many years and was a great boon to Helena.
xxxxxx
Madame Pince happily did survive the battle and the fight had never got as far as the library to cause any damage there, something both the Librarian and her friend Helena were very happy about. Madame Pince had voluntarily spent the battle helping out Madame Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing and, despite seeing the terrible injuries inflicted on so many people and being horrified by the carnage, she stoically and bravely stuck to her task of tending the less seriously injured, freeing up Poppy Pomfrey, the highly trained and professional Mediwitch, to deal with the more serious cases. Thus Madame Pince was also responsible, if indirectly so, for saving many lives that night. Her friend Helena was very proud of her and so too were those who learned what she had done in the course of the battle.
xxxxxx
With the partial rebuilding of Hogwarts School which was needed to repair the extensive battle damage there also came some novel changes, which were the the first since the last 'innovation' a century or more back, when gas lighting had been introduced in some areas of the castle.
A magical/technological breakthrough had been made by muggle scientists, now covertly employed by Kingsley Shacklebolt's 'new' Ministry, who were working as a team alongside research witches and wizards attached to the Department of Mysteries. This discovery meant that the once damaging effects that the use of magic caused to muggle electrical and electronic equipment could now be shielded against. Essentially the breakthrough had been fairly simply made, as the effect known as E.M.P. or Electro Magnetic Pulse was already well known to muggle science and it was a simple matter to 'rugged-ise' equipment to be used near magic, and also employ some additional spells, devised by the magical part of the research team, to cushion and reduce the electrical surges that nearby strong use of magic could cause.
The rebuilt Hogwarts now had not only acquired far safer and healthier electric lighting in many areas of the castle but also brand new shiny computers sat in a study room next to the Library, linked to the internet. However the 'traditionalist' Madame Pince was not altogether sure she approved of their presence.
The School Ghosts however were very much in favour of the new electrical innovations, since shortly after the 'Big Switch On' they discovered themselves actually able to draw on tiny amounts of the electrical power's field to aid their materialisations and indeed make them a little stronger. They found they could now move small, light items when near enough to a power source. They were still not anywhere near as able to interact with solid matter as Peeves, but could once again, to some extent, touch and feel material things.
xxxxxx
Sadly a few years after Hogwarts re-opened Madame Pince had to retire from her post as Librarian, due to the effects of advancing age and infirmity. The ghost of Helena Ravenclaw was very sad to see her leave, as she was her only living friend. Before retiring however Irma Pince had made certain that her successor knew all about the 'reading arrangements' she'd set up with Helena, so that in future she would be able to access books in the way she had become accustomed to.
Helena Ravenclaw had always been something of a loner, even whilst still alive. As a ghost she had largely 'kept herself to herself' and remained apart from her fellow ghosts for much of the time leading quite a solitary, melancholy existence. Indeed the only close friend she had ever had, in death or even thinking back to her prior life she realised, had been Madame Pince and now she was gone Helena felt really lonely, a sensation she was unused to. This rare feeling of loneliness on her part was perhaps the thing that one day pushed her towards having a conversation with Sir Nicholas, a ghost who was himself quite gregarious and friendly, if sometimes a little haughty if 'rubbed up the wrong way'. Helena met him in a school corridor and for once acknowledged his habitual cheery "Hello There" and started talking to him, or rather he started talking to her.
Sir Nicholas was babbling on about a lot of inconsequential school gossip whilst Helena became a bit bored, beginning to feel this 'socialising' was a bit of a mistake. However, her ears pricked up when Sir Nicholas said. "Isn't it wonderful about this new muggle power thingy they've put into the school for the new lights? It's great to be able to draw on it and be able to touch things, and even move small bits and pieces about again isn't it?"
This was the first Helena had heard about this new phenomena, since she usually 'kept herself to herself' and she was fascinated to hear that the new power source could be used in this way. She drew out details from Sir Nicholas about the best way to use the power, then thanking him civilly she headed back up to 'her territory', in the library.
Using the method she had been told about she reached out and created a magical link to the Library power cable's magnetic field and found that she could indeed feel things in her surroundings a little, even if only as a distant, dull echo of the acute senses she'd had in life. She felt the warmth of the air in the room, the slight draught blowing in through an open window and even got some sense of the solidity of the floor beneath her feet. Wondering how much she would be able to influence things around her she tried to take a book off of one of the shelves, but it stubbornly refused to move, feeling to her like a ton of lead. Next she tried something less ambitious and seeing a copy of that days Daily Prophet lying on a desktop she tried turning the page and by applying her maximum effort she found to her delight she was able to do so. Her joy at this was limitless, as it meant she would at last be able to read books at her own speed, rather than relying upon the magical page turning spell which Madame Pince had created. She revelled in the thought of the new freedom she had gained.
xxxxxx
Over the coming weeks Helena Ravenclaw discovered even more things she could now do in her ghostly form, such as once again being able to use a lightweight quill pen to write with and she joyfully began once again, as she had centuries earlier, to keep a journal. In this she daily jotted down the increasing achievements she was making in her new 'life'.
She also began to become a bit less shy and was more often seen in her materialised form around the Library, sat writing or reading a book that new Librarian, Sally Newbold, (with whom she was forming a tentative new friendship), had placed, cover open, upon a desk for her to read at her leisure. She even began once again to take an interest in 'current affairs' and avidly read The Daily Prophet, trying to catch upo on centuries of change in magical society. Several of the more studious pupils who regularly used the library and who now knew she was there had also taken to greeting her in a friendly way, to which she replied in a similar spirit, unless too fixated upon a particularly interesting passage in a book to be aware they'd spoken to her. However most of them were used to their fellow living, somewhat 'nerdy' pupils often being in a similar engrossed state of mind and they didn't take offence if Helena was too distracted by what she was reading to reply to them.
One day she was drifting, (or now more like walking, since she could faintly feel the floor), past the new study room, next to the library. Somebody had left the door wide open and she saw, for the first time, a computer screen, showing a beautiful image of Hogwarts and it's Black Lake, as a desktop background picture. Helena was enchanted by this vivid photographic image and went into the room and approached the machine on it's desk. She had, of course, no idea what the computer was, nor how to work it, but she did idly reach out and touch the mouse on the desk. As she moved it a little she was astonished to see that a little arrow that had been lying still in the middle of the picture moved as well. She further experimented and found this movement exactly corresponded with those which she made with the mouse, although of course at the time she didn't even know that was what the small device weakly grasped by her ghostly hand was called.
Nevertheless she was fascinated by the fact that the little arrow moved under her control and then noticed a couple of buttons on the device. Using her maximum available strength she started clicking the left hand button up and down. She was so engrossed in this, trying to find out if the button did anything novel, that she entirely failed to notice Sally Newbold, the young new Librarian, enter the room behind her. The first thing she knew about the young woman's presence was when she said, "No, not like that, here, let me guide your hand, and placing her own flesh and blood hand on the computer mouse, which was inter-penetrated by Helena's ghostly one, she showed the Ravenclaw ghost how to co-ordinate her movements, clicking open various files and applications on the computer's desktop. Helena was flabbergasted by what she saw happening.
Sally smiled at her as she then encouraged Helena to 'go solo' which she did, successfully clicking on an icon and opening up a word processor program. Helena beamed at Sally with pride, as she now knew she could work the machine all by herself. Sally then showed her how the keyboard worked and Helena had sufficient strength to carefully type out her own name, quite slowly, one letter at a time.
"Welcome to the Twenty First Century, Helena!" Sally beamed at her and then said, "Come back into the library my dear, I've got a book there I think you'll be needing."
Back in the library next door Sally then placed a copy of modern looking muggle book on what had become 'Helena's desk' and the ghost read the title.
"What does it mean, 'Windows For Dummies', Sally?" Helena asked her.
"Don't be offended Helena," Sally replied, "It's meant to be a humorous title and it will tell you all about how to work that machine in the other room. With your brains I bet you'll be 'surfing the net' like a pro within a week. Since you don't sleep I'll leave the computer turned on at night so you can practice with it, and I'll put the book open next to it, so you can use it for reference."
xxxxxx
In fact it took only a couple of nights before Helena Ravenclaw, (who turned out to be a 'natural'), was almost fully 'up to speed' as a computer user and within weeks she had been given a 'proper job', the only Hogwarts Ghost other than Professor Binns, the History of Magic Teacher, to officially work for the school. Helena became Sally's Assistant Librarian and soon became essential to the smooth running of the Hogwarts School's Library. Whilst she was still very limited physically, she was able to assist with pupil's enquiries, suggest books they might find helpful to their schoolwork, show the First Year children of wizarding families how to use the computers, (the muggleborns, of course, already knew for the most part), and was able to help out her new friend Sally in many other ways.
From previously being a solitary, shy and melancholy ghost, she was now a gregarious and valued part of the Hogwarts community, putting her intellect to good use and proud to be helping her old school. As she told the School Headmistress, Professor McGonagall, when she confirmed her officially into her Library post, "It just goes to show Headmistress, you can teach an old ghost new tricks," and Sally and Minerva laughed in agreement, joined by a very happy ghost.